Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit He gave us. 1 John 3:21-24.
I may be a “mature” lady, but still a veritable toddler in my grasp of God’s incredible generosity, providence, and grace through an effective prayer life.
One thing I’ve found is that at some point, we all have the same question: “Why did my prayer go unanswered?”
Some prayers go unanswered because we never really prayed specifically, and we are out of fellowship with God. To walk in fellowship with God means we must, to the best of our ability, live according to His will, relying on Him for help. We fail hourly, or in my case, each minute of the day and we must confess our sins immediately to always remain in a mindset pleasing to the Father.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me. Psalm 66:18-20
Some prayers go unanswered because they are self-centered rather than God-centered, and there is no expectation that God is going to do anything in response to our prayers. We go through the motions of saying “Thy will be done”, uncaringly…sort of like a teen rolling their eyes and saying “What-eh-ver.” We are pouting, immature humans, flawed, and self-centered. We insist on asking only for what we want and do not understand God’s way and heavily oriented to our own desires. Remember that we also pray “in the name of Jesus,” so how does it honor Him that we ask for anything in His precious name that would grieve and hurt Jesus?
You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:2-3.
It’s not magical or enchantment. It’s not rocket science. It’s pretty simple, really. The closer we walk with the Father, the stronger our will becomes desire to honor Him. He wishes for us to follow His commands and that is our strongest desire. Then, our requests are heard by the Father, because (epiphany warning!)He placed the desire in our hearts! The more I pray for God’s will to be done, the more my dreams come true, because my will is His, my dreams are things He desires for me. In my God’s world, there is no such thing as an impossible dream, or an unanswered prayer.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Double-Minded Malady
Yes, I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in the part of me that is earthly and sinful. I want to do the things that are good, but I do not do them. I do not do the good things I want to do, but I do the bad things I do not want to do. So if I do things I do not want to do, then I am not the one doing them. It is sin living in me that does those things. So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. In my mind, I am happy with God’s law. But I see another law working in my body, which makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and it makes me its prisoner. What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:18-25 NCV
A few weeks ago, our pastor told the story of a missionary visiting an indigenous tribal chief whom the missionary had brought to Christ. “How is the Christian life?” the missionary inquired of the new follower of Christ. “Ah, the Christian life is a difficult one. It feels sometimes as though two dogs battle within me: a good white dog, and an evil black dog,” lamented the chief. “Which dog wins?” asked the missionary. The chief sagely replied, “The dog I feed the most wins.”
Well, seems as though the chief was plagued with the Double-Minded Malady.
Remember the old adage “two heads are better than one?” Using two noggins may in some instances be advantageous… except when two heads occupy the same space! Clearly, we only have one literal head, but when we have Double-Minded Malady, our thoughts, affections, hopes, and purposes are always at odds with one another.
I don’t want to catch this Double-Minded Malady! I know that the best way to ward off illness is to be prepared, or inoculated. So, I did some research—I surfed Internet, googled the term double-minded, and read my Bible. The first occurrence of the term “double-minded” is found in Psalms 119:113 where King David contrasts the laws of God with double-minded men saying, “I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.” Of course, King David was clearly aware of the double-minded malady. At certain moments in his life, he came down with the illness himself. The Apostle James, however, is the one who defines the double-minded malady.
James uses the term double-minded twice in his New Testament letter addressed to “all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world” (James 1:1) and it is the theme throughout the letter. James describes a double-minded person as someone who is divided in his interests or loyalties, wavering, uncertain, two-faced, and half-hearted.
John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible defines the double-minded person as “one who is unstable in all his ways; he is confused in his mind; restless in his thoughts, unsettled in his designs and intentions; inconstant in his petitions; uncertain in his notions and opinion of things; and very variable in his actions, and especially in matters of religion; he is always changing, and never at a point, but at a continual uncertainty, both in a way of thinking and doing: he never continues long either in an opinion, or in a practice, but is ever shifting and moving;” in direct opposition to the Father, “with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow.” James 1:17.
The prophet Elijah held that such non-commitment as “limping between two sides,” (1 Kings 18:21). And Joshua told his people to make a firm commitment to one side or the other. He said, “Choose this day whom you will serve,” (Joshua 24:15).
I don’t know about you-- if someone were to describe me as two-faced, or half-hearted it would really hurt! But we’re all guilty. Even Paul (Romans 7:18) clearly struggled to bring his heart around to the singular focus of Christ and Christ’s behavior. John, who baptized Jesus Christ, witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon the Savior “in bodily form like a dove” and heard a voice from heaven declare, “You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). Yet, while in prison, John sent men to ask Christ “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:19-20). And Peter—we don’t have enough time to discuss his double-minded malady!
Jesus said that He would rather people be for Him or against Him rather than be half-hearted. He called it being "lukewarm" and He was, and is, disgusted by it (Rev. 3:15-16). He insisted that no one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). The Lord calls upon us to make Him our clear-cut choice.
So, what to do in this era of attention deficit disorders—real, imagined, or self-imposed—to stay single-mindedly focused on Christ? Those of us in recovery plans such as AA, SA, NA, or CR are aware of “triggers” that lead us into sin. Add to the triggers the constant bombardment of “corrupt” communications—from coworkers, friends, television, books, movies—behavior far removed from that God expects of His followers is ubiquitous.
Whether in recovery for past sins, or simply struggling to walk in Jesus’ steps, we are flawed, imperfect individuals. To make sure we don’t “catch” the double-minded malady, the Apostle James outlined environments where our attention may be misled. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you have the symptoms of double-minded malady:
What Kind of Prayer Life Do I Have? As a Christian, the first area where double-mindedness demonstrates itself is in our prayer life. Do we pray assuredly? Do we pray with doubt? Doubt in our communication with God short-circuits our relationship with Him. Before asking God for anything, we need to ask ourselves “Is what I am asking His will?” “Is my attitude and is my life in God’s will?” “Are my motives self-centered or God-centered?” James 1:6-8 says, But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind. Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord. We must remain single minded in our prayer lives.
Do I Hear God’s Word and Live God’s Word? James admonishes us against only hearing the Word, and not living the Word. James says that double-mindedness can creep into our attitudes, and advises us to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). As followers of Christ, studying God’s word is the way to become like Christ. We must move beyond just feeling good after reading the Word, to actually striving to be good. We must not let a pleasant, satisfied feeling from learning the Word deceive us into thinking we’ve accomplished something when we haven’t. Christ spoke of imprudent people whose lives are not built on the Rock. Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them is foolish (Matthew 7:24-26). Although no one can earn salvation by anything they do, we can lose our salvation by being hearers only (Hebrews 2).
