Decrease Me. Increase You.

March 13, 2017March 11, 2017 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

You teach me through Your Word that I need a reformation. I need reproofing, and I need transforming to be more of who You desire me to be. Yet, I find myself, time and again, pushing against Your sovereignty. I find myself entangled in my own desires, my own selfish perspective.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

You draw out of my soul the ugly, the begrimed and the despised things. You point to the waywardness of my heart and challenge it to change. You mark those fleshly wanderings and call them to a duel. You refine and chastise to remove that wretched sin.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

You extract the waste that Your purity might flow. You entrap the filth that Your Spirit might invade. You ensnare all that is lost that Your anointing might abide. As the mire is expelled, Your holiness can thrive.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

I find that as I yield my heart and surrender my will, You are enabled to dig deep within my soul. You eliminate all that is not like You. The fire refines me. Your love renews me.

I step back from the pruning to see there is so much less of me, and then I realize there’s so much more of You. ❤

How Do You Pray?

June 23, 2016June 22, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Wow. Read this in my devotion today and thought I’d share. I hope it’s as meaningful to you as it was for me…

The English word, prayer, means to ask for or beg … But the Hebrew word for prayer – tefillah – means to “self evaluate”. So to the Jews of the Bible, prayer was not a time when they asked God for things … it was a time when they examined themselves. They would use prayer as a way to compare their actions, behavior and attitude against God’s holiness.” – Dave Adamson, Instagram.com/aussiedave

What kind of prayer life would we have if we self evaluated more and begged less? Our prayers are, so often, filled with a long checklist of things we need, problems we wish were solved, and various changes or resolutions we want. Yes, we need to place our petitions before the Lord, I get it. The Bible does say, bring your petitions, but I believe we miss this point of self evaluation sometimes. I think that’s why the acronym PRAY is often taught to us in Sunday School when we are young.

P = Praise – praise Him for He is good and He is God.

R = Repent – this is where self evaluation comes in. Clean up time.

A = Ask – here’s the supplication or petitioning part.

Y = You – focus turns back on ourselves once again. Might be a reason He created this word, “pray” and it’s Hebrew translation. 😉

Lord, help us to be more aware. Help us to be more honest, with You and with ourselves. Help us to self evaluate in our prayer life. Help us to be more like You and so much less like ourselves. 💗

Let the Fire Burn

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 / The WheatandTares

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.

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.

What’s Inside?

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

When you’re upset, you upset what’s really in you. -Ann Voskamp

You’ve heard it said, “When you spill the glass, you see what’s inside.” If sweet tea is inside, you see tea, and if it’s sour milk, you surely don’t get sweet tea! 😉 This is so true for each of us. No matter how pretty of a face we paint on, no matter how many smiles we flash, if our character is ugly, when pressures come, (and they will!) ugly is what will come out!

In the moments of stress, it’s never a matter of what we know, who we know, or even what we’ve learned. It’s a matter of what we’ve allowed inside our hearts, what we’ve processed and what we’ve consumed. What is within our hearts is what is brought to the surface when we face hard times.

I long for good to flow when I’m spilled out. I don’t like sour milk, never have; yet, when pressures arise, sometimes, sour is all that’s left. It gets messy. I long for purity. I long for less mess, and I’m really working on this; I truly am.

Yet, I have found that it’s not a matter of the mind. You can’t just make yourself act better. You can’t just decide in your mind, “Ok, today will be different. No more spills. No more sour milk. Today, I shall be on a better course. I shall be better!” No, it’s not just a simple making up of the mind, and all is well. It’s a matter of the heart, and, oh, how that heart can be so stubborn sometimes…

I can determine in my mind that I will not doubt. I will not grow angry. I will not be afraid. I can convince myself that this time will be different. I will be different; however, if I’ve only convinced my mind, and I’ve not dealt with my heart, that heart will rebel. That heart will even revolt. When the heat of the moment comes, and my guard is let down, that heart will adamantly revert back to its comfort zone of fear, doubt, anger, or whatever emotion consumes it at the time.

You see, the heart holds all the wounds, all the pain and all the joy. The heart is full of all the emotion, all the wonder, all fear. When troubles come, it’s really the heart that speaks, and this is why it is always a matter of that stubborn heart which determines what will spill out.

This is why Jesus longs to rule our hearts. If He can hold our hearts, He can change our mind. He can transform our will. He can even change the world. If He can have our hearts surrendered to His will, He can consume our whole being.

If we want the inside to be purified, to be empty of the mess, to be as pretty as the outside we paint, we must lend Him our hearts. We must surrender our emotions, our pains, our wounds. We must allow His living waters to wash over our hearts. We must let Him heal us from the inside out, and then, we won’t have to worry when the glass is spilt. There will be no sour to pour. It will only be full of fresh, living water, flowing from His heart to ours, and out to the world.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28

**Note: I did not take picture, nor do not I own picture. Simply taken from google search.

Not Without Hope

April 27, 2015April 26, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

My heart was heavy today, thinking of all the brokenness in this world. The weight of it resting upon my shoulders like a wet, woolen blanket. Tears filled my eyes as I pondered the wounded, the shattered, and the lost. Heaviness so intense, I could hardly breathe. Air stagnant with heartache, weariness and emptiness. So many wandering in this place. So many without a face.

