Tag Archives: obedience

He’s in the waiting…

August 20, 2016 DrKarenC 1 Comment

Recently I realized I had been living with a false assumption. Well, more accurately, God revealed to me during my time with Him just how mistaken I had been. You see, I have always had a very clear understanding that God goes before to prepare and I have always believed that God comes behind to protect, but I was neglecting to recognize perhaps the most important aspect of relating with and walking with God. He’s also in the waiting.

In the midst of changing careers and with the future looking so uncertain, I have chosen to believe God has a plan and is preparing the way. I have always cognitively believed that to be true. It is not hard to acknowledge that an all-knowing God knows and understands more than my limited brain can. It is harder to choose into trusting God’s goodness and sovereignty in carrying out that plan. However, in the midst of this transition, I have found trusting God wholeheartedly with my future to be easier than in the past.

Similarly, I have always known and understood God comes behind me, that He “has my back”. God protects and provides and He responds to my steps of faith in Him by doing those things in ways that are often beyond what I could ever have expected or anticipated. This too was not a new concept to a lifelong Christian. A good father is protective. A good father provides. And God is a very good father, so naturally He comes behind and ensures my safety as I take courageous steps of obedience.

Here’s where the revelation came…God is not just ahead, He’s not just behind, He is also walking with me. He doesn’t just prepare the way. He doesn’t just protect after the step has been taken. He is with and alongside in the waiting. Kristene DiMarco of Bethel Music has a new song called “Take Courage”. The song hasn’t even been officially released yet (thankfully you can find a live recording on YouTube – don’t worry, I provided the link below). The lyrics to the chorus read, “Take courage my heart, stay steadfast my soul, He’s in the waiting.”

I was introduced to the song during “Unite Midwest”, an evening of prayer and worship led by teams from Bethel, including Kristene. Frankly, it had been a very long day at the end of a very long week. I didn’t even want to go to the event. I wanted to just stay at home and order pizza. But I made a promise to a kindergarten age friend that I would attend the concert and sit by her, and you do NOT break promises to six year olds! So I headed to the venue, weary and worn out. All around me, people engaged in genuine and heartfelt worship. And though I sang along, my heart and head were elsewhere. Until Kristene began to sing, “Take Courage.” At that point, my knees hit the ground and tears began to fall.

A deeper understanding of how God relates with me, with all of us, was forming in my heart. Later a friend asked why I became so emotional during that particular song. I couldn’t articulate why at the time. And that shows another wonderful truth about our God – He’s SO patient with us! Because change takes time. Growth doesn’t happen in an instance. Instead, it happens slowly overtime, requiring patience and careful observation. You must have eyes to see it and ears to hear it and a heart open to change. And so let me invite you into one of my quiet times.

I honestly don’t really like to call it a “quiet time” – it sounds so boring, like a child in timeout. And so often my “quiet time” is anything but quiet. It is simply time I set aside to spend with God. I sometimes end my “quiet time” worshiping. (It is a good thing I live alone because anyone listening would long for this time to truly be quiet – make a joyful noise, not a pretty one right!?) As I lifted my hands towards heaven, I heard God clearly, and might I add both tenderly yet firmly, say, “I’m RIGHT here. I’m right here.” And my hands dropped. And I could feel him sitting WITH me. And THAT is why I had hit my knees. THAT is why tears began to fall. Because my God is a God that walks WITH me.

Yes, God is far above. Yes, God goes before. Yes God comes behind. Yes, God is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Yes. But…

He is also EVERYTHING in between. He is WITH. He is ALONGSIDE. He is RIGHT HERE. He is in the decision. He is in the arriving. But He’s also in the waiting…

Loving and Following Jesus

Little Things Lead to Big Things

August 10, 2016 DrKarenC 1 Comment

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! ²But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

⁶Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, ⁷so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me^[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. ⁹Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.^[b] They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. ¹⁰The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. ¹²A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,¹⁵just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. ~John 10:1-16

So what does it actually take to follow the Good Shepherd? What does it take to please him? I read an interview with a shepherd who when asked what he liked about his sheep replied, “They come when I call their names. They love me. They paw at me and want my attention. They are responsive to me. They are not too afraid.” We have to trust what Jesus says in verse 10 is true – that he came to give a rich and satisfying life.

The amazing thing about our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is that he leads us in such a kind and gentle way that running when He calls our names ought to be so simple. He asks us to be obedient in small daily moments and when we take one faith-filled step after another, suddenly He’s taken us on an incredible journey we never thought possible.

My freshman year of high school, two students in our community, one just a grade ahead of me, had serious heart surgery. Both were named “Pete” and our teachers rallied the entire school to do something special for them. We began a campaign called “Pennies for Pete.” Admittedly, I was skeptical. What good can a lowly penny do? And yet, by the end of the event, over 900,000 pennies covered to gym floor – that’s 9000 dollars in pennies. And believe me, every single one counted. When you are faithful with little things, the Good Shepherd is able to make it something very big.

