Power in Weakness

- dannalundstrom



Be friendly with your weakness today.  Evaluate it, ponder on it and search for its power.  Rest in the promise of 2 Corinthians 12:9~ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Father, please give us the discernment to recognize our weaknesses.  Likewise, clothe us with your grace that we may see the beauty and not the burden of our imperfections.  Teach us to draw your strength from flawed places within us, Father.  In all our brokenness, remind us to search for your purpose.  Where there are no answers, God, may we rest in an unwavering faith that says although I don’t understand this or that; I understand You.  Understanding is the ancestor of rest and trust.  May we rest and trust in You today and all days.  Amen.

It is About Relationship not Religion

- dannalundstrom

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A religion is defined by rules, a relationship by righteousness. Religion focuses on practices; a relationship focuses on purpose. A religion nurtures obligations; a relationship nourishes obedience. Guidelines are the foundations of religion. Grace is the foundation of a relationship. Religion is typically acquired from childhood; relationships tend to be acquiesced from crisis. It was when I met pain that I lost the details of a religion and gained the depth of a relationship. That made all the difference!
1 John 5:20~ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

Prayer For the End of a Weary Week

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

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Father, sometimes the end of a week meets me worn.  Your gentle Spirit woke me at 3:30 this morning as you sometimes do. Wide awake and atypically alert, I asked because I knew you had a message for me.  That message was; my battles belong to the Lord.  How easily in my flawed self-reliance I forget to release those battles from my modest hands into your masterful ones.  Remind me God that it is not my capabilities, but yours, that determine outcomes.  As the battles are yours, so are the victories and the seeming defeats.  Sometimes in my myopic vision I feel conquered.  Gift me with remembrance that I am never overcome when I allow you to battle on my behalf.  In all the strife I face, that my friends face, give us the grace to resist self-security and rest in Savior sufficiency.  Too often in my urgency to resolve I engage from a stance of me against Goliath.  I am more than ill-equipped God.  Give me an unshakeable confidence in you that enables me to lay down my weary weapons and surrender my battles to you.  Amen

The Sweetest Fruit

- dannalundstrom

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When I was a child, we had a ditch that ran alongside and behind our property. It was a ditch, but from the perspective of my childhood imagination it was a rocky, dangerous ravine. The ditch, formidable as it was or was not, did have some steep, slippery spots. I would often fall and slide into the murky, water that sometimes housed water moccasins. Snakes terrified me, so I was hesitant to be too adventurous.

In the summertime, berries would grow on vines along that ditch. I distinctly remember that the biggest, most shiny and sweetest berries were in the most challenging spots to maneuver. I was a fearful child, so I didn’t venture to those places often, but when I did; oh to taste such sweet fruit! It could not compare to the berries growing in the flatter, less intimidating topography. Although I can remember being very afraid to pursue those berries, I knew the reward that was waiting for me, so I would muster the courage from time to time. I can still hear how loud my heart would beat. I can feel how fast it would race as if it would break out of my chest. My breathing would be fast and heavy, and I would be sweating but I would risk it all because I had experienced, and come to know the superior taste of the sweeter berries.

Life is a lot like the scary parts of that ditch, and the fruit experienced at its most precarious locations. We sometimes find ourselves in places where we risk falling, getting scraped and cut, and often that does happen. Life has a way of cutting us up, but God has a way of carving us from our slips and falls.

As I look back now, the sweetest and most nourishing fruit has been acquired in the most treacherous places. Sure, life is good when I am living on level land, but oh to taste the fruit of growth that only happens when we are in the ravenous ravines. It is here where we gain the sweetest rewards. Unlike capturing the berries, we may not immediately taste the sweetness of life’s valleys.

