Call HOME

Years ago, our youngest daughter had a sleepover. When it came time for bed her guest wanted, more than anything, to go home! I can’t blame her. When I travel, the hardest part of the trip is going to sleep. When it comes to resting, there’s no house like your own.

It’s what David asked. He longed to live in the house of God. He asked for his own room—permanently. He longed to retire there in a life-long residence. When David says in Psalm 23: “I will live in the house of the Lord forever,” he’s saying simply that he never wants to step away from God.

Make it your aim never to leave God’s house. And when you find yourself in another house, do what my daughter’s friend did—call home! He won’t mind—in fact, He’ll be waiting.

from The Great House of God

YOU are not in control nor am I

A Trio of Peaks

You can’t run the world, nor are you expected to be all-powerful. You may think you can. But when you face your own grave or your own guilt, your power will not do the trick.

The Bible says “Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever.” (Matthew 6:13).

A trio of peaks. Admire them, applaud them, but don’t climb them. You weren’t made to run a kingdom, or to be all-powerful. And you certainly can’t handle all the glory. Mount Applause is the most seductive of the three peaks. More than one person has stood at the top and shouted, “Mine is the glory!”—only to lose their balance and fall.

As you confess that God is in charge, you admit you aren’t. As you proclaim that God has power, you admit you don’t. And as you give God all the applause, there is none left to dizzy your brain!

from The Great House of God

Who calls the shots in your LIFE?

God Calls the Shots

Every time Satan sets out to score for evil, he ends up scoring a point for good. Consider Paul. Satan hoped prison would silence his pulpit, and it did, but it also unleashed his pen. The letters to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians were all written in a jail cell.

Satan is the Colonel Klink of the Bible. Remember Klink? He was the fall guy for Hogan on the television series, Hogan’s Heroes. Klink supposedly ran a German POW camp during World War 2. Those inside the camp, however, knew better. They knew who really ran the camp: the prisoners. They listened to Klink’s calls and read his mail. They even gave Klink ideas, all the while using him for their own cause.

Over and over the Bible makes it clear who really runs the earth. Satan may strut and prance, but it is God who calls the shots.

from The Great House of God

How do you share GRACE?

Give Him a Pretzel

Years ago I was traveling with my daughter, Jenna. When I realized she and I weren’t seated together, I asked the fellow sitting next to her to swap seats with me. Surely he’ll understand, I thought. He didn’t. I was left separated from my 12 year old on a long transatlantic flight.

I began plotting how I’d trip him if he dared walk to the restroom during the flight. I turned to intimidate him with a snarl and saw, much to my surprise, Jenna offering him a pretzel. What? My daughter was fraternizing with the enemy! As if the pretzel were an olive branch, he accepted her gift and they both leaned their seats back and dozed off.

I learned the lesson God had used my daughter to teach me. All of us are here by grace and, at some point, all of us have to share some grace. So the next time you find yourself next to a questionable character, don’t give him a hard time—give him a pretzel!

from The Great House of God

We ARE all BEGGARS

We are all beggars in need of bread. “Give us this day our daily bread,” we pray. (Matthew 6:11). You may prefer, “We are all hungry, in need of bread.” Such a phrase certainly has more dignity than the word beggar. Who wants to be called a beggar? After all, didn’t you create the ground in which the seed was sown? No? Well at least you made the seed? Right? You didn’t?

What about the sun? Did you provide the heat during the day? Or the rain. Did you send the clouds? No? Then exactly what did you do?

You harvested food you didn’t make from an earth you didn’t create. Let me see if I have this straight. Had God not done His part, you would have no food. Hmmm. . .perhaps we best return to the word beggar. We are all beggars, in need of bread!

from The Great House of God

Chocolate Ice Cream or Okra?

Jesus said: “The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” (Luke 6:38).

It’s as if God sends you to purchase your neighbor’s groceries. “Whatever you get your neighbor, get also for yourself.” I’m crazy about double-chocolate ice cream, so I buy my neighbor double-chocolate ice cream. But suppose your neighbor’s trash blows into your yard. He’s in no rush—says he’ll get to it next week.

