Taste and See

 Photo courtesy of Google

Not too long ago I decided to live dangerously and try some regular syrup with my pancakes.  I had used sugar free syrup for as long as I can remember and I had convinced myself that the sugar free syrup tasted equally as delicious as the regular syrup but with exceptionally less calories.  I thought I was having my cake and eating it too!  I was actually able to keep myself convinced for years until the other day when I decided, not in a moment of weakness or on a binger’s escapade, but I made a decision to have pancakes with real syrup.   It was with one bite of the real thing that I realized I had been duped!  I couldn’t believe the deliciousness on my tongue that now made me loath the tasteless, thin, watered down substance that barely resembled what I now knew was real pancake syrup and might not even qualify to be called pancake syrup.

 

While I was reflecting on the dramatic differences in the pancake syrups and how long I had allowed myself to go without the real deal, the Spirit of God started to reveal to me a supernatural message in my taste test.  In fact, the message came as an interpretation to a tongue given during corporate worship.  How long has church gone without the “real” presence of the Spirit of God so that we don’t even realize what we are missing and deny that there is even a difference in the Holy Spirit described in the Bible versus the “sugar free version” of the Holy Spirit in our church meetings today?  We have substituted the “Real Deal” for an artificial, man-made, low calorie, watered down version of what we call the Spirit of God.   James 1:16-17 says, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Many have done this out of fear or ignorance and many more out of pride, disdain, and/or stubbornness.  In some cases we never knew that there was anything else or we were told that the Spirit of God has changed and His gifts no longer exist.  Other times we have seen the gifts of the Spirit abused and manipulated so we forbid the manifestation described in the Word as if the Spirit is at fault.   We put a ban on any movement of the Spirit that would make us uncomfortable and we tell God how we will allow Him to move.  We side with the group that says the “lighter” version is the only version that exists and deny the fact that the “real” version exists in church bodies all over the world.  You might say it’s like convincing yourself that sugar free pancake syrup tastes just as good or better than syrup made with natural ingredients and there is no need for the “real” version anymore.  1 Cor 14:39-40 “Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”

I am certain some will read this blog and criticize me for suggesting that their church is manufacturing a man-made version of the Holy Spirit that no longer resembles the Spirit described in the Word because they have compromised.  You can fight to believe that it doesn’t really matter or that the Spirit has changed so that you don’t have to change.  But like the real pancake syrup, I have tasted and seen that He is good.  Now that I have experienced the “real deal”, I am no longer subject to just the idea that the “substitution” is just as good.   1 Cor 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

ALERT!

Oct 17, 2010

Before I left for church, I checked the weather on my computer and I noticed a red “Alert” box which I had only seen before when there was inclement weather. The sky was blue and the sun was shining so I really could not figure out why an alert was posted. My curiosity caused me to click on the alert warning. A child abduction, “AMBER alert”, had been issued that morning and after describing the young child, it stated the child was considered to be in immediate danger. When I read this, my heart went out for the child and his family and I started to lift them up in prayer. I prayed specifically that the child would be returned to his parents safely and that no harm would come to him. 

As I prayed for the abducted child, the Lord started to speak to me. I thought about how scared the child must be, all that could happen to the child, and what his parents must be feeling. I felt the Lord speaking to me that although it was good to pray for this child, where was my compassion and urgency to pray for those who are spiritually lost in my life? I could picture the enemy in a black van roaming around the earth like a lion looking for someone to devour. The thief, who comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10) was filling his van with the lost who have been enticed and carried away by the enemy.

The word abduction stirs in us a fury toward the one who illegally carries a child away from his parents. Yet are we unperturbed when we see those who were created by him and for him being abducted by the enemy. The very mission of Christ was to seek and save what was lost. (Luke 19:10) Why then are we, the church, ignoring the alert signs for those who are lost?

The Lord has shown me that my pockets are full of good seed to sow, but I have focused only on filling my pockets and have forgotten the importance of scattering the seed. Seeds were meant to be planted and they are useless if they stay in my pockets. In fact, they can never have a chance to grow if they are not scattered. It is time to stop focusing only on MY relationship with Jesus and MY understanding of the Word and MY prayer requests only and to go after the lost to take back what the enemy has stolen!

In 1 Samuel 30, when the Lord’s enemies took what belonged to the people of God, the Lord spoke in verse 8 and said, “"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." In verse 18-19 we see, “David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.” 

This should not be some startling revelation if you have been found in Him and are already in relationship with Jesus the Christ. However, this should be a reminder that every day there is an “alert” that has gone out issued from the King of Kings. It is time to take back what the enemy has stolen and return everything back to the Father.  

