Not Consumed

For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. – Deuteronomy 4:24

By definition, the word 'consume' means to 'use up.' While this word is most often heard when talking about eating a meal, consuming groceries or logs that are ‘used up’ in a fire- Sometimes, we ourselves can feel as though we are used up- overtaken and consumed. –Along with all of our time and resources that we have available.

This can be a result of internal emotions, like depression, exhaustion, shame, insecurity. –You know the stories that we tell ourselves and things that we rehash. But it can also be caused by a job, an issue, or a relationship.

In fact, even things we love, like hobbies, church, or other Godly activities can drain us, if we get them out of order or allow them to have more power over us than God.

This can be tricky because good things, important things, can get out of whack. For example:

God should come before everything. Many of us go to church and even help run it in order to partake in the lessons and fellowship that strengthens our faith.

Relationships are important. Otherwise a good “love walk” wouldn’t be written in the commandments.

Work is important too. I mean, you do need an income in order to consume other basic necessities, right?

So where do you draw the line? How do you know when things have crossed over? Well consider these next few items and think of your current situation. Could any of them be said about you?

*You're up at night, full of anxiety, fear, stress or worry?

*You cannot rest and your health is suffering because this thing keeps you ‘on.'

*You don’t have time for reading your Bible, going for a walk or enjoying something little or new is just a luxury.

*You don’t even offer to help others because your time is tied up or you’re too afraid that your contribution wouldn’t be enough.

*Perhaps normal ‘interruptions’ from your family frustrate you because you are trying to work on or look at this thing.

*You can’t even begin to plan ahead or even think of anything else because [it] always has ‘one more thing’ that needs to be taken care of first…

*What about being a martyr? Are you the only one that can do something when it comes to [it]?

*Or survival mode. You are literally just trying to get through each day.
_

_

Boy, those are some hard statements aren’t they?  - I can safely list each of these because I have been in every single one of them. –And learning it once or discovering this about yourself in an area doesn’t inoculate you from getting stuck there again somewhere else.

So, if any part of this has picked a scab for you, I pray that you hang in there and hear my heart. –Because I have to tell you this is not the path of walking in victory.

Exodus 20:3 is part of the 10 commandments that reads ‘that you shall have no other Gods before me.’

So, if everything in your life has to bow to this thing before anything else can be taken care of, then you might have an idol or a stronghold on your hands. If we’re 'consumed' and all used up by something other than God, His purpose, His plans, or His love for others. -That's not just a problem, it’s a sin.
-
The funny thing is, when it's God consuming us, we are inspired and strengthened. Isaiah 40:31 says "but those who hope in the LORD will RENEW their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and NOT grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Even Psalm 40 is a passage called “God Sustains His Servant’. I encourage you to read it.

-

-

I can’t help but find the timing for this message to be perfect. This week, on March 1^st, marks the first day of the Lenten season. Lent represents the 40 days between Jesus’s baptism and then going into Galilea. He was in the desert, fasting and prayerfully seeking God, but he was also tempted by the devil.

Many believers of various denominations will choose to fast from something themselves, each day during this time. As an effort to draw closer to the Lord and remember His sacrifice for us.

You can read more about Lent on the Upperroom but let's look at Matthew 4 together.

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil.² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

    and they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[c]”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[e]”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. 

Here are some of the things that stand out to me from that passage.

·       *Fasting doesn’t keep you from getting tempted (v2)

·       *The devil looks for those who are tired and weary. (v2)

·       *The devil uses scripture (v6)

·       *Each time that Jesus was tempted, He made it a point to recall the word of God too.  –And he was part God. (v4,7,10)

·       *Angels came to assist when he resisted. (v11)

Like Jesus, we have a holy spirit who is with us.

Psalm 34:7 says that The Angel of the Lord also encamps around us when we fear him.

Think about your own temptations for a moment. When temptation comes our way be it chocolate, cake, a cigarette, spending five dollars, DOESN’T doing it one more time, only lead to wanting to do it again just one more time? How is that any different from a job or a relationship or this thing you feel compelled to do or can’t pull away from?

Our verse today in Deuteronomy 4 reads “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” He wants to be the only thing that consumes us. In doing so, he refines the very offerings that we have to give everything else.

