faith

Fears and Phobias

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment
Everyone has phobias. Everyone has fears. If you say you don’t, then, I’d guess, you’re probably lying. Even the toughest, meanest among us have one fear or phobia or something that causes us some level of discomfort at one time or another. 

I have a “phobia” of hotel floors and tile showers that I don’t know are very clean. I envision my feet getting some unknown fungus imbedded and contracting some kind of unknown sickness without a cure! Haha. I know, crazy, right? I wear flip flops…my husband laughs at it…until one day he gets sick! Haha!! Seriously, it is a hang up, but I’ve learned to temper the crazies over the years, and now, I mostly just wear socks around the hotel room, and hop from standing on my socks to the shower floor…and some of you think I’m kidding!… LOL! 😂 
  
Ok, so, I am exaggerating a bit to, hopefully, make you laugh; however, there are some in this world with major phobias and fears, and it’s no laughing matter. 
 
There is a difference in having a “phobia” (in a joking sense), as in a certain dislike or “icky feeling” about something and having real worries, real fears, real phobias. 
 
Worries that are consuming… Fears that are paralyzingly… Phobias that are debilitating…

This kind of difference is what I want to talk about for a minute… If we, who call ourselves Christians, are going to make an impact on those around us, we need to live like the conquerors Christ, through the writings of Paul, told us to be. It surely doesn’t mean we will never have worries, never encounter a phobia, or even live our lives with never having a moment of real fear. However, it does mean we should live our lives in victory and not in defeat. 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Do you know there are 365 Scriptures on not being afraid? 365! That’s one for every single day of the year!! (I love it when God does really cool stuff like that.😊) That means He has given us a Scripture to stand on every single day of the year when we do encounter fears and concerns. As Christians, we can stand on the promises of God and rest in the assurance that He is still in control, regardless of the turmoil we may see before us. 

God knew we would battle fears. He knew we would encounter the unknown here on this earth, and He has equipped us to conquer. He has armored us with protection to WIN!! 

Partial obedience is still disobedience

/ The WheatandTares

1 John 2:3-6, “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

If JMan is playing in the road and I see a car he doesn’t, I’m going to tell him to get out of the road immediately! If he only moved to one side of the road, this is disobedience, and he can still get hurt! His life may depend on his COMPLETE obedience of my command to him.  
If JGrizz isn’t supposed to be on his phone after a certain hour, but he decides that he’s Just got to make one more phone call 30mins later, that’s still disobedience; even though, he is only making one call. Now, this one phone call of disobedience might not cost him his life; yet, it could possibly lead him down a path that, later on, he’ll wish to God he hadn’t taken! No matter how big or small the “event” may appear in the moment, disobedience always comes with a cost. 

Sometimes, I think we act this same way with God. He gives us a directive, even a command in His Word, and we obey it, but only to a certain extent. We obey, but only till it costs us a little more than we’re willing to give. We might even try convincing ourselves that we are obeying Him, because, “after all, He doesn’t really want us to be suffering or unhappy, does He?”

Abraham was told to take his promised son, Isaac, on top of mount Mariah and sacrifice him. God didn’t tell Him the outcome. God didn’t say to him, “Well, you can take a little lamb with you, too; so, you’ll be convinced, ahead of time, of my provision.” No, all Abraham was told to do was take his son up the side of a mountain and kill him!! 

Now, I don’t know about you, but honestly, I can’t say, right now, that I could happily comply with that! Abraham obeyed to the full extent, and it looked as if his full obedience would cost him his dream! This dream for which he had hoped and believed for YEARS…God told him he would father nations when he was 75…Sarah birthed Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old!! … That’s 25 YEARS!! God then told him to sacrifice his dream. That’s some heavy obedience which he did; yet, Abraham FULLY BELIEVED God would fulfill and keep His promise to him! 

