August 31, 2011

I’d like to speak with my primary care physician…

I don’t like going to the doctor.  No, that’s an understatement – I hate going to the doctor.  It makes me feel vulnerable.  I hate all the attention, all the questions (I don’t pay attention to pesky things like symptoms!), and the fact that I’m depending on someone else for my well-being.  If I’m sick, I’d rather curl up in bed and stick it out. 

Ironically, my instinct to self-protect does just the opposite.  It tempts me to stay away from the person who would help me the most!  Denial is not my friend – I really won’t get better on my own. 

There’s a tendency we have when we’re hurting emotionally, too, to self-protect.  We don’t want to risk exposure, even though it’s the one thing that will keep us on track spiritually.  Whether it’s a season of tough temptation or just a difficult and emotionally draining circumstance, I’ve seen people drop out of church at the time they need it most. 

There’s a cost to being vulnerable, and it takes a humble person to admit they need help (one of my least favorite things in the world).  But the fact is that we need each other; that’s the way God made us. 

So on Sunday mornings, I’m going to commit to be there even when I’m hurting, to let people know and ask for help, and to be sensitive to the needs of those around me.  We’re all in the same boat, after all…

August 30, 2011

So, I’m an evil genius…?

Ah, yes…  There’s a fine art to saying something to someone that they don’t want to hear, but saying it in such a way that they can receive it…  Neil has good instructions for us today.

I can remember a time when I was accused of committing an offense against a person, and having done so with malicious intent.  I was floored as she described my bid for world domination, beginning with this one act of treason against her…  The whole thing came from a misunderstanding (compounded by a miscommunication), and although it was almost funny how overblown the whole thing became, it hurt to have someone think me capable of such evil. 

Plus, if I were to attempt world domination, I certainly wouldn’t have started with her.  But I digress…

The thing in today’s reading that caught my attention was Neil’s suggestion that we don’t need to convict someone of their wrongdoing.  That’s God’s job, and I don’t need to usurp His position.  I can trust Him to do His work. 

There are times when, instead of going to a person who’s frustrating me (I need work there), I keep telling God about it.  Sometimes, I’m sure this person was out to hurt me.  But when I get so focused on what they did, I miss the point, which is to tell God what I need, and ask Him to meet that need. 

Sometimes, when my kids tattle on each other, I tell them:  You worry about you.  I think that’s what I needed to hear today, for me…

August 29, 2011

Who’s in charge of me?

My first thought on reading today’s entry was something along these lines:  Oh, good – more on selfishness.  Haven’t we covered this ground already?  What more is there?  What will I find to write about?

And as the words have settled over me, I’m called once again to look at my own heart.  How am I still wanting to be the most important thing in my life?  Still trying to get my way?

When I’m talking to people, am I more concerned with expressing myself, or making sure I understand them fully? 

Is my day centered around waiting on the Lord, or charging ahead with whatever I feel like doing? 

Do I wait for God to meet my needs, or do I figure out a way to meet them myself?

The list goes on…  For every moment when I think I’m allowing God full privileges of the remote control, there are six where I demand it back. 

So today, I’m taking a step back to examine my motives, notice how often I take control, and look to give it back…

August 28, 2011

…should we?...

It would be so easy if someone could just tell me what to do.  If they did, though, probably I wouldn’t like being told what to do, right?

Making decisions and trying to figure out what God wants me to do is quite a process.  At times, it’s frustrating and discouraging.  Asking for help making decisions (I liked how Neil put it:  from a spiritually sensitive person) doesn’t even always guarantee good advice!

When my husband and I were still dating, as we considered marriage, we submitted to the advice of our parents and pastor.  We got the thumbs up from everyone, and then, a couple of weeks later, the associate pastor who was over our college/young adults group told us he thought we were making a mistake.

What to do?  We put everything on hold, went back and prayed (all green lights – no red), went back to parents and pastor and asked again.  In the end, we went ahead with our plans, but learned something.  Someone we know and trust may give us advice that’s not right on the money.  Their motives may be out of line, or they may even be telling us what God wanted them to, in order for us to really make sure we had heard correctly.

