This morning I had 2 significant dreams. In the first dream an angel encouraged me and my husband Dave, giving us the house of our destiny. In the second dream a diabolical plot was discovered. I would like to share the second dream with you and its significance to the battle Christians are embroiled in at this time. Here is the dream;
I was a spectator in the house of our destiny. I saw a boy, about 10 – 12 years old. He was being ensnared by an evil man who intended to kidnap him. There was knowledge that the news had sent out an alert that there also was a small baby boy that had been kidnapped and people were looking for him. Suddenly the young boy’s mother came in the front door where the boy and wicked man were. She had rigged the door so that, when it opened, a gun would shoot a bullet, aimed to the left. She looked like Barbara Billingsly, with white gloves on. And so it happened as she had planned, that coming in the door, the bullet was fired and went into the evil man.
“Nice going Mom!” her son said. “You just killed Jerome, the man who was ‘helping’ us. He was perpetrating the evil on me which he intended I would perpetrate on others.”
The focus shifted to Jerome, who hadn’t died. We realized that he was one of satan’s agents. He had a baby in a bassinet next to him, whom he had kidnapped. We knew he would raise the baby to perpetrate evil. Though the 10-12 year old boy was safe, we wondered if we could rescue the baby. End of dream.
Interpretation – Barbara Billingsly represents the perfect wife, God’s perfected church or Bride. She has all the wisdom and skill needed to defeat satan, catching him in his own snares.
White gloves – pure works
Young son – the first movement of the Lord in our generation. Satan tried to “kidnap” this movement by cruelly wounding Christians, who in turn would wound others
Baby – God’s current movement. Innocent and unwounded so far
Jerome – In real life he was a saint who had been subject to the sin of pedophilia. In this dream he represents defilement through spiritual abuse.
After having received this dream the Lord brought me to the realization that some of this important material was given in a dream I had 12/24/08. Though this makes for long reading, it will bring more insight into the times we are now living, and is as follows;
There was a fierce war going on, but our group of about 50 people were gathered off to themselves, having not entered the battle. A few times I saw scenes of the battle, as if I were there. The field was full of dead bodies, old and new, stacked high on top of each other and covering the entire field. There were only a hand full of men standing. They had WWI style helmets on and just stood like statues, easy prey for what the enemy dropped on them. The enemy was shooting dead bodies, which landed on the field and on the soldiers. There was no shelter, and there was no plan. It was night time.
Our group had a discussion that I was not part of. A man who looked like one of the prominent pastors in our area gave a stirring pep talk and convinced the others that it was time to go to the battlefield. The group began a march up the road to the battle field. It was day-time. My husband Dave and I were last, and lingered behind. Our belief was that a plan would come to us that would better equip us to win, if we weren’t hasty to get there. I stopped along the road to get a drink from a drinking fountain.
This dream showed the same concept of wounded or slain men being used as weapons against those faithfully holding their ground in Christ. We saw the need for people to be equipped and mentored or we will not endure to give God the glory.
An evangelist’s efforts are often called a “campaign”, and so are military moves. The local pastor’s campaign was initiated from his personal motivation and did not include God’s strategy. God’s plan is to have a people who stand in victory against the devil, satan. Yet, if wounded people are used by satan to wound others, we will become weapons in the enemy’s hands instead of Jesus’ hands. When an enemy cannot defeat a people from without he will cunningly use those within to bring defeat.
What should we do, then? We cannot remove ourselves from the evil of this life. But we can love, and pray for grace to endure our hardships. One great thing we can do is to let God use us for the encouragement and equipping of each other. We need to have confidence to use those gifts given to us by God, for there is no security in doing what great leaders tell us to do. But there is every confidence that the Lord will equip and train us, sharing His plan for victory with those who wait on Him. Amen.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Mexican laborers; the dream
After seeking godly counsel I feel that I was wrong to post the interpretation of my dream earlier and not post the dream also. This dream is about the Mexicans in our land, and is as follows;
My husband Dave and I were in our garage, which was extra large. Instead of there being a pantry, which Dave had built, it was a bare concrete floor. About 3 Mexicans were working in the middle and towards the large garage door. They were to build an addition upward, out of bricks. One solemn Mexican worker became the focus as he straightened out a metal leg that had been bent inward. It was on a short 4-legged platform on which all the bricks had been stacked. It had been stacked very high and I wondered if the platform had buckled under the load, or whether they should re-use it since it had been damaged.
Then I remembered having read on the news that 12 Mexicans had been killed when a tower of bricks fell over on them. Alarmed I shared this with my husband Dave and asked if this had happened to our workers. He didn’t know. We could see the 3 workers cleaning up the floor, but there were not any bricks.
The door to our back yard was open and there was a festive reception there. A blond well-nourished gay male waiter walked into the garage. I knew he spoke Spanish so asked him if he would ask the Mexicans if 12 men had died there. He said he could, adding that his Spanish wasn’t that good. He was busy, indifferent, and walked back out to tend to the party guests.
