He’s A-Workin’ On Me

So, God spoke to me today while I was cleaning up the parking lot at work. The corners near the curb collect a lot of debris, especially after it rains like it did this weekend. In order to get most of the trash and to make the corner cleaner, I used my grabber to transfer most of the pile onto the mulch. As I began to pick through it and pull out the trash, starting with the bigger, more obvious pieces and then digging through for the smaller bits, I was struck by how this is exactly what God does with us.

He rescues us; pulls us out of the world (where we don’t belong anyway) and places us in His kingdom (where we were created to belong). Then, He begins to work on clearing all the trash out of our souls. He starts with the biggest issues (and what’s “big” varies from person to person) and then He begins to dig deeper and remove the “smaller” offences from our lives.

It is so easy for me to think I have to be perfect before I run to Jesus. When I become aware of a sin in my life, I am often guilty of trying to fix it on my own. I always feel like I need to clean myself up at least a little bit before I bring my problems to Him. But today He showed me, through a pile of leaves and litter, that He simply wants me to let Him work. I don’t have to somehow be good enough to run to Him, I just have to run to Him and be willing to let Him take out whatever needs to go, even if it’s something I’d rather hang onto. Yes, once He points out the sin, I must choose to follow His way not my own, but I don’t have to do it on my own. In fact, I cannot do it under my own steam. I need the Holy Spirit to be able to live a holy life. That’s the reason He was sent - to be our Parakletos (one who comes alongside to help, advise, and advocate for).

God knew what kind of mess He was getting when He called me. My job is to respond to the call and let Him have His way; because God’s way is always the best way. As the saying goes, “God’s will is what you would choose for yourself if you had sense enough to choose it.”

 “We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that he understands everything - and still loves us.”

~ A. W. Tozer

Character Connections ~ Millie Keith

I’m rereading one of my favorite childhood novels. It is called Millie’s Unsettled Season and it’s an adaption based off of several of Martha Finley’s novels. Although Millie’s story is set in the 1830’s, I have always felt a kinship with her. I even remember a childhood prayer where I prayed to “live a life of faith like Millie Keith.”

This first book in the series that I am reading has Millie’s family moving away from the home where Millie grew up to the frontier. Nothing in Pleasant Plains, Indiana is anything like the life Millie knew in Lansdale, Ohio; the place seems empty and barren and definitely devoid of everything familiar and, at first, Millie responds with a temper tantrum.

Sadly, I did the exact same thing four years ago when we moved from everything familiar to me in Greensboro, North Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was years removed from having read Millie’s books and rereading now has me wondering if maybe I would have been better off if I’d reread this book as we prepared to move.

One thing that has me especially humbled is the fact that Millie was thirteen in her book. I was eighteen when we moved. You would think I’d have been much more mature than I was.

I’m sorry to think of the pain I probably caused to so many, and I’m sure being so bitter about the move didn’t help me to make any quick friends once we did move.

God has matured and used me in so many ways here in Louisiana that I never would have let Him in North Carolina. (And of course I never would have encountered the same people there that live here!) It is humbling to see how much more God cares about the person I can become -the person He created me to be- and the people He wants me to touch than He does about my personal preferences at any given moment.

I’m so glad that God is so good and so willing to use me and shape my character even when I am so stubborn about it!

“God is more concerned with making us like Him, with making us holy, than with making us happy.”

~Janette Oke

“…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

“…until Christ is formed in you.”

~ Galatians 4:19

Do you have a fictional character you feel connected to in a special way?

Have you ever seen in hindsight how the undesirable things that have happened to you were God’s hand at work?

Please share your stories in the comments! I love hearing them. It can be so encouraging to know one is not alone on this pilgrimage of life.

Be blessed, friends. :)

~ToriLynn

Jesus Saved Me!

The Testimony of My Salvation

 

I don’t remember much about that day. I was only two years old. Now, you may think that this is too young for anyone to make such a drastic decision about their life – but, for me, it wasn’t.

I’m not sure what it was exactly that caused me to realize I needed a relationship with God –  when I think back I almost think I remember a bedtime prayer when I didn’t feel as though God was hearing me because I had not asked Jesus into my heart.  Like I said, though, that part is not quite clear. What I do remember is waking up one morning, I’m pretty sure it was a Sunday, and deciding I wanted to give my life to God and I wanted both of my parents to be there when I did.

As a child, I thought – I guess from stories I had heard – that someone was led to salvation by being shown Bible verses and told that they were a sinner, why they needed a Savior, what Jesus had done, and how to pray. I also, figured Mom and Dad would ask me questions about why I wanted to make this choice and so I spent some time determining my answer.