We’ve stuck to that pattern of making big decisions in our lives – pray, ask advice of parents and mentors – and God has always honored the process.  I’m reminded today to check my own motives when someone asks me for advice…

August 27, 2011

The only thing I have to fear…

While today, Neil talks about debilitating fear such as agoraphobia, I was pondering the how smaller, everyday fears impact me. 

Neil’s right – when a fear is something you live with, you don’t usually take the time to look at it very carefully.  Most of my fears these days have to do with my kids, things that might affect their health and well-being. 

And for all the ways in which I think I have turned my kids over to the Lord, apparently there are more.  Plus, I see now that a big part of this fear has to do with a fear of failure on my part – I don’t want to screw up. 

Re-setting my default to where God is in charge goes a long way toward defeating fear.  No wonder I’m afraid – I can’t protect my kids!  Only God can.  And as far as me failing, once again I’m reminded that I’ve not been asked to be a perfect mom.  All I’ve been asked to do is be the best mom I can be – mistakes and all – and I trust God to make up for what I lack. 

I hope today’s reading spoke to you.  I’m grateful for a God who deals so gently with us when we forget to trust Him completely.

August 26, 2011

Sin

I have this idea that if we really understood how insidious sin is, we might just understand the lengths God went to in order to bring us forgiveness – the torture and death of His Son – and the lengths He will go to in order to free us of its grip now. 

Is He willing to allow us to suffer so selfishness can be crushed out of us?  I can’t know for sure, but I suspect it’s true.  I compare it to the chemo being applied to destroy cancer – chemo is awful, but compared to certain death…

Neil writes about the hooks that get put into us when we willingly give in to temptation; we all know from experience that whatever we chose to do, we have less of a choice the next time around. 

My prayer for today is that God would show me His view of sin; that it would break my heart as much as it does His; that I would be committed anew to living His way.

August 25, 2011

More on superpowers

Have you ever noticed that in movies and tv shows, bad guys have the advantage?  If it’s a really, really bad guy, he’s way harder to kill than the average Joe.  But the really annoying thing is that he seems to know everything the good guy is going to try in order to stop him!  We’ve noticed a trend:  the uber-bad guy is all-knowing.

If only the good guys had such superpowers!  Clearly, the good guys are at a disadvantage.  That’s okay, though, because we love to root for an underdog, right?

Wouldn’t it be cool as believers if we had an advantage?  Well…(wait for it)…we do – the Holy Spirit gives us a sense of things we would otherwise know nothing about, right when we need to know it.

The more we pay attention to that sense, analyze what it feels like, what it means right then, and what we’re supposed to do as a result, the better we develop discernment.  Fact is, we are in a war against bad guys – spiritual battle – and we need to use every weapon we’re given.

August 24, 2011

Hearing from God

The gift of prophecy is played out in different ways in different churches, much like each congregation has their own flavor of prayer, worship, etc.  Some may believe in it more in theory than in practice, so it’s rarely mentioned.  Others hold prophecy as the pinnacle of spirituality, proof of God’s work there.

I think it’s cool that God has this option of speaking directly to us – it’s awesome!  It helps me to think of it, though, as the exception to the rule.  There have been questions I’ve waited on Him for, wishing to hear directly on which way to go.  Having a prophecy to give me an absolute answer would have been nice!  But prophecy doesn’t work like a Magic 8 Ball (am I in trouble for saying that?)… 

Neil points out that the usual point of a prophecy is to call someone to righteousness.  The main way God speaks to me regarding big decisions in my life is through His word, and as I’ve waited on Him in prayer. 

I’ve got this funny picture in my mind, of me asking God, “Why won’t you speak to me?”  And God pointing to my Bible, saying, “What more do you want?  I thought that was pretty good!”

So is it wrong to want to hear from God?  Of course not.  I just need to keep my perspective right.  Otherwise, I may be disappointed.  Prophecy is dessert; God’s word is the main course.