As I came to know the nature of those dangerous berries by taste, though, so I have come to know the character of God also through experience. If we are looking for God not just in the safe places but in the scary ones, too; if we know His faithfulness, we have confidence what joy awaits us. Experiencing God is what gives us the endurance and the strength to persevere through all the ditches we fall into throughout life. Also, knowing Him gives us the courage to get up and keep pursuing life, not from a position of safety but surrender. God enables us to walk victoriously through life’s intimidating places. Psalm 18:33 promises us this: He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

The fruit found in our most perilous places yields the greatest growth and the sweetest victories. If you are walking a rocky road right now, be encouraged. Dirt roads are paved with fertile soil.

Still Standing

- dannalundstrom

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I have to be honest; I rarely go to the book of Revelation, and especially for comfort. In my discomfort from all the recent pictures and endless essays of the 21 men in orange jumpsuits, however, one verse keeps beckoning in my head. It is Revelation 5:6, which says: Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. Please note, the lamb looked as if had been slaughtered, BUT IT WAS STILL STANDING.

In the end friends, no matter what evil persons, disease or tragedy perpetrates our life, as Christ followers, in eternity we will still be standing! That comforts me and makes the heavy vices around my heart a little lighter today.

Which One Will You Choose

- dannalundstrom

 

The world says be successful.  God says be still.

The world subsidizes an exhausting race.  God supplies eternal rest.

The world says climb up the ladder.  God says climb under my yoke.

The evil in our world produces panic.  God promises peace.

The world shames us with standards.  God shelters us with sufficiency.

Through the world, we seek approval.  Through God, we are shielded by acceptance.

The world whines we are entitled.  God whispers He is enough.

In this world, we will experience pain.  It is only through God that our pain will encounter purpose.

In this life, there will always be laughter, and there will always be tears.  We will struggle through hours of hardship and savor times of triumph.  In the end, all that matters is, did we choose the lies of the world or the love of God.

May we never forget, God created the world.   We must never let the world create God.

The Real Number One

- dannalundstrom

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From the time, we take our first breath in this, world the number game starts. Numbers rule our world and define our worth.
From the beginning, it’s about weight, length, and head circumference. Are there ten fingers and ten toes? From then on every doctor visit hinges on numbers, height, weight and where you fall on the growth chart.

Then there is pre-school and elementary school. How high a child can count and who can add and subtract first. Moms and dad are racing to get their little ones ahead. Numbers begin to label children as smart or struggling.

Then, God help us all, middle school and high school starts, and everything is about a number. What you earn is what you are worth, or so the perception reigns. Soon it comes time for ACTs. A mere number becomes the fate on which most college options hinge.

When entering the workforce look out for those numbers. There are quotas, sales values, highest earners and so on; all surmised by numbers. Numbers judge who is the most valuable.

While numbers calculate workability on a given day or at a particular moment; they DO NOT quantify your worth. It should not be solely the quantity of our work that defines us but the quality of our hearts. Numbers are very inadequate judges of anything more than a mere instance in time. Numbers cannot measure one’s struggles. Numbers cannot measure one’s scars. They cannot measure the obstacles overcome. Humor and humility, kindness and compassion cannot be quantified. Determination and dedication are desirable qualities, not determined quantities.

Numbers have too much power in our world. They determine our earthly standing, but not our eternal security. There is no score book when we leave this life. No grade book. There are no bank accounts or plaques indicating top sales persons. There is only one number in Heaven- One Father, One Son, one you and one me.

Our judgment will not hinge on GPA’s, ACT’s, honors, trophies, income, productivity… None of those things come with us. They all turn to dust. (Matthew 6:19) We have no resume when we leave this life. All we have is the portfolio of our heart.

Jesus did not concern himself with numbers. He crossed the sea to save ONE demon possessed man. One man. (Mark 5) Jesus never asked anyone what is your IQ? What was your ACT score? He never asked anyone if they made their quota for the month. Jesus was only interested in matters of the heart; something numbers cannot quantify.

Don’t misunderstand me, hard work should be valued and rewarded. It, however, should not be the most valued standard by which society operates. Our righteousness was secured by Jesus’ great sacrifice not our performance. We have become a performance driven society; elevating those who are winning the race, and crushing those who fall short of keeping up.

