Good morning Zebras,

I hope this note finds you all well.  Even though I’m not writing, I continue to pray for you every day as I wait on God.

Before I left Korea, Katherine and I went to the Goseong Unification Observatory.  Built on a hill overlooking the river separating North and South Korea, its name says it all.  From there you can “observe” the North Korean landscape and everything inside speaks to the goal of Korean unification.

There is an exhibit there entitled “My Hometown” where people who fled during the war have shared their memories of people and places they can no longer see. (See attached photos.) When they fled, they thought it would be temporary.  They never thought they would find themselves trapped, unable to return to their families and friends by a boundary built by the world to establish peace.

As I walked around I felt God’s Spirit so powerfully that I thought “Somehow Zebras is tied up with all of this.”

Zebras was originally started to encourage God’s women at my church to hang together and support one another.  It quickly grew to include women from other churches, but it was a pastor who saw the bigger vision was unity.  These are the verses he referenced when he wrote an endorsement of the ministry.

John 17:20-23 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Nowhere, in my opinion, is disunity more obvious than in Korea.  The South enjoys the luxuries of the modern world, while North Korea lives in conditions we don’t even like to think about.  Our peace came at their expense and I am praying it is time for God to act.

(Just think of the revival that would start if God acted while the eyes of the world are on Korea because of the Olympics!)

Korean churches hold prayer services at 4 a.m. which means, with the time difference, if we prayed every day at 11 a.m. we would all be praying at the same time.  (Isn’t that cool!)  Korean Christians and American Christians all praying together, separated by distance but united by the Spirit.

I haven’t really decided what to do with all of this except to commit myself to pray every day at 11 a.m., for the duration of the Olympics, starting on Monday.  And I’m letting you know in case you want to join in.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Love,

Jill

I wrote the following letter before I left Korea. Originally, I was going to post it as soon as I landed but I didn’t want to be melodramatic, so I decided to wait and pray until someone inquired if I was okay.  (Somehow Michelle, I knew it would be you.)

In January 2010 after listening to me speak someone I greatly respected, said to me: “You’ve gone from teacher to prophet.”  I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was a sentiment that was repeated many times over the last seven years.

Teachers teach, but prophets are people sent by God to teach His Word and to call the church to repentance. Tozer says, “Prophets comfort the affected and affect the comfortable.”   But the thing about prophets is they can never be wrong. 

Good morning Zebras,

It is 10 a.m. Sunday January 14 here in Korea and in eight hours I will be boarding a plane for the ten-hour flight back to America. If God has not done the miracle He has had me praying for before I land, I will be taking a break from teaching His Word.   

Deuteronomy 18:20–22 “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

I knew I was risking the ministry when I shared with you what God was having me do. I could have gone and returned without anyone ever knowing, but that isn’t what God told me to do.  And I would rather look like a fool for believing and obeying God, than look “wise” before men.

2 Samuel 6:14 “And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.”

If you have never done something scary and risked it all for God, then you don’t know what you are missing.

Matthew 14:28–29 “And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

I love you Zebras, I’m still praying for the miracle and when I see it, I’ll be back.

Jeremiah 28:9 “As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Until then, stay safe and follow God with your whole heart, mind, and soul; being willing to risk everything for the only One who deserves it. 

Much love,

Jill

P.S. While I wait two songs are keeping me company, “Live Like That” by Sidewalk Prophets and “What Faith an Do” by Kutless    Both can be heard on YouTube.  

Good morning Zebras,

Thank you for your prayers, yesterday was wonderful.

Today’s Oswald is about Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’”

Sometimes God just needs us to go. 

That’s how I felt about this trip. I just needed to go; God was in charge of doing the miracle. I was only in charge of letting people know.   No man or woman can pray a miracle into existence, miracles are God’s domain, but when He whispers in your ear to go somewhere and pray for one, you need to go. 

People have God neatly in a box, whether they realize it or not - He is good for Sunday morning but not for everyday life.  But God will not be contained. He is alive and in charge of all things, and He has the right to impact every aspect of your life. 

God’s people should not hide their faith, they need to “nail their colors to the mast”. (This is a phrase taken from the days of sea battles, when the flags were nailed to the mast so that they could never be taken down and replaced with the white flag of surrender). So that even if it looks like we failed, we don’t have the option to deny God.  And I did that with this trip.  Not only did I post on Zebras, I also posted on my personal Facebook page.  My “crazy” is out there for everyone to see. 

