Segment 2: The Wind and a Stone

As we read The Wind and a Stone, we found more than a good read with fascinatingly read characters.  We found our own characters and recognized some of our very real fears.  Today we are going to read another snippet from Erwin McManus’ book Stand Against the Wind while we again merge with the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures.  When we speak of the ebb and flow of God’s word this is what we mean.  We must dive deeply into these holy waters, reaching through to the other side.  We must join our hands with the others and now merge in with our very own life.

It always amazes me when God shares something so many years prior, which we store away, nourish and wait with excitement for Him to bring to a full harvest.  Before I ever began women’s group studies, He told me we would be doing this.  I thought it was just a poem:

 

Walk across the scripture

Reach his hand on the other side

Journey with him and the others

Merge in now with your life

Repair your broken mirror

To reflect his perfect peace

Bring transparency and your color

Into the picture of eternity

 

God created a space, we’ve discussed, where He could enter with power.  He could be born as man, our Christ and suffer just one time for all suffering.  What He did was secure Zoe life for us, but we must recognize how we “Give up the Ghost” as the old saying goes.  But it is true:

When we sin we shatter our oneness with God, which is Shalom.  While we are sitting amidst our broken pieces too exhausted to move is actually the perfect time to pick up the one thing in our life that cannot be shattered… God’s word.  Don’t worry about the shattered pieces around you, just sit with Him and read. Let Him take you on a journey, His journey, Your journey, Our journey… it’s all the same.

Like I always say…..we’re nothing but a bunch of characters anyway.  So, lighten up, God’s got your storyline covered – literally! You are bound between the pages of His cover front to back your story has been entwined within His.

For the next few months we will be on a sojourn in search of our characters lines; because There IS a Story Being Told.  Won’t you join us?

Happy Trails to YOU……

Kisses,

Candace

Read Psalms 31; Luke 24; Matthew 28

We will be starting a new study of Peter in group by Stephen J Binz

 Update 2012 ©Candace Huffmaster 2006, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly Inc ®

Ever Hooked Yourself When Fishing?

However, I'm afraid that as the snake deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

I must apologize for the long pause.  But I guess it took 7 days for me to grasp the depths of the topic we are Honestly venturing into.  We last discussed how our soul lures us away and yet we must not allow ourselves the luxury of choosing to be naïve.  Knowing that guilt and condemnation have no place in our relationship with God through Christ, we have the advantage of holding our soul accountable while casting down it’s false, vain perceptions.  There is such a vast array of wisdom written for us on the topic of self deception, vain wisdom, and lethargic learning.  It is my opinion that learning through others flailing, falling or flying is what makes it real – not theology.  Not that we don’t need both; otherwise we would simply be foolish leaders luring others into harm’s way. 

Today we are going to glean understanding as we compare some pieces of Peter and Isaiah’s journeys.  Both of these men LOVE, LOVE, LOVED God – but Peter had the wonderful experience of actually being able to walk alongside Jesus Christ.  WOW….my heart leaps when I ponder what those experiences must have been like; but also, how devastating it must have been to Peter when he followed the lures his mind casted at times.  Talk about an abrupt HIGH / low experience!

To review:  Perceive means to be aware or discern while Deceived means cheated or mislead.  The common denominators are these two are: information, decision and right of free will.  Holding this variable equation together is our one and only ultimate constant; God’s purpose and personality are at the helm of the universe, not randomness. 

We stopped last with Peter wanting to go “right now” with Christ.  Can you imagine the fear that must have been luring him as he thought about Christ leaving him to go it alone?  Not to mention that Christ validates Peters fear by telling him (my paraphrase) Hey Pete, I know you THINK you would do anything, but I will let you SEE how unrealistic you are about the depth of your devotion to me.  I won’t even be far out of your view and you won’t be able to stand the pressure, much less let me REALLY be gone.  I thank God that we have these true tales to walk through, or else I would feel like an utter failure at times.

Now let’s look at a few moments in the life of Isaiah: chapter 6: 8-13  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and whom will go for Us?  Then I said “HERE I AM…send ME!”  and He said Go and tell this people: keep listening but do not perceive, keep on looking, but do not understand, render the hearts of this people insensitive their ears dull and their eyes dim; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and return and be healed.  Then I said “How Long?” and HE answered.

