I am, by nature, a very emotional person. Add to that a hefty portion of the spiritual gift of discernment, and that creates someone, like me, who can sense when others are hurting and need encouraging. Or when the Holy Spirit is grieved over the state of His Church or the people in this world. It’s a huge cross to bear, to be able, in the Spirit, to discern the emotional needs of others while trying – and failing – to bear one’s own emotions. It's overwhelming. Often I can’t draw the line between my own emotional or spiritual distress and those of others. It’s a hefty spiritual gift – I go up to people and tell them, “The Lord laid you on my heart – just want to tell you, you’re a great mom and doing a wonderful job fostering that little boy…” or “Are you okay? Really? I’m here for you.” I get the question, “How – how did you know?” And I’ll say, I didn’t – Jesus knew. Mother’s Day weekend was an emotional mess. It’s a hard day. It’s a hard day for normal folk who’s trying to tiptoe around the issue of mothers who weren’t so great, who have died, or are wonderful and about to be canonized – there’s a whole slew of emotionally-stunted material for counselors surrounding Mother’s and Father’s Day. For me, personally, I cried all weekend long. Didn’t want to do anything. Stayed in my jammies all day Saturday, constantly fielding the question from the hubs, “What’s wrong? Talk to me!” I couldn’t talk…knowing full well the next day, Mother’s Day Sunday, I’d walk into church with 500 people with various forms of emotional baggage relating to their mothers, while my own mom sat next to me. The gift of discernment is a powerful gift, awesome to encourage others, but you yourself take a beating. It’s overwhelming. Life is overwhelming. Reading the newspaper or social media, watching TV news – it’s all so disheartening, everything that’s happening in the world today. You don’t need the spiritual gift of discernment to know the political ramifications of global actions. You do need a relationship with Christ to fully understand the spiritual ramifications of this world-gone-haywire. Again, it's overwhelming. I told my husband the other day, “It’s like we’re all just too busy.” Families are too busy. Society is too fast-paced. We’re going on a cruise in September to celebrate our 10th anniversary – the planning of a relaxing time for just the two of us is about to drive me insane. Everything has to be done today, or yesterday. All the issues surrounding life are maddening. Health insurance – never mind what Congress is doing – can I get medication for my seven-year-old daughter who has chronic migraines? My husband, who is paraplegic, is a constant source of worry for me. If he develops a pressure sore, I know full well what that means and can lead to. If he gets an infection, I know how serious that is. The dark cloud of potential death hangs ever-so-low over these things. That old devil, satan, just loves to toy with all these worries and fears, blowing them up like balloons, getting bigger and bigger, hoping beyond hope we will pop – that we will focus so much on our circumstances that we will stop focusing on Christ. Because that’s what satan wants. Peter called out to Jesus as he saw Him walking on top of the Sea of Galilee and asked if he could join Jesus. Jesus said, “Come on!” Of course Jesus wants us to join Him on His walk! Peter was walking, probably laughing, keeping his eyes on Jesus, who, in my imagination, was also laughing. Smiling at Peter. Then, as the waves were crashing nearer the shore, Peter’s eyes moved from Jesus and down to the swirling waters below his feet. He lost his footing, slicing through the waters. He screamed in his distress for Jesus to save him. I love what Scripture says Jesus did, in Matthew 14:31. “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Did you see that? Immediately. Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Peter. I imagine Peter was yanked up out of that water and stood there, nose-to-nose with the Creator Who made the water. Monday morning after Mother’s Day, I prayed to Lord Jesus and asked Him to speak to me through His Word. I came to Psalm 18:6-16. Please read this with me, and think of drowning in all that life throws at us, distress we have at the all the stuff happening in the world and in our homes and churches and inside of us. Think of Peter, who took his eyes off Jesus and sunk quickly down into the raging waters. “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him -- the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” I love the image here – like Peter’s cry elicited an immediate and powerful, hand-holding response from Jesus, when we call to the Lord in our distress our cries go to the temple in heaven -- and the Lord God responds, mightily and powerfully. Nothing can come between Christ and us when He is rescuing us. Satan has no power here. Christ is Sovereign and Power, Lord over all the earth. When we put Him first and make Him Lord over our lives, nothing can come between the Lord God Almighty and His beloved. We are His beloved. Look at verse 16 – “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” Christ is saving grace – He holds onto us when we cannot go on ourselves. When all seems lost, when life is swirling around us and emotions seem to get the best of us, there is Christ – walking in peace on top of all the swirling mess and saying to us, “Come here. Come here to Me and don’t live in the chaos.” Once we cry out to Him for help, He reaches down to us and pulls us close – but it’s up to us – listen – it’s up to us to maintain eye contact with Him. That does not make us little-g gods. No. That makes us followers of Christ. Maybe you ask yourself, “Why would Jesus care so much?” Skip down to Psalm 18:19. “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” [emphasis mine]. He wants us to live a life of peace in Him because He delights in us. What an incredible thought – that the Lord God who created the planets that spin at just the right speed to maintain orbit around a star we call the sun, would look at us, smiling, because He delights in us. How awesome is He who, despite our flaws and worries, would pick us up out of the murk and mire because He wants us walking with Him? Wow. Just wow. In Him Who Delights in You, Terrie © 2017 Terrie McKee
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For a while, my daughter Laura has struggled with reading. This struggle has impacted her behavior in the classroom and at home when it comes to doing class- or homework. Because my husband and her sister also struggled with reading, I suspected dyslexia. The problem was, getting her tested for it. The school system in which she's in doesn't automatically test for dyslexia based on a parent's observations. After several months of research and going back and forth with her teacher and doctor, this is what I discovered during this process. Follow the Process -- but Push It When I was told a diagnosis of dyslexia had to start with the doctor, I made an appointment. Laura and I went to her doctor and I shared what the school said. The doctor understood -- the school wanted to rule out a medical reason for Laura to not be able to read. Her eyes were tested. Her hearing checked. Then, armed with a note from the doctor with the testing results, plus a summary from the doctor that indicated there was no medical reason why she couldn't read, I emailed the school. Emailing is great because you have a virtual paper trail, and you can CC other people within the school and yourself -- which is important, because then you have a record that you actually did send that email. I started with the chain of command, and emailed her teacher -- and CCd the principal and the exceptional children coordinator at her school. I explained my concerns, what I have seen at home, and reiterated the concerns the teacher had shared with me. I also shared what the doctor had summarized. Use tools Just like when my oldest son was diagnosed with autism, I began to research tools and techniques to help Laura with this possible learning disability diagnosis. Quite by accident, I discovered these reading guides that have a colored strip in the middle. After they arrived in the mail, I showed Laura how to use them. She picked up a book she had previously struggled with and put the colored strip on a line of words. She read them! She read them! I was thrilled, and so was she! She looked at me and said, "The words don't bounce around anymore!" That confirmed, to me, that we