Little by Little

Exodus 23:25-30

"Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. "..

Little by little I will take care of your enemies. I wonder if you too cry out to God and say , "take it ALL away from me! I am done!" and God might answer to us, " I can get rid of it all at once, but what would happen to you at the end? Would you still be a changed person, would you still be more than conquerer?"...Little by little is His plan sometimes. I don't doubt for a second He is able to wipe off all my troubles all at once. But I am convinced, that for God, the process is just as important as the end results. He told Israel, "even if people would no longer be a threat to you, wild animals will get you". If God took care of all the troubles for you today, there would be "wild animals" too numerous for you. "What animals ?"- you ask. I am glad you asked. Our wild animals are our emotions, our hurt feelings, our broken hearts, our open wounds, our minds......God wants us to gain strength and power LITTLE BY LITTLE so we can posses the Promised Land- in our ministry, our marriage, our relationships, our family...little by little.....

Now put v.25 and v.30 together , "As you worship Me...I will drive your enemy out before you"....Worship is all YOU need to do. You want to see more of God? Worship Him more! You want to receive fresh revelation? Worship Him in a fresh way!

The Simple Guy

Ok...This is funny now. I taught my Bible Study last night. The funny part about it, is that I wrote the whole lesson about this person whose name I could not pronounce for the life of mine. Only at the end of the lesson I finally said it right and considered it such a great victory.
His name is Bezalel. Have you heard of him before?
We meet him in Exodus 31: 1-5 "Then the LORD said to Moses,"See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.." (for the Tabernacle that is).
He really caught my attention. If it was my choice, I would choose Miriam , Moses' sister to do that kind of stuff, because #1 she's a woman and therefore, detail-oriented (no offense to some detail-oriented guys out there :)) and #2 - I thought that women back then were doing crafty things.
Another thing that amazed me is that God filled Bezalel with His Spirit. In those times there were only handful of people who had that chance , moreover, God's Spirit came upon people and also left them ( David prayed in Ps.51 - "do not take away Your Spirit from me"). And most of the people who were Spirit-filled were priests, prophets, kings or leaders. All of a sudden, we see this name Bezalel (the simple guy) who expirienced the touch of the Spirit.
I wonder how Moses reacted to the news when God announced it to him. I wonder if Moses asked, "Bezalel WHO? You did WHAT? "... and how would Bezalel react, "Who, ME? You did WHAT? You called ME to do something for YOUR purposes? I can't even draw a stick man!"....
Yet God, in His infinite wisdom,chose Bezalel- a man with potential. Because your potential is not based on what you did before, but what you will be able to do tomorrow.
Most of us can relate to Bezalel more than to Moses . We feel invisible and unworthy, we feel that "Moses" in our church needs to do all of it, because Moses has been on the mountain with God. So what? Our God is God mountains, but He is a God of the valley as well. Imagine Bezalel and God during one of the sleepless nights. Bezalel takes imaginery pencil and draws the scatches of the Tabernacle on his heart, "Did I get it this time, Adonai? Show me again". And the Lord touches his heart and draws His pattern of the new Dwelling Place- GLORY! The closer Bezalel grew to God's heart, the more details he saw and could resemble.
Who would've guessed that the simple guy with a hard to pronounce name was chosen to build the Dwelling Place on Earth for the God of the Universe?
God still does the same today! He picks the least likely (I am the living proof of it) and trusts our assignments. When God gives vision, He will give provision as well. Bezalel knew nothing about new skills he needed- God was his teacher.
I can say a lot more about Bezalel , but there is another moment I want to touch. Writing this lesson, I learned to respect Moses even more. He never underestimated Bezalel. Moses could have said, "no, YOU don't get it! I was the one on the mountain, I got proper education and expirience, who do you think you are?". No, Moses saw Bezalel though God's eyes- he saw potential! God sees potential in you and He will bless you with Moses who will confirm it. Paul saw potential in Timothy and confirmed it, Elizabeth saw potnial in Mary and confirmed it, a friend of mine saw potential in me when I was just 19 and confirmed it and trusted me ministry. God sees your potential. I challenge you to become a vessel willing to receive from God, like Bezalel was- just like a blank canvas, draw Your picture, Lord, I am ready to receive.