Am I Guilty of Selective Obedience? Next, James targets double-minded keeping of the law (James 2:8-13). For centuries the Christian world has been of two minds concerning God's law. Its double-mindedness has resulted in the breaking of the royal law according to the scripture (v8). The Old Testament records God's giving of the royal law, which is summarized in Leviticus 19: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (v18). James shows the double-mindedness of embracing one point of the Ten Commandments while breaking another point of this law of love. Notice that the breaking of one point of the law is the same as breaking the whole law (vs 10,11). James warned against inconsistency in our obedience to God. It's much easier to address the broad expression of God's royal law—love (Leviticus 19:18)—than to embrace the specifics of it (Exodus 20:1-17). Without specifics, we each decide for ourselves what love is. But The Bible plainly defines love: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). What sin do you hate the most? Stealing? Lying? Adultery? God wants us to hate every sin. He wants us to hate the breaking of any of the Ten Commandments, as well as anything else that is not pleasing in His sight (1 John 3:22).
Am I a Believer, but Not a Worker? It’s great to have an unwavering belief in the Father, but do my works reflect that belief? In Chapter 2, James warns that faith means more than just belief in God. As followers of Christ, we should be aware that faith without works is dead (v20). James says we should show tangible evidence of our beliefs: Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works (v18). Belief is not enough. Even the demons believe and tremble! (v19). Are my actions clear indications of my loyalty to Christ?
Do I Have My Thought-to-Mouth Filter In Place? Ouch. Probably not. Am I guilty of having an Unbridled Tongue? You know the shame: you think something ugly about someone, and before you can stop the words, they are leaving your lips, the forevermore un-retractable inappropriate comment. “We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself” (James 3:9). An abusive conversation can undermine the powerful influences of prayer, the inspired reading of God's Word, the impartial treatment of people, and faith with works. Before passing along information that could hurt someone, ask yourself: Does this need to be said, or do I just want to say it? Would more harm come by saying it or not saying it? If it needs to be said, am I sharing it with the right person? We all make many mistakes. If people never said anything wrong, they would be perfect and able to control their entire selves, too. (James 3:2)
Is My Lifestyle Reflective of God’s Will? Remember God’s Perfect Law? God's law expresses His will. Jesus spoke of His return in Matthew 7:21-23, when many will cry out “Lord, Lord,” to Him but sadly His reply may be I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. It doesn’t matter how much you believe, Christ said that only he who does the will of My Father in Heaven (v21) will enter His kingdom. God’s will and law are spoken of together, because His Law is an expression of His will.
And finally, How Does My Heart Look? Jesus said, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). We cannot always control what we hear, but we can control what is in our hearts. Every moment the prince of the power of the air relentlessly appropriates us with a multitude of improper thoughts. We must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Remember, the stronger your desire to enjoy the Father and His word, the more vigorously the enemy will try to steal your attention! The enemy will go to great lengths to entertain and divert your thoughts away from Jesus. James advises us to purify our hearts. We must assimilate God’s words and ideals; they must become a part of us—in our hearts and minds.
What is our best prevention against the double-minded malady? We must bring ourselves back, front and center, in each situation, each new day. What we focus on in any given situation will determine our attitudes and our responses. Realistically we know that we’re unable to just focus our heart and minds at one setting and expect to be permanently locked in. Circumstances change, new diversions arise. We must fill our minds and hearts with the right thing. Our Lord deserves better than a lukewarm response to attacks of the enemy.
There is only one requirement for single-minded devotion: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He must be our focus.
So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you. Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You, sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure. James 4:7, 8. NCV
A few weeks ago, our pastor told the story of a missionary visiting an indigenous tribal chief whom the missionary had brought to Christ. “How is the Christian life?” the missionary inquired of the new follower of Christ. “Ah, the Christian life is a difficult one. It feels sometimes as though two dogs battle within me: a good white dog, and an evil black dog,” lamented the chief. “Which dog wins?” asked the missionary. The chief sagely replied, “The dog I feed the most wins.”
Well, seems as though the chief was plagued with the Double-Minded Malady.
Remember the old adage “two heads are better than one?” Using two noggins may in some instances be advantageous… except when two heads occupy the same space! Clearly, we only have one literal head, but when we have Double-Minded Malady, our thoughts, affections, hopes, and purposes are always at odds with one another.
I don’t want to catch this Double-Minded Malady! I know that the best way to ward off illness is to be prepared, or inoculated. So, I did some research—I surfed Internet, googled the term double-minded, and read my Bible. The first occurrence of the term “double-minded” is found in Psalms 119:113 where King David contrasts the laws of God with double-minded men saying, “I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.” Of course, King David was clearly aware of the double-minded malady. At certain moments in his life, he came down with the illness himself. The Apostle James, however, is the one who defines the double-minded malady.
James uses the term double-minded twice in his New Testament letter addressed to “all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world” (James 1:1) and it is the theme throughout the letter. James describes a double-minded person as someone who is divided in his interests or loyalties, wavering, uncertain, two-faced, and half-hearted.
John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible defines the double-minded person as “one who is unstable in all his ways; he is confused in his mind; restless in his thoughts, unsettled in his designs and intentions; inconstant in his petitions; uncertain in his notions and opinion of things; and very variable in his actions, and especially in matters of religion; he is always changing, and never at a point, but at a continual uncertainty, both in a way of thinking and doing: he never continues long either in an opinion, or in a practice, but is ever shifting and moving;” in direct opposition to the Father, “with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow.” James 1:17.
The prophet Elijah held that such non-commitment as “limping between two sides,” (1 Kings 18:21). And Joshua told his people to make a firm commitment to one side or the other. He said, “Choose this day whom you will serve,” (Joshua 24:15).
I don’t know about you-- if someone were to describe me as two-faced, or half-hearted it would really hurt! But we’re all guilty. Even Paul (Romans 7:18) clearly struggled to bring his heart around to the singular focus of Christ and Christ’s behavior. John, who baptized Jesus Christ, witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon the Savior “in bodily form like a dove” and heard a voice from heaven declare, “You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). Yet, while in prison, John sent men to ask Christ “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:19-20). And Peter—we don’t have enough time to discuss his double-minded malady!
Jesus said that He would rather people be for Him or against Him rather than be half-hearted. He called it being "lukewarm" and He was, and is, disgusted by it (Rev. 3:15-16). He insisted that no one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). The Lord calls upon us to make Him our clear-cut choice.
