HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

It's been a tough road as of late and I'm finding that I have definitely been distracted and have allowed those distractions to take precedence over the important things in life. But God has been gracious and brought some gentle reminders to help me refocus.

One avenue was through allowing me to join the praise and worship team at our new church home. My first opportunity to lead worship with them is this coming Sunday. They're going through a study called "Pure Praise" by Dwayne Moore. The study centers around 2 Chronicles 20. My being a "good student" I decided I would read 2 Chronicles 19 and 20!

Here are the nuggets I pulled from Chapter 19:
* Commit yourself to seeking God. (Right out of the gate He's hitting me hard!! Not that I didn't know I should do this, but maybe I'd sort of forgotten?!?)
* Encourage others to return to Him. (The perfect words of wisdom for this time in my life and something we should probably do everyday with our Christian brothers and sisters.)
* (to the judges) Do not judge to please people but to please the Lord.
* Fear the Lord and judge with integrity.
* You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart.

Here's where I pause.

You must ALWAYS (not sometimes) act in the fear of the Lord. What does it mean to "act in the fear of the Lord"? I did a quick search on biblegateway.com and have come to a rough conclusion that the "fear of the Lord" is a reverence for Him. A high regard for His authority over my life and acting in the fear of the Lord is turning over my control over my life and allowing Him to be in control. Letting Him take the "helm" of my life.

The second part of that verse was more direct - not only am I to act in the fear of the Lord but I'm to do it with faithfulness and an undivided heart. I have done neither one. I have not been faithful and I have allowed the worries of this world, the things of this world, to divide my heart, my alliance to Him.

Moving on...
* You must warn them not to sin against the Lord. (well there it is...I must warn myself and take some time to work through my sinful unfaithfulness and divided heart.)
* Take courage as you fulfill your duties and may the Lord be with those who do what is right.

Wow...so much in one chapter and I still had one more to go...

Chapter 20...When bad news comes WHAT DO YOU DO?
Here's what Jehoshaphat and the people do...

* Terrified by the news, Jehoshaphat begged the Lord for guidance. (he didn't just flippantly ask God or send up a "9-1-1 prayer" - he literally BEGGED God to guide him.)
* He ordered everyone to begin fasting. (without a breath between begging - he directed his people in what they were to do with him.)
* He also ordered them to "come together to seek the Lord's help." (How often do we try to go it alone? The body of Christ is here for us to come together and seek God's wisdom, guidance, and help.)
* He prayed. (this is where I typically fall short. Rather than going to God directly and praying to Him, I usually want to discuss the matter with everybody else around me first.)
* Stand in His presence and honor God.
* Cry out to Him "save us!"
* He will hear you and save you!!

IMPLORE GOD: "We do not know what to do, but we are looking to Your for help." (12)
(In many ways this is exactly where I am at in my life right now. I have no idea what to do Lord! I really am looking to YOU for help.)

Next thing it says is, "Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty enemy, for the battle is NOT YOURS, BUT GOD'S!" (15)
(Oh my goodness...why have I not thought about this? Why didn't I realize that the battle truly is HIS, not mine? In dealing with the principalities and powers of the air - who better to fight the battle than God? How could I be so short-sighted? But it gets better!!!)

"You will not even need to fight. Take up your positions and STAND STILL and watch the Lord's victory! Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow for the Lord is with you."
(We're to take up our position. What position is that? It tells us!)

"Bow low, face to the ground and worship the Lord."

The book "Pure Praise" refers to the word WORSHIP saying it means "to bow down and prostrate yourself before a superior in homage. God is superior. Submitting to Him as our master is the essence of worship."

Just yesterday I came across the word "ADONAI" which is Hebrew for "Master" -
BOW DOWN
FACE THE GROUND
WORSHIP ADONAI!

* PRAISE the Lord with a very loud shout!
* BELIEVE in the Lord your God and you will be able to STAND FIRM.
* BELIEVE in His prophets and you will succeed.
* SING to the Lord and PRAISE Him for His holy splendor.
* GIVE THANKS to the Lord. His faithful love endures forever!!!

Synopsis - stand still and watch. do not be afraid. bow down. face the ground. worship Adonai. praise the Lord. believe in the Lord. stand firm. sing to Him. praise Him. give thanks to Him.
WHY?
Because HIS FAITHFUL LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

WHAT IS THE CENTER OF YOUR HOME?

