Lay Down

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

—Luke 22:42 NLT

You long for peace and for blessing, yet you do not want to walk my path. You are unwilling to experience the way of the cross to know my glory and power. You look for instant answers and instant intimacy with me, yet you do not want to give me the time of day until your crisis is upon you. Just as my Son, you ask for release, but deep inside, and unlike Him, you are not willing. You want escape from the very thing I have allowed to shape your character and give you purpose.

Desire me above all else. Place your will on my altar as your most precious offering. I gave up my will for you when I died for you. Now I long for yours to be given in love. Now I seek yours. Trust that what I shall do is best for you. Believe that I am powerful enough to do anything and everything. Believe that nothing is impossible in my hand. Then leave your requests with me with thanksgiving in your heart. Give me your tired heart, your struggles, your hard days, your thoughts, your whole being—all within that yearns to be free. Allow my will to shape your life. My freedom only comes by way of the cross.

When you give yourself to me, I am the Lord of your past, present, and future. Your past is no more. Your present is my fire that refines. Your future is my promise upon which I gave my oath. Right now, child, if you knew every event to come, it would either be too painful or too amazing for you to even comprehend its importance. I reveal your future as I determine. Have faith that I have loved you with my everlasting love and drawn you in my unfailing kindness.

Peace comes when you are willing to lay down self just as I was willing to lay down self. If you accept my heart and my will, you will know my joy. When I have your will in my hands, you will know my incredible peace. Look to me. I am the author and the finisher of your faith. The greatest joy and peace and fulfillment and glory is found in my purpose. Allow me to shape your character. Allow me to be everything you need. Allow me, and you will be free in whatever lies before you. I will be your answer—your power—your purpose.

Lay it all down. Let this be the place where you die, and rise again.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/lay-down.html

Only You

Only You

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

—Isaiah 44:3 (NIV)

My heart longs for only you, Lord, in a dry and thirsty land. Does my heart long enough for you? How thirsty am I?  If I really long for only you, I am a sponge soaking up all of you—consuming your Word and standing on your promises. The land may appear dry and without life to the world, but to one who is filled with your presence, it is a land of milk and honey—of great promise.

“I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,” you impart, “to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise”  (Isaiah 43:20b-21, NIV). If I thirst enough, I see your spiritual blessing instead of my physical limitation. If I continually receive your Spirit, I see your promises instead of my life being void and without hope. I see with your eyes instead of my own.

My life reaches beyond the limitations of my own, Lord Jesus. It impacts those I know and love. It extends either despair or hope. It offers failure or success. It dampens a heart or inflames purpose. You created me, Lord, to inspire those who cannot see your promise—to encourage that a deep thirst for your presence is always satisfied and continually filled with your power and purpose.

I was created to praise only you, Lord. I was created to be filled by you. You pour living water on my thirsty ground, and I am no longer abandoned and alone. I am loved, cherished, and known. I have hope and promise. And upon those I love—my offspring and upon theirs—you pour your life and your blessing. Love produces love through the generations to come. It is your promise that I am never forgotten, and that you will never forget them.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/only-you.html

I Am Yours

I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.

—Isaiah 42:16 (NLT)

When I walk a way that I have never known, one that is unfamiliar but one you have chosen for me, I sometimes hold back. Something new is down that path. I know it is something that my human mind cannot grasp. I have been blinded to your purpose and to your heart by my own understanding. I have not leaned upon you until there is nothing left of my own desire. I have not sought your depths because of fear of losing who I am. Everything within pushes me to step out in faith and follow you into the unknown. I hesitate because I must let go of all that has been my security. I have been secure in my own strength—in what I have perceived as my purpose. You call me to let go and reach for your hand. The moment I let go is the moment that I am swept into your presence. It is the moment your light shines into the darkness and reveals your glory. You are more real to me than my next breath. I am known. I am loved. I am protected. The things that have seemed to be insurmountable are nothing. I see you—not them. I hear you—not the voices of those who say, “Be rational.” They do not understand this joy—this revelation of why I live and what is before me. This pearl is for me. You will do for me as you have declared. Others may not understand, but you know the way that I take. You know my path. My heart is yours. I never walk alone, and I am never forsaken. You have called me into the depths, and I am no longer my own. I am yours.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

Form Me, Fire Me, Fill Me

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/i-am-yours.html

He is Faithful

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
    and I know I will not be put to shame.

