2012 Newsletter

Isaiah 6 Ministries 2012 Newsletter “For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy President Kennedy was certainly right when he quoted that time does not stand still. How often we’ve heard the quote, “that time stands still for no man.” This has been a year of reckoning with that truth for me. My first born turned 30 and my husband turned 60. For some reason I have wondered how everyone around me could be getting so old so quickly. I need only to compare pictures from Christmas’ past to this year’s photos and see that I, along with the rest of the world, have continued in time and age. Time didn’t stand still for me. As I reflect on this past year I am glad that God kept the pages of the calendar moving. Last year at this time I had no idea what 2012 beheld. I found myself in a much more God dependent place in the midst of life’s changes. As the world turned in the Mooring house hold I have had a question mark in front of me and behind me. My nanny job of 2 & ½ years ended. My employer’s mom wanted to return to taking care of the grandbabies after a time of absence. Now what???? I have been looking for work and begging God to show me what, when and where. Many of my friends and family understand this question all too well. Mark has continued to work in his non-profit part time, continue as a part time insurance auditor, as well as raise support so that he can do Daybreak, his non-profit, full time. I have realized that my desires are still the same – to speak, teach, and write. Why? So that all may know that He is the Lord! God didn’t put me here to live an entertained life. He put me here (and He put you here) so that others may know Him through us. Mark and I work with the Young Singles at our church. The teacher is a 27 year old seminary graduate who loves teaching the Bible. One thing he has continued to teach is how the Savior is revealed through each book of the Bible. God continues to reveal Himself so that all will know His love, His grace, His mercy, and His plan for salvation. While the last word in the Bible was written many centuries ago, God is still at work. Our lives are for the continuance of the Gospel to be made known! Whatever I do in 2013 I want to make God known. My calendar is beginning to be marked with places to go and speak. I am currently working on my first book. I have written two Bible studies but never a book. I need prayer to be consistent in writing and to not give up when there seems to be no flow left in my thoughts. I need prayer to follow the Lord’s lead and not just grab the first job that opens its doors to me. So far they’ve all been shut or slammed in my face. I remind myself that God has a better plan when I get those rejection letters. I am thankful for the pride being stripped out of me. Pride looks good on no one. As I look to the future I do so knowing that my Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer already knows what the future beholds. He holds me in the palm of His hand and nothing or no one can rip me out of that secure place. Philippians 1:6 brings me great comfort, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” May this bring comfort to you as well. Approach 2013 with the confidence you are here to make Christ known!

Mind over Mouth

The Bible has much to say about our thinking and our speaking. I have been studying Scripture to understand the reason why my mouth often gets me into trouble. I know plenty of people who suffer from this malady as well. I, along with countless others, struggle to keep a bit on the mouth when doing so would be most beneficial. Nouns and verbs don't just assimilate themselves and randomy fly out our mouths. What we say stems from what we think and what we feel. In the Old Testament book of Numbers there is a repetition of instances when God put words into the mouths of people. God did so in order that these individuals would speak His thoughts and commands, not the mere fleshly thoughts of these less than perfect people. Oh how I wish I would wait on God to put words in my mouth. I know that often what I am thinking and feeling does not line up to what God thinks and feels about my dilemma. How many times I have opened my mouth before going to my Savior and asking Him to direct my conversations. Sadly enough I have given folks "a piece of my mind." This saying is an idiom that means to tell someone off. This is when you let your mouth spew the vomit that is churning in your mind. God doesn't speak verbal vomit. The words He puts in my mouth, your mouth, are for edifying others, correcting others, and imparting grace to others. Our mouth can expose us in the same way looking in a mirror can. A mirror reflects the image in front of it. The mouth reflects what one is thinking and what the heart's condition is. The Bible tells us to guard our hearts and minds. To not do so is a set up for disaster. However, by setting our minds on things above (Col. 3:2) and guarding our hearts (Prov.4:23) we can speak in a way that honors God. Our goal is to build up with our words- not tear down. Psalm 19:14,"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Enduring Temptation

