I have too many Chickens, really I do. But just same 5 baby chicks jumped into my car when I was at the feed store this week. I succumbed to the cries of the fuzzy little peeps because I had four broody hens at home that just would not leave their nest (yes singular nest, four hens, one pile, one nest!). Broody hens are hens that have stopped laying eggs (the only reason to have chickens in the city) and have started trying to hatch their eggs instead. I have four very dedicated brooders that will sit on invisible eggs for many days even after you have taken the real eggs away from them. I have tried many times to deter them from their quest to produce baby chicks out of thin air but to no avail.
When I brought my babies home and in the dark of night replaced my invisible eggs with 5 cute little chicks one hen in particular decided that these were her chicks. She knew all along that if she sat on her invisible eggs long enough something would come of it. And low and behold... she was right! Hmmmm
I wonder how many times God intervenes when we are caught in a similar loop, dutifully working at a fatally flawed task doomed to futility and yet... walah! Success! We have accomplished the impossible... Chicks out of thin air! (smile) I think it thrills God to no end when we finally understand the source of our success.(smile)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Kindness
Kindness, I don't know of anything that touches my soul deeper than a true kindness. It still marvels me when someone chooses to be kind to me. I'm sure sometimes I don't notice. I'm sure sometimes I'm too busy to see. But still, kindness is a gift beyond words to me.
Sometimes kindness isn't what we think. It's not always kind to give people what they are demanding. Is it ever a kindness to give in to a demand?... sometimes. I'm thinking of a desperate father demanding aid for his mortally wounded son... sure sometimes kindness looks past the delivery of a request to the need behind it. But sometimes I feel strangled when people feel entitled to my kindness... I think that is when I'm the farthest away from a kind response... hmmm. But sometimes kindness can only say, "No." Sometimes it is a great kindness to leave people in the hands of a loving God and get out of the way.
I want to be kind. I want to think kindly. I want to walk in love... and Jesus says, "Love is kind". Kindness isn't easy... somehow it has to be wise. Some attempts at kindness can turn out to be cruel at best. Yesterday I watched as a man tried desperately to be kind to a disabled man who was not in need of his actions. The end result only made the disabled man feel more awkward and... well disabled... sad...
I'm thinking that kindness is not as easy as it might seem. It takes intentionality. It takes watching, learning, listening and feeling. Somehow one becomes kind, you aren't really born that way. Perhaps we can't truly be kind without guidance. 1 Corinthians 13 gives a list of the attributes of love, one being kindness.
" Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs.
Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up."
I think that 1 Corinthians 13 isn't a list of how we are to behave but a list of attributes we will pick up as we listen to the LORD and walk in that listening. God help me to be kind.
Sometimes kindness isn't what we think. It's not always kind to give people what they are demanding. Is it ever a kindness to give in to a demand?... sometimes. I'm thinking of a desperate father demanding aid for his mortally wounded son... sure sometimes kindness looks past the delivery of a request to the need behind it. But sometimes I feel strangled when people feel entitled to my kindness... I think that is when I'm the farthest away from a kind response... hmmm. But sometimes kindness can only say, "No." Sometimes it is a great kindness to leave people in the hands of a loving God and get out of the way.
I want to be kind. I want to think kindly. I want to walk in love... and Jesus says, "Love is kind". Kindness isn't easy... somehow it has to be wise. Some attempts at kindness can turn out to be cruel at best. Yesterday I watched as a man tried desperately to be kind to a disabled man who was not in need of his actions. The end result only made the disabled man feel more awkward and... well disabled... sad...
I'm thinking that kindness is not as easy as it might seem. It takes intentionality. It takes watching, learning, listening and feeling. Somehow one becomes kind, you aren't really born that way. Perhaps we can't truly be kind without guidance. 1 Corinthians 13 gives a list of the attributes of love, one being kindness.
" Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs.
Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up."