Isaiah 50:7 (NIV)

Perhaps those you love have not caught the vision God has given you, and you are discouraged. Perhaps they have said things that have broken your heart and determination. Remember it is His calling for you. Not anyone else’s. They may not have grasped your heart, but you cannot always expect them to grasp it. It is your vision. It is your joy. It is your pearl. Many times the ones closest to you do not catch it. You feel shunned and discredited—as if your calling has little value.

You do not do His work alone. He is faithful to empower what He asks you to do. He is faithful to empower the work He sets in motion. Because He helps you, there is no reason to feel abandoned by those who do not understand. Set your face and your mind like flint to His calling. Even though feelings of rejection may flood your heart, refuse them access to your mind. Do not allow others to minimize His purpose.

Commit to the Lord every decision as you move forward. Train your mind upon His desires—not your own or those of anyone else. Always examine the state of your heart and His calling. Always be less so He can be more. If He is your reason for living—if you are fully His, He creates you. He shapes your heart. He molds your purpose. He fulfills the desire of His heart through you. When your vision becomes His, His plan for your life will succeed because He is faithful.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/he-is-faithful.html

My Life for His Sake

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

—Mark 8:35 (NLT)

More than half a century ago a young missionary was killed in Ecuador by Acua Indians. His wife, Elisabeth Elliot, wrote years later in Discipline the Glad Surrender about her husband’s passionate love for God. “Discipline is the wholehearted yes to the call of God. When I know myself called, summoned, addressed, taken possession of, known, acted upon, I have heard the Master. I put myself gladly, fully, and forever at His disposal, and to whatever He says my answer is yes.” When God’s incredible mercy and grace have brought new life, then giving myself away for His sake should be as natural as breathing. Jesus calls for me to know Him as He has always known me. He yearns for me to place myself completely into His hands, and trust Him with the unknown of what is to come.

“In a deeper sense that any other species of earthbound creature,” Elisabeth Elliot continued, “I am called. And in a deeper sense I am free; for I can ignore the call. I can say no call came. I can deny that God called or even that God exists. What a gift of amazing grace—that the One who made me allows me to deny His existence.”  When I say “yes” to God, then I am no longer my own. I have realized the cost of my obedience, and have agreed to give whatever is necessary. 

“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35, NIV). The news is filled with those who have lost their lives for refusing to deny Christ. Not only have some given their physical lives, but others have lost friends and family. “You will be hated” Jesus taught, “because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). Do the examples of men and women who have given all for Jesus Christ inspire us to do the same?  Jesus calls each one of us to leave all our personal desires behind, to take up His cross and follow Him.  It is a call to absolute surrender of body, mind and spirit. It is a call to the deepest discipleship—to the greatest commitment. It is also the promise of the greatest reward for those who endure./

Have I counted the cost of surrender, and placed myself completely in His Hands? Is my love for Christ greater than my love for anything or anyone else?  This call to obedience does not attract many, but for the one who does surrender and follow Him, the result of such a decision is guaranteed. If I will lose my life for Him, I will discover the infinite spiritual depth in my own soul (Matthew 16:24-25). God gives us the freedom to choose—to choose either the shallowness of personal desires or the reality of His fulfillment.

When you trade your life for His life, you discover your true identity. Having searched all your life for fulfillment, you find the pearl of greatest price, and you give your very life in order to possess it (Mathew 13: 45-46). “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me” (Psalm 42:7, NIV). The unfathomable depth of the Spirit of God calls out to that which we do not yet know ourselves to be. Do I hear?  Do you? Do we accept? Are we willing?

©201 Lynn Lacher/

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/my-life-for-his-sake.html

Priceless Inheritance

Priceless Inheritance

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

—1 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NLT)

Priceless. Precious. Costly. This is how He regarded me, or He wouldn’t have paid the greatest price for my life. How priceless, precious, and costly is He to me? Do I praise Him with each breath?  Do I live for Him instead of myself? Do I treat His mercy and His grace as the most priceless gifts He could possibly render? If so, I live this earthly life filled with great expectation. If not, the thought of a priceless inheritance in heaven has little meaning.

