March 31, 2011

Sincerely yours

Neil says:  The only difference between Christian and non-Christian faith is the object. 

Years ago in an apologetics class (defending your faith), we debated the fate of people who believed, very sincerely, in another path to salvation.  Would God really reject them?  They meant well…

The conclusion, from what I remember, was that even though they were sincere, they were sincerely wrong.  (There’s lots more to that discussion, by the way, that’s not so harsh.)

The responsibility is on me to fully understand who and what I believe in.  And the way it works is that the more I know about God, the stronger my faith in Him will be. 

May I be diligent today to pursue Him and to know Him more…

March 30, 2011

The Petition People

Funny thing…  I’m picturing the table outside of my favorite store, which shall remain nameless, staffed with people whose goal it is to get my signature on a petition.  Maybe two or three, if they’re lucky.  Let’s call these folks the Petition People.

My personal annoyance at being approached like this aside, there are a number of ways this can go. 

I see some people go over to the table and listen intently, eventually signing on to whatever the cause may be.  So many questions for the signers – did you just now hear about this issue?  What makes you think the Petition People are giving you both sides of the issue here?  But I digress…

Sometimes the Petition People are in an aggressive-sales mood.  They talk to you as you go by – Do you own a home?  Are you happy with the taxes you’re paying?  Their questions are obviously intended to get you to stop and discuss. 

Basic principle:  don’t grant the premise.  As soon as I stop, even if it’s to argue the other side, I’ve wasted my time and made theirs worthwhile.  Plus, they’re pretty good at this – I’ll probably lose the argument, and walk away frustrated and angry.

It bugs me because it goes against the grain of common decency, but the best way to run the gauntlet during campaign season is usually to duck and dash.  Avoid eye contact.  A modification is to have a phrase handy when approaching the table (while smiling as cheerfully as possible):  No, thanks – not today.  Sure, much kinder than what I’m actually thinking, but a little kindness never hurt anyone.

Next time I’m bombarded by thoughts that are against what God’s word has to say, I’m going to picture the Petition People.  I’ll coach myself through – don’t make eye contact.  Don’t grant the premise.  Have a ready answer and, for goodness’ sake, keep moving.  

March 29, 2011

Who’s that?

So we’ve got some foundational stuff going on here today…  Not only do we have people in our lives influencing us in negative ways, we actually have Satan scheming against us.  Probably not the first time we’ve heard it, but it’s not something we think about all that often.

A while back, we learned that a great way to pray for unbelievers is to ask God to allow truth to reach them, since they are in a fog of lies from the enemy.  It’s a good reminder for us again today.

And it’s also useful to keep in mind that the negative, defeating thoughts we have aren’t necessarily from us…  They were put there by someone who’s trying to harm us.  When we can’t tell the difference between lies from the enemy and our own thoughts, he has us right where he wants us. 

Lord, may I be diligent today to hold up every thought against the truth of Your word.

March 28, 2011

So groovy is a bad thing?

One of my prized possessions as a child came in a blue, hard plastic case, and was a hand-me-down from my brother.  It was (gasp!) a record player.  I didn’t have all that many albums, but the ones I did I nearly wore out.

Through some magic, music gets recorded onto the grooves of the vinyl, and you had to be very, very careful when you picked the needle up in the middle of a song, lest you put a scratch in the record.  Forevermore, when the needle hit that spot, your song would skip:  a fate worse than death for your favorite album. 

If you had an album you really didn’t care about, you could make a scratch that was really, really long – in theory, across the whole surface of one side, if you wanted.  As the record spun, the needle would glide right across to the middle, and you would hear the soft thwup, thwup, thwup that meant it was done.

Somehow, through my life experience, I’ve got things recorded onto my vinyl that aren’t good…  They speak to my insecurities, and when the power gets turned on, I hear the same old hits that have been playing all my life.  I know them so well that I can sing along.

The process of changing the way I think because of Christ’s work in me allows me to make little scratches on my record; now I can skip the part where I’m not worthwhile.  Bigger scratches, and I’ll miss the follow up hit:  I mess up everything I try.

It starts with taking the little thoughts captive and asking God to speak His truth to me.  Eventually, with prayer and effort, I’ll make that scratch across the whole record and I won’t have to listen to it ever again.

