Heart’s Desire

What is your heart’s desire? Do you know? Have you thought about it? Where did it come from? Is it a worthy desire—or selfish? Who put it there?

Psalm 20:4 says, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.”

I never would have put those two things together—my heart’s desire and my purpose! First of all, I haven’t trusted my desires; I’ve believed they are fleshly or selfish. And because of that, I wouldn’t have put my desires on the same level as my purpose—which I’ve understood to be God’s plan for me. 

But maybe I need to qualify my desires with Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So if I’m delighting in the Lord, my heart’s desires are from Him! How do I know if I’m delighting in God? The picture from the Hebrew is to be “soft or delicate—intimate: to laugh with.” Are you spending time with God: sharing your heart with Him; laughing with Him? If you are, then trust that your heart’s desires are from Him! But the opposite is also true…if you haven't delighted in God, your desires will be fleshly or selfish.  

When you delight in God and follow your heart’s desires, you will fulfill your purpose. Why else would God put those desires in your heart? He knew you would need a stimulus to chase after His purpose for your life!

 

I encourage you to examine your heart’s desires—write them down. And then, ask, “How has God already used these desires to fulfill my purpose? And how does He want to use them next?”

He has a plan. 

The Week of Your Pastor

Many people have no idea what their pastor experiences in a week. In fact, if you were to shadow them, you probably couldn’t keep up or handle the emotional drain, mental tiredness, physical expenditure, or spiritual assault they experience each week. 

Let me give you a taste. Mind you…this is just in one week. Your pastor has had to:

•Prepare a sermon or two. He doesn’t flippantly choose a verse to preach on.  He studies, prays over the sermon, prays for his people to receive it. 

•Counsel. The need for counseling is growing exponentially! The average person can’t afford a professional counselor—so they’re seeking counsel from their pastor. Your pastor may have had to deal with a marriage falling apart, a teenager who is suicidal, sexual abuse, physical abuse, parents who can’t cope with their teenager’s addictions and needing help, or helping a family as they decide how to help their aging parent. You have no idea the things your pastor has had to face in just one week. It’s overwhelming to him. 

•Deal with conflict in the church. It may come from elders who disagree with the direction he’s going. It may be over finances. It could be from people in the kitchen or nursery who can’t get along. There seems to always be a conflict going on. 

•Deal with the needs of their own family. Pastors aren’t exempt from family crises. Did you know that most pastors’ wives have asked their husbands to leave the ministry at some point because of the pressure on their families? It’s a very real thing. Pastor’s kids often feel as if they have a target on their backs. 

•Plan and purchase materials for the church’s growth and outreach. 

•Deal with inner struggles. Pastors are human and the overwhelming needs they’re faced with today can take a huge toll. The pressures are endless and most pastors feel like they’re not doing enough because the needs are so great. It affects their body, soul, and spirit.  

•Minister to the sick or injured. There is always someone sick or hurt in the church and the pastor wants and needs to minister to them. But it usually comes in the form of a crises—a diagnosis of cancer, surgeries, or a car wreck. Many of those calls come in the middle of the night and the pastor rushes to pray and help. 

•Deal with expectations—either spoken or unspoken. 

•Love on the dying or the family of those dying or deceased. This may not happen every week—but just think about how many people in your church who have died this past month. Your pastor ministered to each of them. Not only does he pray with them as they’re dying, but then he meets with the family to plan a funeral and prepares a message for the funeral. 

•Plan with the staff. Regardless of the size of the church staff, your pastor has to meet and plan with someone. They have to coordinate their efforts for the week. 

•Deal with finances—either for the church or his family. He has to make sure expenditures are covered. Many times it’s hard caring for the expenses for his family when he may use his own gas to make hospital visits, have to pay for youth expenses for his kids, or for his wife to purchase books for a women’s Bible study. It’s just hard to make those dollars stretch when the needs are so great—and possibly expected. 

