We are all familiar with the story in the Gospels where Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a field where a farmer sowed good seed, but while he slept, the enemy came and sowed bad seed.  We know that side by side the wheat and tares grow up together.  One is the genuine seed, the other is not.  One is the real thing, the other is just a pretender.  This story has always intrigued me & like so many I would just look at it as a time will tell story.  Yet, there is so much more to it.

So, the question is, what is the difference between wheat and tares, since from a distance they look so much alike?  I’m glad you asked. The real difference is that when the wind blows, the wheat bows.  Tares do not.  They are apparently rigid and unbending.  I absolutely love this.  When God breathes on us, we should be flexible in his hands.  We are to be pictures of humility in his presence.

The first thing that I think we must realize is, that when the wind blows my response tells who I am.  If I fight against the wind, and resist its breath upon my life, and am determined to stand against it at all costs, I reveal what I am.  However, if I bow to the wind of his presence upon my life, if I submit and surrender to his dealings in my life & choose the way of humility, I am revealing whose I am.

Life is going to bring challenges and heart aches into all of our lives.  Many times we are quick to make judgement calls about those things.  We become determined to fight against them & become hard.  Nowhere in Scripture are there grounds for hardness of life, we are always to become more tender & allow the things that we walk through to cause us to choose the way of humility.  It is in that place we find him.

The way of bowing is not a road much traveled, but it is the way of those who want him.  You see, he chose that road, he walks that road, and he seeks out those who will choose it as well.  It is a road of surrender & brokenness.  The way of the weak.  Words not embraced so much by a world that puts a lot of confidence in performance & success.  Nevertheless, it is the road he is on.  He is calling us to leave behind the road most traveled & journey with him on the road that requires taking a bow (choosing humility) every time he blows his breath upon you.

Imagine his delight in our choosing to bow(humility) and in a surrendered life.  It is something not commonly seen, but worth the look.  Can you imagine anything more beautiful than his lovers melting in his presence & loving him enough to take the road he took?

However, for most of my life winter has been my season of dread.  I have seen winter as a time of death and of barrenness.  I have never enjoyed being cold and do not like the need to put on layers of clothing before heading outside.  So, when the winter is approaching, I am usually looking at my options and thinking about where I can go that is warm for a vacation to help shorten the dread of this long harsh season.

Something has been changing in me though as of late.  I have been sensing the Lord speak to my heart about several things.  He has been pouring in fresh oil and revelation to my heart which has served to minister to me deeply.

As He has been speaking he has opened the season’s to me in a new and fresh way.

In my life winter has been labeled a season of death, but the Lord has been showing me how this is not the truth.  I have often looked at the trees with no leaves, the flowers all snow covered and hidden.  I have seen only what appeared to be death and I have called it death.  The Lord has challenged my heart.  Winter is not about death, but rather about rest.  Many of the plants under the layers of snow are not dead for if they were they would not come to the surface in the next season.  These plants are only taking a break from the continual putting out for so many months before.  They are taking time to refresh and restart.  It is part of what is necessary for their journey for without rest, death would be certain.  The snow covering serves to protect them during this season from the harsh, cold conditions that winter brings.  This is a powerful revelation to a weary heart. For often we see the moments of our lives where we do not feel productive or able to give as we wish, as a time of death, when really it could be a time to rest from the continual need to put out like we have for so long.

We need not fear the conditions of the winter season in our lives for we are covered and protected during this time to keep us safe even when the conditions get harsh and rough.

We must remember during this time that there will be new growth and fresh starts just down the road, but only in abundance to the one who has surrendered safely to the season of rest.  The winter will end and spring will come.  When it does new life bursts forth.  From there blossoming and harvest will leap out of your life. I am learning that it is necessary to submit to the season & to allow him to accomplish what He desires in that season for he knows the demands of the coming days & knows how to prepare a life for what is ahead.

There should be no guilt in this process for the pattern was laid out by the one who knows us better than we know ourselves.  He understands the necessity of resting securely & of being hidden in his blankets of protection.  So, if you are wintering these days.  Enjoy the rest.  Do not fight the process.  He has you covered and your season of blossoming is just in front of you.  Smile and trust in the one who lays the layers of protection upon you to keep you hidden and safe through the strong & relentless conditions of the season.  For you will rise up out of this place and see that what you thought was dead is bursting forth into magnificent beauty.

