Don't let the enemy turn God's sweet conviction into condemnation!
God gives us revelation about ourselves because He wants to bring us freedom and move us forward in becoming more Christ-like. This revelation from God is called conviction - it's God's way of revealing sin issues within our hearts and exposing something that’s damaging to us and possibly to others as well. If we stop getting conviction, or refuse to receive it, we’ll become stagnant in our growth and perhaps even a bit hard-hearted or stiff-necked.
Sometimes, however, that conviction is turned upside down by the enemy: what God reveals for the purpose of bringing freedom can be turned into torment. Conviction is a starting point for repentance and new growth, but the enemy can twist-up convicting revelation from the Lord and use it to keep us in a pool of self-condemnation.
If God says ‘be more gentle’ the enemy will tell us we’ve run over people all our lives and we’ll never change because we grew up in a rough family and people are sick of being around us and we have nothing to offer and yada,yada, yada.
But God says “I’m giving you an answer to your prayer. When you asked me why the same thing keeps happening over and over in your relationships I gave you this revelation. Now open my word and look into the word ‘gentle,’ then use it as a springboard for a new beginning in this area.”
Conviction from the Lord is a sign of His love and active involvement in our lives. That conviction might sting when we first get the revelation, but we cannot allow repentance and Godly sorrow to be turned into heaviness and self-condemnation by the enemy. The devil’s condemnation is his effort to entrap us in self-absorption on the very thing that God meant for freedom.
God leads and we follow – He does not hide Himself behind aggressive behavior toward us or push us into self-condemnation. Don't allow what God meant for good to be turned for bad by the enemy - His conviction is an opportunity for sweet surrender.
“ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24)
One of the reasons we can never be 100% certain, when judging things by
our own eyes and by natural appearance, is that we are limited in our
sight. Without revelation from the Spirit of God we are very one sided and self protective in our decision making.
The human mind judges things, in part, based on past experiences – and
we sometimes find it easier to sympathize with someone if we’ve had that
same experience. But we might also go back to that experience, even
subconsciously, and use it as a plumb line for discerning other
circumstances: those may be times when we find ourselves coming to the
wrong conclusion.
Even when we’re absolutely sure we’ve
discerned a situation correctly, it may be a good idea to step back and
ask God what’s behind the scenes that we can’t see. When we want to
move in and ‘fix’ it, there may be something deeper under the surface of
the situation that is much bigger than we anticipated or much different
than we judged from our perspective.
In short, we know in
part, it’s really that simple. And giving others the benefit of that
understanding is one way of working through situations whose endings are
potentially toxic.
Our confidence is in the Lord – we cannot
have confidence in our flesh and our ability to understand more than we
have confidence in God’s way of dealing with difficulties. We’re not
called to have a ‘bull in a China shop’ mentality: a thoughtful and
reflective spirit gives room and time for the Lord to move and it keeps
us from doing damage to ourselves and others when we lack full
understanding.
“The Lord's slave must not quarrel, but must
be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his
opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance
leading them to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:24-25)
If you’ve been around the Christian community
very long you’ve probably experienced a strange phenomenon which seems
to be gaining ground. Many churches, even of the same denomination, are very protective of their sheep – sometimes to the point of charging them to disassociate with others of the same belief.
I’m not making a blanket statement and saying that all churches are
this way, but there are enough of them that it seems to be an epidemic.
People leave one church and go to another for various reasons (and this
is not an accusation against either the specific church or the sheep
concerning why this happens) but warnings against other churches are
commonly shared with those that are leaving. It’s odd that we can see
how wrong someone else is but can’t see where we err in understanding –
granted, sometimes it’s valid to protect sheep from what lurks down the
highway.
John the Baptist refused to participate in a fight for
sheep (John 3): He knew they all belonged to Jesus anyway. John’s
disciples thought they had ‘first dibs’ on baptizing; it was their
ministry and now others were copying it! His disciples were flustered
because people were leaving ‘their group’ and going to ‘Jesus' group,’
but John put a quick end to their complaints by saying that “No one can
claim anything that has not been sent to Him by God.” In other words –
if they’re supposed to be here, they will be here, but if not, we are
all fighting in the same Army anyway!
John’s disciples saw
Jesus’ ministry as a rival, but the same attitude was with Jesus
disciples when they saw others driving out demons in Jesus’ name (Mark
9). Jesus told His disciples that whoever was not against Him was
ministering for Him – those that are serving God are all FOR God, not
against one another, regardless of location.
It's quite
obvious from Paul's letters to the churches that none of them was
serving perfectly - they were a work in progress. But in spite of their
issues, we have no record of Paul or anyone else telling believers to
stay away from specific NT churches. While caution never hurts, it
seems we have reached a point of abrasively criticizing other churches,
even when we've previously broken bread with them and know their hearts
for the Lord.
Perhaps there’s an element of feeling rejected
that comes into play in these types of circumstances - but personal
feelings of rejection can be healed by forgiving others, and accepting a
dose of God’s reality as recorded in both John 3 and Mark 9. But more
importantly, we should be content to know that the sheep who have left
our fold are still serving God and fellowshipping with other believers –
and we are continuing to do what God calls us to do as a small part of
the larger Army! In the end, we who believe are linked arm in arm in
Kingdom service.
Peace to the Church!
They dragged the woman to Jesus, forcing her
half dressed body into the midst of the temple crowd where Jesus was
teaching. There she stood in front of the crowd; both her and Jesus had
been ‘put on the spot’ in front of everyone in the temple.