Earthly life decays. It changes with each feeling. It presents circumstances that are sometimes beyond comprehension. It often claims our thoughts and directs our actions. Life here are earth tries to lure us away from our first love, and attempts to pull our focus from what He has promised. Without Him, we are alone, and have little expectation of our priceless inheritance in Him.

There is the priceless promise of heaven—a place of the greatest peace. It is pure and clean. There are no earthly struggles to tear apart. There are no feelings to destroy. No more weeping. Only joyful reunion with our Savior and our loved ones. There we shall live in freedom without constant battle against this world’s heartache. But it is now—here on this earth—that we live for the expectation. It is here that we become acquainted with the joy of what is to come. It is here we receive “His heaven on earth” to carry us above earthly pain—to give us a vibrant hunger for His promise.

Faith is the key to this promise. When I believe—when I trust—when I surrender to His love, the Holy Spirit empowers my time on earth. He protects and holds me safe in His promise. One day I shall no longer only partly know Him, but I will know Him entirely—as He has always known me. But for right now—for this moment—for this day, I choose to live His power. I choose to live His humility. I choose to live His grace. I choose Him, because He regarded me as priceless, and chose me.

My last day on earth will come. My last breath will one day be drawn. And He will take me from the wonder of His love I have experienced on earth into the wonder of His promise in heaven. Death will be swallowed in victory. From glory to glory, joy will yield to greater joy. Earthly purpose will no longer have any meaning. Expectation shall receive its promise, and my inheritance shall be priceless.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/priceless-inheritance.html

Run the Race

The race had been hard on my daughter. At about the seventeenth mile she had become physically ill. Dehydrated and with her stomach in knots, she still pushed forward. Each mile marker spurred her on. Each pounding step reminded her that she ran for a reason. She could not see the end, but she ran the remaining nine miles because she knew its promise.

What are the mile markers in your life? What events mark growth and spur you on to the next level? Do you keep God’s promises spiritually in view though you endure suffering?  If we are to successfully finish life’s race we must endure to the end and cross that finish line.

 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers,” James advised, “whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV). Suffering produces perseverance—the ability to move forward no matter what comes. Perseverance produces a person of moral character—one who allows the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be exemplified. Character produces hope. Hope does not disappoint, because the Holy Spirit daily pours the love and promise of Christ’s reward into our hearts (Romans 5:1-5).

If we look at Hebrews 12:1-2, we read that we should run this race of life with perseverance. To complete the course, it is absolutely necessary to fix our eyes on Christ. He is the author of our faith and He alone knows how to complete it. We must spiritually envision the goal because Jesus wishes our faith to mature—to be perfected. He is our example so that we do not lose heart. Jesus stands on the sidelines and cheers us onward to the finish, encouraging us each step of the way with the loving discipline of a good father (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Have you ever heard the term "runner's high"?  It refers to a euphoric state of mind experienced by many runners during a long run. When the body is pushed to the limit, as in a marathon run, it begins to experience pain. To compensate for the pain the body produces endorphins. Not only do endorphins have a pain-killing effect, but they also produce a sense of well-being.

Isn’t this what the Lord wishes for us?  That we get to the point where the circumstances of life spur us on to greater heights and pain brings us to a greater faith in His ability to handle life’s struggles?  There is a peace that passes all understanding, but it is only found in giving each trial to Him. It is only found in our thankfulness for His provision (Philippians 4:6-7). When we have discovered this euphoric peace we have found our “runner’s high”.

“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees, and make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13, NIV). Train. Allow the circumstances of your life to spur you on—not destroy you. Exercise your faith, and reach for the gold of your promise. This race is meant to bring you through safely. The Lord cheers you on and waits with open arms.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/run-race.html

Friendship

“O my dear brother Jonathan, I’m crushed by your death. Your friendship was a miracle-wonder, love far exceeding anything I’ve known— or ever hope to know” (1 Samuel 1:26, MSG).

David and Jonathan were bound by the deepest friendship. On report of Jonathan's death, David was crushed, but he said something in this verse that speaks of Jonathan's friendship being one that exceeded anything he had ever known. His friendship was a “miracle-wonder”.  C. H Spurgeon once stated, “Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.”  Do you know that a friend carries the load when you are unable to take one more step? I have a quote on a picture a friend gave for me several years ago. “A friend is someone”, it reads, “who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” A friend also knows your heart and encourages your heart's miracle when you have given up hope.

