Fountains of Life

Heart Blockages

by

This week I went with my mom to her cardiologist. She’s in the process of getting tested to see if she has A-fib or not. Apparently your heart pumping too slow is just as bad as your heart going too fast, for when it’s too slow, it allows the blood to pool up — stagnate — and cause a clot to form. Of course, we know this could possibly produce a heart attack or stroke, which is why my mom’s doctor is checking it out. Heart blockages are not a good thing.

As I sat in the doctor’s office looking at all the posters about clogged arteries and such, I was reminded of something I’d read earlier this week by Laurence Freeman about sin. He says, “…if we see that sin is something that blocks us rather than being the breaking of a rule …. then we begin to see that God doesn’t punish us.” It’s not about the anger of the Lord falling upon us sinful people, it’s about a blockage keeping us from having a continuous relationship with Him.

What a wonderful analogy right before my eyes in this sterile room!

Sin stops the flow of life between us and God — it pools up like blood in an artery, makes a clot and gets in the way of us communicating back and forth with our Abba Father. It has nothing to do with any punishment from Him, for He is Love. (1Jn. 4:8) He’s not about trying to find fault with us, penalize us, or cause pain because of something we said or did. Now sometimes we may suffer the consequences of our own actions, but that’s simply the principle of sowing and reaping being played out. As Laurence Freeman also states, “Sin contains its own punishment.“

We merely create a heart blockage when we sin. Our hearts aren’t open and free to hear the Holy Spirit clearly and — as I’ve had some blockages of my own this week — we tend to not walk in the fruits of the Spirit much either. (Yes, my behavior in traffic situations this week have produced some rotten fruit out of me!) But…BUT…the good news is there’s an easy fix. An easy remedy!

Repentance clears out all the clotting! It’s quicker than any outpatient procedure and works better than a pacemaker! Repent and forgive. Blood will flow freely from our heart through our arteries when there are no blockages. So goes it with our relationship with God. (And yes, my friend, I did humbly repent!)

Hear me, dear reader, it’s not about punishment. It’s not about His love being withheld from you. He’s promised there’s nothing that could EVER possibly separate us from His love! (Rom. 8:38,39) (Yes, I was kind of shouting there!) 

His life — His blood — is in us. May we fervently choose to remove any blockages hindering that precious flow in order to live as a living, breathing example of His heart of love on this earth.

Better Than Normal

by

There’s something about the phrase “new normal” I just don’t like. I’m not sure why, but I just don’t. Maybe it’s because I’m not willing to accept things as they are now as “normal” or what. Personally I want something better — something better than normal.

When I think of “normal” I think of consistent, regular, common, routine, usual stuff — nothing un-usual. Yet, when I read about Jesus, He wasn’t exactly what we could classify as normal. He multiplied fishes and loaves to feed thousands with only a prayer; he healed all kinds of diseases in all kinds of people by all kinds of different ways; he had extraordinary wisdom to confound the
learned religious leaders, and even called for a dead man wrapped in grave clothes to walk out of his tomb! That’s not exactly what I think of as “normal” or “usual!”

However…I’d like to.

I’d like to think that we, as the church representing Jesus here on earth, could be regularly working these same miracles. I’d like to believe that we, endued with the same Spirit as Jesus, could walk in the same power and authority as He did. (Rom. 8:11)  I’d like to see us, the church, become better in the coming days than in our old normal way of life.

Maybe we’ve been brought to this place so we won’t go back to our normal way of life. As it was in the case of 9/11, the world has changed because of Covid -19 and it’s for sure things aren’t the same as they were anymore. 

Yet, there is part of me that wants to get complacent again. I liked my routines. I liked things the way they were. I was comfortable. It’s much easier to live in what I know than to change and move into something I don’t know. The unknown can be scary. But God’s been nudging me to “move forward” and I’ve been dragging my feet. 

He’s calling me to get out of the boat; you know — to walk upon the water, take risks. People are hurting. People are afraid. People are anxious, depressed, and insecure. They need Jesus. They need the Jesus in me. (Gal. 2:20; Col.1:27)

I hear the phrase “new normal” and cringe. First because I’m rebelling against it, secondly because I feel the Lord pulling me by it. I really do want something better than normal. I want the church to be living and breathing – alive – in this world! I want to be walking in the Spirit, daily, being sensitive to everyone around me, listening for Jesus’ voice and direction, moving in miracles, signs and wonders! (Heb. 2:4) Yet, I know it will require sacrifices and risks on my part.

Nevertheless, here we are. So as I step out and risk moving forward, I’m confident His love will keep me safe. (Rom. 8:31) I can’t fail in Father’s eyes.

And I believe it’s gonna get better, my friend. Much better. Better than normal. 

 

(By Cyndi)

Law and Order

by

Some think of law and order as something negative, especially these days. But there must be some sort of a system, or set of rules or regulations by which anything functions, whether it be a society, a company, or even an airport. God, Himself, is the originator of laws and order, and for a reason.

First of all, there are natural laws which keep us physically intact, such as gravity, aerodynamics, the changing of seasons or tides. (See Newton’s laws of motion.) All of us couldn’t function on this earth without the force of gravity holding us on the tierra firma. And not only the earth has laws, all the planets have an order too. They each orbit around the sun and have moons which orbit around them. It’s God’s natural laws that keep these aligned so there’s not chaos in the universe. (Literally!) Two plus two will always equal four and a right angle will always be 90 degrees. Science and mathematics are based on natural laws and order.

