NO ROOM FOR HORSES AND CHARIOTS

When we read the psalms we find over and over again: don't trust in horses, don't trust in chariots, put your trust in the Lord. The simplicity of the statement, "put your trust in the Lord", yet so complex to walk out in our every circumstance.

For the past several months I have been combing through the pages of the book of Isaiah and learning a great deal about God's desire for us to TRUST HIM and HIM alone.  If you have ever said to yourself I want to read the entire Bible and never have been able to do so, I recommend you read the book of Isaiah. This great book is literally the whole Bible in miniature form.(plug for the prophet Isaiah)

If like Israel we find ourselves struggling to survive in the midst of adversity. We make plans and alliances with others greater than ourselves in order to achieve some type of success or victory. We run frantically attempting to hold all the pieces of this crumbling world system together until we realize, we can't do it. We are not designed to be independent from the ALMIGHTY. Nor are we designed to "falter between two opinions" (1Kings 18:1)

 First and foremost, we are God's people and His message has always been, FEAR NOT I AM WITH YOU. Panic, anxiety, fear, vindication are not the Kingdom way. The scripture tells us quietness and confidence in HIM shall be our strength. When we find ourselves up against the wall with the forces of evil pressing hard all around us, when you know that you know, disaster is coming at the speed of a bullet, quietness and confidence in GOD shall be our strength. 

I think any of us who have walked with the Lord would confess one time or another we have panicked and gone around desperately seeking help anywhere and everywhere. When we took the time to quiet down and seek the Lord we found that in quietness and confidence in HIM there is peace and strength.

The WORD of God is the greatest reminder that HE is with us: 
 
 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 

Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Psalm 27:3

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness Isaiah 41:10
 
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. 2 Samuel 22:30  


SHALOM, Jeannette

AUDITIONS

There is a casting call that has gone out for roles in the greatest story ever told. It’s an intense drama full of love,forgiveness and faithfulness.  Auditions are open to those who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and will endure until the day of the redemption of all things (Ephesians 1:13).  All types of characters are needed and everyone will be cast as the Author has prepared a role for all who come. (Ephesians 2:10)

The name of this stage production:

The Lord's Rescue Mission

Within this great story there are millions of sub plots that have never been heard.  Millions of anonymous prophets, priests, secret evangelists, housewives, business men/women, intercessors and even “outcasts/Samaritans ” at work rehearsing their lines for the day of the great curtain call.

For some reason this past month or so I have been blessed to hear some of these hidden sub plots. These stories have been of great comfort to me; lessons on the mercy and grace of God.  I have learned that the Lord extends His Mighty right hand of fellowship up until a soul is going to cross over into eternity.  Peter’s words saying the Lord is patient with us, not wanting any to perish but everyone to come to repentance is the absolute truth.

Who are these “outcasts/Samaritans” working hard to listen to the Director's cues?  They are the ones who in spite of rejection will continue to play their role knowing that there are many other “outcasts” in need of rescuing. 

 I sat and listened to one of these “outcasts” tell me a story that left me once again saying, “Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever”.  

The outcast had been walking down a city street and saw a person who looked familiar they suddenly realized as young boys they use to play together. After a quick introduction this friend knowing this outcast had been raised in a Christian home, says I just accepted Jesus as my Lord.   Do I truly believe this was a coincidence? No, it was a God-coincidence.  The young man who had made a confession of faith was a recovering heroin addict and a thief.  As the outcast heard his testimony he offered to spend time with him each night reading the Bible and praying.  The new convert gladly agreed and they spent many nights studying the scriptures.

After months of study the outcasts phone rang with news that the convert had been arrested for theft and possession of narcotics.  By God’s grace the convert was ordered to participate in a one year Christian rehabilitation program.

As time passed the outcast was praying and he felt the Lord tell him to write his friend letters that would cover various biblical topics. His first letter was a seven page “sermon” on how to walk in the Spirit. The outcast wrote these letters knowing he would never receive a response since it was against the rehabilitation centers rules.

Recently the outcast heard his friend has received the letters and they have been a great comfort to him.  In fact, he was told the first letter remains in his pocket everywhere he goes.  

As I hear of these hidden sub-plots I can’t help but think of the words of King David:

When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

 You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.

If you have a hidden sub-plot you would like to share feel free to leave it in the comment section. I would love to hear from you.

