My female cardinal

I looked up and saw a beautiful female cardinal sitting between two tiny sparrows eating. Again, I sat in awe of their beauty. I went back to my study and then heard a terrible "WHACK!" Sadly, to see that the cardinal flew into my glass door. She fell hard. I immediately started praying and begging God to restore her and give her life. 

I cried for her and remembered that God cares about the little sparrow when he falls (Matthew 10:29-31).

I watched and prayed as she did not move for 10 to 15 minutes. Her breathing rapid and in distress. I wondered if I should get something to put her on that would be soft and place her so Melchizedek couldnt find her so easily. I went and grabbed a bunch of paper towels. But as I walked out on the porch I noticed her breathing slowed more. I thought "How can I awkwardly bend and not scare her?" I decided to leave since it appeared she would die. I went back inside and sat down and prayed for her to die without pain. I picked up my Bible study and then she unexpectedly sat up, flicking her tail and turning her head. I can't imagine the headache she was feeling from such a hard hit. Again, I cried as I saw God answer my prayer for one little bird.

She hopped onto the bar across the chair and after 10 more minutes she hopped onto the bar under the table. Several times she would turn and looked toward where I was sitting as if she knew I was there.

Greg came in and I showed him. He said, "She has a concussion."

I needed to go get ready and help Papa so I left even though I wanted to sit and watch her. 

When I returned, Greg said she flew away. I was sad I didn't see her flight but so thankful she could fly. But when I sat back down to pray I looked out to see she had moved to the tree. I was so thankful I caught a glimpse of her again. Her feathers were all fluffed up to help her guard against the cold. 

As I started to write this down she finally took off in flight.

I am reminded this morning that life is precious and life is brief. We all will be confronted with the brevity of life's invasion, but we are reminded to consider our days.  

“LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am." (Psalm 39:4).

There is something urgent that happens in us to love better, see more, give hope, and to stop and be when we do.

Shalom y'all!

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What is the difference between indwelling of the Holy Spirit versus empowering of the Holy Spirit?

One of my brothers in Kenya posed a very good question with specific Scriptures. I prepared this early this morning and shared it with him. After discussing with my dear friend at lunch, I have decided to share it. 

What is the difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the empowering of the Holy Spirit? 

This is a great question and very important in our walk as a believer. 

Indwelling by definition means to reside in. This reflects the permanent residence of the Holy Spirit inside a believer (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  It is a positional promise given to us that if we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within us (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit becomes a seal or mark to show that we belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14). This is when our body becomes the temple or house of the LORD. It is a one time occurrence that has eternal impact. It shows that we have become a child of God and received the forgiveness of our sins (Rms 8:15-17; Titus 3:5)

To empower by definition is about enabling someone to do what is needed in the moment with strength.  This is an active and ongoing process that is dependant on obedience, a yielded heart, and the willingness to obey (Galatians 5:6). The Holy Spirit will guide us in truth and the way we should go. (Romans 8:14). This is His empowering. His empowering will bear good fruit when we walk in obedience to His guidance (Galatians 5:22-23).

Notice that a believer is indwelled. This is a gift that is only given to the one who believes in the LORD. Empowerment of the Holy Spirit can happen to an unbeliever. Remember, the Spirit of God will guide in all truth and point to Jesus. So if we see the movement of God's Spirit empowering in the Bible it is for the purposes of drawing people to God. As in the case of Acts 10:44 when the Holy Spirit "fell" upon the people. This meant that the Spirit of God was moving among them to bring forth the will of God. In this situation, it was for their belief and to become children of God which enables them to be indwelled by His Spirit.

In the case of Acts 19:15, we notice that a evil spirit or demon knows who Jesus is. This knowing is a belief in the existence of Jesus, but not in Him as their Savior. Yes, the evil Spirit recognized Jesus as the Son of God and even acknowledged that it was aware of His power,  but the evil spirit did not know Jesus with a belief that compeled him to obey in righteousness. The evil spirit did not draw near to God through its belief in Jesus. 

In a way, this provides us an example of the reality that acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God isn't the same as believing that Jesus died for our sins so that we can be restored in our relationship with God. One is just head knowledge and it does not lead to life change. The other is a heart knowledge that leads to life change because the Spirit comes in and dwells.  

What about in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 when the harmful spirit rushed upon Saul? 

King Saul at this point in his life determined to no longer obey God. Most theologians point out that because Saul was choosing disobedience God removed His protection and allowed the evil spirit to torment Saul. First, we must recognize that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent to dwell permanently in a child of God. This happened after Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. In the Old Testament, God would send His Spirit to guide but it wasn't an eternal dwelling. The Spirit would empower but not dwell permanently. The Spirit would come and go as God directed. Obedience brought the blessing of fruitfulness, but if they walked in disobedience they could lose God's presence. This is why King David prayed in Psalm 51:11, "Do not cast me from Your presence or remove your spirit from me."

