America: Best Days or Worst Days?

Happy 4th of July!

If you are a God-fearing person you probably took time this morning to pray for our Nation.  I know I did.  Celebrating our freedom in 2013 has taken on a completely different meaning now from when I was a child.  Perhaps that is because I am more informed, more aware of what is going on in different arenas of our Nation and its culture; or maybe I am thinking of my grandchildren and praying for the America they are inheriting.

But before we go negative on America and what I perceive to be the dangerous direction we have taken in many areas, could we stop a minute and think...is it as bad as it's being portrayed?  Are we headed for our worst days?  Could we possibly be headed for our best days?

I realize the answer could vary according to our worldview or our personality type.  Are you an optimist or pessimist?  But beyond that, seriously - when I look at the shape of the nations of the earth in biblical times, even in the time of Christ and the apostles - is America in any worse shape than those societies?  At the time of Christ's birth, the king ordered all male babies to be murdered!  I know abortion has surpassed that in numbers of babies killed, but thank God our President has not decreed a search and kill mission against all male babies under age two!

Call me weird, but when I read the great testimonies of God's miraculous power being released throughout scripture, from Abraham to the Apostle Paul, I see cultures that were barbarian, lewd, wretched, and anti-Christ.  But God!  God always raised up a people called by His name! He always used His people to speak to the culture, to go against the stream, to uphold His righteousness!

I am so happy to celebrate freedom today on a whole different level!  Freedom in the Holy Ghost!  Whether my Nation writes laws that uphold my Christ-centered values, or whether they tear down everything I believe in, I AM PART OF THE PEOPLE CALLED BY HIS NAME!  I will continue to pray, to believe for miracles, and to snatch people out of the grip of sin and degradation!  

My effectiveness in the Kingdom of God will not be determined by the sway of the culture around me!  With the love and power of God, I plan to sway my culture.  Jesus didn't wait on the "Supreme Court" to pass laws in His favor before He began His ministry.  Our Savior didn't lead a special interest group to dethrone Pilate.  But He did change the course of humanity.  Forever.

He did it right in the middle of a perverse generation.

I say our best days are ahead!  America, America, God shed His grace on thee!

Songs of Praise...Songs of Pain

I once heard a minister comment on the life of King David by saying, “If David lived in our day he would be labeled bi-polar.”  While evoking a bit of laughter, the statement caused me to reflect deeper into the words of the Psalms.  I was taught to go to the Psalms for words of praise, affirmation, and adoration to God.  Indeed, many words and phrases common to our praise language today are taken directly from the Psalms.

In addition to providing us with a dictionary of praise terminology, the Psalms also provide extreme comfort and solace.  The sheer phrasing of Psalm 23 or Psalm 91 brings calm and assurance in the middle of stormy seasons in our lives. 

However, of late I have taken note of the not-so-often-quoted verses in these Songs; verses that reflect the writer’s pain and agony; verses that cry out to God for justice, vengeance, and vindication.  Those overlooked stanzas that flat out question, “God what are You doing?” 

Psalm 80:4, “O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will you be angry with our prayers?  You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful.” 

Same song, verse 12, “But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?”

Questions such as “How long?” and “Why, God?” are included in the Scriptures.  Oddly enough, this brings me great hope at this moment in my life, because we in the Church are subtly encouraged to suppress our questions and fears.  Either we fear God will strike us if we question Him, or we fear people will think less of us if they discover we don’t know all the answers! 

I find it uniquely refreshing that the Bible, God’s Word, the Psalms, include many verses that reflect the pain, agony, distress, turmoil, and sometimes downright doubts of the writer.  Shall we remind ourselves that we believe every word of Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit?  So, I've decided to slow down a little as I read through the Psalms.  Until now, I have been prone to speed read over the verses that reflect pain or conflict and dwell on the verses that offer praise, promise, and protection.  Why are these verses even in the Scriptures? 

I’m beginning to get a clue as to why.  These composers were not bi-polar.  They simply wrote songs about life.  And God was central to every part of their lives; the prosperous times and the lean times; the robust years and the painful years.  The writers cried out to God through it all.  Could it be that the Psalms were written not only to provide a vocabulary for praise and worship, but also a language to use in our deepest struggle, heartache, and distress?

Not convinced?  Among the last words spoken by our Lord and Savior on the cross were the prophetic words penned by David in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?”  When the Son of God chose words to express what He was going through as He took on the sin of the world, He quoted – not the comforting 23^rd Psalm – but the first sentence of Psalm 22.

