attitude

My husband David comes from German heritage. His parents had a work ethic that not only encouraged efficiency and thoroughness, but the right attitude. He has often told me that his parents would say, “If you’ve only done what you were supposed to have done, do not look for praise.” This mirrors one of Jesus’ parables recorded by Luke (17:7-10). Jesus asks his disciples rhetorical questions about what they think the master would say to the servant who has finished his work; “Would he say . . .?” and “Would he thank . . . ?” The master would not be praising the servant, nor would he turn around and serve the servant, but would expect the servant to continue in his service. This parable ends with the admonition that, “when you have done everything you were told to do (you) should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”


The saying by Dave’s parents most likely came from this parable, which is about the attitude of one’s heart. When Jesus asked the disciples what they would “say,” He was referring to their thoughts. In the end, He told them what the correct thoughts of a servant would be, or what they should “say” in their hearts (vs 10).

God builds on our correct attitudes. Just as parents reward their children, God rewards His. Doing all we are told to do is called “obedience”, and being predictable in obedience is called “faithfulness.” When we are faithful in our obedience we learn wisdom. In the parable about the faithful and wise servant (Lk 12:42-48) we see that the servant who does right is promoted to greater service. His life displayed God’s creative wisdom and the Master knew that the servant was ready to serve in a greater capacity.

Faithful obedience works goodness in our hearts when we have the right attitude towards God. In the parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30) one servant thought wickedly about the master and was punished. The other 2 servants were called “good and faithful. Their hearts had an understanding of God’s intentions and therefore their service reflected the master’s heart; goodness. Though servants, they were rewarded with cities to rule over. Their promotion shows that the Lord could entrust them to be part of the government of God.

God asks all His children to serve Him. Having the right attitude will take us into an expansion of that service to help us persevere towards completion. According to the Lord’s discretion, we will then move into spiritual areas to rule over. The Lord does not want us to develop a sense of entitlement. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that we have much to look forward to when we begin our service with the right attitude, and grow in both wisdom, and in an understanding of His nature.

Denying Change to the Body of Christ - a vision

Today, between sleep and wakefulness, I had a vision. I saw men take light and life away from the Church by commanding that there should be no more change. I saw a baby in the church and knew what these men had said could not be right, for growth brings change. And then I awoke.


I could hear the Lord say that these men thought unity could be brought to the church by teaching conformity. As I wondered about this my thoughts turned to Jesus’ name for the Church; His body. In reality, a body has a process that keeps it in good repair and functioning well, and which brings healing and growth. It is called “homeostasis.” Homeostasis causes the body to be in constant change in order for it to perform normally. If we look at the analogy of Christ’s Church being His body, we see that body ministry is what keeps the individual members functioning well, growing, healing, and supplying the life of Christ to each other (see Ephesians 4:16).

Some men want to control others in order to make them function better. They conceive programs for the purpose of replicating more people who will conform to their ideas. This is the mechanization of religion, and is not the living body of Christ. One day Jesus will usurp these controlling men who want everything to remain as they have conceived it. Jesus will take back the control of His Church. Though these men rise up to oppose His Lordship, yet will Christ stand with His faithful ones and overcome them. Amen.

Building God's Kingdom

God walks with us to show us His ways. He knows that our human nature is not intent on servanthood, but on building our own little kingdoms and ruling in them. Because His intention is for us to act under His rulership, He will not bless us in our own intentions. Though we be gifted and skilled, Jesus will direct us continually back to the road He walked; serving the Father.


It is our nature to make things our “own”. So often, even if we to begin a venture with God, we eventually let our own desires crowd Him out. In God’s kindness He will let failure, loss, desertion, and other trials come into our lives until we once again render unto Him what is rightfully His. In fact, when He fulfills His promises to us, God will most likely test our hearts to see if we will serve Him with the fulfillment, or be busy building our own kingdom with them. We see an example of this in Abraham’s story.

We read that God promised Abraham a son. The Lord saw Abraham as a man of integrity. He said, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken by him.” (Gen 18:19) Because Abraham would teach his children about God, he would be given a child from whom a whole nation would spring forth.

Abraham and Sarah did not have a son right away, and we know from reading their story that Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham to bear a son. So Ishmael was born. Sarah & Abraham were trying to do their part to bring God’s promises to pass. However, the Lord told Abraham “my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you, by this time next year.” (Gen 17:21).

Abraham couldn’t say “Oops, I made a mistake.” Indeed, Abraham loved his son Ishmael, and asked the Lord for His blessing on him (Gen 17:18). Abraham wasn’t asking for the Lord to bless Ishmael along with blessing Isaac; he was asking for the covenant promise to come through Ishmael. When it came down to it, he was saying that his attempt at establishing God’s promise had been good, and his good was good enough. Ishmael, had he stayed in Abraham’s household, would have been the child Abraham would build his kingdom through.