I love God and I believe with my whole heart and soul that He could do a miracle that would not only obliterate the nuclear threat, but also free His people in North Korea.  And I’m not going to change my mind, or my prayers, just because it hasn’t happened yet- that wouldn’t be faith.  And it is faith, combined with our obedience, that pleases God. 

Hebrews 11:1–8 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation…And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him…By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place…not knowing where he was going.”

I love you Zebras, I return to America this evening. 

Love,

Jill   

Good morning Zebras,

Just a quick update.  It is 7 a.m., Saturday, January 12 here in Korea.  When I first arrived, I felt like we were supposed to go to the DMZ today for a time of prayer.  But as the days went by, doubt set in, and I started to think, “It is freezing out there!  My going there isn’t going to change anything, I should just stay home.”

But on her way home from work last night, God prompted Katherine to try and rent a car so we could go.  I told her she didn’t need to bother, but she persisted and reserved a vehicle.  So, if everything continues to work out, we are headed to the DMZ today.

Perhaps that is why the disciples traveled in pairs- when one got weary, the other one could step in and finish the task.

I love you Zebras. The world needs the nuclear threat disabled, but the North Koreans need to be set free as well. 

God told Moses he had heard the cries of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt and He was ready to set them free.

Exodus 3:7–8 “Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people…and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them…'”

Praying God has heard North Korea’s cries and He is ready to act on their behalf.     

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

It is 8 a.m. Thursday, January 11 here in Korea.  I hear the talks went well, but I haven’t seen the miracle I was sent here to pray for.  But rather than giving up, God has me praying in my dreams. 

Like David, it is the man who steps out in faith and truly believes who sees the power of God.  

I love you, and I believe with my whole heart that God desires to do a miracle for His people. Not because we deserve one- we don’t- but because He loves us and desires to show the world who He is. 

And I covet the prayers of every one of you who agree.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

It is 9 a.m. Tuesday, January 9 here in Korea, and as the South Korean military helicopters fly over in preparation for the meeting today with North Korea, I felt prompted by God to remind you to pray.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in one hour at the DMZ, at the village where the armistice was signed in 1953.   

I love you Zebras, praying for God to show His hand today and save the people He has created from the foolishness of men.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

God taught me a lot about prayer last year.

First it is possible to carry another person’s burdens.

My elbow had been hurting for almost a year, the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it.  But when Gary prayed for it to be healed, God gave the burden to him, now my elbow is fine and his hurts.

Second, prayer for people you do not know makes you love them with the love of God.

My neighbors went on vacation and I felt compelled to pray for them while they were gone.  I didn’t really know them that well, but after a week of concentrated prayer God give me a great love for them.  I still don’t know them that well, but I sure do love them.

Third, we don’t know who can hear God.  He can talk to anyone.

The neighbors I was praying for are not saved, so I wasn’t sure they would be able to hear my prayers, it is a long story, but I felt I was supposed to pray they would bring me back a bear.  When they got home they didn’t give me anything, but a week later one of them gave me the bear pictured below.  They had bought it on vacation but had forgotten to give it to me.

Fourth, burdens given to you by God are different than normal prayers.

When the fires were raging in Napa/Sonoma I was burdened to pray for God’s people like the world was ending because that’s how it felt.  If God didn’t stay his hand and stop the wind it “felt” like the fire was going to consume the world.  It was not a pleasant feeling, in fact it was rather awful, but I had no choice but to pray, because the burden consumed my life.

Fifth, you do not have to limit your prayers to only your circle of acquaintances.

If I am praying for someone to get a job, I could just as easily pray for all of God’s people to get a job. The Bible says to pray for all the saints, not just the ones you know.

And finally, God has taught me that prayer is powerful and effective and too little used to combat the evil that's ruling the world.  The real work of God’s people is prayer.

When the disciples asked why they were so ineffective in driving out an evil demon, Jesus replied, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”  Some manuscripts add fasting.  (Mark 9:29)

So, with all that knowledge I’m heading to South Korea for a week of fasting and prayer with my daughter who lives there.  I think I need to get closer to the situation, just like with the fires.  I was never endangered from the Napa fires, but I was consumed by prayer because the fire was real.  I could see its effects.  Yet I wasn’t burdened in the same way, when the southern part of the state burned.  There’s something about proximity that adds urgency.

