There is something about obedience to God that so much different from obedience man to man. Growing up in the home environment I did gave me a deep rooted attitude towards obedience. I lived all of my childhood trying desperately to be obedient to my dad only to have it thrown in my face time and again. I wasn’t alone in this. My brothers and sisters were all give this treatment. Obedience to dad was to do as I say, not as I do. Obedience never gave you the promises behind it. Those were just statements from dad to get you to comply with him.
Learning the beauty of obedience to God has taken me a lifetime changing from something I have to do to something I always want to do. Coming to my brother-in-law’s home yesterday and attending the event last night has been nothing short of wonderful. Kathy and I love being here. We will head out soon to get back home so those with appointments this afternoon can have theirs. Yesterday I was able to get the home chores done so all is good there. So, why do I fret when God is nudging me to comply with Him? Well, my flesh is selfish just as dad’s was. I sure don’t want God seeing me obeying my flesh instead of Him! This is a good wake-up for me! God is always teaching another lesson!
Yesterday was an especially nice day. I got to see a friend from high school who came to the valley for his 75th birthday. Two of his brothers and sis also came. Spending time with this wholesome family was very nice. Their dad was a pastor of a community church where we grew up and my friend Bill has also been a pastor and still pastors a church in Portland area.
Today Kathy and I are to drive to her oldest brother’s place in Oregon and go to a rodeo event tonight. I have several reasons to not go, the biggest one is driving all this way for something I don’t even enjoy that much. But, the driving reason to go is Kathy wants to and she wants me to do it with her. So, I’m going and I know she won’t read this so I can write this to you. In fact, as I was journaling this morning I was nudged to put my selfish priorities aside and honor those of Kathy. I know when we’re back home tomorrow afternoon I will be glad we went. Pulling myself away from my ruts is the real issue!
God never stops growing us, and in reality, I never want to stop growing. I just need to take a step away from my priorities and see the bigger picture through a lens only God provides–an unselfish one.
Well, the session yesterday morning went as God’s Holy Spirit led–not as I had planned. The young man and I did meet and the conversation regarding his new employment went well. It is an excellent job for him and he is already excelling. As I introduced the book I wanted to give to him and told him briefly about it, his phone rang. (This was towards the end of the session). He looked to see who was calling, it was his father. He asked if he could take a minute to find out why and I said of course. This call ended the session taking over the time we had left and I needed to move to my group session which follows this one. I have learned to follow God’s timing in things like this. Just writing this out gives me a chance to see areas we still need to address regarding who Jesus is and who this young man is to Him. One step at a time here.
This afternoon I’m meeting with an old high school friend who has come to our area from Portland, OR. He was one of two christian friends I had in high school. He has always been a devout christian. He is a retired pastor and is always encouraging anyone his path crosses. I haven’t seen him since our 50 year high school reunion 6 years ago. It will be nice to see him even for a few hours.
There is a young man I meet with on Saturday mornings. For a year and a half we met each week and often would need to talk by phone during the week. His wife also came separately for 6 months for her own help. When he first came he had attempted suicide. He had so little self-esteem/confidence. These past 6 months we have met every other Saturday as he has matured and anchored himself so well. This morning we will be meeting. He has just started a new job and I’m eager to hear how it is going. Mostly, I’m eager to acquaint him with a book I’m going to challenge him to read/investigate.
This young man was raised in a “cult-like religion” which he and his wife have broken away from. I have known his family every since I started teaching in this valley 52 years ago. They are very different in their beliefs. This young man endured a great deal of physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse during his childhood. Where this young man is today with religion honors God (to some degree), but not Jesus. He follows old Jewish laws pertaining to the Old Testament. The New Testament has good wisdom in it, but it’s only to be considered.
My prayer warrior Lois and I have been praying for almost two years for this young man to find Jesus as his Savior, not just as a good man to know about. Today we will step into this topic as God’s Holy Spirit leads. If you’re interested in praying for him, it would be appreciated!
The joy of the Lord is my strength. I have always known that Jesus is the great healer. I’ve heard this all of my life and I’ve seen plenty of movies which portrayed this plus I’ve read over and over about the healings performed in the New Testament. In spite of knowing this, I’ve always had that underlying sense that this truth is more true for others than for me. Well, having witnessed so many times how Jesus is healing the wounds of others through Celebrate Recovery and the counseling ministry, I shake my head wondering why I ever doubted this truth.
