Lamps

Matthew 5:14a (NIV84) 
“You are the light of the world.”

Good morning Zebras,

I love when God gives me a tiny glimpse of how large His is. How He has looked down through time and connected people in ways that they do not even realize. One of those moments recently happened at my house.

God has given me the joy of hosting a group of women in my house on Monday nights to discuss Him. A few weeks ago one of the women tried to turn on a lamp in my living room. The lamp is broken so I told her “It just looks like a lamp, it doesn’t really work.” By the next morning I was in tears over that lamp. Not because I care whether or not the lamp works but because of what the lamp represents. 

For me the lamp represents God’s people. Many of His people are getting tired and burned out. They want to be the lights of the world but they are weary. They need someone to come alongside them to encourage them and remind them of the God they serve. I believe that’s the purpose of Zebras. 

This Monday God confirmed it through another woman in the same group. I shared my story about the lamp and she felt prompted by God to share the following poem she had written when she was twelve. We both knew she was talking about Zebras. God had given her a vision for this ministry before He gave it to me.

Candle Light 

A Christian is very bright 
Just like a candle light 
A candle Glows just like a Christian shows 
Other people about Jesus Christ 

When the candle is blown out 
Or the Christian starts pouting about 
It takes a helping hand 
To help the Christian glow again

I don’t know what kind of lamp you are right now, maybe you are shining so brightly that you hurt people's eyes, but if you are broken or wounded here is the encouraging end to the story. Two days after I grieved over my broken lamp God brought someone along who fixed it. And I felt Him say “I can fix My broken lamps if they will just give Me the chance.”

I love you little Zebras, but our God loves you even more.
Jill

Ready for Battle

Good reminder in the Bible Commentary this morning.

Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?

Obviously, Satan and his demonic hosts are against believers, but they cannot ultimately prevail and triumph over believers. God is the self-existent One and the sovereign Creator and, since He is for believers, no one can oppose believers successfully.

That wasn’t what I expected them to say.  We get lulled into thinking that if we are for God no one can come against us.  But the truth is if we stand for God we stand against Satan.  Believers should not expect following hard after Christ to be easy.  The more we follow after Christ and the more we encourage others to do the same the more we attract attention from the enemy.  A solider sitting in a foxhole is no danger to the other side, but a solider armed with the Word of God and the Love of Christ dedicated to doing whatever His commanding officer asks of him…that’s another story.

Therefore put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes and remember no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.  (Eph 6:11, 2 Tim 2:4)

Have a great day little Zebras, armed and ready for battle.

Love,

Jill

Correction

James 3:1 (ESV)  

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Good morning Zebras,

This morning in a series of events too long to go into God showed me that I have been wrong about the order of publications of Francis Chan’s books.  Crazy Love was first, then Forgotten God and finally Erasing Hell.  Not that it really matters, but I had been told Forgotten God came first and because I never checked to see if it was true I passed along incorrect information to countless people.

Obviously it does not matter in what order Chan wrote his books but I can’t help but think what if that had been a truth of God.  What if I had inadvertently passed along incorrect information about our holy, perfect, good, loving, sovereign, righteous God because I didn’t bother to verify the truth for myself? 

Zebras I love you please, for my sake as well as you own, learn God’s word for yourself and not rely on the information disseminated to you by others, even if they are Godly people who love the Lord, because sometimes they are just repeating what they heard.

Love,

Jill

Burning Brightly

Good morning Zebras,

Tuesday at Bible study God gave me the perfect picture for what I believe is the purpose of this ministry. Coals burn brightest when they are in the presence of other coals. If you take them out and lay them to the side away from the heat they begin to grow cold. Christians too need one another to burn bright. Not so they can stay together in a heap and do nothing, but so that they can come together be re-energized by the fire of the Holy Spirit and get back out there doing what God has called them to do with a renewed power and passion. 
I love you little Zebras, more than you know and WAY out of proportion to what is normal.  
It must be from God. 
Jill

Second Chance

Romans 13:14 (ESV)

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Good morning Zebras,

Three years ago when we were planning the first Zebra retreat Mike Sexton, the Awana missionary for our area, let me go to all four fall Awana conferences and talk about Zebras.  From that God brought seventy of the one hundred women who attended.  So last spring when God prompted me to organize another Zebra retreat, the first one for men and woman, I thought “Great I will just promote it at conference again and gather up interested people.”  But God had other plans.