“What do you want us to do with her, Master?” they sarcastically asked
Him. Jesus knew their intention was to trap Him – they’d been waiting
for a moment to catch Him and label Him as a lawbreaker - even if they
had to set Him up to do it!
But as people often do who seek
self elevation, they had given Jesus just enough information to swing
the argument to their favor, hoping to be elevated in the eyes of the
people who stood by and watched. The accusers hoped to be rid of Jesus
once and for all and regain the honor and status that ‘belonged to
them.’
But where was the other half of the adulterous duo – it
takes 2 to tango – even the law recognized that both parties were guilty
(Deut. 22). When Jesus asked if any of the accusers were without sin
they began to disappear one by one – hoping that Jesus wouldn’t
confront their own sins.
They knew that Jesus had seen into
them –he had seen their adulterous and greedy hearts. But what they
didn’t perceive was that Jesus was giving them as much mercy as He was
giving the adulterous woman. Jesus offered them the same forgiveness
he offered her, knowing full well that the bucket of each of their sins
was overflowing.
When they scattered from the scene it was
because of fear – fear of being exposed. But the adulterous woman left
forgiven and whole! She stood in front of Jesus and faced her sin and
received His love and forgiveness, but they left in bitterness of heart,
agitated at having been humiliated.
Jesus waited until the
accusers left, then spoke gently to the woman. He had no need to prove
himself ‘right’ in the eyes of the crowd because His motive was to
restore this woman to God. The accuser’s motive is to point out his own
righteousness by illuminating the wrong in others: a method of gaining
followers and self satisfaction.
We who love God also love the
brethren – we are not those who fall into the trap of being the accuser
of the brethren. We are those who offer mercy and forgiveness, those
whose motives spring from a deep desire to see those who are caught in
sin fully restored to God.
“We must be able to exercise
gentleness and forbearance toward those who err, since we ourselves are
also liable to moral weakness.” (Paraphrased, Heb. 5:2)
As New Testament people, we are not under a
law which requires us to schedule temple visits, give certain offerings
on certain days, or celebrate holy days. We know that God is looking
for relationship with us, and out of that relationship should flow the desire to fellowship with Him, walk in obedience and serve others.
But the freedom we’ve been given can easily turn into a trap of the
enemy if we are not mindful in the Lord of how our human flesh operates
and how the enemy takes advantage of our weaknesses. Freedom from
structure, freedom from specific requirements to meet together, freedom
to do what we want to do….these freedoms are blessings that can turn
into opportunities to neglect the life of God in us and through us. And
perhaps most importantly, when our freedoms are used incorrectly they
can damage the spiritual walk of other people.
What kind of freedoms might be easily abused?
-Food freedoms – how free are we when we become sick from our diets and this limits our ability to serve God?
-Fellowship freedoms – how free are we when the enemy can isolate us
from fellowship and keep us from the accountability the Body offers?
-Financial freedoms – how free are we when we can swipe a piece of
plastic today and have to work another 15 hours next week to pay it off?
-Doctrinal freedoms – How free are we when we allow society to
dictate what God's word says? God brings His word to pass, not varied
interpretations of His word.
These are hard things to take in -
but they are not meant for condemnation - just to make us aware of how
the enemy may be trying to trap us in our 'freedom.'
In
reality, our freedom is not freedom FROM something, but freedom TO the
Lord. The Holy Spirit in our lives takes us into full fellowship, where
true freedom resides – but freedom without responsibility is a usurping
of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God empowers us to
freely serve and love Him – and that empowerment leads to spiritual
discipline and perseverance – the freedom to grow in Him, and know Him
and show the real Him to the world around us!
Stand fast in
Christ - empowered by the Holy Spirit Don’t be entangled in false
freedom, only to find yourself in bondage. Christ has made us free
indeed – free to serve Him in all righteousness. (Paraphrased, Gal 5:1)
Jesus had a mission: He knew the purpose of
His life and He refused to be swayed from that purpose. Though Jesus was
fully human, He refused to take on the distractions that came from
men’s ideas and mindsets. Jesus chose instead to give Himself fully to God’s plan and He kept Himself focused on fulfilling that plan in God’s way.
This is what Godly determination and spiritual tenacity do in us: they
keep us focused first on God and His plans, and second on the avenue
with which He desires us to accomplish His will.
Determination
is a drive of the heart. It’s not something that comes from the head
or it would be swayed with various trains of thought. Determination has
made a decision and sees life’s purpose as the means for living out
that decision.
Tenacity is a holy boldness that conquers the
worst of resistance to the will of God. It’s a bulldozer when needed or
a gentle word when needed – but its power lies in accomplishing the
will of God at the expense of self preservation and self satisfaction.
Tenacity is willing to give up popularity or comfort or anything that
keeps the will of God from moving forward.
Men’s ideas and
plans are like anchors to the will of God, but holy determination and
tenacity are the super-human powers that push through the worst of men’s
mindsets and insults and distractions. Determination and tenacity are
empowerments of God that cause us to brush off the world and push
heavenward to the glory of God.
“Now when they saw the boldness
[holy tenacity and determination] of Peter and John, and perceived that
they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized
that they had been with Jesus.” John 4:13
When we walk in His determination and tenacity, people will see that we have been with Jesus!
Pessimism is defined as “the tendency to see,
anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results,
conditions and problems (Dictionary.com).”
By its nature, pessimism is lack of love. According
to 1 Cor. 13, love is always ready to believe the best. That’s not to
say that love is blind, it’s most certainly truthful and honest, but it
does not project or emphasize outcomes, or assess situations, with the
worst of the worst results in mind.