You’re just about to have a talk when God reminds you, “Time to go to the market and buy your neighbor’s groceries.” You march right past the double-chocolate ice cream toward the okra and rice. You drive back and drop the sack in the lap of your lazy, good-for-nothing neighbor. “Have a good dinner.”

The next time you go to your pantry, guess what you find? What will you be eating? Chocolate ice cream or okra? It’s up to you.

from The Great House of God

Entrust Your Wounds

Resentment

Resentment is a prison. When you’ve put someone in your jail cell of hatred, you are stuck guarding the door. If you’re out to settle a score, you are never going to rest. How can you? For one thing, your enemy may never pay up.

As much as you think you deserve an apology, your debtor may not agree. The racist may never repent. The chauvinist may never change. As justified as you are in your quest for vengeance, you may never get a penny’s worth of justice. And if you do, will it be enough?

You see, resentment is a prison. Jesus doesn’t question the reality of your wounds. He just doubts whether resentment is going to heal you. What are you going to do? Spend your life guarding the prison jail cell? Or entrust your wounds to Jesus?

from The Great House of God

Dealing with Debt

Doesn’t someone owe you an apology? A second chance? An explanation? A thank you? A childhood? A marriage? Your parents should have been more protective. Your children should have been more appreciative. Your spouse should be more sensitive. What are you going to do? Few questions are more important.

Dealing with debt is at the heart of your happiness. Jesus speaks of the grace we should share. He says: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14).

It reminds me of the story of a huge grizzly bear in the center of Yellowstone Park feeding on discarded camp food. No one dared draw near. Except a skunk who walked toward the food and took his place next to the grizzly. The bear didn’t object. He knew the high cost of getting even! We’d be wise to learn the same thing.

from The Great House of God

Do you struggle with feeling like you have to have it “all together”?

Part of living and leading like Jesus is living an authentic life. My husband knows I’m not a “perfect” wife. My children know I’m not a “perfect” mom and if you were in the restaurant this past Sunday, you too would have known my life isn’t “perfect.” But you know what, the more I get to know Jesus, the more I’m done with “perfect.”  There is only one who is perfect and it’s not me.

Yes, if you were in that certain restaurant this past Sunday, please allow me to apologize. My youngest was “that child” and yes, I was “that mom” who was running, yes running out of the restaurant with a screaming child. A child who was a little too tired after church to sit through a Sunday afternoon lunch with our whole family. I knew the risk, yet I still choose to see if we could do it……and failed miserably. Sunday after church luncheons with one and a half year olds just don’t go that well these days. I knew better. And so after the 10th time of trying to get her mac-n-cheese into her little mouth, all by herself own mind you, and failing yet again……she had finally had it and let the WHOLE restaurant know! I grabbed her and ran for the nearest exit, catching some of the glaring faces as I sped past. I tried to smile and mouth, “so sorry” as I hurried to the doors…doors that seemed MILES away.

Once outside I tried soothing her, walking with her and distracting her…..but nothing was working. Finally in desperation I prayed, “Lord please let the car be unlocked because I have no where else to go.” (Remember, I had ran out of the restaurant not thinking I should have picked up my purse…..it’s called survival mode) In God’s goodness, the car was indeed unlocked (I’m normally very good at locking my car) and she and I were able to have a good cry once we were safely buckled in…..yes, I don’t know why I put my seat belt on too, partly out of habit and partly because I needed to be held together in the seat also. 

I sat in the car crying and thinking of YOU! Yes, you. I thought, “Ohh if they could only see me now.” They would all KNOW that I’m not perfect and then it hit me. Maybe some of you need to read these types of stories too. Maybe you have struggled in your life, in your parenting, with your families trying to measure up to something that was never intended for you to measure up to. If I’m speaking to you, please know this…..we all lead sin stained lives. We all have days where we feel like failures. We are ALL in need of God’s generous grace. You are not alone.

In Luke 12 we see Jesus giving a warning to His disciples even though thousands of people had gathered to listen to Him speak….gathering to the point they were trampling on top of one another, (vs 1) Jesus first addressed the disciples, and warned them about being on their guard again hypocrisy. Don’t be tempted to “pretend.” Don’t pretend to live one way like the Pharisees do out in public for everyone to see and yet live a different life in private.

