Every Step to the Cross

Living a life of faith is challenging, is it not? My will is at war with my spirit. I find myself in the old age struggle Paul refers to in Romans 7, specifically, verse 19 "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." (emphasis mine). When the road proves difficult to walk or when I think I couldn't have failed any more then I have already, I am tempted to just 'rest' in my misery. And yet at the same time I am aware that I can not stay in that state because it is not rest, it is confusion that gives way to the conflicting emotions of fear, anger, disappointment and loneliness. All these emotions and feelings can lie and the longer I stay in that state the further away I walk from the truth. Our Pastor spoke once about this in a sermon and one of the points he made rings true in my spirit. When we are squeezed and pressed, our sinful nature is easy to embrace, as a result it is essential to decide in advance how we will respond to those times of trial. I need to have a plan in the moments of stress. I appreciated this train of thought because it is something I too, have determined to do. My biggest struggle is fear and allowing feelings to rule me instead of choosing the truth over the feeling. When I see that I am doing this, I reach for my plan of warfare: Bible verses, prayer, praise and worship. Sometimes it take a bit but if I dig deep the result is true rest and my spirit settles to be in tune with the Father's voice. It reminds me of that song by Casting Crowns: "But the voice of truth tells me a different story..." It's an active choice to accept the truth over the lies. Sometimes the battle of doing this takes more time then others but the key is to persevere with it. Isn't this what our Lord and Savior did? Sometimes the steps are hard to take, they were for Jesus too. Each step He took closer to the cross bore the weight of the task He must accomplish. He knew forgiveness awaited there for us so He took the steps. He knew His plan, His mission, His task. God gave me such a clear picture of this today as I prayed through some matters. In my mind's eye I could picture the steps He took, how He took them for me, so I could experience freedom and forgiveness. The reality is that when I take my time to surrender it is because I've forgotten my task of choosing to embrace the truth. Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your soul, For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." How amazing is our Saviour that He promises this?! I want to share a passage of scripture that has come to me 4 times throughout the end of last year, once through a friend, at small group, church in my home town and church 5 hours away at my parents. I think of these verses often. Hebrews 6:17- 20 " Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability (def: Not subject or susceptible to change) of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which is is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." I have kept these verses close because I understand how much I need the anchor of my soul; He is sure, never changes, has gone before me and will give me the rest I need. Again, an active choice, to listen to the truth over my own will and the lies the enemy would have us believe. In this way I am armed to face the reality of my situation, whether good or bad, I can count on Jesus to give me all that I need to deal with the joys, the triumphs, the difficulties, the failures. What a mighty God we serve.

A Spirit of Unity: The Strength of Peace

I have been spending some time thinking and praying about the unity of the believer in terms of how it relates in our relationships to the Lord and also in our relationships with each others as believers.  I was drawn to the passage in Mathew 22:36-40 in which Jesus addresses a man asking a very important question.  He asks:  36:"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37-40 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love you neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments."  Does it not follow then, that our adversary, the Devil, will seek to wage war against these two greatest commandments?    If all the law and prophets hang on these two commandments, and we are not diligently keeping them before us, our faith, will crumble.   We must remember who our fight is against:  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12.  The Devil seeks to devour us, I Peter 5:8 states:  "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."  Satan wants to disrupt our relationship with our Father in Heaven, with others and with our fellow believer.  As a follower of Christ then, we must understand that if this is where the enemy attacks then we need to safe guard against the attacks by fully applying His word to our calling to love Christ and love others.

As individuals we are called to a place of personal relationship with the Lord, to be in daily pursuit of holiness.  The priority to develop a relationship with our Saviour is essential.  Not only to us but to those around us, believer and unbeliever.   To lean on that relationship with our Lord there are some disciplines we must take the time to practice; daily Bible reading & study, committing scripture to memory, and spending time in prayer.  When we stray from this first commandment it certainly affects the second to love others as well.   For those who do not believe in a personal relationship with Jesus, our own relationship with Him is our testimony.  For the body of believers, if each one of us is endeavoring to walk closely to the Lord it will only strengthen the unity within the body of believers.   And it's the unity of the Holy Spirit within the body of Christ that I have done much praying and thinking about in recent years.