August 23, 2011

Emotions and truth

It was a little hard for me to follow the logic through today’s entry, but I feel like I’ve been picking on Neil lately, so I’ll go easy on him… 

Here’s what I got out of it.  The premise is that what I feel is based on what I think, or what I believe.  The stories he told about trying to buy a house illustrated that perfectly.  But how does that look in my life?

Well, in my relationship with God, if I believe in Him and that He loves me, but I’m sketchy on the details of what all is in the Bible, I may run into some trouble.  What happens on the day I blow it and do something pretty bad?  My feelings about God are going to be based on what I know about Him.  If my understanding is shallow, there’s a lot of room for me to doubt that He will still love me, considering what I just did.

The more I know God through His word, the better I can manage my emotions, even in the toughest of times.  My challenge, when I’m presented with an opportunity to follow my emotions down the easy path, is to hold them up to the light of what I know (truth) and act accordingly. 

August 22, 2011

Neil vs. rock ‘n’ roll

I grew up in the era when speakers made the rounds to youth groups and Christian schools, railing against rock music and all its evils.  They would read lyrics to us for shock value (not realizing we’d already figured them out).  Some talked about subliminal messages (play it backwards!), others about how the very drumbeat was satanic.  Interesting stuff.

I remember at the time feeling like these (well-meaning) adults didn’t give us much credit…  It was as if they believed that if we listened to enough garbage, we would become brainwashed into committing all kinds of evil.  While there is something to the frog-in-the-boiling-water analogy (frog gets in while the water’s cool, and doesn’t notice he’s eventually being boiled), these guys were telling us all rock music was bad, and we weren’t smart enough to listen to it and still serve God.

I’m coming clean, because reading Neil’s entry today touched a nerve for me.  His tone has shades of what those chapel speakers said years ago.  I believe his intent, though, is good.

What I do agree with is that we need to be aware of what music our kids listen to, be attentive to how it affects them (Depressed?  Stop listening to Depeche Mode!), and make it an open conversation.  I believe in the value of teaching kids to make their own decisions based on what they believe, and then supporting those decisions. 

All this is spoken with a huge dose of humility, because, and of course, I don’t have teenagers yet.  Feel free to weigh in with your opinions…

August 21, 2011

Ah, the internet… 

I have a confession.  When I read today’s entry from Neil, I was impressed by it, but I found myself distracted by the first paragraph.  What a great story!  But it came with very few facts, and no names, places, etc.  Urban legend?  Those exist in the church, too…

So, yes, I went digging.  And it turns out, there is quite a bit of controversy over who penned this prayer.  Mostly, folks fall into two camps:  one, that a pastor martyred in Zimbabwe (no other info) wrote it, and the other, that a pastor of a sizable church in Seattle wrote it in his book, but took no credit for it.  Incidentally, that pastor subsequently resigned after a moral failure.

I’m not very sentimental; I don’t appreciate heartwarming emails forwarded from well-meaning friends (sorry!), and I don’t like to feel emotionally manipulated.  Probably my life is the poorer for it, but there it is – I’m kind of skeptical. 

And there were numbers of posts on blogs about whether we can appreciate a piece that’s been well-written and inspirational, regardless of who wrote it – the consensus was yes, by the way. 

But I came to a realization that all my research only did one thing:  it distracted me from the impact of the piece.  Whoever wrote it, the force behind it comes through with every word.  It’s preachy, but it’s inspiring.  It’s life, stripped down to the basics of why we’re here.  And I’m going to choose to be inspired by it today.

August 20, 2011

Of miracles and magic shows

Apparently, we ask God for miracles.  A lot.  We don’t see a way out of our circumstances, and what’s the first thing we do?  We ask for a miracle. 

Neil’s idea is that God’s power, however it is shown, is miraculous!  Something to think about…  Sometimes, God does the big, flashy miracle, and others, He lets His universe take its course, and stuff works out.  Is one more special than the other?

Today, Neil writes:  What really impresses me is His timing, not His miraculous interventions.

