“I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion... I want all that God has or I don't want any.”
― A.W. Tozer
The lessons learned through pain are the lessons best remembered. Just like in the Bible, the Lord often talks to me by asking questions. He has given us a brain for a reason. Sometimes when I have a "duh" moment, I can almost hear Him laugh. He knows I so enjoy figuring things out and I believe that is one of the reasons He teaches me the way He does. Last night was one of those nights.
I was lying in bed explaining to Him how I feel about a situation I am in. A friend of mine is under a huge attack by the enemy and I know it is the enemy because the Lord has shown me and we have talked about this. I was telling Him how helpless I feel. I can talk until I am blue and this person refuses to hear me. The words I have shared come from the Lord and I only share what He tells me. Lying there last night in all this frustration and tears, the Lord asked a question He has asked me several times lately. "Does this feel familiar? Have we been here before?" Instantly, I knew what He was talking about. When I was seven and being sexually abused along with a three year old girl, I always tried to protect her. I would hide her, but he would find her. All those feelings came back ten fold because they were the same as what I am feeling now. No matter how I tried, I could not protect her. It felt like it was me against the world. Nobody cared what was happening to her, but me. At least that's how I felt. I wanted to protect her more than anything in the world, but I was only seven.
The first thing I thought about was how God takes us around the same mountain until we learn the lesson. Until we see what we are doing wrong and change the behavior. Right? That's when He explained that many times He takes us through the same battles to learn how to fight. If you keep getting punched in the face you learn to cover your face, right? I was on to something. What should I have done different when I was seven? What can I learn by my behavior back then? I said to the Lord, "I was only seven. I was helpless. I had no control." Then He said, "What's different now?" DUH! Nothing. I still have no control. The only thing I can do is obey and pray. I am as helpless as that seven year old.
Then He went on to talk about the affect it had on me. I lived with guilt for many years and the enemy still tries to use it against me. This time, I will decide not to feel guilty, because I am not in control I am responsible "to" not "for". Hind sight is 20/20 and I believe God is using it if we are willing to look back and see it. He trains us by taking us through the same battles. For me, learning to let go and give up control is big. Otherwise the enemy would not attack me in that area with guilt, and the Lord wouldn't use it to teach me.
This is all about spiritual warfare and taking the weapons of mass destruction from the enemy. If He can't make me feel guilty for not being in control, that is power taken from him and given to me. Guilt can be crippling. If you find yourself in the same circumstances more than once, it may not be how you got there that He is trying to show you. It could be how to handle the fight or it maybe how to handle the outcome. We do have control over how we live. Because of free will God is not even in control, but He is in charge.
“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
Thursday, August 22, 2013
God never uses Chains
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”
― Abraham Lincoln
There is a huge misconception in the world of prostituted women. I listened to a group of these women the other day talk about how they got sucked in. The power the pimps have over these women is given to them by the women, because they are broken. They have never taken the power given to them by God, because they don't know what to do with it, so through manipulation they hand the power over to the pimps.
There is a book out there written by a pimp on how to be a pimp. I have not read it, only heard about it, but one thing he says in the book is how to tell if a women can be controlled. Compliment her. They hang out in bus stops and malls. They find a girl who appears to be weak and compliment her. If they say something like, "That's an awesome outfit you are wearing", they can tell by the response if the woman can be taken. If she says something like, "Get lost" then they do just that, because she is too strong. But if she looks down at her outfit and squeaks out a "Really? You think so?" you got her. She will be easily taken. This is sick. It makes my stomach hurt.
The group of women I was listening to began to talk about the dream. The pimp would share his dream with her, make her feel like she was a part of it, that she was special and then she would work hard for him to acquire his dream. As they were talking about this, I was thinking, "I don't belong here." These girls have suffered in ways I just don't understand. But then the woman next to me spoke and blew me off my chair. "He said I was special and he loved me. He said we were going to do big things. He had never met anyone like me. When I bought into it, he moved on to the next girl."
These are obviously words used by someone who wants control over another human being. Maybe it's an abusive man who wants control over a woman's life. Maybe it's a boss who wants to exploit your abilities for his or her gain. These words can be used by anyone. We can't just take control over another's life, so we learn to manipulate. It's easiest to take control over a submissive person. I just realized this is the enemy using God's words. The enemy looks for the broken the same as God. God's words are powerful. No wonder the enemy imitates Him, because He is all knowing.
Seriously, these are God's words to us and the enemy is using them. God does say we are special, He loves us, we are going to do big things if we follow Him, and we are unique in His eyes. We have to hear the Lord so we know if these words, when spoken to us are genuine. We have to pray for discernment to know whether the speaker is in it for God's glory or their own.
I have heard these words. It wasn't about prostitution. It was about ministry. Beware of men who surround themselves with broken women. Who do they give the glory to?
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
― Abraham Lincoln
― Abraham Lincoln
There is a huge misconception in the world of prostituted women. I listened to a group of these women the other day talk about how they got sucked in. The power the pimps have over these women is given to them by the women, because they are broken. They have never taken the power given to them by God, because they don't know what to do with it, so through manipulation they hand the power over to the pimps.
There is a book out there written by a pimp on how to be a pimp. I have not read it, only heard about it, but one thing he says in the book is how to tell if a women can be controlled. Compliment her. They hang out in bus stops and malls. They find a girl who appears to be weak and compliment her. If they say something like, "That's an awesome outfit you are wearing", they can tell by the response if the woman can be taken. If she says something like, "Get lost" then they do just that, because she is too strong. But if she looks down at her outfit and squeaks out a "Really? You think so?" you got her. She will be easily taken. This is sick. It makes my stomach hurt.
The group of women I was listening to began to talk about the dream. The pimp would share his dream with her, make her feel like she was a part of it, that she was special and then she would work hard for him to acquire his dream. As they were talking about this, I was thinking, "I don't belong here." These girls have suffered in ways I just don't understand. But then the woman next to me spoke and blew me off my chair. "He said I was special and he loved me. He said we were going to do big things. He had never met anyone like me. When I bought into it, he moved on to the next girl."
These are obviously words used by someone who wants control over another human being. Maybe it's an abusive man who wants control over a woman's life. Maybe it's a boss who wants to exploit your abilities for his or her gain. These words can be used by anyone. We can't just take control over another's life, so we learn to manipulate. It's easiest to take control over a submissive person. I just realized this is the enemy using God's words. The enemy looks for the broken the same as God. God's words are powerful. No wonder the enemy imitates Him, because He is all knowing.
Seriously, these are God's words to us and the enemy is using them. God does say we are special, He loves us, we are going to do big things if we follow Him, and we are unique in His eyes. We have to hear the Lord so we know if these words, when spoken to us are genuine. We have to pray for discernment to know whether the speaker is in it for God's glory or their own.
I have heard these words. It wasn't about prostitution. It was about ministry. Beware of men who surround themselves with broken women. Who do they give the glory to?
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Hearing Him
“Our failure to hear His voice when we want to is due to the fact that we do not in general want to hear it, that we want it only when we think we need it.”
― Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
How many times have we seen someone going through a trial and they repeatedly say, "I can't hear God. He is not saying anything." I get this picture of the enemy with his hands over their ears and he is laughing. I have found it is in those moments of deepest pain that God speaks the loudest, if we can only quiet the cries of our hearts for a minute and truly listen. Often I say to Him in those moments, "I don't want to hear the enemy and I don't want to hear my flesh, God I only want to hear your voice." That's when through Him the pain fades just enough that I can hear Him clearly and in those times of deep pain is when the greatest lessons are learned and the Comforter shows up.
I learned a lesson the other night on the subject of "My sheep hear My voice." I feel God is taking me to a new level in Him, but that also means a new level in the enemies fight to get in between me and God. I was lying in bed the other night having great conversation with the Lord, when He suddenly said, "Go outside. I want to show you something." I'm not sure why, probably because I was so interested in what we were talking about that I ignored His statement and we continued our conversation. When He said it again, I jumped up and went outside. I plugged in my ear buds, put on a good worship song and waited and waited and waited. As the song ended I finally heard Him, "Did you really think that was me?" WHAT? Are you kidding me? That wasn't You? He then asked, "Do you really think I would interrupt myself?" Seriously, I was embarrassed. He was talking to me, we were having great conversation, why would He interrupt Himself like that? He explained that the enemy succeeded in stopping our conversation. I almost panicked. God, how many times have I thought it was You when it wasn't? You have told me to go before because you have something to show me. This changes everything. But He said not to panic. He said, I don't order you to go look, because I have something to show you, I always ask, Would you like to see something? Wow, it's true. I should have recognized by the way He said it, it was not Him. The enemy imitates Christ to fool us and that he did. I was upset for a while, but God showed me that the enemy was stepping up his tactics, because the Lord is taking me to new places.
We don't recognize a voice only by the sound. People have different vocabularies, different words they use. Would I recognize my own child's voice if I heard her in the next room speaking a foreign language? I probably wouldn't even pay attention, because I would not expect to hear her speaking another language. His voice doesn't always come in sound either. The Lord also speaks through our bodies. For instance, I get a burning in my stomach when He wants me to speak something out. I get a pain in my ear when the demonic is near. I know, this all sounds crazy, but do you really think God and the angels speak English to each other? Is there any sound at all when they communicate? The more intimate we are with someone, the less we have to speak. I have friends that can look at me in a certain way and I know what they are saying to me. We all do. Communication is much more than the spoken word.
Some people go so far as to say God is always gentle. I don't believe it. He has been gentle with me every time I go to Him in submission. When I ask forgiveness for sin, He will even gently explain to me why I did it. But, I have at times directly disobeyed and heard Him loud and clear tell me to "Stop right now". It didn't feel so gentle. Though once I step back into obedience, He steps back into gentleness.
You learn to recognize His voice through relationship. That is what He wants. He wants us to know it is Him when He speaks to us and He wants us to learn His voice. He will not allow the enemy to interfere with this lesson, though He may allow a little interference to teach us to hear Him clearly. We will all be mistaken at times and it is through being wrong occasionally that we get more right with Him. If you doubt you hear His voice, try this. Ask Him to tell you something He wants you to know. Then clear your mind and wait. I always know it's Him because He will usually tell me something I have not thought about at all or in years. He wants us to be in relationship with Him more than anything and in order to do that, we need to spend time communicating. Talks don't always have to be serious and deep. Take a walk and invite Him along. Ask questions and then listen and watch. He may use a bird, a cloud or a still small voice.
“Hunger for God compels us to seek the Lord. At times our desire for God overcomes our physical desires, and the ache for God is palpable. Throughout the Scriptures, God is faithful to reward those who search for him. Written during one of King David's low points, while living on the run in the wilderness, he cries, "Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Though David hides in the wilderness, he doesn't stay there physically or spiritually. When we seek God with our whole hearts and souls, he promises to reveal himself to us." -Hungry for God”
― Margaret Feinberg, Hungry for God: Hearing God's Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday
― Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
How many times have we seen someone going through a trial and they repeatedly say, "I can't hear God. He is not saying anything." I get this picture of the enemy with his hands over their ears and he is laughing. I have found it is in those moments of deepest pain that God speaks the loudest, if we can only quiet the cries of our hearts for a minute and truly listen. Often I say to Him in those moments, "I don't want to hear the enemy and I don't want to hear my flesh, God I only want to hear your voice." That's when through Him the pain fades just enough that I can hear Him clearly and in those times of deep pain is when the greatest lessons are learned and the Comforter shows up.
I learned a lesson the other night on the subject of "My sheep hear My voice." I feel God is taking me to a new level in Him, but that also means a new level in the enemies fight to get in between me and God. I was lying in bed the other night having great conversation with the Lord, when He suddenly said, "Go outside. I want to show you something." I'm not sure why, probably because I was so interested in what we were talking about that I ignored His statement and we continued our conversation. When He said it again, I jumped up and went outside. I plugged in my ear buds, put on a good worship song and waited and waited and waited. As the song ended I finally heard Him, "Did you really think that was me?" WHAT? Are you kidding me? That wasn't You? He then asked, "Do you really think I would interrupt myself?" Seriously, I was embarrassed. He was talking to me, we were having great conversation, why would He interrupt Himself like that? He explained that the enemy succeeded in stopping our conversation. I almost panicked. God, how many times have I thought it was You when it wasn't? You have told me to go before because you have something to show me. This changes everything. But He said not to panic. He said, I don't order you to go look, because I have something to show you, I always ask, Would you like to see something? Wow, it's true. I should have recognized by the way He said it, it was not Him. The enemy imitates Christ to fool us and that he did. I was upset for a while, but God showed me that the enemy was stepping up his tactics, because the Lord is taking me to new places.
We don't recognize a voice only by the sound. People have different vocabularies, different words they use. Would I recognize my own child's voice if I heard her in the next room speaking a foreign language? I probably wouldn't even pay attention, because I would not expect to hear her speaking another language. His voice doesn't always come in sound either. The Lord also speaks through our bodies. For instance, I get a burning in my stomach when He wants me to speak something out. I get a pain in my ear when the demonic is near. I know, this all sounds crazy, but do you really think God and the angels speak English to each other? Is there any sound at all when they communicate? The more intimate we are with someone, the less we have to speak. I have friends that can look at me in a certain way and I know what they are saying to me. We all do. Communication is much more than the spoken word.
Some people go so far as to say God is always gentle. I don't believe it. He has been gentle with me every time I go to Him in submission. When I ask forgiveness for sin, He will even gently explain to me why I did it. But, I have at times directly disobeyed and heard Him loud and clear tell me to "Stop right now". It didn't feel so gentle. Though once I step back into obedience, He steps back into gentleness.
You learn to recognize His voice through relationship. That is what He wants. He wants us to know it is Him when He speaks to us and He wants us to learn His voice. He will not allow the enemy to interfere with this lesson, though He may allow a little interference to teach us to hear Him clearly. We will all be mistaken at times and it is through being wrong occasionally that we get more right with Him. If you doubt you hear His voice, try this. Ask Him to tell you something He wants you to know. Then clear your mind and wait. I always know it's Him because He will usually tell me something I have not thought about at all or in years. He wants us to be in relationship with Him more than anything and in order to do that, we need to spend time communicating. Talks don't always have to be serious and deep. Take a walk and invite Him along. Ask questions and then listen and watch. He may use a bird, a cloud or a still small voice.
