Forget the Former Things

Isaiah 43:18-19 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

I love God's Word! I am gaining a greater appreciation for its truths each time I read it. And more importantly I gain a greater appreciation for how its truths apply to me.

One of my many struggles in recent years has been letting go of the past. I keep wanting to replay things over and over again. Trying to sort out just exactly what went wrong, what I could have done differently, on and on it goes. But God, in Isaiah 43 says to forget the past, stop dwelling on it. I am doing a new thing! Isn't that great! He is doing a new thing, in me, in you! When I continue to go back and try to relive the past, good or bad, it is an affront to Him. He is wanting us to live in the present and to look for the new things that He wants to teach us. This is so freeing to me.

By continuing to wallow in the past I am denying myself God's best. God's best is in the present. Right now. What is the new thing that God has for me? Am I anxiously looking for it or am I wasting time looking over my shoulder at old news? Oh that I would forget all of that and keep myself focused on the prize. When Paul spoke to the Philippians he said "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." He too must have been as I am. We know from historical records in the scripture that Paul had a past that he could have continued to focus on. But, he chose the better way - he chose to press on.

Oh that we all could see the wonderful love that God has extended to us in these verses. He continues to look at the desert places of our lives and bring about new life. Just as in the natural desert there are places where beautiful flowers bloom. In the seemingly arid areas, God brings forth life. And not just dull, colorless life but breathtaking beauty that is a stark contrast to the environment around it. Streams of living water flow through the wasteland of our lives bringing back to life that which was dying. Our God is a good God. Our God longs to show us His steadfast love and to shower us with the blessing of His presence. How great is His love toward us!

Press forward and look for the new thing that God wants to shower you with. Search for it with a passionate heart. Search for it expectantly. Search for it with a grateful heart knowing that God has given you permission to let go of the former things! And if He says let it go - why would we want to hold on?

Musings from Wykoff

2 Timothy 1:5 "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

Heritage is a wonderful thing. As I am packing up to leave yet another Weimer Women Weekend at Wykoff I am reminded of that. My niece, Alyson represents a fourth generation Weimer who has put her faith and trust in Jesus Christ. What a blessing to stop and consider that!

I think of each one of my family members and am gripped by the power of the attachment that we hold to one another. There have been plenty of storms in our lives. My mom reminded me of this today as she got in the car to drive away. And there have been blessings too - so many and all of them (storms and blessings) have been gifts from God. I am growing to understand that it is only through the storms can I truly appreciate the blessings.

Life has been a bit stormy for me of late. Mostly because of relationships. God has impressed upon me today as I had these last quiet moments here at our little mountain hideaway that He wants me to put relationships on that altar. Oh God, it is so hard. I want to hold onto them with all the strength that I have. Then I pause and think - "What strength do I have that has not been given to me by God?" Perhaps this is where I have fallen short. Maybe I have been trying to hold onto relationships or fashion them in my own strength. I have been seeing them through my eyes, my needs, my wants. This is where idolatry comes from. As I have jokingly said many times "It is all about me!" Maybe there was more truth to that than I really want to admit.

And so, as another Weimer Women Weekend at Wykoff comes to an end I purpose to put relationships on the altar. I pray that God will direct how I live in relationship. I pray that I will see those who are a part of my world through His eyes - not mine. I pray that I will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Thank you Weimer women for being my prayer partners and listening to the heart of one who has at times wandered far. Your faithfulness to me is beyond my comprehension. God is good!

Lay My Isaac Down

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Lately I have been thinking about Abraham. I guess it is because right now I have an Isaac in my life that God is asking me to take to Moriah and sacrifice to Him. And I don't want to do it. I wonder - did Abraham question God? I have to think that he did. After all, Abraham was as human as I. Yet, he did what was required in obedience. How did he leave his home, leave Sarah and walk that long walk to Moriah without turning back? Where did his strength come from? How did he avoid telling Isaac about what was to come? All these questions I have.

Yet, Abraham was faithful. He followed God's command and he brought that precious Isaac to the point of death believing that God had his good in mind. He had to - or he would not have been able to do it. There is no way that Abraham in his humanness could have lifted that knife to take the life of his only son if he did not believe more deeply in the goodness of God.

Can I do that? Can I take that which has become too precious, too consuming and place it on the altar? Can I willingly lift the knife to take the "life" of my Isaac so that I too can experience the ultimate goodness of God? Not in my own strength. That I know. The strength to be obedient must be supplied by God Himself.

