The Widow's Mite

A reminder from July 15, 2019 at the Open Door Mission.

Today we looked at the widow's offering. We have been asking, How does Jesus value women? The conversations were so good. Look at the truths the women brought out of the story about Jesus and the widow. Again, we discovered how Jesus used people as visual aids. This time it was rich people and a widow. 

This narrative comes on the heals of Jesus just saying, "Watch out for the religious leaders that flaunt around in their fancy robes, praying loudly, seeking the best seats in the synagogue and market place while devouring widow's houses."  

Most theologians imply that the rich people who gave out of their abundance may have been giving from their profit they made off of the widow who gave of her two mites. 

One of the ladies at the mission said, "This is true for us today. How might we be overlooking someone that we legally or administratively had every right to do what we did to them, but in the process we destroyed them and forgot to see them?" 

Wozer! Thank God that Jesus reminds us to be observant and see people. Who might we be needing to see today? 

We discovered that the widow's value came in her sacrifice. It wasn't in the two mites she gave that was valuable, but what she had left. Nothing! 

This is a hard word. How do we know when our giving of time, talent, and treasure is a sacrifice? 

One thing for sure is she did not know the value. She was unconscious of how Jesus valued her offering. While the rich people were looking for recognition for their giving. If this does not convict you, I would suggest you pray. I know I need to humble myself and pray!

"Here I am" Faith

Do you have a "Here I am faith?" As I examined Abraham's most trying moment in Genesis 22, I am humbled by the "Here I am faith!" 

Abraham took small daily steps of faith that caused him to leave family, land, and culture to walk in obedience to God. God had already given Abraham three promises that He would make His descendants like the stars in the sky and like the sand on the seashore (Genesis 12, 15, & 17).

The voice of God automatically invoked a "Here I am" attitude in Abraham.  All of those small steps of faith had already revealed that God is I AM. He is present. He is at work. Maybe Abraham thought, "My thoughts do not make sense when it comes to God's plan, but I am going to move forward in obedience knowing God will provide. He did with the birth of Isaac. He can do it in his death."

Abraham's obedience brought about the fourth reminder of the promised blessing! And a provision of a ram! God obviously wanted Abraham to keep moving forward by faith. 

But what really struck me about the story is that Abraham then went back into his simple routine. He gathered his servants and went back to moving forward in faith steps that are not even recorded.  Except that so and so had a baby and that his beloved Sarah, the one the promised child would come through, passed away. "Here I am" faith steps go unnoticed in the daily. Yes, they will show up at some point and surprise us that we have a faith stronger than we thought, but in the daily it seems more like normal living.

What we view as huge God moment leads us into living out simple faith steps in our daily routine. Great faith like Abraham's did not come in this moment. It came over time as he kept moving forward by faith. He kept listening for the voice of God and when he heard it, he took a step of faith that revealed a "Here I am" LORD attitude. 

What about you? Can you say that you are living in a "Here I am" attitude? Do you trust the LORD will provide? 

I think I have a new prayer to pray today!

Father, please give me an attitude of "Hear I am" LORD. I pray I am willing to do it in my daily routine through small faith steps trusting that You will provide and bring forth Your promised blessings.

Do you welcome the movement of God?

"God goes where he is wanted" (Philip Yancey). Powerful thought. 

Do you want the presence of God? This morning after teaching on Rahab in Joshua 2, I found myself praying, "LORD help me to see your movement and let me join you!" 

I love that a Canannite prostitute saw the movement of God in the nation of Israel and when spies showed up at her door unannounced, she knew she needed to find a way into the presence of God and the plan of God. 

Rahab did not wait for someone to give her an invitation to join God's movement. She invited herself.

Rahab pretty much begged for kindness and deliverance.  Her faith not only earned her physical deliverance, but gave her spiritual deliverance. 

Unknown to her this one bold move put her in the lineage of being a grandparent of the Messiah... Jesus! 

LORD, help us to see Your movement around us. And let us boldly join You and Your servants.

Heaven's Hospitality: Joshua 2 Rahab and the Two Spies

I love that GOD is always at work! I love that HE uses unexpected guests in our lives to reveal His plan. I love that He will allow us to give hospitality to people that we may not even know that GOD is orchestrating something far beyond our imagination! I love welcoming people into our home and I love it when we have the privilege of different nations being represented. I often wonder what God will do through my dear friends and our lives as we enjoy a meal or visit. 

In this week's Heaven's Hospitality, we will discover that GOD uses unexpected guests to reveal His great plan in the life of Rahab, a prostitute, that was willing to lie to protect two spies from another land. Why would she do that? Well, if you are following this series you will have caught by now that Rahab was honoring the Biblical middle east ethics of hospitality. She recognized that God was at work and that His plan was unfolding. She did not want to be left out! I know I don't! 

