Tag: joy 2013

The #1 Reason to Wake Up Early

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
Have you
ever had a craving (non-pregnant) and gotten out of bed– you may or may not
have even suffered to put on an undergarment (ladies) simply to go after that
delicious Peanut Butter Sonic shake…or Zaxby’s Banana shake…or whatever?
I may or
may not have done that i.e. created a mouth watering description so my husband
craved one and went instead.
But you
know what I love more than any of those sweet treats.
Mornings
with Jesus. When the house is still. It’s just the gurgling coffee pot, my
bedhead, and the lover of my soul. Alone. And I’m passionate about passing that
love off on you. On my Wednesday night class. On my children. I want to see
Christians everywhere longing for the treasure of God through His word.
Today’s post may be a little longer than usual, but I pray it not only
blesses you, but moves you with excitement to fill up on the sweetness of Jesus
Christ.
In
preparation for my class on reading and studying the Word of God, my lesson I
normally teach took a drastic turn. And I’m thankful it did.
If you
have your Bible in your hand, take a look at Exodus chapter 16. If not, you can

read it later. I hope you will!

The
Israelites had been led out of Egypt, which represents bondage many times in
scripture. They were slaves. Miserable. And they cried out to God. Who heard
them! I love that God not only hears the cries of His people, but He acts. He
rose up a deliverer. You know him by the name, Moses.
When they
left Egypt, they journeyed into the wilderness with a few stops. They’d seen
the Red Sea parted, bitter waters turned sweet by tossing a branch in. But when
they entered the Wilderness of Sin (pronounced Seen and has nothing to do with
actual sin–in fact the word in Hebrew means thorns and clay) they grumbled and
complained.
“Oh
that we had died by the hand of the LORD in Egypt when we sat by pots of meat
and when we ate bread to the full!” Exodus 16:3
According
to Numbers 11:5, they had pots of stew, onions, leeks, garlic and bread. The
people of God were freaked out. Fear sometimes does that–freaks us out and
makes us forget the former miracles of God.
But God does not lead us into new places of promise to watch us wither
and die. He has every intention of filling us to the full.
Bread to
the full. I can picture God, “Oh, you want bread? You have never seen the
kind of bread I’m about to give you. Watch. And. See.”
Verse
7 of Exodus 16 says, “And in the morning you shall see glory of the
LORD.”
God
was about to supply them with bread from heaven. Something they’d never seen
before. That’s why it’s called Manna. It means, “What is it?”
Exodus
16 accompanied with Numbers 11 tells us a few things about this Manna.
  • It
    was small and round, like coriander seed.
  • It
    came with the dew and when the dew lifted, it covered the ground
  • Moses
    said, “This is the bread of which LORD has given you to eat.”
  • And
    it came with detailed instructions.

They had to gather it every morning. When?
Every. Morning. Why? Verse 21 tells us that when the sun became hot, it melted
away. We’re coming back to that.
Hang
with me, I know this post is long.
So
what does this have to do with us today? Many of know that Jesus represents the
Manna. This OT account is a foreshadowing of Jesus. And God is in the details.
I want you to see it. And I want you to long for the Word of God….for the Bread
of Heaven. Let’s dig into some scripture.
John
1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were
made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the
light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did
not comprehend it.
John
1:14 goes on to say, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory…”
Now
go back and insert the word JESUS in every place you read “Word.” Did
you do it? Well, go do it!
Jesus
is the Word. Now, lets’ pick up in John Chapter 6. Jesus has just fed the
multitude with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. A miracle. Then he walked on water
to the neighboring town. Cause He’s Jesus and He does stuff like that. I chose
the MSG translation for this next passage because it packs a punch.
John
6:22-40:
22-24 The next day the crowd that was left
behind realized that there had been only one

boat, and that Jesus had not
gotten into it with his disciples. They had seen them go off without him. By
now boats from Tiberias had pulled up near where they had eaten the bread
blessed by the Master. So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn’t coming
back, they piled into the Tiberias boats and headed for Capernaum, looking for
Jesus.

25 When they found him back across the sea,
they said, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “You’ve come looking
for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free.
27 “Don’t waste your energy striving for
perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that
nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does
are guaranteed by God the Father to last.”
28 To that they said, “Well, what do we do
then to get in on God’s works?”
29 Jesus said, “Throw your lot in with the
One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”
(NKJV says, Believe in Him whom He sent; believe in Jesus)
30-31 They waffled: “Why don’t you give us
a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s
up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It
says so in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32-33 Jesus responded, “The real
significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but
that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down
out of heaven and is giving life to the world.”
34 They jumped at that: “Master, give us
this bread, now and forever!”
35-38 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.
The person who aligns with me hungers And once that person is with me,
I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own
whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.

no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have
told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you
don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes
running to me.