Through a variety of ways, as only God can do, He made it perfectly clear that I was not to speak at Awana conferences this year.  Instead I was to offer my services to Mike and be a support and encouragement to him.  So I did.

Last weekend on the twenty-first I went to Santa Rosa.  It was a great day; God definitely blessed me for doing what I was supposed to do.  Everything was going great, I was focused on supporting Mike and then right at the end someone came and talked to me about Zebras.  They shared a story that was a huge encouragement to me, but instead of just accepting the blessing I whipped out a retreat brochure and asked them to pray for this upcoming event and then I handed one to the woman sitting next to me.

It wasn’t until the next day that God made it perfectly clear I shouldn’t have done that. I haven’t had a day that bad in a long time, but the weight of my disobedience was almost crushing.   God had very clearly told me not to promote the retreat at conference but I had taken a few flyers “just in case” someone asked.  I mean, handing out brochures isn’t the same as speaking…right?  Wrong.  Disobedience is disobedience because God isn’t looking at the actions He is looking at the heart.

He knew I was worried that He wasn’t going to be able to fill this next event if I didn’t help Him out a little, and that is what He was disciplining me for.  It wasn’t for one or two brochures; it was for my lack of faith.  Thankfully, there was one more conference left and I had another chance to show God I trusted Him.  

Yesterday was the Sacramento conference, seven hundred people, lots of opportunities to talk about Zebras but this time because of today’s verse, I left my brochures at home.  I knew if I took them I would give in to the temptation to hand them out and this morning I would once again be sitting around with a crushed spirit. And although I talked about Zebras, God He did amazing things to encourage me I that I was on the right path.

I love you little Zebras; God will do what has promised.  He doesn’t want nor need our help; He just wants our obedience and our faith, and the credit for making it happen.

Love,

Jill

For His Honor and Glory

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Good morning Zebras,

I love you. 

Many years ago God did a miracle for me.  People noticed and when they asked me about it I told them God had done it.  But there was one lady who just kept pushing for a different answer.  She didn’t believe in God and she wanted to know by what human means I’d accomplished it.  I finally broke down and told her. Then she was satisfied.  It wasn’t a miracle from God it was just the outcome of man’s efforts.

After that the miracle went away but it wasn’t until now that I figured out why

People always want to know how to accomplish what they see you doing.  They want a worldly explanation for what they see.  But the truth is, it is not what we do that causes the miracles, it is what God does and all of us need to be on guard that we do not give God’s glory to anything here on earth. 

If God has done a miracle in your life and He has used some earthly means to accomplish it please don’t give away His glory.  The world is more than willing to believe in the power of doctors and the wisdom of men, but what they really need to see is the power and wisdom of God.  But that isn’t going to happen if the Christians keep giving the credit away.

I love you little Zebras, I pray God does many miracles in your life all for His honor and glory.

Jill

Ordinary No More

Acts 4:13 (NIV)

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Good morning Zebras,

I am starting a Bible study with some Zebra sisters here in my area.  We are going to work through Francis Chan’s book The Forgotten God : Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit together.  This morning I started lesson one. 

The first thing we are asked to do is to write what we believe about the Holy Spirit and honestly access why we have those beliefs.  Have we searched scripture for ourselves to see the work and purpose of the Spirit or have we simply accepted what other people have taught us?  Prior to last year I would have to say I just accepted what I was taught. Recently I have been studying the Spirit for myself.  But when dealing with an infinite God, no matter how much you learn there is always more right around the corner,

So this morning as I started my lesson I was not surprised when Acts 1:4-8, a very familiar passage, took on a deeper meaning.

