"Jesus didn't die to make us nice; He died to make us His."
The following article is located at: http://www.kyria.com/topics/hottopics/womensissues/6.70.html
No More Ms. Nice Guy!
Confessions of a recovering people pleaser
Nancy Kennedy | posted 11/01/2002
My name is Nancy, and I'm a recovering Nice Person. I grew up Nice. Born into a Nice family to Nice parents who raised four Nice children. We are certified, bona fide, capital-N Nice. Terminally Nice.
I'm so nice I apologize to bugs before I kill them. When I'm in a merge-traffic situation, I don't know whom to be nice to first: the driver who wants me to let him in, or the one behind me who doesn't want me to. I've often pulled over to let the whole line of cars go by so I can be nice to everyone.
Sometimes being nice is grueling. If someone wakes me up at 3 A.M. asking if I'm Ed's Towing, I immediately apologize for not being Ed, then offer to look up Ed's number in the phone book for him.
Nice people always return a store clerk's "Have a nice day!" with a big smile and a "You too!" Even if the clerk's rude, and we don't want her to have a nice day. Of course, un-nice feelings like that make Nice people feel terribly guilty.
Nice people feel guilty a lot. They can't say "no," even to things they really, really don't want to do, because they feel guilty. First, they feel guilty for not wanting to do the thing, then they feel guilty because if they say "no," the person who asked for the favor will have to go through the trouble of calling someone else.
You can easily recognize Nice people. Take Peggy, a Nice person from California, who admits she has two bottled water coolers in her kitchen, not because she's thirsty, but because she couldn't say "no" to either water company when they called. She calls herself a telemarketer's dream. "I'm afraid they'll say bad things about me when I hang up if I don't buy their product," she says.
Brenda Waggoner, a licensed Christian counselor and author of The Velveteen Woman, says the majority of women she counsels are plagued with this "disease to please." At the root of every people-pleasing Nice person is a deep-seated insecurity. We don't believe we're loved, or capable of being loved, just as we are. We fear rejection above everything. We believe if we act a certain way, become all things to all people, say "yes" to everything, and smile, everyone will love us.
For Christians, the disease to please adds another dimension, says Waggoner. "The core desire is to please God and follow , 'Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.' But we twist it just a bit without realizing it. Instead, we interpret it as saying, 'You don't really count—everybody else does. So do what makes others happy.'"
So we Nice people volunteer to drive a carload of five year olds on a field trip in the morning, then rush home to bring homemade soup to our three elderly neighbors at noon. We spend our afternoons doing research for our child's term paper and baking cookies for our hubby to take to work. After dinner we either make phone calls, baby blankets, or tiny quiches, not because we want to, but only because we think that's what Nice people should do. We want desperately to make everyone happy—and to have everyone like us.
I remember spending the better part of a year trying to force a woman in my community to like me after I'd accidentally offended her. Despite my efforts, no amount of smiling, waving, or baking cookies for her would get her to change her mind about me. To be honest, I never liked the woman in the first place and wasn't interested in a friendship with her. I just couldn't handle the thought that someone didn't think of me as a Nice person.
Eventually I saw how pathetic I'd become, how willing I was to demean myself solely for the approval of another person. It's one thing to humble yourself as a servant; it's quite another to reduce yourself to doing anything just to be thought of as nice.
The truth is, niceness isn't nice. It isn't genuine. It's narcissistic and dishonest. It's other-centered actions with self-centered motives. "I'm nice so you'll like me." That's not nice; that's sick.
Thankfully, there's an antidote to the disease to please. According to Bible teacher and author Steve Brown, it begins with understanding that Jesus didn't die to make us nice; he died to make us his.
Think about it: If I'm convinced I'm accepted and loved deeply by God, that he chose me for adoption as his child, then I don't have to seek the approval of others. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" the apostle Paul points out in . That's all I ever wanted from my niceness anyway—to be secure in someone's approval.
I'd love to tell you I've had a dramatic turning point where I decided God's approval was enough, but I don't remember the first time I ever said "no" to a request. For me, it's been a gradual process. The more secure I've become in God's love, the less frantic I am to earn others' approval. Plus, with practice I've learned saying "no" to working in the nursery won't kill me. However, the resentment and anxiety I feel because of my people-pleasing choices might. And if it doesn't kill me, it will definitely do harm to others and me.
If you think you may have contracted the disease to please, here are strategies to get you on the road to recovery.
Seek approval from God.
Niceness is rooted in the desire for approval. However, if I'm in Christ, I already have God's approval. The cure for the disease to please is found in the Lord's love and acceptance. The key is to keep reminding myself that his approval never depends on what I do or don't do, but solely on what Christ did for me, and to keep telling myself that until I believe it completely. That frees me to say "no" without the fear of judgment when asked to do something.
My friend Tara says her recovery from being a people pleaser began when she realized she'd spread herself so thin by trying to please everyone that she wasn't pleasing anyone. "It became painful to say 'yes' and then do the job poorly," she says. "It's much worse to commit to something and not follow through than to not do something in the first place. Now I know my role in life isn't to make everyone happy. God's happy with me just because I'm his."
Stop explaining yourself.
"It's impossible to live your life in a way that will win everyone's approval," writes Donna Partow in Living in Absolute Freedom. "That can be either a bondage or the most freeing truth you've ever heard." She says trying to please everyone is rooted in fear of what people will think. As a recovering Nice person, she says a sure-fire method of rooting out such fear is to stop trying to justify yourself. Say "yes" or say "no." You don't have to give a reason.
Remember what Jesus did.
"Jesus always honored the Father, but he often displeased people, yet without sin," says counselor Brenda Waggoner. "When we look at Jesus' life, we see healthy personal boundaries. People clamored after him, yet sometimes he pushed off in a boat to get away." She suggests studying the Scriptures to see the way Christ balanced his life between service and rest, and to learn from his example.
Ask: "Am I the only one?"
I heard a speaker once comment that before she agrees to do anything she asks herself, "Am I the only one who can do this?" She shared how she's the only one who can be her husband's wife or her child's mother. But, when it comes to other things, if there's someone else capable of doing it, she feels free to say "no" without guilt, or "yes" with genuine delight.
Lisa from Ohio has a similar guideline: When in doubt, don't. She says saying "no" was scary at first because she didn't know what the person's reaction would be. "But it was a relief to get it out," she says. As an unexpected bonus, people actually respected her. She says, "People have learned I won't bend into demands easily anymore."
Take a breath … and just do it.
"The hardest 'no' you'll ever say is the first," says Lori in California. "I felt as if I broke a law—I felt ashamed," she says. "But when the world didn't collapse, I actually felt a freedom I'd never known."
She adds, "Now I say 'yes' when I feel led. There are some things you want to say 'yes' to because they're a joy."
When it comes to serving with joy, that pleases the Father. When we please him, what more do we need?
Portions of this article were adapted from Move Over, Victoria—I Know the Real Secret (WaterBrook Press). © 2000 by Nancy Kennedy. Nancy, a speaker and author of six books, including When He Doesn't Believe (WaterBrook Press), lives with her family in Florida. Visit her website at www.nancykennedybooks.net.
Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian Woman magazine.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
October 28, 2010
Becoming a Builder
I’ve been involved in a few building projects over the years. Each one was unique. They all had their individual challenges, surprises and satisfactions.
Whether new construction or renovations, building is a process that requires vision, planning, investment and time. To build effectively, you must first have a vision of what is to be built, prepare plans for building it, make the necessary investment of resources, and then patiently stay the course until completion.
One of the things we learn about God in the Bible is that He is a builder. All through the pages of Scripture we read about holy building projects.
Here are a few examples:
In creation, God constructed the world.
God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle of worship while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.
God assigned Solomon the task of building the first temple of worship in Jerusalem.
The Lord released the Jews from Babylonian captivity and sent them back to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple that had been destroyed.
God called Nehemiah to restore the ruined walls of Jerusalem.
Jesus presented Himself to us as the builder of the church.
Jesus is coming back again and will build a new heaven and new earth.
God is a builder, and if we want to be godly, we too must become builders.
What are we called to build?
Here are three areas of construction every believer has been assigned by God:
We are called to build up ourselves, spiritually.
“But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit …” – Jude 1:20 (Msg)
We are called to build up the church.
” … Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” – 1 Corinthians 14:12 (NIV)
We are called to build up one another.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” – Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up …” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)
Are you fulfilling your responsibility as a builder? Do you have a vision and have you developed a spiritual plan for building? Are you patiently making the necessary investment in building up your own spiritual strength, building up Jesus’ church, and building up the people God has placed in your life?
Hear the call, and follow God’s example. Be a builder!
Pastor Dale
I’ve been involved in a few building projects over the years. Each one was unique. They all had their individual challenges, surprises and satisfactions.
Whether new construction or renovations, building is a process that requires vision, planning, investment and time. To build effectively, you must first have a vision of what is to be built, prepare plans for building it, make the necessary investment of resources, and then patiently stay the course until completion.
One of the things we learn about God in the Bible is that He is a builder. All through the pages of Scripture we read about holy building projects.
Here are a few examples:
In creation, God constructed the world.
God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle of worship while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.
God assigned Solomon the task of building the first temple of worship in Jerusalem.
The Lord released the Jews from Babylonian captivity and sent them back to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple that had been destroyed.
God called Nehemiah to restore the ruined walls of Jerusalem.
Jesus presented Himself to us as the builder of the church.
Jesus is coming back again and will build a new heaven and new earth.
God is a builder, and if we want to be godly, we too must become builders.
What are we called to build?
Here are three areas of construction every believer has been assigned by God:
We are called to build up ourselves, spiritually.
“But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit …” – Jude 1:20 (Msg)
We are called to build up the church.
” … Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” – 1 Corinthians 14:12 (NIV)
We are called to build up one another.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” – Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up …” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)
Are you fulfilling your responsibility as a builder? Do you have a vision and have you developed a spiritual plan for building? Are you patiently making the necessary investment in building up your own spiritual strength, building up Jesus’ church, and building up the people God has placed in your life?
Hear the call, and follow God’s example. Be a builder!
Pastor Dale
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
October 27, 2010
Redeeming Marital Realities: a Christianity.com Interview with Paul David Tripp.
If you are going to have a marriage that lives in unity, understanding, and love, you must have a little-moment approach to your marriage. This is the nature of the life God has designed for us. In his wisdom, God has crafted a life for us that does not careen from huge, consequential moment to huge, consequential moment. In fact, if you examine your life, you will see that you have actually had few of those moments. You can probably name only two or three life-changing situations you have lived through. We are all the same; the character and quality of our life is forged in little moments. Every day we lay little bricks on the foundation of what our life will be. The bricks of words said, the bricks of actions taken, the bricks of little decisions, the bricks of little thoughts, and the bricks of small-moment desires all work together to form the functional edifice that is your marriage. So, you have to view yourself as a marital mason. You are daily on the job adding another layer of bricks that will determine the shape of your marriage for days, weeks, and years to come.
Perhaps this is precisely the problem. It is the problem of perception. We just don't tend to live life this way. We tend to fall into quasi-thoughtless routines and instinctive ways of doing things that are less self-conscious than they need to be. And we tend to back away from the significance of these little moments because they are little moments. You see, the opposite is true: little moments are significant because they are little moments. These are the moments that make up our lives. These are the moments that set up our future. These are the moments that shape our relationships. We must have a "day-by-day" approach to everything in our lives, and if we do, we will choose our bricks carefully and place them strategically.