It saddens me that we place so much emphasis on numbers because in the end only one number counts-one. One heart. In the end, we will not be quantified by our flourishing performance or worth, but by our fruit.

In the end will it be more critical that one-one you and one me-quantified as smart and efficient or qualified as surrendered and effective? If we focused more on the latter and not the first, I cannot help but wonder how much lighter life would be.

Numbers generate labels.  Like the great children’s book, You Are Special, by Max Lucado, reminds us; labels are not permanent. They tend to fall off over time. Labels only stick if we let them! What we need to know and never forget is that while numbers may be indicators they are not dictators.

Fear Versus Faith

- dannalundstrom 2 Comments

My daughter and I have a tradition every morning during our commute to school.   She picks a Bible verse to read to me, and we discuss what it means and how we may apply it to our lives.   It has become a very special time for both of us.   It is my favorite time of the day!

Two days ago she read me Romans 12:2.   I loved that she picked that verse.   Our discussion was rich and applicable to our lives on many fronts.   It was a treasured discussion that I won’t soon forget!

The beauty of God’s word is how it imprints our hearts and ministers to us in our times of need. Yesterday was the perfect example.   I had a fearful day. I was thankful when I awoke at 3 AM this morning to have Romans 12:2 and many other appropriate verses that immediately became my defense against the enemies of the night such as anxiety and worry.

It is funny because the day before my daughter read Romans 12:2, I had listened to a sermon by Tim Keller on Romans 12:1.   Romans 12:1 says: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.   Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable.   This is truly the way to worship him.

In the old testament, sacrifices were made in the form of animals.   We thankfully do not practice that style of sacrifice anymore.   Alternatively, we are the sacrifices we present to God each day.   It is an ongoing process of presenting our will, our desires and our needs to God and relinquishing our hands from them.   In his sermon, Keller humorously noted that the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.   He makes a great point!    In all seriousness, though, we are to be constant living sacrifices, and that takes intention, effort, determination, and time.   It is a marathon and not a sprint.

The truth is, whether we are running life as a marathon, renewing and committing ourselves to God daily or running as a sprint under our authority and sufficiency; both are challenging.   What the first gives us that the latter does not are promises of hope and joy.   It equips us with an ability to fall in all the pot holes along the race, only to rise, dust ourselves off and keep running.   The circumstances and conditions of our race do not define us, but they depict the character of a living God who lives inside us.   I would much rather be eternally equipped for the marathon of life, than dependent on myself or someone other than Jesus, to run this race with me.

When I fail to present myself coonsistently to God, renewing my mind daily, life gets messier than usual.

Fear is born of the world. It constantly lurks around vying for my attention.   It is an invisible assailant focused on extinguishing faith.   This is what fear looks like for me when I am not vigilant about soul maintenance:
F–fragile
E–emotional
A–alone
R–reactive

Alternatively, faith is not nurtured by the things of this temporary life, but an eternal one. Faith is a wiser choice, but it requires a constant renewing of my mind. Faith, while never perfectly mastered leads me closer to where I desire to be:
F–free
A–anchored
I–insulated
T–together
H–hopeful

Romans 12:2~Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

May we all run this race with joy and perseverance friends!   It is not efficient, but highly effective.   It is not for the weak but the wise.   It is not a promise of a perfect life but a purposeful one.   It is a promise of a perfect eternity.   That is good news!

Free to Be Inadequate

- dannalundstrom

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I do not just want to read my Bible.   I want to reap my Bible.   I do not just want to go to church.   I want to be the church.   I do not just want to explore my Bible.   I want to encounter God in my Bible.   I do not want to just understand truth.   I want to stand under truth.   I am not adequate because I read my Bible, encounter God or stand under truth.   I am free to be inadequate because I know the gospel.   Thank you Jesus for completing me.