Do you hear any insecurity or second guessing in Isaiah?  I heard passion for supporting THEIR cause and a perseverance to WAIT on God’s direction. 

Today I want you to think about the contrast of each individual’s purpose, personality and continence. Consider these thoughts:

Could it have been a hindrance to Peter’s faith maturing because Christ was in His presence?

Could Isaiah have been at an advantage to step up because he had not been walking alongside Christ therefore alleviating self defeating thoughts of comparison?

It is my prayer for us today that in all ways we receive the good which God extends to each of us as we strive to bring honor to Him, glory to His son and unite in His spirit to testify the might of His ways.  I pray we are faithful and that we will not shrink back, but lean in and be girded up to be one with His patience.  May we be strength to those whose faith is not as strong, may we lay ourselves aside and be concerned with our neighbors and the good things that will build their faith.  May we be like Christ who did not think only of himself but allowed the insults of others to fall into the hands of God’s mercy and grace.  May we learn from those that witnessed before us so that we could perceive their endurance and find encouragement to continue to stand.  And lastly, I pray that it is God’s good pleasure to give us all this same endurance and encouragement so that we may live in harmony with each other as we unite to live out the fulfillment of all things to the maturity of Christ.

With Love,

Candace 

©Candace Huffmaster, 2011 All Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly Inc™

"I Spy with My Little Eye"

Can God Heal Your Vision without Lasik’s?

I can put this in a nutshell for us – Yes, because vision does not start with what is in front of you. It starts with the building blocks of yesterday. We only see what we believe is really there! Once we no longer believe what we thought we saw - we now see what we "believe is really there" and so on and so forth.  Crazy or sane?  What does God say?

We live by faith, not by sight. Yet faith comes by hearing – or so I have heard and read. I chose to believe those statements even when I had no proof yet.  And that is what my dad used to say is “proof in the pudding”.( I still don’t actually get that saying – ha-ha. )

We have had so many discussions about the science of interpreting the things in our midst and the snapshot our mind portrays as the full sight, so I will not regurgitate all that again. (I know…hold your applause).

The reason we are going here yet again is because God’s wisdom on “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” is so multifaceted that we can’t drain His knowledge on the subject. Today, our purpose is to some handy tools of His trade as we tinker with our segmented thoughts / conversations which are running non-stop in our minds.

We have been trying to discern the promises of God on which we can build our faith. We know we have to plant them in our mind in order to counteract the misinformation which has been stored. I know you all have been diligent about doing this EVERY day – Right!

That’s awesome…so today, take out some of those “Conversations with YOUR Dad” after you read this. Write another conversation with Him. Write your thoughts if you choose. Ask Him some questions and be amazed at how He responds through situations, things you read or what others say. You might even be able to hear Him whisper the answer to you before any of those things actually take place.  If so,  He will simply use these encounters to confirm that you are indeed hearing His voice - so that you will believe.  Isn't He awesome!

To help us out,  we are going to look at one of Isaiah’s “Conversations with My Dad”. Isaiah is much better at conversing with our Dad than I am.  But I'm not going to get self conscious about that - I am just going to keep listening and believing He created us for conversation and relationship.  Why else would He have said "I do not desire sacrifice, but a body to call my own?"  All this today,  should put so many thoughts into perspective.

Remember as you are reading these verses that the Lord is talking about triumph. As you read it you might possibly have to remind yourself, segment upon segment, to have hopeful thoughts. And we are only reading it – no doubt, this is similar to some of our lives at times.

We begin in Chapter 24:1(GWT)

The Lord is going to turn the earth into a desolate wasteland. He will mar the face of the earth and scatter the people living on it. The same will happen to people and priests, male slaves and masters, female slaves and masters, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, debtors and creditors.

The earth will be completely laid waste and stripped because the Lord has spoken. The earth dries up and withers. The world wastes away and withers. The great leaders of the earth waste away. The earth is polluted by those who live on it because they’ve disobeyed the Lord’s teachings, violated his laws, and rejected the everlasting promise.

That is why a curse devours the earth, and its people are punished for their guilt. That is why those who live on the earth are burned up, and only a few people are left.

New wine dries up, and grapevines waste away. All happy people groan. Joyful tambourine music stops. Noisy celebrations cease. Joyful harp music stops. People no longer drink wine when they sing. Liquor tastes bad to its drinkers. The ruined city lies desolate. The entrance to every house is barred shut. People in the streets call for wine. All joy passes away, and the earth’s happiness is banished. The city is left in ruins. Its gate is battered to pieces.