I waited until evening, just before bed. And this is where my memory becomes quite clear. I went into my room and got my little, green New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. With it clutched in my hand, I walked into the living room where Mom and Dad sat talking. I told them that I had decided I wanted to give my life to the Lord and asked if they would pray with me.

My parents, thinking that I was too young and that this was just a passing fancy of the moment, told me I could go ahead and pray my own words and they would listen. I remember being disappointed that they hadn’t shown me any verses. But I knelt in front of the sofa, hands folded, eyes closed and prayed anyway. No one but God remembers what I said. My parents have told me that they remember looking at each other in astonishment over how much my prayer showed I understood – that, after that, they didn’t doubt my sincerity. All I remember is that in that moment I knew that God heard my prayer. I knew that I could talk to Him now and not have to worry if He heard. I knew I belonged to Him now and He would always be there, always be listening, always be watching over me. It was the best day of my life.

 

Years passed. When I was seven, my Sunday School teacher asked if anyone wanted to pray and ask Jesus into their heart. She did this every week and rarely did anyone take her up on it. I always felt sorry for her when no one did. This particular week one of my friends raised her hand and said that she had already gotten saved, but asked if she could pray again, just in case. The teacher agreed saying it was a good idea to “be sure you are saved.” When she said that, it made me wonder if maybe I had been too young the first time and I decided I should pray again, “just in case.” So, I did. That week. The next month. Almost every time I was in a church service and there was an altar call. I would get up and “get saved again, just in case.” I lived constantly wondering if I really did belong to the Lord or not. Wondering if maybe, on the last day, I would be one of the ones on the left, wondering where I went wrong. (Matthew 25: 41-46)

I never told my parents of my uncertainty; it took several years for me to finally realize that all the insecurity and doubt was keeping me from growing in my relationship with God. The Holy Spirit used a lot of things to help me realize that spiritual growth and development occurs only after one is born again. He showed me that I needed to leave my salvation up to Him and quit worrying about the final state of my soul. I needed to begin to focus on the present state of my soul and start growing spiritually. Not long after I started doing this, I received the gift of baptism in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues. That experience convinced me that God had chosen me as His own and sealed me with His Spirit. (John 14:16-18, 26; Acts 2)

There is so much more I have to learn, but I am so grateful that I was blessed with the opportunity of dedicating my life to the Lord so young and to have been kept from a lot of the bad situations and influences that many others have had to face.

God loves us. He sent His Son to die for us. And He did not send Him to keep us wondering if we were good enough or not. Jesus came for one reason alone – to save our souls. (John 3:16 -17)

You may not have had the opportunity that I did. But if you haven’t, there is great news: you can do that right now! Just like I learned, it’s not what you say, or who says what to you. You just have to be sincere and know that God is calling you. He will give you the words to say if you just listen. Then you will never have to be alone, and you will also have the assurance of knowing that He will hear your every prayer from this moment on. Jesus will seal you for eternity; you will be in Heaven with Him and everyone else who has given their lives to His service. (2 Chronicles 7:14; John 6:40)

 

See you there!

 

~ToriLynn

Prayer for Today, May 9, 2013

The Lord is my strength and shield. My ever present help in time of need. He is always with me; how can I not be happy, joyful, all the time? I have had an incredible day. I am so blessed.

 

Why so often do I long for more? Why do I not remember to revel in the little things that mean so much to my heart? A stranger’s smile, a friendly conversation, a rainstorm, a ray of sunshine… Why does my rebellious heart so often wish for more than the innumerable blessings it already holds?

 

Oh, dear Lord! That my heart would always be content with You and not caught up in the things of this world! Oh, that I would love and follow and serve You all of the time and not just when the mood strikes. Lord, make me a light in the darkness, a city on a hill, one who cannot and will not be silenced by the world, one whose sole focus is You and You alone. Lord, please, MAKE ME into the person You want me to be. I am not content to be discontent. I want to be satisfied by You. I know there is so much more to You than I can taste right now. And I want all of it. Everything good is from You, is IN You. “You are all I want. You are all I need. Everything my heart could hope for. I am longing for the Glory of You, Lord. ’Cause I know there’s so much more.”

 

“You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 16:11(NIV)

The Promise of Words

If words could do justice to what I feel right now, there would be no need for pictures that stir the soul. But I need pictures, and I need words, to express my deep emotions. A word, a photo, a song, a poem. This is what I use to express the deep of who I am. I am more than simply words, more than just a picture. The real heart of a person is found, not in faces, clothes, or mere, flat words. We exist in soul. We are found in words that express heartfelt emotion; in soul-stirring photos that mean more than proper lighting and placement. We are found by expressing who we are beneath the surface to others who respond in kind. We begin to understand one another by sharing our hearts.