In the Old Testament, they were still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah, Jesus, which would bring about the promise of the Holy Spirit's permanent presence or indwelling. As a person living after Christ's death, burial, Resurrection and ascension, we have the gift of His presence indwelling us permanently and His Spirit guiding us in all truth in the form of empowering when we believe in Him as our Savior. We can hinder His empoweting by not walking in obedience, but once we believe we are marked by His Holy Spirit as a child of God. Now there is a debate theologically on whether you can lose your salvation. This is a whole different discussion. I personally do not affirm this stance. There are theologians that can argue both sides. I don't want to get into the debate since you are asking clarification for indwelling and empowering. They key is indwelling is permanent and empowering is something that cones and goes for the moment.

Daniel: The Way of Exile

The way of the exile... foreigner, stranger, sojourners, well if you are a follower of Christ you are also someone in exile.

I heard this phrase, "the way of the exile" on one of the Bible Projects videos and I cannot stop thinking of it because I am studying Daniel.

Daniel was part of the people captured in Judah & Jerusalem around 605 BC. The king, queen, officials, eunichs, craftsmen, metal workers had been taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 29:2). 

Because Daniel was royal, without blemish, young, good looking, and wise with the skill of understanding he became a part of the king's court (Daniel 1:4).

Daniel lived his entire life in Babylon. When he was probably 65 to 70 years old Darius became king. Daniel was reading a diplomatic letter from Jeremiah the prophet that was sent when Judah and Jerusalem were captured. This was a common practice according to David Guzik commentary for diplomatic letters to be sent to captives.

While reading Jeremiah's letter, Daniel observed the 70 years that they would remain in Israel, but what caught my attention is that Jeremiah told them how to live their lives while in exile. 

To the exiles in Babylon...

1. Build houses and live in them.

2. Plant gardens and eat from them.

3. Take wives and have sons and daughters.

4. Give daughters in marriage and have grandchildren.

5. DO NOT DECREASE!

6. Seek the welfare of the city. I sent you in exile. (That would be God did this.) 

7. Pray to the LORD in the behalf of the city. In their welfare, you will find your own welfare.

8. Do not listen to false prophets or diviners. Do not listen to their dreams. They lie. I did not send them. 

9. When the 70 years are completed, I will visit you again, fulfill my promise, and bring you back to Jerusalem.

Notice that the way of the exile is not one who fights or causes problems, but lives their life as a blessing. Why is this possible?

This where we get to a famous verse that we love to quote for graduations.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11).

But we must read further...

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

The way of exile as a child of God has promises that can be held onto. They become the lifeblood of their strength. They enable them to find a way to dig roots where they are planted and live lives that matter. Their hope enables them to bless their captors and the community where they are placed. 

Why is this so important today? Where might you see the importance of holding onto God's promises and blessing in the midst of hardship?

As a follower of Jesus, this world is not our home. We are in exile until Jesus returns. Do you see the foreshadowing of Daniel pointing to Jesus and His followers today? 

It is so important to be in the Word, to be with Jesus, so we are transformed!

Shalom y'all!

Memory Markers

Every night when Greg and I walk we look forward to our neighbor's holiday decorations. Recently as we passed her yard the physical images of her pumpkins and ghosts immediately took me back to my first grade classroom. I immediately saw in my minds eye a memograph page with 5 little pumpkins and cute ghosts drawn on it. I then started singing this song, 

"Five little pumpkins sitting on a fence. 

The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late. 

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "I really don't care."

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."

Then woosh went the wind and out went the lights. The five little pumpkins rolled out of sight."

I am blown away how the simple memory image of the shapes brought back this entire song from when I was only 6 years old. I cannot remember my teachers face, name, or even the set up of the classroom. But what I do remember is the song, it was fun to sing, and the shapes are as real as if I coukd draw it today. Also, I know that when we did this song I felt happy and was having fun. I do remember the teacher leaning in and being quite dramatic with the woosh of the wind.

This moment is a profound reminder of why I do what I do. If I can teach a story with joy and find the memory marker for a person, it will help them recall the story years later when all they have is the memory marker for recall. 

I also want to point out the power of emotion. If I can provide a happy or joyful approach as I tell a story then that emotion will be attached to the memory and the recall. This is huge and critical because if all I do is tell the story bound to rules, restrictions, or seriousness the memory recall will not be joyful. How I teach, tell, and share a story will carry an emotional memory marker. We must keep this in mind as we teach. 

Last night as Greg and I watched a RomCom that had a historian, I said, "I think I would like to grow up to be a story teller!" I immediately started laughing as I realized, "I did! I am God's Bible story teller! The most important history lesson we could ever hear! 

Shalom! Shalom y'all!

Are you an innovator?

This recent update shares about what God revealed to me about innovation. 

Here is the link:

Are you an innovator?