To Borrow or Not to Borrow -- The Freedom of Living Without Debt

To me...the teaching of God's Word was unmistakably clear: "Owe no man anything." To borrow money implied...a contradiction of Scripture -- a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given...

Could any amount of precedents make a wrong course justifiable? If the Word taught me anything, it taught me to have no connection with debt. I could not think that God was poor, that He was short of resources, or unwilling to supply any want of whatever work was really His. It seemed to me that if there were lack of funds to carry on work, then to that degree, in that special development, or at that time, it could not be the work of God.

~Hudson Taylor 

The subject of whether or whether not to borrow is, granted, not a popular one. I do not seek to judge anyone here, or to heap on someone's shoulders a burden that is not from God. Rather, I would like to share what we believe, what our family's experience has been, and how much of a blessing it can be to cast aside the burden of debt completely, and be free from monetary bondage -- to "owe no man anything." 

Soon after my parents were married in 1992 they made a very radical commitment to God that they would never borrow money for anything. They were given this advice by a very wise great-uncle, and were told that if they did not make a firm commitment, that at some point in life they were sure to make an exception and give in to pressure. Over the years there have been countless times when my parents would have been sorely tempted to borrow "just this once" if they had not made that commitment. 

As a family we have seen God provide again and again, in His timing, and looking back we realize that God's timing has always been the best, and if we had given in and borrowed along the way we would almost certainly not be where we are now. God directed us through some large decisions, like the adoptions and purchase of property, by providing in His way and His timing, and His alone. Several examples come immediately to mind of instances where giving in to pressure and borrowing would have caused us absolute disaster later. If we would have pushed ahead and done our own thing, who knows what regrets and repercussions we would still be experiencing; who knows how drastically different our lives would be now. We are so blessed! 

Just some food for thought. ☺ I'd enjoy hearing others' experiences or thoughts on the issue. 

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights."   - Psalm 36:7-8

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."  -Psalm 37

The Foolishness of God is Wiser than men; The Weakness of God is Stronger than men

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: 

That no flesh should glory in His presence. 

But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.    

-I Cor. 1: 27-31

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. -vs. 26

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?
I'm needing a 'yes' and a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled  to God, "So I'm waiting for what?"
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want --- but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not know the job of resting in ME
when darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love
As peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I gave when you walk without sight
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
So be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late.
My most precious answer of all is still, WAIT."

-Unknown

Not Part, but ALL

A friend recently sent me this beautiful quote in a note for my 21st birthday:

Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our Life.  
He does not want us to work for Him; He wants to do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with.

- Charles Trumball


 Jesus Christ doesn't want half or 3/4 of us, He wants ALL of us! We must forsake all and follow Him; He wants to be our life. Not just part of our life. We must abide in Him, and Him in us.

"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you... As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments ye shall abide in my love...This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." 
 John 15:7,9,10,12

"...He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law...Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 
Romans 13:8&10 

"These things have I spoken unto you, that My JOY might remain in you, and that your JOY might be full (to make replete...to cram, level up, furnish, satisfy...)" 
  John 15:11  

FEAR- The Subtle yet Powerful Enemy

This is a followup of sorts to my last post; those fears; let's tackle them once. They're powerful aren't they? How many things have I not done that I should have because of fear? How many times have I disobeyed the Holy Spirit because of fear? Not stepped out of my comfort zone to love somebody because of fear? Lost my joy and peace because of fear? Not heard from the Lord because of fear (even fear that I can't or won't hear correctly)?

It's so subtle. It's bondage. It's just pure bondage! How many regrets do I want in my life because of letting myself be controlled, even if only a small bit, by any kind of fear or anxiety? I want no part of it in my life.

Cry out to the Lord; He will hear, and answer; thru His grace He showed me that I must renounce each of my fears, one at a time, by name (some deep down and hidden) in the Name and thru the blood of Jesus. I am a child of the King! Those fears have no place in my heart, in my life. I am free thru His Blood and His Grace! This does not mean everything's gonna be easy-peasy; it's a battle! This Giant of Fear must be combated every day!  

Key verses that the Lord has given me:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and of power and of a sound mind."

"Perfect love casts out fear."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

"Let the peace of God rule in your heart."

I am not inferior. YOU are not inferior!

I am free from the law of sin and death. "Neither do I condemn thee" says Jesus; "Go and sin no more."  "Follow Me."

No fear. 

Are You Dissatisfied With Your Life?

Are you dissatisfied with your walk with Jesus?

Do you sometimes feel dead and empty inside?

Do you sometimes wonder what in the world God's purpose is for you? For your life? For right now?

Do you struggle with fear? Fear of people. Fear of failure. Fear of not doing the right thing. Fear of judgement. Fear of condemnation. Fear of- well, you search your heart and fill in the blank.

Does your heart cry out for reality?

Dear Jesus please, I want to always stay warm and soft, tender-hearted and pliable, never blocking feelings, never deadening myself to pain so I don't feel it, never blocking joy and love because it's too scary to let myself open up that much. I want to always be sensitive to the still, small voice of my Lord, the Holy Spirit inside of me. To truly walk in the Spirit. To not be ashamed or scared to truly feel. To truly grieve; to truly love and care.

We don't need more normal, caramelized (where did that word come from!?), fake-ified, lukewarm people; we need- the Lord needs- REAL people that are completely surrendered to His Spirit, filled with His Spirit, and are not afraid, not desensitized, not ashamed. Bold. Not perfect people, no siree; but all-the-way people, sold out to Jesus, loving Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength to the best of their ability. Loving people with complete abandon, with the heart of Jesus. Holding nothing back. Jesus' pure, unadulterated, unquenchable, abundant life and light piercing and pouring into the lives of others, impacting, making a difference.