I will arrive in Korea on the 8^th and God willing I will return on the 14^th because I believe God wants me to get closer to the threat and to physically combine my prayers with Katherine’s, who loves Korea and the Korean people with a love given to her by God.

If you feel prompted to join me in prayer for God’s world and His people, please do.

With much love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

Maybe the best way to avoid disappointment this year is to have no desires or plans at all, or at least hold them with very loose hands, and cling instead to the one thing that never fails, that each and every day we live in the presence of God and we have the opportunity to please Him.

James 4:13–17 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I love you Zebras, praying that all of us can hear “well done good and faithful servant” each and every day this year.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

One of the activities, I did with my company over Christmas, was to let each person pick their place setting for the first breakfast meal.  They had to choose the elements without knowing what else would be offered and the couldn’t “try them out” to see how they looked.

First, they picked placemat and/or charger, then plate, followed by napkin and napkin ring.  At the next meal the table was set with the setting they had chosen. An opportunity for them to express their individuality and for me to do a devotion on the love of God. 

My intended message was: “God knows we are all different, and He loves us all.”   

But when I put the table together, I was amazed how well all the different settings looked. But because there was so much variety, the only centerpiece I could use that pulled everything together was the one representing Christ.

And the same is true with people.

We are all different, we all have different gifts and abilities and we all have different annoying traits, but when we allow the Spirit of God to transform and change us, to rule our lives and our hearts we find we can love one another and walk in unity with Christ.

I love you Zebras, our lives are like these place settings.  They are visual representations of all the choices we’ve made, the good, the bad and the ugly.  And although we can’t go back and change anything we can resolve from this day forward to always pray and choose the option that honors God.

Love,

Jill

P.S. This is a picture of today’s table.  The company is all gone, but we had such a good time with fancy place settings and devotions, that the kids asked me to continue doing them even after the company left.

Good morning Zebras,

Another year to read Oswald.

Many years ago, we used to go to a very remote place on vacation.  It was 600 acres of redwoods in Northern California, occupied only by the couple who had homesteaded it.  But out there, in the middle of nowhere, I met an incredibly godly woman.

Married to an unbeliever, (who she thought was a believer when she had married him,) living miles away from anything in a house they had built themselves, she sought God every day, all day.  He was her passion and all that sustained her through a very, very difficult life.

I used to look forward to talking to her when we went to visit.  She was the first person I’d met who really only wanted to talk about God.

Once when we went I gave her my Oswald Chambers' book, thinking she would really enjoy having new insights to read.  Weirdly I found I missed my copy, so when I went the next time, I got it back.

She had used it for a while, but her life was so demanding, and she had so much Bible reading she wanted to do that she said she didn’t have time to read it every day and give it the attention she felt it deserved, so she didn’t want another copy.   But she had used mine for a while, highlighting favorite parts and writing her thoughts in the margins of the page.

Here are her thoughts on today’s:

Today’s passage ends “If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably” she added “by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We can’t accomplish the verb ‘surrender’ we must ‘yield’ to the Spirit and He will do It in us. Even to ‘yield’ we must ask the Holy Spirit to this for us.

Then in the margin she wrote: “I thought this way most of the year 2003 but towards the end I came to realize we have our part to do and then God will have His part He will do.  There are ‘verbs’ we must accomplish.”

I remember having that talk with her, she was so adamant we could do nothing, and that God did everything.  (She knew far more about the Holy Spirit than I did.)  But I was equally adamant that God expected us to do our part and then He would do His. 

Years later I found the supporting text for my opinion in 2 Peter 1, where Peter writes that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness and we need to work and add to that gift.

But I have also come to understand what she was saying.  At the time the Holy Spirit was a fuzzy concept to me, the third part of the Trinity, words on a page.   Now He is real and alive, and I know His power lives in me. I can do nothing without His help.

We all grow and change, we all learn, that is the process of the Christian faith.  But we quit growing the minute we think we know it all.

Love,
Jill

Good morning Zebras,

Today is the last day of 2017. Tomorrow is the day many people like to make resolutions to live “better” next year.  It is not a biblically based tradition, and I have found it to be more harmful than helpful.

The Bible is very clear that we should not lightly make promises to God.

Numbers 30:1–2 Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the Lord commands:  When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.  He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.  It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

Deuteronomy 23:21–23 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.  But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.  Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

I know these are all Old Testament verses, but God hasn’t changed.  Here is what Jesus had to say about making oaths. 

