“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28 -30
I was watching a rerun of “Friends” the other night where Monica faced her addiction to perfectionism. After coming home to find that Rachel had cleaned the apartment and moved a foot stool Monica became frantic. She tried to hide her anxiety but to no avail. When confronted about her perfectionism she denied it. Then her friends challenged her to leave things out of place. She gladly accepted their challenge.
In the next scene she is preparing to go to bed and her shoes were in the living room. When asked about them she said she had no problem leaving them there overnight. Then the scene changed to her bedroom where she was in bed and wrestling with the thought of leaving the shoes out. She was having a conversation with herself about it. While the episode was hilarious the reality of a person struggling with perfectionism was not.
While being addicted to perfectionism only affects a small percentage of people, all of us are yoked to perfectionism in some area of life, and experience the same weight of burden that the addict experiences. Whether it is trying to be the perfect wife, mother, friend, employer, employee, Christian, volunteer, etc., we all struggle with trying to be perfect at some point. Being yoked to the burden of perfectionism weighs us down and causes us to spend a lot of mental energy trying to make sure we don’t fail in life.
I love how intimately God knows us and how He loves us so much that He offers solutions to every problem we face in life. Perfectionism is poison to our soul. In this verse Jesus offers the only antidote for it. He tells us to come to Him, yoke ourselves to Him, and to learn from Him. It says that being intimately yoked to Jesus will provide rest for our souls, which means there is relief from the mental torment that accompanies perfectionism.
Notice what the verse doesn’t say. It doesn’t say that our burdens will be removed! It doesn’t say we won’t have bad days where we make mistakes or wound someone with our words. It doesn’t say our lives will be perfect if we yoke ourselves to Him. But what it does reveal to us is that when we yoke ourselves to Jesus He will lead us in the direction that leads to rest and peace.
He frees us from the churning anxiety within and we find rest for our weary souls. We will also be able to sleep in peace and not suffer like Monica did when she was wrestling with her thoughts. Isaiah 26:3 confirms this truth. It says, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.” AMP
If you find yourself being yoked to perfectionism take time out and make a conscious decision to yoke yourself to Jesus. As a believer Christ lives and dwells in us but we are still given free will, and have to make the decision to choose His ways over our ways. A yoke is something that can be put on and taken off, just like the yoke of oxen, so this is a daily exercise of faith. You might be wondering how to know if you are yoked to Jesus and the answer is: Whenever you feel weighted down by burdens, chances are you have removed the yoke and need to put it back on. This act of faith will lead you in the right direction to peace and rest every time.
Prayer: I believe by faith that when I am yoked to you I find rest for my soul. I praise you for being the perfect sacrifice for my imperfection and for unconditionally loving me. I stand in awe at how intimately you know my every need and struggle and I praise you for making a way for me to be in perfect peace, by yoking myself to You. I choose today to consciously yoke myself to you and I release my burdens to you. I gladly take your yoke upon me and I am ready to learn from you. Amen.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Day 6
The Quicksand of Temptation Can be Escaped!
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Have you ever watched a movie where the hero falls into quicksand and a frantic rescue scene ensues? Hollywood does a great job creating a sense of fear and anxiety in the audience during these rescue scenes. Even though the people watching know the hero will be saved, the intensity of the moment still affects them, and they get caught up in the moment cheering for the heroes rescue. Most of these scenes end with someone throwing a rope or a big stick to the hero and dragging them to safety.
What most of the people watching the movie don’t know, is that in real life, people rarely die in quicksand. Quicksand itself is harmless, but the limitation of movement the quicksand creates, causes the person who falls into it, to become fearful. This creates a sense of urgency and they flail around trying to escape, which only causes them to sink deeper. Quicksand is usually only a few inches or a few feet deep, and with the proper knowledge, a person caught in quicksand, can get themselves free fairly easily. But the person without knowledge can harm themselves and become dehydrated, resulting in injury or death.
Temptation is the same way. By itself it is harmless, but the limitation of understanding about how to escape it, causes people to react in a similar way as the inexperienced person who falls into quicksand. They become anxious and nervous and they flail around in the thought of the temptation, until they find themselves sinking deeper into it. Pretty soon they find themselves stuck and unable to get free. When their human efforts of trying to escape fail them, and they act on the temptation, they end up injuring themselves or others.
The Scriptures provide wisdom and understanding on how to easily escape from a temptation, but few people take the time to read them. The voice of the Holy Spirit also provides wisdom and understanding but most people don’t take the time to listen. Other people who have experienced the same temptations can provide wisdom and understanding, but few people seek their advice. I know that sometimes temptations seem unbearable but this Scripture ensures us that God gives us the strength to bear it, until we have been freed from it.
In order to avoid being caught in a temptation it is important to seek wisdom and understanding in regards to temptation, before you encounter one. People living in regions where quicksand is present know how to identify it in order to avoid it. And if they accidentally fall into it, they know what actions to take in order to escape unharmed. A Christian needs to approach temptations in the same way. They need to know the Word of God, be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and seek wise counsel from other Christians, so they are equipped to deal with temptation. This is the only way to avoid being caught in a temptation, or to know how to quickly escape if you accidentally find yourself in the midst of one.
The Bible says that God’s people perish for the lack of knowledge. Notice that it doesn’t say they perish because of temptation. So it is up to each of us to gain the knowledge that will keep our lives, our marriages, our relationships, our health, our finances, etc. from perishing! Spend time in the classroom of wisdom and understanding and you will find yourself being equipped to avoid or escape any temptation that comes your way.
Prayer: I praise you for giving me wisdom and understanding when I ask for it. I praise you for making a way of escape for me when I find myself facing temptation. Today I believe by faith that I can avoid being caught in temptation as I gain more understanding from your Word, your Spirit, and the people you have placed in my life. I believe by faith that as I wait on you my strength will be renewed and I will be able to avoid temptation or to stand up under it, until I am set free from its snare. I praise you for being faithful and for loving me unconditionally. Amen.
Have you ever watched a movie where the hero falls into quicksand and a frantic rescue scene ensues? Hollywood does a great job creating a sense of fear and anxiety in the audience during these rescue scenes. Even though the people watching know the hero will be saved, the intensity of the moment still affects them, and they get caught up in the moment cheering for the heroes rescue. Most of these scenes end with someone throwing a rope or a big stick to the hero and dragging them to safety.
What most of the people watching the movie don’t know, is that in real life, people rarely die in quicksand. Quicksand itself is harmless, but the limitation of movement the quicksand creates, causes the person who falls into it, to become fearful. This creates a sense of urgency and they flail around trying to escape, which only causes them to sink deeper. Quicksand is usually only a few inches or a few feet deep, and with the proper knowledge, a person caught in quicksand, can get themselves free fairly easily. But the person without knowledge can harm themselves and become dehydrated, resulting in injury or death.
Temptation is the same way. By itself it is harmless, but the limitation of understanding about how to escape it, causes people to react in a similar way as the inexperienced person who falls into quicksand. They become anxious and nervous and they flail around in the thought of the temptation, until they find themselves sinking deeper into it. Pretty soon they find themselves stuck and unable to get free. When their human efforts of trying to escape fail them, and they act on the temptation, they end up injuring themselves or others.
The Scriptures provide wisdom and understanding on how to easily escape from a temptation, but few people take the time to read them. The voice of the Holy Spirit also provides wisdom and understanding but most people don’t take the time to listen. Other people who have experienced the same temptations can provide wisdom and understanding, but few people seek their advice. I know that sometimes temptations seem unbearable but this Scripture ensures us that God gives us the strength to bear it, until we have been freed from it.
In order to avoid being caught in a temptation it is important to seek wisdom and understanding in regards to temptation, before you encounter one. People living in regions where quicksand is present know how to identify it in order to avoid it. And if they accidentally fall into it, they know what actions to take in order to escape unharmed. A Christian needs to approach temptations in the same way. They need to know the Word of God, be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and seek wise counsel from other Christians, so they are equipped to deal with temptation. This is the only way to avoid being caught in a temptation, or to know how to quickly escape if you accidentally find yourself in the midst of one.
The Bible says that God’s people perish for the lack of knowledge. Notice that it doesn’t say they perish because of temptation. So it is up to each of us to gain the knowledge that will keep our lives, our marriages, our relationships, our health, our finances, etc. from perishing! Spend time in the classroom of wisdom and understanding and you will find yourself being equipped to avoid or escape any temptation that comes your way.
Prayer: I praise you for giving me wisdom and understanding when I ask for it. I praise you for making a way of escape for me when I find myself facing temptation. Today I believe by faith that I can avoid being caught in temptation as I gain more understanding from your Word, your Spirit, and the people you have placed in my life. I believe by faith that as I wait on you my strength will be renewed and I will be able to avoid temptation or to stand up under it, until I am set free from its snare. I praise you for being faithful and for loving me unconditionally. Amen.
Day 5
Weaned on Lemons Produces Illness! Weaned on Laughter Produces Health & Healing!
“A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 AMP
Whenever my grandma met a person who was grouchy or irritable she would always say, “Looks like they were weaned on lemons honey.” As a child I never understood what she meant. When I grew up and began forming friendships I quickly grew to understand her funny statement. I would meet people who were unhappy most of the time, and they were always complaining about something. I found it interesting that these same people were suffering from some sort of illness or ailment most of the time.
In contrast, I would meet people who had cheerful dispositions and a childlike enthusiasm, and they didn’t seem openly phased by the troubles of life. They laughed a lot and focused their energy on the positive side of any situation. It was interesting to me that these people seldom complained and I rarely heard them speak of aches and pains or of being sick.
Years later when doing research on the causes of sickness and disease I came across many studies that had been done on the correlation between laughter and health. Research showed that people who laughed a lot and who focused on the positive, instead of the negative, had lower stress levels and healthier immune systems. They reported less aches and pains than those who didn’t laugh a lot. They had lower blood pressure and better cardiac strength.
One day when reading the Bible I came across Proverbs 17:22 and I realized just how important laughter is to our health and the healing process. The studies I read were validation to what God prescribed as an antidote for illness thousands of years ago. He designed our immune systems to respond to laughter, and He created our bodies to release certain illness fighting antibodies when we engage in laughter.
Today there are studies being done all around the world that focus on humor therapy. Researchers and doctors at Loma Linda University in California have proven this theory to be true in the many published studies that have been released in recent years. For further education on the correlation between laughter and health you can contact them and read their findings for yourself.
My question to you is: Which person are you? Have you been weaned on lemons and as a result your life is filled with negativity, pain, sickness, and turmoil? Or were you weaned on laughter and as a result your life is filled with positivity, health, and wellness? If you were weaned on lemons begin to ask God for wisdom and open yourself up to laughter. Begin to focus your mind time on learning how to be cheerful .and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life so you can begin to experience joy, which is a fruit of the Spirit.
Learning to be positive and learning to laugh is an exercise that takes time and concentrated effort. The great news is that the results you will experience will far out way the time you invest. Only you can change the way you think and live, so it is completely up to you to make this change. God’s Word is true but it has no effect until it is applied and acted upon. If you will focus on this formula for health you will experience life changing results and begin to live a healthier, more fulfilling life!
Prayer: Thank you for the healing power of laughter and for giving me a prescription for healthy living. I praise you for the joy stored up inside of me, and I choose today to open up the gift of laughter so that I can experience that joy! I believe by faith that as I laugh and look at life from a positive mindset, my body will respond and it will produce antibodies for healing. I praise you for perfectly creating my body with the ability to heal its self and today I choose to believe your truth over my reality. I will see my body restored to health and wholeness as I daily engage in laughter. Amen.
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 AMP
Whenever my grandma met a person who was grouchy or irritable she would always say, “Looks like they were weaned on lemons honey.” As a child I never understood what she meant. When I grew up and began forming friendships I quickly grew to understand her funny statement. I would meet people who were unhappy most of the time, and they were always complaining about something. I found it interesting that these same people were suffering from some sort of illness or ailment most of the time.
In contrast, I would meet people who had cheerful dispositions and a childlike enthusiasm, and they didn’t seem openly phased by the troubles of life. They laughed a lot and focused their energy on the positive side of any situation. It was interesting to me that these people seldom complained and I rarely heard them speak of aches and pains or of being sick.
Years later when doing research on the causes of sickness and disease I came across many studies that had been done on the correlation between laughter and health. Research showed that people who laughed a lot and who focused on the positive, instead of the negative, had lower stress levels and healthier immune systems. They reported less aches and pains than those who didn’t laugh a lot. They had lower blood pressure and better cardiac strength.
One day when reading the Bible I came across Proverbs 17:22 and I realized just how important laughter is to our health and the healing process. The studies I read were validation to what God prescribed as an antidote for illness thousands of years ago. He designed our immune systems to respond to laughter, and He created our bodies to release certain illness fighting antibodies when we engage in laughter.
Today there are studies being done all around the world that focus on humor therapy. Researchers and doctors at Loma Linda University in California have proven this theory to be true in the many published studies that have been released in recent years. For further education on the correlation between laughter and health you can contact them and read their findings for yourself.
My question to you is: Which person are you? Have you been weaned on lemons and as a result your life is filled with negativity, pain, sickness, and turmoil? Or were you weaned on laughter and as a result your life is filled with positivity, health, and wellness? If you were weaned on lemons begin to ask God for wisdom and open yourself up to laughter. Begin to focus your mind time on learning how to be cheerful .and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life so you can begin to experience joy, which is a fruit of the Spirit.