39-40 “This, in a nutshell, is that will:
that everything handed over to me by the Father be completed—not a single
detail missed—and at the wrap-up of time I have everything and everyone put
together, upright and whole. This is what my Father wants: that anyone who sees
the Son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns with him will
enter real life, eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of
time.”
Jesus
is the real Manna. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. Jesus holds
onto you and does. Not. Let. Go. Ever. He puts you on your feet alive and
whole! He expects us to fill up on Him.
When
the Spirit drove him into the…what? WILDERNESS, and Satan tempted Him, He
replied with ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
And we know that the Word is Jesus himself from the earlier scripture in John
1. 
The
Word.
Matthew
26:26, Jesus is instituting a new covenant, “And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My
body.”  This is symbolic, just in case
you got grossed out or thought, “She really needs to lay off the show
Hannibal.”
When
Jesus taught us how to pray he said in Luke 11:3, “Give us day by day our
daily bread.”
How often are we to have bread? Daily?
Exodus
16:4 The people were to go out and gather it according to their need daily.
Get
up and gather what you need for the day. Before the noon heat comes–the
trials, unexpected circumstances, grumpy co-workers, rebellious teens wake
up–they ain’t getting up before noon–financial crisis, bills come in the
mail, rent is due, the car breaks down or runs out of air, the babies get sick
and you lose your insurance. Heat of the day. Before the hot noon sun beats you
down. Before all of this comes, gather your daily bread. Be filled. Be ready.
Be content. Satisfied.
Because
when the heat comes and you haven’t gathered your bread for the day, you’ll

melt. You’ll melt.

This
is where I beg you to do it early! And for sake of word count–too late–I
can’t give you dozens of scriptures about seeking God early and God Himself
meeting you early, but… look up the keywords: early, morning, seek in
Biblegateway. Do it early!
Now
that’s not to say God won’t meet your needs if you don’t get up early. His
mercies are new every day and His compassion fail not. Any time with God is a
great time for God. But for the love God, literally, do it! If for no other
reason. If you can’t come up with some good motivation other than, “I’m a
Christian and I’m supposed to.” Which I cringe at but have said. How about
this, for crying out loud!
This
is it! Right here!! Pay attention!
Let’s
revisit Numbers 11:8-9. Let’s breakdown this Manna together. I want you to see
the God of details. I want you to feel the love Jesus has for you! And here it
is:
The
had a part to play in receiving this bread of heaven. What does it say they
did?
Gather
it
Ground
it
Beat
it
Cook
it
And
then they ate of it. It’s taste was sweet like a pastry with honey. Exodus
16:31
What
does this have to do with Jesus?
Gathered: John 18:3 tells us, “Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief
priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.”
And in Luke 22:54 we see,  “Having arrested Him, they
led Him and brought Him into
the high priest’s house.
They went out and found him. They gathered Him up.
Ground: In the Hebrew this word is
“tachan” (tah-han) and it means to crush.
Isaiah
53:5 says, “But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
 The word bruised in Hebrew is:
“daka” (duhah) and it means “to be crushed.” ” to be
shattered”.
He was crushed, ground just like the coriander seed.
Beat: Matthew 26:67 tells us, “Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others

struck Him with the palms of their hands… Luke 19:2-3 “And
the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on
Him a purple robe. Then they said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they struck him
with their hands.”

Where were
the Israelites when God rained down bread of heaven? What environment were they
in? The Wilderness of Sin–a place of thorns. Here is the Bread of Heaven,
being gathered, ground/crushed, beat–prepared with thorns upon His head.
This is no
coincidence. This is the mastery of our Lord. The details. We can trust someone
who works things out down to the minute detail…down to thorns.
Cooked: They took a cat of nine tails, filled
with bone fragments, and they tenderized his flesh. (Matthew 27:26)
Then they
cooked him on a cross. They watched as he baked. John 19:30 “He said, It
is finished!” And bowing His head (even humble in death) he gave up His
spirit.
Death on a
cross was like a crock pot kind of death. Slow. And sometimes they would hurry
the process by breaking the legs of the criminals, but when they came to Jesus,
he had already died. But just to make sure he was done. John 19:34 tell us,
“But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And blood and
water flowed.” As if sticking a fork in him–the juices running out.
But that’s
not the end! It had to be this way in order to get to this next part!
Sweet to taste: 
Exodus 16:31  lets us in on the
fact that the Manna, “was like
white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like
wafers made with honey.”
John
19:39-42: “So he came and took the body of
Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came,
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they
took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the
custom of the Jews is to bury.”
Catch
those key words: myrrh, spices…aloes.
 Song of Solomon is a symbolic description of
the lover of our souls–our beloved, our savior, our king. In chapter 5:13 the
spouse, the bride, says, “His cheeks are like
a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.”
In
chapter 3:6 of the same book, she sees her Beloved. Look where He is coming
from. And what He is like.
 “Who is this
coming out of the wilderness, Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant
powders?”
Notice
He has been in the wilderness–a place of thorns. And He reminds her of pillars
of smoke, the very way He led His beloveds those forty years. And see how He is
perfumed? With what? Myrrh.
We
are talking about Jesus! We are taking about the Word! Spiritual food.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8
“How
sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
 Psalm 119:103
“The
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be
desired are they than gold;
Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover
by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm
19:9-11
He
is the Bread of Heaven. He is the Word. He is sweet to taste. Oh He loves it
when we fall into His word and lap Him up. When we’re so full of Him. So much
so, He says in Song of  Solomon 4:11 to
His bride, “Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue.”
Don’t
you want to drip His sweetness when you open your mouth? Don’t you want others
to know what you’ve been eating? Don’t you want to ooze with the sweet taste of
Jesus. Just wallow in His goodness.
You’re
not just reading your Bible. Your immersing yourself in Jesus Himself. And when
you’ve spent time with Him–the sweet Bread of Heaven, expect to drip with
goodness. Pour it out all over those around who are hungry.
I
hope you stuck out the lengthy teaching today. And I pray that He moves you to
sacrifice some time (preferably in the still of morning before the heat comes)
and love on the Word.