•Deal with extra things which may pop up bi-weekly, monthly, or yearly. Things like planning a mission trip—which is a huge undertaking with calling airlines, making deadlines, preparing the participants, and coordinating with those on the field. Or it could be hiring a new staff member—praying for the right person, interviewing, and praying the church accepts them. Or maybe it’s a building project, a mission offering, baptisms, a revival, baby dedication, communion, special holiday services, church fellowships, VBS, outreach program, connecting with visitors, ministering to the staff, children or youth camps, training or mentoring, prayer meetings—the list is endless! Even if your pastor doesn’t head all of these things, he’s involved in some way. And he may feel stretched to the max!

How can you help? Pray for your pastor! This is the most important thing. Offer to take on a project dear to your heart. Minister to your pastor and his family—whether it’s inviting them to your home for a meal, giving them a monetary gift (which is always appreciated), loving and investing in his kids, offering your vacation home to his family, or insisting they take their vacation and maybe even helping with it. Give them a sabbatical. Pastors have never needed time away, and to be ministered to themselves, like they do today. Our world is in a crisis and it’s affecting your pastor as he strives to meet the needs of your church. If you have a good pastor, you are blessed! Take care of him, encourage him (send a note or a gift), and help him. 

Pray for your pastor. And be kind. You have no idea what he’s dealt with this week. 

Despair

Do you know any family not going though something really hard or traumatic? I’ve never seen anything like it in my 67 years. In fact, my mom said she hasn’t seen anything like it in her 90 years! Satan is hitting hard—his time is short. 

Tonight, I told Andy that if we have so many friends and family members going through such hard things—and it’s all coming so fast—I can’t imagine what it will be like during the Tribulation! Either the rapture will cause so much chaos or there will be other traumatic events going on, that when the Antichrist arises and says, “Peace, peace,” that people will readily embrace his peace—and him. And there will be a semblance of peace for a time. But then will come:

•War

•Famine

•One-fourth of the people dying

•Martyrdom

•World-wide earthquake

•Stars falling from heaven

•Sky rolled up

•EVIL WILL BE UNRESTRAINED

•People wanting to die—but can’t!

•One-third of all vegetation burned up by hail & fire

•Meteor which causes 1/3 of the seas to turn to blood, 1/3 of ocean life destroyed, 1/3 of ships destroyed

•Wormwood causes 1/3 of rivers to become wormwood causing men to die

•One-third of the sun, moon, & stars go out

•Demonic locusts are loosed from hail to attack men not sealed by God

•An army from the east kills 1/3 of mankind

•God’s two witnesses will be killed but resurrected

•Antichrist will become Satan personified

•All mankind will have to have the mark of the beast to buy or sell.  Those who don’t will have their heads cut off

There will be so many horrible and traumatic things which will happen so quickly, that people will want to die. It’s going to be awful. You don’t want to live through that time. 

As hard as things are right now, we have an opportunity to avoid the Tribulation. How? By following Jesus with all of your heart! Recognize you’re a sinner and confess your sins to him. Acknowledge Jesus is God—he died for our sins, was buried, and was resurrected after three days. By that great sacrifice, he can be your savior.  You have to receive him and follow him with all of your heart!  It’s giving him ALL OF YOU!  You choose to obey him the rest of your life. How do you know how to obey him? You have to read his word to you—the Bible. 

Make sure you KNOW. So many people think that by repeating a prayer without a real heart change, they’re saved. But they haven’t given him their heart and followed him. 

As hard as things are for everyone right now, it will be minuscule compared to the atrocities of the Tribulation. Jesus said the road to him is narrow and few find it. If you’re unsure, message me.  Let’s talk.  

I’m Right!

Isn’t it amazing that we always assume we’re right? I mean…how can we ALWAYS be right? But we honestly think we are. Proverbs 16:2 says, “All the ways of man are right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart and it’s motives.” Maybe instead of trying to convince everyone we’re right, we should just ask God to put our hearts on the scales.  

Father, stop us from assuming we’re always right. Instead of arguing, cause us to stop and ask ourselves, “What if I’m wrong?” We give you permission to weigh our hearts against the Truth of Your Word. Open our ears and minds to what others are saying. Help us not to be reactive…but open, calm, and loving. Season every word we speak with grace—always grace. Remind us in every conversation that it’s better to have a relationship than to be right.  In Jesus’ name, amen.  

Changing the Watercourses

Changing the Watercourses 

Recently, my sister, Sandra Langford, was sharing with me what she’d learned about Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He will.”

