Discipleship and "the prize"

I was reading "the faith chapter" in Hebrews 11 a little while ago...and intrigued by the last verses 39-40. The version I'm reading, NLT says,

"All of these people we have mentioned received God's approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race."

Whew. My first inclination was to skim over this quickly because it was hard to follow all the "we", "us", "they" and "them" statements. But I thought again and decided to try to understand it.

Look at two other versions with me:

The Message Bible says,
"Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours."

And Amplified says,
"And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,
Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them]."

The point of unity becomes so clear in these verses...we need each other, both here on earth and in the heavenly realm, in order to be complete and perfected as God intended. We cannot be loners in our faith. Rather, we will be completing and perfecting our own lives (now and eternally) when we seek to speak LIFE into others and build BEAUTY into the lives of others. Then, together, being a TEAM, we will receive THE PRIZE for which we have long awaited.

The completion of our reward doesn't end with us. When we die, it is not the end of the ramifications of our lives...including our rewards. Our eternal rewards will have much to do with the effectiveness of our discipleship...how well we have overflowed God's Spirit into the lives of those around us.

For more on effective discipleship, read Glenn McDonald's book, "The Disciple Making Church". I read it this summer and it was excellent!

Groanings...the language of God

Surrounding us this time of year we hear "Joy to the world", "Jingle Bells", "It's the most wonderful time of the year", and other cheerful songs of the season, but Christmas isn't always a happy time.

Just two days ago, I watched an 83 year old man kiss the love of his life good-bye as he saw her for the first time in her new surroundings...a beautifully carved wooden box they picked out years earlier. Holding onto 65 years of precious memories, yet unable to stand or even speak, his weeping and groaning filled the room. No one in the room could comprehend the loss he was experiencing, and although we stood witness to a deep, deep pain, no one could adequately interpret his groanings.

Romans 8:25-26 says, "But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words".

I find this verse comforting; God's Spirit speaks with groanings that have meaning far beyond what can be expressed with mere words. God's Spirit perfectly understood that man's loss and pain...providing undefiled, perfected communication with God. And God certainly hears. Acts 7:34 says, "I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free."

Soon after Jesus' birth, He was sought to be killed by the king. I'm sure God heard groanings of despair from Mary and Joseph. God sent an angel to direct Mary and Joseph, along with Jesus, to a place of preservation and protection.

We have a God who hears our groanings as we live in a world filled with disappointment and pain. As He hears our groanings, and interprets them perfectly, He comes to set us free.

Guilt Free

I was reading in Isaiah 6. At the time that God called Isaiah into ministry, Isaiah says "I saw the Lord...." He goes on to explain what all he saw, and in it all, he was overwhelmed by the HOLINESS of God. In fact, he was so overwhelmed by God's holiness that he immediately felt exposed in his impurity saying, "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips....'"

Just then a seraph (possibly an angel-like being) touched his lips with a hot coal saying, "'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.'"

After that, the Lord says He needs someone, and Isaiah responds, "'Here am I. Send me!'" No feelings of shame for the impurity that existed in him before God cleansed him. And no sense of inadequacy for being used by God. I think he just knew he was clean and ready to go where God wanted to lead him.

What I'm most moved by is the idea of the hot coal. As believers today, we have Christ's atonement for our sin, and we have been purified through His death and resurrection. I see the coal as being the equivalent of Jesus' blood dripping down the cross. He calls us to drink His blood (i.e., wine as a symbol of His blood), which touches our lips and infiltrates our entire body, symbolizing the same cleansing of our entire being just as the coal cleansed Isaiah's unclean lips.

If we have accepted the atonement, we are guilt free! And we can stand purified, and move in freedom, and be ready for Him...whatever He has for us.

"The Most Important Thing"

The other day my daughter, Allison, got an award for her thoughtfulness at school. Her teacher had noticed that many days during recess, Allison would walk around picking up trash. Wanting to acknowledge her efforts, her teacher announced her award to the entire school at their morning assembly.

A few days later, Allison and I were beginning a project of making pillows for her school's Marketing Day. Referring to being able to offer the pillows for sale to the other students, the conversation went like this:

Allison: Maybe other kids will like me now.

Me: The other kids don't like you??

