Conversations with God

Much has been written about the girl Mary, her simple trust in God when told she would bear the Messiah. It’s a powerful encouragement to wait for the word of the Lord to be fulfilled in our own lives. But we sometimes forget there was more than one miracle birth that year: “But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John’” (Lk. 1:13). Elizabeth and her husband were past the age of child-bearing (v. 18). Both Jesus and John were miracle conceptions; both were promises only able to be fulfilled by the power of God. But they were also different. When Mary asked how this could happen, she was told the Holy Spirit would overshadow her. Elizabeth didn’t get that reassurance. While Mary was basically told to wait on the Lord, Elizabeth had to take some action. Not to be crass, but the simple nature of things tells us that Elizabeth and Zechariah were not going to ...

I want to start by saying I believe in healing. Wholeheartedly, 100%, with all my heart and my soul, I believe God heals today. In fact, I pray for it every day I walk into work in a special needs preschool room. Which leads me to the next point - it doesn't always happen. No matter how hard I pray, believe, fast, and declare the Word, sometimes it doesn't come. I've spent a long time blaming myself. If I only prayed longer or fasted more...maybe my faith is weak, or I have hidden unbelief. My understanding was that if I believe God is a healer, then the problem can't be with him. Logically, that means the problem is me. But I'm finding it's a lot bigger than me. Galatians 4:7 says, "So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." Wait a minute. If I am an heir, that means I already have access to everything in the Kingdom. Now. All of it. I am seated in heavenly places  with J...

Last night I was talking with a friend about the goodness of God. These days, it's almost cliché to say, "God is good." Declaring God's goodness is powerful, if we mean it. But sometimes we're just going through the motions of a worship song or making it a tag line after listing all the things that are wrong ("...and I got cut short a shift this week so I don't know how I'm supposed to pay the bills and eggs are costing so much these days I don't even know how we're going to eat and my knees are hurting again and I'll probably have to have surgery, but God's good, so...). It makes him sound like a monster. No, seriously - if our friend talked this way about a boyfriend or girlfriend, we'd tell them to run: "Yeah, we get along great. I mean, sometimes he smacks me around and makes me sick, and still expects me to love him, but it's ok. He's really a good guy." "You know, sometimes she takes my money, but...

I've been happy to see and hear more messages lately about the goodness of God. Although there are still people who preach an angry, distant God, more and more are seeing the real truth of his character. Paul told Timothy, "Everything God created is good" (1Tim. 4:4). James, the brother of Jesus, told the church, "Every good and perfect thing is coming down from the Father..." (Jms. 1:17). People are starting to get it. With this change I'm hearing a little less direct blaming of God for things. You know: "God made me / my child / my spouse / my neighbor sick to make them a better person." It seems folks are moving away from this kind of twisted picture. But then someone dies - a mother, a child, a veteran, a police officer, a sinner, a saint. Someone dies, and the platitudes start oozing out of the back rooms in which they were hidden after all. "We don't know why God lets these things happen, but we know he has a plan." ...

Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:15, 16). So many stirring sermons and articles have sprung from this passage. We get encouraged to seek the Presence of God, to be marked by Him, and not be satisfied with anything less. That's a great message. But it's not the whole story. The reason Moses had this conversation with God in the first place is found earlier in the chapter. "Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way....If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you" (vv. 3, 5). We usually forget that part in the story of Moses knowing and wanting God so much that he persuades...

I recently shared with someone how I grasped the operation of the kingdom of God. It wasn't how you might think. I led a pretty rough life before I met Jesus. I made some stupid choices and hung out with others who'd done the same. Some of these people were known for their choices. They had authority in certain neighborhoods because of their reputation, and they enforced it with threats and violence. I was not known by most people. However, because I was known by one or two who were, I had access to their authority by association. I was able to walk freely in places I wouldn't otherwise. If there was a question, using their name granted me access others didn't have. I relied on their reputation, not mine. So when I learned about the kingdom of God and prayer and using authority, it made perfect sense to me. God owned the world, and I belonged to him. I could go anywhere, doing business in his name. Yet, God has a way of turning things on their head. He let m...

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Pr. 1:7). This verse is fairly well-known; so well-known, in fact, that I almost read right over it without stopping this morning. But something made me stop and go back. It took me a little while to figure out what it was - what connection was my mind trying to make here? Finally, I got it: When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and   saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was (Ex. 20:18-21).  The phrase "fear of God" is a stumbling block for ...

