Paths to Dwell In

Acknowledge Him – He Works All Things for Good!

It was an eerie feeling looking out the window of the airplane. The clouds looked quite ominous; I had never seen them appear so dark and layered. We were fifty miles from the eye of a hurricane. The pilot had already attempted to land in Santo Domingo once but could not see the runway well enough. He was circling around for another try!

As we landed my luggage was slightly delayed. I prayed, “God, I give You thanks in all things”, trying to stay in peace. As I caught up with the team, customs had taken issue with the 50 brand new backpacks we were bringing in for the very poor children of El Prado. We ended up in a basement area talking to Dominican airport officials. “You have to go to such and such building in Santo Domingo with the proper papers“, they said. Translation, pay the appropriate bribe or forget about seeing these backpacks ever again. Many people had sacrificed to send us with these backpacks so we could not just lose them.

I explained that we did not fly in to sell 50 backpacks and that they were for the poor, but nothing I said seemed to help. It turned out the hurricane that was supposed to be moving away from the Dominican Republic had actually come in closer! Suddenly, the entire airport was being closed so the officials told us to take the backpacks and go!

We made it to El Prado a little wet but with no problems and all the children received backpacks for the starting school year. On the flight home the following week we had the same crew on our plane. They said the pilot was told to go and land in Puerto Rico but he is known for being a bit of a maverick and tried to land instead! Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Yes, God directed our paths and even used a hurricane for our benefit. He is good!

By Cyndi

This past weekend was supposed to have been the Summer Beaches Run, which is a five mile run here on Jacksonville Beach, but tropical storm Fay caused it to be postponed a couple weeks. Oh well, I guess I’ll have two more weeks to train for it. It will be only my second race to run. My first one was the 15K Gate River Run in March where you run over two bridges, along the St. Johns River, through some beautiful neighborhoods and into the Jaguars’ stadium to finish. So when I was watching the Olympics last week and saw the 38 year old Romanian woman win the women’s marathon, I was greatly inspired to keep up my running! And not just running for my health, which is good, but also so that I am able to compete in a race if I want to.

As we all know, the Bible compares our Christian walk to a race in some verses. Phil. 3:13, 14 is one of them -”forgetting those thing which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. And another favorite, Heb. 12:1-”Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

One of the things that I really enjoy about running in a race is the people that line up around the route to support you. In the River Run I was surprised to see whole families and groups of neighbors outside in their front yards with signs and drinks, yelling encouraging things to all the runners. People would spray you with water to cool you down, have music, like the theme from “Rocky” playing as you went by, just about anything to cheer you on, encouraging you to finish the race. It reminded me of that “great cloud of witnesses” the verse in Hebrews speaks about.

Many of us are carrying heavy weights and burdens…financial, health, family, jobs, etc.; and what we hear on the news does not always help either. But here we are, running the race that is set before us, with whatever obstacles that race may have. Are we barely making it and can we even see the finish line in sight? What about our friends, are they making it, or are they drudging along in this “wonderful” Christian walk too? Well, the Lord’s been telling me, “Can I get a witness?”, or better yet, “Will you be a witness?”  He reminded me of how encouraging others were to me in my race as I was running, what about me encouraging others in their race? We all need someone to spray a little water on us when we get too hot; and who doesn’t like to hear an encouraging word every now and then?

Let’s believe and look for the best in people, not the worst; let’s look at the glass half full, not half empty. Let’s put our faith in the Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, in Whom nothing is impossible with, to help us finish our race. And let us encourage those around us to do the same, because when we do, our eyes get off of ourselves and all of our problems and onto Him Who has all the solutions. Throw some cool water on that depressed mom; shout, “Yes, you can!” to the family with financial losses; hold up a sign up that says “LIVE” for those with cancer; run alongside those who are crippled and cannot run by themselves! Encourage someone today, I dare you.  Can I get a witness?

The Normal Christian Life

Continual Abiding

Reese Howells and Smith Wigglesworth both had testimonies of simply walking near someone and people sensing a holy presence of God and even being convicted of sin around them. What did they find in God? Was it a special place in God that is not available to all?