Matthew 5:33–37 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’  But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

We are God’s people.  Our word should be our bond.  We shouldn’t be making oaths lightly.

James 5:12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.  Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

I love you Zebras, please do not make any grand resolutions this year, they only take the emphasis off God and put it on you.

Instead consider spending today in prayer asking God what changes He would like you  to make and then wake up tomorrow resolved to yield to His Spirit.

Love,

Jill

Good afternoon Zebras,

I have been giving a lot of thought to Christmas as the celebration of Jesus’ “birthday,” and I have decided his “birth” cannot be separated from His life, death and resurrection.  We celebrate His birth because of the life He lived.  

If He had lived a normal life, or an evil life, like Hitler, the “world” would not still be celebrating it 2000 years later.  So, when you share Jesus with your friends at Christmas, make sure to tell the whole story.

With that in mind, here is a fun fact Nick learned at Moody this semester.  On the cross Jesus is recorded as saying: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It caused confusion among the bystanders, some of whom thought He was calling for Elijah. But the Pharisees and Sadducees in the audience would have known exactly what Jesus was saying.  He was quoting Psalm 22, which starts out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

They would’ve also known the rest of the Psalm, which reads like a description of the crucifixion:

Psalm 22:14–18 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.  Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

We use so many words and sometimes say so little, Jesus used so few words and even at the end said so much.  

Partly I think, because He always knew who He was talking to. Of course, He was God, and He had all of God’s words at His disposal, but Jesus never was a “one message fits all” kind of person. He tailored His words to the audience He was trying to reach. And with His help I believe we can do the same. 

I love you Zebras, pray before you speak this Christmas and make it your goal to share only the words given to you by God for the people He knows are listening.   

1 Corinthians 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

For a week I have been watching the last of the leaves on the tree across the street.  I noticed them last Monday and every day I look at them and wonder how they are holding on.  We’ve had some crazy wind and yet every morning they are still there, hanging on refusing to let go.  Just like the love of God.

I have to admit the love of God was not the first thing I thought of as I watched those leaves.  Originally, I thought they might be an encouragement to hang on till the end, to continue to follow Christ even when others start to turn away.

Revelation 2:26: “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— “

Then I thought it might be a reminder that there’s always a remnant of people who are passionate about God.  God’s encouragement to Elijah when he thought he was all alone:

1 Kings 19:18: “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Then I thought it was an encouragement to not give up hope.  A reminder that the things I’ve been praying, although seemingly impossible, are not impossible to God.

Mark 10:27: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

But none of them seemed right because I kept thinking about those leaves.   

This morning the first thing I did was check to see if those crazy little leaves were still clinging to the tree and as I watched them fluttering in the wind the phrase “love never fails” popped into my mind.

1 Corinthians 13:8: “Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

At the end of the day, the only thing that is strong enough to overcome all the evil in the world, is the love of God and that is what we are celebrating at Christmas.

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

I love you Zebras, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season loving on others as you have been loved.  Expecting nothing, giving everything and living in a way that looks miraculous. 

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for my health, I woke up this morning and my throat and ears are back to normal.  From raw meat to regular overnight feels miraculous, so I know someone prayed. 

Luke 8:45–46 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”

And if you read the post and didn’t say a prayer, don’t feel bad.  One thing God has taught me about prayer over the last few years is it works best when He is the one who tells us what to pray.

Oswald’s thoughts on intercessory prayer:

“People describe intercession by saying ‘It is putting yourself in someone’s else’s place.’  That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective…Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.”

After years of doing ministry, of fussing and fighting about things that really didn’t matter, I finally got to the end of myself, and realized the best thing I could do for the kingdom of God was pray. 

Ephesians 6:16–18 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints

I love you Zebras, do not let the enemy distract you with the “rulers” and people of this world. If you look past them you will see the real battle is a spiritual one, between the power of darkness and light.

And although we don’t all have to be praying and "doing" the exact same things, we should all be praying and "doing" exactly as God leads.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

I’ve been battling a virus since Sunday. It came with a killer sore throat, the kind that hurts so bad you can feel it in your ears.  So, for the last few days I have been overly aware of my ears and spoken only when necessary.

My head feels like an object lesson reminding me to “be quick to hear, slow to speak.”

James 1:19a: Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak

One of the things I learned when Katherine went to Moody was this verse is not talking about how we should interact with one another, but how we should interact with God.  Logos lists Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 as supporting verses for James.

Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore, let your words be few.

