Whatever It Takes....Originally posted at Dawn's Dialogue

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen." Luke 8:17 & 18a

God will use anything it takes to get our attention. He will even use a fear if necessary. This is a lesson that I learned last year. God had been trying to get my attention for a period of time. Yet, once again in true fashion I was His stubborn child. 

While reading through this blog it is imperative for the reader, to know that I believe firmly that God is good and always right. He is sovereign. It is also important to know speaking and/or typing these words can be easier than actually walking in their Truth. 

God will let us go so far and then He will have His Way! Beth Moore once said, "We can bend our knee willingly or God will break our leg." Wonder, how many countless times a leg must be broke before one gains the knowledge of this lesson. 

I used to say, “Been to the wood shed too many times in my life therefore, obedient I will be…” For the younger generation, this was an adage to describe being whipped, paddled, spanked…insert your idea of discipline.

Have you ever said something and truly meant it when you first said it? However, without even realizing it the meaning of the saying lost its translation. This is exactly what happened to me. Over time, the “Been to the wood shed” statement’s significance lost its emphasis. Scary part is this happens so slowly it is usually not noticed. Think of the song, “Slow Fade” by Casting Crowns:

“People never crumble in a day”

God had been speaking to me about various issues and things in my life that required attention. Instead of being obedient, I argued my reasoning of why the issues and things were essential and crucial. After all, had He not called me to serve!

The slow fade had begun. It is easy to see this in hindsight.

Yes, I know it is not a shovel but it is a great representation of the concept.....

My loving Father permitted this for a time. On the other hand, the slow fade continued. A pit was being dug. Chilling part, I was the one doing the digging. 

In spite of the fact of who is doing the digging; Abba Daddy loves us so greatly, He will do whatever is necessary to get our attention. Even reveal a tremendous fear, which is exactly what He did in my life.

To put it bluntly, the fear definitely got my attention. Once God got my attention obedience followed.

Be aware…this is the wrong approach to obedience.

Life is so much sweeter when we give God IMMEDIATE obedience. No arguments, excuses or delays.  Once again, easier said than done particularly when in the middle of a slow fade.

The ultimate lesson:

We have to to comprehend; there is a great price for being an obstinate child who needs their leg broken before being obedient. The price? The other people hurt.

It is simple:

Disobedience doesn’t only hurt the disobedient one…it hurts anyone in their field of influence, friends, family, etc...

Have you been disobedient? Have you noticed you are holding the shovel and the pit is deeper? Drop the shovel …Cry out to Abba Daddy…He will hear you. 

***Originally posted at Dawn's Dialogue***

The Elusive Great Inspiration....Originally posted to Dawn's Dialogue (April 11th, 2012)...

Where is the great inspiration?

Here I sit…waiting for some great inspiration to hit me for my blog this week. Yet, it  (the great inspiration) is being elusive. Those of you who blog know exactly what I am talking about, the great inspiration: the one thing that will make everyone reading go, “Wow! That was awesome.” 

Why do we put such pressure on ourselves? Is it deep down we truly are trying to be people-pleasers? We all know…we only need to please Jesus. On the other hand, I personally find myself at times wondering why so-and-so hasn’t returned my text, replied to my e-mail or left a comment on my blog. Then as a good little Jesus-follower, I beat myself up for caring what people think instead of focusing on only what Jesus thinks of me (Side note: focus is my one word for 2012).

Currently, in obedience, I have registered to go to She Speaks 2012. This is a wonderful conference for speakers and writers. Part of the process is raising funds for the conference fees. Almost immediately, the doubts start flying.

 What if I don’t raise the necessary funds?

Did I hear God right in registering for this conference?

 Does it mean my God-sensor is broken or malfunctioning if the funds are not raised?

All of those and others run rampant in my mind. Renee Swope calls them AM (Against Me) thoughts in “A Confident Heart"). Renee is one of the people God has brought into my journey through the Confident Heart online bible study in the past 6 months.

