Outrageous Belief Too


08.25.18

That's NOT My Fork!

You may not believe this.

Yesterday I decided to make bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Well, you might believe that.  But you may not believe what happened next.   

But it did.

I had just emptied my dishwasher and put everything in its place and I didn't want to mess up the kitchen again, but I was hungry.

So I get the bacon going and it's sizzling nicely in the skillet.

I have to interject here that as I was doing all  of these things, I had been talking to God.   I was just kind of matter-of-factly speaking out loud and letting Him know that I am trusting Him and reminding Him of my needs which are pretty pressing right now (just in case He forgot).  

Finally, I was like, "Well, Lord, I have shared all my jumbled up thoughts and don't even know if any of it made sense, but I know You can sort it all out.  I've been talking and talking and haven't let You say a word.  Father, please speak to me ... let me hear from You."

As I was saying these things, I reached into my kitchen drawer for a fork.   I use a fork to whip up my scrambled eggs.   I always have.  Lots of people use a wisk.  I use a fork.  (This is not irrelevant to my story.)

So, not looking into the drawer, I just grab a fork and start to whip these eggs into a frenzy.

When, all of a sudden, I realize something doesn't feel right.

I look down at the fork in my hands.

"That's NOT my fork." 

I literally said that out loud.

How did this fork get into my kitchen drawer?   

How did it get into my house?  

I have never seen this fork before.

It was unlike all my other forks.  I never have had one like this.  My set of stainless is completely different.

I was totally puzzled.

It actually kind of frightened me.  

I said "Lord, this is not my fork.   How did it get here?  Who put it in my house? Where did it come from?"

And then I realized that I had asked God to speak or show me something.

He was talking to me.   He was showing me.  

As usual, He does things in ways I would never think of.

If He wants to make an oddball fork materialize in my kitchen drawer, I believe He can do so.

And declaring these things as He gave them to me, I spoke:

"This fork is a promise!

It is an addition, not a subtraction!

A blessing, not a curse!

A Possibility, not a problem!

It is unexpected, not something I planned! (Because most of my plans don't work out.)

It is an answer, not a question!

It speaks of extra, not of lack!"

I felt the Holy Spirit give me assurance and peace about the things for which I had been  praying.

This morning I asked Him to show me confirmation in His word.   He gave me this:

Psalm 118: 25  "Save now, I pray, O LORD, O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity." (NKJV)

"Save now" is to deliver or give victory, to be spacious, ample, opulent.  In Hebrew it is applied to liberty, deliverance from danger and distress.

"I pray" is to beseech imperatively for something crucial and urgent or of vital importance.

It's not a namby pamby prayer.  It is urgent and asking for it NOW!

In the New Testament "Save now, I pray" was transliterated into "Hosanna!" when the people cried out to Jesus as He came into Jerusalem on a donkey.   Hosanna is an expression of joy and praise for deliverance which has either been granted or which is anticipated.

They were praising Jesus for an answered prayer!   They were praising Him for saving them before He had even done so.

Of course, we all know that prosperity is abundance.  It can be abundance spiritually, physically, financially.  Or all of these.

I had been urgently beseeching God to deliver me from some distress and also for prosperity.

He gave me a fork.  

It was not my fork.

But it is now.

Hosanna!



#outrageousbelieftoo









08.05.2018

Audacity

Salvation is a work in our spirit.  

Salvation through Christ Jesus transforms us from the inside out.  Our internal 'knower' knows, that it knows, that it knows the truth of that.

Everyone who has experienced salvation can testify to that fact.

I was saved through belief in Jesus when I was 15.   I was baptized in water baptism by the preacher in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  

God did some major work in my life a few years back, and the transformation that He began in me at the age of 15 was being deepened and refined.  He gave me new understandings and a new passion for Him by renewing and restoring my Spirit.   

Anybody that knows me very well remembers that event in my life.  I thank God for it every day.

Of course, He doesn't stop working on us and since then He has continued refining and teaching me.  Sometimes I learn easily and sometimes I'm just plain stubborn and pig headed and don't want to be stretched.

Maybe 15 years ago He put the thought in my head that I needed to be baptized.  

I was like, "Well, Lord, I already have been.  Remember?"

Yes, I kind of got smart alecky with the Lord.   I don't think He took it to heart.  

He probably chuckled and said to Himself  "This is gonna take a minute."

The idea of being baptized again seemed plain silly and I never did comply.

