Morning Call

You call to me,

My heart quickens -

Anxious to answer

But,

Dishes sit in the sink

Cereal boxes taunt me from the table.

You call to me,

My heart struggles-

Hoping to answer

But,

Towels covering the bathroom floor

Scream at me to straighten and scrub.

You call to me,

My heart falls-

Wanting to answer

But,

The laundry grows taller and meaner

Laughing at my laziness.

You call to me,

My heart yearns-

Wishing to answer

Then,

Among the clutter-

A whisper

Be still… know that I am.

In the midst of all this

I find your word

I answer your call.

Hearing God/part two--A Whisper

When Queen Jezebel heard of how Elijah had humiliated Baal she was more determined than ever to destroy him. But God was with Elijah and led him to a cave on Mt. Horeb. It was there that God said to him, “Go out and stand on the mountain, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the

mountain apart and shattered the rocks,

But the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind was an earthquake,

--But the Lord was not in the earthquake

After the earthquake came a fire,

--But the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire came a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard the whisper, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”

--1 Kings 19:11-13

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The wind, the earthquake, the fire—

They were NOT the Lord.

But the whisper…

…The still small voice we often hear about but perhaps never have the patience to experience.

--Be still—and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

Be Still?!?

That’s a tough one. What with work, family, bills to pay, committees to attend. After all, God only gave us 24 hours in the day. If only He gave us more time, then we could easily set some aside for Him.

--Be Still –

All the technology we have so that we can cook and clean faster, write and send reports faster, get to where we are going faster, so why do we still feel we don’t get things done fast enough? Whose timetable are we using…God’s or ours?

--Be Still –

We have heard it a hundred times “take time for God.” But wouldn’t we rather give some money, say some prayers and call it good…or at least, good enough?

--Be Still, so as not to miss the whisper. –

The wind, the earthquake, the fire... were they meant to get Elijah’s attention? What does God need to do to get OUR attention? To get us out of our earthly caves and stand in His presence?

The next time we find ourselves thinking, “If only He would just give me a sign.” Perhaps we should stop—just stop. Read His words, talk to Him alone, quietly.

I am sure then, we will hear His whispers and maybe even avoid the wind, the earthquakes and the fires.

HEARING GOD/part one -- FIRE

HEARING GOD

1 Kings 18 & 19

Part one

FIRE

Queen Jezebel had the prophet Elijah on the run. He was the last of God’s prophets. All others had been killed. But God emboldened Elijah to step out of hiding and challenge the god Jezebel herself worshipped—Baal.

Elijah convinces the 450 prophets of Baal, the god of weather, to set up an alter of sacrifice on Mt. Carmel

and Elijah would set up an alter as well. Neither sacrifice is to be set on fire. That job is left up to the gods.

“Go ahead”, Elijah shouts to the prophets, “tell Baal to send down the fire!” Baal’s prophets begin their prayers, confidant in his answer. This should be an easy task for the god of weather. One bolt of lightening is all it would take to shut Elijah up.

The morning passes. There is no lightening. There is no fire.

“Pray louder!” Elijah taunts, “Perhaps he is deep in thought!” 450 prophets raise their voices and dance around the alter of Baal.

“Louder!” Elij

ah suggests, “Maybe he’s sleeping and you have to wake him! Oh wait—maybe he is out of town and can’t hear you!”

As afternoon passes, the prophets shout even louder, their dance becomes more and more frenzied. They cut themselves with spears and swords until their own blood flows.

Baal remains

silent.

When evening comes Elijah has had enough. He stops the madness of Baal’s prophets turns to the alter he has built and says, “My turn.”

Elijah does not yet call for God’s fire. That would be too easy. Instead he orders a trench to be dug around the alter and calls for water to be poured over the offering.

It is done.

“Again”, he commands.

It is done again.

“Again!”

A third time water is poured over the alter until finally the trench around it is full.

Satisfied, Elijah turns to his God in prayer.

“Oh Lord, let it be known today that you are God in Israel. Answer me, oh Lord, answer me so these people will know that you are God.”

FIRE

It falls out of the sky burning hot.

It burns up the sacrifice and the wood.

It burns up the stones!

It burns up the soil!

Not a drop is left i

n the trench.

Elijah turns. All around him the people of Israel are laying face down on the ground, shouting:

“The Lord—He is God!

The Lord—He is God!”

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How many of us long for the days when God sent fire from heaven to prove His existence or show us which way to turn?

“Lord, just give me a sign,” we plead. Then t

he rest of the day we wonder… was that a sign? ... Was THAT a sign? At the end of the day we think, “Does He hear me? Does He care? Does He even exist?”

We long for Him just to speak with us as He did with Moses. To give us signs like He gave the Israelites.

Signs like the parting of the Red Sea.

(After which His people complained of hunger)

Signs like the sending of manna.

(After which His people wanted meat)

Signs like writin

g the commandments on a stone tablet.

(During which His people built an idol to worship)

Signs like leading His people to a land of promise.

(Which they were too scared to go into)

God must have wondered, “Do they hear me? Do they care? Do they know I exist?”

Yes, God sent fire from the sky and yes, the hearts of His people returned to Him… for a while.

But do we really need fire from heaven to know who God is and what He can do?

When we ask Him for a sign -- are we sure He hasn’t already given us one… or two… or more?

When we plead with Him to speak to us – are we taking the time to truly listen?

When We Are Unjustly Wronged

When I am unjustly wronged (especially by those I love), hurt fuels my anger. Yet it is not revenge or even justice I seek but the satisfaction of making sure those who treat me unfairly know that I am aware of their cruelty. Many times people do cruel things yet act as though nothing is wrong. It is a pattern for some.

