April 2017 – Morning Joy

Prayer

Good morning and happy FriYAY! I don’t know about you but I am so very ready for this weekend. I am fortunate to have a fun one ahead with friends enjoying this warm Florida weather. How are you planning to spend yours? I hope you are getting this sunshine as well!

Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.” Paul is kicking us off this morning in his letter to the people of Philippi. These are instructions on prayer.

Prayer in it’s simplest form is communication with God. There is power within it. Jesus himself prayed all the time. I am currently exploring prayer myself. Don’t get me wrong, being a believer most of my life, I have always prayed. However, lately it has been a little different. I tend to spend a lot of time talking to the Holy Spirit these days. Personally, I think that is part of why I am in a season of alone-ness (being by myself a lot with the Lord, not being lonely- there is a big difference). To be honest, I am figuring out how to do it. I go through a lot of “I don’t know what to pray right now” moments.

I am torn between whether or not I should be praying for exactly what I want right now or not. Sometimes I feel selfish for doing that because there are so many hurting people around me. Also, I don’t know that what I want is within the will of God. However, in writing to you this morning, I experienced an ah-hah moment. I love those!

Ah-hah Moment: When I get wrapped up in what I should and should not pray, I am acting like a Pharisee. First of all, God knows my heart and the desires in it. So, praying those desires only begins a conversation with him about it. It is an act of obedience and faith in inviting him into the situation. Second, succumbing to the anxiety about what is politically correct to pray is not trusting God to respond. It is idolizing law without grace or relationship. Which totally disregards the cross. Lord, forgive me and thank you for grace!

Intercessory is something we are called to do. I believe as Christ followers, it is our responsibility to lift others up in prayer. Pray for your lost loved ones. Pray for the broken, hurting and confused. I think the most genuine act of love you can show toward a person is presenting their pain or issue to the Creator of life and asking him to infuse grace and peace in it. Jesus prayed for us all the time, even when we hurt him. Was it because God did not know us or love us? No. It is because Jesus did. His intercession was an act of love just as ours is.

As I was reading this morning, I came across Romans 8:26-27. Read that passage with me.

Friends, just as Jesus, the Son of Man, interceded for us while he was on earth, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we do not know what to pray. He knows us- our desires, our pain, our needs (Psalm 139). So, he prays to the Father on our behalf.

Thank you Lord for wanting relationship with us so badly that you sent the Helper (see John 14:26).

If you are at a place similar to what I confessed I was experiencing where you don’t know what to pray: praise. He inhabits our praise. Paul said with thanksgiving present requests. Thank God for being who he is because he deserves all praise for simply being who he is!

“I Am who I Am” Exodus 3:14. We serve the God; the only one. He is both intimate and infinite, and he love us so much. I am overwhelmed with peace and purpose just entertaining the thought. Talk with him today. If you don’t know what to say, ask the Holy Spirit dwelling in you to speak on your behalf.

Enjoy your weekend and remember that you are loved!

Protection

Today we will be reading from Matthew 21:12-17. Most specifically verses 12 and 13, but it is a great short story so I urge you to read the entire script.

Jesus’ reaction when he approached the temple and saw the people conducting business in the house of God was from a place of authority. He was outraged with the disrespect of this holy place. His holy place. He says in verse 13, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”

The authority that Jesus displayed a the temple is the same authority he displays over your life as a believer. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” You are a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, friend. When you allow Jesus into your temple, he will show the same protective sovereignty that he did that day in the temple.

The enemy is a scheming, persistent pain in our rear. We all know that. He attacks in many ways. In my life, his most consistent attack (and unfortunately most often successful) is when he tries to rob me of truth I have found in Jesus. Joy, identity, purpose, love… these are all choices. The world would have us believe these things are feelings, or products of our circumstance. That could not be further from the truth. My joy comes from the knowledge that the Lord reigns and has overcome the world. My identity is intact because of the truth and victory the Lord sings over me. My purpose is in place because God promised that he would make my path strait if I trust Him. I love because God loves, and He is love, and I am His. These are all choices. Ones that I do not feel like making sometimes, nor do I always make the right ones. But, thank God for His grace that covers those moments and the counsel of Holy Spirit that sets me back on track.