Learning to be positive and learning to laugh is an exercise that takes time and concentrated effort. The great news is that the results you will experience will far out way the time you invest. Only you can change the way you think and live, so it is completely up to you to make this change. God’s Word is true but it has no effect until it is applied and acted upon. If you will focus on this formula for health you will experience life changing results and begin to live a healthier, more fulfilling life!
Prayer: Thank you for the healing power of laughter and for giving me a prescription for healthy living. I praise you for the joy stored up inside of me, and I choose today to open up the gift of laughter so that I can experience that joy! I believe by faith that as I laugh and look at life from a positive mindset, my body will respond and it will produce antibodies for healing. I praise you for perfectly creating my body with the ability to heal its self and today I choose to believe your truth over my reality. I will see my body restored to health and wholeness as I daily engage in laughter. Amen.
Day 4
Hand-Me-Down Religion Never Fits Right!
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:12-14
When my son Wyatt was a toddler I belonged to a mom’s group. We shared stories of parenting, encouragement, recipes, etc. We also handed down clothing that didn’t fit our children anymore. I remember one year I received a bag of clothes from a woman who always shopped at department stores, and paid top dollar for everything her kids wore. I was excited when I opened the bag and discovered an outfit I had seen the previous season at the mall. At that time I wanted to buy it but I didn’t, and when I went back it wasn’t there. So when I saw that outfit in the bag I got excited when I realized it was Wyatt’s size.
I called him into the room to have him try it on. As I put the outfit on him I was shocked to discover that it was too small for him! How could this be? It fit him perfectly in the store and he hadn’t grown any since then, so why didn’t it fit now? As I looked closer at the outfit I read the tag that said “dry clean only” and I realized that this mom had accidentally washed it.
I was disheartened but I really didn’t give it much thought until years later when I was working out my beliefs about God, and determining what I believed. Most of what I knew about God had been passed down to me by my family, church, and the parochial school I had attended for 10 years. When studying one day the memory of this event came mind. As I prayed about it and read the Bible I found the passage in John 16:12 -14 that I quoted above.
After further reflection I came to an understanding about the event that took place with the outfit and what Jesus was trying to tell us in John 16. Let me explain. When Wyatt tried on that outfit in the store it was in its original condition. The designer of the clothing line had taken great care to choose the proper material and gave instructions on how to care for it. When the outfit got into the hands of man (the mother) she had a choice to make. She could follow the instructions of care given to her directly from the designer, or she could ignore it and go with her own interpretation of his instructions. It is obvious what she chose to do, and the result of that decision was the disfigurement of a perfectly designed article of clothing.
This is exactly what happens when people disregard what Jesus said in this passage. The Holy Spirit’s role in the believer’s life is to instruct them into all truth. Unfortunately most people choose instead to rely on man’s instructions on how to be in relationship with God. When this happens they end up getting a hand-me-down religion that has been disfigured by man, and when they try it on, it never fits right! The Word of God was perfectly designed to fit each person who reads it, and a relationship with God is perfectly designed to bring complete fulfillment to the believer’s life.
The beauty of the difference between these two scenarios is that what is impossible to change in the natural, is possible to change in the supernatural! I had no ability to re-figure that outfit to restore it to its original design because it was impossible! But when it came to the hand-me-down religious beliefs, I was able to change them, and God was faithful to restore my relationship with Him to its original design. I now rely on the Holy Spirit to instruct me into all truth and I no longer adopt the beliefs of man when it comes to my relationship with God.
I want to encourage you today to spend time with God and ask Him to reveal if your relationship with Him is based on His original design, or if it is based on hand-me-down religious beliefs. Begin to see the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role in your relationship with God. Ask Him to supernaturally remove your hand-me-down religious beliefs, and to instruct you into all truth, as He has promised in John 16 by the operation of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Prayer: Give me wisdom according to your Word and reveal if there is anything in my relationship with you that is not a part of your original design. I praise you for giving me the Holy Spirit as my teacher and my guide into the truth of your Word and the truth about our relationship. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand your instructions for my life. I praise you for giving me a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, so I can overcome any hand-me-down religious beliefs that have disfigured my relationship with you. I believe by faith that I will come into an understanding of you by allowing your Spirit to lead me into all truth. Amen.
When my son Wyatt was a toddler I belonged to a mom’s group. We shared stories of parenting, encouragement, recipes, etc. We also handed down clothing that didn’t fit our children anymore. I remember one year I received a bag of clothes from a woman who always shopped at department stores, and paid top dollar for everything her kids wore. I was excited when I opened the bag and discovered an outfit I had seen the previous season at the mall. At that time I wanted to buy it but I didn’t, and when I went back it wasn’t there. So when I saw that outfit in the bag I got excited when I realized it was Wyatt’s size.
I called him into the room to have him try it on. As I put the outfit on him I was shocked to discover that it was too small for him! How could this be? It fit him perfectly in the store and he hadn’t grown any since then, so why didn’t it fit now? As I looked closer at the outfit I read the tag that said “dry clean only” and I realized that this mom had accidentally washed it.
I was disheartened but I really didn’t give it much thought until years later when I was working out my beliefs about God, and determining what I believed. Most of what I knew about God had been passed down to me by my family, church, and the parochial school I had attended for 10 years. When studying one day the memory of this event came mind. As I prayed about it and read the Bible I found the passage in John 16:12 -14 that I quoted above.
After further reflection I came to an understanding about the event that took place with the outfit and what Jesus was trying to tell us in John 16. Let me explain. When Wyatt tried on that outfit in the store it was in its original condition. The designer of the clothing line had taken great care to choose the proper material and gave instructions on how to care for it. When the outfit got into the hands of man (the mother) she had a choice to make. She could follow the instructions of care given to her directly from the designer, or she could ignore it and go with her own interpretation of his instructions. It is obvious what she chose to do, and the result of that decision was the disfigurement of a perfectly designed article of clothing.
This is exactly what happens when people disregard what Jesus said in this passage. The Holy Spirit’s role in the believer’s life is to instruct them into all truth. Unfortunately most people choose instead to rely on man’s instructions on how to be in relationship with God. When this happens they end up getting a hand-me-down religion that has been disfigured by man, and when they try it on, it never fits right! The Word of God was perfectly designed to fit each person who reads it, and a relationship with God is perfectly designed to bring complete fulfillment to the believer’s life.
The beauty of the difference between these two scenarios is that what is impossible to change in the natural, is possible to change in the supernatural! I had no ability to re-figure that outfit to restore it to its original design because it was impossible! But when it came to the hand-me-down religious beliefs, I was able to change them, and God was faithful to restore my relationship with Him to its original design. I now rely on the Holy Spirit to instruct me into all truth and I no longer adopt the beliefs of man when it comes to my relationship with God.
I want to encourage you today to spend time with God and ask Him to reveal if your relationship with Him is based on His original design, or if it is based on hand-me-down religious beliefs. Begin to see the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role in your relationship with God. Ask Him to supernaturally remove your hand-me-down religious beliefs, and to instruct you into all truth, as He has promised in John 16 by the operation of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Prayer: Give me wisdom according to your Word and reveal if there is anything in my relationship with you that is not a part of your original design. I praise you for giving me the Holy Spirit as my teacher and my guide into the truth of your Word and the truth about our relationship. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand your instructions for my life. I praise you for giving me a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, so I can overcome any hand-me-down religious beliefs that have disfigured my relationship with you. I believe by faith that I will come into an understanding of you by allowing your Spirit to lead me into all truth. Amen.
Day 3
Mind Time Produces Fruit – It’s Your Choice Which Fruit You Produce!
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:43-45
Growing up my dad always told me that success or failure is produced by the things we think about the most. Whenever I was struggling with something he loved to sit me down and give me advice. Being a teenager I didn’t appreciate his insights most of the time, but as an adult I look back now and realize just how smart he was. Don’t we all do that? I remember one time when I was making poor choices and he called me into the kitchen to have one of his talks with me. While I was sitting there he handed me the following poem:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” Author Unknown
Though at the time I didn’t heed his advice I kept this poem in a binder. Several years ago I came across it when I was rummaging through a box of memorabilia. It was at that moment when I realized just how true this poem was and how it correlated to the truth found in Luke 6:43-45. Many studies have been done that substantiate the truth found in both of these writings.
How we spend our mind time is where the fruit of our lives is produced! If we spend our time thinking about pain, failure, insecurities, and fears, we will produce the fruit of depression, resentment, anger, and frustration. If we spend our mind time thinking about success, healing, purpose, and victory, we will produce the fruit of love, hope, peace, joy, and fulfillment.
When it comes to making the decision where we are going to spend our mind time, the decision is completely up to the individual. No one else can give energy to your thoughts except for you! Research indicates that the brain produces between 7 - 9 thoughts per second and that our thoughts travel at the speed of light. This means that for every hour we spend in mind time at least 400 thoughts come into our mind. With each thought that enters we have a decision to make. We have to decide what thoughts we are going to give energy and time to based on what kind of fruit we want to harvest in our lives.
I want to encourage you to begin the process of evaluating where you spend your mind time. Take a day and journal your thoughts. Make an entry whenever you spend more than a minute on a specific thought and record the emotions those thoughts produce, and whether that thought focused you towards success or disappointment. You may need to do this exercise several times before you can determine the pattern of your thoughts, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you begin to see if your thoughts are producing words and actions that steer you in the direction of success and fulfillment or whether they are steering you towards failure and disappointment. Again the choice is up to you. What are you going to choose to think about today?
Prayer: Today I choose to evaluate where I spend my mind time. I believe by faith that I have the power to change the way I think which will change the results I get in my life. By faith I choose to focus on the life giving words of God and I say no to the thoughts of defeat and failure that bombard my mind. By faith I will give my mind over to the living Spirit of God so He can operate in me and produce His fruit in my life. I believe by faith that as I change the way I think I will reap a harvest of abundance in every area of my life. Amen.
Growing up my dad always told me that success or failure is produced by the things we think about the most. Whenever I was struggling with something he loved to sit me down and give me advice. Being a teenager I didn’t appreciate his insights most of the time, but as an adult I look back now and realize just how smart he was. Don’t we all do that? I remember one time when I was making poor choices and he called me into the kitchen to have one of his talks with me. While I was sitting there he handed me the following poem:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” Author Unknown
Though at the time I didn’t heed his advice I kept this poem in a binder. Several years ago I came across it when I was rummaging through a box of memorabilia. It was at that moment when I realized just how true this poem was and how it correlated to the truth found in Luke 6:43-45. Many studies have been done that substantiate the truth found in both of these writings.
How we spend our mind time is where the fruit of our lives is produced! If we spend our time thinking about pain, failure, insecurities, and fears, we will produce the fruit of depression, resentment, anger, and frustration. If we spend our mind time thinking about success, healing, purpose, and victory, we will produce the fruit of love, hope, peace, joy, and fulfillment.
When it comes to making the decision where we are going to spend our mind time, the decision is completely up to the individual. No one else can give energy to your thoughts except for you! Research indicates that the brain produces between 7 - 9 thoughts per second and that our thoughts travel at the speed of light. This means that for every hour we spend in mind time at least 400 thoughts come into our mind. With each thought that enters we have a decision to make. We have to decide what thoughts we are going to give energy and time to based on what kind of fruit we want to harvest in our lives.
I want to encourage you to begin the process of evaluating where you spend your mind time. Take a day and journal your thoughts. Make an entry whenever you spend more than a minute on a specific thought and record the emotions those thoughts produce, and whether that thought focused you towards success or disappointment. You may need to do this exercise several times before you can determine the pattern of your thoughts, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you begin to see if your thoughts are producing words and actions that steer you in the direction of success and fulfillment or whether they are steering you towards failure and disappointment. Again the choice is up to you. What are you going to choose to think about today?
Prayer: Today I choose to evaluate where I spend my mind time. I believe by faith that I have the power to change the way I think which will change the results I get in my life. By faith I choose to focus on the life giving words of God and I say no to the thoughts of defeat and failure that bombard my mind. By faith I will give my mind over to the living Spirit of God so He can operate in me and produce His fruit in my life. I believe by faith that as I change the way I think I will reap a harvest of abundance in every area of my life. Amen.
Day 2
You are Known by God and Set Apart for an Appointed Assignment
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
Oh how I cringed the first time I read this Scripture! Over the years I had battled the thought, “If they only knew me, they wouldn’t like me.” I wasn’t a bad person but I struggled with a bad image of myself, which kept me from feeling like my life had purpose. My mom always told me God had a plan for me but the resounding voice of doubt, because of my insecurities, kept me from really embracing her words of truth. Then one day when I was praying this Scripture came to mind.
At first I didn’t give it much thought but then I realized God was trying to tell me something very profound! The very thing I was afraid of, someone really knowing me, was the very truth He wanted me to embrace, so I could discover the purpose for my existence. He had an assignment preordained for me in life, but unless I believed He knew me and accepted me, without judgment, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish that assignment.
Then when I read the part of the scripture that says, “Before you were born I set you apart” I really struggled because being set apart hadn’t been a great experience for me in life. I was a spirited child who constantly found myself being “set apart” from my classmates because of my disruptive behavior. After spending time in prayer I asked God to reframe the negative feelings I had about His Words to me due to my previous life experience. I knew that in order to discover my appointed assignment in life, I had to accept that He knows me and loves me despite my shortcomings, and that He set me apart for an assignment before I was even born. And I had to believe that being known and being set apart is a positive, not a negative.
