Pride and Patience

Tags

complete, Humility, Justice, Patience, Pride, Truth, Waiting, without lack

The Lord our God is creative beyond comprehension; majestic beyond description; and perfect in the ways He deals with us as His children. People that don’t know Him are truly missing out on the adventure of walking with Him, for there is really no one like Him. I was in prayer last night while listening to Paul Wilbur sing, Spirit of the Sovereign Lord, come and make your presence known, reveal the glory of the risen King. For you that don’t know the song, it goes on to say, let the weight of your glory cover us, let the life of your river flow, let the peace of your kingdom reign in us, let the weight of your glory, let the weight of your glory, fall. For you that do know the song, I am sure you are singing along as you read this. I love these songs that we used to sing, for they carry a substance that is not seen as often in today’s worship music, but that is another blog.

As I was praying, the Lord spoke to me about someone in my life and the Lord said, “Their pride, produced in you, patience. Now let patience complete its work and you will be complete lacking nothing.” I was stupefied by this statement for it was true. I have someone in my life that is proud, their pride manifests in being stubborn, and unwilling to be transformed. Little did I know, their pride, which is still in operation to this day, has produced in me a patience that I did not see until the Lord revealed it last night. James 1:4 says, “Let endurance, steadfastness, and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, with no defects, lacking nothing (AMP).”

Maybe you have someone in your life, usually it is someone you are with daily, a boss, a child, a spouse, a family member, who is proud. They refuse to change, they do not see in themselves what others see in them that is hindering their relationships with God and others, they do not recognize how their pride is blocking their prosperity and they just frustrate you to no end. What if instead of getting frustrated with them; what if instead of nagging them; what if instead of focusing on them; you allowed God to work in you, patience, so you are complete, perfect and lacking nothing? What if, God’s was using that person to develop something in you that you did not recognize you needed? The Lord showed me that when we are lacking something, we look to others to fill that lack or meet that need. It is not the other person’s job to fill a lack in your life, that is God’s job.

The Lord says in Isaiah 55:8, “My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts”; He says in Romans 8:28, “For all things work together for the good of those who are called according to Christ Jesus”; therefore, God knows something we don’t know and we as people (stubborn, disobedient, just to name a few things) have already worked in God patience, so He is complete, perfect and lacking nothing, now He wants that worked in us. We are created in the image of God, we are to be a reflection of Him to others and the only way to do that is to let Him work in us patience, so we are lacking nothing. Who would have ever thought the person that is proud, would be used to work patience in you, in me. God did, for He sees the connection between pride and patience. Can you see it?

What Days Are We Living In?

Tags

Change, Houston, Patience, Seasons, Sons of Issachar, Texas, Transition

One of the hot topics in the church is that of the end times. We love the idea of the rapture, so we can escape this evil and corrupt world. Others like the idea of being pre-tribulation, so we do not have to go through any pain, when God “judges” the earth. Many believe we are living in the days of Noah, where Jesus says in Matthew 24:37, “As in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of Man, for in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.” With what is happening in Houston, TX right now with record flooding hitting 52 inches and now with Hurricane Harvey landing in Louisiana for a stay before it considers coming back to Texas, some could say, lift up your eyes to the sky, for your redemption is here, Jesus is about to split the sky and come down in his second coming.

Others believe we are living in Matthew 24 with all the “signs” of the end of the world, but the Bible does not say that they are signs of the end of the world, but the end of the age, the end of an epoch, the end of a set amount of time. The signs are truly there, for the end of the age, but what age is ending and does that mean another age is beginning. I believe it does, I believe the church age has ended and the kingdom age has arrived, but I also believe there is a transition between these two ages, which can mean weeks, months, years. Remember Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple in 30-33 CE, but it was not destroyed until 70 CE. Therefore, one age can end, the age of the Law and the Prophets, which included the temple and its animal sacrifices ended when Jesus said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is here, but we see a crossover or transition time with the arrival of the tongues of fire at Pentecost and the destruction of the temple.

What days are we living in then? Are these the days of Elijah, when fire came down from heaven and consumed the false idols of Baal and put an end to Ahab and Jezebel? Are we in the days of Ezekiel when dry bones are coming alive and being made into a great army? Are we living in the days of Ninevah, when an eclipse crossed over the land from west to east? Are we in the days of the Judges, when everyone is doing right in their own eyes? Are we in the days of Jesus, when people are leaving the temple to follow Him into the fields, mountains and beaches to hear what He has to say? I think the answer is yes to all of the above. These are days of transition, days of change, days of incredible awe and wonder. These are the days of the Bible!

