Women of Prayer

I'd like to start out by asking all of you:  Who is God?

Does this sound like a dumb question?  Maybe so, maybe not.  How do you see Him?  Who is He to you?  Is He just "the big guy upstairs"?  Is "Jesus your Homeboy"?  Or maybe you don't know God yet.  Maybe He is a stranger, a mythical idea or someone your Grandma talks about.  Or maybe, hopefully you know Him as the Almighty, sovereign God, creator of the Universe, who's ways are greater than our ways, who's thoughts are nothing like our thoughts.

The next question I'd like to ask is: Who are you?  

More specifically, who are you in comparison, in relationship to God?  If God is just your roommate who lives upstairs, or Jesus is your homeboy, you might have some hangout time, you might call Him up when the rent is due, but if God is the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega - beginning and end, the One you trust for the very breath you breathe, you might relate to Him a little differently.

See, here is the thing... our prayer life reflects what we really believe about God and who He is.  

Have you ever heard that you can tell what you care about by how you spend your money?  Like, if you want to know where your priorities are, look at your checking account - or credit card bill.  What we spend our money on is usually a good indicator of what we really care about.  Prayer is similar in the sense that we can tell how healthy our relationship with God is, and how we truly view God - by our prayer life.

Let me give you this illustration from the old testament.

This is Isaiah 6:1-5.  Isaiah has this vision.

"It was in the year King Uzziah died[a] that I saw the Lord. "

--- What is significant about this first sentence in the first verse is that King Uzziah had died and the people did not know who their leader would be.  The land was in an upheaval... we don't know any country dealing with that right now do we??? ---

I'll continue...  

 "He (the Lord) was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim (these are angels of purity), each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

I think this is so poignant because in this scene, God's robe fills the entire temple!  The angels who are perfectly obedient to God have to cover their eyes because He is so holy - too holy for even them to look at.  And when Isaiah sees God, he is immediately gripped by fear.  He realizes who God really is, and Isaiah realizes who he is - human and full of sin, and incredibly unworthy to stand before such a Holy and perfect God.  He says, "It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies."  I love that.  Can you just picture Heaven's armies???  Batallion after batallion of dazzling angels with their magnificent wings, playing their beautiful music and singing praises to the one and only God over all creation.  The God who holds the world in His hands who reigns victorious.  

In one of his messages, Francis Chan says that when he prays he envisions the most majestic scene of God on the throne, dazzling in gems from head to toe, so he can remember who it is he is praying to.

And I love the book of Isaiah, because it gives us so much imagery of how big God is, and how great God is, lest we forget.  

Isaiah 40:12-15 says this:

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?  - picture this - all of the oceans - 71 percent of the Earth is ocean - in God's hand.
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? - the heavens that go on for infinity...
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[c]
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice?

15 No, for all the nations of the world
    are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
    than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
    as though it were a grain of sand.

See, when we meet God - when we realize who He is, when we realize what Isaiah 42:5 says: 

"God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
    He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
    life to everyone who walks the earth."

We don't even breathe without God.  Our life depends on Him.  When we believe that this is who our God is, we are humbled.  Just like Isaiah, we realize how much we need God every moment of every day because we are nothing without Him.  We are not worthy to stand before Him, but we are made righteous because of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  When we start to really believe who God is, we pray.  Why would we not ask of the one who controls it all?  

There is a song by Natalie Grant called "King of the World" and the chorus goes like this:

When did I forget that you've always been the king of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world
How could I make you so small
When you're the one who holds it all
When did I forget that you've always been the king of the world?

Let me talk about fear for a minute.  I think that as women we battle fear in a big way.  We fear all kind of things.  We fear things we don't even know we fear.  Fear leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to depression.  Did you know there are 365 verses in the Bible that say "do not fear" or "take courage"?  That is one command not to fear for every day of the year.  Here is something I'd like to share with you.  This is a quote from Charles Spurgeon that I borrowed from a friend.