Psalm 18:30  God’s way is perfect.  All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  

Proverbs 4:23

  A number of years back my dad went through a very difficult time with his health.  His heart had been a problem on and off for a number of years, but all of a sudden it was becoming obvious that his life was in danger.   Ever since then I have been awakened to the realities of heart disease and how it subtly moves into our lives to rob us & to potentially take from us those we love and care about.

Until that time, I did not really think a whole lot about the heart.  It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it just was not something I was forced to look at.  However, when all of a sudden, I was faced with the reality that without surgery I may not have my dad with me much longer.  I began to stand at attention.

He had the surgery and it was a success thank the Lord.

I often wonder about my own heart now, but to be honest, it is not my physical heart that I worry about.  It is my heart for the Lord.  You see, I learned a lot about the heart though dad’s disease, but I believe there are so many spiritual parallels that we can apply if are willing to look deeper.

There are probably a countless number of things which can contribute to heart disease, but the three that stand out over and over again in the natural are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and poor exercise habits.

High cholesterol will contribute to the build up of fatty deposits on the arteries. That build up interrupts the blood flow and oxygen to your heart.  Cholesterol is controlled by what we eat.  Diets high in fat are considered a dangerous lifestyle.  I want nothing in my life to block up or hinder my heart from being all that God desires for it to be.  Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they God will see.”  I want to live a life that causes the eye of the Lord to be looking at me.  How can I do this when it comes to my heart spiritually?  Well, practically speaking I need to watch my spiritual diet.  I realize this is not popular advice in our society, but necessary regardless.  I cannot be feeding my spirit man a bunch of junk food & an unhealthy spiritual diet and expect that there are no negative consequences.   I must choose to set a standard for my life to feed upon Truth.  I must not be willing to settle for that which really does not satisfy anyway.  So often we buy into that lie and think, it taste so good.  We embrace the mentality that says, “I only want to eat what taste good” & we are willing to do that even if it will kill us.  Something needs to change in our response to this.  We need to embrace that which empowers us, that which truly nurtures us, that which keeps us in a place of having a heart that pleases him.  There are some things that do not taste good at the moment, but the result of having eaten them are that they bring life.  We need to be willing to feed up His Word & be much more vigilant in resisting that which brings destruction to our lives.

Exercise is another factor that is characterized when dealing with the heart.  Studies indicate that people who make it a part of their regular lifestyle will reduce the risk of heart disease.  Recently, I wrote an article on the need to apply the Word to our lives.  I am going to go there again. I believe spiritual exercise is the appropriation of the Word in our lives.  It is not just enough to hear the Word, we must be doers of it as well.  I can sit and listen to sermons week after week, but the message is only going to make a difference in my life when I walk it out and apply it to my situation, to my life, to my journey.  The Word is personal because God is a personal God.  He desires that we develop spiritual muscle through allowing his Word to be exercised in our lives.  Regular exercise in the natural keeps things pumping and flowing properly.  Appropriation of the Word in our lives keeps the heart clean & pure before Him. Thus, allowing the Word to address and expose anything in us that could block up that flow & deal with it immediately.

Lastly is the Blood Pressure, which I find very interesting.  One of the strong influences of a rise in blood pressure is worry or anxiety (I realize that is not the only thing, but it does influence it).  I believe the Word tells us not to worry, but to cast our cares upon Him.   Studies have also come to realize that blood pressure can be controlled by diet & exercise.  I love that.  Everything we have just covered when carried out in our lives addresses this issue.  If I am feeding upon Truth & appropriating that Word in my life then naturally I will let him worry about the things I cannot change.  I will not live in fear & worry, but will be in peace.  My spiritual pressure will not rise because everything will be working the way that it should be.  Clear flow to the heart.  Unblocked & full of life.  A life pumping and beating the very life of Christ.

I choose this day to feed upon Truth, even when it isn’t what everyone else is doing.