I think that 1 Corinthians 13 isn't a list of how we are to behave but a list of attributes we will pick up as we listen to the LORD and walk in that listening. God help me to be kind.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The preacher and the mute
I have been intrigued by two contrasting stories in Mark chapter 5 In the first story Jesus heals a man who was possessed. He heals him by casting the demons out of him and into a herd of swine that then run into the sea and drown. This man was nuts! He ran around naked (Luke Chapter 8) in the graveyard and in the mountains cutting himself with stones and screaming. He was so strong not even chains could hold him. Mark says that no one was able to tame him. Wow, he was a monster that no one wanted anything to do with. Jesus cast a whole pack of demons out of him and in his gratitude the man begged Jesus to allow him to travel with him. Jesus refused and told him to go and proclaim what the LORD had done for him.
What an unlikely preacher! Here's a guy that everyone is afraid of. He wore no clothes. He must have had scars up and down his body from the times that he cut himself. He was the outcast big time. Sound familiar? But Jesus sent him out to preach. He had his work cut out for him too because after the people saw what Jesus did for the man and what happened to the pigs they were so afraid that they begged Jesus to leave!
Now jump to the next story. Here Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, came and asked Jesus to save his terminally ill daughter. While Jesus was on his way to Jairus' house people came to tell him it was too late. His daughter was already dead. Jesus told him not to fear but to believe. Once at the house Jesus took the girls mom and dad and three of his disciples into her room and raised her up from the dead. To her parents Jesus cautioned them not to say a word about what happened. Can you imagine keeping your mouth shut?
More than that, here is a man on great influence. One who knows all the right people and could validate Jesus' ministry. Jairus was the perfect preacher but it says, "He commanded them strictly that no one should know it" What is the difference? Why did God give one man the hard task of preaching to a terrified audience and another man the hard task of keeping his joy to himself?
Just wondering... Then I wonder what hard task is He entrusting me with?
What an unlikely preacher! Here's a guy that everyone is afraid of. He wore no clothes. He must have had scars up and down his body from the times that he cut himself. He was the outcast big time. Sound familiar? But Jesus sent him out to preach. He had his work cut out for him too because after the people saw what Jesus did for the man and what happened to the pigs they were so afraid that they begged Jesus to leave!
Now jump to the next story. Here Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, came and asked Jesus to save his terminally ill daughter. While Jesus was on his way to Jairus' house people came to tell him it was too late. His daughter was already dead. Jesus told him not to fear but to believe. Once at the house Jesus took the girls mom and dad and three of his disciples into her room and raised her up from the dead. To her parents Jesus cautioned them not to say a word about what happened. Can you imagine keeping your mouth shut?
More than that, here is a man on great influence. One who knows all the right people and could validate Jesus' ministry. Jairus was the perfect preacher but it says, "He commanded them strictly that no one should know it" What is the difference? Why did God give one man the hard task of preaching to a terrified audience and another man the hard task of keeping his joy to himself?
Just wondering... Then I wonder what hard task is He entrusting me with?
Friday, April 20, 2012
Prophetic gifting: Being truth based
I am at odds with the label "Prophetic". It has been twisted for me to mean, "False Prophetic" which isn't cool! I'm thinking of 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 Which says, "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil."
The truth is, every spiritual gift is powerful. Which means it is very dangerous and destructive when placed in the wrong hands. That's where we come in. If we choose to use our gifting for our purposes, no matter how noble they may seem, we do a lot of damage! Spiritual gifts are meant to be guided by the Holy Spirit... and when they are... awesome things happen. Lives are changed. Huge mountains are moved! It's the difference between a gifted surgeon with a scalpel and a careless, angry child with a butcher knife.
The damage goes both ways. If we use our gifting uninspired it's like an atom bomb, no one close to the detonation point is spared damage, especially the one holding the bomb! I have learned that lesson perhaps too well. Sometimes I am afraid to open my mouth for fear of the potential for damage. That doesn't work either.