When the Israelites were
sent into the Promised Land to spy it out, 10 pessimists and 2 optimists
made up the scouting party. Caleb and Joshua optimized their love for
God by seeing things through His eyes, the eyes of faith, and they came
back with a good report from the Promised Land. The 10 pessimists came
back with a fearful report and it caused the entire Israelite community
to enter into rebellion (Number 13).
This is not to say that
optimism must always have a wonderful report – but it has a God report!
God’s way and will and word are prominent in the life of the optimist –
he seeks God for each avenue in life and sees it as the best outcome
because it’s prescribed by God. In the worst of circumstances, such as
Paul and Silas’ imprisonment, the optimist can sing praise to God while
shackled to a cold, stone floor (Acts 16).
Everyone has a down
day once in a while, but a pessimistic life style does not give glory to
God. One may even say that pessimism resembles false prophecy –
because it does not seek God’s will and way but projects its own
thoughts and words in place of God’s. On the other hand, true optimism
has to be based on trusting God and accepting His will.
For the
person who leans toward pessimism, a study of the love of God may be
the cure. A revelation of God’s power and an understanding of the
promises in His Word may wash away the tendency to see the worst in
other people and circumstances, replacing it with great faith, which
works by love.
Stuck in a Rut of Excuses!
I’ve found
myself making excuses, at times, for staying in a rut. Perhaps it’s
human nature to be comfortable where we’re at, even though we dream of
better circumstances and know there’s more to life than what we’re
living. Not only do we limit ourselves, but we may limit God’s work and
will in our lives when we allow our minds to stay stuck in that rut.
Such
was the case with the lame man who sat at the Pool of Bethesda in John
5. For 38 years, the same amount of time the Israelite’s formally went
around the mountain in Exodus (they spent 2 traveling), this man waited
for someone to put him in the pool so he could be healed.
Jesus
words to this man must have felt like a brick upside of his head: “Do
you want to be healed?” Today we might respond by asking “Seriously?
I’ve spent 38 years begging people to carry me down these ultra-steep
steps and drop me in the pool, and you ask if I want to be healed?”
This man defended himself with a string of excuses that might hit home for some of us:
- “I have no man to put me into the pool” - he depended on people rather than God
- “I have to wait until the water is stirred” - he depended on circumstances rather than God
- “Someone has to put me IN THE POOL” - he depended on a location rather than God
-“While I’m waiting someone gets into the pool before me” - he blames others for not helping him enough and getting in his way
-It was the Sabbath Day – he limited himself to a particular day of the week or period of time.
Perhaps Jesus is saying today “Get up! Pick up that roll of excuses you’re laying on and wake up your faith in Me!”
The Living Water isn’t confined to a location or set of circumstances. Dive in!
(Excerpts taken from "The Gospel of John: Believe and Live" by Elmer Towns)
Jewish Rabbi’s developed offshoots of the law
which they gave equal standing with the law. One of those offshoots, or
rules, stated that no man could talk with a woman in public, not even
his wife.[1] To further this idea, the Rabbi’s considered it blasphemous to teach the law, in any degree, to a woman.
Knowing these ‘rules’ fully, Jesus purposefully met with the Samaritan
woman at the well in John 4. Not only did he speak with her alone, but
He discussed the gift of living water with her and initiated a revival
in the Samaritan town of Sychar.
In human eyes, seen through
the Jewish culture of the day, the Samaritans were un-savable and
undeserving of God’s attention - the Jews considered them to be taboo
and worse than animals. But Jesus broke the boundaries of their culture
and purposely gave living water, salvation, to this Samaritan woman
who’d had 4 husbands and was now living with a man.
A woman, an
adulterer, and worst of all, a blasphemous Samaritan - someone that
today’s religious mindset might put the ‘taboo’ sticker on. Someone who
doesn’t agree with our doctrine. Someone who has been rejected because
of our man-made rules. But God sent Jesus out of His way to meet with
this woman and bring her salvation: He opened her eyes through the gift
of prophecy in Jesus – a true example of how He gifts us for the purpose
of extending grace to others.
Because Jesus went outside of
the cultural and religious box, the Samaritans had living water and
forgiveness given to them, and the schism of division between the Jews
and the Samaritans began to close on that day. The town of Sychar was
changed and revival broke out – their hearts were turned to God.
Man-made ideas sometimes sneak into our doctrine and are given equal
standing with God’s Word. These mindsets cause us to reject certain
kinds of people instead of rejecting ideas that don’t agree with the
Word of God. Jesus separated the ideas from the person – He loved the
person and rejected both the Samaritan and Jewish ‘religion’, but He
stood strong in the Truth of God’s Word.
God help us to reject religion, live in Your Truth and take that Truth to those we’ve considered ‘taboo.’
1. (Baker’s NT Commentary, Jn 4:27).
With His spoken Word, God created the
universe. That ‘Word’ is Jesus Christ (John 1) – He is the creative
Word through which God brought the world into existence, and He still
resounds as the Living Word in the
natural universe. This is why the natural world around us testifies to
the existence of God – His imprint remains on it because through His
Word of Power (Jesus Christ) He created and formed it into His divinely
inspired handiwork (Romans 1:20).
Just as creation testifies of
the existence of God, we also do as we’re transformed into His image.
The Living Word, Jesus Christ, the Bible – they are one in the same -
and as the Bible is opened, read, and understood by us regularly, that
same Word changes us from the inside out. We become a product of His
creation, just as the natural world is, but for us it’s a spiritual
creation.
John 1:1 says “The Word became flesh.” This is
talking about Jesus Christ becoming a blood and flesh human being.