Things don't go bad in a marriage in an instant. The character of a marriage is not formed in one grand moment. Things in a marriage go bad progressively. Things become sweet and beautiful progressively. The development and deepening of the love in a marriage happens by things that are done daily; this is also true with the sad deterioration of a marriage. The problem is that we simply don't pay attention, and because of this we allow ourselves to think, desire, say, and do things that we shouldn't.
Let me play out this life of little-moment inattention for you. You squeeze and crinkle the toothpaste tube even though you know it bothers your spouse. You complain about the dirty dishes instead of putting them in the dishwasher. You fight for your own way in little things, rather than seeing them as an opportunity to serve. You allow yourself to go to bed irritated after a little disagreement. Day after day you leave for work without a moment of tenderness between you. You fight for your view of beauty rather than making your home a visual expression of the tastes of both of you. You allow yourself to do little rude things you would never have done in courtship. You quit asking for forgiveness in the little moments of wrong. You complain about how the other does little things, when it really doesn't make any difference. You make little decisions without consultation.
You quit investing in the friendship intimacy of your marriage. You fight for your own way rather than for unity in little moments of disagreement. You complain about the other's foibles and weaknesses. You fail to seize those openings to encourage. You quit searching for little avenues for expressing love. You begin to keep a record of little wrongs. You allow yourself to be irritated by what you once appreciated. You quit making sure that every day is punctuated with tenderness before sleep takes you away. You quit regularly expressing appreciation and respect. You allow your physical eyes and the eyes of your heart to wander. You swallow little hurts that you would have once discussed. You begin to turn little requests into regular demands. You quit taking care of yourself. You become willing to live with more silence and distance than you would have when you were approaching marriage. You quit working in those little moments to make your marriage better, and you begin to succumb to what is.
Why do we quit paying attention? Because it is hard work to care, it is hard work to discipline ourselves to be careful, and it is hard work to always be thinking of the other person. Now, be prepared to have your feelings hurt: you and I tend to want the other to work hard because that will make our lives easier, but we don't really want to have to sign in for the hard work ourselves. Oh, I'm not done! I think there is an epidemic of marital laziness among us. We want to be able to coast and have things not only stay the same but get better. And I am absolutely persuaded that laziness is rooted in the self-centeredness of sin. We have already examined the antisocial danger of this thing inside us that the Bible calls sin. We have already considered that it turns us in on ourselves, but it does something else. It reduces us to marital passivity. We want the good things to come to us without the hard work of laying the daily bricks that will result in the good things. And we are often more focused on what the other is failing to do and more focused on waiting for him to get his act together than we are on our own commitment to doing whatever is daily necessary to make our marriages what God intended them to be.
You can have a good marriage, but you must understand that a good marriage is not a mysterious gift. No, it is, rather, a set of commitments that forges itself into a moment-by-moment lifestyle.
Taken from What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage (Crossway, 2010), by Paul David Tripp.
If you are going to have a marriage that lives in unity, understanding, and love, you must have a little-moment approach to your marriage. This is the nature of the life God has designed for us. In his wisdom, God has crafted a life for us that does not careen from huge, consequential moment to huge, consequential moment. In fact, if you examine your life, you will see that you have actually had few of those moments. You can probably name only two or three life-changing situations you have lived through. We are all the same; the character and quality of our life is forged in little moments. Every day we lay little bricks on the foundation of what our life will be. The bricks of words said, the bricks of actions taken, the bricks of little decisions, the bricks of little thoughts, and the bricks of small-moment desires all work together to form the functional edifice that is your marriage. So, you have to view yourself as a marital mason. You are daily on the job adding another layer of bricks that will determine the shape of your marriage for days, weeks, and years to come.
Perhaps this is precisely the problem. It is the problem of perception. We just don't tend to live life this way. We tend to fall into quasi-thoughtless routines and instinctive ways of doing things that are less self-conscious than they need to be. And we tend to back away from the significance of these little moments because they are little moments. You see, the opposite is true: little moments are significant because they are little moments. These are the moments that make up our lives. These are the moments that set up our future. These are the moments that shape our relationships. We must have a "day-by-day" approach to everything in our lives, and if we do, we will choose our bricks carefully and place them strategically.
Things don't go bad in a marriage in an instant. The character of a marriage is not formed in one grand moment. Things in a marriage go bad progressively. Things become sweet and beautiful progressively. The development and deepening of the love in a marriage happens by things that are done daily; this is also true with the sad deterioration of a marriage. The problem is that we simply don't pay attention, and because of this we allow ourselves to think, desire, say, and do things that we shouldn't.
Let me play out this life of little-moment inattention for you. You squeeze and crinkle the toothpaste tube even though you know it bothers your spouse. You complain about the dirty dishes instead of putting them in the dishwasher. You fight for your own way in little things, rather than seeing them as an opportunity to serve. You allow yourself to go to bed irritated after a little disagreement. Day after day you leave for work without a moment of tenderness between you. You fight for your view of beauty rather than making your home a visual expression of the tastes of both of you. You allow yourself to do little rude things you would never have done in courtship. You quit asking for forgiveness in the little moments of wrong. You complain about how the other does little things, when it really doesn't make any difference. You make little decisions without consultation.
You quit investing in the friendship intimacy of your marriage. You fight for your own way rather than for unity in little moments of disagreement. You complain about the other's foibles and weaknesses. You fail to seize those openings to encourage. You quit searching for little avenues for expressing love. You begin to keep a record of little wrongs. You allow yourself to be irritated by what you once appreciated. You quit making sure that every day is punctuated with tenderness before sleep takes you away. You quit regularly expressing appreciation and respect. You allow your physical eyes and the eyes of your heart to wander. You swallow little hurts that you would have once discussed. You begin to turn little requests into regular demands. You quit taking care of yourself. You become willing to live with more silence and distance than you would have when you were approaching marriage. You quit working in those little moments to make your marriage better, and you begin to succumb to what is.
Why do we quit paying attention? Because it is hard work to care, it is hard work to discipline ourselves to be careful, and it is hard work to always be thinking of the other person. Now, be prepared to have your feelings hurt: you and I tend to want the other to work hard because that will make our lives easier, but we don't really want to have to sign in for the hard work ourselves. Oh, I'm not done! I think there is an epidemic of marital laziness among us. We want to be able to coast and have things not only stay the same but get better. And I am absolutely persuaded that laziness is rooted in the self-centeredness of sin. We have already examined the antisocial danger of this thing inside us that the Bible calls sin. We have already considered that it turns us in on ourselves, but it does something else. It reduces us to marital passivity. We want the good things to come to us without the hard work of laying the daily bricks that will result in the good things. And we are often more focused on what the other is failing to do and more focused on waiting for him to get his act together than we are on our own commitment to doing whatever is daily necessary to make our marriages what God intended them to be.
You can have a good marriage, but you must understand that a good marriage is not a mysterious gift. No, it is, rather, a set of commitments that forges itself into a moment-by-moment lifestyle.
Taken from What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage (Crossway, 2010), by Paul David Tripp.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
Regaining the Art of Community
By Os Hillman
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
I have a friend who spent three months living in Israel with Jewish believers. During one of their conversations the Jewish man noticed how often my friend came to visit him only to discuss a project. He turned to my friend during dinner and admonished him: "You western Christians! You always seem to need a program or an event to get together. Why can't you fellowship with one another just because you love each other!?"
My friend was convicted by his assessment. They began to talk about how Jesus modeled love for the disciples and how they simply hung out together because of their love for one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Jesus often spent unhurried times of fellowship with the disciples. They shared countless meals together. It is often during such times we get to know others at a deeper level.
Love for one another is one of the greatest signs of faith in Christ. However, the pace of life often contributes to a life being lived for the next event instead of a relationship rooted in the love or Christ.
How many relationships do you have in your life that would allow you to fellowship simply because you cared for one another?
By Os Hillman
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
I have a friend who spent three months living in Israel with Jewish believers. During one of their conversations the Jewish man noticed how often my friend came to visit him only to discuss a project. He turned to my friend during dinner and admonished him: "You western Christians! You always seem to need a program or an event to get together. Why can't you fellowship with one another just because you love each other!?"
My friend was convicted by his assessment. They began to talk about how Jesus modeled love for the disciples and how they simply hung out together because of their love for one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Jesus often spent unhurried times of fellowship with the disciples. They shared countless meals together. It is often during such times we get to know others at a deeper level.
Love for one another is one of the greatest signs of faith in Christ. However, the pace of life often contributes to a life being lived for the next event instead of a relationship rooted in the love or Christ.
How many relationships do you have in your life that would allow you to fellowship simply because you cared for one another?
Monday, October 25, 2010
October 25, 2010
"See that you humble yourselves, & take no place before God or man butthat of a servant. That is your work; let that be your one purpose &prayer. God is faithful. Just as water seeks & fills the lowest place,so the moment God finds the creature empty, His glory & power flow in toexalt & to bless. He that humbles himself-that must be our one aim-shallbe exalted; that is God's aim." - Andrew Murray, "Humility"
Friday, October 22, 2010
October 22, 2010
Psalm 68:19-20 (New King James Version)
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah 20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.
Man saved by God, and by (Australian Cattle) dog who says grace
The video was meant to simply make some Facebook friends, and his mother in particular, smile.
Steven Boyd, 39, had taught his dog Djaingo how to "say grace," and one late September morning, camera in hand, he coaxed the sleepy pup out to the living room and into prayer.
Front paws on Boyd's thigh, head bowed, man and dog offered up these words:
Thank you for allowing us to be the man and puppy you've allowed us to be. Father, thank you for our friends and family, their prayers and support and energy that they give us… Father, I do ask a special prayer that you help me to not chase the neighbor's cat and to listen to my master whenever he asks me to do anything.
What began as a post on Boyd's Facebook page was passed on and shared. It's popped up all over YouTube, appeared on numerous other sites, and it even got play on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
But the story behind Djaingo the praying dog is deeper than it is cute.
Boyd found his way to the dog just when they needed each other most.
The man was sick - had been for more than a year and a half - when he strolled into an animal shelter looking for a temporary escape. It was September 10, 2003, the day before the second anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the memories of that day weighed heavily on him.
For 12 years, Boyd says, he served in the U.S. Army. He says he was, among other things, a sniper, a paratrooper and, subsequently, a counter narcotics operator. He'd been fearless professionally and personally. He'd jumped out of planes, rappelled down cliffs and mountain biked his way across dangerous terrains.
Now, though, he was losing everything. The hospitalizations kept happening. His career was shot. The relationship with the woman he thought he'd marry had ended. The medical questions loomed large. He was dying.
At the pound that day, he simply offered to walk some dogs. He had no plan to adopt an animal. But then, three hours into his visit, his eyes and the dog's locked. He knew, in that instant, they were meant to be together.
The only problem was the dog was already scheduled to die. It was set to be euthanized the following morning. It was too aggressive and could not be trained, the shelter workers insisted. Boyd didn't care.
He begged. He pleaded. And $75 later, the best investment he says he ever made, the duo went home.
The former military man, who lives in Austin, Texas, put that pup through its own boot camp. The dog began to trust his owner, show affection and within six months he'd been transformed. He was happy, loving, sweet.
