R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Scars and Stripes

In 1947, a young Bedouin farmer was tending his flock in the desert area called Qumran near the Dead Sea. It was there he discovered several caves in which he found clay jars. In those jars were scrolls which are dated back (about 150 B.C - 70 A.D.) to the Essenes. The Essenes (known as the Sons of Light) was a communal group of men who dedicated their lives to God in preparation of the coming Messiah. One of their practices was to write onto scrolls the Old Testament. In these jars were portions of their writings. The only book that was found in these scrolls, in its entirety, was the book of Isaiah.

I have had the privilege of seeing these scrolls three times. Twice here in Southern California and once at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. It is amazing to see these writings that date back before the birth of Jesus. I find it very interesting that the only book that has every page is the book of Isaiah. I remember standing in front of Isaiah 53 and being in awe of what I was seeing.

As we have journeyed through the scripture over these past months, we can clearly see that man was unable to be completely obedient to the Lord. Isaiah was the prophet who God used to introduce the Messiah to His people.

This week as we read through Isaiah 49-66, I was reminded of the scars and stripes that Jesus took for all of us. I love Isaiah 49:16 that says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;..." This reminds me of the conversation Jesus had with Thomas. Jesus was standing there with his disciples after his resurrection with the scars of the nail piercings in his hands. (John 20:25-27) Not that Jesus ever forgets our names, but we sure easily forget what he did. Those scars are our reminder to us, that he never forgets us.

Isaiah 53 is a very familiar passage. For those who have seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" have a very visual picture of this description. In the New King James translation, chapter 53:4-7 says this, "Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." This sounds so poetic in writing, yet this act, when it happened was so violent. To think that Jesus took a beating that made him even unrecognizable, that eventually lead to his death, is truly the ultimate sacrifice.

If we ponder on some of these words that are used to describe this act, it becomes such a visual of sin. The word wounded describes the infliction of the sins of others done against us. The word bruised is a visual of the sin we have committed. We know that blood is precious to God because it represents life. Did you know the reason you bleed first when you get a cut is because the blood is the body's natural way of cleansing the affected area. The same goes with a bruise. Blood is released to cleanse the damaged area. And for every lashing Jesus took on his body, it was for our healing. Not only our physical healing, but our emotional and spiritual healing as well. He also dealt with our shame so that we no longer carry that scar. If you truly think about it, the pain you feel emotionally, spiritually, physically and even shamefully, he carried and felt for everyone that has been, is and will be at that moment! We can't even imagine. What a heavy burden!

I hope you will read Isaiah 53 again. I also recommend you to read Isaiah 61 as it is the healing and restoration we have received from His sacrifice. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you through his eyes and understanding a more personal connection. I pray that that passage will come to life for you and that by his scars and stripes you are healed.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - No Visibility: Faith

This morning, the weather on my homepage read, "visibility: 8 miles." For those who live or have lived in California know that the first 4 to 6 weeks of summer there is this weather pattern called June gloom. It is when the clouds decide to hide the sun for most of the day. Most of the time, the view from my windows are of the Saddleback mountains. (Photo to the right) But on these cloudy mornings, the visibility of those mountains is zero.

At the beginning of March we were notified that the owner of our home was going to sell our house. We believed that this was God giving us permission to buy our own home so we began looking right away. When we started our home search, the visibility was so clear that we thought we would find a home in no time. Now we are heading to the end of July and still no home in sight. We've made 15 offers and all have been denied, not to mention we even have submitted offers on houses we haven't seen. God is choosing our house now.

This week as I read the book of Isaiah, I came across the promises that I have written on cards and posted around my house. The first one being, "My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." (Isaiah 32:18) The second scripture I've been holding on to is Isaiah 45:2 & 3 that says, "I will go before you and will level the mountains, I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name."

