Faith

It always fascinates me how the two devotionals that I read fairly regularly can interact with each other. Today's Experiencing God was basically about knowing your enemy, and then Oswald Chambers was talking about Faith.

FAITH

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him." Hebrews 11:6

Faith in antagonism to common sense is fanaticism, and common sense in antagonism to faith is rationalism. The life of faith brings the two into a right relation. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual; of impulse and inspiration. Nothing Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, it is revelation sense, and it reaches the shores where common sense fails. For every detail of the common-sense life, there is a revelation fact of God whereby we can prove in practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle which always puts Jesus Christ first - Lord, Thou hast said so and so (e.g., Matthew 6:33), it looks mad, but I am going to venture on Thy word.

Today I went to the military pay site to find out what our end of month (EOM) pay will be even though payday is not actually until Wednesday. I don't usually (in fact EVER) check this, but for some reason I did. I mean our pay is always within a couple of dollars the same each paycheck, but since this is the LAST one, I just wanted to see if it would be the same. Imagine my surprise when I looked in the little box marked EOM and saw........$0.00! Now, I don't know exactly what this means just yet, and I am sure Mark will be able to find something out today, but I write all of this to just say, that I am amazingly unruffled by it. I am sure God has some greater purpose than money in bringing me to this discovery this morning. He is continuing to stretch us, and even though it is a bit scary, (well more than a bit) there is also some weird part of me that wants to know, "Okay, how much can we really handle? How much do we REALLY believe that God can take us through?" I am scared just writing this because I have learned that God will often take you to those scariest places to see what you're made of. Will we pass the test? What if we crumble? I don't know, but I fear He is looking to see who and what we are relying on. Could it be....faith?

I pray Lord, that we are strong in our faith, not so that we won't suffer unduly, but because it is pleasing to you. You try us and test us, not so that we can go about boasting of how we passed the test, but so that we gain greater insight into YOUR character, YOUR love for us, YOUR power and glory in our lives. I love you, Lord, and I go into this day with joy in my life and in my steps. You are God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. I feel your presence here today and every day! Thank you for blessing us so abundantly...

Old Into New

"Why does not God reveal Himself to me?" He cannot, it is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the road as long as you won't abandon absolutely to Him. Immediately you do, God witnesses to Himself, He cannot witness to you, but He witnesses instantly to His own nature in you.

I read this in today's reading of My Utmost to His Highest. Once again, I receive a revelation that I had not previously known in quite the same way as I do today. I think that is one of the most amazing things about this ongoing journey with our Father.

When we are not in tune with the Father, he cannot reveal himself because his nature is not in us. That fills me with amazement somehow. I definitely remember glimpses of God before I came to a relationship with him, but I never got more than that. The more we delve into him, the more he can reveal to us. That excites me and gives me the desire to know him ever more deeply. He is never done. I am never there. Just when I may least be expecting it, he reveals something new to me. And it is not usually something that I NEVER thought of, just never thought of and got in quite this way. He takes old thoughts and makes them new. And that is very cool...

Just some Sunday morning thoughts...

Never a Dull Moment!

So subbing continues to provide me with amusing anecdotes. The latest goes something like this...

I'm in a second grade classroom, circulating as I check students work. An absolutely adorable little girl looks up at me with her angelic eyes and announces:

"I HAVE LICE IN MY HAIR!"

I of course, immediately take a step back.

She continues, "Lice is not good for my hair."

At this point I am trying hard not to laugh out loud. As I continue to take tiny steps backward, I reply to her, "You are right, lice is not good for ANYONE'S hair." She resumes practicing the letter X.

So there you have it folks, another day in the life of the Coolest Substitute EVER. It doesn't get any better than this! (Unless of course, you count dinner with Melanie and the Mormon boys. But that's another story altogether. Or was it all different?)

My Utmost for His Highest---October 3

"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Mark 9:29

We must be able to mount up with wings as eagles; but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and the living down. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," said Paul, and the things he referred to were mostly humiliating things. It is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say - "No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountain top with God." Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they are efface altogether my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?

I will not panic, Lord! Well...I'm trying not to panic, Lord...I will rely on you, my Savior. Show me how to direct my thoughts to you and away from the worries of this world. Focus me, Father, on your goodness and your mercy and your love...You ARE goodness, mercy, and love, and You KNOW the plans you have for me and mine. I will trust in you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for the understanding I have of that love.