See
ya’ll next Wednesday! Also, are there any topics you’d like me cover over the summer? I’m open for study/devotional ideas! If you want to message me privately, my email address is on the CONNECT page at the top right corner of the site. 
What is your favorite sweet treat? And what do you think holds you back from diving into God’s Word?

Just a Little Jesus Spit

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
Have you ever been in a situation and you feel there’s no
way out? You give up believing. You take on the motto: It is what it is.
 
In Mark chapter 8, there was a blind man who lived in
Bethsaida. It says, “…they brought a blind man to him.” It never says the blind
man asked for healing. Or that he used his walking-stick to find Jesus. Maybe
he did, but it never says.
 
What if this man finally had succumbed to his condition? It
is what it is.
Sometimes when our friends lack faith, it’s up to us to
believe for them. To exhort them. To raise them up to Jesus, to take them to
Him. And let’s be honest, isn’t it easier to believe for someone else than for
ourselves?
 
It says, Jesus took the man out of the city. Why not do it
on the spot? Why take him out? I think sometimes when we’ve been in a condition
it becomes the norm. No one really believes we can be more than we are. Maybe
the town was full of skeptics, other than a few friends. Or maybe the man was
comfortable being blind. It didn’t seem that he was searching Jesus out on his
own.
 
God will often take us out of our comfort zone to do the
miraculous. To prove who he is.
 
After Jesus spit in his eyes (gross, Jesus! But I’d take His
spit. I tell you I
 

would.) he asked him what he saw.

 
The man answered, “I see men like trees, walking.” 
 
Did Jesus make a mistake? Had he lost too much sleep and wasn’t on his A 
game?
 
No! 
 
He wasn’t only healing this man. He was doing two
things: Jesus was forcing the man to trust. And He was teaching the disciples and
us a lesson. Prior to this event, Jesus fed 4000 bread. He’d just walked on
water on his way to Bethsaida. But his disciples didn’t fully understand. 
 
During this feeding, they worried about provisions. Afterwards, the Pharisees
wanted to see a sign. Jesus departs with his disciples and warns them to be
aware of the leaven (sin/corruption) of the Pharisees. But they didn’t get this
either. 
 
They thought he was making a point about forgetting bread earlier.
 
Jesus says, ““Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having
eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not
remember? When 
I broke the five loaves for the five
thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
 
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
 
 “Also, when I broke the
seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you
take up?”
 
And they said, “Seven.”
 
So He said to them, “How is
it you do not
 

understand?”

 
His disciples saw…but dimly. We
see things dimly too. Sometimes we don’t understand what Jesus is up to. That’s
okay. We don’t have to understand it all.
 
We do have to trust.
 
He will perfect that which
concerns you.
 
He told the man who was now seeing
blurry to look up. Sometimes we just need to look up—to him. When he did this,
he could see clearly.
 
I read a story about a man named
Virgil. He was 50 years old and had been blind since birth. He had a “successful”
eye surgery, but “he often felt more disabled than he had felt when he was
blind.” He saw things but he had a hard time making sense of what he saw. Trees
ran together, the trunks and leaves. Dimensions were skewed.
 
Apparently, motion and colors are
inherent in the brain; they need not be learned or relearned. We just see them.
They are just there. But this is no surprise for Jesus. He knew the newly
healed blind man would have no depth perception or ability to synthesize shape
and form (much like Virgil). The man’s brain had to be recalibrated—renewed.
One amazing second! And in that moment he knew what you and I have since
childhood—how to see.
 
We’re born into sin. It distorts
our view. What we need is to look up. Have Jesus renew our minds to His. Like the
blind man, it’s a process. But one day, in an instant we’ll be changed and see
so clearly!
 
We have to exercise our brain and
tell our eyes what they’re really seeing. 
 
How do we do that? By the washing of
the water of the word. In Revelation 3:18 Jesus says, “…anoint your eyes with
eye salve, that you may see.” That Greek word for “salve” means a remedy for
tender eyes. He is our remedy! 
 
Jesus will never leave a work
unfinished.
 
“What do you see?” Jesus asks.
 
Only you and I can admit our
condition.
 
He is always willing to help us
see things more clearly.
 
Do you need a recalibration? Have
things been looking a little blurry lately?
 
Repent.
Restored.
Reprogrammed. 
 

