June 30, 2011

Ugh, discipline

So, the patterns of discipline and honesty I’m working with my kids on now while they’re little will extend into their teenage years?  Boy, what an incentive to get it right!

There are plenty of moments when I just react; I don’t ask them why they did something, I just jump to a conclusion and put them in time-out.  All I’m doing is enforcing; I’m not discipling my kids. 

The moments I’m at my best is when I slow down and treat them the way I like to be treated – I am direct but kind, I stop to hear the explanation, I look for their heart in what happened.  Sure, there are still time-outs.  But hopefully they are motivating in the right way, instead of discouraging.

I was the kid who, when I was little, was strong-willed, and willing to take any punishment if it meant I could be a little reckless.  As I got older and more socially aware, I hated being in trouble (especially at school).  I’m starting to see this sensitivity in my older son; as his needs change, my ways of dealing with him have to change.

I’m so thankful for my Heavenly Father who knows which means of discipline will develop me instead of crush me; I’m thankful for His Spirit that draws me into discipleship. 

June 29, 2011

Deep water

Neil writes:  We dispel the darkness by turning on the light…  How very simple!  And what is the light?  It’s truth – the truth of who God is, and the truth of His word. 

Here’s the process…  I take the thoughts that the enemy is giving me a hard time with, and find out what God’s word has to say about it.  I’m forgiven!  I’m a daughter of God.  He has washed me clean.  He has a plan for me, and His purposes are for good…  I can go on – there’s lots more!

I write down the Bible verse(s) on a post-it or index card and keep it near me.  And then when those thoughts come again, I do what Jesus did – I use God’s word to win. 

Neil also talks about prayer, and references these verses:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Praying the scripture is a powerful way to pray…

And I just have to laugh at the analogy of treading water and trying to keep corks under water!  What?  Who would do this?  I suppose we do, when we waste our time and energy on the wrong things.  Oh.

June 28, 2011

Citizenship

My newly-minted brother-in-law is having trouble obtaining a visa to come to the United States for a vacation, so I’ve got citizenship on my mind these days…

He’s from a tiny country in Africa where he and my husband’s sister recently got married, and all they want to do is visit the States and introduce him to the fam.  Sounds simple, right?

Turns out, not so much.  I’m not sure who it is that has a problem with such a visit, but maybe on paper, missionary work isn’t all that permanent-looking, and they’re on the lookout for shifty types who will come on a visa and then stay uninvited.

Getting a visa can be tricky, depending on your citizenship.

In order to become a citizen of somewhere, the requirement that’s usually imposed (unless you can do dual-citizenship, but those are rare) is that you renounce your former country and all affiliations. 

The same was true for each of us when we became citizens of heaven.  Not only do we not belong to the enemy or the world any longer, in order to truly be for Christ, we must be against the enemy.  We can’t let any old ties remain…

June 27, 2011

I’m a sheep.  Okay, I guess I can handle that. 

Sure, I fit most of the profile – not smart enough to protect myself, know where I’m going, or even keep from eating myself into a coma.  It’s by knowing my Shepherd’s voice and following it that all my needs get met. 

Reading today’s entry, I was also struck by the leadership aspects of the analogy…  In a church, the pastors and leaders are called to shepherd the people. 

Without good leadership, trouble ensues…

The unity of the church crumbles as the people with strong opinions and strong personalities push their own agendas.

The vision for where the church is heading gets lost in the shuffle; as things dissolve into going-through-the-motions mode, people begin to leave – first, fringe people, then involved people, and finally, the core of the church.

There’s no challenge to serve.  It becomes okay to sit and get fed, fed, fed, but because the substance never gets passed along to other hungry people, it no longer brings health and life.

I’ve thought of leadership as a personal thing, responding to a call, and a responsibility to do one’s best.  I’ve known that it was for the health of the church, but it was awesome to have it broken down this way… 

What’s my job, then?  First, to hear and respond to the Shepherd’s voice, to stay close and cooperate.  Second, to listen to and follow the pastor and leaders of my church, because it’s right, and because I will influence others.  And third, to take my part in leading in whatever situation God puts me, with tender compassion and love. 