 

 

Picture the pastel glow of early sun-rising. Light breaking over pale gray mountains as purple fog slowly drifts and begins to fade over the valley of long, wild grass undulating in the soft wind. Picture the thrill of being able to stand on a pinnacle a look around at this breath-taking beauty. This beauty of a fresh day.

 

 

A day of hope, with the promise of happiness.

 

 

 

A day of foreboding, with the promise of heart-break.

 

 

Anything could happen today.

 

Anything is possible.

 

Look at all this and tell me life is surface. I dare you. Tell me life has no meaning. That we evolved from nothing, from meaningless matter. Look at the emotion one paragraph, one photograph can make you feel, and tell me that there is not a God. I dare you.

 

God created beauty. God created life. “Without him nothing was made that has been made.” Acknowledge Him. Give Him glory for the promise of words; the promise of the Word. For “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:1-5

NIV

 

 

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

ESV

The Glory of CHRISTmas

Today, as I was driving home from work, the song "Should’ve Been Me" by Citizen Way came on the radio. I was singing along and all of a sudden it hit me, once again, how much Christ gave up for me. For us. I found myself in tears thinking of all He suffered. I mean, Christ was gruesomely tortured. What they did to Him caused His head to swell up to twice its normal size. His body was raw skin, whip lashes, chunks of skin missing, beyond recognition. He hardly looked human.

 

And it was not an ambiguous “they” who destroyed Him so. It was me. My sinful selfishness put every wound on His body. Every sin I ever committed, every sin I ever will commit, earned that just punishment. It was my just dessert to have inch long thorns beat into my head; chunks of flesh ripped off my body; hands and feet nailed to the harsh bark of an unforgiving cross, bleeding to death as I struggle for a full breath I can never quite gain. God turning away; refusing me because of the filth of my sins – eternal separation. This is what I deserve.

 

But, no.

 

O!!! Glorious God!!!!!!!

Jesus, You volunteered to take my proper punishment upon Your unblemished self. To suffer the degrading humiliation of becoming human in order to redeem my soul from hell. How dare I fail to remember how much You gave up for deplorable me?

 

I look at myself, all my faults, sins, and failures, and it is easy to say “worthless.”

 

Yet, You look at me and say, “Redeemably Priceless.”

 

 

Revel in the wonder of that statement for a long moment. “Redeemably Priceless.” You.

 

Now, ponder this:

 

“God Loves Me.”

 

Make it personal. Put your name in there. Marvel over it.

 

So often we take for granted what Christ did for us, what God suffered when He rejected His only Son because of our sins. Especially at Christmastime, I see evidence everywhere of people taking for granted the gift of Christ the Lord. I’m guilty of it myself.

 

It’s so easy to romanticize the Christmas story; to think about the sweet baby resting gently in the hay surrounded by a loving family and peaceful animals, a starry night filled with angels singing praises to God in front of simple shepherds.  We do not stop often enough to think about how much was sacrificed for Christ to come.

 

The King of the Universe gave up the untold glories of heaven for the stench of a tiny, mucky, filthy stable. A hole-in-the-wall place after living in heavenly mansions! He gave up needing nothing at all to become a child, unable to communicate anything except by crying.

 

And Mary had to change His diapers! She gave up her reputation. She almost had to give up her fiancé. She probably lost all her friends and she gave up being able to experience the joy of sharing all the “firsts” of having a baby with her mother and sisters.

 

Joseph, by listening to the angel and obeying God had to live with the shame of everyone thinking he had dishonored his betrothed. And he had the sudden responsibility of a wife and child all at once.

 

The glory of the Christmas story does not lie in the setting; it resides in the beautiful fact that Mary, Joseph, and God, Himself were willing to give up everything for Love, for Agape Love. For Immanuel. God with us.

 

It is no wonder the angels sang. That the earth could not help but quake at His death. The Lord came. He walked among us. Never forget the glory of Christmas.

 

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:23 (NIV)

 

"Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows...

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53: 4a, 5 (NIV)

 

"Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has pronounced."

Psalm 105:3, 5 (NIV)

The One Free Gift

I once was lost
Wandering in sin
When Jesus called to me
And said, "Enter in,
I will make you clean
If you only believe
I will make you new
If you simply receive."
I answered, "O Lord,
Worthy I'm not!
I've done some bad things
I've messed up a lot
But if you will have me
I'll gladly accept
This gift freely offered
To pay off my debt
I'll be fully Yours
I'll follow Your way
Lord, give me a heart
That wants to obey!"