Jesus, with the same authority he showed in the temple those two thousand plus years ago, will drive out the robber from your temple. If you will allow him to enter, he has the power to cleanse you from the lies of the joy, identity, purpose and love robber. It is not a question as to if He can. He has already defeated death itself. As a child of God, the enemy has no authority over you that you do not give him.

Today, I urge you, give Jesus the authority to drive out the robber. Allow him to drive out the lies, the confusion and the pain. He cares so much for us. He showed that on the cross. So my challenge for us today: let’s stop trying to fight these things on our own. We don’t have to; thank you Jesus! After all, he has already overcome (John 16:33). We can call on him, make way for his authority and tables in our life will quickly be overturned.

“I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:4

Gethsemane

Happy Easter!

Thank you Jesus for the love for us that You displayed many Easters ago.

Let’s dive in to Matthew 26:36-46 this morning. To set the scene here, Jesus and the disciples just ate the “Last Supper” and went to the Mount of Olives. After a brief conversation with Peter, Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane.

Verses 37 and 38 say, “He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

He was heartbroken. Why do you think that was? He knew what was coming. He knew resurrection and newness were coming. So, even though these next several hours would be painful, there was a definite reward in store.

We have already established he was heartbroken. Verse 39 says, “Going a little farther…” Stop here. He was hurting, but he still kept going. A little farther. Another step. He kept moving in spite of what he felt. “..he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will.” He fell to his face on the ground, in complete submission to the will of God and pleaded for the cup to pass. He was entirely vulnerable.

In verse 42, he asked a second time. But, why, the resurrection was coming and he knows it? He prophesied about rebuilding the temple in three days himself (John 2:19). So he knows how this is going to end. Verse 44, he asked again.

But, after he spoke with God and submitted to His will. In verse 46 He said, “Rise, let us go!” He kept going, friends. He didn’t want to, but He did.

This moment Jesus experienced is such a human moment. He lived as we lived. He felt the things we did. He chose to walk within the will of God, just as we can. Knowing he was a lamb being prepared for slaughter, he kept walking. You can think what you like, but I do not believe Jesus experienced the cross because he wanted to. He chose to because he trusted God for the outcome. He trusted God’s word.

Lets think about what he may have feared: pain, leaving his loved ones behind, permanency, and lack of understanding from the people he loved.

Right now, I am heavy at heart about marriage. I am twenty-seven and from an area in the country that would consider me an ‘older bride’ from this point forward. Yes, I am aware that is not true, but many of my loved ones have not realized that. It is not the wedding I look forward to, even though that can be fun. I can’t claim to even be ready for a marriage- I honestly don’t know. However, I am ready to find someone to do life with. Consistently; everyday. I am over dating and the highs and lows. It may sound silly friends, and trust me I am embarrassed to even report it to you, but my best friend believes my words are most powerful when they are personal and from my heart and I really want to you to understand what I am challenging you to in this post.

I know, that I know, that I know that God has someone special in store. I am not talking about “The One” that most believe is out there. I , personally, do not believe there is one person designed for me; but I believe there are God-honoring choices that I get to make in selecting my spouse. I believe that by loving God first, he will deliver on his promise to give me the desire of my heart. How can I believe the God of creation is unable to do such a thing; even if it seems nearly impossible to me. So, friends, even though this lonely season is painful, and I fear change in leaving behind the man I loved before, and permanency of the decision is intimidating, and I fear that those around me don’t understand my patience or what I am praying for- I keep walking. If I am being honest, right now I am asking God daily to take this cup. Just give me someone that I can make life work with so I can experience it. However, because I trust God more than myself and I know he knows the depth of my heart so he is able to place someone in front of me that meets the desire, I keep walking. I trust his Word, his omniscience and his timing, so I keep walking. I will rise up, just as my Jesus did, and keep walking. Wading through the season of development to get to the resurrection- life.

Think about that thing you have been trudging through to get to the promise. The Son of God felt it to friends. But following Jesus means following Him through this part too. Keep walking with resurrection ahead. With death to these things today, comes life in resurrection and promise.

Trust God, our gracious and loving Father and stay heaven minded. Resurrection is coming.