"He saved my life as much as I saved his," Boyd says.
Along the way, the Australian Cattle Dog was given a proper name - rather than his given name, "Chip." His owner thought back to the time when he'd done some training with the 3rd Royal Australian Airborne. The men had taught him the term "djaingo" – to "go djaingo," Boyd explains, means to go out, get drunk and rowdy, pick up women and have bar fights. And so that tough little dog was named.
Since he first was hospitalized on February 19, 2002, Boyd has struggled. Because of multiple traumatic brain injuries - sustained through military exercises, a car wreck, a rappelling accident and a grenade detonation - he says he suffers from gastroparesis, a paralysis of the gastrointestinal tract. It makes eating and drinking a form of "Russian roulette," he says. It can cause food to sit in his stomach and rot. He has starved himself, unintentionally. For days on end, he can vomit 10 to 15 times an hour. He's broken ribs in the process.
As a result of this illness and repeated, extensive dehydration, he says his weight - 175 when healthy - has dropped to as low as 98 pounds.
By his side, in sickness and in health, has been Djaingo. Boyd's parents live three hours away, and his mother, Cheryl, says she takes solace knowing the dog is there.
He sticks by her son and keeps watch. When Boyd is too sick to take the dog out, he can leave the apartment door open. The dog will run outside on his own "to do his business," she says, and then guard the open door. If her son is in need of medical attention, the dog will alert neighbors.
Having Djaingo has been source of comfort to Boyd. But there was one time when the animal just wasn't enough.
After several days of vomiting four years ago, he thought he'd end it all. He'd had a friend who years ago had committed suicide by drinking Clorox, and from the bathtub's floor, where he was curled up, Boyd eyed the nearby bleach bottle. With the cap off, he prepared to drink.
"I heard it as distinctive as I hear your voice right now," Boyd, his own voice shaking, says by phone to CNN. "I heard, 'Don’t do this.' It was my father God, and I broke down. I get teary-eyed now talking about it."
He'd grown up in a Christian home, "a proverbial 'Leave It to Beaver' family," he says. His dad had been the deacon of their church. His mother is a Sunday school and Bible study teacher. And though Boyd always considered himself Christian, up until that moment he realized he'd been living the Christian life, as an adult, on his own terms.
The debilitating illness that can leave him homebound much of the time, the loss of everything, had in fact saved him, he says.
"It changed everything. I truly feel as if it was God using a 2-by-4, smacking me in the head and telling me to wake up," says Boyd, who described himself as "callous" after his years in the military. "It's softened my heart in so many ways. It's made me realize the things you take for granted in life are sometimes the most important things in life."
He got involved in church. He attends Bible studies when he's able. And as last year's Christmas gift to his mother, who describes herself as a "prayer warrior," he taught Djaingo how to say grace.
"He's a disabled veteran on a very limited income," his mom says. So in lieu of buying each other gifts, she told her son last year that instead they'd "do something, write something or make something" for one another.
What her son and Djaingo did for her touched her heart, she says. And, with the release of the recent video, she's not alone in receiving this gift.
The response has overwhelmed Boyd. He's received more than 5,000 messages from around the globe - including Australia, Russia, Thailand. The friend requests on Facebook have poured in by the hundreds. Djaingo, now with his own Facebook page, is racking up new friends, too.
Boyd has gotten marriage proposals. A grandmother who is going through chemotherapy and lives alone says she watches the video every morning to help her face a new day. A mother whose son has lost faith is hoping that by teaching the dog to pray, her son will feel the connection again, too. Pastors are using the video in sermons.
And all of this, including what it's done for her son, Boyd's mother says, is proof of "God's hand" at work.
"Steven told us he was so lonely. So much of the time, he's apartment-bound. Now he's getting emails from all over the world," she says. "It's given Steven such a boost to his morale. God can take the tiniest thing and use it for good."
Every evening, Boyd and Djaingo say grace together. It's not that the man believes the roly-poly dog, who's actually been mistaken for a pig before, is actually praying. He knows his faithful pet is just doing what he's told so he can get his dinner.
"But it's an affirmation of my faith to have my dog be able to participate," Boyd says. "Who would have thought God would use my fat dog to spread His glory?"
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah 20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.
Man saved by God, and by (Australian Cattle) dog who says grace
The video was meant to simply make some Facebook friends, and his mother in particular, smile.
Steven Boyd, 39, had taught his dog Djaingo how to "say grace," and one late September morning, camera in hand, he coaxed the sleepy pup out to the living room and into prayer.
Front paws on Boyd's thigh, head bowed, man and dog offered up these words:
Thank you for allowing us to be the man and puppy you've allowed us to be. Father, thank you for our friends and family, their prayers and support and energy that they give us… Father, I do ask a special prayer that you help me to not chase the neighbor's cat and to listen to my master whenever he asks me to do anything.
What began as a post on Boyd's Facebook page was passed on and shared. It's popped up all over YouTube, appeared on numerous other sites, and it even got play on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
But the story behind Djaingo the praying dog is deeper than it is cute.
Boyd found his way to the dog just when they needed each other most.
The man was sick - had been for more than a year and a half - when he strolled into an animal shelter looking for a temporary escape. It was September 10, 2003, the day before the second anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the memories of that day weighed heavily on him.
For 12 years, Boyd says, he served in the U.S. Army. He says he was, among other things, a sniper, a paratrooper and, subsequently, a counter narcotics operator. He'd been fearless professionally and personally. He'd jumped out of planes, rappelled down cliffs and mountain biked his way across dangerous terrains.
Now, though, he was losing everything. The hospitalizations kept happening. His career was shot. The relationship with the woman he thought he'd marry had ended. The medical questions loomed large. He was dying.
At the pound that day, he simply offered to walk some dogs. He had no plan to adopt an animal. But then, three hours into his visit, his eyes and the dog's locked. He knew, in that instant, they were meant to be together.
The only problem was the dog was already scheduled to die. It was set to be euthanized the following morning. It was too aggressive and could not be trained, the shelter workers insisted. Boyd didn't care.
He begged. He pleaded. And $75 later, the best investment he says he ever made, the duo went home.
The former military man, who lives in Austin, Texas, put that pup through its own boot camp. The dog began to trust his owner, show affection and within six months he'd been transformed. He was happy, loving, sweet.
"He saved my life as much as I saved his," Boyd says.
Along the way, the Australian Cattle Dog was given a proper name - rather than his given name, "Chip." His owner thought back to the time when he'd done some training with the 3rd Royal Australian Airborne. The men had taught him the term "djaingo" – to "go djaingo," Boyd explains, means to go out, get drunk and rowdy, pick up women and have bar fights. And so that tough little dog was named.
Since he first was hospitalized on February 19, 2002, Boyd has struggled. Because of multiple traumatic brain injuries - sustained through military exercises, a car wreck, a rappelling accident and a grenade detonation - he says he suffers from gastroparesis, a paralysis of the gastrointestinal tract. It makes eating and drinking a form of "Russian roulette," he says. It can cause food to sit in his stomach and rot. He has starved himself, unintentionally. For days on end, he can vomit 10 to 15 times an hour. He's broken ribs in the process.
As a result of this illness and repeated, extensive dehydration, he says his weight - 175 when healthy - has dropped to as low as 98 pounds.
By his side, in sickness and in health, has been Djaingo. Boyd's parents live three hours away, and his mother, Cheryl, says she takes solace knowing the dog is there.
He sticks by her son and keeps watch. When Boyd is too sick to take the dog out, he can leave the apartment door open. The dog will run outside on his own "to do his business," she says, and then guard the open door. If her son is in need of medical attention, the dog will alert neighbors.
Having Djaingo has been source of comfort to Boyd. But there was one time when the animal just wasn't enough.
After several days of vomiting four years ago, he thought he'd end it all. He'd had a friend who years ago had committed suicide by drinking Clorox, and from the bathtub's floor, where he was curled up, Boyd eyed the nearby bleach bottle. With the cap off, he prepared to drink.
"I heard it as distinctive as I hear your voice right now," Boyd, his own voice shaking, says by phone to CNN. "I heard, 'Don’t do this.' It was my father God, and I broke down. I get teary-eyed now talking about it."
He'd grown up in a Christian home, "a proverbial 'Leave It to Beaver' family," he says. His dad had been the deacon of their church. His mother is a Sunday school and Bible study teacher. And though Boyd always considered himself Christian, up until that moment he realized he'd been living the Christian life, as an adult, on his own terms.
The debilitating illness that can leave him homebound much of the time, the loss of everything, had in fact saved him, he says.
"It changed everything. I truly feel as if it was God using a 2-by-4, smacking me in the head and telling me to wake up," says Boyd, who described himself as "callous" after his years in the military. "It's softened my heart in so many ways. It's made me realize the things you take for granted in life are sometimes the most important things in life."
He got involved in church. He attends Bible studies when he's able. And as last year's Christmas gift to his mother, who describes herself as a "prayer warrior," he taught Djaingo how to say grace.
"He's a disabled veteran on a very limited income," his mom says. So in lieu of buying each other gifts, she told her son last year that instead they'd "do something, write something or make something" for one another.
What her son and Djaingo did for her touched her heart, she says. And, with the release of the recent video, she's not alone in receiving this gift.
The response has overwhelmed Boyd. He's received more than 5,000 messages from around the globe - including Australia, Russia, Thailand. The friend requests on Facebook have poured in by the hundreds. Djaingo, now with his own Facebook page, is racking up new friends, too.
Boyd has gotten marriage proposals. A grandmother who is going through chemotherapy and lives alone says she watches the video every morning to help her face a new day. A mother whose son has lost faith is hoping that by teaching the dog to pray, her son will feel the connection again, too. Pastors are using the video in sermons.
And all of this, including what it's done for her son, Boyd's mother says, is proof of "God's hand" at work.
"Steven told us he was so lonely. So much of the time, he's apartment-bound. Now he's getting emails from all over the world," she says. "It's given Steven such a boost to his morale. God can take the tiniest thing and use it for good."
Every evening, Boyd and Djaingo say grace together. It's not that the man believes the roly-poly dog, who's actually been mistaken for a pig before, is actually praying. He knows his faithful pet is just doing what he's told so he can get his dinner.
"But it's an affirmation of my faith to have my dog be able to participate," Boyd says. "Who would have thought God would use my fat dog to spread His glory?"
Thursday, October 21, 2010
October 21, 2010
A NOTE FROM DAVID BRICKNER: Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem by David Brickner
October 15, 2010
Over the ages, Jerusalem has been a study in profound contrasts: a place of hope and despair, life and death, love and hatred. The city is mentioned 776 times in the Bible, which describes Jerusalem as the dwelling place of God, the throne of the Lord, a city of truth and a holy mountain—but it also calls Jerusalem a place of iniquity, a heavy stone that no one can lift and a cup of reeling and drunkenness.
The prophets agonized over Jerusalem, longing for the day when God would finally restore His presence there. Jesus wept passionately over the city, knowing it would be witness to the most enormous cruelty and terrible destruction imaginable.
If we are to care for our world, we must follow the biblical mandate—and we must follow Jesus' example—to love and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Like His prayer, our prayers for the city should include mournful tears as well as hopeful longing. As we pray, we should be aware of Jerusalem's past, mindful of her present, yet always doggedly looking to God's promise for her future.