It is important for you to allow God access to the areas of your life where you feel inferior, afraid, or self conscious. In order for you to complete the assignment God has for you in life, you have to let Him speak His truth to you, regardless of what your reality presents as truth. Your reality is only partial truth and it has been designed to enhance the experience of fulfilling your assignment in life. Whatever your struggle, whatever your pain, God knows it intimately and if you will allow him access to it, He will turn it into a great tool to be used in completing your assignment.
Set aside some time today to spend with God and reflect on this Scripture. Ask him to remove any shadow of doubt that is hindering you from being able to embrace “being known” and “Being set apart” as a positive. When you are willing to release your preconceived notions and limited understanding of your reality, it opens up your mind to receive God’s truth. As you make this choice and take action God will give you wisdom and understanding and He will begin to reveal your assignment in life. You may need to do this exercise over and over until your mind accepts His truth as your true reality!
Prayer: Today I choose to believe by faith that you know me, accept me, and love me, for who I am. I believe by faith that being set apart is a gift from you to embrace, and I refuse to accept the negative beliefs about myself anymore. I believe by faith that you have an assignment for my life and I am willing to do what it takes to accomplish it. I praise you for creating me in your image and for setting me apart to do complete an assignment that you prepared for me to do before I was even born. Thank you for my life and I will choose today to believe your words of truth! Amen.
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
Oh how I cringed the first time I read this Scripture! Over the years I had battled the thought, “If they only knew me, they wouldn’t like me.” I wasn’t a bad person but I struggled with a bad image of myself, which kept me from feeling like my life had purpose. My mom always told me God had a plan for me but the resounding voice of doubt, because of my insecurities, kept me from really embracing her words of truth. Then one day when I was praying this Scripture came to mind.
At first I didn’t give it much thought but then I realized God was trying to tell me something very profound! The very thing I was afraid of, someone really knowing me, was the very truth He wanted me to embrace, so I could discover the purpose for my existence. He had an assignment preordained for me in life, but unless I believed He knew me and accepted me, without judgment, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish that assignment.
Then when I read the part of the scripture that says, “Before you were born I set you apart” I really struggled because being set apart hadn’t been a great experience for me in life. I was a spirited child who constantly found myself being “set apart” from my classmates because of my disruptive behavior. After spending time in prayer I asked God to reframe the negative feelings I had about His Words to me due to my previous life experience. I knew that in order to discover my appointed assignment in life, I had to accept that He knows me and loves me despite my shortcomings, and that He set me apart for an assignment before I was even born. And I had to believe that being known and being set apart is a positive, not a negative.
It is important for you to allow God access to the areas of your life where you feel inferior, afraid, or self conscious. In order for you to complete the assignment God has for you in life, you have to let Him speak His truth to you, regardless of what your reality presents as truth. Your reality is only partial truth and it has been designed to enhance the experience of fulfilling your assignment in life. Whatever your struggle, whatever your pain, God knows it intimately and if you will allow him access to it, He will turn it into a great tool to be used in completing your assignment.
Set aside some time today to spend with God and reflect on this Scripture. Ask him to remove any shadow of doubt that is hindering you from being able to embrace “being known” and “Being set apart” as a positive. When you are willing to release your preconceived notions and limited understanding of your reality, it opens up your mind to receive God’s truth. As you make this choice and take action God will give you wisdom and understanding and He will begin to reveal your assignment in life. You may need to do this exercise over and over until your mind accepts His truth as your true reality!
Prayer: Today I choose to believe by faith that you know me, accept me, and love me, for who I am. I believe by faith that being set apart is a gift from you to embrace, and I refuse to accept the negative beliefs about myself anymore. I believe by faith that you have an assignment for my life and I am willing to do what it takes to accomplish it. I praise you for creating me in your image and for setting me apart to do complete an assignment that you prepared for me to do before I was even born. Thank you for my life and I will choose today to believe your words of truth! Amen.
A Master Craftsman Created You!
A friend of mine used to love working with wood and he created some of the most beautiful works of art I have ever seen. I remember the first time I saw one of his creations that contained Purple Heart. I stood there in amazement because I had never seen that wood before and the beauty of it is almost indescribable. On one visit to his house I began thinking about the fact that Jesus was also a master craftsman and a carpenter by trade.
Imagine for a moment what His work must have looked like? Every piece of art he created was perfect, flawless, and beautiful beyond description! Each creation was also designed for a purpose and built strong enough to withstand the harsh elements of the desert. Every curve and corner perfectly straight with smooth edges and precise dimensions!
Now imagine the thought process He went through before He actually created one of His masterpieces. When He knew what He wanted to create He carefully formulated His plan and then he executed it. The result of His perfectly calculated effort must have been an amazing sight to behold! He left nothing undone and He gave incredible attention to the details of His work!
Have you ever taken the time to consider that this very same master craftsman created you? Psalm 139: 14 – 16 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
When you think about your life do you constantly remind yourself of this Scripture or do you look at your body and your life and only see flaws and defects? Do you focus your attention on the imperfections and blemishes or do you behold the beauty of the work of art that God created when He created you? Most people forget that they were created by the master Craftsman, Jesus Christ, who made them in His own image and made them beautiful beyond description!
Today is the time to begin to embrace the truth that you were perfectly designed and created with an incredible purpose by the same God who put the stars into orbit and who made the ocean’s tide. Your life has meaning and you were woven together in the depths of the earth before one star was put into orbit and before one wave crashed upon the ocean’s shore!
It is also important to remind yourself that in creating you, Christ paid great attention to every detail and made you beautiful beyond description! He also created you to withstand the harsh elements of life and to be a useful creation for the benefit of all who enter the door of your life! Begin today to praise Him for creating you and stand in awe and behold the beauty of Christ’s masterful work of art because that is exactly what you are.
Prayer: I praise you for creating me in your image and for perfectly designing my life for a purpose no one else can fulfill! I praise you for the beauty of my life and for the attention you paid to every detail of it. I praise you Lord God for seeing such value in creating me that you designed my life even before you laid the foundations of the world! I will stand in awe of your incredible work of art called my life and I will lift up my eyes to the heavens and remind myself that I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Amen.
Imagine for a moment what His work must have looked like? Every piece of art he created was perfect, flawless, and beautiful beyond description! Each creation was also designed for a purpose and built strong enough to withstand the harsh elements of the desert. Every curve and corner perfectly straight with smooth edges and precise dimensions!
Now imagine the thought process He went through before He actually created one of His masterpieces. When He knew what He wanted to create He carefully formulated His plan and then he executed it. The result of His perfectly calculated effort must have been an amazing sight to behold! He left nothing undone and He gave incredible attention to the details of His work!
Have you ever taken the time to consider that this very same master craftsman created you? Psalm 139: 14 – 16 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
When you think about your life do you constantly remind yourself of this Scripture or do you look at your body and your life and only see flaws and defects? Do you focus your attention on the imperfections and blemishes or do you behold the beauty of the work of art that God created when He created you? Most people forget that they were created by the master Craftsman, Jesus Christ, who made them in His own image and made them beautiful beyond description!
Today is the time to begin to embrace the truth that you were perfectly designed and created with an incredible purpose by the same God who put the stars into orbit and who made the ocean’s tide. Your life has meaning and you were woven together in the depths of the earth before one star was put into orbit and before one wave crashed upon the ocean’s shore!
It is also important to remind yourself that in creating you, Christ paid great attention to every detail and made you beautiful beyond description! He also created you to withstand the harsh elements of life and to be a useful creation for the benefit of all who enter the door of your life! Begin today to praise Him for creating you and stand in awe and behold the beauty of Christ’s masterful work of art because that is exactly what you are.
Prayer: I praise you for creating me in your image and for perfectly designing my life for a purpose no one else can fulfill! I praise you for the beauty of my life and for the attention you paid to every detail of it. I praise you Lord God for seeing such value in creating me that you designed my life even before you laid the foundations of the world! I will stand in awe of your incredible work of art called my life and I will lift up my eyes to the heavens and remind myself that I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Amen.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
True Inner Peace - Part Two
Are you looking for true inner peace that will sustain you during times of doubt or trial? Or are you believing for something that God has spoken to you but the voices of reservation or uncertainty are calling you back from believing you heard from God? Or do you have people in your life who don’t know God and they are in turmoil and you want to introduce them to the God of peace? No matter what the reason is for wanting inner peace the path is always the same. KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS! Do not fear! Do not look to the right or the left! Do not look at your circumstances! Do not listen to the familiar voices of disbelief and doubt!
We have an example of this in Matthew 14:22 – 33. It reads, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Verse 22 says “immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” The disciples had just witnessed Jesus feeding over 5,000 men plus women and children, which means the number was probably more like 15,000 or 20,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. They had to be astonished and in awe once again at the vast greatness of Jesus. The conversation in the boat must have been like the end of the Super Bowl when a group of guys are recounting the amazing plays of their favorite team and the upset win against what seemed like insurmountable odds.
But as the storm came up and the wind began to blow the voices shouting victory cries soon turned to shouts of fear and anguish! Their peace and joy was interrupted and they quickly forgot about the victory they had just witnessed! Their faith turned to fear! Their hope turned to despair! They were overcome by their present circumstance and they soon began to speak negatively about the situation.
25 & 26 say, “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.”
You would think that those experiencing the life of Christ first hand would have been full of peace, trust, and confidence knowing that the same one who performed the previous miracles would surely perform one now on their behalf. But they didn’t think this way. They turned their eyes on their present circumstance (the storm) and they doubted. They were not even looking for Jesus! And when they saw him they didn’t recognize Him. They thought he was a ghost! Knowing this Jesus called out to them. He didn’t condemn them or tell them to calm down. Verse 27 says, “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” “Be of good cheer” was His response. In other words, encourage yourself in knowing it is me and have peace.
But it is obvious that only one disciple, Peter opened his mind to the possibility of it being Jesus because he said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” The rest of them stood there in fear and disbelief. One thing to remember is that when Jesus answered Peter he didn’t say “Peter it is me Jesus, the Son of God, whom you know, come to Me.” All Jesus said was, “come” and Peter had a decision to make. Does He put His trust in the voice of Jesus beckoning Him to come or does he stay in the boat with the others? Verse 29 says, “So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
The storm was still raging, the winds were still blowing, the other disciples were still screaming! But Peter made the choice to take a step of faith out of the boat, believing he could walk over the circumstance, into the arms of Jesus and find rest for his weary soul! In Matthew 11: 28 & 29 Jesus says to us, “"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” He wants us to trust Him in the same way Peter did at first and to come to Him in our times of trial and fear. The greatest difference between Peter and us is that Christ is no longer afar off; He is living on the inside of us! When we fix our eyes on this truth and apply it to our lives, the peace comes immediately!
Peter was able to walk on water (over the circumstance) only when his eyes were fixed on Jesus and he walked toward Him in faith! We have to get our eyes fixed on Christ in us and the finished work of the Cross if we want to have true inner peace and experience the victorious life of Christ operating in us daily.
One other thing that is important to remember from this story is that behind Peter was a boat full of doubters who must have been saying things like, “There he goes again trying to be different. You’re an idiot Peter no one can walk on water! You’re going to drowned, get back in the boat! This is impossible, you are insane! Watch out for that wave!” I can imagine the immense amount of pressure on Peter to give up and turn around. And at one point he must have listened to those voices because verse 30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
The key phrase in this passage is “when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid” because it shows us that he took his focus off of Jesus and onto his present circumstance! The wind had been blowing when he stepped out of the boat. The storm was already in progress. He lost his footing though when he took his eyes off Jesus which caused him to lose his faith and he began to doubt! How often do you start out believing, trusting, and walking in faith and then at some point you lose your focus and become overwhelmed by the reality of the situation? I have done it often and every time I become afraid.
Now the beauty of this scene is what happened next. Verses 31 & 32 say, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”
Immediately Jesus came to his rescue and caught him in His arms. He didn’t stand there and tell him he was an idiot or a fool. He didn’t scream at him. He didn’t condemn him. He saved him! And when we doubt and are afraid He will do the same for us if we cry out to Him in the midst of our distress! In the next portion of the verse Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” but please know this was not a condemning statement. There is only one who condemns and that is the enemy of our souls.
What Jesus said was more like the voice of a mother or father whose child is trying something new and unknown that the parents have done before and have full confidence that their child can do too. Like jumping off the diving board for the first time or taking the training wheels off the bicycle.
When my kids were learning these things and when they got scared I didn’t condemn them or put them down for having doubt and being afraid. I just said things like, “Sweetie why did you give up? You could have done it. I know it’s scary but trust me honey, it is possible. I have done it before and believe me when you do it you will experience such joy and your fear will be gone. We’ll try again later. Don’t worry about it. I love you.” That is the voice of a loving parent speaking hope and encouragement to their child. This is what Jesus did for Peter and what He will do for us as well when we have doubt in the midst of life’s storms or when we are filled with fear. He speaks love, acceptance, encouragement, and peace to our weary souls. Isn’t there comfort in knowing this truth?