So, what to do in this era of attention deficit disorders—real, imagined, or self-imposed—to stay single-mindedly focused on Christ? Those of us in recovery plans such as AA, SA, NA, or CR are aware of “triggers” that lead us into sin. Add to the triggers the constant bombardment of “corrupt” communications—from coworkers, friends, television, books, movies—behavior far removed from that God expects of His followers is ubiquitous.
Whether in recovery for past sins, or simply struggling to walk in Jesus’ steps, we are flawed, imperfect individuals. To make sure we don’t “catch” the double-minded malady, the Apostle James outlined environments where our attention may be misled. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you have the symptoms of double-minded malady:
What Kind of Prayer Life Do I Have? As a Christian, the first area where double-mindedness demonstrates itself is in our prayer life. Do we pray assuredly? Do we pray with doubt? Doubt in our communication with God short-circuits our relationship with Him. Before asking God for anything, we need to ask ourselves “Is what I am asking His will?” “Is my attitude and is my life in God’s will?” “Are my motives self-centered or God-centered?” James 1:6-8 says, But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind. Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord. We must remain single minded in our prayer lives.
Do I Hear God’s Word and Live God’s Word? James admonishes us against only hearing the Word, and not living the Word. James says that double-mindedness can creep into our attitudes, and advises us to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). As followers of Christ, studying God’s word is the way to become like Christ. We must move beyond just feeling good after reading the Word, to actually striving to be good. We must not let a pleasant, satisfied feeling from learning the Word deceive us into thinking we’ve accomplished something when we haven’t. Christ spoke of imprudent people whose lives are not built on the Rock. Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them is foolish (Matthew 7:24-26). Although no one can earn salvation by anything they do, we can lose our salvation by being hearers only (Hebrews 2).
Am I Guilty of Selective Obedience? Next, James targets double-minded keeping of the law (James 2:8-13). For centuries the Christian world has been of two minds concerning God's law. Its double-mindedness has resulted in the breaking of the royal law according to the scripture (v8). The Old Testament records God's giving of the royal law, which is summarized in Leviticus 19: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (v18). James shows the double-mindedness of embracing one point of the Ten Commandments while breaking another point of this law of love. Notice that the breaking of one point of the law is the same as breaking the whole law (vs 10,11). James warned against inconsistency in our obedience to God. It's much easier to address the broad expression of God's royal law—love (Leviticus 19:18)—than to embrace the specifics of it (Exodus 20:1-17). Without specifics, we each decide for ourselves what love is. But The Bible plainly defines love: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). What sin do you hate the most? Stealing? Lying? Adultery? God wants us to hate every sin. He wants us to hate the breaking of any of the Ten Commandments, as well as anything else that is not pleasing in His sight (1 John 3:22).
Am I a Believer, but Not a Worker? It’s great to have an unwavering belief in the Father, but do my works reflect that belief? In Chapter 2, James warns that faith means more than just belief in God. As followers of Christ, we should be aware that faith without works is dead (v20). James says we should show tangible evidence of our beliefs: Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works (v18). Belief is not enough. Even the demons believe and tremble! (v19). Are my actions clear indications of my loyalty to Christ?
Do I Have My Thought-to-Mouth Filter In Place? Ouch. Probably not. Am I guilty of having an Unbridled Tongue? You know the shame: you think something ugly about someone, and before you can stop the words, they are leaving your lips, the forevermore un-retractable inappropriate comment. “We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself” (James 3:9). An abusive conversation can undermine the powerful influences of prayer, the inspired reading of God's Word, the impartial treatment of people, and faith with works. Before passing along information that could hurt someone, ask yourself: Does this need to be said, or do I just want to say it? Would more harm come by saying it or not saying it? If it needs to be said, am I sharing it with the right person? We all make many mistakes. If people never said anything wrong, they would be perfect and able to control their entire selves, too. (James 3:2)
Is My Lifestyle Reflective of God’s Will? Remember God’s Perfect Law? God's law expresses His will. Jesus spoke of His return in Matthew 7:21-23, when many will cry out “Lord, Lord,” to Him but sadly His reply may be I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. It doesn’t matter how much you believe, Christ said that only he who does the will of My Father in Heaven (v21) will enter His kingdom. God’s will and law are spoken of together, because His Law is an expression of His will.
And finally, How Does My Heart Look? Jesus said, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). We cannot always control what we hear, but we can control what is in our hearts. Every moment the prince of the power of the air relentlessly appropriates us with a multitude of improper thoughts. We must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Remember, the stronger your desire to enjoy the Father and His word, the more vigorously the enemy will try to steal your attention! The enemy will go to great lengths to entertain and divert your thoughts away from Jesus. James advises us to purify our hearts. We must assimilate God’s words and ideals; they must become a part of us—in our hearts and minds.
What is our best prevention against the double-minded malady? We must bring ourselves back, front and center, in each situation, each new day. What we focus on in any given situation will determine our attitudes and our responses. Realistically we know that we’re unable to just focus our heart and minds at one setting and expect to be permanently locked in. Circumstances change, new diversions arise. We must fill our minds and hearts with the right thing. Our Lord deserves better than a lukewarm response to attacks of the enemy.
There is only one requirement for single-minded devotion: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He must be our focus.
So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you. Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You, sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure. James 4:7, 8. NCV
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sing Them Over Again to Me--Wonderful Words of Life
I’m all about words. I love the pictures words paint in my mind, the feelings evoked by words, and the sounds made by words. When someone speaks to me, or I’m reading, pictures with sound are moving in my mind (most of the time cartoons, but that’s another story for another day).
For instance, read these words out loud: “pink,” “angel,” “kitty,” “puppy,” and “sunny.” Now, don’t you feel a little less tightly-wound? (If you’re not wound tightly enough, say the words “weight gain” or “Internet service not available” out loud.)
The word “snorkel” always makes me laugh. I don’t know why—it’s just a funny word. What exactly is the origin of a “snorkel?” It’s like a sound someone makes while laughing and drinking water simultaneously. So, not only does snorkel sound funny, it creates a funny image. “Pop” and “bump” make sounds. “Pain” is felt.
I can never say the word “behold” without doing so dramatically-- standing on my tip toes, sweeping my arms open wide and gazing toward the heavens to the sound (in my head) of a harp. In my small world of words, without drama, “behold” just doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight.