Jerusalem is a spiritual microcosm of our world today, and her future stands as a great biblical symbol of what our world will one day become under the rule of its Creator when He makes all things new. Therefore, our prayers for Jerusalem ought be informed by all the richness of a full biblical theology.
Modern Jerusalem is a city like so many others, filled with people, poverty, crime and construction. The most recent census was completed in 2003, but since then it is estimated the population of Jerusalem has grown to 764,000—approximately 470,000 of its people being Jewish and the rest made up primarily of Arabs, the majority of whom are Muslim. Jerusalem is an intensely devout city: approximately 50% of the Jewish population is religiously Orthodox. An estimated 1,204 synagogues, 158 churches, 72 monasteries and 73 mosques are located there.
Jerusalem also has the highest poverty rate of any city in Israel, with over 40% living below the poverty line. That includes over 50% of all children who reside there.
Politically, Jerusalem is as divided as any city possibly could be. Israel has declared all of Jerusalem to be the undivided capital of the Jewish state, but no embassies are located there and Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of their own state. During 4000 years of struggle for control of Jerusalem, over 118 separate conflicts have been waged— everything from religious uprisings to military campaigns.
Jerusalem today is not a city of peace, and yet Psalm 122 instructs us to pray for her peace and her prosperity. How do we do that?
Since the Scriptures tell us to do good "especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10), I believe that our prayers for Jerusalem should begin by interceding for the people of God living there. Messianic Jews, Arab Christians and believers from various nations comprise a small minority of Jerusalem's inhabitants, but I think we ought to pray especially for their peace. Some cooperation and fellowship among believers does exist and has grown in recent years, but we still need to pray for unity and love among the followers of Christ in this city.
Using our Messiah's prayer in John 17 as a model, we can pray earnestly for the humility, strength and sacrifice needed to pursue peace within the diverse family of God living in Jerusalem. The desire for unity must come from the heart, and must be seen in personal examples set by congregation leaders there.
Second, in a place so wracked by injustice and political struggle, as we pray for prosperity we must pray for mercy and justice to flow. Messianic Jews are regularly persecuted and denied citizenship and other rights by a small but zealous group of religious Jews. Palestinian Christians often face danger from Muslim neighbors because of their faith, as well as hardship from Israeli authorities because they are Arabs. Christians from other countries have to be circumspect so as not to have their working visas denied by religious Jews in the government. The Bible reminds us to pray for those in government, to remember the political leadership as well, and pray for all efforts at peacemaking no matter how frail and feeble they appear.
And what about the poverty in Jerusalem? Some Christian ministries are reaching out to help with clothing, food and rehabilitation from drugs and alcohol, but they are relatively few in number. We should pray for increased effort on the part of God's people to meet the needs of the downtrodden of Jerusalem—both Jews and Arabs.
These are all aspects of peace that we can and should pray for the people of Jerusalem. Yet true and lasting peace only comes through the Prince of Peace, and so our most fervent prayers should be directed toward the propagation of the gospel of peace in the city of peace. When Arabs and Jews can sincerely say to one another, "I love you in Jesus' name," the whole world will see the reconciling power of the gospel. Only in Christ is peace between such enemies made possible. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit do we see such reconciliation in Jerusalem, and only as God's people are willing to risk opposition and persecution in order to boldly proclaim His name.
My parents have lived as citizens of Israel in Jerusalem since 1989, but I first visited there in 1984. I had come to Jerusalem with our Jews for Jesus singing group, the Liberated Wailing Wall. I remember nervously setting up equipment for an outdoor concert on Ben Yehuda Street in downtown Jerusalem. As we sang our Jewish gospel music a large crowd gathered—there were Jews and Arabs who stopped to hear us—some believers in Jesus, but mostly unbelievers. Many were clapping, smiling; some were even doing a little folk dancing off to the side. I thought to myself, "Praise God, here we are preaching the gospel right out on the streets of Jerusalem."
Then I noticed out of the corner of my eye a group of young ultra-Orthodox men walking towards us with looks of grim determination on their faces and I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough they came and stood in front of us shouting and screaming. Then one of them reached out and tried to grab the violin bow to wrench it out of my wife's hand.
I'm thinking, "We are about to be martyred right here, right now, in Jerusalem," when up walks a large Israeli, a secular Jew, about 6'4", 250 pounds and completely bald. He says to those Orthodox men, "You touch them and I will touch you!"
Our would-be attackers backed away and we continued with our concert unharmed. The Bible says the angel of the Lord encamps round those who fear Him to deliver them from harm. I just never imagined the angel of the Lord looking like a 6'4" 250 pound bald guy!
That story illustrates both the challenges and opportunities faced by all who stand for Christ in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is home to fair and open-minded individuals, as well as to those who think they would be doing the Almighty a favor by driving away—through any means possible—anyone who stands publicly for Jesus.
As we pray for the prosperity and the peace of Jerusalem, may we recognize the prophetic significance of such peace. We will face opposition from within and without because we are focusing our efforts on a place and a people that are at the center of God's concern for all of humanity. Yet we know that as we pray into the future hope and promise of God concerning this place, we can be assured of His answer from Scripture:
"Thus says the LORD: 'Again there shall be heard in this place ... the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: "Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever" (Jeremiah 33:10-11).
October 15, 2010
Over the ages, Jerusalem has been a study in profound contrasts: a place of hope and despair, life and death, love and hatred. The city is mentioned 776 times in the Bible, which describes Jerusalem as the dwelling place of God, the throne of the Lord, a city of truth and a holy mountain—but it also calls Jerusalem a place of iniquity, a heavy stone that no one can lift and a cup of reeling and drunkenness.
The prophets agonized over Jerusalem, longing for the day when God would finally restore His presence there. Jesus wept passionately over the city, knowing it would be witness to the most enormous cruelty and terrible destruction imaginable.
If we are to care for our world, we must follow the biblical mandate—and we must follow Jesus' example—to love and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Like His prayer, our prayers for the city should include mournful tears as well as hopeful longing. As we pray, we should be aware of Jerusalem's past, mindful of her present, yet always doggedly looking to God's promise for her future.
Jerusalem is a spiritual microcosm of our world today, and her future stands as a great biblical symbol of what our world will one day become under the rule of its Creator when He makes all things new. Therefore, our prayers for Jerusalem ought be informed by all the richness of a full biblical theology.
Modern Jerusalem is a city like so many others, filled with people, poverty, crime and construction. The most recent census was completed in 2003, but since then it is estimated the population of Jerusalem has grown to 764,000—approximately 470,000 of its people being Jewish and the rest made up primarily of Arabs, the majority of whom are Muslim. Jerusalem is an intensely devout city: approximately 50% of the Jewish population is religiously Orthodox. An estimated 1,204 synagogues, 158 churches, 72 monasteries and 73 mosques are located there.
Jerusalem also has the highest poverty rate of any city in Israel, with over 40% living below the poverty line. That includes over 50% of all children who reside there.
Politically, Jerusalem is as divided as any city possibly could be. Israel has declared all of Jerusalem to be the undivided capital of the Jewish state, but no embassies are located there and Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of their own state. During 4000 years of struggle for control of Jerusalem, over 118 separate conflicts have been waged— everything from religious uprisings to military campaigns.
Jerusalem today is not a city of peace, and yet Psalm 122 instructs us to pray for her peace and her prosperity. How do we do that?
Since the Scriptures tell us to do good "especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10), I believe that our prayers for Jerusalem should begin by interceding for the people of God living there. Messianic Jews, Arab Christians and believers from various nations comprise a small minority of Jerusalem's inhabitants, but I think we ought to pray especially for their peace. Some cooperation and fellowship among believers does exist and has grown in recent years, but we still need to pray for unity and love among the followers of Christ in this city.
Using our Messiah's prayer in John 17 as a model, we can pray earnestly for the humility, strength and sacrifice needed to pursue peace within the diverse family of God living in Jerusalem. The desire for unity must come from the heart, and must be seen in personal examples set by congregation leaders there.
Second, in a place so wracked by injustice and political struggle, as we pray for prosperity we must pray for mercy and justice to flow. Messianic Jews are regularly persecuted and denied citizenship and other rights by a small but zealous group of religious Jews. Palestinian Christians often face danger from Muslim neighbors because of their faith, as well as hardship from Israeli authorities because they are Arabs. Christians from other countries have to be circumspect so as not to have their working visas denied by religious Jews in the government. The Bible reminds us to pray for those in government, to remember the political leadership as well, and pray for all efforts at peacemaking no matter how frail and feeble they appear.
And what about the poverty in Jerusalem? Some Christian ministries are reaching out to help with clothing, food and rehabilitation from drugs and alcohol, but they are relatively few in number. We should pray for increased effort on the part of God's people to meet the needs of the downtrodden of Jerusalem—both Jews and Arabs.
These are all aspects of peace that we can and should pray for the people of Jerusalem. Yet true and lasting peace only comes through the Prince of Peace, and so our most fervent prayers should be directed toward the propagation of the gospel of peace in the city of peace. When Arabs and Jews can sincerely say to one another, "I love you in Jesus' name," the whole world will see the reconciling power of the gospel. Only in Christ is peace between such enemies made possible. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit do we see such reconciliation in Jerusalem, and only as God's people are willing to risk opposition and persecution in order to boldly proclaim His name.
My parents have lived as citizens of Israel in Jerusalem since 1989, but I first visited there in 1984. I had come to Jerusalem with our Jews for Jesus singing group, the Liberated Wailing Wall. I remember nervously setting up equipment for an outdoor concert on Ben Yehuda Street in downtown Jerusalem. As we sang our Jewish gospel music a large crowd gathered—there were Jews and Arabs who stopped to hear us—some believers in Jesus, but mostly unbelievers. Many were clapping, smiling; some were even doing a little folk dancing off to the side. I thought to myself, "Praise God, here we are preaching the gospel right out on the streets of Jerusalem."
Then I noticed out of the corner of my eye a group of young ultra-Orthodox men walking towards us with looks of grim determination on their faces and I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough they came and stood in front of us shouting and screaming. Then one of them reached out and tried to grab the violin bow to wrench it out of my wife's hand.
I'm thinking, "We are about to be martyred right here, right now, in Jerusalem," when up walks a large Israeli, a secular Jew, about 6'4", 250 pounds and completely bald. He says to those Orthodox men, "You touch them and I will touch you!"
Our would-be attackers backed away and we continued with our concert unharmed. The Bible says the angel of the Lord encamps round those who fear Him to deliver them from harm. I just never imagined the angel of the Lord looking like a 6'4" 250 pound bald guy!
That story illustrates both the challenges and opportunities faced by all who stand for Christ in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is home to fair and open-minded individuals, as well as to those who think they would be doing the Almighty a favor by driving away—through any means possible—anyone who stands publicly for Jesus.
As we pray for the prosperity and the peace of Jerusalem, may we recognize the prophetic significance of such peace. We will face opposition from within and without because we are focusing our efforts on a place and a people that are at the center of God's concern for all of humanity. Yet we know that as we pray into the future hope and promise of God concerning this place, we can be assured of His answer from Scripture:
"Thus says the LORD: 'Again there shall be heard in this place ... the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: "Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever" (Jeremiah 33:10-11).
