Jesus is the Best Renovator, Redeemer and Friend

Home renovation shows are one of my favorites. Sometimes I enjoy them because they are hilarious. The disaster renovations on one show just make me laugh as I see a picture of some of my attempted renovations in their problems as well.  Other times I just wonder if I really want to renovate something bad enough to go through the hard part.

On a recent episode of one of the best, the show centered around a mother’s kitchen renovation attempt by her son. I have lots of ideas for my own kitchen so I was watching closely. This kitchen had been gutted quite a few months back. Walls were mere studs and cabinets were half installed. Other make shift counters held things that should have been in their proper place. The kitchen was a catastrophe and looked hopeless. 

As the host of this show walked through the disaster and surveyed the situation, it was as though a light bulb went off in the mother’s head. I heard her say these words: “Until Bryan got here we were so used to living with it the way it was we didn’t realize just how bad it had gotten.” 

That’s when God spoke to my heart. When Jesus arrives on the scene of our lives the first thing we notice is our brokenness.  We see just how bad things really are. We hate to admit it, we turn our eyes from it and try to get our minds off of it. But Jesus says I cannot fix what you do not see. You can only see the brokenness, but I can see it all, including the repair, including the redemption, including making all things new.

Oh beloved, have you been living with brokenness? Have you been trying to fix your own problems? Have you lived with the rubble so long that you think it’s normal?  Are you sweeping around the junk and hoping to keep it out of sight? Jesus is calling to your heart and speaking such sweet love words. He is calling you to let Him see what you’re unable to repair and let Him work it out for you. He does more than repair, He renews! You are destined not for more demolition but for redemption! Trust in the Lord, open up the truth of your circumstances to Him and let Him apply the Truth of His Word to your situation.  Only in facing the truth will your circumstances change. But oh beloved when Jesus gets there, everything changes!

You are loved. You are chosen. God cares for you so much that He’s never unwilling to fix your broken life, broken heart and broken things. Run to Him and live in the Light of His Word as you see the magnificent remodel only He can do.

Ephesians 1:7-8a In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.

I Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

I John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. Amplified

Psalm 107:19-22 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.

Job 33:28-29 God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.  Yes, God does these things again and again for people.

How Do You Deal with the Impacts of Life?

Back in the day most car insurance companies had a natural disaster ruling. For Arkansas this applied to hitting a deer on the highway. You can’t help where a deer jumps out at you. Many people have had terrible accidents while swerving to miss those deer, or any animal that comes into the highway in front of them.

I remember the time I was riding with Diona and Blake in her car. He was very little. We were crossing a bridge near the house and a huge buck jumped out right in front of us. She grabbed the steering wheel and held on with both hands. Boom! That deer hit the front of the car. There was a lot of damage to the car to be sure. But we were safe. Because my daughter held her ground and didn’t swerve as a reaction to the oncoming animal, the impact was rather light for us in the car. Had she swerved we would have surely hit the bridge abutment or gone off into the deep ravine on either side of the bridge.  Thankfully she had insurance and her car was fixed. She reacted correctly and we inside the car were fine.

Life is full of things that we aren’t expecting. We can be going along enjoying our life when suddenly out of nowhere we are hit with disaster.  Our first inclination is to swerve! We don’t want the impact. We don’t want to be involved in the situation at all. We want to avoid it at all costs. While we don’t get to choose everything that happens to us, we do get to choose how to react to it. If we can just remember that God is going before us, then we know ultimately He sees the entire situation and what is happening to us. We can then hang on, knowing the impact won’t affect us inside. The outward man may feel crushed or totaled but the inward person will rest in the promises of God.

What do we do then, when out of nowhere we get disastrous news? What happens when we’re hit with rejection or sorrow or dishonor or pain? What happens when we’re lied about or lied to? What if someone isn’t a person of their word and we’re involved in a collision between the truth and a lie?

Oh beloved, you hang on! Hold your ground against the onslaught of the enemy. Hang tight to God’s Word no matter what you are seeing with your natural eyes. Your heart may say you’re done for, but the Word of God says no weapon formed against you will prosper.  Your eyes will deceive you. But God’s Word is true. All the Bible, God breathed from beginning to end, is there for your comfort and safety. It is your insurance policy against damage you cannot overcome. Without God you are sure to swerve and land in the ditch. You may then think you are finally safe, but you’re not. Only by holding onto God and going through the situation will you find yourself unscathed.