Jesus was telling the disciples that the Holy Spirit would give them power to be His witnesses in world.  In the past I have always thought about that verse in the context of their speaking.  They would have the power to go and tell others the Gospel.  But this morning God showed me it is way more than that.  They would have the power, given by the Holy Spirit, to go and live lives that would testify to the world about Jesus not just by words but by actions as well. Now that makes more sense. 

Not all of us are called to wander the world and preach the Gospel, but all of us all called to be His witness in the world.  All of us are called to live lives that are honoring to Him.  All of us are called to look different than the world, to value pleasing God above pleasing men, to treasure heavenly rewards more than earthly ones, to love our neighbors even if they are totally unlovable and to keep our bodies and tongues under control so that we don’t dishonor God with what we say and do. To accomplish this we have been given the power of God.

Therefore no Christian should ever say: “I can’t” when it comes to obeying God because they can, they just don’t know it or they don’t want to.

And that is exciting!  It means that everything God has asked me to do; He has given me to the power to do, from the smallest task to the scariest leap of faith, not so that I can look cool, but so that my life is a living witness to the power of God.

I love you little Zebras and if you are thinking “Rats, I want to be in that study!” just pick up the books and learn along with us or make a group of your own.  The more the merrier.

Love,

Jill

WWJD

1 John 3:18 (NLT)

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Good morning Zebras,

Last night at youth one of the small group discussion questions was “If Jesus came to Crosswalk one Tuesday…how would you expect Him to treat you?” Hopefully I am not the only one who can’t seem to get it out of their mind. 

The obvious first answer is He would be nice and welcoming, but when you look at Jesus’ interactions with people in the Bible that is not true. Jesus spoke truth, to the sinner, the disciples, and the religious leaders, and that looked different in every case. He didn’t just run around saying a bunch of stuff to make people feel better.   

People often judge each other based upon outside appearances; Jesus would judge us according to the condition of our heart.  He wouldn’t let us get away with putting up false religious fronts and pretending to be someone we weren’t. He wouldn’t turn a blind eye to our sins.  And He wouldn’t let us go to hell without a warning.  Yet people flocked to Him.  It must have been the love.

On the surface “How would Jesus treat you?” is an innocent question, but in reality it is a very thought provoking one that should make us all examine our hearts and the way that we treat others. 

Have a great day little Zebras speaking truth, but only when the motive is love.

Love,

Jill

The Ministry of Encouragement

1 Corinthians 14:3–4 (ESV)  

On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Good morning Zebras,

I am so excited about what God is letting me do.  After years of narrowing my field of ministry to sitting at His feet and speaking He is finally allowing me to go and serve in the ministries at my local church.  Only a person who has been prevented from working in ministry can really appreciate what a privilege it is to serve God.

Years ago people told me that I had changed from a Bible teacher to a prophet, which felt as weird as it sounds.  Prophets are old dead guys who run around predicting the coming judgment of God.  They are really not anyone you want to be.  But prophets are also the encouragers.  They speak to people to encourage them and build them up. 

After five years of learning, learning, learning, I finally feel equipped to go and do what God has gifted me to do-encourage, starting at my home church with the people who have the vision for youth, Awana, women’s ministry and community outreach.

I know from personal experience how encouraging it is to have someone come alongside and say “I believe in your vision and I would like to help you do what God is telling you to do.”  I am thrilled I finally get the chance to do that for someone else.

God’s church needs encouragement and I am so excited that is the ministry God has given me to do.

Have a great Sunday little zebras loving and encouraging others.

