Shedding Spiritual Pounds

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

Somewhere along the line of approaching 50 I began buying clothes that were loose fitting.  I exchanged buttons and belt loops for elastic and loose shirts.  My focus went from style to comfort, and I even remember my excitement when I found an adorable sweater in the maternity section of Target!  (This was just this past fall.)  You can only imagine my shock to realize that I had some weight to lose.  I never realized the slow weight gain because my comfort was my focus, not my discipline. 

If not careful, we can do the same thing in our spiritual lives.  We buy into society’s complacency of selfishness, and we shop in the maternity shop of excess.  We dress ourselves in fear and wear it as a shroud of doom.  Slowly, we allow less than faithful attitudes to gain weight in our spirit and weigh us down.  The Greek scholar Rick Renner says the phrase throw off means to ‘lay something down and to push it far away and beyond reach.  It implies a deliberate decision to make a permanent change of attitude or behavior.’  The Hebrew translation for everything that hinders is simple – weight, the heavy things of life that weigh us down.  The only way to shed spiritual pounds is to exchange our burdens for God's wardrobe, dressing ourselves in His power, strength and attitudes. Once we put on the wardrobe of Christ, we are more equipped to accomplish His will for our lives.  We must make intentional efforts to push our self-defeating thoughts and attitudes far away and beyond reach.

Where is your spiritual weight gain?   Have you become comfortable in your attitudes to where you cannot even feel the tugging of the Holy Spirit?  Have you become weighted down with despair over a situation?  God has laid out a race before each of us which requires us to be in great spiritual condition to run that race.  He will help you shed the spiritual pounds that are presently hindering you if you will trust Him in the process.

Astonished!

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John…they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

By whom are you astonished and who is astonished by you?  What does this look like in the life of a Christian?  Peter was a tax collector whose focus was on money, and John was a fisherman whose focus was on the ministry of another man, John the Baptist.  It was only when these men turned and followed Jesus that they began to be transformed.  It was when fellowship and intimacy were experienced that the character of Christ began taking over their inward condition.  Their choice of dying daily to themselves begun the slow resurrecting work to live in Christ.

When we turn our gaze to Jesus something in our hearts begin to stir.  Our lifetime of focus on worldly things no longer satisfy us,  command us and no longer master over us.  It takes time to die to ourselves and be resurrected with Christ.  It takes time for the outer self to catch up with the inner work but this process works.  Day by day, laying down our agenda, timing, dreams and expectations, is the process of dying to ourselves.  ‘But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.   What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.’ Phil 3:7-9.

For every death in our inner self produces resurrected living in Him.  Like Peter and John, when we choose to ‘be with Jesus’ our lives will reflect Him instead of our own.  ‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ…your life is now hidden with Christ in God…But now you must rid yourselves of all such things...anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language…since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed…Christ is all and is in all.’ Col 3:1,8, 10, 11.

…and all will be astonished!

Financing Our Imprisonment

“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.  Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 28:30-31

During the time Paul wrote Philippians, he was in Rome under house arrest awaiting his trial.  This trial took two years and required an investment on Paul’s part.  Being under house arrest meant, ‘that he could receive visitors and write and receive letters.  Paul had to finance his imprisonment.  Acts 28:30 states that Paul had to pay for his own rented apartment…plus he had to pay for the guards as required by Rome.’ New Testament Life Application Commentary.

The words finance his imprisonment linger in the air this morning like an unattainable goal.  Not only did Paul embrace his imprisonment for the gospel but he invested in it.  My commentary states that his payment went towards a place to live and for the payment of those guards who ensured Paul’s imprisonment.  He had faith in his assignment for which God had placed him, and saw it as an opportunity to display unwavering faith in the face of enslavement.  To read the verse above we might be tempted to believe he was enjoying a place by the sea.  He welcomed…he was bold…without hindrance…preached and taught.  Without hindrance translates to me as full of freedom while in prison.

 How on this earth can we welcome our imprisonments and feel free in our trials?  True freedom is when we demote what masters over our lives, and promote the Master of our lives.   As long as we are on this earth, trials and suffering seem to arrest and confine us as we wait on their resolution.  We find ourselves imprisoned by situations which we cannot control.  We will be miserable and joyless in our trials if we cannot invest and embrace them, and focus on the kingdom of God.  In Paul’s arrested state, he still enjoyed the comforts of his home and the freedom of his testimony. 