Going back to the label, "Prophetic", I like to use "Truth based" instead. I believe prophetic people are only comfortable when people are being truthful, open and honest. They are not very good at small talk because it often contradicts what they "see". It's hard to explain, but speaking honestly especially about the huge ignored elephant in the room is the best gift you could offer someone who is prophetic. Prophetic people are called to bring what is out of order into order. They are called to tell the truth.
Children who are created to be prophetic are often labeled precocious, disrespectful, perfectionists, haughty, too black and white, too judgmental, too serious or hot tempered. As adults, sometimes when we wield our gifts uninspired we become what we are accused of, too black and white, perfectionistic and judgmental. It's easy to become angry when things are out of order and we seem powerless to put them back as they should be. It all boils down to who is in control. Relinquishing control into the hands of our only wise God is vital for everyone and every gift. But perhaps it is hardest for the prophetic who see so much that is out of order but who aren't given the go ahead from the Holy Spirit to respond.
Romans 12:5-6 says, " so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
It is an adventure to live life as God intended. It's a dance of listening and moving as led. It is dangerous, but also amazing.
The truth is, every spiritual gift is powerful. Which means it is very dangerous and destructive when placed in the wrong hands. That's where we come in. If we choose to use our gifting for our purposes, no matter how noble they may seem, we do a lot of damage! Spiritual gifts are meant to be guided by the Holy Spirit... and when they are... awesome things happen. Lives are changed. Huge mountains are moved! It's the difference between a gifted surgeon with a scalpel and a careless, angry child with a butcher knife.
The damage goes both ways. If we use our gifting uninspired it's like an atom bomb, no one close to the detonation point is spared damage, especially the one holding the bomb! I have learned that lesson perhaps too well. Sometimes I am afraid to open my mouth for fear of the potential for damage. That doesn't work either.
Going back to the label, "Prophetic", I like to use "Truth based" instead. I believe prophetic people are only comfortable when people are being truthful, open and honest. They are not very good at small talk because it often contradicts what they "see". It's hard to explain, but speaking honestly especially about the huge ignored elephant in the room is the best gift you could offer someone who is prophetic. Prophetic people are called to bring what is out of order into order. They are called to tell the truth.
Children who are created to be prophetic are often labeled precocious, disrespectful, perfectionists, haughty, too black and white, too judgmental, too serious or hot tempered. As adults, sometimes when we wield our gifts uninspired we become what we are accused of, too black and white, perfectionistic and judgmental. It's easy to become angry when things are out of order and we seem powerless to put them back as they should be. It all boils down to who is in control. Relinquishing control into the hands of our only wise God is vital for everyone and every gift. But perhaps it is hardest for the prophetic who see so much that is out of order but who aren't given the go ahead from the Holy Spirit to respond.
Romans 12:5-6 says, " so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
It is an adventure to live life as God intended. It's a dance of listening and moving as led. It is dangerous, but also amazing.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Freedom- breaking the yoke
Isaiah 58:6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?" What does that mean in 2012? (listening) I'm not sure about the rest of it but the part that is tugging at my heart today is the line, "To loose the bonds of wickedness" I don't know that I could define the word wickedness... oh I can say, "It means doing evil" but what does that mean? I believe evil is much more subtle than we realize. How do you "loose the bonds of wickedness" ? Are we to get help people get free from their addictions, hangups and evil desires? Or are we to free those who are trapped by the wickedness of others? I suppose it could be both but the picture I have is of that trapped feeling I get when I'm out of options. I'm thinking of domestic violence, or modern day slavery. (listening) Hmmm can you sum up wickedness as power and control? I'm thinking that power is not wicked... it is a gift or a circumstance but the misuse of it is way wicked
I often feel trapped when I feel like I am given no voice. For instance, I feel trapped in our politics. I live in an area that has one large population center and many small rural communities. The rural communities vote one way, the big city votes another. Because more people in the city, how they vote is how we then live for the next few years. I feel impotent. If the word oppressed were exchanged for trapped it has more meaning for me. (listening) Wow, how many people in our world feel trapped? If I feel trapped in my circumstance, think of people in say, Syria or Somalia. The misuse of power is a great evil. But how do we do anything about it? (listening) How can I let the oppressed go free? (listening)
