by Amy Spear | Aug 11, 2016
“God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
Oh good! I find so much comfort in knowing that God can see the real me. He doesn’t judge me on the time I yelled at the fast food worker, or talked bad about my friend, or cut someone off in traffic, or got onto my kids out of anger. We all make mistakes right? Who wants to be judged on our mess ups? God still loves me and judges the real me.
But wait…
If that’s true, how good is the real me? Am I really better on the inside than on the outside? If someone, other than Jesus, saw my heart, would they still want to be around me?
I can make my outside demeanor pretty appealing. I can put on treading clothes, smile and talk with the best of them, act like I have it all together, but hiding the real me, my heart, now that’s a different story!
How many times have I put on a pretty face and acted like everything was OK, yet on the inside, my heart was aching so hard I thought it might burst? I didn’t want anyone to know the “real” me because if they did, they would run out the back door so fast it would pop off its hinges! Thank God He is the only one who can look inside my heart!
In 1 Samuel, God is picking a new king to rule over the Israelites. Samuel, the high priest, is chosen to appoint this king, but God has to remind him that the new king is not going to be who Samuel might think.
You see, Samuel was looking on the outside, choosing men that “looked” the part. God, however, could care less what they looked like! God wanted someone who would be faithful and true to Him.
“God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
The precious thing about God looking inside our hearts is we can trust Him. We can trust Him because He loves us! It is a love that doesn’t dismiss, or ridicule, or neglect, or forsake. God’s love is foreign and obscure because our love is jaded, colored by our own selfish heart. Even the one person who loves us the most, has loved us with a selfish love at one point. Only God himself can love at all times in the purest of ways!
That is someone I can trust with my heart!
Yes, He sees the worst of me, and yes, He sees the best of me, but to Him it doesn’t matter, He just loves! He loves me despite myself!
And He loves you despite yourself too!
Let’s stop the charade and cry out to Him with our “real” heart. Tell Him how you truly feel and what you are struggling with. Let your guard down. He will protect you, not judge you or berate you. When we are brave enough to lay our heart at His feet, He bends low to cradle us in His arms and protect us with all that He is!
Now that is a worthy pursuit!
by Amy Spear | Jul 12, 2016
Sometimes in life we go down a road that we know is slippery. A path we know good-and-well God has not called us to! Yet, we choose to pursue it. We test the waters. We linger a little too long. We start down the path, ignoring the whisper from the Holy Spirit, warning us of the consequences that are to come, and we keep on walking. Why do we insist on gambling with God, promising ourselves we won’t end up the way He says we will?
The Israelites did the exact same thing in 1 Samuel chapter 8. Let’s see how they fared with their gamble against God:
The Israelites ask their priest Samuel,
“You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights” (1 Sam. 8:6-9).
The Israelites wanted a king, just like all the other nations around them. Yet, they weren’t supposed to be like all the other nations. God chose them to be set apart, different from everyone else on earth. They were the nation that was to reveal God to the world.
Yet, they kept asking and pursuing the wrong path.
God warned them of all the things that would happen if they chose to disobey Him and put their trust in someone else. The king they were asking for would do nothing but take from them! Take their sons, take their daughters, take their fields and vineyards, take a tenth of their grain, take their cattle, take a tenth of their flocks, take, Take, TAKE (vs. 10-18).
Idols are funny that way. They can’t do anything but take!
“But the people refused to listen to Samuel” (vs. 19).
So God tells Samuel to give the people what they want. Let them pursue the path He sternly warned them against!
Wow! Does that scare anybody else but me?!
Sometimes, God gives us what we continue to ask for because of our own stubborn ways. He won’t force His ways upon us. We must follow Him whole heartedly and willingly. And if we won’t, then He will let us make our own foolish choice.
When we put our trust in anything other than God our Father, we will follow idols and things that will only take from us too! Take our Hope, take our Love, take our Peace, take our Grace, take His presence, take, Take, TAKE!
Eventually, we realize that we can give no more. There is nothing left in us to give. The path that once looked so inviting, so promising, has now taken everything it could! We desperately need to be filled! We long for someone to give us what we can’t give ourselves!
God is the only one who can fill us and give what our souls truly desire. Give us what we don’t deserve. Give us everything He is. Give us back our hope, joy, and peace. Give us… Himself!
Let us not be like the Israelite! Don’t dismiss the warnings you hear. Heed God’s calling to choose a different path. Chose the path He has laid out for you. One that leads you straight into the giving arms of your Father!
by Amy Spear | Jun 13, 2016
Mom! Rosie spilled something!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”… “OK, where were we?”
“MOM! Owen hit me!”
“Ugh. I’ll be right back”… “So, like I was saying.”
“MOM!”
Playdates are so much fun, but if you are planning on having any kind of adult conversation, you are only fooling yourself! I don’t know how many conversations I have started, then restarted, then realized hours later, I never finished the conversation!
As I did my quiet time one morning, I had to laugh because even my time with God can be like this!
You wake up early, thinking you will be all alone, in the quiet and stillness of a new day, then one of the kids wakes up.
Man! Now you have to stop, get them a sippy cup, start their cartoon, and find their blanket. Once they are situated you can get back to your QT again.
Then, the next kid wakes up. You get them a drink, find their show, make sure they will be content for 10 minutes, and rush back to your QT only to discover your 30 minutes has now dwindled down to about 5!
