But Now!

I feel like I have been living in Isaiah 42 lately. Have you ever had the Lord keep directing you back to a specific passage for what seems like an eternity? Well, I have been there. A little background to Isaiah 42 along with the surrounding chapters is that it is a series of chapters speaking to the promise of the Lord's help along with reminders on how much Israel (us) need Him. I get excited when reading Isaiah 42 because I see Jesus pictured so clearly on setting captives free, bringing sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf but this particular chapter ends with a sort of despair. I noticed something today that brought great joy and celebration to my heart.

Isaiah 42 ends with these words..

"But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them
are snared and in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey
and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, 'Restore!'
Who among you will give ear to this: Who will
listen and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for plunder, and
Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have
sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His
law.
Therefore, He has poured on him the fury of His anger
and the strength of battle; it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not
know; and it burned him, yet he did not take it to heart."

If we stop reading at the end of this chapter, we are left in despair. Wow, we really deserve what we are getting and is there anyone to help?
Chapter 43:

"BUT NOW, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
and he who formed you, O Israel:
'FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU; I have called you
by your name; YOU ARE MINE."

AMEN! What an awesome promise from our Father! He has indeed redeemed us and we are his! You see, we can sometimes get consumed with life and the events surrounding it and stop at the seemingly end of a chapter in our life. We end with despair and questioning. This is not God's design though. BUT NOW He says! Remember to keep reading in your book of life because when there is despair, it is surely followed by his BUT NOW promise for you which is Jesus Christ redeeming you! Wahoo! Let's celebrate that our life in no aspect ends with despair because of Jesus Christ who redeems us!

He hears

I was pondering something that I had a revelation about a while back and since I was thinking how much it has come up again, I thought I would share it with whomever feels inclined to read below:

I was standing in my kitchen doing dinner prep when my daughter, who was running into the kitchen, called my name and asked me a question. She obviously didn't like that I was multi-tasking so she continued to be very persistent in getting my complete and undivided attention. After an eternity of her pushing me to do what she thought would mean I paid attention and listened to her, I got upset with her and said, "Moriah, just because mommy is not looking directly at you and doing nothing else does not mean in any way that I don't hear what you say. I have a way to hear you even when you speak in a crowded room very quietly."
It hit me then. How often do we approach the Lord and ask for something. We don't get the response we wanted and so we ask again and again louder and louder (which shows persistence and can be good on some occassions depending on our response) and then go away mad, hurt and/or degected because we perceive that to be Him not payig attention to us? He is our Father (Abba=daddy) and as such, has a special knack for hearing us even when we are here on this crowded earth with so many people speaking. You don't have to yell, you don't have to ask more than once. Just as His sheep know His name, so He knows the voice of His sheep.
Be encouraged today that if you speak, even the faintest peep in the middle of your night, He hears you. He is a great daddy and he is a great multi-tasker.

Getting Ready

"make ready your hearts, make ready your home, make ready the people of God."

I woke up this morning early and actually started my day with the Word! I usually am not coherent enough to do this and so my Bible reading falls later in the day. Quickly after that, I got ready and started the final preparations for the company we have moving in today. Yes, I must admit, I am TOTALLY open to anyone dropping in at any time however, with that said, I also like to have my house in a certain condition when I know company is coming (especially staying and seeing 100% of the house). I did things like dust the computer desk, clean out the laundry room, and clean under the couch....I sat back and LOVED how it looked.
Then it hit me. Those are things that aren't on my everyday list. Those things were done because I know someone will be here (besides me) that will notice. I am not saying they would care one way or the other, but this wasn't about them. It was a reaction I had to their coming. I thought, "isn't this silly.....they probably don't dust that often either, but I want them to see the best." Now, there are some things that aren't done or will need to be done while they are here and I know they will help me do the work but it got me thinking........
How am I reacting in my other home (the heart)? We know Jesus is coming again. We sing about it, we proclaim it and we certainly hope in it as that will be a grand day of glory! What are we doing now though? Jesus is already living in our hearts. What condition is he seeing? Are we waiting to "clean out" the places that we don't touch that often because we think we still have time? Why do we "clean out" our lives in the first place? Is it because we know He will come and we don't want Him to see our dust? While, we shouldn't "do" anything because we feel like we have to to earn any kind of approval from our Father or His Son, there should also be a natural cleansing reaction that comes when we feel His love and know He is coming. The greatest part about this whole thing is that He even does the cleaning! Wow! What company to have!
Just like I cleaned places to give my company the best situation I could, so we will be cleansed to give Jesus the best place he can have.