Sometimes I find it difficult to hear God through all the hubbub of the season, but my sore ears are serving as a reminder to keep searching for the still small voice of God.     

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

Gary and I wanted an outside storage box to store birdseed, garden tools, etc., so I went on Amazon and picked out three that would work.  But Gary didn’t like any of them, so I kept looking.  I finally found one at Home Depot that was attractive and the right size, so I ordered it.

But when it came I realized immediately it wasn’t water proof.

We had gotten sidetracked from the original objective and ended up with something that was really attractive, but wouldn’t work.

People do the same thing.  God’s primary objective:

Matthew 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. “

That should be the reason for everything we do. We do what we do because we love God and we want to honor Him with our lives. 

We slip into dangerous territory when we start worrying about how we look to others. 

Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

I love you Zebras.  One of the things that you need to get rid of if you want to live a life totally devoted to God, is your concern over how others view you. 

If you have a clear conscious before God, if you are doing everything He asks of you, if you love Him with every fiber of your being, He is pleased with you. (1Cor 10:5) And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

As suggested I purchased something to make my artificial tree smell “real.”  It didn’t work. Maybe if you had never smelled a real tree, it would fool you, but if you know what a real tree smells like, this thing smells like a cheap imitation. 

The same is true of the Spirit of God, if you have never experienced the power and presence of the Holy Spirit you can be satisfied with something less.  But once you have talked to God “face to face” as a man speaks to his friend, nothing else will do.

Tozer's thoughts on the same subject:

“The average Christians’ progress today is not sufficient to satisfy the longings of the seeker after God. They want something better than that.  The average Christian today does not make much spiritual progress at all.  He is converted, joins the Church, and five years later he is right back where he started…That is not satisfactory to those who seek and thirst and hunger after God.

Such seekers after God are impatient with the substitutes being offered today.  When you do not have anything real inside of you, you try to get something on the outside that suggests something real.  It is a well-known fact that when the fire goes out in the furnace, they paint the outside to make it look as it the

fire was still there.

Unfortunately, the Church is the same.  And this even includes evangelical and so-called gospel churches.  Something from its heart has been lost, so bangles and dangles are used on the outside to pretend there is something real on the inside.  But you cannot fool seekers after God with kind of thing.  They know better.”

I love you Zebras, and I love God’s Church and I pray for the day when the men of God take the pulpit and preach with such power that the entire congregation falls to their knees and exclaims with one voice: “The LORD He is God! The LORD-He is God! (1 Kings 18:39)

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

A Tozer thought for a Sunday morning:

“Some people might say, ‘Pastor, I would be a better Christian if I had a better pastor.’ I wish it could be so. But you know that would not be the case, because the better pastor you had, the more you would become a spiritual parasite and lean on him. Often the most spiritual people attend churches where the pastor cannot preach his way out of a wet paper bag. The reason is because they have no help from the pulpit, so they have to learn to lean on God. If you get too much help from the pulpit, you tend to become a parasite and lean on your pastor. I believe in the priesthood of believers.”

We can’t blame our pastors or our church for our own lack of spiritual growth because God has given each one of us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3-12) It is our responsibility to put it to use.

Love,

Jill

Good morning Zebras,

I woke up this morning after a night of no nightmares, grateful to be alive, confident God is in charge and ready to live another day in a way that honors Him.  I hope you did too.

I am really enjoying Tozer’s book, because it’s great confirmation that I’m not off track.

Living a crucified life which Tozer defines as “a life wholly given over to the Lord in absolute humility and obedience; a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord”, is lonely business, at the end of the day it comes down to just us and God. 

We must decide, in the loneliness of our own heart, if we want to follow God completely, holding nothing back but giving everything to Him or not.  No one can help us make that decision because it isn’t an intellectual decision it’s a yielding of the spirit.

A paragraph to ponder:

“The teacher can teach a student to read, but that is really as far as she can go.  What that student reads is really up to him.  The teacher can help him so far; then he is on his own.  This is true throughout life.  There are some things in life that must be done by ourselves. 

Nobody can help us.  Nobody can assist us along the way.  That is why there is a breakdown in evangelical circles today.  We want to rely on each other.  We want to exercise the ‘ministry of helps.’  We are nothing unless we have a crowd around us, not realizing that to penetrate into the very presence of God is a very lonely journey.”

Lonely, but never alone because on this journey the presence of God becomes your constant companion.

Love,

Jill