The Lord gave Abraham a son through Sarah, which was the fulfillment of God’s promise and the vessel from which the promise of the nations would come. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. It was as if all things fell into place for Abraham to begin his ministry of teaching his son, and household, the ways of the Lord. But because Abraham had been content with Ishmael, God tested Abraham’s heart (Gen 22:1). He now had the real heir, Isaac. Would Abraham set his will to serve God and build His kingdom His way, or would he insist on doing his own will again? Abraham submitted to God’s way and passed the test. Therefore God built His nation of Israel through Abraham’s son Isaac, as He foretold. It was God’s kingdom beginnings.

This is an important lesson. God does test the intentions of our hearts to see what we will do with what He gives us. His earthly promises have everything to do with the fulfillment of our destinies and furthering His Kingdom here. When Jesus returns it isn’t to give everyone what He has promised them, for we will receive that here. Jesus will return to a kingdom that is His to rule in. Today let us be sure we are not building our own little kingdoms, but may we be found to serving the Lord in His. Amen.

I have overcome; a prophecy

Sometimes the Lord shares with us from the depths of His heart.  How comforting to know that, in these troubled times, His desire is towards us.  Here is the Word the Lord shared this morning;

“I have overcome, and desire that all men overcome. I have plans for men and women, should they follow Me. I have secured a Kingdom for them that one day they shall rule in.


But this is a time, greater than all times before it, that men doubt Me. Because of fear they do not follow; for fear demands its servanthood. And fear causes men’s hearts to grow cold, for its securities are of the world, and the world cannot form love in one soul. I form love in the hearts of men.

Because men fear and have lost love they look to the world for their hope. Those who hope in Me are My prize in this hour, in this time. They will overcome just as I have overcome. In sitting down with Me they shall share in the plans I have for them in My Kingdom. On this earth they will shine in glory. This is My desire and the purpose for My overcoming, by which this is possible. All My preparations are in thee, My Bride.” Amen.

our image

Sometimes it is hard, knowing that God is making us over into His image, and seeing that we are still in our own. We become disappointed in ourselves. At times like this we are tempted to strive after a better image than the one we see. But it is only His power in us that can accomplish His image in us.


In Isaiah chapter 40 we read about a contrast between God and Man, and between God’s rulership and Man’s. Though the Lord details how much higher His ways are than Man’s, His purpose in relating our differences isn’t to make us feel inferior. God’s intention is to show Man that it is His divine choice to love us. We need never look at our own image and despair, for He is at work in us, on our behalf, and out of His choice to love us.

In speaking about His rulership, the Lord says, “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (Is 40:11). God does not despise our weaknesses, nor our inexperience. He both leads and carries us close to His heart.

When we are frustrated with our own image we can try to improve it, or we can trust in God’s work in us. He is ready to give strength to the weary and power to the weak, and great endurance to all who hope in Him (Is 40:29-31). In fact, God’s love for us causes Him to be faithful to us. When Moses stood on Mt Sinai the Lord said about Himself that He was compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness . . . and forgiving (Ex 34:5-7). Finding faults within ourselves daily will vex us, and we will miss the fact that God, in His faithfulness, is working for our good. He knows we are weak and that we fail at times, but He trusts in His nature, not ours. God trusts in His ability to see us through to His image. He does not trust in our strivings to make ourselves into His image.

Today, if you find yourself disappointed with yourself, do not despair. Your image is daily in the hands of One who can be trusted to be faithful, on your behalf. Do not strive after a better image, for He is working on your behalf and will not forsake you. Amen.

God is defining good

The end times are marked with change. It is no longer “business as usual.” Today’s Word is about one of God’s purposes for change.


“This is a time of Me defining My Kingdome, and no longer a time of men’s definitions. Men have done what they thought was right and good. They have defined what is good in My Kingdom. But Man is man, and I am God.

I have asked men to cease from their labors and come aside to rest (Heb 4:10). But I have not said that all work will cease. I have My good works that I will do in the earth through men, if they will lay their own down and listen to Me.

Some have forgotten that I am the Lord of the Kingdom. Instead of working together with their fellow servants they have set up mini-rulerships of their own. They do not serve, but get others to serve them.

When the end comes and men’s works are judged some will come to Me with the good they have done. Rather, men should be looking at the fruit they have born. For a man’s works are like a tree which bears fruit after its own kind. If the tree is My word, the fruit will be a product of My Word. If the tree is a man’s thoughts, the fruit will be a product of the man’s thinking. My Kingdom is full of trees which bear the fruit of men’s thoughts, therefore I am asking men everywhere to stop, and listen for My Word.