However, in a spiritual sense, the same thing happens to us. As we read
the Word and take it into our hearts, the Holy Spirit broods over it,
just as He brooded, hovered over and nurtured the Word at creation (Gen.
1), causing the Word to take root and grow. As the Word is established
in us we are recreated into the image of God, and once again, the Word
becomes flesh.
This is our process of sanctification and
becoming more Christ-like. We actually become a part of His body
extended from heaven (where He is the head), to earth (where we are His
body) (Eph 1:22-23). This is not to say that we become equal to God, but
that we take on the character and image of Jesus Christ and form His
Body on earth.
However, if we want to be changed into His
image, we must develop a love for the Word and spend time in it – giving
the Spirit of God something to brood over and nurture in our lives.
Today I pray for all who read this – that God would give us an immense
hunger, desire and passion for Him and His Word. I pray that God would
help us to submit to the Spirit’s brooding and we would become a living
Epistle, the Word made flesh, for His glory!
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” (John 1:14)
Love is so completely foreign to the operation of the world that it may be the one thing that causes them to stop and take note!
The world has satisfied itself through medical science, space travel and amazing architectural feats - but love can never be simulated.
The greatest, untapped power supply of our time may be the love of God!
Love endures through the worst trials, showing patience and kindness
Love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or self promoting
Love is never arrogant and inflated with pride
Love is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly
Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking
Love is not touchy or fretful or resentful
Love takes no account of the evil done to it – paying no attention to a suffered wrong
Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person
Love never fails
(1 Cor 13)
God help us to understand and operate in your love – perfected and fully furnished for your glory!
The person who thrives on controversy will
find trouble wherever he or she goes. It doesn’t matter where they’re
at or who they’re with, they’ll find a reason to stir and agitate to the
point that a wake of victims lie in
their path. And perhaps there are times where their concerns are
genuine and need to be addressed – but they generally carry a hammer
where a wet sponge would do the job.
This is the person that
uses God’s Word as a tool to constantly find fault in others. It’s the
person who sees another’s desire to serve God, but finds one piece in
the puzzle that doesn’t fit to their liking and hyper focuses on that.
It’s their method of ‘helping’ others look just and right (from the
outside, of course) before God.
The person who thrives on
controversy sees themselves as being able to ‘discern’ the problems of
other people, but they often can’t discern their own issues. They may
have a hard time discerning what's of God and what's coming from their
own emotions and strongholds, so all of their words and actions are
self-labeled as 'just.'
Tragically, this kind of person draws
individuals who are in need of a strong motherly or fatherly figure,
‘trains’ them in their methods, and they begin to see the world through
the same eyes as Mr. or Mrs. Controversy.
But we are not held
captive by this type of thought. We are those who discern God’s ways
and will, and progress in this walk of sanctification. So don’t take
offense at Mr. or Mrs. Controversy – seek God’s input and pray! Stay
away from those that constantly stir up strife; live a quiet and
peaceful life in serving God.
“But refuse (shut your mind
against, have nothing to do with) … (ill-informed, unedifying…)
controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster
strife and breed quarrels.
And the servant of the Lord must not be
quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to
everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a
skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to
suffer wrong.
He must correct his opponents with courtesy and
gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and
come to know the Truth … and that they may come to their senses [and]
escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him,
[henceforth] to do His [God's] will." (2 Timothy 2:23-26)
As a hospice chaplain I regularly meet with
people who's prognosis is death - within the next 6-8 months. Many of
these are elderly people, but some are young.
People who are dieing have a different
perspective on life than those who are actively living: they are often
better able to examine themselves more truthfully because they have
nothing to protect and nothing to hide. They are in life's most
vulnerable position.
As a result, many of these people are
willing to forgive long time grudges and be released to heaven with a
clean heart. They see the Truth of God's love more clearly than many of
us that are seeking and serving God and have many years left to do so.
Many of them also express deep, deep sorrow and gut wrenching heartache
over having carried unforgiveness for so long. They seem to be able to
see through the eyes of God into how things could have been if they'd
forgiven sooner. How tragic it is to witness this and grieve with these
people in their darkest moments, when they see that they have been
bound by the chains of unforgiveness and it has poisoned themselves and
the people around them.
But once they release forgiveness they
are soon released into the arms of the Father - He keeps them breathing
long enough to help them repent of all the darkness in their hearts then
they enter into the gates of heaven with a 'hallelujah, I'm forgiven'
on their lips!
Don't wait until your last breath. Don't live
in darkness and withhold the love of God from your domain. Use every
living breath wisely, and when you are old and ready to pass, leap into
heaven with joy at having lived a life of love and forgiveness through
the Spirit of God.
As I scraped a small area of loose paint around our tub it began to
come off in small sheets - then a piece of the plaster underneath fell
into my hands. By the time I was done ‘scraping,’ the lower
half of the wall around the tub was lying inside of the tub – water
damaged. At that point I couldn’t decide if I should cry about the
damage or be happy that I’d found this problem: we spent the next 2
months of the summer repairing walls and water leaks in the bathroom.
As strange as it seems, this is very much parallel to the feelings we
have and the process we go through when God reveals something unhealthy
and destructive in our hearts and lives. On one hand we might wish we
hadn’t discovered it, especially if we tend to lean toward the old adage
which says “what you don’t know won’t hurt.” But on the other hand, it
may be a relief to know the source of the issue which has
affected our own life and that of others around us. That damage under
the surface of the paint was causing serious allergy problems for our
daughter and I was in constant prayer asking the Lord to reveal the
source of it.
