Can I Buy A Follower Please?

Did you know that you can buy Followers for your Twitter page? Really. I kid you not. Facebook has friends. Twitter has followers and if you don't feel like you're popular enough, you can just go buy a few. I always wondered how some folk had 334,678 followers. Well, now I know. Check it out: Buy Twitter Followers or Twitter1k.

Personally, I would much prefer that people find my page on Twitter and like what they see. It means so much more to me to know that what I've written has struck a chord in someone and perhaps produced some fruit in their life. I want them to want to read more. Isn't that so much more meaningful than boosting my ego, or using some bizarre marketing technique that impresses folk (not me) with how many followers I have? I've also noticed that "followers" come and go. When I don't follow them back, they disappear. I guess they weren't truly interested in what I had to say in the first place.

When Jesus breathed our air, He desired followers. One of His most frequent set of words was "Follow Me." The Greek word for follower is mimetes. The King James version of the translation is "to imitate". According to Webster's Dictionary, a follower is one who comes, goes or moves after another, in the same course. One that takes another as his guide in doctrines, opinions or example; one who receives the opinions, and imitates the example of another; an adherent; an imitator. Jesus desired for people to follow Him, to imitate Him, to move along with Him and embrace His thoughts, doctrines and example. But He made no bones about what "following" Him would really mean.

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." In Luke 14:26, He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

Jesus started out His earthly ministry with a multitude of followers. Over the course of three years, the numbers got less and less. The harder His sayings got, the more disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. (John 6:66) Near the end of a three year ministry, on a dark night, in an olive grove, you couldn't have paid a human being enough money to follow this Man. But that was okay.

Jesus has always desired committed followers. Desirous followers; not those who stick around in the good times, but turn their back on Him when life takes a hard turn. It is so much more meaningful to Jesus when we follow because we love Him and because we want to. He could buy our allegiance any time He wants. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. But that would be meaningless. He wants us to walk the sod of this earth with Him, up the mountaintops and down into the valleys. Through the rivers and in the storms. When the sun is shining and when the seas of sorrow threaten to drown. He will never bribe you to follow. He leaves it up to you. He doesn't need to increase His numbers to impress a living soul.

Those who choose to follow and stay a follower will never find more abundant life or more love, more power, or more tenderness. He will never bribe you or buy you because He loved you with His life and with His blood. You can never put a price on that.

Tuesdays with Jesus #197

#197 "Heart Transplant"

May 3, 2011

"I'll give you a new heart; put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You'll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You'll be my people! I'll be your God!" (Ezekiel 36: 26-28 The Message)

By the time most people notice that they have a heart problem and seek medical advice, their heart has been "failing", for a long time. They have experienced a pain now and again. They complain of fatigue and loss of appetite. Something just doesn't seem right, but their symptoms aren't serious enough to seek treatment, at least not in their opinion. Experts warn us to see a doctor even if our symptoms seem mild. Early diagnosis may prevent a heart attack later.

It's so common for the spiritual to mirror the natural in our lives. How long have our hearts been failing, often asymptomatically, or with symptoms not serious enough to go to the Great Physician for an exam? We started out our journey on holy fire for God, but little by little all we may be able to detect is a spark. Jesus promised that He came to give us abundant life; full life. (John 10:10) If we're honest, we may describe our spiritual life more like sparse, lacking, and scarce. It transfers into the physical and natural realm and we may say, "there's got to be more than this; something's just not right." You can pinpoint the symptoms, but you're oblivious to where the real problem lies. You have spiritual heart disease and it is the very root that is causing the symptoms. You need to make an appointment with the Healer. Before you pick up that phone, here is a warning.

Examination and spiritual heart transplants are not for those with feeble arms and weak knees.

If you're serious about taking a look at your spiritual health and making the necessary changes, let me assure you that you are in for one wild ride. My desire in this "Tuesdays" is to make you clear as a bell on one thing before you enter the door of the exam room of God. What I am about to tell you is essential and vital for you to get before you ever go under the knife.

As soon as you go before God in all sincerity of your failing heart and ask Him to examine you and make the necessary changes in you, you will be naked. You won't even have one of those handy dandy gowns that are open in the back. God will ask you to strip your heart naked and bare before Him. He needs to look at every single nook and cranny. He needs to look in the hidden places that are not so readily visible to the naked eye. He will go where no man has gone before, into the deepest recesses of your heart to search for the disease that is manifesting itself in your symptoms. He's going to find some things. Unless you are Jesus, God will find disease upon examination.

