What Does My Life Say?

What am I to other people? What does my life say? Is it about me or about others? I don’t want to be a part of the “me” generation, but what do my attitudes and actions render? Does my life have an anchored purpose or is it like a boat with no anchor? These questions challenge me to examine my life–each moment, each thought, and each action to really see if Jesus is my reason for existence.

Is He my anchor–the core of my very being? If He is my heartbeat, then His faith and His love within my heart have nowhere to go but outward. It cannot be inwardly directed or it will destroy me. If He has broken the selfishness of my heart so that I may be filled with His love, then how can I not want my heart to be broken for others? James was explicit when he penned that "faith without works in dead". Likewise, he lets me know that works without faith has little meaning. If I love Jesus, then my life is not about me. It is about the needs of others. My life should reveal the Savior who redeemed me and filled me with His love and promise. I should live His love in each moment, in each thought, and in each action. If He is my first love, then my life will show it.


He knows where I am, and the state of my heart–whether it is completely claimed or unclaimed. Am I ready to be truthful with Him? Am I ready to surrender my selfishness and pride out of love for Him? Am I ready to examine my motions and purpose? Am I ready to let go of my desires and realize that I am called to regard others better than myself?


I want my life to speak peace in the midst of any turmoil.I want my life to be a catalyst of healing. I long to be the part of the body of Christ which brings beautiful unity to the whole. The only way I can become all that he wishes me to be is to give Him total control of my life. Today I want to be real with Him so that I can be real with others. I want to become His hands, His feet, His ears, His mouth, His eyes, and His heart.

CONTROLLING ME

The world teaches us that whatever is wrong in our life, it is not a result of anything we have done. “Don't blame yourself,” the world says, “someone else caused this to happen. You couldn't help it.” It is time that we take responsibility for what we are, what we believe, what we say, and how we act. No, we are not responsible for circumstances over which we have no control, and it would be self-defeating for us to analyze the cause of each one. But we are responsible for how we respond to failures, trials, problems and life. We are totally responsible for our actions and our reactions. I am responsible for me and how I act...what I say and what I do. Nobody makes me respond the way in which I respond or react. In fact my reaction is all I can control in any situation.

Spiritual growth in Christ is convicting. It doesn't allow me to make excuses. It tells me that I must take responsibility for my bad attitude or my fly-off-the-handle reaction. It means that I should learn from my failure, and if I was responsible for the problem, to make every effort to not create that circumstance again. Spiritual maturity also tells me that the next time I am faced with circumstances either of my own making or not of my own making, I will react in a mature way that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The only way that I can have the fruit of the Spirit alive in my life is to allow all the selfishness of myself to be crucified with Christ. When I am willing to make this selfless journey, when I am willing to accept my responsibility for all that I am, and when I am realize that without Him I cannot become my true self, then I have begun the journey to grow deeper in Him.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world,” Paul writes, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). I want to go deeper into His Word, and His Truth. I want my life to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. I want my mind and how I think to be renewed so that I search for God's pleasing and perfect will instead of my own lacking one. I do not want to act or react without Him controlling my words, my thoughts, my actions and my reactions.

What controls me? What controls you? Have we matured to the point where what we say and what we do are controlled by Him and not by an unchanged and immature human nature? These are all questions we must ask ourselves because our lives are shaped from our actions and reactions. God's plan lies ahead, but we cannot discover it until we allow Him to control us with His love and guiding hand. One day we will answer to Him for all our actions, interactions, reactions. We will answer about how we loved, and if we respected each other. I pray that I will be able to say, “Lord, I have been crucified with you, and you have lived within me.”

Contentment in all Things

“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 4:12-13).

We can't know true contentment and peace without God in our lives. Nothing on this earth can offer such peace.... no possession, no person, no joyful anticipation. Only God promises spiritual contentment and peace, and that is something the world can never give. 

The Apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content in every circumstance. This kind of peaceful contentment does not depend upon our circumstances. It is an inward contentment that is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul didn't want to be in prison, and he certainly didn't want to be dependent on others to provide for his needs. He longed to be out of jail. But, no matter what he faced, he was content. 

Nothing made Paul content. His contentment came from his deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God gave him peace, and with that peace a purpose to fulfill. His incarceration could not stop him from trusting in God to meet all his needs. His chains could not keep him from writing of God's great goodness. He had learned the secret of being content in every circumstance.

Often we discover that many things are just impossible for us. We cannot find contentment and peace in our circumstances. Struggling doesn't help. Railing at God doesn't help. In fact, it makes it worse. But there is a peace that passes our understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). When we know God as intimately as Paul, we can give Him all that rages, and take refuge in Him. Paul shows us that is it absolutely possible to have peace and contentment when we trust God. 

When we discover this inner peace and contentment, nothing can come against us. We discover that nothing is impossible for him. We can do whatever God calls us to do. And we can do everything through Jesus who gives us to strength to accomplish it.

HIS PERFECTLY DESIGNED WORK

 “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a).

Do the work that you are given, my child, and leave the result of that work to me. The work that I have given you has been designed for you. When you carry it out faithfully and obediently, the result will be what I planned.

Always follow my guidance. Don't follow anyone else. Even those who are wise on earth are not wise in heaven. They do not know the work that I have designed for you. They have enough trouble sometimes understanding and following their own.

I know who you are, my child. I know you intimately....your heart, your character, your capability, your greatest potential. When I direct you to do something, it is done with full knowledge of just who you are. When you follow me and give me your best, the result is glorious and rewarding beyond anything you can imagine.