The Word of God is your history lesson on how to deal with impacts of life. From the three men in the fiery furnace to Joseph, Gideon, Ruth, Habakkuk and all the others in Hebrews’ roll call of faith, we see God’s hand over the lives of those in disaster.  They stood fast and did not waver at God’s promises, and so can you beloved!  Lean in close to God’s Word, spend time in communication with the Lord and hang on! You will make it through and be blessed beyond measure as you see that no disaster meant to grieve you or get you off your road of faith will succeed. You are a winner and you don’t have to veer off from anything knowing that God loves you and He’s for you no matter what comes your way.

Psalm 91:5-6 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.   Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Psalm 26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide. AMP

Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

Philippians 3:16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. NLT

Philippians 4:7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Disaster House or Christ Built House?

Disaster House highlights home remodeling the “wrong way”.  The episode I watched showed them pulling out a load bearing wall by hitching the wall to a set of Clydesdale horses through a window. The horses pulled that wall down without much effort. But the after effects were bad: falling plaster, sagging ceiling, and the floor above falling down.

The results were truly disastrous.  The host did go on to show how to fix the mess once you’ve done it.  It took a lot more time, money and effort to repair the mess. They could have done it the right way to start with and saved a boatload of money and headaches!

Fortunately for us believers growing in faith and becoming Christlike don’t have to come at the cost of a disaster. Just like home remodeling, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things in the Kingdom of God. Unlike a homeowner who may have no background knowledge and no guidebook to go by, we believers have the knowledge of the Most High God spoken into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Our “resident” expert shines His Spirit on God’s Word and we can know that we know that we know how to live with one another, how to grow in unity, love and faith. We can also know how to build up one another, build up God’s ministry and repair any problem that arises.

But there will be times that we will have to start from the ground up. A lot of times we come into a situation with all of God’s knowledge but the building has sagged for a long time. Lack of prayer, lack of love, lack of the bolstering of God’s Spirit: all make for a bad situation.  We could just tear down the entire building or let it go empty. But is that God’s plan?   How do we go from the disaster house we find ourselves in to the Spirit built Kingdom God desires?

It may be that the disaster you are facing looks too far gone to do anything about.  You’ve tried everything and yet the walls are falling in everywhere. It may be your ministry, your marriage, your children, your future, your finances or your friendships.  While there’s nothing you can do to change things in the natural, there is always something you can do that will move heaven and earth on your behalf: you can pray. Keep asking God to show up and show out. Ask God to change your heart and then the hearts and minds of others.

Without God as the Master Builder and Chief Architect we all might as well go home. Without Jesus as the chief cornerstone of all we do we are headed for disaster. And would we want it any other way? Do we really want to do it all by the flesh? Are we really content when we’ve had our way? Do we feel great satisfaction when the things fall completely to the ground?  Does “I told you so” ever make the disastrous heap of rubbish look better or feel better?

Oh beloved, God has a wonderful plan for your life and for the life of those around you. His plan calls for Him to be first, for love to reign supreme and for the head of the building to be Christ. Can you work with that? Can you leave the choices to Him? If you do, you will watch Him display His wondrous power in glorious ways! He will take the crumbling edifice and rebuild it for His glory! And when it’s all said and done and our life of faith is over here on earth, we will arrive home face to face with the Stone the builders rejected.

God loves you and He’s for you – and that’s why He keeps asking you to let Him do the construction throughout your life as you learn to be more like Him. When it’s all about Jesus, He makes the reconstruction better than anything you could dream up on your own. You can trust Him as He builds your life into something magnificent to show forth His glory!

Ephesians 2:20 Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself.

Colossians 2:7 Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Matthew 7:24 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Is Your Heart Drought Stricken? There's Hope!

Drought is one of the most costly natural disasters affecting our country. Although it’s gotten pretty hot by now, it’s nothing compared to the disastrous weather we were having a year ago. In June much of our state was in severe to extreme drought with all of the state in some form of drought. Not only was it dry, but most weather stations in our state were reporting the highest number of 100°F days for the month of June ever recorded.

It was hot, it was dry and it was miserable. The gardens dried up, the row crops suffered and hay was being brought from across the country at incredible prices. I can remember driving on the interstate and noticing that the trucks were carrying blackened and old hay. Everyone was desperate. Ranchers who had been weathering extended droughts for the last couple of years were now selling their prime beef cattle for butcher beef.  It was sad times across the nation’s mid-section.