She’d read a commentary that said that God doesn’t have to change the direction of each drop of water.  He only has to change the bank of the River to change its course!  That was so profound to me.  

Have you ever prayed for someone who is going the wrong direction—asking God to correct their course?  Me, too. And today I saw this video (click on the photo below) which illustrates this principle so well. A man dug a trench on a beach in Florida. Within an hour, the water had changed its course. 

God is able.  Turn Proverbs 21:1 into a prayer—and hang on!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy-0wKYIrpi/?igshid=ODhhZWM5NmIwOQ==

Slow Down & Rest

I recently posted this photo and someone asked, “How?” Everyone is busy and going at a breakneck speed—even in our churches. There is no time to rest. And yet God told us to rest. How do we stop and rest when it’s so counter-culture?

First of all, it’s a matter of obedience. God commanded us to keep the sabbath holy—set apart. He showed us by example when He rested on the seventh day after working/creating six days. Jesus often pulled aside to rest and commune with the Father. So if you want to obey God, you’ll take a day every week to stop and worship Him. You’ll spend time with Him away from the pull of the world. You'll rest your spirit, soul, and body. 

Set boundaries. The world would tell us we’re indispensable. We’re not. (Notice how quickly people are replaced when they move or die!) We don’t have to be involved in everything. If everyone was doing what they were called to do and loved to do, spots would be filled, hearts would be filled, and no one would be stressed. Instead, if a spot is empty, we often feel obligated to fill it. We need to ask these questions: If no one wants to fill this spot, is God showing us it’s no longer a valid ministry/function? Or…if I do this project, am I keeping someone (who may be on the sidelines) from doing this who would love to do it? Do I need to just ask them? Or…is there someone I need to train to do this? We all need to learn to say “no.”  There is no explanation needed when you say no. Or you can just say, “God hasn’t called me to this.”  When we learn to say “no,” it will be so much more fun when it’s time to say, “yes!” Jesus set boundaries, too. He was never in a hurry (think of Lazarus). Study His life with this in mind. Just because you know about a need, it doesn’t mean God wants to use YOU to meet that need. This truth changed my life.  

Limit your children’s activities. They don’t have to be involved in every sport. And they certainly don’t have to be involved in extra sports. Childhood should be FUN, a time of discovery, and an expanding of their knowledge. Instead, I see kids who are exhausted and stressed. They’re running from one event to another and quickly gulping down a meal before the next event. Many crash when they have a minute of free time. If you set boundaries, they may fight you…but I bet they’ll secretly be glad to slow down. Be their example. Have a family meeting and tell them you’re going to slow down as a family. Ask them what they can cut out or what they’d like to see you cut out.  You might be surprised!

Take breaks. I know this is hard to do when your house is full of kids—but that’s probably the most important time to take a break! Ask parents to babysit. Trade childcare with friends. Save money to hire a babysitter. But take time to get alone. The whole purpose should be to get away with your spouse and spend quality time together. Talk about your relationship with God and with one another. Pray together. Figure out how to slow down as a family. But also spend time alone with God and ask what He wants you to change. Press in to His heart. Commit to obey whatever He shows you. I also need time to myself—if it’s closing myself in my bedroom or borrowing a cabin and getting alone. It’s healthy to spend time with yourself and God. 

Examine your rest. Are you resting physically? Do you need a new mattress or pillow? Are you giving you and your children eight hours to rest? Are you resting emotionally? Or are your emotions all over the place? Maybe you need a good cry or a friend you can talk to. It’s ok to see a counselor, too! Are you resting mentally? Are you involved in so many projects that you can’t turn your mind off when you go to bed? It’s time to unload projects if that’s the case. Are you resting spiritually? Are you spending time with God, praying, reading the Word with the goal of being intimate with Him? This is the place you need to start. God wants to lead us to quiet pastures—away from the stresses of life.  But if we’re not spending time with Him, we won’t know where that is.  

Rest has got to start as a choice. God told us to rest and He gave the example of rest. He knows we need it! But do we know it? We’ll either choose to rest—or our bodies—and maybe our families—will pay the price. 

Rest…just rest. Step off the roller coaster of this world…slow down…and REST. 