But the word “Commitment” --now that’s a word with some heft. Commitment requires a capital letter (it’s important). Commitment stops me in my tracks (it’s physical). I pay attention. I honor the word. Commitment isn’t a soft, calm-feeling word. Commitment has angles and edges. Commitment doesn’t amuse us—it’s a very solemn word. In fact, Commitment frightens a lot of us. Commitment has the sound of strength. The word Commitment creates pictures of steadfastness: a tired and wounded soldier on the battlefield, a couple pledging devotion and faithfulness before God, the witnessed signature of a binding legal document …these are all life-changing, imposing acts of allegiance. Commitments.
Why do we make a “commitment?” For love? For status? Do we make commitments simply because of entitlement and reward? I believe that we were created with a profound desire for commitment to God. Our deep-rooted yearning for connection with the Lord is reflected by our commitment to His service, and by living lives that are exemplary of the lifestyle, mind set, and emotional maturity He commands of us. After all, He made a commitment to us, first; and then as proof of His commitment, offered His only Son as a living sacrifice, so we would know the level of His love and commitment to us. Commitment to our church, our choir, our Sunday School class are not obligations, but invitations to connect with God through His Son, Jesus. How small are our struggles in comparison. How trivial are our pops, bumps, and pain. How amazing is His love and grace.
How do we keep our commitment to Him? By living in His Word. His Word is felt. His Word creates an image. His Word comforts and strengthens us for our earthly journey. The apostle Paul has a word for us:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for me, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23, 24
I just love God’s Word. Don’t you?
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. *
*Phillip P. Bliss, 1838-1876
For instance, read these words out loud: “pink,” “angel,” “kitty,” “puppy,” and “sunny.” Now, don’t you feel a little less tightly-wound? (If you’re not wound tightly enough, say the words “weight gain” or “Internet service not available” out loud.)
The word “snorkel” always makes me laugh. I don’t know why—it’s just a funny word. What exactly is the origin of a “snorkel?” It’s like a sound someone makes while laughing and drinking water simultaneously. So, not only does snorkel sound funny, it creates a funny image. “Pop” and “bump” make sounds. “Pain” is felt.
I can never say the word “behold” without doing so dramatically-- standing on my tip toes, sweeping my arms open wide and gazing toward the heavens to the sound (in my head) of a harp. In my small world of words, without drama, “behold” just doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight.
But the word “Commitment” --now that’s a word with some heft. Commitment requires a capital letter (it’s important). Commitment stops me in my tracks (it’s physical). I pay attention. I honor the word. Commitment isn’t a soft, calm-feeling word. Commitment has angles and edges. Commitment doesn’t amuse us—it’s a very solemn word. In fact, Commitment frightens a lot of us. Commitment has the sound of strength. The word Commitment creates pictures of steadfastness: a tired and wounded soldier on the battlefield, a couple pledging devotion and faithfulness before God, the witnessed signature of a binding legal document …these are all life-changing, imposing acts of allegiance. Commitments.
Why do we make a “commitment?” For love? For status? Do we make commitments simply because of entitlement and reward? I believe that we were created with a profound desire for commitment to God. Our deep-rooted yearning for connection with the Lord is reflected by our commitment to His service, and by living lives that are exemplary of the lifestyle, mind set, and emotional maturity He commands of us. After all, He made a commitment to us, first; and then as proof of His commitment, offered His only Son as a living sacrifice, so we would know the level of His love and commitment to us. Commitment to our church, our choir, our Sunday School class are not obligations, but invitations to connect with God through His Son, Jesus. How small are our struggles in comparison. How trivial are our pops, bumps, and pain. How amazing is His love and grace.
How do we keep our commitment to Him? By living in His Word. His Word is felt. His Word creates an image. His Word comforts and strengthens us for our earthly journey. The apostle Paul has a word for us:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for me, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23, 24
I just love God’s Word. Don’t you?
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. *
*Phillip P. Bliss, 1838-1876
Monday, July 19, 2010
Loving the Unlovable
"Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and can't really get rid of it." The Case for Christianity, C.S. Lewis
I don’t know where I first heard the term “The Unlovable”.
Beth Moore refers to “The Unloveable” as The Testy’s. We all have at least one. I respect the anonymity of my Testy, but to tell you the truth, any dealings with this person drives me to so much distraction, I must quickly find, then consume, copious amounts of Bryers® ice cream, doesn’t matter what flavor, slathered in rich, dark, sweet Hershey’s® chocolate syrup.
Okay, so I have more than one Testy. Different Testy’s, different distraction, all food related.
Sigh.
Anyway, my pastor is a gifted, anointed, holds-no-punches, directly-from-the-Word-of-God man, and purposed us last Sunday, to love one another without judgment; The Testy’s, The Unlovable, brothers and sisters in Christ, family members…everyone. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.
This made me wonder …what exactly makes a person an “Unlovable” or a “Testy?” Why is it so difficult for us to love some folks?
I have come to the belief that my Testy and Unlovable are difficult to love because they do things differently from how I feel they should. In other words; I judge!
Is it just me? Aren’t we all carrying around some smugness, because, as Christians, we don’t judge or attempt to correct the irritable cashier, or the young man with gravity-defying pants without a belt, or those that seem pleased with themselves? Hmm, how many judgments did I just pass in that last sentence?
We convince ourselves we’re not judging…but we are! We’d like that cashier to be a little happier; for that young man to pull up his pants, and we’d really like to humble that self-congratulatory social climber. They steal our joy! How insensitive of them! We need to feel our God all of the time, and they are guilty of stealin’ the feelin’!
If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. Matthew 5:46, The Message.
We all do it. We are all guilty of judging and not loving. Jesus told us it wouldn’t be easy. It isn’t. Sometimes, when we’re around our Testy or our Unlovable, we just don’t “feel” God.
Think about your immediate family and your family in Christ for a moment. Do you love them all without judgment? Our families are full of those we have judged mercilessly and deemed as Testy or Unlovable, because they behave differently than we feel they should; but really, who are we to judge? Maybe they are secretly harboring shame, grudges, pain. Perhaps they are branded very publicly by divorce, an abusive spouse, an addiction, or contaminated by a disease they never wanted. Are we able to overlook sins and love them as Jesus commanded?
Why do we think we are the expert, the evaluator? We base our judgment on our individually warped perspectives; a view through our personally-built walls of defense mechanisms. We’ve harnessed away our own painful circumstances and built up towers of denial and bravado. Instead of looking at others through the eyes of Jesus, we are peering over a huge wall of Self. So, how can we know, for sure, who is behaving badly?
I believe that instead of focusing on changing others, I must always pray to change myself.
It’s fairly simple, really. Love is found within a person; and if that love begins with the love of God, then it becomes easy to love The Testy, the Unlovable. God is love and, unless we have God in us, we are incapable of loving the unlovable.