I walked outside to where the party was, realizing that the waiter probably wasn’t going to come back into the garage, and we wouldn’t have our answer. End of dream
Interpretation of symbolism;
our garage = part of “home”. Functional part, where maintenance and shelter take place
No pantry – no provision
Addition – needed so as to house more people
Mexican workers – the Mexicans have been doing labor in the south Western states, and elsewhere in our nation. They are part of our internal structure, providing labor for agriculture and other industries.
12 – government. The Mexican’s right to representation. This collapsed on them without even leaving a brick left to re-build their lives with.
Platform- people’s issues are represented on a platform. Theirs was unsupported, and therefore could not hold the pressures of the weight. The Mexican laborers often have poor pay & working conditions. Sometimes they are taken advantage of. And often they are treated like second-class citizens.
Language barrier – Spanish is taught as ESL, or English as a second language. This represents the Mexicans second-class treatment and is common to how other minorities have been treated. They have a similar “language” and we who have not been second class citizens would not understand them.
Gay waiter – a minority group. He should have understood the language of being treated as a second class person, but didn’t speak it well.
Party outside – people were interested in themselves, representing special interest groups. They would speak for their rights and interests, yet did not speak for others’.
End of interpretation
Aliens sojourned into Israel, just as the Israelites sojourned across the wilderness until they came to their promised destination. God asked the Israelites to treat them kindly, and Ezekiel 47:22-23 He instructs His people to give the aliens part of the inheritance and let them settle in the land among the tribes. I believe that the Lord gave this dream to show His heart towards the Mexicans in our nation. They travel here and live amongst us, yet do not have a fair life. Now their legal status is suffering an assault and they have no voice to speak of their own needs (or this is what will occur shortly). Rather than kicking the Mexicans out so that there is more to go around for those remaining (self-interested people), we should pray that the Mexicans can have their portion in our country.
My husband Dave and I were in our garage, which was extra large. Instead of there being a pantry, which Dave had built, it was a bare concrete floor. About 3 Mexicans were working in the middle and towards the large garage door. They were to build an addition upward, out of bricks. One solemn Mexican worker became the focus as he straightened out a metal leg that had been bent inward. It was on a short 4-legged platform on which all the bricks had been stacked. It had been stacked very high and I wondered if the platform had buckled under the load, or whether they should re-use it since it had been damaged.
Then I remembered having read on the news that 12 Mexicans had been killed when a tower of bricks fell over on them. Alarmed I shared this with my husband Dave and asked if this had happened to our workers. He didn’t know. We could see the 3 workers cleaning up the floor, but there were not any bricks.
The door to our back yard was open and there was a festive reception there. A blond well-nourished gay male waiter walked into the garage. I knew he spoke Spanish so asked him if he would ask the Mexicans if 12 men had died there. He said he could, adding that his Spanish wasn’t that good. He was busy, indifferent, and walked back out to tend to the party guests.
I walked outside to where the party was, realizing that the waiter probably wasn’t going to come back into the garage, and we wouldn’t have our answer. End of dream
Interpretation of symbolism;
our garage = part of “home”. Functional part, where maintenance and shelter take place
No pantry – no provision
Addition – needed so as to house more people
Mexican workers – the Mexicans have been doing labor in the south Western states, and elsewhere in our nation. They are part of our internal structure, providing labor for agriculture and other industries.
12 – government. The Mexican’s right to representation. This collapsed on them without even leaving a brick left to re-build their lives with.
Platform- people’s issues are represented on a platform. Theirs was unsupported, and therefore could not hold the pressures of the weight. The Mexican laborers often have poor pay & working conditions. Sometimes they are taken advantage of. And often they are treated like second-class citizens.
Language barrier – Spanish is taught as ESL, or English as a second language. This represents the Mexicans second-class treatment and is common to how other minorities have been treated. They have a similar “language” and we who have not been second class citizens would not understand them.
Gay waiter – a minority group. He should have understood the language of being treated as a second class person, but didn’t speak it well.
Party outside – people were interested in themselves, representing special interest groups. They would speak for their rights and interests, yet did not speak for others’.
End of interpretation
Aliens sojourned into Israel, just as the Israelites sojourned across the wilderness until they came to their promised destination. God asked the Israelites to treat them kindly, and Ezekiel 47:22-23 He instructs His people to give the aliens part of the inheritance and let them settle in the land among the tribes. I believe that the Lord gave this dream to show His heart towards the Mexicans in our nation. They travel here and live amongst us, yet do not have a fair life. Now their legal status is suffering an assault and they have no voice to speak of their own needs (or this is what will occur shortly). Rather than kicking the Mexicans out so that there is more to go around for those remaining (self-interested people), we should pray that the Mexicans can have their portion in our country.
The Stages of Love
A few days ago the Lord led me to read Phil 1:9-11. A dear friend came over and told me the Lord had her read the same verses. Coincidences like this get my attention! I had to take another look into these verses to see what treasure lay there. Here is a lesson from my quiet time this morning.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11)
We find that these verses are describing the development of love, with three components highlighted; knowledge, depth of insight, and discernment of what is best. When we let our affections grow into love our interest in the other person grows and we want to spend more time with them. Knowledge about the other person becomes important and as the relationship develops it leads to a deeper “knowing” called intimacy.