The Word of God

The Word of God

We all know the Word of God (the Bible) is important, right? But do we really? If we were truly convinced, we’d all be reading it each and every day—multiple times a day—and even memorizing it. Why is the Word of God so important?

• It lights our way. Proverbs 6:23

• It is alive and God-breathed. Hebrews 4:12

• It pierces our hearts. Hebrews 4:12

• It judges our innermost thoughts. Hebrews 4:12

• It teaches us. II Timothy 3:16

• It reproves (convicts) us. II Timothy 3:16

• It corrects us. II Timothy 3:16

• It instructs us in righteousness (like the training and teaching of children, cultivation of mind and morals). II Timothy 3:16

• It completes us (with special aptitude for given uses…or training for your special purpose so you finish well). II Timothy 3:17

• It directs our path. Psalm 119:105

• It is pure. Proverbs 30:5

• It stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

• It brings joy to your heart. Jeremiah 15:16

• It is life. Matthew 4:4

• It brings increase. Acts 6:7

• It produces faith. Romans 10:17

• It is the sword of the Spirit. Ephesians 6:17

• It sanctifies. I Timothy 4:5

• It is not bound. II Timothy 2:9

• It is truth. II Timothy 2:15

• It is powerful. Hebrews 4:12

• It created everything. Hebrews 11:3

• It births. I Peter 1:23

• It lives forever. I Peter 1:23

• It can abide in us. I John 2:14

• People die for the Word of God. Revelation 6:9

• It will be fulfilled.  Revelation 17:17

• It is Jesus. Revelation 19:13

• It upholds us. Job 4:4

• It keeps us from stumbling. Job 4:4

• It keeps us from the path of the destroyer. Psalm 17:4

• It cleanses us. Psalm 119;9

• It keeps us from sin. Psalm 119:11

• It strengthens me. Psalm 119:28

• It brings salvation. Psalm 119:41

• It brings hope. Psalm 119:49

• It brings life. Psalm 119:50

• It is settled (taken its stand) in heaven. Psalm 119:89

• It is sweet. Psalm 119:103

• It guides my steps. Psalm 119:105

• It revives me. Psalm 119:107

• It gives light. Psalm 119:130

• It endures forever. Psalm 119:160

• It is treasure. Psalm 119:162

• It is the gospel of salvation. Ephesians 1:13

• It brings freedom. John 8:32

All of this—and so much more!! God’s Word is still alive today. As you read it, it changes you. It literally transforms your life!  It will keep you focused and much less anxious. Don’t know where to go or what to do next?  Read the Word. He’s promised to guide you, light your path and whisper behind you, “Turn left or turn right.”  He’s promised to grow you, expand you, help you, correct you, and bring you into freedom. When we’re not in the Word, we will get off track, fall into sin, and lose our way. 

Read God’s Word daily. It is LIFE!

Heaven’s Currency

Recently, I’ve been praying this: “God, would you please send me heaven’s currency?” I want to see miracles!! I want to see how God provides. I want to be in awe of God.  

Let me tell you about my first miracle since praying this prayer. Andy wanted a garage door opener for our side of the garage.  The one dad had installed was shot.  During the early Amazon Prime Day sales and after much research, I ordered one…a nice one with battery back-up. After it got here, Andy didn’t think he could install it. Knowing an overhead door company would probably want to install their own brand, we decided to send it back. 

I started the process of return and ended up having to chat with an employee. She told me it was non-returnable…but she could issue a refund.  I was told to keep the opener. Free. 

My cousin, Pat, and her husband, David, came to stay on their way to vacation and Andy jokingly asked David if he knew how to install a garage door opener. He did and wanted to help! The guys were both exhausted that night (what a way to start a vacation!) but it was up.  Andy only had to connect the wiring.  

He connected it but the door would only go up about one foot.  He worked and worked on it.  I found a video that this company had put out and it involved a button that needed to be turned. Andy finally called the company and the technician walked him through fixing the problem.  (An issue not covered in the instructions). We now have a garage door opener that works!!

Is this a miracle?  Is it currency from heaven?  You bet it is!!!  A free garage door opener. A cousin willing to work on his vacation. A technician who could problem solve. A husband willing to follow through until a garage door opener worked!  