I love the way Ephesians 4:3 states it: 'Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' : eager to!  A part of doing this is to encourage and lift one another up: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord"  (Ephesians 5:19)  Our goal individually and collectively, then is to move closer to the author and finisher of our faith while cheering each other on! (Hebrews 12).  I confess it is difficult to do this at times because we tend to see 'people' rather then Christ.  Each one of us comes with our own life experiences and hurts, strengths and weaknesses, patterns of the way we react and respond to life.  We are a bunch of wounded people (wounded by sin) interacting with one another. However great blessing pours out among the body when we seek to follow God's wisdom regarding the first two commandments.   While walking with the Lord, we are to esteem each other better then ourselves and to walk with a heart of forgiveness, even as our Father in Heaven has also forgiven us (Philippians 2:3 & Colossians 3:13), forebearing with one another, while exercising the fruit of the Holy Spirit in full measure - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. (Galatians 5:22).  We also need to be observing the excellence of love.  I Corinthians 13:4-7  "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  We must stir each other up to walk out our faith with passion and zeal, and to fight the good fight!  We need to encourage one another to seek after the Lord for truth and we must recognize that as individuals we are each a functioning member of the body, all with gifts the Lord has graciously given us.  Romans 12:1-21 is a well spring of the first two commandments.  If you take the time to read it, it gives a birds eye view into both the commandments Jesus speaks of in Matthew.

Having said all this, it sounds great, but practicing it can be very complex at times.  Sometimes, it is exceedingly difficult to know what to do, what to say, how to respond and act.  I have to say though, that I am very blessed to walk along some amazing people whose hearts desire it is to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind.  That doesn't mean me or they are perfect, what it does mean is that through the desire to love the Lord (first commandment) we have unity in the Holy Spirit.  I have been the recipient of strong encouragement to move forward in my relationship with Christ.  Even, at times, been lovingly confronted with the sin in my life, with the motivation that they want to see me grow in my walk with the Lord.  That is as it should be.  If we are to cheer each other on, to lift each other up, let us encourage each other to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. to pray for one another, (Ephesians 6:18: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.") and passionately cheer each other on! (Hebrews 12).  Let us appreciate one another and the gifts the Holy Spirit has given each one of us in the body of Christ.  Let us function with a spirit of unity through a strong bond of peace, being on the alert to safe guard our relationship with the Lord as well as our relationship(s) with our fellow believer.   This will only strengthen our testimony and light to the world.

A Women of Destiny: Building the Faith

Here I stand, 37 years old, contemplating my life as a women of destiny, a child of God. And I find I am more determined then ever to 'run the race,' to make each breath count as I walk this earth.  My husband is doing research on his family tree and as I watch him add each name he finds to their respective spot, I am impacted.  They are not just names on a piece of paper, they were people who lived and breathed.  They experienced love, hardship, loss, grappled with life, succeeded, failed: LIVED.  And one day I will be on that tree.  One of my ancestors will look at my name, my husband name, my children's names and perhaps; maybe even wonder about my life.   I visited my family's homestead this past summer, they came from England and settled some land up north.  My Dad's side of the family lived on that land, farmed it, sweat over it as they sought to make a life here.  While there, we discovered several names which had been written on bricks out in the sun room.  I brushed my hand over the signature's, some with dates and couldn't help but wonder what their lives were like and how they lived, and if they finished well.   As I look to my life I ask myself the question:  "How shall I pass down my lineage to the next generation?"  This is a multifaceted question because it involves 'doing'.  Anyone can hear something and agree with it on an elementary level.  The 'doing' is the most difficult part yet it reaps the greatest reward.   I consider myself blessed.  I come from a line of several generations of a people of faith.  I know both my Grandma's prayed for our family and I know my Grandpa did too.  At this writing both the matriarch and patriarch of my father's family have gone home to be with the Lord, and they finished well.  I miss their wisdom and prayers.  Now that I am older I appreciate the impact their lives had on me with the understanding and eyes of an adult. The legacy they leave me with is both a blessing and a reality.  They were flawed individuals, didn't always make the right choice(s), had their quirks and struggled with sin as in the battle Paul refers to in Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  They were also conquerors (Romans 8:37), courageous (1 Corinthians 16:13), prayerful (Thessalonians 5:17), loving (Hebrews 13:1), suffered long (Galatians 5:22), and loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). 

