White as Snow, or Grey as Sludge?

I promise to return to the series I started last week. Writing conditions for me are not the best when I have people (aka my children) running in and out from playing in the snow. It usually takes me several focused, uninterrupted hours to knock out a blog post with references, etc.

As I have been stuck in the snow the last three days I have thought about the significance of snow. Many friends on Facebook have made references to the verses in scripture that speak of how Jesus washed us white as snow. I have heard references to how everyone's home and landscaping looks good under a blanket of white, fluffy snow. The snow does have a way of "leveling" the playing field. It doesn't matter what is underneath, it all looks beautiful under the pureness of white.

I always want to get up the morning after a nightime snowfall and see the roads, yards, trees, etc. covered in snow, before any activity occurs outside. Anyone else do this? Once those first shoe prints and tire tracks get made it's not the same.

So here we are late into day three of our "blizzard." Plenty of shoe prints surround my house where the girls have been playing. The roads are covered in slush, with a thin, but dangerous layer of ice underneath. Which got me to thinking...once the roads are sanded or salted, the sand/salt mixes in with oil from cars and other road debris and it creates this grey looking slush on the sides of the roads...kind of like our lives as Christians...

When we accept Jesus as our Savior His blood washed away our sins, nothing can change the fact, we are forgiven and we are sealed...but, this doesn't mean we live a perfect life, without flaws, bumps, stains...the "slush on the side of the road" so to speak.

Now, in a couple of more days the sun is going to come out and the temperatures are going to rise and this beautiful white snow will be history, until the next one. This is the question I want to pose to you. Have you allowed the "slush" of life to mix in and eventually take over the covering of Christ's blood over you? Please hear me, nothing and nobody can take away the covering of the blood of Christ, but, you can certainly live like it is gone.

There have been many times in my life when I felt less than pure, less than clean and less than covered. I allowed lies to dictate who I was and how I lived my life...the "slush" took over my thought life and the last way I saw myself was as "white as snow."

I want to encourage anyone who feels life, bad choices, sin, lies, or circumstances have overshadowed the truth "though your sins be as scarlet, you are made white as snow" there is no better time than right here, right now to allow the blood of Jesus to wash over you again...covered and beautiful in the eyes of God! He sees us ALL THE SAME AND WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL AND PURE IN HIS EYES! Thank You, Daddy! Woo-Hoo, this makes My Soul Sing!

Passionate about Purpose

Remember those old time arcade games? My aunt and uncle had one in their basement when I was a child. You would pull back on the lever, let go quickly and watch the metal ball be propelled up the chute and back down as gravity pulled it, hitting sensors as it went, full of accompanying sounds and lights as you pushed the button which flipped the bars trying to prevent the ball from going into the gutter. That pretty much describes what is going on in my head right now with this post...so many directions it could go, so many holes it could fall into, some scoring more points then others...Excuse me a moment while the ball lands at its destination...Holy Spirit come, wisdom and revelation come. Okay, here we go....

This will be a series, not sure how many posts. I have much to say on the topic and I don't want to overwhelm you. Let's start with taking an inventory on where you stand on the subject of purpose by asking a few questions:

1. What were you created for?

2. Do you feel you are walking in what you were created for?

3. Do you struggle with feeling like there should be something more to life?

4. Do you feel incomplete?

5. Are you frustrated or confused in the area of purpose or calling?

6. Are you, or have you, felt burnout in the area of ministry or Christian service?

7. Do you say "yes" to things out of a sense of obligation?

8. Do you find identity in what you do? In other words, does "doing" make you feel significant or valuable?

There was a time when looking at these questions would have made me feel hopeless. My answers would have been:

1. I have no idea

2. No, obviously, since I have no idea.

3. Yes, all the time.

4. Are we allowed to feel complete?

5. Yes and Yes

6. YES!!!

7. YES and guilty when I had the guts to say no.

8. Identity? What the heck is identity?

Like the majority of the body of Christ, I believed I was made to serve. I mean, after all, this great big God sent His one and only Son to die for me, a wormy wretch, shouldn't I spend the rest of my life serving Him? If this is where your thoughts end on the subject, you may have been missing out on the greatest relationship of your life. If you have accepted the lesser of your identity as "servant"as the end of the line you have been missing out on the opportunity to walk in the greater part of your identity as "friend" and "lover." I will attempt to show you in this series how we can be all three; servant, friend and lover.

Let's take a look at Psalm 46:10 in the NASB version:

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

You may be more familiar with the version that begins with "be still," but I want to talk about "striving" before we talk about "being."

Let's define the word strive: To exert much effort or energy. To struggle, to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict. To rival, vie.

In the ministry where I am on staff, strive is the "s" word. Striving denotes a "doing" mentality. In our relationship with the Lord it is not about doing, but being. Doing denotes a theology full of works. Grace is unmerited favor, a gift. Grace can not be earned. Salvation is also a gift, it can not be bought, earned or paid back. It has been my observation although a denomination believes salvation is a gift from God, not of works, many live their lives in contradiction to this truth by "striving."

When it comes to our relationship with the Lord it should be from desire we pursue more intimacy with Him, not so we can meet a quota of Bible reading, prayer and study. When we come to understand how crazy in love with us He is, we WANT to spend time with Him. Time with Him becomes a priority, not a duty. Religion has taught us time with Him is routine, mundane and mechanical. Why have we made relationship with Him something different then what He designed it to be?

Other translations of Psalm 46:10 begin with "be still." Read it like this: Be. Be still. Be still and know. Be still and know that I am God.

I want to propose to you the concept of resting in the Lord. I heard a speaker this past Sunday say, "It's out of rest you wear the enemy out." The enemy is most intimidated, most frustrated and most defeated when we REST in our God given identity...when we KNOW who we are in Christ we are scary to Satan...we can REST in the finished work of the cross KNOWING His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Here are some things we will address in future posts in this series: What drives us to strive. The cure for ministry burnout. What is our purpose. Expose lies the enemy wants us to believe about serving God. How to deepen your walk with God and become a friend and lover, not merely a servant. How to serve from the overflow of relationship. We will discuss what it means to "know God" as we continue to look at Psalm 46:10. Wow, this is the list I have made so far...who knows where the Spirit will lead. It will be exciting! I hope you join me on the journey!

Knowing my purpose has liberated me in ways I can't express in words. Leading others in discovering their purposes makes MY SOUL SING!