Luke writes of a man who might have missed his healing without the determination of his friends to literally carry him. Four men bring their paralytic friend to a house where Jesus is, but can’t get through that mass of people. Determined, they climb to the roof of the house by an outside stairway. After removing roof tiles and prying up the mud and wattle, they lower the paralytic’s pallet through the opening. Jesus looks up, and observes the pallet being lowered. He sees the faces of four men filled with stark hungering need for their friend’s healing. He also sees great faith revealed in their faces. Jesus looks at the paralytic and announces, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. Rise up, and pick up your mat. Go home.” (Luke 5:16-24)

In Proverbs Solomon lists three strong values found in a good friend. He loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17); he is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24); he never forsakes his friend (27:10). The story of the paralytic in Luke supports Solomon’s observations. The paralytic received constant love from his friends. He was closer than a brother, and his friends did not forsake him. They believed in his healing and did what they could to help him. Maybe the paralytic had given up all hope, and had asked him to just leave him alone. Perhaps he asked them not to cut a hole in the roof. Or maybe because he was unable to do anything for himself, he was relying upon his friends. Whatever the case what can we understand about friendship from this example of the four friends’ commitment? No matter what your friend’s belief or lack of belief, you believe in the very best for him. You believe in his miracle when despair has claimed his heart. You go the distance for him.

True friendship never acts upon its own desire, but only upon the desire of the Holy Spirit.  It listens to His guidance. True friendship never sacrifices the heart of a friend. If a friend shares his heart, he has trusted you enough to make himself vulnerable to what you think of him. If your friend comes to you seeking advice, pray for God's wisdom and always extend the grace of honesty without judging him. If you are a loving friend, and not a “Job” kind of friend, you will know that you don't have all the answers, but you will carefully listen. If the Holy Spirit gives insight, you will only offer that insight, and not place any expectation upon your friend. If you make a suggestion, you make it clear that you love him no matter what—that you do not have all the answers. God extends free will to us, and we must do the same. You can believe in a promise for your friend, but you can never demand that he believe it. You can share what the Holy Spirit has shown you, but you can't coerce him to believe. That is not your place. Your place is to believe, encourage, and inspire. You accept him with all his hang-ups and struggles, just as you have been accepted with all of yours.

A David and Jonathan friendship knows the other friend's heart without asking. When a friend gets to the end of his faith and has lost all hope, you will know it. If the day comes when the Holy Spirit tells you to cut that hole in the roof for your friend, you will step out in faith and cut that hole in the roof. You will believe for the miracle Jesus has promised. You will know the time, and that the Lord is waiting to see your loving obedience for the sake of your friend. Trust the Savior who has lead you to the place of the roof, and step out in faith. Believe when your friend has forgotten the song in his heart. The Holy Spirit waits below desiring to meet the need.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/friendship.html

Let Your Mask Down

Marion’s husband was in the hospital fighting cancer. Chemotherapy was tearing his body apart, and the pain around her heart was turning it to stone. It hurt too much to feel. She could not bear to watch him fight for a healing that might never happen. Her pain imprisoned her, and she erected a wall to protect her broken heart. As she walked down the hospital corridor one evening, she saw a little old woman in the room next to her husband's, sitting up in bed shivering uncontrollably.

“Give her your favorite shawl,” Marion heard in her mind. She ignored the words, but they would not go away. Finally, in an attempt to get the voice out of her head, she brought her shawl to the hospital. With everything else going on in her shattered life, this was just another chore. She decided to leave the shawl on the woman's bed, but the little lady was still sitting up in bed crying. Moving closer to her, Marion placed the shawl around the woman's shoulders, and a pair of thankful eyes looked up at her and melted her stony heart. With that one act of kindness, the wall that had held back her own pain was suddenly released, and the healing love of the Holy Spirit gave Marion freedom in the arms of the little woman in the next room.

"We are not like Moses," Paul imparts, "who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:13-18 NIV).

Christ sets me free from the “old covenant veil” I hold in place so others do not see my vulnerability and pain. My mind and heart do not have to be dull and hard. I don’t need a mask to hide joy that has faded because I don't want others to know. Where the Holy Spirit is, I have the liberty—I have the freedom—I have the intentional vulnerability, the trust, the faith, and the purpose to lay my heart before others so that there may be healing for those the Lord entrusts to me. And healing for me.