I can’t even begin to conceive of the complexity of all that’s involved in running the world.  God’s word says that He knows every word I say, every thought that crosses my mind…  Although I believe He knows the same things for everyone on the planet right now, I can’t grasp it! 

What I’m contemplating today is that maybe when timing and circumstances all work together for God’s special favor to be shown to me, maybe it’s more of a miracle than if He had fixed something on-the-spot. 

It informs me, too, about the character of God…  The flashy miracles that make people pay attention for the moment, but like in Jesus’ time, if God did those all the time, we would be looking for the magic show, not the God of the universe. 

His character is humility and restraint as He works grace and compassion in my life.  That, I believe, is the true miracle.

August 19, 2011

Change – aaaaaaaaargh!

As a species, we humans have a tough time with change.  We may be stuck, but we like our rut very much, thank you.  It’s a nice rut.

Sadly, change appears to be a dynamic force in the universe.  What’s the saying?  Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.  We’re going to be forced into it sooner or later.

In churches, we get territorial, traditional, and, well, stuck.  (It’s a nice rut.)  We’re all for outreach unless it reaches in and messes with something we know and love, right? 

My purpose today isn’t to write about what we (I) do poorly.  It’s a challenge to do what Neil suggested:  ask, Why?  That question, when it’s asked with humility and grace, holds the key to the right kind of change.  It requires fearlessness. 

We tend to go with what we know works; God likes to keep things fresh.  Today, I’m going to be asking Him to show me where He wants change – in my home, and in my ministries at church.

August 18, 2011

Testing…testing…

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall…  Neil has some crazy stories! 

If I can get past the crazy, here’s what I see.  Alvin, the guy, got mixed up with some shady folks who prayed over him and said he had the gift of prophecy. 

When I got to the end of today’s reading, and Neil talks about how important it is to test the spirits, I was thinking, Great!  I’ll just do that prayer thing he does and call out whatever spirit is there.  Yeah, I’m a little intimidated by that, although I know I shouldn’t be.  Probably Neil has had lots of practice.

But thinking it through, it was Alvin’s responsibility to be testing the spirit behind the false teachers in the first place, right?  That’s something the Holy Spirit does for us – He gives us that uncomfortable feeling when something isn’t right, and it’s up to us to follow through and ask the questions, look stuff up in the Bible, etc.  We can’t just go along with things and assume that since this person is leading a prayer meeting, it’s all good!

Numbers of years back, my husband and I asked a pastor who was a guest speaker at our church to pray for us.  This was a well-respected, dear man, and we were surrounded by folks from our church who we trusted, and who had known this man for years. 

It was a strange experience.  He asked us to stand, and then while praying with his hand on our foreheads, he pushed us so that we were off balance, and someone standing behind us (his wife?) basically pulled us gently to the floor and told us to stay there.  Strangest thing ever. 

Is the guy a false teacher?  I don’t know the full answer to that, but I can tell you something was off that day.  We left a little confused, but eventually came to the conclusion that while the man meant well, we wouldn’t be coming forward for prayer at any future meetings with him (and on a side note, there weren’t any…).

Why the long, strange story today?  I suppose I was reminded not to look down my nose at poor Alvin – sometimes things that are spiritually wacky may come from a person who’s well-respected, even by people you trust.  I’m responsible to follow the Holy Spirit when He says something’s rotten in the state of Denmark.  And I’ll trust Him to show me what to do with it all…

August 17, 2011

Truth and light

Neil’s devotional was written in 1993, when the New Age movement was the hottest thing going.  You don’t hear much about it these days, though - I was curious as to how big it is today.

Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:

People who practice New Age spirituality or who embrace its lifestyle are included in the Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) demographic market segment, currently in a growth phase, related to sustainable living, green ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively affluent and well-educated segment.  The LOHAS market segment in 2006 was estimated at USD$300 billion, approximately 30 percent of the United States consumer market.

So even though these statistics are 5 years old or so, a couple of things stand out to me:  first, that the market is (or was) around 30% of US consumers, and second, that the folks involved here are moderately wealthy and educated (read:  the movers and shakers). 

