Category Archives: Word for Wednesday

“Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea– the Lord on high is mighty.” Psalm 93:4

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:  all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,  the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” 

Psalm 8

“But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

I woke up this morning, with a verse that I have not pondered since my college days, clearly upon my mind and in my heart-

Psalm 127:2  “God grants sleep to those He loves”

It was one of those moments that I knew the Lord was speaking to me directly.  The past month my life has consisted of very little sleep…besides working very late into the wee hours of the morning several times a week, I also have a sweet baby who nurses at least once if not twice during my “sleeping” hours and has got it into his mind that 6:30am is a perfectly fine time to get up for the day. (I however am not, nor have ever been, a “morning” person and would love for a wake up call to be a bit later…say 8 or 9am)

Last night however I got to sleep for 9 hours (not without nursing once…but still 9 full hours!) and when I awoke with this verse being sweetly and softly spoken in my heart and mind, I knew that the Lord was telling me He loved me.  What a wonderful way to wake up – in the loving arms of Jesus!

When I went to crosswalk.com to find out exactly where that verse was located and typed in “sleep” to the search engine, I became amazed at how much more the Lord had for me this morning.  Here is the context of that verse Psalm 127: 1-5 –

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for he grants sleep to those he loves.  Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Wow!  Did God ever have a specific word for me today. 

• First, the reason I have been staying up so late at night is because I have been working on taking Jim Elliot Christian High School to a new level of excellence. (To read the story of how we started this school read here, or here)  I know He was gently reminding me the it was HIS job to build the “house” or in this case the school and that while I needed to work hard and use my gifts and talents for His glory, He was the one that would accomplish the goal. So on to my knees I will go – giving it all over to God.
• Second, I have been working very hard to put food on the table, as our financial situation has been very tight for over a year and I have been doing many extra things to help my dear darling hubby “make ends meet”.  I felt a bit of the Lords gentle rebuke in the words…  “in vain you toil”… ok Lord once again I submit to trusting in You to provide for our “daily bread”. (Now don’t interpret this wrongly, I do believe that the Lord wants us to work hard, and believe me their are plenty of scriptures warning us severely about being lazy, loving sleep etc… I just know the Lord was emphasizing to me that  —  I, with my driven  “I’m going to make it happen” personality, needed to get out of “overdrive”)
• And look He even reminded me of what a blessing and reward it is to have another sweet baby to nurse throughout the night and to get up early for. Not too mention the blessings of my “quiver” of the 6 princesses as well. I am truly blessed! (Perhaps someday I’ll write about  when the Lord gave me a full quiver conviction.)

Does the Lord want to speak to us and give us guidance, wisdom, assurance and answers each & every day through His Spirit and His written Word? Yes, He does!  What is the Lord saying to you today?

Today we have been praying for God to do something that could require some “special forces” to be at work on our behalf…when I read this –

Acts 12:1-11 

That’s when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John’s brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter – all this during Passover Week, mind you – and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover. All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.

Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!  Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: “Hurry!” The handcuffs fell off his wrists.  The angel said, “Get dressed. Put on your shoes.” Peter did it. Then, “Grab your coat and let’s get out of here.”  Peter followed him, but didn’t believe it was really an angel – he thought he was dreaming. Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze.

At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way.  That’s when Peter realized it was no dream. “I can’t believe it – this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to.”

Wow!  How exciting it must have been to live during that time in church history.  Sleeping peacefully while in jail awaiting your own execution (oh my!), angels appearing giving you a personal escort, slipping past wide eyed guards and gates opening all by themselves.(before the advent of electric ones!)

I want to be a Christian on the cutting edge of the supernataural….experiencing perfect peace & trust in God, being visited by angels and a life that includes Gods miraculous powers at work.  Don’t you?

 “Share with your sister!” has come out of my mouth regularly as a mom of many little ones.  We’ve all heard those words at school, in the church nursery, on the playground….almost everywhere there are kids together there is an adult reminding them to share their things with others.

Then we become adults and somehow our “sharing” philosophy changes. In fact we quickly reverse our sharing stance even with our children when they become teens and want to share clothing, phones, DVD’s, Ipods etc.. with their buddies.  We say things like…”you need to take care of your things & not let others use them” or “that’s expensive & you shouldn’t be loaning it out to just anybody” or we make it spiritual and say “God wants you to be a good steward of what He has given you!”

In my adult life I have known precious few people who have been really open and willing to share their “things”.  Even then, some who do share…do so with a little bit of cringing in their heart or with “restrictions” on what they are sharing with you.

I’ve often wondered what it would have been like to live in the time during the beginning of the Christian church when sharing was the way of believers….the “norm” instead of the exception.

Look at what the Word says about those believers –

Acts 4:32  

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them”

Wow!  No wonder they added to their number daily those who were being saved! Can you imagine if we as believers had this mindset today.  Yes, we are sometimes willing to give away our money (in moderation & with wisdom of course…read sarcasm here) but when it comes to sharing our valuable “things” we are not often so willing – ie: cars when someone needs one, opening up our homes to others either for a few nights or even longer, expensive equipment to take on a project in the yard, blessing others with our “toys” – boats, RV’s, backyard swimming pools, vacation homes that sit unused most of the time, fill in the blank with your precious “thing” that is hard for you to share ___________________.

Church organizations are just as guilty as we believers are of not sharing.  Have you ever tried to get a room in a church for a meeting or activity? (even one that is a good cause or even directly a Christian activity)  After filling out mounds of paperwork that goes from one committee to another & then to the church board before you finally get back an apologetic…”We are sorry but it is against the policies of our church to allow the use of our building for your event. blah blah blah…..”  Often things are cited like insurance issues, janitorial problems or needing to be “good stewards” of their facility. (since when is it being a good steward to let a large multi room building sit empty most weekdays & several week nights?? I’d call it bad stewardship….but I digress)

So….. just last week my dear darling hubby was on his way to school camp in the mountains (an awesome way to start the school year at Elliot – lots of inspiration & bonding with both students & faculty). He needed to drive his own vehicle to camp because he would be joining us at our own “family retreat” (see Family & Friends Friday).  Bless his heart….Dan has always driven the “second” car in our family (read here- very old, broken down, scary, on it’s last leg, you never know if its going to start in the morning….but its paid for & has cheap insurance!). When Miriam, our school worship leader,  heard that he was driving to camp she instantly & without hesitation said….”Dan! Do you want to take my car?” (read here brand new, very nice complete with all the “extras”).  My first thought was….did she realize that meant she had to drive Dans car for 3 days? (not a very pleasant experience but it does build your faith when you have to pray everytime you get in it)

How refreshing!  Here is a young adult who truly is living out the Word of God in her life. I’m praying & looking forward to the day when the entire body of Christ will all truly live what they say they believe!

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them”

 Are you sharing your things?
 

I know of many people right now who currently have serious financial stresses in their lives. 

Those who have recently lost jobs, others like myself whose businesses have been in a major decline for months & even years, some who are experiencing large and unexpected expenses that are beyond anything they can afford, those (like my daughters Africa team with YWAM) who are missionarys looking for the support of others to come thru so that they can continue to do the work of God, as well as a few who have made poor financial decisions and are suffering the consequences. (haven’t we all been there!)

Financial stress can lead to great anxiety, strained relationships and even health problems.  Let’s look at and believe the Word so we can quit worrying and trust God to provide all of our needs!

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life,  as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?

You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, `What will we eat?’ or `What will we drink?’ or `What will we wear for clothing?’  For the world eagerly seeks all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   Matthew 6:25-34