Doing Life Together

Recently when visiting with a friend, he used the expression "doing life together".  We were discussing the difference in being connected with the Body of Christ versus floating on the periphery of it.  I know many believers who float from church to church never making the commitment to invest their time and talents into one specific group of believers.  I am not questioning when we are in a season of waiting on the Lord for specific instructions, but rather referencing the continuation of that limbo status when the time has long passed to make that commitment.  Once I was asked where I found the scriptural truths that indicate we need to be planted in a "church" of believers in order to see our gifts flourish and grow fostering a greater contribution to the kingdom and the harvest.   When I heard the expression in the title from our friend, it became crystal clear to me why we are to be committed to a single body of believers.

Have you ever been in that place in life in which you feel disconnected from everyone around you?  Can you identify with the feeling that you are not part of any group, just an outsider that "visits"?   I sent my life feeling as if I was not "part" of anything.  I can remember in my early childhood years yearning to be part of "that" group.  Even as a young adult in high school, it was an ongoing effort to be in as many organizations as I could manage hoping that in one of them, I would feel as if I belonged.  Later in life as a young married, I would see groups around me living life together, yet I never felt as if I was living life with anyone outside my immediate family.  It seemed as if everyone around me had someplace to go and someone with whom to do things except me.

When I accepted Christ and surrendered my life to Him, those things seemed much less important than they once did, yet the sense of still being an outsider lingered.  I chalked that up to being "in this world and not of this world".  It was OK with me that I was different because I understood why I was different.  However God had something more to teach me about this and that was the most precious gift that He gave me this Christmas.  

This Christmas was different in several aspects and those differences wove together to create a tapestry for me that illustrated what God wants from me in "doing life" with fellow believers.  Life is a process and if we are surrendered to the Lord, we are constantly moving forward in that process.  Since I surrendered my life to Him in 1989, I have belonged to several churches.  Each move brought me closer in my understanding of who He is and who I am in Him.  I know that each move was orchestrated by my Lord as I sought His desire each time.  I can now see that if I had not walked through the process I would not be matured to the place in which I function now.  Yet to not acknowledge that each place had its rocky paths would be lying to myself and everyone else.  I was growing and I was learning, but I had yet to feel truly connected to the Body.  I was not being fed through the body, but rather intravenously from the Source of Life Himself.

What is different about where I am today is simply that I am "doing life" with others in an intimate and complete way that I have never done before.  "Doing Life" together means more than ministering to the world together or worshipping together twice a week.  "Doing Life" means that we are covering one another, helping one another, encouraging one another, supporting one another.  This specifically is in reference to fellow believers; they are adopted as we are into God's family and hence are our brothers (and sisters).  Begin your study with the word brother in your concordance and focus on the New Testament readings that discuss how we treat our brothers.  For example, Romans 14:15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.  Question: If you are not walking connected to others (doing life together) how will anyone know what your lifestyle is?  If you are living in isolation then you are at a distance from other believers and your life and choices will not have any impact - positive or negative.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. The reverse of this statement is that we are to be industrious and encourage each other to do the same.  Once again, I pose the same question: If we are not doing life together, how will anyone know whether we are idle or not?  They won't.  The chosen isolation of being disconnected protects the exposure of our true nature.  However let's consider the very positive aspect of being connected.  We are the body of Christ which has many individual parts, all of which are required for a fully functional body.  Once we are connected, we understand what "part" we are and how we contribute to the whole.  1 Corinthians 12:12-14 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  Only when we are connected to the rest of the body can we understand what our gifts are, what our role is and indeed how we impact the rest of the body in its quest for the advancement of the Kingdom.

So back to my Christmas tapestry of 2010.  In my participation in the Christmas Outreach at our church, I realized that while I was not indispensable (after all amputees function without all of their parts), I was needed and useful. I also experienced the individual connection between fellow members outside of the church building as our brothers and sisters surprised us with spontaneous visits and touches of love.  I realized that these surprises had nothing to do with my performance or with their sense of obligation, but rather were simply acts of love.  God's love was shining through them and does so not just during this Christmas season, but throughout the whole year.  I am learning to receive as well as give.  As brothers (and sisters) in the body of Christ we are called to treat each other differently than the rest of the world.  This Body we belong to is the most inclusive, exclusive "club" in the world.  How cool is that???  Do you want to experience belonging?  Get connected with a local, real, grounded body of Christ and start doing life together.  You must connect in order to feel the powerful flow of the life giving blood and water of Life to flow through you.  Once the nourishment has started flowing, just watch your gifts grow and the fruit that will result will amaze you and delight God.  Happy New Year!  Make it the best one ever.  Get connected!

Competing in the Race

How many times have you heard Paul quoted from Philippians regarding the race that we are to run? Philippians 3:13-14  No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. If you are like me you have heard it more than you can count. It is certainly a scripture on which we ourselves will often reflect when life gets difficult.  But there are aspects to racing that we inadvertently include in our thought processes that are not necessarily correct in this instance.  Paul was speaking to an audience that "got" athleticism.  It had grown exponentially under Roman rule and the athletic games were all consuming especially in the pagan society.  People understood and even embraced the importance of image and being able to compete in the games that convened frequently.  Just as Jesus did when He was speaking to the crowds, Paul chose analogies with which they could easily identify.  Being a winner in Roman games brought accolades and fame.  However was this what Paul was trying to convey?

A recurrent theme throughout the writings of Paul is the importance of how we live our lives.   Take his advice to Timothy in 1Timothy 4:12 Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Paul was advocating individual responsibility for our lives.  We are to be examples in all that we do and say.  How about the advice to the church at Ephesus, Ephesians 5:15-17 So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.  So how does this relate back to the race? 

