Sunday in small groups we started a new session that focuses on the role of the church to teach God's word. The verse we talked about (which wasn't even in the video) is in II Corinthians 4:4 that says the devil blinds eyes so that some can't understand God's word.
We talked about how one of the main hindrances to some Christians reading God's word is either they aren't good readers or they don't understand what they are reading, so they give up. Reading anything is a struggle for some, so reading God's word is just not something they enjoy.
Let me be clear. Anytime we have a weakness, that is where the devil attacks. If we tend to be critical of others instead of showing love and compassion, the devil will point out every flaw of everyone we see and try to tempt us to judge rather than love. So if your weakness is reading and understanding God's word, the devil sure isn't going to sit back and let you easily understand what God is trying to show you.
So how do we deal with a temptation or struggle? We identify the source and call on God (who is bigger than any battle we will ever face) and ask him for help. You aren't stupid or worthless if this is where you struggle. The devil just knows if you get a hold of Gods word, his life changing Word, and grasp His love and promises for you, he won't have a chance to stop you. So you've got to learn to fight through it!
God is bigger than any struggle, even if appears to be natural instead of spiritual. Sometimes, we use our natural weakness as a crutch, an excuse to justify why God can't use us or why we will never be all God has promised. But the devil is a liar and God is able!
Don't give up, fight through the struggle! Because God's word is our firm foundation and there is no replacement. We've got to spend time in God's word, even if it's not easy.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
Losing Heart
Ever been tired? Worn out? Done?
And if you are a stubborn one, like I am, who refuses to give up, we always find a way to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, to muster whatever strength we can and keep going. Because we don't really have a choice. Because someone or something depends on us going on.
But maybe the reason we live in the cycles of strength and success and worn out and tired is because our priorities are wrong. Because we are so focused on ourselves and our way and our dreams, we forget why we can't lose heart.
It's not because the world can't go on without us or because no one else can do it to the standard we've set for ourselves and our lives and our ambitions. No, we must not lose heart for a reason much bigger than that. Gods ways are always big picture while our thoughts are stuck on us, the world we live in, how it affects what is important to us.
II Corinthians 4:1 says, "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."
The reason I am able to keep going when the kids are arguing all day and I mess things up at work is because it's not about me. God, in his great mercy, because he sees so much more in me than I do, has given me a ministry. Not any different than any other Christian, we all have a calling and ministry to love others, to be Jesus on earth. And because of this great ministry and responsibility, we cannot lose heart. There are people to love and seeds to be planted. We each have a job we have to do for His Kingdom sake.
And that is why we can't lose heart. Because we have been entrusted with a treasure in these jars of clay. A treasure that must be shared at all costs.
And if you are a stubborn one, like I am, who refuses to give up, we always find a way to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, to muster whatever strength we can and keep going. Because we don't really have a choice. Because someone or something depends on us going on.
But maybe the reason we live in the cycles of strength and success and worn out and tired is because our priorities are wrong. Because we are so focused on ourselves and our way and our dreams, we forget why we can't lose heart.
It's not because the world can't go on without us or because no one else can do it to the standard we've set for ourselves and our lives and our ambitions. No, we must not lose heart for a reason much bigger than that. Gods ways are always big picture while our thoughts are stuck on us, the world we live in, how it affects what is important to us.
II Corinthians 4:1 says, "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."
The reason I am able to keep going when the kids are arguing all day and I mess things up at work is because it's not about me. God, in his great mercy, because he sees so much more in me than I do, has given me a ministry. Not any different than any other Christian, we all have a calling and ministry to love others, to be Jesus on earth. And because of this great ministry and responsibility, we cannot lose heart. There are people to love and seeds to be planted. We each have a job we have to do for His Kingdom sake.
And that is why we can't lose heart. Because we have been entrusted with a treasure in these jars of clay. A treasure that must be shared at all costs.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Messy and Reckless
So I'm reading two books simultaneously, which is kinda odd for me, but this week they collided. Not because I wanted them to or because one of them led me to read the other. Because God wanted me to see something, to understand something differently. The two books are The Circle Maker By: Mark Batterson and Messy Grace By: Caleb Kaltenbach. The first is about prayer and how to pray God's purposes and promises and the second is about balancing grace/showing love with the truth of God's word about sin issues.