I am sure volumes have been written about the Messianic prophecy of Psalm 22, but for David at the time he sang this song, it was simply the passion of his heart being poured out to his God.  If you follow these songs long enough you will see that they usually end in pure praise or even prophecy of coming blessings.  Psalm 22 ends with these declarations:  verse 27, “The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.  All the families of the nations will bow down before him.”  verse 30, “Our children will also serve him.  Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.” 

I find that progression simply amazing.  If we will be real with God, He will lead us from fear, questions, and agony into pure praise, promise, and prophecy!  Selah.

Please be encouraged, dear friend.  Join me in looking a little closer at all the 150 Songs.  Let’s continue to shout unto God, praise, laud, exalt, and adore Him with the words of the Psalms.  In addition, let the honest - even brutal - phrases of pain and agony assist us in crying out in complete honesty and openness to God, our loving heavenly Father.

My God, my God, why…? 

GREATER Patience

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming.  See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains."  James 4:7


I tithed for the first time this past Sunday.  Now, where are those open heavens?  Where are those blessings?

I went to the altar last month and forgave my ex-husband for leaving me and the kids.  I felt like a ton had been lifted from my shoulders.  I did what God's Word told me to do, so why is my ex still spreading lies about me?  And where are those godly men who should be pursuing me now?

I volunteered to clean the church last week.  So where are the people to help me with this bathroom remodel at my house?  I sowed my time to the church.  Where are my harvest of helpers when I'm in need?

My church kept promoting the weekend Encounter Retreats.  People testified that their entire lives had been changed after spending a weekend with God on the mountain.  A few months ago I took The Journey myself.  It was indeed glorious!  But now that I'm back in the routine of life, my kids are still out of control; my finances are spiraling; and those old thought patterns are creeping back!


The above statements are fictitious but could easily be actual quotes from some of our thoughts!  

I could be blunt and brutal in response.  I could ask the rhetorical question, "Aren't you glad Jesus didn't get impatient while He was dying on the cross for your sins?  Everything wasn't exactly easy for Him that day! "  Instead of waxing cynical in my response, I'll just let the Word speak for itself.

I believe we forget the laws and processes God put into motion when He made the heavens and the earth.  James reminds us that the farmer knows these laws and waits for them to work.  I love gardening and landscaping work, but learning effective gardening requires lessons in patience!  Perennials will look better in two to three years.  Some shrubs are fast-growing; others can take ten years to mature.  Gardening has been a great teaching experience for me because it has taught me to till the soil, fertilize, plant, water....and WAIT.  God's laws of "sowing and reaping" will do the rest! 

After the Great Flood, God told Noah that as long as the earth remains Seed-time and Harvest will never cease. (Genesis 8:22)  That excites me!  Anything we plant in life will produce a harvest...in time.  Our frustrations come when we forget the "time" part of the process.  Patience is not that difficult to learn once we understand God's laws.  If I keep sowing forgiveness, in time I will reap love, acceptance, and forgiveness - abundantly.  If I keep sowing my finances, in time I will reap abundant prosperity, wisdom, and understanding in financial matters.  If I keep planting  my time in God's presence, in time I will become a spiritual giant, able to lead others to healing and wholeness in Christ!

Just knowing that it shall be....helps me develop Greater Patience!  

"...People will reap what they sow...Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:7-9

Will you commit to do two things with me as we grow into Greater Patience?  First, keep doing what is right.  Keep sowing.  Your proper time is coming.  Secondly, stop complaining.  A wise person once said, "Complain and remain.  Praise and be raised!"  Come on child of God!  Get up right now and praise God for your harvest!  

Weddings and other frustrations

I have two daughters.  Therefore, based on the etiquette standards of our society, my husband and I have hosted (read "financed") two weddings.  On each occasion we wanted to give our daughters and our future sons-in-law the best we could possibly afford.  

We wanted everything perfect.  Or at least I did.

After each wedding a video began playing in my head of every little detail that went wrong.  I've learned through these expensive experiences that (1) weddings are BIG business; and (2) I should have gone into the wedding business!  But these videos of all the less-than-perfect moments began to control my thoughts when  I tried to sleep at night.  When well-meaning friends would ask, "Sooo, how was the wedding?"  When I tried to walk and pray!

Why did the florist tell me we would get frilly-tipped tulips, only to give us regular tulips at the last minute?  Why didn't the iron sconces look like the ones in her album?  