were on the right path. She loves using the strips as bookmarks to always have them in the book she's reading. I also discovered that she works better while a timer is going to motivate her to work. That added pressure of a timer gives her a structure that helps her focus on doing her homework. Another thing I discovered is that while she struggles with reading, she is really good at technology. So, to help Laura learn her spelling words, I allow her to type the words in a document on my laptop. This helps her concentrate letter-by-letter while learning the words. I also make word-rectangles for her, drawn-out rectangles indicating letters in words that are either tall, small, or that fall. That gives my visual learner a spatial concept of what the word looks like. I give an example in the graphic below. Communicate with the school Communication with the teacher is incredibly important -- and so is backing up the teacher. Now that Laura has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), that lists her diagnosis, goals, and classroom accommodations, it is of utmost importance to enforce what is going on at school, at home. That means, if the goal is that she will be reading independently four out of five opportunities, she needs to be reading at home and at school. The IEP team is only going to be successful in helping a child overcome a learning disability if everyone works on it together -- the regular-ed teacher, the EC teacher, the parents -- and the student. With Laura, once the email was sent, meetings were held, forms were completed, and evaluations done in the school. All that combined created a picture of what Laura was struggling with -- and that created a diagnosis of dyslexia. Heed advice In Laura's IEP meeting recently, it was mentioned that she overly struggles with sitting still, not talking, being distracted... I know enough based on previous experience with my two boys to know when ADHD is being described -- and honestly, I've noticed these issues at home too. The key word in what the teachers told me was "overly." Every child has a hard time with sitting still and not talking -- they are, after all, little humans who like to socialize. But when a child, such as mine, is overly struggling with these issues, they need to be examined further. Labeling Let's talk about something that parents fear about having a child with learning difficulties -- and that is labeling. I hear all the time that so-and-so doesn't want their kid "labeled" as being autistic, or dyslexic, or ADHD. First off, stop labeling the child. My son Sam has autism; he is not "autistic." One is a noun (person, place or thing); the other is an adjective (a describing word). My daughter Laura has dyslexia; she is not "dyslexic." No child is an "ADHD child." There are children who have ADHD. Conversely, I am not an "autism mom." I am a mom who has children who are bright gifts from God who happen to have learning differences that require certain teaching methods. In order for children who have learning disabilities to gain services in public schools, that they need in order to be successful in their educational journey, they must have a diagnosis. This diagnosis is important in schools, at doctors' offices, in churches, and with employers. The diagnosis must lead to a certain "label" so the child can receive appropriate accommodations, have suitable goals, and be successful in school. Life is hard enough for a child when they face issues, but to have to deal with those issues when people don't know or understand because of a fear of labeling is just not right. If your child was blind -- would you not want them to learn how to read using Braille? In order for that child to learn Braille, they would have to have a diagnosis, and therefore a label, of "blind" in order to receive services. In order for Laura to receive help such as small group reading assistance, she needed a diagnosis of dyslexia to receive those services and interventions. I am sad that my daughter has dyslexia, just as I was sad when Sam was diagnosed with autism. But now that I know what it is, formally, I know what we're facing in order so she can be helped. In His Hope, Terrie (c) 2017 Terrie McKee The Gospel accounts of Jesus' death and Resurrection mention what happened each day of Holy Week -- except for Wednesday. Any details of what Jesus did or said on this middle-of-the-week day were not recorded. We don't know why they weren't written down, but I believe God made the silence of this particular day as a lesson. Have you ever experienced a time in your life when, right in the middle of a stressful season when you needed to experience God's presence the most -- He was silent? You did not hear His voice. Now, some might say that one never hears the voice of God, and I beg to differ. John 10:4, 16, 27 state, "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice...I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd....My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." Certainly, as Christ taught with parables, he wasn't talking about actual, wooly sheep -- but His followers. I've had seasons in my life where I heard His voice so clearly and was in such fellowship with Christ that I knew I was surrounded, inside and out, by the Holy Spirit. Those seasons are precious. But I want to suggest that the darker, more difficult seasons where you don't hear God's voice are equally precious -- for it in those seasons that you actively seek Him. When my husband was shot in an attempted armed robbery in November 2015, immediately I knew the Holy Spirit was at work. When I turned onto the interstate to head to the hospital as my husband was being transported by ambulance, I looked out to see an interstate full of stopped red lights -- it was Thanksgiving Saturday traffic, and it was heavy. "Lord Jesus," I prayed out loud, hand held high. "I have to get to the hospital -- and there's a sea of red lights blocking my path. In your Name," I prayed, "I'm asking You to split that red sea down the middle again." I hit the hazard light button and took off, and much to the amazement of my son, sitting in the passenger seat, those cars parted and I drove right down the middle of them. "Thank you, Jesus!" I shouted. His Presence and Power were all over us, like Jesus Himself was sitting behind me, His holy hand on my shoulder, providing the peace to hold myself together. In the times, though, that you're barely holding yourself together, and life is so overwhelming, and all you want is to hear God's voice, what do you do when He's silent? The Holman Bible's version of Lamentations 3:8 is telling: "Let him sit alone and be silent, for God has disciplined him." It is in those dark times when you cannot discern His voice and He seems so far away that you must believe and have faith that God does not move based on your feelings. Feelings are fleeting; faith is firm. When you feel that God has turned away from you, reach for the BIble and pray the Scriptures that affirm that He promised He would never do that: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20b] "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." [1 John 5:14] "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." [Psalm 6:9] "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" [Psalm 66:20] Sometimes we stop hearing God's voice and we've been doing all the things we should do: being in the Word, praying, going to church; yet, for whatever reason, God is still silent. Perhaps a relationship with God is more than the activities one performs as a Christian -- it's a mindset. It's a heart thing. Our outside demeanor can be one of pious reverence when inside, it's anything but. About this Jesus told the Pharisees, "In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness," [Matthew 23:28]. When you're facing a time of silence from the Lord, don't ignore it. Repent, ask forgiveness for not putting Him first, and dig into the Bible. Study it. Pray the Psalms. Ask Jesus to renew the joy of your salvation. Quench the thirst you have for Him by seeking His face through the study of His Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers, service, and praise. Praise Him for all the things He has done, is doing and will do in your life. Remind yourself through prayer with God that He hears you -- claim those promises in Scripture that He hears you. The Wednesday of Holy Week is silent for a reason -- and that purpose is to give us hope: even in our darkest moments, the Light of Christ is still shining. Our