A pattern that lights a flame of anger in my soul that burns hot - I can't sleep or reason.
Yet despite such fire, there is a gentle breeze seemingly just beyond my reach. It whispers...
"Forgiveness."

That whisper angers me even more! "But I don't deserve this treatment!" I want to yell it... I do yell it as tears fall.

"Forgiveness"...it whispers again.

"But they will get away with it!" Frustration overpowers me.

Forgiveness... it's God's answer. I hear it---I know it----I plan to ignore it!!! ....at least for awhile.

"When am I allowed a righteous anger?!" I ask, desperate to hold onto the flame. I refer to Jesus throwing over the tables in the temple. "When can I do that?!"

The sleepless nights continue. My anger spills over until it is I who am mistreating those that I love. I am doing to others that which has been done to me. I am utterly exhausted and miserable.

An angel steps in. He points past those who hurt me and into the spiritual realm. He shows me satan's minions whispering into the ears of those I love. He explains how satan is using my loved ones and distorting their thoughts and actions in order to distort mine. My angel smiles as understanding dawns in my mind. He reminds me he will always be by my side.

"Forgive them Father, they really don't know what they do."

************************************************

God tells us in His Word not to focus on this world or our vision will become distorted (II Corinthians 4:16-18). I have discovered the more I focus on the spiritual side of things (the good as well as the evil), not only will it be harder for satan to deceive me but the easier (not easy, but easier) it is to love people the way God does~and to feel sad instead of angry when people do hurtful things. (II Corinthians 2:7-8!!)

As for that righteous anger, Jesus showed none of that when He was being beaten, ridiculed or put to death. Who had a better reason for anger than an innocent man dying for the sins of everyone else? But there was no anger--instead--forgiveness. (Luke 23:34)

The anger of Jesus flared only when the people were mocking His Father's house, making a Holy Place into a den of thieves by those who were hypocritical--not to Him, but to His Father. (John 2:12-16) Therefore a righteous anger, in my humble opinion, is anger toward those who dare use God's name (and house) for their own purposes. We should feel anger when we see those using God as an excuse to kill, using God to exhort money, using God to manipulate others....

When we feel anger for how we are treated, we need to look beyond ourselves and into God's realm. When we focus on Him and what He has done and is doing for us these injustices might seem rather small.

PARABLE OF THE WEEDS / MATT. 13:24-43

Jesus told parables. Stories that would help us as humans better understand the thinking of God.

In the parable of the weeds, Jesus tells of a man who planted a crop of good seeds but while everyone was sleeping, that man's enemy came into the night and planted weeds in his crop. Once the plants started to grow the servants noticed that there were weeds in among the wheat and they questioned the owner of the field, "How did this happen?"

The owner states simply that it was the work of his enemy. The servants then ask, "Well, should we go and pull out the weeds?" The man in his infinite wisdom says, "No, you might pull up some wheat as you are pulling up the weeds." He goes on to explain that when it is time for harvest he will have his harvesters separate the weeds from the wheat. The wheat will be brought into the man's storehouses and the weeds will be burned.

Later on that day Jesus' disciples asked Him to explain what that parable meant.

Jesus explained:

The sower of good seed = Son of Man (Jesus)

The field = the world

The good seeds = sons of the Kingdom (Children of God)

The weeds = sons of the Evil one

The enemy = the devil

The harvesters = Angels

Harvest time = end of the age

At the end of the age, Jesus will send out His angels and they will weed out , not only those who do evil, but also anything that causes sin. The angels will throw these thing into a fiery furnace, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Yet those who are righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

O.K. that was the short of it. Let's look at it a little closer:

This is what I found interesting. The servants saw the weeds. They knew that they did not belong there. They thought maybe it would be their job to pull out these weeds. Jesus (for that is who the sower is) said, "No!" He said that when the time was right He would take care of the weeds. To have His servants pull out the weeds now would mean risking the wheat also being pulled out.

What does that mean for us who serve Christ? Jesus is telling us not to pull out the weeds. Yes, we see them. Yes, we know they do not belong among the wheat. But we are not to pull them out because we, as servants, might make a mistake and accidentally pull out some wheat as well.

I am not much of a gardener, but I know that in my efforts to help my husband weed the flower garden, I have pulled out my fair share of innocent plants. Not only that but I have also mistakenly left some (pretty tall) weeds in among the flowers because, to me, they looked like a plant!

The same thing can happen in this world. We can see "weeds" in our communities and we might feel that it is our "duty" to pull them out by condemning them , or shunning them. But Jesus says not to do that. Not only did He TELL us not to do that but He also SHOWED us by eating and drinking with the sinners of His time.

Now does this mean we simply ignore those whom we call sinners? No, absolutely not! We Must Be Firm and Make it Clear That We....... love them. How many of those whom we would condemn, know our savior? Is it not our duty then to show them who He is by our love?

May I suggest that it is not our job to condemn those whom we feel may be lost.... sinners... even evil. Instead it is our job to pray for and love them. Perhaps someone might look like a weed to us yet in truth be one of God's most beautiful flowers.

Most of us can recognize sin when we are confronted with it (I know that I deal with it in my own heart and mind on a daily basis). We must HATE that sin however, we must LOVE the sinner.

As a servant of God I am relieved that it is not my responsibility to weed His garden. What freedom! How terrible if I were to pull out one of His precious plants by mistake!

There will be a time when Jesus will send out His angels and there will be a separation of weeds and flowers. That time is only known to God, and ultimately only God will know who all the weeds are and who all the flowers are.

There will be weeds who looked to us as flowers and flowers whom we thought of as weeds. So let us water both with the love of God until it is time for the harvest.