What do you visualize when you think of a race?  Competition is the first thing that comes to my mind.  Who  has to be overcome in order to win the prize?  How good are they?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?  What are mine as a competitor?  What happens if I lose?  (Big issue for me which is exactly why I hate to compete in anything!) Another thing that comes to mind is an all out effort.  You put everything on the line - all of your energy, all of your strength.  Whether it is a team race or an individual race, there is this attitude of pulling out all of the stops.  Sometimes this very perspective leads to disaster.  NASCAR racing comes to mind.  My sweet husband introduced me to this sport and laughs when I exclaim at the end, "They are just like a bunch of little boys waiting until the last minute to go to the bathroom and disaster strikes!"  There is inevitably a mass multiple car pile up at the end that does not include the winner.  There is a sense of desperation at the very end of the race.  Are any of these aspects what Paul was conveying to us?

Perhaps some aspects of a true athletic race are relevant.  One we must endure to the end of the race.  Quitting mid stream will not cut it.  Quitting leaves us vulnerable to the wiles of the adversary.  Enduring leaves him trying to catch up to us and eventually failing altogether.  Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. Think of the first time marathoner.  The only goal he/she has in mind is to complete the race.  Endurance is critical and the accomplishment in completing every mile of the race is the thought that enables perseverance.

We are first time marathoners in this race called Christian life.  We have one life to live and one race to run to the glory of Christ.  There will be countless distractions as we run this race but there is a huge crowd of witnesses watching us run.  Some will encourage us, provide refreshment along the way and aid us if we fall.  Others will be rooting for the adversary to succeed in tripping us up, in slowing us down, in getting us to quit the race.  These "hecklers in the crowd" do not want us to complete this race.  The last thing they want is for us to receive the prize of eternal life with our glorious Jehovah.  

There is another aspect to the marathon that is very relevant to our personal race.  Marathoners have a tendency to encourage each other along the way.  For the vast majority of them running the race and completing it is the goal, perhaps bettering their own personal time.  If being the first one to cross the finish line was the motivation there would not be thousands running in the major marathons every season.  Being a marathoner is an exclusive "club" to which many aspire to belong.  Once in the club, there is a mutual admiration from others who have succeeded because each individual knows the cost to belong. Isn't this a lot like being a Believer?

My brothers and sisters, we are in an exclusive club, but one whose membership is open to the world.   However, if the invitation is accepted then endurance is expected.  This is a tough race we are running.  The race course belongs to the adversary (remember we are not of this world, just in it).  He knows all of the turns in the road and especially the ones to which we are most vulnerable.  He watches and sees when our energy is depleted and when our vision is hindered; then he strikes.  We have the responsibility of encouraging each other, holding each other up when the going gets really tough and even picking each other up when one of us falls.  Falling in the race is not cause for terminating the race.  Failing to get up and push on however will make it very difficult to finish the race we have started.  You have to be up and moving forward to finish the race.  Let each of us examine our own lives and determine how to run it better, run it stronger and endure to the end!

Distraction or Accessory

If you have children - of any age - you will recall the times you were knee deep in a project or crisis and your little one was constantly underfoot, asking the infinite number of questions.  Better to the point have you worked with adults who constantly question what you are doing and how you are doing it?  Frequently we encounter distractions that hinder what we are trying to accomplish, sometimes well intentioned, sometimes maliciously intentioned.  In either case, we see an objective in front of us and instead of moving forward in the direction of completion, we are forced to side-step, back up or stop altogether.  How like working for the kingdom of God this is.  

Matthew 9:23-25  When Jesus arrived at the official's home, he noticed the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music. He said, "Get out! The girl isn't dead; she's only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him. When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!  Jarius, the leader of a local synagogue, had come to Jesus beseeching Him to heal His daughter who had just died.  One would think that this leader held the respect of the local people.  Yet when he arrived with Jesus at his home, there was no respect.  There was noise and funeral music playing.  Noise.  The prime distraction in our lives.  Why do you think that Jesus told all the people to get out?  Hadn't Jesus performed miracles in the past in the midst of crowds?  Have you ever thought about that?  

Imagine the atmosphere at that moment.  Clearly there was a crowd in the home because the last verse describes them as such when they were finally outside.  The "noise" that they were making was in Greek defined as: 1) to make a noise or uproar, be turbulent; 2) to disturb, throw into confusion.  Sounds to me as if there were some demonic spirits present in that home.  Turbulence and confusion are tools of the enemy, not of the Lord.  Perhaps He was more interested in saving a young girl's life than providing entertainment for an unruly crowd.  Perhaps their disbelief would have hindered the belief of the parents.  After all, Jesus acknowledged that miracles were hard to come by in His own hometown because of the disbelief and lack of respect due the Son of God.   

A desperate father had come seeking the impossible - perhaps this prophet, this man Jesus about whom everyone was talking could really pull off this miracle.  Anything was worth a try.  He had nothing to lose and everything to gain...or did he?  Imagine his thoughts as he brought Jesus into his home filled with unruly relatives and townspeople.  Clearly they were non-believers because they laughed at Jesus.  This leader is also being laughed at because he is the one that brought Jesus, believing that a miracle would happen.  Would this ridicule continue if Jesus did not raise his daughter from the dead?  What would happen to his position in the synagogue and in the town?  Imagine his wife's state of mind.  Confusion is easy to visualize in the midst of the noise of the crowd.  