What greater peace can we attain than by investing in our own imprisonment, that place where God has assigned us to teach us about His kingdom?  ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’ 2 Co. 3:17

Yes Lord, but...

“‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world,’ she replied… ‘But, Lord…’” John 11:27, 39.

 I find on the pages of the Bible a woman who did not waver when asked what she believed.  I am inspired by her unrelenting faith in Jesus as the Messiah sent to earth to give us everlasting life.  As inspired as I am by her proclamations of faith, I am equally as confused by the ‘But…’ that followed.  That is why getting into the word of God daily is essential in our lives.  It opens the communication in areas He wishes to speak.  It is the intersection where two spirits sit, renew and transform.

Martha did not question that Christ had the power to resurrect, but her doubt was in the process of the resurrection.  Most likely, she had concluded the way her miracle should look and it did not involve her touching rotting graveclothes.   Most likely, she pictured Jesus coming to the tomb, and bringing forth a beautifully healed and transformed brother…not the image of a dead man walking with strips of decaying linens and a decomposing body.  She believed in the end result…just doubted the process.

Although I claim eternal life in Him without question, sometimes my worries and anxieties seem to echo ‘Yes, Lord, I believe…But, Lord…’  Why is it that we completely trust God with our eternity  but doubt Him with our lives here on earth?  Why do we trust in the destination and fret in the journey?  We know the destination of our desires but seem spiritually illiterate in reading the roadmap to getting there.  With the absence of God’s direction on our journey we will continuously question His ways, His agenda and His timing… ‘I believe Lord, but…’

Christ did not come to earth just to pay our price for eternity, but also to bring us a deposit of heaven on earth in Him.  ‘I am the gate…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ John 10:10.

 

Come Forth!

“Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, [Mary and Martha]‘Loose him, and let him go.’” John 11:43-44.

There have been times in my life when a resurrection was badly needed. Life presented a tomb through its circumstances and I wrapped myself in graveclothes. One strip of linen that bound me was being judgmental towards others. Another strip that kept my hands from moving was the belief that I could be a hero for others. The binding around my ankles was wrapped with self-focus and a lack of setting boundaries when helping others. Thankfully, God will never allow any of His children to stay bound and dead in their self-made tombs. He will call for a resurrection and we must do our part to ‘come forth!’ Nobody is going to come in and get us and carry us out of the tomb. It is our responsibility to take that first step in faith even if we are still bound. We either believe God for whom He says He is or we do not. Even Jesus did not go into Lazarus’ tomb to carry Him out, but simply commanded him to take the first step. Our expectation that others will rescue us is as faulty as believing a drowning man can be saved by a person who cannot swim.  When Christ calls, we are each responsible for our own faith and responses to God.

Each session of Griefshare, I am amazed at the courage and strength these people possess to come forth out of their tombs of sadness and despair. They respond to the promptings of God to walk through that door at the church and present their graveclothes for unbinding. Through 13 weeks one strip of anger is removed one week, while another strip of guilt is removed another week. They respond to the desire to be resurrected in joy, healing and life when life seems to be cold and cruel. Although they are also bound, they tenderly reach out to help their fellow tomb dweller unwrap a strip through compassion. They wrap their arms around each other and peel back a strip of hopelessness. As they reach out to ‘loose’ each other, I see their own strips of linen fall away and drop to the floor.

The times I see the unwinding of grief in its purest form is when the person is reaching out to another allowing the Holy Spirit to do its work. They do not keep their eyes focused on their own graveclothes, but rather reach out their arms as Jesus instructed and ‘Loose each other and let each other go.’ We must respond to the pain of others to move us out of our own selfish focus. I love what Jerry Goebel says about our passage of Scripture as stated in Lazarus Awakening. ‘The work of Jesus is to bring life; the work of the congregation is to unbind people from the trappings of death…Unfortunately, most of us would rather observe a resurrection than actually participate in one.’

If Mr. Goebel would come to our Griefshare class on any given Sunday, he would witness this passage in its purest form.

This Stinketh!

“‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’” John 11:39-40.

