Charades? Or do we praise Him in the storm?

The words of this song, "Praise you in the storm", have lifted me out of many dark places in recent days! Well, there is no surprise or limit to how much light is available through the absolute truth of God's words. Sadly, we often do not allow ourselves access to the power and the peace and the light of Christ, because we stay unsurrendered!  Yes, I praise the Lord who gives and who takes away! Yes, I praise Him as Lord of my life, the Lord that is Good and His Love endures forever. No, circumstances and storms are not the determining factor for our joy as Christians, are they? Truthfully, if circumstances and storms cause you to waiver, then you are not surrendered somewhere in your heart. The truth is, we must understand the Truth about trust and about surrender! Behold, the truth will set you free!!

Consider the Scripture,

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” (John 8:31-33, NIV).  Truly, we either belong to the truth, or its poor imitation, the Charade! Yes, the Lie, and the prince of lies, the devil!! Tragically, we fail to realize that we need to be set free because we've been deceived.  There are no in-between entities to which we belong, are there?? Either, we have the truth, the Christ, serve the truth and tell the truth, or we play charades, serve the Lier and tell lies for the lier, the devil!!
Truth?? So, what's the job of a prophet anyway? A prophet is the mouthpiece of God, sent by God to tell God's truth, and nothing but the truth! Go Jonah!! Well, not so fast! As we will discuss in this post, when "charades" is the game, the truth leaves us lame.
Sometimes we have to just say out loud, "illusions have power over me"! Perhaps, the devil works so well through media and imaging because we are so willing to be tricked that way! Images that promise to paint prettier pictures are not easy to let go! Charades!!  Only do we surrender to Jesus when we understand that He is better than the illusion; Only then does His perfection smash the charade!!

Jonah wakes up and stretches slowly! Yawning, the prophet of God slips out of bed and joins the routine, the charade! Of course Jonah was God's prophet and of course Jonah served God!! We already discovered  in 2 Kings that Jonah delivered God's truth! However, what happened when God's truth conflicted with the charade, Jonah's thoughts, and Jonah's plans??  What a storm was brewing that would disrupt Jonah's glassy facade! Most assuredly, Jonah had bought the peaceful picture of what he thought God's plan looked like! Have you ever thought God had a plan for you that looked a certain way!! Come on, don't lie!!  Remember, I'm talking to myself, but if you become convicted, then praise the Lord!! Well, I'm Jonah and I'm called to be God's prophet and to serve Israel, live in Gath, next to Galilee and that's the deal!! Hi, I'm Jennifer, called to do foreign missions for the Lord and I'm going to finish college, find a husband that's called to do the same thing, and follow God!! Have you thought about your status quo recently? Have you thought about where your daily surrender to His will is on a scale of 1-10?? Friends, if it's not 10, then you are letting a charade, fake game, take the place of God's Holy Name in your life!!

What does it mean to surrender to God in everything?? Friends, that's what we call, entire sanctification!! When I daily give over my heart, mind and soul entirely to the Savior, who is Good and Perfect and the only God who is worthy, I'm walking in entire Sanctification!! Not my will Father, but yours!! Maybe God's called you to service and that you know all about God and you want to serve God. Yet, have you given over everything to His will about your call and service...?? Has God called you like Jonah, yet maybe that call has not been entirely sanctified?? Do you praise God in the storm?? When we are living a charade, we are very concerned with our Destiny! My destiny is a charade and so are all of the things I think are owed to me by right: Marriage, children, health, career and honor! Worse, the only thing that is owed to me is death!! Praise, the Lord for His mercy will you?? While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!! Sadly, even when God blesses us with any of these so called rights, we demand that it never be taken from us..no not ever!! We ask why?? Why me?? Charades is the game we have learned and that we have loved; control lives here and so does a false sense of comfort, right? Nothing is permanent for us, but Christ, and we need to start acting like the bride of Christ, if we want to show His love to the world. "He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot).  Well, let's look at Jonah, son of Amittai, prophet of God! Who??? Prophet of God?? The problem with being God's mouthpiece is that you deliver God's truth, not the version you learned in Charades.

 We have a position guaranteed—‘in Christ’s hand.’ It is to be in a place of honor: 
We are the ring he wears on his finger. It is a place of love: ‘I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.’ It is a place of power: his right hand encloses all his people. It is a place of property: Christ holds his people; ‘all the saints are in thy hand.’ It is a place of discretion: we are yielded up to Christ, and Christ wields a discretionary government over us. It is a place of guidance, a place of protection: as sheep are said to be in the hand of the shepherd, so are we in the hand of Christ. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, to be used by him, as jewels in the hand of the bride to be her ornament, so are we in the hand of Christ.

For meditation: If our trust in him is genuine, the Lord Jesus Christ has promised that we will never thirst (John 4:14), never hunger (John 6:35) and never taste death (John 8:51–52;11:26), in other words that we will never perish. However, there will be no protection for those whose faith is not genuine; on the Day of Judgement he will say to them ‘I never knew you: depart from me,’ despite all that they claim to have done in his name (Matthew 7:21–23). Which kind of ‘never’ applies to you (C. Spurgeon)?  

Which kind of "never" applied to Jonah? To Jennifer? To you?? Time to confess!! I admit it,"I love Charles Spurgeon, and I love Charles Finney, the Oberlin Evangelist! Guess what I love about Charles!! I Love that Charles tells the truth, God's truth, and that he does not have a problem with drawing a line in the sand and saying, "choose this day whom you will serve"!! Facing storms really brings out the truth about the one on whom we rely!! Did Jonah do a good job for God? Yes, Jonah did carry out orders! Yet, was Jonah's trust in the Lord genuine? Friends, is your trust in the Lord genuine?  Principle: The degree to which you trust God is the degree to which you will follow His truth!!   


Assyria, as we have already established was not Israel's buddy! Although an ally at times, Assyria was not on the Christmas card list, right?  Nineveh, which is modern day Mosul, Iraq, was not a place that Israel would have ever wanted to go, or a people group that Israel would have bragged about having over for tea. But, what exactly made Jonah run?? Let's examine something about Jonah and about ourselves at the same time.  Let's talk about surrender again!! Jonah wanted to serve God! Not unlike us, Jonah wanted to serve the Lord! Don't we say that we want something frequently, but that maybe we don't have it yet? Dear ones, do you want God, but you have not yet surrendered only to Him in your heart?  Wanting God is not enough, because it's in the relationship with Him, the direct contact with Him, and in the direct surrender to Him that all of us our taught and know that He is good and that He is love, and that He is Lord, and that He is worthy of our complete obedience!! 