Jesus understood everything about the situation including the parents' state of mind.  He desired an atmosphere of faith not disbelief.  Hence the question for us today.  What type of atmosphere do we create in which we are seeking to have the Lord move?   Are we hindering the move of God at times by our "noise"?  Are we part of an unruly crowd that actually keeps the Lord from performing the impossible as happened in His hometown?  Think about the various ways that we could be undermining the move of God.  Multiple scenarios pop into my mind.  Am I talking instead of listening?  Am I voicing my own opinions instead of allowing God access to the situation to speak His heart?  Could it be that I am misinterpreting "signs" and thus communicating distortion to those around me?  The more I ponder this, the easier I see that it is to become a hindrance to God rather than an accessory to His work.

My heart's desire is for God to look at my life and say, "Send her.  She is a willing vessel."  However in order for that to happen, I truly have to be a willing vessel.  My belief in the power of God must supersede the unbelief that surrounds me.  The doubters, the naysayers, the critics abound in our lives.   Do we become part of the "noise" of life, or do we become those that clear out the room so that God can work. What happens in our churches?  Are we part of the group that says, this is not the time nor the place for God to do "that kind" of work, or do we bring Jesus into the house to work His miracles?  The first century Christians fought every kind of persecution that we could imagine.  Life did not suddenly become easy and wonderful because they accepted Christ.  On the contrary, life became very difficult.  Yet they persevered and because they did, we have our faith today. 

It is time, my friends, time for us to step into our responsibilities and our callings as Believers, as followers of The Way.  Sitting on the bench of the team of the Body of Christ will not work in these times.  Our very way of life is being threatened by the ominous shadow of those that would have Christianity wiped out of America and in fact the rest of the world.  Will we be the Jarius's of today and boldly go get our Savior to bring restoration to this world, or will we be the noisy crowd who just laughs with the rest? My choice and yours.  Walk in the power and authority of Jesus Christ and don't look back!

 

Instructions for Life

How many times have you either said or heard, "If only someone had told me!!!"  We lament because disaster could have been averted if only we knew.....if only we had that hindsight as foresight when we needed it most.  Life seems full of surprises and we react to a situation because we are caught off guard.  In the circumstances that matter the most, we should be proactive and not reactive, yet are we?  Think about your relationships, your life circumstances, your faith.  Have you ever made that exclamation I stated above?  If only.....

I have good news for you!  Contained within scripture are instructions for life that will aid us in avoiding disaster and guide us through difficult situations.  Actually, the entire Bible will serve that purpose.  However recently I came upon a single verse that in its simplicity is often overlooked.  Please allow me to share it with you.  2 Corinthians 13:11 Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.  Paul is closing his last letter to the Corinthian church.  The preceding verses as well as the first letter were filled with instructions as to how to live a Godly life and witness to the world who Christ is.  When you are saying goodbye to someone and you are not sure you will see them again, you want to be sure that your last words summarize your most important thoughts.  Paul tries to capture the essence of walking out our faith in these few words.  Not only did they  apply to the Corinthian church, they apply to us today.

First, Be Joyful.  We have so much to rejoice over.  As Christians, our salvation has been bought by the blood of Jesus, but even greater than that, the veil is torn and we now have access to the Throne of God Himself.  We get to commune with Him, dialogue continually, celebrate as He dances and sings over us.  We get to call him Abba, Poppa, Daddy, whatever nickname you use in intimacy with Him.  We exchanged our yoke for His, a lighter, easier one.  Our future is with Him.  We have surrendered control of our lives to Him and get to serve Him out of love and not mandated performance.  Our joy is what should attract others to a relationship with Him.  No matter what our circumstances we should be joyful.  James 1:2  Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  The apostles had significant troubles as they faced increasing persecution from all angles.  Yet because of their joyfulness in spite of those circumstances, the number of believers grew exponentially.

Second, Grow to Maturity.  We are not to be content with standing in the threshold of salvation.  Once we accept Christ into our hearts, we have walked through an open door.  However if we are content to stay there, we will never know the bounty that the Lord has waiting for us in the kingdom.  First please acknowledge that the Kingdom of Heaven is here now within each of us.  Study out the words of Jesus and you will know that this is truth.  However, if a believer is not growing daily in maturity through the Word and through time listening to the Counselor, Holy Spirit, then that person is stuck in the doorway of faith.  We are called to transformation and that only happens through growth. Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. As I wrote 2 weeks ago, once we become believers we are no longer of this world and we are expected by the Lord to change and not just changed once, but changed daily as we grow in the maturity of our faith. 

Third, Encourage each other.  We are the body of Christ together.  Not a single one of us is complete without being connected to the rest of the body.  We must look to our brothers and sisters within the body and lift one another up.  If we allow one part of the body to collapse, then it impacts all of the body.  We are not self-sufficient.  Have you ever been encouraged during a rough time by a brother or sister in faith when your own "blood" family would not support you?  I know that it happens all of the time.  God has created us for relationship and once we become part of the body, we are responsible for maintaining healthy relationships within the body.  There is only one way you can survive being set apart (which we are all called to be once we accept Christ).  Survival is achieved when you are connected to a life-giving, life-affirming body.  Isolation is not an answer that comes from the Lord.  Isolation is a strategy of the enemy - isolate then destroy.  It is a predator strategy that you see carried out in the animal kingdom daily.  Instead we are called to help and be with each other.  Hebrews 10:24-25 Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.  1Thessalonians 5:11, 14  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy.....Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

Finally, Live in harmony and peace. Don't cause strife and division in the body.  Be mindful of how you live and invite the Shalom of the Lord to inhabit your circumstances, prevail over your life.  When we work to be of one mind in Christ, harmony is inevitably the result.  Does that mean that everything in your life is perfect?  Not hardly.  Jesus Himself warned us that many trials and tribulations would come our way once we picked up our cross to follow Him.  However it is amazing how peace will prevail in the midst of trouble when we choose to focus on Him instead of our circumstances.  I vividly recall in some of my most difficult moments in the past that people would ask how I could be so peaceful in the midst of the circumstances.  My answer was always the same: He gives me that peace and the assurance that this too will pass but His love for me never will.  Be a testimony to the world that His peace is what they too want.