Over the past week, I have been called by God to do something for which He gave me a glimpse of last year –putting on paper my journey through my sister’s cancer. Honestly, I have dreaded the call from the standpoint of removing the stone and peeling back the strips of linen from the graveclothes. The King James Version bluntly replaces the passage, ‘But, Lord…by this time there is a bad odor’ with ‘Lord, he stinketh!’ (Lazarus Awakening, Joanna Weaver) How I can relate to this call. When Beth was first diagnosed I began a Caring Bridge website which communicated the day by day update of her cancer journey. It also allowed guests who visited the website to sign her guestbook, and write prayers and daily encouragement. My dad, who also died of cancer a year after she died, signed her guestbook daily with hope and belief that she would get an earthly healing. Caring Bridge offers that all posts be converted into a soft bound book documenting the journey in which our family experienced. For me, these books felt like a graveyard with markers too painful to revisit.

When God called me to write this book (Take away the stone), He lay upon my heart that the outline would be in the Caring Bridge books. When my Mother brought them, I opened the first page two different times only to immediately close them as my pain arose. (Lord, it stinketh!). But God impressed upon me that if I was obedient in rolling the stone back, I would participate in seeing His glory. How could I say no?

As all of us are aware, God will call us to take away our stone and participate in what He is calling us to accomplish. We may be in a situation that leaves us feeling helpless, hopeless and quite frankly makes us cry out, ‘Lord, this stinketh!’ We stand on the other side of the stone wanting resolution but unwilling to invest in what stinks. How are we to see the glory of God without leaning against the Stone and cooperating with Christ? How is it that we ask God for a blessing, a reward, or a resolution but do not trust Him to remove the stench during the process?

‘For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?’ 2 Co. 2:15-16.

I have finally taken away the stone and the aroma is not nearly as bad as I had anticipated…and I am seeing the glory of God!

Paying Respects

“Night and day among the tombs he would cry out.” Mark 2:5

Several generations of my family are buried at a beautiful cemetery in Charlotte. Throughout my life, I have visited that cemetery while cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents were laid to rest. The most recent tombstone was that of my dad’s a few years back. Many tears have flowed at that cemetery as I have reflected over past lives and past losses. Whenever I go to place flowers on my dad’s grave, I always visit the headstones of other family members. I move from one grave to the next, and my eyes fall upon the names engraved in stone as if I needed convincing of the reality.

In the Greek translation, the root word for tomb means ‘to recall or remember.’ We tend to live our lives in mental cemeteries, moving from one tombstone of remembrance to another. Our thoughts mark that this dream died so the marker says Failure. We lay flowers on the grave of Hope because after all, it died prematurely and was struck down in its youth. We allow Satan to lay down his flowers, cluttering our markers and giving him freedom in our minds. ‘His one goal is to contain and restrain…entomb so he can consume.’ Lazarus Awakening, Joanna Weaver, p. 73.

We cannot allow the enemy access into our mind, giving him opportunities to lay flowers upon our hopes and dreams. In Christ, we have engravings that reflect life instead of death. ‘I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.’ Isaiah 49:15-16.

We have a more beautiful tomb – an empty tomb! There is no need for flowers for Christ conquered this grave. Christ has set before us the freedom to walk out of our self-imposed tombs and choose life. ‘…that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life.’ Deut. 30:19-20.

Living in Tombs

“When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs…Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones… ‘My name is Legion,’ he replied, ‘for we are many.’ The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go’…and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs … about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.” Mark 5:1-13.

My Bible Study states that ‘according to scholars it wasn’t unusual for tombs around Israel to be inhabited by the poor or the insane. Graveyards were sometimes the only places where outcasts could find shelter.’ Most tombs were dug right into the hillside and were made up of two chambers, an outer chamber with a small stone seat and an inner chamber where the dead were laid to rest. It is believed that outcasts would seek refuge in the outer chamber to be protected from the elements.

I find it interesting that my commentary states that Legion, the name that the demons gave themselves, was the largest unit of the Roman army; it consisted of up to six thousand soldiers. Are you aware that the average human brain has up to 70,000 thoughts per day? With this fact in mind, it is no wonder that we entomb ourselves through our own legions of thought. They both bind and paralyze us, entreating us to live among the tombs. They invite us to come in from the overwhelming circumstances of life, and sit on a small stone of faith right outside the inner chamber of death. We hole ourselves up in the dark and dreary tombs of our minds. If not surrendered to the One who can cast them out, these legions of self-defeating thoughts will keep us living less than the abundant life for which Christ has called us. It is only through the renewal of our minds in Christ that allows us to stand up from our small faith and walk out into the transforming power of Christ. He will demolish our self-defeating thoughts and send them away.

Are you dwelling in graves this morning? Are your thoughts enslaving or transforming? Are you willing to come out of the tomb and enter into the Light? We were created for paradise, not for caves.