That is the way it will be on earth among the nations. They will be like an olive tree which has been shaken or like what’s left after the grape harvest. They raise their voices. They shout for joy. From the sea they sing joyfully about the Lord’s majesty. Honor the Lord in the east. Honor the name of the Lord God of Israel along the coast lands. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise that honor the Righteous One.

But I kept saying. “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away!” “How horrible it is for me!” “Traitors continue to betray, and their treachery grows worse and worse.”

Disasters, pits and traps are in store for those who live on earth. Whoever flees from news of a disaster will fall into a pit. ‘Whoever climbs out of that pit will be caught in a trap. The floodgates in the sky will be opened, and the foundations of the earth will shake. The earth will be completely broken. The earth will shake back and forth violently. The earth will stagger. The earth will stumble like a drunk, and sway like a shack in the wind. Its disobedience weighs heavy on it. It will fall and not get up again.

On that day the Lord will punish heaven’s armies in heaven and earth’s kings on earth. They’ll be gathered like prisoners in a jail and locked in prison. After a long time they’ll be punished. The moon will be embarrassed. The sun will be ashamed, because the Lord of Armies will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. He will be glorious in the presence of his respected leaders.

Did you stick with Isaiah long enough to hear the Gospel? Do you know what I mean? The Gospel is the good news which follows the bad news – the Gospel is “always in all ways” the reason for our Hope. And He made a request of us – to ALWAYS be ready to give them a reason for our hope.

 So here was Isaiah’s, in Chapter 25:1-9 (GWT)

O Lord, you are my God. I will highly honor you; I will praise your name. You have done miraculous things. You have been completely reliable in carrying out your plans from long ago.

You have turned cities into ruins, fortified cities into piles of rubble, and foreigners’ palaces into cities that will never be rebuilt. That is why strong people will honor you, and cities ruled by the world’s tyrants will fear you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rain, and shade from the heat. (A tyrant’s breath is like a rainstorm against a wall, like heat in a dry land.) You calm the uproar of foreigners. The song of tyrants is silenced like heat that is reduced by the shadow of a cloud.

On this mountain the Lord of Armies will prepare for all people a feast with the best foods, a banquet with aged wines, with the best foods and the finest wines. On this mountain he will remove the veil of grief covering all people and the mask covering all nations. He will swallow up death forever!

The Almighty Lord will wipe away tears from every face, and he will remove the disgrace of his people from the whole earth.

The Lord has spoken. On that day His people will say, “This is OUR God; we waited for Him and now HE will save us.”

I thank God for Isaiah; for his Love and diligence to “write for God”. I pray that we believe, write, paint, sing and profess what we believe to honor of Him. I heard Him whisper to me once’ “If it is so, so it is and soon they will see it to BE”. I request that we “see by faith”, because His son made this request available to us. I request that our “voices join together” as the ONE in the wilderness even this very moment. And I request that we “run toward what we hear” so that we will be there to usher Him in with the praise He deserves, as ALL eyes See, bend their knees and receive.

For this is Gods good and pleasing will – that none should experience his anger. Instead, that we put on faith and love as a breastplate and our hope of salvation through Christ as a helmet. Now clothed in our Glorious armor let us fight with the joy in our heart. May we pierce them with the Loving truth which brings life – not death which their weapons bring.

In Him we can DO this – honest!
In Him we are ONE and Risen INDEED!

Kisses,
Candace

Obedience - By Os Hillman

I mistakenly posted this as "obstacles" instead of Obedience when I was loading it onto the web site. I pray that I - we all look at obstacles as opportunities. I know the women in our creative group which has been reading "The Last Lecture" will relate this to Randy speaking of "Walls". As he so insightfully states, "walls are not there to keep us out; they are there to see how badly we want something."

May we all desire Him above all else - therein lye's the ability to persevere with obedience.

In Christ,
Kisses,
Candace


TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1

Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all. - Exodus 5:23

Have you ever felt that the more obedient you are to following God, the more adversity there is? Moses had been instructed to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the people of Israel. God had said He was going to deliver the people through Moses. The only problem is that God did not tell Moses at what point they actually would be released. When Moses complained to God, the Lord told Moses that He had to harden Pharaoh's heart in order to perform greater miracles. God was behind hardening Pharaoh's heart. We forget that the king's heart is in God's hand. God had a specific reason for each plague and each delay. God said to Moses,

"I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord" (Exodus 10:1b-2).