March 27, 2011

My hypothetical friends

I’m going to start with the second half of today’s entry…  Wow!  In both examples, I can’t help but think, What could those people have done to help themselves?  Neither was an example of their own choices having established a stronghold in their lives; both were clearly suffering.

Yes, I was feeling a little protective over our hypothetical woman and young man, and I kept re-reading to see if there was something they could have done to help themselves.  All Neil gives us is the phrase:  Instead of resolving that conflict… 

How does one resolve these things?  The only thing I could think of is that they needed to get help from a counselor or a pastor.  While it’s true that they were innocent and undeserving of the pain inflicted upon them, getting help is a choice we can make for ourselves (albeit a really tough one). 

I suppose Neil was giving us examples like these to point out that we do have choices in some of these circumstances.  He writes about our environment and atmosphere being strong influences on us.  I can see how allowing one’s self to become defeated and live in fear will lead to a less than joyful life in Christ. 

I did, however, have a hard time with the prayer at the end, hoping it wasn’t aimed at people in painful situations:  …don’t allow the enemy to deceive me into weak-willed actions… 

All that having been said, the idea of actions turning into habits which then turn into strongholds is an important one.  It makes me motivated to be all the more diligent in battling the thoughts and actions which seem insignificant, but could be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. 

We’ll hang in there and see where Neil takes us tomorrow.  How did today’s entry hit you?

March 26, 2011

Don’t touch the sweater

Recalling a fuzzy fact from an article I read recently but couldn’t find, I googled What Makes Shoppers More Likely To Buy.  Among the things I saw was an article entitled “Six Sneaky Ways Stores Get You to Buy More.”  Bingo!

Here’s an excerpt:

There are two main triggers that will make shoppers spend more money in a store:  the amount of time they spend walking the aisles and how much direct contact they have with the merchandise or the salespeople…

The fact lurking in my memory banks was that if a salesperson can get a shopper to pick up or touch, say, a sweater, they are far more likely to buy it. 

Why, you might ask, am I writing about shopping when today is about temptation? 

It works on two levels, actually.  If you’re a recovering shopaholic, pretty much you’ve already got the punch line.  If not, let’s substitute buying something for whatever sin you might get tangled up in.  What’s your kryptonite? 

I love Neil’s phrase:  Escape is right at the threshold of the temptation. 

The more we waver, the more likely we are to, er, buy the sweater. 

So next time as I’m looking for a way to fend off the urge to linger over something I shouldn’t, I’m going to be picturing that sweater (mine’s red and, for some odd reason, fuzzy).  Drop it like a hot potato!  Don’t touch it!  Don’t even look at it!  The registers are only a few feet away, and failure is not an option.  (Technically, failure is an option, but one we’re trying to avoid, right?)

For the record, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says this:

But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it.  When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.

March 25, 2011

Transformation

Maybe it’s because my kids are at the ages where they are reading lots of fairy tales, but for some reason today’s entry had me thinking about the story of the Ugly Duckling. 

Remember that one?  I didn’t remember all of it, so I looked it up (what did we ever do before wikipedia?).  The mamma duck’s eggs are hatching, but one little duckling is very different, and, well, ugly.  He is raised as a duck, albeit an outcast, but one day looks at the sky and admires the beautiful swans flying by.  Eventually, he matures into a swan and is accepted into their flock.  Awwww!

It’s better than my other metaphor for today:  being abducted and stuck on an alien planet…  Let’s stick with the swan.

If you’re a duck/swan, you’re going to be at odds with your environment – the farm - until you get clear of it, and until you mature.  Things like self-concept and survival skills are all out of whack.  Getting it all right is a painful process, but a worthwhile one.

Now, see?  Neil, the engineer, thinks in programming terms.  I relate to fuzzy animals much better.  Either way, I am in need of continuing transformation.

March 24, 2011

The weeds

I don’t garden much, which is to say, not at all.  I have an aversion to, well, yucky things like worms and bugs, and although I’m okay with dirt, I don’t like it as much as I did when I was a kid.

But I understand the concept of weeds, mostly because my mother is from a family who can grow anything, anywhere.  It’s not just luck; they know their stuff.  My grandma would point out and tell me the names of the wildflowers at 70 miles an hour on the highway, probably to distract herself from my dad’s driving.  Sadly, in inherited none of the green-thumb gene.