This change we are in is not like any we have seen in our lifetime, with the darkness (ignorance of people) getting darker and the light (revelations of God) getting brighter, with despair seeming to sink lower and with hope seeming to rise higher. It is amazing to me how people are in distinct and different camps of thought whether they realize it or not. It was as though God drew a line in the sand and people made their choice, now we are seeing who is where. The name Christian is no longer representative of just one kind of people anymore, just like the name thief, when the two guys on the cross meant two different attitudes. One said, I am guilty, Jesus you are innocent, remember me when you come into your kingdom and the other said, if you are the Christ save yourself and us. Same cross, same title (thief), two distinct and different attitudes (Luke 23:39-43).

Now to answer the question, what days are we living in? We are living in days of opportunity like never before, but man-made plans are not going to stand. These days demand we slow down, get silent, and say, speak Lord, for your servant is listening. This is not the time to jockey for position, try to be the loudest, longest or most listened to voice, this is the time to pause, relax, trust, and wait for the call, the command. In days of extreme change, intense transition, it is critical, that we recognize we have hit a speed bump as a nation, as a church, as a globe and it is advantageous for those who know their God and want to do exploits, that they selah until they hear Him speak, then move as He says move, for He is positioning us purposefully for what is upon us. These are the days we are living in.

The Ways of Wisdom

Tags

culture, Foolishness, Listening, Patience, wisdom

We live in a fast-paced culture, that believes if you are not going, going, going, then they wonder what is wrong with you. Some people think you are lazy, not wanting to work, not with the times, or they literally will just scratch their heads, because you are going against the grain of culture. Wisdom is a person and this person is not bound by our culture, but rather represents the kingdom of God in the word of God. Wisdom teaches us how to increase, obtain favor, make good choices, live in peace and even be happy. Wisdom says, she is worth more than gold, silver, or even rubies, yet so few people find wisdom. But why? Why is wisdom so hard to locate, so difficult to ascertain? Why does wisdom seem to allude us as people? I believe it is because wisdom is living at a different speed than we are and if we do not adjust to her speed, we will never hear nor heed her voice.

Marriage is one of the greatest gifts God gave me, for it revealed me to me in the face of my husband, that I was impatient. Oh I did not like what I saw and many times did not want to see what I saw, but the Lord used him as a mirror for me to see me. One of the things I knew about me, was that I was impatient, impulsive, always in a hurry. I knew this, but did not realize the destruction this was causing to me or to those I was trying to serve, love and be a friend to. My husband, who is an extremely patient man, showed me the ways of wisdom in his patience and it changed my life forever.

Proverbs 8:34-35 says, “The one who listens to me (wisdom), who carefully seeks me in everyday things and delays action until my way is apparent, that one will find true happiness. For when he recognizes and follows me (wisdom), he finds a peaceful and satisfying life and receives favor from the Eternal.”

There are things 3 we are required to do if we want to find wisdom: 1) Listen; 2) Seek; 3) Delay action until wisdom’s way is apparent. In a culture of unlimited noise, unlimited information and unlimited opportunities to buy something, do something or be something, wisdom is truly a counter cultural experience, which is why so many people choose foolishness over wisdom. Foolishness hears, but does not listen, it sees, but does not seek and it wants it now, and see’s delay as denial or reason to make a decree. Many are living their lives as fools due to their inability to slow down and we are seeing the fruit of this in our relationships with God and others.
The ways of wisdom are listening, seeking and delaying, when we live with these as our highest values, we find favor with God and man, untold riches and relationships that are abundant. Now, let me warn you, this does not come easy, nor is it handed to you. This pursuit of wisdom is hard work, it takes dedication and discipline. You have to want to be wise, to be one that pursues the ways of wisdom. The temptation to return to foolishness is at every turn, but if you put your hand to the plow and never look back; if you stay the course, I promise you will find wisdom and your life will never be the same again.

Yes, you will speak less and listen more, you will enjoy silence over noise, and you will not buy everything that you see, but you will hear people’s hearts and the voice of God, you will live in peace and quiet, and you will not be in debt to any man. The rewards of wisdom are truly better than gold, silver or rubies, for what we really long for is relationship with God and others. These are the ways of wisdom.