Closing the Distance

(Please read 2 Samuel Chapters 11-12 before reading the post) "...and they said, "He is dead." So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate." 1 Samuel 12:19 (beginning in the last part of verse 19) - 20. I love studying the Bible and all the people God chose to let us read about. But, you know what? There is one person that I am extremely thankful that God didn't leave out... David! I love to study about David. To me, we can learn so much from him. When David was just a young boy, God let him defeat a giant and become a hero! Here is a man that God loved so much that he chose to be Israel's king. He even favored David so that He allowed Jesus to come from David's bloodline. Why? God loved David because David's passion was making his own heart reflect God's. In order to make your heart mirror someone else, you must know that person very well. David is one person that we can study in order to know exactly how to have a phenomenal relationship with God. That is one reason I am eager to learn about David. The closeness that was between David and God is what I want too. But, I also noticed another reason I am thankful for David's story being told in God's word. David shows us what to do when we mess up and how to 'get it back on the road' with God. Before God founded my ministry, I would find myself distant from God and had no clue how to 'get back' to Him. I kept wondering how I could keep this from happening with me and God again? God began to show me that preventing distance was all about maintaining closeness. Yep...Duh! Anyway, Filling the Gap is all about the relationship with God and learning that even though sin does distance us from our Father, the cross brings us back with Him again and again through forgiveness. Here's the kicker: God gets all this. We kind of.... don't. I always ask God to forgive me for allowing sin to come between Him and me but then I fail to believe He has forgiven me and continue wallowing in self pity(all the while keeping distance). Here's where David comes in as a great example. In 2 Samuel Chapter 11, David sets his eyes on another man's wife. To make the story shorter, David commits adultery with Bathsheba and then (to make matters worse) plots to make sure her husband dies on the front lines of battle. But then God sends Nathan to convict David of this sinful spiral he is in. Then, David closes the distance between him and God... he repents. David admits what he did was hurtful to God. David's sin had repercussion. David's child that he had with Bathsheba (apart from God's plan) was taken from him by death. Now, what happens next is the whole point of the post that God placed on my heart. David was honest with God about his emotions and pleaded with God not to take his child. But when the child died, when God did what God thought was best, David worshiped Him. Unbelievable. David worshiped God. Why? How? I believe it was because David knew God so well that He trusted God's plan for his life. It was that relationship that was in place before anything happened. This is the true meaning of Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." This verse does not say "some things" or "only the things we do that are good". God can even take our sin and work it out to be the very best for us! The question is do you trust Him? Maybe you feel distant with God right now in your Christian walk. We have proof and a road map on how to be close to God instantly. Tell God you want Him to forgive you, work on a new plan to keep from letting it happen again, and move on to worshiping Him. Why? Because God knows the very best for you and me. I want to have faith like David. I want to know that even when I fail the very God I love so much, I can trust Him with all my decisions. I hope you will too. The good news is that when we do trust God with everything, He proves Himself over and over again. David's proof of Romans 8:28? A spiritual legacy that gave us a Savior! Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, how often I fail you. I am so glad that you are the God of forgiveness and that you run to me before I even realize you are there. Forgive me for placing distance between you and I by not accepting that forgiveness. Help me to be like David. Help me to know that you do what you say you will do...

Heartbeat

"My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end." Psalm 119:112 I know it has been sometime since my last post. Many of you who know me, know that I ONLY write a post when God Himself prompts my heart to do so. These past two weeks, I kept waiting...wondering. Then, God gave me the post. It came about when my son, Canaan, said something so sweet and Innocent, yet inspired by the very God of Abraham, Moses, and Jacob. May God speak to your heart as He did to mine through the wisdom of a child.... "Mommy! I can feel my heart beating," Canaan said, with his little hand over his chest. " That's wonderful babe!" (I said, making a big deal over this as a proud momma does :-) But his next sentence caused me to be almost speechless. Turning to walk away, Canaan looked at me and said, "Mommy, it will just keep beating til' I get to Heaven." Wow. I began to think, "Am I really living day to day, with my heart 'beating' only for Him? Am I so attached to the world that I forget to see it as only my temporary destination? I searched for the definition of the word heartbeat. It means, 'one complete pulsation of the heart'. At that moment, it occurred to me that I must monitor my spiritual heartbeat. ''One complete pulsation"... I am not complete without my Lord as the driving force of my day and night. Once you have given your heart to God, He owns it. He possesses it. But the heartbeat of our spiritual life is all about the relationship with Him on a daily basis. We, as His children, must keep 'beating' until He returns or until He calls us to be with Him. I must confess that in my spiritual heart, the beat is sometimes so soft and slow it becomes dangerous. My spiritual heartbeat becomes irregular. Irregular, by one definition, means "lacking perfect symmetry." How descriptive of my relationship with God at times. I so very often lack that perfect symmetry when I am one with Him and He is leading all my decisions, all my emotions, all of my thoughts, resulting in all (not just some) of my words. Yes, it is no mystery that our world is a very difficult place to be. However, it is required by God's people to be His very heartbeat, reaching out to those who have no hope. You may say, "how can I reach out to others when I, myself, seem to have so much despair?" The answer comes through checking your own spiritual heartbeat before you can be His. It is about the relationship (the symmetry of your heartbeat with His). Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Wellspring means 'a source of continual supply'. Supply of what? Luke 6:45 tells us that whatever is stored up in the heart is whatever comes out of the heart. Today, will you join me in checking your spiritual heartbeat? Is is faint because of trials you are going through? Is is irregular because it is not one with our Lord in a close relationship? I pray that after reading this post, you will give your heart to Jesus if you don't know Him as Lord and Savior. If you have accepted Christ through salvation, I pray you check your spiritual heartbeat and run to Him, seeking a close relationship with Him. And then... may it be our passion to "beat" until He comes! Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, how I long for you to come back for your children. This world is such a struggle. Pain, sadness, and death whirl around me. Make my heart beat strong for you. Help me to remember that your power lives in me through your Holy Spirit. May I stay close to you to continue to run the race until you come again...