What is the Peace Offering?

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
At some time or
other you’ve been restless. Would you say that is true? I know in my life it
is. I wrestle with doubts, fears, confusions, decisions that need to be made,
direction for my life, hard questions and so much more.
 
I’ve had sleepless
nights. Worrisome days.
 
But there is peace
to be had. For every single issue that you wrestle with. Every circumstance,
every horrendous event. Peace is attainable.
 
Leviticus Chapter 3.
Don’t click off the page yet! Leviticus is a beautiful book.  In these pages you’ll discover God setting up
a system of holy living for His people, including how-to instructions for
sacrifices, the ordination of priests, laws concerning unclean/clean,
atonement, morality, other laws for holy living). They were set in place for a
reason and we can learn from them today. 
 
Though they were
temporarily put in place. They foreshadowed something permanent. And that’s the
fun treasure we get to dig out of it! Yes, yes it can be fun!
 
“The law is only an unclear picture of the good things
coming in the future; it is not the real thing. The people under the law offer
the same sacrifices every year, but these sacrifices can never make perfect
those who come near to worship God. If the law could make them
perfect, the sacrifices would have already stopped. The worshipers would be
made clean, and they would no longer have a sense of sin. But
these sacrifices remind them of their sins every year, because
it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Hebrews 10:1-4 NCV
 
Now, back to Chapter
3 of Leviticus: The Peace Offering
 
The Hebrew word for
the peace offering is, “shelem” which means, “to sacrifice to be
in an alliance or friendship with.” “a voluntary sacrifice of
thanks.” “a requital” (which is something given or done as
repayment for kindness or a friendly act).
 
This word,
“shelem” comes from the root word, “shalam” and it’s a
verb. Yeah, how bout that. It means, “to be in covenant of peace, to be at
peace, to be complete, whole, sound, finished, sealed, uninjured.”
 
Uh, yes, please!
I’ll have some of that.
 
The peace offering
was given willingly.
 

In essence it was like the person was saying, “Thank
you, God, for your acts of kindness and friendship. Thank you for this covenant
of peace. I’m bringing you this sacrifice in the way you’ve asked me to. May it
be a sweet aroma to you. Let it waft around you sweeter than honeysuckle,
sweeter than lilacs. Thank you for making me complete and whole, and sealed.
Your friendship means everything to me. It was worth the time it took to bring
this animal without any spot or blemish–because you are holy Lord and I can
bring nothing else– lay my hands upon it, kill it at the door of the
tabernacle, where you meet with me. Bless your name, LORD!”

 
Then the priests
would sprinkle the blood all around the altar. Blood offends us and has become
synonymous with death thanks to TV and movies and Bram Stoker. But blood was
never meant to be dark or represent death. Blood has always been about life.
Life is in the blood. Blood cries out when it’s been taken, cries for avenging.
And God hears. God avenges. Blood is… I’m about to chase a rabbit here.
 
The priests, who
were the only ones who could minister to God–thank you, Jesus for your
life-giving blood that tore the veil in two and made us a royal priesthood (1
Peter 2:9)! We now have direct access to your throne. No longer do we have to
stand outside the door and let the priests do what we could not! We come all
the way in. And we get to stay!
 
 
Somebody get excited
over that! Somebody lift a praise! A shout!
 
Now back to
Leviticus 3. The priest would arrange the wood on the fire. Then the peace
offering was to be laid over the burnt sacrifice (offering), which was the only
sacrifice that was entirely consumed on the altar. I believe another sacrifice
was wholly laid on wood in the form of cross and went through fire for us. So
the specifics here aren’t incidental. The arrangement of the sacrifices pointed
to the ultimate sacrifice. The Lamb of God. Pure and spotless. Because of Jesus
we have peace, soundness, wholeness, we’re sealed. We offer him our sacrifice
because of his great act of kindness toward us.
 
But wait, there’s
more! Yes, I said that just like an infomercial.
 
Look at the organs
that were required in the Peace Offering (if from the herd, a lamb also required
the fatty tail which is by the backbone):
 
The fat–because fat is the best. (I know we’re
in a whole generation of non-fat lovers, but then it was the most prized
portion.)
 
The two kidneys.
 
The
fatty lobe attached to the liver.
 
Why these parts? I
mean did God flippantly say, “Hey, just toss in the kidney and liver. Meh,
while your at it chunk the fat too.”
 
No.
 
In ancient times,
the kidneys were considered the seat of your
emotions (not the heart like today which I like better by the way) Let’s
talk about our emotions, when they get in the way and we let them lead, what
happens to our peace? God says, give me your emotions. I will give you
soundness. Wholeness.
 
The fat–the best part. The part they wanted to keep,
to hold onto. “Yes,” says the Lord, “I’ll take all the
parts you think you need to hang onto. I’ll take the part you treasure most,
the part you think you can control. I like to call it your own strength, talent
and abilities, which by the way I’ve given you. I’d like those for my glory,
thank you very much.”
 