Insight about a person comes when we take responsibility for our knowledge about them. If we let knowledge train us to be thoughtful then insight about how this affects the other person, our relationship, and other parts of our lives will follow. Insight is a broad revelatory gift that goes through ever-deepening levels in our heart, perfecting us in love.
Discernment develops as we deepen in insight. It is the gatekeeper of our heart, letting good in and keeping bad out. Discernment ultimately protects love and the love relationship because it determines what is best. If a person settles for “good enough” or “fair” they are not meeting the standards of discernment to find what is best for the relationship and the person being loved. Usually the person who lacks discernment in a relationship has been slipping in taking responsibility for the knowledge they have grown in and the discipline of putting the other person first. When the slipping backwards occurs insight and discernment are lost and the relationship becomes vulnerable to decay.
A force that works against love is offense. Offense causes us to forget what we know about the other person. Left long enough, offense will create false knowledge and deceitful depths of insight due to unforgiveness. This is the reason good friends or neighbors can become brutal enemies, like the Tutus and the Hitites. Instead of remembering the good times of living side-by-side in harmony they let offence come. Forgetting knowledge caused the eventual collapse of all discernment and they began murdering those who were once their friends.
Though we don’t murder our spouses and friends, Jesus said if we hate our brother we are guilty of murder (Mt 5:22). To follow love, and then be stopped by offense is a sad journey of forgetfulness and unsound thinking. To continue in love and become pure and blameless is to become like Jesus.
Today when we follow after love let us realize that we have choices all along the way. We can forgive and put aside offenses, or we can retain the offenses. Our love-relationships may hold the greatest challenges we face, yet with them, the steps to be molded into Jesus’ image. He is at work in our lives to work love deep down into every part of our hearts. Though following after love may bring pain, it will also allow Jesus to work His righteousness in us. I’d like to encourage you to choose love for its reward is great. Amen.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11)
We find that these verses are describing the development of love, with three components highlighted; knowledge, depth of insight, and discernment of what is best. When we let our affections grow into love our interest in the other person grows and we want to spend more time with them. Knowledge about the other person becomes important and as the relationship develops it leads to a deeper “knowing” called intimacy.
Insight about a person comes when we take responsibility for our knowledge about them. If we let knowledge train us to be thoughtful then insight about how this affects the other person, our relationship, and other parts of our lives will follow. Insight is a broad revelatory gift that goes through ever-deepening levels in our heart, perfecting us in love.
Discernment develops as we deepen in insight. It is the gatekeeper of our heart, letting good in and keeping bad out. Discernment ultimately protects love and the love relationship because it determines what is best. If a person settles for “good enough” or “fair” they are not meeting the standards of discernment to find what is best for the relationship and the person being loved. Usually the person who lacks discernment in a relationship has been slipping in taking responsibility for the knowledge they have grown in and the discipline of putting the other person first. When the slipping backwards occurs insight and discernment are lost and the relationship becomes vulnerable to decay.
A force that works against love is offense. Offense causes us to forget what we know about the other person. Left long enough, offense will create false knowledge and deceitful depths of insight due to unforgiveness. This is the reason good friends or neighbors can become brutal enemies, like the Tutus and the Hitites. Instead of remembering the good times of living side-by-side in harmony they let offence come. Forgetting knowledge caused the eventual collapse of all discernment and they began murdering those who were once their friends.
Though we don’t murder our spouses and friends, Jesus said if we hate our brother we are guilty of murder (Mt 5:22). To follow love, and then be stopped by offense is a sad journey of forgetfulness and unsound thinking. To continue in love and become pure and blameless is to become like Jesus.
Today when we follow after love let us realize that we have choices all along the way. We can forgive and put aside offenses, or we can retain the offenses. Our love-relationships may hold the greatest challenges we face, yet with them, the steps to be molded into Jesus’ image. He is at work in our lives to work love deep down into every part of our hearts. Though following after love may bring pain, it will also allow Jesus to work His righteousness in us. I’d like to encourage you to choose love for its reward is great. Amen.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Mexican laborers
Sometimes we are tempted to think that there are not resources to go around, and so someone should leave. Last week the Lord gave me a dream in which the plight of the Mexican laborer was detailed. Realize that I hold no malice towards any minority group and believe that, in the Lord, we should look out for each other's interests and well-being.