Paul concludes with this promise: The God of love and peace will be with you.  Wow, that is powerful.  Follow these simple instructions for life and this is the promise of the Lord.  He will be with you and He is the God of love and peace not war and strife.  That is what I want in my life - today, tomorrow, forever.  Simple instructions ~ Incredible outcome.  Life - pure, simple, His way.  Embrace it!   

Praise and Worship - Really?

Recently I have become profoundly cognizant of my deep inner need to come before my Lord in true worship.  Consequently I have simultaneously begun paying close attention to my thoughts, actions and heart when I am coming before Him to either praise Him or worship Him.  I question my motives and my posture.  I am now asking myself the W questions: where am I worshipping Him, why am I worshipping Him, when am I worshipping Him.  Then I pose the same questions for praise.  In order to answer these questions accurately, I must first define what these two words are: praise and worship.  What do they really mean?

What are the first things that come into your mind when you hear the word, "worship"?  Do you think about church and your weekly service?  Do you by chance think, "oh yeah, that is the leader's responsibility.  I am here to join in."  I hope not.  I pray that you have already embraced the real meaning of worship.  One of the easiest ways to describe worship is to utilize the illustration of pagan gods.  Seriously.   Pagans were well known to "worship" multiple gods.  Their many temples and complex rituals illustrated how extensive their worship was.  They had household gods and altars within their homes that permitted them to worship these gods frequently, privately and as the need arose.  The worship of their gods dominated their lives.  Was their worship relegated to occurring inside the temple on a routine basis?  I think not.  They were obsessed with their gods and their worship was continual.  

Now think about the early Hebrew people as they were leaving Egypt.  Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron "Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. Take the flocks and the herds, as you said, and be gone.  Go, but bless me as you leave."  Exodus 12:31-32  What did Pharaoh picture when he gave that command?  Remember that the Hebrew people had been enslaved by a pagan nation for 400 years.  Did the Hebrew people themselves even know how to worship their Lord?  I wonder. Once in the wilderness, though they quickly fell back into the patterns with which they had lived for centuries.  They had yet to grasp what the Lord was seeking from them.  Once they had escaped the Egyptian army via the Red Sea, they sang a song of deliverance.  Their worship at that moment was a combination of praise, testimony and worship of the greatness of God.  (Exodus 15).  They weren't in a church, or a synagogue or a temple.  They were standing out in the middle of the wilderness and God had just established that HE was there.  Worship erupted!  Praise of His glory erupted!  

Has God ever moved in your life?  Does that initiate worship and praise?  I don't mean the put out the fire at the last possible minute - although He has certainly done that for me as well as many folks I know.  I mean has He ever moved in your life?  Do you only praise Him at that moment or does it become another component of your ongoing worship?  Do you continually add to His countless attributes of magnificence and worship Him?  Worship is a lifestyle. It is not a weekly act of offering up music and songs.  Our very words spoken daily, our acts in daily life, are our sacrifices of worship.  Do we indeed lay our lives on the altar of worship and sacrifice ourselves to Him?  Ephesians 5:18-20 Let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I wonder if we truly grasp that last verse - How do we not grasp "always" and "everything"?

Finally, consider praise as a weapon.  Psalm 149:6-9  Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands -- to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glory of his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!  Do you see praise as a powerful weapon in your spiritual tool belt?  God has declared it so.  Are we using it that way, or do we simply see praise as saying "Thanks,God."  Look at all the attributes that God used in this psalm to describe praise.  We cannot use these attributes if all we are doing is coming to Him with a grateful heart.  We need to be declaring His power, His authority and using the testimony of His word as the fuel for these praises.  Not our words - His words!  We must be warriors in our praise and our worship.  Please don't be passive and don't enable performance oriented worship.  This is about Him and not about us or someone's musical talents.  They are only background vehicles to ushering in His presence, but our hearts and our openness to His power being exhibited through us is critical!!!! 

I don't think I will allow myself to approach my relationship with Him the same from this point forward.  The times when I come together with my brothers and sisters in Christ for corporate praise should pale by comparison to that which I share daily with my Lord and the Lover of my soul.  Everything I do up to that moment should be building to a wonderful crescendo. All of us coming together would hopefully be building to the same crescendo like a wonderful orchestra in which each instrument has been played daily, individually, so that when we come together it is an orchestrated sound that pleases God's ears and His heart. Is this what your worship experience is like?  Is this how you praise the Lord?  If not then let us all come into agreement that the Lord will never hear anything less than that from us again.  Hallelujah!!!!

Shalom not Chaos

Do you remember the first time you became aware that you were being wooed by the Lord to walk with Him?  Even if you had accepted Jesus as a child, there most likely was some point as a teenager or an adult that you began to understand the significance of your decision relevant to being set apart.  We visited that very topic last week, but there are so many aspects to this crossroads.  Deciding to pick up your cross and follow Him should have resulted in changes in both your thinking as well as your life.  This is especially true the older we are when we make that change.  What happened to your relationships when you made that decision?