Scripture for you

"The LORD GOD is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hind's feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)! (Hab. 3:19 AMP).

I don't normally do Amplified, but this Scripture really blessed me. It made me think of the hymn "As the deer" and I thought, "how interesting, that very often we ARE acting like the deers (on the high way), we get paralized with fear and miss out on the huge blessing. When God gave us an ability to be like deers, He most likely meant to be as fast and be able to go high places BUT enemy , who always counterfits God ( as we all know) , somehow convinced us that when we give in to our fears and doubts and freeze, paralized with it (like deer and a headlight) that we are "deer enough". Look at this Scripture again, " He makes my feet like hind's feet to walk (not stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress". I am tired of the enemy's lies and allowing him to rob me off my blessings! If I have to be compared to the animal with hooves, I want to make the best of it :)
So, dear one (or should I write "deer"one) God has given you a wonderful ability to be fast and capable of reaching the new heights! Let's run together! After all, as the Scripture promises, our God is our invincible army, so you and I are not alone. I pray that the sound of our "hooves" will scare the enemy and will paralize him with fear, let him taste some of his own medicine.
Our God is awesome!!! Be encouraged!

GOD still heals!

Hab. 3:2
"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy."

God IS renewing them in our day and time and making it known! There are several people that got healed in our church and I wouldn't believed them have I not witnessed it with my own eyes.
One of my friend's husband got healed during our prayer meetings- he tore a ligiment and came to church on crutches and as people were praying for him, he said that it felt like a warm oil flowing through his legs. In the middle if the prayer, he started bouncing and by the end of it- he was jumping! God totally healed him!Praise Jesus!
Another man in our church broke his arm during one of our outrich events (boy, did we feel guilty for asking him to participate:)), so he ended up with a cast on his arm. A month later, the x-ray showed that his bones did not grow right and there was a space between bones, so the doctor said that they might have to break his bones again and place them right. So, 1 day before his appointment he was in church and asked for prayer. As he described later, he felt a great pain in his arm during the prayer and it really alarmed him. Next day doctor took another x-ray and he could not believe his eyes- not only that bones were positioned perfectly and healed, the metal plate that they inserted earlier had calcium on it. Doctor said that medically it was impossible.
And last Sunday we had a great testimony at church. We have a new couple that started coming to our church, they gave their lives to Christ and trying to make it right . The guy used to be an alcoholic and in fact, his verdict was "incurable", but with God all things are possible. That young man stood and testified about God's "stubborn love"-as he called it. He has not had a drink in a long time, but that's not his main testimony. As a result of old alcoholism habbits, he had Hippotitus B (which is incurable, as I was told) and his liver was damaged, so he's on a waiting list for a new organ. Last week he had his blood test done and the test showed that THERE IS NO TRACE of Hippotitus B in his body what so ever!!!!
And I know all these things are possible only because of our God- Jehovah-Rapha, the Only One who heals us. If somebody told me these stories, I would suggest them not to watch those"healing services" on TV as much (because some of them preachers gave a bad reputation to God. "give me $50 dollars and you'll be healed"- kinda junk)...But these stories ARE real, I know all of these people and God is still in the healing business and I want to see more of God's glory in my family, in my life, in my church. I am not chasing after His works, but after Himself! I want to be a God chaser. My heart cries out with Habakkuk "LORD, I have heard of your fame;I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." AMEN!!!!
Beloved, God is looking for a reson to show up in your life and bless you- let Him!

P.S. I'll leave you with this thought expressed by Beth Moore in her study "Believing God"- "We believe little, because we've seen little. And we've seen little, because we believe llittle"

homesick...

I haven't been homesick for like EVER. But this song really made me homesick. Hey Carole, does it make you homesick for Russia too? and all of you who understands russian....if you don't just enjoy the music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTlmDzyQpJU

..Or..let me just add- what matters is how Christ sees you....that is important.

Reminds me of a Christmas song, "Do you hear what I hear?....do you see what I see?"....Now, do YOU see what HE sees in you?