But this time, instead of getting upset about it (because it happens quite often), God and I just smiled about it. He showed me that “this too shall pass”. There will be plenty of “quiet” times to come. God whispered a sweet word in my heart this morning about my stage of life. He called Himself my friend, and we laughed!
All my friends know that my house is crazy! You have to roll with the punches when you’re around the Spear clan! (In fact, I have a little one on my lap right now!)
God knows that too, probably more than anybody else! And He loves me anyways!
What craziness do you have going on in your life? Can you and God find something to laugh about it? You know how you do with that close girlfriend, when life gets crazy, and there is just nothing to do but laugh or cry!? God is with you to be that friend!
Sometimes a good cry is what we need. But after you get it all out, ask God to sit and laugh with you!
“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24b
As the famous words by Joseph M. Scriven say,
“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Can we find a friend so faithful?
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden?
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.”
I pray you find solace in your friend today.
by Amy Spear | May 9, 2016
The word “Martyr” in Greek means “witnesses.” In the early church, a person’s ultimate witness, to the Gospel, was death.*
The book of Acts is a historical account of how the Gospel spread like a wildfire, after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It spread after, “he (Jesus) opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
Up until this point, the disciples thought Jesus would restore an “earthly” kingdom. That’s exactly what they wanted! To be in charge! Establish a new Roman Government. To set all the rules. You see, up until this point, an earthly kingdom is all they understood.
Until, Jesus opened the truth. Ah…Revelation.
Then you see the boldness each of the disciples demonstrate while preaching the “good news” about Jesus. Boldness yes, easy task … no. Let’s remember the times and who they preached to.
This culture, people and government put Jesus on trial and crucified him on a cross, even when they had no proof of any wrong doing! This was a time, for the Jewish people, when religious leaders had as much control as those wearing Roman armor. If the religious leaders didn’t like what someone was saying, they had the power determine your fate – as they did with Jesus, death!
Regardless of imminent threat, we see the Gospel prevail! Every time they tried to silence the Gospel and those preaching, the Gospel message spread even more!
Because of their bravery, and the Holy Spirit, the church grew by the thousands, and people came to believe in this man who was crucified and rose again.
As I read Acts, I kept asking myself, “Why? Why were so many people convinced now? Why didn’t they believe Jesus when he spoke? You know Jesus was the best preacher/teacher there was, He lived a completely sinless life. He walked the walk as no one else did! What made it spread like fire now, after he was gone?”
I think the reason the Gospel spread like fire was because their hearts were on fire! Down to their very souls! They knew, that they knew, that they knew, Jesus was alive, and nothing anyone said would lead them to believe otherwise!
Each one of these men had a choice to make. Were they going to follow Jesus no matter what? Were they going to continue to do what He had called them to do, even if it meant a different outcome than they first thought? Were they willing to be a martyr?
Yes!
Each one of them answered “Yes!” to the call on their lives because God “opened their minds” to truth, which stirred up a deep wrenching, soul piercing conviction!
I want conviction like that!
I want to believe it to the very core of my soul! That no matter what challenges I face before me, I will stand in complete confidence because my God has conquered death, even death on a cross!
Oh that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to understand, and to see the truth in the Scriptures. See the truth in our lives – and that we would have the “boldness” to answer with a resounding “YES!”
*NIV First Century Study Bible, Kent Dobson
by Amy Spear | Apr 5, 2016
My neighbor has the most beautiful tulips you have ever seen! I get to see them every day when I walk my children to school, when I’m out running errands, walking the dog, and picking the kids back up from school.
I anticipate her tulips every year! There is no doubt in my mind that she has done the prep work in advanced to produce such a beautiful display. Tulips must be planted in the fall in order for them to have time to bloom in the spring. So planning for the flowers you want produced in the spring is critical, yet waiting for the reward of seeing their beauty is antagonizing! She knows exactly when to plant them, how much water to give them, when to prune them, and how long to wait before she cuts them down for the next year. How does she know all this?
She is an expert! Landscape design is her business. To say she has a green thumb would be an understatement! This lady has it going on in the gardening world, and I am totally envious!
I so want my yard to be that gorgeous! With beautiful flowers everywhere, and not a weed insight!
But if I’m not willing to do the work, envy is all I’ll get. Nothing gorgeous will be produced. Oh, I might be the talk of the neighborhood, but not for the beauty I am displaying.
Living a life that burst forth a beautiful harvest of gorgeous traits is hard work! It takes time. It takes planning. It takes intentionality!
We see other people’s lives with rose colored glasses, but sometimes we truly meet a person who shines God’s glory in a beautiful way. But, instead of soaking in their glory, we bear a smidge of envy. We long to be close to God like they are. We want to display His glory like they do. We long to speak and smile and sing and teach with such boldness like they do.
Yet, what are we doing to cultivate that in our lives? Are we putting forth the effort now to produce a harvest in due time?
Start now! Don’t wait until the season has past and regret takes root.
Plant the seeds of Jesus in your heart and mind. Grow closer to Him by spending time with Him each and every single day. Is it easy? No!
Do you long for it? YES!
Then go get it sister! He is waiting with open arms to produce such a glorious display in your life that others can’t help but see Him!
Happy Spring!