This morning I was studying the writings of Paul in Corinthians and began to ponder the circumstances that prodded Paul to write what he did.  First consider this scripture - 1 Corinthians 7:22-24 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, the Lord has now set you free from the awful power of sin. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. God purchased you at a high price. Don't be enslaved by the world. So, dear brothers and sisters, whatever situation you were in when you became a believer, stay there in your new relationship with God.  Rampant slavery as well as sexual immorality and pagan worship was an intricate part of society.  Imagine yourself as a brand new believer in Corinth and trying to figure out how you function in the midst of this environment.  Notice that Paul does not say, "evacuate, evacuate!".  Paul admonishes them to begin to see themselves as slaves to Christ and not to the world, but to stay where they are ~ in the marriages that they are committed to as well as the current "life position" (slave or free man).  He is not advocating rebellion and chaos, rather an influential lifestyle that reflects God's love throughout.   

Tremendous chaos was resulting from this new movement of people following The Way.   Those that were outside this movement were alarmed at the rapidity with which it was growing and the spirits of fear and Jezebel were manifesting at every turn.  Yet the apostles did not advocate a violent revolution but instead a revolution of love and caring.  The early followers of Christ changed the world as it existed not because they forced their beliefs on others, but because they were able to walk out their beliefs of love.  The power of love is the most influential force on the face of our earth.  Yet how many of us have walked this out from day one?


Let's consider the typical situation of a marriage that is unequally yoked because of the spouses came to know and accept Jesus after the marriage took place.  Far too often the believer becomes a zealot and tries to force this new recognition of the power of God onto their spouse.  The spouse resists because they have yet to hear this call in their own hearts and simultaneously they have seen the person they had married change before their eyes.  Without time to acclimate to this new persona with whom they are now living, the changed person begins "preaching" day and night in disbelief that their spouse is not getting it.  Chaos, disharmony, tension, anger all begin to mount and their is no Shalom in the home.  There is no agape love which is the core value of what Jesus taught us.  The same scenario begins to play itself out in the work place, in social circles, in extended family circles.  How could we have missed the mark so badly?

1 Corinthians 7:17  Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.  The more significant aspect of this discussion is the understanding that God knew exactly where you were in life when He began wooing you.  Clearly there is a purpose we are to serve in our given circumstances or else He would have waited until our circumstances changed before He called out to us.  The Lord has assigned us a place.  This is not to say that when we are caught in bad circumstances because of decisions made in this fallen world that He chose those circumstances for us.  I personally believe that He allows us to walk out the consequences of human decisions made out of free will, whether ours or others.  The "walking out" becomes how we honor and worship Him or how we defer to the world.  Simply put, God knows where we are at all times and He is loving us through those circumstances if we will allow Him.

Believers are meant to change the world through love, not violent revolution.  We are meant to disrupt, but to disrupt through love and the introduction of Shalom to the atmosphere around us.  People should see that we are different, that we are set apart.  Ultimately however that is meant to draw them to Christ, not send them running in the other direction.  So each of us must ask ourselves, does the way I live my life draw people to Him because they want what I have, or does it send them away saying, "I sure am glad I don't follow her God."? We must eagerly pursue Shalom in every aspect of our life and seek His strength to walk in love no matter what the circumstances.  We are not to resign ourselves to living a quiet unnoticed life that allows us to blend in with the environment around us.  Instead I urge you to live a life that proclaims you are loved and you are the physical embodiment of His love on this earth.  If we will all walk in love, we will change the world.







 

Impact of Being Set Apart

One of the consequences of deepening my relationship with the Lord is an increased awareness of how different I am from those around me and indeed from whom I used to be.  Whether it is wisdom, maturity or a heightened sense of how God sees me, I am seeing life and my past through clearer eyes than previously.  Fortunately I am not alone in this.  There are other folks with whom I speak that are experiencing the same discomfort with the rest of the world.  Little things, like walking through a department store, shock me into a fresh appreciation of just how far away from God our society has gone.  I am appalled at the garments that I know people are going to buy to wear or worse yet, put on their children.  I was walking through the mall with a mission to get a cable my husband needed for worship and in front of me was a young couple with twin girls not more than 3 years old.  These little girls were dressed as if they were ready to go "clubbing".  I was in shock.  Where was their innocence?  Would they ever get to just be little girls?

This sharpened vision has also had me look behind me at my own past and I was humbled and ashamed at some of the things of which I was guilty.  Even though this is embarrassing, I am sharing because there may be someone reading this who is walking the path I walked and God so wants to free you from this bondage.  All of my life, my appearance was very important to me.  Can you imagine that as a college student in the early 70's I did not own a pair of jeans???  I "dressed to the 9's" every day.  It was imperative to me that I stood out.  Please understand, this is not "set apart"; I was not saved until my late 30's.  My self esteem was so poor that I did whatever I needed to make myself feel noticed.  Since I knew my legs were my asset, I wore short skirts and if you can imagine this ~ hot pants suits.  I made my clothes and would make suits but instead of skirts, there were hot pants, or a split skirt over the hot pants.  I turned heads alright, but I also gained a reputation that I did not earn. My attire created an impression that was not favorable.  At the time I was incredulous that anybody would believe those lies.  But why wouldn't they?  Actions speak louder than words.

