by Amy | Mar 20, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
I’ve been feeling on the weak side lately. Not physically, but emotionally. I look to the future and see a string of hard times on the horizon and it really makes me nervous. I have this ability to look ahead and anticipate. Which is good when I’m packing, or going camping, or creating a schedule. It’s not such a good ability when I anticipate anxiety…because you know what happens? It makes me more anxious.
And, if you know me…you probably know I’m a bit of a nervous bird as is.
Derek, on the other hand does not have this certain charm about him. Which, on the downside, is annoying when he packs for the camping trip…but on the upside keeps him very calm and level. I guess that’s one of the reasons we work so well together.
In the midst of my anxious flare-ups I was doing some cleaning a few days ago. Under a stack of magazines I stumbled across a note that I had made at church a few months ago. I remember writing it. The Holy Spirit had spoken to my heart and I wanted to remember what He’d said, so I reached for the only paper I could find: a tithe envelope. The note was simple, but enough to jog my memory. It read:
God will give strength to us like Manna.
Here’s what I meant.
Are you familiar with the Biblical tale of Moses, the Israelites and the Manna? If not, you can read the full version here. Otherwise, I’ll just do a quick paraphrase to get us all on the same page.
After the plagues had come and gone and Moses led his people across the Red Sea the Israelite people found themselves in the desert, losing the adrenaline rush of saying “Adios” to Pharaoh. They were hungry and thirsty, so they began complaining. Moses appealed to God, who told them that He would solve the problem.
Every morning God would provide “manna” {which literally translates to mean “bread from heaven”} to the camp. It would appear with the dew and each family was to collect only what they would consume that day. No more. To make this deal even sweeter, God provided quail for them in the evening. Same deal: gather only what you’ll eat. Keep none of it until morning.
Well, what the Holy Spirit impressed upon me is that God doles out strength like manna. Why? Doesn’t that seem a bit cruel? Why not just give us all the strength we need for the rest of our lives today? I can’t answer all of these questions as well as I’d like, but what I can assure you is that God wants us to trust Him and to love Him. He wanted to test the Israelites to see if they would follow His instructions and depend on Him. The same is true in our lives. God does not need our money or our good works. One of the greatest way we can show our love and devotion to Him is to take Him at His Word; to lean on Him…not our own understanding.
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 40:29 that, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” This is a promise. When we grow weary He will give strength to those who love His ways and wait upon Him.
I have a hard time with that.
I’m pretty sure my attitude and insistence on being anxious about things that are still to come would have gotten me kicked out of the Israelite camp. I probably would have been one of those obnoxious people who collected more manna and quail than I needed for that day {looking to the future…to that big dry spot ahead}. But, as the Bible tells us…that didn’t work out so well. Those who tried to keep food for the next day woke up to a rotting mess of maggots. Woof.
I’m so happy God has reminded me of this. I really want to wake up to confidence and hope…instead of a lump of buggy bread. I’m human, so I know I’m inclined to get nervous and anxious. In those moments I’ll remind myself too look at the worries of today {only today} and know that God will give me enough manna for today.
And he’ll give you enough manna too.
by Amy | Feb 27, 2013 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Derek and I work with the youth group at church. I don’t feel especially qualified, but I do feel especially blessed to be around those teens every single week.
This year we’ve slowly been working our way through the Book of Acts. A few weeks back we discussed this passage: Acts 14:21-28. You can click over to Bible Gateway to read it…or just read my paraphrase.
Basically what is going on is this. Paul and Barnabas {a killer ministry duo} have just finished a multi-national evangelistic tour. They could circle around, cut a corner and go back a different way than what they came, or return along their same path. Cut a corner, get home sooner…or take the long road, revisiting towns that attempted to kill them.
Doesn’t seem like a tough choice.
But Paul and Barney decide to return the way they came. They wanted to go back and check on all the new believers that had heard the Gospel on their first pass through. They wanted to follow though.
And that’s the message we tried to convey to the teens: follow through. The importance of following up, especially when it comes to new believers. In my mind, I find it important to follow through in all of our relationships. Sometimes I’m not very good at it, especially if it means following up with someone I don’t know very well. You trackin’?