'But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’ 1 Peter 2:9.

May we declare His praises in legions!

When God Tarries...

“When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.” John 11:20.

Those words seem to send a haunting chill up my spine in conviction this morning. When my daughter was deep in her drug use, I got to the point where I surrendered hope instead of fear…in short, I spiritually stayed at home. Paralyzed in fear and grief I no longer ran out to meet Jesus but stayed behind much like Mary. Mary’s conspicuous absence on the road to meet Jesus was most likely met with hopeless grief much like mine. What was the use? Her brother was dead – Jesus had not come. This was the same Mary who had previously worshipped Jesus with reckless abandon. She withheld nothing from Him over the course of their relationship. But, at this moment, in her grief, she offered no perfume to pour on the feet of Jesus. At that moment, her little body, despaired and distraught, was not going to kneel at His feet. Her response is more like our tendency when we feel God is not showing up in our circumstances. He is not arriving fast enough, strong enough, powerful enough…

‘What are we to do when God doesn’t behave the way we thought He should, the way we were taught He would? What are we to feel when our Savior seemingly pulls a no-show, leaving us to wrestle on our own? These difficult times – these dark nights of the soul – rattle our convictions and shake the foundation of our faith.’ Brian Jones, Second Guessing God.

We stay at home and determine our circumstances are permanent. We see all resolutions as dead, stretched out on the bed with no pulse. We call in the mourners to see the dead body. There is no reason to run to Jesus for He has tarried and death has come. What are we to do with that? Why does our wait feel like abandonment, as if we are stuck on top of a ferris wheel with our feet dangling in the air?

When our challenging situations leave us suspended between faith and doubt, all that is left is surrender and trust in His way and His timing. As Jesus told His disciples, ‘For your sake I am glad I was not there…so that you may believe.’ John 11:15. When our heads tell us that God is not in our suffering, our faith can show us that He really is through our belief. When we surrender our hurts, pain and fears instead of surrendering hope we go out to meet Jesus instead of staying at home. We live our lives with certainty that what is dead God calls to life, whether it is earthly or spiritual. There is no death in Christ but only life, whether here on earth or up in Heaven.

While God may tarry, His love never will.

My Dinner Club

“And now I will show you the most excellent way…Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Co. 13:1-8.

We always think of this passage as the love chapter as it relates to our significant others, but this morning I am thinking about my precious dinner club. For sixteen years, five couples have met once a month to share stories, conversation, good food and our hearts. We have all been through the battles and fought from the trenches, and I feel are better people because of each other. As we met this past weekend, I sat looking at these wonderful people in immense gratitude and deep love. Both men and women alike have shown me their most excellent way as they have loved me tenderly. They have bolstered me up when I couldn’t see the way and were patient with my shortcomings when I had nothing to give.

They do not keep a friendship banking account, checking the statement to sum up deposits and withdrawals. They do not think in terms of what they can receive from me but rather what they can give. They always choose to see my actions with the best intent, always making space for grace. They are not self-seeking and are protective over me in everything I do. They delight in me for who I am becoming and have never judged me for who I have been. They have given me permission to mess up, and to be less than who I should be. They have made it safe and secure to be their friend. Their words of hope and promise lifted me up in times where hope seemed like a wish on my Christmas list instead of grace to come. Seldom do they speak of themselves and rarely do they boast. The love that flows in this group is the most excellent way…what is its success?

We all are pursuing an intimate fellowship with the same Father. We see ourselves as siblings at His table and have His love as our example. He is ‘the way, and the truth and the life.’ The love in these friendships never fails me nor forsakes me. I read that a friend is one who looks to bring joy and comfort to others with no strings attached, no hidden agendas, and no secret wish lists. This post is for my Dinner Club – one of my greatest graces that God has given me. I am so blessed.

Once Upon a Time...

“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” John 11:11.

She was a beauty with skin as white as snow with a propensity to serve others…seven to be exact. Her name was Snow White and her weakness was not recognizing the evil that lurked around her. She opened the door to vulnerability and her lips touched the apple of death. Through her invitation of temptation and compromise she took the bite that the enemy offered, and immediately fell into death. She was encased in a beautiful box which entombed the body that lay asleep. But as we all know she was awakened with the tender kiss of her prince.

We all have a story that we could write regarding the apple we bit which placed us in spiritual slumber. Was it the compromise of business to get ahead that lulled us to sleep? Was it the addiction that we tried to cover up that wore us out requiring an extended nap? What fears of the future have encased our bodies as we lay there unmoved and paralyzed in our thinking?