The truth is that none of us are free and that none of us have power! Only the truth of God can set you free from the grip of Satan's charade and only God's power can protect you from all harm. Still, hear this, "no one has access to God's power and protection while the heart remains unsurrendered"!!! The truth about storms is that they reveal whether the strength we show is from us or from God!! Can we stand up against all of that wind?? Not a chance!! Not a prayer!! Only the wind and the waves obey the Lord!! Trials and tribulations only refine us if we have the Spirit at work in us due to our surrender to Him daily! The reality is that I'm just not strong enough, and I definitely need God's power, to which I have access if I've surrendered my life to Him!! Surrender does not come to us naturally, does it? We follow part way, and we want to give up nothing for something we do not trust, right?  So, do you genuinely trust God? Are you genuinely and entirely surrendered to Him today?? 
In fact, let me leave you with a question, "No matter what the cost, are you willing to say yes to God?" Please comment or list anything in your life that you might have a struggle giving up for Christ. Please comment, as such confessions make the charade die! When we confess our lack of surrender, then we are aware of it and cannot be defeated by it anymore!! Place your unsurrendered areas of your heart into His hands and walk in peace, even when it's raining. I want to trust God where its safe, and the only place it's safe is where I'm completely wrapped up in the palm of His hands. Our next blog, we will look at some reflections in Jennifer's call to missions and how it really needed to be sanctified!! Blessings..

The Devil at his best is still a devil...God at His worst is still God!!!

 Please take time to watch this media love letter to you from God!!! After watching that, I began to sob!! Lord, I'm so sorry I've ever made you wait for me!! I love you too, precious Lord!! God loves us all sooo much! God loves Jonah, and God loves Jennifer and God wants to help us all find our, "Nineveh"!! God's deep, deep love transcends all human thought and reaches down from the heavens above to lift us up into His arms. That's the Lord that called Jonah to do the unthinkable!! Truly, if Jonah had known God as Love and peace itself, as the only one on the throne, then Jonah would not have run!! Friends, neither will you!! 


Assyria??? In many ways Assyria had become synonomous with the devil for Israel! Although the two countries definitely stayed very closely allied, the liaison was made and kept out of fear, not affection. Israel's beliefs were completely in conflict with those of Assyria, Damascus and many other lands. Just to drive home the point, I'd like to bring this to our current time to create a picture for us, alright?  Imagine your whole life bring trained and told to uphold the laws of the Lord!! Imagine being trained your whole life to not drink alcohol, do drugs, or participate in sexual impurities and debaucheries of the like! No way!! You too?? Yes, we all have our ideas of what is a "no" and those ideas have become ingrained within us all! Also, we have all become prideful that we have abstained from certain things, feeling pure in our own right. Therefore, Jonah, son of Amittai, is no different! Jonah was raised from the beginning to band together with the chosen people of God and to protect those people and to defend God's honor, which Assyria had a habit of attacking. You say, "Assyria" and Israel might say, Foul, although I'll do anything to keep safe! You say, "Assyria" and Israel might say, "Let me get my sword to honor the Lord God Almighty!!, as long as I can stay safe!  You say, "Assyria", and most all the watchtowers of Israel go on alert..!!! Truly, everyone might be wondering if the current treaty was still in place. In fact, if there was one thing all of Israel could agree, it was on their enemies; enemies to God's law were enemies to God's people...!! However, getting in good with the enemy might just protect them! Ever heard the term, "don't bite the hand that feeds you?" Well, for Israel's sake and for ours, and for the world's sake, we had all better hope God's hand feeds us, right?  Just so we truly grasp what was going on in Jonah's time, the animosity against Assyria was not just against their philosophical beliefs!! No, the animosity was against actual physical attacks against God's people as well!! Perhaps Jonah's nephew met the Assyrian sword! Perhaps Assyrians captured Jonah's mom and tortured her and burned down her home!! Perhaps Jonah knew many who's lives were taken by Assyria's hands. True to form, humankind associates people and their actions with evil and evil is not to be tolerated, unless we might be kept safe!!  Tragically, the people of Assyria, Damascus, and many other lands were despised, when all the time God, was madly in love with them, just as He was in love with Israel.  Assyria, synonymous with the devil?? No, not just Assyria, but all of us sinners!! But, God loves all people; God is the greatest missionary and lover of all time! If anyone out there is reading this blog, know this: God loves the middle east, and all of the middle east! Truly, God has loved every part of muslim territory from day one and has a plan to give them all great love!!


¹¹ The Lord announces the word,
   and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;
   the women at home divide the plunder.
¹³ Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,^[e]
   the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
   its feathers with shining gold.” 
¹⁴ When the Almighty^[f] scattered the kings in the land,
   it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.

 ¹⁵ Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,

   Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,

¹⁶ why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,

   at the mountain where God chooses to reign,

   where the LORD himself will dwell forever?

¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands
   and thousands of thousands;

   the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.^[g]

^{Jonah was that dove, get it?? Jonah had the silver wings and the golden sheath and he knew what pleased the Lord and always told all the people about it, get it?? Also, Jonah knew all about how obedience to the Lord brought goodness upon the people. Jonah knew all about Elisha and he knew how fast a chariot went under God's flame and fire. So, what happened when Jonah was asked to go into Nineveh??? The Devil at his best is still a devil...and God at His worst is still God!! We must realize that rebellion against God's words comes from the Devil! Yes!! Oh yes it does!! Even if the end means that God's people are protected?? Yes!! We can never expect anything but distruction, when we say no to God. The end never justifies the means, when the means say, "no" to God. Sadly, we must be aware of a common tendency: Humankind is far more comfortable serving the Law that promises a shadow of peace, than the Law Giver that is our peace!! Just because the idea was always to fight against the forces of evil to honor God, did not mean that God needed us to always fight the same way. Furthermore, no one knows how to stop evil but God alone. Yes, God can shake up the temporal ways with some of the eternal ways of His Holy Kingdom building plan! Yes, God is still God..!!! We do not serve the law, but the law giver! Disclaimer: Every bit of the law is still God's law; don't disobey God's law if you claim to love Him.}

Perhaps you tell me that you are not subject to any uncleanness; you do not drink, nor swear, nor lie; but remember, it is unclean not to be reconciled to God; it is unclean to be a stranger to Christ; it is unclean to disobey God who created you; and above all it is unclean not to love the Redeemer, whose most precious blood has delivered his people from their sins. At his best the devil is no better than a devil, and the heart in which he dwells is no better than a den for a traitor to hide in.
For meditation: Sin affects every part of our being; even what we regard as our good points are unclean in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). We remain unclean until we trust in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7). (Charles Spurgeon)

Question:    Why do we then disobey? If we are so comfortable to the law to which we have grown accustomed, then why not see the law as a measure of grace and the Law giver as the one that will bring even more good things with our complete obedience and surrender??  Friends, we don't really serve only God!! Idolatry!! A lack of trust in God is to fight for the position of God yourself!! Ouch!! The truth is that we follow God's ways and trust Him until He really asks us to trust Him and let Him only be God!! We are all such idolaters!! Ok, now your heart might be resisting!! Excuse me, you might say!! Excuse me, Jennifer!! You might be thinking, "I do not follow other gods"! Really?? Just think about the last time you had a hard time trusting God!! I challenge everyone on this point!! Whenever we do not trust God, we are asking for His job! Whenever we ask for God's job, we are placing ourselves on the throne, just like the devil. Friends, don't miss this point..!! When we do not listen to God, we are really listening to the devil, our influence and dad! Don't believe me, just ask the Scriptures,

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.^[b]”

 ³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

   “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would^[c]do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

   “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

 ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”


Jonah, Jonah, Jonah!! You do not trust God's request to go to Nineveh, because you are still on the throne!! Idolatry! Incidentally, Israel is guilty of the very thing and point of Assyria's offense in the eyes of Israel. Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer!! Why do you keep your plans and ideas on the throne?? I confess, I, Jennifer am guilty of Idolatry!! 