When my heart yields completely to the Holy Spirit, it becomes one of tender “spiritual flesh”. It becomes malleable, vulnerable, and not afraid of the pain that often accompanies healing. It is a heart ready to face the hurt of the past or the present head-on, and allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever is necessary. Willing to deal with whatever must be dealt with, this heart trusts that Lord, who has exposed the pain, is capable of healing all that has caused it.

When allowing her mask to come down, Marion discovered the healing of heart which would carry her through her husband’s battles. Her perspective completely changed when she allowed the Lord’s voice to direct her actions. Are you hiding behind a wall of pain instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to remove your mask?  This could be your day of freedom.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/let-your-mask-down.html

New in You

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

—2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

I am who you say I am, Jesus. Because you are my Savior, I have been made righteous by your sacrifice for my sins. I am the righteousness of God because of your love for me. Help me to grasp this truth! You give me power to live a virtuous life filled with honesty and integrity. I am blameless only because you have made me blameless. You took the punishment that was my due, and I am gloriously free to praise your name. There is no limitation in what I yearn to give you. There is no hesitation—no pulling away or erecting a wall because of doubt or fear. I walk in your freedom because you paid what I owed.

Don’t ever let me make light of what you have so readily given. You paid for me with costly grace. Your amazing love for me cost you everything. You tore down the wall that separated me from your Father. You opened the door to His presence. Don’t ever let me demand from someone else what you have already paid. I don’t want to be like the servant in the parable, when forgiven of his debt, couldn’t forgive someone else who owed him. He didn’t get the fact that his debt had been completely erased by his master and was paid in full. If I become as the servant who, although forgiven of his debt, still demands payment, then I am like a Pharisee who doesn’t “spiritually get” what Jesus has done for me. I walk in unforgiveness and darkness instead of the righteousness of God, and pass along my own insecurities to any who will follow me.

That servant was totally free of debt!  I, too, am totally free of debt! Help me to live my life humbly and thankfully in the freedom that cost you everything, Jesus. Help me to grasp only your voice above the thunder of so many vying for my attention. Help me to believe at all cost, that what you have done for me, is a finished work. I am new in you.

©2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/new-in-you.html

No More

He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. —Job 8:21 (NLT)

No more hurt—He carries me above tragedy’s haunting refrain.

No more weakness—I may feel weak, but when I yield to Him, I’m strong.

No more fear—He gives unshakeable faith to trust Him.

No more hiding—He always finds me behind my false wall of protection.

No more turmoil—He brings peace and rest when all around is in flight.

No more struggle—He smooths the rough places that I cannot level.

No more rejection—I am accepted in spite of my failures.

No more despair—He encourages what I cannot fathom.

No more sadness—He wipes every tear from my eyes.

No more am I alone—He restores my heart to beat with His.

He once again fills my mouth with laughter.

I shout for joy. I am loved.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/no-more.html

No Issue

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

—1 Peter 3:8 (NLT)

As a member of the body of Christ, you soon discover that being of one mind is not the same as agreeing on everything in life. It does mean you will agree on the important core issues of faith in Jesus Christ, and, although you have different perspectives, you will work for unity when decisions are made. If we all had the same approach—the same perspective—the same idea, we could not envision God’s whole picture. Paul compared each member of the body of believers to each member of the physical body. The hand can’t do much without the eye to guide it. The idea in a head can’t be expressed without the tongue to speak it. We, also, as members of the body of Christ, discover we need each other to become the whole that God had in mind when we were created.

For this to happen, we need to keep a humble attitude. Sympathize with each over, and love each other as brothers and sisters. Without tender-hearted love, your way to do something consumes you, and pride, which believes your way is the only way, grows without limit. “Don’t be selfish,” Paul wrote. “Don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had” (Philippians 2:3-5, NLT). Do we get that? Are we willing to lay down everything for someone else?

It’s the idea that “my way is best” which nurtures a critical spirit. We all fight a critical spirit at times. Some of us fight it easier and less often than others. But it is something we all must place on His altar. Jesus had everything to prove. He had the way, and He had the answer. But the way He proved it was by laying down His life. He washed feet that didn’t deserve it. He loved without receiving in return. He gave without hesitation.