Back to the weeds…  The idea is that if you catch them when they are small, you’re golden.  Yank those babies out and you’re good for a while.  By the way, it doesn’t work to just pull the top part off – you have to get the roots.  All of them.  Who knew?

Needless to say, my mom had her hands full when I would help her in the garden.

And all this work – only to have weeds come back within a couple of weeks!  Seems like a lot of trouble to go to. 

But I was thinking about how our thought life is a lot like a garden…  If we let the harmless little weeds (maybe it’s not a weed?  Who can tell?) go even for a little while, pretty soon they are bigger than the good things we wanted to grow.  And they’re hungry.  (Feed me, Seymore!)

Yes, it’s an awful lot of work to manage my thought life…  Stress?  Worry?  Doubt?  Complaining?  Self-pity?  Pride?  There are so many varieties of weeds!  And each one of them can choke out the life that God wants to grow in me. 

Better get my weeder-thingy (or whatever that little fork-y guy is called)…

March 23, 2011

So let me get this straight… 

I went from thinking I was nothing to realizing I’m something (in Christ), and now I’m back to nothing again? 

Yeah, no.  But…  I think as humans, we’re a forgetful lot.  We get used to the perks in life and take them for granted.  Entitlement, right? 

No, we’re not back down to nothing – it’s just a gentle reminder to keep sight of the fact that everything good in us and in our lives has been handed to us by a greatly gracious God. 

James 1:17 – Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights.

Same goes for wisdom.  Sure, we’re supposed to read and study and dig into God’s word, but never should we feel like we’ve arrived. 

In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were facing battles, God would change the strategy from one time to the next.  They had to stop and ask God what to do, then wait for a response.

In the battles I face, I should never assume that God wants to do what He did the last time.  What Neil calls the revelation of God (sounds ominous and important, right?) is just this:  pray and ask, then wait and listen.  God will speak.

March 22, 2011

The sky’s the limit

How would you describe faith?  A good place to start is that it’s trust, belief, and confidence in something…  When we talk about a person’s faith, though, it has to do not just with what they believe, but how it affects the way they live, right?

The principles in today’s entry are foundational.  I love the relationship between how well we know something and our faith in it. 

The one time I flew on a tiny plane (4-seater), my confidence was sketchy.  It didn’t help that the pilot was my roommate’s cheesy boyfriend, but I digress.  I made it through, white knuckles and all, and never felt the need to do it again.

My husband’s uncle, however, is an airline mechanic, with what you might consider a specialty in small planes.  He works for a missions organization whose planes fly all over the world, assisting other mission works, and providing humanitarian help.  

He knows his airplanes down to the last bolt; every task of maintaining them gets written down in a log, along with part numbers, etc.  Needless to say, this man is pretty confident when he flies.  He has faith in the airplane because he knows it backwards and forwards. 

If I want my faith to increase, all I have to do is invest in it.  I love that!  It’s not some mystical process, or something that certain people are born with and others aren’t.  It’s not something I have to muster up via willpower. 

What do you hear God challenging you to do today to grow your faith?

March 21, 2011

Which is it?

I’ve wondered for a long time about the connection, or lack thereof, between mental illness and spiritual oppression. 

Probably the thing that caused me to question it is that in the New Testament, especially the gospels, there are plenty of times we read about people who are oppressed by demons.  Some of the stories are really dramatic. 

We don’t find the term mentally ill in the Bible, but there are plenty of other illnesses not mentioned, for the simple fact that they had not yet been discovered (or coined, described, etc.). 

Did Jesus only heal those who were demon possessed, and skip the mentally ill?  Or did they call everyone who exhibited strange behavior demon possessed, since they couldn’t determine the cause? 

And what about now?  There have been times I’ve encountered people who would likely be considered mentally ill, but my Spirit Spidey-senses told me that there was definitely more to it than that - spiritually, that is.  In fact, I’ve had to learn not to be creeped out or afraid in those situations, because of the authority of the blood of Jesus which covers me. 