I love heaven’s currency! My heart is filled with laughter—and I am in awe of God!!

One Choice

One Choice

We are all only one choice away from going the wrong direction. God has established boundaries to protect us. Many people see those boundaries as restrictive and malicious established by a vindictive God. But God knows that the minute you cross his boundary of life, you are in enemy territory and wide open to his attacks which are constant. It’s the enemy’s malevolent plan to destroy you and take you to the pits of hell.  

God wants to protect you from all of that.  Over and over in Proverbs, God tells us that the fear of the Lord (making a choice to listen to and obey Him) is the beginning of wisdom, life, and a good plan. God wants to protect and preserve you. Also in His goodness, He gives each of us a choice to accept or reject His good plan. 

“It’s just one choice,” you might say, “It’s not a big deal!” One choice to go across that line may even seem laughable to you. But that choice leads to another and another. Those bad choices may eventually lead you to addiction, losing your family, losing your livelihood, destruction, and death. It can happen to any of us. 

God is jealous for your choices. He wants to bless you, love you, and give you life now and forever.  Our choices are important. Following Jesus is imperative. Satan is enticing and attacking like I’ve never seen in my 67 years of life.  He.is.relentless.  The only way to overcome is to BE IN THE WORD OF GOD and follow Him!!! His boundaries are full of goodness, love, and life!

We’re only one choice away.  

The Lord is Near

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalm 145:18

I read this verse yesterday and stopped. What does that even mean—to call on Him in truth? Can we call on Him untruthfully? Is it sincerity of heart? Can we call on Him with expectations in our hearts? Or is it laying everything down in humility?

I began researching and this is the Becky translation:

The Lord is intimate with those who cry out, those who read or recite, those who cry out using the name of God. The Lord is near and intimate with those who cry out to Him in truth—speaking and reciting the truth, ready to receive and give the truth. He’s near to those who come to Him humbly, truly seeking—someone who wants and is desperate for truth! To those…He is near. He is your Kinsman. 

Can you imagine this little sheep being in trouble and crying out? His shepherd is looking for him and comes running with that cry. If the lamb was willfully content and going his own way, he would never cry out. But at that cry, the shepherd comes running. That’s what happens when you cry out in truth. 

The Year of Miracles

 

Before we’d leave on a mission trip to China, Andy would have our team praying for specific things for that year. This particular year, we prayed for miracles. As it turned out, we had very little “ministry money” to take with us. Andy would always budget some ministry money which would allow us to help the people in whatever way was needed. I just remember everything was more expensive that year—airline tickets, the exchange rate, etc.  so our ministry budget was smaller.  

When we got to the airport, Andy told our team about the situation and we all began praying specifically that God would go before us and expand our ministry and our ministry money. We asked to see a real “loaves and fishes” experience where God would multiply our money or that it would never run out.

Andy was meticulous with our record keeping. Every night, after a hard day of ministry, out would come the money bag with our handmade receipts.  We were in a rural area of China and no one gave receipts. In fact, at that time, even large cities didn’t give receipts. Since our church required receipts, we would write down what we spent as our day progressed. And every night, we still had the same amount of money. 

I wish I could remember what all we did to help people that year. It seems like it was the year one of our young girls was in the hospital. And I use that term loosely. Just imagine what our hospitals were like in 1900. This fifteen-year-old girl shared a room with an old man and everyone who came to visit him was smoking in the room. The IV she had was rubber tubing attached to a glass bottle. Food wasn’t served to the patients.  They would remove their own IV and go across the street to get food and wait for a nurse to reattach the IV when they got back. It was shocking! So we would go and buy her food and take it to her. And when we couldn’t go, we would send a local person with the money to take care of her. We paid for her hospital stay which came to about $100.  

Over and over, every single night…Andy would pour the money on our bed and count it and compare it to the receipts…and it never measured up. We always had more money. We would have a team meeting every night and Andy would tell our team how God was supplying for every need.  We were in awe!

I remember on the way home, we encountered another need which required the remaining ministry money. We went home having spent every single penny we’d taken—but our records showed we’d spent about 7X what we’d taken! It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. 

I want to always remember…God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still multiplies the loaves and fishes.