All You Have to Do Is Wake Up

"God provides.  He's like, 'I'm going to do everything for you, all you have to do is wake up every morning and be who you are.'"
(Kentucky Singer Jordan Smith on God's faithful dealings with him.)

This isn't a statement of slackness.
It's a statement of faith.

Not everyone is able to do what they love every day.  We find ourselves having to do something in order to eat and have shelter over our heads.  Either way, do we trust Him like Jordan?  That trust is essential.

He made you who you are and put you where you are.  Whatever work there is to do to put food on the table, whatever assignment is your necessity, the instructions are the same.  As we trust in Him, "All you have to do is wake up every morning."

How to Win

Simple Food Guide

"The longer something is in man's hands, the more failure we see."
J. Redekop

This statement is certainly true for man's handling of God's pure truth.
However, it is just as valid for man's handling and "improving" the food that we eat.

GMO food is somehow better?
Processing food and adding to it makes it more nutritious?
Refining is an improvement?

Please, don't go along with the failure.

High Yield Seeds

The foundation of belief* in Jesus Christ, confidence and complete trust in Him and the sure faith that makes it possible for His power to work in our lives isn’t just a truth in Romans and part of a couple of other books. It is seeded throughout scripture in its entirety. 

Seeing, understanding and accepting the power of this solid foundation compels the one who believes to properly use scripture, view things in the true reality of the unseen, understand the difficulties of those roundabout, and have compassion on those who are born again but still spiritually bound.

* Give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself entirely into His keeping.

A View of a Point

As in a play or a movie, there are always actors that play a distasteful role. When the production is over however, that role was a necessary part of the story and those actors stand as respected players of the part without which the story would not be complete.

I am to unconditionally love my brethren in Christ that play that distasteful role.

Epicness

We go to weddings and most of us feel the thrill of the epic event.  It's emotional and reminds some of us of the Lord Jesus who pursued us until we trusted in Him.  We became His and gained everlasting freedom.

After it all dies down, everyone goes home and life begins its mundane and normal patterns.
But that is where the epicness really is.  Moving through the mundane and normal with trust and confidence in Him, overcoming the world one small step at a time.

Who is he that overcomes the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

His quiet deliverance through the daily grind is the supporting canvas that will display God's glory and lasting power in our lives.  Those small insignificant moves that seem pointless, the existence through the tiring moments that don't produce tangible benefit.  Knowing that He is enough for everything from the dramatic to the dull.

Father Wounds Healed

Kate Hudson is a celebrity who is known to have father wounds from her biological dad.   He didn't turn out to be someone she could trust.

Recently, when she had an outing in the wild with Bear Grylls, Kate summed up her experience with Bear near the end of the recorded episode.  She directly targeted what has been missing in her life:
"When you have someone you can trust, it's everything," she said as she broke down emotionally.

There is Someone we can trust and He is everything.  His arms are wide open for you to believe and run into them.  You might be born again.  Are you still struggling with inner difficulties, not trusting in Him to be everything - really everything?

Thoughts come in that you have to be in charge of your own righteousness.  "I have to do better, others are telling me so."  You are convinced that your own "right hand" must deliver you.  Apparently, that isn't happening.

That is not your job.

Sadly, our own right hand can only work self harm, (as it also burdens those around us).

Give up on yourself and be free.  Only Jesus Christ is enough to deliver.  Truly trust Him, His love, goodness and power.  Be richly rewarded.  See how He is all sufficient to heal father wounds and anything else that enslaves us.

Baggage

A local radio show host spoke of his close relationship to his father in law.  While explaining their ability to communicate so freely and get along so well, he made reference to the fact that the father in law's relationship to him was perhaps closer than some of his own children, "because of baggage."

Hmmm.  Doesn't that highlight the need for a parent to be Christ-like, gracious, loving, understanding and compassionate to the children?  We sacrifice those attributes too often so we can be firm, preventative and corrective.  Behavior is emphasized over faith.  We have a better chance of getting it right when we become a grandparent.

When the Lord personally addressed one of His followers about something didn't He usually highlight a lack of faith?

A dear friend alienated one of his daughters and damaged his relationship with the other by his reaction to what was wrong with their character when they were younger.  Now that he is a grandparent, he was able to pour out his heart in letters to both daughters and much of the baggage has been left behind.

The Bible doesn't address a solution specifically for baggage issues that were created by parents.
But, it does.
Just like absolutely everything else we have to trust that He is enough.

Understanding Samson

Samson was such a bad man.
(Judges 16:1)

Samson prayed with understanding brought about by faith.
(Judges 15:18)

Samson appears in the faith chapter.
(Hebrews 11:32)

We are stunned that he appears in the faith chapter with all the other great men of God.
(...no scripture to support this bewilderment)

We busy ourselves looking for behavior.
God sees faith.

"You [set yourselves up to] judge according to the flesh (by what you see).  [You condemn by external, human standards.]  I do not [set Myself up to] judge or condemn or sentence anyone.
John 8:15 Amp.

Quiz

Multiple choice:

Abraham ___________________ and He counted it to him for righteousness.

   (a) prayed to God
   (b) obeyed God
   (c) carefully followed rules that he knew would please God
   (d) believed God

Extra credit reading:

"Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people;"
Psalm 62:8 Amp

The Little Box of Godly Order

Some things that we think are proper godly order are really our opinion of what needs to happen so we don't get annoyed or pushed outside of our preconceived notions.

He is enough for that as well.

Losing Doubt or Caging Ourselves

This blog started on March 19, 2009 with some thoughts on confidence.  Here we are almost 5 years later with a minute-by-minute need for confidence in Him.  Apparently, this is a lifetime work.  As you grow in the Lord, confidence in His true all sufficiency is a necessity that will always need to be increased.  Once you think you might have the belief-and-no-doubt thing figured out, something will come along to prove you wrong.

Doubting and belief don't work together in pleasing Him.
You can't walk in the Spirit with doubt.
You can't pray in the Spirit with doubt.
You can't put on the full armor of God with doubt.
We can't see the glory of God for what it is unless doubt is overcome by belief.

Speaking for myself, it seems easier to doubt than to sin in any other way:
Stuck in traffic, needing to get somewhere, starting to feel stressed because... I'm doubting that He is enough for this too.
My day is "falling apart" with errors, losses, non-productivity, my own wasted time, etc...  Doubting, again, that He is enough.
I have failed as a parent.  Look at what my kids are thinking and doing!
If I had just done better at school, I would have been able to...

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28  I know that, don't you think I know that?!
Well, doubt does come easy and that verse says "ALL things."  That includes everything from little annoyances to the devastating tragedies of life.

Martha was believing but doubting and Jesus told her this, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  John 11:40

Peter was believing, but started doubting and heard this, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

We might be quick to point out the unbelief or doubt driven failings in others who are born again while we are not living in the promise that "He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it..." Therefore, we tend to pray for them with doubt in our hearts.

Too many of us think that we've been fully believing since day one; that day we were born again.  Yet, every day it seems we are being proven wrong but not noticing; then wondering, "What is the problem that is keeping me from walking in the Spirit?" Unrecognized doubt has us caged.  We are supposed to be free.  Could it be that our tendency to doubt is under emphasized in teaching, (it is certainly not under emphasized in God's Word), and unnoticed in our own self judgement?  Notice that believing comes before hope and the power of the Holy Spirit in us:
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"