Look, problematic people don’t perturb the Eternal One. Hard hearts don’t faze the Father! There are hearts in our world that we cannot change. But Jesus can! So we must pray for change, especially within ourselves!
The next time those thoughts of judgment intrude your peace, or your Testy and Unlovable makes you doubt the presence of God, take a look around.
Is God in you? Are you avoiding His presence?
Romans 12: 9, 10 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves. 12 Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Share with God’s people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your homes. Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad. 16 Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant.
Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love.
I don’t know where I first heard the term “The Unlovable”.
Beth Moore refers to “The Unloveable” as The Testy’s. We all have at least one. I respect the anonymity of my Testy, but to tell you the truth, any dealings with this person drives me to so much distraction, I must quickly find, then consume, copious amounts of Bryers® ice cream, doesn’t matter what flavor, slathered in rich, dark, sweet Hershey’s® chocolate syrup.
Okay, so I have more than one Testy. Different Testy’s, different distraction, all food related.
Sigh.
Anyway, my pastor is a gifted, anointed, holds-no-punches, directly-from-the-Word-of-God man, and purposed us last Sunday, to love one another without judgment; The Testy’s, The Unlovable, brothers and sisters in Christ, family members…everyone. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.
This made me wonder …what exactly makes a person an “Unlovable” or a “Testy?” Why is it so difficult for us to love some folks?
I have come to the belief that my Testy and Unlovable are difficult to love because they do things differently from how I feel they should. In other words; I judge!
Is it just me? Aren’t we all carrying around some smugness, because, as Christians, we don’t judge or attempt to correct the irritable cashier, or the young man with gravity-defying pants without a belt, or those that seem pleased with themselves? Hmm, how many judgments did I just pass in that last sentence?
We convince ourselves we’re not judging…but we are! We’d like that cashier to be a little happier; for that young man to pull up his pants, and we’d really like to humble that self-congratulatory social climber. They steal our joy! How insensitive of them! We need to feel our God all of the time, and they are guilty of stealin’ the feelin’!
If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. Matthew 5:46, The Message.
We all do it. We are all guilty of judging and not loving. Jesus told us it wouldn’t be easy. It isn’t. Sometimes, when we’re around our Testy or our Unlovable, we just don’t “feel” God.
Think about your immediate family and your family in Christ for a moment. Do you love them all without judgment? Our families are full of those we have judged mercilessly and deemed as Testy or Unlovable, because they behave differently than we feel they should; but really, who are we to judge? Maybe they are secretly harboring shame, grudges, pain. Perhaps they are branded very publicly by divorce, an abusive spouse, an addiction, or contaminated by a disease they never wanted. Are we able to overlook sins and love them as Jesus commanded?
Why do we think we are the expert, the evaluator? We base our judgment on our individually warped perspectives; a view through our personally-built walls of defense mechanisms. We’ve harnessed away our own painful circumstances and built up towers of denial and bravado. Instead of looking at others through the eyes of Jesus, we are peering over a huge wall of Self. So, how can we know, for sure, who is behaving badly?
I believe that instead of focusing on changing others, I must always pray to change myself.
It’s fairly simple, really. Love is found within a person; and if that love begins with the love of God, then it becomes easy to love The Testy, the Unlovable. God is love and, unless we have God in us, we are incapable of loving the unlovable.
Look, problematic people don’t perturb the Eternal One. Hard hearts don’t faze the Father! There are hearts in our world that we cannot change. But Jesus can! So we must pray for change, especially within ourselves!
The next time those thoughts of judgment intrude your peace, or your Testy and Unlovable makes you doubt the presence of God, take a look around.
Is God in you? Are you avoiding His presence?
Romans 12: 9, 10 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves. 12 Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Share with God’s people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your homes. Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad. 16 Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant.
Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14: READY
Wow! We’ve been busy! In lessons 1 through 13, we’ve:
1. Admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, and admitted that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
But now is not the time to stop, settle down, and get lazy! In fact, our recovery is not inert. Our recovery involves constant motion, constant activity.
Lesson 14: Ready, is a compilation of Principle 5: Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.” Matthew 5:6.
And Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove all those defects of character. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. “ James 4:10.
A lot of the Celebrate Recovery material refers to this Lesson as where the children separate from the adults, because up until this point, we’ve done a lot of admitting to ourselves and before God, of our wrongs.
But now? We must give up, and let go, of some of our very own personality traits that make up our character. Even though we are very willing to have certain character defects go away, some are hard for us to give up, and after all, involve CHANGE…which is one of our biggest fears.
And some of our character defects are hard to give up, because we don’t see them as defects. For instance, as a victim of abuse, PRIDE, I felt, helped me stand up for myself, take action, not be a doormat.
GREED made me protective of my income, my home, my job, but also isolated me my own prison of solitude—the very thing I was afraid of!
LYING, I thought, helped me reassure family and close Christian friends that I did not have any addictions.
There was that time in my life, my moment of clarity, when I wanted to die, and instead reached out to God…but was I ready to stop lying? Ready to stop being greedy, ready to HUMBLE myself?
We’ve all spent a lot of time indulging our character defects, whatever they may be. In fact, that is why we’re attending Celebrate Recovery! It’s all an effort to remove these character defects, so that God’s glory shines through.
Now, however is not the time to indulge those defects. Now is the time to humble ourselves and admit to ourselves PRIDE, GREED, LIES, whatever your defect ARE INDEED defects, and they are stifling and disabling our healing, and our efforts to lead purposeful, God-filled lives.
So we’ve done a lot of work, and have come to this principle, lesson, and step.
You and God, together, are going after those defects. ALL of them.
I am a word person, I love words, semantics…so the first word that popped into my mind about lesson 14 was: Humility. So tonight, let’s try to remember: Humility is not a character defect!
When you think of the world humility, what person comes to mind? I don’t know about you, but I always think of Jesus, and I live to be more like Jesus, so I must be humble.
Let’s put this thought in our hearts and minds: Father, I am nothing, without Jesus, who is everything.
And with that in our hearts…let’s go to the first letter of Ready.
R: RELEASE control. I call this The Codependents NIGHTMARE.
In Principle 5, you must be willing to let God into every area of your life. He can’t come in and clean up an area until you are ready and willing to ask Him.
In much of the CR material, I found the following quote. It’s never referenced, so I don’t know where it was generated, but it’s a good analogy.
“Willingness is the key that goes into the lock and opens the door that allows God to begin to remove your character defects. “
Listen to what David says in Psalm 143:10: “Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good.”
God is a gentleman. He doesn’t force His will on us. He waits for us to invite Him in.