In addition to New Age, there are plenty of other alternate brands of spirituality floating around out there these days.  And maybe the biggest threat is the trend away from absolute, exclusive truth.  Most people are willing to hold beliefs that contradict one another, and are okay with it all.  That translates into the diluting of Christianity, as people pick and choose which things they want to believe in, while still calling themselves a Christian.

What’s my takeaway?  First, the idea that there’s a strategy of deception behind all of this.  It’s not just about what people choose to personally believe in; the enemy is looking to snatch up weaker believers.  And second, that speaking the truth takes courage, but I’m called to be light in a dark world.  Today, I’m looking for how God wants me to share truth and shine light…

August 16, 2011

The reluctant hero

It’s such a good movie plot that it’s been used over and over…  Crisis is brewing, all hope is lost, and into this mayhem steps someone so unlikely that even that person doesn’t believe he or she can save the world. 

A sorcerer, a jedi, a super hero – the plots vary, but the formula is the same.  A sage helps our young hero discover that every resource they need is already within them.  What comes next is usually a painful (and often funny) process of learning how to use their newly discovered power.  And in the end, of course, good triumphs over evil.

I probably don’t have to spell out all the comparisons, but I was thinking today about that process of the hero discovering their powers and learning how to use them.  That’s where we’re living, right?  (cue montage of funny scenes in which we try, badly, to exercise our spiritual authority, and eventually get the hang of it…)

We may not have signed up to save the world, but that’s exactly what Christ came to do, and it’s the work He has charged us with continuing.  With great power comes great responsibility…

August 15, 2011

Off the hook, or on?

Life-changing words from Neil today:  You may like someone because of who he is; but you love him because of who you are.

I’ve got people in my life who are hard to love – how about you? 

In one sense, I’m off the hook.  I don’t have to chase down every difference and resolve it favorably, or – worse yet – change that person or their behavior so they are more loveable.  I can just let them be who they are, and I don’t have to do a thing about it, because they don’t have to earn my love. 

For me, it’s freeing to think about it like that!  Love can be a reasonable goal, because it only depends on me and my choices.  Nobody can block me from loving that difficult person! 

But in another sense, now all the burden is on me to get over myself and be loving…  I love what Neil has to say:  If you say you don’t love someone, you have said more about yourself than about that other person.  Specifically, you’re saying that you haven’t attained the maturity to love him unconditionally.

Ouch!  So if someone is a pain and hard to love, I’m the problem?  Apparently so.  The good news is that I don’t always have to feel warm and fuzzy towards them; I just have to choose to act in loving ways.  That I can do.

You can be sure that God will put someone in my path today who will challenge me in this…  Bring it on!  (I hope…)

August 14, 2011

Questions, questions…

Reading about spirits causing sickness, once again, the questions outnumber the answers…

In the book of Mark, one-fourth of the healings have to do with evil spirits.  Did the lack of modern medicine make people who lived in that era more likely to blame spirits because they didn’t have any other reasonable explanation for certain diseases, or was it that they were more in touch with the reality of how the spiritual world intersects with the natural one?

I’m curious as to what the current statistic on doctors’ estimates of psychosomatic illnesses is, too.  50% seems pretty high!  Also, if an illness is spiritually caused, it’s not actually psychosomatic (all in the person’s head), is it?  There’s an actual oppression there, but the cause is beyond the doctor’s scope of practice.

Interesting things to ponder, along with this:  when we’re sick, does this mean we need to clean house (in a spiritual sense) before we look to medicine for a cure?  No, I think that may be going a little bit far.  A better answer would probably be:  not always.

My takeaway, though, is to be open to the fact that there are spiritual dynamics all around me that I can’t see with my eyes.  I’ve had the experience of totally missing what someone has said to me because I so totally didn’t expect those words to come out of their mouth just then, and it’s the same – unless I’m prepared for the possibility of a spiritual cause behind something, odds are I’ll miss it entirely.

August 13, 2011

Blind spots

Neil talks this morning about defense mechanisms we depend on to get through life, ones that involve hiding the truth from ourselves about something important, and often, something obvious.