Why was the cake leaning like the tower of Pisa  (in both weddings!)  Can't anyone make a cake that doesn't lean?

Why did the wedding coordinator have us light the sparklers and not get my daughter and son-in-law to walk out BEFORE the sparklers went out - totally missing the moment for the photographer? (2nd wedding)

Why did the wedding coordinator tell me she would bring an "army of helpers" only to show up alone and solicit help from my secretary? (1st wedding)

Even now, writing about this, I can see the videos replaying and my frustration level rising!  But thankfully, the Word of God comes to my rescue.  Philippians 4:8 (TNIV):

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

I started redirecting my thoughts to line up with this Word.  The truth is, no wedding is perfect so I just needed to get over it!  Marriage is noble and right.  I'm so thankful my daughters chose marriage!   My daughters and their husbands are pure.  My husband and I could not be more proud or thankful for God's grace in protecting their purity and bringing them husbands of purity as well!  My daughters are indeed lovely!  And the highlight of each wedding for me was the moment their father walked out with his beautiful daughter on his arm!  My new sons are admirable men of God.  They are men that will stand among kings and be admired by their children and children's children.

When it comes to weddings - and other such frustrations - my focus is on everything that is excellent and praiseworthy.  In my case with both weddings, the excellence of God is now being revealed in two holy marriages.  

And best of all... absolutely perfect grandchildren!  (And all the grandmothers shout, "Amen!")

Why don't you tell the video of frustrating thoughts, "Stop!"  Start a new mental movie based on Philippians 4:8.  What can you think about that is True?  Noble?  Right? Pure?  Lovely?  Admirable?  Excellent?  Praiseworthy?

Now go ahead - think on those things!

Boring Testimonies

Today I am preparing to go away for a couple of days to a mountain lodge nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge.  I'll be sharing the weekend with 25 other ladies who are passionate to encounter God.  

After 10 years of leading these Encounters, I'm prepared for what I will hear and see this weekend.  Women who have horror stories of abuse.  Women whose lives were traumatized by divorce.  Women who are battling substance abuse.  Women who are weighed down with guilt and regret from abortion.

If not for grace!!!

These women will encounter God and God will heal them.  I know this because I know God.  The testimonies that result from this mountain-top encounter will be nothing short of phenomenal!

Then there's my testimony.  Compared to what I hear from others, my testimony seems so boring.  I've never personally experienced any of the life-shattering experiences listed above.  My family life was wholesome; my parents God-fearing.  I was handed a legacy of generations of followers of Christ and ministers of the Gospel.  I was sheltered and protected by a loving pastor-father and mentored by a powerful preacher-mother.  I never fell into teen rebellion.  I loved the house of God and grew to love His Word.  

Please do not misunderstand!  My past is not pristine.  I went through a season of years of rebellion against authority in my early twenties.  My husband and I have faced truly devastating circumstances in our 37 years of marriage.  But as I review my life overall, I've had it pretty easy.  

Some would say...even boring.

It is fair to say that I will not be invited to appear on the 700 Club or TBN to give my testimony.  A book about my life will most likely not make the New York Times best-seller list.  

Saul - who became the Apostle Paul - now there's a sensational testimony!  Christian-killer-turned-apostle to the Gentiles!  Wow.  Mind boggling.  As I look at the sons he raised up in the faith I cannot help but notice Timothy.  Apparently my testimony mirrors Timothy's a bit.  "I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also." (2 Timothy 1:4-5)

Timothy was a dear and loyal spiritual son to the Apostle Paul, and he became the pastor of one of the greatest regional churches in Asia.  The gifts and callings of God were apparent in him as a young man for Paul cautioned him to let no one despise his youth, to stir up the gift of God within, and to not be ashamed of his testimony! (2 Timothy 1:8)

Thank God for all the sensational, mind-blowing testimonies of changed lives by the grace of God!  I will always love hearing them and seeing the impact they make on others.  But in reality, as boring as my testimony is, I was a rank sinner who needed God's grace as much as anyone!  

I'm not ashamed of the Gospel and I'm not ashamed of my boring testimony.  

Oh - and I pray all my children and grandchildren have equally boring testimonies for their lives!

"You've got to preach."

You know those times when you realize, "This is what I was born to do!  I'm loving this moment.  I'm completely fulfilled when I am ________"  You fill in the blank.  

That's how I feel when I'm standing in the pulpit preaching the Word of God.  (There are also times with my grandchildren when I feel the same way!  Only grandparents will understand what I mean.)  