Get ready to be astounded. I won't even begin to surmise here what God will find when you expose your heart, get naked before Him, and allow Him to look closely. That is individually, uniquely, between you and your God. I only know the things that He has found in me when I made the decision to give Him more than a peek. But if you only get one thing, get this:

When God reveals your heart disease, He is convicting you. He is NEVER condemning you.

I promise you that you'll know it when it happens. If God reveals something to you about your heart that is ugly, sick or diseased, He will gently show you and ask you to repent. If you begin to hear condemning voices, words of shame and loathing, depression or despair, that is not God. It is the devil and he is a liar! The Bible says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done." (2 Corinthians 7: 10-11)

When the light shines on those places in your heart that need surgery, you need only to repent. Repentance is turning away from something in the opposite direction. The light shines. Sorrow comes, but never should it lead you to despair, depression or self-condemnation. Under the examination lights of my God, I have felt alarm and concern and out and out surprise at what He has found in me. He has revealed things that I wasn't even aware of. He has shown me that I really didn't have some things from my past under as much control as I thought. I have hit my knees and laid with my face to the floor at what has been revealed to me. But surrounding me, enveloping me, clothing me, and enfolding me, has been the love of my Savior. When I surrendered and asked Him to reveal ANYTHING in me that He desired to show me, He first assured me of how high and wide and deep and long His love is for me. If you will submit to His probing, He is assuring you of that same thing too.

You may be afraid to get your heart checked out under the eye of the Great Physician because of how you were treated by people as a child, or even as an adult, when you were found to be less than perfect. You may have suffered extreme or unreasonable punishment. God is not that person. You may have suffered under the hand of a spouse or parent who shamed you or disciplined you unfairly.  God is your loving Heavenly Father who only wants what is best for you. Those things that He reveals in your heart are killing you. They are silent killers eating away the abundant life that you are meant to live. If left untended, you will suffer a spiritual heart attack.

I beg you to submit to this examination of your heart. You aren't too old or too young, too far gone or too sinful to even bother. A spiritually healthy heart will make all the difference in every area of your life. Ask with all honesty. Get naked before God. Let Him poke and prod and shine the light into those parts of your heart that you let no one else see. It's between you and Him. Then listen. Be aware. God will speak in all sorts of ways to give you the diagnosis. He may reveal it in His Word, a message being preached, a song, or a Bible study lesson. He will tailor it uniquely for you, because you are unique and He loves you enough to show you the truth. I promise you that it will be so worth it. You don't have to live a less than life. You were made to live the abundant life that Jesus died to give you.

In our opening verse, God said that He would give His people a new heart and then they would live in the land of their ancestors. They would live in the Promised Land.  Don't be afraid. You're on the way to your promised land.  Trust Him to do it. No one will ever be as tender with your failing heart.

Living the Word along with you,  

Donna

www.livingthewordministries.org

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Tuesdays with Jesus #196

#196 "I Got Nothin'?"

April 26, 2011

"I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too- your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful- I can't take it all in!" (Psalm 139: 5-6 The Message)

One of the phrases my family uses when we're on the phone and there's either no news to report or we've exhausted conversation is, "I got nothin'."  That's some pretty bad grammar for a family with some writers in it, I know. As I look out my kitchen window, thinking about what I want to say to you today, I think about the fog enveloping my yard. I think about how it's supposed to rain all day....again. My wind chimes are humming a gentle song, and the baby birds in the bathroom air vent are singing for their breakfast. I sit, fingers poised over the keys of my laptop and I say to myself, "I got nothin'."

Some days are just like that, aren't they? We wake up to the same thing we woke up to yesterday. There are dirty dishes in the sink. Who was in my house last night while I was sleeping? There's laundry in baskets that were just emptied, washed, folded and put away the day before. The beds have to be made again. There are jobs to go to and diapers to change. Whatever it is for you, it seems we just did all of this - and we did - yesterday. We've got nothing profound to say, no heroic feats to accomplish and no dragons to slay. We know that there are people out there feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, finding cures for diseases and changing the world. But we've got nothin'.

What I do have is a huge load of laundry that I just folded and put away from two grown sons. How many clothes can men wear in the span of three days time? I'm just asking.

Today I asked the Lord to give me a fresh pair of eyes to see Him. It's easy to get lost in the mundane, the drudgery and the predictability of life and think that God isn't in any of it. Our worlds don't seem all that important, at least not in comparison to other peoples. As I shuffled along from room to room and task to task, I asked Him to show Himself to me on this not so significant Tuesday morning. Here's a little of what I saw.