Tonight someone followed through with me. It was someone I didn’t think I’d hear from again, but she called me up and left an encouraging message.
A few weeks back when I was visiting Dallas for the Strip Church training conference I recieved some startling/unexpected/emotion-rolling/hard-to-handle news. If you know me, you know that sometimes I can go over the edge with emotions. I just need to cry it out. So I was in the car, driving 70 mph down the highway, crying my eyes out. I decided that wasn’t the safest choice, so I pulled off at the nearest exit to collect myself. When the tears had stopped, I went inside to buy a drink. {I had that thick post-cry slobber clogging my throat.}
An older lady {I put her at mid-60’s} was working the checkout. She {out of habit} asked me how I was doing. Now, mind you…my face was a wreck. We are talking smeared mascara, puffy red eyes, pink nose, swollen lips…the whole nine yards. I didn’t have the energy to lie, so I told her I’d had better days. At this point she took her hands off my Aquifina and looked at my face. Then she sincerely asked how I was and what had me so upset.
I told her. Then she held out her hands and took hold of mine. She closed her eyes and prayed over me. In the middle of the gas station, with a line behind me. She prayed the Holy Spirit would be on me and give me peace. That I would have joy in my heart, strength and patience to endure. Then she asked how she could follow up with me. I had a business card in my wallet, so I handed it over to her.
I was fine for the rest of my drive. And I have had a certain amount of peace ever since. Honestly, I never thought I’d hear from her again.
Until tonight.
She {DeDe from the gas station in Texas} followed through. I missed the call, but I’ll call her back. I’ve never had a small act of encouragement touch me in this way.
The point is following up matters. Interacting with one another is a good first step. But the joy, peace and love that we plant at that initial moment will wither if we don’t follow through. As humans we need support. When we reach out to one another we need to take the long road back…to check up on our people. Lucky for us, it doesn’t mean we need to face the threat of being stoned. Just a phone call, or a text, or a facebook message. Just to check in and let them know that our meeting was sincere; not just habit. You can even be more basic than that: actually pray for the needs a friend expresses to you. {How often do we say “Oh, I’d love to pray for you,” only to forget? I know it’s happened to the best of us.}
This week I challenge you to follow up with one person. Friend, family, stranger…whatever. Someone who you connected with. Follow through, see how they are doing. Allow God to bless them through your encouragement. If that’s not enough to convince you, just trust Gavin DeGraw:
“You have to follow through
You’re gonna have to follow
Oh, this is the start of something good
Don’t you agree?”
Amy
by Amy | Dec 7, 2012 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Derek and I have been helping out at the youth group at our church. Together we are working our way through the book of Acts. Just a few verses at a time…slowly…but surely.
{This amazing photo is from L.A. Birdie Photography’s Flickr stream.}
This Wednesday we talked about chapter 8: 1-8. I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Here is the gist of the passage. The church is brand new and young. This had been going great, but suddenly Stephen was stoned for preaching and Saul {later, Paul} begins persecuting Christians. Violence breaks out. Believers are put in prison, beaten, or killed. The church then scattered throughout the region to avoid persecution.
And here is what verse 4 says:
“Those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went.”
Wherever.
And you know what? The church needed to be scattered. The Good News, the Gospel, the Word…it had to move beyond the walls of Jerusalem. God allowed hard times, violent times to fall on His children. But, as always, His hands guide our paths and lead us to His purposes.
Often I feel very scattered. Uprooted, changed, challenged. Scattered. A lot of times when I feel like that I wallow. Like a hippo in a mud hole. I just wallow in it. Because, surely I’m the first one to feel uprooted and scattered.
But the reality is that this isn’t new at all. God uproots us all for different reasons at different times. Whether it means we move to a new house, a new town, or just change schedules or activities. We all get uprooted and challenged. Our responsibility is to carry the Word with us wherever we go. And not just to carry it, but to preach it too. {And I’m not talking about preaching in a street corner condemnation kind of way. But a loving, understanding, approachable way.}
Really, this is the meaning of life. Spreading His kingdom, preaching His Word, bringing Him glory. That’s what it’s all about. God has a plan in place to spread His kingdom to the ends of the Earth. And it involves you. And me. And everyone we come in contact with. His plan is elaborate. So elaborate, it may even seem unclear to our little mortal minds. But there is a plan. I promise you. There is a plan.