Fast forward. I am now a mom with teenage sons.  I still have a cute figure and still have good legs.  What am I doing?  The same thing I always did, dress to turn heads.  What I never realized until very recently was what I was doing to the young men that were surrounding me because I had three sons.  Men are very visual and are from a very early age.  Simply look at how pornography has seized our youth.  I never stopped to think about what was happening in these impressionable minds because this older woman was "hot".  I shudder now as I take responsibility for what I may have caused these young men to think.  Here I was the mother of one of their friends  who talks about loving the Lord and walking with Him, even giving them advice about how to live their lives for Him, while all that time I am sitting there in inappropriate attire.  

We are responsible for the ripples that our behavior creates.  We are responsible for the impact of our actions and our words.  There is a reason that parents who live a life of "Do as I say and not as I do" have recurring dissonance in their lives.  I look back on my behavior after my divorce and realized that I was guilty of wanting my sons to not reject me the way that I felt rejected because of my failed marriage.  I loved the Lord and was walking out trust with Him by moving and starting over.  Yet my attire and my behavior of partying with my sons and their friends spoke a very different message.  How could I expect them to honor me and respect me when I did not honor or respect myself?  I should not be surprised that my relationships with my sons took a downhill turn at this time.  I could not understand it then, but I do now.  Sadly, I do now.  

If we are going to love the Lord and follow Him with all of our heart, body and spirit, then we need to do so unconditionally and expect to be rejected in the process.  Mark 3:21, 31 21 When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him home with them. "He's out of his mind," they said. 31 Jesus' mother and brothers arrived at the house where he was teaching. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them.  Jesus was totally engaged in ministry and He and His disciples were not taking time to eat.  The fervor with which He was ministering disturbed His family.  Their summation?  He was out of His mind!  I can just hear the conversation amongst His family members: "We need to do an intervention.  Let's get him outside and then we will take him away and try and bring him to his senses."  Sound vaguely familiar to anything you experienced?  I can vividly recall my sons being told to not bother me when I was out on our deck.  "Your mother is "talking" to God."  Then being criticized when I came back inside.  Rejection by those that should know us the best because we choose to make God first is difficult to accept.

We must study ourselves and our behavior.  Are we trying to be accepted by this world and its standards or are we choosing a higher road, one that requires us to make decisions that are not conventional?  What does our behavior, our dress, the choices we make for entertainment tell the world about us?  What is foremost in our lives?  I battle with being judgmental about the choices others are making.  I look at them and realize that the agony I am feeling is because I have walked that road and know that it is indeed "vanity fair".  This road is the one most often chosen by the world, and yet the Lord has told us in no uncertain terms that the road to heaven is narrow and the road to hell is broad.  Why should we expect that we would not struggle to stay on this narrow road?  We live in a fallen world and we still must battle the dark forces that are in this world.  One of the most effective ways is to reckon our flesh dead so that we can resist the enemy.  In other words, we have been freed into the battle not from the battle to live as overcomers.    

This has been an exposing word to share with all of you.  I am not proud of what I did.  There are many aspects of my life for which I am eternally grateful that God provides grace to restore me after my repentance.  I wish I could turn the clock back and relive certain aspects of my life. I have no idea what kind of bad seeds I have sown yet I believe that my God is a restorer of life and I pray that He nullifies those bad seeds and replaces them with good seed in each person's life that I impacted.  I continually examine my life now and ask God to show me how He is seeing me.  If I need to be convicted of a change, I pray that He shows me loudly and clearly.  I do not know if this word was for you, my precious friend, or perhaps for someone you know.  In either case, please seize this opportunity to cleanse your life and yourself.  Draw closer to Him in all that you do.  The further we separate ourselves from the world, the closer we come to Him.

The Repercussions of the Arrows

Vulnerability and transparency are two gifts that you all have given to me by reading this blog.  Through your presence in my life, you have permitted me the luxury, albeit sometimes painful, to pay attention to the more subtle messages from Holy Spirit in my life.  Today, I venture forth into murky waters.  This is a bit of a detour from my usual postings, but I truly believe that this will be revelation for some of you and perhaps confirmation for others.  

I am currently leading a passionate group of ladies in a study of John Eldredge's and Brent Curtis' book Sacred Romance.  In the course of this study we are exploring those things in our lives which have kept us from the ultimate romance with our lover, God.  Whether male or female it is critical that you perceive yourself as the Beloved of God.  We are the Bride of Christ after all.  However, the adversary (a polite title for Satan) works very hard to break up this romance by shooting arrows into our hearts from the time we are children.  These arrows all have messages, lies, wrapped around them that become embedded into our hearts.  This is the third time that I am working through this study and the accompanying workbook.  Each time, the revelation into my life has been deeper and more transforming.  This past Friday was no exception.  The revelation was so powerful that I am lead to share it with all of you and pray that you will also receive some insight into your own lives.  


From the Sacred Romance Workbook, page 44: The things we do to protect and preserve our hearts usually end up hurting us more.  To choose to shut your heart to love - so that you won't be hurt - is to deny the very thing you are made for.  This is really larger than simply "love".  If we simply consider the love aspect from our limited understanding than we will miss the significance of what we do.  As I read this statement and began to meditate on it, the Lord revealed something astounding to me.  Permit me to share a bit of the past with you so that you can understand better.  I recalled an incident in my life when I was in elementary school - maybe 3rd - 4th grade. It was my birthday and traditionally my parents took my sisters and me to our local clubhouse for a birthday dinner. One of my sisters' birthday had been the month before and they had surprised her with a cake after dinner at the club. I was excited about that for me, but I wanted it to be a surprise like it was for her. So in trying to manufacture a true "surprise" I kept saying to my family that I did not want a cake at the dinner. Guess what happened. My parents were torn by my words and did not know what to do, so the cake stayed in the trunk of the car until we got home and I was incredibly disappointed.