In Him,

Jeannette 

 

PEOPLE OF THE TRACKS

In my prior blog  “A tribute to Linda…Life Matters” I shared the true story of two lives that by the worlds standard seemed insignificant and quite ordinary. Shortly after, I received an email from Linda telling me how she and Al enjoyed hearing their story.  What I didn’t know about Linda is that she literally sacrificed her entire life, family and health for the “People of the Tracks”.  This “unknown” woman has lived her life doing extraordinary work in the ordinary of life.   

Do you remember the movie Civil Action starring John Travolta? It was a true story about a water contamination legal case in Woburn, Massachusetts. This is the exact town where Linda has been ministering to the homeless who lived by the train tracks all year round. 

Linda asked me if I could share the story of Captain Tom. He was another one of her homeless friends who always wore a captains hat, which is why he was known in the community as Captain Tom.  

Captain Tom like Al was another tormented soul that sailed the greater part of his life with a liquor bottle in this hand.  He might have started his journey differently than the others at the tracks but he eventually ended up at the same destination. It is told that Captain Tom was a “functioning” alcoholic able to work and be drunk at the same time.  He was familiar with the people of the tracks and lived a life of denial thinking he would never end up at that address.  As time passed his addiction consumed his entire life and he like the others had to dock his boat at the port of the train tracks.

For many years Linda witnessed to Captain Tom never missing an opportunity to tell him about the love of Jesus.  Week after week Linda invited him to church and finally one Sunday he hesitantly came along. The Lord touched Captain Tom and a seed of belief was planted in his heart.  He didn’t change he continued his life of addiction and approximately 15 years after that seed was planted Linda witnessed the fruit of her labor.  

Captain Tom ended up in a wheelchair when one day Linda saw him wheeling himself into the liquor store.  To his surprise Linda went after him and said, “Tom come to church with me the Lord does not want you drinking”.  

Eventually Captain Tom was so sick he lived his remaining years in elderly housing and Linda would visit him frequently. She would tell him how much the Lord loved him and she never quit inviting him to church. Until one day Captain Tom said if you cut my finger nails I will go to church with you. Of course, Linda was happy to fulfill his request.

Sunday came and as he sat in church he wept the entire service. The Pastor turned to him and said,” Sir, are you saved”? He looked at Linda and said, “What is he talking about?” Linda, said “Tom have you accepted Jesus as your Savior”?  That Sunday, Captain Tom received Jesus as his Lord adding his name to the Book of Life like many of the other “people of the track”.

A couple of weeks later Captain Tom was admitted to the hospital and Linda spent hours praying with him and assuring him he had nothing to fear.  As he laid in that hospital bed ready to cross into eternity he tightly held Linda’s hand as she told him about the beautiful journey he was going to embark. That night Linda received a call that Captain Toms soul had sailed across the horizon to be reunited with the many other "people of the track” that came to receive Jesus.

 I pray these stories have deepened your view of the value of a human soul as they have mine. For we serve a merciful God.

  Let’s us remember the words of King David in Psalm 136:

Who remembered us in our lowly state,
     For His mercy endures forever; And rescued us from our enemies,
    For His mercy endures forever; Who gives food to all flesh,
   For His mercy endures forever.

Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
    For His mercy endures forever.

A tribute to Linda... LIFE MATTERS

 

Have you ever gone down memory lane and wondered about people who have crossed your path? Years ago my husband and I worked for a large church in New England and as you can imagine we met a multitude of people of every walk of life.

In a split second my husbands says,  “I wonder what happened to Al? Al was a local homeless man in our community an alcoholic and to be frank he hardly looked human.  He and many other homeless men and women where brought to our church services on a weekly basis by a precious lady named, Linda.  I can remember thinking Linda herself fragile and sickly seemed to be as needy as those she helped. In spite of her own ailments Linda faithfully week after week brought food and clothes to these souls and she spent her time talking and praying with them. Many times we would be working when Al would walk through the door crying broken and completely overtaken by his addiction.  He didn’t come looking for money he would weep and say Josh, pray for me.

At least 13 years have passed and we were able to get word about Al’s life. He is sober and walking with JESUS. When we heard the news we both cried, saying life matters to GOD. His mercy and loving-kindness extends to all who will embrace it.  Of all the homeless that where brought to our church Al is the only one living.

Praise the Lord for Linda she is one of those anonymous servants that no one will ever know of all the beautiful works she has done for her Lord. I can’t wait for eternity to see the rewards she will receive when she sees the Master face to face. I pray to be in the sidelines gazing upon that great day rejoicing with all the souls that entered the kingdom of heaven because of her faithfulness. 

