Author: jamie

By Posted on Posted in God's word 1 Comment Tagged with ,

I just made blueberry pancakes. You might not think much of it until I tell you that it’s 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night.  When I made chicken, broccoli, and sliced apples for the kids, nothing sounded good to me.  I wasn’t really hungry.  Then the craving kicked in two hours later.   Am I pregnant or what?

After I ate a few pancakes, I was good.  They really hit the spot.  I started thinking for a minute about cravings…. about how I never seem to crave the right thing.  At least, not at the right time. The Lord brought Jeremiah to mind, and I thought about his cravings.  He had the kind of cravings that I wish I had.

Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.

Jeremiah 15:16

He was a man that lived on God’s word. He devoured it, craved it, and the Word brought him great joy.

Jeremiah had something else to say about God’s word:

Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.

Jeremiah 20:9

For a short time, this prophet had grown a bit weary in sharing God’s word with His people, yet he was unable to keep silent. God’s word was like a fire in his heart and in his bones.  He was unable to hold back what He was hearing from God. He was unable to keep silent about what He was learning from God. The word was like a fire within him.

Lord, change my cravings. Cause me to hunger for Your Word.  As I consume it more and more, cause the Word to burn like a fire within me so that I cannot contain it.

By Posted on Posted in trusting Him 2 Comments Tagged with ,

I’ve been in a funk this week.  With a sore throat, cough, and congestion, I didn’t make it to the treadmill even one day. I’ve been letting myself sleep an extra hour instead of getting up early to meet with the Lord. Why do I think that neglecting these good habits won’t affect me?  I’ve found myself just seconds away from committing homicide a few times. The sound of my children’s voices has felt like nails on a chalkboard rather than the sweet song I usually hear.  I wanted to point a bazooka at valentine’s day and fire a few rounds. The sad thing is, it took me a few days to figure out that the problem was ME.  I was slow to make the connection between the funk and how I’ve neglected my time with God this last week.

Is anyone else out there as dense as I am?

In addition to my abandonment of all things good and healthy this week, a friend’s husband passed away unexpectedly.  A 41-year old daddy went to sleep one night and woke up in heaven.  It’s really too much for me to wrap my head around. Why him? Why this family?  Why now? It reminded me that I cannot assume that life belongs to the young. Life belongs to God. He gives and He takes away.

When I see God take someone or something away, I immediately start to gather up everything that I hold dear.  Unconsciously, I am trying to hang on to these things so that God can’t take them away. At the moment… somewhat in my right mind… I realize how silly that is.  What can I hide from God?  What can I keep from Him?

God took Jeff home to be in heaven, and suddenly I began throwing my faith vehicle in reverse. Backing away from God at lightning speed.  Throwing the padlock on my heart.  Letting prayers go out, but not letting anything in.  Looking for non-existent assurances that my husband or children are not next on God’s list of new arrivals in heaven.

I have to remember that while He gives and takes away physical life on this earth,  it’s not the same in regard to spiritual life. He gives us eternal life, but He never takes it away. My daughter’s memory verse for this week immediately comes to mind:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;

no one can snatch them out of my hand.

John 10:27-28

The Lord woke me up at 5:00 this morning and invited me to sit with Him.  That’s when everything started to click.  Now that He has extended His hand to pull me out of my funk, it’s time to move.  Take a step back toward Him in faith.  Take inventory of all the blessings I have today.  Get back on the treadmill and give Him some of my morning tomorrow.  Release all of my loved ones and dreams to Him.  Let Him take what He wants to take, and be grateful for what He has given me.

By Posted on Posted in obedience No Comments Tagged with , ,

I read a certain verse a few weeks ago, and it has been on my mind since then.  I had never noticed it before.  The reality of these words struck me and I can’t help but think about them. All the time.

The words come from Luke 23.  In the text, Pontius Pilate has brought together the chief priests, the Jewish leaders, and the people. Jesus has already been arrested, questioned, shuffled back and forth between King Herod and Pilate.  Neither of these authorities can find any basis for executing Jesus, but the people (incited by the religious leaders) are demanding that Jesus be crucified.  Pilate must follow tradition and release one prisoner for the Passover Feast, and he is shocked when the people ask for the notorious Barabbas instead of the innocent Jesus.  He decides to grant the people’s maddening request, releasing Barabbas and sending Jesus to the cross.  You know the story well.  Me too.  But you may have missed a minor detail like I did. This is what the last phrase of Luke 23:25 (NIV) says about Pilate and the people:

He surrendered Jesus to their will.

My first reaction– this is totally backwards thinking!!  But how often is this true in our lives?  It’s backwards living!!  How often do we ignore the Lord’s promptings and His word?  How often do we force Him to surrender to our will?  We lose out on what He had planned…

  • amazing opportunities to be used by Him
  • abundant blessings from His hand
  • awesome demonstrations of His power and love

And then He has to re-route us to get us back on track with His will. Most times, the opportunites go to someone else. The blessings wait, never discovered. The demonstrations of His power and love are a part of someone else’s testimony — not ours.

I want to surrender myself to Jesus’ will.

It has to be a conscious choice.  We have to lay down our own will.  Sometimes we have to lay it down over and over again until we get it right.  Many times, we have to ask for the willingness to lay down our own will.  The Holy Spirit will provide the willingness.  It’s His desire to work in us and enable us to surrender to Jesus.

Are you living backwards?