It's not unreachable. It's not impossible. It's not!!

Mediocrity and Abundance?

Excerpt from the book "Kisses from Katie," Chapter 8, pg. 100-101:   

“You are to find me in the least of these.” Yes.

“You are to leave your earthly possessions and come follow me.” Yes.

 “You are to love and serve the Lord God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Yes.

“You are to go and make disciples of all nations.” Yes.

“You are to entertain strangers and lepers and tax collectors.” Yes.

“You are to show mercy.” Yes.

“You are to live a life of mediocrity and abundance, holding on tight to your comfortable lifestyle, lest you lose it.” No. 

I don’t think so. “Mediocrity and abundance” aren’t there. However, mediocrity and abundance, comfort and ease, do seem to be safe choices for many people, myself included. In stark contrast, leaving our possessions, following Jesus when we don’t have a well-defined plan, and entertaining strangers ---well, that does sound a little scary. But what if, just beyond that risk, just beyond the fear is a life better than anything we have ever imagined: life to the fullest.

A Greek Word Study- Expecting Confidence; Freedom to be a Slave in Love

Galatians 5:5 & 13

"For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."

Wait for: To expect fully.

Hope:  (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation or confidence.

Righteousness: Equity (of character or act);  justification. 

Faith:  Persuasion, i.e. credence; mor. conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation; constancy in such profession; the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.

This verse stood out to me this morning. In my day to day life, am I expecting the confidence that comes thru justification by my faith/reliance on Jesus?  I'm still trying to grasp what all this verse is saying and how it applies. What could be another way to express this verse? If you have thoughts, feel free to comment.  

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."

Liberty: Freedom 

Flesh: Flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred) or (by impl.) human nature (with it's frailties [phys. or mor.] and passions), or (spec.) a human being (as such).

Serve: To be a slave to (lit. or fig., invol. or vol.).

This is so, so good. Literally be a slave to one another in love. This is convicting. How many of us actually do this?

And then the finishing touch:

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Gal. 5:14

JOY

JOY comes not from getting what you want in life; 

JOY comes from being loved unconditionally and being in accordance with the will of the One Who loves you. 

Split the Ears with Sound- Shout for Joy! Reflections on Psalm 66

I love the tradition of reading the "Psalms of the day." It's a system that enables one to read through the whole book of Psalms in a one-month period. I don't always do such a good job of reading all my Psalms for the day; sometimes I read only several, only one, or none at all. 

The Psalms for today were 6, 36, 66, 96 and 126 (see a pattern there?). I only got in 6, 26 and 66 this morning; 66 was so good I thought I'd share some of it here, along with literal Hebrew translations for a few key words (anyone else love looking up key words in the original Hebrew and Greek?). :)

Psalm 66  

(omitting verses 3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, & 17) 

 

1. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 
 Hebrew: To split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy).  (Wow!!)

2. Sing forth the honor of His name: make His praise (Hebr."a hymn") glorious. 
 Hebrew: ...to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, i.e. play upon it; to make music, accompanied by the voice; hence to celebrate in song and music.  (Woohoo! Love it!)

4. All the earth shall worship Thee, and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy name. Selah.

5. Come and see the works of God: He is terrible in His doing toward the children of men.

6. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in Him.

7. He ruleth by His power forever; His eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
 Hebrew: A foreign nation...also (fig.) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts.

8. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of His praise to be heard:
 Hebrew: to kneel; ...to bless God (as an act of adoration)...
(Interesting note- the Hebrew word for "Bless" is "Barak.") :-o

9. Which holdeth (Hebr."to put") our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
 Hebrew: a breathing creature, i.e...vitality...
 Hebrew: alive...fresh (plant, water, year), strong;...
So basically, the Lord puts our breath, or our vitality, in strength and freshness. (?) Or keeps our vitality strong and alive.

12. ...we went through fire and through water: but Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (Hebr. "moist") place.
 
16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul. 
 Hebrew: to score with a mark as a tally or record, i.e. to inscribe, and also to enumerate;...to recount, i.e. celebrate. 

18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
 Hebrew: to pant (hence to exert oneself, usually in vain; to come to naught); strictly nothingness; also trouble, vanity, wickedness; spec. an idol.

19. But verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
 
20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.

 
Wow. There is sooo much there- I feel like I'm only scratching the surface. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out!" Rom. 11:33

The beginning and the end are my favorite places. Tell me what stood out to you the most. What inspired or blessed you? What especially intrigued you? Convicted you? "Wowed" you? Humbled you? Invigorated you? Made an impression?

Live in the Moment- Recognize God's Greatest Blessings

Two important things that a friend challenged me to aspire toward:

- Always live in the moment; live to the fullest in whatever situation I find myself in, and don't be wishing I was somewhere else or thinking about something else- live to the fullest the moment that God has given me, in the place where He's put me right now.

-Don't just try to "make it through" something difficult and come out alive on the other side- don't only think, "God has a plan for this and down the road I'll look back and see that this was the best way;"  don't be discouraged and in despair about the process; rather, embrace it as the Lord trying to teach me and "grow" me- as the painful process itself being the blessing! Not just enduring till the purpose is accomplished but realizing that God has a plan for the whole thing, including every minor detail, and this is kind of my "college;" I need to get as much out of it as I possibly can, learn and grow however He intends for me to! Not just "get thru it." I'll be totally missing out on some of God's greatest blessings. From the outside, to some my situation may look terrible or wrong somehow, but the beauty of it is, God takes the badest, wrongest, hardest most painful parts and turns them into the very best of all, the greatest blessings!