Let me start by saying my ideal world, life, work environment is pretty clean, organized, structured. I like things to have a clear beginning and end and work in boxes pretty well. As a women, who I'm told is more like spaghetti than waffles, I know that there are many parts of my life that connect to others, but it is definitely my preference for each thing to stay in its box, within the rules, organized and put together with a pretty bow. And within my little world, where my social circle is my church and my clientele is mostly ministers, that works pretty well for me. I'm able to thrive and do well in those circles. It's my safe place and it is pretty clean.
When I first starting feeling led to speak/preach/teach more I questioned my sphere of influence/who God wanted me to minister to and I was convinced that I was called to encourage Christians through sharing my experiences and the things God's shown me in his word. That too, was pretty squeaky clean and easy. Although it was a little nerve-wracking at first, I quickly found my groove and felt like I was being pretty effective where God had given me opportunity and influence.
But lately, in the past year, God has very clearly messed that all up. :) I've been challenged by God to see past myself and my safe space and really ask God to use me how he wanted to and not how I thought was easiest and cleanest. And he's opened my eyes and given opportunities I never would have had or sought out before. Opportunities to show grace in uncomfortable situations. To be a listening ear and not judge or condemn but just show God's love. To pray God's promises for someone else, going through struggles I have never had to deal with personally, and to bear those burdens as if they are my own until God shows up.
So I'm learning to pursue people like God pursues them. To be available and inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel. It's messy. A bit chaotic at times. And it pushes me to be more like Christ. Like Christians should be. Not stuck in our happy circles but actually reaching out to people who are not like us and who we wouldn't normally befriend and becoming Jesus for them. Please don't misunderstand me to say I am on some "holier than thou" mission to add another trophy or medal to my wall. I'm learning to love in a totally different way than I'm used to. I know that people are God's heart so we have to be willing to get messy, to do things that don't make sense. Many times we fail to love without limit because we see our primary job as protecting the holy reputation of God. We forget that God has called us to love recklessly, like he loves us, without condition and qualifications. Before things are neat and pretty with a bow.
I firmly believe that God loves us all too much to leave us in our messes, but God will never get the opportunity to draw people to himself, to make them more like Jesus, if we don't learn to show messy grace. To love before they fit into our bubble and meet our expectations. A church full of people who are all the same is not reaching anyone. Actually, that probably means they are dying and have forgotten that "it's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
So I guess it's time to get messy and learn to love and show grace to those around us like God has done for us.
Let me start by saying my ideal world, life, work environment is pretty clean, organized, structured. I like things to have a clear beginning and end and work in boxes pretty well. As a women, who I'm told is more like spaghetti than waffles, I know that there are many parts of my life that connect to others, but it is definitely my preference for each thing to stay in its box, within the rules, organized and put together with a pretty bow. And within my little world, where my social circle is my church and my clientele is mostly ministers, that works pretty well for me. I'm able to thrive and do well in those circles. It's my safe place and it is pretty clean.
When I first starting feeling led to speak/preach/teach more I questioned my sphere of influence/who God wanted me to minister to and I was convinced that I was called to encourage Christians through sharing my experiences and the things God's shown me in his word. That too, was pretty squeaky clean and easy. Although it was a little nerve-wracking at first, I quickly found my groove and felt like I was being pretty effective where God had given me opportunity and influence.
But lately, in the past year, God has very clearly messed that all up. :) I've been challenged by God to see past myself and my safe space and really ask God to use me how he wanted to and not how I thought was easiest and cleanest. And he's opened my eyes and given opportunities I never would have had or sought out before. Opportunities to show grace in uncomfortable situations. To be a listening ear and not judge or condemn but just show God's love. To pray God's promises for someone else, going through struggles I have never had to deal with personally, and to bear those burdens as if they are my own until God shows up.
So I'm learning to pursue people like God pursues them. To be available and inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel. It's messy. A bit chaotic at times. And it pushes me to be more like Christ. Like Christians should be. Not stuck in our happy circles but actually reaching out to people who are not like us and who we wouldn't normally befriend and becoming Jesus for them. Please don't misunderstand me to say I am on some "holier than thou" mission to add another trophy or medal to my wall. I'm learning to love in a totally different way than I'm used to. I know that people are God's heart so we have to be willing to get messy, to do things that don't make sense. Many times we fail to love without limit because we see our primary job as protecting the holy reputation of God. We forget that God has called us to love recklessly, like he loves us, without condition and qualifications. Before things are neat and pretty with a bow.