This journey has included me reading Scriptures and tons of other materials (including a fast of Scriptures only, which you can read about here). God during this time in my life has taken me through Job, Philemon, the Gospel accounts of Jesus from his betrayal to resurrection, James, and presently Acts. Some of you are still amazed Job is in this list.

Last August-October was a tough time for my family. God used Job to reveal there would be a proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” with what we were walking through. The travel to the “light” would include moving to another state, apologies, part-time job beginning, part-time job ending, finding a love for photography (seeing God’s view of the world through a camera lens), rediscovering God’s calling for me to write, and in May surgery.  My darling Sweetie has stuck by me through this all…God gave me a good man.

It is through the reading mentioned above, I am finding my Savior talking to me.  He uses such wonderful and loving people such as Rachel Olsen, Renee Swope, Mary DeMuth, Clayton King and Tullian Tchividjian to name a few.  Wonderful people, who have been obedient to His calling of writing and speaking to reach me (plus so many others…for we know it is not all about me J).

These people are honest and transparent about their struggles and doubts. This has me wanting to be transparent about my struggles…alas; I am not there quite yet.

Part of my problem is the major stumble in my walk last year. This stumble affected my family, my church and my ministry to college students. Hence, the apologies part of this journey in my travels through this tunnel to the light referenced.

 Remember the old DC Talk song, “What if I stumble”:

If struggle has a purpose on the narrow road you've carved

Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar?

Do they see the fear in my eyes? Are they so revealing?

This time I cannot disguise all the doubt I'm feeling

What if I stumble, what if I fall?

What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?

Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?

What if I stumble, and what if I fall

This is where I am…I have stumbled and fallen. Dreading that my trespass has left a deadly scar. More AM thoughts running rampant through my mind. However, I know that God’s love is still here and will never fail. Yes, FM thought!

What I am not sure of is how He will continue to use me? I don’t want to go back to where I was. What I truly want at the end of the day is for God to be glorified!

Have you ever stumbled in a way that has caused you to doubt how God will use you?

How do you deal with it?

**The original posting April 11th, 2012 on Dawn's Dialogue**

Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing...Originally posted on Dawn's Dialogue (April 4th, 2012)

National US Marine Museum Vietnam Exhibit

Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing? Say What?  As always, this blogger has question? Now, let’s have a story…Who doesn’t love a good story?

There once was a man named Ananias. He and his wife, Sapphira hatched a plan.

“Sapphira dear, let’s sell this piece of our property? But, we will keep a portion of the proceeds hidden for ourselves. I shall take the rest and lay it at the apostle’s feet.”

Sapphira sweetly replies, “Ok Ananias. Whatever you want, my adoring husband?”

Boy, I wouldn’t see it playing out that way in my home. But, that is another story for another day. Here is a little background for you. In Acts 4, people started selling their possessions and laying proceeds at the apostle’s feet. Therefore, this couple decided to do as the others in their community and sell a piece of their property. Yet, they also decided (yes ladies, they decided together) to hold back a portion of the proceeds and to lay the rest at the apostle’s feet.  (Go check the full story out in Acts 5)

Here is where things get interesting:

Upon laying this decided amount at the apostle’s feet,

Peter says, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the land…you have not lied to men but to God?”

After hearing these words, Ananias fell down & died!

His wife, Sapphira comes looking for him (my ESV version says after about 3 hours). 

Here is how it goes down for her:

“And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much money.”

Sapphira responds, “Yes, for so much.”

But Peter says to her, “How is that you have agreed together (see ladies, TOGETHER) to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

Sapphira stays true to her and Ananias’ plan, the result she’s dead too!

There are so many questions that swirl around in my head upon reading this but I will not bore you with them today. Instead, let’s look at what God gave me during my reading of this portion of scripture:

There are two types of people:

1.    Drop Dead

2.    Proudly Possessing

It never says, how much Ananias & Sapphira conspired to hold back. We need to come to the realization that if we hold anything back, even the tiniest portion it is a bad thing. It didn’t matter if Ananias had held back 1% or 90% the result would have been the same. Why? Because the action of holding back wasn’t their sin, their sin was in thinking they could hide it. Hence, DROP DEAD!