And what of Isaac? How did he respond to all of this? God's word is silent on this. But it is fairly easy to imagine that he must have felt betrayed and hurt by the actions of his father. I mean after all - what son would ever expect to die at the hands of their father? But, the blessings that Isaac experienced in his life were only possible because of the obedience of his father. I wonder if the "Isaac" in my life will ever come to understand that. I can only pray that will be true.

Life is a series of surrenders. And a series is continual. There is no stopping. Not if you really want to experience the wholeness of the life that God intends. It is only, as I am learning, as I am willing to lay down each "Isaac" that I truly will be ready to experience God's full and complete blessing.

Principles or Prescription?

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Growing up I attended two different types of churches. Both good in their own way and both bad as well. The first taught that you could lose your salvation. So each Sunday the altar filled with repentant sinners once again asking God to save them. We later moved to another church where legalism reigned supreme. No longer did we worry about our salvation being lost - we now worried about the do's and don'ts. There was a laundry list of things that good Christian's didn't do. Christianity didn't come across very joyful to me in those days.

All along the way, I have questioned why. Why is it that man has such a struggle with simply listening to what God's word says. Why do we feel that we have to "clarify" it by making our own little lists and prescribed ways of doing things?

God did not set down a book of rules. Yes, there are some in His word. Do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not commit adultery... Those are very clear cut and non-negotiable. But, He never said, "Do not attend a football game on Sunday, do not go to a bowling alley if there is a bar attached, do not have a glass of wine, etc. What the word of God has given to us in these gray areas are principles to live by not prescriptions.

Do all to the glory of God, offend not your weaker brother, remember the judgement seat of Christ. All of these statements in Scripture are meant to be used as principles to guide us in our decision making. Some are more vertical as in the statement to do all to the glory of God and some are horizontal as in do not offend your weaker brother. When we are confronted with decisions about what we should or should not do - can we honestly say that we keep these living principles in mind?

When Paul wrote in Romans that we were to present our bodies as living sacrifices and that we were to be holy and pleasing unto God he was not giving us a prescription of how to do that. There were not step-by-step instructions on how to live this Christian life. What he did say was that we were to not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. When people wonder what it means to be conformed to this world, I think that it is because they do not want to put the principles into practice. Can I do this and bring God glory? Can I do this and not offend my brother? Hard things to do but I believe that is what God intended.

A living sacrifice. That is what all of this means to me. To sacrifice what I want or what my freedom in Christ has given me in order to not offend. Laying down my wants to bring God glory. This is the principle of life. Not a laundry list of do's and don'ts. I have grown weary of trying to live up to standards set by fallible humans. I want to live the energized and joyful life that God intended. And this can only be done by putting into practice the principles of His word. And this only can be done by continually submitting to His Spirit as He speaks to us. This then is my earnest plea - "God, help me to be conformed to the image of your dear son that I may walk in abundance of joy."

The Depths of His Love

Psalm 71:20 "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

Recently, Dave and I were in New Mexico and had the opportunity to see some of the wonders of creation. Carlsbad Caverns was no exception. Yet, I must say I am not a big cave fan..... I think it is the smell. The dank, dreary, drippy nature of the cave that just makes me feel claustrophobic. But, when you are confronted with the opportunity to see a national treasure you plunge on.

So we began our descent. It is a 1.3 mile trek from the beginning of the path to where the beginning of the Great Room begins. The entire trip down I kept feeling more and more constricted and the smell of bat guano was making my head spin. Yet the further down I got the more determined I was to find the treasure that lay at the bottom.

I guess I feel like life has been a bit like this cave excursion for me. Slowly over time I made the descent into the black darkness of sin and deception. Sometimes there would be unseen hands reaching out to me. Some of those hands were trying to pull me up and others were attempting to thrust me further down into the depths. There even were times where I felt I was free-falling into the abyss and wondering if ever there would be that hard knock that would indicate that I had reached the bottom.

The verse from psalms talks of the fact that life is full of troubles and bitterness and so many other negative things. And yet just as there were beautiful gifts of stalagmites and stalagtites at the bottom of the cave there was an end to my struggle where once again I could feel the restoring hand of the Father upon me. The ascent into the light has been welcome. Just as it was at Carlsbad. The air becomes lighter and the claminess disappears. And then in brilliant glory, sometimes painful in its presence, is the sun. Suddenly, all that was dark and mysterious is gone and it is replaced with light and life.

Our Father has taken me up from the depths of despond and has set my feet once again upon the solid rock. His Sonshine permeates my sould with its light and promises to expose those areas of my being that still want to travel down the dark and dreary path to the bottom. I am resting on His unchanging grace. I am relishing in His mercy that took that lost soul from the bottom, from the despair and brought me up to newness of life. Praise God.