Treasures in Heaven

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

~Matthew 6:19-21(NIV)

          This Scripture instructs that you should place your treasures in heaven and avoid the pitfalls of earthly concerns. You are to give yourself away in order to later receive something much better. You are to die to self so you can live to Christ. Perhaps you treat God’s biblical truths as nothing more than platitudes, because they call for sacrifice and obedience. If you serve two masters (Luke 6:24), you sit on the fence, unable to give up the importance of earthly things. If you are obstinate, you end up coveting possessions and relationships, which give sensory comfort, instead of seeking an abiding relationship with the Lord, which offers both earthly and eternal fulfillment (Luke 6:33).

How do you store up treasures in heaven? You begin by replacing the demands of the earthly for the expectation of the heavenly. God doesn’t demand anything. He desires you to choose Him. He just waits, expects, and loves, because He always see your potential. How do you find God’s expectations? Love Jesus without reservation. Know His Word. Put Him first in all your decisions. If you submit to His will only for the moment you miss two promises—understanding God’s provision and an opportunity to grow in faith.

Your personal life is where you learn to handle the blessings and the trials of life in a responsible way. When blessings are placed first, instead of Christ, they become earthly possessions instead of heavenly inspiration. Likewise, trials that are not given to Christ (Philippians 4:6-7) rob you of His lesson and His peace. When Christ is the reason for your life, then these things are handled in the proper spiritual perspective.

When you place yourself completely in the hands of Jesus Christ you invest in heaven. The more you reach for His expectation, the less the importance of earthly demands. You learn what it means to walk in His Spirit above earthly possessions or concerns of life (Galatians 5:25). Your life may not appear as someone else has determined it should. But it doesn’t matter. You have traded the earthly for the heavenly, and it is as He has determined.

© Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

My Focus

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.  —Isaiah 26:3 NIV

What does feeling comfortable have to do with character? What have I discovered in the uncomfortable challenges or life? What lessons have I learned that create in me the ability to persevere? One lesson is that I can conquer the valley with the strength God has wrought in me. The joy found on the mountain is a state of mind and spirit that is promised for those who walk through the valley determined to experience all of His promise. I can never experience His power until I have surrendered my own weakness. It is in surrender that virtue of character is learned, and it is in freedom from the painful control of life's suffering that His peace is secured.  He will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is focused on Him instead of what I face.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

I Give Thanks

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

I Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

Everything changed the moment I surrendered my life to you. I was no longer alone. I was no longer bound in the lies of my past, but redeemed with the truth of your grace. In that instance, I knew your love. I was forgiven no matter what I had done or been. You looked past all that I had ever known, and claimed me as your own.

Each day you carry me safely through circumstances that try to destroy me. Your Word tells me to give thanks in all circumstances because that is your will. Those hard circumstances attempt to tear at the peace and the faith you have imparted. They try to make me question your love. But you know that their real purpose is to give strength of character and elicit praise. Your will for me is to always give thanks no matter what comes in my life. You desire praise to constantly claim my heart. You desire my praise to always rise no matter what happens.

In praise, I find you. You walk with me each day, but more incredibly and wonderfully you live inside me. It is your heart that lives in 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 praise. You are my life, and my Savior. I love you for loving me beyond measure—beyond anything my limited mind can imagine. You just are, and in your constant promise, I am fulfilled. I give thanks.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Little Things

I walk down the hall toward Daddy’s room preparing my heart for whatever situation and emotion I will find.  Standing at his door, I knock. There’s no answer, but these days there never is. I turn the knob asking God to give me strength for this moment. Opening the door, I see him in his new zero-gravity recliner. All the long length of him is stretched completely out—eyes closed and breathing evenly. A too-short blanket tucks under his prominent chin and exposes two large feet extending just beyond the foot rest. Neck pillow encircling his neck and a foot pillow protecting the skin beneath his ankles, Daddy is comfortable and peaceful.