"Lord, Jesus! I ask you humbly to take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee!! Let me move Father, at the impulse of your love!! Amen!"


Perhaps we need to be more aware of the devil's influence and the temptation to put our selves before God!! Perhaps we can pray that prayer every morning so that Idolatry is not infiltrating our lives!! Let's let God be God and every other plan faulty and every man a liar!! 

Temporal hopes, or Eternal Peace??

Peace! Peace! Lord, please bring me peace...!!! Much like Jennifer who did not want to loose the hope of peace, even a false peace, Israel has often strayed  away from its first Love, God, in order to find peace! Yes, in order to keep what appeared to be something that would bring comfort and peace, Israel ran after other things. During the time of Jonah, there had been established a sense of peace in the land! For all of you biblical scholars out there, Jonah served during 800–750 b.c.! Imagine a battle that threatened you in every way! Imagine a financial battle, a health battle, a battle for land, or a battle that brought violence to your door!! Frantically, you are searching for some way that the pain will end!! Suddenly, the promise for a cease fire is upon you! Daring to believe, you begin to imagine the hope of pain in your life coming to an end!! Tempted?? If you say no, than you are lying!! Allow me to clarify something: we are not wrong to wish for peace, but we are wrong to wish for it from any source other than God! Moreover, we are mistaken to wish for peace that is temporary and isolated to our immediate circumstances. God alone is eternal and understands His bigger plans!! Wish for Him to be your peace above all other things. Let us consider the words of a fully surrendered individual who laid it all down in exchange for his true King, Jesus,

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot).


Now, consider the prophet, Jonah! Jonah, son of Amittai has been the golden boy prophet of Israel!! Jonah is God's mighty dove and golden mouthpiece! Even more, the chance for peace has just come through the golden boy's words!! To explain, the only main threats Israel has at this time is the influence of Damascus in the northern kingdom's affairs and the Assyrian empire's attacks on Israel...!! In fact, from Israel's perspective, Assyria's defeat would mean Israel could rest in comfort and serenity! Remember 2 Kings, and the way the kings of Israel would have pawned just about anything to get in good with Assyria!! Not too different from us and how willing we are to compromise to make the pain stop! Yet, when God, Jehovah Rafa does heal our pain, we forget to leave Him in charge of everything else. When things seem to go really well, normally we forget our need for God don't we?? Sadly, we ache for peace and run after that  peace, leaving the God that brings true peace knocking on the door! Tragically, we want what God can give, but we don't always want God. God is not our Genie!! Rather, He is the greatest Peace of our lives and of the eternal life to come!

Jonah prophesied about Peace coming to Israel,

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. ²⁴ He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea,^[e] in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.
 ²⁶ The LORD had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering;^[f] there was no one to help them. ²⁷And since the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

Ok...Jonah had prophesied God's great tidings that the boundaries of Israel would be restored...and they were restored!! Many places had been a thorn or threat to the Rose of Sharon, but Damascus had really been a downer to Israel's business and therefore a thorn in Israel's rose garden! Naturally, when Assyria had dismantled Damascus, the northern kingdom of Israel was no longer going to be infiltrated with pokes and painful pricks from Damascus! Yippee, cries the people of Jonah's day. What's more, the Assyrian empire had been plagued with internal divisions! All these circumstances left Israel with a secure breath of fresh air; peace be yours rose of sharon and Hail, Hail, to_____!! Now, we hope that the answer would have been Lion of Judah..how wonderful you are!!! Not quite!..Remember??? When we have peace we tend to forget who calmed the storm!! Yikes!! Not good!! Principle: when we praise Him in the storm, we will praise Him in the calm! From the same master's hand comes the storm and the peace...!! Abide in the master and arrive safely upon the shore...Behold, your God is the light house and the ship must follow it's light to arrive safely home!! After reading 1 and 2 Kings all night..I've come to realize one thing about all of us! We sell everyone down the river in order to keep something we cannot keep!!  Therefore, we never gain the thing we cannot lose!! Israel..and all of us have a tendency to seek peace outside of God, to exchange God's eternal for man's temporal!!  Perhaps there is some peace you are experiencing today??? Perhaps you are enjoying some feast of great flavor???  Careful not to credit the feast to your self, lest you prize your self over Christ...!!! Careful not to credit the feast to some person, lest you prize a  person over Christ...!!!  Careful not to credit the feast to some possession, lest you prize that possession over Christ!! Friends, did you know that the reference to the rose of Sharon comes from the greatest book about love in the Old Testament? Which one???
 “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” (Song of Songs 2:1) 

For those of you that have forgotten, or perhaps have never been told, the song of songs is a book about intense love between Christ, who is God, and His Church!! Today, the reference, "rose of Sharon" refers to Jesus Christ! To elaborate, your Savior is the Rose and Sharon is a place, a beautiful field in Palestine..! As we approach Valentines day, let us suppose that many men will be buying roses, considered to be the most perfect flowers, for the women they love!! Perhaps we need to be reminded of the Sacred Romance of Jesus, your Savior, who is God Almighty??? Jesus is not a genie to buy you roses!! Jesus is the rose, a perfect flower given to you, if you will but plant His love in your heart and let Him love you and then through you, love the world! Friends get yourselves out of the temporal and reach for the Eternal one, His name is Jesus!  Christ is the only true being that we cannot lose, and that will never disappoint..!!  Christ is the only source that we have for peace...!! Christ is the only promise that we can keep...!! He is no fool that gives up what he cannot keep to gain what He cannot lose!! Hallelujah! That's the whole problem with trust isn't it?? When ever we do not trust, we have seen Christ as a part of the plan and not as the plan itself..We've seen Christ as a part of the solution, and not as the solution itself!!  As the truth was with Jonah...Peace had been prophesied and Peace came!! Hail Hail prophet of God..Jonah, Jonah...you are favored for your glad tidings! Perhaps Jonah was resting peacefully within secure borders when God woke him up to go to Nineveh.  Are you picturing it? Close your eyes and imagine the circumstance, person, and thing you think you want!! Now, ask yourself if that image is Christ alone!  if we do not see Christ as the only thing we need, but only a part of what we need, we will be face to face with Shamoo in no time!! Jonah sleeps, awakened suddenly by a request from God himself that would not bring peace, hope and joy! As Jonah understands peace, and as Jonah understands good things, God seems to be asking to shake it all up!  Tossing and turning, Jennifer hears the call of God in the dead of the night! Jennifer's plans for peace meant her plans, not God's! Jonah's plans for peace meant his plans, secure borders and beautiful roses in the field of Sharon!! Jonah...Jonah..Jonah..Christ is the rose...Jennifer...Jennfer, Christ is the plan! Jennifer, and Jonah, you have enjoyed Christ as a part of your life..a piece to the puzzle where God helps you get the happiness you've been promised!! Yes, say it!! We do think that sometimes...God has promised me good things right?? Define good!! Go on!! Define Good...!! Perhaps we are safer to ask for the Lord's words on this matter,


¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
   ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]”

 ²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

 ²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

 ²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

 ²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God” Mark 10:17-23, NIV)!