June 26, 2011

Should we get married?

It’s a scary thing, beginning to recognize God’s guidance when He offers it. 

Neil’s story of the young couple wanting to know if they should get married took me back… 

My husband and I dated, fell in love, and kept waiting for God to say, No, this isn’t the one for you.  Maybe it was because I had been engaged a few years before and recognized not only that it wasn’t the best thing for either of us, but that I can be pretty blind to some things that are pretty obvious; either way, we talked to our parents and our pastor, asking the same question.

We already knew the answer (it was yes); maybe we were too shocked to believe it. 

I do think, though, that there is some wisdom in submitting a big decision to those in our lives who know us and hear from God…  Sometimes, we’ll miss something.  We all have blind spots.  And it’s always good to have support, right?  We’ve actually followed this model for nearly every big decision we’ve made.

The crux of it is this:  am I asking someone else to make the decision for me?  Or am I following God’s lead, and just looking for confirmation?  I can’t give up my responsibility to pursue God and hear His voice, even when it would be a lot easier to have someone decide for me.

It’s a risky thing, to venture out in faith.  But when God has spoken, He always shows up.

June 25, 2011

Unity

Apparently, Neil wants us to find some middle ground.

I’m picturing the church as a family…  The grandparents, who have been around long enough to have seen God work in mighty ways, are convinced that He will do things in the same exact way forever in the future. 

And the young folk – the teenagers and young adults – roll their eyes and chafe under the burden of tradition.  It’s actually important – they need to hear God on their own; they need to find a meaningful relationship with God instead of riding on the family coattails. 

And in the middle of it all, what’s the important thing?  What’s precious and worth protecting at (almost) all costs?  Unity. 

If we’re truly operating in Christ, love for each other will come before getting our way.  God can use the young to teach the older ones, just like He uses the older folks to teach the young. 

Any time I write off someone else’s idea without listening, thinking, and (gasp) praying about it, I’m in danger of being either a grumpy old person or an insolent young one.  Neither advance God’s plans.

June 24, 2011

Who’s in charge?

What an interesting reading today – the way in which eating can go from a healthy, normal, necessary thing to something to which we are a slave to…  It’s the same with anything in our lives, right? 

Neil says this:  Temptation’s hook is the devil’s guarantee that what we think we want and need outside God’s will can satisfy us. 

We have a legitimate need in our life, but instead of meeting it in a healthy way – God’s way – we take it a little farther, or go out of bounds a little…  It’s exciting at first, but pretty soon we’re looking for a little more.  We’re pushing the edge.  We think we’ll be satisfied, but we’re not…  That’s how addictions are born, right?

And the kicker is that God has never said that we shouldn’t meet that legitimate need!  He has just set boundaries for us, either with natural consequences or with instructions in His word.  He has designed us to flourish.  When we obey, we find a rich, blessed life.

The question, again, is this:  who is in charge of me?

June 23, 2011

Secret Agent Girl

Does Wayne Cordiero know that Neil Anderson was Doing Church As A Team back in 1993?  Crazy!

But really – the heart of what he’s saying is this:  God saved each of us and has sent us back into our jobs, schools, etc., as secret agents, tasked with the mission of speaking Jesus into people who would probably never otherwise set foot in a church.  Through us, He takes church to the world! 

Who is it in your workplace (or neighborhood, school, whatever) that doesn’t yet know Christ?  What can you do to let your light shine there? 

Evangelism isn’t about a program, or about a good sermon.  It’s about people getting involved in the lives of those around us, showing love and sharing Christ. 

Today, I’ll be asking God what new thing He wants me to do as a secret agent…

June 22, 2011

Losers

Have you ever watched a football game (or, feel free to insert your favorite sport here) that you already know the outcome of? 

We don’t have a lot of time to watch football – boo! – but we’ve tried a few times to record a game, and then go back and watch it, especially if we heard it was a good game.  Know what we discovered?  It’s really hard to drum up the same excitement we would have had if the game was live, even when we didn’t know the score!