Another important thing that happened is at the end of that verse. It says, “and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Not only did Jesus save Peter but He calmed the storm for everyone who was in the boat! When you walk in the peace of Jesus He will do the same for those who are walking with you during your trial or circumstance and they will say as the others in the boat said, “Truly You are the Son of God.” They didn’t say that to Peter and the people in your life won’t say that to you either. But when they see the awesome power of God through your relationship with Jesus Christ perform miracles, defy natural circumstances, and bring peace to your soul, the credit will go directly to Christ and He will be glorified!
But in order to do this we have to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ and renew our minds to the truth of God’s word. We have to remind ourselves constantly that every circumstance we face in life Christ has already walked over! Every pain, hurt, sickness, disease, sin, trial, and hardship He took on at the Cross. At His resurrection He quieted every storm in us and gave us the opportunity to have an everlasting inner peace that surpasses human understanding! He defeated the one who is the voice of doubt, satan, and He took his power to destroy us away if we keep our minds stayed on Him!
There will always be storms that come up but remember Jesus’ words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
If you want to experience true inner peace it is important to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what the circumstance. It is also important to tune out the voices of doubt in your life that are speaking against you walking in faith. The only way to do this is to get the word of God on the inside of you so you know how to release the power of Jesus into the situation. You can’t muster up faith because the Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God! You also have to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit because the Bible says He is our counselor, our guide, and our comforter!
Remember only one stepped out of the boat and experienced something no one else in his life ever experienced! Do you want to be that one? Start today by spending time in the Bible, spending time in prayer, and by putting your focus on the only one who can bring you true and everlasting inner peace, JESUS CHRIST!
We have an example of this in Matthew 14:22 – 33. It reads, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Verse 22 says “immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” The disciples had just witnessed Jesus feeding over 5,000 men plus women and children, which means the number was probably more like 15,000 or 20,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. They had to be astonished and in awe once again at the vast greatness of Jesus. The conversation in the boat must have been like the end of the Super Bowl when a group of guys are recounting the amazing plays of their favorite team and the upset win against what seemed like insurmountable odds.
But as the storm came up and the wind began to blow the voices shouting victory cries soon turned to shouts of fear and anguish! Their peace and joy was interrupted and they quickly forgot about the victory they had just witnessed! Their faith turned to fear! Their hope turned to despair! They were overcome by their present circumstance and they soon began to speak negatively about the situation.
25 & 26 say, “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.”
You would think that those experiencing the life of Christ first hand would have been full of peace, trust, and confidence knowing that the same one who performed the previous miracles would surely perform one now on their behalf. But they didn’t think this way. They turned their eyes on their present circumstance (the storm) and they doubted. They were not even looking for Jesus! And when they saw him they didn’t recognize Him. They thought he was a ghost! Knowing this Jesus called out to them. He didn’t condemn them or tell them to calm down. Verse 27 says, “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” “Be of good cheer” was His response. In other words, encourage yourself in knowing it is me and have peace.
But it is obvious that only one disciple, Peter opened his mind to the possibility of it being Jesus because he said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” The rest of them stood there in fear and disbelief. One thing to remember is that when Jesus answered Peter he didn’t say “Peter it is me Jesus, the Son of God, whom you know, come to Me.” All Jesus said was, “come” and Peter had a decision to make. Does He put His trust in the voice of Jesus beckoning Him to come or does he stay in the boat with the others? Verse 29 says, “So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
The storm was still raging, the winds were still blowing, the other disciples were still screaming! But Peter made the choice to take a step of faith out of the boat, believing he could walk over the circumstance, into the arms of Jesus and find rest for his weary soul! In Matthew 11: 28 & 29 Jesus says to us, “"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” He wants us to trust Him in the same way Peter did at first and to come to Him in our times of trial and fear. The greatest difference between Peter and us is that Christ is no longer afar off; He is living on the inside of us! When we fix our eyes on this truth and apply it to our lives, the peace comes immediately!
Peter was able to walk on water (over the circumstance) only when his eyes were fixed on Jesus and he walked toward Him in faith! We have to get our eyes fixed on Christ in us and the finished work of the Cross if we want to have true inner peace and experience the victorious life of Christ operating in us daily.
One other thing that is important to remember from this story is that behind Peter was a boat full of doubters who must have been saying things like, “There he goes again trying to be different. You’re an idiot Peter no one can walk on water! You’re going to drowned, get back in the boat! This is impossible, you are insane! Watch out for that wave!” I can imagine the immense amount of pressure on Peter to give up and turn around. And at one point he must have listened to those voices because verse 30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
The key phrase in this passage is “when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid” because it shows us that he took his focus off of Jesus and onto his present circumstance! The wind had been blowing when he stepped out of the boat. The storm was already in progress. He lost his footing though when he took his eyes off Jesus which caused him to lose his faith and he began to doubt! How often do you start out believing, trusting, and walking in faith and then at some point you lose your focus and become overwhelmed by the reality of the situation? I have done it often and every time I become afraid.
Now the beauty of this scene is what happened next. Verses 31 & 32 say, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”
Immediately Jesus came to his rescue and caught him in His arms. He didn’t stand there and tell him he was an idiot or a fool. He didn’t scream at him. He didn’t condemn him. He saved him! And when we doubt and are afraid He will do the same for us if we cry out to Him in the midst of our distress! In the next portion of the verse Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” but please know this was not a condemning statement. There is only one who condemns and that is the enemy of our souls.
What Jesus said was more like the voice of a mother or father whose child is trying something new and unknown that the parents have done before and have full confidence that their child can do too. Like jumping off the diving board for the first time or taking the training wheels off the bicycle.
When my kids were learning these things and when they got scared I didn’t condemn them or put them down for having doubt and being afraid. I just said things like, “Sweetie why did you give up? You could have done it. I know it’s scary but trust me honey, it is possible. I have done it before and believe me when you do it you will experience such joy and your fear will be gone. We’ll try again later. Don’t worry about it. I love you.” That is the voice of a loving parent speaking hope and encouragement to their child. This is what Jesus did for Peter and what He will do for us as well when we have doubt in the midst of life’s storms or when we are filled with fear. He speaks love, acceptance, encouragement, and peace to our weary souls. Isn’t there comfort in knowing this truth?
Another important thing that happened is at the end of that verse. It says, “and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Not only did Jesus save Peter but He calmed the storm for everyone who was in the boat! When you walk in the peace of Jesus He will do the same for those who are walking with you during your trial or circumstance and they will say as the others in the boat said, “Truly You are the Son of God.” They didn’t say that to Peter and the people in your life won’t say that to you either. But when they see the awesome power of God through your relationship with Jesus Christ perform miracles, defy natural circumstances, and bring peace to your soul, the credit will go directly to Christ and He will be glorified!
But in order to do this we have to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ and renew our minds to the truth of God’s word. We have to remind ourselves constantly that every circumstance we face in life Christ has already walked over! Every pain, hurt, sickness, disease, sin, trial, and hardship He took on at the Cross. At His resurrection He quieted every storm in us and gave us the opportunity to have an everlasting inner peace that surpasses human understanding! He defeated the one who is the voice of doubt, satan, and He took his power to destroy us away if we keep our minds stayed on Him!
There will always be storms that come up but remember Jesus’ words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
If you want to experience true inner peace it is important to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what the circumstance. It is also important to tune out the voices of doubt in your life that are speaking against you walking in faith. The only way to do this is to get the word of God on the inside of you so you know how to release the power of Jesus into the situation. You can’t muster up faith because the Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God! You also have to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit because the Bible says He is our counselor, our guide, and our comforter!
Remember only one stepped out of the boat and experienced something no one else in his life ever experienced! Do you want to be that one? Start today by spending time in the Bible, spending time in prayer, and by putting your focus on the only one who can bring you true and everlasting inner peace, JESUS CHRIST!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
True Inner Peace - Part One
In this blog I am going to talk about the peace that Christ promised those who accept Him as their personal Savior. This is not a peace in the world or in circumstance; it is an inner peace that surpasses natural understanding. In John 14:27 Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." If you read this whole chapter you will see the disciples being afraid and Jesus comforting them. At the end of this chapter this is the word Jesus spoke to them. This is the same word he is speaking to us today yet so many people are suffering from inner turmoil and strife.
Why is this? I believe it is the same reason the disciples were afraid. Most people who believe in God do not fully understand the Truth that Christ lives in them and the Holy Spirit is given to them to bring them peace and comfort. They see God as a far off being who sits on a throne judging the acts of mankind. This kind of thinking is so far off from the truth it is not even funny!
In verses 8 – 14 this is explained.
“Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
How many times have you asked Christ to comfort you and bring you peace and still felt inner turmoil and strife weighing you down afterwards? I believe this has to do with understanding your relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. So many people cry out to God for help without even realizing He lives inside of them. They approach God through Jesus Christ as a being who is separated from Him. They think of God as the “Big Eye in the Sky” who sees their every move and punishes them when they sin. This is not factual either but this subject is for another blog. The other thing most people never even investigate it the truth that the Holy Spirit is a part their relationship with God. Most people cower at the thought of the Holy Spirit and His role in the believer’s life.
In verses 25 & 26 Jesus said, “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is sent to teach, comfort, counsel, etc.. Yet so many people deny Him access to their hearts and minds.
And we wonder why people have no inner peace. Inner peace is not something that can be mustered up. It comes from Christ renewing our mind and the Holy Spirit comforting our soul. I believe the greatest weapon of satan is the weapon of deception. He deceives people into believing they have no power and that God is at a distance and people become afraid and feel hopeless when they face inner struggles and trials. When you make a commitment to become a follower of Jesus Christ He takes up residence inside of you and the Holy Spirit is given to you. If you truly want to live a life of inner peace it is important to accept the Truths of God’s Word and put them into practice in your daily life. Then and only then will you begin to experience inner peace.
To be continued………….
Why is this? I believe it is the same reason the disciples were afraid. Most people who believe in God do not fully understand the Truth that Christ lives in them and the Holy Spirit is given to them to bring them peace and comfort. They see God as a far off being who sits on a throne judging the acts of mankind. This kind of thinking is so far off from the truth it is not even funny!
In verses 8 – 14 this is explained.
“Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
How many times have you asked Christ to comfort you and bring you peace and still felt inner turmoil and strife weighing you down afterwards? I believe this has to do with understanding your relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. So many people cry out to God for help without even realizing He lives inside of them. They approach God through Jesus Christ as a being who is separated from Him. They think of God as the “Big Eye in the Sky” who sees their every move and punishes them when they sin. This is not factual either but this subject is for another blog. The other thing most people never even investigate it the truth that the Holy Spirit is a part their relationship with God. Most people cower at the thought of the Holy Spirit and His role in the believer’s life.
In verses 25 & 26 Jesus said, “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is sent to teach, comfort, counsel, etc.. Yet so many people deny Him access to their hearts and minds.
And we wonder why people have no inner peace. Inner peace is not something that can be mustered up. It comes from Christ renewing our mind and the Holy Spirit comforting our soul. I believe the greatest weapon of satan is the weapon of deception. He deceives people into believing they have no power and that God is at a distance and people become afraid and feel hopeless when they face inner struggles and trials. When you make a commitment to become a follower of Jesus Christ He takes up residence inside of you and the Holy Spirit is given to you. If you truly want to live a life of inner peace it is important to accept the Truths of God’s Word and put them into practice in your daily life. Then and only then will you begin to experience inner peace.
To be continued………….
Monday, March 30, 2009
Christ Became Sickness So That We Could Be Healed! Continued
With the death of many loved ones over the past couple of years, the reality of sickness and death have stared me in the face. Many people ask me how a loving God could allow people to suffer from sickness or experience premature death. This is probably one of the hardest questions a believer will ever be asked. Since we are human and we experience the emotions that come when a loved one is sick or when they die, we have to ask God for His wisdom and understanding if we are going to have an answer for the people who ask these kinds of questions.
This is why it is so important to know the Word of God and have it treasured in our hearts because these questions will come. It is also the reason we need to rightly divide the Word of God so we do not give a humanistic answer to a spiritual question. Over the years I have studied this out and this blog is what I have discovered. May it bring hope and encouragement to you as you read it and may it inspire you to study the Bible and grow in your knowledge of God for yourself..
The first verse to understand is James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Sickness and premature death are not good or perfect gifts and therefore, sickness and premature death do not and cannot come from God, because in God there is no sickness or premature death. What people often do not understand is that since the fall of man, the world was put under a curse. The god of this world satan, was given dominion and reign in this earth and as John 10:10 says, ““The thief (Satan) comes not, but to STEAL, and to KILL and to DESTROY!”
Jesus came to fulfill the law and He became the curse of sickness and death for us on the Cross. Before Jesus died he gave this command, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs shall follow them that believe. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Mark 16:18 So, with the understanding that God does not cause sickness or premature death and that Jesus gave us a command to lay hands on the sick so that they will recover, we can see that sickness and premature death are a part of the fallen world, not God’s plan or a part of His good and perfect will.
All sickness and premature death are of the enemy. We also have to understand that until Christ returns we are going to be in a battle against the enemy of this world because we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. We do not wrestle with cancer or heart disease. We do not wrestle with suicide or premature death. We wrestle with demonic forces of darkness! So it is now easier to understand that sickness and premature death are not a physical enemy. They are a spiritual one. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We have to fight for our healing because there are forces of darkness fighting against it! I believe that too many Christians stop in the midst of the battle and because of this the enemy gains speed and momentum on his mission to steal, kill, and destroy people’s lives!
