Foundational Thinking

Today's headlines...you read them. HISTORIC DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT--MONUMENTAL. Fundamental Change...Foundations are shaking. Everyone is weighing in on the issues. yak-yak--blah-blah...he said/she said.It is somewhat irritating if it weren't so important.

...and I sit and ponder what the future holds for America...for our children and our grandchildren

...and my heart simply burns with a deep ache for what lies ahead.

...and my eyes sting with tears--because marriage is at the very heart of God

...and I look around at a world of wars, chaos, evil and disease...

...and I open THE WORD...

to the beautiful book of Ephesians...

...and the heart of God speaks so softly--and sings so sweetly of His GRACE AND PEACE to me. (Eph 1:2)

...and he tells me that He chose me to be IN CHRIST before the world began...and he sees me as blameless and holy before Him. (Eph1:4)

...and He tells me that I am His Child because His will is kind  (vs5)

...and I am redeemed through His blood and forgiven lavishly by grace (vs7-8)

....and I find my position...once again...

I am in Christ.

I am IN Christ.

I AM in Christ.

I am in CHRIST.

That phrase wraps around my heart like a warm blanket. It calms the inner storms and gives me a peace that can't be taken away.

In Christ-I know who I am.

In Christ-I know who He is.

In Christ-I know where I am going.

The courts can make rules--the governments of this world can go to war--our leaders can boast and celebrate over what breaks the very heart of Our God. We save whales yet kill the unborn child....we hug trees yet hunt down Believers...they can take away our right to pray in schools and remove the manger scenes from public places. They can sterilize Holidays and History books...

but our God wins.

period.

He has the final word...

because HE IS THE WORD.

IN CHRIST. That is my position. My foundation is the person of Jesus Christ. He can't be moved-broken-sterilized-taken away-over ruled-legislated or silenced. He isn't subject to opinion or culture and won't change with the political climate.

HE WAS

HE IS 

AND HE IS TO COME.

HOW FIRM IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

Lessons from a cat...

What do you get when you cross a dumpster at the Aeschliman farm...a wild Tom cat...and empty peanut butter jar?

Yes. This is a real-and this cat really did this to himself. This poor Tom cat apparently crawled into our dumpster and found some choice dining. Crazy. While sporting his new attire-he crashed into buildings--flopped--flipped--rolled--jumped in a futile attempt to rid himself of his newly found identity. (...it was actually pretty funny!!) And folks-the jar wasn't coming off no matter what that cat tried. Tommy needed some outside help if he was going to ever catch the next meal. It took 3 attempts by Keri to get this face mask off of this furry feline. I am proud to say--he appears normal and probably is busy re-populating our neighborhood. (sorry.) And yes-he still is snacking in our dumpster--hopefully a bit more wisely.

God has a way of giving me some fairly crazy visual aides to help me in my walk...I guess he knows what works with me. Apparently a dumpster diving cat with a craving for Peter Pan extra creamy helped me to understand Ephesians 1: 1-6. (...check that passage out!) 

Identity. We all chase something that will define us...make us unique...always wanting to be different than everyone else. WE want to matter. A passion. A mission. A calling. A testimony. You name it. We chase it whether it is good or bad.

" We try to control our image, since what is inside feels impossible to fix." 

~Jennie Allen (Chase) 

That is true--and...most of the time we end up looking just as ridiculous as my dumpster diving cat. 

We dig around in the worldly dumpsters hoping for a morsel to satisfy.
We get a taste of something...something yummy...and then we are stuck. 
We can't move like we are meant to move.
A wrong identity gives us a dangerous world view. 
Our vision is blocked-we are on a collision course...and if we keep it up long enough...it could kill us.
Unless we have outside Help.

Maybe if we could grasp what transpired at the cross--we wouldn't be so inspired to chase the wind.

Transformation only happens when I begin to grasp the depth that Love had to go to save this sinner.


"For those of us who know Christ, we stand on the unchanging reality that we have been so loved by our God that He purchased us with the blood of His Son. See, we have worth, but it doesn't come from within us--it comes to us from the One who made us." ~Jennie Allen (Chase)

I walked away from Tommy with a profound thought.

I can just be me. 

I don't need to be someone else.

I look pretty stupid when I chase after things that are a temporary fix.