I know there are times in which the brain chemistry is off, or there are other biological factors at work, for sure.  I’m sure there are people who suffer from mental illness.  I wonder the relationship between that illness and demonic influence, but that’s a question I’ll probably need to save until I can ask God face-to-face.  You know, when it will be the last thing on my mind…

Regardless of the cause, I’m so thankful that the God I serve has the authority over human biology and demonic activity.  Neither scare Him in the least.

March 20, 2011

The best lies…

Remember talking about worry - how we somehow feel virtuous when we worry, even though it’s a pretty unhealthy thing to do?  I was pondering why it’s so easy for us to fall for the condemnation of the enemy.  God’s grace is right there – why don’t we just reach out and take it?

I’m wondering if it’s a little like the worry – we feel unworthy, so we beat ourselves up, buying into the lies of the enemy.  Yesterday, I mentioned that we really do deserve condemnation, but that’s only part of the truth.  The rest of it is that Jesus took that condemnation in our place.  It’s been said that the best lies have a bit of truth in them – that’s what hooks us. 

So the process is this – we sin, we have that oh-my-gosh moment, and then the feelings start pouring in…  We’re embarrassed, we’re sorry, and even though Jesus has taken every punishment for us, we decide to take a little more.  It seems just a little right, but it’s oh, so wrong.

Buying into the condemnation isn’t just a waste of time; it’s a hook that the enemy has us on because we’ve believed his lies, if only just a little.  Not constructive, not healthy.  We need to make a change.

I make the choice which thoughts I’ll entertain, and in moments when I’m weak, I can ask God for help.  He always shows up.

I love the verse Neil ends on:

1 John 2:1 - My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.  But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father.  He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely.  

March 19, 2011

You’re not from around here, are you?

We know from everything we’ve been told that we can’t trust our feelings.  Living according to our emotions would put us on a roller coaster, getting us nowhere and making us motion sick. 

But I like where Neil’s going with this today…  Emotions are a window into what we are thinking, since what we feel is determined by what we think.  (Search your feelings; you know it to be true…) 

And it is truly hard some days to tell what’s the voice of God convicting us of sin, and what’s the voice of the enemy condemning us.  Part of what makes it hard is that we really do deserve condemnation!  But, and this makes all the difference, Christ took that condemnation for us.  Neil says:  Judicially (legally), you are no longer guilty.

The truth of who we now are is found in God’s word.  Cut and paste that middle paragraph somewhere you’ll be able to find it when you need it. 

Simply put, if we do something wrong, we can sort things out this way…  If the thoughts we’re having make us feel like God can’t love us, or make us want to pull away from Him, they aren’t right.  That’s the enemy.  If the thoughts are making us realize that we need to come back to God and make things right, that’s the Holy Spirit. 

Eventually, we’ll get to know these things well enough that when a condemning thought comes through, we’ll look at it and say, You’re not from around here, are you?

March 18, 2011

Sit still

The pastor guy Neil was talking to in today’s entry should have seen it coming.  You probably did, right?  As soon as he asked, How do I die?, you were saying to yourself, no, dude!  That’s not what the verse said!

And if that pastor had paid a little more attention the last 82 days, he probably wouldn’t have asked the question, right? 

It makes sense, too…  We can’t do anything to die with Christ.  We can’t, in any sense, go back and be there with Him, or partake in any way on our own, except to ask for forgiveness and believe that He is God.

Sometimes we talk about dying to self (or the flesh, if you’re old-school), but probably what we really should say is that we’re trying to learn to say no to it.  We’re trying to break away from old patterns and habits, but we’re powerless to actually die. 

At the heart of that guy’s question, I think he may have been insecure about whether or not he was really all the way saved.  Just a theory.

And once again, we’re back to the idea that our place in God’s family isn’t based on anything we could ever possibly do; it’s entirely on believing in Him, and then just being who He made us.  Doing vs. being, right?

The thing that spoke to me was the instruction to stop striving, and just lean into Him.  That applies to me in oh, so many areas of my life right now…  He’s so faithful to meet me when I focus on doing just that, and I know He will for you, too.

(see?  nobody was broken up with or arrested today...)

March 17, 2011

I’ve moved on…

Sin, we need to talk.  Here’s the deal – my feelings about you have changed.  I’m realizing that we want different things.