In the beginning my faith level was at a visibility level of 50 miles. I have seen God do some incredible things in my life so I had no lack of faith that He would do something on the timetable we are on. As the weeks pass, my clarity has become limited. My faith is often like the view from my home. There are days that I can clearly see the mountains and then there are days I don't see anything. Even though I can't see the mountains, I know, without a doubt, they are there. Maybe I need to change my view when I don't see the mountains. I need to look at it as though God has leveled them instead of hid them. The Lord used this visual one morning to illustrate where I am currently at. He showed me that not only do the clouds block my view, but as we head into the summer months, the smog blocks it until we get the first autumn rain. Smog, which we Southern California residents know all too well, is similar to the pollution that clouds my faith. The day to day events of life that begin to build up if I'm not regularly washing my mind with the Word. And even when I am washing with the Word daily, like the air fights against the daily exhaust fumes from cars, trucks and machinery, so do the pollutants of life that come against my faith. Keeping our faith view clear is a fight.

Hebrews 11:1 says that "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I think that is a good description of the view out of my window during these seasons when the heat is turned up. Much like the summer is hot. Paul says that the righteous will live by faith. (Romans 1:17) Romans 10:17 says that "faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God." It doesn't say that it comes from what we see, but what we hear. Jesus healing the blind man is probably important visual illustration to those of us who choose to live by faith. He had never seen Jesus to know whether or not Jesus was who he said he was. But by the words Jesus spoke, recognized his voice and received them and because of that faith he was healed. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight, your faith has healed you." (Luke 18:42) Maybe I'm not physically blind, but there sure are days that my faith is challenged with blindness. Yet in God's process of working all things together for good, He turns my faith into something that eventually I will see.

I don't know what the visibility of faith is in your life right now. Maybe you have a clear view or maybe you are at the zero visibility mark. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God..." It is hard to be settled in your spirit when in the natural we cannot see. As I am growing in my faith, I'm learning that the less visibility, the more faith and hope that is required. I sometimes wonder if God allows the zero visibility days to open our eyes of faith. Maybe life seems uncertain for you right now. Personally, I am at a place that I can't see tomorrow. It's like that game of trust we played as kids. One person is blindfolded and the other person leads you around. What if all of this uncertainty is God's way of working my control issues out of my life. My expectations disappoint me more than God does.

I'd like to close with a verse that I read this past week as well. It is Isaiah 49:23b. It says, "...those who hope in me (God) will not be disappointed." If you, like me are living life with a lack of visibility, then hold tightly to God's hand because He knows exactly where He's leading you. "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:3-5 New Living Translation)

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Pageant of the Master

So many times when I am reading my daily devotional, it lines up with something that is actually happening. The other day when I was reading Isaiah 22, I came across verse 13 that says, "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!" I wasn't sure why that scripture caught my attention, until later that evening.

We had friends who just happened to get tickets, invite us to see "Pageant of the Masters" in Laguna Beach. If you have never seen this way of displaying art, it is spectacular. They have taken famous paintings and sculptures and have recreated these life size pieces of art using people. It is absolutely amazing! It just so happened the theme for 2010 is "Eat, Drink and be Merry." That was no coincidence. That was God bringing something to my attention.

We sat there in awe of the amazing artwork. Not only were we admiring the original artists work, but even what the contemporary artists had done using real people to portray the people in the painting. I started wondering how long it takes them to dress them up and how much practice it must take to get them posed picture perfect. I'm sure when the cast members are being painted and dressed in their costumes, they aren't telling the artist who is doing their work what to do. Not to mention that they have to stand still for a minimum of 3 minutes while posing in the painting or sculpture for the audience. They probably have to sit there quietly for hours while they are being transformed into a piece of art. Rather than complain, they are willing to be uncomfortable for those hours just because it is an honor to be apart of such an amazing event.

As I was sitting there admiring this work, the Lord reminded me of what I had read that day. In chapter 29, verse 16 this particular verse talks about a potter and clay. This took me to Isaiah 45:9-12. It says, "“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ 10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” ¹¹ This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? ¹² I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hand I stretched out the heavens. All the stars at my command." (New Living Translation)

What is it about our human nature that we always question what God is doing in our lives? He says right there in verse 12 that HE is the one who made the earth and the heavens and created people to live in it. That word live is very important. God didn't just create people, but He designed our lives. Living the life God has given us every day is a stroke on the portrait He is painting. Each one of us has a unique life that is being painted by the Master. Why is it that we think we can argue with the Potter? Yes, sometimes it hurts when we, like clay, are being stretched and pulled and even put into the kiln. It's then our paint colors become more vibrant. But there are times when we are softly stroked with the tiniest of detail because our Creator is so particular with His artwork. Ephesians 2:10 says "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NLT)

If we would rest knowing that He already has our lives, or I should say, the portrait of our lives sketched out, then there would be less stress and less wresting in our souls. I admit, it is not easy, but in the grand scheme of life, our lives would be rest assured. Isaiah 64:8 says, "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Let's make this our focus this week. After all we are His artwork on display in the "Pageant of the Master."