I’ve got blind spots.  I’m a reasonably functional adult (most of the time), yet there are these mysteries about my life.  Why do I overreact to this type of person every time?  Why do my friendships all seem to end the same way?  Why am I drawn to helping people, often to my own detriment?  Something way down isn’t healthy. 

Huge things were unlocked for me when, as we were talking about my best friend when I was in grade school, my mom threw out the comment:  You know, she wasn’t very nice to you…  My first thought was, You know, that’s true!  I never realized it!  And my second was, Gee, I could have used that information a looong time ago…

A tiny truth brought freedom to me, in the way I looked at myself (things aren’t always my fault?), and the way I relate to others. 

There are truths that I need know, things about me, about my past, about who I am today.  We’ve all got blind spots… 

I am so grateful, though, for a God who could unleash the truth like a fire hose (which would be devastating), but instead He presents it to us in ways we can digest, often when we’re in a good place, and His purpose is to build us up, not tear us down. 

Today, I’ll be asking Him to show me, in His time and in His way, the next blind spot He wants me to see…

August 11, 2011

Trials and trust

Is that thing I’m going through God trying to tell me to quit?  The circumstances provoke doubt, and all of a sudden I’m not sure what I should do.  I had an open door, but now it’s been closed, and I don’t know whether I should keep trying.  Really, it would be easiest not to…

But what if God was the one who closed the door, to teach me to be more persistent?  What if the lesson here is to muscle through the adversity, trusting that He has the outcome in hand?  I’ve asked these questions many, many times.

In my experience, when a difficulty is truly from God, He doesn’t send it along to teach me to quit.  The purpose is for me to learn endurance.

My Bible reading from a few days ago said this:

These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure.  It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.  So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

1 Peter 1:7

Trials purify my faith…  Fiery trials, at that.  Wow. 

Later on in 1 Peter, though, he says this:

…trust yourself to the God who made you, for He will never fail you.  1 Peter 4:19

When I get past the parts about fiery trials, here’s what sticks out to me:  God is purifying my faith, which is more precious to Him than gold…and I can trust Him.  He will never fail me.

August 11, 2011

Mental preparation

Leave it to Neil – the engineer – to give us a step-by-step outline for reprogramming ourselves…  For some reason, that strikes me as funny!

But not off base, or irrelevant…  My mind is a battleground, and pulling these scriptures out and lining them up helps me get the big picture.  I can’t just have faith and then hope with fingers crossed that in the moment of temptation or crisis, I’ll do the right thing…

This stuck out as I read:  …if you can mentally prepare yourself in advance to obey the truth, you can motivate yourself toward productive living – as long as you follow through by doing what you imagine.

I tend to live in the moment; I’m a little impulsive.  What Neil has to say challenges me to take responsibility for myself by preparing mentally ahead of time.  When he says it, it sounds so obvious!  But it’s not my natural way of thinking.

So my challenge for today will be this:  work on what goes on in my mind, with a fresh understanding that it matters, and see how that affects my ability to hear and obey the Lord.

August 10, 2011

Love that changes everything

God’s love is based on who He is, not who I am.  That’s an amazing thing!

Until I became a parent, my model for how God loves me was that of my parents – very, very good, but flawed in some respects, just because, well, my parents are human.  That’s the way it goes.  They may not have approved of everything I did, but at the end of the day, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my parents loved me. 

I thought I understood.  Then (a while later) I became a parent.

Sometimes, when my son is in trouble, he apologizes as if I am ready to send him packing out the door.  I understand that – I remember doing the same thing!  And when I try to tell him that there’s nothing he could ever do that would make me not love him, he says okay, but I know he doesn’t get it.  For now, it’s enough for him to hear me and believe me.  And hear it again, many times over.

As imperfect a parent as I am, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my kids.  How much more passionate about us is God, our Father!  It’s not just the title at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer – He actually is our maker, creator, Father.  Our minds can’t comprehend the extent to which He loves us.