"The fear of God is the death of every other fear; like a mighty lion it chases all other fears away." - Charles Spurgeon

Fear of God is not like the Earthly fear we experience.  It is not like the fear of failing, or the fear of spiders, the fear of God is like this unexplainable awe that we have.  A security in a power that is greater than ourselves.  The expansiveness of God, and the mystery of Him that we cannot fully understand - the belief that He will do what He says He will do - in blessing and in punishment - the fear of God is a powerful force in the life of a Christian.

Proverbs 9:10 says this:

10 "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
    Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment."

When fear comes upon us, knowing we have the Lord on our side chases all those fears away.  So when you're afraid, pray.  When you're sad, pray.  When you're happy, pray.  When you can't make up your mind, pray.  When you are worried - definitely pray.  When you lose something, pray.  When you need understanding, pray.  When you feel alone, pray.

Here is another little meme I wanted to share.  

"How I feel after a convo with God".

We can be like lions when we have God's power in us.  The day of our Thanksgiving program here at PWOC is election day.  Man, has this election season been brutal??  I can't tell if it's always like this or if I've just paid more attention this year, but man it has been ugly.  I'll tell you what, we better be praying.  If you plan to vote on November 8 and haven't prayed first, you shouldn't be voting.  But here's the thing, on November 9 we will have a new leader of the United States.  One of these candidates will become one of - if not THE most powerful leader in the world.  This thought can be frightening.  But remember how Isaiah felt when He saw the Lord.  These things are tiny compared to who God is, and what He can do.  The fear of God chases all these fears away.  Praise Him!

As women of God, we need to be more purposeful about prayer.  We should be acting out our faith.  If we say we believe, then we need to DO.  

I want to conclude with a word on Perseverance and endurance.  

I went for a run the other night.  I haven't worked out like that in a few months - but being a mom to three kids under six IS exercise!!  Anyway, about two minutes in to my run, I got tired and wanted to stop.  But the song I happened to be listening to in my earbuds was "The one I'm running to" by 7eventh Time Down.  The lyrics go like this: 

"Tonight I'm gonna fix my eyes
On the only Hope who satisfies my heart
You are the One I'm running to
Everything that's good and right and true
Jesus, I'm coming after who
You are, You are
The One I'm running to"

I literally started thinking that this is a metaphor for our walk of faith.  When it gets hard we aren't supposed to stop.  We are supposed to push through.  God wants to grow us, to strengthen us.  He doesn't want to keep us where we are, comfy on the couch.  Pain is designed to make us stronger.  Any parent who disciplines their children knows this.  Any person who has trained for a sport knows this.  No pain no gain!  

When it comes to prayer, it may be uncomfortable at first.  Getting up early and getting less sleep to spend time with God hurts at first.  Asking if you can pray with someone might be uncomfortable.  You may even have to give up some of your closet space to make a spot for you to be alone with God - like Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:5-6

"5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."

Like we mentioned last week, the best way to pray better is to do it.  The more you talk to God, the more you will hear from Him, and the more you hear from Him, the more you will pray.  After all, it is Jesus we are running to.  It's worth the discomfort.

I ended up running 1.2 mile that night - more than I thought I could do.  The song that came on at the end of my run was "There will be a day" by Jeremy Camp.  The words go like this:

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you're walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you've walked out all alone

Troubled soul don't lose your heart
'Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that's in store
Outweighs the hurt of life's sting

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
There will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

I can't wait until that day where the very one
I've lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I've faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame
And misery, this is why, this is why I sing

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

Until then, let us be women of prayer.  Let us remember that we can go boldly before the throne of grace because Jesus died for all of our sins to be washed away.  Let us remember that the Lord of Heaven's armies is asking us to come to Him.  To bring our burdens, our fears, our worries, our illness, our pain, our guilt and our shame and lay it at His feet.  Let us "be transformed by the renewing of our minds" as we read God's word, and let the truth of who God is sink deep into our very being.  And let us live out our faith as women of prayer who go to battle with our hands folded and our heads bowed.

