Holy Resolve: Set Your Face Like Flint!

During his captivity in Babylon Daniel took a stand to stay away from the defiling food of the king’s table (Dan.1). The king considered this food to be a nutritious delicacy, and very few Babylonians were fed so ‘well’, but Daniel’s view of a delicacy was based on the law of God, not the world’s opinion. Daniel knew that this food was not only defiling to his body, but to his spirit as well, so he set his face like flint and made a holy resolve (a spiritual determination) to stay away from it.

But notice how Daniel carried out this holy resolve: he gently and respectfully spoke to those who served the food, and effectively threw out a fleece to the king: “Let us try this for 10 days and see how we look and act during that time” (Dan 1:13). Since Daniel’s resolve was born out of obedience to God and His word, God backed him up by moving the king’s heart to support his resolve.

After this trial period, the king called for Daniel and his friends and tested them. He found them to be filled with wisdom and revelation far above their counterparts, so much so that the king began to depend on them for insight and understanding. Interestingly, Daniel 1:20 states that they had 10 times more knowledge than the astrologers and magicians on whom the king had previously depended; this was right after their 10 day diet change. As we persistently follow God's plan for this holy resolve, He will provide the necessary gifts and tools to carry it out.

This time of year often stirs us to set resolutions toward change; it’s a time of renewal. When the New Year begins we see where we want to be in the coming months and formulate ideas on how to get to that place, whether it be physical, spiritual, mental, financial or otherwise. But setting a resolution can be different than getting a holy resolve: a holy resolve comes from the heart of God and it’s catapulted forward by His power, wisdom, revelation and insight. It begins in a person’s spirit and it's carried out in the physical realm by setting one’s face like flint and keeping one’s physical and spiritual eyes single on God and His way of carrying it out. If the resolve is from God, we will likely see a multitude of wondrous events in the process of carrying it out - old mindsets will break off, new doors will open, healing will come..........the possibilities are limitless!

Additionally, if the resolve is a holy resolve God will be lifted up during the process and men will be drawn to Him. As the gifts inside of Daniel became more evident to the king, he looked to Daniel for guidance and direction. The overriding theme of Daniel’s heart and life was verbalized when the king called on him to interpret his dream and Daniel responded by saying “It is the God of heaven which reveals these things; look to him for your answers” (Daniel 2:26-28 expounded).

Seek God and get His resolve for this New Year, then set your mind like flint towards His purposes. It won’t matter what others think, what the world says or does, or what road blocks lie in the way; if God be for us, who can stand against us as we carry out His purposes with wisdom, grace and love? (Rom.8:31)

“But Daniel determined in his heart [set his face like flint, made a holy resolve] that he would not defile himself by [eating of] the king's rich and dainty food [the world’s ways of life] … therefore he requested of the ...[king's servant]... that he might [be allowed] not to defile himself. [As a result]… God made Daniel to find favor, compassion, and loving-kindness with the chief of the [the king’s servants]” (Daniel 1:8-8 AMP, expounded).

When Trauma and Drama Overshadow Celebrations!

     Holiday's can bring financial and relationship stress, simply because of the expectations put on us to live up to family and societal traditions. Along with those difficulties, some people have suffered trauma during festive occasions and bear the pain of those wounds for years to come.

     We know that Jesus' disciples suffered trauma during festive seasons because the Apostle James (John's brother) was killed during the Passover week, a very holy and celebratory time for the Jewish people (Acts 12).  And all of the disciples physically saw their friend, mentor, teacher and Savior brutally killed during a Passover celebration.  One might say "but that was Jesus, and He was later raised from the dead.”  This is true, but they still retained the memory of watching him physically die a bloody and painful death – that’s a horrific site to watch no matter what the end result may be.

     It’s difficult to imagine the great grief they must have felt from these experiences, in addition to the constant pressure they were under from the Roman government and the priests who persecuted and pursued them.  But the disciples could not allow these traumas to overshadow their lives and their work for the Lord. They were bent on destroying the works of hell, not pondering them and becoming stifled by them.  Had they not understood that they were on assignment for God, and that He was with them continually, they may have stopped and crumbled, allowing grief and pressure to inundate their hearts and minds.