Does this mean we can hold back and it is okay as long as we don’t try to hide it? Uh…. No! 

When we walk around saying, “God knows that I struggle with letting go of my children, husband, insert whatever you fight God over” does not mean that we are okay because we are not being Ananias or Sapphira and attempting to hide it.

This is PROUDLY POSSESSING.  It is like false humility. Neither of them is good for us.

Proudly Possessing keeps God from having full reign in our lives. People who are proudly possessing are some of the same ones who cry that they don’t see God working through them like their friends.

So, we have come back to our original question:

Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing?

***All pictures on this blog unless otherwise stated belong to Dew Photography***

Burning Bushes, Writing on the Wall & Fire From Heaven...Originally posted on "Dawn's Dialogue"

Ended a 7-day fast yesterday. Did I see a burning bush like Moses during this time? Or maybe writing on the wall such as in Daniel 5, any amazing sign or wonders? Nope! Disappointed? Yes, at first, but then as I spent time pondering yesterday God revealed the following. Sometimes, obedience is the reward.

The fast had been done as an act of obedience. The church, my family is currently attending called for a week of fasting and prayer. We were not required to participate, but asked to pray and see if God wanted us to partake. After praying, God led me to fast from my Kindle and other books (as I mentioned on my social sites…you can check them out: dawnwhitmore67 or @dawnwhitmore).

This would not be an easy thing…I am a reader. Books, doesn’t matter whether it is eBooks or traditional along with blogs. One day at a time became my mantra. Day one came and went. Truthfully, it was not difficult. Still, my mantra was one day at a time. However, to be truthful, pride had started to creep in a little bit. It wouldn’t stay long though. Day Two & Three were not so easy. I found myself realizing the multiple times throughout my day that I would normally be picking up my Kindle.  God’s grace brought me through those two days. The victory is His…not mine. The ending result became 7-days of fasting. Spending time with my Savior in His Word. This was not my success. On the contrary, it was God’s success. My obedience was not possible without Him.

My lesson, obedience is the reward.

Are you looking for signs & wonders? Burning bushes? Writing on the wall? Fire from heaven? Yes, my God can do all of these things and more. Still at times, we spend so much time and energy running after the next experience we miss the true gift…spending time with OUR LOVING ABBA FATHER.

Are you busy ‘chasing the experience’ or will you play a part in my lesson this week and enjoy time with ABBA DADDY today? 

Linen Cloths & Naked Men....huh??

“And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” Mark 14:51-52 ESV

The past week, I have been reading through the Gospel accounts leading up to Jesus’ betrayal, death & resurrection. While reading Mark 14, the above verse jumped off the page at me. Yet, it wasn’t the man running away naked that got my attention. No, it was the “linen cloth” part of the verse, which caught my eye.

Upon reading it, my  mind instantly thought of the linen cloths that Peter found when he went to the empty tomb. Upon reading Mark 15:46, we see Joseph of Arimathea buying fine linen (cloth) to wrap Jesus’ body in before placing Him in the tomb.

 Further in Mark, it is interesting that Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James) & Salome encounter a young man dressed in a white robe at the empty tomb.

What does all this mean? Possibly, no more than I am an eccentric person. One whose mind wanders while reading the scriptures or could it be God revealing more? At times it seems, I always end up with so many questions while reading Scripture.

Does this happen when you read the Scripture or is just me?

Stop by one of my social sites and let me know:

FB: Dawn Whitmore

FB Page: dawnwhitmorespeaks

Twitter: @DawnWhitmore

Look forward to hearing from you!

Serving or Seeking (Originally posted on Dawn's Dialogue)....

The following blog was shared today on Dawn's Dialogue. College students can be overwhelmed easily. Especially, if they are not careful about keeping their focus on Jesus. Spring break brings warm weather and many possible distractions. Know that each of you are loved!

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Not bad, just one were you did a lot of pondering and thinking. That is what my week has been. It started on Monday when my part-time job ended, my Mom went to the ER on Thursday night, and my doctor told me on Friday surgery is a definite on my horizon.

