The LORD has given the victory into your hands

Last fall, my friend invited me to join her in a community Bible study group. It was so refreshing to participate in Bible study with women of all ages, backgrounds, and styles, yet united in heart with a desire to know the only true God and the one whom he sent, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). I was hesitant to join the Bible study group for different reasons. I resisted the idea that I should join simply for the connections I could add to my network of potential "supporters".  However, my decision came down to a prompting I believe the Spirit gave me to recognize that this may be one way God is answering my prayers. I have been praying that God would lead David and I to share our ministry with the people he has chosen to support us, prayerfully and financially.  I felt if I walked away from the opportunity God clearly was offering me, could I ask him for another (perhaps less blatant) option?
My participation in this Bible study primarily blessed me because it turned my mind toward a book of the Bible I don't often investigate. The group studied the books Joshua through 2 Samuel, but the book that captured my interest was Judges. In the back of my mind, I wondered how on earth this book would bear fruit in my walk with God right now. It has been an amazing discovery. This year David and I have been reading through the Bible in chronological order. Once again, we are reading Judges. Every section of the book reminded me of God's sovereign ability to hand victory to whomever he chooses. When discipline is required because the Israelites have disobeyed his covenant, God gives a foreign nation control over his people.  The Israelites' disobedience is so cyclical (and depressing) that it offers repeated occasion for God to demonstrate his power and control over the situation. Time after time, God raises up a man or woman to deliver Israel from their oppressors. Each situation proves how little the Israelites' freedom depended on their human deliverer. No, "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands". These judges or deliverers are not impressive to me. The only credibility they have is the Spirit of the Lord that comes upon them to empower them to do God's will.
Like the war heroes and failed leaders of the book of Judges, I have been chosen by God: to be his child, experience his power, and do his will. Still, God's love and faithfulness is not demonstrated to me because of who I am. I am no more worthy, more obedient, more faithful, more sanctified than any other person. I have a choice to live worthy of my calling (Eph 4:1) and to demonstrate my love for my Father through my obedience (1 John 2).  But, God chose me simply because he wanted to and he will be glorified when victory is gained through my obedience.
I love the phrase that repeats itself in Judges 7 as Gideon steels himself and his army of 300 men (again only those whom God chose) to join in battle with thousands of enemy warriors. "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands".  They went into battle so aware that God was the only one capable of turning this battle in their favor. In fact, the deliverers God raises up in these historical accounts all speak of the victory as already having happened. "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands".
The LORD has given the enemy into your hands. Jesus already defeated sin, death, Satan and his armies. The victory is accomplished; God's will is as certain to happen as if it is over and done already. The victory does not depend on my might, my strength, my faith, my leadership skills, my obedience, or my power but on my all-sufficient, all-powerful God. Praise the LORD!

I Could NEVER do that!

I have heard a lot of different comments on the lifestyle David and I have adopted recently. Most of them start with this phrase.... "I could never do... ... like you."

I've shared some of the wonder and amazement that our friends and family have expressed in their comments.

"I could never travel for months on end..."

"I could never live on the road, moving from home to home as guests of friends or family.."

"I could never manage to eat gluten free or give up dairy...."

"I could never travel with my dietary restrictions and living overseas is even more unimaginable." 

"I can't imagine not having a Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods store available."

"I could never leave my family to live in another state or another country..."

"I could never ask people to donate to support my family or my ministry financially..."

"I could never tell my family about my relationship with Jesus...."

"I could never..."

Ironically, I started out this year thinking many of these thoughts. I didn't want to travel for 12 weeks continuously. I didn't know how I was going to eat gluten, dairy, and egg free in states that don't have a Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, or Chipotle! I couldn't imagine staying in other people's homes with my sensitivity to fragrances (air fresheners, laundry detergents and softeners, cleaning supplies, hand soaps and shampoos).   I cringed at the awkwardness of asking people to consider in prayer how they might financially support my husband and I.  I dislike answering the questions, stares, innocent inquisitions  "Do you work, Allison?" or "Why aren't you in Ohio yet?"   I have grown so attached to my family: my mom, my siblings, my nieces and nephews, my cousin and her family. I love my church home and close fellowship in small group and with our church staff. How could I leave such an amazing gift?

Let's just say there are plenty of things I can NOT imagine myself doing but what I could NEVER imagine is being distant from God again. I've been there. I've done that. I don't want to walk that road again. Do you know that feeling? Distance between myself and God is the result of disobedience, rebellion, sin in my life because I want to tell God how my life should go and what I will or won't do.   I may still choose disobedience on occasion because my sinful self is still fighting to be in control of my life. But I NEVER will experience the fullness of separation my sin once caused, because Jesus Christ experienced that moment for me on the cross. He cried out in anguish, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!!!"    How could I desire to walk in such a way to bring back those painful memories to my Savior?

I love this passage in 2 Corinthians 5 because it resonates with every choice I will make to pursue obedience to my Savior. 

"Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

I think there are quite a few decisions I can and will continue to make that will surprise even myself.  But my "self" has been changed by the incredible grace of God. My old life is gone; a new life has begun and with that new life, new choices are being made. I am eager to no longer live for myself but for Christ who died and was raised for me.  I'm sure some of the people I've talked to in the last 5 months feel the same way. They just may not realize the things they "could NEVER do" are changing as God changes them into a new person.

What unimaginable and surprising life is God asking you to live for Christ? 