I firmly believe that God loves us all too much to leave us in our messes, but God will never get the opportunity to draw people to himself, to make them more like Jesus, if we don't learn to show messy grace. To love before they fit into our bubble and meet our expectations. A church full of people who are all the same is not reaching anyone. Actually, that probably means they are dying and have forgotten that "it's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
So I guess it's time to get messy and learn to love and show grace to those around us like God has done for us.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Vision
God has been speaking to me in the past few weeks, you know since I finally got to a place still enough that I could hear him again. A lot of what he's been speaking is for me and not shareable, so I haven't blogged hardly any of it.
But today God showed me something through a song. That's pretty normal for me. Now, I am fully aware that songs are not Scripture , but sometimes the way something is worded in a song makes you think and directs you back to scripture that means something new and fresh that you hadn't seen before.
The song this time is called "I'm No Victim." Originally I hated the song. It felt like a personal anthem of sorts, someone trying to prove something or try to hard. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the song, just a feeling I got, probably tainted by my experiences. But as I listened some more (as I often do when I don't understand what the writer of the song is trying to say) something just clicked for me.
Some choose to stay victims of their circumstance. To play the "why me?" game and continue to declare how things aren't fair and how horrible things are. It is there in victimhood, that vision ceases. No wonder they can't move on. They have no where to go. No push, no forward looking thought or goal. They are stuck. All they see is their current status.
Or we become people of vision. When we choose to get out of that place (or not entertain those thoughts to begin with), God provides vision to push us on. Or maybe we get out of that place by pursuing vision. By asking God, "what next?, what do you have for me?"By refusing to stand still.
And when you get even a glimpse of God's vision, his purpose for you, it is motivation to press in. to move forward. Yes, it is much easier to become a victim than pursue God's vision, but it's the hard choice, the right choice that must be made if you are to live the abundant life that God provides.
Because without vision, people perish. Die. Stand still. Rot in stagnation. And that is not God's best for you. For me. For anyone.
In addition to looking forward, to seeking after what God's next assignment is, we must become people who care more about what God says about us than others. Because the victim needs everyone's approval, sympathy, but the visionary seeks the approval of only one (knowing full well that many around you won't understand).
But today God showed me something through a song. That's pretty normal for me. Now, I am fully aware that songs are not Scripture , but sometimes the way something is worded in a song makes you think and directs you back to scripture that means something new and fresh that you hadn't seen before.
The song this time is called "I'm No Victim." Originally I hated the song. It felt like a personal anthem of sorts, someone trying to prove something or try to hard. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the song, just a feeling I got, probably tainted by my experiences. But as I listened some more (as I often do when I don't understand what the writer of the song is trying to say) something just clicked for me.
"I'm no victim. I live with a vision."No one is immune from bad things happening to us. It's not "why me?" but more like "why not me?" The Bible clearly states that being a Christian doesn't mean life is perfect. That there is never a struggle or things get easy. Actually life keeps going on and rain falls on the just and unjust alike. And in the storm, you have a choice.
Some choose to stay victims of their circumstance. To play the "why me?" game and continue to declare how things aren't fair and how horrible things are. It is there in victimhood, that vision ceases. No wonder they can't move on. They have no where to go. No push, no forward looking thought or goal. They are stuck. All they see is their current status.
Or we become people of vision. When we choose to get out of that place (or not entertain those thoughts to begin with), God provides vision to push us on. Or maybe we get out of that place by pursuing vision. By asking God, "what next?, what do you have for me?"By refusing to stand still.
And when you get even a glimpse of God's vision, his purpose for you, it is motivation to press in. to move forward. Yes, it is much easier to become a victim than pursue God's vision, but it's the hard choice, the right choice that must be made if you are to live the abundant life that God provides.
Because without vision, people perish. Die. Stand still. Rot in stagnation. And that is not God's best for you. For me. For anyone.
In addition to looking forward, to seeking after what God's next assignment is, we must become people who care more about what God says about us than others. Because the victim needs everyone's approval, sympathy, but the visionary seeks the approval of only one (knowing full well that many around you won't understand).
"I am who he says I am. He is who he says he is. I'm defined by all his promises. Shaped by every word he says,"
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