I choose this day to appropriate the Word in my life & let the Word change me.

I choose this day to trust in a Faithful God to handle the challenges of the day, to rest in him & receive His peace.

I long to be one who has the attention of heaven because he found purity within.

Now come with me for a moment on a journey.  Let’s go back in time and assume that I was able to take those lessons as a child.  Let’s say that every lesson that I would ever need was paid for in advance & all I had to do was show up.  That would be wonderful.  The price paid.  My dream fulfilled.  However, this is not completely truth.  If the price was paid, and I showed up for the lesson, but never went home and applied what I learned & never practiced then I would never be able to play the piano.  I would not be able to advance and move forward.  I would have something freely given to me, but would not benefit from its value in my life.  Why?  Because I must apply it.  I must commit myself to seeing progress.  I must want it more than I want to talk about having it.

This is true in our lives as believers.  We don’t have to pay for the cost of our sin.  Everything has been paid for in advance.  We receive it, but it does not stop there. If I want to be someone who is living and carrying the fruit of a transformed life, then I must be willing to commit to the process of transformation.  If I just run around and tell the world I have a free gift, but don’t work on the application of that in my life, then I personally devalue the gift.  Salvation is not free.  It cost Jesus everything.  When I refuse to appropriate his Word and Truth in my life, I place no value His sacrifice.

We may not like the idea of working it out, but Scripture tells me to work out my salvation.  Why?  Because it is the application of the Word in me that transforms me and causes me to honor the sacrifice of the Son of God. Yes, He has paid it all and I value that enough to be willing to appropriate daily His Word in my life with His help.  I want all that He has for me.

During this past season of my life, I have been stopped in my tracks by the Lord over and over again.  Everything I thought I knew has been challenged, but the result of that has brought absolute delight into my life.

I do not pretend to have the answers, like most people, I only have the questions.

However, during this past while there have been a few thoughts that have been surfacing in my heart which I will attempt to share with you.

Can one truly give away something they have not yet possessed?  Can I give to you my home if I do not own it?

You see God’s love IS limitless.  All the love he has for us was revealed at the Cross.  My love grows and changes, but He is the Unchanging One.  His love for me was as deep before I was born as it is this day.  He loved me as much when I failed and disappointed Him as he loves me when I do good and right.  Why?  Because His love is not conditional based upon my performance.  He loves me because He chose to and He will never abandon that love.  The real question I am confronted with today is not, “Am I loved?”, but rather, “Am I receiving that love?”.  This is really what makes the difference.

You see, one can be loved all their life and not know it or receive it.

So, if one does not receive that love we will walk through this world feeling rejected and unloved, isolated and alone.  This rejection is projected in our lives and in all of our relationships with people, family, and friends.  It promotes insecurity and fear that causes a number other issues all on their own.

However, the moment someone realizes that they are loved and the moment they open their hearts to receive it, love then can reach places nothing else could.  This love received brings healing and wholeness into a life and within a short period of time that person is revealed as someone totally different.  What happened?  They were loved all their lives, but the revelation of love placed them with a desire to receive this love.

Once love was received, it flooded their life and the result of that was wounds were healed.  Life was looked at through wholeness rather than brokenness.

How does this apply to my life as a believer?  Glad you asked!  I can beat my head against a wall trying to give away the love of God.  The truth is, I must first receive it, not only through Salvation (although that is the first place), but into the deep places of my heart.

I must receive God’s love into my places of pain and disappointment, into my places of fear and rejection, into my places of failure and defeat.  Once that love fills my heart, I am changed.  I can look at life then through wholeness, rather than through brokenness.  Only then will His love truly be able to be released out of my life into the unknown places around me.  His transforming love in me then will bring the same opportunity into someone else’s life.

I cannot give away what I have not received.

The life that has received this love will feel no pressure to succumb to religious duty or perform for fear that God will be mad at you.  Rather, they position their hearts to receive the love He so wants them to receive and from that place all ministry is natural.  It becomes an opportunity to release transformation and wholeness into another broken vessel.  The heart that has received His love does not enter into guilt & shame, they only run to the opportunity to receive more and more of His love, because they know that it is transformational.  It is what really living is all about!