Remember the part-time job ending part…that also means a possible end to my insurance. On a bright beautiful Saturday, I am thanking God for who He is and enjoying a John Hopkins (JHU) Men’s Lacrosse game provided by ESPNU. (Thanks to my Sweetie & the company he works for…)

My online bible study (A Confident Heart) gave me a “Pondering & Thinking “ list:

1. Am I spending all my time serving God or seeking God?
2. Am I bossing people around when I worry or bossing my heart to submit to God and His Plan for me?
3. The most poignant one to me: God not only wants to give me peace that surpasses understanding; He wants to surpass my need for understanding with promises that are bigger than any of my concerns.

Lets be honest, at times life is overwhelming. I have walked through a tough time and Jesus was with me each and every step. Even when I didn’t realize it He was there. There are days that I am still dealing with how my disobedience forced God to drastic measures, which hurt others. Yet, there is relief knowing that being where He wants me to be will be a blessing as we continue to walk this journey ahead of us. Will the journey be easy? Probably not, surgery is never fun…if you think it is fun you are either an aspiring medical professional or “a fry short of a happy meal”. 

However, currently I am at peace with whatever happens. I am sure there will be days that will “stink” but hopefully, they will be in the minority. This is possible if I can remember #3 in my list of “pondering & thinking” from this week.

Where are you this week? Are you busy serving God or seeking Him? Bossing people or bossing your heart? Or maybe forgetting that God is bigger than all our problems? It is okay, we are all there sometimes…but the real question is will you stay there?

"My heart is confident in you, O God;" Psalm 57:7a

Are you an Enoch? (From Dawn's Dialogue 2.27.12)....

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5

I have always been told taught that Enoch had such a strong faith with God that one day the two went for a walk and Enoch never came back. This conjured up the image of Enoch waiting at the white picket fence for God to come down the sidewalk. Upon his arrival, He & Enoch would go for a daily walk around the block. Then one day, when it was time for Enoch to return, God asked if he wanted to keep walking. Enoch replied, “Yes” and never returned. 

You have to admit it was a nice little image…until the day God showed me differently.

God showed me in my life, it is not me waiting at the gate each day for Him to come down the sidewalk. Instead, it is He is waiting at the gate for me. See, the reality is my Loving Father has a special piece of His day carved out to walk with me. That is correct, the God of the Universe has a place in His calendar every day for me!

Yet, on many days this is the scenario:

Me (running down the sidewalk): “Hi God! You know I love you! I truly appreciate you carving time out for me today… but I still have so much to accomplish before the end of the day. Tomorrow ok?”

Even before, He can answer, my response as I zoom right past: “Thanks for being so understanding. Promise, tomorrow we will walk together…as long as I can fit you in.”

Are you an “Enoch”, treasuring and cherishing your walk each day with God? Or are you, like me on many days, giving up something so precious without a second thought?

God Intervenes with a Storm....(Shared from Dawn's Dialogue)

The blog below was published on Dawn's Dialogue today...

God Intervenes with a Storm....by Dawn Whitmore  

"But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea..."

Jonah 1:4

Pastor Tullian Tchivdjian in Surprised By Grace states, "Would it have been better for Jonah if God had left him alone? No, it would have been far worse. It was an act of mercy for God to send the storm." We normally do not see the storms in our life as an act of mercy but this is exactly what my Savior is showing me.

The last 6 months has been filled with ups and downs, which took me to places that I had never experienced before. The reason for the ups and downs…disobedience. Jonah's story had disobedience also. 

Physical Fleeing

A couple differences between Jonah & I:

• Jonah immediately disobeyed God’s command. I fought with God over a period of time BUT the bottom line is disobedience is disobedience
•  Jonah fled physically from God. My fleeing came without me ever leaving where we had lived for 13 years.  

God sent my family to NC in 1999 as missionaries.  Our church in VA sent us with their blessing to an area where we knew no one. Throughout those 13 years, my family was blessed to work with independent Christian bands (some who have even gone on to bigger things) and see God move in many ways. One was my own salvation.