Love that big leaves me wanting to please God – in comparison, nothing in my life is worth holding onto.  My focus for the day will be to contemplate the love of my Father and how that changes everything.

August 9, 2011

Trust

What Neil writes about today, trust between an adolescent/teenager and parent, I need to read.  I did not have it, and it’s hard to create something that you don’t have a model for.

Mulling it over, though, what I feel the Lord saying to me today is that I already have my kids’ trust…  It’s mine to lose, of course, but it’s already there. 

I’m being reminded that the little decisions I make will inform the bigger ones my kids make (as in, I can’t trust her with little things – why should I trust her with the big ones).  Also, that the consequences run deeper than conflict in the home – spiritual issues are in the mix, too.

At the end of the day, my job is to be the best mom I can.  That’s a goal I can work on.  That, and allowing God to shine light on things in my life He wants to heal and change as I learn this parenting thing…

August 8, 2011

Voices

Whoa – hearing voices?  What?  Well, guess it’s a thing.  Makes sense, really…  Deep down, we mortals have a curiosity to know about the supernatural.  God put it there!  It’s so we’ll go looking for Him! 

Today’s entry got me thinking, though, about the fact that often, God speaks to us in a still, small voice.  The Holy Spirit is always with us, guiding us.  He is the Original; the other voices are counterfeits. 

So how can I make sure that the voice I’m listening to is the Holy Spirit?  I need to know God’s character, by knowing His word.  I do this by spending time reading my Bible and digesting what I read.  When I do, I’ll know right away if something’s off about the message I’m receiving. 

Today, my focus will be on listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

August 7, 2011

Goals and goalies

If you’ve been following Neil’s stuff (and this blog), you’ve heard this before, just a little differently:  a goal is something I can accomplish all by myself, but if it involves the cooperation of anyone or anything else, I need to hold it as a desire, or I will be greatly frustrated.

If I derive my self worth from accomplishing my goals, when someone stands in the way of that goal (plays goalie?), my response to them isn’t likely to be very gracious. 

When something happens in my life and I feel myself over-reacting, I’m starting to take a look at why that might be, in terms of goals and goalies.  More often than not, something that sends me into the stratosphere is a thing I’ve got as a goal (and really, shouldn’t you?  It’s such a good goal!), when it needs to be a desire.  And when you couple that with an out-of-balance sense of self worth, as in, I’m basing it on whether or not this thing happens, the stakes are even higher.

Neil mentions control and manipulation as ways around people; I’m more prone to defeat, anger and even depression.  Any way you slice it, it’s all bad.

So the thing for me today is not only to keep evaluating my responses to see if I’ve got a misplaced goal, it’s to pray for the wisdom to look at the big picture ahead of time, ask the big questions in my life, and let God set the priorities, goals, and desires. 

August 6, 2011

More of Him

This is an entry that humbles me.  It makes me realize that whatever I think I am or have accomplished, it’s nothing compared to what God wants to do in me, or through me. 

It reminds me that the most I can do to serve the Lord is to become the least amount of me possible.  The world and the culture around us are so contrary to this idea – they say that to be truly significant, you must assert your individuality.  The worst thing you can do is to be swallowed up in someone else’s identity.  But God says, Be absorbed into Me, and you’ll be who I want you to be…

It draws me into a fresh understanding of my need to do what John the Baptist exclaimed – I must decrease, He must increase.  More of Him, less of me. 

I’m going to re-read those verses again, several times throughout my day.  Die to self with fresh understanding – that’s my takeaway for the day.

August 5, 2011

Counterfeit

When I was in college, I worked in a bank.  I was just part-time, so I was a receptionist, but they did let me take deposits at my desk now and then. 

And I did get in on some of the teller guidelines…  They were responsible for all the bills we took in.  Their job was to make sure no counterfeit money was deposited.  This was before bills had been updated with watermarks, etc., so most of what they went by was the feel of the money.  There were other indicators, too, but after handling bills all day, they got good at knowing when something was off.

Reading today’s entry, it occurs to me that the better I know God’s word and His Spirit, the quicker I’ll know when something is off.  It’s pointless to research every wacky new spiritual thing out there – my best strategy is to spend so much time handling the real thing that I’ll spot a fake from a mile away.

