Grace for Division

Everyone loves the idea of unity. There have been many efforts to unite different parts of the US Church. They have been groups that sought to create coalitions between secular organizations and the Church. They has even been some work done to form common ground between Christianity and other world religions. I suspect that very few people in the US Church would feel comfortable hearing or declaring a message of division and disunity.

In the midst of the attempts to create unity, the focus has been on the superficial. We have tried to find the lowest common denominator so that we could build from there. The time is soon coming when the issues will come to the forefront in a way that forces us to focus on the heart of the disagreements. The result will be a season of intense division and disunity. Many hearts will be pierced by the troubles that are coming.

In Matthew 10, Jesus told us that he had not come to bring peace to the Earth but division. He will not allow our affections for him to be watered down. Anything that runs contrary to a Christ-centered walk is non-negotiable. In the conflict that is coming to the Church, neighbor will fight against neighbor because we can only one First Love. There must be division because unity is the joining of two parties. We cannot be both joined to Christ and joined to the things that break his heart. When the fighting has ceased, it will appear at first that it was the work of the flesh. It is easy to believe that anything that causes division and disunity is of the enemy. Once the final tally has been made though, it will be shown that God gave grace for division in order to bring about greater unity between himself and his bride.

Time for an Upgrade and for Bigger Dreams

Last night, I dreamed that I was at work. Apparently, there had been plans to do an upgrade or else to do major maintenance work on the computer servers. It would require significant downtime, and so the work had been pushed out another weekend. Specialized people with the necessary technical knowledge would be coming onsite to help do the work. While I was aware of this situation, my boss gave me a creative writing assignment. She prefaced it by saying, “Before California officially made abortion illegal, the people of California first passed a proposition to make it illegal”.

Many of us in the Body of Christ have been aware of the need for a Church-wide “system maintenance” and an upgrade of our relationship with the Lord. Seemingly, it has been deferred, but it will yet happen. God will supply the specialized people needed to assist and to guide this work as well. We have been ready to move forward in our human labors, but God requires that we enter a time of rest so that His work can be done in us. Be ready to move forward into Heaven's rest.

God is about to bring about changes in our country that are beyond what we had imagined possible. When you begin to hear the news of what God is doing in other parts of the country and of the Body, it is an invitation to start dreaming bigger. What God desires to do in your locale will flow from a place of creative dreams in your own heart. It is not automatic. It requires an effort to step into the creative flow, but God will meet you there in that place.

Ice Cream Makers and Sabbath Rest

Two weekends ago, I commented to a friend that I would love to have a hand-crank ice cream maker. My family owns a small electric unit, but the concept of making ice cream purely by hand seemed magical. That next week, I walked into the local thrift store. There on the shelf, it waited for me: An original Richmond Cedar Works hand-crank ice maker.

I knew that God had postured me to receive it. There was something to cause me minor concern though. I paid $6 for it. Later in the week, I found myself researching the prophetic meaning of the number six. Among other things, it can mean “Human labor contrasted with God’s rest” and “Rest (six full days bring us to seven : rest)”. There was an immediate connection between the concept of human labor and laboring to make ice cream, but I could not reconcile that with the belief that God had blessed me with the unit.

On the following Sunday, we mixed up the ice cream custard base, purchased ice, and got to business. We cranked and cranked and cranked. We figured that the ice cream would be ready when the crank was too hard to push. Sadly, the plastic beater broke in half. No more ice cream maker.

I was deeply confused by this. How could God bless me with a hard to find item and then allow it to be so easily broken? It was only as I thought about the $6 that it came together for me: We are moving from our labors into the time of God’s Sabbath rest. What worked in those six previous days will no longer suffice on the Sabbath.

Many of us have worked hard for God. We have seen little fruit for our labors, and we have taken comfort in the sweat, tears and sacrifices that we have made for God. Now, it is the end of our labors. God is about to do something in our time that cannot be earned. It cannot be qualified for through human labor. He is causing every place of “Look at what I accomplished for you, God!” to be broken beyond repair. We are beginning to transition from boasting of our works to boasting of God’s works.

Do not grow discouraged as your best achievements unravel. The brokenness being produced will allow God to use us in a way that far surpasses our finest labors. It is just the end of who we are in this world’s system and the beginning of who we are in Christ. Abandon the ideals of human perfection and acceptance. It is time to sit in Daddy’s arms and know that we are loved as His children.

Seasonal Visions

There was a season in which my family met with a small Sunday morning church group. We utilized a projector for our worship service. Eventually, the church shrunk and dispersed. We inherited the projector to use for both soaking worship and entertainment. The projector bulb burned out after many hours of use. Last night, I dreamed about the projector.

In my dream, someone came looking for the projector. They wanted to use it again for church services. I explained that the bulb had died. When I searched for the unit itself, it was found to have been recalled and removed from our reach.

“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses...” – Joshua 1:2-3

The gifts and callings of God are without recall, but God releases and later recalls seasonal visions. Visions provide the strategy for parts of the journey, and as such, they are transient. My dream reminded me of visions that have served their purpose and then burned out. The vision of God did not fail, but rather, it fulfilled its intended purpose. When a vision has reached its end of life, we are left waiting for the next step to take. It can be tempting to put the old vision back into service, but we cannot go back. Each vision is a foundation for the upcoming vision.

My desire is to trust God to impart the vision for this next season. My heart wants to go back and find comfort in what used to work, but that vision is dead now. It is time to arise and cross into a new land. The promises of God are ahead of me, and he will be faithful to continue what he has begun in my life.

The Beauty of Shades and Variations

 We are a society that thrives on finding the right answers. On any given topic, you might be hopelessly confused, searching for perfection, or an expert at it now. For as long as I can remember, I have had a hunger for perfection. This drive has inspired others and yet, it can be exhausting. The danger of seeking “perfect” is that it does not actually exist. 

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (AMP)

This morning as I asked God for his advice about my life, I saw leaves turning colors and falling from a tree. Perfection is measured and often has a stated goal. Life is different. It is organic and ever changing. When I think of the many shades and variations of a tree in the fall, I could take one of two approaches: I could say that it is a completely disorganized mess, or I could embrace the beauty of it. With God’s help, I choose to embrace the precious chaos of life and to appreciate its imperfections.