Bread

Good morning and happy Holy Week!

Lets dive right in today with Matthew 26:17-30. This passage narrates the “Last Supper” between Jesus and the disciples before the crucifixion process began. You can also read accounts of the supper in Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-38 and John 13 and 14.

Side note– I am throwing a ton of scripture at you today so if you don’t have time this morning to read it all, just just the verses down and dive into them throughout the day.

Something I found so neat in this passage was within the first verse(17), “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” When I compared the stories in each book, all but John specifically mentioned the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This interested me, so I looked more into this particular Jewish tradition.

Turns out, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a tradition adapted by the Jewish people to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt. Leaven is yeast. During this festival, bread would be made without yeast and no yeast was to be consumed in any Jewish household. Most households would even purge the home of all yeast containing products. When the Jews abruptly left Egypt, they did not even have time to allow their baking bread to rise. They gathered it, and fled. Yeast is what makes dough rise, so eating bread that has not risen is a symbolic of the deliverance from Egypt.

The most interesting part is what leaven symbolizes throughout scripture. In many passages, leaven, or yeast, is used to describe sin or falsehood. So, purging the household of yeast also symbolized purging of sin and falsehood. If you are wondering where on earth I am getting this information from (as you should be), I went ahead and listed a scripture chain below and a brief description of each:

Exodus 13:3-10: God commands the people to acknowledge their rescue from Egypt

Leviticus 23:4-7: Describes how the Festival of Unleavened Bread began and why.

Deuteronomy 16:3: Reminder of what the unleavened bread represents.

1 Corinthians 5:4-8: Parallels leaven to sin.

Matthew 16:5-12: Jesus compares yeast of the Pharisees to falsehood.

Matthew 26:26 says, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” The unleavened bread that he broke represented his body, his flesh. “..This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” John 6:51. The timing of the Festival of Unleavened Bread was no coincidence.

The yeast-less bread that He broke for them represented His sinless body that was broken for us.

Oh, how I love Jesus, that he gave his sinless body to be broken for us over 2000 years ago so that we may spend eternity with him and have peace on this earth by his Holy Spirit. The Bible is a love letter from God, a how-to for earthly dwelling, and a beautiful and poetic piece of literature. Isn’t it amazing that God utilized metaphors so that we can attempt to understand His heavenly being with our human minds? What an author; he began shaping the story thousands of years before the climax! That is a true testament to his majesty.

Held

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalm 9:9

I remember a moment of complete brokenness that I experienced some years back. Reflecting on it now, I remember how it felt to come undone. I was 22 years old. In that moment, I realized I had lost the guy that I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. We had broken up a few days before but the reality that it was over did not set in until that phone call. The moment he ended the call– I was lost. I sobbed and yelled “No” repetitively. I think that is all I knew to do. I crumbled onto the living room couch.

I idolized planning back then. I had lists for my lists and mapped out every detail of my life. Then, in that moment, the plan was ruined. I loved that boy to my core. As frustrated as I had grown with the relationship, I was so dedicated to the life I believed we would have. My world felt like it had been ripped out from under me.

Moments after my breakdown began, my brother came downstairs and witnessed my devastation. He heard my wailing from his room upstairs. He said nothing; he just reached down to me, lifted me up onto his lap, and held me. Just held me. That moment, as dark as it was, will always be the best moment I have shared with my little brother. Reflecting on it now brings tears to my eyes. Not tears of sadness, I have completely healed and been restored of everything that I considered loss that day; thank you Jesus. They are tears of gratitude and humility for that special moment. He transitioned from little brother to protector and has maintained that role, in my mind, ever since.

I understand that this story sounds more like a diary entry than a scripture study. However, I decided to go this route today because of what God is doing in my life right now. I want to testify on His behalf. This story is a perfect real-life illustration of the unconditional love and faithfulness of God.

He is so faithful. I’ve walked away from Him, disrespected Him, and sinned against Him. Yet, He never leaves me broken. If I allow the world to get me there, I can call on Him and He heals me. It looks different each time, sometimes immediate and others a longer process. But, He always does. He holds me when I come undone. When I crumble in despair, just like Devin did, He reaches down, picks me up and holds me closely. He whispers truth in my ear, “I love you child. Get up child, you are a victor. I’ve got you beloved.”