So how do we uncross those lines? Well, I believe that you fast from those things. But the way that we do that will look different to each of us. So, I encourage you to try this lenten season, maybe for the first time. Ask the Lord to reveal the area of your life that has more of you than he does. Maybe you already know what it is. Then ask him to help you give a little bit of it up every day for the next 40 days. It’s okay if that looks different every single day of that challenge. But seek a way to honor him, in replacement of it. Which can be in the form of prayer, it can be loving your family, it can be choosing a healthier option.

*You can prepare to be tempted through this season, like Jesus.

*You need scripture to meditate on, so go ahead and pick some verses out.

*Make some boundaries. Preferably with your spouse, a mentor, a group or friend, someone that can pray with you and/or keep you accountable.

Then have a date to check in and talk it out. Then do it again!

I’m going to end with a quote that I heard from Pastor Fred City Life, and it’s a good one so pay attention:

You will never have dominion over any appetite of your body until you give it over and make fasting a regular part of your diet.

I’d like to tweak that to say that you nor God will never have dominion over your life, as long as we let other things keep draining/claiming the power. 

Friend, if you’re feeling consumed, maybe it’s time to reprioritize and let the ‘thing’ go. If you can't quit it, maybe you should change the way you've been feeding it.

If any part of this message has been offensive, I hear you. I would encourage you to pray that if you didn’t feel like the message applied, but you were offended, ask God what he wants YOU to know instead. Let me assure you that God uses those deep things to take us higher. –Not to lead us into condemnation or to convert into anger.

I pray that this message ignites not only a new passion but a new area of faith for you that blows your mind. I would love to hear about your challenges and how you see the Lord working in them. Know that I am praying with you all the way to victory.

Until next time- Thanks for tuning in!

Happy New Year

God gave us a future but not so that we would stay the same or hand it over to our past. Press onward friend. Happy NEW year to all, with love!

The Gift

***

Contemplation #1

2013

I can't say that I am a girl that lives for shopping but I do love it when I have the perfect gift to give. You know what I am talking about- When you know that you have a winner, don't you?

You may or may not watch the sales paper. You search store after store for the exact color, shape, functions, size... When you find it, you are elated. You check the bag six times on the way home, to not only confirm that it is still with you; but you just want to take it out and look at it again, and then again. ... and then again. 

To see it. To touch it. To remind yourself of how awesome it is. There is a satisfaction in having it to give.

What about being a recipient of that gift? When someone else gives you the perfect one, very seldom do we hide it away. It's out so you can admire it and so that others can ask you about it. It's on the top shelf so it won't get broken. Every time you touch it, your reflexes begin wiping it off so that it maintains the luster of new.

As the Christmas Holiday drew closer, my mind just kept thinking about different "gift" analogies... I knew that there was something to write. I couldn't seem to tie them all together. When I prayed about closing it, I was startled when I felt the reply "You don't get it yet."

So, I prayed to get a better understanding. 

***

Contemplation #2

2014

Almost a year later on Thanksgiving I picked up my cousin Suzi. Her son is away at school in California and she was on the phone with him. I couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation.

She was asking Him about emails that she had sent Him earlier in the week. It was kind of funny. I don't really know what He was saying but she had a certain motherly urgency in her tone. I pictured Him on the other end of the phone, rolling his eyes and sighing "Yes mother. I have the emails." "No, I haven't read them." "Yes, I will."

On this side of the call though, I heard something different. The pang of disappointment. I could interpret what her heart was saying underneath... "I have prepared this gift for you."

I asked her about it when she got off the phone. She explained about some deadlines. She did the work to get the information for him. There were several messages of varying sorts but she had spent time putting it all together for him. Something He needed. Something he'd want. Something that would help him. That same undertone surfaced again and all I could hear was "My love spent so much time preparing this thing for Him and He just doesn't receive it."

It struck me that this is the gift that that I was supposed to be writing about. He has prepared something for us and we just don't receive it.

***

Contemplation #3

I once read somewhere that if you're dying of thirst, believing in water won't save your life. You have to drink it for it to help, or change, or save you. In John 4 Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman and says "IF you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." We don't ask for more or even at all because we don't yet know that He is. 

And we don't know yet that we don't know.

Take a drink.

My commentary in my Bible says: "The woman mistakenly believed that if she received the water Jesus offered, she would not have to return to the well each day. She was interested in Jesus' message because she thought it could make her life easier. But if that were the case, people would accept Christ's message for the wrong reasons. Christ did not come to take away challenges but to change us on the inside and to empower us to deal with problems from God's perspective." and "Faith is a gift that grows as we use it."