Life matters to God and like Him we need to be patient  sowing seed into every Al we encounter because as wise King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

TO THE CHURCH AT MARANATHA, FRANKLIN TN

Have you ever read a book where it wasn’t until the fourth or fifth chapter that the story really began? It's the portion of the book that starts to grip you and you don’t want to put it down. There is such beauty contained within the chapter that you read it several times over to assure your heart, mind and every fiber of your being has grasped the gems within its pages. 

Our church Maranatha has taken the endeavor to understand the book of Revelation from a multifaceted perspective. We have learned world history and how it is interwoven with this end time message. We have learned the Greek meaning to significant words in order to understand the context in which Jesus was speaking to the churches. The journey has been nothing but spectacular.

As we reached Revelation chapters 4 and 5 it’s as if the LORD has spoken to us and said “Come up here”, the throne room reality suddenly is becoming our reality. We as a fellowship just like John  have fallen at His feet as dead.  There is this overwhelming sense for many of us as we gaze into the Throne room that nothing else matters, that our desires, our hurts, our impossibilities melt like wax at the Fathers greatness. There is no earthly language that can express the grandeur of our Heavenly Father and what He has done in and through His Son Jesus Christ.  I know of several who have come to me and said my mind cannot comprehend it all; but all I can do is weep. What is happening? I would say the Throne room has caused us to stop and examine ourselves and our response is that of Job:

I have heard of YOU by the hearing ear, but now my eyes see YOU.  Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:6

The beauty of repentance knitted with pray is now telling the story of what God has done and will do with us at Maranatha. Yes, HE is calling us back to our first love. There is no other response than to join the living creatures, the 24 elders and sing the new song saying:

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kings and priests to serve our God,and they will reign on the earth. Rev 5:9-10

Thank you Maranatha Fellowship for your endurance and love for the WORD of the LORD.

In Him,
Jeannette 

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

Nested in the history of Israel we find the story of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. They were an abominable duo who did more to defile the land than any leaders before them.(1 Kings16:33). Their ungodly reign caused the faithful of God to be burdened with the consequences of their idolatry. Jezebel had the prophets of the Lord killed and was desperately seeking to kill the prophet Elijah. (1 King 18:13). Clearly, Ahab and Jezebel were no friends of God or of His people.

Such was the prosecution of the prophets that King Ahab had men hunt nations and kingdoms in search for Elijah to end his life.  The Bible recounts of a day when the Lord spoke to Elijah telling him to present himself to King Ahab. How would you like that calling? Here he had been protected of the Lord and know he is being asked to meet Ahab face to face. (1 Kings 18)

Can you picture this great confrontation? The arrogant wicked King sees Elijah and has the audacity to say  “O troubler of Israel”. Elijah responds with the boldness of a lion proclaiming Ahab is the trouble- maker because he has forsaken the Word of the Lord and followed the baals.  Elijah tells Ahab, gather the people of Israel and the prophets of baal and asherah to Mount Carmel.

 Elijah stands before the people and in a proverbial sense DRAWS A LINE IN THE SAND saying:

 “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1st Kings 18:21).

 Now God’s people had not completely stopped following Him.  History tells us they tried to follow God and the false gods of the day. Elijah’s words were clear, concise and left no room for interpretation.

The Bible says that after Elijah spoke the people of God answered him not a word. 

Elijah than challenges the false prophets saying let’s make sacrifice, you call on your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord. The one who answers by fire HE IS GOD!

Baal didn’t answer then Elijah prepares the sacrifice and prays this powerful and amazing prayer:

"O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."(1 Kings 18:36-37)

As Elijah finishes his prayer the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice down to the wood, stones and the dust.  The people of God saw this and fell on their faces saying:

“The LORD, He is God! The Lord He is God!

In an instant they went from faltering between two opinions to proclaiming HE IS GOD, THE LORD HE IS GOD.

 GOD’S drawing a line in the sand is not about hate, intolerance, inequity, injustice, unfairness and single mindedness. It’s about LOVE, HIS LOVE for HIS people, plan and purposes. 

In His mercy, loving-kindness He revealed Himself in power so that Israel’s heart would turn to Him.

Have the voices of today brought you to falter? Has the accuser of the brethren caused you to doubt? Do you have little strength left?

