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Do you like flowers?
I sure do! I love
the surprise that flowers provide - vibrant colors hidden in the midst
of all those green leaves. So
when I look through the glass doors of our dining room into our
backyard, I see a little slice of heaven.
There I find black-eyed susans, pink bleeding hearts, orange day
lilies, purple phlox and red gladiolas galore.
Oh how I enjoy taking a visual inventory of my flowerbeds!
Recently I stood at the back door and
just smiled to myself as I gazed at all the “flower power” that lay
before my eyes. But as my
eyes drifted from the tops of those beautiful flowers to the base of the
plants, my heart sank. He
was back! Earth had been pushed up and around the base of my precious
hydrangea bush and there was another large tunnel around the birdbath.
That was it! That ornery mole had come back one too many times!
Enough was enough.
I’d been trying for months to get Mr.
Mole to go away. I tried
concoctions that included red pepper, caster oil, mothballs, chewing gum
and shards of glass – you name it, I’d tried it.
But this time, Mr. Mole had pushed me too far!
So I began researching my mole problem in depth and in detail. And each time my research brought me back to the same
permanent solution to my problem – a mole trap.
Yikes, that was really permanent!
Was I really THAT tired of Mr. Mole and his shenanigans?
I didn’t hesitate for a moment - ABSOLUTELY!
By the next morning I had a brand new
mole trap and was ready to put it into action.
I slowly read through the steps written on the side of the box.
I felt empowered that I had finally taken a step towards a
permanent solution.
Do you know that it only took me one
day to catch a mole that had been making my life (flower beds and all)
miserable for months? I
couldn’t believe it! I
was thrilled and relieved at the same time.
And I’ll admit, once Mr. Mole was gone I was angry that I had
allowed myself to be held captive by that furry creature for such a long
time. I could have been
free of him so much earlier! I
thought about the process that led to his ultimate demise.
And you know what? It sounded very familiar to me.
Perhaps it will to you, too.
First of all, it seemed that I needed
to become truly sick and tired of trying the suggestions and methods
that were meant to just repel Mr. Mole.
No matter how well I had performed those remedies, Mr. Mole
always came back. Why? Because
each method was just a temporary repellant, not a permanent solution to
my problem. Secondly,
because I had become sick and tired of my recurring problem, I was now
open to considering a permanent solution to my problem.
(Sure, at first I was more interested in shooing Mr. Mole away to
someone else’s yard than I was in getting rid of him permanently.
Ugh! But as the
number of withering plants in my flowerbeds began to increase, my
“soft approach” to Mr. Mole began to fade…and fade quickly.)
So, I researched articles, books, and professional opinions and
found the permanent solution to my dilemma – a mole trap. But then came that defining moment. I needed to make a decision.
Was I going to take that final step
that could give me relief from Mr. Mole or was I going to keep second
guessing myself and let the fear of making the wrong decision keep me in
mole bondage? And that’s
when the image of a set of scales came to mind.
On one side of the scales sat fat and sassy Mr. Mole and on the
other side sat “fear”. And
you know what? Mr. Mole weighed more! So,
fear took its rightful place (out the window) and yours truly
experienced freedom from Mr. Mole!
And that’s where all of this started
sounding familiar. Believe
it or not, you and I have been through the same sort of process in our
“spiritual walk”. For
years, many of us have tried suggestions or formulas that are tightly
tethered and anchored in Law. “If
you do this, you will earn God’s love.
If you stop doing that, you will be right with God.”
And as we tried to perform these rituals on a relatively
consistent basis, we expected the payoff to be true peace and joy.
And sometimes we felt happiness and sometimes we felt good.
But it didn’t last.
So we kept the cycle going – work to
be right with God – oops – start again – work to feel good –
oops – start again – work, work, work.
Most of us worked at “it” for years and years like the
Energizer Bunny. And some
chose to quietly yell “uncle” after half a lifetime or so.
But eventually we all began to tire from working so hard for so
little. The temporary highs
didn’t compare to the lows that we felt when we failed.
It was then that many of us yelled that phrase that was eternally
paid for on our behalf, “I am finished!!!”
S-l-o-w-l-y we began to entertain
the thought, “Maybe there is something outside the box of tradition
and self-made religion.” Some
went directly to the Word of God to find out for themselves.
Others began by reading “grace” articles and books.
Many looked to those whose insight they admired and trusted.
But all ended up in the Word.
And, all came face-to-face with the permanent solution for their
dilemma – the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And just like my episode with Mr. Mole, there came a defining
moment. A decision needed
to be made.
And that’s where that set of scales
that I mentioned earlier comes in handy.
Imagine for a moment that on one side of the scales are the
truths of the Word of God. And
on the other side we see something familiar.
There sits “fear” with a capital F.
You may be asking yourself why fear is back in the picture.
Tell me - what else would keep someone from choosing not to
believe what the Word of God says?
Did you know that fear keeps millions
of people in bondage to the past, in bondage to error, in bondage to
failure and in bondage to unbelief?
That’s right. Think back to the Garden.
What motivated Adam and Eve to take Satan up on his offer?
Fear. Adam and Eve
feared that God hadn’t given them the full story.
Surely He was hiding something from them.
Satan implied that He couldn’t be trusted.
That’s right – the fear to believe was born in the Garden.
So, let me ask you this?
Which side of the scales is tipping in your life?
(Don’t be offended; of course I’m speaking spiritually!)
Is the glorious weight of the Word of God so evident that you
can’t walk away from it anymore?
Are you ready to fall face first into the “rest” of your
life? Or are the scales
tipped, entrenched and anchored in fear?
A fear that taunts, “You don’t know how to believe.”
A fear that nags, “You aren’t doing it right!”
A fear that screams, “What if the gospel really is too good to
be true?”
Well, only you can answer that
question. Perhaps you’ve
been wondering why you don’t seem to experience the joy, peace and
rest that is already yours in Christ Jesus.
If that’s the case, my friend, there’s a good chance that you
are allowing fear to keep you in bondage.
That’s right. You are allowing yourself to remain captive to something that
you were delivered from a long time ago.
Let me share a little secret with you that you may not know.
Because of what Christ has done on your behalf, you no longer
live in fear!
Hold the presses!
Did I just say that you aren’t living in fear anymore?
Has your address changed and no one told you about it?
Now don’t panic! Just
because you didn’t know that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true.
You know why? Because
the word of God has pointed it out…and pointed it out very clearly.
It’s okay - go ahead and get excited!
Believe it or not, there are loads and loads of exciting truths
to learn about the incredible gospel of Jesus Christ!
And we’re going to look at those truths together…in Part Two.
I hope you aren't angry with me
for choosing to make this a two-part teaching.
It was either divide the teaching into two parts or keep going
and going and going. Hmmmm.
Which one should I do? I
know, imagine a set of scales. On
one side is a very, very large teaching and on the other side. . .
I love you,
Marcy
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