Allison: That's what got me into picking up trash at recess.

Me: Well, they don't know what they're missing by not being your friend.

Allison: Well, it's okay. I have lots of other friends at home. Besides, the most important thing is knowing God loves you.


Oh, that our hearts would be able to acknowledge loss and desire and yet be so content...having the faith of a child.

Shackles Removed

I was worshipping God this morning with Chris Tomlin's song "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)". The first verse says,

"I once was lost"
How often do I live like I'm still lost!? ...but I am no longer lost. I need to live in the freedom of knowing I've been found.

"I once was blind"
...but I am no longer blind. He's given me eyes to see what needs to be seen. Will I look through His eyes?

"My chains are gone"
...I am no longer bound. I remember an analogy I heard once about how elephants are trained and controlled. I found this description online:

"If you have ever gone to the circus you’ve seen this “elephant trainers” principle in action. By that I mean the huge two-ton elephant shackled by one leg. At the end of the shackle is a small wooden stake dug into the ground. Hard to believe but true, that elephant is being limited by that short chain and the small stake. Obviously the elephant has enough power to free itself and roam around as he pleases. Yet the elephant has been conditioned to accept this limitation. You see as a youngster the shackle placed on his leg was able to hold him in place. After tugging on it for a certain period of time his leg became bruised. This created enough pain in him that he stopped attempting his own freedom. Once he accepts the limitation imposed on him it becomes a permanent belief, or in his case, a conditioned reaction. Now as he grows into adulthood, he has the power to easily pull the stake out of the ground, but his conditioning has taught him that the effort will not only be futile, it will be painful as well."*

I've also heard that the elephant's behavior remains controlled even after the shackle is completely removed...and he responds as if he is still shackled.

It occurred to me that I all too often live as if I'm still bound and shackled even though I have been freed by Christ Himself. I need to live like I've been freed.

If you have the song, or any version of Amazing Grace, I'd encourage you to put it on, turn it up, and remember, if you've accepted His gift of grace, how deeply amazing it is.

Our chains are gone!
We've been set free!
Let's live in the freedom of Christ today!


*http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Martinez1.html

A Lesson From Garfield

Why do we pray?

I mean, what are our motives behind praying? I think one reason we pray is because we want life to work. Our tendency is...
-if someone's sick, we pray they'll get better.
-if your car breaks down, you pray it will work.
-if I don't have money to pay my bills, I pray for money.

That's all fine...and it's good in the sense that God tells us to pray for what we need (Php. 4.6) and to cast our cares on Him (Ps. 55). He, too, cares about these things. I'm wondering, though, if our tendency to pray for health, wealth, comfort and ease is because that's where we find LIFE.

He, Himself, reminds us that He is the Life, not our circumstances. He certainly cares about our circumstances, but for now, the higher priority is character above circumstances and trials. He'll use the circumstances and trials to develop godly character in us and beautify us.
Evil is fighting for our hearts, and with our sinful nature, we will naturally gravitate toward the evil.

But God is passionate about our beauty. He's still creating beauty, and He will turn our ashes into beauty (Is. 61). Of course, we have to hand over our ashes....

Where I find life will be evident in my prayers. Will I trust that He has life for me? If I'm seeking life in Christ alone, certainly I will take my needs, cares and concerns to Him, and my prayers will sound more like Jesus' prayers:

“My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matt. 26.42).

"Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one" (Matt. 6.11-13).

I know I cannot find LIFE apart from Him...so I run to Him asking Him to be the One to fill me...regardless of my circumstances.

In the words of an animated, self-absorbed cat, I began my prayer time with God today:

"Love me; feed me; never leave me." --Garfield.

The Crash That Disabled Me

You haven't seen much activity on this site the last couple weeks. The reason: my computer crashed into a deadly virus. I can't believe how much time is required to carry out the efforts of euthanasia on this device...and then breathe life back into it!!

I have some thoughts from my time with God this morning that I want to share. I hope to post them later today. :)

Weakness

My mind has been spinning regarding one topic: weakness. It's not like it's a new topic...we're all quite familiar with weakness, whether it's our own or someone else's. But I have never seen weakness quite the way I see it now.

The main thought is this: "Our greatest weaknesses are often rooted in woundedness."

