Scary Moodles

Matthew 5:23–24 (NIV84)

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Romans 12:18 (NASB95)

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

Good morning Zebras,

About a month ago I was walking my dogs around the neighborhood.  Since it’s a quiet neighborhood with very little traffic, I let them walk off-leash part of the time.  It makes them think they are “big dogs,” (which is important when you only weigh five pounds.)

Anyway, as we were walking along we came upon a lady doing some yard work.  She had her back to us and she was engrossed in her task so she didn’t hear us coming.  This was very unfortunate because when Joshua and Abigail came up behind her and sniffed her arm she nearly had a heart attack.

She started yelling very unpleasant things and telling me to get my dogs off her property.  I tried to apologize but she was so angry she couldn’t hear me.

Ever since then I’ve kept the dogs on their leash because the lady was right and I didn’t want them scaring anyone else.  But I still felt bad about it. I really wanted another chance to apologize to the woman. I thought about knocking on her door every time I walked by her house, but I wasn’t sure how that would go over.

Finally God answered my prayer and put me out of my misery by giving me the opportunity to apologize and set things right.

Last Saturday she was out in her yard again, but this time she was facing my direction so she saw us walk up.  I stopped and apologized; I asked her to forgive me for scaring her and told her how very sorry I was that the dogs had frightened her so badly.

She forgave me-and I felt great.

But this morning was the “final healing.”  Once again I was walking my dogs and once again she was out in her yard, but this time instead of dreading talking to her, I was happy to see her.  Nothing inside of me felt convicted by her presence.

I think she was glad to see me too, because she asked the dogs names and even called us “friends.”  And once again I was reminded of the healing power of forgiveness.

Love,

Jill

Hearts

1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB95)

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Good morning Zebras,

Have you ever thought about the fact that today’s verse can either be terrifying or comforting depending upon the condition of your heart?  I hadn’t not really until God gave me a visual.

I have two dogs that have very different personalities, but as their master I think I know them rather well.  I think, as much as humanly possible, I know my dog’s hearts and that influences how I interact with them.

For example, On Wednesday Joshua was in a rather lazy mood.  He came downstairs for breakfast and then went immediately back to bed. When I went up to tell him it was time for our walk, something he really loves to do, I was met with complete disinterest.  I tried to coax him off the bed, but he really wanted to sleep so I decided to let him.

But in my heart I knew he would be disappointed if he missed his walk, so I gave him a little time to think about it and then I went back.  When I opened the door I was not met with the lazy disinterested dog I had left, instead he sprung off the bed without me even saying a word, eager and ready to go. 

I think he thought he had missed his chance.

And I realized that is how God deals with us. He knows our hearts, He knows what we REALLY want to do and He loves us enough to give us a second chance.  He knows that sometimes we are tired and lazy, indulging our sinful nature rather than walking in the spirit, but because of His great love for us He doesn’t leave us that way.  He keeps coming back offering us a chance to “get off the bed.”

Then yesterday Abigail got “misplaced.”  It didn’t take me long to notice she was gone but when I did, I didn’t panic. Unlike Joshua who would wander off if given half a chance, Abigail doesn’t have a restless spirit.  So I knew she had to be trapped somewhere and I went to find her.

And again God had a lesson for me.

God knows the hearts of His people.  He knows those who are trying to run away from Him, and those who just get misplaced.  And when we are misplaced, off track or otherwise distracted, He lovingly comes looking for us.  He knows we don’t really want to wander around lost, so He comes to show us the way home.

The condition of our heart is very important to God and in theory it should be comforting to us knowing that God looks at our hearts rather than how we “sometimes” behave. 

Love,
Jill

Mercy

Ephesians 2:3–5 (NIV84)  

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Good morning Zebras,

I finally packed away the attribute tree yesterday, so today I need to finish the last of the ornaments which is “mercy.”

I think for most of us mercy is where we start, the knowledge we’re sinners, saved by grace according to the mercy of God.  So it was interesting to me that mercy was the last attribute left on the tree.

I think that’s because God wanted me to see not only do we start with His mercy, we will end with it as well.

The great picture in Revelation Chapter 1 of John falling at the feet of Jesus has become a visual to me of how it will be when I finally see God.  When I am standing before Him in all His majesty and glory I have no doubt that like John, I’m going down.   And I would remain there if it were not for Jesus. 

It is His relationship with the Father and my relationship with Him that’s going to allow me to stand in the presence of the Father, for without Christ’s sacrifice we would all be cast away forever from the presence of God.

And when I really ponder on this, my response is same as the psalmist: “How, (Oh Lord) can I repay You for all the goodness you have done to me?” The answer is of course I can’t.  God gave me for free what I could never get for myself.

