blog

Bett's Bikepump

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:39:56 -0700

Spring may not technically be here yet but it sure did feel like it today in Lynchburg! Sunny with a high of seventy degrees... ah yes. I probably should have spent my afternoon working on the paper that's due soon in my biblical archaeology class, but I just couldn't let the beauty of the day pass me by. So I threw my bike in the back of my Mountaineer, rolled down the windows and headed downtown for the trails.

Genius me, should've checked my bike tires beforehand, but I didn't, so I got all the way to the trail only to realize my back tire's air pressure was super low. I didn't have a way of pumping up my tire and I was really itching to ride, so I figured I'd just ride with a semi flat tire! Unfortunately though, the ride turned out to be pretty miserable. I felt like I was dragging weights and after only a few miles of riding on relatively level ground I was panting and ready for a break! I silently prayed, "Lord, this is no fun and I'm exhausted! Please give me the strength to get back to my car!” It might seem silly and even wimpy that I would pray that, but hey, when I am weak He is strong!

I got to the mile marker where the path splits and I saw this woman on her bike stopped at the branch between the merging points. Curiosity killed the cat and I wanted to know where the path she had just come from led to and how far it went on, so I stopped to ask her (maybe it was more of an excuse to catch my breath). She was incredibly kind and offered to ride down the path with me and show me the cool town it led to, but I told her I didn't think I could make it much farther because of my flat tire. With one look at my back tire she agreed and then quickly proceeded to tell me that she had a pump in her car and she would help me get some air in my tire. So we rode a few miles back to the parking lot and talked as we went, which took my mind off of the burden it was to ride my weighty bike. I learned that her name was Bett and at 51 she rides a bike better than me!

We got to her truck and she pumped up both of my tires for at least a full minute each and then sent me on my way. I was so grateful for her kindness and so excited to have what seemed like a brand new bike that I jumped back on and rode a few more miles... enjoyably!

I guess what I found so cool about this pleasant encounter with Bett was that it showed me that the Lord even cares about the little things in life. He provides for us in great ways and small ways alike. He is ever near and hears our cries for help and loves to take care of His children, sometimes in uncanny ways. Those little drops of sunshine throughout the day that show me God's love and grace are what make me smile and laugh and throw up my hands in praise!

"He [God] who did not spare His own Son [Jesus] but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give is all things?" Romans 8:32

Everlasting Love

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:46:41 -0700

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you…

Thus says the LORD,

who gives the sun for light by day

and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the LORD of hosts is his name:

“If this fixed order departs

from before me, declares the LORD,

then shall the offspring of Israel cease

from being a nation before me forever.”

Jeremiah 31:3, 35-36

As I sat on the floor of my bedroom with my Bible flipped open to Jeremiah 31, I read this passage and was struck by the amazing love God has for His people. I looked out my window at the sun creeping up over the trees in my backyard and thought to myself, “Just as the sun rises each morning without me having to worry about it or question whether or not it will rise again tomorrow or the next day, so has God’s constant and unfailing love been set upon me and it will never cease to be.”

The shining sun, the moon and the stars are a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness to His unfaithful people. If any one of those ever ceased to illuminate the sky then we would have reason to question the constancy of God’s love. But so far, for the twenty-one years I’ve lived on earth, the sun, the moon and the stars have always taken their place in the sky at the proper time. I have no reason to think that they will forget their place or decide to take the day off. Neither do I have reason to think that God’s love for me will ever fade.

May the sunrise in the morning and the moon and stars in the night sky remind you that God’s amazing love is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow and forevermore. The covenant He made with His people of unconditional and everlasting love will never fail.

Confession

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:20:56 -0700

You know when you have those hilarious moments by yourself and just want to share them with other people so they can laugh with you? I had one of those moments today.

I was talking to a friend on the phone, multitasking, as I always do, and as I was walking into my bedroom, my belt loop and shirt got caught on the door handle and I jerked so hard that the phone fell right out of my hands! I tried to bend down to pick it up because my friend was still talking to me, but I was caught at my waist and couldn’t reach it on the floor! I struggled and tried to maneuver the fabric for probably 30 seconds or so, all the while worried about my friend on the other line who was probably confused by my sudden silence. But I had really done the job... I could not get myself free from the door for the life of me!