Now imagine if you were a player on one of the teams, and somehow, we could know the ending score…and your team won’t win.  I have so many alternate reality questions – how would my flagging enthusiasm affect my play, and then would the final outcome be different?  Or would cosmic forces intervene and make the score end up right?  But I digress…

The high school I went to had, at that time, a weak football team.  We loved them anyway, for the record, but we were pretty sensitive about the fact that we rarely won games. 

Is my post all about football today?  No, it’s about the reality that Christ won a victory for all time on the cross.  That’s a reality, not just an abstract idea.  The team the enemy and all his minions play for has already been defeated; as a believer, that reality needs to be the starting point for me as I think about spiritual things.  Satan may be powerful, but I don’t need to have any fear.

I’ll end with this from Neil:  Affirming the truth of Christ’s victory and Satan’s defeat is the primary step to successfully combating the enemy’s attempts to intimidate you and hassle you.

June 21, 2011

Control

Wow – where to start today? 

I’ll start with this from Neil:  If your worth comes from something outside yourself, your tendency is to control the people and factors on which your worth is based…

There’s part of me who’s a control freak, and I’ve never looked at it like this.  But stopping and asking myself, where’s my self worth coming from?  Is it how this – whatever it is – turns out?  I can see how I need to learn to separate myself from the thing I’m trying to do, not in a bad way, but to give me the perspective I need.  It’s still okay to do my best, but I’m okay if things don’t go the way I’d planned.

Check in with me in a few weeks and see how I’m doing on that one.

Okay, up next:  …the need to control our children comes from the false belief that our identity and worth derives from how well our children behave…

If I’m really, truly, looking to God for my sense of identity, the judgmental looks I get when I’m out with my kids in public won’t sting…  The suggestions for how to be a better parent won’t hit me so hard…  I won’t feel like I’m the one in trouble when my son ends up in the principal’s office…  Wow.  I’m not even close.

When emotions get involved, how do I separate?  Obviously, I need to find a way.  Same question, right?  Where is my identity coming from?  Whose opinion of me is it that really counts? 

I’ll end with this, because it encourages me:  Your child [or anyone else] can’t stop you from being the father or mother God wants you to be. 

All I can do is my best, and that’s all God asks.

June 20, 2011

This time, it’s personal

I’ve been reading through Ezekiel, noticing how often God compares His relationship with Israel to that of a groom with his bride.  It’s a pretty big downer, because Israel was so unfaithful.  But in Revelation, the church is called the bride of Christ…

I’ve been married almost 19 years, and I’m struck by the intimacy of the relationship God with us.  He’s not just interested in us in general; He wants to be in on all everything we think about and struggle with.  Every issue, every decision…  He wants to meet our needs, including the ones we don’t even realize we have.

It’s as if the Holy Spirit is saying to me, Let’s talk about us (and He really means it).  I’m just in awe of the sweet imagery here of God’s very breath – His Spirit – bearing me up, connecting me with God, interceding for me and teaching me to pray.  It’s the Holy Spirit that causes my heart to beat in time with the Father’s, when I’ll take the time to let it happen. 

That’s my goal for the day – to take time to be still, to listen to His Spirit, and to draw close to Him. 

June 19, 2011

About that broccoli…

Today, Neil answers the questions we’ve been asking for the last couple of days – why don’t Christians end up living like spiritual people? 

Apparently, the answer has to do with applying what I know. 

For all the years I’ve spent in church, for all the sermons I’ve heard and studies I’ve been a part of, I should be a saint by now, right?  Wait, what?  I’m not?  What’s the deal?

A couple of years back, our church did an intense small group study that involved a lot of honest introspection, and led to some serious change in people’s lives.  Listening as people shared their lives and their perspectives was eye-opening.  

There was one guy in our group – let’s call him Joe – who loved to talk.  As the weeks went on, though, we noticed a pattern.  He would start off agreeing with whatever the premise was that we were discussing (they usually involved breaking old behavior or thought patterns), then describe a situation in his life, and go on to explain in detail why the thing we were trying to learn didn’t apply to him, his life, or his situation.  He’s the exception to the rule, don’t you see?