August 4, 2011

The Fun Blog

Fun?  Neil’s writing about fun today?  Well, yes…joy, actually.  And he’s right – fun, joy, whatever the term, is a big part of serving God! 

It’s my opinion that someone who think being a Christian is dull or anti-fun doesn’t know what serving God is really about.  Sure, there are the uptight ones who can suck the fun out of a room in under 10 seconds, but I wouldn’t exactly call those people my role models.  Something is clearly out of balance; Jesus was anti-legalism, the way I read it.

Some of the most mature believers I know are also some of the most funny, fun people I know. What’s more, I think that the joy of living a life that’s blessed and fulfilled is something that draws unbelievers.  God gave us a sense of humor for a reason! 

So I had to get past this very un-fun sentence from Neil:  The secret to enjoying uninhibited spontaneity as a Christian is in removing non-scriptural inhibitors…to get his point, which is that the less we are concerned about pleasing people, the more free we are to please God, and experience total joy. 

Now that’s something I can get behind. 

August 3, 2011

Perspective

Mind blowing statement from Neil:  …we have an even greater advantage in spiritual warfare than the first disciples did…they were with Christ, but we are in Christ.

The disciples saw Jesus face to face, every day, and we have an advantage?  How can that be?

Maybe it’s that we have the perspective of what happened at the cross.  The disciples experienced it as an unspeakable tragedy first, and afterwards, a victory.  What we read as a package of salvation was played out, one episode at a time, for them.  Wrapping their minds around the significance of it was a tall order. 

Neil also points out that we’re in the same boat with the disciples, though – our problem is one of perspective.  We struggle every day, yet we’re already complete in Christ.  Like the disciples, it’s a tall order to wrap our minds around that fact.

My prayer today echoes what Neil said, that my eyes may be opened to the rich inheritance of Christ.

I’m going to re-read Ephesians 1:18-20 several times today, too…

August 2, 2011

Responsibility and authority

Have you ever had a job in which you were given responsibilities, but no authority to make decisions in order to fulfill those responsibilities?  I can tell you from experience, it’s pretty frustrating.  Think Israelites in Egypt, being ordered to make bricks, and not being given any straw…

While we don’t typically take management lessons from stories about the disciples casting out demons, there is a point here to think about, in terms of volunteers in ministry… 

If enough training has been done, I can release someone to make decisions as they do their job, and then I fully support him or her, regardless of whether or not I agree with their decision.  I’m supporting them as they step out and learn lessons, sometimes the hard way.  The key is in the training beforehand.  Come to think of it, that’s exactly what Jesus did, right?

It’s reassuring to think about the fact that God has trusted us enough to give us all the training we need (His word, His Son), and then released us to operate in His authority.  He’s given us resources – power – with which to do our job, and beyond that, His Spirit is close at hand to guide us.

David was just a little guy up against a giant, but in the spiritual sense, he had the advantage.  I’m going to keep that image in my mind as I ponder…

August 1, 2011

Identity theft

Living in this world is a little like an abusive relationship…  The guy – the enemy – is a master at manipulating us, luring us into sin and then making us feel like we’re unworthy.  Nobody else could want us, so we may as well stay where we are (not very close to God), even though it’s miserable!

Why do we fall for it?  In part, because we know we’re not worthy of God’s love to begin with, even though His word says that He loves us immeasurably.  Possibly, we’ve never taken the time in His word to fully grasp that love.  And in part, we lose our intensity in our pursuit of God, and succumb to the lies of the enemy. 

Neil writes:  The essence of the victorious Christian life is believing what is already true about you.  Oh, the irony!  The enemy makes us insecure by trying to get us to earn what we already have!  What we really need to do is, well, nothing.  Stop trying to earn favor with God.

When I fully believe what God says in Romans 8, I’m no longer vulnerable to identity theft:

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love.  Death can’t, and life can’t.  The angels can’t, and the demons can’t.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.  Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39