Laced With Grace

Last weekend I was listening to Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries as she spoke in a class I was attending. She said, “Ten years ago unsaved people wanted to know if Jesus was real. Today, people want to know if Jesus works.”

This simple statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Most of you know that I am married to an unbeliever so when I heard this statement, I thought about my unsaved husband. Is he watching to see if “Jesus works?”

People want to know that Jesus changes lives. Reading this I bet you could say, I know He changes lives because I am a life that is changed. I, too, stand as a testament to my husband that Jesus Works. And I can tell you He worked in my life in a very real way over the past 30 days.

One month ago a group of readers here at Laced With Grace began an experiment. The Water drop Experiment. (Read about it here). Through earnest prayer – honest surrender and petition for change – I can say my heart, attitude, and words have experienced lasting change.

Thirty days ago I asked my husband to read the experiment. I wanted him to know about it and to help me be accountable to change my words.

Today I asked him, “Can you see (hear) a difference in my words?”

“Yes, I have noticed a big difference in you.”

JESUS WORKS!

I will be up-front and say I was skeptical at the onset of this endeavor. I have 40 plus years of negative and harsh word patterns as well as attitudes deeply imbedded in my brain. But I prayed and prayed and practiced. I read scriptures (see below). Jesus helped me to surrender the need to have the last word and the need to comment on everything. – That was a big one!

If Jesus did this for me, He will do it for you.

As we leave this experiment behind, I want to give you some power-words to keep you on track:

I am sorry
I was wrong
Please forgive me
I made a mistake
I don’t need to win
(silence)

Also:

Second chances
Forgiveness
Kindness
Surrender
Power in the blood of Christ
More of You, less of me

James 1:19 Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.

If you are struggling with harsh words like me, you are not alone. But take heart, Jesus works!

To follow are the scriptures and prayer we used during the month of our Water Drop Experiment:

(New International Version)
Proverbs 16:24 Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body!

Psalms 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Lord, I approach your throne with Jesus at my side. I have a heart which needs changing. Father, I have spoken with criticism and harshness about ________. I repent and no longer want to speak this way. Work a change in me. Let me see him/her with your eyes and love them wholeheartedly. Help me to practice speaking kind words and keep me from speaking unkind words. It is only by your strength that I can make this change. I ask you to make it a lasting change. I forever give you the honor and glory of a life changed by the love of Christ. I ask this Lord in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Please visit me at…..

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” – Joshua 3:5 NKJV

I was driving home the other day from bible study when a song playing from my iPod brought back a vivid memory that I will never forget.  The memory itself isn’t important to this post, but the person and relative timing of when this particular memory took place surely is.   Two years ago, I had a brief conversation with this person – then an acquaintance, now a close friend – which sparked a chain of events that changed the course of my life.  Never underestimate the power of suggestion.  I can’t remember the exact words she said but they included something like “You should share your story.”    I didn’t even think I had a “story” worth sharing to individuals, let alone worth sharing to groups of people with a microphone in my hand.  The funny thing is that people seem to be encouraged by it.  God does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t he? 

I wonder what biblical history would have looked like had Joshua not been bold enough to inspire the people of Israel to cross the massive overflowing Jordan river (Josh 3:15) into the promised land.  Keep in mind that this was no dribbling stream and there was no bridge present to cross over.  This was a roaring river and to cross it required a leap of faith and literal miracle of God.  I love this story.  Joshua listened to God, conveyed God’s message to the people and then took part in a miracle.

Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. (Josh 3:17 NKJV)

This was the start of something big.  A turning point in the history of the nation of Israel.  Have you ever really thought about the impact of your words on those around you?  One sentence could alter the course of another’s life forever.  That can be an exciting thought.  That’s why we must continually seek God’s direction in our lives and try to be the people He wants us to be.  We must make every moment count and be aware of opportunities to both speak for and listen to God wherever we find ourselves.   Remember, never underestimate the power of suggestion.  Live for impact.

For further thought:

1) What opportunities lie in your life where you can make a difference? 

2) How can you impact your today for tomorrow? 

3) What action will you take today to make a difference in someone else’s life?  Who has made a difference in yours?  Do they know it?  If they don’t, let them know.

I didn’t want to go. Not really. My day was already well-planned and filled with my busy. Another day would be better, but another day was not required. No, I would have to change my busy to include the agenda of the man who summoned my presence.

My daddy.

He wanted me to come and to dine with him at his weekly rotary luncheon. Instead of spending a few hours in some much needed preparation time for the evening launch of our women’s Spring Bible study, I was going share lunch with people I did not know, mulling over an agenda that was of no concern to me. I pondered the possibilities for my seemingly necessary attendance.

Perhaps my father was receiving an award of some type. Surely, there had to be more to my making this trip than a simple moment of bonding between father and daughter. I love my dad, and he rarely insists on anything in regards to my busy. So when I sensed the urgency in his voice, I acquiesced and made the hour long trip to meet him for lunch.

I championed my way through the finest fried delicacies that Carolina Barbeque offers. It was a good meal, the kind of eating that swallows sweet, but one that often lingers long and stomachs rough. I exchanged pleasantries with those at my table, all the while exchanging anxious glances with my watch. The meeting was called to order, and after a little of routine and a whole lot of boring, my father was summoned to the front.

He had given a large donation to the Rotary for a mission feeding project overseas. This is not unlike my dad. He boasts a very generous heart. It is in his nature to give; thus, I was not surprised by his humanitarian liberality. What did surprise me was when he called out my name to come to the front and to stand alongside him.

My father’s donation was given in my honor. I was, therefore, officially named as a Paul Harris Fellow, in appreciation “of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”

Are you kidding me? What have I ever done to further the friendly relations among peoples of the world? Who is Paul Harris, and why I am I now considered one of his fellows? “

Humbled by the moment, I received my recognition and quietly sat down. My busy suddenly seemed less insistent…less loud and less imperative. Bible study preparations could wait. Right now, I was going to bask in my moment.

Undoubtedly, most of those in attendance cared little about my accolades and would probably never give me another thought. No matter. What mattered to me is that my father gave me a thought. My daddy loves me and wanted me to know that I am worth…

his thoughts.
his table.
his recognition.
his medal.

Not because I deserve it, but simply because of his uncontested love for me.

There is coming a day, when we—children of the Most High God—will make that final turn toward home. Perhaps in the midst of our busy. Perhaps in the midst of our slow. It matters not our pace. What matters is that we make the trip. Not out of obligation, but rather, because our Father’s love compels us forward.

Therefore, let us find our run. Let us press on and strain hard to take hold of our forever. We are the great and constant thought of our Father. And one day soon, he will give us our moment of recognition—a time in the illuminating light of his presence, when all eyes are fixed in our direction and we hear his words of sacred commendation over our very lives.

Well done, good and faithful servant! Your service to my people has been well recorded. Come and find your place at my table. Come and receive your reward. Come and share in your Father’s fellowship for always.

That is the day that I am longing for, and so I pray…

Compel me, Father, to keep to the road of your forever. Strengthen my frame for the journey ahead. And when I am too busy to give heed to your summons, quiet my life with your uncontested love, and fill my heart with the truth of what awaits me in my tomorrow. How I look forward to sharing heaven with You. Amen.

peace for the journey~
elaine