Love,

Jill

Pigs and Dogs

Matthew 7:6 (NIV84)

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

Good morning Zebras,

Something happened recently and this verse kept coming to mind.  I have always thought it was a rather odd verse.  In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus is telling them not to judge others and calls them hypocrites for trying to remove specks from other people’s eyes without removing their logs.  Then in verse 6 He says “don’t give holy things to dogs and pearls to swine.”  Personally I think calling people dogs and pigs is a bit judgmental. So what is He trying to say?

First I think we need to remember He is not telling us not to judge others, He is just telling us we need to judge ourselves first.  It is easy to see the flaws of others, it is much more difficult to see our own but those are the ones we need to work on first. 

The best way I have found to see my own flaws is to hang around people who will tell me the truth about them. People who love me enough to correct me when I am wrong.  Not is a hostile mean way, but with a spirit of love.

I remember the first time that happened to me about a spiritual matter.  My friend Janet and I were having a disagreement.  I was Biblically in the wrong but I didn’t want to hear it.  She said it anyway.  I got mad. Then she said something I have never forgotten.  “If our friendship can’t handle telling each other the truth then we really aren’t friends.”  Amen.  Now those are the friendships I treasure most. Those are the zebras.

Second, I think this warning is really for our own protection.  It is disheartening to keep offering to people the things of God or the things that you really value and have them treat them like dirt. We think we are supposed to offer to everyone everything God has done for us but maybe we aren’t. 

Jesus did not treat everyone in the Bible the same way; He didn’t tell everyone the same thing.  He treated the Pharisees differently than the disciples and the Samarian woman differently than Nathaniel or Nicodemus.  Jesus wasn’t a one shoe fits all kind of guy.  He had discernment.  And that I think is the point of the verse.

We need discernment.  We need to know what to share and with whom.  We need to understand that every person is different and lovingly deal with them accordingly, telling them exactly what God has told us to say, not only for our sake but for theirs, because although it isn’t fun to be torn apart, it probably isn’t fun to be a pig or a dog either. 

Have a great weekend little Zebras, I’ll talk to you next week.

Love,

Jill

Ark Building

Genesis 7:5 (NIV84)

 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Good morning Zebras,

I feel like I “should” write but honestly I am still processing what happened at the We Have Hope event on August seventeenth and I’m not quite sure what I am supposed to say.

It has been a strange five years. I feel like I have been in a mandatory seminary with God, compelled to learn what He wanted me to learn, motivated and tested by the speaking events He put in my life.  God gave me a task to do and I have been compelled to finish it, and I do mean compelled.  Philippians says it is God who works in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him and I have found that to be true.  When God tells you to do something He makes sure you do it.

Zebras was never my idea it was always God’s.  I was busy having a normal life, teaching school, raising children, teaching women’s Bible study, working in Awana, when God interrupted it in 2008.   At the time my pastor said “It sounds like you have a calling on your life,” which I didn’t really understand, but I do now.   

I know we have free will, but when the Spirit compels you to do something, it sure doesn’t feel that way, if feels like you have to do it or die trying.  I’m sure that is how Paul felt when He wrote in Corinthians “when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” 

And how Noah felt when he was working on the Ark. Noah was told by God to build the Ark.  My guess is it was more than a suggestion. My guess is Noah was compelled and all the jeering and laughing in the world was never going to be louder than the voice of God telling him to keep going.  Only a person compelled by God could continue working when the world said he was a fool.

On the seventeenth, I metaphorically finished my Ark. It is the first event where I did all God wanted me to do and said everything God wanted me to say. Afterwards I was overwhelmed with a sense of having finally finished my task. Hopefully that doesn’t mean the work is done, hopefully it means it’s just beginning. Noah built the ark. God brought the animals and the rain. Noah was done, God was just getting started.

Maybe it’s when we are finally at the end of what is possible for us to do, that God steps in and does the impossible.

I love you little zebras, thank you for all the prayers and support.  I am intermittently excited to see what is next.