When I look outside my window and see rain these days I don’t dare complain. The grass is green and we’ve stayed under 100 degrees just about everywhere around here. The mornings are misty and damp and still there’s a cool in the air. For all this I am most thankful.

Sometimes we experience different types of drought. Droughts of the heart, the spirit, the mind. It could be a cut back at work, a setback in health, or a fall back of friendship or fellowship. At first, we adjust – we cut back on our wants and concentrate on our needs. We quit wishing for more and start praying for enough. But as the hard times of sorrow or worry or fear extend, we find ourselves desperate for any source of water and for any cool place to lie down and rest.  

For the Christian, God is so merciful! He will take our withered lives, our barren lands and our broken hearts and restore them! He gives water in a dry and arid place and He brings a cooling peace to those who seek Him with their whole hearts. He is a restoration loving God! He is a redemption bringing Savior! Regardless of how hard things may be at the moment, we can look forward to our hearts, minds and spirits being renewed.  We may not know when it will happen, but God’s promise is that if we seek Him we will find Him. And where we find Him, we find rivers of living water for everything we need.

Oh beloved, is your heart crying from a drought?  Your soul may seem fine to the outward glance, but inwardly you are dying for lack of refreshing. You’ve gone from well to cistern to pool and found nothing worth having, nothing to quench the thirsting of your soul. Run to the Lord this morning! For God has promised you refreshment and renewal and blessings. He understands your situation, He sees the extreme conditions you’ve been living in and He is able to cause you to flourish in the midst of it all. You don’t have to wait until things get better to thrive, for God is your reason for living! He says to you this morning come away to Me and receive all you need for your heart, your spirit and your mind. I AM your fountain of living water and I will never turn you away.

Circumstances may bring drought, but life in Christ will always cause you to flourish for God loves you and He’s for you and that’s your true source of refreshing always!

John 4:14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

Psalm 63:1 …O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 143:11 For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life. Because of Your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.

Psalm 107:8-9 Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them.   For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Give That Misidentified Problem to Him!

Because I work in an agriculture office, you just never know what people will bring in for us to identify. It could be a twig, a leaf, or a bug. Sometimes what they bring is alive, other times it’s dead. They’ll walk in with a bottle or a bat and say, “What do you think it is?” After careful consideration and the occasional perusal of an insect or plant book, one of the agents will identify it. Sometimes it has to be sent to the plant labor the entomology specialist in our state office. Final diagnosis can be made once a person in authority has seen it.

As humans, we see a lot of “stuff” come into our lives. Often it’s just a small speck on the screen and we are able to quash it quickly and move on. Other times something huge makes its way into our lives or minds and we have problems identifying it. Lots of times we misdiagnose it. We fail to run it through the Book of Identification and we let the concern about it run rampant in our minds as we worry, fume, fear and become depressed over it. If we’re not careful we’ll let that little speck multiply until we’re overrun with it. Finally we have to call in an expert who can truly classify it and give us control measures or tell us that it’s not really a problem.

Oh beloved! What are you holding in your hand this morning? What have you been turning over and over, looking and trying to figure it all out? Are you concerned that it’s poisonous or going to make you sick or create some disaster in your life? Are you worried about the outcome or how to get rid of it? Maybe you’ve misdiagnosed it and you think it’s all disaster.

Run to the Book of Identification and let God figure it all out for you. He will correctly identify it as you ask Him, “What do You think it is?” As you let God look into the things you have tried to “handle” on your own, He will not only give you a right verdict, He will make all things work together for your good! No matter what you’re going through, He is the Expert and He is aware of all things, so only He can make correct analysis. You may be convinced you have seen disappointment but He sees His appointment, you may be seeing disaster and He’s seeing His answer. Trust Him today to look through eyes of pure love, evaluate your life through the microscope of His Truth and to properly dispose of the hurts, issues and misdiagnosis of your whole life. This Great Physician you can rely on, no matter what and you can leave those bugs and problems in His hands for He will surely work them all out for your good and His glory!

2 Chronicles 33:12-13 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!

Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 77:13-14 Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples.

2 Samuel 22:4 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while He is near.

Psalm 119:50 Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.

1 Chronicles 16:11 Search for the LORD and for His strength; continually seek Him

James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.