No, it’s not you – you’re fine.  It’s me…  I’m the one that’s messed up.  Dead, actually.  Well, the me you used to know. 

I’ve changed, and this relationship is holding me back.  I’ve moved on.  I hope you understand.

Also, I want you to hear this from me – I’m with someone else now.  I know, it’s sudden, but I know it’s right for me. 

So all that stuff we used to do together (it made me feel pretty bad about myself anyway), you’ll just have to find someone else to keep you company.  I don’t think we should try to stay friends.  We both know that never works.

Don’t try to win me back; it’s not going to happen.  Nothing you can say is going to change the way I feel, and guilt just isn’t going to work on me. 

You deserve better - you’ll do fine without me. 

Can I have my stuff back?

(Excuse me – I need to get some paperwork filed.  Oh, that – it’s just a restraining order…)

March 16, 2011

Compare and contrast

Often, I can tell what my 6-year-old is learning in school because he drops it casually into conversation.  He doesn’t come out and say, Mommy, I’m learning all about tornadoes!  He just makes up a game where he’s running from a tornado (for example). 

I forget exactly what he was so interested in the other day, but he says, Mommy, let’s compare and contrast these two things.  See?  This one’s round, but that one’s kind of a rectangle…  (I’ll spare you the list, but you can be sure that it was very thorough.)

We’ve already talked about how much of Romans is an exercise in comparing and contrasting Jesus and Adam (see March 1).  Today’s reading reminded me of the charge Moses gives to the people after giving them the law...

Deuteronomy 30:19 - Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.  I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. 

In the last paragraph, Neil gives us a great list of contrasts; I would add one to that list.  We get the choice between freedom and slavery.  I can choose to become a slave to sin when I indulge in disobedience, or I can choose to live free from all that when I live submitted to Christ in everything.

Joshua 24:15 - …choose today whom you will serve…  But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

March 15, 2011

Teaching my kids

Wow – what an intense story!  Oh, my.  I hardly know where to start.

I wonder about what this lady’s childhood was like – what else was going on in the home? What were the parents into?  Was there abuse?  Were there other doors left open that made this girl vulnerable?  I’m not looking to lay blame on someone – I’m just curious; I wish I could know more.

To be totally honest, it frightens me to think such a thing could happen.  (I’m resolving right now to pray spiritual protection over my kids daily…) 

As a parent, there’s always a temptation to shy away from topics that are tough.  If my kids don’t bring it up, why would I introduce them to the realities of the spiritual world right now? 

Okay, now I have a reason.  My prayer is that we will have the wisdom to know what to say and how to say it, and we’ll trust that God will bring the understanding to them.  

March 14, 2011

It’s only natural

I love the thought of God sitting in heaven, thinking, Well, gee guys – I made the world to work this way…  Just go with it!

Why do we have to see a miracle to think that God is at work? 

Often, I’m putting a band-aid on a little knee or elbow, and explaining to my little bug that God made our bodies so they heal quickly; by tomorrow it won’t hurt much at all, and in a week or so, it will probably be totally gone. 

Later, when they ask me to pray for their boo-boo to heal, I remind them that God is already doing that – sometimes, we’ll look at it to see how it looks different from when they first fell down.  We can see the changes (sorry – yuck alert!), and know there’s healing happening. 

Sometimes we miss that God has answered a prayer because it looks to us like circumstances took over, and we didn’t need a miracle anymore.  Note to self:  God is always in the circumstances.

One of my favorite chapters is Proverbs 8, where wisdom speaks and tells us about herself.  In verses 17 – 31, we read about how God wove wisdom into the fabric of the universe.  God’s ways aren’t just good ideas; they are the way to live so that all’s right with the world.  Literally.

God, today may I see you in the little things.  Help me see Your hand and Your wisdom in the world around me – I don’t want to miss a thing.

March 13, 2011

 So feedback is good?

What an interesting idea – that we can know for (reasonably) sure if we’re doing God’s plan for our lives…  He thought of everything! 

Sure, lots in our lives are black and white – we have a direct command to do, or not to do, a thing.  Lying?  Nope.  Gossiping?  No.  Complaining?  No again.  But we find gray areas, don’t we?  Well-intentioned as we may be, we’re not always going to know God’s mind on something. 

So it’s good to know there are safety measures!