And the liver. Which was used by diviners to
tell the future. The uncertain future.
How it steals our peace. But God says, “I hold your future. I guide you
with my eye. I have plans for you. You don’t need to know everything. I do and
isn’t that enough, insert name here?” Also, the liver is what filters out
impurities in our life. So we could say, time to burn up the sins and
impurities in our life on the consuming fire, on the burnt sacrifice of Jesus
Christ so that we can live in peace. God knows our sins and impurities will rob
us of our peace. Keep us in turmoil and bondage.
 
And if it was a lamb
or goat, the same thing was required but of the lamb, the fatty tail which is
connected to the backbone. I’d like to
say we need to offer God our fear. Ever heard, “Get
a backbone!” How you ask? Place your fear on the altar.
 
But when we give all
these things back to the One who drew us with kindness into a relationship–a
covenant of peace, who removed our guilt, it’s an offering from us to Him for
all of that! Thank you for your sacrifice, Jesus. Thank you that you are my friend.
You call me friend. You are mindful of me and I offer you everything I have. I
trust you. Lord consume it all on your altar. Every part. For your glory. Burn away what doesn’t belong and refine me. The consuming fire is a place of change. A time to be rearranged. 
 
May it be a sweet
aroma to you, God.
 
Do
you have hard time laying these things down on the altar? And what else would
you say robs you of peace? 
 

Musing on Hebrews 13:20-21 God of Peace and Power!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

The God of peace. I love that the author of Hebrews starts off with this. Why do you think that is? I think because all those works planned for us won’t be easy. I think they’ll come with questions and statements like:

“God, is this really what you want me to do?”

“God, what do you want me to do?” 

“God, I can’t do that.”

“This seems hard. Too hard.”

“I’m confused.”

“I’m scared.”

“This isn’t working out like I thought.”

“How can this be good or pleasing to you? You do see this, right?”

“Am I in your will? I don’t even think I know what your will is!”

“Oh for the love, Jesus, talk to me!!”

I think it’s a right-off-the-bat reminder that the God of peace is working and if he’s our God, then he’s also our peace. No matter what what questions we have or statements we declare.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to blog about this week until my good friend, Melissa Tagg wrote a guest post about Leviticus on Jenny Hale’s blog. So join me Wednesday, don’t be scared!, while we dive into Leviticus and the peace offering and what significance it has on us today. I promise to guide you to some fascinating treasure pulled from what some might consider dry places (including myself once upon a time). 

But for today…

Musing/Meditation Prompt: The God of all peace…are you at peace right now? Why or why not. Think on the amazing power it took to raise our Lord Jesus from the dead! That same power resides in you? Think of that everlasting covenant. You belong to him! Forever. God has marvelous plans for you. Think of occasions when you fulfilled some of those plans. Trust God today with them.

What would you say robs you of peace most quickly? What is one thing you can do today to change that?

If You Keep On Believing…

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
“Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!” Genesis 37:19
 
These are the words Joseph’s brothers said as they saw him coming toward them in a field. Words said in a snide way, dripping with contempt and envy.
 
Joseph made a mistake sharing his seemingly impossible i.e. God sized dreams with his brothers. Not everyone will celebrate our big dreams and there is a lesson to be learned in that.
 
But I love the statement, even if it came from bitter hearts.
 
Look! This dreamer is coming!
 
I want to be known as a dreamer. I want to always dream and dream big.
 
I just finished one of the most incredible books by Mark Batterson–The 

Purchase your copy
HERE!

Circle Maker. I’ve been begging friends and family to purchase and read it.

 
Batterson says, “There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams. That is who He is. That is what He does. And the bigger the circle we draw, the better, because God gets more glory.”
 
This morning I was praying scripture over my circles, my big dreams and a song popped into my head. Cinderella sang it.
 

“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep…”  In the context of God planting dreams within us, they aren’t wishes, but promises. If we don’t believe–it truly is a wish our heart makes. A wish lacks faith.
 
But dreams do come from our heart. (Not all are God-given and it’s important for us to daily spend time with Him so we can let Him establish which ones are and are not.)
 
I do get what Cinderella is singing about. And on some level I agree with her.
 
 Our hearts dream and sometimes it happens in sleep–when the busyness of the day and what we consider hopeless reality consumes our thoughts. Sometimes it’s in that quiet place of sleep or nodding off or when we first wake…God can whisper endless possibilities into our hearts.
 
It kindles and burns.
 
It causes us, like Cinderella, to put one foot in front of the other. To look out with longing and dream of what could be. Something much bigger than us.
 
 

The clock–a killjoy–ticks, robbing her of her dreams. I don’t think time itself robs us of our dreams (God uses time to fulfill our dreams), but I think it represents day to day activities and all the troubles that tick by that hinder us from dreaming.

 
“In dreams you will lose your heartache, whatever you wish for you keep…”
 
If they’re God-given dreams it’s true! God never changes His mind about us. He never revokes our calling and purposes. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29
 
“Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through, No matter how your heart is grieving if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.” Rainbows are a sign of promise!
 
And our hearts do grieve us, don’t they? “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”(Proverbs 13:12) That blasted Grandfather clock ticking!
 
