PROOF I

Evidence: Not for Lawyers Only

What do a wheat farmer turned general, a nomad turned land owner, a childless priest turned father of a son who changes the world and a prince turned nomad have in common? At first glance, not much. What if you know they’re Gideon, Abraham, Zachariah and Moses? Can you guess then? If you’re still stumped add Thomas the Apostle and yourself to the list. Got it, yet? 

Everyone on the list, including you, has asked God for PROOF. Proof that a promise you believe He’s made will come true. Proof that a dream you believe He’s breathed in your heart will come to pass. Proof that all you’re building your faith on is not a misplaced hope, childish fantasy or dangerous delusion. Proof that you're not standing in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong thing!

Still, at the root of your need for PROOF is a hint of doubt whispering into your belief. It’s ok to admit. We all experience that gnawing sense of uncertainty that the finances we thought Jehovah-Jireh had promised just may not come, the house He had us circle seven times just may be a frivolous desire,  the healthy body Jesus died for just may elude us on this side, the spouse of our future He told us to stay pure for may be a fantasy. God gets it. If He gave you those desires, planted them in your heart, your imagination, you prayer life, your soul and you believe them, He delights in your request for PROOF.  

 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” Isaiah 7:10-11 (NIV)

Faith can falter. God knows so He guarantees His promises.

When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. Hebrews 7: 13-18 (The Message)

Consider Gideon. He requested PROOF that he had heard right after his in-your -face, one on one with an Angel. While hiding in a winepress to thrash his wheat, Gideon saw an angel.  Then, said angel called him a “mighty man of valor,” or in other words, brave soldier. That’s probably about the time Gideon started rehearsing his request for PROOF.

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and  save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”  Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Made no sense in light of his current reality. Gideon’s response is understandable – a little astonishment, a lot of doubt since God’s statement defied Gideon’s reality. From Farmer to General – overnight - based on an angel sighting and celestial voice. Wouldn’t you request PROOF that  what you have just been persuaded to believe is real?

Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” Judges 6:14-18 (NIV)

Your humble requests have probably been close to Gideon’s most likely sounding something like this:  "Pardon me, Lord. Uhmm. I really, really, really need some PROOF that I am hearing this right. I want to believe it. In fact, I do believe it. But….what if I am hearing things? Just in case, can I get a little PROOF?”

God quickly gives Gideon indisputable PROOF. A rock burst into flames then roasted his meal!  After that, Gideon immediately obeyed God. Even though he did it under the cover of night to remain anonymous (he will still grappling with the notion of being made a military strategist), Gideon destroyed Israel’s Asherah poles. Then, God piled it on. He told Gideon to go fight. Gideon thought that a little premature. So, Gideon submits his second request for PROOF. God gave it to him.

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised — look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water. Judges 6: 36-38

Then Gideon asked again - a total of three unabashed times Gideon requested PROOF.  Guess what? Three times, God gave it to him. God never balked and said, “Oh, ye of little faith.” He honored Gideon’s request – to the smallest detail!

- Still Processing

STAND III

Earth, Wind and Fire: Head to the Sky

You must be living right if you get picked up in a heaven – bound, multiple horse-powered, fiery ride that leaves everybody in a whirlwind of your dust.  Elijah surely was. He got his last ride on a celestial chariot and broke the sound barrier into eternity!

Elijah had endured for God in spite of the people in his life that made him wish he were dead. Ever been there - white knuckling it as you determine to stand in God’s perfect will even while life lands blow after blow on your hopes and prayers? Remember what Elijah faced as He walked in God’s perfect will?

This Mighty Man of God first broke onto the scene in 1 Kings 17. God appointed Elijah to speak out against the idolatrous reign of Israel’s duplicitous King Ahab and his wicked wife, Queen Jezebel. Those two got sick of Elijah doing treasonous things like withholding rain for three years, showing up with nothing but bad news, calling them mean names like “Hypocrite” and humiliating their palace employees – namely the 450 priests in charge of their Baal worship. Jezebel only decided to slice Elijah to bits when he added insult to royal injury by slaying her devoted, Baal loving leaders - en masse.

So, like any reasonable, miracle working man of God who could raise kids from the dead and summon fire from heaven, Elijah - the mighty prophet, anointed and favored to withstand the wrath of Kings and Princes; the powerful man of influence whom angels fed; the fearless traveler who could, on foot, outpace horse drawn chariots cross country - RAN FOR THE HILLS! Yep, that’s right. He got scared, tossed in the towel, experienced major suicidal ideation, holed himself up in a cave on the Mountain of God and fell sleep. 

Have you ever told God you were staying put, snuggled safely under your warm, soft sheets to avoid the hard-edged, fierce world antagonizing your prayer-filled fight of faith? Have you occasionally veered from your God gps’d path because it was too painful to serve those adversarial people not cooperating with you? We all have. And just like God met Elijah when he was in that cave of despondency, He goes there with you, too.