“Hunger for God compels us to seek the Lord. At times our desire for God overcomes our physical desires, and the ache for God is palpable. Throughout the Scriptures, God is faithful to reward those who search for him. Written during one of King David's low points, while living on the run in the wilderness, he cries, "Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Though David hides in the wilderness, he doesn't stay there physically or spiritually. When we seek God with our whole hearts and souls, he promises to reveal himself to us." -Hungry for God”
― Margaret Feinberg, Hungry for God: Hearing God's Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Time to Choose
“It is Satan's constant effort to misrepresent the character of God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law and gives men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to cherish false conceptions of God so that they regard Him with fear and hate rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own character is attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of religion and expressed in modes of worship.”
― Ellen G. White, Great Controversy: Between Christ and Satan
It was over nine months ago that I got up and told my story. Three times I told about what seemed to be the enemy ruling my life, but then how God showed me He was truly there. He has to allow free will. He has to allow us to choose or it is not real. I chose to turn it all over to Him and it has not been easy.
At the end of my story the first time I told it that weekend, I was asked if there was anything else the Lord wanted me to share and I heard clearly from the Holy Spirit. He gave me a picture of a bathtub full of water. He said the water represented our time here on earth and that the water was getting down to a level where it was beginning to swirl. The other day, as I was talking with God, I clearly heard that suction sound, when the last of the water escapes down the drain. I have heard it twice now and feel God wants me to share, to warn. Many say that God does not give us negative words, but I say only those in fear think of this as a negative word. Jesus' return will be magnificent. We will be taken up into heaven to spend eternity with Him. It is only sad for those who will not join us, and those who have not lived out the true calling on their lives.
In these coming days the Lord is allowing division. We grow and progress through the trials of life. He does not test us, but He does allow the enemy to reign in his rightful authority on this earth. It is our choice to listen to the enemy and take part in his darkness or to listen to our Father and follow Him with all of our hearts. it is the enemy causing division in families, the Church and in our hearts and it is time for us to choose. Are we fans or true followers.
We will be surprised by the results. We will be surprised by who falls away and who picks up their cross and moves forward with Christ. There will be false prophets, apostles, teachers and leaders. One way to know if those you follow are truly children of God is by who is getting the glory in their lives. If a teacher teaches for the recognition she gets, if a leader is more interested in the praise he receives than praise given to God, and if a prophet speaks words that make us want to follow him rather than God, we know they are false. Everything we do should be for the glory of the Most High.
In these days every one will be tried. I have seen many pastor's face temptation, judgment, and trials and been surprised by who follows Christ and who continues on a path of destruction. Many pastors, leaders and churches are being tested right now and some are failing. But, there are others who are finding a new intimacy with God. There are some who are growing in their relationship with their Father. We will all be tested, not by God, but by the temptations of the evil one. We all have to choose. We may be saved and going to heaven, but what we choose to do with our lives in these times is so important to God and could determine our future with Him. What we do with our lives, in our church and how we lead our families will only be right if our hearts are aligned with His will. Our intimate relationship with Him is more important than anything, our total surrender to God is what will cause all other parts of our walk to fall into place. This is a time of division and we will be surprised by the revival of the true followers. Pick up your cross, dust it off, stand before Christ and ask Him, what is Your will? Get your relationship right with God and then be willing to follow Him anywhere. He will ask us to do difficult things and go into dark places and even be hated, but we may be the light for those dark places and we may be the only Jesus those people trapped there may ever see. We don't have time to waste with our own insecurities and fears, people are dying and we need to reach out. First we reach up to our Papa, then He will have us reach in to ourselves to heal and then He will ask us to reach out. This is not a business and we don't work for a Boss, this is a family and we love each other with our Father.
“The nature of the enemy's warfare in your life is to cause you to become discouraged and to cast away your confidence. Not that you would necessarily discard your salvation, but you could give up your hope of God's deliverance. The enemy wants to numb you into a coping kind of Christianity that has given up hope of seeing God's resurrection power.”
― Bob Sorge, Glory: When Heaven Invades Earth
― Ellen G. White, Great Controversy: Between Christ and Satan
It was over nine months ago that I got up and told my story. Three times I told about what seemed to be the enemy ruling my life, but then how God showed me He was truly there. He has to allow free will. He has to allow us to choose or it is not real. I chose to turn it all over to Him and it has not been easy.
At the end of my story the first time I told it that weekend, I was asked if there was anything else the Lord wanted me to share and I heard clearly from the Holy Spirit. He gave me a picture of a bathtub full of water. He said the water represented our time here on earth and that the water was getting down to a level where it was beginning to swirl. The other day, as I was talking with God, I clearly heard that suction sound, when the last of the water escapes down the drain. I have heard it twice now and feel God wants me to share, to warn. Many say that God does not give us negative words, but I say only those in fear think of this as a negative word. Jesus' return will be magnificent. We will be taken up into heaven to spend eternity with Him. It is only sad for those who will not join us, and those who have not lived out the true calling on their lives.
In these coming days the Lord is allowing division. We grow and progress through the trials of life. He does not test us, but He does allow the enemy to reign in his rightful authority on this earth. It is our choice to listen to the enemy and take part in his darkness or to listen to our Father and follow Him with all of our hearts. it is the enemy causing division in families, the Church and in our hearts and it is time for us to choose. Are we fans or true followers.
We will be surprised by the results. We will be surprised by who falls away and who picks up their cross and moves forward with Christ. There will be false prophets, apostles, teachers and leaders. One way to know if those you follow are truly children of God is by who is getting the glory in their lives. If a teacher teaches for the recognition she gets, if a leader is more interested in the praise he receives than praise given to God, and if a prophet speaks words that make us want to follow him rather than God, we know they are false. Everything we do should be for the glory of the Most High.
In these days every one will be tried. I have seen many pastor's face temptation, judgment, and trials and been surprised by who follows Christ and who continues on a path of destruction. Many pastors, leaders and churches are being tested right now and some are failing. But, there are others who are finding a new intimacy with God. There are some who are growing in their relationship with their Father. We will all be tested, not by God, but by the temptations of the evil one. We all have to choose. We may be saved and going to heaven, but what we choose to do with our lives in these times is so important to God and could determine our future with Him. What we do with our lives, in our church and how we lead our families will only be right if our hearts are aligned with His will. Our intimate relationship with Him is more important than anything, our total surrender to God is what will cause all other parts of our walk to fall into place. This is a time of division and we will be surprised by the revival of the true followers. Pick up your cross, dust it off, stand before Christ and ask Him, what is Your will? Get your relationship right with God and then be willing to follow Him anywhere. He will ask us to do difficult things and go into dark places and even be hated, but we may be the light for those dark places and we may be the only Jesus those people trapped there may ever see. We don't have time to waste with our own insecurities and fears, people are dying and we need to reach out. First we reach up to our Papa, then He will have us reach in to ourselves to heal and then He will ask us to reach out. This is not a business and we don't work for a Boss, this is a family and we love each other with our Father.