So why aren’t I more grateful?  Why aren’t I constantly on my knees thanking God for what He did and offering up my life as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him?

I think it’s because it was free.  When the price is paid by someone else it is easy to forget how much it cost and take their gift for granted.  At least it is for me.

When I graduated from high school my brother paid my way to college. He didn’t have a lot of money; he was just willing to make the necessary sacrifices so that I could have a college education.  And how did I repay him?  I flunked out. Of course I was just a kid, I had no idea what it cost him to pay my way to school  In fact, It was years later, when I had to pay my own way that I finally  appreciated what he had done. But then it was too late to thank him, he had died.

And that’s how I am starting for feel about God’s mercy.  Short of heaven I will probably never really understand what it cost Him, but I don’t want that to be an excuse to live the rest of my life as an ungrateful child.

Love,

Jill

Jar of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NI V)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Good morning Zebras,

This is an old z-mail, it was written in January 2010 but the message is never far from my mind.  And this morning as I found myself once again praying this passage of scripture I thought I would share.

This weekend Gary was relaxing and watching a little TV and I stopped to see what he was watching. It was a “documentary” about Susan Boyle.

After watching fifteen minutes of the show I figure I am the last person in the world to hear about her, but in case you don’t know who she is, she is the woman who went on “Britain’s Got Talent” and blew them away.

She was a 47 year unemployed overweight woman who has bad hair and a pretty unfashionable outfit. Coming on stage she doesn’t look like anything special in fact the audience is sort of laughing at her and then she sings.

And everything changes because Susan Boyle is a jar of clay, nothing special on the outside but filled with an amazing talent.  We too are jars of clay. But what we have on the inside is not the ability to sing, but the power of God.

Every year our family makes new Christmas stockings where we put pictures of things that represent our year. For example my daughter Katherine, who turned sixteen this year, put her car and Nick made a small model of the Washington Monument to commemorate his 8th grade trip to D.C.

I put a variety of items on my stocking this year. I put a tea cup and saucer to represent the woman’s tea, the Proclaim logo from the fall Awana conference and an envelope with a zebra stripe since I spend so much time writing z-mails.

And because it is my greatest desire that God will use me even though I am a 52 year old, unemployed, overweight woman with intermittently bad hair who likes to wear clothes from a gas station...I put a clay jar.

Of course, since this z-mail Susan Boyle has gone on to great success and now looks like a singer. She has changed her appearance to fit the task.   But to me, she will never be more impressive then she was on that very first day.

Love,

Jill

Small Sins

1 John 1:8–9 (ISV)

If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we make it our habit to confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Good morning Zebras,

About a week ago, I stepped on a small piece of glass.  Now I’ve stepped on glass before and it has been no big deal.  A pair of tweezers and a cooperative husband and it was all good.  But this time Gary couldn’t get it out.

So I went to the Urgent Care.  As soon as they heard what the problem was they turned me away.  They said I should to go to the ER because the foot needed to be x-rayed and they didn’t have the equipment.  But that seemed WAY overkill to me, so I decided to wait and go to my doctor the next day.

He took one look, poked and prodded for a few minutes and then told me the same thing.  The foot needed to be x-rayed to find the glass and then it would have to be removed by a surgeon who had the appropriate tools.  But unfortunately this was late Friday afternoon and there were no surgeons available. I’d have to wait until Monday

Well, Monday came and went and the doctor didn’t call back.  At this point I’m figuring I can just live with the stupid thing.  I mean it is a VERY LITTLE piece of glass, how much trouble can it cause?

Once again I was wrong.

So Tuesday I called the doctor.  Unfortunately the surgeon he wanted was unavailable so he referred me to a podiatrist.  When I went to the podiatrist’s, he poked and prodded and x-rayed my foot, but he couldn’t find the glass.  So he advised me to go home and wait for a couple of weeks to see what would happen.

What happened was my foot got worse and today I am once again headed to a doctor to get this VERY SMALL piece of glass removed from my foot.

So what is God trying to teach me with all this?

Since He and I have been in a battle over a VERY SMALL sin what I think He is telling me is: small things matter and even the smallest of sins will affect my walk. Taking a “wait and see” attitude, once He has convicted me of a sin, doesn’t work.  And sins can only be forgiven by Christ who took a drastic step and therefore has the correct tools.

Love,

Jill

Warning Dr. Smith

Proverbs 10:19 (NASB95)

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 10:19 (NIV84)

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Good morning Zebras,

This morning my Bible opened to the page that contained this verse.  The reason I noticed it is because I have it underlined and starred.  I am totally convinced talking too much is one of the fastest ways to get into trouble.

Then I went for my walk.