Aliens sojourned into Israel, just as the Israelites sojourned across the wilderness until they came to their promised destination. God asked the Israelites to treat them kindly, and Ezekiel 47:22-23 He instructs His people to give the aliens part of the inheritance and let them settle in the land among the tribes. I believe that the Lord gave this dream to show His heart towards the Mexicans in our nation. They travel here and live amongst us, yet do not have a fair life. Now their legal status is suffering an assault and they have no voice to speak of their own needs (or this is what will occur shortly). Rather than kicking the Mexicans out so that there is more to go around for those remaining we should pray that the Mexicans can have their portion in our country. Amen
Aliens sojourned into Israel, just as the Israelites sojourned across the wilderness until they came to their promised destination. God asked the Israelites to treat them kindly, and Ezekiel 47:22-23 He instructs His people to give the aliens part of the inheritance and let them settle in the land among the tribes. I believe that the Lord gave this dream to show His heart towards the Mexicans in our nation. They travel here and live amongst us, yet do not have a fair life. Now their legal status is suffering an assault and they have no voice to speak of their own needs (or this is what will occur shortly). Rather than kicking the Mexicans out so that there is more to go around for those remaining we should pray that the Mexicans can have their portion in our country. Amen
Thursday, October 21, 2010
discernment #2
Have you ever had trouble knowing “who” is talking to you? In the spirit realm we hear God’s spirit, and we hear satan’s. There are good angels that bring us messages from the Lord, and bad angels that bring messages from their lord. When we have God’s word written on our hearts, scripture enters our minds, and after we have watched a movie, the dialogue of the actors comes to our minds. We also hear our own thoughts. Altogether, there are 100s of 1000s of thoughts that enter our minds on a daily basis, making it difficult to determine the origin of any one thought, or “who” is talking to us.
In John’s first epistle we read that those spirits that are not from God will not confess Jesus has come in the flesh, yet the Lord’s Spirit will (1 Jn 4:2-3). Experience shows us that, if we challenge the source of our thoughts, the Lord’s Spirit is gentle and confirming, yet evil spirits do not like to be questioned. We can ask for the source of our thoughts and gain discernment this way. As we grow in determining which thoughts come from God we also grow in the ability to follow Him. And, as we mature, we walk like Jesus, becoming more like Him. The more we follow and do what the Lord shares with us, the more He continues to share with us.
This week I had a conversation with a fellow-believer on the subject of testing the spirits. I’d like to share the following story with you and what became apparent afterwards. I had just met my son at a restaurant, and after dinner, was driving home. On my way home I pass by the area where my sister lives, and the thought came to stop by and visit her. Since my friend and I had just been talking about testing the spirits, I asked where this thought to visit came from, but there was no reply. However, as I drove pass her street I felt grief in my heart. Pausing to listen, I heard the Lord say, “You are going to miss an opportunity to love your sister.” Puzzled, I asked the Lord why He didn’t confirm the original thought to stop and visit, since that must have been what He wanted. He answered “I don’t want to command you to give love. Love comes from your heart and is yours to give, voluntarily. You have this treasure in earthen vessels.” (see 2 Cor 4:7)
The Lord sees our thoughts of love as valuable. Paul wrote that we should “follow after love” (1 Cor 14:1), and that our works of faith express themselves through love (Gal 5:6). The truth is, we often do follow after love, yet without seeking to identify its source. We don’t question being lovingly affectionate to our children or spouse, and our family lives are knit together with love. Even our fellowship times are filled with thoughts of kindness and concern, definite fruits of loving one another. Though our ministry may be based on loving God (2 Cor 5:14), it is incomplete without loving people.
Paul also writes that discernment is based in love, for when we follow love we learn what is best, (Phil 1:9-11). We become pure and blameless, bearing the fruits of righteousness. Without practicing love, we do not learn how to be like God on this earth. Perhaps that is why we sometimes lose our direction as Christians; we are expecting to be told what to do. Though God often shares His thoughts and plans with us, He also wants us to choose on our own to love. We cannot chose to love if we reject thoughts arising from our hearts, where God’s treasure lives. You see, our own thoughts of love are evidence that we have this treasure in our hearts.
I drove around the block and pulled up to my sister’s house, and she was very happy to see me.
In John’s first epistle we read that those spirits that are not from God will not confess Jesus has come in the flesh, yet the Lord’s Spirit will (1 Jn 4:2-3). Experience shows us that, if we challenge the source of our thoughts, the Lord’s Spirit is gentle and confirming, yet evil spirits do not like to be questioned. We can ask for the source of our thoughts and gain discernment this way. As we grow in determining which thoughts come from God we also grow in the ability to follow Him. And, as we mature, we walk like Jesus, becoming more like Him. The more we follow and do what the Lord shares with us, the more He continues to share with us.
This week I had a conversation with a fellow-believer on the subject of testing the spirits. I’d like to share the following story with you and what became apparent afterwards. I had just met my son at a restaurant, and after dinner, was driving home. On my way home I pass by the area where my sister lives, and the thought came to stop by and visit her. Since my friend and I had just been talking about testing the spirits, I asked where this thought to visit came from, but there was no reply. However, as I drove pass her street I felt grief in my heart. Pausing to listen, I heard the Lord say, “You are going to miss an opportunity to love your sister.” Puzzled, I asked the Lord why He didn’t confirm the original thought to stop and visit, since that must have been what He wanted. He answered “I don’t want to command you to give love. Love comes from your heart and is yours to give, voluntarily. You have this treasure in earthen vessels.” (see 2 Cor 4:7)
The Lord sees our thoughts of love as valuable. Paul wrote that we should “follow after love” (1 Cor 14:1), and that our works of faith express themselves through love (Gal 5:6). The truth is, we often do follow after love, yet without seeking to identify its source. We don’t question being lovingly affectionate to our children or spouse, and our family lives are knit together with love. Even our fellowship times are filled with thoughts of kindness and concern, definite fruits of loving one another. Though our ministry may be based on loving God (2 Cor 5:14), it is incomplete without loving people.
