Fountains of Life

Law and Order

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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

Questions

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  • How do I remain at rest in God’s love when I can’t feel it nor sense it? 
  • What do I do when I’m afraid — is He even there?
  • How do I keep my faith and trust in God when things don’t seem to be going my way?

Fortunately, we have the Word of God to use as an anchor and grounding device when these types of questions come up. The Bible is unequivocally,  undeniably, and undoubtedly, absolute truth. It is a plumb line we can always use to measure everything else. 

So with this certainty established, let’s look at some of these questions.

The Word tells me God loves me no matter what. That there’s nothing I can do or say (or not do or not say) that would make Him stop loving me. (Rom. 8:38,39) It’s not about what we can or cannot feel, it’s simply an unchangeable fact. Just as I am my father’s daughter, nothing can ever change that; he was part of my conception. Even in death (my father’s) I’m still his daughter. So no matter what the circumstance or situation, nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

Psalm 56 is a great chapter about fear and trust. The psalmist brings out many fears he’s feeling and how God so sees all the tears we shed He puts them in a bottle. (vs.8) Father is very aware of what we’re going through and wants to comfort us in the midst of these fears.

Hebrews 13:5 reminds us that He will never leave us or forsake us. And look at the context before that: 

“Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.”

I can be content. I don’t have to worry about anything — not about money, food, my job, my kids, nothing. (Luke 12:27-31) Not that money is going to fall from the sky or a job is going to magically appear for me if I
choose to not look for one, but it’s a matter of me doing what I know to do in the natural, and trust Him for guidance and direction. Father God will take care of me. This is true because the Word says so, not because I feel like He will, but because the Word is Truth. Emotions change and can lie; His Word cannot. 

And when things aren’t going my way? Father’s love is still there. I have to choose to not lean on my own understanding (Prov. 3:5) but believe and trust in His care. It’s a choice. He hasn’t forgotten about me. In fact, the Word says He’s graven (carved) us on the palms of His hands. (Isa. 49:16) I’m that close to Him at all times.

David, the Psalmist, was very close to God, and I think one of the reasons why was because he asked a lot of these same questions. He expressed his fears and doubts to the Lord, being totally honest and straightforward with Him. And in the Word we can see where God answered him and comforted him. This vulnerability brought him closer to the Lord. 

This is the same relationship that Father God wants with us. So go ahead and ask Him whatever questions you have. Express all your worries and concerns. Then get in the Word. Maybe use a Bible promise book to help. Take some time to be in the Scriptures and let them ground you and be a foundation in times of instability. (Matt.7:24) Lord knows we all have doubts, frustrations, and questions throughout life, so it’s comforting to be established in His unchanging Word. 

Feeling Forgotten

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Ah, that smell of rain in the distance and the sight of cumulonimbus clouds building in the sky. But such a tease as all of it stays miles away from my house, never to release one single drop of precipitation near me.

Once again I watch other parts of town get rain while we continue to go days without any! I try watering my plants every day but the poor things are dying in all this summer heat! Summers in Florida are so fickle. It’s either lots of rain or none, depending on where you live. Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten all about my plants.

And sometimes it feels like He’s forgotten all about me too. I notice good things happening to others, yet not to me. “Rain” is pouring on some people yet I haven’t felt a drop in days. I’m drying out, dying — just like my plants. Why, God? What happened? 

In these times we’re living in, I’m finding that I want to judge quickly, compare myself to others, and use my mouth to speak my thoughts and opinions to whomever will listen. However, I don’t think any of those are fruits of the spirit. I know God’s not mad at me and hasn’t stopped loving me, but it could explain some of these feelings — I’m looking at everyone else but me to be the problem. He’s waiting.

He’s waiting because my focus has been on all this external stuff around me. He’s waiting because I’m looking at all the negatives and “lacks” that I perceive I’m having. He’s waiting because He loves me so much He lets me rant and rave all I want until I’m so desperately missing that still small Voice in my life that I’ll shut up and take a good look at myself. And repent. 

Rain will always be falling somewhere. In fact, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. (Matt.5:45) It’s not a question of whether God loves me or not, He does and always will. It’s a matter of the condition of my own heart. Am I jealous? Envious? Proud? Self-righteous? 

I can tell a lot about my heart by how I respond to where the rain is falling.

Usually the problem isn’t about the things that happen or don’t happen, it’s about how I respond to them. I can’t always change or control what’s going on around me, but I can adjust my heart and how I react to those things. I can choose to be angry, bitter, and upset, or I can choose to be thankful, grateful and positive. As much as I want to put blame on someone or something else, it really is my choice. 

Deut. 30:19 — This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

Here’s the choice: life and death, blessings and curses. Every day we have choices to make — to hear and believe what’s in the media, or read and believe the Word of God. I try my best to not watch much news because it keeps me from having to repent too much, as my heart is easily moved by emotional stories (and I start judging). 

I’ve been trying to count my “blessing stories” at the end of the day — those good and positive things that have happened to me throughout the day. Some of you may keep a gratitude journal in a book or app (and there are many!), but whatever you do, I highly recommend some sort of means which can help you make wise choices. I personally need the help.