The process of sanctification should include an
abundance of revelation concerning our personal ‘issues’ that God wants
us to be rid of. However, never should these revelations be a source of
condemnation - they are simply a moment in time where God is shining
His Light on us in a new way so that we can repent, be healed and
cleansed, and become a vessel with greater abilities to walk in His
image – and this may take time!
Whatever character problems God
reveals, and in whatever way He chooses to reveal them, don’t let
condemnation come into your heart and mind. These revelations are
continued proof of God’s love for us and never ending dedication to be
faithful in recreating us into His image. Don’t allow the enemy to come
in and beat you over the head when you get a revelation of ‘self,’ just
sink into God and let the washing of the water of the word renew your
mind and change your life.
Give yourself time, seek God, reject
condemnation, and be thankful when these opportunities present
themselves. God is cutting off chains and moving you toward the open
door you’ve been waiting for, however, He sometimes has to trim off our
excess ‘self’ to get us through that door!
The Body of Christ is composed not only of our
fellowship group or even our group and the neighboring group with whom
we 'click.' The Body is universal – we are one huge group of believers
across the world.
But what
I’ve seen in the past few years is a great ‘move’ of exclusiveness
within individual bodies of believers. Each one claiming God is working
in them far above and beyond what He is doing in other groups – and if
others would come to us, they could experience God because we have the
‘market’ on His ‘move.’
This is a subtle ploy of the enemy to
exalt ourselves in pride and prejudice! It’s a worldly attitude that
looks and longs for renown – to draw others under our own authority with
God’s name on it. Where God is truly moving amongst His people He is
inspiring them to take His love to others for a Kingdom harvest -
there's an excitement to share outside of the walls of our gatherings.
Just in the area where I live there are multitudes of churches and
small groups who gather regularly for prayer – asking God to change
their hearts and draw them closer to Him. Asking Him to guide them in
lifting His name that all men would be drawn to Him – and then they are
ready to submit to what He chooses as His way of doing so.
Even though these groups aren’t unified under one roof, they are all
seeking the same thing. So who can claim the ‘move’ of God as He works
amongst us when He, Himself, has inspired each body to for pray for
these things?
Godly Grandmas are sitting in their prayers
closets, praying for God to have His way with the church; they’re
shut-ins and can’t get to the local church. Are they excluded from the
presence and power of God that others claim to house? And what about
the new believer who is desperately seeking God but hasn’t found that
exclusive gathering? Is she excluded?
So I plead with the
Body to throw away exclusiveness! Know that God has inspired His Body
all over the world to pray for the same things that you are praying for,
and to live holy lives of honor before Him. This is His universal call
to the church and it’s a point of unity, not division and exclusivity.
Blessed be His name!
Pull up the Anchor and Move Forward!
Sometimes we rehash and rehash and rehash - instead of throwing it in
the trash! Nobody's perfect - and we can't 'fix' other people, but we
can forgive them and move forward!
Someone might say "but you
don't know what happened to me!" And I would reply "and you don't know
what happened to me -or her, or him, or them...." But we all know what
happened to Jesus - and He forgave completely through the greatest
sacrifice ever made!
But that sacrifice wasn't made for your
forgiveness only - it was made so that you could be enabled to
completely forgive (and love) others and live life to the fullest!
Jesus said "I have come that they may have life, and that more
abundantly (John 10:10)."
Live life to the fullest in Him - be
and do all that He has created you for - to the end that He would be
glorified. Clip the anchor that's holding you back - whatever happened
to you - and walk forward.
Enjoy life!
Throughout the Bible we’re told not to take
vengeance on those who have hurt or persecuted us (Lev 19:18, Deut 32,
Roman 12, 1 Sam 25, Eze 25). Vengeance is a sort of ‘pay back’ for
wrongs done to a person, but it also
includes making a judgment against another person. This type of
judgment isn’t just a decision that someone has wronged us - it's
acting as though we have the authority to proclaim a sentence, as though
we are the presiding judge in a court of law, or as though that person
is in our hands and we can decide how they’re to be dealt with. This
is, in fact, usurping God’s authority because He decides when vengeance
is due and He carries it out according to His plan. “Vengeance is mine,
says the Lord.” It’s not ours – to contemplate, to brew or to carry
out.
Perhaps you haven’t gone as far as actively
avenging someone else for what they’ve done – but if you’re still
thinking on it then you’re holding a grudge. Leviticus 19 connects
grudges and vengeance – they are demonic twins. To avenge is to take
action toward punishing someone, but to hold a grudge is to cherish
anger in your heart toward them. To ‘cherish’ anger means to have an
aversion towards anger when the person is thought of, or to replace
affection for that person with anger toward him or her.
Correction is different than vengeance: it’s God’s means of providing a
path for restoration to Himself whereas vengeance provides self
satisfaction. Godly correction is for those who love and cherish one
another in the Lord. True correction has an immense desire to see a
person walk in the fullness of God and is willing to make sacrifices to
help make that happen. Correction is not an avenue for throwing
personal hurts back at someone – or trying to vindicate self. Jeremiah
expressed the heart of correction when he asked God not to correct him
in His anger, lest He bring Jeremiah to complete insignificance and
defeat (Jer. 10:24).
Let go of the irritations against
your spouse, your pastor, your friend, your child, your coworker or
whomever --- and stop usurping the authority of God. Forgive and
release those things into His hands; He has better things for you to
focus on. If vindication is needed don’t plot it – let God arrange it
and it will be much sweeter!
Beloved, never avenge yourselves,
but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance
is Mine, I will repay… says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed
him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap
burning coals [of conviction] upon his head. Do not let yourself be
overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good (Romans 12:19-21
AMP).
