Let it soak in deep

Have you ever wondered what power there is in a word? I know there are times I don't have to say much to find I have lifted someone's spirits, while there are opposite times when a couple of words spoken at the wrong time or with the wrong intent create a whole lot of misery. Words are quite powerful, but none so powerful as those contained within the pages of our Bible, as these were put there to set us on fire. They have a creative power - bringing to life what had once been dead. They have a convicting power - revealing what we might not even have known was there so it can be completely dealt with and removed. Words, when used as they were intended, have power - especially in the hands of a graceful and loving God!

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God’s Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. (1 Peter 1:24-25 MSG)

New for old - that has been God's movement down through the ages. Promise given - promise fulfilled. Hope birthed - hope realized. There is and always be great power in his Word, but we have to get it into us if it is to be of any benefit to us. Words simply spoken, but never heard, are not going to accomplish the mission they had when spoken, right? I have said things under my breath - not really wanting others to hear what I was saying right then - but God's words are not those type of words. There is nothing hidden in his Word - all is there to be revealed to us - if we just look and ask.

The life within each of us is conceived, first by natural means, then by the divine touch of God in our lives. The new birth experience - as some call it - is that transition of our lives whereby the words God speaks deep into our spirits ignite a passion, define a purpose, and create a passage from one way of living into another. There is power displayed on our behalf - all through those words. They may have been penned many years ago, but they remain equally as powerful today as they were when they were given to those men who took pen to paper to record them.

Truth changes us. There is nothing more damning than a lie. There is nothing more freeing than the truth. Our spiritual conception is accomplished with one word - "YES" - saying YES to Jesus. Our spiritual growth is accomplished through many words - those written for us to serve as examples of how to both act and not act. The promises he gives are ours for the taking - to stand upon with assurance. His process of creating us anew isn't just that momentary 'birthing' experience, but it is the putting off of the old and the putting on of the new - day after day, year after year. YES is the beginning - in between that beginning and eternity will come many words to restore, challenge, help us conquer.

Embrace his Word. Listen carefully to its challenges. Open wide to its hope. Come often to his feet to listen with intent. There is much to discover in the power of those words. Much to soak in until we are so saturated that we 'leak' his Word from within every fiber of our being. Discover it. You won't be disappointed in his Words, for they are life. Just sayin!

Having some "birth pains"?

Have you ever stopped to consider the miracle of birth?  Having birthed two children, I remember the first twitches of the "real" birth pains and all those times of "false labor" when we'd feel those false contractions.  The difference between the two is that one of them did not "advance" the birth process, but rather just made us aware it was nearing.  Those "false contractions" may not have seemed like much, but they indeed did more to alert us to the pending delivery than we might have imagined.  With God, he does not just allow us to enter "into" times of pain without also "birthing" something from those times.  Those painful "contractions" are designed to bring forth something new!

In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,” says the Lord.  (Isaiah 66:9 NCV)

In the weeks preceding the birth of my children, I experienced many of those "false contractions".  In fact, when going to the hospital to report to the doctor that I was "in labor" with my first child, they sent me home saying I was just experiencing "false labor".  Being the obedient first-time mom, I did as they said, only to turn around a few hours later in the middle of the night with "real labor"!  The "earlier" contractions may not have been "hard enough" to push my daughter through the birth canal, but they were definitely pointing to the ones which would!  

Have you ever stopped to consider the "contractions" of growth?  There are times when we experience some "twinges" of growth - like those false contractions - which really cause us to sit up and take notice.  They alert us to something which is just around the corner, but they don't really produce the result of the "full-birth" of the "thing" of growth being produced within.  Instead, there will be further development taking place in the "secret places" of our lives.  In due time, the "real labor" begins to happen and we begin to experience both the extreme pain of birthing the growth and the awesome splendor of seeing that growth being born out of our lives.  

God's promise to us:  I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born!  Hear that loud and clear - someone needs this right now!  Nothing should frighten us about the pain we are enduring for the moment, because in the end, something of awe-inspiring growth will emerge!  The birthing of spiritual, emotional, relational, and/or intellectual growth is almost always preceded by some form of "pain".  Either we embrace the pain as part of the process or we will constantly be frustrated by it!  When we finally are willing to embrace the pain as the "predecessor" to our growth, we might just begin to prepare for the birth a little more!

When a woman goes into those early signs of labor (the false contractions), she does something to get ready.  The nursery begins to be put in order, diapers are bought, pacifiers are sterilized, bottles are washed and prepared for midnight feeding readiness.  The bag is packed, complete with little munchies for the father to make it through the experience!  The house is cleaned, the fridge is stocked, and the pantry has never been more organized!  She readies the nest, doesn't she?  I think this may be why God allows us to begin to experience the "false labor" of our growth experiences - to help us to ready ourselves to receive the true delivery of the "real deal"!  In the readying process, something happens.  We begin to focus all our attention on the delivery!  Maybe this is the goal of the process - to get us focused.

I don't know what "pains" you are experiencing right now.  They may be the "false labor" type of pains - growth is on its way, but it still has a little preparation time required.  Growth may be finally about to be birth, and the pains are intensifying.  Take heart - in the pain, God promises something new!  The newness of what God brings forth is ALWAYS good!  Just sayin!