When he [Elijah] arrived at Horeb, he walked into a cave and rested for the night.

Eternal One (to Elijah): Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire?

1 Kings 19: 9 (The Voice)

Do you know how Elijah answered that question folks long to hear from a fairy-tale genie let alone the True and Living God of the Universe? He complained!

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 1 Kings 19: 10 (NIV)

Yet, God didn't chide Elijah for kvetching and accusing the people to whom he was called to minister. He gave Elijah a break. Why?

He will not constantly criticize, nor will He hold a grudge forever.

Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve. Psalm 103: 9-10 (The VOICE)

God made a deal with Elijah. Because He “gets it” when we get in that despondent place,

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103: 12-14 (NLT)

God showed His glory to Elijah, anyway, to strengthen his faith; to show Elijah he was right where he was supposed to be. On that same Holy Ground - Mount Horeb - where God revealed Himself to Moses Exodus 33:12-23, God showed that even the mightiest wind, earthquake and fire were under His control; something from which Elijah could glean that God is not subject to the creation, but creation to Him; not subject to life - threatening circumstances, but those circumstances to Him

Your circumstances, especially when you are in His perfect will, can be incomprehensibly tough. Still, they are subject to Him. He is not the chaos in which you find yourself , but He is present in that appointed place, with His still, small voice inquiring through those disturbances rocking your world. 

Elijah did not watch God's display even though he was in the appointed place. He had to peek out from his cave to respond to God. 1 Kings 19: 11-15 He had withdrawn instead of keeping his head to the sky and watching all that earth, wind and fire! When the glory show was done, God posed the very same question for Elijah, perhaps because Elijah was in the very same place. And Elijah’s response to God’s second question? That very same complaint.

And through this breeze a gentle, quiet voice entered into Elijah’s ears. He covered his face with his cloak and went to the mouth of the cave. Suddenly, Elijah was surprised.

Eternal One: Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire?

Elijah: As you know, all my passion has been devoted to the Eternal God of heavenly armies. The Israelites have abandoned Your covenant with them, they have torn down every one of Your altars, and they have executed all who prophesy in Your name by the sword. I am the last remaining prophet, and they now seek to execute me as well. They won’t stop.

Eternal One: Travel back the same way you traveled here, 1 Kings 19:12-15 (The Voice)

Imagine if Elijah, instead of answering God's question, 'What are you doing here?' with a complaint, had said something like, "I am standing on your Word, that's what I am doing here! I am counting on you to do through me again, every mighty thing you did before! I see how the rocks and stones themselves worship you! So do I! I refuse to leave this place afraid!"

Don't stay holed up in melancholy, discouragement and defeat. You miss SO much. Do you want to go back the way you came? Do you want God to ask you the same question twice because you are out of position with your first response? At least He asks a second time. 

What is your answer going to be to "What are you doing here?" How about a little declaration of praise and determination? 

No matter how hard life gets we must STAND. Stand even if it's a faith-threatening storm casting your dreams to the wind; a shaking so fierce it quakes the foundation of Bible verses on which you are standing; a fire so intense that your hopes are consumed by disappointment.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)

The good news is God sent Elijah back to complete his tasks - anointing and appointing a few more kings, meeting his successor Elisha, and prepping for his flight to heaven. Elijah hung in there, eventually took his stand and rode off into the sunset of Heaven. 

Keep your head to the sky when the earth, wind and fire threaten you. After the show, God's still small voice is there to whisper His love and direction.

- Still Processing

STAND II

Earth, Wind and Fire: Electric Universe

Ever tell God, “Just please, stop. NO MORE!”  Are you slapping the mat of your life in surrender while the latest trial feels like it has you in a headlock? Trial after trial, tribulation after tribulation does that to you.  You’re not alone. Consider Elijah.

“He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. ‘Take my life; I am no  better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and  fell asleep.” 

1 Kings 19: 4-5 (NIV)

He was a Prophet of God who hit the wall of depression, discouragement and fear even while walking in obedience. Sound familiar?

God cared about Elijah’s emotional state so He gave him something to do. He told Elijah to journey to a mountain to meet Him there.  It was a forty-day journey that included a climb so God provided Elijah with food and water before he left.  This demonstrates that:

1) God provides what we need to accomplish what He asks us to do

2) Even while He asks us to continue through the pain – towards Him – He promises we can make it up that mountain. 

“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.” 

Psalm 18:33 (NIV)

3) God urges us to that intimate mountaintop experience with Him because it situates us above the fray of everything assailing us.

Elijah made that trip up Mount Horeb but,

           

“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?

"The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

Still, Elijah did not exit the cave. The mighty man of God stayed holed up; withdrawn and isolated.  