I certainly never told anybody about it.

Occasionally He would put the idea in my head again when I was in prayer, or in a church service, or driving down the road or just doing my normal every day stuff.    

Not real often, but often enough that I began to wonder about it.

I have been praying for a lot of  'stuff'.  Praying for blessings.  Praying for physical and spiritual blessings.

Today, at home and in prayer with a friend, I asked again that He would fill my spirit with His own, and increase my understanding of Him.  

Again, He reminded me that He would like for me to be baptized.   Then He said "Right now!  Today!"

He obviously put that thought in my head because why on earth would I think that I need to be baptized again?   Right now?   Today?   

Umm, "Lord, I am at home."

"Lord? I am already in my bum around the house grubbies.  I know You know that."

"Lord, I really don't want to go knock on a preacher's door and ask him to do a spontaneous second time baptism!"

So I told my friend what was going on and being the nice person that she is, she did not burst into laughter at my expense.  (Like you are probably doing right now)

She suggested we could do it here at my house.

I said "well that's kind of what I was thinking."

I really didn't think that a bathroom was a good place for a baptism.

So.

My back porch became the site of my 2nd water baptism.

As I prayed.  

As Becky prayed.

As God watched and heard us and saw me finally being obedient to a suggestion He made a long time ago.

I was baptized.

It didn't seem silly at all to be standing on my back porch with the water pouring over me from my head to my toes.

As that water flowed, I felt a filling in my spirit and in my heart. 

A freshening.

A cleansing and renewal from the inside.

A relief in finally doing what He had been asking for me to do for a long time.

A definite knowing.

I love that God has the audacity to ask us to do things in faith and obedience just because He wants us to. 

I am grateful that He will persist until we realize that we HAVE to do what He is asking or we will have no peace about it.  Ever.

Because it pleases Him.

His reward is so great.     

His love is life altering.

#OutrageousBeliefToo









07/27/2018

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials," (James 1:2) NKJV.
Ladies and gents, these are not just words on a page, but instructions in how to confront trials and struggles in our lives.
I know from first hand experience that even in the most trying situations, if I remember that God is in control and working for me, not against me, then I can be joyful.
If I remember that He takes what looks like disappointment, mistakes and trouble, and turns it into a treasure, then I can be outrageously joyful in anticipation of the treasure He has in store for me.
I know that His plans for me are greater and better than I can imagine. His goodness and mercy are unfailing and He keeps every promise and answers every prayer.
If you are going through something (we all do), remember that giving God the glory even in the midst of your mess, is the key to your blessings.
Trust in Him without doubt. He's got this! #OutrageousBeliefToo




06/30/2018

It's been a week... a long week.   A week full of battle and gore.

Last weekend a friend and I prayed fervently for a group of women as a whole and some others by name.   We prayed for each other and our families.

I woke the next day in the most foul mood I have had in forever.

Although that very day we had proof that God had heard our prayers and answered some of it already, the foul mood followed me  all week.

The attack was spiritual and I knew it.   I'm not quite sure why I didn't remember to use my armor.

I had to show up at the local court house for jury duty on Tuesday.   

I was chosen along with several others to go through the Voir Dire process where they ask a lot of questions to determine who they should select for the jury.   

I've been called for jury duty several times in my life and never been chosen to actually serve.

This was a criminal case involving trafficking.   

I prayed "Lord, if you want me on this jury, it's in Your hands."

As they were calling out the names selected, they called the man sitting to the left of me.

When the judge called a name, that person would go and sit in the jury box.

Then they skipped over me and called the name of the young guy sitting to my right.  

I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.   I was slightly disappointed and slightly glad.

Then, all of a sudden, the attorneys rushed up to the judge's desk, conversate with him a minute, and the judge calls the name of the young guy again and tells him that he got lucky.  He can step back down.

Young fella sits back down beside me.

The judge looks at the paper in front of him and calls my name.

My heart sank and my stomach filled with creepy crawlies as I sat down in the jury box seat.

Due to the nature of the charges in this trial, I knew it was going to be a tough one and I was not wrong.

I guess God wanted me on the jury after all.

It has ripped a hole in me.

But the trial was finally over and I was able to begin deprocessing .... destressing.

I believe justice was served.  

I believe those young girls that were trafficked are victims no more... along with others who had been trafficked but did not have the courage to testify.