Let that thought simmer in your mind for a bit. It's the idea that when you touch on people's greatest weaknesses, you are likely touching their deepest wounds.

This past Sunday, this idea hit me on a deeper level to where I began weeping. I realized that some of the things that I see in others...things that might annoy me, like some of their weaknesses...things I may have approached (or may have wanted to approach) out of frustration...they are often the result of deeply painful wounds that person has endured. I'm seeing these things now through the eyes of compassion...and it breaks my heart. It brought me to the point of telling God, "I never want to approach someone's weakness again!"

That's when I heard Him speak to my heart, "Now, you are ready."

"Ready!?!" The thought left me breathless and overwhelmed, filled with grief. I could see that to approach someone's weakness well takes great care and reliance on God.

After spending a day with this grief, God showed me the hope and the purpose in it.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God says, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'"
And in verse 10, Paul concludes that "...for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Paul had been given a (v.7) "thorn in the flesh" (a wound) that invoked his weakness, but God promised His power nonetheless. Paul learned that our weaknesses allow us to become, in the words of Henri Nouwen, a "wounded healer."

You may want to study this for yourself, but it seems that nearly all weakness comes from wounds. In Leviticus 26:36, we see that in certain cases, God would bring weakness to a group of people. This may be an exception where the weakness is totally inflicted by God for a purpose, apart from woundedness. On the other hand, there may be unseen distrust in God on the part of that group of people, and that distrust may be the result of a wound. This is one that may require a deeper level of study....

In Genesis 3, we see that Eve's sinful nature was the source of her weakness in giving in and eating the forbidden fruit. Our sinful nature, of course, is always at the root of all sin. In Eve's sin, it could be that the serpent's betrayal inflicted a wound (even though she didn't recognize the betrayal or the wound at the time) that stirred up her sinful nature in a way that caused her to distrust God and seek life apart from God. Within her sinful nature (as with ours), the wound became the instigator of her weakness.

Aside from Paul's example in 2 Corinthians 12, there is one clear example I can think of in Judges 16. Samson is the strong man. The wound of betrayal by Delilah completely zaps his strength and he is left weak.

Think of ways that your own wounds have brought weakness to your own life. For me, one thing I think of is public speaking or anything that requires my voice. (Now I'm getting vulnerable with you here.) In elementary school, I was taken out of my classroom on several occasions to meet with the speech pathologist, because, from my six or seven-year-old perspective, there was something wrong with me and I didn't measure up...and it became a wound in my soul. It's an area that has been a huge weakness in my life, but an area where God is gradually bringing about healing. A big step in my healing process was having to record audio CDs for use with our carepoint workbooks...and then another part was hearing a friend's positive feedback about one that she heard.

Whatever our wound was and the weakness it brought about, if we want to find the strength that Paul talked about in 2 Corinthians 12, we must trust God. Here's the pattern that we'll hopefully follow:

WOUND ---> WEAKNESS ---> TRUST ---> GOD'S STRENGTH

The question is: How long will we walk in the weakness before we put our trust in God in this specific area to receive His strength?

HOPE is here!!!

...Clash of Hope, that is...my newest book on conflict resolution. It just came in the mail today and is available to order at http://www.carepointministry.com/.

Let me share with you just a few short excerpts:

"This workbook is intended to be a catalyst for healing for those who have found themselves struggling with conflict issues. This isn't intended to be as much about 'how to' resolve conflict (stay with me here) as it is exploring God's sovereignty over conflict, the pain involved in it, and the good that God is able to bring from it...."

"Our own woundedness deeply ties into how we handle conflict, how we resolve it, how we respond to it. From many of our perspectives, conflict equals rejection. We interpret a message that says conflict is not love. ...Before we can successfully approach and work through conflict, we need to be able to delete the equation. Unless we delete the equation, those old wounds and messages will trigger stronger, inaccurate reactions. Deleting the equation requires replacing lies with truth...." (20-21).

"As long as we have woundedness, we will have a tendency to hurt each other. And when we hurt each other, there's a battle. We must not get so wrapped up in the battle that we miss the love story of which we are a part" (111).