We have a Prince who climbed the tower and removed our encasement, giving us His tender kiss of life. The tower He climbed was a cross and the tender kiss He gave us was the resurrection. For through His loving sacrifice, His lips touched ours and breathed life into each of us. By making our Prince central in our lives, He calls us to awake and arise. He invites us to grab His royal hand and walk with Him through the streets of the kingdom. He displays all of us as His beautiful treasures and offers a real life through Him with all of the kingdom privileges on earth as it will be in Heaven.

We become His main character in a story that is greater than fiction, a story that is based on truth. Our lives with Christ do not live in a book of fairy tales but live in a real love affair between a Savior and His beloved.

'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Eph. 5:14

Alternative Plans

“He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy… ‘If only my master would see the prophet…He would cure him of his leprosy…Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’… ‘Are not Abana and Pharpar better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.” 2 Kings 5:1-14.

This is a story about an army commander named Naaman, who had been credited by his king for many successes. 2 Kings doesn’t allow us to get beyond the first verse before we are told of his disease. At first glance, we are led to believe his biggest problem is his outward affliction of leprosy, but we quickly see that his inner affliction of pride will be his barrier to healing. He is given a set of commands which will bring his healing but his pride stands in the way. He is told to cleanse himself in the River Jordan seven times to receive healing, but he feels as if his rivers are superior to obtain healing. He was shown a way for healing but his pride got in the way. Thankfully for him, he had those around him who spoke with clarity, common sense and humility. They encouraged him to do whatever was told of him regardless of his own belief and superior feelings. He humbly dragged his infectious body to the banks of the Jordan and dipped his pride seven times. ‘…as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.’ 2 Kings 5:14.

For what deep desire are you approaching God this morning? What outward attitude is infecting your life from an inner disease of pride? Are you trusting in God’s ways even if they do not seem sensible? What alternative plans are you making that seem more likely to receive the desire of your heart? When we approach God we must be willing to hear the manner in which He will move in our plans. We cannot allow our pride to stand in the way of God’s work.

We cannot bathe ourselves in the waters of our own calculations but must drench ourselves in the Living Waters if we are to be successful. When believing Him, we will wade into His waters with our infectious pride and return to shore with the attitudes and character of Christ.

It Is Well...

“But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:2.

When my children were infants and I approached them for feeding, it was startling at how frantic they seemed right before they ate. It seemed as if they didn’t believe with complete confidence that they would find their nourishment. The peace that came over them as soon as they were eating was comforting only for them to lose their peace and security later. The next feeding was met with just as much searching and anxiety for them as the previous feeding. As they grew and were weaned, they learned that I would be faithful in providing for their hunger and thirst.

This is the beautiful imagery that David asks us to picture. A child represents a person who is both inferior to and dependent upon their parent. A child who has been weaned is one who has reconciled and been assured that a new way of feeding can be trusted. David meets this imagery with his soul being full of peace, resolve and surrender to his heavenly Father. When we face challenging circumstances that leave us emotionally empty and spiritually questioning, we can choose to ‘Be still and muffle the roars of our fears.’ We can be that secure little child weaned off of the chaos of feeding in places where the food runs out. Like that precious toddler, we hold our Father’s hand trusting completely in where He is leading and from whom our nourishment will come. Our soul is comforted when we surrender our own ideas and trust Him for a new way, a new structure and a new plan.

‘It is well…in my soul.’

Pearl Bracelets

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Eccl. 4:12.

Many years ago, my husband worked for a company that required him to travel to China. On one occasion, he brought me back a triple strand pearl bracelet. It was a beautiful bracelet and I loved wearing it. One day I caught two of the strands on something that broke their strings, but luckily the third strand held most of the bracelet together. I only lost a few pearls and was able to get the jeweler to reattach the other two strands.

As Christians we have a cord of three strands... the Holy Trinity. In past times, I have lived my life on one strand, knowing intellectually the requirements of God. In 2006, God called me to become more acquainted with the second strand … Christ. It was through studying the life of Christ that I became aware of the beauty of the second strand. As illnesses overtook our family I became dependent upon that third strand … the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

It is important to care for and protect our relationship with the triple strand of our Christian walk. We will catch ourselves on the things of this world, threatening to break the faith that runs through our journey. Living on one strand, our faith may be overpowered by our thoughts, fears and self-focus. It is when we live our lives on all three strands that we adorn a beautiful life of pearls. Our faith is protected and while we may ‘lose a few pearls’ along the way we will always retain the bracelet.