Father God,

We praise you Lord.  Help us to believe more about you and understand how to live in awe of you so that we rely on you for everything.  Help us to pray more and spend more time with you.  Increase in us a desire to know you more.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Women of the Word

Since we are women who are "not of this world", we need to be women of the WORD.  This book by Jen Wilkin inspired today's devotion.

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00IFG0844&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_1hJ.xbY1850Q4

Studying the Bible is so important in the life of a Christian because it keeps us firmly planted in God.
Personally, I love studying the Bible.  I find it so interesting, and I can't get enough of it.  However, it hasn't always been that way for me.  When I was young, I felt as if reading my Bible was a burden, and I knew Bible stories and some scriptures, but I didn't understand it.  It hadn't gotten to my heart.  As I've gotten older, the Bible has come alive to me.  The more I read and understand it, the more I love God, and the more I love God, the more I want to read His word.

Romans 15:4New Living Translation (NLT)

4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

2 Timothy 3:16-17New Living Translation (NLT)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Hebrews 4:12New Living Translation (NLT)

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Romans 10:17New Living Translation (NLT)

17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

I was always pretty bored in school.  The subject matter didn't interest me much, so it was really hard for to want to study.  But now as an adult, it is one of my favorite things to study the Bible.  I think when it comes to studying something, you have to want to learn it.  It has to grab your interest.  When you know the Lord, and have experienced His greatness, it becomes easy to want to know more about Him.  But I also remember a time that I was not as excited about Bible study, and so here are a couple things I have found useful to getting excited about the Bible.

1.  Get a good study Bible - in a version that you can understand.  Here are some good ones:

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B005FD3X6U&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_EpJ.xbTCVCJ8D

https://www.amazon.com/Study-Bible-Personal-Paperback-Letter/dp/0310437334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476277258&sr=8-1&keywords=niv+study+bible

2. Find out some background.  This is a great book that you can carry with you, but there are numerous books out there on studying the Bible.  It helps me a lot to know some of the historical background of the Bible and who is writing each book, and who they are writing to.

https://www.amazon.com/Know-Your-Bible-Explained-Applied/dp/1602600155/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476277358&sr=1-1&keywords=know+your+bible

3. Memorize Scripture that applies to you and your life.  Use a 3x5 card pad, and jot down favorite scriptures, ones that speak to you, and when you need a scripture to "take every thought captive", whip out your 3x5 pad and there you have it!  Keep it with you at all times.

4. Find a good devotional.  This one is my favorite: https://www.amazon.com/My-Utmost-His-Highest-Paperback/dp/1572937718/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476277443&sr=1-1&keywords=my+utmost+for+his+highest

5. Keep a bible with you at all times - on your phone: check out the Bible App!  In your purse - read when waiting at the pharmacy, doctor's office, etc.

6. Ask questions and Google.  https://www.gotquestions.org/ is a website where you can ask Bible questions and get great articles on almost every topic!  To Every Man an Answer is a call-in radio show that you can get on podcast.  They answer all kinds of great Bible questions.

7. Look for books about the Bible that pertain to your season of life.  Like we do here at PWOC.

8. Use a commentary or read the Bible in different versions.  A lot of people like to read The Message Bible.  It is like a commentary but you can read a verse in NIV or NLT and then look it up in The Message.  It is plain language that helps you to understand the idea being conveyed more clearly.

https://www.amazon.com/Message-REMIX-Paperback-Wood-Contemporary/dp/1617479497/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476277711&sr=1-3&keywords=the+message+bible

Our theme verse, Romans 12:2 tells us to "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind", and how else are we to do this, but by reading, studying, and absorbing the word of God?  The thing is, you cannot just merely read and memorize the Bible.  You have to apply it.  You have to let it sink into your heart, and believe that there is truth in these words.  You will never be changed if you don't believe God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.  And we cannot start thinking and living the way God wants us to without knowing who God is, and without this book, we can only get so far.