We all know the story of Peter walking on the water. Despite its familiarity, I saw something new in it recently. As Jesus pulls Peter out of the water he asks him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt. 14:31). It's not the first time Jesus asks his disciples this question. But as I reread it, I found myself asking something different. What was it Peter was doubting? He wasn't doubting Jesus' ability or willingness to save him - that's why he cried out to him. No, he doubted his own ability to do what Jesus told him to do. Remember, Peter told him, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." So Jesus said, "Come" (Mt. 14:28, 29). So many times we ask God to use us, work through us, and make a difference. Here, Peter has an opportunity to demonstrate Jesus' authority over wind and waves to the other disciples. But somewhere between the asking and the answer, he began to doubt. Have you been ther...

May is an interesting time of year for me. As a teacher, it feels more like the "end of the year" than December does. As I face only a month more with "my babies," I inevitably find myself looking back: Did I do enough? Did I give them enough love, attention, and time? Are they going to be ok in Kindergarten? What about after that? I want to hold them in my arms forever. I want to protect them from the ugliness of the world, despite the fact many of them have already met that ugliness face-to-face. Don't get me wrong - this truly is a time of celebration. Each one is a big miracle in a tiny package: The ones who came in distrustful and angry who now are the biggest huggers, the ones who couldn't or wouldn't talk but now won't stop, the ones who just needed some boundaries and now are thriving within them... In August, a year feels like forever. We have plenty of time to do it all! May brings me back to reality with a crash. But it also forces...

Recently, one of our pastors preached a sermon focusing on one main question - "What am I learning?" It's wonderful to have intimate moments with God and to be overwhelmed by His presence. It's great to receive powerful revelation of His Word. But if those experiences aren't changing me, what's the point? So I decided to stop and look at what God's been teaching me the past few months: I'm learning obedience is better than sacrifice when I'm obeying from a place of relationship with my Father, not simply trying to avoid His anger with rote religious acts of sacrifice. Real relationship requires trust. Loving people the way they need to be loved is hard, and does require sacrifice. There is a time to war and a time to weep. God does both and invites us to join Him. God weeps, but never despairs or loses hope. He sees things from an eternal perspective. I need to spend more time seeing things from God's perspective. People need hope...

I have been feeling a lot of tension lately. By tension I don't mean stress; I mean the feeling of being the rubber band stretched tightly between the Truth I have staked my life on and the currently reality in front of me every day. I know with everything in me that God is Healer; yet every day I am faced with unhealed sickness, disease, disability, and emotional brokenness in the people around me. It's not a comfortable place. In fact, it is often profoundly uncomfortable to stand in the presence of two diametrically opposing realities without giving in to the one I can physically see. The strain is physical, emotional, and spiritual; and it can be hard to find others willing to stand with me in such an awkward place. Indeed, this is the place many instead falter and fall. Actually, I have fallen myself, many times. Over and over again, I have learned how deeply I must rely on the grace and goodness of God to reach down and help me back to my feet, over an...

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them" (Acts 19:11,12). This is the desire that drives me. I face overwhelming needs every day; my fervent prayer has become that somehow enough of God will flow through me to change those lives forever. I am constantly seeking, thinking, and praying about how to bring the power and presence of God to the hurting people around me. There are so many theories and schools of thought regarding healing. Some focus on faith, some on the Word; some prescribe specific prayers, others an exact methodology. A person could spend years trying to figure out the "perfect" way to pray. There may not be a perfect answer, as much as we want one. But I did notice something new as I read this chapter in Acts today. Immediately after the verses about God healing through Paul, we are given the story ...

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you" (Is. 26:3). There is no lack of things to be worried about today. From terrorism across the ocean to the abundance of bloodshed in our own nation, we can't go a day without hearing of another atrocity. Then add in our day-to-day individual struggles: debilitating disease, grief and loss, tormenting memories, seemingly unsolvable family or financial situations... The overload can tempt us to shut down our emotions just to survive. We begin to question if "perfect peace" is even feasible today. The fact is, it's not only feasible, it's promised . So if we're not experiencing it, what are we missing? We get a clue when we realize the Hebrew word translated "steadfast" means to lean or lay upon, lean against, or to brace oneself. So the secret is this: Leaning or laying upon something requires action. You cannot go from holding yourself upri...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (Jms. 1:17). "This is the year I'm going to take away your control of My goodness towards you." That was the message I received at the beginning of January. Sometimes I'm ashamed to admit it, but God's kindness still leaves me undone. I feel I should know Him better by now; but then I hear something like that, and I melt all over again. What does that even mean? How could I be controlling God's goodness in my life? It's a sobering thought. Maybe it goes back to a mindset that I don't "deserve" good things. Or that it's somehow more "spiritual" not to have an overflowing, abundant life. In my head, I know those things are not true. But maybe God is saying these truths have yet to penetrate my heart. It wasn't that long ago that I had to fight guilty feelings for simply enjoyi...