The Lord is calling‑ rebuild the altar of your broken heart and tell the world:

              HE IS GOD, THE LORD HE IS GOD…

DOES GOD HAVE AN IDENTITY CRISIS?

Just this week I read an interview of a famous performer’s reflections about God and Jesus Christ. As I read the article as beautiful as it sounded full of compassion, love and mercy the words on the page reflected a  dichotomy more than a representation of the biblical ONE TRUE GOD. 

Here is an excerpt of the performers opinion on God and Jesus:

“I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that’s why they’re so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you’re a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross. – “

“The God of the Old Testament”, that statement always seems to bother me. The first time I heard it I was sitting in the front row at church when the Pastor suddenly declared, “ Aren’t you glad don’t serve that mean God  of the old testament”.  To my surprise this type of thinking is extremely prominent in western Christianity.

Does God truly have an identity crisis?

The reality is the Bible does not support this type of distinction. Throughout scripture we can see the different characteristics of God at different times and circumstances but scripture clearly tells us HE IS THE SAME, YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVR! (Hebrews 13:8)

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form”.   This scripture has to be one of the most important points in all of Christianity declaring all the full measure of God has made residence in Jesus.  It’s not that Jesus is simply a human being that looks familiar to us. He was and is the bodily form taken by God Himself, HE IS GOD IN ALL HIS FULLNESS. 

When we use language that makes a distinction between the old testament God and the new testament Jesus, we minimize Jesus and disregard the Father.  I encourage you to go back and search the scriptures entirely, from Genesis to Revelation. You may be surprised to find some of the greatest examples of grace and mercy. (Joseph, the Exodus, Ruth, Jonah, David and many more)

He is the immutable God, meaning He is forever constant. He is and has always been good, loving, holy, righteous, perfect, merciful,slow to anger, abounding in love, faithful and forgiving…

Zoe Love

Ever so often my job requires me to travel to other offices within the company. As I pack my six year old Zoe sits by my suitcase and starts counting the days until my return.  This past week I returned from a two day trip and as I walked to the baggage claim there was Zoe with the genuine flames of love beaming out of her big beautiful brown eyes.  She ran towards me and blessed me with the biggest hug and kiss, as if I had been gone for years. Each kiss and hug was a reminder of her unconditional love, such was her joy she strolled my laptop bag to the car with one hand and tightly held my hand with her other hand. As we drove home she gave me a minute by minute status of all I had missed and in between each event she would say, Mom, I love you so much!

As the night came to a close I started meditate on “Zoe Love” suddenly I found myself praying and asking the Lord to teach me to love like Zoe loves. The beauty of that pray is that her name means “as God intended it to be” a simple prayer deeper than at first can be thought.

What, Zoe didn’t know was that I had endured some hardship while I was away and my heart was broken. Her acts of love where like a healing balm touching the depths of my soul. Just like the scripture says love drives out fear and it covers a multitude of wrongs. 

The apostle John left us many words of wisdom when it comes to the counsel of love. The same man who could call down fire upon men is also able to speak of the pure fire of love.  Beautiful it is when our flames become cleaner and our temper changes to compassion, unforgiveness to forgiveness, vengeance to mercy, frustration to peace.

Let’s acquire this love from the altar of the Almighty, we love because HE loved us first, nowhere else can this treasure be found. Though the journey at times can be painful I intend to advance towards the throne of God to understand the mystery and depth of this Love.

Hijackers, tolerance, the grim reaper…………

 

Death has been given the name grim reaper and it is usually illustrated as a skeletal figure clothed in black.   So many times I have asked myself if we could see beyond the veil of the physical world into the spiritual world would we be more alert to the true intentions of this ominous threat.

Have you noticed that some of the most intolerant people are those who shout the loudest for tolerance? As Christ followers we need to be aware that the grim reaper is out and about hijacking what is ours. In this world of political correctness it seems that tolerance is defined as a total rejection of moral standards and of all which is Judeo-Christian.  This modern tolerance redefines words like marriage, equality, absolute truth, judgment, love and even Christianity.

In the past month I have had several conversations where the topic of Islam was central and I highlighted the injustices towards women and Christians throughout the Islamic world. I am always perplexed by the flawed logic that is applied to these conversations all in the name of love and tolerance.  They sounded something like this:

                    Jeannette

                          

Muslim women are being mistreated and Christians are getting tortured in Islamic countries………

                   John Doe (response)

Jeannette, don’t you know Muslims are getting saved by the thousands? I know Muslims and I don’t believe we should talk about Islam. I believe the battle will be won without talking about these issues.