I place a folding chair beside his recliner, and sit down. I hate to wake him and discover just where he is in mind, but I reach under the blanket to touch his hand. It is cold, and he doesn’t respond to my touch. So I sit there and hold his hand, and wait. Several minutes pass, and then he moves his head a little, finally aware that someone is beside him.

“You came,” he says.

He can speak words today!  Then he smiles that little grin, and I know that He is with me.

“Is my new furniture here yet?” he asks.

“It certainly is,” I tell him. “You are in your new recliner right now.”

“I am?”

He has had it for weeks, but time doesn’t exist for him.

“Yes, you are. Does it feel good?”

“Oh, yes,” he says. “Is Peach here?”  

Peach is my brother. Daddy hasn’t mentioned his name in a very long time.

“No, but he’s coming to visit in two weeks” I say.

He smiles, and closes his eyes. I hope he remembers. I tell him about the Thanksgiving party at Autumn Cove tomorrow. Jeanie and I are going to roll him in his wheelchair down the hall.

“Don’t forget me,” he says.  “And don’t leave me.”

“We won’t.”

“Peach will get me?”

Peach’s visit and the Thanksgiving party have become one event in his mind, and I can see worry setting in.

“We’ll always get you, Daddy.”

He looks up at the ceiling. 

“See those bubbles?”

“What about them?”

“I’m smashing them.”

“You’re doing a great job.”

There is that little grin again. Closing his eyes, he is asleep once more.  I continue to hold his hand. Where once it was cold, now his fingers have warmed around mine. Today has been a gift not seen very often. I thank God for His blessing.

Take joy in the little things. Sometimes you don’t know how important they are until they are gone.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Let Me

 In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. — Isaiah 30:15, NIV

“It is time to end your frantic pace," He speaks to my restless spirit. "Quit struggling and calm your impatient heart. Quit planning and analyzing. Don't rush my time with you. Give me your mind and your thoughts. Be still and know that I am God. Wait for me in your quiet time, and I will come. Wait until my power fills you.

“In your quiet time with me, your strength will return. So many believe that my strength is only seen in action. My greatest strength is given to you in your quiet time with me. In these times of refreshing you find confidence and strength to rise up to face your giants. This confidence and strength you discover will carry you powerfully into the heat of battle, but only if you allow me to bear the weight of command. If I am in control of your battles, your peace will remain. You will know that I am God, and that I take care of every problem and struggle that arises. The moment you attempt to control what is not yours to control, you will lose your peace.

 “You remember that thing you asked me to handle? Will you now finally quit trying to control it? Your attempt at control is destroying your peace. I promise peace. I give rest. Take time for me. Find rest and know that I am your God. Resting in me brings you power to believe. And it also gives you the strength to let go. Let me take care of what you were never meant to handle. Believe that I will handle it, and that you are free to be my beloved child. In quietness and trust, you receive all of me to face all of your giants. Let me be in charge.”

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Simplicity

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. —John 8:36 NLT

“More is better” is the cry of this fast-paced world. Everywhere we turn we are told that we need something else to complete our lives. But what we desire and ultimately possess, does not complete anything. It creates a lust for more. We feel stressed, exhausted, and always lacking. The hurried pace to have more overwhelms us, and we are lost in its control. Christ teaches us that we can be free from this horrendous struggle. It will not be our master, because we are under grace (Romans 6:14). We can learn how to live simply in Him.

The simplicity that Christ offers frees us from the rat race of life and brings peace to our harried existence. This grace teaches that we are more important than what we own. Possessions are not meant to possess us. They are meant to enrich our lives. When we learn to live simply, we discover that people are more important than what they have. The complexity of life becomes one of greater simplicity. 

“This is not possible,” you say. “How can I live a simple life in this world that demands me to achieve—to be better—to have more—to climb to the top?” It is not possible when your heart has not reached a place of surrender. It is not possible when you are the one in control of the desires of your heart and not Him. It is not possible when your flesh is more powerful than His Spirit. But it is possible when your heart lets go of its own desires and seeks His will. Because His will is simple. His message is simple. His heart is simple. Love as He has loved you. Not things, but others. 