Simply put, God wants us to understand that He is it!!!! Jesus, God incarnate, wanted to expose this young ruler's understanding of what really is "good"...!! Only God is Good...!! The rich, young ruler did not understand that Jesus was God when he called Him, "Good"! Jonah did not understand that peace and glad tidings came to his land as part of a greater plan and a greater end...!! The short term and temporal moments of what seems like an answer, a promise of long awaited peace are not the end of your suffering!! So, stop hanging onto them as though that's your gift and someone might try to take it from you!! God is your gift...not your circumstance!! God is your peace, not the lack of physical war in your land.  Our version of peace is much too often the version of peace that the world brings and not the true peace that Christ offers you and me.  Jonah! Jonah! Jonah! Maybe you did everything God asked of you!! Maybe you prophesied and maybe peace did come for the moment to Israel! Sure, because God was in charge and setting up His eternal plan for the whole world, not just for you and not just for Israel!  God does not see borders..God has no barriers, and God only knocks down the barriers that come between He and His children! Secure borders?? How about the world restored to its rightful King and eternal life with Him?? How often we settle for momentary peace from temporal promises of the world, when we need to shoot for the eternal promises of God that include far more than the borders and barriers that we can see!! 


Faith is the conviction of realities that I cannot see or feel!! 


Praise the Lord for His plan that far out does any of my own!! My question?? Do you have your hopes set on something that you have called good??? Do you have peace that is temporal..??? Whatever you have called "good" is not good at all if it is not God Himself!! Principle: Peace comes from knowing and trusting fully that God is good, no matter the outcome! The peace that you might have in a circumstance, or in a person, or in a financial outcome is not the peace of Christ; peace will always fade when it is not set upon His glorious face and master plan! Hope only in Him!! Sow in His Peace and Reap His eternal peace and everlasting light..!! Sow your hope in anything else and reap the whirlwind!! Jonah is about to be asked to go into the Assyrian empire, into Nineveh!! Why?? Jonah is asked to go give them a promising message and a chance for peace with God!! Perhaps had Jonah known God's true, lasting peace himself, then he would have had no problem giving it over to Nineveh..but I'm getting ahead of myself...We'll deal with the ins and outs of the Assyrian empire and why exactly Jonah said, "No" in the next few posts! Jennifer was going to say "no" too!! Jennifer was going to run too!! But, that's another story for another blog!! For now, I leave you with promises of a perfect rose this Valentine's Day..His name is Jesus and He is perfectly beautiful and comes with a complete package of perfect peace!! 
John reminds us,


³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).  Take heart...when you have Christ, the temporal hopes are put to rest and the eternal peace is yours! If you struggle with feeling the peace of Christ, keep reading! Quite possibly, you, like me do not, or have not at times, grasped the gift He really is..but take heart..! Jesus really is all the gift you'll ever need; I don't have to run after any other thing when King Jesus sits on the throne of my life.

God is not your Genie Part II

God is not your Genie!!

 Is God worth it???

Carpet crashes,  a first kiss crash and hanging on by a thread of Scripture's promises!!  Have you ever thought to yourself, "I know the Bible says, 'no' but I'm not sure I agree?"  When we see God as our genie and not as our gift, the gift, then you must realize that the two of you, God and you are going to do battle! Just a hint, but I hope you know that God always wins? Still, we must do battle and lose, many times if necessary, if we are to submit fully and cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty..He Alone is Worthy to sit on the throne!! So, here is the rest of the story of my first kiss, and my second battle with surrender! My first battle was over having friends, at the end of which I found Jesus to be my friend! Now, the second is over having a boyfriend, or the comfort of romantic fairytale notions of a relationship! I'll never forget watching my mom walk away and looking up into Sasha's eyes and just thinking, "Oh, I hope this lasts!"  So, the saga continues...