I saw puzzles. My father-in-law loved to do puzzles; the big kind with a zillion pieces that he would then glue and frame and give away to his family. We have quite a few of them hanging on the basement walls and I thought about Dad, who passed away just last November. I made my entrance into the Schultz family some 20 years ago in a not so normal way. I won't go into the details, but let's just say, I was not an expected addition to the family. As I looked at his puzzles today I smiled as I remembered that over the years I really believe that Chuck's father loved me. Chuck always said that Dad was happier to see and talk to me than to him. Considering the way it all started, Dad grew to love me like I was his own daughter. When I looked at those puzzles, I saw a miracle working God.

I came upstairs and checked Facebook and Twitter. I saw something pretty amazing. There has been a blog that is about one family's journey with a very, very sick little girl. This girl went home to be with Jesus on Good Friday. She was only about 11 years old. On the blog this morning was an invitation to her family's "Celebration of Life". Here's what it said,

"No Black-Spring Colors and Casual Please".

When I read those words, I saw the God of comfort and hope. He is the only One who could cause a family with wounds so fresh and deep to respond this way. May He show up mightily at their Celebration of Life!

I heard a prompting in my spirit as I thought about a family so dear to me. They are sitting bedside as the husband and father of the family is going through the last days or perhaps hours of his life. I was able to stop what I was doing right there and pray. I prayed for strength, comfort and peace for my friends. I thanked God that when Ed closes his eyes for the last time, he will immediately look into the eyes of my Savior. I saw God when He reminded me by His Spirit to pray.

If we ask God to show us, and we keep our eyes and ears open, we will see Him all around and about us. No day is a drudge. No moment is a bore. There are burning bushes all over the landscapes of our lives. Everywhere our feet trod is holy ground.

Sometimes He will heal the sick, give sight to the blind and raise the dead, but more often than not He is right there whispering, "Here I am. Can you see Me? Can you hear Me?" Because He is alive, He gives life to everything around us if we would just have ears to hear and eyes to see. We won't have to look very far or hard to see Him.

It won't be long until they all ask me what's for dinner. Do you think that once, they could tell ME?

As I continue tidying around the house, I see pictures of my grandchildren. I see God in their smiles and I can close my eyes and hear their laughter. I have the most precious, beautiful grandchildren in the world. I never thought that I could fall in love again at my age, but when these babies were born, I was wrecked for life.

I see Chuck and me in a white porcelain frame. It's our wedding picture. I see a big, huge, mighty God. Because He lives and because of His blessings, we have beaten so many of the odds that statistics say should have done us in years ago.  My man has a favorite thing to say to me. He always says, "You're stuck with me." What I pray that he knows is that there is no one else on God's green earth that I would rather be stuck with until death do us part. He loves me as close to the love of God as any human man could. I see God when I see that Chuck respected me and loved me enough to commit to me until God calls one of us home.

I see God in the pictures of my children hanging on the wall and scattered on shelves. There is a story with each picture. I'm reminded of skinned knees and kissing booboos. I'm reminded of childhood fears that turned into teenage angst and all the moments in between. I've seen them grow and mature and suffer and rejoice. Some have suffered more than they should have at such a young age. But they thrive and forge ahead and are all walking their own journeys with God in one way or another. It's hard, but I try my hardest to let them have their own story with God, just as I did. It will be so much richer and life-changing, if I just watch. Sometimes I've watched with a broken heart only a mother could have. But I see God in each one of them. I cheer with their victories and cry with their failures and pain. I see God when I look at those pictures of the precious ones who call me "Mom".

I see God when I turn on the tap and clean, fresh water flows. It's not that way everywhere in the world. We are so blessed.

I see God in a refrigerator full of food. I'm reminded of those who are holding bowls to get one serving of porridge today.

Seriously, we need pop and juice and fruit roll-ups again???

Those clothes that I washed and folded and put away? I see the God who has provided for our every need.

I see God when I can look myself in the eye in the mirror, and not feel ashamed or dirty or discarded. It wasn't always that way. I can see a beautiful, loved, chosen, redeemed, transformed daughter of the Living God.

I see God when just the right Scripture comes to mind as I'm trying to make a decision or fretting over something. He brings just the right word at just the right time.

I see God when I'm about to give up and throw the towel over my hopes and dreams for the calling I believe God has placed on my life. He always brings someone with a word or a note of encouragement.

I see God in the spring buds on the trees outside my window. I even see Him in those daffodil "duds" with no heads on them. He reminds me through the changing of the season that He is faithful.

I hear God in the voices of talented, anointed Christian artists who lead me each day in the sweet sounds of praise and worship over Pandora radio.

God is all around us. We could not look on Him in the fullness of His great glory and radiance, but I assure you that through eyes of faith, you can see Him. Nothing is drudgery or mundane or boring. He is present in it all and longs to show Himself to you. Ask Him today for eyes afresh to see Him. You may think that you've got nothin'. Dear one, He will show you that you've got everything.