Recognizing the Roar

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in faith…” 1 Peter 5:8.

I grew up as one of four daughters wherein hormones and emotions were usually the fare of the day. My mother did an awesome job of wading through the demands and arguments of four girls, while my dad seemed unaware of the swirling chaos. He had developed a mode for surviving life with five women – tuning us out during those diva times!

I cannot judge him too harshly since he was one of the most amazing men I have known. In addition, I am also guilty of tuning things out. There are times when the enemy of my soul, Satan, is hurling insults, discouragement and lies to tear me down. You would think that I would recognize the roar but instead they seep into my mind and heart like a gentle whisper. I tune out that he is the originator of everything bad, discouraging and life defeating. After hearing the same roar of lies over and over again, it becomes reduced to a quiet hum. I slowly buy into the lies that he has been chanting into my mind.

We must arm ourselves with awareness of how the enemy tears us down in our thinking. We have to realize that when we feel condemned, Satan is gnawing at us. We must be watchmen over our own thoughts with the help of God. We also have the danger of tuning out the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The day to day circumstances build in crescendo making all kinds of noises, creating the possibility of tuning out the dangers of the enemy or the truths in the Spirit. Through leaning on God and keeping our spiritual radars on the right frequency, we will not tune out the reality of who is speaking to us.

The enemy condemns, the Spirit convicts;
The enemy tears down, the Spirit builds up;
The enemy enslaves, the Spirit liberates;
The enemy kills, the Spirit redeems;
The enemy hates, the Spirit loves.

Let us tune our ears to the Spirit.

Living On the Top Shelf

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9.

Up in the top of my closet resides something precious to me – my 25 year old son’s torn and battered turquoise blankie from when he was a toddler. Rarely do I retrieve a step ladder to climb up there to hold it…I simply know it’s there.

When considering my thought closet, it is easy to reach for the same old thoughts that have been hanging around for the biggest part of my life. I have in the top of my thought closet a shelf full of the precious truths of God. They reside on a higher shelf than my own thinking and reaching them is no small feat. If I stand flatfooted, that is in my own thinking, I will never be able to reach the things of God in my mind and heart. There is a ladder that each of us is afforded in an effort to reach the top shelf of God. A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs affording elevation to a greater level. Our ladder has 64 rungs that all lead to God once our lives are inclined towards His truths – the Holy Bible. Each chapter of the Bible builds on the other and all form a beautiful incline towards the greatest elevation of all … God.

Through climbing our spiritual ladders we ascend into the higher thoughts of God, and recognize His ways which are always better than ours. We begin living life on a higher level than our previously chosen thoughts and agendas. We no longer reach for the same old thoughts which have gone from our eye level to residing beneath us. Rung by rung, chapter by chapter we ascend and live life above the challenges and self-defeating thoughts. Step by step, we move intentionally and faithfully upward and outward. We reside with God on the top shelf and live our lives from His perspective with the focus on His Kingdom and our responsibilities in inviting others.

Who Will Roll The Stone Away?

“Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’” Mark 16:2-3.

How many of us have opened our eyes to the sunrise and immediately begin worrying about a problem that must be faced that day? A certain group of women did just this on Easter morning after the death of Jesus. They awoke with pain in their hearts and a problem in their path. As an act of love and devotion their intentions were to anoint the body of their beloved Jesus with spices, much like our practice of taking flowers to a grave. The problem they faced was a huge stone that was rolled in front of the entrance of the tomb. Heartbroken in grief, don’t you know that they brainstormed through their tears every way imaginable of removing the stone? All of their calculations were worthless when they finally arrived at the opening, for God had already done the work and solved their problem. ‘But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered…they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side…’ Mark 16:4.

Today is Easter and resurrection in on my mind! Whatever circumstances you face this morning as you rise are being met with an opening with no stone…a problem where God has arrived before you have. We must enter in the opening of God’s grace where He is awaiting us to reveal the answers to our problems. We do not have to worry, calculate and wring our hands over how to solve our difficulties. If God can resurrect a man who was beaten, tortured and hung lifeless, He is powerful enough in resurrecting everything in our lives that seem to have lost its pulse. We must believe that no matter how heavy the stone God will provide the entrance to the opening that gives life.

Before we even have to ask, ‘Who will roll our stone away,’ He will already be there with the solution.

