Say What You See

Nanette caught the bug.

My friend, Nanette has attended only two weeks of “sewing class” at my home on Monday nights, but she has definitely caught the bug.  Although her only sewing experience was in home ec. class a thousand years ago, she is piecing together blocks for 3 different quilts at the same time. 

I saw the first set of blocks all sewn together, bright orange and yellow lion and tiger blocks with a brown and black starry print in between, and it was amazing.  I love that first glimpse of what a finished project is going to look like, and the excitement that wells up inside.  I imagine that Nanette is experiencing that “quilting high” right now, standing back and looking at what her two hands have done in so short a time.  What Nanette may not yet know is that there is still a lot of work before the quilt is done.  Hopefully, the glimpse of what will be is enough to keep her going to the finish line.

These thoughts about Nanette and her quilts were going through my mind this morning as I prepared the binding for one of my own quilts.  God has just done some amazing things for me, things that I have been desperately crying out for in prayer.  Not that the entire situation is completely resolved, but the amazing changes that have happened in the past two days have taken my breath away.  The Father brought Nanette and her amazing accomplishments to mind this morning and asked me the same questions I was asking about Nanette. 

“I am showing you what I am doing, just a glimpse for now,” the Father told me. “Can you keep on trusting me that I can, and will give you the finished work?”

I am reminded of four simple words spoken by Prophet Chuck Pierce at a meeting in Manahawkin, NJ earlier this year:  “Say what you see.”   Pierce was urging God’s people to listen to what God is saying, and then to speak out, declare out loud what they are seeing.  I have given you a picture of some fabric blocks sewn together to help you imagine the beautiful quilt to come.  What are you dreaming about?  What do you see?  Is it a ministry to the homeless in Ocean County?  Restored relationships in your marriage and/or family?  A 24 day prayer journey throughout Europe? A community of artists releasing God’s heart through prophetic art?  Speak, declare it out loud so God’s family can join with you in trusting God to accomplish that dream. 

In our faith community may we continually remind each other of who we are – people entrusted with God’s heart and vision; and who we serve - the God who is in the business of calling into being things that are not, as though they were.  Let us be about the “family business”, which is, after all, the business of hope.

A Runner after God's Own Heart

My brother, Dave traveled to New Jersey this past week to participate in the Atlantic City Marathon.  He finished the 26 mile course in just under five hours, in keeping with his goal.  The larger goal on his mind, however, is to run a marathon in every state.  Atlantic City marked Dave’s 22nd state.

As I went about my business on Sunday morning, October 16^th, I kept thinking of Dave running in Atlantic City, praying for his safety, praying for his influence in that rather dark place.  I kept thinking that there was some significance to Dave making the investment of time and resources to drive from Michigan to New Jersey, some 600 miles, to run for five hours in Atlantic City.  “Please, God,” I prayed, make every step of his race effective, transforming in that place.

I was reminded of the promise that God gave first to Moses, then to Joshua: 

Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea. Deuteronomy 11:24

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. Joshua 1:3

Could it be that the thousands of times Dave’s Nike running shoes hit the pavement in Atlantic City on Sunday, October 16, 2011, between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. that God’s “ownership” of that city and region was being established?  What can happen when a man after God’s own heart makes an investment in a region? 

So I pray this morning for Atlantic City, New Jersey, and for the other 22 states where this runner after God’s own heart has run, invested and prayed.  May God’s ownership of each city be established; may circumstances and atmosphere change over Atlantic City; may unemployment and poverty be abolished in this sad place; may crime diminish as the knowledge of God’s ways and thoughts become important to the residents there. May salvation come to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in Jesus’ name.

What Does Love Look Like?

I was reading this morning in John 13 about when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.  Knowing who he was, knowing he was God, knowing that the Father had placed all things under his power, knowing that he was about to be betrayed, knowing all these things, he laid aside his outer garments, girded himself with a towel and began washing the dirt off of his disciples’ dusty feet.

As I mused on the passage my mind kept coming back to a story I heard recently from a friend of mine who is a live-in caretaker for the disabled.  My friend told me that she and her then current charge were at odds and she had gone to her room to pray, and not allow her mouth to speak out of what she was feeling, hurt and rejected by the one she served.  Then she heard the elderly woman in the hall bathroom, crying softly.  My friend had to go to her.  She was as always, my friend’s first priority.  She found her charge standing in the bathroom covered in her own feces, tears of shame streaming down her face, helpless to clean herself up, and too ashamed to call the one she had been quarreling with to come and help her.

            “I have lost my dignity!” the lady wailed.

            “Since when does dignity come out of your rear end?” my friend countered.  “Your dignity is up here.”  She tapped her forehead and got to work cleaning up her charge.