There are spiritual laws too, with sowing and reaping being probably the most commonly known. (Gal. 6:7; Ps. 126:5,6; 2 Cor. 9:6) This not only applies to finances but also to positive things as well as negative ones. If we think, say, and believe the best in people, we’ll receive the same in return. Generally speaking, I try to do this — believing humans will naturally tend to be kind and generous to one another. One time after having been delayed for hours at an airport, I’d lain down and slept using my backpack for a pillow. Later, after being awoken and lined up to board the flight, a guy came up and asked me if this was my laptop. I’d forgotten I’d taken it out and put it under my backpack. In a slumbered mind I’d only grabbed my bag and walked away from it not noticing. How grateful I was to that precious man who returned it to me! 

Months before this I had “sown” goodness to a lady who had unknowingly dropped her credit card walking through a different airport. I saw it happen, quickly ran to pick it up and rushed to give it back to her. She graciously thanked me. So in the case of my laptop, I believe I reaped what I had sown — in this case, kindness. 

Laws are principles. We can’t change these natural and spiritual laws even if we wanted to. You may not like or believe in gravity but if you step off the top of a building you will truly see how it functions with or without your belief in it. If you want to build a ten-story condominium, you’d better know the engineering laws to make up the plans for it or it won’t stand either.

“God is not the author of confusion (disorder or chaos), but of peace,” 1 Cor. 14:33 tells us. Law and order bring peace in our lives. They’re not meant to be restrictions on us because God wants to keep a heavy hand and control us. But they’re a structure by which we can be safe and secure in His loving arms. His laws guide us, just as traffic lights allows vehicles to flow without crashing into one another. Blessings flow from the top down (another spiritual law; Ps. 133:2) and when we stay under our Father’s care, just as a natural father protects and provides for his children, He will watch over and tend to us too. 

By Cyndi

Going Through

by

For some reason the other day, from the far reaches of my mind came an old little clapping/story we used to do in my Girl Scout days. It’s called, “Let’s Go on a Bear Hunt,” and the part that kept coming to my mind was, “Can’t go over it…can’t go under it…can’t go around it…gotta go through it.”

And as much as I want to go over, under, or around my challenges, it seems that God keeps saying repeatedly to me in this little ditty, “Let’s go through it!”

I believe we’re all “going through” something these days.

There is no doubt in my mind that God is always good, however, the situations and circumstances I’m in the midst of may not be. Yet, I know He’s working them for good. (Rom. 8:28) And here lies a key word — working. 

Paul reminds us in Phil. 2:12 to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Me? Me do the work? I thought that’s why I had a savior, so Jesus could save me from all that work! 

If we look into the Word, salvation is a free gift. (Rom. 6:23) However, sanctification, or the maturing process, takes work. A lot of it. In the first few verses of James chapter one we’re shown what it takes to mature: trials of many kinds, the testing of our faith, and perseverance. Then he tells us to count it all joy when all these things happen. 

What? I just want to go over, under, or around everything hard and somehow become mature. I don’t want to go through! (Just being honest here, dear reader.) If I want to loose weight, it’s hard to work at it. If I loose my job or need finances, I have to work to find a provision. If I’m in the middle of a divorce, or lost a loved one, or facing serious health issues, I have to deal with these issues, (though I prefer stuffing the emotions down or totally ignoring them, which is actually denial). It really is hard work to process life — to go through these things.

But we have a choice. We can choose to process our issues and play a part in our own life — which leads to growth and maturity, or just allow life to happen to us — which causes us to play the victim and have childish pity parties for ourselves.

The good news is that God is with us through everything. E-ver-y-thing!! When painful or challenging things occur, sometimes God may take us over, under, or around them. But if we have to go through them, we’re never alone. We may need counseling, we may need help from others, we may have difficult decisions to make, but we can make it through with His grace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. Daniel did. David did. The Israelites did. Mary and Joseph did. Paul did. Look at all the diverse issues these people got through. And so will you!

Is The Grass Always Greener?

by

Most of us have heard this expression countless times: “The grass is always greener on the other side,” with the meaning that the situation somewhere else always seems better than where we are. Usually it’s an assumption that a different set of circumstances — job, family, location, weight, friends, spouse — would make us happier.

There’s also a thought-provoking counter expression: “The grass is always greener where you water it.” Or another way to phrase it — “fertilize the side you’re on.”

Sometimes it’s hard to be content on our own side. The Apostle Paul encourages us in Phil. 4:11-13 that there’s a secret to living content: be strengthened by God. Having been through shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, and even a snake bite, I think he probably has a clue about this contentment thing.

As for today, during this time of pandemic, there have been more rules and regulations placed upon us than ever before. Some regions require masks to be worn at all times, some areas have curfews in effect, some situations order a quarantine when traveling from certain areas, some schools are opening while others are not. All of these conditions have brought up quite a bit of conflict and discontentment. To be honest, they have for me. That’s why Father God brought me to these words from brother Paul. 

Instead of wishing I could do “this,” or complaining because I can’t do “that,” what if I chose to water the grass I’m standing on instead of looking for greener grass? 

  • I could choose to be thankful and focus on the opportunities and privileges I do have rather than what I don’t. 
  • I could choose to be at rest and trust God for the uncertainties that lie before me, rather than be anxious and worry about the future. 

If I have the ability to change my situation, I can take action — I don’t have to play a victim. If circumstances are beyond my control, then I need to rely on God’s promises and rest in His unfailing love. He’s a good Father.  

In these verses, Paul states that he has “learned” to be content. I don’t think we’re born with contentment or else we’d see small children happy with whatever toy we give them and willing to share. No, this doesn’t usually happen. We have to learn to be satisfied with our present set of circumstances. 

Learning is a process. There are lessons. Think of life as a class you’re going through, a journey of explorations. Be involved in it, don’t just let it happen to you. 

So as much as we presume the other side has greener grass, let’s take a lesson from Paul and ask the Lord to give us strength to be content right where we are. 

We may find out it’s actually better. 

 

(By Cyndi)