"God is continuing to speak to me about grace and helping me to understand his grace toward me on a much deeper level. I had put on my Comfort CD by Kathy Troccoli which began with the song, That's how much I love you. The words begin:
I died for you
I'd do it all again if I had to
To show you what you really mean to Me
...I recognized my own attitudes and behaviors toward God...the times (whether long ago or recently) when I've been angry and hurtful, selfish, demanding, accusing, etc., and in it all I've deeply hurt the One who wanted to be closest to me. But what really astounds me is God's response to me. Notice the words in the song above again. In the midst of all the ways I inflict pain on others, he chooses to lay down his own life, to give up his own justice and happiness, so that I can know grace, freedom, and my own deep value" (117).

I'm excited about the resolution God will bring about in many lives through this tool. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

LifeCare small group kick-off

God has led me in an amazing way this year to be involved with a new parachurch organization called LifeCare (http://www.lifecarechristiancenter.org/) that exists to see people freed from their various forms of bondage and experiencing the abundant life that God intended for them. I wish I had the time to share all the details of God's orchestration in bringing me to LifeCare, as well as all the transformation he's brought about in my life...particularly over the last six years (I am SO totally different than I was six years ago...or even a year ago for that matter). He amazes me!! I could write volumes about it (in fact, so far I have 3 books accounting for glimpses of it...check those out at http://www.carepointministry.org/).

God is in the business of transforming lives, and His goal is His own likeness. His intent is good; His desire is for beauty and strength.

The small group that I started this past week is called Healing Tears, based on my book by the same name, and deals with the issue of emotional discontent and discouragement. I have a wonderful group of women that I have the privilege of walking beside and watching as God beautifully transforms their lives. I am so excited about all that He's going to do in the next ten weeks!

I have been on my knees in prayer for these women and for this ministry. I know that we are reliant on Him to see great things happen; to see bondage broken; and to see abundant life obtained and wildly lived out. Please pray with me that God will continue to amaze us with His powerful work at LifeCare.

God cares about every hair on my head

Subtitled: the day I used 'black' shampoo

My friend took me into an Indian store, handed me a 'special' bottle of "blackshine" shampoo, and told me I had to try this. Having dark blonde/very light brown hair, my skepticism increased as I read the bottle: "for black hair that lacks lustre", "Do you feel ignored when someone else outshines you with great black hair? And do you worry that you haven't done enough when your hair is not at its shiniest black?", "...nourishes from deep within to reveal blacker, shinier, silkier hair."

This worried me. She, however, reassured me that they are appealing to Indian women who all have black hair, and that she used it and her hair didn't get any darker (but then again, she has dark, dark brown hair!!), and that it would make my hair more vibrant. But that wasn't all...she opened the bottle to allow me to sniff the pleasant scent and reveal the jet-black color of the shampoo! The thought of putting something, that looked like the grease a mechanic would use, on my hair was quite unnerving. Somehow, my anxiety and skepticism didn't keep me from paying $6 and walking out of the store with this bottle of shampoo in my hand. (I need her to do marketing for me/CarePoint!)

I decided quickly that I would need at least a couple days to warm up to the idea of actually risking using the stuff.

So today, debating whether I should touch up the gray in my hair with color or try black shampoo (for black hair, to make my [blonde] hair blacker...and shinier), I decided to forego the coloring to try to get my hair healthier first...and maybe the black shampoo would help nourish it.

So...in the shower, I delayed the black shampoo as long as possible.... Then the time had come. I gently picked up the bottle, shook my head in disbelief at what I was doing, and squirted some in my hand. My head still shaking in disbelief, I inspected the color..."Oh, God, what am I doing?!?" With my fingers of my other hand, I touched the black substance, my head still swaying from left to right..."What is possessing me to do such a thing?!?" I'm confident it wasn't in disrespect, but rather a plea for help that "Oh, God; Oh, God; Oh, God" kept resonating in my head.

"Walk by faith, not by sight" came to mind (no doubt from my plea to Him for help), which I repeated to myself many times. I began to put some of the black shampoo in my hair (and then glanced out the shower door into the mirror to make sure it was turning white...like normal shampoo). Deciding it was all or nothing, I covered my entire hair with the stuff, massaging it in thoroughly. It smelled good, and seemed to have a good feel so far. Then, questioning the use of conditioner, I chose to resort to Aveda, something I trust.