darkest seasons have no power over Christ's Light. In His Wonderful Light, Terrie (c) 2017 Terrie McKee Judas Iscariot left the somber Upper Room after he had his feet washed by Jesus, the night of the Last Supper, and visited the high priests to deliver Jesus into their hands. Why the timing on this? Why not leave before, or wait a few days for the high priests to go after Jesus themselves? The answer is in what happened just a couple of days and, indeed, hours before. On Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey – a victor’s welcoming, palm branches and all. He accepted this welcoming and did not stop the shouting of praises. Monday, He drove the money-changers from the temple with authority and railed against the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. Jesus, then, delivered a series of powerful, no-holds-barred parables on Tuesday. For someone like Judas Iscariot, who was the holder of the ministry’s treasury, Jesus’ words must have made his jaw drop as he realized Jesus was not here for an earthly kingdom. I can only imagine what Judas thought when the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus with His words. Maybe now, Judas may have thought – maybe now Jesus will tell them He’s come to lay waste to the Romans. But when the Pharisees asked, “Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” [Matthew 22:17]. Then Jesus, knowing they were trying to trap Him, opened His precious mouth with the powerful words, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” [Matthew 22:18b-21]. Maybe, Judas may have thought, maybe he hadn’t heard right. Surely Judas’ savior was this man Jesus. Where was the profit in giving back to Caesar and giving back to God? When the disciples followed Him away from the temple and to the Mount of Olives, Judas heard Jesus’ words again, this time detailing for His most loyal followers what the end times would entail. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me,” Jesus said in Matthew 24:9. For someone like Judas, who only heard what he wanted to hear, Jesus’ words about the servants with the masters’ gold must have bee-lined straight for his ears. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,’” [Matthew 26:28-30]. To add injury to insult, in Judas’ depraved mind, there’s Jesus, talking with important people around the dinner table – when in walks this…. woman… “A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her,” [Matthew 26:7-13]. You see, Judas had his hand in the moneybag all along. John wrote, “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it,” [John 12:6]. He didn’t care about the poor; he cared about making a profit for himself. That very night, after Jesus rebuked him, he made a clandestine visit to see the high priests, who had been looking for a way to grab Jesus. Matthew 26 states, “Then one of the Twelve — the one called Judas Iscariot — went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over,” [14-16]. Why 30 pieces of silver? That’s an awfully exact amount. Listen: in the study of Scripture, there are lessons in such specifics. Looking back in the Old Testament, Exodus 21:32, what is the price of a slave? “If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.” Thirty shekels of silver. Jesus’ was sold off by someone who believed whole-heartily in the prosperity gospel for thirty pieces of silver. The price of a slave. Judas initiated the betrayal – the high priests did not approach him. Judas was so close to Christ – called one of the Twelve throughout the Gospels – but he still did not get it. We can go to church all our lives, be this close to Christ….and still die, destined for hell – all because we did not believe. The price of a slave became the price of a Savior – the ultimate in servant-hood. How do we sell Jesus out? Sure, we may not do it for money… or do we? We change jobs, seeking more money, without praying for the Father’s will on it. Huge mega-churches are filled, thousands upon thousands – all there not for a relationship with Christ, but for supposed blessings that are preached about from the pulpit. If there were monetary blessings to be had in the Kingdom of God today, missionaries wouldn’t have to beg. Churches wouldn’t die for lack of funds. Christ-centered ministries to help with foster children and orphans and widows wouldn’t have to hold fundraisers. The blessings are not in money, but in God. God alone is the Provider and the Provision. God provides the means necessary to take care of children in foster care. Listen: the only Gospel Jesus every preached was and is Himself. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:3-5 that preaching and living a religion that has as its core health, wealth and happiness is false doctrine: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” What would Paul have said about Judas Iscariot, the man that sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver? 1 Timothy 6:9-11 sheds some light on this: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The price Christ paid to be our Savior was one of immense pain, and truly, separation from One Fellowship with God the Father. The price Christ paid was much greater than the price the high priests were willing to pay for His betrayal – yet, Judas accepted it. Do we sell Christ out by our words, action and deeds? Or money? Do we want the blessing more than the One Who Blesses? In Him, Terrie © 2017 Terrie McKee I love Jesus’ relationship with food. Before He came to the earth as a newborn baby, He probably never needed to eat – after all, He is God. He was, is, and ever shall be – and food isn’t exactly a necessity when You are eternal. Still, it seems like Jesus just enjoyed food when His feet walked this earth. His relationship with food also indicates His humanity, for we need food to sustain our lives. So the day after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week, we see Jesus and the disciples walking back to the city after staying overnight in Bethany. Scripture says in Matthew 21:18-22 that Jesus saw in the distance a fig tree covered in leaves, and He walked over to check it out. Now, a little about horticulture in Israel – and specifically about figs. Fig trees grow to about 20 feet tall and are quite good for giving shade in addition to edible fruit. The thing about figs that makes them unique is this: they have fruit before they have leaves. Usually. Many tiny flowers are housed within the fruit bud, and the flowers are never seen, that’s how small they are. So, Jesus sees a fig tree in the distance. Scripture says that He was hungry, and no doubt He went up to the fig tree to grab a snack. But, Matthew 21:19 states, He “found nothing on it except leaves.” Now let’s stop here and pose a question that has nothing to do with this particular lesson but is a lesson unto itself. If Jesus is fully God as well as fully man, He would have known there were no figs on the tree. He healed people He didn’t even lay eyes on, yet here He is, looking on the boughs and branches of a tree He created to see if there were any ripe figs ready to be eaten. Who was with Him? The disciples. Did they learn a lesson with the fig tree? Undoubtedly, yes. Do we as the Bride of Christ learn a lesson with the fig tree? Oh yes [more on that in a bit]. Even though the Lord knows everything, He presents situations and circumstances to teach us, to show us His power and glory, or to give us the blessing of a testimony to share with others. The Lord God knows that if we actually learn from the lessons He presents, we will be grow in faith and better equipped to share the results of those lessons with others. Look at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” We are not God. God is God. Jesus knew there were no figs on the tree; we are blessed in that we have the Scriptures to see the bigger picture, whereas the disciples did not. When we are perplexed about the things God is bringing us through, we need to take this to heart. Like the disciples, we may not have the bigger picture – but we take comfort in the fact that God is the bigger picture. We have faith that even though we wonder what in the world Jesus is doing in our lives, why are we on the path we’re on – that He knows. That knowledge that Jesus is not just laying the pavers on the path we’re on but knows where the path is going is called faith. Faith is what Jesus was getting at with the fig tree. He went up to search for fruit on a tree that, by botany’s account, should have had figs on it. If we look at this same story