And that’s why you are where you are right now. Where you are living, what you are feeling, the struggles you are overcoming. They aren’t accidents. You are young to reach the young. You’re a mom to be relatable to moms. I work at the gym to reach those who want to improve their bodies, and who may need a little confidence boost. I live in Practically Canada to reach people here.
We are scattered from our comfort zone to better serve the LORD. Are you feeling lead to scatter? Have you been scattered? This is a blessing, friends. When He calls us to scatter apart, he calls us to a new mission field…with new lives waiting to hear from us.
Will you preach the News wherever you go? I sure hope so.
Amy
by Amy | Oct 24, 2012 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
When we were out doing a little visiting on the east coast, Derek and I popped in to visit with his uncle and aunt in Lancaster, PA. I could write a whole post on how amazing the Damon family is…but that would really get us off topic. So I’ll just dive in. The fam work closely with a Christian theater production company called Sight and Sound Theater.
Now, if you are like me…you are thinking, “Um, Amy…last time I checked, you were awesome. Why are you plugging a lame Christian theater company?”
Because, yes…I’ll admit it. Christian entertainment has a history of being a bit…stale. So, I was skeptical when we were offered tickets to see “Jonah.” I mean the book of the Bible is only a few pages long. How can they make a 2.5 hour show about it? And I know that story already…but…it was free. And the family really talked it up. They assured me it wouldn’t be lame.
And it wasn’t. It was anything but lame. The production quality was amazing. Everything about it blew me away. If you get a chance, you should go. Seriously. I’m not kidding. Go.
Now…all that brings me to the point of today’s post. Pulling a Jonah.
I went into the show “knowing” the story of Jonah. But there is something about the events of the Bible…they continually teach and speak to us. Even when we feel like we know the story like the back of our hand. {I don’t really understand that expression.}
What we generally think of when we consider Jonah is a BIG FISH. One big enough to eat him whole and keep him trapped in its belly for three days. What God showed me was something that has nothing to do with fishing at all. Do you remember why Jonah got eaten like a peanut on an airplane? Let me refresh you.
God told Jonah to go preach in Ninevah. Ninevah was a town full of awful people. They were barbaric, idol worshipers, and cruelly violent. Not only was Jonah afraid to go there, he didn’t think that they deserved God’s Word and Grace. So he ran away. He jumped on a ship with what I picture to me a motley crew and set sail in the opposite direction.
While on board God caused an awful storm to come and threaten to tear the ship apart. Everyone on board would die. But Jonah saw through this. He knew what was happening was his fault. God had found him and was showing His wrath. So J-man tells the crew to throw him overboard. After some convincing…they do…and the storm stops immediately.
And until I went to the show, I hadn’t really noticed what happened next.
All those men on board acknowledged the Lord. Previously they had worshiped pagan gods. But when they saw the storm that God had caused and how He caused it to cease…they knew that Jonah’s God was the real deal.
The New Living Translation puts it this way: The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. {Jonah 1:16}
That’s the part of the story that has really stuck with me since leaving the theater. So often I make mistakes. I know what God would want me to do, but I run away…I pursue my own path. Sometimes it is crazy difficult to walk in the direction we feel God leading us. Sometimes it feels like we are walking blindly. And that’s scary {just try closing your eyes as you strut down the street sometime.} So we run away. And sometimes we feel like failures. That’s “pulling a Jonah.”
But this is the message that God has laid on my heart to share with you. Take comfort…because we serve a God who works miracles, even through our failures and fears. God used Jonah’s disobedience, fear and failure to comply to show his might to the ship’s crew. Through Jonah’s mistakes, God created an opportunity to reveal himself. This is the God we serve. The one and only God. The One who can take all our weakness, mistakes, and misgivings and create something lovely and powerful for His Kingdom’s name.
Amy
