Ears To Hear # 16

Forgiveness:

I started my prayer time this morning by asking the Holy Spirit how I could know for sure when I had forgiven someone. I wanted to feel certain that I held no bitterness. I believe now, after our visit, that the healing will be apparent when we understand how God’s Hand is constantly moving over our life and bringing us to the place where we can release the old and accept the new. When we are able, by the Grace of God in His perfect time and way, to replace the old with the new, and live in the New.

[Please forgive me for using examples in my own life, but I’ve lived only in this skin for so many years. It’s been my training ground and my hope is that you might like to use my parable as an example to check out the steps of your own parable of life.]

ISN’T THIS MY FATHER’S HOUSE?

 

         There was a time I could walk into any church in the world and expect to be loved and accepted. Why was this?
         As we look at the different stages of growth we might examine “why” we went to church each stage of our life. I almost feel like I was born on a church pew. Daddy and Mother were ministers, usually in small churches when I was a child. That was when I accepted that I was the preacher’s daughter and I had a place in my father’s/Father’s house. Actually the church building was as much my home as the parsonage. There was no question about it. It was just so. I belonged.
         Jesus said: “Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God AS A LITTLE CHILD, (the simple faith and sweet innocence of a child), he shall not enter therein.” (Mark 10:15).
         And in Proverbs 22:6, we read: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I’ve often wondered if we have to wait until we, or others, get old before we see results of our primary training.

TEEN YEARS

         After the small churches, we moved to Beaumont where I spent most of my teen years attending the large First Baptist church. Although my earthly father was not the pastor of this church, my mother had grown up here, and again, as teenagers my brother and I had no choice as to whether we went to church or not. The decision was made for us.
         As a teenager, the local church continued to be a training ground for me as well as a social gathering. I admit, I looked forward to seeing my friends, and especially boyfriends, more than actually listening to the sermons. But the Word was being preached from the pulpit and the choir…reaching into my spirit without me even realizing it, as many old hymns come back to encourage me almost daily now, as well as the scriptures, many of which I learned in G.A. (Girl’s Auxiliary) and Sunday School.
         Yes, I felt accepted enough to even draw pictures and whisper to my friends in church. And even to laugh when the preacher had to quiet us down once when we were too loud. But I never considered that I wasn’t a part of this body of believers.
         Once, sitting in the balcony, I was swinging my feet in boredom. Mother had to correct me. But that was her job. I was in training, and she was a persistent trainer.

TRAINING UNION

         At night we went to Training Union before church services. I felt honored to be given the duty of preparing questions for our Daily Bible Readings that we were each to read during the week. I would find fun ways to do this.
         My favorite was what I called “A Can of Worms.” On each paper worm I wrote a question on one side and the scripture on the back. Then I passed the can around and let the other teenagers draw from it. I began with the statement: “Let’s go fishing.”
         Yes, we had fun and were learning more than we realized because God had called many adults to teach us. There wasn’t a lot of private counseling going on, but God gave the Word and great was the company that published it. (Psalms 68:11). We didn’t seem to need all the private counseling that young people need today, because we had the Word and were being trained.

My Teacher  Mrs. Spencer

COLLEGE

         At Baylor University, as a freshman I attended a Sunday school class with my friends. (There is just something about having friends and choosing to go to the same places with them.) I still felt good about myself and we had fun before and after church, and being together in Sunday School.
         It was in this class that the teacher said, “Gwen, I want you to be our president. I can tell you are a leader.” WOW! This settled in my spirit and convinced me that I was not only a preacher’s daughter, but that I was also a leader. No one had ever spoken that to me before, but God dropped it into my spirit that day by the words of this precious lady.
         So, once again, I felt, still with the free acceptance of a child, that I had a place in my Father’s House.

THROUGH THE STORMS

               More Growth Ahead

         After college and into marriage, many storms began to arise. We all have storms to face. No longer under our parent’s training where decisions were made for us, our training became much more intense. We were faced with so many issues we did not understand. So much pain, so much disillusionment of our childhood dreams. Yet, the SEED of God’s Word had been planted in us; if not by parents, often the local church, school teachers, friends, grandparents, and aunts or uncles.
         All along the way, our Lord continued to water those seeds of His Word and they never really left us. He sent forth His Word…and it will not return void, but accomplish all that it was sent forth to do. (Isaiah 55:11).

YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN ON YOUR OWN NOW
(Yet, Not Alone)

         It’s a stretching. It’s a learning process. But the day comes when all you have leaned on for support is not enough to get you through the next big wave of training.
         I see one of my mental pictures now, remembering the day I stood alone in the sanctuary of the beautiful little church I had helped pray into existence. The others I had attended had all been prepared ahead of time for me and people like me. This one was like my own baby. It seemed to represent all I had prayed for.
         But something strange happened to me that day. Because of a flaw that some saw in me, I no longer felt it was my Father’s house. Perhaps He built it for others.
         All the child-like assurance I had felt before was gone…all the sweet acceptance…no recognition that I was my father/Father’s child. No place for me to serve. So I walked out. It was too much.
         But my Father walked out with me, taking my hand and placing it in the hand of our dear Holy Spirit who began to teach me more than I had ever known before. He placed special people in my path, special learning tools, books, tapes, evangelists. And, as I hungered even more to know Him better, God provided a way to teach me.
         I still love that little church and desire to be in it, just as one desires to return to their parent’s home. But when they grow up, they have to leave the nest and launch out into their own call from God. It may be difficult, but it’s worth it.
         When the Holy Spirit’s voice becomes stronger in your ears than the words of the preacher, you will obey His promptings and follow Him. You may not know “why” He is prompting you in a certain direction, but your heart knows you can trust Him. And you have learned a valuable lesson that you cannot trust man to meet your needs. Neither will parents or man always be present all the time you need them.
         As a teenager and often longer, we rebelled against the controlled training of our parents. There were logical reasons for this: we were stretching toward the day we would walk on our own…but never alone. Whether we recognize the presence of God in our lives or not, He is there. Our comfort comes when our hearts know this.
         No. If Mom or Dad are already in heaven, we can no longer call them on the phone and ask them to make a decision for us. But God has thought of everything. He sent His blessed Holy Spirit to be our constant companion and teacher and protector and provider. He represents our Heavenly Father, who never makes a mistake, and desires that none of His children ever have to wonder…”Is this my Father’s House?”

I FOUND MY FATHER’S HOUSE 

         Through the reading of God’s Word, I found my Father’s House. Can you guess where it is? It’s a temple not made with hands. Read Acts 7:48 and 12:24. Also find clues in I Corinthians 3:16 and 2Corinthians 6:16.
         Yes, I still visit local churches, but I realize now where my Father’s True House is. And, in it, I can walk with the assurance that I am my Father’s daughter: valuable, loved, and healed. When I walk into this tabernacle, I no longer have to ask, “Isn’t this my Father’s House?” I know it is!
         Until I can walk with the sweet dignity provided by knowing who I am to God, I will not be able to walk with that childlike freedom I felt as a child in my father’s/Father’s house.
         Oh yes, I found my Father’s House. It feels like “home”. Have you found yours? Can you tell me where it is? Follow the clues I gave you in the scriptures above.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

         Until we find the “real”, we’ll never be satisfied with the temporary. I attend The Church of the Highways and Hedges. My home has been called “a house of prayer”. If you have found a place of worship where you enjoy the peace of God’s favor on you and His acceptance that you are in the right place, I rejoice with you. But, until we learn to worship in God’s True Tabernacle, we will have less impact on the world and temporary places of worship.