Simplicity is a discipline of mind that comes from a heart that has been broken from its own selfishness, and has been given the grace to live selflessly. It is a grace bestowed by God. We cannot will ourselves to live selflessly and simply. It is a gift He bestows to be consciously surrendered in His service again and again. Simplicity in Him frees us from what encumbers. It liberates us from the bondage of things. It focuses our mind and heart on what is important. His love. His forgiveness. His purpose. His heart. It frees us to give ourselves away because He has become more because we have become less.

We can find His simplicity that liberates. We can discover a haven that inspires. We can have peace when faced with an overwhelming world. We can be content in the midst of unrest. It begins in our heart, and frees us from the tyranny of emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental havoc. Whoever He sets free is free indeed.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

More than Rote

Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.

—Psalm 119:18 NLT

So often we carry out things we are called to do without seeing the deeper aspect—without understanding the amazing purpose in His instructions. We exist in rote—in tradition—performing instead of participating in His wonderful truths. We have looked, and not really seen. We have heard, and not really understood. The thing we had to do was held to be more important than the reason behind it. We lost our vision in the midst of our performance, and discovered, as we began to perish, that we had lost our first love.

Lord God, open our eyes to the wonderful truths in your instruction! Let us grasp the joy in the daily things we are called to do. Nothing is too menial. Stir us to always fight against the routine of life becoming something without meaning. Give us your eyes to see the spiritual strength you offer to carry out what must be done. Give us the perseverance to make it our own. Give us your ears to hear your loving encouragement through days that become hard and dreary, and give us your understanding to realize the beauty of character you wish to grow in us. May the routine of today be the joy of our purpose! May we participate and contribute instead of just perform! May we, in becoming less, discover how much more you have made us! You are Truth. Your Word is Truth. Purify us with its message.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

A Beginning

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven. — (Luke 6:37, NIV).

What is the best gift you can give? It isn't something that you can touch or feel. It isn't something that will one day get lost or damaged. It is real and changes hearts. This is the gift of forgiveness. God's unconditional love always inspires forgiveness. Forgiveness is free and keeps no record of wrong that has been done. It lets go of hurt and releases the one who caused the pain from any debt. It does not judge or condemn.

Have you discovered it is difficult to forgive yourself? When you repent, the Lord forgives you. He remembers your sin no more. But you, on the other hand, can dwell on that sin until you can’t forgive yourself for what God has forgiven. It can sit in the back of your mind and grow large and overwhelming. It can destroy your assurance of God's grace, and make you question if He has truly forgiven you. You have trouble believing that He is a “God, ready to forgive, gracious and merciful” (Nehemiah 9:17, NIV). You can’t grasp that He has forgiven you completely, and your debt is gone.

How can you forgive yourself? This is hard, and and there are no easy answers. What I share comes from my own experience in my walk with Christ. Perhaps you believe you have forgiven someone for a betrayal, or something they did that was dishonest. Perhaps you believe you have forgiven them for rejecting your love or neglecting your trust. But if you have forgiven them for what they have done, why can't you accept God's forgiveness for your own betrayal, or your own action that was less than completely honest, or that time you rejected love and neglected a trust? His love forgives when you repent. Perhaps the inability to forgive lies in the fact that there are underlying unresolved feelings from things that have been done to you. Even though you have reached out and made amends and also been forgiven by others, maybe you still feel guilty and unworthy of forgiveness. Although you believe you have forgiven others for what they have done to you, your inability to forgive yourself might reveal something you haven't even realized—an inability to really forgive those who have hurt you. When you can reach the place where you truly forgive others, then you will also have the power to forgive yourself.