The Egg Tooth

OLD TESTAMENT: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7 NEW TESTAMENT: "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Matthew 16:21 Easter is one week away. Every year, I find myself more and more excited about Easter. As a Christian, I love to celebrate the birth of Christ, because I know, without that special night in Bethlehem, we wouldn't have a Saviour. But the day that Savior arose? Wow! The day death was conquered! The day that made it possible for me to have an eternity and be forgiven! Chill Bumps, my friends, chill bumps. So, with that in mind.... The other day, I was making Canaan one of the many snacks that I make for him a day (you moms know what I mean :-). A commercial came on "his" station and it was one of those teaching/fact things. It said that birds are born with a sharp horn-like instrument on the edge of their beaks, called an egg tooth. This tool, which is given to them before birth (while they are in the egg), enables them to crack out of their egg and hatch. It provides them a way out of a situation that they don't need to be in any longer. I must tell you, that commercial stayed on my mind all day, all night, and all weekend. When it came time for my post today, I knew God wanted me to sit down and really apply the concept of the 'egg tooth' spiritually. You see, before the foundation of the earth, God knew that there would come a day that He would provide you and I a way to be forgiven for our sins. God cannot and will not, tolerate, look at, have any part of, sin. This plan He came up with? Our own "Egg Tooth"... Jesus. It is important for us to realize the strategy behind Easter. It is even more important for us to realize the reason behind the strategy---LOVE. John 3:16 tells us this. God didn't just look at the world and decide to do something. God knew beforehand. He always knows. Just as He knew the bird would need a way out of it's shell, He knew you and I would need someone to save us from our sins. We needed a way out of Hell. The scripture at the top of the post confirms this. Before we were born, before Jesus was born, God knew the way out. I wanted us to look at the fact that the plan of the crucifixion and resurrection was set in motion before Christ walked upon the Earth. Isaiah prophesied about the plan. Jesus told the disciples about the plan.What about you? Do you realize you have an 'egg tooth'? Have you realized that you have access to the greatest gift ever given? I hope you will accept the 'way out'. I hope you will ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins and to come into your heart and save you. Oh. I almost forgot. There is another avenue to the whole 'egg tooth'. For the Christian, we continue to have a way to break free from the trials of this life. I am not saying the trials will be taken away, but I am saying we are equipped with an 'egg tooth' for the trials that come. It is the one thing Jesus left us with when He ascended: The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within the Christian and enables us to have God's attributes (fruits of the Spirit). For you see, without the Holy Spirit, I (Corrie) am nothing more than a sinner with nothing worthy to bring before my Lord. But with God's Holy Spirit dwelling with in me, I can be kind, peaceful, forgiving, merciful, loving, honorable, ... the list goes on. It is important that we know and remember the distinction. The Holy Spirit allows us to have an intimate relationship with God. It is the only way we can live in the land of the living. As the end of time draws near, perhaps you are going through a trial. Perhaps you are going through a trial that seems so dark and scary, you feel trapped and see no end to it whatsoever. I hope you will remember the 'egg tooth'. From salvation to the Holy Spirit, God never forgets to provide a way out. If He remembered it for the tiniest of animals, like the bird, He will also not forget you. May we remember our 'egg tooth' when we feel the following: " We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:8-12. Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Father, I am so thankful for your wisdom, your power, your forgiveness, and most of all, your love. Before I was ever born, you provided me a 'way out' of my sin. I can never repay the debt I owe but because of your heart, I don't have to. Help me to remember that not only do you provide salvation, you provide strength for my trials. Help it to be enough for me...

Siloam

'Thank you' to the ladies of Siloam Missionary Baptist Church in Russellville, Alabama, for inviting me to be a part of their annual women's luncheon. We came together this past Saturday for both physical and spiritual food. The theme was, "The many hats women wear", and God truly blessed each heart that attended. May we remember to be wise women who remember to give our 'hats' to God.... Love, Corrie