It is not heavy, but rather light and liberating.  It is what the world is longing for, but to give it away, one must first possess it and let it change you!

I can love without limits when I have received love without limit.

     You see, there are many things in this life that we want.  We are a people with many wants and desires.  We are led by our appetites and cravings.  We want our own homes, new cars, things that will bring temporal satisfaction and are willing to pay great prices to have them.  We are a people and a generation who avail to ourselves whatever our hearts crave.  When we look at the thing we desire and the longing for it increases, we take the measures necessary to have our desired item.  We work hard, long hours.  We borrow.  We readjust our lives, but we make a way. Imagine if that was actually carried into our lives as believers.  Imagine what depth of the riches of God we could enter into if we were to desire and crave the things of God like we do the temporal things of this world.  Imagine what would happen if we were willing to give that relationship as much attention as we do to the things we desire.  Consider the transformed life we would be living.  A life fully alive because of grace, but fully surrendered because of choice.  A life less committed to the temporal and more dependent upon the eternal.  A vessel saying no to what the eye wants and yes to what the spirit wants.  Imagine what that would look like.  A home(life) fully equipped and attractive to all who drive by & it stirs up a craving and desire within them to build just like you.

        I am beginning to realize that we talk much about the blueprints, but blueprints are only the design of a desired home.  For one to have that home, he must pay the price.  He must labour.  He must be committed to seeing it done.  Blueprints can stir and make one excited about the future, but they are NOT the home.  God is longing for a people who will be willing to embrace the grace that He has given to us and thereby being empowered to surrender to His workings within us and transform our blueprints into a desire fulfilled.  The question is, are we willing to put in the time, energy, and willingness to see it done.  Lord, make me willing!

I have been pondering this scripture for a while now, but something all of a sudden came to my heart.   When destruction comes into our lives in whatever form it takes, and when we’ve been stolen from or death is around us, we might begin to focus on what we see as an injustice rather than on Who is with us.  The enemy would want us to feel in those moments that the only way to respond is with anger, vengeance, or some other emotion that will cause us to question God.  However, in light of some of the events that are taking place in the earth and through the realization of some of my own challenges in these past few years, I am realizing that there is one thing that cannot be taken from us, unless we willingly surrender it.

You see, the enemy can come into my life and cause all sorts of situations that have the potential to bring confusion.  He can come and sow death all around me.  He can steal and rob things that do not belong to him and leave me with a feeling or sense of loss.  All of these things he can attempt to do in my life.  Yet, he cannot take away my freedom to choose.  He cannot decide how I am going to respond to this assault upon my life.  He cannot chose my victory or defeat.  He cannot decide for me if I become angry or bitter.  He can walk through what is open and he can even come like a thief, but he cannot under any circumstances decide my destiny.

You see I have been given the POWER to choose.  I have been given the freedom to decide what to do with what is in front of me.  That is life friends.  This is a place the enemy cannot go.  Yes, he can whisper those lies in my ears and ask me questions to challenge my faith and trust in God, but he cannot decide for me.  I can in any moment that I choose to submit to God, resist him and he then will see there is no point in continuing.

Scripture says, I set before you today life and death, the blessing and the curse.  Choose life.  This tells me that when I do not understand, when I am overwhelmed, when I do not like the process, I can choose life.  I can choose blessing.

The enemy would desire that we sit and soak in self pity.  He would want us to build monuments unto our injustices. He wants us to become so consumed by what we see with our eyes that he can try to convince us that life has given us a raw deal and that we have a right to sit and moan.  According to the word of the Lord, we have the right to choose life. We have the right to believe God.  We have the right to love God, to honor God, to rise above the moments of pain, to embrace the purposes of God and pursue destiny with the One who loves us more than we can imagine.

We have been empowered with the ability to choose.  Celebrate knowing that this is one place your enemy cannot touch & use it to run into God.

We have all heard sermons or had teaching on the ministry of the towel and basin. We have been told about how that foot washing is an act of humility and servanthood, and it is both of these things without a doubt. However, tonight I realized it is more than just those two things as powerful as they are.