P.S. In case you were wondering, I later found out that the abducted child was found safe. Will we be so fortunate to hear the same for those that the Lord has entrusted to us?

{e-session} kelsey+mandy

{e-session} kelsey+mandy

Learning to Uncrochet

I learned how to crochet in 2007 after a friend moved to town who taught me the most basic stitches. With just a few sessions I decided to begin a blanket even though it would have been more prudent to start with something much smaller like a pot holder. I didn’t realize how much accuracy was necessary to make the desired blanket which I had planned to give as a gift. My friend warned me that I had to either measure or count the stitches before moving onto the next row, but in my novice mind I thought surely I could just “eyeball it” and it would be good enough.

After weeks of crocheting with the Mandy method, I had a very crooked blanket to say the least. I was told to undo all that was crooked and start over which for me meant starting from the very beginning. I would start off counting a few rows and then I went back to the Mandy method each time, but I would go a little further in my erroneousness until after 6 bolts of yarn, I had a trapezoid shaped blanket. So I humbled myself and undid all 6 bolts of yarn, knowing full well that people would know that I screwed up yet again. While I was pulling out all of the stitches, someone asked me what I was crocheting, and I told them I was actually “uncrocheting.” (Apparently uncrochet is not a word--but it should be) It was quite humbling to carry around a giant ball of yarn that continually became tangled when I tried to use it, but I eventually learned to count every stitch and recount it. I remember one time when a friend saw me trying to untangle the giant yarn ball and asked why I didn’t just throw it away and buy new yarn. It was a fair question, but I couldn’t imagine throwing away the yarn since I had paid for it and worked with it for so long and I couldn’t imagine giving up at this point, mostly because I am stubborn. (Someone just said “Amen!”) Nearly a year later, I finally finished my first crocheted and uncrocheted and crocheted blanket with the intended pattern and shape.

God taught me something beautiful through this very frustrating and tedious process. I have been learning just how crooked the thoughts are inside of my head that have been crocheted together. You pull one stitch and an entire row unravels! At times it seems like an overwhelming and tedious task that honestly I would like to just start all over again. It feels as though I’m spending more time unlearning and unbelieving the lies of the enemy and this world that have been crocheted into my life. Yet God does not leave me as I am or give up on me, instead He gave me the perfect pattern to follow through His Son, Jesus Christ. In John 13:15-16 Jesus said, ^“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

As we surrender our lives to El-Shaddai, He patiently unravels us strand by strand and twists us and stretches us and weaves each of us into something beautiful and useful for His Kingdom. He knows that we have stitch upon stitch and row upon row that are crooked, but He made us and purchased us and doesn’t just throw us away and get knew materials even though we are a tangled, giant mess. We are called to place ourselves, fully abandoned, into His hands so that we can uncrochet those areas of our lives where we don’t line up with His pattern. Paul said it this way in Romans 12:1 - 2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Uncrocheted and crocheted by the King,

Mandy Wakefield

Baptism by 3200 psi

Not so long ago I got this idea that I “needed” to pressure wash my drive way after I noticed some really large stains. I had never used a pressure washer before so I figured how hard could it be? Luckily I was able to borrow some friends’ pressure washer who gave me very specific instructions on how to operate the thing. (Like make sure the water is on before you start it or you will burn up the motor….and don’t wear sandals if you like your feet with skin on them!) Even with the directions, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. So I started on the first big stain, but as the stain disappeared it became obvious that the entire driveway needed to be cleaned. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into!!! I quickly realized this task would require more time and hard work than I had expected.

When you read the Gospels, you hear Jesus say things like, “The Kingdom of God is like….” And then He goes on to give an example using common tasks or things the people were already familiar with. I’ve learned that Jesus speaks to people today the same way using things we can understand. If Jesus were walking past my house with his disciples that day while I was pressure washing the driveway, he might have started his parable like this: “A young lady went out to pressure wash her driveway. She set out to clean up only the large stains because she didn’t realize the entire driveway needed to be cleaned.” Tell me Lord, what does this mean? And Jesus said, “The heart of a man is like this driveway. It’s the very pathway into the inner most part of a man. Just as the driveway is a hardened concrete fashioned by man, so has man’s heart become hardened with trying times and harsh conditions. The stained areas are the more obvious problem areas as a result of sin that left a mark. I tell you, it’s not just the stained areas that must be cleaned, but the whole driveway must be cleaned.”