We became active members of a local church body & other ministries in our area. My duties included Sunday morning bible study teacher, media director, deaconess, teacher for CCF, leadership in a prayer group, & GROW Team member to name a few. During these years, I was blessed to work at two different Christian retail stores & coordinate multiple Christian events.

Then one day, my darling sweet hubby came to me and said, "God wants us to move." 

My response, "Are you kidding?" We were settled and God was using us for ministry. The thought of asking God to confirm what Sweetie said was the furthest thing from my mind. Without my knowledge this began my fleeing from God spiritually. 

Spiritual Fleeing

The descent and arguing (yes, I was dumb enough to argue with God) would get deeper every time God would ask me to remove something from my plate. Our conversations would be along the lines of “Ok God! You want me to remove something. I can’t stop teaching the college & career…media, no not that.” The discussion would end up with me saying, “There is nothing on my plate that is not of You; therefore, I can’t remove anything.”

Each time God and I had this little discussion, unbeknownst to me, my shovel came out. Pastor Tullian’s book reminded me of this. Awhile back, I asked God why do we end up in a pit? The shocker is when my Savior (who loves me more than anyone else) quietly said, “My daughter, look who is holding the shovel.”

Needless to say, this blogger is one of God’s more stubborn children and it took a major crisis and a ‘great’ fear to get my obedience to His simple request given to my Sweetie, “It is time to move.” My prayer is this stubborn child will not be so stubborn in the future.

Even with all that has happened, as I continue my walk with Jesus, I will hold firm to the fact that Jesus has my best interest at heart. He knows what I need not just what I want. My prayer is that I will want what I need.    

"The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation"

---C.S. Lewis

Sunday, June 12th…Nehemiah Introduction and Chapter 1: 1-7

 

We will learn in this chapter that Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King.

QUESTION: What is the significance of the cupbearer?

ANSWER: The cupbearer was actually someone with high rank. His position was to make sure the royal table, especially the King was not poisoned. Part of his job included, tasting the wine before serving to King to make sure it was safe for the King.

As we progress through Nehemiah, knowing he was the cupbearer and its significance will be important.

The author of Nehemiah is said to be Nehemiah and is written in 1st person account.

Vv 1-4: What has happened in Jerusalem?  It shows in verse 3 that Jerusalem is in ruins and the people are in distress.

QUESTION: What is Nehemiah’s response?

ANSWER: Verse 4 shows that Nehemiah weeps and mourns. He also fasts and prays.

Our class discussed how Nehemiah included himself and his sins in the prayer of repentance.

We will continue our new journey in Nehemiah on June 19th.

We will see that Nehemiah is a prayer warrior and what leadership he has as we continue.

Sign on church this weekend said, “Christ wants Warriors not Worriers”

James 4:1-10...Sunday,April 24th, 2011...(Easter Sunday)

We finished last week with James discussing "righteousness being sown in peace by those who make peace." Remember God's peace is not merely the absence of conflict. God's peace is instead a wholeness and wealth that is expressed by a sense of contentment that is NOT dependent on circumstances.

QUESTION: What TWO reasons does James state for not receiving from God in Vv 5 & 6?

1. You do not ask GOD (please notice here it specifies asking God). We can't ask others and then wonder why we are not receiving. We must ask God!

2. We ask wrongly & with improper motives. The word "desire" or "pleasure" here is the source of the English word "hedonism"

QUESTION: What is hedonism?

Hedonism means to seek pleasure as the chief ultimate goal of life and NOTHING, NOT EVEN GOD, will be allowed to stand in the way of experiencing this self-sought pleasure. (Norma Becker)

These passions and desires for self-sought pleasure tempt us to believe we must control, possess, and obtain pleasure to have peace. We must understand this deceptive view leads to destruction & discontent.

The part many find hard to swallow here is this deceptive view is "spiritual unfaithfulness" to God. Therefore, this is why James calls us "adulterous people." See if we are focusing solely on ourselves and our self-sought pleasure then we are making me, myself and I more important than God. We are in essence saying we are God or whatever we are seeking is being idolized. Having an idol or seeing ourselves as God (even if we don't admit to this fact) is SPIRITUAL UNFAITHFULNESS.