Paul also writes that discernment is based in love, for when we follow love we learn what is best, (Phil 1:9-11). We become pure and blameless, bearing the fruits of righteousness. Without practicing love, we do not learn how to be like God on this earth. Perhaps that is why we sometimes lose our direction as Christians; we are expecting to be told what to do. Though God often shares His thoughts and plans with us, He also wants us to choose on our own to love. We cannot chose to love if we reject thoughts arising from our hearts, where God’s treasure lives. You see, our own thoughts of love are evidence that we have this treasure in our hearts.
I drove around the block and pulled up to my sister’s house, and she was very happy to see me.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
God's rest
Yesterday I was tired. It had been a long, hard and busy week and I wondered if I had made a difference in God’s kingdom. I prayed “Lord, am I serving You?” His answer follows;
“You are not supposed to serve Me all the time. That is why I gave Man a Day of Rest. Those that push themselves beyond reasonable limits in ministry have missed the essence of Christianity; a relationship with Me. If what you do does not proceed from knowing Me, you may be just doing busy-work.
A wife will serve her husband, but that is not all of their relationship. They will also have time together, spent enjoying each other’s company. He will also show genuine interest in development of her talents, her well-being, and provide for her needs. The husband will let his wife know that he cherishes her. This is a parallel to My relationship with My own Bride. If she is always busy she will not have time to enjoy Me and get to know how I think about her.
This is the Rest (Heb 4:9-10) I ask men to enter into; a rest filled with fellowship and enjoyment (Mt 25:21). My focus is not always on a man’s labor. In fact, a man cannot sustain his inner being against the onslaught of his enemy unless he knows that I love and cherish him. If a man’s sense of reward comes from his works, his enemy will accuse him of not doing enough so as to wear him out (Dan 7:25). So men and women must come aside from their labors, entering into My rest for them, that they can be filled with and strengthened by My joy. Those who remain in their works will find that their weariness is soon followed by bitterness and separation from the One whom they labor for.”
Perhaps it is our nature to reflect on all we do at the end of the day and feel the reward of our accomplishments. This is not unlike God’s initial pleasure after His 6 days of creation (Gen 1:31 & 2:3). Yet the Lord hallowed a day to rest and to enjoy what He did, and He extends an invitation to enter into that joy with Him. He wants to talk with us, as a husband does with his bride, and share His thoughts. The Lord will sustain us with His joy after we enter into the rest He has created. This will happen as we set aside the reward of our labors for the greater reward of our relationship with the Beloved, our Lord. Amen.
“You are not supposed to serve Me all the time. That is why I gave Man a Day of Rest. Those that push themselves beyond reasonable limits in ministry have missed the essence of Christianity; a relationship with Me. If what you do does not proceed from knowing Me, you may be just doing busy-work.
A wife will serve her husband, but that is not all of their relationship. They will also have time together, spent enjoying each other’s company. He will also show genuine interest in development of her talents, her well-being, and provide for her needs. The husband will let his wife know that he cherishes her. This is a parallel to My relationship with My own Bride. If she is always busy she will not have time to enjoy Me and get to know how I think about her.
This is the Rest (Heb 4:9-10) I ask men to enter into; a rest filled with fellowship and enjoyment (Mt 25:21). My focus is not always on a man’s labor. In fact, a man cannot sustain his inner being against the onslaught of his enemy unless he knows that I love and cherish him. If a man’s sense of reward comes from his works, his enemy will accuse him of not doing enough so as to wear him out (Dan 7:25). So men and women must come aside from their labors, entering into My rest for them, that they can be filled with and strengthened by My joy. Those who remain in their works will find that their weariness is soon followed by bitterness and separation from the One whom they labor for.”
Perhaps it is our nature to reflect on all we do at the end of the day and feel the reward of our accomplishments. This is not unlike God’s initial pleasure after His 6 days of creation (Gen 1:31 & 2:3). Yet the Lord hallowed a day to rest and to enjoy what He did, and He extends an invitation to enter into that joy with Him. He wants to talk with us, as a husband does with his bride, and share His thoughts. The Lord will sustain us with His joy after we enter into the rest He has created. This will happen as we set aside the reward of our labors for the greater reward of our relationship with the Beloved, our Lord. Amen.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Crucifixion of the Flesh
Yesterday I wrote of dieing to our desire to be angry. This lesson is about dieing to the temptation to hate.
Crucifixion of the flesh; we consent to this process (sometimes reluctantly) when it makes sense, such as letting anger go. But what about when it seems senseless? If the good we do seems to suffer, can we still submit to letting go of rectifying wrong situations our own way? I faced this with a friend recently. Repeated disappointments were mounting up. I remembered how to ask God for grace in exchange for my anger . . . but one day I was facing hatred. “How do I handle this?” I quietly asked the Lord. I knew I had a choice, and that Jesus would not have chosen to hate. But the repeated wrong-doing . . . well it just seemed like I couldn’t live with it anymore.