When the way we’re living doesn’t square up with the way we believe, it’s going to produce some conflict inside us.  That makes sense!  Neil mentions anger, anxiety, depression and hopelessness; sometimes it can be as simple as a lack of peace.  The Holy Spirit is at work in us, constantly guiding us toward what the Father wants for us. 

So my job is to become sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying to me, and be willing to change something I’m doing or a direction I’m heading.  I need to take my opinions less seriously.  Opinions Lite!  1/3 Less Serious!  (sorry…I digress) 

I’m thankful God installed an early warning system to keep me from disasters, whatever they may be.

March 12, 2011

Plan A vs. Plan B

Old nature vs. new nature, independence vs. dependence, willfulness vs. submission…  Yup, it’s a topic we’ve been covering pretty well.  I think I’m getting it.

I love the analogy of needing the CLEAR button pressed in our brains when we come to Christ.  Reset?  Do-over?  If only.  It’s a lot of work to make the change, and I’m so thankful for the way God’s Spirit works to help me.

Another example I was thinking about is that we determine who will influence us.  I start out as a cup of hot water; God’s word and prayer are the stuff in the tea bag.  As I choose to be in God’s word and hear from Him in prayer, the tea bag is slowly changing what I am (think herbal tea – slooooow).  The longer the tea bag stays in, the stronger I’ll be.  

Good news.  Hmm.  I think I’m off to make a cup of tea…

March 11, 2011

Faith vs. reason?

What I see in today’s reading is this:  balance.  

Do we think a problem through and go with our own solution, never asking God or looking in His word to know what He thinks?  Do we float along on what we think is the Christian thing to do, easily influenced by spiritual-sounding people? 

You guessed it – neither of those work.  And it’s a very old question that we’re pondering today:  is faith in opposition to reason?  I would venture to say, no.  Actually, they go together pretty well.

I enjoyed what Neil had to say about reason:  we are required by God to think and choose.  To do any less than that is irresponsible.  We might sit around waiting for divine revelation, but it won’t come until we’ve done our homework.  But if we have, we can know this:  God will show up.

We’ve talked in previous posts about making decisions.  In case you missed it, one way my husband and I arrive on a decision is to talk, pray, and reason it out, and make a preliminary decision.  Then we see if God gives us peace about it.  We don’t commit to anything until we both feel peace. 

I was struck by what Neil had to say at the end – that when we spend time and effort thinking about a plan that we know is against what God’s word says or what we know to be true of Him, we’re setting up an escape route.  The act of thinking on it instead of dismissing it increases our likelihood of carrying out a plan that’s not God’s way.

Lord, help me keep faith and reason balanced in my life today…

March 10, 2011

Anchors away

Okay, so we have a checklist for maturity in our Christian walk…  Just two simple things.  First, really understand who you are in Christ, and second, kill the flesh (sin tendencies) and walk in the Spirit.  Great!

If you’re reading this blog, thus the devotionals from Neil, you’re getting a healthy dose of the first – finding out who you are in Christ.  Is it what you expected?  What were your ideas before about your spiritual identity?  How have they changed?

And as for the second, I loved the description – pull in the oars and hoist the sail!  (Is that like “too close for missiles, I’m switching to guns”?) 

Did you ever ride a skateboard?  I confess – I never got the hang of it, but I did live on roller skates when I was a kid.  I was told that when you’re riding a skateboard, you don’t try to steer; you just lean the way you want to go, and voila!  You’re turning!  I’ve been told that riding a motorcycle is the same. 

Maybe the reason I never mastered the skateboard is that I’m too tense…  Control freak that I am, I feel like I have to do something to control my fate, when all I really need to do is relax and lean into it. 

Or, it could be that the crappy plastic skateboard with roller skate wheels on the bottom that I got for my 10^th birthday wasn’t the best thing to learn on.  Who can say?

Anyway, the goal of the Christian walk is to rely less on myself and more on God.  As John the Baptist put it, I must decrease, and He must increase.

March 9, 2011

Love like that

Well, Neil, I think you might be from another generation of parenting…  Or, maybe you were talking about what some parents do (but shouldn’t).  Sure, we all have moments where we might fall into that order of things, but most parents (ones I know) err on the side of love.