The Real Deal

I had the privilege of spending some good quality time this weekend with some dear friends. We hadn't seen their faces in so long it seems- life is too busy sometimes. Something I realized while they were here is that I love and feel loved so much more when I can see them, touch them and experience them with all of my senses. We talk on the phone when they are at their house but it is not the same as having them right there in my living room (or me in theirs). Having them where I was is the real deal.

While we were visiting, they told me about a trip they had taken and visited another church while there. You could say this was a mega-church (it had at least three separate sanctuaries, they parked in lot J, and there where something like 6 nursery rooms just for the two year olds). My friends went on to explain that each sanctuary had their own worship band and greeting pastor and then while you were praying together, a screen the size of the stage was lowered and an HD broadcast of the real preacher came on and everyone watched the same message that looked like the same stage you just saw.

What struck me about this was that while it would seem nice that they had made it as personal as they could (if you had bad eyesight or kept your head down and your eyes closed during prayer time, you might not even realize what happened), it was not real. The pastor that was preaching was not really there. If I had a two year old, would they ever be in the same room with someone they knew? Would I ever be able to make real relationships there if I was in a different sanctuary each Sunday? And ultimately, was this looking like the Church Jesus came to create?

Now, I am NOT out to look down on this church- I am sure it is doing everything it knows to do. It does make me think about our relationship with the Lord though. Are we making it real. There is something about seeing my friends' faces and hugging their neck (or getting hugged by them). There is also something about gathering together as a body of believers and being discipled while forming personal relationships with God's workmanship. It might not seem big, but I think from personal experience, there is a lot to be said for being able to see, touch and feel (although I don't recommend you touching all over your pastor next Sunday) your pastor. Ultimately, I think it carries over to our relationship with the Lord in that if the relationships we are seeing modeled here are real and tangible, we too will believe that our relationship with the Lord is and can be real and tangible as well. This seems more like the Church Jesus came to save.

So, while we can't turn people away because we are getting too big as a church, maybe we shouldn't be so focused on numbers either. It just might make room for some relationships. That would be the real deal.

Logic in Loss

Verse of the week Job 19:25-26: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh, I shall see God"

I aimed at memorizing one verse a week starting about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I got the first one down pat right away (which isn't like me). It came from reading something else and the verse was in there. I knew I wanted to memorize it because as I read it, I received revelation. Then the second week came...... I searched and searched, being overwhelmed by the vast number of "good" verses that I could memorize, many of which I had a general idea of already but none stood out to be dwelt upon. I came across these verses one day (P.S. I don't really like to read Job) and they were underlined in my Bible. I don't recall when I read it the first time (no I didn't buy my Bible used!). I didn't understand them and I didn't have any reason to memorize them but settled there anyway. I tried to blog about them two different times but nothing seemed to work.

Almost two weeks later, I was still having trouble memorizing them verbatim partly because of how busy I had let my head become with other life issues. Then something happened.....
I was going through life normally through the holidays and a loss occured. I had been pregnant but saw the life that I was created to nourish slip away.
Denial......
Devistation.....
I was unsure of how to feel right in that moment.
What was happening? Obviously that is a rhetorical question as I knew what was going on, but really? I didn't even know I was pregnant to begin with. To find out you were pregnant and loose it all at the same time made my head spin. I had previously wondered how I would react in such a raw moment of tragedy and loss and then is when I found out.
I hit my knees. I thanked God for His giving and taking away and I re-affirmed my love and devotion to Him. He didn't change just because I suffered loss. He didn't leave when I was sitting alone in the bathroom crying out to Him. He was right there. He is still the creator of all that we know. He is still all powerful, all mighty, all righteousness, all knowing, and all loving.
We live in a world that has tragedy because of the fall. That is the way it is......but what are we going to do with it?