Needless to say, Joe didn’t get a lot out of the study.  I believe when he was finished, he was pretty much the same guy he was when he started. 

Lest you think I’m Joe-bashing, I’d like to mention that there’s a little of Joe in me – in all of us, I think.  We’re quick to make excuses for ourselves, or think we’re okay ignoring the principles for living God has set out for us.  It’s pride, really – we think we’ve got a better way.

The book of James says that if I spend time reading God’s word, but never actually change my life, it’s as if I’ve walked by a mirror, noticed a big piece of broccoli in my teeth, and walked away without, you know, fixing the problem.  Gross.  You can find that in James 1:23-24, but he says it a little bit different than I do.

James goes on to say this: 

But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law – the law [His word] that sets you free – and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.  James 1:25

Simple takeaway for today:  I need to close the gap between what I know and what I do.

Also:  Happy Father's Day!  :)

June 18, 2011

Uber-Christian

So…  If I’m a fleshly person, I get the upside of a renewed spirit, but the downside of all the conflicted/stressful thoughts and emotions of a natural (unsaved) person?  That doesn’t seem like a nice place to live.

And yet, here I am.  At times, anyway. 

When I read the part about Neil asking 50 Christians (who, incidentally, were seeking help for big issues) if they suffer from inferiority, insecurity, inadequacy, guilt, worry, and doubt, I got a little miffed.  My first take was that he expects me to be an Uber-Christian (dang – how to work the oomlot?  How to spell oomlot?  Oh, umlaut – thanks, wikipedia) who has a bit of an ego problem, and is waaaay out of touch with reality.  Can I have a costume?  Do I get a cape?  But I digress…

After mulling it over, overnight, I’ve come up with this:  I will always tangle with those negative feelings from time to time.  As long as I’m here on earth, I’m not perfected yet. 

The crux is whether these are my overriding feelings about my life.  To what degree do I believe these things about myself – that I’m inferior, inadequate, insecure?  To what degree do I get bogged down in the Molasses Swamp of worry and guilt? 

How can I live above all that?  According to Neil, by denying what feels good in the moment, and investing in obedience.  By knowing God’s word and by knowing His voice.  By spending the time to understand and accept my position in Christ, and live as a child of His, not as a creature of Earth. 

I guess this means I don’t get a cool uniform…

June 17, 2011

The cell

So which is it – is being the spiritual person something that’s been done for me already, by Christ, or is it something I have to do myself?

Hmmmm…  Let me go quickly read the book of James and get back to you…

No, but seriously – yes, both are true.  When Christ died on the cross, the door to my prison cell was opened.  It’s on me not only to get up and walk through it, but to learn a new way of living so I don’t end up right back in the same cell.  I have to break bad habits, leave old relationships, and figure out a new way to make a living, because I never want to go back.

Here’s a disclaimer:  I have never actually been in prison.  Or jail, or even arrested.  It’s hard to imagine the experience…  One thing I know, though, is that how I live and where I end up – either back in the jail cell, or free – is up to me.  I have to say no to the things that feel right in the moment, but that I know are wrong, to live as a free person.

June 16, 2011

The natural person

Have you ever said to yourself, Wow, how do people do all this – stressful life stuff – without God?  I know I have.  Life can be really hard sometimes, and without the anchor of my faith, I’d be adrift in the storm and going under.

What Neil calls the natural person is, I’m thinking, just anyone who doesn’t yet know Christ.  And it cracks me up that in his last paragraph, he gives the full list of stuff that can go wrong if you’re consumed by stress…  Okay, it’s funny, but it also stirs my compassion for those who don’t know God. 

So we’ll stay tuned for the next couple of days to see what Neil has to say about spiritual and fleshly people…  And for today, it’s good to be reminded of the darkness that prevails for anyone who isn’t yet a believer…

June 15, 2011

Obeying on the outside…

Do you know this person?  They go to your church.  They have some years of experience in church under their belt, and they are reasonably faithful attenders now.  There’s even an air of spirituality to them… 

Now and then, though, you get into a conversation with them that goes to the dark side a little bit.  They might compare your church to one they’ve been to in the past, or they may be irritated with a person or group for some reason; you never noticed the thing that was wrong, but now you’re thinking about it.