I wonder if we often hesitate to fully obey, because we don’t fully believe… Sure, we believe when it’s easy. We believe when things are good, but what about when He tells us to speak His name to a nonbeliever who might just ridicule us? What about when He calls us to a ministry that might be a little scary when we’ve got to leave our home, our family, our friends, maybe even our homeland? What about when He asks us to give Him our whole tithes? You know, not just the “extra, off the top of a recent overtime weekend,” tithes, but that consistent 10% when our weekly budget barely cuts it now? What about when He leads us to give up that meal to spend the hour in prayer with Him? There are so many more I could list… 

THAT kind of obedience can be challenging, can’t it? That kind of obedience can make us dig down deep, not just in our pockets, but in the depths of our soul. We have to ask ourselves in that moment, “Do I really trust God enough to obey Him? Do I really believe the promises He’s given me?” In His Word, He promised us, time and again, that when we obey, there are things He will do. We just simply have to believe and to obey. 
Let me give you a few examples:
“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

“Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.” Leviticus 25:18

““Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7

I know, I know, these are just OT commands, right? After all, we “live by grace now,” right?? …maybe you’d like for me to give a few NT Scriptures instead…

“Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” John 8:51

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13

I have found, when we half-way obey Christ, too often, we miss His BEST for us. We miss out on His joy, His peace, His rest. Sometimes, just as I gave the illustration of my son getting halfway out of the road, when we just obey God half-way, we might even put ourselves in harm’s way! God doesn’t give us commands to follow simply to control us or to make our lives miserable. He gives us instruction to protect us, provide for us and to give us the very BEST He can give us!! Our complete obedience is for our complete good!

Partial obedience is still disobedience, but oh, the sweet promises we enjoy when we give Him our full obedience!!

“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:10-12   (italics, mine) 

Life’s Many Blessings

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Do you ever think about how many times God blesses us in a day??

Sometimes, it’s just as simple as receiving a sweet phone call or a little card in the mail. 

Sometimes, it’s as precious as getting an extra hug from my teenage son before bedtime. 

Other times, it’s getting through the yellow light when I’m running late and really should have slowed down a little more. 

Other times, I realize I may have been running late; yet, there was also a wreck that might just have avoided. 

Maybe it’s the “surprise” answer to a very long ago prayer. 

Yet, what about those times we hold out for that answered prayer that, much later, we realize wasn’t answered for very good reasons? 

What about those aches and pains which teach us to rely on Him a little more?

What about those heartwrenching seasons that help us to understand another’s pain on life’s long journey?

What about those hard times which bring us to our knees and cause us to reach for more of Him and so much less of ourselves?

There are countless blessings just awaiting us in every new day. 

Let us never look only to the good for blessings, for the bad can simply be blessings in disguise. 

Let the Fire Burn

/ The WheatandTares

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Sometimes, you just have to let the fire burn…

When farmers are “cleaning up” the soil in their field, in order to plant more seed, they will often burn the tares, left from harvest, along with what is left in the field. When the forestry wants to control wildfires before summer sets in, many times, they will set a fire to burn off the underbrush. Even when a chef wants to purify and clean his cooking grill, often, he will set a heated flame higher in order to decontaminate his preparation surface.

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Sometimes, you need to let the flames get hotter…

When a relationship has reached a heightened state of anger, and things can’t be resolved, you have to let the flames of anger burn and walk away for a bit. This doesn’t mean you keep throwing words and actions toward the other party; it means you let the embers burn for a bit while you step back from it. The fires will eventually die down when you stop fueling them; then, you’ll be able to see more clearly.   Sometimes, you just have to let the flame burn, or you will be harmed in the process as you work so hard to contain them within your grasp. 

Serving God needs the same process, except when you let the fire of God burn within you, it will have the opposite effect. The fire of God has a lasting effect. The fire of God is all consuming. When you let the fire of God consume you, you will find “the field” of your heart tilled for seeds to be planted, you will find “the forest” of your mind cleared of clutter and confusion, and you will find “the surface” of your soul purified and ready for what God has in store for your life. When you let the fire of God burn deep with your soul, you will find you have a cleansed vision, renewed mind and a changed heart. When you let the fire of God burn within, you will find a deeper desire for more. 

It will challenge you. 

It will transform you. 

It will consume you. 

Try it. 

Let it burn. 

Bucket With Holes

/ The WheatandTares

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Do you ever feel like you’re using a bucket with holes in it? No matter what you try to fill that bucket with, it just seems to keep leaking, until you finally run out. Sometimes, you’ve either got to change the substance you’re putting in, repair it, or throw out the bucket and get a new one!

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about… While I was doing crafts at youth camp a few weeks ago, we had a bucket that had a big gash in the bottom. From the outward appearance, that bucket looked perfectly fine, but the second you put liquid in it, it just flowed like a river out the bottom. The first day, one of the girls helping filled that bucket with water to use outside, not realizing it had a big crack in the bottom. She filled it in the sink and proceeded to carry it through the concessions area, out the door, and over to the tent-covered picnic tables where we were set up. After she sat down the bucket, she realized it was almost half empty, and just about that same time, the guys from the canteen hollered out the door, “Hey, there’s a big mess of water on this floor you might want to come clean up!” What a time we had cleaning that up!