Interesting, the picture turned in my head to the passage in Romans 12:3 and beyond where it says to use the gifts that we have been given. Hmmm, like freedom is both allowing those who are gifted to move in their gifting but also to walk free in your gifts because walking free in your gift, sets others free in theirs. It is the opposite of power and control to walk free... like live free to free
I often feel trapped when I feel like I am given no voice. For instance, I feel trapped in our politics. I live in an area that has one large population center and many small rural communities. The rural communities vote one way, the big city votes another. Because more people in the city, how they vote is how we then live for the next few years. I feel impotent. If the word oppressed were exchanged for trapped it has more meaning for me. (listening) Wow, how many people in our world feel trapped? If I feel trapped in my circumstance, think of people in say, Syria or Somalia. The misuse of power is a great evil. But how do we do anything about it? (listening) How can I let the oppressed go free? (listening)
Interesting, the picture turned in my head to the passage in Romans 12:3 and beyond where it says to use the gifts that we have been given. Hmmm, like freedom is both allowing those who are gifted to move in their gifting but also to walk free in your gifts because walking free in your gift, sets others free in theirs. It is the opposite of power and control to walk free... like live free to free
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The gift of giving in the age of entitlement?
I have been thinking of the spiritual gift of giving. Romans 12:5-8 says, "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he
who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who
leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." (Listening) I find it interesting that this is a plea for us to use our gifts.... "Having gifts let us USE them... if you have the gift of prophecy... they speak! If you are gifted to teach, teach!
Wow, that may seem simplistic, but I believe that satan works hard to make us afraid of the very thing we were created to be so what a release from the LORD. "Hey you, yeah, you... I know it's scary to teach, because you have had bad experiences but I built into you a gift of teaching. Let it out child and lean on Me for the words and the message. Teach for God sake!!!
I'm not just picking on the teaching gift. I'm really kind of confused about the gift of sharing or giving. Our world has come to expect rescue. I cringe at the things said after hurricane Katrina. People angry because they weren't rescued fast enough. Say again? No one had the obligation, rescue was a gift, wasn't it? How can you give with liberality when people expect you to give even more than you have? It's twisty! (listening) Hmmm, the sense I have is a restating of how important it is to be listening and guided by the LORD in what we do.
Spiritual gifts are POWERFUL!!!! If we wield them by our own power someone is going to get hurt! Giving to some is no gift at all and yet the right gift at the right time will send people to their knees in awe of the LORD. Listening and obedience is the key.
Wow, that may seem simplistic, but I believe that satan works hard to make us afraid of the very thing we were created to be so what a release from the LORD. "Hey you, yeah, you... I know it's scary to teach, because you have had bad experiences but I built into you a gift of teaching. Let it out child and lean on Me for the words and the message. Teach for God sake!!!
I'm not just picking on the teaching gift. I'm really kind of confused about the gift of sharing or giving. Our world has come to expect rescue. I cringe at the things said after hurricane Katrina. People angry because they weren't rescued fast enough. Say again? No one had the obligation, rescue was a gift, wasn't it? How can you give with liberality when people expect you to give even more than you have? It's twisty! (listening) Hmmm, the sense I have is a restating of how important it is to be listening and guided by the LORD in what we do.
Spiritual gifts are POWERFUL!!!! If we wield them by our own power someone is going to get hurt! Giving to some is no gift at all and yet the right gift at the right time will send people to their knees in awe of the LORD. Listening and obedience is the key.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
"Let these words sink down into your ears" Luke 9:44
Wow, how do you do that? "Let these words sink down into your ears". Mark 4:9 says, "“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Is He talking to me? Am I not listening? Is He talking to someone else who has hold of my ears? Dear God help me to let all your words sink down into my ears. I think I need to spend the next few weeks reading the red words... The ones that are spoken by Jesus himself. Dear Father, Let these words sink down into my ears so that I am really hearing!
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