Faith not fear

Hebrews 11 starts with this statement, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." The NLT states it this way: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."
Sometimes I feel this would be a more accurate statement about my faith: Now faith is something I hope to have, a conviction I do not seem to feel.
I just recovered from a moment of weeping before God as I recognize the fear I feel is stronger than my conviction to believe what God has promised.
Here are some of my observations from Hebrews 11:

• These men and women were not righteous when they had faith nor did they become miraculously righteous at the moment they had faith (Check out Genesis 12 & 20 for big messes Abraham created in moments where he demonstrated a lack of trust in God after his initial momentous step of faith).
• Abel, Noah, and others (Abraham in Romans 4 & Galatians) are mentioned to have received righteousness by faith or their actions were evidence of the righteousness they received by faith
• These men and women are said to have earned a good reputation but did nothing to earn righteousness or God's favor
• Many of them waited a lifetime to receive the promise God had given them; some died before receiving the promise
• One thing sets these men and women apart from their counterparts (Abel from Cain, Noah from the rest of the world, Abraham from his father and brothers or his nephew Lot): They believed what God promised them and acted based on that conviction

They believed God's promise and their life was consistent, acting on that conviction, giving evidence to their belief. 

This truth harmonizes with what I've been learning in Paul's letter to the Galatians and the Romans.  Abraham believed God's promise that he would give the land of Canaan to his descendants, meaning he would have a son, an heir, through whom he would have descendants to inherit this land. Abraham waited for God to fulfill his promise. He had moments where he believed God without doubt and moments where he tried to help God along. He waited until having a legitimate son and heir was no longer difficult: it was impossible. He was nearly dead before God fulfilled his promise and a son was born to Abraham through his wife Sarah. 

Paul teaches that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. It was Abraham's faith in God's promise that gained him righteousness. This righteousness was not something Abraham worked to develop in his own character; it was not a natural characteristic of his life. Abraham did not have faith in God because he was a good person, nor did he have favor with God because of that reason. 

God gave Abraham righteousness that was not his own, righteousness he did not earn or deserve: Jesus Christ's righteousness. The same is true for every man or woman mentioned in Hebrews 11: they received righteousness as a gift from God because they believed him.

NOTE: There is a crucial distinction between believing God and believing "in God". James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in one God and tremble with horror. The difference is whether you believe what God has revealed about himself: who he is, how he acts, what he promises...

The demons know that there is only one God but they don't accept his authority, his plans for the future, his right to rule and command their allegiance. They are in rebellion to the truth about God.

What is my belief like? Do I believe "in God" but prefer autonomy, the freedom to choose to live, act, and believe how I want? Or do I take him at his Word and believe every piece of what he has revealed to be true about himself?

Examples: 

1. Do I believe God when he states in his Word that he spoke all creation into being, that life and matter, existence, and science came from nothing through the power of his own words? Or do I believe in God and choose to search for answers to how life came about through scientific reason?
2. Do I believe God when he claims to be three-in-one person, the Triune God, equal unity, holiness, authority, and deity but unique in roles and responsibility? Do I believe Jesus is who he claims to be, Son of God, Messiah, Savior? Or do I believe in the existence of a man named Jesus who was a good person, a great teacher, and I am hoping for a Messiah/Savior who has yet to come? 
3. Do I believe God when he promises to discipline us for our "good" (Heb 12:10) and claims he can work all things (good, bad, horrible) together for our good (Rom 8:28) so that we will share in his holiness? Or do I believe in God but abandon any worship or obedience of him when life is painful, full of loss, and nothing like I wanted it to be?
4. Do I believe Jesus when he says that "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it" (Luke 9:24)? Do I believe God when he commands me to spend my life making disciples, baptizing and teaching in his name, and he promises to be with me always, wherever I go (Matt 28:19-20)? Or do I stay home where life is safe, comfortable, and familiar and I can grow in my faith while attending a church full of people who believe "in God" as well?
5. Do I believe God's promise that anyone who trusts and believes in Jesus Christ will "live even though he dies" and be in God's presence forever? Or do I anxiously try to avoid illness and death, holding onto people and possessions on earth for as many years as doctors and medicine and careful, healthy living can make possible?

Here is where my faith has failed:

• I dislike asking other people to partner financially with my family and give to support our needs. Do I not believe God has commanded I go?
• I fear the discomfort and strangeness of foreign fields: bugs, snakes, new foods, new languages, new allergens and old allergies, malaria, typhoid, giardia, etc.
• I fear the difficulty of finding foods I can safely eat without the availability of Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, and all the other stores that market towards the diet and vitamin supplements my immune system requires.
• I fear making ends meet when vitamins, essential oils, and gluten, dairy, and egg free ingredients are so expensive.
• I struggle with appearances, not appearing "worthy of my wages", pinching pennies and searching clearance racks to make it clear how much we need support or how well we are managing our finances-ultimately I fear people's opinions or approval more than God's. 
• I fear having no room for generosity when my source of income is dependent on other people's generosity. Is it not God's generosity that provides for my needs?
• I fear beautiful young foreigners throwing themselves at my husband, seeking his favor, tempting his pleasures.
• I fear men taking advantage of myself and my daughters, or women fondling my sons. I fear the sexual abuse and immorality that is rampant in our world. 
• I fear rape, torture, molestation, captivity, sickness, loneliness, barrenness, poor conditions, medical malpractice, and so much more...

Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and all the others had equally as many trials and temptations to fear. It was not the absence of difficulty that made their faith evident. It was not their belief "in God" that sustained them or protected them as they waited for God's promise. It was their belief that God could and would do the impossible to keep his promise to them; this faith led them to act, to follow God's commands despite such difficulties.

Hebrews 11 concludes with some not-so comforting descriptions of men and women who received righteousness by faith. "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.  Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.  Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.  They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.  For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us." (vs. 33-40)

So I ask myself the question again, Do I believe God's promises are true and that he will keep his promise no matter how much time elapses or what happens in the meantime?

Only my actions will tell....