“The nature of the enemy's warfare in your life is to cause you to become discouraged and to cast away your confidence. Not that you would necessarily discard your salvation, but you could give up your hope of God's deliverance. The enemy wants to numb you into a coping kind of Christianity that has given up hope of seeing God's resurrection power.”
― Bob Sorge, Glory: When Heaven Invades Earth
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Not a game!
Galatians 5:22-25
New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Sometimes the Lord speaks to me clearly and I can't find peace until I speak out the words He has given me. He speaks to me in dreams and I know it is Him, because these dreams are different than other dreams. They are very clear and I remember the smallest details. I have to share so I can move forward.
Yesterday I took a very short nap and I dreamt of a Bingo card being slapped down in front of me. The numbers on the card were getting larger then smaller, then larger then smaller. He really wanted me to see those numbers. They were all "9's". I had no idea what this meant, but slowly He has been revealing it to me. He said the number nine represents two things. First He spoke of judgment. In Haggai 1:9-11 judgment came from the Lord on Judah in the form of a drought that affected them in 9 ways.
Haggai 1:9-11
New International Version (NIV)
9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands".
No matter what number He calls out it is only "9s" on our cards, which means ungrateful. We have become so wrapped up in what we want, what we think is right. We think we know better than Him. We have become ungrateful for the things that matter. He sent his son to suffer a brutal death, to be nailed to the cross and left there to suffocate and we have become desensitized to this. We casually go about our daily lives sinning in the same ways we have for years and not aggressively seeking freedom from that sin. Freedom is available to us through Him and He wants to see us set free more than we want that freedom. We are focused on our wants and what we think we need more than His plan for our lives. We should not even worry about the unsaved, we need to keep our eyes on our own Bingo card. We need to focus on Him and what He wants to change in us. We should not take our eyes off our card until those numbers change from "9s". Not our will for our lives, but His will for our lives. He is looking for a people He can trust to not only listen for His voice but to obey to the smallest details. If we were all doing this, the lost would be found, because He, the ALL KNOWING, would send us where we need to go with the words we need to say and not only that, we would be a living example. Obedience would produce fruit. Souls will be saved with our obedience.
How do we become ungrateful? Lack of discipline. Any spoiled and undisciplined child becomes ungrateful. We are called to be disciples. Self discipline and Church discipline are lacking in so many who claim to be believers. He sees everything we do, He knows our every thought and wants to help us find the freedom to follow Him. He is about to stretch the backbone of the Church and they are to quit focusing on the rambling and complaining unimportant issues. We are to submit to the authority of our Church leaders, and there is about to be a shift in leadership so that the fans of God can be weeded out from the true followers.
Also, the number "9" represents Godly character. There are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. If we focus on these things, as we grow in Him, "His Will" will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
I have had people tell me that the Lord only speaks in Love. He is Love. I agree with this. But discipline is Love and sometimes we do get a spanking from our Father. There is about to be a shift in the Church. Those who are not listening and obeying will be disciplined. God does not expect perfection. He does expect us to chase after Him with everything in us. He is waiting to show us everything we need to know to turn our lives around, but many of us are satisfied with lukewarm lives. Any sin we are aware of, yet tolerate in our lives is an idol. We are putting it before God in importance instead of putting it before God in true repentance.
No matter what number He calls out it is only "9s" on our cards, which means ungrateful. We have become so wrapped up in what we want, what we think is right. We think we know better than Him. We have become ungrateful for the things that matter. He sent his son to suffer a brutal death, to be nailed to the cross and left there to suffocate and we have become desensitized to this. We casually go about our daily lives sinning in the same ways we have for years and not aggressively seeking freedom from that sin. Freedom is available to us through Him and He wants to see us set free more than we want that freedom. We are focused on our wants and what we think we need more than His plan for our lives. We should not even worry about the unsaved, we need to keep our eyes on our own Bingo card. We need to focus on Him and what He wants to change in us. We should not take our eyes off our card until those numbers change from "9s". Not our will for our lives, but His will for our lives. He is looking for a people He can trust to not only listen for His voice but to obey to the smallest details. If we were all doing this, the lost would be found, because He, the ALL KNOWING, would send us where we need to go with the words we need to say and not only that, we would be a living example. Obedience would produce fruit. Souls will be saved with our obedience.
How do we become ungrateful? Lack of discipline. Any spoiled and undisciplined child becomes ungrateful. We are called to be disciples. Self discipline and Church discipline are lacking in so many who claim to be believers. He sees everything we do, He knows our every thought and wants to help us find the freedom to follow Him. He is about to stretch the backbone of the Church and they are to quit focusing on the rambling and complaining unimportant issues. We are to submit to the authority of our Church leaders, and there is about to be a shift in leadership so that the fans of God can be weeded out from the true followers.
Also, the number "9" represents Godly character. There are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. If we focus on these things, as we grow in Him, "His Will" will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
I have had people tell me that the Lord only speaks in Love. He is Love. I agree with this. But discipline is Love and sometimes we do get a spanking from our Father. There is about to be a shift in the Church. Those who are not listening and obeying will be disciplined. God does not expect perfection. He does expect us to chase after Him with everything in us. He is waiting to show us everything we need to know to turn our lives around, but many of us are satisfied with lukewarm lives. Any sin we are aware of, yet tolerate in our lives is an idol. We are putting it before God in importance instead of putting it before God in true repentance.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Cereal box, bin or ocean?
“The grateful heart sits at a continuous feast.”
― Proverbs 15 15
The Lord says to come to Him like a child. For some of us, being a child was a long time ago, or we never got to be a child. But, you can learn a lot from them, so I would suggest you borrow a couple and watch them. You can never say "Children always ... because there is an exception to every always. Trust me.
I am not a patient person. I fly through everything and if I screw up, I do over, but patience is not a gift I have to give. I was a very impatient Mom and I think sometimes my kids get irritated with me, because for some reason the area of my life that I have the most patience is my grand kids. I like to sit back and watch them figure things out. Okay, sometimes I could bust a tooth, because I am gritting my teeth so hard. Other times, I can put my feet up and watch. They are an interesting little bunch of people.
One of the most interesting things to watch, but can be painful for some personalities, is watching a child open a new box of cereal. The cardboard box is pretty easy to rip open, but some of those bags are ridiculous, even for adults. Some kids get one little rip in the bag so that two or three little flakes, puffs, or other oddly shaped morsels can fall into their bowl at a time. They are okay with that. Other kids aren't happy until they have ripped open the bag with such force there is cereal every where. Some of those are happy to pick it off the floor and others burst in to tears, believing life will never be the same.
I happen to have a small ripper of a grandson. He can tear the smallest hole in the bag and patiently wait while the pieces fall out one at a time, occasionally jamming up the hole. He puts his eye under the bag to see what the problem is and then slowly takes one finger and sets the jammed pieces free. Lucky for me this doesn't last long before he asks for help.