Sasha let me know that he had to stop first at his house! Well, not only had I not ridden in a boy's car before, but I'd never been over to a boy's house!! Understand please that I praise the Lord that He was alive and well within my heart and that I had always obeyed Him because the lines of communication were open and clear between myself and the Holy Spirit that night!  Full of nerves and full of a lot of mixed fairytale fantasies, I climbed into Sasha's car and sped off to his house! Sasha pulled up to a beautiful house, completely void of people, and told me he had to check something in his room! Well, I just stood there in the entry way waiting for him to return from the upstairs! Sasha looked at me on his way up the staircase in disbelief! "Are you kidding me?" Sasha asked.  "Why don't you just come upstairs?" he questioned playfully. My heart was in my throat and my stomach just flipped upside down!! Upstairs? Well, against all warnings going off inside, I reluctantly followed him upstairs...! Sasha began to look for something and could not exactly find it, so he sat down for a minute and asked me if I minded not going to play laser tag. What's more, he asked me if I minded just staying at the house and watching a movie in his room! Totally surprised, I said, "Didn't you tell my mom that we were going to play laser tag?" Sasha's eyebrows raised slightly in frustration and slightly in disbelief,and then said, "Well, yes, but I just thought that we might have more fun here alone." Now, my eyebrows were raised! "Well, I'm going to have to call my mom and let her know and see if she feels comfortable with me being alone with you in the house." I declared in matter a fact tone! Sasha was dumb founded!! Wow!! You'd think I told him that I was part fish or something! Not that I have anything against mermaids...I will always love, Ariel!! Therefore, I began to walk down stairs to call my mom, while my stomach did about a zillion flip-flops! Sasha followed me downstairs and said, "here's the phone" while giving me another disapproving glance! Well, I dialed the phone number and when my mom picked up I asked her if I could stay and watch a movie at Sasha's house and she said, "NO"! Love you mom!! To all of the mom's out there that set good standards for their daughters, I just would like to say, "Good Job"! The truth is that far too many mom's would have said, "yes" to please their kid or to show that they trust their kid!! BIG MISTAKE! In fact, had my mom said, "yes", I would have stayed, and let's just say I would not have been safe! Therefore, I hung up the phone and was about to tell Sasha that I could not stay when I saw him reading a note that was left on the counter top! Sasha smiled brightly as he let me know that he had found what he was looking for earlier! The note included money that his dad was to have left him in his room! Suddenly, Sasha said, "Well, since I have money now, let's just go get something to eat and grab a movie." he offered in a very charming way! "After all, you're obviously too scared to stay at my house, right?", he teased! "Clearly!" I retorted , trying not to let on how embarrassed I was to have had to call my mom on my first date!!  Off we went to grab something to eat at "Islands", which by the way is a great place to eat!! We talked and talked and talked!! Finally, I asked him if he was a Christian! Sasha, looking proud, said that he was and that almost everyone from his country was Lutheran. Moreover, Sasha reported that he had gone through all the processes of confirmation! Then, he asked me a question too! "Have you ever done Catechism and claimed Jesus Christ as your Savior before the Church?" He asked very directly. Wow! I definitely had been trained in the 16 articles of Faith in the Church of the Nazarene and proclaimed my decision to follow Christ alone at my Baptism so I said, "Yes!! Of course I have!!" Sasha looked pleased and then asked me something else that sent my cheeks into a whole new realm of red that I didn't know they had in them!! "Have you ever been kissed?" Looking just stunned and embarrassed, I said, "Well, um..uh..no! I haven't!" Sasha just loving the obvious advantage he had over me, just smiled and said, well, you know what? You just have to relax!! Seriously! I just wanted to take it back and lie to him, but instead I was sitting there with cheeks flushed with color and completely embarrassed down to my toes!! We left the restaurant, caught a movie, where he grabbed my hand by the way, another first, and then he went to drop me off! As Sasha pulled into the drive way that night, he leaned in, and as my pulse began to sky rocket, he gently placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me closer! As I closed my eyes, he kissed me! Whoa! My goodness! "Good night my handsome prince, and sleep well princess"...I left his car and relived that moment all night long! Do you know what?? I was really happy! True to its name, the happenstance of that happy moment was not going to last! Unlike God, who's joy is eternal in each of us, the happiness that is from the temporal world is not stable and completely subject to change...In contrast, God's love is unshakable, and unbeatable, and unchanging and completely subject to no man's judgement, a love that cannot be taken from you, stolen from you and a love that will never disappoint you: His love Saves you!! Praise Him..Praise Him, His love endures forever!! Sadly, I thought I had found a love that would last! Ok, I admit that the feelings I had for Sasha were not love, not God's love at all!! Friends, if it is not God's love, it is not Love....!!! Don't ever be deceived by feelings..they do not last, they fleet!! Inevitably, my sweet, sweet 16 moment was going to crash and burn with yet another test of my affections for the Savior! Sasha called to ask me out again that week and on our second date he asked me to go to the Senior Prom! Wow...oh my heavens...!! Just like in the movies...I was going to go to the Prom??? I said, "yes" of course, and then just basked in the moment, that beautiful moment!! Later, after the date and about a thousand and one day dreams, Sasha called.  As we discussed the prom and different ideas about life in general, Sasha brought up levels of intimacy between people in a relationship. To explain, Sasha asked me if I was willing to follow his ideas about that area of our relationship.  Surprised and perplexed I asked, "like what specifically?"  Sadly, Sasha dropped the other shoe on me abruptly! "Well, such as what time do you want to leave the prom and go to the hotel!!" With one single phrase, the magic carpet lost all control and started to crash..down down down into the reality of one impossible truth: Staying with Sasha would mean going against God's standard..!! No NO NO..not again!! Lord, why is this happening??? I told Sasha that I in no way would be going near a hotel, no not ever!! Even as I declared the right response for a Christian to him, the battle began inside over the result that I knew would follow.  Sasha let me know that sleeping with him was not wrong..and if I was not willing to have a relationship like that then we were done!! NOOOO!!  I was finally going to have a boyfriend..I was finally not going to be alone...!!! Lord, Why??? Genie..I want you to make this work!! "I cannot make anyone fall in love with anyone else" ( adapted from the Disney movie, Aladdin).  Provisos...Noooo!! God's law? No!! Being alone again? No!! God, being like the genie in this one way, will also not make us love anyone, or Him! God loved us first, and will call us first, and will hold out His hand, but He will not force us to follow! When faced with a love as Great as the Love of God, you'd think that we would all go running faster than the wind and harder than the rain and with more energy than lightening, but then again, we would first have to know and understand that His love is Great and that it endures forever! No, God is not our genie at all! He's sooo much more! Tragically, we miss the mark and as a result, we end up disappointed! The devil rejoices when we see God the wrong way and we end up miserable, dying in every way!! No more!! God has to end this lie!!! For God sent His one and only son into the world to save the world from darkness!! God gave His one and only son that we might have life, love and peace!! Hope! Yes, because He lives, because He lives and because He is Love...we have a hope that will never disappoint: the love that is being offered is eternal and true and offered to you!! The truth about God is that He was never meant to give you things, or create for you circumstances that can fade! God lives to love you and offers you a love that can never die!! Let Him Love you today!! Ask Him to teach you more of this radically awesome love that can never fail you; yes, finally I've found it; Love magnificent full and free!! Yes, your king is waiting...!! However, we cannot miss the message of God...He is the Love....He's not trying to offer you love through something else...I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me!! Even death cannot separate you from the great and mighty Love of God...!!!  Romans 8:35-39 clearly points out the truth,


³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ 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.

He is the Love, the love that you have been waiting for...He is the gift..His arms are open wide and He made the rhythm to which your heart beats...let it beat for Him...!! Let the romance continue! Happy Valentine's Day...There is a Savior and He has loved you before you were even born!! He lives not to serve us, not to offer us things that fade, not to give us people that cannot save, but to be our righteousness, to be our Salvation and to be the greatest love of all..the answer to our being; we are created to Love Him and to be the praise of His glory!! Oh Hallelujah to the Lamb, the perfect Lamb that gave it all to offer us the chance to have so great a Love!!  We no longer have to say, " I hope this lasts..." Friends, His love can never die!

As Sasha let me know that we were done, I was willing to obey the Lord, but not convinced of how the decision would mean that Love could be mine!! In short, I was angry!! "Lord", I cried out! "Lord, show me that you have a plan for me, because I'm just all alone and I don't want to obey you if you are not really going to help me have love!!"  I grabbed for my Bible, another close friend of mine!! I opened the pages and the Bible fell open to 1 Thessalonians,

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV).

On that, I cried myself to sleep and knowing God had spoken, I rested! So, the truth is that I did not really understand the truth of that Scripture! All I can say is that I knew that God had a will for me and that He had spoken! Therefore, I decided to keep following Him that night! Still, I did not understand that to rejoice in all circumstances "in" Christ Jesus is to understand that He is enough and all the Love a girl could ever need or want!! Trust! Trust! Trust and Obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and Obey...!! Any of you have the Obey part down, while lacking in the trust department?? Lord, I didn't really know who you were did I?? Lord, I didn't really understand that you had bought me at a high price and that I could have just been yours, basked in your light and been held in your loving arms, yes, leaning on your everlasting arms of peace, grace and love!! Friends, we don't have to be alone!! We don't have to wait for love or acceptance; it's yours in Christ Jesus!! Precious Lord, He is Emmanuel and He is with you!! So, we will now return to Jonah, who like Jennifer, had a problem trusting! Jonah, Jonah, Jonah..you'll never find Nineveh until you find that your God is sign enough to say "Yes, Lord to your will and to your way!!"

