Deeper, Still.
It's a constant thought lately. The lyrics from "Good, Good Father" ring in my ears and stir something within me every time I sing them: Oh, it's love so undeniable I, I can hardly speak Peace so unexplainable I, I can hardly think As you call me deeper still Into love, love, love The Lord waits for us to come to Him. He welcomes us with open arms no matter how we come to Him. In fact, we can't truly seek out and know our need for Him until we're broken. It's in our brokenness that we realize we have nothing and He has everything. He takes us by the hand and leads us along. He's patient and waits for us, not rushing us, but definitely taking us at our word when we say, "I want to serve You, Lord..." When we truly seek to know Him better and to do His Will, we learn that surface submission and minimal effort are really no submission and no effort at all. The length of time between our surrender and our realization of what true surrender looks like is different for all of us. Some "get it" right away, others take years, and still others may never have that moment of true awareness. Surrender means opening His Word and seeing what it really says-- not what we want it to say, what we've been taught that it says, or what others believe it says. Surrender means being willing to change or re-think what we believe if it doesn't align with scripture. Surrender means putting our pride away and being willing to look foolish in order to obey and glorify God. Surrender means no longer being distracted by the cares of this world, but focusing on that which is eternal.
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*I was provided a He Reads Truth Bible in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
I posted this on Facebook today: What's our goal when sharing the Gospel? Is it to introduce someone to Jesus or is it to show our Biblical prowess? Sharing the Gospel is not a "mic drop" moment. It's a precious invitation that we extend to that individual to meet our Savior...the Savior who showed us grace and mercy when we didn't deserve it. I'm concerned that we are taking the commission to "Go!" all wrong. Jesus' parting words on this earth as He ascended into Heaven to sit at the Father's Right Hand were for us to be the Good News tellers. We are to share about Jesus and how He saved us from our sins. We are to express God's unmerited favor for us and Jesus' unparalleled sacrifice for us in His death on the cross. We are to be the conduit for an eternal, life-saving, soul-saving introduction to the One True God. But, sadly, I see so much of the opposite. I see pride that lends itself to "telling it like it is" and throat punching people with the Word of God as we laugh about how the other person didn't stand a chance against our Biblical knowledge. That reeks of pride and condescension. Jesus never condescended to the lost. Instead, He lowered Himself to wash their feet, look them in the eye, tell them He didn't condemn them, and offer them an opportunity to change. Our job here is never to codemn, shame, degrade, or demean. Our job is never to "put someone in their place." Our job is to humbly extend an invitation to our precious Savior, just as He extended one to us. Our job is to recognize and step into every opportunity the Lord puts in front of us to stand in the gap for someone who is lost. We share Jesus, we demonstrate with our lives that we mean what we say, and then we pray as the Holy Spirit does His work. I think sometimes we believe that if we don't identify, correct and condemn every aspect of someone's incorrect doctrine, beliefs, or theology then they will never see the error of their ways. But I submit that if our motive and motivation in doing so is to shame that person or puff out our chests because we "have it right," our efforts are done merely to glorify ourselves. That will probably lead to shaming the other person and causing their defensiveness and bitterness. Jesus left people better than how He found them. He provided the Truth wrapped soundly in grace, mercy, and love. He had to...He is the embodiment of all of those things. There is no other way for Him. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 timothy 3:16-17 If we're using tactics that are opposite of what Jesus used, then we are wrong. The Word of God is for edifying, not tearing down. The result of the Word of God will and should always lead to righteousness. If our actions are intended to lead to shame or guilt and not repentance and relationship, we aren't doing God's work. If our tactics are to elevate ourselves in any way, we are not humbled or submitted to God's Will. If our tactics match those of the enemy, we need to take a closer look in the mirror and identify exactly who we're partnered with and what our true motives are. We've been entrusted with beautiful, eternal work by the Lord Himself. We are not the Holy Spirit. It is not our responsibility to convict or change anyone. It's not our job to slam the door, literally or figuratively, in the face of anyone the Lord puts in our path. Because we've deemed someone as missing the mark, we often write them off and ridicule them all the way to hell. But what if the Lord put them in our paths, counting on us to love the way Jesus loved and instead we condemn and scold? We have work to do. BIG, important work and we can't afford to move toward our own agenda. We've been given our walking orders and even a living example of how to carry them out. We must emulate the One who did it perfectly and trust that He will see it through to completion. We are to be bold and obedient while also approaching others with our faces to the ground in humility. Please, approach others who are lost with grace, grace, and more grace. They. Are. Lost. That does not equate to them being the enemy. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12 We have one enemy and the man or woman standing in front of us is not it. We will never win the battle of spiritual warfare by emulating the enemy. Let's be intent on approaching these assignments we're given in the way Jesus did.
Ever have one of those epiphany moments where you KNOW that the Lord is leading you to X, Y, or Z and you're like, "Yes, Lord! Here I am! Send me!" And you shoot out of the starting blocks like a bat out of Hades at a break-neck pace, ready to run the race and fight the good fight? You and the Lord are tight. He's holding you and you're veritably leaping over mountaintops and you're all like, "I got this, Lord!" and you straighten your cape... And then all of the sudden, it's like, that stuff is hard. You stumble. You feel like you have boulders tied around your ankles and defeat nearly crushes you. And it hits you...when God calls us to places, it isn't always easy. In fact, we should just assume it will be difficult. But for some confounding reason, while we're soaring with the Lord, we forget that there will also be times when He requires that we walk on our own two feet. And those times will be trying and challenging...and worth it. It's during those times that we walk through thorns and over rocky paths that our faith in Him grows. Today was one of those moments when I sobbed as I figuratively picked the rocks out of my shoes. I questioned God and the placement of my life. I wondered why I was where I was and doing what I'm doing. I was defeated. Beaten. Lost. I took a walk and popped in the ear buds to blare out the stress of the day. As I was walking and crying, swallowing my pride and lamenting my weaknes and failure, I heard the Lord whisper. His is always a small voice, isn't it? And what I heard was that I wasn't a failure at all. In fact, the enemy was so angry at the progress that had been made that he was amping up his attacks so that I'd become discouraged and distracted. And for a time, it worked. Once I realized I was being played I wised up and I got angry. Where did I ever get the notion that following where God leads equals comfort? I forget every. single. time. that God's work is always completed with blood, sweat, and tears. Perseverance. Tenacity. As God reminded me of that, I reminded the devil that I'm on a mission and I don't have time to be distracted. I texted a friend the realization I'd come to: I said that the enemy must be pretty ticked off at our progress for him to lash out at me like that. What did my friend say? She reminded me of the hashtag the Lord gave me this year: Yes, ma'am. We #keepshowingup because it's what we do. We don't back down. We put one foot in front of the other and keep marching.
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This space is reserved for Founder Mandy's perspectives and viewpoints of Scripture. Man is fallible, but God is not. It's strongly encouraged that you study the Scripture for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your understanding.
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November 2023
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