What it reminds me of is how we approach God. We poke a little hole in the bag and just let as much as we think we can handle spill out. We are afraid to bust the bag open and let it all rain down on us. I mean really? What would we have to clean up if we ripped the bag open. How painful might it be if we totally immersed ourselves? We order God in these little manageable boxes, when God wants us to fall right into the his vastness. He is like a big tub of cereal that stretches as far and wide as the eye can see. We would assume we dip our bowls in and scoop out what we want, but He is asking us to climb in and swim in Him. What if we drown? He is asking us to risk it. Give our whole lives, even if it means death.
“You give because the love of God has been poured into your heart, not to satisfy the law.”
― Sherry K. White, Walking in the Father's Riches: The Prosperity of Sonship
― Proverbs 15 15
The Lord says to come to Him like a child. For some of us, being a child was a long time ago, or we never got to be a child. But, you can learn a lot from them, so I would suggest you borrow a couple and watch them. You can never say "Children always ... because there is an exception to every always. Trust me.
I am not a patient person. I fly through everything and if I screw up, I do over, but patience is not a gift I have to give. I was a very impatient Mom and I think sometimes my kids get irritated with me, because for some reason the area of my life that I have the most patience is my grand kids. I like to sit back and watch them figure things out. Okay, sometimes I could bust a tooth, because I am gritting my teeth so hard. Other times, I can put my feet up and watch. They are an interesting little bunch of people.
One of the most interesting things to watch, but can be painful for some personalities, is watching a child open a new box of cereal. The cardboard box is pretty easy to rip open, but some of those bags are ridiculous, even for adults. Some kids get one little rip in the bag so that two or three little flakes, puffs, or other oddly shaped morsels can fall into their bowl at a time. They are okay with that. Other kids aren't happy until they have ripped open the bag with such force there is cereal every where. Some of those are happy to pick it off the floor and others burst in to tears, believing life will never be the same.
I happen to have a small ripper of a grandson. He can tear the smallest hole in the bag and patiently wait while the pieces fall out one at a time, occasionally jamming up the hole. He puts his eye under the bag to see what the problem is and then slowly takes one finger and sets the jammed pieces free. Lucky for me this doesn't last long before he asks for help.
What it reminds me of is how we approach God. We poke a little hole in the bag and just let as much as we think we can handle spill out. We are afraid to bust the bag open and let it all rain down on us. I mean really? What would we have to clean up if we ripped the bag open. How painful might it be if we totally immersed ourselves? We order God in these little manageable boxes, when God wants us to fall right into the his vastness. He is like a big tub of cereal that stretches as far and wide as the eye can see. We would assume we dip our bowls in and scoop out what we want, but He is asking us to climb in and swim in Him. What if we drown? He is asking us to risk it. Give our whole lives, even if it means death.
“You give because the love of God has been poured into your heart, not to satisfy the law.”
― Sherry K. White, Walking in the Father's Riches: The Prosperity of Sonship
Monday, August 5, 2013
Broken pieces
“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.”
― Vance Havner
A lot of us feel like we don't love God enough. We feel like we let Him down all the time. I get this. Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. When I read this I have to ask, how. How can I do this when my heart is so broken, my soul is splintered and my mind is just not well? It is the greatest commandment.
I survive by believing that love is an action. There are warm fuzzys that come with it, but if it's an action I am capable. I fail all the time and God never wants to talk about it. When I ask Him why I keep messing up, He says it is because I am broken, but the good news is He wants to heal me and will at the pace I allow. Follow. That's all I have to do is listen to His instruction and follow. Sometimes when I am in deep prayer I will get a severe pain in my heart. I finally asked God if I need to see a doctor. Why do I have these deep pains when I am conversing with Him? He said, Because I am healing your heart. Healing hurts.
The other day, I asked Him how I was to love Him with all my heart when so many parts of my heart are broken and incapable of love. His reply? Love me with the pieces that work and give the rest to me. As I heal those parts and return them to you, you won't be able to do anything with them, but love me.
It's true. I think of all the healing I have been through already and how much more I love Him today than yesterday. As my mind and soul heal they too chase after Him in a new way. So, love Him as much as you are capable and turn the rest over to Him, always asking for more, because we can do all things through Him who gives us the strength.
It is possible to survive nightmare's of the heart; upon awakening a new life will be found." - Patti Snodgrass
― Vance Havner
A lot of us feel like we don't love God enough. We feel like we let Him down all the time. I get this. Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. When I read this I have to ask, how. How can I do this when my heart is so broken, my soul is splintered and my mind is just not well? It is the greatest commandment.
I survive by believing that love is an action. There are warm fuzzys that come with it, but if it's an action I am capable. I fail all the time and God never wants to talk about it. When I ask Him why I keep messing up, He says it is because I am broken, but the good news is He wants to heal me and will at the pace I allow. Follow. That's all I have to do is listen to His instruction and follow. Sometimes when I am in deep prayer I will get a severe pain in my heart. I finally asked God if I need to see a doctor. Why do I have these deep pains when I am conversing with Him? He said, Because I am healing your heart. Healing hurts.
The other day, I asked Him how I was to love Him with all my heart when so many parts of my heart are broken and incapable of love. His reply? Love me with the pieces that work and give the rest to me. As I heal those parts and return them to you, you won't be able to do anything with them, but love me.
It's true. I think of all the healing I have been through already and how much more I love Him today than yesterday. As my mind and soul heal they too chase after Him in a new way. So, love Him as much as you are capable and turn the rest over to Him, always asking for more, because we can do all things through Him who gives us the strength.
It is possible to survive nightmare's of the heart; upon awakening a new life will be found." - Patti Snodgrass
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Who is Hiding in your basement?
“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But...the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Two years ago, I was told what I was looking for was someone with integrity. That didn't turn out like I assumed it would. It was in those that I thought I would find it, that I didn't and those I didn't expect to find it that I did. So many times it is easier to look at what disappoints us, and not notice what God is bringing in to blow our minds.
Like many times, I found God in my car. I was driving up to a prophetic teaching when the Lord showed up and started talking. He wanted to go through the abuse. I on the other hand am tired of going back over it. He had me list each situation up to the present. I saw disappointment after disappointment. People were not who I thought they were, and definitely not who they should be. When we got to the present, my question to Him was "Why would you put somebody in my life you knew was totally going to let me down." His response - What you are looking for is somebody to love you unconditionally, knowing everything about you and I am that person. Okay, well I get that. I knew that. Then He said, You want somebody who is willing to die to protect you. Well, to be honest a little anger flared up and I said I didn't need that. That's stupid fairy tale stuff and I don't believe in fairy tales. He said that my denying it was out of fear that that kind of love does not exist, at least not for me. Then He said, You are looking for someone who would die for you and I already did. I drove right past the church and headed back home. I was a mess and I wanted to hear what else He had to say.
One time I was going to town with my oldest daughter. We spent several minutes, several, looking for my wallet so we could leave. We both tore the house apart. I went upstairs to my room for the third or fourth time, but it still wasn't there. When I came down the stairs my daughter said, "Oh good, you found it." What was she talking about. I hadn't found it and told her so. She laughed and pointed to my side. It had been tucked under my arm the whole time I was looking. Wow, is that age or stress? How many times do we look for something that is right under our nose? Or our arm?