At the beginning of the next day, I made the exact same mistake, except thankfully, I realized it before I left the kitchen! I just made a huge mess all around the sink area. Once I finally got all the water mopped up, I dried out that bucket and wrote “Hole in bucket!” on the side and on the bottom of that stinkin’ thing! Because we needed it, we kept using it for the rest of the week, but we no longer tried to put water in it. Instead, we used it to store all the containers of liquid tie-dye! The bucket was still useful, just not for the liquid with which we were trying to fill it! 😊

When you feel as if you’re using a bucket full of holes, when things in life just don’t seem to be working right, you may need to step back and figure out the problem. Sometimes, you’re just going to have to quit putting liquid in there expecting each time to yield a different result! Sometimes, you’re gonna need to use that bucket for another purpose than what you intended, or you’re going to need to make some repairs, and sometimes, you may just need to get rid of that busted pail all together.

Can I get real for a moment…? When your decision-making doesn’t seem to be taking you in the right direction, time and time again, you may need to change the methods by which you make your decisions, or you might need to start actually listening to the right people. When your relationships seem to be more “busted and disgusted,” rather than a source of joy and healing, you might need to change your choosing process or even the location of your “pick up.” When you just seem to be spinning your wheels, never getting anywhere, never growing, never succeeding in life, you might need to change the source on which you rely. Christ is the only One who can fix the broken places in this bucket called life, and He’s the best source for knowing which “bucket” to use. If you will but yield your heart and your life to Him, He can and will help you avoid those buckets with holes!!

*Note: I do not own, nor did I photograph the image above. I simply did a Google search and found it in images.*

Bring Your Brokenness

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, we clutch and hold so tightly the very things that are broken, bruised and shattered in our lives, those things which God so desperately longs to heal for us. It makes me think of a tiny child whose favorite doll has a leg that falls off or a toy truck that has a wheel that keeps coming off. Sometimes, that child will hold onto the toy, trying to put the broken part back together, growing more and more frustrated, because it just won’t work right. Finally, growing so frustrated, they throw a temper tantrum or break the toy further, not knowing how else to handle the situation.

This reminds me of our youngest with his lego building. There was a time when he just could not get some of the pieces apart to put them exactly where he wanted. He has always been pretty independent in his building of things; so, in those moments, he would try as hard as he could to get those pieces apart, and when he just couldn’t stand it anymore, he might just throw the pieces across the room with a loud “ugh!” It took him just a little while to realize if he brought that same piece to mom, she could usually use her nails to “magically” pry the two pieces apart. These days, if he has the slightest struggle with pulling two Legos apart, he may try his little Lego tool on them, and if that doesn’t work, I hear his calling my name to come fix it!

This is, often, I think, how we treat God. We keep holding onto our broken toys, determined to try to fix it ourselves. We keep trying to piece together our broken dreams, meddle with our broken relationships, tinker around with our broken hearts, only to realize the more we “work on it” ourselves, the worse it seems to get!

If we can ever get to the place where we immediately take our brokenness to God, we will find that He knows exactly how to fix it. We will find that He has the perfect remedy, the perfect salve, the perfect tool that “magically” brings it all back together. Now, let’s be clear, when He fixes something in our life, many times, He doesn’t fix everything instantaneously.

Often, He gives us time to process the healing. Sometimes, we may have to learn from a mistake; sometimes, He is using our healing to be a witness to someone else, and sometimes, He is working on several parties at once to bring about His glory in a unique way. There are many reasons why He may not fix it all in an instant. However, you can rest assure, He will bring you peace the instant you give it to Him, and through it all, as Paul tells us in Romans 8:28, He is always working all things for your good. Sometimes, the results are not going to be exactly what we expected, but I can attest, He knows what He is doing! He is God. He is faithful, and He loves us. We just have to trust Him. If we will do this, we will be amazed at how He will bring healing and work through our lives!

Light Pierces Through

/ The WheatandTares

  When the storm seems the darkest, when the waves are crashing in, just remember, light always pierces through the darkness. He is the Light which never fails. There is no storm so strong that He cannot prevail. There is no darkness so deep that He cannot shine. 

He brings peace where there is chaos. 

He brings love where there is hate. 

He brings healing where there is brokenness. 

He brings life where there is death. 

He is able. He is faithful. He is God. 

Just hope. 

Just trust. 