Nonetheless, it’s an important point:  God loved us before we ever did a thing for Him. 

Romans 5:8 says, But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

It’s His unconditional love and commitment to us that make us want to come to Him, to let Him be the boss of us. 

There was a song a long time ago that was taken from a verse in Psalms, and try as I might, I was unable to find it tonight.  It will turn up one of these days, and I’ll underline it in all my Bibles for easy reference. 

It goes like this:  It’s Your kindness that leads us to repentance, O Lord…  It goes on:  Knowing that You love us, no matter what we do, makes us want to love You, too.

Truly, His kindness is the thing that draws us to Him.  I want to be that kind of parent.

March 8, 2011

More on God’s will…

In finding out what God’s will for my life is, my first job is to be totally submitted to Him.  What good would it do if I found out what He wanted me to do, but had no intention of doing it? 

More to the point, though, is this – I don’t think God hides what He wants from us, and then makes us jump through hoops to discover it.  I believe that the person who walks close beside Him will know what He wants, because He will whisper it to them in the quiet moments. 

Neil gives us more on the contrast between what we do and who we are…  I love this:  I’m not sure the Lord cares primarily whether you are a carpenter, teacher, or doctor.  But He does care what kind of carpenter, teacher, or doctor you are… 

That means a lot to me!  I don’t have to be afraid of missing the (proverbial) boat in terms of a career choice.  All I have to do is the next thing He tells me, and stay tuned to what He’s doing.  He’ll make sure I’m where I need to be.

March 7, 2011

Where's the battle?

First, I’ll tell you the problem I had with today’s entry…  It may sound picky, the categories and percentages given seem to be taken from Neil’s general experience, not from statistics that came from a methodical survey.  The good thing is that the ideas he lays out do not hinge upon whether or not the numbers are correct.

Next, an observation…  There are three levels of spiritual conflict listed, and while this wasn’t Neil’s main point, I see that there’s a progression that happens from one to the next to the next. 

First, we have a person who lives under a steady spiritual attack, and his or her effectiveness as a believer is compromised.  Next, they’re open to the influence of evil thoughts and voices.  And last, the person loses the ability to say no to those thoughts and urges. 

Where did it all go wrong?  As Neil points out, it’s in the first stage:  Most Christians in this condition have no idea that they are in the middle of a spiritual conflict. 

They’re losing the battle because they don’t realize that they’re supposed to be fighting it. 

Where in my life have I been blind to the spiritual battle that’s in progress?  How can I take back that ground?

Ephesians 6:12:  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked sprits in the heavenly realms.

March 6, 2011

The lie

Are we back to this?  It’s not what I do that defines me; it’s who I am.  That’s the bottom line, and we’re seeing it in a new light:  we tend to frame how we think God the Father see us based on what we do (or don’t do). 

One of the ploys of the enemy is to take an experience with a parent who never fully approved of us, and whisper to us that God is just the same.  It’s a devastating lie, and yet it’s one that persists. 

I’ve felt like a failure as I’ve struggled to overcome sin in my life.  I’ve felt unworthy; I’ve felt like I had to get my act together before I came back to close relationship with God. 

And yet I look at my own kids, and although I get aggravated with them sometimes, I love them passionately and unconditionally.  Why is it so hard to imagine that my heavenly Father loves me that way? 

Neil has this to say:  You are a product of who you are in Christ and His work on the cross.  You are not saved by how you behave but by how you believe.  

March 5, 2011

Good to know…           

Today’s was an interesting entry.  I’ve heard people ask whether or not Christians can be possessed, and I haven’t heard lots of informed discussion about it.  In other words, nobody is sure.

So as a point of information, it’s good to know – we can’t be taken over (I don’t watch horror movies, but insert your favorite movie reference here), but we can give up a measure of freedom in our lives and expose ourselves to demonic influence.

And as a point of application, it’s motivating to me to make good choices and stay connected and dependent on my heavenly Father because I don’t want to lose that freedom. 

And as I walk with other people through life and consequences, it’s going to help me if I know what’s in play because I understand the big picture.  I’m going to be more effective in praying for that person and in how I talk to them. 

I’m so grateful for this:  We have all the sanctuary we need in Christ, and we have the armor of God to protect us.