As I said, I have been in a gory battle all week.   But God has provided strength and compassion to do what needed to be done.   Those young girls are victors in their battle against the evil that had been done to them.

His armor and His might held true.

I think I will carry on with this outrageous belief that He is intimately involved in every decision, every circumstance, in each and every day of our lives.   To outrageously believe that He does battle in the heavenly realm and here on earth for my benefit and yours.

#outrageousbelief   #outrageousbelieftoo  #battle  #armorofgod  #Supernaturalstrength #Supernaturalprotection








It's been a while since I shared my thoughts about outrageous belief.

So hey!  Why not have a second round?

Take a shot at it anyway.

I've been reading the book of Acts.   That's a sure fire method to generate some spiritual energy!

For instance, did you know that an angel of the Lord appeared to Philip in Samaria and told him to head toward Gaza instead of heading back to Jerusalem with his friends?

This angel did not tell Philip why he was to go, or how to go, or what he was supposed to do along the way.  He just said "Go."

This angel didn't even say "Do not be afraid" which a lot of other angels have told people that.   I guess it's the proper angel protocol and polite way of greeting people.   But Philip didn't even get that comforting admonition.

So Philip, being afraid or not, headed out on this desert road.

It's only about 100 miles.  On foot.  What's the problem?

At some point, he comes upon an Ethiopian eunuch riding along in his chariot.   This man just happened to be the treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia.  So, you see,  he is a man with some great influence in his country.

Let's just call him Eunuch.

Eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship and he is reading about Isaiah as he is traveling along.

Philip, being instructed once again by the Spirit, approaches the chariot of the man and asks him if he has any idea what he is reading about.

Apparently, Eunuch has been a bit confused by what he was reading and told Philip that he didn't quite understand and needed someone to guide him or enlighten him.

That was Philip's opening!   He jumped into that chariot and explained that the passage he was reading was a prophesy all about Jesus and then he proceeded to tell him the amazing story of Jesus.  He was preaching!

So here they are riding along this dusty desert road in a chariot (which must have been a bumpy ride) and talking about Jesus when all of a sudden they come upon a body of water. 

They stop, jump out, and Eunuch is bound and determined to be baptized right then and there!

He has become a believer!

Wading and splashing off into the water, Philip baptizes this  unnamed eunuch in the name of Jesus Christ.

When they come up out of the water, Eunuch is alone.   He couldn't find Philip anywhere.  I'm sure he was a bit disconcerted, but he rejoiced in the Lord and went on his way.

As for Philip, where did he disappear to?

Well, Philip got snatched away by the Spirit of the Lord and found himself in a completely different town about 20 miles away from Gaza and just went merrily about preaching Jesus to everyone he ran into.

Okay, let's just take a minute.

An angel appeared.   The Spirit instructed.  The Spirit of the Lord snatched him away.

What?!

Inconceivable!

Yet, God's Word says it's true.

These things amaze us.  That an angel would appear and speak, that the Spirit would speak and instruct, that the Spirit of the Lord could and would just snatch someone up and deliver them out of thin air to another location.

These are supernatural occurrences and pique our interest and imagination to the utmost.   We want to believe that these things happened.   That they can still happen.   Oh my!

I confess I take great delight and my imagination is thrilled by the thought of such a miraculous phenomenon.   It is the stuff of dreams.

But if we focus on just these outrageous, amazing and supernatural events, we lose the main point of the entire story.

We miss out on the greatest supernatural occurrence that happened that day.

Philip was obedient!  A man was born again!  The Holy Spirit gave him understanding!  He was saved!   He was baptized! He was filled with the Spirit!  He rejoiced in the Lord!

You know he returned to his home country and to the queen's court to share all he had learned about Jesus!

Lives would be changed.   People would be born again into the Kingdom of God.

God's word is so full of stories that completely blow my  mind!

I believe that every word of The Word of God is true.

God's story is ongoing.   He hasn't stopped doing amazing things.

May we all have an outrageous belief that He can and will work through us in the same way that He did with the first believers.

May we have a consuming and compelling passion for sharing Jesus with others.

May we believe with everything in us that we can, like Philip, be so filled with the Spirit that we hear His voice and follow His instructions without hesitation.

Afraid or not.

Who knows?  Maybe He will even snatch us up and take us to far off places!

Maybe He will allow us to share His wonderful story with others.

Maybe someone will be born again and filled with the Holy Spirit!

#outrageousbelief

Acts 8: 26-40















 






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