But If Not

This is something I posted on another blog last year, but I was reading it today and felt like sharing it again. 

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. Daniel 3:17-18

Have you ever felt like you were trapped in a situation where you had to make a choice...God's way or the world's way? Was the pressure to compromise so intense that the easiest thing to do would be to conform? In this story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were going to face certain death in a fiery furnace if they didn't submit to the King's wishes. Even though they knew God was more than capable of delivering them if He chose to, they made it perfectly clear that even if He didn't they still would not bow. Their loyalty to God wasn't determined by whether He would or wouldn't do something for them.

Many times people face trials and circumstances where they pray diligently for healing, deliverance or some other need. They may even make rash vows to God, offering to serve Him if He would do as they were asking. The thing is, God is not prone to accept bribes. He is moved by faith. Now He can offer compassion or extend mercy, but He is not obligated to do what we say or want. So basically, our devotion to Him should remain stable even in the most troubling times. God has a plan in all things even when we don't see it.

Have you ever heard the saying, "hindsight is 20/20?" Most times people who say this are referring to seeing clearly the things they should have done in the past. But think about this...sometimes we want things to work out a certain way, and God doesn't allow it for whatever reason. Later in life we may be able to look back and see where God's hand was at work. He was working things together for our good. Oh I know it may be hard to see God at work in the midst of the chaos. But we can trust that He is. And He will never leave us nor forsake us no matter how bleak things may appear.

A pastor once said that you can't minister from the dregs. Now, you may be wondering, "What on earth does that mean?"Let me put it in simpler terms. But before I get into that, let me remind you that this is not just a message for pastors, teachers, evangelists, worship leaders, etc. Every person who is born again is called to be a minister of the gospel. So this applies to each of us. That being said, let me break this down.

Imagine a friend calls you up and tells you they've run out of gas and they want you to bring them some. And suppose you think, "I have some gas in the can that's in my car, I'll take that to her." So you take it to her and when you get there she expresses gratitude. That is, until she goes to pour the gas in her car and finds that the can is nearly empty. There is only a small amount, not enough to do much good. This is what it's like when we attempt to minister to someone from the dregs. We haven't spent time in the word, in prayer, in worship, and in the presence of God. We haven't filled the tank.We're running on the fumes of yesterday's intake. Oh, we have some knowledge of the word. We know all the so called right things to say. But something is lacking. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and that takes a huge toll on us and makes us less effective as ministers.

When you go to the gas station to fill up your car there are usually signs that say not to top it off. But as believers we need to not only top it off, but to be filled to overflowing. It is then that we can minister from that overflow without feeling drained ourselves.

Over the years I have had seasons where I wasn't as "overflowing" as I should have been. So when someone came to me in need of something, I had very little to offer. It made me feel bad because I want to help others. But I realize that, in and of myself, I am not much use to anyone. My flesh likes to advise based on what the world would do. But it's not my flesh that needs to be ministering to others. It's the Spirit of God living on the inside of me. And this is why it is vitally important to spend that intimate time with God. In order to know His heart, we must study the word. We must spend time in prayer, not just asking for things, but listening to the voice of God and His leading.

As always, when I write something it is generally what God is speaking to me. It doesn't mean I've always mastered it. I still have times where I allow busyness to rob me of time with God. But that needs to change. I don't want to look back over my life and think that I missed out on helping others because I didn't take the time to first help myself. It kind of reminds me of being on a plane when something goes wrong and you need to put on the oxygen mask. In order to do any good for anyone else, you must first put on your own oxygen mask. What good would it do to attempt to help them, but then pass out from lack of oxygen? You'd be of no help at all.

~jan~

Veteran's Day at Fort Clinch 11-11-13

My daughter in law and I decided to go spend the day at Fort Clinch for Veteran's Day. We wanted to get some photos of the boys. My camera hasn't been doing right so I brought mine and she brought hers in the hopes of getting at least a few shots between the two of us.

Anyway, it was quite the adventure. Anytime you get these three together you're in for a wild time. By the time we were done, Jennifer and I thought perhaps the best idea would have been to just hire a photographer to do it. Whew! But it was worth it just to hang out with my little men. They are the joy of my life. And I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Today has been a very good day. My husband and I went to the Folk Festival and we got to hear some pretty amazing singers and musicians. I truly enjoyed it. There's just something about good harmony and exceptional music that makes me smile.

Over the years I've been blessed to sing with some pretty amazing voices. Usually much better voices than my own, but voices that I could blend well with. I love that moment when you hit the harmony part and it just sounds so sweet....it can give me chills when it's just right because you know that this is something special. Well, today I listened to several groups with really amazing harmonies. My ears were in heaven! The blend of their voices had that something special that I want to hear when I'm listening to singers. Alone they were great. Together they were even better. I honestly felt all mushy inside.

Thank you, God for giving me ears to hear that beautiful music. Let me never take it for granted.

Okay, so all that being said, I got to thinking about harmony in another sense. Living in harmony. Being united as brothers and sisters in Christ. So many times I've seen Christians attacking one another and I felt a bit embarrassed by it. I mean, the world outside is looking at how we behave and when we attack one another it's definitely not a good thing. Have you ever heard that saying, "You may be the only Jesus they ever see?" It's true. When we do something the world perceives as bad for a Christian to do, they automatically get this bad taste in their mouth about Jesus. He doesn't deserve the bad rap. We do. But the two are intertwined in their eyes. As I thought about that statement I made earlier, "Alone they were great. Together they were even better," I realized that when we are in unity, working together in living out the gospel and sharing it to a lost and dying world, we can accomplish so much more. The love we are shining through will be witnessed by those around us and make a much bigger impact on them. It will portray a Jesus they would like to know. And shouldn't that be our primary focus?

Last night I went out to eat with my family to celebrate my birthday. Things were going fine until my mother took a bite of chicken and immediately started choking. She was grabbing at her throat and trying to cough. She looked panic stricken. I got up and walked with her into the restroom. She was coughing, but nothing was coming up. I did the heimlich maneuver, but it still didn't come up. My husband came knocking on the bathroom door and I asked him to come in and perform the heimlich maneuver again. He did. Even though we never saw anything pop out, she was able to talk more and was coughing, which helps to dislodge it. It was indeed a scary moment when it happened; one I never want to repeat.

We finally made our way back to the table. I had barely eaten any of my food when the servers came over and began singing a birthday song, complete with gong and clapping. After their performance they said, "Happy Birthday, Jane!" My husband, mother and I started laughing. What made it even funnier was that my husband had told them my name and even spelled it. But this happens to me all the time. I don't know what it is about my name that people find so difficult. My name is JAN. I often wonder...if a man is named Dan and he introduces himself, do people say, "Glad to meet you Dane?" ;-)

Today, my son and daughter in law came to the house to redo my bathroom. It's been a long, exhausting day. But they did a good job and I really appreciate it. I am probably going to have to pop some Ibuprofen if I hope to get any sleep tonight. My body is already feeling it, and I didn't even do all the work they did. I just helped with cleaning out the old tile and such. But any time I do a lot of bending my back hurts. I also have issues with my elbow that was injured years ago, and with my knee. I was glad to finally be done for the night.