As I sat there focused on that picture it was like I was a whole new world of clarity opened to me.

During Biblical times people did most travel by foot. They wore either no shoes or a sandal that left their feet exposed to the journey.  Some days they would travel great distances and after many long hours they would find a place of rest for the night. When they came to the home of a person or friend that they would stay with, they would enter the home and be welcomed by a towel and basin.  It was part of the honour that was given to the weary traveller.

The host recognized that after traveling through the desert and putting so many miles on those feet, that the right thing to do was take some time for them, sit down, wash off the dirt of the journey, put some oil on those aching feet, and give them a chance to feel refreshed and cleansed.

I must admit, I have never seen it like this before, but this truth hit my spirit and I know that there is something to this realization for those who hear him.

There are times in all of our lives where we have been faced with discouragement.  We have given our best, served with the purest of intentions, and found it to be less than what was needed.  In those moments, we have looked into the face of our own shortcomings and become overwhelmed with a sense of weariness & defeat. We have become discouraged.  Yet, in the midst of what felt like it could be over, Father has come to us and ministered life & peace, offering us fresh vision & purpose.

I have always loved the Book of Nehemiah.  It has been a journey for me of real life.  A journey of people who are giving what they have in the midst of great opposition and challenges.  A journey of people who give and give until they have nothing left to give. This is not a whole lot different from our wrestlings and struggles in this life.

In chapter 4 verse 10 we have the work crews worn out & there is too much rubble.  They decide they cannot continue to rebuild the wall.  The vision is dying inside of them.  The enemy is taunting and attempting to wear them down.  It is working.  They have been faithful to press through despite all the enemies assaults, but now they are growing weary.  Now they are feeling overwhelmed.  They have grown tired, maybe frustration has set in, maybe a sense of failure has overcome them.  They now look at the size of the task, the amount of rubble all around them, the weariness of the workers & decide they cannot win this battle.  Thank God the story does not end there.  We know that as they cry out to God, He hears.   He meets them and gives them fresh strategy and renewed vision, just like He does for us.  Their potential defeat today becomes their celebration of victory tomorrow.  Today, tomorrow is too far away, but with renewed vision tomorrow is within grasp.

I love this story, because it is our journey.   We have experienced moments of seeing the wonderful things God desires to accomplish in front of us.  We start out with an understanding of the great task, but knowing the One who called us will carry us as we seek Him.  We continue to give of ourselves and press in with all we have.  The enemy is nearby, reminding us that we can’t make it.  He is continually screaming to us our defeat.  We press on.  But as the intensity continues to escalate, we find that we are getting tired.  We feel alone in the battle. We feel like the job is too big for us to do.  We become overwhelmed and discouraged, as we gaze upon the heap of rubble all around us.  We are tempted to surrender to what seems to be the inevitable. However, in the midst of what the enemy believes will be a great defeat, something rises up inside of us that says, “God, you are all I need”.  In that moment we know it has all changed.  We rise up with renewed hope & vision.  We do not look at the size of the workload in front of us any more, but rather we realize once again the size of our God who is with us.  We come up out of that place with a fresh desire to be all that we can be.  We have a new understanding of the strategies of the evil one, but also a deeper love for the Holy One.

You see, we have all been workers on that wall.  We have all experienced the lies and discouragement of the enemy.  We have all had moments where we wanted to quit.  Not quit on God, but quit the labour of building.  We have all had times where the rubble overwhelmed us & discouragement tried to grip our hearts.  However, the wonderful news of this journey is that God brought them through.  He is a covenant keeping God.  He is not concerned by the size of the heap of rubble.  He is not moved by the taunts of the enemy.  He is not scared when we get tired.  He is a God who feels for his people & empowers them with fresh oil & fresh strength to press on seeing Him who is invisible.  We rise up from these moments knowing that the Joy of the Lord truly is our strength.  We rise up from these places knowing Him in more deep and intimate ways.  Let’s build & not be afraid of our human limitations, for in those places come an opportunity for Divine Strength.  Thank you Jesus for every moment you have pulled me through.