The Lord broke into my thoughts with this; “I chose Judas, knowing what he would do. It cost Me a lot, his betrayal. It ended My ministry when I could have healed more people. Do you think I could have gone to My Father, thinking I knew better than He . . . and told Him that I didn’t want Judas? I was able to die on the cross because I was crucified before I got there.”
My thoughts changed direction immediately. I wondered how far I could walk with a wayward and abusive friend, and still call them “friend” from the heart. Though I felt ashamed of my weakness and almost-hatred, Jesus had taken the time to wash me with His words. I realize now that the crucifixion that comes to us when we are innocent, yet sinned against, occurs at God’s appointment. For Jesus, it meant physical death on a cross, with a new Life awaiting on the other side. And we partake of the benefit of that new life. When our own flesh is feeling the pains of crucifixion should we question our Father’s motives? Or should we wait for the new life that is waiting on the other side of our painful experience? I’m coming to believe that our gardens of disappointments and betrayals are where our flesh is finally crucified so that new life in Christ will follow. It is a life only the committed with find, for it requires a fellowship with Jesus’ sufferings, yet also a knowing of the power of His resurrection (Phil 3:10-11).
Crucifixion of the flesh; we consent to this process (sometimes reluctantly) when it makes sense, such as letting anger go. But what about when it seems senseless? If the good we do seems to suffer, can we still submit to letting go of rectifying wrong situations our own way? I faced this with a friend recently. Repeated disappointments were mounting up. I remembered how to ask God for grace in exchange for my anger . . . but one day I was facing hatred. “How do I handle this?” I quietly asked the Lord. I knew I had a choice, and that Jesus would not have chosen to hate. But the repeated wrong-doing . . . well it just seemed like I couldn’t live with it anymore.
The Lord broke into my thoughts with this; “I chose Judas, knowing what he would do. It cost Me a lot, his betrayal. It ended My ministry when I could have healed more people. Do you think I could have gone to My Father, thinking I knew better than He . . . and told Him that I didn’t want Judas? I was able to die on the cross because I was crucified before I got there.”
My thoughts changed direction immediately. I wondered how far I could walk with a wayward and abusive friend, and still call them “friend” from the heart. Though I felt ashamed of my weakness and almost-hatred, Jesus had taken the time to wash me with His words. I realize now that the crucifixion that comes to us when we are innocent, yet sinned against, occurs at God’s appointment. For Jesus, it meant physical death on a cross, with a new Life awaiting on the other side. And we partake of the benefit of that new life. When our own flesh is feeling the pains of crucifixion should we question our Father’s motives? Or should we wait for the new life that is waiting on the other side of our painful experience? I’m coming to believe that our gardens of disappointments and betrayals are where our flesh is finally crucified so that new life in Christ will follow. It is a life only the committed with find, for it requires a fellowship with Jesus’ sufferings, yet also a knowing of the power of His resurrection (Phil 3:10-11).
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The anger of Man
“The anger of man worketh not the righteousness of God (Jms 1:20).” I remember reading this verse when I was a new Christian and thinking “Um . . . aren’t Christians not supposed to get angry?” The verse made sense, and I tried to steer clear of any anger issues. However, as life would have it, my adulthood was spent with not-so-pleasant people at times, and in not-so-lovely circumstances. I would be surprised at the emotions that stirred their way up to my mind in the form of . . . yes, it was anger.
I also became familiar with Paul’s admonition to “be angry and sin not . . . don’t let the sun go down on your anger,” (Eph 4:26). Since I had found occasions in which I was angry, this verse seemed to be telling me to talk it out with the other person involved. I am pretty sure you have all experienced the time when talking does not correct anything, and in fact, it can make things worse. At the end of these talking sessions I would come away seeking God for an answer. I didn’t want to disobey Him by going to bed angry. And that is why I am writing this lesson; He gave me one of those it’s-going-to-be-hard . . . but-if-you-do-what-I tell-you-it-will-change-your-life lessons.
One day when I was telling the Lord how wrong a situation was, He asked me how I felt about it. God cares, and so He asks . . . not because He doesn’t know how we feel, but because we often don’t know all of what we feel. At that time I told the Lord I was angry, and that I couldn’t get past my anger. I asked for His help, and He said, “Helen, would you like My grace? I will give you grace if you don’t want to be angry. It’s your choice.” The anger had been tormenting me, so I chose His grace. Grace is different than peace. I wasn’t in a fuzzy warm glowing state of mind. But, I had clearness of thought, and I could pray objectively for the situation, and then from my heart for the other person involved.