After all, good church folk have had the wool pulled over their eyes by preachers who end up with their names in the headlines, right?  Part of being an American is subscribing to the rugged individuality that makes our country great, right? 

Well, according to the Bible, we are supposed to evaluate everything we see and hear in our church.  We’re to be on the lookout for false teachers – people who, intentionally or unintentionally, aren’t speaking the whole truth – and we’re to test the spirit when there’s a prophecy.  What’s the difference here?  I believe it’s the heart. 

Where is the questioning coming from?  Is it from a place of pride (sin), or humility? 

I’m pretty consistent with my kids.  If I promise a time-out, they know I’ll follow through.  There are times when I remind them of their less-than-favorite chair, and although they comply with my wishes at the moment, I can see in their eyes that their heart is elsewhere.  I’m obeying you on the outside, but on the inside, not so much…

We have to be careful when we give ourselves a pass to indulge in pride, complaining, fault-finding, and, well, rebellion, simply because we’re going to church every Sunday and in general, we’re on the right path.  The Bible’s pretty clear here – rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23).

Submitting isn’t a concept we like to embrace, but it is the essence of what Jesus came here to do.  I have to die to myself, let someone else be the boss of me; when I do, I allow God to cover me and bless me. 

June 14, 2011

Discipline

Most of us aren’t very good at taking discipline.  We’ve got baggage from our past - the varying degrees to which discipline was not given out in a healthy way - plus, we’ve got our pride which says, I don’t like to be corrected!

A couple of things stuck out in today’s reading…  First, that God’s discipline is future-oriented, designed to keep us from making the same bad choice again.  It’s never punishment; why do we feel like it is?  We’ve got an enemy who whispers lies in our ears, that we deserve our punishment, and that we’ve been somehow lowered on God’s scale because we messed up.

Why do I discipline my kids?  Part of it is in their best interest, and part of it is a little selfish…  Sure, I want them to grow up to be likeable, responsible, law-abiding people.  I’m responsible for how they turn out, to some degree.  But also, the more I follow through on the consequences I’ve promised, the better my kids behave.  When I don’t, when I give them the proverbial inch, they take the mile, and then we’re all miserable.

That brings me to the second thing, that God disciplines us out of love, because He cares what we turn out like.  I’ve been known, on occasion, to say this to my kids:  I love you too much to let you act this way.  What would happen if I never corrected my children?  They would be brats and nobody would want to play with them.

This is the part where I look in the mirror…  God loves me enough not to let me act like a brat.  What if He did?  Nobody would want to play with me.  He’s looking out for my future, and He’s doing it out of love. 

Is today’s blog about being a parent, or a child of God?  Yup, you guessed it – both.

June 13, 2011

Spending time together

I’ve noticed something about my daughter.  She’s 4, and she’s an independent, headstrong girl.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It does, however, keep life interesting around here…

I’ve been noticing that on days when I give her a little extra attention – maybe say yes to something I usually would have said “later” to (can you read me this book right now?), maybe I play a game with her, etc. – I’ve noticed a change in her willingness to cooperate with me.  When we spend time together, she’s much more willing to do what I ask her to, even if it’s not a preferred task. 

Maybe it’s that she feels like she’s on my side now, or that she knows her place in my heart and doesn’t have to struggle for her voice to be heard (albeit in a negative way); whatever the result, I’ve decided it’s awfully sweet.  I’ve made it a point to spend random special time with her more often.

Spending time with my Heavenly Father does the same thing for me, I think…  It gets me seeing the world through His eyes; it reminds me that I’m loved, and that He loves just being with me.  That confidence makes me want to please Him all the more. 