How would you define temptation? Would you say it's the desire to go after things or experience you shouldn't? Perhaps it's going for the dessert when you're on a diet, late night websurfing on forbidden sites, flirting outside of your marriage, speeding to get where you want when you want... Certainly these are examples of going after what we shouldn't go after. What I know to be true as well, temptation is not going after something we should go after. Daily I get directives from God to send a note, make a call, put in the offering plate, love the unlovely BUT I don't. I don't go after what is best. I settle for laziness, procrastination, living in fear of risk... So temptation then can be either active or passive. Giving in to temptation either way yields poor endings. At age 55 I am still memorizing Scripture. I want to stay sharp both spiritually and mentally. Crossword puzzles may help my mind but not my spirit. I kill two birds with one stone. Right now I am attempting to take on James Chapter 1. My verse today, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation..." The word blessed means to be truly happy. To endure is to successively and victoriously survive a trial or testing. And temptation is that trial or testing. So when you put this altogether you have great words of wisdom. You will be the happiest when you go through a tempting time and don't give into it. Your choice to be active when God speaks or be passive when God speaks will determine your true level of happiness, success, and victory. Self denial doesn't get easier with age, or at least at 55 I am still struggling denying my fleshly desires. So today I ask myself this question,"Do I want the temporary happiness that temtation is flaunting me with, or the true happiness of endurance with success and victory that may take awhile?" Today I pray to endure!

The Unfamiliar

I received a newsletter from a missionary in an undisclosed location. Most of the letter was coded with initials and disguising words. The reason behind the secrecy is because the email newsletter could be intercepted and read by by government agencies. If any words referring to spiritual matters were found out our friends and their mission field would be in jeopardy. At the close of today's letter there was a prayer request for safety as our friends headed to an unfamiliar place full of unfamiliar faces. My first thought was how scary that trip would be. Then the Lord reminded me that daily I head into somewhat unfamiliar places with unfamiliar faces as well. So do you. We may walk into a new doctor's office, a new grocery store, car repair shop, etc. and encounter people we've never met. Without so much as giving our trip a thought we venture into the unfamiliar. If we were in a foreign country on a mission trip we'd view any encounter as a divine appointment set by God to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Yet on our own soil, new places with new faces can be deemed as time wasted interruptions slowing down our own purposes. How easily we are distracted by the mundane and lose sight of God's every day purposes for us. We lose sight of the spiritual condition of those we encounter. We even forget to ask our Creator and daily Guide for appointments to share the Good News. The unfamiliar faces where we make our starts and stops along the way are as needy as those on the other side of the globe. My heart breaks that I lose sight of the lost that are within inches of my face and hands. I look past them and to where I am headed next, not where they are headed for eternity. God forgive me, forgive us all. Isaiah 30:21 says, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." May these words challenge and encourage us in our unfamiliar.

Maps

My dad used to work for a large map making company. I remember him bringing home maps that were sold to use in classrooms. Remember the day when the teacher would pull down a huge map that covered most of the blackboard area? She would hold up a long wooden stick and point to various places. Often fear and trepidation would engulf me if I was called on to approach the map and find a certain city, state or country. Only if I knew the map well would I hop up with confidence as I proudly displayed my knowledge. In later years I really began to appreciate maps as I started traveling. I enjoyed viewing the distance from my starting destination to my arrival point. I found security in projecting estimated travel time, places I'd see along the way, or places to stop and visit while traveling. Globes have always fascinated me as well. They seem to put people, places, and distances in some sort of proper perspective. My life and your life both have road maps. God is the map maker not some company. He knows the destination points and has since before we were born. Many times we are like the frightened child called to the blackboard to point out certain places. We approach the throne of God not knowing just where He wants us to go. Sometimes we are clueless to the where, the when and the how we will get there. No problem for Him. He's been directing His children for ages. He told Abraham to leave his family and head to a place that He, God, would show him. God didn't give the place a name or how long it would take to get there. He just said to get up and go. Abraham obeyed with no questions asked. Oh to have that kind of faith and trust. Often you and I are not afforded the security of looking over the map to see if we like the destination, the route to get there, the expenses for travel.... We are just instructed to go. With question marks in our heads but our Creator and Mapmaker over our heads we can set out. The road may be long, frightening, and filled with mountains and valleys we never thought we could scale. Our Mapmaker has known all along what we are capable of and just where our correct destinations should be. So with one foot forward let's move forward to this day's destination. Joshua 23:14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed."