in Mark 11:12-14, Mark writes that Jesus “found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” Remember, on fig trees, the fruit comes before the leaves. This tree was filled out with beautiful large leaves, glorious in the sunlight and no doubt providing shade for travelers as it was beside the road. It looked great. But it had no fruit. The church in Sardis in Revelation was like that. John wrote Jesus’ words that probably stung and frightened that church: “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.’” [Revelation 3:1-3]. That fig tree had a reputation (leaves) for being laden down with the possibility of fruit. Yet, when Jesus came, the reality was the tree had no fruit at all – it might as well had been dead. Jesus therefore cursed the tree, saying, “’May you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered,” [Matthew 21:19b]. This tells us that at one time, that tree bore fruit. But for whatever reason, it stopped being fruit and had leaves just for show – to spread its branches out twenty feet and provide shade but nothing of substance to people who needed both. The Old Testament prophet Daniel was once called in to decipher an inscription written to King Darius by a mysterious, disembodied hand: “This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” [Daniel 5:25-28]. I imagine you sitting there, reading this and asking yourself, “So what? What does that have to do with fig trees?” Not much. But it has everything to do with the Church. We as the Bride of Christ, the Church, are so preoccupied with leaves – the stuff that makes us look good, the stuff that attracts people to slumber under our branches, cool and comfortable. Programs, social justice issues, buildings, the color of carpeting, logos, mission statements … when did Jesus become a marketable product instead of the Lord God, King of Kings, to be worshiped and shared? Unless the Bride of Christ turns back to her Bridegroom-Redeemer, God is numbering her days. She is even now being weighed on the scales and found wanting. I don’t know about you, but that thought chills me to the bones. Churches, you want to know what your mission is? It doesn’t take a committee to figure it out. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” – found in the Word of God at Matthew 28:19-20, not in some demographic study, denomination governing book or marketing plan, but in the Bible. Jesus looked up at that fruitless fig tree and cursed it. It immediately withered. Are we, as the Church, withering? What are our priorities? Is it having programs that provide recreation or fun but not a lot of substance in the way of the Gospel message? Is it advocating for social justice issues of which Jesus would have never approved? Is it giving people in the pews what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear? Are we withering instead of experiencing an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so great that it would see millions come to know Christ as Savior? The disciples were stunned at the fig tree and asked, much like every governing body in every church, “How did this happen?” Jesus said in Matthew 21:21-22, “…Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Friends, the post-Resurrection Church of today is withering because we have forgotten Whose we are. We have misplaced our faith from Jesus Christ into our own ability to grow fruit, and instead, just make leaves. Stuff for show. Just like the church in Sardis, we have a reputation for being alive – in the world’s standards – but when it comes to the things of God, we are dead – or dying. Christ, though, as always, gives His Bride a way out. “Wake up!” He shouts in Revelation 3. “Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God!” The Church that has programs and activities and preaches the Word of God is not doomed. The Church that preaches and teaches salvation that is only known in Jesus Christ will reap a bountiful harvest – of figs and leaves. Personally, I find this lesson one to take heart for my own life. I discovered studying these passages that I’ve been fertilizing with the wrong things and gaining leaves – when I should have been in the Word more and, therefore, gaining the Fruit of the Spirit and the joy of Christ’s salvation. I hear Jesus’ urgent plea to the church at Sardis: “Wake up!” much like I say to my kids to get them out of a deep slumber in the comfort of their beds. The Christian life is not meant to be comfortable, all pancake suppers and the coolest VBS décor. The Christian life is all about Jesus: walking with Him, for Him, and in step with Him. May this be our fervent prayer. In His Name, Terrie © 2017 Terrie McKee In ancient times, when a conquering king was invading a country, he would ride in on a warhorse. Horses were regarded as battle-worthy and regal steads, especially when a king was there to conquer. Donkeys, on the other hand, were used by kings who were intent on ushering in an era of peace with people. It meant the humble stead matched the humility of the king coming in – not to conquer, but to bring peace. Zechariah 9:9 mentions such a king : “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” What is so victorious about being lowly and riding on a donkey? Everything. Jesus opened Holy Week on Sunday, the first day of the Jewish week, by riding in on a donkey because He was and is a conquering Prince of Peace – peace over sin, shame and victory over death. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid,” [John 14:27]. He did not come to conquer the Romans; He came for something much bigger than that. Back in Genesis, Adam and Eve had enjoyed face-to-face fellowship with God. I can’t imagine the joy of walking in step with God the Father in the cool of the day, enjoying the Garden and simply conversing. Maybe laughing! Imagine God holding His hand out to help Eve step over a rock! But things went horribly wrong. Adam and Eve was discovered by God to have eaten the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and had to banish them from the luscious Garden of Eden. Sin entered the world, ushered in by the father of lies, but not without a promise from God to satan: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” [Genesis 3:15]. As a final testament to His love for Adam and Eve, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them,” [verse 21]. In order for God to make a garment of skin, an animal had to be killed. The first sin created the need for the first sacrifice. The final sacrifice – Jesus – abolished sin forever. Jesus rode in on a donkey not because it was the only animal He could find; on the contrary, His choice was one of intention and a fulfillment of prophecy. We don’t know if He had communicated with the donkey and colt’s owner prior to sending two disciples to fetch them, but we do know that Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem matched His humility. He was not there to conquer the reigning Roman Empire – even though most of the people who were lining the parade route thought that’s why He was there. They were looking for a circumstantial king and not an eternal Savior and Lord. But don’t we do that? We pray these laundry-lists of prayer requests and expect God to fulfill them, like some genie in a bottle, but when it comes to heeding the call of God on our lives, we want sign and sign that it is God who is speaking to us. We want God to eliminate our problems but when it comes to having God work in us through those problems, we balk. Like a stubborn donkey. He came on a donkey as an act of humble servanthood to Father God. Philippians 2:2b-8 states, “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” Because of Jesus, God can take a sinner like me and make me clean – and you as well. On a donkey, Jesus entered His last week on this earth on a mission to destroy sin and death but will return one day – to destroy satan, evil, and all that entails. Philippians 9-11 states, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Scripture tells us that at the Rapture of the Church the Lord’s blessed feet will not touch ground, but how will Christ return at the Second Coming, when He will come as a victorious conqurer? On a horse. On a conquering, majestic, warhorse. Jesus will come not as a humble servant to die, but as the King of Kings to be victorious over death, grief, shame, sin and all evil -- and have us live with Him, just like in the Garden of Eden. He will make all things new. Goosebumps. Let’s check out Revelation 