We do the same. Many of us attend church, sing the praise songs and even read the Bible from the latest App. But we can stay in a funk. We are rightly expecting to see God’s glory but worry, angst, and disappointment – all our distraught emotions - fragment us. We retreat from God just when His glory is about to manifest. God didn’t fault Elijah anymore than He faults us. He showed His glory anyway.

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave."   

1 Kings 19: 11-13 (TNIV) 

Imagine what Elijah could have seen, felt and heard had he obeyed God completely. Had Elijah stood, really taken his STAND on the mountain and not retreated into the cave, He would have witnessed the holy pyrotechnics of earth, wind and fire.

Perhaps he would have felt that wind whip across his face refreshing him, breathing in new life and vigor.  Perhaps those crumbling rocks and the swaying ground beneath him would have forced a stance Elijah never knew his legs could bear.  

"You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great." 

Psalm 18:35 (NIV)

And what about that fire?  Perhaps he would have felt its intense purification but never the searing temperatures of its heat. Perhaps his stand on Holy Ground would have made him witness to a fire that destroyed all the wood, hay and stubble of his life but never consumed him.

“When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the  righteous stand firm forever.”

Proverbs 10:25 (NIV)

Elijah would not have even smelled of smoke.

“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” 

Psalm 5:12 (NIV)

- Still Processing

STAND I

Earth, Wind and Fire: Don’t Miss the Show!

The intrepid prophet Elijah was in God’s perfect will when the results of his unquestioning obedience landed him in the middle of a three-year drought, secreted in a ravine with just a bird to provide his food - no water and at the city gate asking a desolate widow and her little boy for their last meal. The kid died not too long after.  By then, Elijah’s appreciation of God’s blueprint for his life was hanging on some very frayed nerves of faith.

           

“Then he cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?’” 1 Kings 17:20 (NIV)

God answered the grieving prophet and mother only after Elijah labored in prayer. Nothing came easy even while Elijah was centered in God’s will.

 “Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “‘Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’” 1 Kings 17:21 (NIV)

Do you see any parallels in your walk? Obedience = circumstances getting tougher? More prayers getting, "No's" and "Not Yets" than the , "Ok, Right Aways?"

After that little test of faith, God’s assignments for Elijah escalated - in difficulty. Elijah went on to command an audience with an already vexed King Ahab to accuse him of being an idolatrous hypocrite taking his nation to hell in a hand basket. The King pronounced Elijah a troublemaker to the nation. That is treason in our parlance.

On the heels of that tense encounter, God used Elijah to display His displeasure with King Ahab’s executive decisions by having the bold prophet humiliate then slaughter 450 priests in the service of Queen Jezebel. By then, the Evil Queen had had it with Elijah’s unsolicited opinions. She put a contract out on his life.

That was the last straw for Elijah. God’s perfect will or not, Elijah’s nerve snapped. He reacted like a deer in headlights and bolted!

Have you ever watched your situation go from bad to worse when you know you are in God’s perfect will? When circumstances seem to get more daunting, more painful, more impossible as you gladly obey God? When plausible outcomes are so terrifying that fear suffocates you even while His affirmation abounds?

During those times you may just feel like Elijah felt and want to move from being an Elijah, which means “my God is Jehovah,” to Elij-i-Quit!

Frequently, God stretches you rubber band thin when you’re precisely where He wants you. Before offering any substantive relief, He may demand of you something akin to having to climb a mountain in the midst of debilitating exhaustion and dismay. 

Consider this. When Elijah let God in on just how tired, hungry and suicidal he was, God’s solution was thin on the coddling comfort. Besides proffering the minimal bread, water and a nap, God told Elijah to take a trip - forty days and nights - to a mountain – to climb it!

“Who may live on your holy mountain?  The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart…Whoever does these things will never be shaken.” Psalm 15:1-5 (NIV)

God had something wonderful in store up on that mountain for His blameless prophet.  You see, God hadn’t sent Elijah to just any mountain. God sent Elijah to Mount Horeb - the very same mountain upon which He revealed Himself to Moses some five hundred years earlier. Elijah obeys – sort of. He hides out in a cave on that mountain and misses God's tremendous display of Earth, Wind and Fire (see STAND II). 

God is urging you toward that same mountain top experience. He tells you as He told Elijah to keep going. You can! Keep going so that you can STAND on that mountain. 

Will you continue your walk in spite of the dismay, discouragement and weariness? Will you climb your mountain of yet one more arduous challenge in order to STAND and see His glory? Or will you give up and miss the show?

“Now then, STAND still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!” 
1 Samuel 12:16 (NIV)


- Still Processing

SPRING

                                                            ‘Tis the Season

Doug Larson, the popular Writer and Editor for the Green Bay Press-Gazette perfectly characterized the most vibrant time of the year.