I also believe that one of the biggest tactics of the enemy is to get the believer to buy into the lie that says, “it must have been God’s will or it would not have been allowed.” Disillusionment is one of satans biggest weapons of warfare. If he can get the believer to be disillusioned and to buy into this lie then he knows we will not fight until his works of sickness and premature death are conquered.
In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We have to understand that we fight from a stance of victory because Jesus overcame satan at the Cross! Therefore we have to continue to fight until we see our reality catch up with the truth of God’s Word.
Does this mean that people won’t ever suffer sickness or premature death? No, that won’t happen until the day of Christ’s return. What it does mean is that we have the authority to fight against it and to stand in faith and give God the permission to execute His healing power in our lives.
From here it is your job to study the Bible and ask God to give you wisdom and understanding about His healing for your life. What I can promise you is that when you do, your eyes will be open to a new and amazing understanding that will increase your faith and empower you when you lay hands on and pray for the sick.
This is why it is so important to know the Word of God and have it treasured in our hearts because these questions will come. It is also the reason we need to rightly divide the Word of God so we do not give a humanistic answer to a spiritual question. Over the years I have studied this out and this blog is what I have discovered. May it bring hope and encouragement to you as you read it and may it inspire you to study the Bible and grow in your knowledge of God for yourself..
The first verse to understand is James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Sickness and premature death are not good or perfect gifts and therefore, sickness and premature death do not and cannot come from God, because in God there is no sickness or premature death. What people often do not understand is that since the fall of man, the world was put under a curse. The god of this world satan, was given dominion and reign in this earth and as John 10:10 says, ““The thief (Satan) comes not, but to STEAL, and to KILL and to DESTROY!”
Jesus came to fulfill the law and He became the curse of sickness and death for us on the Cross. Before Jesus died he gave this command, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs shall follow them that believe. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Mark 16:18 So, with the understanding that God does not cause sickness or premature death and that Jesus gave us a command to lay hands on the sick so that they will recover, we can see that sickness and premature death are a part of the fallen world, not God’s plan or a part of His good and perfect will.
All sickness and premature death are of the enemy. We also have to understand that until Christ returns we are going to be in a battle against the enemy of this world because we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. We do not wrestle with cancer or heart disease. We do not wrestle with suicide or premature death. We wrestle with demonic forces of darkness! So it is now easier to understand that sickness and premature death are not a physical enemy. They are a spiritual one. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We have to fight for our healing because there are forces of darkness fighting against it! I believe that too many Christians stop in the midst of the battle and because of this the enemy gains speed and momentum on his mission to steal, kill, and destroy people’s lives!
I also believe that one of the biggest tactics of the enemy is to get the believer to buy into the lie that says, “it must have been God’s will or it would not have been allowed.” Disillusionment is one of satans biggest weapons of warfare. If he can get the believer to be disillusioned and to buy into this lie then he knows we will not fight until his works of sickness and premature death are conquered.
In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We have to understand that we fight from a stance of victory because Jesus overcame satan at the Cross! Therefore we have to continue to fight until we see our reality catch up with the truth of God’s Word.
Does this mean that people won’t ever suffer sickness or premature death? No, that won’t happen until the day of Christ’s return. What it does mean is that we have the authority to fight against it and to stand in faith and give God the permission to execute His healing power in our lives.
From here it is your job to study the Bible and ask God to give you wisdom and understanding about His healing for your life. What I can promise you is that when you do, your eyes will be open to a new and amazing understanding that will increase your faith and empower you when you lay hands on and pray for the sick.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Christ Became Sickness, So That We Could Be Healed!
In the last blog I said I was going to take you to the next level in gaining wisdom and understanding about Christ becoming sickness on the Cross, so that we can be healed. I am going to talk more about that in the next blog, as a more important issue has come up that I want to address. A 16 year old boy who I used to take care of, when I lived in Oregon, was struck by two cars this week on the I-5 freeway. Nathan was born with Down Syndrome and this caused him to lack the sense of danger that most of us have instinctually. He wandered off at a basketball game and somehow ended up on the freeway. Nathan suffered severe head trauma, internal injuries, and several broken bones. His life is hanging in the balance right now and the family is enduring an enormous amount of pain. They are standing in faith for Nathan’s complete healing, but have accepted the reality that his complete healing may not be the restoration of his health.
This is a very important reality that we need to understand if we are going to walk in the victory and power of the resurrected life of Christ. As I said in the last blog God does not pick favorites and choose for some to be healed physically and some not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He doesn’t change based on our situations in life. Christ took on all sickness and death at the Cross for our healing. Where we get off track is determining the definition of that healing. As we all face the reality that Nathan may die and our hearts are filled with the emotions that go along with that understanding, we continue to pray for his physical healing. Our God is merciful and He hears the prayers of His people. God’s will for Nathan is healing! There is no question about that! What we have to understand is that in His mercy He knows if that healing includes physical restoration.
Of course we want it to be physical restoration because we can’t imagine life without Nathan, but something his mom Pam said Tuesday is worth repeating. She said, , “I think my hope is that God will be merciful and (Nathan) won’t suffer anymore,” She also said, “In the middle of the night, I just felt that he would be in a better place, far from his physical ailments.” The truth is that right now I believe Nathan is in a better place and far from his physical ailments. Pam is right and she is filled with the peace in knowing that whatever the outcome God is a merciful God. In His mercy I believe God cradles His children during their times of suffering. As Nathan’s body has been put into a drug induced coma so that it has the best chance to endure the circumstance and have the opportunity to heal, God isn’t allowing him to suffer. Christ took on Nathan's suffering at the Cross. His body may be traumatized but the spirit is separate from the body, and Nathan’s spirit belongs to God and is with God during this time.
Whether or not Nathan’s physical body has the strength to endure or recover is yet unknown. His body is a part of the fallen world and because of that there are many factors that play into his chance for recovery. In an instant God could heal him physically but if He doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that He caused Nathan to die. "The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much." James 5:16. The Christians who are praying for Nathan are praying effectual and fervent prayers. These prayers are being heard by God. As we all pray and align ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, we will see God’s plan fulfilled in Nathan’s life. That plan ultimately is for Him to be glorified in and after the trial has past, even if Nathan's physical body is not restored to health. Sometimes our human minds we may not understand this and that is very normal.
The truth we have to cling to is that God restored Nathan completely at the Cross. That restoration may or may not include physical healing in His body right now. As humans, Nathan’s physical healing would fill us with peace and remove our mental and emotional suffering, but only God knows which form of healing will take place in the natural world. What we do know is that Nathan has lived a full life that has brought great joy to many people, even though to this point, it has only been 16 years. We all would like the days of his life to be extended on this earth but we cannot lose hope or faith if the are not. During his life so far he has taught us how to worship God and how to find joy in small things in life. He has taught us how to love unconditionally and how to have patience with those who have special needs. He has taught us to see the world through different eyes and to embrace things that we may have otherwise taken for granted. The lessons from his life, though only 16 years, have been vast and each of us could make a long list of them.
A complete work on this earth has been done through Nathan in many people's lives and that has been a work that no one else could do. Before the foundations of the world God had a plan for Nathan's life and that plan was to glorify God through any and all circumstances in life. Even though he had special needs, he has been an inpriation and an example to many people. As someone said how he raised his hands and sang worship songs to God at the top of his lungs, he lived each daily to its fullest. For our family and the time we spent with him the plans of God were fulfilled. Of course we would like more time in the physical realm but we don't know if that will happen. If we do not get that opportunity, we will be grateful for the time we had and glorify God through it. Until we know for sure what the outcome is we will stand in faith for his physical body to be restored.
There is something else I know and that is, no matter what the outcome, the Vredevelt family will glorify God. If he lives they will rejoice and use the testimony to reach people with a message of hope and healing and if he dies they will do the same. In either instance they will allow it to be worked for their good, and use the testimony of God’s faithfulness, to advance the kingdom of God. This is what all of us need to understand because this is what the resurrection power of the Cross does in our lives when we understand it. Sometimes we can’t explain in human terms, the truth of God’s Word, or God’s will, but when that Word takes root in our lives, we can walk it out and it will bring fruit, fruit that will last. God’s will is His Word and that Word won’t ever return void!
To be continued…..
This is a very important reality that we need to understand if we are going to walk in the victory and power of the resurrected life of Christ. As I said in the last blog God does not pick favorites and choose for some to be healed physically and some not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He doesn’t change based on our situations in life. Christ took on all sickness and death at the Cross for our healing. Where we get off track is determining the definition of that healing. As we all face the reality that Nathan may die and our hearts are filled with the emotions that go along with that understanding, we continue to pray for his physical healing. Our God is merciful and He hears the prayers of His people. God’s will for Nathan is healing! There is no question about that! What we have to understand is that in His mercy He knows if that healing includes physical restoration.
Of course we want it to be physical restoration because we can’t imagine life without Nathan, but something his mom Pam said Tuesday is worth repeating. She said, , “I think my hope is that God will be merciful and (Nathan) won’t suffer anymore,” She also said, “In the middle of the night, I just felt that he would be in a better place, far from his physical ailments.” The truth is that right now I believe Nathan is in a better place and far from his physical ailments. Pam is right and she is filled with the peace in knowing that whatever the outcome God is a merciful God. In His mercy I believe God cradles His children during their times of suffering. As Nathan’s body has been put into a drug induced coma so that it has the best chance to endure the circumstance and have the opportunity to heal, God isn’t allowing him to suffer. Christ took on Nathan's suffering at the Cross. His body may be traumatized but the spirit is separate from the body, and Nathan’s spirit belongs to God and is with God during this time.
Whether or not Nathan’s physical body has the strength to endure or recover is yet unknown. His body is a part of the fallen world and because of that there are many factors that play into his chance for recovery. In an instant God could heal him physically but if He doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that He caused Nathan to die. "The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much." James 5:16. The Christians who are praying for Nathan are praying effectual and fervent prayers. These prayers are being heard by God. As we all pray and align ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, we will see God’s plan fulfilled in Nathan’s life. That plan ultimately is for Him to be glorified in and after the trial has past, even if Nathan's physical body is not restored to health. Sometimes our human minds we may not understand this and that is very normal.
The truth we have to cling to is that God restored Nathan completely at the Cross. That restoration may or may not include physical healing in His body right now. As humans, Nathan’s physical healing would fill us with peace and remove our mental and emotional suffering, but only God knows which form of healing will take place in the natural world. What we do know is that Nathan has lived a full life that has brought great joy to many people, even though to this point, it has only been 16 years. We all would like the days of his life to be extended on this earth but we cannot lose hope or faith if the are not. During his life so far he has taught us how to worship God and how to find joy in small things in life. He has taught us how to love unconditionally and how to have patience with those who have special needs. He has taught us to see the world through different eyes and to embrace things that we may have otherwise taken for granted. The lessons from his life, though only 16 years, have been vast and each of us could make a long list of them.
A complete work on this earth has been done through Nathan in many people's lives and that has been a work that no one else could do. Before the foundations of the world God had a plan for Nathan's life and that plan was to glorify God through any and all circumstances in life. Even though he had special needs, he has been an inpriation and an example to many people. As someone said how he raised his hands and sang worship songs to God at the top of his lungs, he lived each daily to its fullest. For our family and the time we spent with him the plans of God were fulfilled. Of course we would like more time in the physical realm but we don't know if that will happen. If we do not get that opportunity, we will be grateful for the time we had and glorify God through it. Until we know for sure what the outcome is we will stand in faith for his physical body to be restored.
There is something else I know and that is, no matter what the outcome, the Vredevelt family will glorify God. If he lives they will rejoice and use the testimony to reach people with a message of hope and healing and if he dies they will do the same. In either instance they will allow it to be worked for their good, and use the testimony of God’s faithfulness, to advance the kingdom of God. This is what all of us need to understand because this is what the resurrection power of the Cross does in our lives when we understand it. Sometimes we can’t explain in human terms, the truth of God’s Word, or God’s will, but when that Word takes root in our lives, we can walk it out and it will bring fruit, fruit that will last. God’s will is His Word and that Word won’t ever return void!
To be continued…..
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Own Your Life, Live On Purpose! Part 6
In the last blog I said I was going to expand on the truth that God’s will for us is His Word and His Word says that by the stripes of His Son we are healed. So if this is true then why are so many people sick and why do people die sooner than we think they should? This is something I get asked a lot.
What I am not going to do in this blog is make a statement of argument against theological teachings. This would only cause strife and then I would be no different than a religious teacher who Jesus spoke against when He walked the earth. What I am going to do is give some insight and then you can choose what you do with it. What I have learned and lived may be different from what you have, and that doesn’t make me right and you wrong, and vice-versa. We have an individual responsibility to search the Scriptures, commune with God, and learn for ourselves. So what I write today is from my perspective and my intention is that it will stir up a desire for you to go deeper in your relationship with God and encourage you to spend more time building that relationship. My desire is that you will want to seek God’s wisdom and understanding with your whole heart as Jeremiah 29 talks about. We seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart.
Here is my observation:
We live in a fallen world and there are natural laws in effect. If Adam and Eve would have not chosen to eat of the fruit we would all be living in a perfect world and these natural laws would not be present the way they are as we know them. Unfortunately that is not the case. As a result we live in a world that has sickness and premature death. I hear people say that God is Sovereign and He is, but these people say that in the context that God is in control of everything and that He causes everything to happen. This is not a belief I hold to and here’s why. God does have ultimate control but He does not use that control in an abusive way. God is not a respecter of persons and He does not choose to heal some while choosing to cause some to suffer and die prematurely. That would be cruel and contradictory to His Word, which would make Him a liar.