In the scenario with my daughter and I, it’s me, the mom, who needs to make the choice to put aside whatever else I was doing to invest in the relationship.  Between God and I, it’s me, the daughter, who needs to do that.  He has already waiting for me…

June 12, 2011

The only thing we have to fear is, well, you know…

When I was a kid, my parents bought a book by James Dobson, The Strong-Willed Child.  I’m reasonably confident that they didn’t have my brother in mind for the purchase, either… 

There’s another author, Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, who’s written several books that deal with learning styles, personality types, etc., as they relate to teaching and parenting.  Given my history, naturally, I paid close attention to the parts that dealt with strong-willed kids.

Cynthia’s take is this (as a strong-willed person herself):  never say to a strong willed child, Do this Or Else.  They will Or Else every time. 

Clean your room, or you’ll be grounded for two weeks.  The child thinks, two weeks’ grounding?  I’m okay with that.  I’ll accept those terms.  Without realizing it, the parent has been sucked in to negotiating with a terrorist (a big NATO no-no).

In case you’re wondering, the way to motivate said child is to get on their side and motivate them in some positive way.  I wonder if we can get this mess cleaned up in enough time for a movie this afternoon?  It starts at 2:30…  You get the idea.  Just don’t lay down ultimatums.

Back to the point of today’s entry…  I must become the strong-willed child when dealing with my fears (and truthfully, I actually think in these terms).  What’s the worst that can happen?  We lose our house?  I have to take a job I’ll hate?  Or, the ultimate – I could die?  When I’m actually okay with any of those scenarios (because God has given me peace about it), suddenly, the only thing I’m left fearing is that loss of control that I so totally hate.  And I’m working on that one…

June 11, 2011

My sister-in-law recently got married in Africa. 

When she was in college, she spent a semester abroad studying.  For some reason, she chose South Africa.  She was not walking closely with the Lord at the time, but felt drawn there, and greatly enjoyed her months there.

A couple of years later, she began pursuing the Lord in earnest, and applied to a missions/church planting program in South Africa, with the thought in mind that she might stay in the area to run a hostel as a way to reach people with the gospel, as well as housing missionaries, etc.  She loved the missions program, and eventually, the plans for the hostel fell to the wayside as new vision took hold.

She was assigned for her outreach to a tiny country, where she heard God’s voice calling her to minister to the people of the village she worked in.  And in the process of it all, she met the love of her life, a guy who grew up in that village, attended the same program in South Africa as she did, and felt called back to his own village. 

So the true love part of the story is pretty awesome, but I’m focusing on the part where my sister-in-law was moving forward, feeling confusion with all the course corrections, and in the end, winding up right where God had in mind all along.  Could it have happened any other way?  Probably not. 

Once again, Neil sticks the landing:  It’s in the doing of God’s work that His will becomes known.

June 10, 2011

Pride

Wow – so the premise today is that we can allow the enemy a measure of control in our lives when we indulge in pride and sin…  I’m picturing a big door marked Pride (maybe in graffiti), and even though we know better, sometimes we open it wide and let in whatever gremlins are lurking outside. 

Why is pride such a big deal?  As I think about it, pride is the thing inside me that says, I know better.  What else does it say?  I deserve something; I can get away with something; the rules are for everyone else.  Everything pride has to say stands up to God in a very ugly way. 

Pride, after all, was the thing that sent Satan spiraling out of the heavens, right?

All throughout the Bible, we read about the quality of humility.  We see humility lived out in the person of Jesus.  Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord (humility) is the beginning of wisdom, which is the understanding of how the world works, and how to succeed within it. 

Neil ends with this:  To whichever source you yield, by that source you shall be filled or controlled.

I have a tendency toward pride; I would love to be farther along in defeating it, but here I am.  Seeing it, turning it off, and embracing humility, as many times a day as it takes, is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  That’s my plan for today.

June 9, 2011

Don’t invite the pastor to dinner if…

In case you missed it a few months back, the difference between goals and desires is a pretty important thing to understand. 

Goals are things I set for myself; what makes something a goal is that I am the only one responsible for making it happen (or not).  If meeting my goal in any way depends on someone else’s choices or actions, the goal is not a goal.  It’s a desire.