Question: Have any of you recently wavered in your acceptance of your present trial? If so, remember that God is not your genie, and the results of this life are sooo momentary, while the Love He already secured for you at the cross is available at all times for us to be joyful about, to pray continuously for, and to rest forever in Christ in God's perfect will!!

In the next blog we will visit the sign of Jonah..and the problem of not fully trusting Almighty God!!

God is not your Genie!!!

God is not your Genie!!

Psalm 147:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ He determines the number of the stars
   and calls them each by name.
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
   his understanding has no limit. 

Remember the song, "When you wish upon a star"? How many times have I gazed into a crystal clear, starry night and sent a prayer into the brightest part of the stars' fiery canopy??? Oh, only about a million times!! Remember dreaming that your wish might come true? Remember thinking that if it did, you would have true, lasting happiness!! Remember the hope of your wishes and dreams?? Guess what? There is only one desire that can be met perfectly in our lives, resulting in perfect peace!! Instead of wishing upon stars, we need to be praising the maker of the stars and the heavens, the Lord God Almighty!! When we worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth, then we are no longer listening to the lies of the world! In contrast, when we listen to the lies of the world, we miss the true identity and plan of the one, true God!!

Jeremiah 23:16-18

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁶ This is what the LORD Almighty says:
   “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
   they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
   not from the mouth of the LORD.
¹⁷ They keep saying to those who despise me,
   ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
   they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 
¹⁸ But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
   to see or to hear his word?
   Who has listened and heard his word?

What does God's word say about His peace?

John 14:26-28

New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 

Again, the God of peace gives you graciously all things, understanding that He knows what you truly need to have peace; all humankind will ever need is to be made right with Jesus!!

1 Thessalonians 5:23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Good Lord God has proclaimed His good intentions toward us if we would let Him lead!!






   ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:9-11, NIV).


God says in His word that He has come to save us, He is mighty to save!  God says again and again in His word that He will be our God and we will be His people and that no one will ever make us afraid!!  So, how's your fear factor this morning?? Are you afraid? Perhaps you may have forgotten that God has a plan that is mighty to save you, able to save you, and ready to save you?? When was the last time you just wished for something that could save you? When was the last time you realized that Jesus is the fulfillment of every true desire ever placed inside your heart? I hope for you that you know in your inner most places that Jesus fills every single desire!!  My prayer for all of us is that we understand that it is He, Jesus that is our Salvation, the treausure and everlasting peace!! Please meditate on Scriptures such as Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:5-6 and again in the Psalms,
   trust in him and he will do this.

We have to understand that God has a plan and that the plan is good and that the end results are beautiful!! Yes, God will give you the desires of your heart only because He knows what your heart needs! Friends you need Him, not what you think He can do for you...you simply need Him.  Yes, the answer is Jesus.  His name is Jesus and He is your peace, your Salvation, your friend, your Advocate, the lover of your soul, your protection and He is the plan for your life!!  Oh, Praise the Name of Jesus...!! He Saves you from your sin and gives you His righteousness leading to eternal life with Him, the Hope of Glory!! Sound good??? Can I get a witness?? How about an Amen??? Want things God's way...??? If your heart is saying, "Amen", then save yourself from keeping God from blessing your life with His ways!!  How??? Let God be God!! He is not your Genie!! Let God be God!!  Know God as the only source, with out limits, of true light!!  Never allow yourself to put God in the wrong role, unless you would like to star in the wrong play on a very precarious stage!!   God is not your Genie!! God is not your Genie in a bottle, or your Genie in a box, or your servant in any shape or form!!!! GOD IS NOT YOUR GENIE! "Provisos, limits on wishes??? What kind of a genie are you??" complained Aladdin. "Infinite cosmic power, and teeny little living space, answers the Genie!!" (Line from Aladdin, the Disney version).  In part 3 of the Magic Carpet ride, I want to tell you a story about my life and how I still saw God as my genie in a bottle!!

FIRST KISS:  I remember moving to Southern California, my original home from childhood! I was now 14 and almost 15 when we moved into our new house in Temecula!! I'll never forget thinking that California promised peace to my stormy battle with rejection! Entering the 9th grade, even in California, my supposed home of comfort, did not mean acceptance for me at all!! Evidently, my magic carpet ride out of Kansas didn't have a very long shelf life in promises!! "There's a big surprise! I think I'm going to die and have a heart attack from that surprise!" (line spoken by Iago, the parrot from Aladdin)  Well, after a year in high school, the reality was written on the wall: almost everyone in my public high school lived a standard that conflicted with Christ! Where was I going to have friends?? A boyfriend?? Truly, we did have a youth group at our Nazarene Church, but we had to drive pretty far a way to find it and therefore, social outings with the group were not easily arranged!! Loneliness encircled my heart, as I waited for my wishes to come true..!! Genie? I want a boyfriend to comfort me and help me not to feel alone! Genie, I want a friend that I can trust completely! Genie, I want to fit in at school! Oh, Genie, if you love me so much, why do I feel so alone??Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer!!! Darling Sophomore in high school, lost and tossed by two classic mistakes..!! Did you not know that God was your comfort, that God was your friend, and that God accepts you, Jennifer?  Mistake number one: X-nay on telling the Lord how to make you happy; God is not your Genie!! When God says "no" and you see Him as your Genie, then you question His worth, His goodness, and His Sovereignty!! When God says "no" and you see Him as Lord, then you are not disappointed for you know the plans He has for you, plans to Prosper you and not to Harm You!!!!  Mistake number two: No thing can ever satisfy you but God himself, praise His holy name!! So, a big X-nay on the wishing for more wishes...!! No matter how many times you wish for the next best thing...things will never be enough, when you are a fit only for God!! Please tell everyone you know the truth??? The truth is, "We are all a perfect fit for God and for God alone; only God can satisfy!!"

Enter another story in my life that made me question if God was worth the battle~!