No matter how good a thing seems in the beginning, if it is not My Word for My time to My people it cannot become what it would be if I had spoken it into being. Man cannot bring good into being apart from Me. Yet, if a man puts his will and wishes aside for Mine, all things he does will be God-breathed; God-created. His fruit will be eternal.” This is the Word the Lord spoke.

God's works through men; part 2

We seldom see how significant our works for the Lord are. You may have just read the first part of our mission’s trip story today. This is the second part, added because of not only an event that preceded it, but also one that followed it. Building the church for the Filipinos was the middle of a series of what we call “God appointments.”


When Dave and I arrived in the Philippines with our team we spent the first night in a hotel, called “Shalom.” This was the setting for our first encounter. While sleeping that night I had a night vision of robed angels singing to us. They were standing in the parking lot and took turns flying up to our 3rd floor room, as if there was no wall. They were singing “Praise to you men for the works you will do.”

When I awoke I saw there a wall and a window where formerly there had been many, many angels entering and leaving our room. What I marveled at more than seeing angels was their message. In sharing this with my husband I asked him why angels, who knew God’s power, would praise men. Neither of us had an answer. But it set an expectation in our hearts of finding God’s perfect will along with our team, and performing the “works.”

During our stay in the Philippines there were many times when a team member would be too tired, or frustrated, to want to do further works. But we met together and encouraged one another daily. This is the key to doing team work, and keeping a right heart towards each other. By the time our stay was up we had wonderful stories of how the Lord had worked through each one of us.

Another mission’s team followed after we left. They too were expecting to serve the Lord to the fullest, and were in the exact same location we had been in. However, shortly after their arrival, terrorists kidnapped a business man in the area and the entire team was sent home. Where the door had been opened for us, it was closed for them. If we had not done the works that the angels knew were appointed to us, they would not have been done.

The event preceding our works for the Lord was the visit from the angels, encouraging us with the importance of what we were appointed to do (Eph 2:10). The event that followed our arrival home was a second night vision. In it I saw one robed angel, carrying the crucified body of Jesus. He laid Him on a raised surface in front of me, and I became overwhelmed with how valuable His sacrifice was. The Holy Spirit prayed one prayer through me during this time, and the angel prayed as well; the prayer was for the Church to do the works of Jesus Christ. Then I awoke.

It is of great value that we serve the Lord with our gifts. He gave those gifts to men when He rose from the dead (Eph 4:8), showing that our works are an important part of the continuing plan of God for the Church, and for the lost. I want to encourage each and every one of you to serve God and do not be discouraged by closed doors. Be faithful and the Lord will open one for you (Rev 3:8). It’s that important. Amen.

Seeing God through His Works

Sometimes the Lord gives us unique experiences whereby we see His nature clearly. When Dave and I were on a short term mission’s trip we had just such an experience.


It was 2002 and we were on an island of the Philippines. Our team’s assignment was spread out in homes, churches, schools, and even a tribal village. Our host pastor asked Dave & I to lead church in a home on Thursday nights. The group gathered there had once met in a building on the senior elder’s property, but a typhoon had destroyed it.

Through interpreters we led worship and a lesson. As time went on the elder, Rodine, shared with us that the church used to have over 100 members. But after the typhoon struck many became discouraged and one-by-one the families stopped coming. Some of the men turned to drinking and he was concerned about their families. Now there were only about 10-12 people meeting together in his home.

One day Dave made a proposal to our mission’s team; why don’t we use some of our funds to help them re-build their church? It was a unanimous “yes”. We were excited to bring this proposal to the church at Rodine’s house that week. And again, there was a resounding “yes.” Plans were drawn, supplies purchased, and the men from our team met with workers the following week end. The wives gathered to cook a tasty rice dessert served on banana fronds.

The new church had steel pillars set into cement. The roof was equally as sturdy. In a week’s time the structure was finished and an opening date set for the following Friday night; just a few days before our departure back to our homes.

We were glad to participate in their celebration of joy the next Friday. The youth group provided us with worship and dance. To our surprise the church was full, with over 75 people. Many of the youth stood outside, peering in the door. Later they met separately for their celebration in the elder’s home. Rodine was right; the people had needed encouragement. They were coming back to church again, happy to gather with the family of God.

Before the formal message Rodine stood and thanked our team, calling them up by name as the congregation clapped. We knew, though, that the credit went to God. As we looked at the happy faces a man stood and it became silent. He had also been an elder in the church and his words were important to the people. This man said “Now we know God has not forgotten us . . . He sent us you.”

Wow! Clearly the people had seen God at work, and that’s what they had been waiting for. Again the people clapped, cheering for the Lord and what He had done. We had been God’s hands and feet to His people; what a privilege.

Though we may forget, God does not forget His people. He is glorified in His mighty works. How doubly awesome it is to see and be a part of the works of God. Today, when you think to do good, do not hesitate, for God will be glorified and you will get to see more of His nature . . . how truly awesome He is! Amen.