            My friend was hurt, feeling rejected, but put aside all of that to love and serve the one God had placed in her life.

            “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34.  As missionary, Heidi Baker teaches, love the One, and then love the one in front of you. That is what Jesus did, even loving Judas who was about to betray him.  Loving Peter, who would deny that he even knew Jesus only hours later, Jesus, the Son of the Living God knelt down and washed Peter's, and Judas' dirty feet.

            Who would you have me love today, Daddy?  Make me ready, armed with knowing who I am to you, ready to serve and stoop down to lift someone else up, to clean up the traffic off of someone’s feet, or the waste of life off of someone’s body, to love as you love.

Sprinkled, Not Poured

Jesus said that we are to be the salt of the earth.  But as Pastor Glenn Swank of Barnegat Bay Assembly of God recently taught his congregation, if you dump the whole salt shaker on one bite, you ruin the steak.  So God sprinkles the salt, disburses his kids, his salt, like dandelion seeds propelled by the breeze, to add his flavor, his presence in many situations. 

As you walk the rows of tents at certain arts and crafts festivals, you may encounter some salt when you stop at the arched tent with a sign reading, “Lampworked Art Glass by Jim Spaloss”. It may be the gleam of the glass dancing in the sunlight that draws your eye to the sparkling beads and sculptures.  But you may well get more than you bargained for when you pick up the gold-streaked, pink glory bead, or run your fingers over the raised droplets on the glistening dew drop bead.  You may get a story about how God’s glory shows up in ordinary people, just like clear glass turns pink when fumed with 22 karat gold; or about refreshing dew that does not evaporate in the heat of the day; or about an artist who worships God as he sculpts glass. You may get a word of encouragement.  You may receive a prayer for your insomnia or your upcoming back surgery.  You may even get a hug from someone who five minutes earlier was a stranger to you.

Any or all of these treasures you may receive at this salt-filled artist’s booth, whether or not you make a purchase.  The sign reads, “art glass”, but hope is dispensed here.  Come, buy and eat, you who have no money.  Come feast on Jesus, for “the one who feeds on me will live because of me”. John 7:57

What I Want to be When I Grow Up…

I saw my daughter-in-law, Nicole’s comment on facebook this week about a conversation she overheard between her daughter, Jessie, age 10, her friend, Kaeli, and her two sons, Ryan, age 5, and Zach, age 3:

“Earlier today-- Jessie says ‘I want to be an artist when I grow up’. Kaeli (my friend’s daughter that I was watching) says, ‘me too’.  Ryan says, ‘I want to be a teacher’.  Zach says, ‘I want to be a little kid’.  Ha ha!”

I laughed when I read it.  It’s so fun to listen to the kids interact.  But as I continued to muse on the conversation, I decided I had to side with Zach.  I, too want to be a little kid when I grow up. 

A little kid is trusting.  He is usually pretty happy.  It doesn’t take a whole lot to light up his face with a smile.  Sometimes just a lollipop or a kiss will do it.  And when he’s hurt or scared, he knows where to go. 

I was talking with my daughter, Rachel recently about how I find myself becoming more childlike these days.  Rachel knows about some of my special favorites and has taught the grandchildren well.  They know that if they collect a bag full of acorns for Grandma she will ooh and ahh like it’s treasure in the bag.  If they bring in a couple of pinecones, Grandma will put them as a centerpiece on the kitchen table.  They squeal and point when they see a ladybug because they know Grandma adores ladybugs.  They decorate my birthday cards with ladybugs of all shapes and sizes.  They even got me ladybug charms for my crocs.  I used to quietly enjoy these things, but now I make no bones about letting people know that acorns and pinecones and ladybugs, and a whole lot of other things, delight my soul.  Part of the reason I dance around about these things is that I am getting used to who I am, who God made me.  And I accept the pinecones and acorns and ladybugs as God’s special kisses to me since he, too knows what makes me smile.

So, yeah, Zach, I want to be a kid when I grow up, too.  I want to be basically happy with life, trusting my heavenly Daddy to take care of me and give me not only what I need, but often the pinecones, acorns and ladybugs that I want.  And if I’m ever hurt or scared, I want to always know I can run into Daddy’s arms.   

BEADS IN THE BAG

Missionary, Heidi Baker tells the best stories of how God shows up in her life.  Last week in Washington’s Crossing, PA she decided to share the “beads in the bag” story.  “This is not a story I tell very often,” she said. “But I feel I am supposed to share it with you tonight.”