Here’s the visual: I’m attached at the hip to my bedroom door and the phone is lying on the ground beside my feet, with my friend still on the other line, and I can’t get to it.

I would have called for help from my mother, who was in the next room over, but I thought if I did that my friend on the phone would be totally freaked out, and quite frankly I was too embarrassed to yell out, “My pants are stuck to the door handle, help!” But seriously, it was really stuck.

So I finally break loose, after a solid minute, pick up the phone, expecting to have to call my friend back because I was certain he would have hung up at that point. BUT as I pulled the phone to my ear, I realized he was still talking to me haha! He hadn’t missed a beat! Too mortified to tell him I had missed the last minute of what he was saying because I was stuck to the door, I just picked up the end of the conversation and cooed in agreement of whatever he was saying.

Zach... this is my confession haha!

Impossible Love

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:07:22 -0700

I want to love. But I find that when I want to love others selflessly it is impossible. Yes, impossible! I am naturally inclined to think of myself all day long, be concerned about my own interests and do things that benefit me. How can I love my neighbor and count them better than myself?

All I can do is fall at the feet of Jesus and plead for His perfect love to be made manifest in my life. For His Spirit to love through me. God is love. As I abide in God, His love abides in me, but apart from Him I can do nothing (1 John 4:12-13, John 15:5).

I have no love, but God is love. My love is weak, but His love is strong. My love fails, His love never fails.

I must not only know the love God has for me, but I must also rely on His Spirit that dwells in me and the love that Christ has first shown me (1 John 4:16).

Oh the love of Christ…

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corithians 8:9

No Fear If Your In The Family

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:01:14 -0600

(Romans 8) “… 14 those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

I was reading this passage this morning and was puzzled at first glance at what verse 15 calls the spirit of “fear.” Why is a “spirit of fear” contrasted with the “Spirit of sonship?”

Well, if we go back up to Romans 8:1-3 we see that Paul (the author of Romans) tells us, as Christians, that we have no reason to fear the “condemnation” of not being able to completely follow the law, because Christ fully obeyed it on our behalf.

“1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that is was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”

Being in Christ means being united with Him, partaking of all that He is and has to offer- righteousness, grace, fellowship with God and every heavenly blessing (Eph. 1:3). In Christ, the Christian has been given Christ’s own righteous character and thus is free from the guilty verdict of the law- “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, verse 15 is again assuring believers that we do not need to fear because as children of God we are under the protection and blessing of our heavenly Father’s provision!

I thought of the significance of being in a family a little bit like this:

When my family and I came back from our mission trip in the Dominican Republic, we had to go through customs in the Miami airport. Every traveler had to show the security guard their passport and personal immigration paperwork. As a family, however, we only had to fill out one immigration paper together. In all the chaos of people I got separated from my parents who had the paperwork and the guard held me back because I didn’t have the family form! Without that form I was not permitted to get through customs! I was struck with fear for a moment. But out of the corner of my eye I saw my parents up ahead and frantically pointed in their direction and called out, “I’m with them! That’s my family!” In an instant the guard’s strict demeanor turned to a casual smile as he gave me permission to pass and join them.

Spiritually speaking, claiming sonship with God is our ticket! Apart from being in the family of God we are liable to condemnation, but as children of God, we are safe, protected and secured passage into eternal life! That is why we cry out, “Father, Father!” He is our refuge and our safeguard against condemnation.

As a daughter of my parents, I experience many benefits of being in their family. I enjoy their fellowship, provision, protection, love, care and support, just to name a few things. I absolutely love my family. Being a child of Tommy and Esta Lippard is fantastic, but oh how unspeakably wonderful to be a child of the living God!

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

Hay Un Hueco En Mi Bolsillo (There's A Hole In My Pocket)

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:18:09 -0600

Un video para Orfanatos Ninos de Cristo

Set Free (Salvation's Story)

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:47:47 -0600

Watch the video of Joy singing her new song "Set Free (Salvation's Story) at MBC Tysons here.

Dominican Republic 2011 Recap

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:57:24 -0600

I am so thrilled to tell you that the Lord is indeed good and kept my team and me healthy and safe while in the Dominican Republic and worked His mighty, miraculous power! Thank you for those of you who were praying for us!