RELEASE control. Let go and Let God.
E: Easy Does It! This would probably be the prideful person’s nightmare!
These wonderful principles and steps are not quick fixes. We must learn to apply them day by day, or in my case, minute by minute, thought by thought. God needs time to work in our lives. And we’re not just stopping our bad behaviors and habits, our sins.
Our sin is a symptom of the character defect.
Let’s think about that for a moment: our sin, is our addiction, be it alcohol, drugs, sexual integrity. Imagine your “sin” as a weed in a garden. How do you get rid of weeds? You don’t just address the surface and make it temporarily disappear. You must pull it out by the roots.
The roots are the actual defects of character that cause the sin. In my case, the major sin in my life was alcohol. That was the act, the sin. The defect of character that caused the sin was lack of a positive self image, and mainly FEAR that cause me to sin by abusing alcohol.
It takes time to dig beneath the surface of our sin, to uncover the character defects that cause us to sin. And it’s more difficult to let go of these character defects, especially since we’ve given up the sins…but giving up the sins is only half the battle! If we don’t let go of the character defects, we will continue to sin.
So go easy, but do go forward. Allow God time to work. He will do it. He promised! Again, who better than David knew this:
Psalm 37:5 says “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and HE will.”
A: ACCEPT the Change
Yes, I said ACCEPT. Change is tough…we think we’ve mastered our sin when we see the need for change, but that is simply not so.
Seeing the need for change and allowing the change to occur are two different things.
The space between recognition and willingness can be, most assuredly will be filled with fear. And, FEAR triggers our old dependency on self. Right?
Again, remember humility. This principle will not work if we are still trapped by our self will. We need to be ready to accept God’s help throughout the transition.
1 Peter 1:13-14 says: “So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant.”
Ultimate surrender.
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
All we need is the willingness to let God lead us on our road to recovery.
D: DO Replace Your Character Defects
Again, we’ve spent a lot of time with our old hang-ups, compulsions, obsessions, and bad habits…we’re comfortable with them. So when God in His mercy and grace removes one, we need to replace it with something positive, such as church activities and volunteering.
If you don’t, you open yourself up for a negative character defect to return.
After living in more than one domestic abuse environment with a psychopath, and seeing craziness and disorder occur in front of my own eyes, and directed toward me…I can only speak for myself, but I can tell you that I developed hypersensitivity to nuances, temperatures, and auras circulating.
I’ve expressed to many of you, that, since I have been in recovery, I’ve become very aware of being in a situation, be it conversation, or environment, that was not Godly, in fact, that may be ‘bad” for me.
So…I got cold chills when I read Matthew 12:43-45: “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, “I will go back to my house.” So it goes back and finds the house empty,…then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse that itself, and they come to live there.”
Since we are in recovery for sins that took up a lot of our time, it’s important to fill that new time on our hands with positive, healthy, Godly things, that bring us closer to him. I was fortunate to have married a Godly man, who I enjoy spending time with, and finding a church where God is definitely in da house!
Giving up my pride and my fear, has put me in the presence of more Godly people and environment…I will be forever grateful and humbled by His work in my life.
Y: YIELD to the Growth.
Speaking of being sensitive to nuances, feelings, you are at war with yourself.
The Holy Spirit is working in you.
But, Self is telling you that you’re not worthy of progress. Low self image will tell you that you are the ugliest of uglies, the dirtiest of dirties.
So, you think your sins are too big for God? How prideful is that?! Don’t listen! When has your low self esteem ever been right about ANYTHING?!
Stop being a whipping post, instead listen to the Holy Spirit who will tell you: “The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him—he has been born again” 1 John 3:9.
Give in, yield to God, and embrace the changes He is making in your life.
Wrap it up: the question is, Are you entirely ready to voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in your life?”
Are you humble enough?
Are you ready for the powerful work God can do?
If you are, then pray this prayer with me:
Dear God, thank You for taking me this far in my recovery journey. Now I pray for Your help in making me be entirely ready to change all my shortcomings. Give me the strength to deal with all of my character defects that I have turned over to You. Allow me to accept all the changes that you want to make in me. Help me be the person that You want me to be. In the name of Jesus, your Son, I pray, Amen.
1. Admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, and admitted that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
But now is not the time to stop, settle down, and get lazy! In fact, our recovery is not inert. Our recovery involves constant motion, constant activity.
Lesson 14: Ready, is a compilation of Principle 5: Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.” Matthew 5:6.
And Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove all those defects of character. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. “ James 4:10.
A lot of the Celebrate Recovery material refers to this Lesson as where the children separate from the adults, because up until this point, we’ve done a lot of admitting to ourselves and before God, of our wrongs.
But now? We must give up, and let go, of some of our very own personality traits that make up our character. Even though we are very willing to have certain character defects go away, some are hard for us to give up, and after all, involve CHANGE…which is one of our biggest fears.
And some of our character defects are hard to give up, because we don’t see them as defects. For instance, as a victim of abuse, PRIDE, I felt, helped me stand up for myself, take action, not be a doormat.
GREED made me protective of my income, my home, my job, but also isolated me my own prison of solitude—the very thing I was afraid of!
LYING, I thought, helped me reassure family and close Christian friends that I did not have any addictions.
There was that time in my life, my moment of clarity, when I wanted to die, and instead reached out to God…but was I ready to stop lying? Ready to stop being greedy, ready to HUMBLE myself?
We’ve all spent a lot of time indulging our character defects, whatever they may be. In fact, that is why we’re attending Celebrate Recovery! It’s all an effort to remove these character defects, so that God’s glory shines through.
Now, however is not the time to indulge those defects. Now is the time to humble ourselves and admit to ourselves PRIDE, GREED, LIES, whatever your defect ARE INDEED defects, and they are stifling and disabling our healing, and our efforts to lead purposeful, God-filled lives.
So we’ve done a lot of work, and have come to this principle, lesson, and step.
You and God, together, are going after those defects. ALL of them.
I am a word person, I love words, semantics…so the first word that popped into my mind about lesson 14 was: Humility. So tonight, let’s try to remember: Humility is not a character defect!
When you think of the world humility, what person comes to mind? I don’t know about you, but I always think of Jesus, and I live to be more like Jesus, so I must be humble.
Let’s put this thought in our hearts and minds: Father, I am nothing, without Jesus, who is everything.
And with that in our hearts…let’s go to the first letter of Ready.
R: RELEASE control. I call this The Codependents NIGHTMARE.
In Principle 5, you must be willing to let God into every area of your life. He can’t come in and clean up an area until you are ready and willing to ask Him.