Psalm 119:11New Living Translation (NLT)

11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

We need to hide the word in our hearts.  The more we learn it, the more we live it, the more we will believe it, and it will become a part of us.  We will have to work less at the things of God, because we are already becoming more like Him.

Isaiah 55:10-11New Living Translation (NLT)

10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
    and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
    producing seed for the farmer
    and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word.
    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
    and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

God's word never returns void.  Therefore, it will never be a waste of time when we read God's word.

Another thing that is really important when reading the bible, is make sure you read everything in context.  You can take a verse by itself and it will sound great and may fit your moment or issue, but when you put it in context, you realize that was not what the Bible was talking about.  We have to be careful not to use scripture to fit what we want it to fit, but to make our lives submit to what scripture says.  So we are going to read through Romans 12 - the whole chapter so that we are applying our theme verse in context.

First I want to read some background on the book of Romans.  This is taken from:  https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/romans

"The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57, just three years after the 16-year-old Nero had ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. The political situation in the capital had not yet deteriorated for the Roman Christians, as Nero wouldn’t begin his persecution of them until he made them scapegoats after the great Roman fire in AD 64. Therefore, Paul wrote to a church that was experiencing a time of relative peace, but a church that he felt needed a strong dose of basic gospel doctrine."

Romans 12

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[d]4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”[g]
    says the Lord.

20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”[h]

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Father God in Heaven, Help us to be women of your Word.  Help us to grow our love for reading and studying the Bible so that we may hide your Word in our hearts and take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.  Discipline us that we may live lives that show the world who you really are.  Bless us today to find peace and comfort and life in your Words that you have given us in your Holy Bible.  Please grow us and change us from the inside out.  Bless all the ladies that come to PWOC and heal any children that are sick.  Help us to do your will.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

Our Space Butterfly

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all doing well this morning.  I love this new fall weather.

Today you have met some more of the wonderful board members we have here at PWOC, and now I wanted to introduce to you our logo this year.

If you didn't know, PWOC is a military-wide organization, and many of you have probably been to other PWOC groups around the country or world.  

So this year, PWOC International chose the scripture verse Romans 12:2 as their theme verse.  Lindsey and the rest of the board really liked this as a theme verse, but we decided to come up with our own theme to go along with the verse, and we chose "Not of this World".  

While we were brainstorming about the year and thinking what our logo could be to go along with this theme, all that kept coming to mind was space and aliens and stuff like that.  In an effort to not take such a sci-fi approach to things, we kept talking and of course we started thinking of butterflies because of the "be transformed" part of Romans 12:2, which was also part of PWOC International's logo for this year.  

We didn't want to just do a butterfly, and we wanted to work in the "not of this world" theme, so we took the image of the butterfly and the idea of space, and put them together.  Here is what we got:

She is a space butterfly.  If she was a celebrity her name would be sputterfly or butterflace.  

I think we were all really happy with this image, and what I love most is that it is really unique, just the way we are called to be as Christians.

I had my doubts at one point if this should be our theme or not, and I was a little concerned but God kept repeating space and butterfly themes over and over to me in different ways, so I know without a doubt that this is the theme, scripture, and logo He intended for us to have this year.

For example, when contemplating the theme of "not of this world" and doubting it because all I kept thinking of was aliens, I came across this article on Facebook entitled "How to Raise an Alien Child" by Jen Wilkin - about raising our kids to not be like the world.  And if you know me at all, you know that I am passionate about raising kids to know and love Jesus and shine His light to the world.  This was a pretty clear sign to me that we should not fear the whole alien thing.  In my life, God tends to use things I'm passionate about and He will put them right in my face so I can't ignore them.  There were other things too, like the day we had a PWOC board meeting at my house, I did a kids' devotion with my kids that morning, and the scripture for that day was none other than Romans 12:2.  