As I caught up with two women who were walking ahead of me, one of them turned around to see who was behind them.  She may have done it because she was curious to see who was gaining on her or she may have done it because she wanted to see who was going to hear what she was saying.

No way to know.

But I immediately thought: “If you have to look around to see who is listening, you should probably hold your tongue.”

And I realized that combined with today’s verse, holding my tongue is my warning from God for the day. So I thought I’d pass it on.

Love,

Jill

Power of God

Good morning Zebras,

I learned something this week that I wanted to share with you.

God has me focused on learning about the Holy Spirit and the power that comes from His presence in our life, so yesterday when I was reading A.W. Tozer’s book The Counselor: Straight Talk About the Holy Spirit, I was quite interested in the following text:

Jesus had said, ”Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:29b.)  A definition of the word “power” means ability to do.  You know, because it is the Greek word from which our English word “dynamite” comes, some of the brethren try to make out that the Holy Spirit is dynamite, forgetting that they have the thing upside down.  Dynamite was named after that Greek word, and the Holy Spirit and the power of God were not named after dynamite. Dynamite was discovered less than 200 years ago, but this Greek word from which we get our word “power” goes back to the time of Christ.  It means ability to do-that’s all, just “ability to do.”

Then he gave this example:  “One man picks up a violin and gets nothing out of it but squeaks and raucous sounds.  That man doesn’t have the ability to do.  Another man picks up the violin and he is soon playing beautiful, rich melodies…It is the man with the ability to do who wins. It means the dynamic ability to be able to do what you are given to do.”  

And I really liked that.  I don’t know about you but I’ve heard numerous pastors make reference to dynamite when talking about the Holy Spirit.  It always gave me the impression we should be running around blowing up or something.

So this morning I looked up the original Greek word to see if Tozer was correct and here’s what I found in the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible listed under “Power”
Power: Ability to do things, by virtue of strength, skill, resources, or authorization. What the Bible says about power may be subsumed under four headings: (1) the unlimited power of God; (2) the limited power God gives to his creatures; (3) the power of God seen in Jesus Christ; (4) the power of God (by the Holy Spirit) in the lives of his people.

I couldn’t stop there so I went on to see what it said about the Power of God in our Lives and this is what it said:

The Power of God in the Lives of His People.

…When we turn to the NT we read of the gospel itself as “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” (Rom 1:16)... In that life as children of God power is received from the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:8), inner strength to live in his service (Eph 3:16), power to be his witnesses (Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8), power to endure suffering (2 Tm 1:8), power that enables for ministry (Eph 3:7), power in the face of weakness (2 Cor 12:9), power through prayer (Jas 5:16), and power to be kept from evil (1 Pt 1:5). Those who do great things in the service of Christ do not do them in their own strength (Acts 3:12); he sent out his disciples confident only in the assurance that all things are under his authority and that they would have the power of his unfailing presence with them (Mt 28:18–20).

And I decided all of that was way better that running around “blowing-up.”

God has given us amazing strength-to endure, to overcome, to resist, and to live lives free from evil.  And that is the kind of power I want to have.

Love,

Jill

Count on God

2 Timothy 4:16–17 (ESV)

At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!  But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me

Good morning Zebras,

While I was at camp last week I learned Awana has decided to discontinue Zip E. Zebra.  The preschool material hasn’t been updated for about 15 years and it was time for a change so they moved Cubbie-the-bear from the jungle to a barnyard which meant the zebra had to go.

This is of course, no big deal.  Right?  Right!  Except for the fact that Zip E. Zebra is the zebra mascot I use for the ministry and I’d grown quite fond of him.  But that wasn’t really the problem.  The problem was that deep down inside, deeper than even I care to admit, I was hoping Awana would help me start a ministry.

I mean they are real, they are big, they have power, and they could help me if they wanted to, but when they discontinued Zip E. I felt God say “Don’t count on them.”

And I started to cry. 

Since I didn’t want to be seen crying over a zebra puppet, I went outside and there sitting on a log watching the sun come up I heard the rest of the message.  ‘Don’t count on them, count on Me. I’m big, I’m real and I have power.”

But here’s the funny part I didn’t realize until that moment that I’d been counting on anything else.  It’s amazing how easy it is to put our hope in others, how it sneaks up on us even when we know better and how difficult it is to keep our hope centered totally on God.

Oswald Chambers today reads:  “Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God?  Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances?  Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you?  Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions?...The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.””

So I guess I’m grateful Awana discontinued Zip E. because it showed me something I would’ve never noticed otherwise. 

Dear Heavenly Father, please show us those areas where we are depending upon something other than you to accomplish the tasks you’ve given us to do and remind us that You alone are sufficient to supply all that we need.  Amen.

Have a wonderful day little Zebras-focused on and relying on the Lord.

Love,

Jill