Love,

Jill

Tsunami

Mark 13:32-33 (NIV84)

 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come…

Good morning Zebras,

Last night we watched the movie Impossible.  It is about the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed an estimated 150,000 people. It was a rather intense and depressing movie and not really what I would call entertainment but I can’t stop thinking about it.

This morning during my quiet time I came across today’s verses.  It is amazing how many times Jesus warned people to be ready for His second coming.  He said it would come on a day when no one expected, when people were marrying and giving in marriage, when everything seemed to be very normal.  And that reminded me of the movie. Everyone was laughing and having a great time, swimming and drinking by the pool but then the wave hit and things were never the same.

In the movie it seemed like the wave just appeared, but I did some research.

There was a lag of several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami but because there were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the general populace living near the ocean, most of the victims were taken by surprise.

But there were other signs. Right before a tsunami the ocean recedes quickly.  It sort of “sucks out” before it crashes back in and that can give you about five minutes to get to high ground.  This one was no exception. One man saved his entire village, 1,500 people, because he had seen the National Geographical special Killer Wave and sounded the alarm. Plus many survivors reported seeing animals fleeing to high ground before the wave hit and some followed suit.

But others, ignorant of what all this meant, went to the beach to investigate what was happening.  They were front and center when the first wave hit.  There was no time to run for high ground once they saw the wave. And I can’t help thinking that is the average American Christian, shell picking with the tsunami on the way.

Jesus has warned us over and over again that He is coming again.  Some of His last words, recorded in Revelation, include warnings to the church.

He told them to “wake up”, repent and find their first love, quit tolerating wrong teaching, quit doing deeds without the Spirit, and stop being lukewarm but we seem to be ignoring Him.  We seem to be going on our merry little way totally oblivious of the tsunami that is coming.  And we are going to suffer the consequences.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us. Forgive us for not taking You seriously enough, for not putting You first in our life, for not trusting the promise of Your Word that You will give us all things if we will only seek You first. Forgive us for the idols we have allowed in our lives and for getting distracted by the things of the world. Help us this day Lord to live for You and You alone letting the chips fall where they may because we know that living a life that is honoring to You is the most important task You have given us to do.

Love,

Jill

 

Iron Zebra

Good morning Zebras,

This one is for my high school girls at West Coast Honor Camp.

Girls remember…we are dirty rotten sinners, saved by grace, protected by the armor of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and dedicated to fighting evil in the heavenly realms.  We are…Iron Zebras.

Love you!
Mrs. G

Walk With God

Matthew 10:29–31 (NIV84)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Good morning Zebras,

Yesterday I was struck by Oswald Chambers’s entry in My Utmost for His Highest. He reminded us that God is always in complete control and that He has looked down through time and ordained each and every moment to be just as it is. 

The sovereignty of God is such an awesome thought, too big really for us to fully understand, but one that is wonderful to thinking about none the less. Nothing magnifies God more than acknowledging that He knows everything and controls everything. With that thought rolling around in my head, I went out to walk the dogs.

Now normally when I walk the dogs, I give them my full attention. They are rather little and easily distracted so I focus on keeping their leashes untangled and looking ahead for dangers. I pick them up if there is something scary. I take off anything that gets stuck to their paws and of course pick up their poo. 

Yesterday I was distracted. 

I was texting a friend about a lunch meeting and I was giving the dogs only half of my attention, needless to say, it didn’t go smoothly. They got tangled, lunged after other dogs and I ran out of poo bags. 

But because I was thinking about the sovereignty of God, rather than getting upset, I was immediately grateful that God does not take me on the “walk of life” without paying full attention to what is going on.

Love,

Jill

Loyal Dog

Ephesians 4:1 (NIV84)

 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Good morning Zebras,

I saw this sign in the story yesterday I thought it needed a rewrite:

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.  You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.  You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

How about:

He is your friend, you Lord, your defender, your God.  He is your life, your love, your leader.  He has been faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.  You owe it to Him to worthy of such devotion.