If you doubt that your words have power, call
your son ‘stupid’ day after day for 10 years and see how it affects him
(and you). On the other hand, continually tell him he’s filled with the
love, wisdom and grace of God, then see what the end result is.
When we look at the power of our words on those terms, it hits home how
important it is to use words wisely. They have both long term and
short term affect, and they are more effective on our children and
others when the character behind the words is Godly.
It's not a
coincidence that 'tongues of fire' appeared over heads at Pentecost.
The power of God is a great fire - given to spread the Gospel and burn
away the old life - if our words are spoken at His direction. And this
is not impossible – it simply calls for relationship with God. Jesus
exemplified this, and the result is that He only said what He heard the
Father say (John 12:49, 14:10).
The Bible is our
example for living and it’s filled with instances of God telling people
what to speak – every day, ordinary people like you and I. We are
instruments of God’s purposes here on earth and our words and actions
are vehicles to fulfill those purposes. In fact, James tells us that
the ‘ship of life’ is turned in directions against prevailing winds by
the very small rudder called the tongue. A look at the current media
trends can verify this same concept (for the negative or positive).
People who have made mistakes in their speaking (and today not much is
private) see the course of their lives changed by one little sentence.
Although God has given us power through speech, I am not suggesting
that we become little dictators to the world around us by commanding
everything to our liking, but that we submit our mouths to God as
instruments for His work - that we let our words be seeds planted in
the right season for a harvest of righteousness.
Life and
death are seeds within the power of the tongue – strewn at the tongues
bidding. And those who love God will allow Him to direct life and use
our mouths to plant seeds accordingly! (Paraphrased from Prov 18:21).
When winter arrives you put away your bathing
suit and when summer arrives you put away your snowsuit - each season
requires it's own clothing. In the same way, it can be difficult and
uncomfortable to step into the next season if you want to wear last seasons activities, worries and thought processes.
Changes in life circumstances require a shift in thinking - concerning
how you treat your body, what you spend your time on, how your finances
are used and who you spend time with.
An example of this in the
natural would be changes in seasons from being single, to being
married, to having children, to being an 'empty nester.' Each of these
changes requires a shift in life style: you don't live the same way once
you have children as you did when you were single - it's not a
successful plan for that season.
If we remain stuck in last
season's mode of operation we may spin our wheels in the new season. For
example, a healthy and active 75 year old does not do the same things
he did when he was 15 - his body may be healthy but it acts differently
and he must adjust his life accordingly. This is especially possible
because he has gained much wisdom in the 60 years that have passed
before getting to his current season. It's a bit like having an older
car - I can take care of it and treat it with kid gloves, but I wouldn't
drive it the same way I'd drive a spanking, new Camaro.
In
Luke 56 Jesus chides his audience for not being able to discern the
seasons and times they're in. He wanted them to take a clue about the
current Spiritual season - to note what was going on around them not
just physically, but spiritually, and act accordingly.
If
you've spun your wheels and been frustrated, perhaps you've missed the
'shift.' Perhaps the change of seasons has come and you're stuck in last
season's mode of thinking and operating. If so, take a step back, go
before the Lord and discern the times! Find out what needs to go, what
needs to stay, what needs to be stepped up a notch.
Then do it!
Have you ever been misunderstood and couldn’t
seem to bring resolve to the situation? Perhaps your actions or words
were taken in the wrong way and someone either wouldn’t listen to your
explanation or they wouldn’t believe you!
Hannah, who cried before God for a child of her own, was accused of
being drunk. Mary, when she anointed Jesus feet with spikenard, was
accused of having ulterior motives of prostitution. But neither of
these women had motives other than to serve God and give to Him the
things they treasured most in life: Hannah her child and Mary her heart.
Hannah was able to explain her situation and make herself
understood, but Mary wasn’t. However, Jesus spoke up for Mary – He knew
the intentions of her heart. Where Mary had previously used her body
in the life of a prostitute, she now gave all she had to the sacred
service of her Lord Jesus Christ – even her hair and tears were meant to
honor Him. Jesus understood her, but those around her snubbed her in
spite of His explanation. Sometimes people will see us in light of our
‘past’ lives and refuse to let us out of that box – but not Jesus
Christ, He sees the motive of the heart.
One reason people
misunderstand others is because they have been hurt in the past (perhaps
more than once) and our words or actions trigger the memory of that
hurt. In response, they put the same motives behind our words and
actions that were (or thought to be) behind the words and actions of
those that hurt them. So we become just another offender – perhaps one
in a series of offenders who have been misjudged or misunderstood.
There are a few things you can do to help a situation where you have been misunderstood:
1st – Pray, of course! Let God show you how to handle this – He may
give you insight and you’ll be able to resolve it quickly or He may tell
you to wait on His timing.
2nd – Check your heart for any hidden
motives – was there anything inside of you that was taking an
opportunity to ‘stick it to’ someone? If so, repent.
3rd – Go
directly to the person, in LOVE, and ask for a meeting. If they are
willing to meet, make sure grace and restoration are your motives. When
you meet - Listen! - hear the heart of the other person. If they aren’t
willing to meet, consider waiting a while then trying again.
4th –
When another’s past hurts are involved, you will be dealing with a
stronghold in the person’s emotions – God has to do the work. If they
won’t meet or won’t forgive, you still need to forgive and move on or
you'll stifle the love and work of God in your life. Don’t hold the
hurt – and don’t spread the ‘news’ to others about it. Let nothing
fester inside of you and form a stronghold which overrides future
situations.