Just believe. 

Tunnel Light

/ The WheatandTares

  

I wonder if the closer you get to the end, the more light that you will see?

 

Do you feel you’re in a tunnel today? Keep walking. Keep pushing. Keep going. You can make. You will make it. I have faith in you. 

Most importantly, God has faith in you, and He is cheering you on. You are His. He created you, and He loves you, no matter who you are, where you’ve been or where you are right now. Trust Him, and just believe. 

Romans 8:31, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Friction to Thrive

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

There will be no sharpening of iron without friction. – rev. James Robison   

It’s a scary place to be…on the edge of a knife. Wondering what to do, where to go, knowing one step can determine our destiny. In that moment, all can be gained or all can be lost. The choice is ours to make. It is never happenstance. 

Friction shakes things up. Friction causes change, and friction causes a sharpening which cannot be found in the mundane moments of life. Yes, friction is needed in our lives to transform us from who we once were and propel us to who we are to become. 

Often, many will choose to avoid this moment of tension, this moment of inner conflict, this opportunity for change. Some avoid it out of fear. Some avoid it out of pain. Some even avoid it out of sheer laziness. Whatever your reason, I can assure you of this truth: no matter your situation, and no matter your reasoning, every time you avoid that moment of friction, you become dull. You lose your edge. You may even miss the mark for a lifetime. 

Sometimes, you can return. You might regain that sharpness. Sometimes, you can resume your cutting edge; yet, you are never guaranteed its return. You are never promised that repeated opportunity. There are some options which only come once in a lifetime, and all too often, those options come with friction. 

The decision must be made before the conflict arises. The choice must be made today, not tomorrow. We must have a made up mind before the opportunity comes knocking. Don’t let life overwhelm you. Never let circumstances dictate your destiny. You are not a victim. Your life is not simple happenstance. 

Choose you this day. Make up your mind, and chase your dreams. Make life happen all around you, and when you feel that friction, embrace it. Push against it. Stand tall in the midst of it. You will find it’s like a mighty sailboat, caught in the perfect winds on the sea. When the sails, the rutter, and the winds are all caught in perfect tension, that huge vessel will sail with great speed and with ease. 

So, find that place of perfect friction. Embrace those conflicts which come with tenacity and vigor. Thrive in that moment of tension, and sail on, my friend. Sail on. 


The Facade

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

There She Goes

You know the one
She’s got her recipes plastered on Pinterest…all her beautiful cakes and dishes…Her creative parties and house decor…All those perfectly clean rooms and floors…
You know, supermom.
She’s got her status posted everyday of how wonderful life is, how precious her little angels are.
She adores her husband and he adores her.
She wrote just last night of how he brought her flowers for no particular reason.
Her ring is a true rock and her clothes always looks perfect and that hair…
Geez, does she go to the salon everyday?!
She’s not just supermom; she’s super wife!…Super-woman!!
She’s got to have it all and have it all together!
Or so you would think…
Yet, you didn’t see her last night snap at her husband and go to bed angry.
You weren’t there last week when she screamed at the kiddos when they spilt the milk.
You didn’t even know she ran back in the house this morning, make up streaming, baby spit up in her hair, Cherrios crushed down her new blouse, the car out of gas….because some Fridays just really start as Mondays.
You don’t realize she stresses out before every group event, because she’s really an introvert and worries about being accepted.
You don’t recognize the tears that brim as she smiles and slightly turns away so you can’t see.
You just don’t see her under the facade…
She awoke again terrified in the night …another nightmare…
She went straight to the babies’ rooms, scared that he had found her after all these years.
She’s suffered such abuse, such neglect, she wonders if anyone could ever truly care.
She wanders through this life simply surviving breath by breath, minute by tiny minute.
You never see her there, in the dark, all alone.
It’s all a facade.
It’s all a fancy charade to obtain a moment of sanity.
She dances with the emotions and she paints on the portraits.
All the while, she keeps the pain, the agony, the death, hiding there inside.
It’s time to coax her from the shadows, to give her hope for what might be.
It’s time to let go of our perceived perfection and love her for who she is, to help her dream of who she can one day become.
We must show her the hope she can have in Him.
We have to reach her, to be His hands extended, or she’ll forever be lost in her pain.
We’ve got to see past the facade to show her He died that she might live.
We must take off our own masks to let His love pour in; then, she may know His love and mercy that will sustain her, give her life and fill her with her with perfect peace.  
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Reposted for
Daily Prompt: Facade