I was, and still am as I work through this, faced with the logic of my faith combined with my loss. IF God didn't change and IF He makes good things out of anything, then there MUST be good that comes from this. I have drawn closer to Him now than before and my comfort in Him is stronger than ever. I have also had the opportunity to share my story with a few and it should be no surprise to me (although it is) that it has blessed and answered some questions for others!

So, with all that said, I go back to Job. He didn't even have the Biblical story of the hope of a Redeemer and yet in his time of supreme suffering and trial we find him proclaiming that not only does his Redeemer live, but even when his skin is destroyed, he will see God. Wow! At some level I know how he feels now. Those verses will be forever embedded in my heart as a promise that my Redeemer lives and I will see God! What will your response be in the face of loss and tragedy?
For now, I know that the Lord has said our little Kiah Elaine is dancing with Jesus and I can add one more to the quiver of the Campbell's. If we have another, he/she will never replace Kiah, they will only be another added to the Kingdom of God. We felt the urge to name her and Kiah has been another story in that I would be glad to tell another time.
Be blessed this season and remember that our Redeemer lives and no matter if you are joyful over your circumstances or grieving over a loss, you WILL see God!

Taste and See

I am on a journey to memorize one scripture a week. This is not meant to be a religious deed (although it is in a way but that is a different story) but something that I am inspired to do based on getting to know many of my baptist friends who can quote me 72% of the New Testament!

The first verse that I aimed at memorizing for this was Psalm 34:8- Oh taste and see that God is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.

I thought this might just be a standard memorization process and by the end I would have "the Word in my heart" (or in my brain I should say as that was my attitude) as so many say we should. "You know, you never know when we won't have a Bible in our hands and then we will wish we had it in our hearts." While this is a true saying, I had never taken it seriously enough to crack down and memorize scripture enough to be able to quote it with the reference. Now was the time.......

What I didn't realize is the impact this one little verse would have on me from dwelling on it for a week. The Word says in Psalm 119, " I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Joshua chapter 1 states, "The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." With that said, I shouldn't have been surprised that meditating on the Word produced much change but I was- and it did.

What I took away from the verse in Psalm 34 is that if you have indeed tasted and seen that God is good (which all believers have) then you will trust in Him.

It is not hard to remember what the taste of your favorite food is, right? I am thinking of a piece of tiramisu from my favorite Italian restaurant right now and my mouth is watering. It has been quite a while since I have had it, but I sure remember that taste! :)

Are you having trouble trusting God? I know there are certainly areas of my life where I do! Why? Could it be that I have forgotten about the taste of His goodness?

Maybe you are saying He hasn't been that good to you? Maybe you are in a low time of your life where you are feeling like there is a void where goodness should be. Have you forgotten His son saving you from eternal damnation? Have you lost touch with what is was like the first days of your new life (salvation)? He IS good and all you have to do is remember the taste of His goodness and you too, will be blessed by trusting in Him! I would take this a step further......get into His word! Meditate on a verse day and night for a week and see what He says to you! He longs to show you his goodness- let him in...........

Corn Hole Sets

Corn Hole is a lawn game similar to horse shoes but it is portable. It comes with two playing boards (painted and weather sealed) and eight playing bags (four of each color). The boards are custom painted to your specifications and the bags are made of durable canvas and double sewn. E-mail us at 4campbellcreations@gmail.com to order! Please allow 4 wks. for your order to be completed. We will e-mail you shipping costs upon order.