Love,

Jill

Raindrops

Job 5:18 (NIV84)

For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

Good morning Zebras,

Yesterday I was sad.  It doesn’t really matter why, and I am fine today, but I spent most of the day yesterday crying.

In an effort to get myself under control, I ran some errands.  While I was out I saw two people who had way more reason to cry than me.  One of them had been disfigured in a fire and although they no longer had any fingers on their hand they were running a cash register and doing their job.

My mom used to say “I thought I had it bad because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.”   And although it flashed through my mind, I no longer think the best way to cheer myself up is to find someone who has it worse.

Instead I need to grieve and refocus. 

Nothing happens to us that our loving sovereign God does not allow and although it may not make sense to us, it makes sense to Him If we can trust Him enough to give Him back our pain and disappointment He can carry us through.

For those of you going through a sad time, God knows your heart is broken and He is right there with you.  Let Him help you through.

Love,

Jill

Enjoy.  This is a great song.
Blessings

Stiches

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Good morning Zebras,

Thank you to all who prayed for me while I was away at camp. It is hard to explain how well it went, but it went really well.  God’s presence guided me from the time I stepped into camp until I left and it was an amazing experience of walking in the spirit.

Hopefully today’s z-mail will give you a taste of how God guided the week.

On Thursday Nick, my son, and I were walking along the edge of the lake. We were discussing how much fun we were having and we came to a point where a very small fence blocked our path and the only way to continue was to wade into the lake.

Nick, who was already wet, saw some friends standing on the beach on the other side of the fence so he continued on wading into the water.  I decided not to get my shoes wet so I turned and walked up the steps into Reflection Circle.

As I was nearing the top I caught my shoe on the last step and fell cutting open my knee.  As I lay there on the ground, four junior high boys offered to help me up.  And as I limped down to the medical station someone saw me and radioed ahead to make sure a nurse was there. Penii Jo gave me clean socks and Nurse Julie drove me to Redding for stiches, overall it was a great experience.

The next morning, as I was praying and preparing for Bible Hour I asked God to show me how He wanted me to use my fall and today’s verse came to mind.  If I had walked into the water with Nick I would not have fallen, and if Nick had come with me he would have caught me when I stumbled.  Either way if I had been with Nick I would not have fallen.

Which was a great lesson for our last day. 

Camp is a wonderful experience but sometimes it is not easy to walk out what God told you on the mountain when you get home. Writing it down and telling someone else will help.  God did not mean for His people to walk alone and just like zebras we are stronger when we are together. And if we do stumble and fall there will be someone there to help us up.

Thank you West Coast Honor Camp for letting me come and thanks to all of you for praying, it couldn’t have been done it without you.

Love,

Jill

Count the Cost

John 14:1 (NIV84)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Good morning Zebras,

I promised my son something without really thinking it through.  I didn’t realize how difficult or expensive it was going to be and although I can do it, I’m fighting a very human urge to wiggle out of it.  I know he would understand, but that really isn’t the point.  The point is I promised it and IF I can deliver I need to.

To highlight the importance of keeping my promise, I had someone renege on something they were going to do for me.  It might have been a misunderstanding, but I think they just decided they had promised me more than they were willing to deliver. And although I was upset, it was hard not to see myself in the situation.

And I thought:  I sure am glad God isn’t like us. I sure am glad He isn’t sitting up in heaven debating with Himself if He should actually fulfill His promises.   Or changing His mind and not doing it at all.

Jesus tells a parable recorded in Luke where He warns the disciples about counting the cost of following Him.  Most commentaries say the point of this parable is that we need to examine ourselves closely to see if we are willing to pay the price of being a disciple.   Are we willing to die to self and live only for Jesus?

Which is a good thought, but that isn’t how it worked for me. God didn’t show me in advance everything I was going to have to give up to follow Him.  If He had I might have backed out. Instead He just said follow me-and the path unfolded.  There was no way I could have counted the cost, because I didn’t know what the cost was.