Be glad, beloved, Christ is crazy about you!

smile

The Dentist's Hymn:.................. Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Weatherman's Hymn:........ ........ There Shall Be Showers of
Blessings
The Contractor's Hymn:...............The Church's One Foundation
The Tailor's Hymn:............... ...............Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn:.......................... There's a Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn:......... Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist's Hymn:......... Open My Eyes That I Might See
The IRS Agent's Hymn:............ I Surrender All
The Gossip's Hymn:.............. Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn:......... Send The Light
The Shopper's Hymn:................ Sweet By and By
The Realtor's Hymn:.............. I've Got a Mansion, Just Over The
Hilltop
The Massage Therapists Hymn..... He Touched Me
The Doctor's Hymn:.............. The Great Physician

For those who speed on the highway - a few hymns: 45mph....................God Will Take Care of You
55mph....................Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah 65mph....................Nearer My God To Thee
75mph....................Nearer Still Nearer
85mph....................This World Is Not My Home 95mph....................Lord, I'm Coming Home
100mph.............. Precious Memories

think about it

It's not enough to have your knees bent, but rather, broken hearts.

encouragement

I am so glad that God has all the answers, because I don't even get all the questions!

Are you Mary?Are you Martha? Are you both?

Look at that picture! You know, I've always thought in my head that people always talk so poorly about Martha was being such a busy woman, meanwhile, Mary, who hardly got anything done was always a good one. Jesus said that Mary chose better thing, but still it doesn't mean she chose the best. They both are out of balance!
The "Hidden Life" book that I menationed earlier talks about it and I was sitting in my chair saying "AMEN, SISTER! Preach it!" Finally, I hear what I've always wondered about.
"....It is helpful to see that there was nothing wrong with Martha's work; it was good. The tragedy was that her focus was so limited. If she had been lovingly attentive to the awesome reality of the presence of God with her in her work, she would have been able to serve those around her in love and peace without resentment.
The gift that Mary, the contemplative person, offers to Martha, the active person, is the call to slow down and expirience the beauty that is present in each moment. "Please, Martha, stop long enough to listen, to pray, to make little space in your life for God. Go sit by the window for a minute, go take a quiet walk; go anywhere you can and sit quietly and listen". Mary had chose the better part, but it still wasn't the best. She had not yet learned to take her long attention into the work that needed to be done. If Mary had taken the love she was receiving from Jesus and graciously offered it to Martha through service,she would have stilled the conflict Martha was feeling and brought peace to the situation.
Mary and Martha represent the conflict we all live with. When we are out of balance in either of these two ways of living, our relationships and our spiritual life suffer. The Mary in us has to be redeemed through our willingness to become servants in places where we may be very uncomfortable, the world of our reality. If we don't take our spirituality into real work we are called to , nothing will ever get done. The question for Martha in us is, "Can I do this work without feeling put upon and resentful but in love and gratitude?" That happens when we finally realize that our transformation requires that we bring loving attention and a sense of the abiding Presence into our work.
It takes the work and energy of a redeemed Martha to do God's work in the world, and it take compassion flowing through the redeemed Mary to draw people into the community of love. Our prayer is coming to receive this love, and our action is going out to offer it to the hungry hearts of others. When this happens, all of our service becomes prayer and all of our prayer becomes service...... (p.84)
Amen!I see the body of Christ full of Marthas and Marys and we all struggle with life that is out of balance. Help me , Lord, to become your true servant that is in perfect communion with you!
Every Martha and every Mary can also tend to get angry with each other. Glance again, at that picture above. There is that woman behind Martha probably whispering to her ear, "look at you, you work so hard , while your sister is doing nothing....it's not fair....you surely can use some help...does anyone care..at all???? does Jesus care that you sweat in that kitchen....."....next thing you know , Martha is confronting Mary....yes, our churches are full Marthas, Marys and voices behind..let's tune our hearts to the One and Only voice that we need to hear and obey. Let's be aware of His Presence whatever we do- that way we won't loose that precious connection with His very heart.