And Darkness Came

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice…And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.” Matthew 27:45, 50.

On this Friday, I am feeling the emotions of many of the people in Griefshare. One common emotion shared by all in the class is the awareness that as they are suffering the world goes on. Their loved one’s death warranted an hour for a funeral service and a few days of prepared meals. The hard part comes when everyone carries on with their lives.

Today is the day that our Lord and Savior lost His life on the cross. The Bible records that most had deserted Him in those final hours, both disciples and mockers. There were a few who lingered at the base of the cross until He gave up His spirit, and continued to follow His body until His resurrection...but just a few. The rest of the world returned to their life unaware of the enormity of what had just happened.

‘Jesus had been put on the cross at nine o’clock in the morning. Death by crucifixion was slow and excruciating. Then, at noon, darkness settled over the land for three hours…it is clear that God caused it…The darkness on that Friday afternoon was both physical and spiritual. All nature seemed to mourn over the stark tragedy of the death of God’s Son.’ Life Application New Testament Commentary, p. 123. After the chaos and atmosphere of mockery, God sent darkness over all the land for three hours like a veiled widow. Don’t you know that all of heaven looked through her veil at the dark landscape seeing the silhouette of the cross that held their lifeless unblemished Lamb? Where had all the people gone? How could they have just gone back to business as usual? Heaven lost their beloved and nature even mourned.

Today people will flock to the grocery store to prepare Easter Dinner, go shopping for clothes for Easter Sunday, and put together baskets from the Easter bunny. There will be Good Friday Easter sales today and at noon the stores will be bustling. I wish that today at noon darkness would fall over the land like a blanket for a few hours reminding us of what today is really about. We must feel the darkness and honor the sacrifice so we can humbly and fully experience the joy of the miracle. We cannot gloss over the uncomfortable part and skip to the joyful part. Heaven’s beloved deserves more than that.

As we look towards Sunday with joy and celebration, let us stop at noon today and remember how our Savior was all alone on the cross. The torture that He suffered so that you and I could join His family and share His Father warrants our reverence. Then, in a few days, we will celebrate with all of Heaven and sing of the glorious resurrection of the Lamb who brings us eternal life.

Take My Coat ... I Insist!

“So I tell you … and insist on it in the Lord … you must no longer live in the futility of … thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God … put off your old self … be made new in the attitude of your minds and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph. 4:17-24.

Since I began my Bible Study, Me, Myself & Lies, I have become extremely cognizant of how saturated the Bible is with God’s view on our thoughts. I used to examine my life from my outer actions instead of examining my life from my inner thoughts. God knew that all of our words and actions would stem from our thoughts so He spoke inexhaustibly about the importance of truthful talk to our soul, apart from our emotions.

Our emotions consistently speak the same lies to our spirit, and color pictures which are in conflict with God’s truth. Our flesh is that bland overcoat we slip on to cover up God’s truth due to our unbelief or insecurities. Through allowing God to renew our thoughts by replacing them with His truths is like presenting our shoulders to Him to ‘take our coats.’ He removes our outerwear and reveals the beautiful attire that we are wearing underneath. When our futile thoughts are removed our spiritual attitudes are displayed and what a beautiful wardrobe it is. Our dress will be His righteousness, and our accessories will be His character. We will wear scarfs of compassion that drape over our shoulders. We will stand tall in shoes that keep us moving in His service. We will wear hats of renewed minds that keep us confident in whom He says we are. We will display a beautiful broach of love that catches the Light just right. We will be a beautiful creation, new in attitude and dressed in truth.

Please take my coat…I insist on it!

Tailor Made

“Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment;” Psalm 104:1-2a.

When I was a little girl nothing made me happier than to go into my mother’s closet and try on her shoes. I would look at her clothes, recognizing certain garments that I remembered her looking beautiful in. My eyes would always settle on the frosted zippered bag at the back of the closet…her wedding dress. Next to her closet on the wall hung a beautiful frame which displayed my mother on her wedding day. Her dress wrapped around her petite body with such beauty and loveliness, fitting her perfectly and highlighting all of her physical attributes.

When I was in my 40's, my Caroline walked out of the closet wearing my wedding dress which took me back many years. Seeing her beautiful little frame under a mound of lace made me imagine how beautiful she will be when she grows into that dress. I can only imagine how our Father watches us try Him on as we are growing up spiritually. He can picture how our lives will look when we have grown into that wonderful mature Christian. He sees the framed picture of who we were created to be at our spiritual best.