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
October 20, 2010
Instructing a Child’s Heart
Tedd and Margy Tripp
Recently, Radio Shack had a sale on little matchbox-size remote control cars. “What a fun thing for the grandchildren to play with at Grandpa’s house,” I thought. The next week they were all at our house for a family meal. I got the car out and the children began playing with it. Six children, one car; what was this grandfather thinking?
Within a few minutes I observed one of my grandsons following his sister around imploring her, “Emily (names changed to protect the guilty), remember that Jesus says we should share. Remember that we are to do to another as we would have them do to us. You should be kind and give me a turn.”
All these statements are true. And he didn’t bowl her over and run off with the controller. But even the most superficial observer knows that this four-year-old was not motivated by concern for his sister’s spiritual growth. He didn’t care about whether her behavior was Christ-like. He was pursuing the desires of his heart.
The danger of missing the heart
We can fail to address the heart in correction and discipline. We are tempted to focus on the behavior that requires correction, rather than the heart issues that are the source of bad behavior. When the focus is limited to changed behavior, our response will sound like this:
“Share the toy.”
“Leave your sister alone.”
“Stop doing that.”
We may even succumb to the temptation to manipulate our children’s behavior, “It is so sad to see children who have so many nice toys fighting like this. You should both be ashamed; I know I am ashamed of you.”
“If you can’t play without fighting I’m going to send you to your rooms.”
Some parents develop very elaborate schemes of manipulation. One dad told me that he had tried to use a “shut up” jar at his home.
“What a ‘shut up jar’?”
“I got so tired of hearing my children say shut up. I told them whenever they say shut up, they must put a dollar in the jar.”
“What happened?”
“In two weeks we had one hundred dollars!”
“A hundred dollars, that’s a lot of money.”
“Yeah, I know, my wife and I were putting some money in too.”
“What happened then?”
“A couple of weeks passed and no one was saying shut up. So I figured we had learned our lesson. A Friday night came along and I took the family out for pizza, a movie and ice cream. We blew most of the one hundred dollars.”
“What happened then?”
“You wouldn’t believe it; within two days they were saying shut up again.”
Think about this scenario with me. What was going on with these children? Had they experienced heart change? No, all that had changed with these children was their behavior. Once the external force manipulating their behavior was removed (a one dollar fine for saying shut up), their behavior reverted back to the most natural expression of their hearts. This dad had been successful at controlling behavior for the moment, but the children had not been moved an inch in the direction of loving God and others.
There is an almost infinite variety of ways that we can manipulate the behavior of our children. We can bribe them, threaten them, shame them, heap guilt on them, make promises to them, negotiate with them, praise them, or reward them, all in an effort to secure the behavioral outcomes we desire. Sometimes people feel more justified if they are using positive incentives rather than negative disincentives—but it is all behaviorism.
Behaviorism evaluated
Many parents have said to me, “I use a little behaviorism; don’t knock it, it works.” So what is wrong with behaviorism?
Behaviorism does not address the real need of our children. To use the words of Jesus, “Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Addressing the behavior without speaking to the heart bypasses the profound needs of the heart. It is like trying to solve the problem of weeds in the yard by using a lawn mower. You might succeed at mowing down the weeds, but you will be dismayed with how quickly they grow back.
Behaviorism provides our children with a false basis for ethics. The basis for ethical choices in behaviorism is pragmatic. Parents want a certain outcome of behavior, and children learn to choose their behavior based on punishment or reward. When God responds to his children’s behavior, he too is concerned about their actions. But more than that, God is concerned with the heart motives of his children.
In a biblical vision, the basis for ethical decisions is the being, existence and glory of God. Biblical ethics reasons, “There is a God who has made me and all things. He tells me what to do for my good and his glory.” As we deal with the external behavior of our children, we also need to teach them to make decisions based on things deeper than anticipated punishment or reward. The fact that there is a God in heaven who has revealed his will to mankind forms the basis for decision making.
Behaviorism trains the heart in wrong paths. There is such a close connection between the heart and behavior that whatever is used to constrain the behavior trains the hearts of our children. When a child is manipulated through shame, he learns to respond to shame. When guilt is used as a motive, he may grow to be a guilt-laden adult. If pride is the motivation, he may develop into a person whose concern is the fear of man or the desire to have the approval of people. And frequently homes where anger was used to beat family members into submission, produce angry adults.
Behaviorism obscures the message of the gospel. The gospel will never be central in discipline, correction and motivation when behavior is manipulated. The parent who resorts to shame, guilt, threats or bribes is not placing their hope of change in the gospel.
Behaviorism shows the parent’s idols. There are many reasons parents use behaviorism to control their children. Perhaps we are motivated by pride; our children are our calling card after all. Maybe it is simply a matter of ease. Worse yet we are sometimes driven to control others. Maybe we are driven by the fear of man: We worry about what others will think of us if we seem ineffective with our children.
Many idols of the heart will pollute our interventions with our children. These idols will not motivate us to act for the well-being of our child, but for our own reputations. Thus, our child’s good is not the driving force in our correction and discipline, but rather our personal sense of well-being. Our behavior in discipline is motivated by our hearts. This does not show the depth of concern for our children’s spiritual well-being.
The slippery slope of parental hypocrisy
Manipulating behavior will end up hypocritically distancing me from my children. I will find myself saying things like this, “I can’t believe that you are so selfish. Your little brother is going to take a nap in five minutes. Would it kill you to let him play with your Tonka truck for five minutes?”
I would submit that this is hypocrisy toward my son. Who is better acquainted with the ways that selfishness works in the human heart than I? If the truth were told, I could write the book on selfishness.
Do you see what I have done? I have hypocritically distanced myself from my son. I am shaming him for the same crass selfishness that I find in myself. I am focused on behavior and missing the heart. When I act so hypocritically, there will be no gospel, no hope and no grace in my correction.
Keeping the gospel central
Hypocrisy, of course, is where I will always end up when I am trying to manipulate behavior. If, however, I deal with the heart, I will no longer be hypocritically distanced from my son. I can stand in solidarity with him and his struggles with selfishness. I can put my arm around him and say, “I understand what you are experiencing. I understand selfishness. Dad has his own struggles with being selfish.”
I am not excusing selfishness as okay since I am selfish too. Rather, I am simply identifying with this common struggle with sin. Not only do I understand the struggle, I know where I must go with my struggles with selfishness. I must take these struggles to Jesus Christ where I can find forgiveness and grace to help in my time of need.
Jesus Christ has experienced the same kind of temptations that I experience (Hebrews 4:14-16). Though he never failed, I often fail in these temptations and must continually seek grace and strength from Jesus Christ. He is able to forgive and to cleanse me (1 John 1:9). He is full of mercy for past failure and grace for present and future need.
As I help my children with this issue of selfishness, I am like a seasoned veteran on the battlefield. I have been in the battle for a longer time. I have a better knowledge of how to do this spiritual warfare. My young children may just be beginning this battle with sin. I can get into the trenches with them and show them where there is hope and strength for this battle.
Adapted excerpt from Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp. Published by Shepherd Press.
Tedd and Margy Tripp
Recently, Radio Shack had a sale on little matchbox-size remote control cars. “What a fun thing for the grandchildren to play with at Grandpa’s house,” I thought. The next week they were all at our house for a family meal. I got the car out and the children began playing with it. Six children, one car; what was this grandfather thinking?
Within a few minutes I observed one of my grandsons following his sister around imploring her, “Emily (names changed to protect the guilty), remember that Jesus says we should share. Remember that we are to do to another as we would have them do to us. You should be kind and give me a turn.”
All these statements are true. And he didn’t bowl her over and run off with the controller. But even the most superficial observer knows that this four-year-old was not motivated by concern for his sister’s spiritual growth. He didn’t care about whether her behavior was Christ-like. He was pursuing the desires of his heart.
The danger of missing the heart
We can fail to address the heart in correction and discipline. We are tempted to focus on the behavior that requires correction, rather than the heart issues that are the source of bad behavior. When the focus is limited to changed behavior, our response will sound like this:
“Share the toy.”
“Leave your sister alone.”
“Stop doing that.”
We may even succumb to the temptation to manipulate our children’s behavior, “It is so sad to see children who have so many nice toys fighting like this. You should both be ashamed; I know I am ashamed of you.”
“If you can’t play without fighting I’m going to send you to your rooms.”
Some parents develop very elaborate schemes of manipulation. One dad told me that he had tried to use a “shut up” jar at his home.
“What a ‘shut up jar’?”
“I got so tired of hearing my children say shut up. I told them whenever they say shut up, they must put a dollar in the jar.”
“What happened?”
“In two weeks we had one hundred dollars!”
“A hundred dollars, that’s a lot of money.”
“Yeah, I know, my wife and I were putting some money in too.”
“What happened then?”
“A couple of weeks passed and no one was saying shut up. So I figured we had learned our lesson. A Friday night came along and I took the family out for pizza, a movie and ice cream. We blew most of the one hundred dollars.”
“What happened then?”
“You wouldn’t believe it; within two days they were saying shut up again.”
Think about this scenario with me. What was going on with these children? Had they experienced heart change? No, all that had changed with these children was their behavior. Once the external force manipulating their behavior was removed (a one dollar fine for saying shut up), their behavior reverted back to the most natural expression of their hearts. This dad had been successful at controlling behavior for the moment, but the children had not been moved an inch in the direction of loving God and others.
There is an almost infinite variety of ways that we can manipulate the behavior of our children. We can bribe them, threaten them, shame them, heap guilt on them, make promises to them, negotiate with them, praise them, or reward them, all in an effort to secure the behavioral outcomes we desire. Sometimes people feel more justified if they are using positive incentives rather than negative disincentives—but it is all behaviorism.
Behaviorism evaluated
Many parents have said to me, “I use a little behaviorism; don’t knock it, it works.” So what is wrong with behaviorism?
Behaviorism does not address the real need of our children. To use the words of Jesus, “Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Addressing the behavior without speaking to the heart bypasses the profound needs of the heart. It is like trying to solve the problem of weeds in the yard by using a lawn mower. You might succeed at mowing down the weeds, but you will be dismayed with how quickly they grow back.
Behaviorism provides our children with a false basis for ethics. The basis for ethical choices in behaviorism is pragmatic. Parents want a certain outcome of behavior, and children learn to choose their behavior based on punishment or reward. When God responds to his children’s behavior, he too is concerned about their actions. But more than that, God is concerned with the heart motives of his children.
In a biblical vision, the basis for ethical decisions is the being, existence and glory of God. Biblical ethics reasons, “There is a God who has made me and all things. He tells me what to do for my good and his glory.” As we deal with the external behavior of our children, we also need to teach them to make decisions based on things deeper than anticipated punishment or reward. The fact that there is a God in heaven who has revealed his will to mankind forms the basis for decision making.
Behaviorism trains the heart in wrong paths. There is such a close connection between the heart and behavior that whatever is used to constrain the behavior trains the hearts of our children. When a child is manipulated through shame, he learns to respond to shame. When guilt is used as a motive, he may grow to be a guilt-laden adult. If pride is the motivation, he may develop into a person whose concern is the fear of man or the desire to have the approval of people. And frequently homes where anger was used to beat family members into submission, produce angry adults.
Behaviorism obscures the message of the gospel. The gospel will never be central in discipline, correction and motivation when behavior is manipulated. The parent who resorts to shame, guilt, threats or bribes is not placing their hope of change in the gospel.