Living the Word along with you,  

Donna

www.livingthewordministries.org

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Tuesdays with Jesus #195

"It's All A Set Up"

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Galatians 4: 4-5)

Because Holy Week and Easter often fall in April, one of the daily devotionals that I study each morning has dedicated this month to the last few hours of the earthly life of Christ. Taking thirty days to go over the events of a few hours time has lent itself to going slowly and deliciously in-depth in regard to the details. I'm one of those line by line, precept by precept bible studiers anyway. The more I can squeeze out of a word or single phrase of Scripture, the more excited I get.

Studying the final hours that Jesus spent on planet Earth as the Son of Man has led me to draw one conclusion. God is in the business of setting things up. Being all powerful, He could accomplish His purposes with just a word going forth from His lips. Really, He doesn't have to get up from His throne, and He doesn't even need to speak. All He has to do is think it, will it, and it will be done exactly as He wants it to be. More than now and again that's not how He works. If you don't just look at the familiar verses that we focus on every year at this time, but look deeper into the environment in which those events took place, you'll see something so remarkable, and I'm praying that "something" will bring you new hope today.

Before the foundation of the world, God knew what would take place in the Garden of Eden. He knew that the man and woman He created would be deceived by the serpent and that sin would spoil the perfection which was His original intent for mankind. He also knew that He would have to do something to bring fallen man back into right fellowship with Him. He had to do something because of His love. From that moment on, His plan of redemption could realistically have taken place at any time, but He skipped generation after generation of His people, waiting for the perfect conditions, to send His son, made of a woman to redeem mankind. When the fulness of the time was come, He would send Jesus.    

There would be a particular virgin girl named Mary. There would be a kind-hearted, righteous Joseph. There would be a designated time for a census. There would be a loving home for the boy to grow up in. When His time for ministry came, there would be men in position to become His close band of followers. The political and religious climate of the day would have to be perfect. Roman law would mix with Jewish religious law and form a unique set of circumstances that would be just what was needed to bring Jesus to a death sentence of crucifixion. Caiaphas would have to be high priest. Pilate would be governor of Judea throughout the entire length of Jesus' ministry. Herod Antipas would be tetrarch of Galilee, and both he and Pilate would find themselves in the city of Jerusalem during that particular Passover feast. I wish that I could do a more in depth study with you right here so that you could see some of the most minute details that had to be in place for God's plan to come to fruition in just the right way and at just the right time. The right stew of political, social and religious environs all mixed together, and the fulness of the time was come. God had set up the details perfectly and then, not one moment too soon or too late, He told His Son, "Now is Your time."

Why, in our present situations and circumstances, do we think we're exempt from the process? God is a God of order and plans and purposes. Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Where there's an end, there was first a beginning. To get from the start to the finish, there must be a process in between. Details must be worked out perfectly to achieve that expected end, and that's the part where God sets it all up just the way He chooses.  He pays close attention to the details. It is then, and only then, that He says to you, "Now is YOUR time."

We would be patient if it weren't for all the waiting.

It is right in the middle of the waiting dear one, where God is paying perfect attention to each and every detail that needs to be in place for your own expected end. At a wedding in Cana, Jesus told His mother, "My time has not yet come." (John 2: 4) Later, when His disciples urged Him to go to Judea for the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews were there, waiting to take His life. Jesus told His friends, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right." (John 7: 1-6) That's you and me, isn't it? We think that any time is right. We want it to happen and we want it now. "Any time now, Lord! Any time would be right!" Jesus shows us otherwise. He could have gone to Judea and let them take Him at that very moment and the whole thing would have been over. But He trusted His Father enough to know that the perfect plan would be carried out in the perfect way and at the perfect time. Can we trust Him that much?

When God knows that the time is right, it will happen. Even more so, if He has promised it to you in His Word. I read somewhere that the time preceding the event is like a glass of water slowly filling up as the time rolls on until when the glass is full it has reached the time for the designated event to occur.

Matthew Henry said, "Cast not away your confidence because God defers his performances. That which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always the more convenient season. God will work when he pleases, how he pleases, and by what means he pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but he will perform his word, honour our faith, and reward them that diligently seek him."

Your Heavenly Father knows what you're going through today. He has a plan to bring you to your expected end. A plan that is good and perfect because He has taken the time to pay attention to the details. Don't fight the process. Embrace it. Let not one moment of it be wasted. Let it draw you nearer to Him in trust and expectancy. When the fulness of your time has come, you will see that you wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Jesus knew that. Learn from Him for He is gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your weary soul.