The Bible has various means of dealing with being
‘wronged’ (Matt 18), but this study is dealing with misunderstanding one
another. Perhaps if we can quickly resolve a misunderstanding it won’t
turn into a full blown ‘war’ between two of God’s children and the
focus can be brought back to serving God instead of carrying out the
plan of the enemy to divide the brethren.
Blessed are the peacemakers!
Since sanctification is a process, the
realization of sin has to be a parallel process. Sanctification is the
renewing of the mind to God’s way of thinking, and in turn reflecting
Him in our everyday lives. Because
renewing the mind happens in ‘steps’ and over time, repentance must then
come in steps as our understanding is opened and we turn more and more
TO Christ and AWAY from the world.
In other words, our
confession of Christ doesn’t keep us from the sinful ways that have
developed in us throughout our lives – however short or long they have
been – because we understand God and His ways progressively as they are
revealed to us. So there is a process of removing sin in our lives and
turning our hearts and minds to Christ – a process of separating
ourselves to Christ and away from sin.
This process of
sanctification includes repentance. So, for instance, when God gives us a
revelation in our lives which turns our thinking away from error, He is
showing us where there is sin and drawing us to repent and be
sanctified in that area. If we accept those revelations as such, and
repentance becomes a regular part of our lives, then we progress in
Christ-likeness.
The ‘aha’ moments, the sudden revelation of
scripture that breaks off erroneous doctrine or an old way of thinking,
the wisdom given by a friend extending God’s grace, these turn us away
from self and toward God. And if these things turn us to God, then they
turn us away from sin and error. We may not want to call these aha
moments ‘revelations of sin,’ but anything that is not God’s way of
thinking or living is sin. It’s that simple.
This process
should never stop as long as we are alive and willing to be cleansed
from sin. If we think we’ve arrived, God will give us an ‘aha’ moment
and break off a chunk of the old mindset, removing sin. He’ll show us
where we’re mistreating our spouse, have a plank in an eye, are too
stubborn to move forward, etc., etc. This is not so we walk around with
conviction and condemnation hanging on us – but that our hearts and
minds would be open to accept and give greater grace and love.
What is the greater purpose of your ‘aha’ moment? Thank God for His
faithfulness to our sanctification as He continually reveals sin in our
lives and brings us to repentance.
Blessed be His name!
When Abraham met Melchizedek the Priest, he
gave him a tenth of his spoils of war. The Bible tells us that
Abraham’s giving was credited to his great grandson, Levi, as though
Levi had given this spiritual blessing
to Melchizedek himself. Levi wasn’t even born until some 160 years
later, but his great grandfather,whom he never met, was storing up a
spiritual inheritance through his spiritual actions and honoring of God
(Heb. 7:9-10).
Our future descendants are being continually
formed inside of us by the spiritual seeds we sow. This happens in a
couple of ways. First, our lives are changed as we take on the person
of Jesus Christ - there’s an actual change in our nature as we become
more and more Christ-like. In this sense we are creating a new
atmosphere, imbued with the grace and love of God, which becomes the
‘norm’ for our children and, in turn, their children. No longer do we
have ‘earthly’ minded homes and lives, but we live in an atmosphere
where Christ reigns and rules. This is a major paving of the road into
our descendents spirituality – it’s like giving them a jump in life that
lifts them above one of the everyday problems we face in trying to
serve well!
Second, while Christians have long feared the
negative spiritual dynamics passed on in families, we often don’t see
the positive spiritual seeds that have been sown, perhaps even
generations ago. Abraham’s great grandson, Levi, was later to become
the first priest in the house of God. Abraham’s tithe was a prophetic
action which looked forward to and confirmed Levi’s future, spiritual
assignment (Heb.7). As complicated as this may sound, it simply says
that the spiritual acts done by our ancestors have great affect on us
and the work God has given us to do - and ours have the same affect on
our descendants. In this way we are able to spiritually and
prophetically pave a road for our descendants to walk into the Kingdom
life and work which God has called them to.
We also see this
concept in Timothy, the NT leader whose “sincere faith” was alive first
in his grandmother Lois and then his mother, Eunice. Grandma Lois was
‘paying it forward’ for Timothy – she was actively living and planting
in the Kingdom of God, which rolled into her daughter Lois and then
exploded spiritually in her grandson, Timothy (1 Ti 1:5).
If
you think you have little effect on the future it’s time to rethink your
spiritual life. Not only can you affect your physical descendants, but
you can sow into your spiritual descendants in the same way. There is
never a time when we can simply live for ourselves and live for today,
as long as we are part of God’s Kingdom.
In essence, as we
cooperate with God we pave the way for His future to be lived out in the
next generation(s). In this way we are linked arm in arm with the
cloud of witnesses from the past, and we reach forward to future Kingdom
workers, prophetically participating in their lives of service.
Each one
of them made serious mistakes along the way – but they loved God. Each
one of them has a list of things they did wrong which might be longer
than the things they did right. We even have record of the ways that some of them messed up – like human beings do – while they were trying to follow God.
I’m referring to the Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews 11. They include
Abraham – who was an adulterer and liar. Sarah, who laughed at God and
enabled her husband in adultery. Noah, who built the ark, miraculously
floated through the flood, but later became a drunkard.
This
could be the end of their stories, but God didn’t abandon them in their
mistakes and sins; He saw them through to complete what He had for them
to do. In Hebrews 11 we read only that Abraham left his family to serve
God, and Sarah received strength from God to conceive and bear the
child of promise in her old age. We read the Noah built the ark and
participated in God’s plan, enabling his sons to become the progenitors
of a new generation of people. We read the final chapters of their
lives – the summation of God’s view of them, in spite of their past sins
and struggles.