I could write pages upon pages about my experiences there in the DR, but I will limit it down to some of the highlights of the trip that I’m ecstatic to share with you!

Our main focus was working with a Christian daycare (ages 6-11) in the city of Quisqueya, run by a lady named Mirqueya. There are about 75 of the poorest of poor kids in the town who attend the daycare 5 days a week, where they learn about the Bible, learn basic educational skills and are fed a substantial lunch, which is often the only meal they get all day.

Over the course of the week I had the privilege of helping to form a "children's choir" and teaching seven kids from the daycare some Spanish worship songs. The kids were absolute delights. It was challenging because we only had three days of rehearsal with the kids and the younger ones had a hard time focusing and learning the hand motions and words to the songs, but by the last day it was so rewarding to watch the choir perform their three songs in front of our whole 250 person group as well as their peers from the daycare. They loved being up on stage!

After rehearsal with the choir students in the mornings I met up with our "parent training" team of about five women who led a Bible study of 50+ Dominican mothers in a town called Placer Bonita. I led the women in worship to end the study and was tremendously blessed to hear their hearts for God and passionate faith in spite of incredibly difficult circumstances- hunger, job loss and sickness. We fed the ladies empanadas and got to spend time talking with them about what the Lord had been teaching them through His Word!

The last day of the trip we were also able to visit the all-girl's orphanage that my family and I have been involved with since our first year in the Dominican Republic in 2008. We have been able to visit each summer and keep in touch with some of the girls via mail throughout the year.

Thank you again for those of you who were supporting financially and through your prayers! You are a blessing in my life.

Joy

Watch the slideshow of some pictures and video footage of our children's choir here:

DR Children's Choir

The Debt To Love

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:30:00 -0600

“Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…” Romans 13:7-8

A debt is something that is owed or that one is bound to pay off or perform for another.

Paul is exhorting his readers in Romans 13:7 to pay off the debt of respect or honor or whatever it is that they owe certain people. If you owe someone something, give it to him- whether it’s money, respect, honor, etc.

If you take care of a debt, you pay it off and you move on. You no longer owe anything. You are debt free. This is what he means by saying, “Let no debt remain outstanding.” In other words, “Owe no one anything.”

But Paul seems to say there is one type of debt you will never pay off, and that is the debt to love one another. You will never be free of the responsibility to love. You will always, continuously owe love to others.

You don’t owe a person every minute of your time. You may not owe them the keys to your car. You don’t owe everyone your trust. But you do owe them all love.

How can this be? It’s not always easy to love people. Why would Paul set such a high demand?

Well, Paul isn’t actually the author of this command. He was only echoing what he heard from the mouth of Jesus himself in John 13:34: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Still, how can Jesus expect so much of mere humans who have such a hard time loving?!

I believe the answer lies in 1 John 4:10, 19: “This is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We love because He first loved us.”

We love to the measure we feel loved. When we contemplate the incredible love God has for us, we can then go and love those around us, whether or not they love us back!

We must continuously receive and remember His love, so that we can continuously love others- especially those who are hard to love. It’s easy to love people who love us back and are kind to us. It’s much harder to love someone who hates you- your enemies.

But when we remember that while we were still sinners and enemies of God that Christ demonstrated His love by dying for us (Romans 5:8-10), we then find the strength to love others! Because Christ lives in us, by His indwelling Spirit, He loves through us.

To Date or Not to Date + Ice Cream

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:49:35 -0600

I need to preface this blog by saying I have a lot to learn in my own life about the topic of relationships. But God is slowly revealing things to me and I love being able to share the things I’m learning with others!

In all honestly, I’ve been a little frustrated lately because of all the “couples” around me. It seems like everyone is in a serious dating relationships… prematurely.

I wrote a blog about this topic of relationships and included lots of Scripture that backs up the reason I believe we, as Christians, should not rush in to dating relationships before we are ready for marriage commitments. We need to be loving each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, in safe, group environments, while we are growing and maturing in the ways of the Lord, rather than romantic one-on-one settings all the time. (See previous blog entry for Scripture references, etc.)

In my opinion, there are too many young people in dating relationships too soon, before they are even remotely close to getting married. By freshman and sophomore year of college many people I know have already decided who they are going to marry and they have invested everything into that person and held nothing back.

