How is your week going?I pray you are blessed as you dive into God’s Word – His love letter written just for you!
What till you hear this …This Tuesday God called me to take a new dance step. A big step. A step that would leave me vulnerable. I said “yes” at first and then those thoughts of fear and doubt entered my mind and I wanted to run away from my yes to say no! If this week’s lesson didn’t hit me square between the eyes - oh my.
I pondered on this week’s passage and Joshua’s courage. His “yes” meant a nation could finally enjoy their Inheritance – The Promised Land. Saying yes when God asks you to move to a new beat - is more than about blessing ourselves - it’s about bringing blessing to others.
Where is Jesus asking you to “move” this week? When we move with him we can be used to make a way for others to find their Spiritual Inheritance in Christ.
I have not blogged in a long long time. I could tell you that I have been extremely busy … which I have - but that is really not the reason.
It is actually pretty prideful - I believe the reason I have stopped blogging is that I wanted what I posted to be well … perfect.
Well - I am glad that is out of the way - now I can just pour out my thoughts onto the paper … or screen…and tell you like it is - spelling, and grammar mistakes and all.
The funny part is that God never expected me to be perfect either. I wonder how many times I have pulled back in fear of making a mistake!
Two weeks ago I started teaching The Joshua Study again at Hope Community Church in a new women’s group called Vine Life. I thought of all (lots and lots) the little trips and falls that happened along the way of writing the Joshua Study - and planning this Vine Life for Monday nights at Hope…
But at the end of the day - the mistakes didn’t matter - but what mattered is that over 250 women gathered together to study God’s Word. Mistakes I guess are a part of life - and if it means that there will be mistakes in my blog if I write more often - then so be it!
Only Jesus is perfect - and because of Him I don’t have to be -GLORY!
“One thing for sure is that this woman was very brave and courageous.” The orchestra conductor used those words to describe my grandmother, Aliene Greene, last Sunday when her memory was honored through an endowment to the music program in her church. My grandmother, who is my namesake, loved the Lord, loved her family and loved playing her violin.
Music was a God-given talent that she shared with the community as first string in her city’s symphony. Even though Aliene was a master at violin and could make those strings sing and dance, she had to be courageous when the Lord called her to share her gift in the church. She could perform with beautiful precision but had to be brave to bear the disapproval of some church members. It is hard to imagine in our day of contemporary worship that the sweet sound of a first-string violin would offend people, but in my grandmother’s day, there were those in the congregation who raised their eyebrows when a young woman led worship by playing her violin.
But my grandmother was a trailblazer - not in a loud and rebellious way. She was a quiet, surrendered woman who simply sought to serve her Savior. Aliene was content to do his will for her life, even when others did not believe in what she was doing. I believe she was brave enough to be the first woman to play a violin in her church because she was a committed servant of the Lord she loved. People’s approval and accolades—or their criticism—did not matter. Now that is radical.
Jesus was not only her Savior—he was her Lord. I believe that day she first played in the church, it was for an audience of one—Jesus. I have her Bible and in the front cover, she has written these words:
The basic factor in becoming a Christian is a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and Master. The Christian life is the obedient fulfillment of the commitment.
She was a trailblazer, and in her wake, she paved the way for the unbelievable music program that still exists inside the church today.
Sitting in the church pews on that special day, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. As I thought about my grandmother, my heart began to stir. I have trailblazing in my blood!
Trailblazing is in your blood also. Jesus said, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12). Jesus, your brother, was radical because he sought to do only God’s will. God has given believers the authority in his name and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord even when he leads you on roads less traveled.
Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I choose to do it. Many times God will call us to be a trailblazer and be the “first” at something. That can mean going against the grain to get the job done. If we are seeking man’s approval, we will find it impossible to serve Christ with radical obedience by boldly stepping out into unchartered territory (Galatians 1:10).