A pattern developed for life - avoid disappointment by shutting down expectations. Sadly I see that I still do that today. Even with God. I live life saying "God, do whatever you want to with my life" when in reality what I am saying is "God, I don't want to be disappointed when life turns out differently than I expected. So I therefore don't expect you to do anything miraculously wonderful in my life. I certainly am not going to ask you for anything....."  God basically said to me, "You don't trust Me to not disappoint you like others have.  Yet the love I have for you is like no one else's."  I was stunned to realize that what He was saying was true.  I DO trust God with my life and I do totally submit and surrender to Him, but what I was lacking was the belief that if I asked Him for the desires of my heart, He would give them to me.  It is so much easier to live a life of total complacency in which I simply say, "God do whatever You want with my life. I am totally cool with that."  But what if God is waiting for me to take an initiative and ask Him?  

One of the exercises in the workbook is to write down something that you would secretly love to do if there were no restraints whatsoever to your request.  For 2 years I have been unable to answer that question.  Then this time for the first time, I was able to actually put something down that was extraordinary and wonderful.  What had stopped me from being able to do that before?  Perhaps it was this core belief that if I created an expectation in my life, it would not happen and I would be disappointed - again.   I came to the conclusion that I am living a life that is filled with conflicting beliefs.  I love the surprises God brings into my life - like my precious husband Glen (I had not asked God for Him. :-)).  Yet I was living a life that only allowed room for God to surprise me, not for me to step out in faith and ask Him to be extraordinary in my life.

Sadly, I also came to realize that this belief had surfaced in other areas of my life.  I was willing to settle for whatever came my way and was not willing to venture out there and  expect my relationships to be extraordinary as well.  I was shortchanging the people in my life to be able to bless me and travel with me in this extraordinary adventure called living.  The message I had embraced and let direct my life was this:  don't expect and therefore avoid disappointment and hurt.  Does that sound like a message that came from the Lord?  I realized suddenly that this was a message from the other side that was designed to limit my relationship with the Lord and with everyone else in my life.

This may or may not resonate with you. But this is what is being revealed to me about the impact of early arrows in my life. Each arrow landed in about the same place which ultimately led me to the conclusion that life is just going to happen no matter what I try to do about it. If I try to help it out, it will simply be more screwed up than ever.  Through the grace of our incredible Lord, who does not want me to settle in this life, I am venturing forth.  Baby steps at first, but I know that He is with me and leading me.  I was able to spend a few hours sharing with Glen this breakthrough revelation and that is already shifting our marriage from beautiful and wonderful into the phenomenal, extraordinary range.  Trusting God and trusting others in our lives is an ongoing process, but it is one that I now intend to passionately pursue ~ with GREAT EXPECTATIONS!  I hope that you are as well.   

The Power in Each Believer

Have you ever bought into the myth that certain "Christians" have more power than others?  In other words, pastors have more power than their members; the bigger the congregation the more the power; the more letters after their name (as in degrees) the more power they have, etc.  The same myth goes on to convince "simple members" that there are limitations to what they are "allowed" to do in the body of Christ.  I am not advocating chaos and a spiritual free-for-all; however I am greatly concerned that the body of Christ today is not walking in the full power and authority to which it has been called.  

God is orderly and wants us to operate in the same manner.  In any given service, there is indeed an order, but that order should not limit the body of Christ to do what it is commanded to do in the Word of God.  Each of us has been given the same mandate: Mark 16:15-18   And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."  There are no limitations in that statement.  In fact it is pretty inclusive ~ "those who believe".  That is cut and dried; sums it up neatly.  Those who believe.  There are no qualifiers there, nothing for someone to opt out over.  Do you believe?  Then miraculous signs will accompany you.  

Acts 6:7-8  God's message was preached in ever-widening circles. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too. Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.  Stephen was working in the food ministry of the new church.  He was busy taking care of the physical needs of the growing church.  Yet notice what was happening as he was busy caring out his assignment - he performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.  He wasn't an apostle, in fact he wasn't one of the disciples who was following Jesus when Jesus was moving on the earth.  He was just one of the new believers who was full of God's grace and power.  Do you believe?  Then you are filled with God's grace and power.
 
I think I heard an objection out there....  you are not sure you are filled with His grace and power because you don't see amazing signs and wonders accompanying you?  Guess what, there aren't me either, at least none of which I am aware.  Yes, there have been healings - but not to the degree that limbs were reformed and blindness restored.  I am not exactly "feeling" the miraculous surround me, but I am not discouraged.  Someday when I least expect it, those miraculous events will explode all around me.  I will be ready too.  But there is more to it than just expecting and anticipating.  Receipt of miracles is a two way street.  

Faith on the part of the recipient is a necessary component, and as reluctant as we are to admit it, faith is not in abundance in America.  We have life too easy and do not require the miraculous in order to survive.  I know that for many of us, life has not been a cake walk lately by normal standards.  Then again, America's standards are not the norms of this world.  You know the statistics.  I don't have to repeat them for you.  Where miracles are happening in astounding frequency is in the underdeveloped nations of this world.  Do you understand why?  Faith is the only thing that stands in between life and death for many of those populations.  Their faith is what is sustaining them everyday and keeping them from giving up ~ and the miracles abound.   America however is not going to be left out in God's miracle business.  They are happening here in America, the media just is not talking about them.  The conspiracy against Christianity is huge in our country and we have got to tackle it on an individual level wherever we live and work.