God has been showing me scripture after scripture that pertain to this theme and verse, like 
1 Peter 2:11-12 which says, "Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.  Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world." 

and Philippians 3:20-21, which says, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

But the most amazing way that God kept confirming our theme for this year, was through His own amazing creation.  

I planted some Italian parsley this year from seed.  It took a while to get going, but I have this one pot in the front of my house where it just went crazy.  

One day we noticed these little caterpillars on the parsley.  Our family is kind of a bunch of nature nuts, so we Googled the caterpillars to see what they were.  Here's what they looked like:

Turns out, they are Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillars.  

We watched them as they ate and ate and ate and grew and grew and grew.  

What is interesting about these caterpillars is that they only eat parsley, fennel, rue and dill.  I did not know this when I planted the parsley, but now that I do, I will probably plant parsley every year.  

We started to find some chrysalises around the house that we would watch in hopes of seeing a butterfly emerge.  But then, we started noticing these little orange spheres on the leaves of the parsley plant and realized the butterflies had laid more eggs!  

These hatched and more tiny caterpillars started eating and growing and eating and growing.  Then one day, I noticed a black swallowtail butterfly flying around our parsley, and as we watched, it would flutter down and place an egg on a leaf, hover and place another egg on another leaf, and so on.  So now the kids and my husband and I have been able to see the entire life cycle of this butterfly in nature - all except for the hatching of the butterfly from the chrysalis.  

All told, we probably had ten hatchings of caterpillars, and got to watch numerous butterflies come lay eggs on our parsley.  

Sorry if this is boring to you, but to our family it has been an amazing display of God's wonder and beauty.  And for me, it has been the perfect gift and inspiration for this year of PWOC.

This wonderment has also been great for our first year of homeschooling, because it has provided many opportunities for activities and educational discussions.  And, you may know the spiritual analogy of the butterfly to the transformation we go through when we accept the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ, but I have been thinking and praying about this a lot and wanted to share my version with you:

So as a new homeschool teacher, please allow me to give a short science lesson.  

Bear with me if this is too elementary for you, I promise I will connect it all together in the end.  

So, the lifecycle of a butterfly goes like this:

An adult butterfly lays an egg.  

-In the case of the Black Swallowtail, it looks like a lot like a shiny, bright orange seed.  

-This is called the "egg" stage.  

-Then the egg hatches and out pops this tiny, scrawny caterpillar.  -This is called the "larva" stage.  

-This is the stage where the caterpillar eats and eats and eats.  

-It can obliterate a plant in days, it eats so much.  

-And it grows.  Pretty fast.  

-The next stage is called the "pupa" stage, and this is when the caterpillar attaches itself to a branch or in one case at our house, a black hose, and this is when the most amazing thing starts to happen.  

So I read about this stage, because we saw some of our caterpillars that had attached to a branch, and it looked like nothing was happening on the outside, but apparently, the change starts on the inside.  

This next excerpt is taken from a website all about butterflies.  This is science ok, listen to this: "Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called ‘metamorphosis,’ to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge."  

I don't know about you, but to me that sounds a lot like this: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"  This is 2 Corinthians 5:17 from the Bible.  How generous of God to give us illustrations of His word right in front of our eyes in nature.  He uses His creation to teach us.

Romans 1:20 says this: "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I would say that most people use the butterfly as this example of God's transformation in their life.  That they were once caterpillars and are now butterflies.  I like this thought.  However, after witnessing these miraculous creatures all summer long, I see it a little bit differently.  

As we emerge from our eggs - our mother's womb and we start to grow, we start consuming whatever we come across.  Be it good wisdom, or bad advice, love or hate, wrath or gentleness, we take it in.  There were a couple caterpillars that wandered from the parsley on to some carrot tops, and I carefully moved them back, thinking, "You're not supposed to eat that!" As do we take in all that we come across, some good some bad.  We grow and grow and learn and grow.  

1 Peter 2:2-3 gives this great advice for caterpillars: "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,  now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Then for those of us who have grown in the Lord, we attach ourselves to the vine, like the Bible says in John 15:5-6  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."  