The deed was done. Now would come the test..."When I open the shower door and look in the mirror, what color will my hair really be?" The scene from "Runaway Bride" flashed through my mind when Julia Roberts and Joan Cusack colored Richard Gere's hair with a rainbow color. There was a small hope welling up within me that it might actually darken some of the gray a bit...that would be nice. And I have been considering going a bit darker again anyway, so a slightly darker tint might be nice.... So the door opened, and there I was in the mirror...appearing exactly the same (gray and all) as before (but with a slightly elevated blood pressure).

I don't know about shinier at this point, but it does seem to be silkier. :)

Do not use Son block

I was driving to the swamp for some quality prayer time the other day. It was soon after sunrise, and as I drove, I noticed the rays of the early morning sun casting a haze ahead of me. The sun's rays reminded me that the rays of the SON of God are always shining down on me.

It compelled me to ask myself, "Am I allowing the rays of the Son to penetrate my whole being? Or am I, in some way, using SON BLOCK?" May it never be! May the Son always penetrate all of me.

...like my van refusing gas

I've spent the past three days entirely consumed with proofing two workbooks (over 300 pages) before they go to print. Proofing doesn't mean I just look them over...it requires examining every detail, every space and tiny mark on every page as well as the content and flow of content, etc. It drains me.

I woke up this morning, and before my eyes were even open, I felt the emptiness and began praying out of desperation, hating that excruciating empty feeling, begging God to fill me.

Well, I dragged myself out of bed and got the kids off to school. I got home and just felt a numbness toward life...a feeling I also hate. I knew I needed help...I needed God. I collapsed on my bed and tried to pray a bit, but still felt empty words and numbness. I found notes I had written yesterday from one of the workbooks about Samuel being called by God. I remembered being moved by the story, and I prayed the words Samuel spoke when he first heard God's voice:
"Speak. I'm your servant, ready to listen."

Actually, my prayer was more like this:
"I'm so empty from pouring myself out for CarePoint. 'Speak. I'm your servant, ready to listen.' I want to bring you glory, Lord. What do you want me to do?"

He answered quickly:
"I want you to stop working today...and REST. Let Me just love you. Let ME make you ALIVE.

My brain is sometimes hard to slow down though, thinking...
"I need to get something out of 'this'."
or
"How can I speak life into the situation I'll face...today...tonight...tomorrow...whenever?"

But I rested, and listened, and heard Him soothe me, and felt Him fill me...as I listened to Travis Cottrell (Beth Moore's worship leader) speak songs of truth and beauty into my soul.

How often I have missed the "filling" though and kept trying to serve Him and please Him. It occurred to me that refusing to rest and let Him fill me is like driving into a gas station and my van insisting on continuing to serve me but refusing to let me fill its gas tank. It can't serve me without allowing me to fill it. We can't serve God without allowing Him to fill us.

Like Beth Moore says:
Empty yourself in giving everything you've got, and then run to him to get filled up again.

Does God hear you?

How do you know if God hears you?

Some think that God hears only when His answer is "yes" to the things we ask. Others think he always hears us.

I was reading in Hebrews 5 this morning and was particularly struck by verse 7:

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission."

This tells me:
1. God hears us when we live out reverent submission to Him.
2. When God hears us, His answer will not necessarily be "yes."
3. When God's answer is not "yes," we must trust that He has a greater purpose, a greater glory in the "no" or the "wait."

Mosquito chronicles

So, back to my enemy, the mosquito.... My son tells me that it's only the female mosquitos that bite (I suppose that stands to reason).

Anyway, I was reading in Nehemiah 4:11-21 (NLT). Listen to this:

11Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work."
12When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"
13then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.
14When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses."
15When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
16From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.
17Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.
18As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.
19I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.
20"At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."
21So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.

What stands out about this for me is that they knew there was the threat of battle, and they were prepared, as they held their weapons while going about their work. But they didn't allow the potential for battle, maybe even the fear of battle, to distract them from the work God was calling them to do.

And then we see Nehemiah's confidence in God...he knew what God had called him to do and that through his obedience, God would bring victory. That's the kind of confidence that brings internal peace.