As I look to the generation beneath me, I am reminded that I must continue to grow in my faith.  To hand that legacy down is the most precious gift I give to my children, and their children and so on.  When my soul passes from this earth, I take nothing with me.  I leave it all behind.  My fervent hope is that I have truly embraced the words, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21).  As a women, teaching my daughters (and yes, my son also! but I am speaking to women here). I want them to understand and embrace the reality that their strength comes from the Lord (Psalm 37:39).  Their worth is not measured in beauty, not by the things they possess nor by what their skill set is.  It's not even by their accomplishments, their education and so forth.  Their worth needs to be fully rooted in a deep, abiding relationship with their Heavenly Father.  This is the measure of their womanhood.   My most fervent prayer is that I will be able to reflect Christ and my relationship with Him to my children so they may then pass that on to the generation(s) beneath them.  This requires building your house upon the rock, a sure foundation, so that when the winds come it will not be shaken nor will doubt come crashing down upon it like a wave blown and tossed by the wind.  There will be times when I fail and need to rest in the forgiveness of the cross, continuing to run the race looking to Jesus the author and finisher of my faith.  (Hebrews 12:1-6).  What I want my children to learn is that they can count on my prayers and encouragement to be a 'doer' of the word and not only a hearer.  The character of our Lord never changes, He doesn't lie, and He is indeed that sure and steadfast anchor of the SOUL (Hebrews 6:14).  They can fully trust in Him to accomplish the good work He started. (Philippians 6:1)

I have a passion for women and for the young ladies who are growing up in their faith.  They are women of destiny.  My prayer is that they will be faith builders who impact those around them with the reality that yes, they will sin, they will fall short but that the Lord will lift them up and determine their steps with purpose as they submit their wills to Him.  As a women, then, I pray for the ladies who walk along side me and for the generations coming up beneath me (not only my own kids but those who are apart of my church family) that they will write the word and promises of the Lord on the doorposts of their houses and hide them deep in their hearts.  That they will impact others with the proper balance of grace and truth in full measure.   They they will remain authentic people about all the struggles this life will hold but transformed by the renewing of their minds to reflect a mind that is stayed on Christ.  What a challenge this is but the very good news is that it is Christ in us that accomplishes this, He gives us the strength to live a life of righteousness as we constantly submit to His will and His leading.

A name I will be, upon a page one day, but the legacy I leave will grow with my children.  I want that legacy to be the gift of a relationship with Christ that reaches far into the generations beneath me.  My prayers, they have, as I seek to follow in the footsteps of my Lord. 

Why this blog exists

The inspiration of this blog has come from a passage of scripture the Lord has continued to give me throughout the last year.  It has been repeated to me through various means:  Bible Study, 2 sermons from two different pastors, a friend, my own personal reading and then by another friend giving me a beautiful plaque with verse 19 on it.  The passage of scripture is found in Hebrews 6:17-20 "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." NIV  This passage has been repeated so often to me that I realize it is something I must hide deep in my heart.  The words found here are incredibly powerful.  It talks about how the Lord never changes and that it is impossible for Him to lie, He will keep His promises and that we can always take hold of this hope, as it anchors our very souls and that we have the freedom to enter into the presence of our God because Jesus has made that possible.

This whole passage speaks to me, but it is verse 19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." that I have choosen to name this blog after.  I quoted the NIV passage but I really love the way the NKJV words it "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul but sure and steadfast."   The plaque my friend gave me has its place on my fireplace mantel.  It serves as a reminder to me of what the Lord has promised and how He and He alone anchors my soul.

May you find encouragement through the words on this blog to seek to spend time with the anchor of your soul, always looking to the hope that Jesus gives us.

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