I drove by this house sitting beside the road. Abandoned, dark, damaged and alone. People driving by, hurrying to their destinations, never stopping to see, never stopping to care. Shoved off to the side, barricade built, weeds and trees rummaging to find a home. Broken down roof, shattered windows, busted doors, all haunted by lost potential.

The broken lives of those lost are a lot like this old house. They take the abuse, receive the ridicule, accept the blame, wondering all the while if anyone cares as they wander aimlessly in the dark. Others are like those who moved this old house. Hard working, simply pragmatic, fighting to succeed at the task. More are like the ones who vandalized it. Kicking, biting, clawing, shattering the dreams of a once well made life.

Can you see them? Can you see yourself? Who are you? Where are you going? Do you feel that all is lost? Do you wonder if there could still be any life inside? I am here to tell you. I am here to help you see, if there is still breath in your being, there is still hope. If there still a beating of your heart, there is still a chance. For your life is never so lost that He cannot see you. You are never so far gone that He cannot hear.

See that foundation? He placed it there in your heart before you were even born. It is that longing you feel to find something of worth, something to adore. It is that deep inner desire to be more than you are today. He placed it there. It is His drawing of your heart to bring you love, hope and life beyond your dreams.

He can rebuild a life broken. He can mend dreams that have been shattered. He can give hope to the hopeless. He can bring life to the lifeless. All can be renewed if you will just let Him in. Let Him see the abandonment, the pain, the desperation. He can change and transform. All you must do is believe.

In the Depths of the Falls

March 30, 2015March 29, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I saw a glimpse of something today. We took a little hike to Amicalola Falls and were standing on the bridge, looking up at the falls when I saw it. Looking up, this song started rolling over and over in my mind, and before I realized it, I was softly singing:

Peace, peace, wonderful peace

Coming down from the Father above

Sweep over my spirit forever I pray

In fathomless billows of love

As I stood there, listening to the waters rush over the rocks and tumble down below, I began to really see it…The rocks were solid, strong, unyielding. There were sharp places and dark places…green, squishy patches and dry, splotchy parts…even some spots with crackly, dry weeds. Yet, where the water flowed, the rocks were smooth and even shiny, almost like jewels glistening in the sun. The waters rushed over the edge at one place and trickled down, hardly noticeable in another. Sometimes, it would bounce and jump, almost seeming to dance in laughter off the rocks, and in others, that same water swirled and pooled, making little collections of shimmery basins in which you could’ve cooled and refreshed your feet. The falls were simply beautiful, invigorating and peaceful, inviting and overwhelming, all in the same breath.

As I stood there, tears streaming down my face, I could see the depths of my very soul. The rocks are the image of my soul. It’s solid, strong, and unyielding, sometimes for very good reasons, sometimes for not so good. The water is the Living Water of God. It washes my heart, cleanses my mind and purifies my soul. It causes the green patches of soft, squishy grass to grow.Those are the places where I’m tender and soft toward the things of God. I’m pliable, moldable, easily moved and quickly changed. These are the places where I long to stay, to learn, to grow.

Yet, there are other areas where it’s not so sweet. His water has to smooth out the sharp, ragged, painful places, those places we’d rather not talk about, those pains we’d just as soon forget. He pours over those jagged rocks of my soul to bring life, restoration and joy.

I was reminded, in that moment, all our souls are in this similar state of being. Some are more, some are less, but we all have sharp, jagged rocks that need His soothing. We all have dark places, those things which are ugly and hidden from the world that need His cleansing. Each one of us has a dry spot or two that needs more water and oh, those pesky weedy areas that are in such need of His purifying. Every one of us has a need for so many more of those soft, squishy, green patches, those places where His love and mercy abide. Our soul longs for those times when we are fully immersed in His goodness and grace.

You see, when we let Jesus into our soul, His rivers of Living Water rush into our lives to show us His love, His grace, His mercy, those things which He’s just been waiting to pour out. Sometimes, the water is so loud, so consuming, we can’t even contain it or comprehend it. Other times, He lets it trickle down a forgotten path, one we thought we’d pushed far into the past to a place never to be seen or remembered again. Yet, He gently lets His waters flow, washing over those places, drawing us back, soothing our soul.

Just as these falls towered before me, His Living Water towers over our souls. He cleanses us, changes us, and transforms us into a beautiful spectacle for all to see. As we allow His water to wash over the depths of our being, we will know He is God. We will know He loves us; we will experience His grace, and we will be transformed into a new creation. We will become a beautiful waterfall that others will gaze upon and feel refreshed, invigorated, challenged and changed. They will gain strength and wisdom as they see what the Lord has done in our life. Many will long for the same as they see the place where He abides. All we must do is allow His Holy Spirit, His Living Waters to flow into and through our lives. Will you let Him flow today?

“…And let anyone drink who believes in me.” As Scripture has said, “Out of him (or them) will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38