The Lord speaks to me most clearly in dreams. I can always doubt whether it is truly His voice I am hearing, but when He gives me a dream it is undeniable. The other day, I was going to take a short nap in my chair and I asked Him for a dream explaining to me exactly where I am and to reveal what I don't see about where I am. Well, He did just that. At first I did not believe the dream was from Him, but slowly He interpreted it and I couldn't deny it. What He showed me and I did not want to see, was how much control I am under. He showed me how I allow another to control me through fear. I surely did not want it to be so, but at the end of the dream I was walking to the mailbox which He said meant that He has a message for me. The next thing that happened was that I walked past a closed gate. What this meant was that until I deal with the situation in front of me, I will not pass through the gate to the next level of healing and growth and intimacy with Him. I have to take the next step. I have to deal with this situation the way He instructs or I will be stuck here.
There it is right in front of me - This is a lesson. I am sitting here wondering why He put me in this miserable situation and the Truth is: this is a lesson in listening and obeying. in other words, handling the situation differently than I am used to. In our brokenness we have ways of dealing and mine is to shut off my heart and run. He is saying no. Facing the Truth is first and most difficult.
I was walking with a young woman the other day and the Holy Spirit kept telling me to share a part of my story. In my head this didn't seem like the right thing to do. I was afraid of putting my stuff on her shoulders. But, I listened. What happened next was God. Our stories, though different, are so much alike. I realized that is why WE are so much alike. When I watch her and she breaks through a wall I about come undone, because I get her. I have had to break those same walls. As I watched her talk about her situation the one thing I did not see was emotion. This was me just a short time ago. We both got a lot out of the conversation, but what I realized is that my life has been like living in a house with a lot of people. God is upstairs and I only go as far as a few steps to go see Him. He is standing at the top of the stairs asking me to come up. On the main level the people I live with are Anger and Fear, (Fear hides behind Anger at all times). I hang out with Disappointment and Hate a lot too. Trapped in the basement are Joy, Peace, Hurt, Love, etc. etc. But I don't allow them to come up. Also downstairs are a lot of little guys named Memories. Over the last months, I have let one Memory at a time come upstairs and with it, came a few others, like Pain, Strength and then Joy. I can deny all day that I have these people in my basement. How many times I have said, "I just don't feel anything." Denying the people down there does not keep them from actually existing, it just locks them in the basement where I don't have to look at them. What I have learned is when I let a Memory come up, along with it's entourage, I have to take them right up the stairs to Jesus and let Him be the mediator in teaching me how to get along with them. Some He makes leave, but others we spend hours together finding ways to live with each other.
The first step in dealing with the guy named Situation who just busted up through the basement door is to holler down and call up Truth. he is usually hiding in some dark corner down there and many times I have to call God down to go get him. Then we sit down at the table and face each other while God stands behind me. You face Situation, then Truth, then all the feelings that came up the stairs with him. You know it's working when the next guy comes. Oh, I have kicked him down the stairs and banned him from coming up, but my buddy Tears was pretty insistent. When I finally allowed him to come up, I saw a light at the bottom of the stairs and there with Joy and Peace stood Healing.
“Worry implies that we don't quite trust God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.
Stress says the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives are brief ... and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed.”
― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Two years ago, I was told what I was looking for was someone with integrity. That didn't turn out like I assumed it would. It was in those that I thought I would find it, that I didn't and those I didn't expect to find it that I did. So many times it is easier to look at what disappoints us, and not notice what God is bringing in to blow our minds.
Like many times, I found God in my car. I was driving up to a prophetic teaching when the Lord showed up and started talking. He wanted to go through the abuse. I on the other hand am tired of going back over it. He had me list each situation up to the present. I saw disappointment after disappointment. People were not who I thought they were, and definitely not who they should be. When we got to the present, my question to Him was "Why would you put somebody in my life you knew was totally going to let me down." His response - What you are looking for is somebody to love you unconditionally, knowing everything about you and I am that person. Okay, well I get that. I knew that. Then He said, You want somebody who is willing to die to protect you. Well, to be honest a little anger flared up and I said I didn't need that. That's stupid fairy tale stuff and I don't believe in fairy tales. He said that my denying it was out of fear that that kind of love does not exist, at least not for me. Then He said, You are looking for someone who would die for you and I already did. I drove right past the church and headed back home. I was a mess and I wanted to hear what else He had to say.
One time I was going to town with my oldest daughter. We spent several minutes, several, looking for my wallet so we could leave. We both tore the house apart. I went upstairs to my room for the third or fourth time, but it still wasn't there. When I came down the stairs my daughter said, "Oh good, you found it." What was she talking about. I hadn't found it and told her so. She laughed and pointed to my side. It had been tucked under my arm the whole time I was looking. Wow, is that age or stress? How many times do we look for something that is right under our nose? Or our arm?
The Lord speaks to me most clearly in dreams. I can always doubt whether it is truly His voice I am hearing, but when He gives me a dream it is undeniable. The other day, I was going to take a short nap in my chair and I asked Him for a dream explaining to me exactly where I am and to reveal what I don't see about where I am. Well, He did just that. At first I did not believe the dream was from Him, but slowly He interpreted it and I couldn't deny it. What He showed me and I did not want to see, was how much control I am under. He showed me how I allow another to control me through fear. I surely did not want it to be so, but at the end of the dream I was walking to the mailbox which He said meant that He has a message for me. The next thing that happened was that I walked past a closed gate. What this meant was that until I deal with the situation in front of me, I will not pass through the gate to the next level of healing and growth and intimacy with Him. I have to take the next step. I have to deal with this situation the way He instructs or I will be stuck here.
There it is right in front of me - This is a lesson. I am sitting here wondering why He put me in this miserable situation and the Truth is: this is a lesson in listening and obeying. in other words, handling the situation differently than I am used to. In our brokenness we have ways of dealing and mine is to shut off my heart and run. He is saying no. Facing the Truth is first and most difficult.
I was walking with a young woman the other day and the Holy Spirit kept telling me to share a part of my story. In my head this didn't seem like the right thing to do. I was afraid of putting my stuff on her shoulders. But, I listened. What happened next was God. Our stories, though different, are so much alike. I realized that is why WE are so much alike. When I watch her and she breaks through a wall I about come undone, because I get her. I have had to break those same walls. As I watched her talk about her situation the one thing I did not see was emotion. This was me just a short time ago. We both got a lot out of the conversation, but what I realized is that my life has been like living in a house with a lot of people. God is upstairs and I only go as far as a few steps to go see Him. He is standing at the top of the stairs asking me to come up. On the main level the people I live with are Anger and Fear, (Fear hides behind Anger at all times). I hang out with Disappointment and Hate a lot too. Trapped in the basement are Joy, Peace, Hurt, Love, etc. etc. But I don't allow them to come up. Also downstairs are a lot of little guys named Memories. Over the last months, I have let one Memory at a time come upstairs and with it, came a few others, like Pain, Strength and then Joy. I can deny all day that I have these people in my basement. How many times I have said, "I just don't feel anything." Denying the people down there does not keep them from actually existing, it just locks them in the basement where I don't have to look at them. What I have learned is when I let a Memory come up, along with it's entourage, I have to take them right up the stairs to Jesus and let Him be the mediator in teaching me how to get along with them. Some He makes leave, but others we spend hours together finding ways to live with each other.