March 4, 2011

False leaders

There’s a difference between a false leader and a less-than-effective one.  While we really need to not spend our time nit-picking decisions and finding fault with the way a church or a ministry is run, we really do need to be able to smell a rotten leader when we encounter one (sorry for the gross analogy there). 

I found myself thinking about some of the pastors and ministry leaders who have gone down the road of immorality and lost everything.  Was it a moment of bad judgment, then bad publicity, that brought about their end?  No, there were heart issues that started long before. 

The two things Neil lists as red flags – willingness to indulge in sin, and removing the need to submit to anyone themselves – are easy to spot in hindsight, but I found myself wondering…  What about the people who were close to them in ministry?  Did they know?  Did they ignore warning signs? 

At my church, we’re so blessed to have a pastor who is a man of integrity.  We also believe in doing church as a team, which means there are lots of leaders working it all out. 

How critical, then, that we keep ourselves pure, that we keep each other accountable, and that we cultivate the skill of being good followers, not just good leaders.  A humble, submitted heart won’t easily crash and burn.

March 3, 2011

With great power…

One of my favorite movie scenes is from the first Spiderman movie.  Peter Parker has been bitten by that darn spider (we all knew it was coming), got sick, and eventually figured out that he had some new, um, abilities.

He knows he can do webs, but can’t figure out the mechanism, and tries everything he can think of.  Go, web!  Once he masters that, he has to learn how to use them to go swinging around the city.  Yah, funny stuff.

As Christians, if we don’t understand the power that’s been entrusted to us (say it with me:  with great power comes great responsibility), we’ll be frustrated and defeated.  Things don’t make sense until we make the discovery that our God has given us spiritual authority.  Until then, we’re Peter Parker, getting kicked around, and trying to avoid shooting webs from our wrists.

Okay, so it’s not a perfect analogy, but I think you get the idea.  And the goal isn’t the power itself, but what we can accomplish for what God wants, with it.

Thought for the day:  Satan is not an equal power with God; he is a vanquished foe.

March 2, 2011

The gift

So let me get this straight…  Eternal life isn’t something I’ll get someday, it’s something I have right now?  On the one hand, that’s mind blowing, but on the other, it makes a lot of sense. 

Before I was spiritually dead, and when I came to Christ, I was made spiritually alive.  Not much gray area there, right?  When a baby is born, he or she is as alive as they are ever going to get – physically, anyway. 

I don’t know why, but it gives me a totally secure feeling to know that eternal life isn’t out there as a future thing; it’s what I have right now.  Maybe it’s reassuring to know I can’t screw it up in some gigantic way and forfeit it, inadvertently. 

Maybe I’m just in awe of a God who would give that kind of a gift.  It’s as if I have it in my hands; I haven’t opened it yet, but I own it and I can hold it and admire the wrapping paper, confident that someday I will see exactly what’s in the box.

So thankful.  

March 1, 2011

Which Adam?

I know most are following Neil via the link at crosswalk.com, but I’m an old-fashioned book type girl.  So I’m not sure if you appreciate what happened today…  See, I read the next entry and got ready to write, only to notice just now that Neil (the Engineer) wrote a February 29^th in his devotional.  We laughed.  Loren said, Of course he did!  It’s in the spec!  Very thorough, that guy.

So it was on parenting, it was good, and if you’re curious, you can search it based on the date.  J

Now, Marching on…

If today’s – March 1^st – entry is confusing to you, you’ll want to go back and read Romans 5, starting at verse 12 and continuing on through the end of the chapter.  It’s a great contrast of two opposites, Jesus and Adam.  Foundational stuff.

While we tend to see ourselves as Adam, the guy from the garden, it’s a misperception that hurts us.  We’re not that guy.  That’s the human condition we were born into, but when we received Christ, we were changed completely. 

I love Neil’s point that we don’t tend to see ourselves as God sees us.  If we could just get hold of that one thing, it would change everything! 

So Jesus’ dependence on the Father and the fact that He maintained His spiritual walk are a roadmap for us.  Come to think of it, those two things don’t seem too hard.  Challenging, sure, but not overwhelming. 

Lord, today, may I be focused on those two things – depending on you and working to keep my spirituality in good running condition.  May I begin to see myself as You see me.