Behaviorism shows the parent’s idols. There are many reasons parents use behaviorism to control their children. Perhaps we are motivated by pride; our children are our calling card after all. Maybe it is simply a matter of ease. Worse yet we are sometimes driven to control others. Maybe we are driven by the fear of man: We worry about what others will think of us if we seem ineffective with our children.
Many idols of the heart will pollute our interventions with our children. These idols will not motivate us to act for the well-being of our child, but for our own reputations. Thus, our child’s good is not the driving force in our correction and discipline, but rather our personal sense of well-being. Our behavior in discipline is motivated by our hearts. This does not show the depth of concern for our children’s spiritual well-being.
The slippery slope of parental hypocrisy
Manipulating behavior will end up hypocritically distancing me from my children. I will find myself saying things like this, “I can’t believe that you are so selfish. Your little brother is going to take a nap in five minutes. Would it kill you to let him play with your Tonka truck for five minutes?”
I would submit that this is hypocrisy toward my son. Who is better acquainted with the ways that selfishness works in the human heart than I? If the truth were told, I could write the book on selfishness.
Do you see what I have done? I have hypocritically distanced myself from my son. I am shaming him for the same crass selfishness that I find in myself. I am focused on behavior and missing the heart. When I act so hypocritically, there will be no gospel, no hope and no grace in my correction.
Keeping the gospel central
Hypocrisy, of course, is where I will always end up when I am trying to manipulate behavior. If, however, I deal with the heart, I will no longer be hypocritically distanced from my son. I can stand in solidarity with him and his struggles with selfishness. I can put my arm around him and say, “I understand what you are experiencing. I understand selfishness. Dad has his own struggles with being selfish.”
I am not excusing selfishness as okay since I am selfish too. Rather, I am simply identifying with this common struggle with sin. Not only do I understand the struggle, I know where I must go with my struggles with selfishness. I must take these struggles to Jesus Christ where I can find forgiveness and grace to help in my time of need.
Jesus Christ has experienced the same kind of temptations that I experience (Hebrews 4:14-16). Though he never failed, I often fail in these temptations and must continually seek grace and strength from Jesus Christ. He is able to forgive and to cleanse me (1 John 1:9). He is full of mercy for past failure and grace for present and future need.
As I help my children with this issue of selfishness, I am like a seasoned veteran on the battlefield. I have been in the battle for a longer time. I have a better knowledge of how to do this spiritual warfare. My young children may just be beginning this battle with sin. I can get into the trenches with them and show them where there is hope and strength for this battle.
Adapted excerpt from Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp. Published by Shepherd Press.
October 18, 2010
Forgiveness
Written by Joe Gibbs
Lastly, I want to share something with you that I've been studying recently. In Matthew 27, Judas has turned over Jesus. When you think about this, there is no greater sin. Judas has said to the chief priests and elders, I'm going to turn Jesus over to you and you can crucify him. Then Judas goes and receives his 30 pieces of silver and realizes what a sin he has committed. He tries to give the money back but they don't want it back and ask him to leave. At one point in this story, Judas is standing before Jesus as the chief priests and elders take him to be crucified. Jesus says to him, "Where for art thou come?" Even at this point, Judas had an opportunity to ask for forgiveness. Isn't that marvelous, that no matter what our sins are--we have the ability to ask forgiveness. Think about the thief on the cross--Jesus says to him that he will see him in heaven. No matter what we've done, God can forgive us.
So, I say to everyone out there, just as a I said to the prisoners at Turbeville, we serve a God of second chances. There's nothing you've done that God can't forgive. Look at David--sex sins, murder, lying, etc. He committed almost every sin you ever could yet he threw himself at God's feet. God saw what was on his heart and said this is a man after my own heart. So, if you're wondering out there if God can forgive you for your past, the answer is yes. God sent his only Son to die on a cross for our sins and if you trust what Christ did on the cross and ask God to forgive your sins and be your Lord and personal Savior--he will enter your life.
Written by Joe Gibbs
Lastly, I want to share something with you that I've been studying recently. In Matthew 27, Judas has turned over Jesus. When you think about this, there is no greater sin. Judas has said to the chief priests and elders, I'm going to turn Jesus over to you and you can crucify him. Then Judas goes and receives his 30 pieces of silver and realizes what a sin he has committed. He tries to give the money back but they don't want it back and ask him to leave. At one point in this story, Judas is standing before Jesus as the chief priests and elders take him to be crucified. Jesus says to him, "Where for art thou come?" Even at this point, Judas had an opportunity to ask for forgiveness. Isn't that marvelous, that no matter what our sins are--we have the ability to ask forgiveness. Think about the thief on the cross--Jesus says to him that he will see him in heaven. No matter what we've done, God can forgive us.
So, I say to everyone out there, just as a I said to the prisoners at Turbeville, we serve a God of second chances. There's nothing you've done that God can't forgive. Look at David--sex sins, murder, lying, etc. He committed almost every sin you ever could yet he threw himself at God's feet. God saw what was on his heart and said this is a man after my own heart. So, if you're wondering out there if God can forgive you for your past, the answer is yes. God sent his only Son to die on a cross for our sins and if you trust what Christ did on the cross and ask God to forgive your sins and be your Lord and personal Savior--he will enter your life.
Friday, October 15, 2010
October 15, 2010
Peaceful?
How peaceful is your life?
One of the greatest things we can experience is peace. It’s a precious and priceless gift. Nothing is worse than a lack of peace inside our soul or in some important relationship in our life.
The writer of Proverbs so valued personal and relational peace that he made the following statements:
“A heart at peace gives life to the body … ” — Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)
“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” — Proverbs 17:1 (NIV)
Our lack of personal peace is a common and major cause of stress, strife and strain in our relationships. When we are consumed with hurt, anger, anxiety, worry and fear, there’s no doubt that these poisons will spill over into our interactions with others.
Discovering the keys to peace in our own hearts helps us in every other aspect of life. Peaceful people have better marriages, are more productive in their work, and enjoy more meaning friendships. Peaceful people are more attractive and effective, at all levels, than disturbed, frustrated, agitated and irritated people.
How do we experience personal peace? Here are some simple suggestions:
P = Pray. Take everything that disturbs you to God in prayer, and leave it with Him.
E = Adjust your expectations of life and others. Many of the irritations and frustrations we experience are created by unrealistic expectations of the world and people around us. Adjust your expectations.
A = Stop accumulating offenses. All of us have lots of opportunities to be offended by people. We cannot control what someone else does to us, but we can control how we choose to respond. Make a decision that your soul will not become an emotional dumpster, collecting hurt, anger or other negative emotions. Keep a clean heart. Be quick to forgive. Refuse to hold on to anything that will steal your peace.
C = Commit yourself and your circumstances to God. Trust God with your life. Believe that He always has your best interest in mind. Live for Him, and trust that He is in control. Demonstrate your trust by obeying His Word.
E = Eliminate griping, grumbling and complaining. Express gratitude instead. Much of our peace is lost through our lips — by the words we speak. A constant flow of negativity from our mouths not only reflects the condition of our hearts, it sets us up for ongoing negative feelings in our hearts. Turn your life toward peace by expressing gratitude. Become a praiser!
Go after peace. It will change everything in your life!
Pastor Dale
How peaceful is your life?
One of the greatest things we can experience is peace. It’s a precious and priceless gift. Nothing is worse than a lack of peace inside our soul or in some important relationship in our life.
The writer of Proverbs so valued personal and relational peace that he made the following statements:
“A heart at peace gives life to the body … ” — Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)
“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” — Proverbs 17:1 (NIV)
Our lack of personal peace is a common and major cause of stress, strife and strain in our relationships. When we are consumed with hurt, anger, anxiety, worry and fear, there’s no doubt that these poisons will spill over into our interactions with others.
Discovering the keys to peace in our own hearts helps us in every other aspect of life. Peaceful people have better marriages, are more productive in their work, and enjoy more meaning friendships. Peaceful people are more attractive and effective, at all levels, than disturbed, frustrated, agitated and irritated people.
How do we experience personal peace? Here are some simple suggestions:
P = Pray. Take everything that disturbs you to God in prayer, and leave it with Him.
E = Adjust your expectations of life and others. Many of the irritations and frustrations we experience are created by unrealistic expectations of the world and people around us. Adjust your expectations.
A = Stop accumulating offenses. All of us have lots of opportunities to be offended by people. We cannot control what someone else does to us, but we can control how we choose to respond. Make a decision that your soul will not become an emotional dumpster, collecting hurt, anger or other negative emotions. Keep a clean heart. Be quick to forgive. Refuse to hold on to anything that will steal your peace.
C = Commit yourself and your circumstances to God. Trust God with your life. Believe that He always has your best interest in mind. Live for Him, and trust that He is in control. Demonstrate your trust by obeying His Word.
E = Eliminate griping, grumbling and complaining. Express gratitude instead. Much of our peace is lost through our lips — by the words we speak. A constant flow of negativity from our mouths not only reflects the condition of our hearts, it sets us up for ongoing negative feelings in our hearts. Turn your life toward peace by expressing gratitude. Become a praiser!
Go after peace. It will change everything in your life!
Pastor Dale
Thursday, October 14, 2010
October 14, 2010
Pastors: Dealing With Peril in the Pew
Forgiveness is Essential to Spiritual and Church Health
October 8, 2010 - October is Pastor Appreciation Month. During this month, we will post various articles as a tribute to pastors, encouragement for their families and help for lay people in ministering to their pastors. For the first article we caught up with Rebecca Nichols Alonzo, a pastor’s daughter, who wrote a memoir titled The Devil in Pew Number Seven. Her new release documents the years of terror her family endured at the hands of a member of the community. Find out her take on forgiveness.
The Word of God is full of instruction on how to deal with disgruntled church members or with those who usurp authority.
By Joy Allmond
Being a pastor or part of a pastor’s family is not an easy road. Rebecca Nichols Alonzo has firsthand knowledge.
In 1969, her father, Robert Nichols, moved to Sellerstown, N.C. with his wife, Ramona, who was expecting Alonzo, to pastor a small town church. They were warmly welcomed by this community and their congregation. In less than one year, the church grew from 11 to 100 members.
The town was happy about the new addition, except for one man who sat in “pew number seven” every Sunday – Mr. Watts. He was a wealthy county commissioner who controlled the community for years. He began a string of terror on the Nichols family that lasted for over five years. The harassment included threatening letters, drive-by shootings and explosions around the parsonage in which they lived.
Several years after this terror began, an armed man entered the Nichols home, and things were never the same.
Lessons on Forgiveness
While Alonzo’s story is an extreme example of the difficulties of pastoral life, forgiveness is an issue many clergy families must face.
“As a child, my mother and I used to pray consistently for Mr. Watts,” Alonzo remembers. “The Bible is very black and white about forgiveness. It doesn’t matter whether the offender ‘deserves’ it or whether you ‘feel’ like forgiving. Romans 12:14 clearly tells us to bless those who persecute us. The Word of God is full of instruction on how to deal with disgruntled church members or with those who usurp authority. It tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
“Jesus is our greatest example of forgiveness, as He hung on the cross and asked God to forgive those who crucified Him. This principle should apply to us today as we go through hard times in churches. When there is a problem in a church, the power of God can come in and take care of that problem His way. We are blessed when we obey Him and forgive others. However, this doesn’t mean He is going to take the people out of your church who have caused the problems.”