A desire is something I want to see happen, but part, some, or all of it is beyond my control.  I can still work to see it happen, but I don’t hang my happiness on whether or not it does.

The woman in today’s story missed the fact that her job was just to be the best example of a believer she could be.  In my life, sometimes I feel like a failure when my kids don’t do well; I feel like I’m in trouble when my kids act badly.  But the bottom line is that my job is simply to be the best mom I can be, understand that they have choices to make, and trust God to handle all the stuff I can’t. 

For some reason, that inspires me.

June 8, 2011

What’s the problem?

Today, Neil answers a question we asked a while back – when is a problem spiritual in nature, and when is it physiological (body, brain, chemicals)?  What about behavior choices? 

As we read about Jesus’ miracles, it never mentions mental illness; demon possession, however, happened all the time.  What’s up with that?

I probably would have been disappointed if Neil had a neat, easy answer.  It could be any one of the above, or a combination of them, and you have to figure it out. 

I love that he hopes problems are spiritual – that, he can help fix!  (He is an engineer, after all…)  Reading that challenges me, not only to look more carefully to see if an issue is spiritual in nature, but to be confident that the things I’m learning about spiritual battle really work. 

June 7, 2011

That Impossible Thing

So if I’m reading this right, and I’d like to think that I am, there were two main points today…

First, we have to have faith – the kind that is all-consuming, all-convincing, that makes you willing to take that crazy risk – in order for That  Impossible Thing to get done.  Noah had an ark to build.  David had a giant to kill.  What’s That Impossible Thing for you?

Second, we need to know for sure what God wants.  Whatever God wants needs to be what we want, too.  Our crazy risk will end up as just that – a crazy risk – if we’re out of line with what God wants.  When we step out from under an umbrella, we can expect to get rained on.  Knowing what God wants by staying close to Him and listening will keep me in the center of what He wants.

Two questions I need to ask myself about That Impossible Thing:  is it what God wants?  Is it really impossible for God?  When I see my problem through His eyes, it doesn’t look so impossible.  Even though I can’t figure out how it will get done or what it will look like, I can have peace, knowing God has it all worked out.

June 6, 2011

Discernment

In the church where I grew up, although there was a big emphasis on the Holy Spirit, mainly people came for the teaching of the Bible.  It was in-depth, and, if you could listen and follow it long enough, grounding and life-changing. 

I don’t know if my pastor, a pretty intellectual guy, was responding in part to the trend of over-emotional Spirit-filled churches.  To be sure, though, we learned that God works through our knowledge of the Word. 

Neil’s closing hit home for me:  Have the courage to acknowledge that something is wrong when your spirit is troubled.  Share what you are sensing with others, and ask the Lord for wisdom.

Discernment doesn’t come from my head, but from my spirit.  I spend lots more time building up the muscles that come from reading God’s word than from listening to the Holy Spirit.  The more we listen, though, the more He speaks to us.  Now, for some practice…

June 5, 2011

Compassion           

Today’s story is freaky stuff.  And I’m always amazed at the fact that Neil takes it all in stride – makes perfect sense to him, right?

The story makes me wonder, though…  Neil probably sees stories like Christy’s all the time, partly because he knows what he’s looking for. 

Have there been people I’ve run across, maybe even been friends with, who have suffered like Christy, and I never knew? 

How prevalent is occult practice?  There was a house on my street when I was growing up that all the kids avoided because we all knew a witch lived there…  It seems like there’s one in every neighborhood, right?  When I was a little older, I figured it was part of kid mythology (we need bad guys, right?), but what if it wasn’t make-believe? 

And Santa Cruz, where I went to college for two years (Bethany Bible College), is nearby one of the known witchcraft capitals of the United States. 

I suppose how much and where aren’t as important to me as who…  I need to be open to the Holy Spirit and willing to ask the questions He tells me to.  With a heart of compassion, Jesus came to set free those in bondage.  That’s what He calls me to do, too.