Jeannette

My thought, is my speaking the truth truly going to hinder a Muslims salvation. I rejoice when I hear testimonies of Muslims getting saved but one issue has nothing to do with the other.  This blurred view of reality is what is concerning. When we no longer can call out evil and when truth is being hijacked in the name of secular tolerance the grim reaper gains ground.

As I was mediating on these conversations I remembered an interview I was watching where someone asked Dr. Ravi Zacharias to define the word evil.  Dr. Zacharias went on to say “Evil is ultimately that which violates the purposes of God for life and for living with each other.”

Should we not speak against that which violates God’s purpose? Why is it social justice when we talk about sex trafficking, clean water, and curing malaria. Shouldn’t the same logic be applied to every injustice?

Our culture is doing what scripture said- it’s getting worse and worse. The Bible gives us instructions on how we should live. We are to keep standing for righteousness knowing that it will mean enmity with the world. Always, remembering that death has lost its sting……………

EVOLVING WORDS**TRUE WORDS**THE BIBLICAL JESUS

The fact that the Word came in the flesh to teach me what true life looks like is beyond fascinating. The longer I walk with Jesus and study His Word I come to understand what it means to consciously turn to the Light.  It’s an invitation to participate in the fellowship of the Triune God.

The Biblical Jesus never changes and we cannot undo that regardless of what society tells us.  I have personally come to despise the word evolve, why? At every turn I make I continue to hear the voices of many in today’s society saying, Jeannette you need to adapt and evolve in your thinking.  My response to this is. NO! I have to trust the Bible because it’s the only manuscript that points me to the true identity of Jesus and only in Him there is true life.

My heart grieves when I see and hear that brothers and sisters in Christ run to other philosophies to find peace and help when from the beginning of creation Jesus was fully realized and came to teach us how to live. 

A quick glance at the news tells us our world has changed in the blink of an eye.  It’s as if there is a great awakening of those who call good evil and evil good. The king’s of political correctness are changing the English language in order to mask the sting and implication of what words really mean.  This metamorphosis of language is intentional in order to obscure the truth and it has seeped into every area of society.

 Don’t be fooled from the beginning of time Satan has been on a quest to distort the truth with the goal of dehumanizing God’s creation.  Let’s go back to Genesis and see how the word war started:

Genesis 2: 16-17 (God speaking to Adam and Eve)

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”        

Genesis 3: 3: 1-6 (The serpent to the women)

The serpent was more  clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We can eat the fruit of the trees that are in the garden. But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You can be sure that you won’t die,” the serpent said to the woman. “God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will know things you have never known before. You will be able to tell the difference between good and evil. You will be like God.”

From the beginning deception came in by the distortion of the God’s Word.  Had Eve heeded to God’s Word of instruction our lives would be quite different.

Man can attempt to change truth but the reality is IN the Beginning WAS the WORD and it will END with the WORD and the WORD will endure forever. 

EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME

 

Every human life has a time and within this time there are extraordinary moments in the ordinary of life. We may see these moments as random daily events but we are eternal beings and our words, works and gifts are destined for eternity.

This past weekend I had the privilege to attend a memorial service for one of my dearest friends father. Their father lived for Jesus his entire life. As I read the comments left on the memorial page there was one that struck a chord in my heart.  One of his army friends wrote how he remembered him saying,"I cannot get away from God".  From the opening of the service to the last amen you know this was a man gifted of the Lord in more ways than one. He was a Bible teacher, guitarist, songwriter, husband father and the list goes on and on. He served Jesus and his community as a minister for over thirty years.  He was married to the love of his life for 48 years and what a love they had.

As I sat and listened to his life story unfold, the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians resonated in my being “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”.  I am confident if I were to ask his dear wife that co-labored with him was it easy? She would say we endured many trails and tribulations. However, I know this sweet lady would tell me:

Honey,

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

My life’s scale received some balance as I heard about this man’s life. Birth and death are the two-sides of the scale. Clearly we don’t have control of either however, with the Holy Spirits guidance, we can keep the scale in balance no matter what season of life we are in.

God's purposes for our lives are weaved into eternity and like a work of art they will be displayed for many to see. As King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Let us recognize the beauty in the here and now acknowledging the place and purpose each person has in the overall plan of God.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay focused, time is precious…………………