The Cost Of Obedience

Has God ever asked you to do something, that lit a fire under you; only to loose or fail? Well… it looked like you had lost or failed, in the eyes and ears of your family, friends or peers.  The emotional and spiritual devastation is amazing…

You were so sure you were doing what God wanted, that you sacrificed everything, gave up a career, or even let that relationship walk away. 

90% of the time, God does not reveal the miracles and victories you uncovered, and lives you touched, while obeying, loosing or failing at a task ordained by God… yet judged by culture, community, the church, family and peers.

Then, like a steam roller, the health, finances or relationships are crushed;  right in front of the world; adding fuel to the condemnation and judgment of others.  It isn’t long before you are getting sick of “You just have to…” whatever.

My favorite is, and its said in many ways…“God is punishing you, so I am stepping away until He has finished, and you are prospering again”.  Oh yes… I’ve been there… and lived it… it is amazing, the horrible things people say, and even make up; after the great fail or loss. At least in their eyes, it is a fail or loss… but great battles and victories were achieved during that time, that no one knows about… yet. 

Then every sort of evil, comes out of the woodwork, to kick you, while you are down. You want to runaway, get away from everyone that knows about this.  But that still small voice says, Stay Put… We are not done yet… But the devil can see the impact you are having, just being there.  He will do everything imaginable to get you to run… heck, your own humanity will start screaming RUN get out of here. I cannot take it anymore…  But the Holy Spirit says STOP… stay put… we are doing far more than you realize. 

Well, I guess I’m suppose to stop there.  Please read on, to the devotion that inspired this… or lit my fire this morning.  

I receive these devotionals on a daily bases, and every once in a while, one jumps out at me; and I am compelled to forward it or repost here. It is usually something that has already been on my mind, and I had not written it down.

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The Cost of Miracles
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Sunday, December 30 2012

"Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit'" (Matt 1:19-21).

There is often a cost associated with a miracle. Mary carried a miracle in her belly. No other woman in history had the distinction of birthing the Son of God. It was a one-time event in history. However, for 30 years she was viewed as a woman who was often judged, shamed by public opinion, rejected by her own, and thought to be an adulteress by her townspeople.

I can only imagine her cries at night, "You are God, you can help them understand I am not an immoral person. I am doing the will of God! Why must I be shamed and judged the same as a prostitute!" God's silence must have been difficult. She would not be accurately viewed for years to come. In many ways, she was called to the same path as Jesus was. He was rejected by His own people too.

Her finance Joseph was going to break off the engagement when he discovered she was pregnant. Had he not had a visitation from an angel, he too would have rejected her. However, he married her and also carried the stigma associated with a pregnancy that most assumed was immoral.

Sometimes we are called to experience rejection for the Son of God living in us. When we carry the cross of Christ, the world and even our families sometimes look at us as though we have a few marbles out of place. Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace. Even our families would judge us and think wrongly of us.

Yes, a miracle often has a cost. But that miracle is the seed for something imperishable. It is the seed of eternity in our hearts.

Serve Where You Are

By Greg Ewert – March 19, 2012

I cannot count how many times I’ve written and spoke on this subject.

We are all called into service, but not all of us are called into the fulltime five fold ministries.  You would be surprised, at how much you do for God, walking the kids to the bus stop; singing those little worship choruses, as you load the dishwasher; taking that walk in the park.  You would be amazed at how much you change, by moving from point A.. to point B.  And on the job.. Whoa!  if you could see into the spirit realm, you would be shocked at what God is using your presents to do. I hope you enjoy the devotional I placed after this. 

Thank You For Visiting my blog… Greg 

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This Portion is Reprinted With Permission –

This was my Morning devotional, I felt compelled to share it with you.

The Fallacy of Full-Time Christian Work
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Monday, March 19 2012

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -
Colossians 3:23-24

"I didn't know you were in full-time Christian work," said my close friend as we were driving. "I didn't realize that," she went on. I responded, "Every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in full-time Christian work." God calls some to the mission field, others to be accountants, and others to be advertising executives, and still others to be construction workers. God never made a distinction between sacred and secular. In fact, the Hebrew word avodah is the root word having the same meaning of "work" and "worship." God sees our work as worship.

We have incorrectly elevated the role of the Christian worker to be more holy and committed than the person who is serving in a more secular environment. Yet the call to the secular workplace is as important as any other calling. God has to have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to know Him because they would be separated from society.