The key: Have faith. Believe. The grandest dreams, the impossible, the scariest in a sense, dreams do come true.
 
Look at Cinderella. She wanted out from under the bondage she lived in,

 

enslaved to people who used and abused her. She wanted to feel beautiful, cherished, loved. She was made to be more than a slave. Like Joseph. Thrown into circumstances he couldn’t control.

 
She had faith. She kept dreaming even when “reality” told her it was impossible. When her heart was grieved. When the killjoy clock ticked and forced her into a day she would not have normally chosen for herself.
 
And things began to click into place. Unexpectedly. A ball. Resources and people who were put in her path to help her succeed. When God has a plan for you, and He does, He will go far beyond your expectations. You won’t have a simple carriage, you’ll have the best carriage–made from the impossible! A pumpkin! Miracles happen.
 
You won’t have a nice dress. You’ll have the best dress.
 
It won’t come without some troubles, stumbles, and opposition along the way.
 
But in the end…
 
If you keep on believing. The dreams, that you prayed will come true.
 

 

How big have you been praying? Has fear been holding you back? How can you change that today?

 

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
Monday we mused on
Psalm 62:8
 
“Trust in Him
at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for
us.” NKJV
 
Here it is in the
NCV.
“People,
trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our
protection.”
 
God
never mishandles our heart. People do, for sure. But never God. In the Bible,
you’ll find many verses about pouring out a drink offering, pouring out water
and then pouring out your heart.
 
In Acts
(and Joel) it talks about the Spirit being poured out.
 
In
Philippians, Paul refers to himself as a drink offering poured out, obviously
familiar with the concept.
 
Today, I
want to look at a tiny little snippet in the book of 1 Samuel. Chapter 7.  The ark had been captured by the Philistines.
Then it caused all sorts of trouble for them, this is where I smile and say
duh! So they sent it away and the men of Beth Shemesh took it but they looked
inside and they died. Hello, Holy God can’t be looked on and they knew it. So
they were afraid and they sent it to Kirjath Jearim.
 
The
people of Israel mourned (for like 20 years) and lamented and sought after God
so Samuel (who was judging Israel) came to them and here’s what he said:
 
“God
helps those who help themselves.”
 
I’m
kidding. God didn’t say that. In fact, that particular phrase makes me slightly nauseous. I suppose it depends on the context. Do you mean God partners with
us and we have a physical part we have to do? Yes, I might buy that phrase for a dollar. We do have an ACTIVE part to play. 
 
If we could actually help ourselves, why would we need God? I
think that is a confusing turn of phrase, especially to new believers who might think it means if they don’t act right and do things “perfect” God won’t intervene on their behalf. They might think it’s all about “works” in our own strength and ability. And me no likey. Not everyone is a “seasoned” Christian who can break that phrase down and pick it apart for what it is. Be careful what you post on facebook! (officially sort of done with my soapbox  exhorting mature Christians to be careful with young Christians or less mature ones.)
 
Here’s
what God (through Samuel) actually said:
 
“If
you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the
foreign gods and Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him
only and…” (1 Samuel 7:3)
 
 
So we
see that the people of God wanted God to help them, to provide for them but
they were still putting other things (other gods) first. In place of Him. Many
times, it’s a struggle to rid yourself of things you really love–love more
than God. But He gives us the strength to do it. Partnership.
 
“…and
He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” (rest of that
verse)
 
So they
did. And they served God only.
 
Samuel
assembled them at Mizpah, which means “watchtower.” It was 8 miles
north of Jerusalem. There Samuel interceded for them.
 
At
Mizpah, “they gathered together…drew water, and poured it out before the
LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, ‘We have sinned against the
LORD.'”
 
God doesn’t help those who help themselves. He helps those who
have a repentant heart. *in this context of being a believer, not the fingerprints of God as He has guided us unknowingly before salvation. God has always been working on our behalf whether we have known it or not.
 
Pouring
out the water was symbol of repentance. It’s also a symbol of pouring out the
heart–giving it all to God. Surrendering. They also gave up food (fasting), as they’d
rather have God and His guidance than to fill their bellies.
 
At that
time the Philistines were on their way. The enemy was marching.
Samuel
was in the middle of offering a burnt offering for the people, an atonement for
their sin.
 
Look
what God did!
 
At that
moment, “the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that
day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.” 1 Samuel
7:10
 
When we pour it out, when we repent, God gives us the strength to knock down all things
that come before Him and it moves mountains of opposition. It confuses the
enemy and gives us the victory.
 
God
doesn’t need our help. He needs our repentant hearts. Thank God for the Holy Spirit that convicts and brings us to a place of repentance!
 
“Then
Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name
Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.'” 1 Samuel 7:12
 
Ebenezer
means stone of help. I think it’s important for us to put up a reminder,
whether physical or symbolic, to remind us that God has helped us so far. And
He will continue to be our refuge.
 
The key
is to pour ourselves out like water. Daily repenting–not b/c as Christians
we’re supposed to, but because we are truly sorry and we truly mean to turn
away from our sins and those things that come before God in our lives.
 