The Power of a Loving Congregation
While Alonzo’s family suffered under the mistreatment of this man, that experience did not interfere with her spiritual growth or her connection with the church. She testifies to the power of a strong, supportive, loving congregation.
“Because everyone else in the church was so loving and thankful that my parents were there, it didn’t taint my view of the church or the community. I looked to my mom’s strength and love for people and saw that my dad was faithful to the call God placed on his life,” Alonzo explains. “Because Mr. Watts came to church every Sunday, their hope was that the Word of God would penetrate his heart, he would receive Jesus, and as a result, those seeds of anger and bitterness would melt away.”
Alonzo encourages people to pray for their pastors. “Please pray for a hedge of protection around pastors, their families, their minds and their finances,” said Alonzo. As for pastoral families, she urges them to trust in God’s protection. “Just know that He will be there with you during anything you go through.”
Forgiveness is Essential to Spiritual and Church Health
October 8, 2010 - October is Pastor Appreciation Month. During this month, we will post various articles as a tribute to pastors, encouragement for their families and help for lay people in ministering to their pastors. For the first article we caught up with Rebecca Nichols Alonzo, a pastor’s daughter, who wrote a memoir titled The Devil in Pew Number Seven. Her new release documents the years of terror her family endured at the hands of a member of the community. Find out her take on forgiveness.
The Word of God is full of instruction on how to deal with disgruntled church members or with those who usurp authority.
By Joy Allmond
Being a pastor or part of a pastor’s family is not an easy road. Rebecca Nichols Alonzo has firsthand knowledge.
In 1969, her father, Robert Nichols, moved to Sellerstown, N.C. with his wife, Ramona, who was expecting Alonzo, to pastor a small town church. They were warmly welcomed by this community and their congregation. In less than one year, the church grew from 11 to 100 members.
The town was happy about the new addition, except for one man who sat in “pew number seven” every Sunday – Mr. Watts. He was a wealthy county commissioner who controlled the community for years. He began a string of terror on the Nichols family that lasted for over five years. The harassment included threatening letters, drive-by shootings and explosions around the parsonage in which they lived.
Several years after this terror began, an armed man entered the Nichols home, and things were never the same.
Lessons on Forgiveness
While Alonzo’s story is an extreme example of the difficulties of pastoral life, forgiveness is an issue many clergy families must face.
“As a child, my mother and I used to pray consistently for Mr. Watts,” Alonzo remembers. “The Bible is very black and white about forgiveness. It doesn’t matter whether the offender ‘deserves’ it or whether you ‘feel’ like forgiving. Romans 12:14 clearly tells us to bless those who persecute us. The Word of God is full of instruction on how to deal with disgruntled church members or with those who usurp authority. It tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
“Jesus is our greatest example of forgiveness, as He hung on the cross and asked God to forgive those who crucified Him. This principle should apply to us today as we go through hard times in churches. When there is a problem in a church, the power of God can come in and take care of that problem His way. We are blessed when we obey Him and forgive others. However, this doesn’t mean He is going to take the people out of your church who have caused the problems.”
The Power of a Loving Congregation
While Alonzo’s family suffered under the mistreatment of this man, that experience did not interfere with her spiritual growth or her connection with the church. She testifies to the power of a strong, supportive, loving congregation.
“Because everyone else in the church was so loving and thankful that my parents were there, it didn’t taint my view of the church or the community. I looked to my mom’s strength and love for people and saw that my dad was faithful to the call God placed on his life,” Alonzo explains. “Because Mr. Watts came to church every Sunday, their hope was that the Word of God would penetrate his heart, he would receive Jesus, and as a result, those seeds of anger and bitterness would melt away.”
Alonzo encourages people to pray for their pastors. “Please pray for a hedge of protection around pastors, their families, their minds and their finances,” said Alonzo. As for pastoral families, she urges them to trust in God’s protection. “Just know that He will be there with you during anything you go through.”
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
October 13, 2010
Romans 10: 13 "for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the L-rd will be saved.""
US Jewish Hiker Survives Desert Ordeal Thanks to 'Miracle' Rain
by Maayana Miskin
Sixty-four-year-old Ed Rosenthal of Los Angeles shocked rescuers last week when he was found alive after six days in the desert with little food or water. He spoke to the media this week after several days of recovery in the Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree.
Rosenthal finished the last of his water on the first day he was lost, but was later able to drink some rainwater. He told reporters that the rain fell immediately after he had prayed for rain.
"There was definitely a miracle... My conclusion is that G-d is real. Really, I have to tell you. G-d is real," he said.
He also recalled reciting the Shema Yisrael prayers, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One", an affirmation of belief which Jews traditionally say three times daily, and also declare before death. He saw a "white tunnel," he said, but then decided that he was not ready to die.
If just one more day had passed before he was found, he would not have survived, Rosenthal said.
The saga began on Friday, September , when Rosenthal set out for what was to be a four-mile hike along a trail in Joshua Tree National Park. He had hiked the trail before, and believed the journey would take two or three hours.
Instead, hours later he found himself completely lost, having hiked through several unfamiliar canyons. He found a small canyon to sleep in. The next morning, he finished the last of his water. He tried to conserve energy, moving just enough to stay in the shade and to try to signal to rescuers.
By Sunday, he was barely able to walk. "I was getting weaker and weaker. I would have died without my hiking stick to raise and lower myself," he said. He used a pen to write messages to his family on his hat.
He was rescued on Thursday morning. Doctors found that he had lost 9 kilos (20 pounds) during his ordeal.
Rosenthal and his family are setting up a fund to contribute to local search-and-rescue teams, the National Park Service, and other local organizations that helped in the effort to save him. He told journalists that he plans to hike again, but in the mountains, not the desert
US Jewish Hiker Survives Desert Ordeal Thanks to 'Miracle' Rain
by Maayana Miskin
Sixty-four-year-old Ed Rosenthal of Los Angeles shocked rescuers last week when he was found alive after six days in the desert with little food or water. He spoke to the media this week after several days of recovery in the Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree.
Rosenthal finished the last of his water on the first day he was lost, but was later able to drink some rainwater. He told reporters that the rain fell immediately after he had prayed for rain.
"There was definitely a miracle... My conclusion is that G-d is real. Really, I have to tell you. G-d is real," he said.
He also recalled reciting the Shema Yisrael prayers, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One", an affirmation of belief which Jews traditionally say three times daily, and also declare before death. He saw a "white tunnel," he said, but then decided that he was not ready to die.
If just one more day had passed before he was found, he would not have survived, Rosenthal said.
The saga began on Friday, September , when Rosenthal set out for what was to be a four-mile hike along a trail in Joshua Tree National Park. He had hiked the trail before, and believed the journey would take two or three hours.
Instead, hours later he found himself completely lost, having hiked through several unfamiliar canyons. He found a small canyon to sleep in. The next morning, he finished the last of his water. He tried to conserve energy, moving just enough to stay in the shade and to try to signal to rescuers.
By Sunday, he was barely able to walk. "I was getting weaker and weaker. I would have died without my hiking stick to raise and lower myself," he said. He used a pen to write messages to his family on his hat.
He was rescued on Thursday morning. Doctors found that he had lost 9 kilos (20 pounds) during his ordeal.
Rosenthal and his family are setting up a fund to contribute to local search-and-rescue teams, the National Park Service, and other local organizations that helped in the effort to save him. He told journalists that he plans to hike again, but in the mountains, not the desert
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
October 12, 2010
Adjusting Your Focus
Any quality camera has an important feature; a focus function. To take great pictures, focus is essential. When a lens is not properly focused, images become distorted and blurred. Focus gives definition and enables us to appreciate and enjoy what the camera captures.
We all live life through a lens. We see life, people, and God through a certain internal lens called attitude and perspective. The focus of this lens will determine the images we see around us.
There are many things that can and will blur the focus of our lives. Judgment, prejudice. anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, hurt, offense, ingratitude, and a lot of other things like these, distort our focus. They give us the wrong images of life, people and God.
Unfortunately, when our focus has become blurred by such things, we usually fail to recognize the distortion that has happened in our own soul. We accept this warped view as reality, when it’s actually the projection of our own pain and problems. This sets us up for wrong reactions, bad decisions, and a whole lot of mental and emotional misery.
God has given us a way to check our internal focus to make sure it is right and healthy. The Apostle Paul provided us a list of qualities that are evident in someone who has the right focus:
” … when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22, 23 (NLT)
Here God listed 9 qualities that indicate a properly focused life. When these are present in us, we can be sure that we are seeing things the way the Lord wants us to see them. When they are absent, we can be sure that our focus is off and our view of life, others and the world is blurred and distorted. The absence of these fruit not only produces problems for us, it affects our walk with God. A wrong focus truly is sinful. It keeps us from the life God wants us to live.
How’s your focus? Do you need a readjustment of the lens of your soul? The good news is, through recognition of our sin, honest confession of it to God, and a yielding to the Holy Spirit’s control, our focus will be rightly adjusted and our view of life, others and God made right and beautiful!
Pastor Dale
Any quality camera has an important feature; a focus function. To take great pictures, focus is essential. When a lens is not properly focused, images become distorted and blurred. Focus gives definition and enables us to appreciate and enjoy what the camera captures.
We all live life through a lens. We see life, people, and God through a certain internal lens called attitude and perspective. The focus of this lens will determine the images we see around us.
There are many things that can and will blur the focus of our lives. Judgment, prejudice. anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, hurt, offense, ingratitude, and a lot of other things like these, distort our focus. They give us the wrong images of life, people and God.
Unfortunately, when our focus has become blurred by such things, we usually fail to recognize the distortion that has happened in our own soul. We accept this warped view as reality, when it’s actually the projection of our own pain and problems. This sets us up for wrong reactions, bad decisions, and a whole lot of mental and emotional misery.
God has given us a way to check our internal focus to make sure it is right and healthy. The Apostle Paul provided us a list of qualities that are evident in someone who has the right focus:
” … when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22, 23 (NLT)
Here God listed 9 qualities that indicate a properly focused life. When these are present in us, we can be sure that we are seeing things the way the Lord wants us to see them. When they are absent, we can be sure that our focus is off and our view of life, others and the world is blurred and distorted. The absence of these fruit not only produces problems for us, it affects our walk with God. A wrong focus truly is sinful. It keeps us from the life God wants us to live.
How’s your focus? Do you need a readjustment of the lens of your soul? The good news is, through recognition of our sin, honest confession of it to God, and a yielding to the Holy Spirit’s control, our focus will be rightly adjusted and our view of life, others and God made right and beautiful!
Pastor Dale
October 8, 2010
All In?
What are the greatest gifts you can give to someone? Love, loyalty and faithfulness are, no doubt, the most wonderful things we can give to another person. They are the enduring and endearing qualities of friendship. They are the prerequisites for trust and intimacy. They are signs of heart level commitment.
Strong relationships are built on love, loyalty and faithfulness. This is why the writer of Proverbs highlighted them as qualities we must develop and preserve:
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” –– Proverbs 3:3, 4 (NIV)
“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.” –– Proverbs 3:3 ,4 (NLT)
Just as the Lord instructs us to grow and show these qualities in our relationships with others, He also longs for us to demonstrate them with Him. He is looking for people who love Him, and show their love to Him by their loyalty and faithfulness. He is attracted to people who fully commit themselves to Him, from the heart, and are committed for the long haul. Their relationship with Him doesn’t run hot and cold, depending on their circumstances or current emotions. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, they are “all in” with Him. God works in and though people like this to change the world!