So often what we know is true isn’t well grounded until we experience it first hand. This I’ve done many times now and often feel overwhelmed with the Joy of Lord! He truly is our Savior, Lord and Healer and Friend. Only because of Him can we declare our own salvation. “What a friend we have in Jesus! All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”
This morning I want to connect what I wrote yesterday to this entry. I mentioned a young lady and her two little girls. Mom is going through a divorce and being accused of many disgusting things. She needed to find a different place to live. As I was driving back from the airport taking my grandson to catch his flight, I received a text from her telling me a townhouse had opened and she and her daughters could move in today. She had also journaled using the HEART method to guide her journaling to God getting out on paper just what she needed to tell Him. All of this she said brought peace to her troubled soul.
There is nothing like the humble joy one experiences when you see God in action with one who is hurting. How I love our FATHER!
In just a few minutes I will leave to take my oldest grandson Dante to the airport. It is always nice to have him with us for a few days. I love watching how God is growing him more and more into the likeness of Jesus Himself. He is patiently/impatiently waiting for God to show him the girl who is to be his future wife. If you want to join grandpa in praying for this right match, please join me!
It has been so amazing to me to experience God’s Holy Presence in a counseling session. Yesterday was one of those days when this took place in very real ways. I had a new young gal come who is experiencing a divorce with two young daughters. She is a believer and is being accused of many false things. She just didn’t know where God is in all of her “mess”. As I walked her through a journaling assignment for the next week, the HEART method from Celebrate Recovery, she took hold. Each letter stands for an area to define while journaling to Jesus. H=hurting, E=exhausted , A=angry, R=resentment, T=tense. She had been afraid to admit all of this to God, but when it became her assignment she seemed to understand that God wanted her to express all of this to Him. He doesn’t want us to bear a burden He wants to carry for us.
Well, I love watching this take place. What took me years and years to learn about our loving Father I now get to share with others. He loves His children deeply!
As I had begun to journal yesterday morning I was telling Jesus about some items for which I had great concern. I was trying not to be anxious about them, but in reality, I was. There were two specific ones which were the drivers of concern. I ended the journaling surrendering them to Jesus and trying not to carry them. I had even written that I know He loves us all, but somehow in these two areas I wasn’t sure if He cared about them–maybe I was just being selfish.
My oldest grandson is here to celebrate his mom’s birthday with her and our family. A friend of our family stopped by mid-afternoon to see him and while she was here she told me what she was doing later in the day. I could hardly believe it–what she was doing was taking care of the first concern I had journaled about. She knew nothing of my concern, but God had put it on her heart and she was taking care of it.
Later in the day yesterday my oldest grandson who is in the Air Force was sharing with me what God had placed on his heart to do. Wouldn’t you know that what he was going to do now took care of concern #2. As I began my journaling this morning I told Jesus how sorry I was for having doubt instead of trust with these two areas. Both were connected to our family and I thought maybe I was being selfish in my wishfulness.
As I finished reading the book of Daniel this morning I couldn’t help but sense an overwhelming doom. “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens….” This is a brief quote from chapter 12. There are so many lost in our world today believing so much that isn’t wise. The very One who created all there is, well, He is just a myth to read about and put the book back on the shelf.
For those of us who know The Living Father who gave us His Son Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are challenged to never cower to what our society is calling “wisdom”. The wisdom of God our Father is what we must proclaim and let the brightness of the heavens be revealed. Doing this with the humility of Jesus Christ within us is a key factor. This message of Jesus Christ being our Savior and Lord is unwavering. Sharing this message in the humble strength of our Savior and Lord is a task we are all nudged to do. Following this nudge will result in the brightness of the heavens!
Twenty-five years ago today we buried my mom. It was a Thursday and the next day after school, we left to go to see Kathy’s mom who had just had her gall-bladder removed. It was that evening in the hospital we were told the gall-bladder was filled with cancer. They didn’t know ahead of time and in the process of removing it they opened the cancerous tumor which spread throughout her abdomen. She died three years later. So much has transpired since these sad times and in reflecting on them I can’t thank God enough. What a blessing these two moms were to our families.
It is incredible how God over time removes the sadness of loss and replaces it with gratitude. These two ladies were pillars in my life. My mom modeled well living for Jesus. She was a quiet example using few words, but living the life. Kathy’s mom was much more for visiting which I loved. We could talk about most any topic and greatly enjoy the conversation with one another. As I look back on these years, I can’t help but thank God all over again for His kind and loving care. In the midst of life, we often don’t see this mercy of God, but today I see it more clearly and thank God all over again!
Earnie Lewis 