This weekend at Church Alive two young men acknowledged The Call of God on their lives.  They boldly stood before the congregation and said "God has called me into the ministry."  I cannot tell you how much this touches my heart!  

At the tender age of 14 I heard the voice of God (not audibly) speak to my spirit in the privacy of my bedroom.  He said, "You've got to preach."  It has taken me many years to realize that what the Spirit of God was depositing in me that day was the identification of my "sweet spot", the "one thing" that - when I'm doing that under the anointing - I'm the best me I can be!

Make no mistake, I believe every Christian is called into ministry and we teach that strongly at Church Alive. Actually, most of my ministry now is dedicated to teaching and training leaders who are in all walks of life, but have accepted the challenge to influence and disciple others for Christ.  Every believer a leader; and every leader a leader of leaders is our goal!  As Pastor Bill Wilson so profoundly declares, Christians do not have to receive a direct "calling" from God in order to get involved in Christian ministry.  Just look around for the need - and fill it!

Notwithstanding, there is that Call of God that changes you forever.  These two young men experienced that this weekend.  Now everything in their lives will have to line up with The Call.  Every decision they make will be framed within the backdrop of The Call.  

I tried for years, especially in college, to cover up The Call on my life. There were no Joyce Meyer's on TV in 1972.  It was not popular for a woman to acknowledge a Call to ministry, especially not to preach!  So I skirted around the issue, only confessing it to the dean of the Bible college I attended.  She was a bold, consecrated, educated, Spirit-filled, preacher-woman.  My mother was a fiery-yet-feminine preacher as well, so my life became surrounded by godly role models of women in full-time ministry.

Finally, my last year of college, I could hide The Call no longer.  I had been taking courses that would lead to a degree in music; but I confessed to the dean that I needed to take ministry classes to fulfill my Call into the ministry.  I enrolled in Homiletics that semester, and entered the class as one of two women in a male dominated course.  

When we delivered our sermons at the end of the semester, I chose a sermon I had heard my mother preach years before.  It had moved me and I hoped I could deliver it with her passion and fire.  I made it my own, adding a point here and there, then stood before my male professor and all those male faces and began to preach.  When you are doing what you are called to do, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you are the best YOU you can be!  The anointing fell in the room that day.  The professor gave me an "A" on my sermon but more than that, he affirmed The Call on my life.  I'll never forget him announcing, "The Harrell family has another preacher!"  

In a very dramatic way about a year later, God called my husband to be a pastor.  We have taken wrong turns and stumbled around during our 37+ years together.  But The Call has stayed on us, as it always will.  The Call has led us to make decisions that I'm sure looked stupid to others.  Leaps of faith.  But here we are, doing what we love to do, with a bunch of crazy-wild, faith-filled Christians in Southwest Virginia!

And now teenage boys are hearing The Call.  I'm overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude to our God!

So pardon me please, but I've got to preach!

Jeremiah 1:7-9 (Amplified Bible)
"But the Lord said to me, Say not, I am only a youth; for you shall go to all to whom I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Be not afraid of them (their faces), for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.  Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth.  And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."

Glasses on Top of My Head

Who will be honest with me on this one? At least once in your life you’ve gone looking for your glasses only to be told by someone (usually your children), “They’re on your head!” Initially you’re a little perturbed that you’ve been caught in a senior moment. Then embarrassment gives way to bursts of laughter as you realize how ridiculous you must have looked. But in the end, you are just glad to have your glasses!

God has promised us throughout His Word that He will be with us; He will never leave us; His presence will go before us; where two or three of us gather in His name, He is right there in the middle!

Have you ever thought about how ridiculous we must look and sound when we spend all our prayer time petitioning God for His presence? We pray over our day, “Lord, just go with me today. Please be with me in this meeting.” We pray over our church services, “Lord, meet with us tonight. Please send us Your Presence.”

The glasses are right there on your head!

There is no need to petition for something we already have! I am concerned about the amount of time we spend asking for what has already been given. God has been shifting His Church for some time now from focusing on petitioning prayer to prophetic prayer. As one author aptly states, “Instead of asking for God’s presence, we should be announcing it!”

So let me help you today by announcing over your life: “I declare the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, Lord of all creation, Savior of the world, is present in your life today. He is your ever-present help in time of any trouble. He is your Faithful God, watching over your life to bless you. His glory is your rear guard. His goodness and mercy are following you all day.”

Now put your glasses on and let’s go!