     Besides understanding our assignments for the Lord and using them as impetus to press forward, we have the continual saving and healing grace and power of God with us on a daily basis.  However, we must be willing to receive that grace and power by willingly letting go of the past instead of carrying the bitterness and pain of it into our future: we cannot punish an offender of the past by allowing the offense to dictate our future!  I unknowingly had this mindset at one time, and eventually had to ask myself “who is being punished?”

     For the Christian who desires to follow God wholeheartedly, there has to come a time of releasing the past and living fully in the present. Sometimes we must do that internally by taking a mental and Spiritual stand, and sometimes we must physically do something to keep the past from thriving in the present.  For example, when there’s a feeling of dread during a time that should be joyous, determine that you will receive the Lord’s emotional healing because He has come that you may have a full and fruitful life (John 10:10)! This is a promise – grasp hold of the promise of God and take it into yourself.  When other’s expectations are impossible to live up to and bring stress to a time that should be celebratory, it may be necessary to take a stand (in love) and set some healthy boundaries.  When history tries to repeat itself or bring its trauma (or drama) into the present, it’s time to use your authority in Christ and put up a road block – even if that means physically removing yourself from its path. 

     Isn’t it time to be set free from the trauma and drama of the past?  There is absolutely nothing that God cannot heal, and He is willing: with God, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26)! There are better things to think on, better things to live for, and a better future than what the past is dictating to you today.  Are you ready to step into God's healing and the future He's planned for you?

      “He has sent Me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant [consolation and joy] … to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified”  [Isaiah 61:1-3 AMP].

Mary gave birth to Jesus; will you do the same?

Christmas has taken on various meanings through the generations since Christ's birth. But if we could narrow down the meaning of Christmas to a few main ideas, perhaps an important one is that Christmas was the physical starting point of Jesus' purposes on the earth. As Christians, we often talk about Jesus purpose in dying, but in living, what purpose did He fulfill?

While the Bible records many aspects of Jesus' reasons for coming to earth, over and over and over the it speaks of Him teaching others: at the temple, on mountainsides, standing in a boat. In fact, more than performing miracles, Jesus taught, and we have more record of Him teaching than doing any other activity, including praying. He taught his disciples, the people who gathered around Him, the pharisees, the woman at the well and many others.

And it makes perfect sense that Jesus would come to show the way TO God and the ways OF God through teaching. If we see Jesus as the Savior who walked the earth mainly to perform miracles, we miss a very important part of His character and God's purpose, which is to recreate the individual into the image of God so that we would understand Him, have relationship with Him, defeat the enemy in our lives, and draw others to His eternal salvation.

Without the ever increasing knowledge of God and His ways we are simply occasional receivers of blessings, not partakers of the life of Christ! It's much the same as the person who is given bread but never taught to grow wheat, make his own bread and give a portion to others. The teachings of Jesus have power to transform our lives and empower us: when we think like Christ, we live like Christ! So in considering how much teaching we need, perhaps the question we should ask is "how much do we want our lives transformed?" "Do we want to be empowered?" "Are we satisfied with the status quo?"

John describes Jesus as the Living Word, saying "they beheld His glory and touched Him and knew Him intimately" (paraphrased John 1:1-14). If you truly want to know about Christmas, read about Jesus as the holy, living, powerful, walking and talking word and teachings of God (John1). Christmas brought us access to God to the extent that we receive His teachings and they become part of us, changing us into His very image and character. Here is the continuing miracle of Christmas: Jesus is reborn in the earth as we become the Living Word to the world around us! Mary allowed God to give birth to Christ(mas) through her, will you do the same?

So with this I say "Merry, blessed, prosperous Christmas to those who love and serve the Living God, the Living Word and the Transformer of Lives! And a joyous New Year to those who are being transformed into Living Epistles, mirroring the image of Jesus Christ by continued revelation of Him through His teachings."

"And this is eternal life: to know You (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with through His teachings and Spirit), the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah) and reflect His glory and life in the earth.... " (John 17:3, AMP, paraphrased).

When Seasons Change....But I Don't

A video circulating around Facebook showed a driver trying to maneuver out of a tight parking place: over and over she backed up and hit the car behind her, then drove forward and hit the car in front of her. No matter how many times she tried this method she failed to free her vehicle from the tiny parking space.

Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That may not be true in all circumstances, but for the most part it makes good sense. So if you're banging your head against the wall day after day and wondering why you're stuck in that same old predicament, perhaps it's time to make a move towards change instead of just thinking about it. Sometimes we have to stay in the same spot and change our attitudes, but other times we've stayed too long in the same spot while waiting for something around us to change.

Waiting too long to make this move can cause bitterness. The beginning of bitterness may manifest when things that didn't bother us before begin to agitate us, or when it seems that people we've never had a problem with become difficult to deal with. Just as we recognize that there is a time and season for everything under heaven (Ecc. 3), we must be attentive to the change of seasons in our lives and willingly flow with them. Wearing winter clothing once summer has arrived would be an unhealthy and very uncomfortable way to live: a change of dressing habits is a must in this circumstance!

If you are in this type of predicament, don't cut and run! Make your decision with the Lord's wisdom and sincerity of heart, address it in love, then walk away from it without burning bridges. There may also be a need for repentance if you have resisted God's promptings to change, but once you have done so you can look forward to fulfilling God's perfect will as you progress in your new season.

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted...a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away..." (Ecc. 3:1,2,6).

Disclaimer: this is not advice to leave your marriage!

Have your bad experiences become memorials?

When God instructed the Israelites to build a memorial He was guiding them to set a marker. He had done something miraculous to move His people forward and prosper them in His plan and the marker (or memorial) signified a turning point or the beginning of a new season.

Consider the parting of the Jordan River, when God enabled the Israelites to walk through the river on dry ground then instructed them to set up a memorial of 12 stones. Once this was completed, marking their miraculous entrance into His plan and promises, they left behind their desert wanderings and began taking their promised inheritance (Joshua 4).

A memorial can be a physical and visual marker, or it can be a mental marker, but either way it’s spiritual! A marker will either serve as a remembrance of the goodness and faithfulness of God, or it will serve as a ball and chain to hold you to the past. When God called for a memorial to be erected in the Bible, it was because He had propelled His people forward through power, signs and wonders, and they were to remember this as they struggled to walk through the tough times ahead.

We often set up memorials in our minds: declarations of stubbornness and commitments to remember hurts, wrongs and pains above the goodness of God. We build these memorials when we’ve had difficult circumstances or been wronged or we’re set in a certain way of doing things. Instead of moving into God’s promised land we keep ourselves tied to those markers and continue to wander in the desert.

God’s markers are intended to propel us forward and enable us to fulfill His plans, but the enemy’s markers are intended to keep us sunk in his mire of disgust and fear, or even stubbornness. God’s markers focus on what He has done and can do, in spite of the difficult things that have happened in our lives. God’s markers are viewed through the eyes of faith, whereas the markers of the enemy are viewed through a spirit of hurt and offense, or even tradition and habit.

You may remember an event in your life and that memory has kept you captive and disabled God’s power. Perhaps that memory even has a religious idea attached to it: this is the way God operates because it’s how He did it last time. Maybe your memorial is the idea that God can only work in a certain way and in a specific ‘spiritual’ atmosphere. Or maybe you find yourself saying “I can’t move forward because….” or “God’s word isn’t working for me because….,” but the real ‘because’ is that you have placed a stone of remembrance in your mind and it’s taking precedence over the power and promises of God.

But today is the day to be set free and move forward; it’s a day to tear down the memorials of the enemy. Today is the day to repent of setting up that memorial, shift your focus to what God can do (and allow Him to do it in His way), and step into your new season. Today is the first day of the rest of your life: if you choose to annihilate the marker!

You will likely have to continually press forward and change your way of thinking, or get some help moving forward, but the first step is to remove the memorial and disallow it from keeping you tied down. God is willing and able to help you; His grace and mercies are fresh and new every morning, so don’t let them go to waste (Lam. 3:22-23).

“The enemy has been cut off and [his markers] have vanished in everlasting ruins. You have plucked up and overthrown their cities [the strongholds and memorials in our minds]; the very memory of them has perished and vanished” (Psalm 9:6 HCSB, adapted).