I think we tend to automatically assume that all relationships between two Christians are good and healthy because both people share the common bond of Christ. But in truth, I believe as Christians we need to be more careful that we don’t fall into the temptation of impulsively entering into a serious relationship before the time is right! Dating seems to have morphed into these fake, mini-marriages between two young people who believe they are exemplifying Christ’s love for the church by romantically loving their boyfriend or girlfriend. No, no, no! That special love is reserved for marriage alone! So until that time, we need to watch out that we don’t let our emotions take control and dictate our behavior towards one another, especially those we are interested in.

My parents have always stressed the importance of “group” activities between guys and girls in order to cultivate friendships in a safe environment rather than a romantic one-on-one setting that can seriously affect your ability to think rationally about the other person and with good judgment. I completely agree that group settings are the way to go! If you take nothing else away from this blog entry, get that… group activities are the most sensible ways to honor one another as brothers and sisters in Christ before the time is right to pursue dating and marriage!

I have an analogy to hopefully illustrate this. It’s a little abstract so bear with me on this one!

Think about it like this:

It’s not a bad thing to want ice cream right? Ice cream is wonderful and enjoyable and good! BUT, if I were to go out and buy a gallon of my favorite ice cream flavor and satisfy my craving by hoarding and devouring the whole thing all by myself, the natural desire for a good thing turns into gluttony. The very object of my desire would make me sick to my stomach because of a lack of self-control.

It would be a much better decision to buy a box of ice cream to share with my closest friends so we could fellowship and enjoy the sweet goodness of the treat together. My desire for ice cream would be appeased and I would enjoy eating just the right amount of it with my friends much more than I would if I gorged my stomach with it by myself.

Here’s the parallel:

It’s nature that we feel attractions towards those of the opposite sex; it’s how God wired us and it is good and right… within the right context. Having feelings for someone of the opposite sex is not wrong, just like a wish for some sweet ice cream is not wrong in itself. It is what we do with those desires and emotions that dictate the result. We must exercise control over our desires and not allow them to lead to sin. Just like gorging on ice cream to satisfy a craving would quickly turn into gluttony, investing all your emotions into a particular person whom you may be attracted to can quickly turn into inappropriate behavior. Hoarding that person’s attention and affection is not the right way to deal with the desire to get to know them more. A more appropriate and right way to handle emotions for a person of the opposite sex would be to enjoy their company in safe, group environments, just like the way ice cream shared with friends is much more enjoyable!

I don’t know if that made any sense. If it did, great! If not, don’t worry about it. Just remember… group activities!

Build Your House on the Rock

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:33:04 -0600

46] “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? [47] Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: [48] he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. [49] But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

(Luke 6:46-49 ESV)

There are two steps presented here in this passage:

1) Read the Scriptures (Hear)

2) Do what they say (Obey)

Let us not only read and hear God’s Word, but let us put them into practice. Practice takes time and energy. It takes daily discipline and submission to God. Moment by moment surrender to His Spirit, like it says in Galatians 5:16- “walk by the Spirit.”

When we are full of the knowledge of God’s Word and practicing obedience to His commands, by the power of His Spirit, we are not shaken, no matter what life throws our way! We are like a tree whose roots are deeply planted by the stream (Jeremiah 17:7-8); like a man who builds his house on a solid foundation.

BUT the man who merely hears the truth and does not put it into practice is quickly destroyed! As soon as the storms of life come he falls, his leaves wither and his house is ruined.

Let us be hearers and doers of the truth, as it says in James 1:22-

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Pray today for God’s help to be disciplined to read His Word and obey His commands, even when you don’t feel like it! Practice takes prayer and perseverance. Pray through the Scriptures! Pray before you read, while you read and after you read!

Inception

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:45:00 -0700

I finally got around to seeing the movie Inception the other day in the dollar theater near school… Holy bazookers! I’m at a loss for words to rightly express the experience of watching a movie of such depth and intensity! I literally felt like I had been on a roller coaster ride for about 2 and half hours by the time the movie ended and the lights in the theater went up. The insane creativity of the plot, the believability of the actors, and the fantastic production were just plain phenomenal.