But, what if your way is best? And it is not realized? No issue in the body of Christ is larger than the love which died for it. No issue. When you continually lay down your way—just as Jesus laid down His life—that is the moment you begin to exercise His gift of freedom. That is the moment that His love sets you free.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/no-issue.html

Five Loaves

Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

—Matthew 16:9 (NIV)

How soon we forget what the Lord has done!  When our minds are fleeting, we don’t remember. We become bogged down with what we consider priorities, and we allow fear of the unknown to clog our thoughts. Have we forgotten how he fed us when there was nothing? Have we forgotten His plenty when all appeared scarce?

To be filled we must be emptied of self. We can’t be filled if we aren’t starving for Him. If we aren’t hungry, our baskets will remain empty. “He has filled the hungry with good things,” Luke writes, “but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53, NIV). Are we too rich in our own merit—our own goodness— that we just expect to be filled without emptying ourselves of our own resources?

We need to get this! This is truth for His child. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NIV)! We can’t fill ourselves with His honesty and virtue. Only He makes us righteous. We have been made “right” only by the gift of His life for our sin. If we empty “self” and seek Him, we shall find Him. We can stand on His Word. We can know without any doubt He has five loaves in that basket which appears so empty.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/05/five-loaves.html

Not from the Mountain

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

—Psalm 121 1:1-4 (NLT)

Walking down the hill from our new home, I see Cheaha Mountain rising in the distance. I always remember this verse when I see mountains. As a child I thought that God lived in the mountains and sent His help to us from there. I didn’t realize that the King James Version of “from when commeth my help” was actually a question asking if the mountain supplied my help or if God did. But I was a child, and seeing was believing.

Now I believe without seeing. I know God is here for me. The mountains remind me of His presence, and the help which comes from Him. I know He made heaven, and He made earth. If He can make the mountains, He can certainly keep me from stumbling. I see a smile on several faces as you read this. Yes, I stumble, but it isn’t because God isn’t there. It’s because I take my eyes off my surroundings and allow my mind to think of other things. Instead of being observant, I’m negligent.

Don’t we do that in the spiritual sense? Become negligent? Allow things to pull our minds off of Him and get deterred by our own perceptions instead of what God actually is saying? And then when we spiritually stumble, we wonder why God didn’t rescue us. His hand had been extended the whole time, but we didn’t see it because we had our eyes on the mountain instead of Him.

To come to the realization that God is never passive—never sleeps—never pulls away—always cares, we must spend time with Him. He yearns to be known, and to have fellowship with us. Suddenly my foot hits a rock, but I don’t stumble. Perhaps God, as I have considered these verses, has kept me from stumbling. Cheaha rises ahead of me, and reminds me that God is greater than any mountain—any fear—anything. Where does my help—my strength come from?  The one who never takes His eyes off of me. Let me never take mine off of Him.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/not-from-mountain.html

Finally Free

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

—2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NLT)

Once so blind, but, thankfully, now I see.

Why had I only partly entered your Holy of Holies? You had removed the veil that blocked my entrance with your sacrifice, but why had I not completely stepped into you presence—into the freedom you had purchased for me? You had removed my mask, but why had I held it tightly in place? Had I been afraid of what you would require of me? Had I been afraid of letting go and letting you fill me with your Spirit?

Of course I had. I thought the mask would protect me, but I discovered it only imprisoned my pain. I was afraid that letting you have every part of my life would never be the ultimate freedom. But you never stopped reaching for me. You never stopped asking me to come into your presence with nothing in the way. No mask. No wall. You just waited for me to enter. Stripped of all pretense. Hiding nothing and being real.

You kept calling me with your everlasting love, and I finally heard. I pushed through the barrier of my own wall—desperate for the joy of your presence. I ripped the mask that hid my pain from my face. And there you were with open arms in all your forgiveness and grace—just waiting for me. You rushed into my void, and your glory filled my heart. I was finally free.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/finally-free.html

Lack Nothing

We each have a road to walk. Some roads are easier than others; some are incredibly difficult. But we must develop good character traits to make it through life. Without changes in thinking and behavior we face the prospect of failure. To each believer Jesus says, “Don’t waste the time I have given you. Develop character traits that will carry you through to the end.”  

