notes from lisa...

"Trust in the Lord , and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday". [Psalm 37:3-6, ESV] These past few weeks (even more than normal), I have really been in a place of desire for more of God and not willing to settle for what was before--not even the "former glory". Sometimes, it's easy to proverbially settle on our laurels as we think back over past spiritual exploits, and great moments of fasting, and awesome periods of a phenomenal prayer life--or those times when we witnessed God's Hand constantly at work, before us, personally. I can't be satisfied with what was , at this point; in fact, if what was, were to occur right at this moment, it still wouldn't be enough. I thought it would, as I found

"And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another ; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins..." [Hebrews 10:24-26, NASB] Some time ago, I wrote a post with the title RETHINK CHURCH. This morning as I lay wrestling, I felt that topic begin to resurface and believe in my heart that today, it needs a revisitation. I am sure this time will look very different from the first, because I see things that I didn't see then, and I know things that I didn't know before--and certainly, I feel things even more acutely then I once did. I know many might question why I would suggest that there is a need to "rethink" church. I believe that when church doesn't mirror the New Testament teachings in spirit and in em

How many times have you uttered those words to someone who needed your help, or needed your time or just a listening ear... "I'll be praying for you; now, be blessed!" How many times, when you said those words did you have the ability to give or do what was needed, but instead, offered those words choosing rather to "shut up bowels of compassion". It is a choice. I understand that it is often much easier, since it can be an inconvenience to help, to give and to extend yourself when in fact, you may be tired, overextended already or simply not in the mood. After all, even Jesus got tired, right? Often, I want to say, "No", because I'm overwhelmed or swamped with my own issues and circumstances, but I always seem to hear these words in my ear: " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Then, I remember exactly WWJD; because He did it . He put aside His glory, and took on the form of sinful fles

Sometimes, we really miss the point. To speak of God's people being reconciled back into full fellowship, as they were at Creation without a discussion of the effects of the Fall really is to the detriment of us all. It leads to fallacious teaching--and heresy. It is easy to fall into a New Age gospel of prosperity when we dismiss the effects of the sin on ALL of mankind, and fail to distinguish between natural and spiritual. Many times, we hear it preached and taught that when we are saved, we have all of the benefits of man that were granted to the first man (and woman) at Creation. That is only partially true--what we have been reconciled to--in this life, is the spiritual restoration, and the spiritual blessings ; no longer separated from God. It does not mean we are always going to be from sickness, pain, lack, sorrow or death. If that were so, God's people would no longer be subject to natural death, once saved, and I think we can all establish that as ludicrous.

Today's youth (of course, there are some [albeit rare] exceptions) are on my mind. Parents, please cut it out--you're raising a whole generation of self-absorbed, selfish, and entitled people who are convinced that the world revolves around them, their wishes, and their comfort. The other day I went to a restaurant, and help was conspicuously absent. The owner said, he couldn't get good young peo ple to work, because they want to be rewarded simply for showing up! They don't think that actual working is a part of having a job. Job descriptions mean nothing--they have to be coaxed and prodded to do everything, over and over and over.... And, then after three weeks, "I want a raise". When asked what they did to deserve a raise (IN THREE WEEKS!)--"I come to work, everyday." I want to LOL, but really, it's a bit disturbing, since in a decade or so, they will be running the country. Kids need structure, guidelines and rules. They do

GOD always cared for those who had less. The Law, as well as grace, made provision for the less fortunate and those who didn't have the ability to earn income. In the Old Testament, God's commands to His people were: "And you shall not glean your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God." [Leviticus 19:10, AMP] (Similarly, "When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow." [Deuteronomy 24:21, AMP]).  Elohim, lived up to His title of Jehovah-Jireh, not only by providing water, manna and quail, but by instilling in Israel the mind to care for those who had less than they did--whether Israelite or stranger . God was so concerned that no one slip through the cracks that He gave the command regarding gleaning, just to ensure that their was provision, even

 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. [Numbers 16:3-5, ESV] You know the end of that story, don't you...not pretty...at least for Korah and the rest of his rebellion, and unfortunately, their families, too. We often bring down those we love, in our foolish pride and self-seeking. If you ever watch the news, you know exactly what I mean. As foolish men are carted off to prison for presumptuously taking what was not their own (thinking they would get away with it--you know, all the Bernie Madoff's out there) dragging families and fri

 " And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord , and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."    [Numbers 11:1-6, ESV]     What an awful thing when God (Who is Jealous), isn't enough to satisfy and delight. Clearly, He was in their (Israel) midst (10:34-36) resting upon the camp day and night, protecting,

" And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”[Leviticus 9:6, ESV] The Glory of the Lord is going to cost you something. It isn't free. This year, I decided that among other things, I would read through the Bible again--it's been years since I have. In the past, I simply read, this time it's taking a lot longer, because I no longer have the ability to simply read the Word of God; I just can't. I always end up studying. Today, as I got into Leviticus--the Book that I normally, dread (I'm being honest), and find quite tedious; something said (well, it would have to be Someone, right?), take your time and find out the significance of these sacrifices and how they relate to me, in this dispensation. I knew they had to in some way because I remember Jesus words: " Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  Ought not Christ to ha

It's sad sometimes, to see how puffed up, God's people have become. We seem to forget, very quickly who and what we were before God extended mercy to us and redeemed us from the snare of the enemy. Paul warned the Corinthian church about this attitude: " It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you." Paul, the apostle, saw in them what we commonly see today--sin, mixed with pride and arrogance. Many of us assume that because we have been born again, and God is faithful to forgive us (if we confess our sins) we have something to boast about. We don't. The only good, righteous and holy thing about any of us has nothing to do with us--it is only the presence of God in us that makes us righteous; and that is only if we choose to let Him make us

Most of us, tend to see ourselves through the eyes of others. We believe what we have been told about ourselves growing up--or we believe what we see in the mirror. We even accept what we think , even if it is born out of times of grief, stress, abuse and all manner of hardship. Sometimes, God will come to us, and tell us who we (really) are, and we won't accept what God sees, because we have believed lies for so long. We can't even begin to recognize the possibilities of God, in us. We think that the greatness of God is reserved for a few charismatic others--who are "better" than we are. The thing is, that is how WE choose, but it is not how God chooses. God purposely chooses the weak so that only He can be glorified. He wants all of the recognition, and wants none of it to go to the flesh and blood of mankind; it simply doesn't belong there. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (Amplified Version) makes it very clear: " [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) wh

" Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, 'I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.' But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, 'Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.' His mother said to him, 'Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.'"    [Genesis 27: 5-13, ESV] And we call Ja

" And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Sometimes, when things get tough we forget. I'm sure it was tempting for Abraham to forget at the moment when God "tested" him. After all, there were a couple of occasions when Abraham became forgetful--faithful as he was. Remember, his encouragement to Sarah to lie--first to Pharaoh, and then to Abimelech. Abraham had Sarah tell the same lie--that she was his sister--well, it was a half-truth (it was spoken with the intent to deceive), because of his fear . Abraham forgot God's providential care at those moments--he forgot His promise . Abraham forgot that there was a Covenant necessitating both his and Sarah's health and well-being. He didn't nee