When I feel like I’m forgotten by God and I see the rain on everyone else but me, I first express what’s in my heart to God (thank you David for your examples in the Psalms!) and then I make a choice to find something true, honest, just, pure, etc. (Phil. 4:8) to focus on. Gratefulness and thanksgiving keep me at peace while I’m waiting for it to rain on me. 

 

—By Cyndi

 

An Afternoon Thunderstorm

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By Cyndi

Good ol’ Florida. Once again we’re getting pounded by a summer afternoon thunderstorm. The sky darkens all around, the rumbles roll in stereo through the air, and rain gets fiercely dumped onto the already waterlogged lawns. Cracks of lightening shudder the house at times while my cat anxiously hides in a chair trying to sleep.

Listening to the downpour outside, God gently reminds me that this will all be over soon. You see, usually within thirty minutes or less this storm line will pass over us. The thunder will fade into the distance, the rain will slack off, then the sun will come back out from behind the clouds and cause a layer of steam to rise from the roads. This is the normal, seasonal pattern of summer afternoons in Florida. Storms come and they go.

Such is the pattern of life also: storms come and they go. They darken our lives, wreck havoc on our emotions, and sometimes actually cause real damage — but they eventually pass.

On the Bible Study Tools website I did a search for “and it came to pass” and it came up with 446 results. Wow! I think we can soundly say that nothing stays the same. And this world-wide storm we’re all in right now will eventually pass. Obviously not as quickly as an afternoon thundershower, but sooner or later it, too, will pass and be gone.

So what do we do while we’re waiting for it to pass?

One of my favorite words that David used to describe God in the Psalms was “fortress.” Here are a few examples:

    • Ps. 91:2—I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him will I trust.
    • Ps.144:2—My goodness, and my fortress: my hight tower and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I trust.
    • Ps. 31:3—For thou art my rock and my fortress: therefore for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me.

A fortress is a place of “exceptional security.” We can hide in His love and rest knowing He will guide and direct us, keep us safe, and give us peace in the midst of whatever storms come our way. Whether it’s a medical, physical, emotional, or spiritual attack, He’s our stronghold, our high tower. 

Again God reminded me that just like I can sit in my own home with a raging bombardment of lightening and thundering all around me — even knocking out my “power” at times — I can reside totally unharmed and untouched by this disturbance. My fortress (my abode, the place where I live) keeps me safe and dry during it all. (Jn.15:7; 1Jn.4:16)

So, my dear reader, take refuge in our Fortress as these storms pass us by. Build walls of scriptures around you, encompass yourself with bricks of worship, and soak your atmosphere with His presence. Remove any fiery darts of media that try to attack your mind and instead rest and trust in our faithful Father. Abide in Him. There is no storm that will ever be able to tear down our High Tower. The deluge will come and go, but He will always stand strong.

___________

(Here’s a great song by Hillsong to keep in your heart during this time.)

Tension and Release

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By Cyndi

I love playing music, it brings me such joy. Especially playing in a group, where each person brings their own creativity into the mix. For me, one of the coolest things about music is its emotionality — the ability to swell with emotions, rising and falling.

This “emotionalism” (I will call it) is really just building tension musically and releasing it. Every type of music has it. From Aerosmith’s Dream On with Steven Tyler screaming those words over and over intensifying until finally hitting the chorus, to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony’s intro with “Da-Da-Da-Daaaa/ Da-Da-Da-Daaaa,” you can feel the tension grow then mellow out. Even the hymn, Amazing Grace, has a wonderful marriage of words-to-melody in this mounting up/relaxing down with the phrasing: “I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see” — a delicate lifting, then gently settling down. This development of tension and release is one of the keys to good music.

And it’s also a key with life. There are times in our life where things are tensing up — stress, maybe fears, those things that get our adrenaline pumping up — which can be exciting, with a period of rising, amping up.  But it eventually we must let loose of all that tension and return to a time of peace and stability. (Ps. 46:10)

During our worship band rehearsal the other night this concept was pointed out by our sound man. Sometimes we have a propensity to “overplay,” or play as loud and strong as you can. We were excited. It was a great song and we were so spiritually heightened we just wanted to slam it with all our hearts! This exemplifies staying on the building/tension side of the swell the whole time; climbing up and up the mountain but never reaching the summit. Pushing hard. That’s not really very musical, nor sustainable. And that’s not life either. 

Life cannot stay intense and full-bore all the time. If we do, we’ll probably have high blood pressure or a heart attack. Times of rest and relaxation are much needed to balance things out. (Matt. 11:28, 29) We eventually have to round the summit of the mountain and come back down the other side. Weekends with family, vacations, or simply quiet times help us keep the “music” of our lives enjoyable. There’s work and there’s play. Both are necessary.

I believe if we think of our lives like a song it could help us. There are verses, choruses, and bridges (which are neither the verse nor chorus but add a little something extra just because!). Each section has its timing, its part and purpose in the whole song. Sometimes there’s a rising, other times there’s a releasing. 

So as the music of our lives play, I hope we can intensify when we need to — press in and “build,” — yet also surrender and refrain when it’s time to do that too. Personally, I want to play invigorating yet sweet encouraging music with my Heavenly Father — the kind that others would want to listen to and enjoy. (Eph. 5:19) Let the music play.