^“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life,” Peter counseled. “We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4, NLT).

Trials can destroy us, but Christ wants us to know that we can age gracefully with the seasons. Whatever problem you face will either spur you onward or hold you back. Christ promises success, but you must decide to seek direction in His Word. Without studying Scripture you can’t know His Truth for your life. His promises are true, but if you don’t know them, you remain in bondage. Knowledge of the Word sets you free. It gives wings to His promises.

           
“For this very reason,” Peter continued, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love”

 (2 Peter 1:5-7, NLT). Make every effort. Not just attempt, and then when it gets too difficult give up. You decide to add these virtues in your life, but God provides the power and personal strength which fosters spiritual growth and results in His agape love.

“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Peter imparted. We decide to grow. We decide to mature. We decide to change. We decide to forgive. We decide to surrender to His hand, and allow Him to mold us. He empowers our choices, and carries us in His strength. Peace is discovered more quickly. Fear is defeated more easily. Walking the road of life becomes easier.

 ^“For you know that when your faith is tested,” James wrote, “your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1: 3-4, NLT).

When He is our strength, we lack nothing.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/lack-nothing.html

His Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

—1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)

There are different kinds of love. There is romantic love, love of friends, love of family, and then there is a love that is above all others. It is self-sacrificing, pure, and perfect. The unconditional love of God is the very best that can live in me. It has the power to continually change me. It asks me to place the needs of others before my own. It asks me to care without judgment, forgive without justice, and give without hesitation. It asks me to have the love of the father who just yearned for his wayward son to come home.

Everyone has a different idea about what love is, and they draw their ideas from where they are in life. But above all others is the love that was won by God’s grace on Calvary. His love supersedes all others and has the power to impact all other kinds of love. His perfect love—living in me—has the power to be patient, kind, and forgiving, and not jealous or filled with pride. It has the power to draw others to Him. However, because I am human, His love is not always perfect in me. It is often flawed by my own desires. How easily I can forget that His love on Calvary was not only about me!  God, in His mercy, always draws me back, welcoming me—filling me with His love instead of my own selfish one.

His love despises the evil of jealousy, pride, and selfishness—especially when I refuse His love to change my heart. But when it does change my heart, His love in me always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. My love will fail at some point, but His love will always remain unchanging, filled with a forgiveness that only He could purchase.

If His love does not impact the love I have for others, then His love does not live in me. If it does not change my selfish attitude and open my heart, then I have not given Him access. Continually He draws me—continually He reaches—continually He speaks to me of grace. If I surrender, He is a waterfall that has no end—a stream of living water that quenches my thirst. He is the bread of life that creates in me a love that is willing to give everything for the sake of that one lost sheep.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/his-love.html

It is Finished

It is Finished

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

—John 19:30 (NIV)

Finished. Completed. It is done, and there is nothing more to do. But how many Christians live trying to do enough so Jesus will love them? Are you one of them? Do you believe in Jesus’ grace, and then live as if you haven’t received it? What else must He do to convince you how much He loves you? When will you understand that you do not need to earn His love? His love was—is still—and will always be freely given. Sin was destroyed at Calvary. Fear was defeated. Bitterness was demolished. The disciples hid in fear after Jesus’ crucifixion. Resurrection had brought new life, but fear claimed them. Then the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. Power filled them to rise above fear and bitterness and sin. Power came because Jesus made the final payment and canceled their debt.  

If you know Him, there is no more debt. There is no more defeat!  He wants you to grow spiritually—not out of a sense of obligation—but because you love Him. Grace creates grace. You “do” for Him because He has “done” for you. You forgive with His grace. You walk in His love. His power is available to rise up just as the disciples rose up. They rose in His strength, and not their own. You, also, can rise in His strength, and not your own.

Never “do” to please Him. Let the work He finished at Calvary be finished in you. Receive His power to “do” for Him because of what He has “done” for you. Live in the joy of His Resurrection!  He did not leave you in the grave! Walk in the freedom He has claimed for you! Let go of living to please the law, and grab the hem of His garment. Be filled with Him—the Holy Spirit. You will no longer just do. You will reach beyond the limits of what you have been, and become all He has destined for you.

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/it-is-finished.html