Quick TRUE OR FALSE: The Scripture states, "God helps them who help themselves"

THIS IS FALSE. This is a world-built philosophy. When we try to walk in this false philosophy, we are actually trying to once again get God to cooperate with our plans. When He doesn't act or do what we feel should be done then we become angry towards God.

QUESTION: What do we need to do if we find ourselves falling into what James describes as "Being a friend of the world and an enemy of God"?

First, we must acknowledge God is not neutral about us and what we do. God created us with HIS BEST in mind. He loves us wholly & completely. He is passionate about His Will being completed in our lives.

Second, We must understand God is jealous over us, ready to protect us in all circumstances.

Third, God's grace shows up as opposition to the proud. He will oppose our efforts that do not show complete confidence and trust in Him.

Once we acknowledge these three things then God shows us in Vv 7-10 how to rectify the fact that we have become "a friend to the world and an enemy to God. The following are the steps to root out the sinful attitude of Pride:

• 1. Submit yourselves: Submission is not the same as obedience. It is when we submit our will to God that we are lead to obedience.
• Resist the devil
• Come near to God and He will come near to you: A wonderful assurance
• Wash/Cleanse your hands (Repentance for our prideful behavior)
• Purify your hearts: This is a step further than repentance it is the step of having purity of thoughts  & motives, which is accomplished by setting our heart's desires on God's desires
• Lament, Mourn & Weep (You are sadden cause your actions have saddened God)
• Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord (You are grateful for the forgiveness given to you)

In conclusion, we must understand sin leads to NOTHING good. When we attempt to have 'our way' there is always a destructive cost. We hurt others, ourselves & God. 

God's way not 'our way' can be fully trusted to receive from His loving hand the transforming work in our lives. We learned in Chapter 1, that God intends nothing less for us than to 'be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing' (verse 4) and 'to receive the crown of life, which God has promised for those who love Him' (verse 12). 

QUESTION: Knowing this why do we insist on "our way"? 

We will continue on journey in James Chapter 4 on May 1st. 

Sunday, April 17th...James 3:13-18...

Let's start with a quick refresher: Throughout James, we have been discussing how James is writing to a persecuted and scattered people. James has been focusing on how to live in the midst of tribulations and temptations.

We finished up last week on our discussion of the tongue. One aspect being that we must let God control our tongue in ALL circumstances.

As we delve into this week's lesson, James will show us how to handle struggles of life with WISDOM. However, we will see TRUE WISDOM only comes from God.

Let's start with a question: What is meant by "good conduct" or "good life" in verse 13 concerning one's works? It doesn't mean there is no trouble in this person's life but that their works are done in meekness.

This brings us to our next question: Does meekness or humble mean weakness?

According to Norma Becker (one of the lesson writer's used for this study), "Meekness or humble means "Strength under control." This is one whose strength comes from relying on God and not self. This person also relies on God for vindication and refuses to retaliate when insulted.

**Remember TRUE WISDOM comes from God. It is not just good advice, good ideas, or good morals**

God's Wisdom is real when it is in motion, However, this is more than giving to charity. Wisdom is from God in a person's life is shown by how he/she deals with family, friends, finances, spend free time and approaches life in general.

QUESTION: Who is guiding your life? Is it God's TRUE WISDOM or the world's wisdom?

Living in the meekness of God's TRUE WISDOM means we do not let our current circumstances tell us who we are and who we belong to....

James further instructs the wisdom of meekness doesn't exist in jealous and ambitious heart. Jealousy creates a wedge not only between us and others but also with God. We must come to the realization that the world's wisdom is actually anti-wisdom for there is NO TRUE WISDOM without God.


Anti-wisdom results in confusion and evil whereas, Godly Wisdom is (as stated in verse 17) pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & grace fruits without hypocrisy or partiality.

Therefore, We want to walk away from today's lesson understanding this final thought:

"To be wise is to see that our present circumstances DO NOT tell the story of our real worth or limit our ability to receive full life from God"---(courtesy of Trinity Study Center lesson writer).