But what stood out to me even more than the unbelievable creativity and cleverness of this film was the obvious theme unraveling throughout the storyline of inescapable guilt and shame. This theme was evidenced most clearly in Leonardo’s character, Cobb. The height of the story’s conflict was aroused by the haunted past of his dead wife, Mal, posing as the enemy in the dreams. As the “dream team” traveled to deeper layers, Mal’s prescience became more and more of a reality for Cobb. In one crucial scene of the movie, Ariadne, a fellow team member, follows Cobb into a “daydream,” and discovers that he has a vault of memories with his deceased wife. Down deep in the “basement” of his memory is Mal, locked away for eternity, because he cannot let go of the guilt and responsibility he feels for her death. She taunts him and keeps him in bondage to his shame. Cobb is desperate for freedom from his painful past, but the weight remains on his shoulders as he holds on to her memory. He can’t seem to let her go.

This reminded me of the universal cry for freedom from the guilt and shame that enslaves the world. Everyone, whether they admit it or not, has guilt and shame. As long as we hold on to our past mistakes and lock them away in the depths of our hearts, we will never experience true freedom. Sure, people function day to day without having a meltdown every second, but the pain of their shame remains at the core and comes out to taunt at any opportunity. That is, until Jesus Christ is revealed.

Romans 8:1-2 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

When the Son of God, Christ Jesus, died on the cross, He took the weight of the world’s guilt and shame on Himself and defeated it. But His sacrifice is a gift that must be accepted by putting one’s total faith and trust in Him alone to be saved.

There are so many hurting people like the character, Cobb, living in chains. I know the feeling. I am extremely critical of myself and have a tendency to dwell on my mistakes when I loose sight of the cross. The feeling of guilt is disgusting and oppressive. I can’t breathe when I’m burdened by my past failures and the failures I know I’m sure to commit in the future. I’m filled with anxiety, worry and fear. But as soon as I refocus my eyes on Jesus, I am free. This is not to say that my freedom from sin is dependent on my own efforts. Not at all! I have been set free, cleansed from a guilty conscience, once and for all, upon believing in Christ Jesus as my Savior. It is all because of what He has done! But I find that I have a terrible habit of looking at myself rather than to Jesus, and I constantly need to refocus my eyes.

Hebrews 12:3 is a wonderful reminder of this: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and was seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior? Or are you still living in bondage to your guilt and shame? Let Him lift your burdens today. Admit you are a sinner, believe in Christ as Savior, and confess your sin and you will be saved!

“… let us draw near to God with sincere hearts, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our hearts washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22

Our God is Healer

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:45:00 -0700

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God, You are higher than any other

Our God is healer

Awesome in power

Our God, our God

- Our God, from the Passion 2010 album

Every time I sing this song my heart wells up inside at the weight of the words “our God is healer.” But I didn’t fully appreciate the significance of these words until this summer when I experienced a true test of my faith.

At the end of July I went to visit an ear, nose and throat doctor because I was experiencing problems with my voice, to the point that I would nearly lose it after singing a few consecutive days. The doctor told me I had nodules on my vocal chords and said I had to go on vocal rest for 6-8 weeks so the callus-like bumps would heal and not get worse.

If you’re an athlete and you’ve ever injured yourself and been instructed to take a break from your sport for a time, you understand how difficult that is! When the doc told me 6-8 weeks, I freaked! There was no way! But in the face of the challenge, I knew the only thing I could do was trust in the Lord.

At first it was almost comical to me that I couldn’t sing. I laughed about it and tried to have a good attitude, but as the weeks dragged on I grew faint and frustrated. I would cry often and ask, “Why, God? What do you want me to learn from this? How will this trial bring you the most glory?”

I woke up each morning discouraged and confused, but would try with all my might to muster up a smile to put on my face despite the pain. It never worked. I might have had a fake smile on my face but my heart was totally downcast.

I tried hard to follow my doctor’s advice, taking the medicines he prescribed, eating good foods that would promote healing, and resting my voice. Literally, nothing seemed to help. If anything, I was getting worse!

My inability to control the situation and heal myself caused me great anxiety, which surely didn’t help. Some days my stomach would literally be churning and my hands would shake uncontrollably because of all my worrying and my frustration.

One night at a worship service I attended on campus, we sang the words to an old, familiar song:

I’m coming back to the heart of worship

When it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus

I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it

When it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus

In that moment, the Lord revealed to me that worship is so much more than a song, more than words we say. Worship begins in the heart.