After I had chosen grace a few times I thought that was my new M.O. I truly believed anger would not dominate my thoughts ever again. However, I began realizing that some situations were worse than others. They bothered me more. When the Lord asked me how I felt, it wasn’t so easy to exchange my anger for His grace. I’d find myself returning to the former thought-life of anger, and thinking I knew best how to “fix” the situation. During one of these thought sessions the Lord interrupted and said, “I will only give you grace if you truly want it.” Though I had forgotten this important lesson, the Lord was still extending His invitation to walk like Him, in His grace.
Shamed, I repented of thinking I knew better, and I gave up my anger for His grace. It changed me over time to repeatedly give up my right to anger, and to changing things my own way. In fact, it crucified me. I would see people do wrong things, or say awful things, and not be able to rectify the situation. But what began happening is that the Lord would drop His thoughts into my mind. Wisdom, understanding, insight and prophecy . . . even revelations would come. He prepared me to be effective in situations that formerly I had failed in, because of anger. Once I kept my commitment to abandon my flesh and anger along with it, I was able to walk in the Spirit, despite adverse circumstances. God trusted me with His heart in each situation.
The Bible says that we go from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18). God’s intention is to transform our minds by sharing His thoughts with us. Yet we have to be trustworthy to receive His heart. He does not want an angry child of His wielding His words hurtfully at others. Rather, He intends on capturing others into His grace when we abide there as His messenger. God’s rewards to us are great, if we will exchange our anger for His grace. The first step is to go to Him in honesty, sharing our heart with Him and giving up our own way. What follows is a walk with our Lord, sharing His heart and His ways with us. God’s way is better. Amen
I also became familiar with Paul’s admonition to “be angry and sin not . . . don’t let the sun go down on your anger,” (Eph 4:26). Since I had found occasions in which I was angry, this verse seemed to be telling me to talk it out with the other person involved. I am pretty sure you have all experienced the time when talking does not correct anything, and in fact, it can make things worse. At the end of these talking sessions I would come away seeking God for an answer. I didn’t want to disobey Him by going to bed angry. And that is why I am writing this lesson; He gave me one of those it’s-going-to-be-hard . . . but-if-you-do-what-I tell-you-it-will-change-your-life lessons.
One day when I was telling the Lord how wrong a situation was, He asked me how I felt about it. God cares, and so He asks . . . not because He doesn’t know how we feel, but because we often don’t know all of what we feel. At that time I told the Lord I was angry, and that I couldn’t get past my anger. I asked for His help, and He said, “Helen, would you like My grace? I will give you grace if you don’t want to be angry. It’s your choice.” The anger had been tormenting me, so I chose His grace. Grace is different than peace. I wasn’t in a fuzzy warm glowing state of mind. But, I had clearness of thought, and I could pray objectively for the situation, and then from my heart for the other person involved.
After I had chosen grace a few times I thought that was my new M.O. I truly believed anger would not dominate my thoughts ever again. However, I began realizing that some situations were worse than others. They bothered me more. When the Lord asked me how I felt, it wasn’t so easy to exchange my anger for His grace. I’d find myself returning to the former thought-life of anger, and thinking I knew best how to “fix” the situation. During one of these thought sessions the Lord interrupted and said, “I will only give you grace if you truly want it.” Though I had forgotten this important lesson, the Lord was still extending His invitation to walk like Him, in His grace.
Shamed, I repented of thinking I knew better, and I gave up my anger for His grace. It changed me over time to repeatedly give up my right to anger, and to changing things my own way. In fact, it crucified me. I would see people do wrong things, or say awful things, and not be able to rectify the situation. But what began happening is that the Lord would drop His thoughts into my mind. Wisdom, understanding, insight and prophecy . . . even revelations would come. He prepared me to be effective in situations that formerly I had failed in, because of anger. Once I kept my commitment to abandon my flesh and anger along with it, I was able to walk in the Spirit, despite adverse circumstances. God trusted me with His heart in each situation.
The Bible says that we go from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18). God’s intention is to transform our minds by sharing His thoughts with us. Yet we have to be trustworthy to receive His heart. He does not want an angry child of His wielding His words hurtfully at others. Rather, He intends on capturing others into His grace when we abide there as His messenger. God’s rewards to us are great, if we will exchange our anger for His grace. The first step is to go to Him in honesty, sharing our heart with Him and giving up our own way. What follows is a walk with our Lord, sharing His heart and His ways with us. God’s way is better. Amen
Sunday, October 3, 2010
lamp stands
God puts gifts in people for the benefit of others. As He works through those people they are like lively stones, built up into a Holy temple (1 Pet 4:5). We are to become a spiritual house as well as a holy priesthood in our service of God, and this is a picture of what the Church should be. Just as, personally, our bodies are the temple of the Lord (1 Cor 6:19), so we as the Body of Christ are built up into a temple. The process of the building up of God’s Body in the Church is taught in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The gifts specifically mentioned for the purpose of building up the people are the 5-fold ministry (Eph 4:11 – 13). We are to be “built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The 5-fold ministry prepares the people for works of service so that they can participate in this growth, until the full measure of Christ is attained.
We all want to attain to the full stature of Christ in our churches, and often look at God’s presence in our congregations as His approval of how we are running our ministry. God’s manifest presence in the temple of the Old Testament showed He was with His people, so it is a natural conclusion that God’s presence amongst us would mean that we have His favor.