However I recently read one commentary that says the parable is not referring us but to God. It is God who had to count the cost of finishing the work of salvation. He counted the cost of giving His Son from the very beginning and He was willing to pay it.

I like that interpretation because only God can really sit and assess what it is going to take to accomplish a task and have the power to follow through.

If I logically look at something and decide I have enough strength and resources to accomplish it, then I am a fool.  I know how quickly my best resolve gives way to failure.  It works much better if I focus on God, trusting He has the strength and resources to finish the work He has started in me. As Paul says I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Personally, I find it that very reassuring.

Love,

Jill

Hunger for God

Psalm 51:10–12 (NIV84)

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Good morning Zebras,

This morning I woke up to realize that I had lost my hunger for God.  In all the busyness of life the hunger for His presence has slowly slipped to the background.  But that is not where I want to live.  I like God being the all consuming passion of my life. 

John Piper puts it like this:

The greatest enemy of the hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.  It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but the endless nibbling at the table of the world.  It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.  For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife. (Luke 14:18-20)  The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies but His gifts.  And the most deadly appetites are not for poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth.  For when these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for getting off track, for allowing small dribble to erode my passion for You.  Please this day renew my heart, make it desire only You and Your presence in my life.  And may the things of this world return to being strangely dim as I refocus myself on You.

Love,

Jill

Going Down

Ecclesiastes 4:12

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Good morning  Zebras,

I wasn’t going to write this z-mail, or more accurately I wasn’t going to post it because it seemed so shallow, but then I opened My Utmost for His Highest and today’s entry was entitled The Habit of Rising to the Occasion and I took it as a sign that maybe I wasn’t the only one struggling through the busy month of May.

Monday was a bad day. Nothing horrible happened I just realized how many things I needed to get done in the next three weeks.  So I did what any sane woman would do, I got overwhelmed and ended up on the couch watching a rerun of Colombo.

Yesterday I got up with a different attitude. There is no way that a list of chores is greater than God, so I decided to focus on Jesus and get to work.  And things got done.

In life sometimes it is the big things that knock us down but just as often it is a whole pile of little things that look really, really big.  But either way refocusing on Jesus is the answer.  It is just as difficult to carry a boulder as it is to carry a box full of little rocks, and usually it is more than you can handle alone.

But sometimes you also need to let someone know you are struggling. 

Yesterday I not only took my eyes off the magnitude of the tasks and refocused on the power of Christ, I told my family I was feeling overwhelmed.  Just letting someone know that I was going down was enough to get me restarted.

And I thought that is the purpose of zebras, first to focus us on God and then to remind us we are not alone and we are stronger when we hang together.

I love you little Zebras.  I hope you have a great day.

Love,

Jill

 

Up To God

Exodus 34:6

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Good morning Zebras,

Last week we were catching up on the episodes of Psych we had missed this season.  For those of you who don’t know this show it is about two friends, one of whom pretends to be a psychic detective.  Shaun, the detective, usually ends up smelling like a rose while his friend Gus often ends up somehow paying for Shawn’s shenanigans.

In the episode in question Gus had had enough and he told Shawn "I'm tired of your mouth writing checks that my ass has to cash," and I thought “Boy I haven’t heard that saying in a long time!”

But I can’t get it out of my mind.

I am so grateful God does not make promises that I have to fulfill.  I am so glad that everything He says He is going to do He does and He is not dependent upon me.

As a mom and a wife, it seems like there are a lot of people who depend on me and I think it is easy as a woman to start to think God depends upon us as well.  But He doesn’t. We are supposed to depend upon Him.

He promises rest, peace, and joy.  He promises strength and protection.  He promises salvation and sanctification.  And what He promises He delivers.  We just have to believe it is true and rest in His promises.