NOW READING

I am half way through this book -it's amazing. Read this:
"In order to change and grow toward wholeness, I had to get comfortable with mystery. Mystery is that place beyond rational knowing and beyond our capacity to control; therefore, its acceptance felt like a fundamental assault on my way of protecting myself in the world. I had tried to force God into a nice, neat little box of my own construction in order to feel safe and in control of my life, but when I was clinging to my opinions and illusions, I wasn't able to see Who God really was or grow into fulness of Christ's love. I was afraid to let go, but I put down my emotional security blanket in order to movw back to open, childlike trust in god- however HE chose to reveal Himself" (p.81)
...wow....I can relate to every single word.
Carole(http://cjbate.blogspot.com/) blogged about putting God in a box, I couldn't agree more! "In our own way, I think we too, box him in ....picking up our big crayons and marking the places we will allow him to move. I do not want to be left with "Little concentration camps for Christ." I do not want to be in a "little concentration camp for Christ."
How is it that we have "found" a way to box in a God who can not be contained?
He broke out of the temple box and spread throughout the world for all mankind.....we catch his wind and try desperately to shove him back in a box again..
Sometimes the box is old and familiar and sometimes the box has new ribbons on it and is more attractive.... it's still a box.
Surprise us Lord! (by browneyed girl)

us

BITTER-SWEET EXPIRIENCE

Our Bible Study group have started the study of the Tabernacle. I was too excited to begin. When I sat down to write my first introduction lesson, I wanted to write about everything and I thought after that it will be clearer...not really...my second lesson was the same- I wanted to cover so much, but God really stopped me and birthed a different lesson through me. And let me tell you, THAT ONE was HARD on me! Mostly, because I could relate to every point God was teaching me. As I was preparing for the sutdy, I felt it was important for us to stick around in the desert before we begin building the Tabernacle. So we did. We "hung out" with Israel when they went through the sea and we sang along the "Freedom Song" in Exodus 15, many of us, who's been freed from spiritual Egypt knew exactly how Israel felt....
Then I told my ladies, "I begining to think that Israel was slightly "bypolar", because chapter 15 is not over yet and we see them complaining" :)
Read for yourself: Exodus 15:22-27
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.".............
Why would God in all His infinite wisdom chose to reaveal Himself as Jehovah-Rapha,the Healer, by the waters? Couldn't He wait till one of them got sick with some terrible disease? Why there?
I think He had a perfect plan. You see, Israel- the free people, had to learn something. They may be physically free, but in their minds- they remained to be slaves. And the first sign of slavery is - bitterness. Bitterness is a disease that is so common among us humans. Biterness is the cancer that eats us inside out. Marah was a strategic place for Israel to learn their freedom. Bitterness of the heart is something we all have suffered at some point of our life. I remember mine- it was so bad I could literally taste it in my mouth and I cryed out to God for healing. And He did exactly the same He did with Isral, He got the tree and dipped it in, the tree of Calvary that is. 1 Peter 2:24 says,"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
I was challnged by Israel's very first test in the wilderness.God saw their hearts and He knew that bitterness had root there (Hebr.12:15 "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.)
Among all the people, Israel had the most rights to be bitter- they were abused, mistreated, misunderstood,persecuted for their faith, their babies were killed, they were different from the people they lived around, they spoke a different language, they have been home-sick for over 400 years...you name it- they had it...yet God pointed out the issue of bitterness before He pointed out the "golden calf" problem. I guess He was trying to say, " Free child of God is the one with the sweet heart". OUCH! I want to be free. Healing of my bitter heart was the greatest freedom for me- I am free to tell you I'm delivered, I am free to tell you about my past pain, because I let it go....I am free. I AM FREE!!!!!
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Gal.5:1)
Bitterness is a trap for all us, dear one, be alert.
But wait, there is MORE!!! :)
My favourite part about these 5 verses is the end. After they've delt with bitterness, God leads them to Elim where they see 12 springs and 70 palm trees. Isn't God good???? I stoped and thought about those numbers-12 & 70. 12 disciples, 70 disciples that Jesus sent out....forgive 70 times 7......do you think what I think? Do you think that God's desire for us to deal with the our biterness so that He can use us to the fullest later? Isn't He GOOD??? We want to serve Him so bad, we want to be refreshed in His presence and you can get it at Elim. But to get there we all have to pass through Mara and allow that sweet Cross to be dipped in our hearts enough to make it sweet....c'mon beloved, you can do it! Dip that Cross in you heart as many times as you need, even if it's 100 times a day, God is Faithful to make your Mara sweet (notice, He promised to make YOUR MARA sweet, not the reason of biternness)....you're just one step away from Elim- a place of great spiritual effectivenss, fruitfulness, refreshment and freedom! Elim awaits for you, hurry!