19:11-16. “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Glory! Philippians 4:10 mentions that at the mention of Jesus’ Name “every knee shall bow.” I’m having some pretty serious issues with my left knee right now – something about a dislocated kneecap – and it is excruciatingly painful to bend my knees. Yet, it’s a lot easier to do it of my own accord than to trip and fall and have them bend when I don’t do it myself. When you accept Christ as Savior, repenting of your sins, and surrender your life to Him, you are in effect bending your knees to Him over your whole life, now. Not just when He is standing before you when every one – saved, unsaved, Christian, Muslim, straight, gay, terrorists, serial killers, good people, grandmothers, dead and alive – will bend before the Lord God Almighty, made known only through His Son, Jesus Christ. To surrender one’s life now means living a life not free of trouble, but having hope that this is not all there is, and we have heaven to look forward to, instead of this existence and hell afterwards. Note above in the Philippians text that at JESUS’ NAME every knee will bow. Not Buddha. Not Mohammed. Not Satan. Not anyone else. Only Jesus is the Way to God the Father. Only Jesus. He is the only one Who is still alive – and is coming back. We forget, sometimes, that the humble Lamb of God is also the mighty Lion of Judah. In His Glorious Name, Terrie If you want to accept Christ as your Savior, or want to surrender your life to Him and live anew for Him with the joy of your salvation, I would be honored to pray for and with you. Simply contact me here and I’ll be in touch via email or mail. © 2017 Terrie McKee Transparency in marriage is a tricky thing. You want to share with your loved one, but you also don't want to cause hurt feelings. With my husband, who has a T12 ballistic fracture that has caused him to be paraplegic with shooting nerve pain all over his body, I certainly don't want to cause any more physical pain, just for the sake of a hug. Facing physical disabilities in a marriage is a difficult task. I almost want to stop saying that "my husband is paralyzed" and instead say that "we" are paralyzed -- for both of us are on this journey, together. It is a lonely journey. Like autism, there's no such thing as "the same thing happened to me" stories one can share with others -- especially when the only commonality is that the injury is related to the spine and the method of mobility is in a wheelchair. People have actually come up to us and said, "Oh yeah, I was in a wheelchair for six weeks when my leg was broken!" Sure, they're trying to find common ground, awkwardly moving back and forth, like they aren't quite sure how to handle the imposing presence of The Chair. Six weeks does not compare to a lifetime. Recently our daughter wasn't listening, and her daddy said, "Don't make me run after you!" She burst into tears -- that is all she wanted, was for him to rise out of that chair, plant firm feet on the floor and take off after her. Greg realized what he had said and, when she came to him, cuddled her tight and talked with her. "Daddy," our little seven-year-old said through hot tears, "I don't like the wheelchair anymore. Why can't they get the bullet out of your back?" To her, it's a simple problem, kindof like having a splinter in your foot. You remove the splinter and after a bit, you can walk without pain on it. So in her mind, remove the bullet and get up. It's nowhere near that easy. The bullet penetrated the L1 vertebrae, cauterizing as it went in -- it's like it's welded in the bone. Removing it would shatter the vertebrae, compromising the remaining, healthy vertebrae above the point of paralysis. But I get it. At night after I get him in bed, undress him and put a pillow at his feet, a travel pillow rolled up under his right foot to keep it from rolling over onto a sensitive pressure-sore area, and two little fleece throws on his legs that act as a barrier between the sheets and his skin, I too turn to the chair. I wheel it inside the accessible shower room in the bathroom, just to get it out of sight for a while. Just so I can cuddle with my husband, my head on his shoulder, but being careful: if my leg happens to touch his hip, or if the covers move across his skin -- it sends his body into painful muscle spasms. He can't recover. An affectionate cuddle or hug can hurt him all night long. These are the things most people don't understand. They see the struggle for him to get in and out of his car, or zipping around. They're amazed at the cupholder we installed on the chair so he can be more independent. People ask, "How are you doing?" We always pause, the both of us. We're not quite sure how to answer that, even though it's been almost a year and a half since the shooting that paralyzed my husband. Answering that question depends on the time of day. Answering that question requires lightening-fast analysis: do you really want to know, or are you just being polite? So, usually, it's just "Fine." Going through something as devastating and life-altering as becoming paraplegic due to a violent crime is a lonely scenario. There aren't that many people, despite what you hear on the news, who share this with you. I used to think that having a kid who has autism was a lonely road -- throw in paraplegia, a little girl who was just diagnosed with dyslexia, and my own battles with PTSD and depression, and we are living on an unchartered, deserted island. It is extremely lonely. People ask me all the time, what can I do to help? They feel it, too -- the loneliness of wanting to help alleviate a burden, in some way, but not having a clue how. To be honest and -- there's that transparency thing again -- I don't have a clue how either. There are some things that I just want to do. There are some things I don't feel comfortable asking others to do. At the same time, I'm not one to ask for help. Call it pride, determination, call it being so overwhelmed with life you can't clean the house like you want, because ... life. And you are ashamed -- ashamed of dealing with more than most and not being able to clean the house, fix leaking pipes, do yard work, treat the deck, and on and on.... It's lonely, this life. I don't know how to heal the lonely in tough times. But I know the One who does -- and can. So every day, one foot in front of the other, I say "fine" to people who ask and pray to God to make it so. In Him, Terrie (c) 2017 Terrie McKee A key managerial task, Stephen Covey noted in his famous book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is to “begin with the end in mind.” Good print designers do this: they work on how a book or other project will be bound, then work backwards. After all, if a project gets through prepress, then is printed, only to discover that it cannot be bound the way the designer thought, that’s a lot of money, time and paper wasted. Christians can learn a valuable lesson from this concept, beginning with the end in mind. Recently I was reminded of that at a memorial service for four members of a family of six who had died in an early-morning house fire. The mom of the family, Mandy Kelly, was more than a wife, mother and blogger. She was a friend of mine. She encouraged me in so many ways to live whole-heartily for Jesus. As I sat on a pew in the crowded church during the service, with pastors who had known her and her husband Scott for years, I was reminded of this: Her life served to glorify God even at her death. She began with the end in mind. She lived her life knowing this is not all there is -- that we are to keep our eyes focused on what is to come: the Hope of Heaven, the Joy of being with Jesus. I once did a project in college in which I had to write my own obituary. It was a humbling and deeply moving experience for me, and I learned a great deal about what I wanted people to remember about me upon my death. Today, sitting on that pew, I realized that Mandy’s whole life exemplified what she lived: a life all about her Savior. And that love for her Savior spilled out over absolutely everything she did, said, and wrote. Her life wasn’t about her so much as it was about her Savior. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Did you get that? Live a life worthy of the calling. Mandy did that. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, need to do that too. We don’t need to worry about what our obituary says about us; we live our lives in such a way that people know for Whom we live. Our deaths, then, certainly will be sad for those that remain, but for Christians, just like Mandy, Scott, Lizzie and Judah – deaths are promotions from this life to immediately seeing, touching, and walking with Jesus. I learned so much from Mandy in life. I remember the first time I met her at a 2:1 Conference – big bold necklace on this tiny little woman, even bigger smile – she oozed Jesus – in a wonderful way. She was filled with a contagious and irrepressible joy….joy that can only come from the Savior. How do we, then, do this? How do we live in such a way that there’s no doubt Whom we believe and follow? Deuteronomy 6:5-9 states the following: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” Heart, soul, strength One of the pastors at the memorial service said that Mandy “flat loved God.” I just love that. Mandy loved God with every fiber of her being, with her heart, soul, and strength. Christ-followers who say they follow Jesus act like they follow Him. Mandy taught her children about Jesus and discipled others. She cared about others’ faith walk. There was not a doubt Who she put first in her life -- and everything else was in place behind. Loving God with all your heart, soul and strength means that you focus on God. While on the way to the memorial service, which was two hours from my home, I was looking at the maps feature on my phone, but didn’t press the button that indicated where I was in relation to my destination. I inadvertently turned left when I should have turned right. As I drove and drove and things started looking sketchy, I stopped and looked at my phone again, but this time pressed the button. A little blue dot popped up where I was – and I had to scroll to find the triangle that indicated the church! I had lost focus of my destination. I had not centered the path I was on to where I needed to be. Turning around and retracing my steps to the church, I had to laugh. Thank you, Jesus – what a great illustration! Mandy must have had something to do with that! Impress them The verse in Deuteronomy says to “impress” knowledge about and love for God upon your children. “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads,” states Scripture. My husband and I once held a Christian Passover, or Seder, Meal in our home and invited another couple. One of the aspects of the meal is that you leave one chair empty, supposedly for Elijah. In a Christian Seder Meal, the chair represents the place that Christ has in our homes. I know I'm guilty of not always talking about what God is doing in our lives with our children -- just going about our day, getting stuff done. Laundry, dishes, writing, volunteering, schoolwork, taking care of pets, laundry, vacuuming, breaking up arguments, picking up stuff, taking Laura to softball practice, errands, laundry...thanks to Mandy, I will now make sure Christ is prominent in our lives. He will be shared, talked about, prayed to out loud, and the Word of God actively studied as a family. We will impress God upon our children. You see, when you talk about God to others, you are sharing Him. If you get a great deal on a beautiful pair of shoes – would you not share that news with someone, a friend perhaps? If you saw a baby drop his pacifier on the grocery store floor, would you not tell his mom? How much more should we share the Good News of salvation made known only through God’s Son, Jesus Christ? According to a pastor at the memorial service, Mandy had what he called “multiplying faith.” Someone in Mandy’s life had poured into her faith walk, and she discipled others, talking about God at all times. She shined with what Jesus had done and was doing in her life and couldn’t wait to tell people about it. Her zeal for God made her faith transparent – you saw Jesus through her. Write them on your door frames In this day, being a Christian blogger is often a hard road. The world with its political correctness and tolerance for anything that isn’t biblical puts Christian bloggers at odds with most of the Internet. Yet, Mandy did not let these things stop her. She loved God and loved discipling people more than what the world thought of that. She loved her husband and wrote – often – about what being a Christian wife looked like. She loved her children and wrote – often – about what a biblical mother did and said. She exemplified what being a Christian wife, mother, and blogger was all about. She poured wisdom and love into fellow bloggers, encouraging us and sharing Jesus with us. She shared our posts and encouraged us to help each other out with shares, pins, tweets – all the social media stuff that bloggers use to promote their writing. The blogging family is better for having had Mandy in it. Mandy glorified God in death by her witness in life. She lived as a demonstration of the Gospel to one and all. I learned from Mandy Kelly that a real testimony of faith is not one that is centered on the tests of life – but on Jesus. Peace, Terrie Special thanks to all the bloggers who have joined me to pay tribute to Mandy Kelly from Worshipful Living. Take time to go and visit each one and see how Mandy impacted others. We are also all linked up at Awe Filled Homemaker. Proverbial Homemaker Talk a Walk in My Shoes Near Your Altar Clarissa R. West Embracing Destiny Coffee With Maria Hass Ben and Me Our Crazy Adventures in Autismland Biblical Womanhood Let's Get Real The Multi Taskin' Mom The Musings of Mum Kristi Clover Simply Sherryl Jamerrill's Large Family Table PatandCandy.com Life of a Homeschool Mom Raising Arrows Lisa Easterling -- A Beautiful Life Becoming a Strong Woman of God Grace-Filled-Moments Home to 4 Kiddos Frog's Lilypad Being Confident of This Satisfaction Through Christ Faith Along The Way Finding Joy In The Journey A Productive Endeavor Candice Waller Busy Being Blessed The Pelsers Thou Shalt Not Whine GoodOldDaysAtHome.com The Holy Mess Future Flying Saucers Your Vibrant Family Psychowith6.com The Joyful Truth A Work of Grace Write Bonnie Rose Minivan Ministries Autumn-rain.net Radical Femininity Savvy Homemaking Sheri Graham Whole Hearted Home Teach Them Diligently Today was the culmination of an exceedingly hard season. Actually, “today” started last night, during a meltdown of epic proportions – and it had nothing to do with children. It was all me. My husband and I are planning to go on a cruise in six months, to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary and his 45th birthday. It’s a big deal – the last time we had a non-working, actual vacation together was our honeymoon, which lasted about four days. This upcoming vacation is a difficult one to plan: excursions in San Juan, St. Maarten and Labadee, Haiti are nearly impossible to come by when one is paraplegic. I’ve never shied away from being transparent in this blog. And this is one of the harder posts to write. Blogging and being real in the sometimes-hard faith of Jesus Christ can open up cans of worms – or blessings. Being transparent here means this: Greg, my dear husband, is doing fairly well at being paralyzed, all things accounted for. Yes, he has tremendous pain. But he’s managing it. He’s managing the emotions stemming from the attempted armed robbery in which he was shot. I’m not managing it. As the spouse that is usually the one fighting chronic pain and illness, and now as the spouse who is still fighting chronic pain and illness while watching her beloved wince in pain or battle uphill in a wheelchair, I have to be honest: if I could have taken that bullet instead of him, I would have. It’s harder to watch a loved one in pain than to be the loved one in pain. This past year and a half has been a slow avalanche of growing sadness and grief for me. The avalanche has turned into a pit of depression. A pit in which I find myself constantly sinking deeper and deeper into despair. This pit of depression feels like I’m overwhelmed with grief: sadness for my husband and for our family. Frustration that we are not able to swim in crystal waters or walk hand-in-hand on the beach. Sadness that we can’t dance in the ship’s jazz clubs. As much as the ship wants to tout being disabled-friendly, 32” doorways into staterooms do not make a ship fully accessible. This season of dealing with new paraplegia has affected us in every way imaginable, and as much as he has dealt with it, it’s difficult, friends. As someone with the Love Language of touch, it kills me that we cannot hug without nerves shooting off and excruciating pain making physical contact nearly impossible. We can’t hold hands in a parking lot because he’s rolling his chair along. The