In John 8 Jesus said that satan is the liar and in fact, the father of lies. Through our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ we have been given the ability to be healed and to heal, yet so many people don’t see this covenant promise at work in their lives on a consistent basis. Why? I believe there are several reasons for this but I am only going to talk about a couple of them in this blog. One reason I believe is that we get overwhelmed by what our natural eyes see and oftentimes lose sight of the spiritual battle that is taking place in a realm that is beyond it. I believe that because of this it is easier to accept what is going on in our natural world and easier to say things like, “It must have been God’s will or it wouldn’t be happening or it wouldn’t have happened.” I also believe that for some people it gives them the right to blame God’s sovereignty when sickness and death occur. This kind of thinking gives satan a foothold in our faith and makes us question God’s Word. Both are destructive to our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
When Jesus walked the earth, healed the sick, and raised the dead, He didn’t heal everyone. In fact if you study out when and who He healed you will find that every time there was a measure of faith in the person or the people coming to Him that believed He had the power to heal. Those who believed were healed and those who believed were strengthened in their faith. But Jesus didn’t play favorites with the people He healed. There was something taking place that we have to study and understand if we are going to see the healing power of Jesus Christ working in our lives. One of those things is that with every promise there is a condition, and one of the conditions is acting in faith on the promise. We also have to understand that there is a natural realm and a spiritual realm and both are in effect in every situation. Sometimes there is physical healing and sometimes there is spiritual healing. And sometimes there is both.
This has played out in my life on many occasions. There have been times I have been sick and prayed and been instantly healed physically, while other times I have suffered for weeks. Why? Was God being kind on the occasions of instant healing and cruel during the other times? Absolutely not! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He doesn’t change and He cannot contradict Himself. I believe that at times when I believe and act in faith I get physical healing accompanied with spiritual growth and at other times I get a spiritual healing and then my body recovers over time. So just my faith alone doesn’t assure instant healing and just because I have a lack of faith doesn’t mean I won’t be instantly healed. My responsibility is to allow God full access to my physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental condition and allow Him to work in me to bring the healing in my body.
My confusion or misunderstanding of God comes when I try to dictate the healing He needs to provide. When I surrender my will to His, I see healing take place every time. The healing isn’t always in the areas I feel need healing and when I let go of my control over the situation I see the power of Christ working in my life to bring the healing that was promised through His death and resurrection. I also understand that there are times when healing is instant and there are other times when healing is a process. So to say I didn’t have enough faith during the times I was sick for weeks would also be ludicrous!
Here is a truth I have discovered that I want you to understand. We cannot peer into the spiritual realm and the truth of God’s Word in our natural mind and with our natural eye or we will go crazy trying to make sense of it all. We have to set aside our limited understanding as Proverbs 3 talks about and trust in God, acknowledge Him in all our ways, and submit ourselves to learning about Him for ourselves. This is the only way we will be able to accept Christ as our healer. This will also keep us from becoming embittered or feeling condemned if we or someone we know is suffering from sickness and they are not recovering or if someone dies prematurely.
Christ took on the stripes of sickness and death at the Cross and we have the promise of healing and if we are going to see that promise take root in our lives , we have to go deeper in gaining wisdom and understanding in this area. The first step is to trust in God. If we lack trust then when we learn a truth about healing we will instantly question that truth. This will cause us to counter that truth from a human prospective and stunt our growth in gaining wisdom and understanding. This is the enemy’s first tactic in getting us to accept the natural realm as a fact of life, and get us to question the truth that Christ is our healer. Isaiah 53:1 says, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” So the first thing we have to do is choose whose report we are going to believe. Before I write the next blog this is the question I want to pose. Whose report do you believe?
Here is something else I want to ask you before I write the next blog. Do you believe that God’s desire is that everyone should come to a saving knowledge of Christ and be saved? Do you believe that Christ died on the Cross so that all could come to a saving knowledge of Him? Do you believe that Christ paid the price for sin? Do you believe that God causes people to sin? Do you believe that the Cross is the finished work of God and that at the Cross Jesus overcame the world and that God made a new covenant with His people through Christ’s death and resurrection? Do you believe that people have to have faith and believe in Christ to obtain the promise of salvation?
I know this may sound like it is off the subject but it isn’t. There is a reason I am asking these questions and in the next blog you will understand the reason for them. Again, this blog series is written to encourage you to go to the next level in your walk with God and intended to stir up a desire to grow more intimate in your relationship with Him. Be blessed and may the peace of God reign in your heart today.
To be continued………………………………..
What I am not going to do in this blog is make a statement of argument against theological teachings. This would only cause strife and then I would be no different than a religious teacher who Jesus spoke against when He walked the earth. What I am going to do is give some insight and then you can choose what you do with it. What I have learned and lived may be different from what you have, and that doesn’t make me right and you wrong, and vice-versa. We have an individual responsibility to search the Scriptures, commune with God, and learn for ourselves. So what I write today is from my perspective and my intention is that it will stir up a desire for you to go deeper in your relationship with God and encourage you to spend more time building that relationship. My desire is that you will want to seek God’s wisdom and understanding with your whole heart as Jeremiah 29 talks about. We seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart.
Here is my observation:
We live in a fallen world and there are natural laws in effect. If Adam and Eve would have not chosen to eat of the fruit we would all be living in a perfect world and these natural laws would not be present the way they are as we know them. Unfortunately that is not the case. As a result we live in a world that has sickness and premature death. I hear people say that God is Sovereign and He is, but these people say that in the context that God is in control of everything and that He causes everything to happen. This is not a belief I hold to and here’s why. God does have ultimate control but He does not use that control in an abusive way. God is not a respecter of persons and He does not choose to heal some while choosing to cause some to suffer and die prematurely. That would be cruel and contradictory to His Word, which would make Him a liar.
In John 8 Jesus said that satan is the liar and in fact, the father of lies. Through our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ we have been given the ability to be healed and to heal, yet so many people don’t see this covenant promise at work in their lives on a consistent basis. Why? I believe there are several reasons for this but I am only going to talk about a couple of them in this blog. One reason I believe is that we get overwhelmed by what our natural eyes see and oftentimes lose sight of the spiritual battle that is taking place in a realm that is beyond it. I believe that because of this it is easier to accept what is going on in our natural world and easier to say things like, “It must have been God’s will or it wouldn’t be happening or it wouldn’t have happened.” I also believe that for some people it gives them the right to blame God’s sovereignty when sickness and death occur. This kind of thinking gives satan a foothold in our faith and makes us question God’s Word. Both are destructive to our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
When Jesus walked the earth, healed the sick, and raised the dead, He didn’t heal everyone. In fact if you study out when and who He healed you will find that every time there was a measure of faith in the person or the people coming to Him that believed He had the power to heal. Those who believed were healed and those who believed were strengthened in their faith. But Jesus didn’t play favorites with the people He healed. There was something taking place that we have to study and understand if we are going to see the healing power of Jesus Christ working in our lives. One of those things is that with every promise there is a condition, and one of the conditions is acting in faith on the promise. We also have to understand that there is a natural realm and a spiritual realm and both are in effect in every situation. Sometimes there is physical healing and sometimes there is spiritual healing. And sometimes there is both.
This has played out in my life on many occasions. There have been times I have been sick and prayed and been instantly healed physically, while other times I have suffered for weeks. Why? Was God being kind on the occasions of instant healing and cruel during the other times? Absolutely not! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He doesn’t change and He cannot contradict Himself. I believe that at times when I believe and act in faith I get physical healing accompanied with spiritual growth and at other times I get a spiritual healing and then my body recovers over time. So just my faith alone doesn’t assure instant healing and just because I have a lack of faith doesn’t mean I won’t be instantly healed. My responsibility is to allow God full access to my physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental condition and allow Him to work in me to bring the healing in my body.
My confusion or misunderstanding of God comes when I try to dictate the healing He needs to provide. When I surrender my will to His, I see healing take place every time. The healing isn’t always in the areas I feel need healing and when I let go of my control over the situation I see the power of Christ working in my life to bring the healing that was promised through His death and resurrection. I also understand that there are times when healing is instant and there are other times when healing is a process. So to say I didn’t have enough faith during the times I was sick for weeks would also be ludicrous!
Here is a truth I have discovered that I want you to understand. We cannot peer into the spiritual realm and the truth of God’s Word in our natural mind and with our natural eye or we will go crazy trying to make sense of it all. We have to set aside our limited understanding as Proverbs 3 talks about and trust in God, acknowledge Him in all our ways, and submit ourselves to learning about Him for ourselves. This is the only way we will be able to accept Christ as our healer. This will also keep us from becoming embittered or feeling condemned if we or someone we know is suffering from sickness and they are not recovering or if someone dies prematurely.
Christ took on the stripes of sickness and death at the Cross and we have the promise of healing and if we are going to see that promise take root in our lives , we have to go deeper in gaining wisdom and understanding in this area. The first step is to trust in God. If we lack trust then when we learn a truth about healing we will instantly question that truth. This will cause us to counter that truth from a human prospective and stunt our growth in gaining wisdom and understanding. This is the enemy’s first tactic in getting us to accept the natural realm as a fact of life, and get us to question the truth that Christ is our healer. Isaiah 53:1 says, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” So the first thing we have to do is choose whose report we are going to believe. Before I write the next blog this is the question I want to pose. Whose report do you believe?
Here is something else I want to ask you before I write the next blog. Do you believe that God’s desire is that everyone should come to a saving knowledge of Christ and be saved? Do you believe that Christ died on the Cross so that all could come to a saving knowledge of Him? Do you believe that Christ paid the price for sin? Do you believe that God causes people to sin? Do you believe that the Cross is the finished work of God and that at the Cross Jesus overcame the world and that God made a new covenant with His people through Christ’s death and resurrection? Do you believe that people have to have faith and believe in Christ to obtain the promise of salvation?
I know this may sound like it is off the subject but it isn’t. There is a reason I am asking these questions and in the next blog you will understand the reason for them. Again, this blog series is written to encourage you to go to the next level in your walk with God and intended to stir up a desire to grow more intimate in your relationship with Him. Be blessed and may the peace of God reign in your heart today.
To be continued………………………………..
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Own Your Life, Live On Purpose! Part 5
Over the next couple of blogs I am going to break down some of the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection as it pertains to our lives as believers. I pray that it brings you encouragement and hope. I am going to use the Amplified Bible for the Scriptures I reference as it gives an expanded explanation of the verses.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law!
Galatians 3:13 “Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);
For years I felt that somehow I didn’t measure up and that God was displeased with me because I couldn’t keep from sinning. I tried everything I could to keep the letter of the Law and live a righteous life. This only led me to feeling defeated and angry at myself for being so weak and sinful. I beat myself up mentally and worked at pleasing God even more. When I read this passage, everything changed! Here I was trying to accomplish something that was impossible and something that Christ had already done for me! A burden was lifted that day and I became free from the guilt and condemnation that had consumed my mind over the years.
My focus began to be on gaining an understanding of what it meant to be a new creation in Christ and what his death and resurrection meant for me personally. It was as if the blinders I had worn for so many years had been taken from my eyes and I was beginning to see the truth of God’s Word more clearly. The result of this was I began to live an empowered life that had the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit operating in my life, not because I was trying to have it, but because I allowed Christ to live through me and the only thing He knows to live is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control! What a relief it was to come to this understanding.
Jesus became sin that I could be made the righteous of God in Christ Jesus!
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
You have no idea how many years I spent trying to be righteous, do righteous deeds, speak righteous words, and have righteous actions. Then I read Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” When I understood that right standing with God comes through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone a huge burden lifted off my shoulders. I could accept that I could not be righteous on my own, have faith in Christ to be righteous for me, and seek an intimate relationship with God that was not hindered by my feelings of inadequacy and shame. I then realized that because I live in a fallen world I will always sin but the beauty of Christ taking on sin at the cross is that sin no longer has a hold on me when I understand and walk in the truth of Christ’s resurrection. When thoughts come that remind me of my sin, I just say, “return to sender, address unknown” and I am set free from guilt and condemnation that satan and my own mind try to trap me in.
The word sin means “missing the mark” and when I discovered this it made life so much easier. People miss the mark all of the time but somehow the word sin always had caused me deep rooted anxiety as if I had murdered a friend and needed to cover it up. When I reframed the word sin to “missing the mark” then it made it so much easier to regroup my thoughts and turn away from the sin whenever I did sin. This is when the truth finally set me free from the bondage and captivity I had lived in for years in the area of sin! I was able to accept my righteousness through my relationship with Christ Jesus!
Christ became poverty that I could become rich!
1 Corinthians 8:9 “For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (His kindness, His gracious generosity, His undeserved favor and spiritual blessing), [in] that though He was [so very] rich, yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched (abundantly supplied).
Over the years I have heard many teachings on money and the question of whether it is God’s will for the Christian to be wealthy or not. Most teachings I have heard sway to the side of belief that says we should not be rich because money is the root of all evil.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.”