As Is

I am a bargain shopper. Always have been. I love a good deal. My first direction in a store is to the clearance rack or bargain table. In my life time I have found some jaw dropping deals. Every once in awhile I find an item with an "as is" tag on it. Usually the item is defective in some way. Perhaps there is a chip, a snag, a hole, a crack, or a piece missing. Upon extreme examination and much deliberation I determine if I can repair the damaged item for good use. When an item has the "as is" tag on it, the item cannot be returned for any reason. Once I pay for my bargain, it's mine whether or not I can repair or use it. Looking at the first chapter of Ephesians I see how I once was on a bargain table. I was cracked, chipped, full of snags and holes. I had succumbed to the harshness of life and been discarded as one damaged item. Yet God in His goodness and grace picked up this human being that had no value in human eyes and saw a finished product. He paid a high price for someone of so little value. In a plan that took place long before my birth,only He knew my value. He counted the cost and sent His Son to pay for my redemption. He washed me in the blood of Christ and sealed me with His Holy Spirit. I cannot be returned to the bargain table. I am a trophy of His grace. He didn't purchase me only to realize later I should just be thrown in the junk closet. He doesn't kick Himself for purchasing one that is "unfixable." He has a purpose and plan for my life and it is good. I can't see the end results of my journey but He does. God delights in me as His good deal. This overwhelms my soul!

The Work of His Work

The power of God's Word can settle your heart like a summer breeze. God's Word can also grab hold of your whole being and stop you in your tracks. You can't run from it or stop it from echoing in your heart and mind. You can rip a page out of your Bible if you don't like the content. Yet, if the Author wants to speak to you, the torn out page will keep haunting your spirit like the whistle of a train long after it's passing. We've all had a passage that has taken us captive and set us free, or taken us captive into deep conviction. The average man cannot understand the power of God's Word as it works on a man's heart. The believer can only react to or refuse the work of the Word. Ephesians 1:11 says that God works all things according to the counsel of His will. The word "work" here comes from the word "energeo." Do you see energy in that root source? Break this down into a simple concept. God is the source of energy that put the world into motion. He's the same Source that created us human beings. And this same God is the One who energizes us to work out what He works within. The power of the Word being worked in us and through us is the Author, the Creator, the Energizer. Do you and I have any responsibility? Sure we do! We don't run from God, His Word, or the works He has planned for us before time. Yes, we can ignore, rip out, or refuse to be or fulfill His "energeo." The choice is before us. Will you and I be the work of His work?

On the Right Side

News headlines often capture the worst side of mankind. One that broke my heart this week was about a man leaving a stadium who was beaten to a pulp. Why? He was wearing a jersey supporting the team he was rooting for. Fans from the opposing team didn't like his choice of teams nor his wardrobe. Their solution was to almost kill the guy. I shake my head and wonder what causes evil to prevail in the heart of man. I just can't understand why someone roots for evil. I pity the parent who has family members playing on opposing teams. To sit in a stadium and try rooting for someone on the other side would cause utter chaos and most likely end up with blood splattering everywhere. Perhaps cheering from a distance would be the best case scenario here.

Last night I watched a movie about a child whose parents were murdered in front of her by a mob. She devoted the rest of her life to hunting the mobsters down and killing each one of them with brutal methods. While I thought what she was doing was wrong I found myself rooting for her to get the creeps who had caused so much pain to her as an innocent child. For a moment I got caught up in blurring right from wrong. The ends justifies the means is the world's mantra. I forgot my side of the stadium is for peace and a justice that does not belong in my hands. I had quickly switched allegiances and joined forces with the evil side. A gentle nudge reminded me that I needed to keep my mind from evil lest I act out on my thoughts.

In the fourth chapter of 1 Chronicles, the man Jabez prayed and asked God to keep him from evil and to not cause pain to himself or God. Every day I wake up I pray that prayer. I do not want to be an "pain spreader." I do not want to be on evil's side of the stadium rooting for victory. Like Jabez I want to pray against spreading evil and pain. This requires daily surrendering my thoughts and words to the only One who can keep me on the right side. So today, I surrender to Him.