I believe a place of ever deeper abiding is the path God would call all of us to, even becoming the “Normal Christian Life”. It is not about being “God’s man” or more special or more loved. It is about a place of ever deeper surrender to the greatest love and fulfillment we were created to live in. I think many that found this place were often quite hidden and unknown. I feel that in this hour of ever increasing world turmoil the depths of God will be ever more available and it will not just be a select few finding this place.

Law and Sin

Rom.3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

What is sin and law? I believe at its core it is independence, self-life. Adam and Eve ate from the wrong tree to know good and evil so they could be as gods and judge for themselves what is right and wrong. They wanted to be in control and to live their own lives.

Romans 4:14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect.

The Jews thought they could be righteous by keeping law, being circumcised, keeping the Sabbath holy, not touching the leper, etc. It was an outward expression of what all of us actually do in one way or another.

The Pharisees just took it to an extreme which God uses as an example for our instruction. If we are not careful, we miss the point since our law practices are so much more subtle. When I am in independence, living my own life, in control, I am, in effect, trying to attain my own righteousness under law. Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. There are only two alternatives – we are either in faith or in our own efforts.

Romans 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed… even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

It is not just a one-time surrender at salvation; it is a daily yielding. We can start with prayer. Not praying is certainly a sign that I think I can handle my life all by myself. So keeping a prayer time is an act of faith. “God I believe you care for me and that left to myself I can do no good thing. So I come to You in prayer, to wait on You, submitting my time to you, believing that You hear me and that I am in Your presence. I come to express my love and rejoice in Your will in whatever it is You have for me.”

If my prayer time consists of God pouring out revelation, I rejoice. If it is a dry time and I feel nothing at all, I show my faithfulness and also rejoice. Knowing that God gives me what is best for me at any given time. I acknowledge that dry times are perfect for cleansing my heart to better seek God’s face and not just His hand.

These attitudes in prayer can then begin to carry over into my day. In that slow line at the grocery store or in traffic, “God I accept Your will and rejoice and give thanks in all things. You order my steps and work all things for good. I surrender what I want”. When I get frustrated, display irritation, get pushy, I have taken back control, no longer believing God will take care of me. This is the path of learning to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. Even to submit when God asks me to bear the burdens of that difficult person I work with and win them through covering love or even surrender to go to the mission field!

Rm.4:3 Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him as righteousness. This is at the crux of everything. I am either believing God or in my own strength, independence, eating from the wrong tree. The deeper life is really quite simple, so simple we can easily miss it!

Will Worship – How many times have I set my will to do better, pray more, and eat in a healthier way? Can we change ourselves? Exodus 31:13 God is the Sanctifier, Jehovah Mekadesh. Only He can help us change.

Surrender – Without realizing it I end up worshipping my own will. There is a key to transformation so simple that we often miss it. Change has to do with being simple enough to just wait in God’s presence. It is an act of surrender, faith and love. When God set me free from drugs, I had tried daily for six months to get clean. All my efforts amounted to continual defeat. Freedom came when I became weak enough to surrender. Surrender opens the way for faith as I yield my independence to trust God instead. The surrender and faith produce love in my heart as I look to God and He does for me what I cannot do for myself.

Waiting on God – The very act of waiting on God in prayer has a purifying effect. I give of my time to Him by faith and in love, not to receive anything from Him but simply to express my devotion to Him. Of course, when we give of ourselves to God we do receive; however, I believe the greatest maturity and purifying take place when we remain faithful even in the dry times.

Foster – Listen to the wise words of Richard Foster in the Celebration of Discipline: “We have only one thing to do, experience a life of relationship and intimacy with God. We rely on our willpower and determination; we pray against our habits, fight against it, set our will against it. But the struggle is all in vain, and we find ourselves once again morally bankrupt or, worse yet, so proud of our external righteousness that whitened sepulchers is a mild description of our condition. The moment we feel we can succeed and attain victory over sin by the strength of our will alone is the moment we are worshipping the will. Willpower will never succeed in dealing with the deeply ingrained habits of sin. Heini Arnold concludes, ‘As long as we think we can save ourselves by our own willpower, we will only make the evil in us stronger than ever.”