My husband actually found one of our caterpillars that had started to attach itself and he tried to bring it to us so we could see, but the caterpillar came loose from the twig, and ended up dying.  We need to be careful not to get pulled away from the vine as we attach ourselves to the Lord.

And then, as we are attached to Jesus, this amazing work begins from the inside out.  

I think this was the most striking thing to me about the transformation of a butterfly as it relates to us as Christians, was that once the caterpillar was attached, it did nothing.  The rest of the work is an absolute mysterious transformation.  This is so poignant to us as Christians, because it is not US who does this work, but it is GOD.  And once we give our lives to Jesus, it is by faith that we know He will turn us into butterflies.  We can rest in Him and stop striving to be "good people", and be free in Jesus who has freed us from sin.  

Philippian 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

So here is where my analogy changes a bit from the usual one.  

I think that the pupa stage, the chrysalis stage is actually those of us believers in Christ Jesus who are still on this Earth.  This is the part of our life where we are resting in Jesus, we are in Him, and He is in us.  And we start looking different than the rest of the world.  Things start changing.  

Unlike the caterpillar in the chrysalis, we still have to live our lives and we can't just stay in a sleeping bag all day, but the transformation that is going on inside of us is so mysterious and miraculous.  

And sometimes, on bad days it seems like maybe God has stopped changing us, but we believe by faith that the work is still being done.  We don't see caterpillars in the mirror anymore but we also don't see butterflies yet.  

And this brings me back to Philippians 1:6, because it says we won't be completed until the day of Christ Jesus.  Meaning, we will not be completed until we meet Jesus face to face and He takes us to glorious Heaven.  I think we are still wrapped tight in our chrysalises, and we will not emerge as butterflies until our lives on this Earth have ended.

Let me read you 2 Corinthians 5:5-10

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.  We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.  For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.  While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.  God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.  For we live by believing and not by seeing.  Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.  So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.  For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body."

I think this should encourage us.  

I think whenever we see the image of a butterfly we should remember the good things that God has prepared for us.  We should remember that He is still working on us, even when we don't feel like He is.  We should be encouraged to keep up the good work He has put us here to do, and encourage one another to do the same.  

And like the adult butterflies, we need to plant seeds in peoples' lives and spread the gospel to those who so desperately need it.  

We need to stay firmly attached to the vine and defend ourselves from anything that threatens to detach us.

And if you are not in Jesus, if you are like a caterpillar, still searching for food and growing, please don't get lost and end up on a carrot top.  

Eat the good food that God has given us, read God's word and surround yourself with people who are in Jesus.  

If you want to talk about giving your life to Christ, please talk to any of us board members.  We'd love to pray with you.

Right now, we have five chrysalises on my parsley plant.  We have not yet seen any butterflies emerge yet.  

I did read somewhere that some butterflies will stay in their chrysalis over winter and emerge in the spring.  So we'll see.  But for now, like me these little pupas stay securely fastened to their twigs, like little branches as they let the Lord do the work inside.  By faith, one day they will come out as magnificent butterflies, and by faith so will each one of us, if we continue to stay in Christ Jesus and allow Him to change us from the inside out.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, how wonderful is your creation, even today as the rain falls, we know that it is your design that the Earth be watered so that we can all have water to drink and plants and food to eat.  We thank you for providing all of our needs, but we also thank you because you are so generous that you also give us many blessings that we don’t need, but that encourage us and enlighten us, and help us in life.  I pray that we will see your glory everywhere we look.  I pray that we find miracles everywhere and keep our eyes on all things pure and good and worthy of praise.  I thank you for these wonderful women who are here today God, and for the hands that make every Tuesday run so well.  I pray for our small groups as we move into study time, and I ask that you watch over our children and families here or at home or work.  I pray that we will remember your presence among us, and that we will stay in step with your Holy Spirit as we go through the rest of this week.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.