Jesus has told us to forgive, and that we will be forgiven. Forgiveness is an act of will. Forgiveness begins with a decision to forgive. Decide to forgive others, and decide to forgive yourself. When you open your mind and heart to the Holy Spirit, He begins a work of healing of unresolved feeling in His time and in His perfect way. Choose to forgive what has been done to you, and choose to not hold anything against anyone who has hurt you. Ask God to help you deal with all feelings that are involved. Choose to forgive yourself, and let go of any anger you harbor. Allow God to open you to what you need to face so that any emotional pain can be healed. He will help you move forward in His complete love and forgiveness, and He will deal with the past hurt and pain. He promises to take to the grave all the pain and hurt and bitterness and anger and rejection and neglect that you have experienced, and to raise you with Him in newness of life.

Today is a beginning.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Overflowing Grace

Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! —2 Corinthians 9:15 NLT

This gift of His overflowing grace—this gift which never is stagnant, but pulsates, and forgives, and brings new life to stony hearts—flows through us. His grace is not meant just for us. It is for every broken heart that beats. It is for each life that needs new meaning and purpose. Yet how often do we keep His grace to ourselves?  How often do we not extend the love which was extended to us?  Grace has little power to transform our lives if we don’t freely, and without restraint, pass it on. His grace cost us nothing. We didn’t have to earn it, but how often do we expect others to pay for what they have done?  Even though His grace is free for us, it wasn’t free for Jesus. It cost His life. He paid the ransom for our freedom.

We may speak His grace, but if our cold hearts don’t beat with it, and our bitter lives aren’t changed by it—then how real is His grace in us?  Are we really transformed—new and free in His forgiveness?  Has the grace of Calvary really made a difference? Paul speaks of the generosity of believers in today’s Scripture, and the result of their unrestrained giving. Those, who have been the recipients of their loving forgiveness and grace, shall, in return, pray for those generous believers with deep affection.

Grace produces grace. Love produces love. And His gift overflows in the hearts of man, unstoppable and powerful, until no one remains unchanged by the overflowing tide of its message. Free of bondage—free of pain—free of judgement and bitterness, we can rejoice in His gift of grace which is too wonderful for words!

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Jealousy

“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones” (Proverbs 14:30, NLT).

As our pastor said yesterday, jealousy is the green-eyed monster which, if allowed, will consume us. Nothing good comes from jealousy. It springs up and steals the fulfillment God imparts. It kills the fruit of the spirit. Jealousy crucifies any love, robs our joy, and destroys our peace. Any patience we might have had is gone, because we are never satisfied. Any kindness or goodness we exemplified has departed, because we view another person as someone with whom we compete. We have no self-control of our desire for more—we have no faithfulness that perseveres—we have no gentleness of heart, because we are in a constant state of competition. With jealousy, we have no peace. We have turmoil.

This verse from Proverbs reveals that a peaceful heart gives life. Jealousy is like a cancer that grows out of control, reaches into every facet of our lives, and ultimately destroys us. When our hearts and minds are at rest, we can live in His fullness. There is no striving to have more or be the best at something. We can rejoice with others if they receive a blessing. Our hearts are free to love and not judge. We do not compare, because there is no competition. Without the stress of always comparing and competing—when our hearts and minds are at peace, our spirits are also at peace. There is life. If we are filled with jealousy and are always comparing ourselves to others—if what we have never seems enough—if we feel we are not the best at something, then striving and unrest will kill the body and the spirit.

“I gave you milk,” Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” (1 Corinthians 3:2-3a, NIV). How immature are we? Do we still need to be treated as spiritual babies on milk? We need to grow up and walk in the spirit instead of the flesh. Jealousy does not only destroy our spiritual lives; it breeds dissension and division. Jealousy does not only destroy God's ability to work in us; it destroys others. Now is the time to grow up. Instead of allowing jealousy to crucify the Holy Spirit in us, it is time to crucify this green-eyed monster.

If God's love is in us, there is no place for jealousy. Love is patient, and it is kind. Love does not envy. It does not destroy lives. Love builds. Love creates. Love sees the best. Love does not compare, and it does not compete. The time for solid food has come.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com