Simple Thoughts

I was discussing martyrdom and suffering with my husband the other day, then the conversation shifted to Good Friday. And a thought occurred to me. Why is it that in the American church, we come together on Good Friday, and we discuss the sufferings of Christ – we may shed a few tears thinking of what He did for us, and may express our thankfulness – but we totally miss what Jesus is looking back at us and saying… “Yes, I did that for you. But I want the same from you!” We completely overlook suffering – the fact that we are called to share in the “fellowship of His suffering” (Phil. 3:10). He told us to take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). He told us to go to the nations and make disciples. He didn’t say, “Go to the safe nations to make disciples.” As Americans, we have been thankful for our “safe” Christianity. But here’s a question… if Christianity is safe, convenient, and lacks persecution & suffering, are we really living like Christ has asked us to? Are we b...

I was reading Daniel 7 this morning. While reading about the end time saints, the antichrist’s prevailing against them for a time, and the ultimate victory of the Lord’s judgment in favor of the saints, the Great Teacher made a connection for me. The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Mordecai.” Suddenly the parallels began rushing into my mind. Mordecai, Queen Esther’s uncle, was influential in the saving of his people. Check this out… Mordecai, which means “Warrior”, was hated by Haman, which means “Magnificent, Illustrious”, because Mordecai would not bow to Haman. The end time warrior saints will be hated by the Antichrist, who will appear magnificent to the rest of the world, because they will refuse to bow to his idol and to his kingdom established on the earth. Haman made war on the Jews because of Mordecai. He commissioned the King to write a law that would allow for the annihilation of the Jews and for the plundering of their possessions on a certain day. The Antich...

2Ti 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I read this verse today. And thought of child birth. After all, I am 30 weeks pregnant. Fear is not of God. But power, love and a sound mind is of the Lord. It's almost like thinking about the pain of prophesied crisis, or future end times tribulation, or martyrdom. Expected pain. I went to get my blood drawn today. I HATE getting my blood drawn. I think because you are sitting there waiting on the pain to come, expecting the pain and then bam! They stick you with a needle to draw blood, and you look away and bear it, gritting your teeth until you are done and have given enough blood. Expected pain. I don't like pain. I guess I don't know anyone who does. But it's the expected pain... or more so, the expectation itself of that pain that seems painful. I suppose when it boils down to it - it is truly a fear of the pain to come. But God has not given us a spirit ...

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when azaleas bloom and Japanese magnolia trees bloom, and everything comes to life again. The high temperature for the day is 70-something degrees, and it feels like the perfect springtime day. It’s that time… that time… except for the fact that this is the end of January???? Don’t get me wrong. I’m loving the weather. But it would feel more appropriate if it were March or April – not January. Out of season. Have you ever felt out of season? There are times that God will take certain people and call them to be forerunners, and they will appear out of season. They may even feel out of season. They may be doing things and speaking things that just don’t seem like what everyone else is saying or doing – or may not seem like what is typical of the time. But let me go back to our weather comparison for a minute. It’s January. But suddenly, instead of waiting for spring, I am now craving spring. I am longing for that amazing weather. I ...

I watch so many people daily. They are chasing dreams… chasing things that will not fulfill them… that will not leave them satisfied. They are “running after broken cisterns.” I just want to scream it from the rooftops… “There is something more!!! There is a love that will satisfy the longing in your heart! God has a dream in His heart for you to fulfill that will complete every desire of your heart! He has called you to greatness! He will take your emptiness and your ashes, and He will give you beauty and fulfillment! No applause of men, no sensual gratification, no amount of wealth will ever fulfill your heart. Never. It will never satisfy. BUT GOD. He knows you more intimately than anyone. He is the very one who put desires and dreams inside of you. HE is the one who knows how to fulfill these desires. And He will! He will! He doesn’t just tease us into following Him and then not deliver! He gives such fulfillment and grace in the midst of even our pain and growing. TRUST HIM!...

Do you ever just wonder what your contribution should be? God – how can I make a difference in my family? How can I make a difference in my church? How can I make a difference in my workplace? How can I make a difference in the world around me? Lord, You’ve placed me in all these locations and situations with purpose… Why am I here and what should I be doing? There are seasons when this question seems totally answered, and then other times, when I wonder about specific areas. There are many verses where we are told how to act and what to do. But there is only one thing ringing in my heart right now as I ask the Lord that question. Mar 12:28-34 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 'And you shall love the LORD your God...

The reading habits of the average evangelical Christian in the United States, as far as I have been able to observe them, are so wretchedly bad as actually to arrest the spiritual development of the individual believer and block the progress of the faith he professes to hold. So powerful is the effect of the printed page on human character that the reading of good books is not only a privilege but an obligation, and the habitual reading of poor ones a positive tragedy. Of course I do not here refer to the output of the yellow press. I think we may safely assume that no true Christian would stoop to read the under-the-counter literary obscenities of the corner newsstand or the hole-in-the-wall bookstore. By “poor” books I mean the religious trash being turned out these days by the various publishers under the name of Christian. Tons of this stuff are produced each year to satisfy a market which a previous output has in large measure helped to create. This religious rubbi...