​If you could not mess “it” up and were guaranteed “it” would work out what is the “it” you would do? Selah (consider…)

“It” fits you, right?
You are passionate about “it”, true?
When you think about “It” you come alive, don’t you?

Shut your eyes. Picture “it”. Are you smiling? Has your breathing slowed but heart rate increased? Is there a sense of joy?

It’s hard to imagine that we give the risk of failure or mess up more power than the beauty of the “it” we were created for.

Courage is choosing to be who you are and engage in your passion without regard of the “what if’s?” How can living a life of passion ever be a fail? 

Transparent. “When something is transparent, light will flow through it.” Stephen M.R. Covey
“What if it was less important that anything ever gets fixed than that nothing has to be hidden?” John S. Lynch
“I desire to be fully known and fully loved.” Me

Some call me brave and courageous for I don’t hide. At least I don’t hide on purpose. In the open, my transparency draws some to my honesty and my true person, while others seeing my weaknesses and failures judge me and tell others to stay away from “that woman”. When others do join me, together we bravely walk in the light. Light exposes us. Here, in the light, we laugh, cry and encourage each other. In the beauty of transparency, we find our boxes shaken. This is God’s light entering the secret, hidden places in our lives. It only happens in community. It only happens when there are others to embrace us in the worst of ourselves and remind us who and Whose we are. In community, in transparency, in the Light, the things of shame and regret are exposed. Together we grieve those times, savor any value, learn any lessons and discard the rest. In the Light the Healer operates knowing the support care team is well equipped and the darkness need no longer be part of our story.
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​Pondering a recent conversation. “If we have the Holy Spirit who speaks to us, what is the true value of Scripture?” We read, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).

Does the Holy Spirit supersede Scripture? If so, why do we continue to read it and does it really have value for us, today?

Two things come to mind.


First, when Paul encouraged Timothy about the value of Scripture, he was referring to the writings of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible, Old Testmaent). Not one New Testament epistle, prophetic word or gospel account had yet been declared “Scripture”.
 
Second, Jesus Himself demonstrated that the most important thing to share with others was the Old Testament Scriptures. On the Emmaus Road, “[And] beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Based on this, I think it is very fair to say that the value of Scripture is the revelation of Jesus Christ. If we read Scripture, if we see Jesus, the Christ, in its pages it will be profitable. “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3).

Oswald Chambers says it this way, “And as long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. “Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes.” To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3)”. (My Utmost for His Highest, January 31st)
 
Look to God. Look at God. See Him in the words of the Scripture. Allow the Spirit within you to reveal Him to you. Think (meditate) on all these things. Experience the profitability. Walk in the fruit. Repeat. 

​Often, we judge our walk with God. We look around and if we see troubles, we sense that He has left us and we are far from Him.
But this is not true.
What if there is an understanding of this life and its trials that brings peace?
 
Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 116:33).
 
Genesis 13:17
Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.

This land flowed with milk and honey. It was Abram’s inheritance, the Promise Land.
The land had mountains.
The land had valleys.
And we may find ourselves in each, and each is within the Promise Land.
 
Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
 
The valley is in the shadow of death, not death itself.
Even this valley which invites fear was created by Him and everything He created is good.   
We can walk forward, through the darkness of the shadow, because we can trust Him.
 
We can walk across the mountains or the deepest valley knowing He created each place, each place is good and in each place, we have opportunity to practice trusting Him.

I was reminded of this today. Something God had shown me years ago as a new Christian wondering how it all worked and sensing that I was failing Him.
 
True story. We were driving through Arkansas and I was watching a herd of cows out my window. I’ve always thought they could just as easily be cardboard cutouts, because they never seemed to move. Well, just then, out of the corner of my eye I notice a “Momma” cow trucking quickly across a path. All the other critters are still cardboard characters except this other one tiny, baby calf. It is running after the Momma cow…sort of. The Momma cow is hoofing it and the calf is trying to keep up, trying to follow her. But you know how that goes. Baby calf takes a wobbly step or two and falls. Gets up and takes another few steps and falls. Then sees some clover and heads over to the clover to eat a bite. Then runs after momma, falling, and rolling down the hill. Baby calf gets up and shakes the dirt off and begins the trek up the hill to where Momma is now a bit of a distance away. The little one begins taking a few bold steps…a bite of clover…and a few more steps. Just then, the Momma cow stops, looks over her shoulder at the calf, and I don’t know if cows have lips or not, but the Momma cow smiled at the calf. Truly! Then I heard His still small voice, “It doesn’t matter if the calf gets off course or gets dirty or seems to be further separated from the Momma than at one time. The only thing that matters is that the calf is following after the Momma.”

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It took a long time for the book to be delivered, and I am reading it very slowly, savoring and gaining much depth of insight (A Failure of Nerve, Friedman). I could share so many different tidbits, but as I was reading today, this was my take-away.

The immune system, which differentiates self from non-self, grows through its response to challenges. We are not born with a fully, functioning immune system. Perhaps life’s challenges do the same thing for us. Through them, we become better able to define who “we” are.
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As the immune system grows (faith?), and matures, it attacks the non-self, the lies and the hypocrisies we have believed and we find the truth of our “self’s” that were ever-present and perfect, from the moment His perfect artistry created us.

 To run ahead of His vision is dangerous. To lag behind, reflects unfounded fear. But in the dance of faith, His leading and my responding, a beauty enters my life. It has the power to take my breath away and to draw people to the beauty of the Dancer. It invites them to lift their arms and allow the Dancer to take their hands and enter into the wonder of His perspective, giving value and meaning to the present and breeding confidence in faith that all is well with our soul.



In His embrace, in looking Him full in the face, in being seen fully accepted and acceptable, you breath.



He is waiting for you to end your dance with the world and your circumstances and allow Him (who has your name engraved on every line of His dance card) to approach and ask for this dance. 

It is so important to know how God interacts with us. 
He is no respecter of persons and His actions toward us are unchanging. 

So, how does God act toward us when we run from Him, do not trust Him or stand dejected, disheartened and frightened?

We have a record of how He responds. 

- When Elijah was disobedient and dejected...He sent an angel to Elijah.

- When a slave was abandoned by his owner because of sickness...God sent David and his followers to give him food and water 

- When Martha and Mary were heartbroken over the death of their brother...Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead

- When the prodigal had exhausted his every resource with nowhere to turn...The father was (and had been) peering into the horizon for his son, every single day. 

STOP running, hiding, recriminating. LOOK and watch for the salvation of the Lord. How will He meet you? How will He minister to you? How will He encourage you? How will He love you? Trust, Believe that He is good and RECEIVE.
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In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength. Isaiah 30:15

"Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.
----- Henri Nouwen
"...and in compassion we remain together until we walk forth, united, into the brightness of His light. This is my heart in counseling others."
----- Me
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