When I think of my spiritual thought closet I think of all the godly attitudes for which I haven’t grown into yet. I can easily picture them on Christ for I have seen the splendor of everything He touches and how He wears His character. I try so hard to walk around wearing His shoes but on many days they are clunky and too big. I try to wrap myself in His garment of love, kindness, peace and gentleness but the sleeves hang too long some days. I look upon His face in the framed picture in my mind seeing Him wrapped in the beautiful garment of splendor and majesty, highlighting His divine spiritual character.

Thankfully, His closet is open to me anytime I wish to open the door. His wardrobe is at my disposal, and with His help He tailors the garments to perfectly fit me. His clothes will not look the same on you as they do on me, but all of us will be beautiful. As we grow in Him, our feet grow bigger and our arms grow longer, and the things of God fit much better.

Our Thoughts - Futile or Faithful

“The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.” Psalm 94:11

There have been plenty of times in my life as a mother that I was grateful that I could not read my children’s minds. I only had to look at their expression to get an idea of the thoughts they were forming during tense times…thoughts of disagreement, thoughts that I was being unjust, unloving or unfair. On many occasions I am sure their thoughts centered on the belief that I didn’t know what I was talking about. If I ever confirmed verbally what they were thinking many times it was met with their embarrassment and denial.

There was another child who got caught in her thoughts by her parent. ‘So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought…Then the LORD said… ‘Is there anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time…’ Gen 18:12, 14. God is well aware of all of our thoughts and the measurement of our faith against our desires. Sarah was past the child-bearing years and no doubt would have been ecstatic to have children. The very thing for which she desired might have been delayed based upon her unbelief. Of course, I can only guess but could it have been that Sarah’s desire would have been fulfilled sooner had her thoughts not been laced with unbelief and sarcasm? Was the appointment time, after her doubting thoughts were replaced with repentance and belief in God’s promise?

We all have that driving desire for something that resides deep in our hearts. It consumes our thoughts and lives in our words. We convince ourselves of the difficulties of the desire becoming reality. We base our beliefs on what can be accomplished by man’s abilities instead of God’s. We disparagingly live out our hopes and dreams thinking 'futile' thoughts about their fulfillment. The word futile means serving no useful purpose, completely ineffective. Our hopes and dreams will never look attainable unless our thoughts match what our Bible states: ‘With man this is impossible but not with God; all things are possible with God.’ Mark 10:27.

What is your dream that seems so far in the distance? What thoughts are keeping you anchored in unbelief about its fulfillment verses being anchored in faith? No matter what the desire, if it is the will of God your future is already in His rear view mirror. Are your thoughts about God's ability futile or faithful?

Entering Eden

“While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house… ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said, ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?’ Ignoring what they said, Jesus … [said] ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe…Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’ He took her hand and said to her … ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up.’ Immediately the girl stood up…” Mark 5:35-42.

I have a theory about the moments leading up to crossing over to that eternal Eden and locking lives with our Creator. Granted this is only a theory of a simple woman but one that brings me such comfort in the earthly loss of my loved ones. My theory is that in the days and moments leading up to the actual passing, Christ is speaking to us preparing and revealing our approaching entry into Eden. This passage of an earthly healing of a little girl reminds me of my sister’s spiritual healing three years ago.

As she laid there in Hospice, unresponsive to those around her, she seemed to be in constant communion with Someone. With eyes closed, she would raise her eyebrows and smile in delight, and lift up her little arms as if reaching for a parent. She would mouth things only known to her and Christ. I know that as we were experiencing despair she was experiencing the Divine. While all of the commotion was swirling around her…doctors shaking their heads that she was still alive, family members accepting her impending departure, nurses checking and rechecking blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen in the blood…she laid there in peace.

Then the Lord said, ‘This child is not dead but asleep.’ Then Christ took her tiny hand and said, ‘Beth, get up and let’s enter Eden. There is a wonderful area I am blessing you with…an area where you will serve and worship me. You are only dead to this world but you are getting ready to enter the land of the living.’

I believe that the veil between heaven and earth becomes more translucent for those who are getting ready to depart. I believe that the face of Christ becomes more visible as our loved ones are preparing to join Him. I believe that those smiles I saw on Beth’s face were reflections of the crystal streets being unrolled before her as she was being led straight to Eden.

‘As it is written—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.’ Romans 4:17.