Love,

Jill

Zebra Hat

2 Samuel 6:14, 21b-22 (NIV84)

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, - “I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

Good morning Zebras,

 

I wanted one of these hats, but my kids said I looked silly. God gave me one anyway.  Thank you to my Zebra sister from High Sierra Fellowship for giving me another opportunity to look silly for God.

Dance little Zebras even if you look silly, God is on the throne.

Love, Jill

Broken Seat

John 16:7 (NIV84)

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

Good morning Zebras,

The seat in my van has broken twice and it is starting to act up again.  The first two times it was the back of the seat, this time it feels like it is the bottom part.  But it doesn’t really matter, what matters I realized the other day as I was driving down the road, is that I don’t trust this seat anymore and I was doing my best not to sit in it.  Mentally, I was trying to levitate myself, which is impossible of course, so that I did not need to rely upon the seat to hold me up.

And God said that’s what you are doing with Me too. You are mentally trying to do it yourself so that you do not need to rely upon Me to miraculously provide.  You are afraid that I am going to let you down “again.”  That you are going to throw all your eggs into the God basket and I am going to drop them, so you are holding back…just a little. 

And of course He was right.  Flinging yourself after God is a scary thing, giving it all up and dancing naked before the Lord with no thought of your own interests is tougher than it seems.   And it is really tough here in the United States where we have so much and we are so able to take care of ourselves. I think culturally we are taught to work hard, rely upon ourselves and out of our abundance give to God.

Biblically, I think we are to supposed to be broken bread and poured out wine and out of our great poverty rely upon God.  But how many of us really do?

How many of us have really given it all up for God without holding anything in reserve in case the “God thing” doesn’t work out?  How many of us have flung ourselves off the cliff, knowing God is going to catch us?  Or do we have a more “balanced” approach?

He obviously has the heaven thing all under control, but doesn’t He appreciate our help with the day-to-day details of life?  Doesn’t God help those who help themselves by planning out every detail of their existence?  Isn’t that what we are taught?

But it isn’t true. God is not impressed with our abilities; He is impressed with our availability and our willingness to lose it all for Him.

Have a wonderful Easter little Zebras, remember Jesus died and rose again not only to conquer sin and death but to give us the Holy Spirit which indwells all believers and gives us the power to do all that God is asking of us even if it is really, really scary.

Love,

Jill

 

 

The Prayer of Moses

Exodus 33:12–17 (NIV84)

 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.  How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

Good morning Zebras,

I keep thinking about the weekend and what made it so special.  And the answer is of course, God showed up in a big way.  But why did He show up?  I think the answer is that there were so many people there whose heart longed to see more of God.  Like Moses, their prayer was for God and God alone.

And it was wonderful.

So, I am feeling God prompting me to plan the first co-ed Zebra retreat: A Weekend with the Lord.  It will be a weekend for men and women eighteen and older who desire to have more of God’s presence in their life.  People who when they read today’s verses, their hearts say “Amen!” 

I am feeling it should be Jan 24-26, 2014, which right now feels along time away, but we all know God often makes us wait. And I think it is time to go back to Mt. Hermon.  That is where God confirmed this ministry was going to be my life and there seems to be a Biblical principal about returning to the place where you first heard God speak.

I am not sure exactly what the event will look like yet, but that seems to be the way God works with me.  He gives me the idea and then He fills in all the details as needed.

The reason I am telling you this is because I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I go forward.  First and foremost pray that if this is just an idea from Jill, God will shut it down.  Gently would be preferred, but if I’m stubborn…

And please pray that I know how many spots to reserve. Mt Hermon requires a deposit and a numerical commitment.   I have had a problem with numbers since the first Zebra retreat and although the person who is financing this is willing to reserve as many spots as I say I don’t want them to lose money because I heard God incorrectly, again.

After that, please just pray as God leads, because we all know that when God’s people pray great things happen.

I love you little Zebras, together let’s see what God is going to do.

Jill