May we all have such a heart to see GOD at work around us!

2 Kings 5 Naaman is Healed

2 Kings 5 A Servant Girl Tells Naaman the Man of God in Samaria can Heal His Skin Disease

In today's Heaven's Hospitality lesson,  we get to meet 2 kings, several servants, a wife, and a commander. It is a crazy situation where two kings that are arch enemies are brought together by a servant girl suggesting that her Master go to the man of God from her land to be healed. 

Theologians call her an unwilling missionary. She was taken captive as a slave and yet she chose to give what she knew would be God's best to her captor. Crazy beautiful and wonderfully powerful. Yet, the servant in the house of God. He chose to seek personal bounty from the benevolence of the healed commander. He used his position to take and receive. 

As I pondered this passage, I realized the word "take" has such potential for power or poison. We can "take" and give blessing or we can "take" and rob blessings. 

I hope you listen and share. I really feel God wants someone to hear this story. It might be you! Will you take and receive the blessing?

You are Free!

On July 1, 2019 at the Open Door Mission I taught this lesson...

We will study the crippled woman of 18 years (Luke 13:10-17). Despite the religious leaders always seeking to trap Jesus or trick Him, Jesus still found ways to be present with them in the synagogue and still teach them. This is the last recorded time that Jesus was in a synagogue. It is interesting that Jesus’ last synagogue moment held a crippled woman that needed release from bondage. Again, Jesus uses a human visual aid to bring home truth!  

The woman was trapped for eighteen years by a crooked spine inflicted by demonic influence. She was all tied up and bent over in misery. Despite it being the Sabbath when Jesus saw her affliction, He had compassion on her. 

Jesus spoke release, “Woman, you are set free!” 

Again, notice that the woman did not ask for help. Jesus saw her burden and lifted it. 

What a dramatic contrast to the religious leaders’ response! “There are six days for work! Heal on those days. Not the Sabbath!” 

How easy it is for us to be so bound by our traditions that we forget that loosing someone from bondage is the greater need. 

We might find ourselves saying inwardly, “Why isn’t this person doing this or that?” 

We should be asking, "When have I allowed rules to get in the way of caring more about a person?" 

How might Jesus ask you or me to be the vessel to say, “Woman, you are set free!” “Brother, straighten up and go forth!” 

The bondage we see most these days is found in an inner dialogue that weighs people down. How might God ask us to speak life into this person so that they might be released from the spirit of bondage that presses them down? 

Go forth and speak truth (Scripture) and set people free! Please know that this is not a name and claim attitude. Far from it. This is about speaking the Word of God in a way that brings healing to find release from a burden and getting rid of hypocrisy that cares more about rules than people. 

What are the crippling influences in our lives?

Remember Me!

When I was pregnant with Mikayla I found myself in the doctors office and him telling me, "If your heart doesn't stop racing we are going to have to hospitalize you until the baby is born." I had three weeks left until delivery and that did not sit well with me. I wasn't stressed but my body was in a distress beyond my control. 

The doctor left the room to start the paperwork. I sat there stunned. Wondering what I would say to Greg. When I remembered the Bible story about Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 and how he turned to the wall and prayed after being told, "You are going to die." I loved how Hezekiah prayed and asked God to remember him. God heard his prayer and answered. 

I thought, "If Hezekiah can do it. I can do it." So, I rolled my giant self sideways and looked at the wall in the doctors office and prayed. I prayed something like, "God, if you can remember Hezekiah and grant him favor, I know You can remember me, too." I then just waited for the doctor to come back. 

The doctor came back in and re-examined me and said, "I do not know how this happened. I have never seen anything like it, but your heart rate is normal again."  I immediately told him what I did and that I prayed. He ignored the prayer part and said it was because I turned on my side. But, he was still putting me on bed rest until Mikayla came, but at home.

I knew it was God. He remembered me. He heard my prayer and He answered. Some might tell you that it is selfish to ask God to remember you. Yes, our remembrance needs to be about the character of God and what He has done, but it is also okay to ask Him to remember you. 

In Luke 23:42, the thief on the cross said, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."  And the Psalms are filled with requests. Psalm 106:4 says, "Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people; visit me with Your salvation."

Remembrance is a gift. It is a gift to remember the character of God and all He has done, but it is also a gift to ask Him to remember us. He desires to give us good gifts. He hears us and He answers. 

Have you ever had a. Moment when you asked God to remember you and you can clearly state how He answered? I would love to hear about it.

Be in the Word. 

Be with Jesus. 

Be Transformed. 

Shalom y'all!