If we look at the powerful things God did in the 1st century Church there is a common theme; God was present with them. Yet, we see in the book of Revelation that many of the churches displeased the Lord, and needed to repent. There is a warning to the same church that God gave instructions to on how to build up His Body (Ephesus) that the Lord was about to remove their lamp stand (Rev 2:5). In my life, twice I have seen a church lose their lamp stand. Though He had set His presence and authority in faithful men, over time they competed with the Lord for lordship over their flock. And His presence left. God’s presence isn’t a seal of approval over a man’s ministry; it is just the beginning of a deeper relationship with the ministry.
Just as a man will date a woman he intends on having a relationship with, so God courts His Church for a deeper relationship with her. When He sees that the church or ministry is serious about His affections, the Lord shares on a deeper basis with her so that she can fully get to know His nature. He looks deeply into the eyes of His churches for that seriousness that comes with deep, committed love. His presence grows more intense and He purposes to continue the relationship on ever-deepening levels. He tests the ministries of men to see if He can trust His heart to them, and to their ministers.
If a man’s ministry is dedicated to the purposes in Jesus’ heart for His Church, he will be dedicated to molding people in Christ’s image so that the Spirit of Jesus will reside in their personal temple. That same minister will encourage the members of his ministry to grow in the use of their gifts so that the Church can be built up as a temple for the Holy Spirit to reside in; a Church in the image of Christ, with an enduring relationship of trust with Him. If a man’s ministry strays because of self-ambition, desire for personal lordship, wealth, or favor with men, Jesus will remove the lamp stand and that relationship will lose its vitality.
A minister who is self-ambitious will not raise up the members of his congregation or church in their gifts. If fact, the ministers who lost their lamp stands had competed with gifted members of their congregation, undercutting the authority Christ had given them. Ultimately, a minister who undermines the movement of the Holy Spirit in others is undermining the authority of Christ and competing with Him for His rightful authority in his Church. It is the Lord Himself Who gives the gifts to men for His purposes, and He entrusts those in authority to mentor and encourage those gifts.
Christ is gazing into the eyes of His Church for the seriousness to go deeper in our relationship with Him. We must commit to serve the purposes that are in His heart, and leave behind our own purposes for ministry. If we will trust Jesus and follow His Spirit He will accomplish the fullness of the Holy Spirit in us, and in our ministries. Amen.
We all want to attain to the full stature of Christ in our churches, and often look at God’s presence in our congregations as His approval of how we are running our ministry. God’s manifest presence in the temple of the Old Testament showed He was with His people, so it is a natural conclusion that God’s presence amongst us would mean that we have His favor.
If we look at the powerful things God did in the 1st century Church there is a common theme; God was present with them. Yet, we see in the book of Revelation that many of the churches displeased the Lord, and needed to repent. There is a warning to the same church that God gave instructions to on how to build up His Body (Ephesus) that the Lord was about to remove their lamp stand (Rev 2:5). In my life, twice I have seen a church lose their lamp stand. Though He had set His presence and authority in faithful men, over time they competed with the Lord for lordship over their flock. And His presence left. God’s presence isn’t a seal of approval over a man’s ministry; it is just the beginning of a deeper relationship with the ministry.
Just as a man will date a woman he intends on having a relationship with, so God courts His Church for a deeper relationship with her. When He sees that the church or ministry is serious about His affections, the Lord shares on a deeper basis with her so that she can fully get to know His nature. He looks deeply into the eyes of His churches for that seriousness that comes with deep, committed love. His presence grows more intense and He purposes to continue the relationship on ever-deepening levels. He tests the ministries of men to see if He can trust His heart to them, and to their ministers.
If a man’s ministry is dedicated to the purposes in Jesus’ heart for His Church, he will be dedicated to molding people in Christ’s image so that the Spirit of Jesus will reside in their personal temple. That same minister will encourage the members of his ministry to grow in the use of their gifts so that the Church can be built up as a temple for the Holy Spirit to reside in; a Church in the image of Christ, with an enduring relationship of trust with Him. If a man’s ministry strays because of self-ambition, desire for personal lordship, wealth, or favor with men, Jesus will remove the lamp stand and that relationship will lose its vitality.
A minister who is self-ambitious will not raise up the members of his congregation or church in their gifts. If fact, the ministers who lost their lamp stands had competed with gifted members of their congregation, undercutting the authority Christ had given them. Ultimately, a minister who undermines the movement of the Holy Spirit in others is undermining the authority of Christ and competing with Him for His rightful authority in his Church. It is the Lord Himself Who gives the gifts to men for His purposes, and He entrusts those in authority to mentor and encourage those gifts.
Christ is gazing into the eyes of His Church for the seriousness to go deeper in our relationship with Him. We must commit to serve the purposes that are in His heart, and leave behind our own purposes for ministry. If we will trust Jesus and follow His Spirit He will accomplish the fullness of the Holy Spirit in us, and in our ministries. Amen.
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