The first step in dealing with the guy named Situation who just busted up through the basement door is to holler down and call up Truth. he is usually hiding in some dark corner down there and many times I have to call God down to go get him. Then we sit down at the table and face each other while God stands behind me. You face Situation, then Truth, then all the feelings that came up the stairs with him. You know it's working when the next guy comes. Oh, I have kicked him down the stairs and banned him from coming up, but my buddy Tears was pretty insistent. When I finally allowed him to come up, I saw a light at the bottom of the stairs and there with Joy and Peace stood Healing.
“Worry implies that we don't quite trust God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.
Stress says the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives are brief ... and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed.”
― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Pick it? Put it down.
“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
I have always been one who picks up habits and accents from others quickly. There were two of us like this, in an office of about 8 people. We would talk to people are over the country. I would get off the phone to a couple people standing by waiting for me and laughing. "New York?" they would ask and I would sheepishly have to answer "Yep". I could pick up an accent without even knowing it in the first few minutes of a conversation. Habits too. I knew a girl once who always itched her elbows on her hip bone. I know it sounds weird, but I picked it up. Did it all the time.
Maybe this is why we need to be cleaned of bad spirits and bad attitudes before we lead others. Let's just go for the big one here. What if you are leading others with a spirit of lust on you? You may even be unaware, but all your comments reveal it to those who are able to see it. You may crack jokes that almost cross the line. You may look at objects with a drooling grin on your face. If you are not facing this and ridding yourself of it, those under you will pick it up. You are approving the behavior or maybe even passing on a spirit. We often times are amazed when so many around us deal with the same issues. Maybe we passed it to them or maybe our acceptance of the issue invites those other people carrying it.
I am a believer in the 12 step program. It works if you work it. But, I also believe that if you are in a relationship with Jesus and truly wanting Him to heal you of all your brokenness and cast off any spirits that are attached to you, you don't have to live with the addiction. One thing I don't agree with in AA is their introduction. When it your turn to speak you start with "My name is so-and-so and I am an alcoholic" or cocaine addict or sex addict or whatever, but you are speaking it out and claiming that addiction. I believe there is a time when you have to admit you are powerless over the addiction without the Holy Spirit, but to keep claiming that you are addicted is just wrong.
I don't believe we should resign to living a life with that weakness. I was an alcoholic. I am not anymore. The occasional times when I think a drink sounds good, I have to ask myself one HUGE question, what do I want to escape from? Just like food addiction, we need food, but overeating is an escape. I also believe that some people like the feeling they get from their weakness. Lets take the most obvious, SEX. It was made to feel good. Why would we want to give up sex, food, love or anything that makes us feel good? Because in excess it ruins us. A person who is stuck in bad behavior hasn't really looked at the brokenness that causes them to run to that behavior or truly faced the damage it has done to their lives.
I have heard people say that their addiction doesn't affect anyone else and it may seem that way, but this is not true. To be immersed in an addiction there are things you do whether you want to admit it or not, like lie, distance yourself emotionally, have mood swings, become secretive, manipulate, and blame to name a few. You can't have any of these behaviors without it affecting those around you. It's funny in a sad way, but so many addicts think they are doing a great job hiding their addiction, their supposed need, but many around them pick up on these little behaviors and know, unless they are in complete denial, that there is a big problem.
The saddest addiction I know of is the addiction to love. Or should I say falling in love. There are people who have such broken hearts that they go from person to person falling for them. They fantasize about them in every empty moment, romancing, rescuing, and dreaming that the person cannot live without them. Then they move on to the next one. They hope to fill that empty spot in their heart. It's like our hearts are made of puzzle pieces and as Jesus heals every piece we hand over to Him, He locks it into place. He heals each piece until our heart is whole. But people who are addicted to falling in love don't realize that the main piece in the center of the heart is in the shape of Jesus. He is the only one who can fill that void. It is a sad endless search until they give it to Him.
Intervention is a good thing, but to reach through the attitudes and demonic spirits to the heart of an addict, is not easy. You have to follow God's leading because all those behaviors listed above will come flying out at you. Pride is a spirit that blinds people. It's like falling into a huge tub of flour, you can not be covered in it and not get it on those around you.
“Friends with benefits? More than friends? Don't sample the goodies unless you're willing to risk addiction and withdrawal.”
― Ann Landers
― Edgar Allan Poe
I have always been one who picks up habits and accents from others quickly. There were two of us like this, in an office of about 8 people. We would talk to people are over the country. I would get off the phone to a couple people standing by waiting for me and laughing. "New York?" they would ask and I would sheepishly have to answer "Yep". I could pick up an accent without even knowing it in the first few minutes of a conversation. Habits too. I knew a girl once who always itched her elbows on her hip bone. I know it sounds weird, but I picked it up. Did it all the time.
Maybe this is why we need to be cleaned of bad spirits and bad attitudes before we lead others. Let's just go for the big one here. What if you are leading others with a spirit of lust on you? You may even be unaware, but all your comments reveal it to those who are able to see it. You may crack jokes that almost cross the line. You may look at objects with a drooling grin on your face. If you are not facing this and ridding yourself of it, those under you will pick it up. You are approving the behavior or maybe even passing on a spirit. We often times are amazed when so many around us deal with the same issues. Maybe we passed it to them or maybe our acceptance of the issue invites those other people carrying it.
I am a believer in the 12 step program. It works if you work it. But, I also believe that if you are in a relationship with Jesus and truly wanting Him to heal you of all your brokenness and cast off any spirits that are attached to you, you don't have to live with the addiction. One thing I don't agree with in AA is their introduction. When it your turn to speak you start with "My name is so-and-so and I am an alcoholic" or cocaine addict or sex addict or whatever, but you are speaking it out and claiming that addiction. I believe there is a time when you have to admit you are powerless over the addiction without the Holy Spirit, but to keep claiming that you are addicted is just wrong.
I don't believe we should resign to living a life with that weakness. I was an alcoholic. I am not anymore. The occasional times when I think a drink sounds good, I have to ask myself one HUGE question, what do I want to escape from? Just like food addiction, we need food, but overeating is an escape. I also believe that some people like the feeling they get from their weakness. Lets take the most obvious, SEX. It was made to feel good. Why would we want to give up sex, food, love or anything that makes us feel good? Because in excess it ruins us. A person who is stuck in bad behavior hasn't really looked at the brokenness that causes them to run to that behavior or truly faced the damage it has done to their lives.
I have heard people say that their addiction doesn't affect anyone else and it may seem that way, but this is not true. To be immersed in an addiction there are things you do whether you want to admit it or not, like lie, distance yourself emotionally, have mood swings, become secretive, manipulate, and blame to name a few. You can't have any of these behaviors without it affecting those around you. It's funny in a sad way, but so many addicts think they are doing a great job hiding their addiction, their supposed need, but many around them pick up on these little behaviors and know, unless they are in complete denial, that there is a big problem.