In much of the CR material, I found the following quote. It’s never referenced, so I don’t know where it was generated, but it’s a good analogy.
“Willingness is the key that goes into the lock and opens the door that allows God to begin to remove your character defects. “
Listen to what David says in Psalm 143:10: “Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good.”
God is a gentleman. He doesn’t force His will on us. He waits for us to invite Him in.
RELEASE control. Let go and Let God.
E: Easy Does It! This would probably be the prideful person’s nightmare!
These wonderful principles and steps are not quick fixes. We must learn to apply them day by day, or in my case, minute by minute, thought by thought. God needs time to work in our lives. And we’re not just stopping our bad behaviors and habits, our sins.
Our sin is a symptom of the character defect.
Let’s think about that for a moment: our sin, is our addiction, be it alcohol, drugs, sexual integrity. Imagine your “sin” as a weed in a garden. How do you get rid of weeds? You don’t just address the surface and make it temporarily disappear. You must pull it out by the roots.
The roots are the actual defects of character that cause the sin. In my case, the major sin in my life was alcohol. That was the act, the sin. The defect of character that caused the sin was lack of a positive self image, and mainly FEAR that cause me to sin by abusing alcohol.
It takes time to dig beneath the surface of our sin, to uncover the character defects that cause us to sin. And it’s more difficult to let go of these character defects, especially since we’ve given up the sins…but giving up the sins is only half the battle! If we don’t let go of the character defects, we will continue to sin.
So go easy, but do go forward. Allow God time to work. He will do it. He promised! Again, who better than David knew this:
Psalm 37:5 says “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and HE will.”
A: ACCEPT the Change
Yes, I said ACCEPT. Change is tough…we think we’ve mastered our sin when we see the need for change, but that is simply not so.
Seeing the need for change and allowing the change to occur are two different things.
The space between recognition and willingness can be, most assuredly will be filled with fear. And, FEAR triggers our old dependency on self. Right?
Again, remember humility. This principle will not work if we are still trapped by our self will. We need to be ready to accept God’s help throughout the transition.
1 Peter 1:13-14 says: “So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant.”
Ultimate surrender.
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
All we need is the willingness to let God lead us on our road to recovery.
D: DO Replace Your Character Defects
Again, we’ve spent a lot of time with our old hang-ups, compulsions, obsessions, and bad habits…we’re comfortable with them. So when God in His mercy and grace removes one, we need to replace it with something positive, such as church activities and volunteering.
If you don’t, you open yourself up for a negative character defect to return.
After living in more than one domestic abuse environment with a psychopath, and seeing craziness and disorder occur in front of my own eyes, and directed toward me…I can only speak for myself, but I can tell you that I developed hypersensitivity to nuances, temperatures, and auras circulating.
I’ve expressed to many of you, that, since I have been in recovery, I’ve become very aware of being in a situation, be it conversation, or environment, that was not Godly, in fact, that may be ‘bad” for me.
So…I got cold chills when I read Matthew 12:43-45: “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, “I will go back to my house.” So it goes back and finds the house empty,…then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse that itself, and they come to live there.”
Since we are in recovery for sins that took up a lot of our time, it’s important to fill that new time on our hands with positive, healthy, Godly things, that bring us closer to him. I was fortunate to have married a Godly man, who I enjoy spending time with, and finding a church where God is definitely in da house!
Giving up my pride and my fear, has put me in the presence of more Godly people and environment…I will be forever grateful and humbled by His work in my life.
Y: YIELD to the Growth.
Speaking of being sensitive to nuances, feelings, you are at war with yourself.
The Holy Spirit is working in you.
But, Self is telling you that you’re not worthy of progress. Low self image will tell you that you are the ugliest of uglies, the dirtiest of dirties.
So, you think your sins are too big for God? How prideful is that?! Don’t listen! When has your low self esteem ever been right about ANYTHING?!
Stop being a whipping post, instead listen to the Holy Spirit who will tell you: “The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him—he has been born again” 1 John 3:9.
Give in, yield to God, and embrace the changes He is making in your life.
Wrap it up: the question is, Are you entirely ready to voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in your life?”
Are you humble enough?
Are you ready for the powerful work God can do?
If you are, then pray this prayer with me:
Dear God, thank You for taking me this far in my recovery journey. Now I pray for Your help in making me be entirely ready to change all my shortcomings. Give me the strength to deal with all of my character defects that I have turned over to You. Allow me to accept all the changes that you want to make in me. Help me be the person that You want me to be. In the name of Jesus, your Son, I pray, Amen.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
O Ye of Little (size of a mustard seed!) Faith
The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!” The Lord said, ‘If your faith were the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6 NCV
Is it just me, or are ya’ll a little tired of folks telling you, as you stumble along life’s trials, that you just don’t have enough faith?
If you’ve not heard that from a well-intentioned brother or sister, I’ll bet you can remember times when loved ones were very ill, not improving, it was said they “just didn’t have enough faith.” Maybe there was an occasion when your family experienced crisis and someone attempted to “cheer you up” by admonishing “You just don’t have enough faith!” You’ve got to have more faith.”
It’s become a cliché! I’m aware I may be a little hypersensitive to the phrase…as you know my tolerance toward clichés is limited, at best. But it’s just not helpful! Telling someone they “don’t have enough faith” doesn’t help them acquire more faith!
I believe the problem with this (shudder) cliché is that it implies that the person saying it has more faith…is on a higher standard of belief. Naturally, this offends us. Yet, Jesus said, oh ye of little faith, on several occasions to his disciples. It was a rebuke leveled at the disciples of Christ, when seeming to doubt his divinity.
Hmmmm. I wonder how would my faith stand up to walking on water if told to step out of the boat in the middle of the ocean?
On the other hand, Jesus said about the Centurion and the Samaritan woman, that they both had “great” faith.
James 1 v 2-4 say, 'Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.'
According to this verse, faith is clearly something that has to be developed in us through trials and tribulations. James says that this testing of our faith will lead to maturity.
Perhaps your brother or sister in Christ has been through tests, trials, and difficulties that you have yet to face. Through these times they have grown to see the Father’s faithfulness. Some of us have yet to walk those hard paths; yet none of us lack faith.
When our faith is being tested, we are maturing. That is the time to really live in His word and rejoice in the difficulties that come our way, knowing that our Heavenly Father has a particular reason for allowing this “refining.”
God doesn’t ask for the size and shape of our faith, just that we have faith! It’s not about the measure of faith you have, it’s how you cling to your faith in the LORD when tested. Where do you place your faith when struggling?