shooting did not take my husband’s life and for that I am incredibly grateful to God. The shooting did, however, take so much that we’re still figuring those things out. Showering, preparing for bed, getting dressed to go to work, going to church – things we all take for granted are major accomplishments in our house. As proud as I am of him for handing it all with dignity and grace, I fight back tears and resentment – and having to intentionally make the effort to forgive the shooters. All this, coupled with my autistic son moving back from the group home because of mistreatment – and dealing with him being an 11-year-old developmental boy in a 22-year-old man’s body – and the behavioral issues we’ve had from our 19 year old son that stemmed from the shooting – plus the recent dyslexia diagnosis of our six year old daughter… it’s all so much… My faith life has suffered greatly. It pains me to write that, knowing that this blog is supposed to be encouraging. But as I write that, I have realized that my own personal faith has become an idol to me. Transparency, my friends. If you have been (or are) where I’m at right now, you’ll understand. It’s so hard to open the Bible and pray when you have no idea what to say or where to start reading and studying. My faith has nothing to do with this – it’s all about God’s grace. He is bigger than my faith. Back to today. I couldn’t stop crying. Weeping – which I usually dislike that word, much like some dislike the word moist. But weeping I did, tears staining my shirt and the feeling of despair – the thought that nothing is worth it – coursing through my mind. I drove to a nearby mountain in my county and looked up at it, never getting out of my car. I felt drawn to it. Yes, I felt like hiking up to the top… but the Lord… But the Lord said, “What are you doing here, Terrie?” “Abba,” I cried out. “I’m under attack, I don’t know what’s wrong, I feel overwhelmed and slipping and…” He said, gently but firmly… “I’m not done with you. I have plans for you. Go.” As I wound my way in the car down the mountain roads, the teacher on the Christian radio mentioned something about 1 Kings 19. In this chapter, powerhouse prophet Elijah gets overwhelmed and frustrated, scared out of his mind and he, too, runs for it. Runs to a stick-like tree in the desert and sits under it. 1 Kings 19:4b states that Elijah “prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” Oh Lord in heaven, how many times have I prayed out loud, “I have had enough, Lord!” I’ve had enough with paraplegia; I’ve had enough with autism; I’ve had enough with 19-year-olds doing selfies of themselves in my car. I've had enough with the sitcom that has become my family life. I’ve had enough with my own emotions that I can’t get a handle on and can’t explain. But look what happens in 1 Kings 19:5-9. “The angel of the Lord” appeared to Elijah and told him to get up and eat something. In Scripture, “the angel of the Lord” is always a reference to Christ of the Trinity. In Elijah’s fragile state, Jesus was telling him that he needs to take care of himself physically first. Elijah had to fill his cup before he could empty it in ministry to others. Have mercy, that will preach, won’t it? I had to go back and read that cup sentence three times before I could write more. Lord, fill my cup, I pray. But look, friends – look what our God does. He provides Elijah baked bread and a jar of water (Bread of Life, anyone? Living Water?). Verse seven says, “The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’” Listen, we can’t do this journey in our own power. God knows this – He doesn’t expect us to do this in our own power. Zechariah 4:6 states, “…‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” It’s not in our own power we can overcome depression, but by the Lord. You know, every time Jesus healed someone in the New Testament who was lying on a mat, Jesus said to “get up.” We cannot conquer depression in the name of Jesus laying down, beaten and downtrodden by what life throws at us. This is as much preaching to the blogger as it is teaching to you. Once we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we need to get up and get at it – go after what God has planned for us. Let’s look more at this incredible passage from 1 Kings. Strengthened by food and water, Elijah travels 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb where he enters a cave, just to hear God say to him in verse nine: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Goosebumps. “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” [Genesis 3:9]….God knew exactly where Adam was, and He knew why Elijah was in the cave. He was wanting both of them to own up to themselves and to the Almighty where they were mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It was gut-check time. Just like my parking-lot Jesus moment at the base of Crowder’s Mountain. Let’s look at the passage from 1 Kings 19:10-14. “[Elijah] replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’ “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. “Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ “He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord God, with His Power and Presence, is bigger than depression and being overwhelmed with emotions. He is bigger than the fears we have and our puny faith. He is bigger than the gods we make and even the testimonies we keep for ourselves. Every testimony with which He blesses us is for two purposes only: for His Glory, and to share His Gospel. Over the last three months I’ve not written anything for Near Your Altar. Haven’t felt like it – been wallowing around on my mat too much, asking Jesus for help. All the time He’s been saying, “I’ll heal you; get up.” Get up, He’s been telling me. Fulfill the calling I’ve given you. Write. What did God say to Elijah in the first part of verse 15? “The Lord said to him, ‘”Go back the way you came.’” Get up. Go down the mountain. Go back to the ministry that you’ve been called. Love on your family. Serve others in Jesus’ name. Do what He has called you to do. Depression is a lonely place that can easily be nursed until it’s past depression and into the pit of despair. I’ve been there – today. Yet, God showed Elijah, who was the most renown prophet in all of the Old Testament His power in the wind, rocks and earthquakes, God also shows His gentleness in holding us during times of sadness and tragedy, just like in the whisper in the mouth of the cave. If we allow depression to get the better of us, we allow satan a foothold to steal the joy of our salvation. Order him, out loud, in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, to leave you alone. We have the power in Christ to do that – if we partake of the Bread of Life and Living Water that is only found in Jesus. Pray, friends, for each other. Pray for strength in Jesus’ name. Amen. Love in Christ, Terrie © 2017 Terrie McKee My oldest son Sam, who has autism, loves to go to a local cafeteria in town. Ever since he was a little boy (he is now in his twenties), he has chosen the same things from the cafeteria line: Chocolate cake, pinto beans, mac and cheese, chocolate milk, roll. He never deviates from this. We enjoy going to the cafeteria because everyone can get what they want. I like it when the line features liver and onions: something I never cook, and enjoy about twice a year. Everyone can eat fairly healthy, and exactly what they want. A cafeteria line is the ultimate in pick-your-own food. The Bible, however, is not. Written by a number of different men who were inspired by God Himself, it gives us a direct line of communication to us from God. In studying the Bible, we have to take into consideration context, history, culture, and audience. Most importantly, though, we have to know Who God is, and that He never changes. Time, space, earth may change. Technology may change. God does not. We need to remember this in the study of Scripture. Picking and choosing what to believe in the Bible are activities of someone with a token faith. A passage of Scripture that gets tossed around a lot is “God is love.” This verse is often quoted by people who use it to give themselves carte blanche permission to justify any number of sins. Quoting just “God is love,” is taking this very important part of Christian doctrine out of context and actually, diminishing its power. Coming from 1 John 4:8, the full verse is this: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” If we look at the verses around it, 1 John 4:7-11, the passage