I don't define me. God does.

Ephesians 1:1-6 says that I am 

adopted.

loved.

accepted.

holy.

 blessed.

All because of what Jesus did for me.

Jesus died for the real you...not some future version of you that is new and improved...not some superwoman who has it all together. Jesus died for the real you...the messy you...the broken you. God has abundant grace to pick you up and give you a new identity.

God is for you.

He is not against you.

I CAN'T GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD...AND THE PICTURE OF THAT CRAZY CAT...and how much I want to know my worth in Christ-believe it with my whole heart--and then live like it.

AND I AM ON FIRE!
I AM CHASING MY GOD!
I AM CHASING HIS IDENTITY FOR ME!
AND BOY IS IT A BEAUTIFUL SOUND...CAN YOU HEAR HIM CALLING YOU TODAY?

Drops in the Ocean by Hawk Nelson

Crank up the tunes and praise

Him for who He is!

Feel free to check out my other posts on the same topics!

  Identity Crisis

Chaff

When the Hurt and the Healer Collide

Little Places

Dirt and the Farm Wife

Confidence in...who? 

Calmer of the Storm

Chasing...a REALLY Good God

For years I believed a big, fat  lie. I believed that God just tolerated me--that he HAD to love me because he was God...and that is what God is supposed to do.

There were years where I thought that God was just tolerating my existence until he took me home to heaven. Ya know?! Ever felt like that?

I had this silly notion that God must feel the same way about me...as I felt about me.

That my performance was totally my ticket to heaven and that was the determining factor of God's love for me...and it wasn't looking very promising...

Somewhere I went skipping down a path of works based grace.

My head knew God was good and that He loved me...but my heart felt something much, much different.

Weighed down by my messes.

STUCK.

Maybe, because I know my own junk...

just like you know yours...

and our self worth tells us that maybe we aren't worth it.

Maybe I know my own guilt...

just like you know yours...

and the past plays with the future.

Yeah-I am screwed up, too.

Maybe I know my own mess...

just like you know yours...

and our own control issues make us press the life right out of living.

*

God. is. Good.

*

Do you just know a lot of facts about the Bible or do you trust that His word is true?

*

So why is it so hard to chase a good God with abandon???...and why do I waste so much time on STUFF that is temporary??? Jennie Allen said...we try to make wind feel like concrete. We base our lives on chasing the wind. We have a place in each of us--that eternal place--that only God Himself can fill...and we try to cram all kinds of things in that spot-$,friends, stuff, religion, food, popularity only to come up more empty than before.It is a crazy train wreck.It doesn't work.

So how do I chase God????

To run this race-to pursue God with total abandon,we need to begin at the starting line

--the cross.

...SURRENDER...

Coming to our Jericho's and watching God tear down walls.

Walking in obedience because 

God. IS. Good

and His ways are good.

Running the race--

chasing God

--it is worth it.

And it starts by TRUSTING

that you are who HE says you are.

Yes..He says that you are...

not guilty anymore

not filthy anymore

I love you.

Mercy is yours.

Your not broken anymore

not captive anymore

I love you.

Mercy is yours.

If you think that God has some wrath left over for you--you don't know Jesus and you won't chase God with all your heart. You'll be like the cowering kid waiting for the next blow instead of the beloved child holding the gentle hand of your Father. 

Trusting that He has all of the messes figured out.

Knowing that He is for you.

Resting in His promises.

Leaning on the very Grace 

that He provided.

Our wrong beliefs about who God is--what Jesus has done on our behalf--and who we are as a Child of the King are the reason we don't chase God with passion!!

Our strongholds need torn down.

Our pride needs torn down.

The walls of self sufficiency

and the lies of the enemy need torn down.

And that begins when we bend our knees in prayer.

Ask.

Ask.

Ask.

God is worth chasing and He is worth laying aside the sins

that weigh us down.

As you listen to the words of this song, may mercy and forgiveness help to bend your knee before 

Grace Incarnate. 

This morning-trust who God says you are and chase Him

until you hear God singing his love over you.(Zeph. 3:17)It is a still small voice and it is beautiful sound.

My prayer for you, sweet sister, is that in learning to chase God-

you come to a greater more intimate knowledge that really-all along-He was pursuing you.