So, the next time someone tells you “You’ve got to have faith!” smile and reply, “I do, brother! I do!” Then, ask God how your suffering can bring you closer to Him, and thank Him that He is a good God and will provide shelter for you no matter what you’re going through. That’s faith enough for Him!
Is it just me, or are ya’ll a little tired of folks telling you, as you stumble along life’s trials, that you just don’t have enough faith?
If you’ve not heard that from a well-intentioned brother or sister, I’ll bet you can remember times when loved ones were very ill, not improving, it was said they “just didn’t have enough faith.” Maybe there was an occasion when your family experienced crisis and someone attempted to “cheer you up” by admonishing “You just don’t have enough faith!” You’ve got to have more faith.”
It’s become a cliché! I’m aware I may be a little hypersensitive to the phrase…as you know my tolerance toward clichés is limited, at best. But it’s just not helpful! Telling someone they “don’t have enough faith” doesn’t help them acquire more faith!
I believe the problem with this (shudder) cliché is that it implies that the person saying it has more faith…is on a higher standard of belief. Naturally, this offends us. Yet, Jesus said, oh ye of little faith, on several occasions to his disciples. It was a rebuke leveled at the disciples of Christ, when seeming to doubt his divinity.
Hmmmm. I wonder how would my faith stand up to walking on water if told to step out of the boat in the middle of the ocean?
On the other hand, Jesus said about the Centurion and the Samaritan woman, that they both had “great” faith.
James 1 v 2-4 say, 'Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.'
According to this verse, faith is clearly something that has to be developed in us through trials and tribulations. James says that this testing of our faith will lead to maturity.
Perhaps your brother or sister in Christ has been through tests, trials, and difficulties that you have yet to face. Through these times they have grown to see the Father’s faithfulness. Some of us have yet to walk those hard paths; yet none of us lack faith.
When our faith is being tested, we are maturing. That is the time to really live in His word and rejoice in the difficulties that come our way, knowing that our Heavenly Father has a particular reason for allowing this “refining.”
God doesn’t ask for the size and shape of our faith, just that we have faith! It’s not about the measure of faith you have, it’s how you cling to your faith in the LORD when tested. Where do you place your faith when struggling?
So, the next time someone tells you “You’ve got to have faith!” smile and reply, “I do, brother! I do!” Then, ask God how your suffering can bring you closer to Him, and thank Him that He is a good God and will provide shelter for you no matter what you’re going through. That’s faith enough for Him!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I Love to Tell the Story
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6
One of the most thrilling ways for me to share Jesus is to give my pure, wholehearted testimony. My testimony is the basis of my witness. It is my story and it carries great authority because it is my account of what God, through Jesus Christ, has done in my life.
Honestly? It’s easy to share my testimony. My Father performed such miraculous healing in my life, I’m nearly bursting at the seams to share the story of my complete reconstruction by God’s grace.
For you, giving your testimony may be challenging. You may be wondering, “Where do I start? How do I finish?” Or your may be thinking, “My story isn’t special. My story isn’t finished yet…I’m not at the testimony stage yet.” Perhaps you feel you are still harboring some hurt and shame and need to make amends. Hey, our hearts aren’t perfect, but neither are they decayed. And even though we’re not invincible, at least we’re engaged in God’s timing and handiwork! You can be assured that the One who created you knows exactly how to purify you, from the inside out.
Regardless, remember your story is precious—especially to those who know you. God’s family is interested in you and your life. Most of us can relate to your story on a personal level. And, no one will be able to argue with the fact that your life has been changed. There is impact in your story.
If you read my testimony, you’ll know that I place great importance on The Beatitudes. Read Matthew 5, thinking of your personal story: (1) You recognize you need God (you are poor in spirit), (2) You repented of your self-sufficiency (you are sad), (3) You stop being power freaky and self-sufficient and surrender control to God (you’re humble); (4) You are so grateful for His presence that you want to fill yourself with Him, you yearn for Him (you want to do the right thing more than anything else); (5) As you grow closer to Him, you become more like Him and you forgive others (you are merciful); you change your attitude (your thoughts become pure); and (6) You love others (you are a peacemaker).
Your salvation was not a casual shift of attitude. It was absolute demolition of the old self and a creation of the new. In my case, a fairly radical change created great joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of the LORD.
Don’t keep your personal truth to yourself. Share your story wholeheartedly, trusting that the Father will guide you—He will use your story to shine His light on others. Hard to deny the importance of His light!
I love to tell the story of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them. Matthew 4:16 and Isaiah 9:1,2 NIV
One of the most thrilling ways for me to share Jesus is to give my pure, wholehearted testimony. My testimony is the basis of my witness. It is my story and it carries great authority because it is my account of what God, through Jesus Christ, has done in my life.
Honestly? It’s easy to share my testimony. My Father performed such miraculous healing in my life, I’m nearly bursting at the seams to share the story of my complete reconstruction by God’s grace.
For you, giving your testimony may be challenging. You may be wondering, “Where do I start? How do I finish?” Or your may be thinking, “My story isn’t special. My story isn’t finished yet…I’m not at the testimony stage yet.” Perhaps you feel you are still harboring some hurt and shame and need to make amends. Hey, our hearts aren’t perfect, but neither are they decayed. And even though we’re not invincible, at least we’re engaged in God’s timing and handiwork! You can be assured that the One who created you knows exactly how to purify you, from the inside out.
Regardless, remember your story is precious—especially to those who know you. God’s family is interested in you and your life. Most of us can relate to your story on a personal level. And, no one will be able to argue with the fact that your life has been changed. There is impact in your story.
If you read my testimony, you’ll know that I place great importance on The Beatitudes. Read Matthew 5, thinking of your personal story: (1) You recognize you need God (you are poor in spirit), (2) You repented of your self-sufficiency (you are sad), (3) You stop being power freaky and self-sufficient and surrender control to God (you’re humble); (4) You are so grateful for His presence that you want to fill yourself with Him, you yearn for Him (you want to do the right thing more than anything else); (5) As you grow closer to Him, you become more like Him and you forgive others (you are merciful); you change your attitude (your thoughts become pure); and (6) You love others (you are a peacemaker).
Your salvation was not a casual shift of attitude. It was absolute demolition of the old self and a creation of the new. In my case, a fairly radical change created great joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of the LORD.
Don’t keep your personal truth to yourself. Share your story wholeheartedly, trusting that the Father will guide you—He will use your story to shine His light on others. Hard to deny the importance of His light!
I love to tell the story of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them. Matthew 4:16 and Isaiah 9:1,2 NIV
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