June 4, 2011

Faith

I’m reminded of a quote from the movie Top Gun:  Mav, your ego’s writing checks your body can’t cash…

Positive thinking is all fine and good in a world where we’re on our own, but in the end, there are limits to what we can push ourselves to do.

God, on the other hand, has no limits.  Awesome! 

Neil writes:  Faith actually transcends the limitations of the mind and incorporates the real but unseen world…there is virtually no limit to the spiritual heights that positive believing can take you.

BTW, the phrase “positive believing” still cracks me up, even though I know it was coined as a counter to the term “positive thinking.”

The point is this…  When we take what we know from God’s word, listen and understand what His will is in a situation, and then trust Him enough to believe something as if it has already happened, amazing things will happen.  Those mountains will move, and not on account of us, but because of the great God we serve.

Faith is a risk, but not a bad one; God is good, and He is faithful.  He will do amazing things when we take the leap.

June 3, 2011

Idols in the Temple

Jesus broke through religious barriers and went straight to the heart of what worship was all about. 

In my opinion, church shouldn’t be so church-y.  My church isn’t all that church-y, and I’m pretty happy there.  Over the years, I’ve seen people come to my church with religious ideas, and it’s kind of fun to see their preconceptions of what church should look like challenged.

The ones who stay are the ones who look for the heart behind what we do; the ones who leave were looking for a comfortable place, one probably like the church they left. 

But lest I get on my high horse, are there legalistic tendencies I’m harboring, even if they are coming from a good place?  What do I mistake as evidence of God’s work in someone or something, but really, it’s all about my own personal taste? 

And where do I throw out the baby with the bath water, thinking something very unspiritual, when, in fact, God is at work there? 

Last summer, as I read through Old Testament books in which God was speaking to His people about their rebellion, I was struck by the idea that the Israelites had put up idols in the Temple.  What a mind-blower!  The Temple was the symbol of all that was pure and holy and beautiful, and they defiled it with the one thing God told them not to do – worship other gods.

Where are the idols we’ve put up in our church?  Maybe that worship has to be on fire for us to really get into it?  Maybe that the people we sit next to are (mostly) like us?  I don’t know, entirely…  I just remember my heart being soft at the mention of idols in the Temple. 

All I know is that we’re called to do the same thing Jesus did – get through all the other stuff, and find the heart of worship.

June 2, 2011

Missing the significance

I felt for Brian as I read the story – how sad!  It was really admirable that he wanted to do far greater things for God, but that desire kept him from appreciating what God had done through his life.

That leads me to wonder…  Are my goals the same as God’s goals for my life?  Are the things I’m finding significance in the same thing God does?  What is it that I see as small potatoes, but He sees as a big deal?

I’m reminded of the disciples, with all their fervor, asking Jesus to call down fire from heaven to demolish a village that rejected them.  They wanted to see dramatic things happen in order to further the kingdom, but Jesus had something different in mind.  They walked away disappointed, but they didn’t have to.

It seems that one key is to be willing to thing big, but at the same time, be asking the right questions and be listening.  God wants to make Himself known; am I listening?

June 1, 2011

Taken for granted

Neil writes, Achievement is determined by who or what you serve. 

Can you think of times where someone signed up with a flawed leader?  Church leaders have failed, politicians have fallen…  While the spotlight gets focused on the person who messed up, imagine the pain and disappointment of all those whose life’s work or ministry was compromised by the leader’s bad decisions.  Who we serve is as important as how we serve.

In terms of serving God, Jesus said that we can’t have two masters.  We can’t be totally His and somewhat still in love with the world…  That’s a tougher one.  Where are my affections?  Are they totally focused on God?  There are lots of shiny things down here that catch my attention…

Just like it’s easy to take a spouse or family member for granted, it’s easy to take God for granted.  He knows I love Him – I can spend my time and energies on this other thing, and He will understand, right?  Um, no, not really.  That’s the thinking that got Israel in trouble.  They allowed themselves to get entangled in the ways of the people around them, and before they knew it, their hearts were far away from God.

Father, forgive me for taking You for granted.  The only treasure I’m looking forward to in heaven is You…