I had been so concerned with my inability to produce music from my lips, but God was more concerned about the state of my heart!

A great friend reminded me of this Scripture, that gave me a new perspective:

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart.” Psalm 51:16-17

For weeks prior to that particular night I had felt the pain of a large lump in my throat. Whether it was caused by the nodules or from the stress I was imposing on myself, I’m not sure, but the next morning when I woke up the pain was gone! I started working with a vocal coach and each day I saw leaps and bounds of progress and heard the improvement in the quality of my voice. But even more than the physical healing was the peace and genuine joy in my heart that the Lord had given me.

I clung tightly to the Scripture in Hebrews 12:3 that says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

I went back to the doctor at the end of October and he gave me the good word that he didn’t see any nodules! Praise God!!! I am overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks to the Lord and to the many people who were committed to praying for my healing!

I realize that in comparison to the horrific illnesses and diseases that many people suffer from, the vocal trouble I experienced is so minor. But regardless of the size of the problem, I have learned that my God is greater, He is stronger, higher than any other and He is healer.

This does not mean He will always bring about healing or that a person doesn’t have enough faith if they are not healed. No, that is not what I am saying. God is Sovereign and we must trust Him.

But, no matter what you’re situation, instead of asking “why” try saying “thank you Lord.” Whether or not your physical ailment is healed, He will heal your heart and bring peace that surpasses all understanding. Thought the circumstances may not change, a perspective change is crucial to experience joy and peace!

I remember praying this prayer on multiple occasions:

“Father, please heal me! But if I never sing again, I trust that You are enough. You are all I need. Still I will praise You because You are worthy. I take my eyes off of my circumstances, because the situation gives me no reason to have joy, but I turn them on You and find true joy and rest and peace in knowing that You are good and You will receive all the glory, honor and praise from this trial! Amen.”

Divine Appointment

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 04:00:00 -0700

The other night I was walking the streets of Puerto Rico with my family on our way to get ice cream at the Hagen Daz store a few blocks from our hotel. Sitting on the side of the street were two men, asleep on the hard cement sidewalk. My heart was wrenched. That night I wrote in my journal that I felt an urge in my heart to get them something to eat, but I knew how my mom gets nervous about that kind of stuff so I didn’t know how to go about responding to the conviction the Holy Spirit had placed within me. Maybe I was wrongly crippled by fear, but I felt that I needed my whole family to be on board, because I didn’t want to be roaming the streets by myself to find these guys again.

The next day we were walking the same part of town to get some fruit from the market and I was praying for the words I would say to encourage my family to step out of our “comfort zone” and buy some food for the homeless men. I was looking around for them but they were nowhere to be found. Then, out of the blue, mom started expressing compassion for this one particular homeless man she saw lying in the blazing heat. She said she had seen him in the same spot the day before and felt led to pray for him. Whaaatttt??? My jaw dropped wide open! I immediately shared with her how God had been burdening my heart too!

Now there was no turning back, we had to respond. But we needed dad on board too because we consented that a few little ladies walking up in bathing suit cover-ups probably wasn’t the wisest approach. Dad said the only way he would participate was if we shared the gospel with him… gosh, I love my dad.

So we picked up some food and headed towards the man lying on the ground. He was fast asleep on the concrete but we woke him up, figuring the unexpected visit would be worth it. He jumped up and engaged in conversation right away. We worried that he might not know English, but he spoke it perfectly and understood everything dad was explaining to him about Jesus and salvation.

After dialoguing for probably 30 minutes about spiritual matters and listening to his story, I feel confident that he knows Jesus as his Savior, but I really believe he was in desperate need of an encouraging word and that God orchestrated that divine appointment.

I wanted to share this story, not for the purpose of making myself or my family appear super holy and spiritual, but to point to the greatness of my God! He hears and answers prayers. He longs to provide for His children; all we need do is ask. He is not a respecter of persons and shows no favoritism but equality to all.

God the Father sent His holy and perfect Son, Jesus, to become a humble servant to the world and die on our behalf. He did not sit on thrones, eat the finest foods or wear crowns of gold while on earth, but He served the lowliest. He submitted to the Father’s authority and was therefore exalted to the highest place! Oh how I pray earnestly for an attitude like Christ!

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:5-11