Christmas 2004 one of the largest tsunamis in history struck SE Asia, including the small island nation of Sri Lanka. And though I was smack dab in the middle of a rigorous doctorate program, I felt an undeniable call to go that can only be explained as the voice of The Good Shepherd. And so I found myself committing to go half way across the world for 5 weeks that summer. However, there was a significant barrier to overcome – money. I was a flat broke graduate student living on credit card debt and student loans. How could I pay the thousands and thousands of dollars the trip was going to cost?

With one obedient step after another in the form of postage stamps, I sent out letters to friends and family trying to explain the unexplainable – that I was putting grad school on hold to go to Sri Lanka simply because I felt Jesus wanted me to go. And within days, letters began to return containing donations – unbelievable amounts of donations. The donations didn’t just cover the cost of my own trip, but paid for half of a teenager who’s fundraising efforts didn’t go quite as well AND covered the cost of taking many more supplies for the local children than we thought would be possible. God takes small steps and turns them into incredible journeys.

And you are never too young or too old to be obedient in the small things. After learning of how desperately in need of clean water people in Africa are, three 5th grade students begged, badgered, and pleaded wit their mothers to allow them to do something to raise money for a well. And the moms finally relented in furnishing everything necessary for a killer lemonade stand complete with baked goods, custom crafts, and homemade bookmarks. In one morning these faithful followers of the Good Shepherd had raised 705 dollars.

Jesus simply asks us to trust where he leads and to be obedient and faithful in the small things. A kind word makes a huge difference to someone who feels defeated. A simple heartfelt prayer falls on the attentive and eager ears of a good Father who gives good gifts. And forgiving someone who has wronged you brings healing and freedom. Jesus simply asks us to be faithful in the small things and let him reveal how they will lead to incredible things. And what’s even better is that we are not accepted because we do good things, we are free to be good because we are accepted. We don’t only have a Good Shepherd, we have the BEST SHEPHERD.

Do you recognize His voice? Do trust him enough to follow His voice? Do you believe He’ll turn your small faith-filled steps and turn them into a rich and satisfying life?

events

AWWWKWARD!!!!

July 24, 2016 DrKarenC Leave a comment

I am the queen of awkward…seriously, you don’t even know. I’ve heard I’m known as “Professor Awkward” on campus. I can’t argue. I once insisted that I recognized someone at church from RPM spin class, even though this poor man repeatedly insisted that he had never been to a spin class in his life. I continued repeatedly to insist that he had been there – as if someone is going to forget going to a spin class! Trust me, when you come that close to believing you are going to die by exercise, you don’t forget! (So sorry Jesse – so glad you joined the small group despite our awkward start!) Then there was the time I was asked to take a family new to the community a meal following the birth of their first child. I was running late and so burst in the door, setting the meal on their kitchen counter while proclaiming, “Hi, I’m Karen. Cute baby. Here’s a meal. Sorry to rush but I’m late for dinner plans.” And then I left. I’m not even sure of the person’s name! WHO DOES THAT!? And why does the director of hospitality continue to ask me to interact with real life human beings! (Jenny – that’s you!) There are actually small children at church who enjoy teasing me by greeting me with the taunt of, “AWWKWARD!!!” I seriously seem to have a knack for making a perfectly normal situation extremely awkward. I just do. It’s a gift.

Well, without even trying, this moment is naturally awkward…

Maybe not Kanye interrupting T-Swift awkward.

Or Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner awkward.

It’s not “butt fumble” or “butt slide” awkward.

It’s not even Dan Quayle trying to spell potato or President Obama trying to spell respect awkward.

But it is awkward…it’s awkward that it has been over a year since MND GMZ Ministries has posted on a regular basis. So we are owning the awkward.

But I want to assure you that we have a very good reason for our absence and that we are back with new material that will be posted on a regular basis.

First, let me explain the “we”. Although I (Karen) have been the primary contributor to the website, MND GMZ Ministries has always been a “we”. And I am SO excited to introduce you to others who have been, and continue to be, an integral part of the ministry. You are going to be SO BLESSED by them! And yes, you’ll still hear from me on a very regular basis as well.

So what happened? Well, frankly, God called us away from writing for a season so we could focus on other aspects of the ministry. Which is awkward when you are primarily a speaking and WRITING ministry. Sometimes being obedient feels awkward. God calls us to do things that don’t make sense. However, being obedient is also so rewarding! And God’s way, as awkward as it may feel or seem, is always the best way! God has been so faithful to the ministry over the last year and we CANNOT WAIT to share with you all that He has revealed to us and taught us. Oh man is it going to be a fun ride!

So where are we going? Here’s a sneak peak – we are still ALL ABOUT IDENTITY. And that is not going to change anytime soon. But we are going to take our discussions around identity to the next level. You can read the first blogs on identity by clicking HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE and HERE. I told you – we’re passionate about identity in Christ! We’ve spent a great deal of time discussing where identity comes from and where it shouldn’t come from. Now we’re going to begin discussing what it means to actually live from a Christ-centered identity. And I. CAN’T. WAIT!

And as always, you and all of your peeps are invited to “join the journey”. Those of you in the Pella area can join physically by attending the Summer Series this Tuesday at 12:00 at Third Church. Check out the promo video below and if you are in the area I hope to see you there! (And if you’re not, don’t worry, it’ll be available online later next week!)

Blessings!

Karen (and the entire MND GMZ Ministries team)