The story goes that a visiting doctor was serving with her in Mozambique one Christmas. She and her team had invited everyone to a Christmas party, and I mean everyone.  She invited all the children of her village, of course.  But she also invited the addicts, the alcoholics, the prostitutes, the poor, the destitute, anyone who would come.  She handed out gifts to every one of them, even the ones who had been harassing the young men in training on her team.  Then there was one group of young girls left awaiting their gifts.  Heidi heard that the girls wanted beads, so she whispered to the doctor assisting her, “The girls wants beads.” 

Heidi told how the doctor looked at her as if she was crazy.  She and Heidi both knew that the only gifts left in the big black garbage bags were stuffed dogs, used stuffed dogs.  “The girls wants beads”, Heidi repeated to the doctor, several times and then she waited.  Suddenly the doctor screamed.  “There’s beads in the bag, beads in the bag, beads in the bag,” she chanted.  Heidi and the doctor distributed God’s beads to some very happy girls that Christmas Day.

I know lots of people, myself included, who need or want something very badly.  Maybe it’s a dream of what you always wanted to be when you grew up, but you’re stuck in a dead end job just to pay the bills.  Maybe it’s a relationship that you are longing for.  Maybe it’s a roof over your head and food on the table, healing from an incurable disease, relief from depression, or escape from addiction.  But you know there’s only old stuffed dogs in your bag.  Or maybe not.  Maybe God is really big enough and good enough to open his hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.(Ps. 145:16)  So I take Heidi’s story and say, “Do it again, God!”  Turn those old stuffed dogs into shelter for the homeless, mortgage money and jobs for the folks out of work, family for the lonely ones, lifting of depression, release from addiction, or even beads for a group of little girls who just want to feel pretty and special.

War by....Paintbrush?

I recently heard an interesting teaching by Bill Johnson in his book, Dreaming with God*. Johnson was talking about how God has used creativity throughout history to reflect his glory.  Take Solomon for example, that man who chose wisdom when God gave him a blank check to ask for anything he wanted.  The scriptures tell how the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s wisdom and came to check it out for herself. 

“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, …his ministers, and their apparel, … his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her..” (1 Kings 10:4-5)  The Message version says, “it took her breath away”.

Bill Johnson notes that the queen recognized wisdom not only by how Solomon answered the many questions she presented to him:  “The queen of Sheba was stunned by how wisdom affected simple things like clothing, buildings, and the like.” (Johnson, Dreaming with God, p. 44) She saw wisdom in the architecture of Solomon’s palace, the cuisine on his table, the clothing worn by his servants, and even the staircase he built to go up to worship the Lord.  Why was she left breathless over these seemingly finite creations?  These acts of Solomon were the byproducts of the creative wisdom that had been gifted to him by God. 

And just why would Almighty God want to cause people to be breathless over a work of art, or a gourmet meal?  Johnson goes on to describe a scene of spiritual warfare as recorded in Zechariah 1:18-21.     
 Then I lifted up my eyes …and behold, there were four horns.  So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”  Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.  I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
In the quoted vision, God’s people, the Jews were being strong-armed by four horns, four “abusive authorities and powers” (Johnson, p. 42).  God’s answer is somewhat incredible.  He raises up four craftsmen, four artistic, creative persons to terrify and throw down the abusers.  “Not since God first sent a choir into war (see 2 Chronicles 20:21) has there been such an outlandish strategy for battle,” Johnson quips. (Johnson, p. 43).  Johnson explains that when God’s people allow his works to flow through the gifts God has given them, the enemies of God become breathless, much like the queen of Sheba.  God’s people walk in their true identity and authority, and God’s identity, authority and superiority are revealed.

God has gifted his church with an amazing number of artists, musicians, writers, and craftsmen.   Think on this concept with me.  How does God want to establish my identity, and his authority through his wisdom expressed in my gifting? The things we build with the creative wisdom given to us by God, those works may well be part of the warfare of God designed to release his authority on the earth.  Think of it, God’s dominion released through our art, like Ria Mignano’s paintings, Jim Spaloss’ blown glass glory beads.  The nature of God somehow displayed through the foods we prepare, such as Brett Conover’s amazing pot roast, and Penny Kellow’s comforting lasagna.  God’s plans revealed through Barry Brindisi’s blog, or Jamie Moffet’s original music.  Even the clothing we wear, Amanda Wilkin’s stylish belts and scarves, Sharon Ryan’s flowing African tunics, designed to establish the superiority of our creative God.

Craftsmen of Shore Vineyard, how will you allow the Lord to triumph through your hands?

*Copy with permission for non-commercial use when below info is given:
www.billjohnsonministries.com
Bill Johnson Ministries
933 College View Drive
Redding, CA 96003
(530)246-6000”