I learned this lesson personally when I sought to go into "full-time" service as a pastor in my late twenties, only to have God thrust me back into the business world unwillingly. This turned out to be the best thing He could have done for me, because it was never His will for me to be a pastor. He knew I was more suited for the workplace.

We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the workplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today and see your vocation as worship to His glory.

 

Thank You !

Stepping up to the fight

 

As children, the Holy Spirit guards and protects us. Here is where we establish our relationship with God. However, after years of milk and cookies, the sweeter things that draw us near to Him, we are expected to learn how to feed ourselves. We are expected to learn how to prepare a meal, set the table, and serve it to those around us.

Then… There comes the day, when hiding and waiting for God to fight our battle, doesn’t work anymore.  There comes a day when we are expected to fight for what has been placed in our custody. 

I meet people all the time that are being beaten by the Devils cohorts. They retreat to isolation, and they are even held captive, in the many prisons of our enemy. In our walk as believers we are expected, at some point, to grow up, to strap on the armor, and fight.

Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. {12} For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. {13} Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Eph 6:11-13 NLT)

No… God does not expect us to dive into the mix alone; not always.  There are those times we must stand, with our armor and battle face. 

I had a dream, years ago:

I was standing on a big rock, overlooking some blank rolling hills of sand.  I was a Watchman… standing guard over a territory I was responsible for.  Every now and then, something would pop up over one of those little hills, and I would see a fiery dart heading in my direction.  Bang… Bang… Bang… those darts hit my shield; sometimes more than one or two at a time.  The enemy got really good at disguises, and would get pretty darn close before opening fire; POW! they hit my shield hard and yes, a few got by my shield. My armor saved me, but it hurt. 

After a barrage of darts and arrows, I heard something new.  Like a storm off in the distance… a faint roar at first…

It got louder and louder.  I stood tall, up on my toes, looking out over the rolling hills.  With my eyes strained on the horizon, I caught a quick glimpse of something on fire and coming fast.  It was hugging the surface… disappearing behind the hills, only to pop up  again, as it got closer, and closer. 

Suddenly… there it was.  I could see it clearly.  It wasn’t a dart, an arrow, or a spear.  It was a missile, a rocket of some sort. I barely had a second to raise my shield when it hit.  The explosion was deafening, and there was fire and smoke; but I was still standing. 

One by one… several more rockets hit.  They were not hitting my shield every-time. They were hitting the rock I was standing on as well. Then I noticed, just before the rockets hit, the sky filled with arrows. More and more of these arrows and darts were getting past the hills, the rock, and even my armor.  After a while I was on my knees, my shield was battered, burnt, and full of holes.  My armor was smoldering and I was in pain. 

The roar was louder than before and I couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. I stood up, and scanned the horizon. I spotted one, two, three… There were four rockets coming from four different directions.   I pulled my shield close and in the back of my mind I thought this was the end. 

I closed my eyes and a few seconds later…  BOOM!… A giant cloud of fire, smoke, and fragments went everywhere.  Stunned, I realized I had not felt the impact.  I opened my eyes to see my friends, they were standing all around me, with their shields acting like a wall.  One by one they turned to me and winked.  As the rockets, exploded and air filled with arrows.

It was only a few minutes, but it seemed like hours, before silence and a cool breeze cleared the air.  Hurting, like I never thought possible, my friends tended my wounds. 

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I tried to keep this story short and have left out a lot of details. One lesson to be learned here is…

Well.. there might be more than one lesson here. 

 

Greg Ewert

God… And being prepared

When it comes to being prepared for an emergency event, Christians seem to be the hardest ones to convince.  Getting ready or being prepared is almost an act of heresy and/or hypocrisy; and a denial of ones faith in a lovey dovey god; a god, or image,  that does not exist. 

When we look at all the stories and parables in the bible, or any religious documents written about God through the Holy Spirit, we do not see lovey-dovey anywhere.

Jesus, the son of God, gave us a stern warning:

Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." (Mat 10:34-38 NKJV)

Earth, is a temporary situation. Even our scientists have proven, at least 4 extinction level events in human history. Does this mean we all head to the mountains and wait for the next event; to wipe out 95% of all humans on earth?  Of course not !  That is just plain weird. 