 “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.”- Luke 12:2

Let’s be the same person in public as we are in private.

Our families are watching.

Our friends are watching.

And yes, even strangers in restaurants as you run for the exits are watching.

I’ll be honest with you, I struggle with the desire to please. I am happy when I can make someone else happy. And though that doesn’t seem like a bad thing on the surface, it can cause a lot of pressure, turmoil and stress on the inside.

I don’t like running out of restaurants with a screaming child.

I don’t like feeling like a failure.

But then I read further in Luke 12 to verse 5:

“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus lovingly reminds the crowd….and me, that I am not to fear what others think of me. He releases me from the pressure to pretend.

I’m not to fear anyone except God…..the one who created me. The One who LOVES me. The One who knows all my flaws, short comings and sins….yet hung on the cross for me anyway. Yes, fear Him because He is the ONLY one who has power over my life. Fear Him, meaning…..realize He is holy. Fear Him in a good way, an honoring way…not in an “I’m scared of God because He is mean” kind of way, but because God is good. God is love. And because He loves you and knows you….even down to the number of hairs you have on your head.

Be you…flaws, failures and all … run to Jesus like a mama running out of a restaurant with a crying child….run to him with all your hurts, pain, disappointments and heartbreak. He loves you.

 

Do you struggle with feeling like you have to have it “all together”? What truth has God spoken into your heart today concerning His love for you and his desire for you not to pretend?

 

 

Love God Greatly!

Are you Overdrawn?

Insufficient Funds

Insufficient funds! What an ominous phrase. In the great gallery of famous phrases, “insufficient funds” hangs in the same hallway with “the IRS will audit your account.” “A root canal is necessary,” and “Let’s stop dating and just be friends.”

You’re overdrawn! You gave more than you had to give. You spent more than you had to spend. And guess who has to cough up some cash? What do you do if you don’t have any money? What do you do if you have nothing to deposit but an honest apology and good intentions? You pray that some wealthy soul will make a huge deposit in your account.

If you’re talking about your financial debt, that’s not likely to happen. If you’re talking about your spiritual debt, it already has. Your heavenly Father has covered your shortfall. In God’s house you are covered by the roof of His grace!

from The Great House of God

What does your plate look like?

The Plate Runs Over

Give us this day our daily bread. What a statement of trust! Some days the plate runs over. God keeps bringing out more food and we keep loosening our belt. A promotion. A privilege. A friendship. A gift. A lifetime of grace. An eternity of joy.

The Psalmist said: “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup fills with blessing.” (Psalm 23:5, The Message).

And then there are those days when, well, we have to eat our broccoli. Our daily bread could be tears or sorrow or discipline. Our portion may include adversity as well as opportunity. The next time your plate has more broccoli than apple pie, remember who prepared the meal. Even Jesus was given a portion He found hard to swallow. But with God’s help, He did. And with God’s help, you can too.

from The Great House of God

LISTEN

God Listens
You and I live in a loud world. To get someone’s attention is no easy task. But when someone’s willing to silence everything else so he can hear us clearly, it’s a privilege. A rare privilege indeed! You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. No need to fear that you’ll be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and He listens. Intently. Carefully.

Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven, and Scripture says, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Your prayers are honored as precious jewels. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!

What is the FIRE in your HEART?

The Fire That Consumes You

God will speak to you differently than He will speak to others. Just because God spoke to Moses through a burning bush doesn’t mean we should all sit next to a bush waiting for God to speak. No, God reveals His heart personally to each person. We learn His will as we take up residence in His house and seek to listen to him every single day.

Want to know God’s will for your life? Then answer the question: What ignites your heart? Forgotten orphans? Untouched nations? The inner city? What is the fire that consumes you? Mark it down. Jesus comes to set you on fire and he will speak to you. The fire of your heart is the light of your path. Fan it at your own delight. Blow it. Stir it. Nourish it. Disregard it at your own expense! Your delight is God’s message to you!

God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. Ephesians 2:10

from The Great House of God