God says we are to have no other Gods before him and the pursuit of money is a God. But if people put God first then money can be the root of blessing if it is used to sow seeds into the kingdom of God. We have to rightly divide the Word of God so that we can walk in truth and in God’s blessing. I have come to understand that it is never God’s desire for us to live in poverty. Jesus became poor so that we could be made rich and use the money to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God can’t contradict Himself so He can’t say one thing and then do another. We do that not Him! The Christian world is full of people plagued with a poverty mentality because satan has blinded them from the truth and skewed their view so that they don’t walk in the abundance that God has for them. As a result they are trapped by the chains of debt, addictions, lack, etc. and they don’t walk in financial abundance. It is time for us to turn the Word of God on satan as Jesus did in the desert and gain victory over the attacks of satan on our financial lives. Jesus won the victory of the war at the cross and we have to fight from a stance of victory if we are going to win the battle of the mind daily!
Jesus became sickness so I could be healed!
Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.” (Bold Type added)
1 Peter 2:24b “By His wounds you have been healed.”
It is difficult sometimes for me to wrap my mind around this truth because I suffer sickness and watch others suffer from it as well. I see people who are sick and never recover. Our earthly reality is completely the opposite of this Scriptural truth and yet God says we are healed since Jesus took on sickness at the cross. I have seen the dead raised, the blind eyes opened, the deaf hear, and the lame walk, and yet my mind still questions if this is possible whenever I am sick or those I love are sick if we can be healed. This dampers my prayers and my faith whenever I do this. Then when I pray or I hear people pray I hear this, “God if it is your will, please heal me or heal them.”
Do you know how crazy that sounds now that I know the truth of the Word? As if God’s will is that I would not be healed! What is the will of God? His will is His Word and His word says that by His stripes we are healed. We live in a fallen world and sickness and death are a reality but that does not mean it is God’s will for us to be sick and die. We have to get to a place where we stand on God’s Word and use it as a weapon to fight satan when he attacks our minds with doubt in regards to this truth. We have to stand and fight until we see our reality catch up to His truth. Since this is such a hard concept to understand I am going to go into detail about this subject in my next blog and then I will continue the series on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection.
To be continued……………………………………………………
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law!
Galatians 3:13 “Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);
For years I felt that somehow I didn’t measure up and that God was displeased with me because I couldn’t keep from sinning. I tried everything I could to keep the letter of the Law and live a righteous life. This only led me to feeling defeated and angry at myself for being so weak and sinful. I beat myself up mentally and worked at pleasing God even more. When I read this passage, everything changed! Here I was trying to accomplish something that was impossible and something that Christ had already done for me! A burden was lifted that day and I became free from the guilt and condemnation that had consumed my mind over the years.
My focus began to be on gaining an understanding of what it meant to be a new creation in Christ and what his death and resurrection meant for me personally. It was as if the blinders I had worn for so many years had been taken from my eyes and I was beginning to see the truth of God’s Word more clearly. The result of this was I began to live an empowered life that had the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit operating in my life, not because I was trying to have it, but because I allowed Christ to live through me and the only thing He knows to live is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control! What a relief it was to come to this understanding.
Jesus became sin that I could be made the righteous of God in Christ Jesus!
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
You have no idea how many years I spent trying to be righteous, do righteous deeds, speak righteous words, and have righteous actions. Then I read Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” When I understood that right standing with God comes through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone a huge burden lifted off my shoulders. I could accept that I could not be righteous on my own, have faith in Christ to be righteous for me, and seek an intimate relationship with God that was not hindered by my feelings of inadequacy and shame. I then realized that because I live in a fallen world I will always sin but the beauty of Christ taking on sin at the cross is that sin no longer has a hold on me when I understand and walk in the truth of Christ’s resurrection. When thoughts come that remind me of my sin, I just say, “return to sender, address unknown” and I am set free from guilt and condemnation that satan and my own mind try to trap me in.
The word sin means “missing the mark” and when I discovered this it made life so much easier. People miss the mark all of the time but somehow the word sin always had caused me deep rooted anxiety as if I had murdered a friend and needed to cover it up. When I reframed the word sin to “missing the mark” then it made it so much easier to regroup my thoughts and turn away from the sin whenever I did sin. This is when the truth finally set me free from the bondage and captivity I had lived in for years in the area of sin! I was able to accept my righteousness through my relationship with Christ Jesus!
Christ became poverty that I could become rich!
1 Corinthians 8:9 “For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (His kindness, His gracious generosity, His undeserved favor and spiritual blessing), [in] that though He was [so very] rich, yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched (abundantly supplied).
Over the years I have heard many teachings on money and the question of whether it is God’s will for the Christian to be wealthy or not. Most teachings I have heard sway to the side of belief that says we should not be rich because money is the root of all evil.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.”
God says we are to have no other Gods before him and the pursuit of money is a God. But if people put God first then money can be the root of blessing if it is used to sow seeds into the kingdom of God. We have to rightly divide the Word of God so that we can walk in truth and in God’s blessing. I have come to understand that it is never God’s desire for us to live in poverty. Jesus became poor so that we could be made rich and use the money to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God can’t contradict Himself so He can’t say one thing and then do another. We do that not Him! The Christian world is full of people plagued with a poverty mentality because satan has blinded them from the truth and skewed their view so that they don’t walk in the abundance that God has for them. As a result they are trapped by the chains of debt, addictions, lack, etc. and they don’t walk in financial abundance. It is time for us to turn the Word of God on satan as Jesus did in the desert and gain victory over the attacks of satan on our financial lives. Jesus won the victory of the war at the cross and we have to fight from a stance of victory if we are going to win the battle of the mind daily!
Jesus became sickness so I could be healed!
Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.” (Bold Type added)
1 Peter 2:24b “By His wounds you have been healed.”
It is difficult sometimes for me to wrap my mind around this truth because I suffer sickness and watch others suffer from it as well. I see people who are sick and never recover. Our earthly reality is completely the opposite of this Scriptural truth and yet God says we are healed since Jesus took on sickness at the cross. I have seen the dead raised, the blind eyes opened, the deaf hear, and the lame walk, and yet my mind still questions if this is possible whenever I am sick or those I love are sick if we can be healed. This dampers my prayers and my faith whenever I do this. Then when I pray or I hear people pray I hear this, “God if it is your will, please heal me or heal them.”
Do you know how crazy that sounds now that I know the truth of the Word? As if God’s will is that I would not be healed! What is the will of God? His will is His Word and His word says that by His stripes we are healed. We live in a fallen world and sickness and death are a reality but that does not mean it is God’s will for us to be sick and die. We have to get to a place where we stand on God’s Word and use it as a weapon to fight satan when he attacks our minds with doubt in regards to this truth. We have to stand and fight until we see our reality catch up to His truth. Since this is such a hard concept to understand I am going to go into detail about this subject in my next blog and then I will continue the series on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection.
To be continued……………………………………………………
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Own Your Life, Live On Purpose! Part 4
"Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done, not because of what I've done, but because of who you are!" What an incredible realization to come to in understanding who we are in Christ! When we can begin to see the reflection in the mirror as the image of Christ's death and resurrection, we will begin to understand to the depths His love goes in reaching us! On the surface my mirror reflects the images of a wounded person who has struggled with self doubt and feelings of insecutrity, hopelessness, pain, and sin. But when I can begin to imagine how much God loved me on the day He chose to send His Son to the earth to die for mankind, those images begin to fade away!
I am overwhelmed at the thought that on that day when Christ stepped out of the Heaven and entered the world's atmosphere, God spoke my name! I could imagine Him saying, "Your journey will be painful and your suffering great, but I want my daughter Holly to spend eternity with me, so I need you to go to earth and then to hell and take back the keys from satan so that she can be set free from captivity and spend an eternity with Me!" Everyone know John 3:16 by heart but do people really grasp the enormity of the meaning behind it? Sometimes I think this is a verse that has been quoted so many times that its effect on the person who hears it may have lost some of its meaning.
For God so loved Holly that He gave His one and only Son, that if she will just believe in Me, she will not perish, but have eternal life! When I began to grasp the true meaning of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross at a personal level, my self- pity and feelings of self doubt began to fade away! I started believing the Word of God over my reality and the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection over my doubt! This began to do a work inside of me that has changed my life!
When feelings and thoughts of past failures begin to creep into my mind, I speak Romans 8:6, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;” If my mind is wrapped up in the failures of my life, my mind will be consumed with thoughts of death and relational destruction. When my mind is controlled by the Spirit my thoughts are life and peace! When I remember the people I have wounded over the years and my heart begins to break, I remember Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
I am constantly reminding myself that it is not because of who I am, but because of what He’s done and it’s not because of what I’ve done, but because of who He is! Without Him I am nothing and my life is just a vapor in the wind. The Lord always hears me when I call on Him and He always catches me when I am falling! I am no longer ever alone and nothing I have ever done can ever be used against me again because at the Cross Jesus took it on Himself so that I could be set free from it!
I hope you are beginning to understand the need to grasp the enormity of what Christ did for us on the Cross! I want to challenge you to begin writing down everything you have ever suffered, dealt with, or experienced that has ever left you feeling like you didn’t somehow measure up in the eyes of God. Then I want you to spend time investigating the true meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection so that you can be set free from everything that hinders you from walking in an intimate relationship with God, through your relationship with Jesus Christ! Write down John 3:16 and put your name in it. Speak it daily whenever you look in the mirror. I can guarantee that it will be a short time before your battle scars of past failures or memories begin to fade as mine have!
This is when God can begin to turn your pain into power, your hurt into help, your self- pity into acts of servant hood, and your failures into victories! To be continued…….
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Own Your Life, Live On Purpose, Part 3
In the last blog I said I was going to write about the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection. Before I do I am going to write a couple of personal stories and post two videos for you to view.
When I watched the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” my whole life changed! Before this movie I had always envisioned Jesus hanging on the Cross with a few drops of blood trickling down His face. This image though disturbing, didn’t have the impact on me that the images Mel Gibson portrayed in the movie did. My entire life I had seen pictures of Christ sitting in green meadows surrounded by children and holding a lamb in His arms. Or I imagined Him dressed in royal attire walking with His disciples down a dirt road. Though inspiring they did little to empower me to become a Christ centered individual. In fact they left me feeling squeamish and a little ashamed to be honest. These images were in dire contrast to the life I lived and I never really could wrap my mind around being in that place myself because I knew the darkness that lived inside of me.
You see what I began to do in my life was I tried to live up to an expectation that I thought God had of me, to be sweet and gentle, and put together. I tried to speak softly and treat people kindly only to find myself annoyed and angry most of the time. I tried to be a good friend only to find myself judging people when they didn’t live up to my expectations. No matter how hard I tried to be perfect and imitate Christ I failed. When I looked in the mirror I saw a woman who yelled at my children, had impure thoughts, and was oftentimes self- absorbed with little or no time for others.
I found myself walking away from the mirror and feeling like I could never measure up. I cried out to God for years asking Him to make me like Jesus! I wanted to be gentle and kind. I wanted to have it all together and make the right choices in life. I guess what I wanted was to be perfect! I wanted the images in the mirror to go away! When I saw this movie and realized who Jesus really was and what He went through during his last days of life, everything changed for me! I began to see the dark side of Jesus! I am not saying Jesus was dark, for in Him there was no darkness. I am saying I saw the darkness that He walked in everyday and the impact it had on the people around Him. His friends were thieves and sluts and liars. He didn’t judge them, He loved them and because of that love, they changed! I then began to look back on my life at times when I lived in darkness and I began to envision Christ sitting with me, loving me! I began to reframe my past and this is what I saw.
When I chose to walk away from Him, He CHOSE to follow me no matter where I went. Here is where we went together and what He did for me in those dark places. When I chose to get drunk and make a fool of myself, He CHOSE to sit with me and didn’t condemn me! When I chose to have sex with strangers, He CHOSE to lay down with me, call me His bride, and never called me a slut! When I chose to lie and manipulate, He CHOSE to whisper His love and acceptance in my ear! When I chose to hate people and I used words to destroy them, He CHOSE to speak words of encouragement and hope! When I chose to kill my children through abortion, He CHOSE to restore my body and give me more children! I could go on forever but you get the point!
HE CHOSE TO DIE FOR ME SO THAT I COULD LIVE! HE CHOSE TO SUFFER FOR ME SO THAT I COULD BE HEALED! HE CHOSE TO BE HATED FOR ME SO THAT I COULD BE ACCEPTED! MY JESUS BLED AND DIED FOR ME! This was no small task! This cost Him everything but because He loved me, He went through with it. As this reality sunk in I became empowered to learn how to become Christ like! This is when my mission in life began to take flight. I have always befriended the weak and the lost but I think I thought I could somehow save them from the life of destruction I had lived. I changed my thinking and began to gain an understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection and now I allow Christ to live through me, loving them where they are, for who they are, with no strings attached! I am now seeing their lives being changed, not because of me being perfect but because of the perfected life of Christ living through me and loving them through me!
When I look in the mirror now I see the battle scars of wounds I have suffered and I am not ashamed! I see the beauty of a beaten Savior looking back at me who understands my pain and loss. I see the completed work of the Cross and an opportunity to reach others with the love of Christ! I think we have reduced Christ’s sacrifice to the point of it having little or no impact on our lives and because of it the thieves and sluts and liars are not drawn to us. I believe we need to embrace the reality of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross so that we can live empowered lives of hope and healing for a hurting and dying world to see. I believe it is time for a change! To be continued……….
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!