One
year, I gave my husband a clay jar that had a 3-tiered fountain. A reminder
that he might be clay, but his life overflows into others. A reminder that God
has  helped him thus far.
 
What “stones” have you set up to remind  you that God has helped you so far? If you
haven’t, give it some thought. What might you use as a “stone”?
 

Musing on Psalm 62:8, Pour It Out

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

This is a Psalm of
David. Sometimes it blows my mind how he put his faith and trust in God
especially in troubled times.
I love this picture
with this Psalm. Pouring out our heart–just small us. A vapor in the wind. A
withering sliver of grass. It must seem so microscopic, like this trickle of water
surrounded by the vast mountains and valleys.
But pouring out our
heart isn’t just a small trickle. It has the power to move these mountains!
I can’t wait to talk
about pouring ourselves out, like water on Wednesday! It’s a fascinating
concept to me. But today, let’s just take a few minutes to muse on this verse.
Musing/Meditation Prompts: Take a few minutes
to look at this picture and imagine yourself pouring out. All around you are
mountains that need to be moved. What would your heart pouring out like water
look like? How would it sound? How would it feel? Maybe you need to pause and actually
cry out and pour out. Notice the first sentence of this verse: Trust in Him at
all times. I love how God prefaces us to trust Him at all times before telling
us to pour out our heart. Hearts can be hurt and He’s letting you know that He
won’t hurt your heart. You can be vulnerable. You can pour it all out to Him.
He’s your refuge. He’s a safe place to tuck into.
Notice how the
mountains seem dark, but the sun is peeking over them as that trickle of water
pours out into a sea of waters. When I see it, I think new mercies every
morning and also the verse from that song: It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day…and
I’m feelin fiiiine. Is that Buble?
In this context, what does the sun peeking over mean to you?

Passport To Your Dreams

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
When God first plants a dream in your heart, it bubbles to
overflowing with hope and expectation. But as time passes, it can be
discouraging. The bubbly fountain gets clogged with rocks of doubt and clumps
disappointment.
 
But God
tells us to wait, hope, and expect.
 
As most of you, who routinely read the blog or know me
personally, I talk often about my BFF “Jane” whose name is not really “Jane” at
all, but I like to call her that. And it’s my blog  so I can.
 
My friend “Jane” loves the Lord. I don’t know if I have ever
met anyone who loves Him and has a relationship with him like her. No one. I
admire that about her.

 

Several years ago, during a conversation the Lord told her
to go get her passport. It came out of nowhere, but when you spend as much time
with God as “Jane” you know His voice well.
 
Now, let me just say money was tight in their home. Really
tight. So spending a little over $100 for something for no apparent reason was
tough, but she went to her husband and said, “God said I needed to get my 
passport.”
 
“Where are you going?” he asked.
 
“I don’t know. Nowhere. Somewhere.”
 
Me and “Jane”
“Okay.”
 
So she did. It’s so cute with her big ole’ smile. She came
home with hope and expectation. Just a trip to Wal-Mart is fun travel. Four
hours with nothing but empty bean fields and ugly prairie to see on the way to
my hometown is exciting for “Jane.” She loves to travel.
 
But a few months passed and God never said another word
about it.
 
And then one year passed.
 
And another.
 
And then God told “Jane” to go back to school and get her
teaching degree.
Money was tight. But they were faithful to give. And “Jane”
trusted God.
Just to let you know not only did she get her degree, but
her husband is almost done with his four-year degree as well and they haven’t
taken out a single loan!
 
She was certain that she would teach elementary English—third
grade being her favorite. She graduated.
 
And still no place to take that passport. She’d take it from
her drawer and 
pray over it, ask God what that was all about? Was it just to
see if she’d obey? Because she did. No, there had to be more. “God, take me
somewhere. I’ll go anywhere with You. Just…just take me somewhere.”
 
Fall came and the only job offered to her was teaching a GED
class at the high school where both her oldest daughter attends and one will in
another year (how convenient for God). She took it and experienced some of the
toughest kids in her life—kids who needed a godly example.
 
But it opened the door for the next year.
 
To teach history.
 
Well, she loved biblical history. She could do this.
 
And she began teaching U.S. and World History. She especially
loves U.S. history.
 
Last week, she squealed over the phone and for once it wasn’t
about her lunch which could have been filet mignon or a hotdog out of the
microwave with one end blown up—both squeal-worthy to “Jane”.
 
“Guess what?”
 
“You’re eating lunch?”
 
“No, I mean I am! I just had the most delicious hot pocket
with—”
 
“Move on.”
 
She laughed. “Right. So I just found out that I get to go to
Europe! (She pronounced it Yerup) For a WWII tour. Lundun, Germuhny, Fraaance.
And some other places! And guess what?”
 
 
“You’ll eat real sauerkraut on polish sausages?”
 
“Oh my gosh, that would be so good. And Belgium…I could buy
chocolate.”
 
“Back to point, Jane.”
 
“Right. I’m going to finally get to use my passport! And not
only am I going to Europe, I’m going for FREE!”
 