I want to walk in the total fullness of God's power and grace.  I expect to see the miraculous happen around me and through my being Jesus with skin on.  When I pray for someone I expect their healing.  It may not happen in front of me and it may not happen tomorrow, but I believe that God is going to answer prayer and He is going to move in each situation.  I know the miracles He has worked in my own life - they are huge.  They may not be of the "astounding" variety but I know healings have occurred within my body and in my soul.  I know financially our survival everyday is His miracle in spite of what the "natural" looks like.  I give Him the glory and I expect to see the miraculous continue to happen.  I am not a preacher, of the ordained variety, but I am a preacher of His Word as He commanded me and I fully intend to continue to operate as a member of His royal priesthood.  Join me as you fully activate the power that He has already deposited in you!

Believing versus Assuming

If you are reading this most likely you are a believer.  You have proclaimed Jesus Christ as your Savior.  That is probably the most common factor amongst all of us.  Yet somewhere after that point, we all begin to travel different roads.  One of the most challenging aspects of our journeys is our level of faith.  Please note I did not say measure of faith.....  there is a difference.  Our level of faith truly directs our actions and our thought patterns.  Too often  we operate in assumption versus belief however.  

Assumption:  we have committed ourselves to the Lord and therefore the rest of it is handled.  I don't need to ask, He is going to handle it.  He will tell me whatever He wants and all I have to do is willingly walk into it.  True or false?  Before we pursue the answer, consider this scripture.  Ezra 8:22-23 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, "Our God protects all those who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him." So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. In this case, Ezra who was high priest understood that as much as he believed in the power of God, he was still compelled to ask God for His protection.  Was he in error?  Did he not believe enough that God was their protector and would watch out for them?

Pray (or some form of that word) appears in the Word 545 times.  Who is praying?  Those that know He is listening.  What are the prayers for?  Everything!  The more that we pray (and by prayer I mean dialogue with God) the more we hear His voice.  But not everyone is praying.  Hard to believe?  I know.  Me too.  The fact is that there is an entire contingent of people that have adopted an attitude of assumption.  Once they accepted Christ as their savior, it was a done deal.  They can continue to live life on their terms and God will cover them - no matter what.  That is what I call assumptive living. We must not buy into the lie of the adversary that we can continue to live life as we used to and still expect to have a relationship with our Lord.  Let's get real.

Ezra was a high priest - privileged to enter the Holy of Holies when at that time no one had access to our Lord.   Yet he clearly understood reverential fear of the Lord.  One must never assume anything (except that He loves us unconditionally).  He wants to hear from us.  He wants to know that we depend on Him and not on our own resources.  Evaluate your own life.  How often have you adopted the attitude, "I can handle this, God.  I don't need to bother you with that."  Hmmm, on the surface that sounds humble doesn't it?  Yet in reality it is arrogance.  What makes us think that our Lord is not concerned about the tiny things of our life?  Matthew 10:29-31 Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.  Thus when we adopt the attitude that we do not need to speak to God about the various aspects of our life, we are dismissing His concern for us and His value for us.

God is calling us into deeper and more intimate relationships with Him.  Just look around you at our world today.  Never has society been darker - at least in our recent generations, and yet never has God's glory been brighter! I was listening to our praise music this morning (Glen has 24 hours worth of praise music on our computer!) and recognized how different Christian music has become in the last few decades - vertical praise versus the horizontal praise of previous generations.  There is nothing wrong with the old hymns and southern gospel except that the majority of it was about Him versus to Him.  How I love our new direction!  I love getting on my face on the floor of our sanctuary at church and being intimate with Him.  That never happened 20 years ago.  Thank you, Lord for inviting us in further into the Throne Room with You to have that intimate experience that is just between you and me.

Getting back to Ezra, he believed that God would protect them which is why with trepidation he did not ask for soldiers to accompany them on their journey back to Jerusalem.  Yet he was not arrogant enough to assume that they could just move forward without first praying and seeking God's favor for them.  Throughout the Old Testament we see this action repeated.  Those walking in God's favor sought His council and His protection in the dangerous situations they faced.  It was only when they ventured forth on their own without consulting Him that difficulties surfaced.  What about your own life?  Do you pattern your behavior after Ezra? 

Operating within a reverential fear of the Lord is a great foundation for life.  Constantly dialoguing with Him is equally as important.  Even in the little things, this dialogue plays an important role.  I remember over three years ago Glen and I were remodeling the house we were to occupy with his mom.  Before any of the new carpet was laid, I prayed and asked God how He would like each room of the house dedicated.  He gave me specific scriptures for each room and I wrote them on the flooring before the carpet pad was laid.  In a corner of each room is a specific scripture for the purpose of that room.  One of my favorites is that in our guest room.  I call it our Psalm 23 room because the first few verses of that Psalm are written in that room.  It is humbling for me to hear our guests share what an incredible night's sleep they had in there.  God has His hand on them.

I want to encourage you to ratchet up your prayer life with Him.  Be intentional in your daily prayer and be specific in your dialogue with Him. Honestly, I struggle still with being specific.  I want to lean back on my stand by attitude of "Whatever You want, God, is cool with me!"  But I hear Him asking me, "Janice, what do you want?"  It is very tough for me to be specific and I know that it is because historically when I have tried to run my life, I have failed miserably and been disappointed time after time.  But I am learning that He will guide me in my dreams and hopes, if I will open my heart and let those things in.  I am trying to trust even more than I have in the past.  I think that it is time I let God out of my "safe" box and dare to explore all that He has for me.  How about you?