Throughout the bible we see how God warned His people, through dreams and the prophets, of upcoming disasters. His people were always told to prepare.  God could have waved his hand and POOF! caused food to fall on his people, but that is not in Gods character on a national level. 

In Genesis 41 we see how God warned Egypt of a severe famine; and told them how to prepare for it.  The story of Joseph is one of my all time favorites.  And it is only one example of how God, through His Holy Sprit, warns His people of upcoming events that will seem devastating to us humans.   Being prepared is always in Gods plan; and it is His will for His people to be prepared.

I find it amazing how people are more concerned about their image, than they are about people.  I am referring to the “faith image”.  When it comes to being prepared for disasters or loss of services, I get the these words thrown at me on a regular basis: “ Where is your faith brother”…  “what will people think of you and your walk in faith, going around telling people to prepare”.  And the only ones to push me away and isolate me are… the christians.  Or those who go to church and call themselves Christians. 

Jesus Followed up the words above with:

He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. (Mat 10:41-42 NKJV)

And for all you Lovie Dovie people getting your hate mail started.  When was the last time your preacher preached from Matthew 11. 

Then He (Jesus) began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. (Mat 11:20-24 NKJV)

Now that didn’t sound to lovie dovie, did it?
Something to think about. 

Thank You for Joining me Here
Greg Ewert

I got my scooter and away I went.  I was headed for the foot bridge behind Valley River Mall; why?  I have no idea .  I hadn't been on the east river bike path yet, and whoa! it is nice.  Right past the Delta Ponds and up river.  This is what I found...

North-west
I thought for sure I took a south picture...

Anyway, here is my scooter. 
 

My Wheels  Believe it or not, its easier to buzz around on this than to try and get in and out of my car.  Anyway... I sat & prayed a while.  Enjoyed the sun... Visited the mall... and zipped home.  Still do not know why I just had to go to that bridge.

Do You Remember that Day?

Easter 1965... I can remember it like it was yesterday.  Mom was dressed in a peach colored Easter dress with a little 1960s matching hat.  Of course I was wearing my Easter suit and tie.  my dad always insisted that us boys should be wearing our slacks sport-coat and tie when in public, with school being the only exception.

We were in a little Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington, and we were sitting third row center.  It was the most amazing morning in the history of the world, as far as I was concerned. It was like something had taken hold of my insides and was pulling me to my feet. The preacher was preaching in a soft voice, and his words floated around my head.  I couldn't help myself, when I started to stand up, mid service. I felt like I was floating up and out of my body, and if I didn't get my feet under me, I would surely fall over. Mom grabbed me and told me to sit down; but the lady next to her grabbed her arm and pointed to the isle.   As I stood, about five other people stood up and we just started walking toward the front.  

The preacher just stopped... he said, "who are we to mess with God's timing". He then asked if there was anyone else that felt the tug... three more people made their way forward.

The Choir scrambled to get into place... 

They started singing about the old rugged Cross; 

and I broke down to my knees crying.

An old man I had never met, knelt beside me and we cried together.  I wasn't quite 10 years old yet, and I already had the weight of the world, on my shoulders.  I wasn't quite 10 years old and yet and I was thoroughly educated in the many ways that pain can be inflicted upon the human body. I honestly could not feel my feet on the floor when that old guy took me to the back room where they kept all the choir robs. The release of all that pressure/weight on me was overwhelming.  He stayed right there with me and let me destroy his suit jacket.  I do not know where the hours went, but suddenly it was evening service and I was standing in the baptism tank.

I was pretty sure, even at that age, that I was going to die soon; and I wanted to be sure to go to heaven when I did. As that preacher layed be back in the water I felt something else; a warmth filling me from the inside out.  I thought I was on my way to heaven that very moment.  I thought Jesus had rescued me from my life.  It felt like I was under that water forever, but alas I came back up.  I looked at the preacher and he had a very strange look on his face... he started shaking and he followed me out of the tank.  For the life of me cannot remember the words he said.  I can see his lips moving, I remember the scene to this day, but I do not hear the words.

It has been my Hope... The one thing I look forward to... The day I feel Jesus hug me and welcome me home...

That was 45 years ago... and again this morning I caught myself praying... "Jesus, do you remember that day?"

I guess I just wanted to do feel nine years old again. To feel that one moment in my life when there was no fear or pain.

Sometimes all we need to do is remember...