After piano lessons over in San Diego, mom and I would always stop by the mall on the way home to Temecula!! Always hungry, our routine included stopping for teriyaki bowls at Panda Express and then walking through Nordstrom to check the sales!  One day, during my Junior yr. in High school, mom and I were walking through Nordstrom. Suddenly, we heard the piano being played just beautifully! Rapidly, I grabbed my mom and my sister and went up the escalator to see who was playing the music! Completely expecting to see an older woman or man pounding on the keys, I was shocked to find a very handsome young man of about 17 yrs. old!! Oh, be still my heart!! From the blue eyes, to the blonde hair and the tuxedo, my mind had completely forgotten all about Timothy or even Aladdin!! Yes, the young man was gorgeous, not to mention the fact that he could really play the piano; I loved to play the piano!!   The moment our eyes met, the young man smiled and said, "hello"! Uh oh!! Not only was he cute and talented, but the young pianist had a gorgeous, foreign accent!! Sorry, but I love foreign cultures and language! Obviously, the attraction was going to sky rocket the moment I knew he was foreign!! C'est la vie, C'est l'amour!! Not even!! Let's call him, Sasha!! No, that was not his real name, but that is a foreign name that I like very much!! Sasha asked for my phone number as butterflies raced around in my stomach!! In fact, I gave him my phone number and told him that I played the piano too and how much I loved hearing his playing!! After a little conversation, I glanced back and flashed my best smile at those blue eyes!! Yep, it's safe to say, that "I was a goner"!  As though all my lonliness had been kicked by the genie into another galaxy, I began to dance, lighter than air all week long, waiting for Sasha to call! Well, Sasha did not call me and the week passed me by slowly as the time came for another piano lesson in San Diego! Alas, when the lesson finished and we headed to the mall, I was not thinking about Chinese food!!! After eating quickly, my mom and sister and myself headed to Nordstrom! My sister suggested that if I saw him, to simply walk on by like I didn't know he was there at all!! Well, older sisters, who are crazy beautiful and have a lot more dating experience than you must give the right advice, right?? Ha! Who am I kidding?? More dating experience than me?? Well, that is an understatment!! In fact, "I'd never been outside the palace walls, and Raja was not even my friend" (Jasmine quote paraphrased)!! Yes, here I was at the age of 16, and definitely never been kissed!! So, I walked up the escalator, saw Sasha at the top of the landing, playing the piano, and continued to walk slowly past him like I didn't care at all!! Wow, my sister was right!! If only you could imagine my delight that Sasha could barely play the piano as he watched me walk by and tried to get my attention!! Well, I simply continued straight down the walkway and then made my way to the ladies room! My genius sister followed me and let me know that I executed that move very well!! Frantically, I asked her what I should do next and she let me know that I needed to go back out there to see if he might say something about why he didn't call!! Full of anticipation, I exited the restroom and walked over by the piano! Sasha said hello and immediately began to explain why he hadn't called me! In fact, he asked for my number again and asked if I wanted to go out sometime!! Wow!! Playing it cool, I just said that that idea sounded like fun and maybe we'd talk later! After a little bit of shopping, we left the mall and went home! Not only did Sasha call and ask me to meet him that Friday night at the mall, but he was going to take me out to dinner and to play laser tag!! Of course, my immediate response was, "yes"! Dutifully, I ran down the stairs to ask my mom permission and to explain what the plans would be for my first date ever!!! Thankfully, mom said, yes! As Friday was only a few days away, the hours passed quickly till finally the day was here! No, I didn't have my license yet and no, I didn't go to the mall with friends! Yes, my mom drove me to the mall and then walked me into the meeting place, where Sasha and I said, "hello"! Just like a charming prince, Sasha was sooo nice to my mom and told her all of the plans. Also, Sasha was sure to let her know when he would be dropping me off at home. Finally, mom said good-bye and Sasha and I were on my very first date together!! Little did I know how much my standards and beliefs were about to be put to the test!! Heaven knows the decisions I was going to have to make on that first date and then on the second date would change my life significantly!! In order to really trust the Lord, we must know that He is Good!! Friends, knowing about His goodness is not the same as knowing He is good personally!! I'm going to stop this post here as I've decided to post, "God is not your Genie" in two segments! Let's end with a Scripture on which to meditate, and a few questions that will help us to ponder lessons to be learned in the next post!!

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

New International Version (NIV)

 ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸ Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

What do you think happens when you obey and trust God without truly understanding He is not your genie, but your God? remember, we must all accept God and trust Him!! However, we must accept Him as the God he is, not as anything else!! Do you really know and accept God's role in your life?? Are you ever disappointed in life's outcomes and tempted to ask God, why? Your joy must never come from an outcome!! Never!! Our joy always must come from our Savior who is more than enough!!

Magic Carpet rides have a shelf life shorter than strawberries!!

Magic Carpet part II


Jennifer took a deep breath and looked around down the hallway at school! Well, there seemed to be no one following her! "Mom, where are you?" thought Jennifer as the bell rang, signifying that school had been out for 5 minutes! When Jennifer realized her mom was not waiting for her by the curb, a deep, dark feeling ran down her spine and stopped right in the pit of her stomach! Recent threats from certain groups of people plagued Jennifer's mind as she decided to quickly go back inside the school and call her mom. After all, maybe mom just forgot the time! To Jennifer's horror, she saw two girls from the group that had threatened her standing at the end of the hall! In fact, Jennifer had not fit in from day one at that little, Kansas Junior High School!! Surprisingly, the very standards Jennifer had always followed from her parents were making others in the school more than annoyed!! Shaking, Jennifer just turned the other way and started walking briskly toward the principle's office...! Saying a quick prayer, she began to run as fast as she could down the hall! "Come on carpet, let's fly" (Aladdin..says that to the carpet when there is a lot of trouble chasing him).  However, the two girls started running faster and faster behind her! "No", thought Jennifer, "Please! Lord..help me!!" Although she almost made it to the door, almost was not good enough. Like a train, two girls brought her to the ground and grabbed her arm and held it behind her back while threatening, "we don't need 'goody two shoes' like you around here..got it?? Say you're sorry and we'll let you go!"  Jennifer looked up frantically wondering why no one was around and hoping to find some help somewhere! Suddenly, the principle opened the door and looked out into the hall way, "what is going on" he asked?  Jennifer was let go quickly and she then proceeded to go to the principle's office and ask to use the phone...!!  The sounds of the other two girls were mocking her to tears!! Tears inevitably started to pour out of her eyes as Jennifer dialed her home phone number! Trembling, and crying, Jennifer hung up the phone when there was no answer! Within a few moments, Jennifer saw the car pull up to the curb from the Principal's office window. The principal said, "I want you to be in my office tomorrow after school with those two other girls to discuss fighting in school!"  Choking back the tears, Jennifer nodded and left the office, darting for her mom's car: safety! No, Jennifer had not started a fight, but there was a fight for her affections that was going to do battle really soon!! There are moments for all of us when we have not felt safe, comforted, or understood! At that moment, I will never forget feeling so alone, terrified and confused! Oh how my thoughts began to race that night!! Even though there was comfort in knowing that mom and dad told me how sorry they were that this happened and that they would help in any way they could to talk to the school, the problem was eating at my core! Every ounce of self esteem was under attack as the day's assault yelled into her mind that Jennifer was not accepted; Jennifer was not protected.  For sure, my only crime was the fact that a group of girls didn't like me or my morality!   How on earth was I going to fit in, or feel safe?? Remember when Jafar knocks out Aladdin and he sinks down to the bottom of the sea?? Without the Genie stepping in, and the exchange of a second wish, Aladdin would not have survived!! Why didn't they like me?? Just because I wasn't allowed to date, or swear, do drugs, have sex and pick on others, get bad grades ect, did not mean that I was trying to hurt them!! More than the fact that my body ached from being knocked to the ground was the ache in my heart! Why wasn't I accepted?  The devil seemed to whisper, "maybe it's not your standard, but you?" Wow..! "Maybe, I was not good enough to be accepted," entered my thoughts as I cried myself to sleep! "Oh Lord! I want to be liked and I want to follow you too! "Genie, I wish for you to make me a prince!" Don't we all remember that scene in Aladdin where the Genie warns Aladdin to just be himself?? Well, I think we all can admit that being yourself starts with knowing that God does not make junk!! Truly, many adults still do not understand that God, who has ultimate cosmic power and who is not limited to small tiny living spaces, (Genie reference) made you the way you are on purpose! When you are under attack for your standards, or for the little things that make you who you are, I hope you know that your attacker is picking a fight with the Lord Almighty! Not only does every battle belong to the Lord, but the Lord is the Victor over every fight and the greatest defender of all!! Tragically, many do not know that the Lord is a strong tower! What's more is the fact that even when we know that the Lord is a refuge and a tower of strength, we don't always know how to hear His voice and follow His lead!! Whenever we have difficulty hearing the Lord's love calling, the reason is because we are listening to the voice of another: the world! The hidden agenda of the devil is always to mislead God's children to take the wrong path and to think in a fallen way!! Now we are going to bring in the "Jonah" of it all!! We make our own plans and we have our own agendas, preconceived ideas and conceptions about how life is supposed to go!! Jonah had every intention of growing up to serve the Lord and to serve Israel...ooopse...and who?? Who was Jonah going to serve??? And Israel??? Uh ohhh!! Jonah! Jonah! JONAH!!!!! We serve the Lord our God and He alone sets our feet upon the rock of Salvation, the path that leads to life everlasting!! We simply are not created to tell the creator how we are going to serve or live or be accepted by certain people. Now, before we start picking on Jonah again..because we will do that allot a few blogs from now, let's look back at Jennifer! Jennifer had an agenda to "fit in" didn't she?? In fact, we can all remember believing that fitting in was the idea in school, right? If you are reading this knowing that you are in a situation right now where you would really like to fit in and to be accepted by someone, then please hear this verse,