is much deeper than what is often quoted: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” This passage states that yes, God is love, and this is how He showed it: He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to give Himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Because of this, we should love others as God loved us. It does not give God’s stamp of approval on sin but explains that sin was why God sent Jesus to die for us. He not only loves us, He is love. We cannot possibly understand the depth of God’s love for us in our limited imagination ... but we can learn about God to deepen our relationship with Him through study of His Word. Because of God’s love, we can turn away from sin and because we have God’s love, we can encourage others to do the same. Jesus did not die an atoning death for us to wallow in continued sin. Studying the Word also entails knowing about the history and culture of the time and place in which the Bible was written. This deepens our understanding of the gravity of the Father’s love for us. Knowing the background of Scriptures moves them to being just Bible stories to communications from our Lord. We see the soundbite Scripture, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength,” but it’s when we read this in context with the historical knowledge that Paul wrote this while in chains, imprisoned for the Name of Christ, that we fully grasp what the Lord is telling us through this passage: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:11-13. The Philippians passage gives us a clear picture of contentment. No matter what circumstance Paul found himself in, he was content, because of his relationship with Jesus. The strength that Paul had was solely based in Christ. We too can have this level of contentment and joy in any circumstance in which we find ourselves, by totally surrendering to Christ. Scripture tells us how to do this: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” [Matthew 16:24]. Taking up the cross and denying ourselves does not mean living a life of silence in a monastery, beating ourselves with sticks and leather on a daily basis. It means that we daily put Jesus first, others second and ourselves last. I like the acronym “JOY,” for if you take the first letter of the words “Jesus-Others-Yourself,” you will find JOY. Taking up your cross means that you end the token offerings of a shallow, “have-to-do-this,” checkmark Christianity and you replace it with real, deep, solid, Jesus-first, can’t-wait-to-pray-and-study-the-Word faith. This kind of faith does not happen because of a one-time act but a daily desire to get closer to Christ. In studying the Word, knowing the audience of particular books is important too. The message of Romans is different than the passage in Hebrews but the point is the same: Jesus was born to die so that we may be, through Him, reborn and live. The audience of Hebrews (Jewish people in Israel) would have not understood the legal discourse that is the book of Romans, as that book was written for the legal-minded people of Rome. The Romans would not have understood the deep religious meanings behind High Priests, Melchizedek, or the curtain, but the audience of Hebrews understood those examples. Most importantly, when studying the Bible, knowing Who God is, through His Word, helps us not to be cafeteria-plan Christians. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End,” in Revelation 22:13. Sins that were mentioned in the Old Testament were sins still in Jesus’ time, and in our time today. The specific words “homosexual” or “abortion” may not have passed over Jesus’ lips, but Father God did mention homosexuality and killing children. Psalm 55:19 states, “God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change — He will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.” Jesus was very clear that He and the Father are One, along with the Holy Spirit: “Jesus replied, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.’ “’You are not yet fifty years old,’” they said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ “’Very truly I tell you,’” Jesus answered, “’before Abraham was born, I am!’” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” [John 8:54-59] Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one. This is called the Trinity. If God the Father said that homosexuality is a sin, then Jesus also said it. Christians who barely dust off their Bibles, or don’t study it, or pick and choose what in the Bible to believe have no grounds to stand on when they make the poor argument that “Jesus didn’t say it.” Christ-centered, true Christians do not hate people who are homosexual. On the contrary, Christ-centered, true Christians love the person but hate the sin – just like God – and homosexuality, according to God, is sin. For nonbelievers, or Christians who pick and choose Scriptures to believe, this is a hard concept to understand. When one reads and studies the Bible, aided by the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit which indwells all believers, it is crystal clear. Satan, the deceiver, wants people to not believe, or study the Word – and he incites people to twist Scriptures to serve his evil purpose. His purpose is to draw people further away from God and solidly into hell. Christians need to remember that all Scripture – ALL Scripture – is from God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” [2 Timothy 3:16-17]. The Word of God can stand on its own. It can affect people to repent, to act, to pray, to think and to worship. Christians must understand the power of God through the Scriptures, and the only way to do that – and to know when Satan is trying to twist the Word to deceive us – is to study. The two verses in 2 Timothy above this passage are crucial to understanding this. “ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Studying Scripture is an ongoing process. We don’t just read the Bible once and get it, as the Holy Spirit can use the very same verses you’ve read a dozen times in new and fresh ways. It is also critically important to learn the Bible from knowledgeable, Christ-centered, Bible-believing teachers, just as Timothy learned the Scriptures from two special believers – his mother and grandmother. The Bible is the roadmap to lead others to salvation in Jesus Christ, and its words and teachings will draw you closer to God – especially if you apply what you learn to your everyday lives, for the Word is not meant to be put on the shelf of your heart to be taken out on special occasions, but to be on the side table for easy access, well-read and prayed over. Praying the Scriptures, as I did in Africa, is a powerful way to worship God. Cafeteria-plan Christians tend to pick-and-choose the Scriptures they believe. Some might believe that Jesus loves them and will never leave them, but balk at believing that God shut the mouths of lions when Daniel was thrown to them. They may believe that Jesus died for them but a virgin birth is out of the question. Picking Scriptures to believe like you’re picking your lunch from a cafeteria line diminishes the power of the Word. “OK, I’ll have some meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but not green beans, and definitely not corn, but I will take two rolls and some sweet tea.” That’s like saying, “OK, I’ll have some God is love and He hears my prayers, but not that Jonah swallowed by a whale thing, and definitely not being against homosexuality, but I will take the creation theory and some sweet tea.” Beloved, when we do this, we are creating a god (lower case g) in our image, of what we want. We don’t get to choose what God deems to be sins. We are not God. “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord,’” [Isaiah 55:8]. We can have head knowledge of the Bible, and win Bible trivia games, and still not have a relationship with the Lord. Jesus said in the Book of John, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life,” [5:39-40]. As long as the Word of God is trivial in your life, and you pick and choose what to believe, instead of believing God in all His Word, committing His promises to heart, a relationship with Him will be another facet of token faith: empty, shallow, and without root. This post is an excerpt from my book "Token Faith: Moving from Fake to Real Faith in Jesus Christ." It can be found at Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC or online here. In Christ, Terrie (c) 2017 Terrie McKee |
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