These people are us! They are the pastor down
the street that messed up but still wants to follow God (perhaps like
the Biblical David). They are the ones who grew from their mistakes and
grieved in their hearts because they got off track, like the
Israelite’s did, and like we do. They weren’t born under the New
Covenant, they sinned terribly while claiming to follow God, and yet
they are our examples of faithfulness in the Hall of Faith of Hebrews
11.
This isn’t a list of excuses to sin, but an encouragement
to the downtrodden. Whatever mistakes we’ve made, in the end God is
looking for the heart that will get back on track and follow
wholeheartedly after Him. He will write the final page of your story –
and perhaps it will be only Him that sees the faithfulness of your
heart. Don't ever, ever, ever, let another person put the stamp of
condemnation on you as long as you are still breathing, able to repent
and move forward in God!
So I ask you, how do you see others?
If they’ve sinned in some way, have you put the ‘dead’ label on their
foreheads and called them sinners for life – unable to be used again by
God? Do you warn others to stay away from them? If so, look again at
Hebrews 11 and see what God calls them – He who knows the heart of each
person claims them for His own and calls them faithful. He sees every
sin and continues to draw us to Him in spite of it – He continues to
call us out of our sin that we would learn from our mistakes and follow
Him more closely.
Perhaps it’s time for a shift of focus – a
shift that will enable us to see ourselves and others in the way God
sees us. God told it like it was in Hebrews 11 – the real story. While
we might look at it and see their errors along the way – they were a
work in progress; half finished when we read of them in the Old
Testament. But the Master, who sees the end from the beginning,
recorded their faithfulness and left out their sin because He had
removed it as far as the east is from the west. He saw them through
heaven’s eyes because they lived life through the eyes of faith!
God help us to have ‘heaven’s eyes’ as we see one another’s mistakes
and sins. Help us to encourage one another on to godliness instead of
condemning and putting the ‘dead’ stamp on our brothers and sisters.
In the end, God sees us as more than conquerors, and that’s reality!
On a tour of a local paper company, I noticed wads of paper
underneath a large storage rack. It seemed that human forms were
indented into the paper, perhaps a dozen or so, lying in different
positions. People were not actually lying there, of course, but they had
been there at one point and had rested in those positions under the
storage rack. In essence, they were sleeping on the job and had left the
evidence behind.
Those workers had the authority to run the
plant in their supervisor’s absence and had taken advantage of it. They
were entrusted with representing his values, character and power but
chose instead to use that authority for their own benefit.
This
is similar to what we’ve been given as Christians in God’s Kingdom (Mark
13). He’s granted us full power and authority to care for His
possessions and live productively until His return – and all of His
assets are at our disposal for this purpose. But true authority is not
simply declaring and commanding in the name of Jesus – it has a
foundation of Godliness as its source of power. The seven sons of Sceva
declared the name of Jesus over demons but they were beaten and abused
when they did so. The name of Jesus carries authority only to those who
live and walk with Him – displaying His character in this earth (Acts
19)!
Authority has been given us to act in Jesus’ stead: to
display his character, walk in the same competency, rule with all
diligence and love, apply His power as He would, and exert Godly
influence over the world around us. We’re to watch the door of His house
for His return and carry on the work of His kingdom. This is our life’s
purpose – and each person fits into this purpose with a specific work
which is part of the whole.
He is returning soon! Are we asleep
on the job or wide awake, alert and ready? Have we given ourselves to
walking in His authority – His character, His purposes, and as His
representatives in His stead?
What evidence have you left behind?
“These men are servants of the Most High God! They announce to you the way of salvation!” (Acts 16)
Paul became so tired of hearing these words shouted in the shadows behind him that he
delivered the demon possessed slave girl who followed them, blurting her message. But someone had been profiting from the spirit of
divination operating through this girl – and those people were irate to
learn that their benefits had been cut when Paul expelled the demon from
her.
It’s not unusual to see someone else benefiting
financially, or in some other way, from a stronghold in another person -
even if it’s just an erroneous mind set and not a demonic possession. A
simple example of this would be the person who is driven by
compassionate giving but can’t seem to discern when the Lord is saying
‘open your hand and give’ and when the enemy is whispering ‘give, give,
give.’ This compulsion to give will keep another stronghold living and
active within the person who is a compulsive taker.
Scripture
shows that compulsion is a sign of a stronghold. God gently leads and
guides us, but the enemy gets behind us and shoves us - even if it’s a
shove in the direction of something we’re gifted in. The enemy will even
compel us to unspiritual obsession and captivation with the gift God’s
given us, to the point that we consider ourselves the one person who
‘has it right’ or who needs to be heard or who needs no one to discern
the use of our gift.
If we get free from the compulsion to give
money, the obsession to earn approval by doing and doing and doing, the
workaholic mindset, or any other obsession inspired by the enemy,
someone stands to lose a benefit and that person might be very angry.
However, allowing God to cleanse us from these strongholds will bring
TRUE benefits in the long run, not worldly advantages with no Kingdom
benefit.
We are Kingdom people and our activities must
completely line up with Kingdom ideas. If we neglect our children or
spouse to feed our compulsive behaviors we are not in balance with God’s
will. We can check ourselves by focusing not just on one scripture to
justify our behaviors, but accepting the whole counsel of God in the
right balance.
May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear
where we are being compelled and driven from behind instead of being led
by the King of Kings for His benefit and glory!