Go forward in faith and follow my path. Be strengthened by my power. Keep your eyes on me. I started this faith and this work in you. If you continually surrender your heart and will to me, I will perfect my work in you. I have called you, and I am faithful to complete my work through you. Faithfully allow it to be completed.

 

WORTH IT ALL

“The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (Habakkuk 3:19).

If I climb a mountain and concentrate on the hardship of each step, I never see the beautiful reward waiting for me at the summit. That summit is my goal! I will not dwell on the little problems that come up each day. Each struggle is a lesson to carry me closer to my goal.

Each step up my mountain is a springboard toward the top, and I will not dwell on the pain of those steps. Keeping my eyes on the goal, I will move upward, and as I climb each step will become another solid foundation of growth. If I consider each step as a means to carry me to the promise at the peak, my climb will not bring despair, but great hope.

The promise at the summit is my greatest reward. One day I will reach that greatest height, and know that all the struggle has been worth the promise. I shall look down on my rocky path, and know that the effort that I gave to get to this goal, has been worth it all.

 

I AM THANKFUL

I am thankful for the moment you came into my life. Everything changed in that instant. I was no longer alone. I was no longer bound in the dregs of my past. In that instant... in that moment, I knew I was loved no matter what I had done or been. Your love has set me free to be me. You always see my potential and lift me above the circumstances that try to destroy me. You walk with me everyday, but more incredibly and wonderfully you live inside me. It is your heart that loves through me, and it is your forgiveness that flows. I have none of my own. You make all the difference. You make my life complete, and for that I cannot give you enough thanks.

Today I give you all the praise and thanks I can. You are my life, and my God. I love you, Jesus, for loving me beyond measure... beyond anything my limited mind can imagine. You just are, and in your constant promise, I am fulfilled.

LIVE HIS LOVE

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

The world has heard about Jesus Christ, but what it needs is to know Him. We try to share His love, and are surprised when our words don't make a difference in lives of those who need Him. They are just words about Him. They are not His words living and active in our lives. They are not Him living through us.

The world needs to see Christ in my life. It doesn't need to hear about His power, but it needs to experience it through me. It doesn't need to hear about His peace, but it needs to see it alive in me. It needs to see a calm reassuring faith, no matter what the circumstances. It doesn't need to hear about His joy, but it needs to see His joy spring up from depths of faith in His faithfulness to me. It doesn't need to just hear of my love, but it needs to experience His love through me.

If I love Him and live Him, the world will see Him in me. They may accept or reject Him, but they will have experienced His love and witnessed His power. It is not my place to save. It is my place to live what He has done in my life. If I am His vessel, He does the work. All I have to do is allow Him to live completely through me.

Rejoice in the Rain

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus . Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you ” (Philippians 4:4-9). 

Do you realize that life is not about waiting for the storms of life to just be over? There will always be storms. Life is about learning to rejoice in the rain. It is about bringing the Lord a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15) no matter what storm rages in your life. You can't wait the storms of life out. You must launch into the fury in faith, trusting the Lord to help you handle it with grace.

Jesus Christ is the very best truth for your life. His truth is not lessened by trials and suffering. If you practice what is right, continually dwell on what is good, and trust the Lord, you will discover God's promise of peace and joy in the midst of any trial.

Do you rejoice in His faithfulness or does worry anchor your mind in fear? If God is with you, why should you be afraid? This Scripture from Philippians imparts the truth that if He is with us we can have perfect peace of mind and heart.

“It is absolutely impossible to worry and live in peace at the same time,” Joyce Meyer writes. Anxiety and worry will destroy peace of heart and mind. God, however, assures those who have made Him Lord, that He is constantly with them as they face the raging storms of life. If we know Him, and serve Him, and live for Him, we have His constant care, and faithful promise to carry us through to the end, or either intervene when the way is too rough (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Let's rejoice in Him always. Let's give Him our fears with thankfulness in our hearts that He will handle what we are unable to handle. Let's dwell on what is good and worthy and noble, and put these into practice in our lives. Our God of peace will be with us. All will be well.

www.lynnhamptonlacher.blogspot.com

Today I Touch

 

Today I almost touch your garment.

You are as close as my next breath.

I have seen your glory in the sanctuary,

I have known it in suffering and joy.

The pain brings the promise of release.

It is through pain that I discover

Your strength to stand strong.

But in this moment I need you now.

This pain has overwhelmed me.

I need to know with all my heart

That you are truly my healer.

So I reach up and grasp your hem,

And in that one act of faith,

Your life becomes my life,

Flowing, healing, redeeming,

Your glory is within me.

That which had promised death

Now promises life!

Today I touched the hem of your garment.

Matthew 9:19-21

(dedicated to a friend who reached up and touched the hem of His garment)

HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW

    The call came in the middle of last night. James Davis is in surgery right at this moment for new lungs. It has been a long road, and it still will be. For the last several weeks, Edgewood Church has been undergoing a renovation in the sanctuary. Many have sacrificed time, money, and love to see it completed for today’s worship service.

    And it will be worship!  Not only a new sanctuary, but the gift of new lungs for James!  God does make all things new in our lives. We may not always perceive how His hand does this, but it is His promise.  Sometimes the route to our promise is long and hard, but in the end the reward is very great.

    Whatever your struggle....whatever your question....whatever your promise.... HOLD FAST!  He who promises is faithful. We are new in Him because He has saved us from our own self-destruction. We are new because He has made us His own.

    Be renewed everyday with the touch of His Spirit!  Be renewed with His love.  If you are able, come worship with us at Edgewood today, and rejoice in the miracle of His presence.