Kenzi, Sara and I chose to venture out yesterday and head to Minot. Snow was blowing, temps were right at 20 degrees out and the windshield kept freezing up. Aside from that and the semi with his empty trailer in the ditch, it was a rather uneventful jaunt. We decided to hit Hobby Lobby - wanted to pickup a craft project for the night. There we found a plethora of home decor on sale for 50% off! There were baskets, wood crates, vintage suitcases, wood plaques, metal plaques, wire sculptures, you name. But in the wood plaque aisle there were a couple particular wall hangings that caught my eye. One quoted Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." So much I could talk about regarding that one part of scripture but the one most heavy on my heart is the one I've pictured here. "Christ the center of our Home." In many ways I believe we STRIVE for this but in several ways our home has fallen short in this area as of late.

I was inspired when I saw that plaque and purchased it to put up on our wall as a declaration that our family truly does make Christ the center of our home. But when I got it in my house and as it sits against the living room wall, I am convicted, broken, sliced to the core of my being with the reality that in fact, He is NOT the center. Most days since relocating to North Dakota, He barely makes the outer perimeter of our home. I was wounded by this realization. My heart is broken, my stomach in knots and my mind is whirling from it.

Where did we go wrong? What happened to this aspect of our home? When did this occur and WHY? (while in Ohio? when we moved to North Dakota?) How did this get so out-of-control? Is it complacency? Is it laziness? Is it rebellion? What really is the state of our home? How did this creep in? and WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!?!

In all honesty, I felt this prior to now and I had been making a more concentrated effort to spend time with the Lord. I have been searching the scriptures. But now I see that I may have been doing it all wrong. Since arriving in North Dakota there has been a deep dark cloud of oppression hanging around our home. It has permeated our lives, blinded us, shrouded us in darkness and despair. I never realized just how deep it ran until now.

The other convicting and sad part of all this is that the Truth of God's Word which is usually an encouragement to me, literally makes me sick to my stomach. I think this is from the enemy. This sick feeling, though it brings about conviction and change - it is an enemy ploy in my life to make me tuck tail and run because I can't face the fact that I must confess my sin and make things right. At times I'm non-confrontational to an extreme and this would normally be one of those extremes.

BUT TODAY...I REFUSE TO LET THE ENEMY HAVE VICTORY!!!

The enemy may think he's moved in and made himself comfortable BUT TODAY I'M SENDING HIM PACKING!

That's right. I'm done. Finished. He has laid siege upon my home, he has tormented and trashed our hearts. He thought he was here for the long haul. Don't even bother packing your bags you nasty bugger. You are GONE. I'm casting you out buddy, on your rear. You are done, you're not welcome here. This family serves the LIVING GOD, the MIGHTY ONE. He's more powerful than you - and A LOT more fun to hang around with!

"God NEVER tempts anyone! Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away...these desires give birth to sinful actions and when SIN is ALLOWED to GROW, it gives BIRTH TO DEATH! So don't be misled! Whatever is GOOD and PERFECT comes from God!" James 1:13-16

"Keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." 1 Peter 2:11

"So we must LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it!" Hebrews 2:1

Here in lovely North Dakota I must place God before me FRONT & CENTER! I must be DILIGENT to live out my faith. I don't need spiritual milk...I should be beyond that! I need the discipline to pursue Christ with ALL my HEART! SOUL! MIND! and STRENGTH!

...God is light, and there is NO darkness in Him at all! So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. BUT IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO HIM, He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE US our sins and CLEANSE US from all wickedness. (1 John 1:6-9)

HOW will I do this? I'm so glad you asked!
I'm going to start by "Confess(ing) [my] sins." 1 John 1:9

Wash [myself] and be clean!
Get [my] sins out of [God's] sight.
Give up [my] evil ways.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Isaiah 1:16-17

Live no longer as the Gentiles (those who don't know Jesus) do, for they are hopelessly confused...throw off [my] old sinful nature and [my] former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, LET the SPIRIT RENEW YOUR THOUGHTS and ATTITUDES. Put on [my] new nature, created to be like God - TRULY RIGHTEOUS & HOLY! Ephesians 4:17-18; 22-24

Maybe you will find this an encouragement to you. Maybe you will find it a bit convicting. Whatever direction it sends you, take some time and honestly evaluate where the center of your home is. God finally got me t sit down long enough to ponder this and what I found made me very uncomfortable. Enough that I knew something needs to change. I'm headed a new direction now. Hopeful finally. And I am looking forward to seeing God work in us and through us here in North Dakota!