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10, NIV).  


The truth is simply put in black and white terms for us, but we continue to seek to please two masters!! We are such children of our culture and contemporaries of our time!! When in reality we need to be children of the most High God, the Eternal one who sits outside of time and seeks to deliver you from the world so that you can start being a part of showing the world the way, the truth and the Life: His name is Jesus!! Alright, by now I'm sure that some of you are resisting the fact that Jennifer somehow did something wrong by wanting to fit in with her school friends?? Friends, the one who we listen to is the one with whom we are in a relationship!! The voice of the world is subtle and its message is crafty; God really wants you to be happy!! What a hoax..!! Truly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not that now we can have our fairytale because our Genie in a bottle lives in our hearts to give it to us!!!! God's good news is not that there will not be trials and that you will be liked and appreciated by humans!!!! God's good news is that because He lives, you can face tomorrow..in His strength, in His love, In His grace and In His timing and that in the end...Eternity awaits..!! 

“[Trials and Temptations] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3NIV  


Jennifer was not expecting the trials and was not sure why any of the rejection was taking place!! The truth is that rejection hurts! More importantly is knowing what to do when you are rejected by man!! 

Remember how afraid Aladdin was? Aladdin kept saying in the beginning of the movie, "I'm not a street rat and I'm not worthless!"  Jennifer kept saying that night as the tears kept gushing from the day's assault, "I'm not worthless!" Yet, both were angry and scared to death that a lack of acceptance from the world meant that their value did in fact go down somehow!  Friends, your value is not measured by this world unless you give yourself over to the Prince of this world, His ideas and His schemes!! In contrast, we have a plan "B" and it's a beautiful plan!!  Even though we are trapped like live bait in the clutches of a roaring Lion, falling faster and faster into the sin that entered the world so long ago; there is hope.  No, it's not the magic carpet and it's not the Genie!!! The hope is that if we so choose, we can be saved and accepted into the family of God!! For God sent His one and only son, Jesus into the world to save us and to redeem us to the be the praise of His glory!! Yes, that no one should perish but have everlasting life!! Wait..!! The hope is even more juicy than the fact that Jesus came to rescue us from the Lion!! Jesus not only loves you enough to die for you, even while you were still sinning, but he purifies you from all sin!! You are accepted!! He was forsaken, and you are now forgiven..He was rejected and you are now accepted!! You are in the arms of a Savior that forgives you unconditionally, and then purifies you perfectly and then offers you every single bit of eternity with Him!!!  Yes, I'm not only invited to the big party, I'm going as Jennifer, dressed in white and ready to please the one I was meant to please; His name is Jesus!!  We simply need to accept the fact that when the world rejects you, you have the only living God, arms open wide, waiting with full acceptance of you, His creation!! Somewhere in the notion that we are all sinners, we sometimes loose the message that God doesn't see where we are today, or yesterday!! God sees the beauty that He intended to make us into from the beginning!! There is nothing you can ever do to please this world and this world can never give you the eternal and unconditional acceptance that Jesus offers!! Did the World create you?? Does the World know you or your potential?? Only the master potter knows how to work the clay, knows its impurities and sensitivities, its thresholds and breaking points!! The question is not whether or not we are the clay; the question is who do you want to be your potter?? Sadly, Jennifer was about to find out that no matter how much her desire to fit in, be liked or have happy endings seemed to be what God must want for her, there is nothing shorter than the shelf life of magic carpet escapes and fairytales promises! Finally, Jennifer still had to learn that God was the prize and not what God could do for her; God is treasure more than enough!! Of course, one must really know that God offers us Himself!! We always talk about what He did for us on the cross and how we should be thankful!! Not that we shouldn't be thankful and talk about the Lord's sacrifice, but we must also talk about why He did it!! God is completely in love with you and has a perfect plan for you to live happily ever after with Him, totally safe and warm and completely accepted.

 In part III we will discuss the Genie effect; God is not your genie and you cannot keep Him hidden away in a little golden lamp!!  Sometimes we do hope to just get away and escape, don't we?? When the questions we have in our hearts scare us so badly that we just cannot hear the answer, the world normally tells us it's time to hop on a magic carpet and fly! Jennifer's parents are about to sell the house in Kansas and move back home to California!! "Is it safe??" asked princess Jasmine  "Sure! Do you trust me?" answered Aladdin ( who was lying to her by the way about his ID!! )  I hope you read part III as Jennifer learns that the world's promises have a shelf life shorter than strawberries,

Isaiah 40:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever.”
 ⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[a]
   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   “Here is your God!”

When was the last time that you really wanted to be accepted? Have you ever been afraid that someone might think badly of you or not like you?? Realize today that you were created for God!! God made you and God sees you for your potential in Him; you were wonderfully and fearfully made!! God does not make junk; God is a master craftsman and everything you are has a purpose in Him!!