He is holding me now. I am in a much better place than I have been in the past. But right now, I am battling fear. Fear of an uncertain future, fear of being alone and fear of rejection. I am right in the middle of it. But friends, He is holding me. He is right here in the with me. Taking on every question, cry and confused prayer; whispering words of truth in my ear. I am not reporting on my deliverance from these things…yet. I am testifying to His presence in the now.

I love Jesus. Honestly, I consider myself a pretty tolerant person but I would have given up on me a long time ago. He doesn’t though, isn’t it amazing? He loves me, He holds me. When I am together, He celebrates with me and guides me. When I am undone, He holds me and breathes life into my decaying heart. I imagine in the spiritual realm, it looks a lot like what my brother did for me that day.

So thank you Taz for being the big little brother that I needed. Thank you Father for loving me so.

“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91: 2

Words

Good morning! I hope this post finds you well and rested after the weekend.

Today, we will be referencing Matthew 7:13-23 during our time together. I know it is kind of a longer chunk of scripture, but bear with me. Read it all the way through before moving forward so you have the Word in your mind as we bounce around.

This can be unpacked in a few different ways. That is one thing that I love about the Word of God. I believe this scripture does not only express that what is internal becomes external, but also what intention behind the external things can do for the internal self.

Jesus referenced good and bad trees here to illustrate his point (V 17-20). Good (living) trees provide oxygen and clean air. Meaning, they provide life. Bad (dead) trees do not. Dead trees actually consume oxygen, or consume life, instead of giving it.

Speak life friends. When you speak over yourself, your life will be tempered with Christ’s love and grace, or not. We get to choose. Our choice is what separates us from the rest of creation; it is the feature that makes us in His image. We were created and gifted will. There is so much more power in that gift than we realize on a day to day basis. God reigns as King, but He has blessed us with power in our tongue to speak life or death. We can build and destroy with words. Do you see the power there? (See Proverbs 12:18, and 18:21).

You can do all of the “Christian” things you can imagine, but if you are not speaking life into yourself and the fallen world around you, you cannot know the peace Jesus provides. The life you speak is what will come to fruition.

Now jumping back up to verses 7:13 and 14, it is not always easy to speak life. We don’t always feel it. Some of us have a hard time for reasons outside of our control.

I want to speak to a specific group of readers here that may share a persistent illness called depression with me. When you read the second sentence of the paragraph above, I am sure you laughed to yourself in agreement and thought something like, “Chick, you have no idea.” I am airing my business out here today to tell you, I do. I understand; I may not know exactly what you are feeling, but I know what it is for the positive life giving thought part of your brain to literally just not work right. Not because of a decision you made, but because of a physical disability that can reek havoc on your mental health. I pray right now divine healing over your mind. I believe God is capable. God has been mending me daily for a long time. I do not know why divine, one time, Jesus-healed-the-leper healing is not the way He chose to do it. It may be so I can speak into you today. Friend, even in the pit, speak life. You do not feel it, I know. Speak it. Speak it through the tears and the frustrated tantrums. Speak life through the pain. Speak life in the numbness. If you can say nothing else, look in the mirror every morning and say, “Clothed with strength, crowned with dignity. Loved by Christ.” Speak it and I promise you, you’ll begin to believe it. I profess it because I have to live it out every day to stay sane. There is strength and power in your tongue and you, even when broken and bruised, are a warrior.

God did not create us to live in turmoil. That was introduced with sin. Remember Eden? God created us to walk and talk with Him. Adam and Eve, pre-fall, lived in complete peace; not even knowing what shame, hate or lust were. That was God’s original design. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, we can have that same peaceful communion now. Yes, we live in a world where those things exist, but speaking life over yourself and into your world allows the Spirit of God to thrive because He is life.

John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This morning I speak victory, healing, prosperity and peace over you. Thank you for taking this journey with me.

*If you are a reader dealing with depression and need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to talk through some of the tough stuff with you and help you attain the extra help that you may need to overcome. You can reach me at kristen_gillette@hotmail.com. I love you, friend, and so does Jesus. Healing is possible.