When I watched the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” my whole life changed! Before this movie I had always envisioned Jesus hanging on the Cross with a few drops of blood trickling down His face. This image though disturbing, didn’t have the impact on me that the images Mel Gibson portrayed in the movie did. My entire life I had seen pictures of Christ sitting in green meadows surrounded by children and holding a lamb in His arms. Or I imagined Him dressed in royal attire walking with His disciples down a dirt road. Though inspiring they did little to empower me to become a Christ centered individual. In fact they left me feeling squeamish and a little ashamed to be honest. These images were in dire contrast to the life I lived and I never really could wrap my mind around being in that place myself because I knew the darkness that lived inside of me.
You see what I began to do in my life was I tried to live up to an expectation that I thought God had of me, to be sweet and gentle, and put together. I tried to speak softly and treat people kindly only to find myself annoyed and angry most of the time. I tried to be a good friend only to find myself judging people when they didn’t live up to my expectations. No matter how hard I tried to be perfect and imitate Christ I failed. When I looked in the mirror I saw a woman who yelled at my children, had impure thoughts, and was oftentimes self- absorbed with little or no time for others.
I found myself walking away from the mirror and feeling like I could never measure up. I cried out to God for years asking Him to make me like Jesus! I wanted to be gentle and kind. I wanted to have it all together and make the right choices in life. I guess what I wanted was to be perfect! I wanted the images in the mirror to go away! When I saw this movie and realized who Jesus really was and what He went through during his last days of life, everything changed for me! I began to see the dark side of Jesus! I am not saying Jesus was dark, for in Him there was no darkness. I am saying I saw the darkness that He walked in everyday and the impact it had on the people around Him. His friends were thieves and sluts and liars. He didn’t judge them, He loved them and because of that love, they changed! I then began to look back on my life at times when I lived in darkness and I began to envision Christ sitting with me, loving me! I began to reframe my past and this is what I saw.
When I chose to walk away from Him, He CHOSE to follow me no matter where I went. Here is where we went together and what He did for me in those dark places. When I chose to get drunk and make a fool of myself, He CHOSE to sit with me and didn’t condemn me! When I chose to have sex with strangers, He CHOSE to lay down with me, call me His bride, and never called me a slut! When I chose to lie and manipulate, He CHOSE to whisper His love and acceptance in my ear! When I chose to hate people and I used words to destroy them, He CHOSE to speak words of encouragement and hope! When I chose to kill my children through abortion, He CHOSE to restore my body and give me more children! I could go on forever but you get the point!
HE CHOSE TO DIE FOR ME SO THAT I COULD LIVE! HE CHOSE TO SUFFER FOR ME SO THAT I COULD BE HEALED! HE CHOSE TO BE HATED FOR ME SO THAT I COULD BE ACCEPTED! MY JESUS BLED AND DIED FOR ME! This was no small task! This cost Him everything but because He loved me, He went through with it. As this reality sunk in I became empowered to learn how to become Christ like! This is when my mission in life began to take flight. I have always befriended the weak and the lost but I think I thought I could somehow save them from the life of destruction I had lived. I changed my thinking and began to gain an understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection and now I allow Christ to live through me, loving them where they are, for who they are, with no strings attached! I am now seeing their lives being changed, not because of me being perfect but because of the perfected life of Christ living through me and loving them through me!
When I look in the mirror now I see the battle scars of wounds I have suffered and I am not ashamed! I see the beauty of a beaten Savior looking back at me who understands my pain and loss. I see the completed work of the Cross and an opportunity to reach others with the love of Christ! I think we have reduced Christ’s sacrifice to the point of it having little or no impact on our lives and because of it the thieves and sluts and liars are not drawn to us. I believe we need to embrace the reality of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross so that we can live empowered lives of hope and healing for a hurting and dying world to see. I believe it is time for a change! To be continued……….
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Own Your Life, Live On Purpose, Part 2
If God promises that He will turn the bad into good, our pain into power, and apparent defeat into victory why do so many people still live beneath their potential? Why do they dwell on the past, speak negatively, and continue to sabotage relationships? I believe they do this because they have never fully understood the sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary that gives us the opportunity to live an abundant life on this earth.
At Calvary Christ took on all of the sins, pain, suffering, injustice, malice, and trauma of this world. Before He was arrested Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Luke 22:39 – 44 NKJV says, “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Sometimes I think we take the sacrifice that Christ made on the Cross too lightly and because of that we don’t experience the full impact of that sacrifice in our daily lives. The pain and trauma Jesus was about to experience at the point of impact when the nails pierced His hands was going to be so great that even He didn’t want to go through it. Do you realize how much effort it takes to sweat blood? Have you ever considered this? He cried out to God to take the cup from Him! We always think of Christ being God’s Son and being able to do anything, but this Scripture proves different. He was fully man and the pain He knew He was about to experience was going to hurt incredibly!
“nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” This is one of the most powerful verses to understand if we are going to learn how to own our lives and live on purpose! We have to come to the place where we are willing to let go of our past trauma or our fear of an uncertain future, so that God’s will can be done in our lives! The woman I spoke about in the previous blog came to understand this and as a result she is becoming a woman living life on purpose! Believing the truth of God’s Word over the lies of the enemy is difficult. Satan has a plan to destroy our faith and oftentimes he uses our memories of past hurts to get us side tracked!
Christ knows your pain intimately and He understands the trauma it caused your heart and mind. I want to encourage you today to study exactly what Christ suffered on the Cross for you so that you will be able to take back what the enemy has stolen from you. This is the first step to owning your life and living on purpose. In Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Our souls are made up of our mind, will, and emotions and this is where our battle is when it comes to overcoming our past. God has a purpose for every one of your lives and when you can understand this and learn from Christ’s death and resurrection as it pertains to your life, you will begin to live life on purpose. This is when God turns the bad into good, the pain into power, and apparent defeat into victory. In the next blog I am going to write out the details of what Christ did for us at the Cross.
To be continued………..
At Calvary Christ took on all of the sins, pain, suffering, injustice, malice, and trauma of this world. Before He was arrested Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Luke 22:39 – 44 NKJV says, “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Sometimes I think we take the sacrifice that Christ made on the Cross too lightly and because of that we don’t experience the full impact of that sacrifice in our daily lives. The pain and trauma Jesus was about to experience at the point of impact when the nails pierced His hands was going to be so great that even He didn’t want to go through it. Do you realize how much effort it takes to sweat blood? Have you ever considered this? He cried out to God to take the cup from Him! We always think of Christ being God’s Son and being able to do anything, but this Scripture proves different. He was fully man and the pain He knew He was about to experience was going to hurt incredibly!
“nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” This is one of the most powerful verses to understand if we are going to learn how to own our lives and live on purpose! We have to come to the place where we are willing to let go of our past trauma or our fear of an uncertain future, so that God’s will can be done in our lives! The woman I spoke about in the previous blog came to understand this and as a result she is becoming a woman living life on purpose! Believing the truth of God’s Word over the lies of the enemy is difficult. Satan has a plan to destroy our faith and oftentimes he uses our memories of past hurts to get us side tracked!
Christ knows your pain intimately and He understands the trauma it caused your heart and mind. I want to encourage you today to study exactly what Christ suffered on the Cross for you so that you will be able to take back what the enemy has stolen from you. This is the first step to owning your life and living on purpose. In Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Our souls are made up of our mind, will, and emotions and this is where our battle is when it comes to overcoming our past. God has a purpose for every one of your lives and when you can understand this and learn from Christ’s death and resurrection as it pertains to your life, you will begin to live life on purpose. This is when God turns the bad into good, the pain into power, and apparent defeat into victory. In the next blog I am going to write out the details of what Christ did for us at the Cross.
To be continued………..
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Own Your Life, Live Your Purpose
I was talking with a woman the other day who was telling me the reasons why she couldn't move forward in her life. She gave me a detailed list of reasons. She said she was abused when she was a young and she was raised in a religion where the people were mean and abusive. She told me story after story of her painful experiences and as I sat there listening I tried to stay focused on her words but I found myself praying more than I was listening. I knew her pain was real and the trauma had obviously left some deep seeded wounds that had never healed, but it just seemed like something was wrong with our conversation. I didn’t know what it was and so I continued to pray. I was compassionate towards her but at the same time I began to get annoyed as I listened. I wasn’t annoyed at her, I was annoyed and angry at the enemy of our souls.
As I prayed the verse that kept coming to mind was John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Here I was, sitting with a woman who had been a Christian for decades, who had never found her purpose for living because of her past trauma and she felt helpless. The enemy came in through these traumas to steal, kill, and destroy her life and render her ineffective for the kingdom of God by getting her to focus on her pain more than God’s purpose for her life. He was able to get her to turn her eyes inward to the reality of her pain which blinded her from seeing Christ in the midst of it and the truth of Romans 8:28 in operation in her life. That verse says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
I see this scenario play out in the lives of people ever day and it frustrates me. If Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full why are so many Christians living half empty lives? I believe the answer is that they have never realized the need to own their lives by taking a stand against the enemy who has tried to destroy them. They haven't discovered their purpose and they feel like they are wandering aimlessly through life. They have believed satan’s lies over the truth of God’s Word and it has crippled them and kept them from being effective for the kingdom of God. What we believe and act upon we become. If we believe the enemy's lies and walk in defeat we become paralyzed. If we believe in God’s promises and act on them we become conquers who live abundant lives of victory.
We develop certain beliefs systems in life based on what we were taught, the family we were raised in, the church we belonged to, the education we received, and what we have experienced, just to name a few. These belief systems determine how we think, our ability to dream, and how we act and live. A healthy belief system allows us to become everything we were created to be in life. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Before you were born God wrote a book about your life. He designed a perfect plan for you that would give you peace, joy, and fulfillment. In a perfect world this plan would have been executed and you would have fulfilled the perfect plan God designed for you.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and were banned from the Garden of Eden everything changed! We would not have the opportunity to live in a perfect world any longer. Every life born after the fall was born into a fallen world that has another plan at work. That plan comes from the enemy of our souls. Satan wants us to give into the pressures of daily life, wrap our minds around our pain, and be controlled by fear.
The Bible plainly teaches us that we were not given a spirit of fear, 2 Timothy 1:7, but instead we were given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. That means that fear comes from the enemy and when we are led by fear we give him authority to own our lives and defeat our purpose.
In order to take back what the enemy has stolen, own our lives, and live on purpose we have to stand firm on the Word of God, allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, and allow Christ to live through us. This is the only way to live life on purpose and not succumb to the enemy’s attack of distraction and defeat! We have all suffered in this life but remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
God promises to turn the bad into good, the pain into power, and defeat into victory! What we have to do is give Him the permission to do it by renewing our minds to the truth of His Word and remind ourselves that we fight from a stance of victory! We fight a defeated foe! If you want to own your life and live on purpose begin today to ask God to reveal His plan for you and to give you wisdom and understanding according to His truth so you can become effective for the kingdom of God.
To be continued.............
As I prayed the verse that kept coming to mind was John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Here I was, sitting with a woman who had been a Christian for decades, who had never found her purpose for living because of her past trauma and she felt helpless. The enemy came in through these traumas to steal, kill, and destroy her life and render her ineffective for the kingdom of God by getting her to focus on her pain more than God’s purpose for her life. He was able to get her to turn her eyes inward to the reality of her pain which blinded her from seeing Christ in the midst of it and the truth of Romans 8:28 in operation in her life. That verse says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
I see this scenario play out in the lives of people ever day and it frustrates me. If Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full why are so many Christians living half empty lives? I believe the answer is that they have never realized the need to own their lives by taking a stand against the enemy who has tried to destroy them. They haven't discovered their purpose and they feel like they are wandering aimlessly through life. They have believed satan’s lies over the truth of God’s Word and it has crippled them and kept them from being effective for the kingdom of God. What we believe and act upon we become. If we believe the enemy's lies and walk in defeat we become paralyzed. If we believe in God’s promises and act on them we become conquers who live abundant lives of victory.
We develop certain beliefs systems in life based on what we were taught, the family we were raised in, the church we belonged to, the education we received, and what we have experienced, just to name a few. These belief systems determine how we think, our ability to dream, and how we act and live. A healthy belief system allows us to become everything we were created to be in life. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Before you were born God wrote a book about your life. He designed a perfect plan for you that would give you peace, joy, and fulfillment. In a perfect world this plan would have been executed and you would have fulfilled the perfect plan God designed for you.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and were banned from the Garden of Eden everything changed! We would not have the opportunity to live in a perfect world any longer. Every life born after the fall was born into a fallen world that has another plan at work. That plan comes from the enemy of our souls. Satan wants us to give into the pressures of daily life, wrap our minds around our pain, and be controlled by fear.
The Bible plainly teaches us that we were not given a spirit of fear, 2 Timothy 1:7, but instead we were given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. That means that fear comes from the enemy and when we are led by fear we give him authority to own our lives and defeat our purpose.
In order to take back what the enemy has stolen, own our lives, and live on purpose we have to stand firm on the Word of God, allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, and allow Christ to live through us. This is the only way to live life on purpose and not succumb to the enemy’s attack of distraction and defeat! We have all suffered in this life but remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
God promises to turn the bad into good, the pain into power, and defeat into victory! What we have to do is give Him the permission to do it by renewing our minds to the truth of His Word and remind ourselves that we fight from a stance of victory! We fight a defeated foe! If you want to own your life and live on purpose begin today to ask God to reveal His plan for you and to give you wisdom and understanding according to His truth so you can become effective for the kingdom of God.
To be continued.............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)