***

And still here it is now 2 years after beginning this post [probably 20 years since being saved] and I think I am just now beginning to get it. We can spend all of Christmas [or Christianity] talking about the importance of receiving Christ; and even doing a good job reminding ourselves to stay focused.

Maybe we believe that there is a God and that the whole message of Jesus is a real and true account. And yet still sometimes we don't even know that we're not applying/allowing (for a lack of a better word) the God given freedom that comes only by letting Him saturate our lives.

The water is the Word of God.

We share the message asking others to believe in Him when we should be pleading instead for others to take the drink. Offering it, serving it, filling our vessels and seeking the thirsty to refresh, until we know that they fully receive it too.

Trust me when I tell you that I am not there yet either.

And before we get into heretics, let me clarify that the Bible says you ONLY have to believe! You don't have to practice rituals or complete checklists to find salvation. (Mark 5:36, John 3:15-16) 

But even the Samaritan woman ran away and HAD TO TELL EVERYONE what Jesus was doing in her life. And because of her testimony, others came to hear for themselves and they too believed.

WHO are you telling?

Why are we ALL not shouting from the rooftops (((I KNOW A REDEEMER WHO LIVES)))?

***

Contemplation #4

Luke 11:33 says "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.”

Boy that sounds like contemplation #1 now doesn't it?

1 John 1:5-6 – “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” 

Yet how many times are we bogged down instead by current circumstances? While we believe in the message, we don't receive the power to keep the light bright amidst that circumstance. We let darkness dim our light. 

If you and I aren't as excited about our faith as the Samaritan woman- If we don't believe that we have something in the gift of Jesus that we are proud of and -needing- to share, elated to give, and holding out for everyone to see-

If we don't have the urgency for others to know what this light is that we have inside-

If you can't find a reason to love [or even invite] everyone that sits [to sit] at your table;

If you do not have hope even when you don't know all of the answers-

If your Christ in the morning isn't the same Christ at the end of the day or if he isn't relative on the other days aside from Sunday-

If you believe that he changes hearts and you stay the same; be it addiction, insecurity, fear or anger, etc.

If you are not certain of your salvation, filled with awe and mystery or moved to fall on your knees when think of Him-

Hear me now, if you are not burning and if others are not warmed when they are near you, comforted by what your light brings to their darkness-

Could it be that even you [and I] do not fully receive what is before us?  

What IT IS that Christ offers? 

Ask yourself, have I left something on the table?

After all, He didn't give us eternal life so that we could spend our earthly lives hopeless.

Now let that settle for a minute…

or a day.

or a lifetime.

However long it takes-

The good news is that just like Jesus told the Samaritan woman, you and I can ask Him for a drink. Better yet, we can ask Him to give us the desire to drink it. The psalmist wrote "like the deer pants for water, O' my soul pants for you." Are you panting? For him alone? Ask him.

***

Contemplation #5

Colossians 2:6 - says “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” 

You must continue because there is always more behind the same message. You can spend your life unfolding the mystery of Christ. Unwrapping new meaning and luster in your spirit.

“For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And He will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

If anything on the list of "what ifs" struck you- Whatever your darkness is friend, whether it be shame or sin; Even if it is only your doubt, resistance or lack of desire; our God and our gift is first- a counselor that will show you the way.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

If we don't fully process who He is in that sentiment, we may never be able to process beyond that to know that He is a MIGHTY God. –Or that we can go to Him first like a Father or that He brings peace. First He must counsel.

His gifts come to each of us in many forms and variations. Each one is specifically and thoughtfully and freely offered to each of us. Already prepared. No matter what we have attained, there is more to grasp again. Continue.

Because is it EXCEEDINGLY MORE than all that we have ever asked for or imagined. - Ephesians 3:20-21

What have you given this season or might you give in the next?

What might you receive?

There is only one perfect gift.

He makes us

and all things

new.

Merry Christmas

and Happy *New* year.

Photo Credit:
Package: http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/2015/12/its-the-time-of-year-for-the-spirit-of-giving-.html
Candle: https://pixabay.com/en/candle-light-dark-flame-night-704022/
Nativity: http://365cambridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nativity.jpg