Years went by and “Jane” wasn’t sure what her future held. But
she didn’t give up on her prayers.
 
When
God does something, He has a purpose behind it. And it’s always big.
 
He didn’t ask her to get the passport to long for a dream
that wouldn’t come. 
 
It wasn’t to remind her that she wasn’t ever going
anywhere.
 
It was a reminder that God was taking her somewhere.
Physically. And spiritually.
 
She never gave up hope. She waited for years. She circled
that passport in prayer.
 
And He foot her bill for her.
 
She leaves in June of next summer. And that Fall, her
passport expires.
 
God
doesn’t let our dreams expire on us. He fulfills everything He’s set out to
accomplish concerning us.
 
I’m reading a book right now by Mark Batterson called the Circle
Maker. It’s

about praying circles around your dreams with scriptural promises
and not giving up on them. I recommend it highly.

 
Are you still waiting, hoping, and expecting. The key is to
expect. When we stop expecting God to do something wonderful, we lose hope and
waiting seems like being locked Houdini style in a water tank without the
skills to get out. And if I was tightening word count, I would have just said,
drowning.
My point. Keep expecting. God doesn’t disappoint.
 
Where
are you? Waiting expectantly, inching your way to the dunk tank…are you in the
tank?
 
Come by our facebook page for daily devotions!

Straighten Up

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

 

 
Monday I shared
Isaiah 42:16. I like it best in the NJKV.
 
“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will
lead them in paths they have not known.
I will
make darkness light before them,
And
crooked places straight.
These
things I will do for them,
And not
forsake them.”
 
This
verse gives me hope for myself and also for those who are struggling in
darkness, who do not know Jesus yet. Now is the time of salvation!
 
I love
it when hands raise to receive salvation in church. I’m thrilled beyond
measure. They’re saved. But even more so, I get an amazing opportunity to sow into their lives. To help build a foundation for them through the New &
Growing Believers class at my church.
 
As God
opens their eyes, as light dawns, and crooked paths straighten, my eyes fill with
wonder at the miracle I witness. Knowledge and wisdom take residence in their
hearts, minds, lives. It’s amazing.
 
My
favorite conversion experience in the Bible is Saul (who became Paul). He held the coats of those
who stoned Stephen, a godly man. Jesus Himself stood up. He did not stay
seated.
 
He
persecuted the Christians. Stripping families apart as he imprisoned mothers,
fathers. And he says he was zealous about it. The worst of sinners.
 
And yet,
in  Acts chapter 9, “Then Saul still
breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the
high priest and asked letters from him for the synagogues of Damascus, so that
if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them
bound to Jerusalem.” (verse 1-2)
 
Saul was
on his crooked way to imprison those were of the Way (the Truth the life and
the Way–the Way =Jesus, those who had entered through the way of the narrow
gate.)
 
But on
the road to Damascus, Jesus had other plans for Saul. Plans for hope and
future. Regardless of his past. In spite of his past.
 
“Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
 
“Who are You, Lord?” So blind. Yet
not physically blinded at this point, but spiritually.
 
“I
am Jesus…”
 
“Lord,
what do You want me to do?” A genuine encounter with Christ demands a
submissive response.
 
Jesus
sent him to the city for further instruction. Right here in this moment, Jesus
begins the lesson of faith. Not giving him but one instruction. Will you trust
Me?
 
Saul
arose and opened his eyes.
 
And he
was blind. A physical picture to remind him of how blind spiritually he’d been.
He had a good while to think about it.
 
And here
is one of my favorite parts. Ananias. A man of faith. God appeared to him in a
vision.
 
“Arise
and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one
called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying..
 
How
absolutely fitting. How absolutely on purpose
did God send Ananias to Straight
street.
 
Ananias
had a moment of melt down. Everyone knew how murderous Saul was against
Christians.
 
“Go,
for his is a chosen vessel of Mine…” Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God’s chosen.
 
 
It was
on Straight Street that Saul’s crooked path, his crooked ways were revised,
straightened out. It was on Straight Street, God removed the blinders from
Saul’s eyes and he saw.
 
For the first time in his life, he actually saw.
 
And he
spent a few days there to be discipled. 
 
How
important it is to invest in new believers. In growing believers. How important
it is to know that when we’re on a crooked path, when we feel blind. God has a
Straight Street waiting for us.
 
What can you do to invest in lives of those who are just starting
out? Who had invested time in your spiritual journey?
 

Musing on Isaiah 42:16

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

One of my favorite
hope-filled verses. I can’t wait to unpack this on Wednesday!
Musing/Meditation prompts: Recount the times
God has led you as though you were blind, down ways you never knew before,
sometimes scary, sometimes thrilling. Think on the times God has brought you
out of darkness into glorious light, straightening out the places that seemed
crooked in your life. Praise Him for never leaving you to travel alone. Never
leaving you blind. Always doing these things for you.
If
you could name a street based on your life or personality, what would you name
the street?
I think my street
would be lovers’ lane. Because truly, Jesus has shown me how much a lover of my
soul he is.