Mary Magdalene was also a trailblazer. Jesus trusted her to be the first one to share the good news of his resurrection. She traveled with Jesus and sacrificially helped support him from her own means, radically obedient in the smaller things of day-to-day living. Then one day God tapped her on the shoulder to be a trailblazer by being the first to share the news that Jesus was alive. According to the world of that day, a woman would never be considered for such a task. But you see, it is God who promotes and calls us into service. He looks at us from a heavenly view. I believe it was out of her love for him that she was willing to be the first to go and tell the good news.
The news of Jesus’ resurrection was life changing.That news still changes lives today. When we serve only the Lord, we cannot even begin to grasp how we will affect future generations.
Where is God calling you to be a trailblazer for future generations? What if we make a pact to encourage and challenge one another to be radically obedient? What if we leave lukewarm behind and follow Christ with a passion? What if God could use us to change the world?
I believe he can.
Here’s to trailblazing… and by all means, get radical for Jesus!
All scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise noted.
Do I have to?!? That was my cry to God regarding blogging. No thank you. I don’t want the pressure of writing regularly for my website. And then I stopped and thought about the words that were floating out of my mouth. The website is not actually mine, is it?
The reality is that all that I have belongs to God. He is the giver of all good things, including his wonderful mercy. Because of God’s great mercy given to us, Romans 12:1 encourages us to become a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice-now that is radical.
A living sacrifice means that I lose my will and ask for his. I lose my life and allow Christ to live through me. Jesus beckons us to an extraordinary life that he wants to give us-if we let go of our watered down agendas and do whatever Jesus tells us to do.
Jesus turned water into “choice” wine at the wedding in Cana at Galilee because the servants followed his mother’s advice: “Do whatever he tells you”(John 2:5).
What did Jesus ask the servants to do? He told them to fill six stone jars, each able to hold 20 to 30 gallons of water. Then he said, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet” (John 2:8). Jesus not only turned that water into wine-but “choice” wine. The best. Now that is radical!
The Bible tells us the disciples put their faith in Christ because of this miracle. I don’t blame them. I wonder if they said to one another, “Now this is the kind of man I want to follow!”
My problem with living radically for Jesus is that sometimes I focus only on the water I am giving away instead of looking forward to the wine Jesus wants to bring me.
Losing our life is only half of the story. When we focus on the rest of the picture, we live with an eternal perspective. We know that whatever Jesus asks us to do, say or give away … he always returns the best, the choice, “top-shelf” to our lives.
While I was writing Radically Obedient: The Joshua Study, God asked me to give away a pair of treasured brown boots. (Talk about losing your life-they were a favorite! Catch this story on my podcast) But that was only half of the story. This past Christmas (ten months after the boots incident) my husband, Jim, asked his sister to find a Christmas present for me. After looking around the mall for a while, she remembered how much I loved a pair of brown boots she owned. She was completely unaware that I was out of brown boots-but Jesus knew. She returned to the store where she had found her boots, which she just happened to be wearing that day.
“I need another pair of these brown boots-size 7½ please,” she said to the salesperson as she pointed to the boots on her feet. Unfortunately, on returning from the back storage, the salesperson explained to her that there were no more brown boots in that style.
”Are you sure?” she contended. The salesperson decided to call the warehouse to see if there were any there. When he got off the phone, he smiled at her. “We have one pair of those brown boots left in the warehouse. Size 7½.”
And so on Christmas Day, my brown boots were redeemed. I like this pair much better than the ones I gave away. They are choice-the best-TOP-SHELF-because Jesus gave them to me.
Jesus continues to give generously and abundantly to all his disciples today. He wants the best for you-the very best. Keeping this in mind, we can put aside any reluctance to follow Jesus with radical obedience.
Don’t settle for water or even cheap wine. Don’t be afraid to lose your life-that is when you truly find it (Mathew 16:25). Let go of the water-keep your focus on the wine. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are free to live radically for him.
In the words of Mary, “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.” Be radical and enjoy top-shelf!
All scripture is taken from NIV unless otherwise noted