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - I Wonder...

Over the past week, we've been reading through a few of the minor prophets. There are many "I wonders" in these books. I am one of those "I wonder" people. As we look at a few of these books, I would like to leave you with some thoughts.

The Book of Amos is not one of the more "quoted" books, but there was a verse in the book that caught my attention. It is Amos 8:11. It says, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land-not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord." Hmmmmm, could this possibly be the warning to the people of the four hundred years of silence between the Old and New Testament?

In Micah 5:3 it says, "Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites." The New Testament begins at the birth of Jesus. God's silence is broken. Think about that. Whenever God speaks it is life-giving. For four hundred years God was quiet. He did not interact with His people. I could not imagine not interacting with God for one day.

Obadiah had another interesting "I wonder" verse. Verse 15 &16 says, "The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; our deeds will return upon your own head. 16Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been." I know this is another warning, but it is interesting that it says the nations will drink. Jesus is the living water (John 7:37) and because of him, anyone, from any nation has the opportunity to receive him as their Lord and Savior. It is also a reminder to me that sin can leave you dehydrated.

Most of us are familiar with the Book of Jonah. Jonah is a man running away from God because he's scared to do the job God asked him to. In the mean time, he runs in the other direction, gets on a boat in Joppa (pictured above) and a big storm comes. He tells the men to throw him overboard, which says he was even afraid to do it himself. He gets swallowed up by a big fish. After three days, the fish spits him out and he finally does what God tells him to. We usually end the story there. Actually chapter 4 is just as important because it exposes Jonah's heart and God's. Jonah runs from God, yet God still protects him and then he's angry with God because of his mercy on a sinful people. Like Jonah wasn't sinful disobeying God? Jonah didn't seem to be a particularly happy man. He asked God to take away his life. He'd rather die than live. God challenged Jonah by asking him why he felt he had the right to be angry. Jonah decided he wanted to hang out and see what God was going to do with this city. Then once again, God provided shelter for Jonah with a vine. This vine protected him from the scorching sun. But the next day a worm ate it up. Again Jonah was angry with God for taking away his shelter. God once again confronted Jonah on his attitude. God asks Jonah why he is concerned about this vine even though he did not make it grow or tend to it. The people in Ninevah mattered to God. But here is the "I wonder" in this book. It is the only book that ends with a question. God says to Jonah, "But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" (Jonah 4:11) This does say a lot about God's mercy and compassion on the people who don't know Him. It shows how much God desires us to partner with Him. It also reveals man's selfish nature, even in being obedient to what God's asks of us. It truly is a matter of the heart.

This book leaves us with a cliff hanger. I wonder if it is God's way of asking us, how conerned we are about others. I believe it also reveals how much God loves us and wants us to recognize any selfhishness that we may have, so that He can remove it from our lives. There are many Believers today who live their lives like Jonah, including me. Like the vine in chapter 4, insecurity and fear is what shelters our selfishness. The dictionary defines selfishness as devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. I must confess, I land in that category more often than I would like to. Take some time to reflect on times when you've allowed insecurity or fear to shelter you from what God has asked of you. Get to the root of that vine and allow God to send the worm to eat it up. Don't be angry with God or yourself if it does show up. This is another plot the enemy uses against us to keep us from moving ahead. Instead, repent and ask the Lord for forgiveness and forgive yourself as well.

Every story in the Bible is a brush stroke in the bigger picture of God's plan. I wonder if while we are reading God is pointing His finger at a verse or passage that He wants us to see, but sometimes we miss it because we're to busy "wondering" about our own circumstances. Be careful what you allow yourself to "wonder" about.