I set out to baptize (which means to purify/cleanse) my driveway of its stains with 3200 psi only to find out that it was covered in one huge stain. The truth is, we are all stained at birth, and then we spend many years accumulating so much more. When we decide to follow Jesus we become very aware of those things in our lives that we have to get rid of, the obvious things, the big stains. We don’t realize just how dirty we really are until we begin to see what clean looks like. In Mark 7:20-23 Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.”

King David was a man after God’s heart and yet he knew what it was like to need the pressure washer applied to his life. In Psalm 51:1-3, 7, 9-10 he cried out to God, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Praise God that when the Word commands us to be baptized, there is no actual pressure washer involved! In fact when we get baptized, we don’t come out of the water with any less sin or stains then we go in with. But we when take this step of faith in obedience to Jesus, it’s as if we are baptized with 3200 psi. There is no stain big enough, and no amount of dirt in our lives that He can’t remove! Isaiah 1:18 says, ‘"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Now I must give a word of caution when using the pressure washer! Remember that even though you have been made white as snow by the King, that does not mean you should drive through the neighborhood looking at all of the neighbor’s driveways and pointing out how dirty and stained they are nor should you find yourself pressure washing their “driveway” so to speak! Instead we are called to be like Christ and let our light shine before men that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matt 5:16) and teaching them to be use the “pressure washer” so they too may be cleansed by the washing of water through the word (Ephesians 5:26).

Pressure washed daily,

Mandy Wakefield

June 16, 2007/Oct 25, 2009

The Picture Frame

One day in worship service, God gave me a word that has stuck with me for years. I had a vision of myself walking around a store with all kinds of different picture frames, but the picture in all of the frames was exactly the same. As I was amazed at the beauty of the different frames, I was reminded that the purpose of a picture frame is to display a picture. Although the frame has beauty in its design, it is not meant to stay empty. In fact, without a picture, the frame is not fulfilling its purpose. God showed me how each person is a uniquely designed picture frame but that the picture in every frame was meant to be the same. The picture, the very center of the frame and thing put on display, was meant to be Christ Jesus. Paul said it this way, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthains 4:7)

Even though I read what the Word (Psalm 139:14) says about me, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful…,” I struggle with knowing “full well”. I tend to just read over those words and click “accept” without fully understanding it like I am accepting an end-user software license agreement. I’ve never really taken the time to grasp the words “fearfully and wonderfully made.” The Hebrew word “fearfully” means “to cause astonishment and awe,” while the word “wonderfully” means “to be distinct, marked out, be distinguished.” The Bible does not just say I’m okay or I’m tolerable; it says I am characterized by excellence, I am readily distinguishable from all others, and that I cause a mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might.”

Ephesians 2:10 NIV says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The New Living Translation uses the words “God’s masterpiece.” That Greek word here for workmanship or masterpiece is “poiema” which translated in English is “poem” or “work of art.” Not only are we fearfully and wonderfully made, the Bible says we are the very poetry of God—the authentic and complex expression of the Creator. In our individual designs, God is capturing vivid images and weaving together his emotion and profound reflective thoughts in such a way that only the Poet could really interpret the poem.

Not only am I guilty of not really believing what God’s Word says about me, but also I focus more on the frame than on the picture inside of the frame. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." When I focus on the frame, I miss the purpose of the design which is to present Christ to the rest of the world. God never intended for the focus to be on the frame and in fact it can easily become idolatry.

Even worse than focusing only on the frame is the frequent criticism I give the frame God has given me. I want to dictate to God what I think needs to change in my life. God doesn’t just want me to hit the “accept” button when I read His word, He wants me to understand and believe what I’m saying I accept. In Isaiah 45:9-12 NET, God showed me just exactly what was in His end user agreement: “The Lord Gives a Warning” and says, “One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, “What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill!” Danger awaits one who says to his father, “What in the world are you fathering?” and to his mother, “What in the world are you bringing forth?” This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him, concerning things to come: “How dare you question me about my children! How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands! I made the earth; I created the people who live on it. It was me – my hands stretched out the sky, I give orders to all the heavenly lights.”

Every time we criticize ourselves or even others, it’s like saying to God, “What in the world are you doing? You work lacks skill!” Someone I love very much tells me often that “God doesn’t make junk!” It’s time for the frame to stop arguing with the Maker, the clay to stop arguing with the Potter, and the poem to stop arguing with the Poet. We are chosen by God, the work of his hands, for the display of his splendor. “(Isaiah 60:21)

His poiema,

Mandy Wakefield