The saddest addiction I know of is the addiction to love. Or should I say falling in love. There are people who have such broken hearts that they go from person to person falling for them. They fantasize about them in every empty moment, romancing, rescuing, and dreaming that the person cannot live without them. Then they move on to the next one. They hope to fill that empty spot in their heart. It's like our hearts are made of puzzle pieces and as Jesus heals every piece we hand over to Him, He locks it into place. He heals each piece until our heart is whole. But people who are addicted to falling in love don't realize that the main piece in the center of the heart is in the shape of Jesus. He is the only one who can fill that void. It is a sad endless search until they give it to Him.
Intervention is a good thing, but to reach through the attitudes and demonic spirits to the heart of an addict, is not easy. You have to follow God's leading because all those behaviors listed above will come flying out at you. Pride is a spirit that blinds people. It's like falling into a huge tub of flour, you can not be covered in it and not get it on those around you.
“Friends with benefits? More than friends? Don't sample the goodies unless you're willing to risk addiction and withdrawal.”
― Ann Landers
Giving or Taking?
“The noonday devil of the Christian life is the temptation to lose the inner self while preserving the shell of edifying behavior. Suddenly I discover that I am ministering to AIDS victims to enhance my resume. I find I renounced ice cream for Lent to lose five excess pounds... I have fallen victim to what T.S. Eliot calls the greatest sin: to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Motive is a very important word. Many times it is the difference between right and wrong. You can shoot a man out of anger and that is wrong, but is it wrong to shoot a man who is about to shoot you? The motive to protect your own life seems like one that would always be right, but maybe not. As a survivor the thought of self protection can rule our worlds, but in God's world, He asks us to risk.
God has been shining His light on motive lately and it's covered a lot. Do we give to others for them or for ourselves? Seriously, I had a mother-in-law once who bought us a hide-a-bed so she was guaranteed a place to stay when she came into town. I saw what she was doing right away, my husband kind of missed it until I screamed it at him during one of her visits. I remember that little light coming on in his eyes and the anger that followed. He had been duped again by his own mother. But before we judge her, we have to ask ourselves how many gifts we have given, because we want a person to have something rather than giving them something they want to have. A good friend of mine recently told me a story of a boyfriend giving her a purse as a gift. Why? Turns out he couldn't stand looking at the one she was using.
What about the rescuer? Some of us have that character defect. We pay some one's bill when God is loudly asking them to learn to budget. Or we accept the constant middle of the night phone calls and listen for an hour while Jesus is sitting on the bed next to them waiting for them to come to Him. In all our actions we should be pointing to Jesus. We should have an inner check list before stepping out to do for others. Am I looking to be the hero here? Am I trying to buy love? Am I hurting and need to be important to someone? Do I need them happy so I can feel happy?
Maybe you are thinking right now that you always check your motives and you always check with God before making a move to give, but here is one most people don't think about. This one is big to me, because hugging is difficult for me and I have now realized why. Sometimes when someone is hurting we want to comfort them, but what if a hug is not a comfort? Sometimes a hug is a vulnerable place to be. Personally, I feel exposed when I hug. Why can I receive a hug from one person and struggle to receive it from someone else I care just as much about. When I am hurting and some one wants to give me comfort so I feel better, I can accept that. But what about the hug of need. When someone hugs you because they need you to feel better? There is a difference between needing to hug someone for your comfort or wanting to hug them for theirs.
Depending on what exactly I am dealing with at the time, a gentle touch to my hand can send me into a panic. There are the people in my life that I can take a hug from when I need one, but many times I speak to strangers about very traumatic and personal things and I see their pain. People around me want to give hugs and I have to hold them back. When talking about abuse the feeling that usually comes up immediately is the feeling of being dirty. Shame is often an issue also. When I am feeling dirty and ashamed, I don't want to be touched. This is one of those times that we need to hear from the Holy Spirit. Should we try to touch a person in pain, should we try to hug them, and who needs it more, me or them. If we are not truly giving for the right reasons, are we taking what is not ours to take?
“Here's a scary thought: What if God called you to give beyond your comfort level? Would you be afraid? Would you try to explain it away or dismiss it as impractical? And in the process, would you miss out on a harvest opportunity for which God had explicitly prospered you in the first place?”
― Andy Stanley, Fields Of Gold
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Motive is a very important word. Many times it is the difference between right and wrong. You can shoot a man out of anger and that is wrong, but is it wrong to shoot a man who is about to shoot you? The motive to protect your own life seems like one that would always be right, but maybe not. As a survivor the thought of self protection can rule our worlds, but in God's world, He asks us to risk.
God has been shining His light on motive lately and it's covered a lot. Do we give to others for them or for ourselves? Seriously, I had a mother-in-law once who bought us a hide-a-bed so she was guaranteed a place to stay when she came into town. I saw what she was doing right away, my husband kind of missed it until I screamed it at him during one of her visits. I remember that little light coming on in his eyes and the anger that followed. He had been duped again by his own mother. But before we judge her, we have to ask ourselves how many gifts we have given, because we want a person to have something rather than giving them something they want to have. A good friend of mine recently told me a story of a boyfriend giving her a purse as a gift. Why? Turns out he couldn't stand looking at the one she was using.
What about the rescuer? Some of us have that character defect. We pay some one's bill when God is loudly asking them to learn to budget. Or we accept the constant middle of the night phone calls and listen for an hour while Jesus is sitting on the bed next to them waiting for them to come to Him. In all our actions we should be pointing to Jesus. We should have an inner check list before stepping out to do for others. Am I looking to be the hero here? Am I trying to buy love? Am I hurting and need to be important to someone? Do I need them happy so I can feel happy?
Maybe you are thinking right now that you always check your motives and you always check with God before making a move to give, but here is one most people don't think about. This one is big to me, because hugging is difficult for me and I have now realized why. Sometimes when someone is hurting we want to comfort them, but what if a hug is not a comfort? Sometimes a hug is a vulnerable place to be. Personally, I feel exposed when I hug. Why can I receive a hug from one person and struggle to receive it from someone else I care just as much about. When I am hurting and some one wants to give me comfort so I feel better, I can accept that. But what about the hug of need. When someone hugs you because they need you to feel better? There is a difference between needing to hug someone for your comfort or wanting to hug them for theirs.
Depending on what exactly I am dealing with at the time, a gentle touch to my hand can send me into a panic. There are the people in my life that I can take a hug from when I need one, but many times I speak to strangers about very traumatic and personal things and I see their pain. People around me want to give hugs and I have to hold them back. When talking about abuse the feeling that usually comes up immediately is the feeling of being dirty. Shame is often an issue also. When I am feeling dirty and ashamed, I don't want to be touched. This is one of those times that we need to hear from the Holy Spirit. Should we try to touch a person in pain, should we try to hug them, and who needs it more, me or them. If we are not truly giving for the right reasons, are we taking what is not ours to take?
“Here's a scary thought: What if God called you to give beyond your comfort level? Would you be afraid? Would you try to explain it away or dismiss it as impractical? And in the process, would you miss out on a harvest opportunity for which God had explicitly prospered you in the first place?”
― Andy Stanley, Fields Of Gold
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