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”

This Wisconsin born and bred Columnist appreciated the joy of turning the corner on a harsh winter even while it still clipped at his heels. Larson’s humorous optimism - and a whistle - catapulted his senses into appreciative overdrive. Cold toes? Who cares?

Larson could see the sun climbing higher in the sky, feel the temperature grow warmer on his skin and notice new life burst forth around him. So do I.

“The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.” Song of Solomon 2:12 (NLT)

In the nation’s capital, Spring is the first time of the year when the sight of riotous clusters of pink cherry blossoms, the scent wafting from their newly opened blooms and the tickle of their petals brushing my cheek intersect to make me want to whistle!  The breeze is slightly cool enough to put me in a pale, yellow cardigan but the sun is high enough to promise another 65 degree day on the Potomac.

So it is in your life. Spring sighs that your hibernation in God’s winter of preparation is over.

“They set out from the city of Rameses in early spring - on the fifteenth day of the first month - on the morning after the first Passover celebration. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians.” Numbers 33:3 (NLT)

Spring is your time to launch - prepared and ready to face the world of His promises to you.

“On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free.” Exodus 13:4 (NLT)

Spring is your time to begin the journey of Ruth. That was the tenacious, young widow’s season to sojourn from Moab to Bethlehem; from loss to new life.  It was spring when Ruth entered her Promise Land of barley then Boaz!

“So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.“ Ruth 1:22 (NLT)

Your spring 2013 is the fulfillment of God’s silent, deep, hidden and sometimes harsh winter of preparation in your life. It shall hold the beginning of a riotous, colorful burst of His glory overtaking you! He tells you that you are,

“...the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain, the lily of the valley. Like a lily among thistles is my darling among young women.” Song of Solomon 2:1-2 (NLT)

Spring 2013, He exchanges your ashes for beauty. Restoration!

“Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture.” Zechariah 10:1 (NLT)

Spring 2013, He moves you from mourning to joy. A lush pasture? Come on!

“The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.” Isaiah 61:11 (NLT)

Spring 2013, He enrobes you in justice and a garment of praise to replace the despair!

“Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!” Solomon 2: 11-13 (NLT)

The snow of your winter - the one that blanketed a life He was slowly and steadily nurturing under its bitter chill - has melted. Just a little slush in your shoe - already melting. 

It’s not unusual to see a crocus peek its eager, spring bloom  through a little wintry slush. Spring 2013, thawing with promise, will land you in Doug Larson's shoes - whistling on your way.

- Still Processing

Make sure to click onto this encouraging blog: FAITH BARISTA

FOLLOW

You’re in the Lead

Here is a handful of definitions we Americans use to explain FOLLOW :

·      To engage in as a calling or way of life: pursue <wheat-growing is generally followed here>

·      To watch steadily <followed the flight of the ball>

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/follow

And the Brits explain FOLLOW like this:

·      Go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead)

·      Move or travel behind

·      Treat as a teacher or guide <those who seek to follow Jesus Christ>

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/follow?q=follow

Both definitions support the suggestion that God, in fact, follows us!  Not that we are exemplary leaders whom He imitates or to whom He subjects Himself. He follows us because, in the freedom He has granted us, we stray.  We need Him to follow us with His arm of salvation.

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’” Isaiah 65:1 (NIV)

This verse assures us that God follows those who don’t realize it, request it or deserve it. It’s a great Scripture to stand on when you’re praying for someone who has no interest, whatsoever, in the Lord. According to His word, He will follow that one for whom you are laboring in prayer since He desires that no one perish.

Remember John 15:16?

 “You did not choose Me. I chose you, and I orchestrated all of this so that you would be sent out and bear great and perpetual fruit. As you do this, anything you ask the Father in My name will be done.” (Voice)

Our Father is committed to following us, no matter what. And He will be kind as He pursues. It is effective.

“…the goodness of God leads you to repentance."  Romans 2: 4 (NKJV)

This clearly suggests that the person who needs to repent is out of fellowship; out of step; not following Him. Therefore, the Lord will follow to forgive.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.’

So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine.” Hosea 3: 1-3 (NLT)

Hosea 3 is a metaphor for His compassionate pursuit of us even when we are egregiously offensive! Look at how Hosea rewarded his wife, Gomer. He gave her another chance. He made her feel safe and forgiven.

 God is doing the same for you. He doesn't give up.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Psalm 23 (KJV)

As He follows you, so shall His goodness.

“All of the following blessings will be yours—in fact, they’ll chase after you—if you’ll listen to what He tells you.” Deuteronomy 28:2  (Voice)

He's pursuing and watching us steadily. His picture should be next to "FOLLOW" in both Merriam's and the Oxford Dictionary!

-Still Processing

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