God has a reason for everything He does. These delays were designed to bring greater glory to God and were to be a lasting legacy of God's miracle-working power for generations to come.

When the people were freed, God again hardened Pharaoh's heart to go after them. This action of God to harden Pharaoh's heart was to set the stage for an even greater miracle -- the parting of the Red Sea. The people were angry with Moses for bringing them to the desert "to die." But God said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on" (Ex. 14:15b). There was only one place to go by this time -- the Red Sea. God parted the Red Sea, and another greater miracle took place.
Moses learned several lessons that each of us must learn. God's promises are true, but His timing is not the same as ours. God always wants greater glory than what we might be willing to give Him. God puts obstacles and adversity into our lives in order to build perseverance and faith. Why has God put the mountain in your life at this time? To demonstrate His power through your life. To show His glory.

Twinkle..Twinkle

 

Twinkle, twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky………

We wish and wish and sometime even “prayerfully wish” until we realize there is a higher force with the capacity to propel us. And that is hope. Hope is not realized when we can touch what we see. Hopes job is over when we have obtained. True Vision is where the pieces collectively come together and build within our heart and mind. Creating with clarity all details in order for us to be aware when we are in the presence of what we hoped for. Hope is the fuel or catalyst of perseverance.

Think about it……

Evidence of things hoped for…….How will they know if they have not been told

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Galatian 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again.

I love what Erwin McManus wrote in this chapter “Coming our of Nowhere” in Stand Against the Wind.

Romans 12:12 NCV Be joyful because you have hope, Be patient when trouble comes and pray at all times.

 

 

The quest for enlightenment leads us to the wisdom of God. Wisdom is forged through the crucible of Perseverance.

If Rome wasn’t build in a day, neither is character formed in one moment. There is a process in our becoming all that God created us to be. This is the human side of divine change. Transformation is both the miracle of God and the stewardship of man. Godliness is a result of both divine activity and human action. God promises to do what we cannot do for ourselves and He commands us to do that which He will not do for us. There is both miracle and responsibility. God entrusts us with His resources, and then He hold us accountable for what we do with them. It isn’t very difficult to see that we are not all the same. Some people seem to have gotten an overload when God was handing out talents; others seem less gifted. But be assured there is divine talent in you. It is both waiting to be unleashed and depending on your being a faithful steward with what you’ve been entrusted. While we may be unable to perceive it, the great things of God come out of the small acts of faithfulness. When He finds we can be trusted with small things, we then are given responsibility over bigger things. How we serve exposes how we would lead.

When we are Faithful, we are Trustworthy. The person who is unfaithful cannot be trusted. These tow characteristics are inseparable.

If a person does not achieve his or her God given potential, although we might consider it a tragedy we would never think of it as wickedness. But perhaps we should. After all, the servant in the parable of the talents was declared wicked when what he could have done was measured against what he did. Matthew 25:14-30

 

So in conclusion for today -

Think of perseverance as the key to the door that is locked before you….holding you back from what is on the other side.

Will you endure the struggle with the lock or will you just say, I can’t open it?

Just any shape key does not open the lock. Perseverance shapes our character….Our character is the shape of our future.

Just as the key has to be the correct shape – we also have to be shaped to fit our future (deep huh!)

If we do not have the correct shape, the lock does not open. Our frame work is the skeleton key. God is the iron worker, we are the iron he is shaping. Each door we come before he has to take time and effort to bend us to perfectly fit.

The same key does not open all doors. Each key, as each door lock, is special….just for us. If all keys and locks were the same, anyone could open our doors and receive the things in our store house.

Are we willing to be molded, bent, heated till He sees Him image reflected upon us? He tells us the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. “The implications of faithfulness cannot be overestimated and must not be underestimated.”

My prayer for us all today is that we will allow Him to painstakingly shape us so that we fit into what must be unlocked so all may come to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord….and be shaped to unlock…and so on…and so forth.

Twinkle Twinkle little star

Is there a key to what you are

Up above our world so high

Is your space, your time to fly

Twinkle twinkle little start

How he loves you as you are

My stanza to you all!

Kisses,

Candace