How about you? Are you “all in” with God? Are you demonstrating love, loyalty and faithfulness to Him? Are these qualities overflowing into other relationships in your life?
Make the decision to be an “all in” believer!
Pastor Dale
What are the greatest gifts you can give to someone? Love, loyalty and faithfulness are, no doubt, the most wonderful things we can give to another person. They are the enduring and endearing qualities of friendship. They are the prerequisites for trust and intimacy. They are signs of heart level commitment.
Strong relationships are built on love, loyalty and faithfulness. This is why the writer of Proverbs highlighted them as qualities we must develop and preserve:
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” –– Proverbs 3:3, 4 (NIV)
“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.” –– Proverbs 3:3 ,4 (NLT)
Just as the Lord instructs us to grow and show these qualities in our relationships with others, He also longs for us to demonstrate them with Him. He is looking for people who love Him, and show their love to Him by their loyalty and faithfulness. He is attracted to people who fully commit themselves to Him, from the heart, and are committed for the long haul. Their relationship with Him doesn’t run hot and cold, depending on their circumstances or current emotions. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, they are “all in” with Him. God works in and though people like this to change the world!
How about you? Are you “all in” with God? Are you demonstrating love, loyalty and faithfulness to Him? Are these qualities overflowing into other relationships in your life?
Make the decision to be an “all in” believer!
Pastor Dale
Thursday, October 7, 2010
October 7, 2010
Five Steps to Leadership Success
Becoming a skillful leader can be a daunting task. You know where you want to go but have no idea how to get there. Here are five steps you can take to move your leadership to the next level today:
1. Focus on developing your character.
So many leaders focus on their competence, but neglect their character. Proverbs 10:9 (NIV) says, "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Your character will either protect or pollute your leadership. A character problem will infect everything you touch. It’s something that skill can only cover for a short time. Eventually, it will be found out and will come through loud and clear. If you cannot be trusted, you will not be followed.
When you make a wrong choice (and you will), the last thing you want is a reputation for lacking strong character. If people question your heart or your motives, those types of issues are almost impossible to recover from. Focus on developing humility and being a person of integrity. From those two qualities, everything else will fall into place.
2. Be honest about your weaknesses. (And yes, you have them.) You are not God’s gift to leadership. There, I said it. We all have weaknesses. You know what else? The people that follow you know them better than you do. Becoming a more skillful leader means identifying the areas that you need to grow in. Be honest with those that have to directly follow you, and — here’s the hard part — ask them what you may be missing. What we identify as our primary weaknesses may not be the same as what others see in us.
It’s part of our nature to think that we are more skillful, productive, efficient, and effective than we actually are. Take the blame for your mistakes, don’t shift it.
“Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength.”
- Seth Godin, author and wildly popular blogger, in a recent post.
I’ve found that people are more inclined to follow a leader, in spite of their weaknesses, when the leader is honest in identifying and strengthening those areas.
3. Take personal responsibility for your growth and development.
Hebrews 5:12-14 (NLT):
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. [emphasis added]
Even though they had been believers for some time, this particular group of people were still spiritual infants, still trying to grasp elementary concepts. Why? Because there was no growth. They hadn’t committed themselves to maturing. They needed someone to come back and teach them the “basic things” again. As such, they were unable to step into the role of leading someone else along the same journey of understanding God’s word. They were unable to lead because they were not growing.
The same is true for us. We are expected to grow and it’s our responsibility to make sure that growth is taking place. Don’t sit around waiting for the right resources or information to come to you. Be proactive, and seek them out!
4. Invest in people. Get off your high horse.
By nature, I am not a people person. I’m an introvert. It’s often difficult for me to come outside of my shell and talk with people. As a leader, I have to put my personal preferences aside. Your genuine investment people will yield immeasurable returns. Especially in the context of spiritual leadership, it is vital that people know that you sincerely care for and love them. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be leading them.
A call to leadership is a calling to servant-hood. Find ways to serve people in ways that are outside of the normal scope of your interaction with them. Appreciate their contributions. Commit to developing them. Don’t walk past them, stop and talk to them. Pray with and for them. Love them. They deserve it.
5. Find a trustworthy, experienced leader that can mentor you.
All of this stuff is exceptionally difficult to navigate on your own. Having a mentor is a key to your success as a leader. It helps to have someone that has been where you are and can offer suggestions to guide you. When cultivated, a mentor relationship will provide accountability and balance to your life and your leadership. Be sure you meet regularly, and the time together is transparent. This is not a time to save face, it’s a time to grow!
If you don’t have one now, pray and ask God to show you. Though it sounds trite, I prayed for a long time before God brought the exact person into my life that I needed in that role. Don’t rush into this, take the time to find the right person.
These are five simple ways to improve your skill as a leader. Be intentional about putting them into practice, and you will see immediate results and prolonged success!
What about you? Are there other things would you add to this list? What has been of value to you on your journey?
Becoming a skillful leader can be a daunting task. You know where you want to go but have no idea how to get there. Here are five steps you can take to move your leadership to the next level today:
1. Focus on developing your character.
So many leaders focus on their competence, but neglect their character. Proverbs 10:9 (NIV) says, "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Your character will either protect or pollute your leadership. A character problem will infect everything you touch. It’s something that skill can only cover for a short time. Eventually, it will be found out and will come through loud and clear. If you cannot be trusted, you will not be followed.
When you make a wrong choice (and you will), the last thing you want is a reputation for lacking strong character. If people question your heart or your motives, those types of issues are almost impossible to recover from. Focus on developing humility and being a person of integrity. From those two qualities, everything else will fall into place.
2. Be honest about your weaknesses. (And yes, you have them.) You are not God’s gift to leadership. There, I said it. We all have weaknesses. You know what else? The people that follow you know them better than you do. Becoming a more skillful leader means identifying the areas that you need to grow in. Be honest with those that have to directly follow you, and — here’s the hard part — ask them what you may be missing. What we identify as our primary weaknesses may not be the same as what others see in us.
It’s part of our nature to think that we are more skillful, productive, efficient, and effective than we actually are. Take the blame for your mistakes, don’t shift it.
“Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength.”
- Seth Godin, author and wildly popular blogger, in a recent post.
I’ve found that people are more inclined to follow a leader, in spite of their weaknesses, when the leader is honest in identifying and strengthening those areas.
3. Take personal responsibility for your growth and development.
Hebrews 5:12-14 (NLT):
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. [emphasis added]
Even though they had been believers for some time, this particular group of people were still spiritual infants, still trying to grasp elementary concepts. Why? Because there was no growth. They hadn’t committed themselves to maturing. They needed someone to come back and teach them the “basic things” again. As such, they were unable to step into the role of leading someone else along the same journey of understanding God’s word. They were unable to lead because they were not growing.
The same is true for us. We are expected to grow and it’s our responsibility to make sure that growth is taking place. Don’t sit around waiting for the right resources or information to come to you. Be proactive, and seek them out!
4. Invest in people. Get off your high horse.
By nature, I am not a people person. I’m an introvert. It’s often difficult for me to come outside of my shell and talk with people. As a leader, I have to put my personal preferences aside. Your genuine investment people will yield immeasurable returns. Especially in the context of spiritual leadership, it is vital that people know that you sincerely care for and love them. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be leading them.
A call to leadership is a calling to servant-hood. Find ways to serve people in ways that are outside of the normal scope of your interaction with them. Appreciate their contributions. Commit to developing them. Don’t walk past them, stop and talk to them. Pray with and for them. Love them. They deserve it.
5. Find a trustworthy, experienced leader that can mentor you.
All of this stuff is exceptionally difficult to navigate on your own. Having a mentor is a key to your success as a leader. It helps to have someone that has been where you are and can offer suggestions to guide you. When cultivated, a mentor relationship will provide accountability and balance to your life and your leadership. Be sure you meet regularly, and the time together is transparent. This is not a time to save face, it’s a time to grow!
If you don’t have one now, pray and ask God to show you. Though it sounds trite, I prayed for a long time before God brought the exact person into my life that I needed in that role. Don’t rush into this, take the time to find the right person.
These are five simple ways to improve your skill as a leader. Be intentional about putting them into practice, and you will see immediate results and prolonged success!
What about you? Are there other things would you add to this list? What has been of value to you on your journey?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
October 6, 2010
How to Be Sure of Your Salvation
August 2, 2010 - According to the Bible, assurance of salvation rests on four unshakable pillars.
by Steven J. Lawson
Some time ago, on a flight to Oregon, I sat next to a woman who asked where I was going. "Sisters, Oregon," I answered. "Do you know where it is?"
Assuring me that she did, the woman asked, "What's your business there?"
After I said I was writing a book about how we can be sure we are going to heaven, she marveled, "You mean you can know that you are going to heaven?"
Realizing God had opened a door for me to tell her about Christ, I reinforced that we can know for certain our eternal destiny, saying, "We can afford to be wrong about going to Sisters, Oregon, but not about going to heaven."
How Can We Be Sure?
The truth is, we can be sure about where we will spend eternity. We can know with certainty that when we die, we will go to heaven. But how can we be sure? Many people struggle with the certainty of their salvation, especially new believers.
How can we know where we stand with God? The Bible teaches that the assurance of salvation rests securely upon four unshakable pillars:
Pillar #1
God Cannot Lie!
First, assurance is based on the absolute trustworthiness of Scripture. Throughout the New Testament, we read God's promises to save all who will believe upon His Son. The Bible says, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."(1) This is a promise! All who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ may have the firm confidence of salvation based upon the infallibility of God's Word.
Jesus said, "The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out."(2) If you come to Jesus with genuine repentance and faith, He promises that He will save you. We can know Jesus has received us because, quite simply, He said so! When the Bible speaks, God speaks. And what God said, He will surely do. He will save all who call upon Jesus Christ. You have His word on it.
Pillar #2
Jesus Paid It All
Second, assurance rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He bore our iniquities, enduring God's wrath, and cried out, "It is finished!"(3) By this, He meant that the full atonement for all our sins-past, present and future-has been made. His work of redemption now completed, our entire sin debt is paid in full.
Just as salvation comes from believing in Christ alone, so does assurance. As we trust in Christ's perfect sacrifice for our sins, the certainty of eternal life floods our hearts. No matter how great your sin, God's grace is greater still. The Bible says, "Come now, and let us reason together. ... Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."(4)
Pillar #3
The Great Convincer
Third, assurance comes through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. A divinely produced gift, assurance is bestowed by God's Spirit to all true believers. It is the Holy Spirit's ministry to convince our hearts of our salvation. In actuality, no preacher, evangelist, parent or friend can give us assurance. Neither can we work it up within ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit Himself can give us the absolute certainty of our eternal salvation.
The Bible says, "We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us."(5) ... "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."(6) ... "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."(7) This means, the Holy Spirit who convicted, called and converted us also convinces us that we belong to Christ. It is the Spirit's inward witness that persuades us of the genuineness of our salvation.
Pillar #4
New Life in Christ
Fourth, assurance comes through the evidence of a changed life. Ultimately, assurance is confirmed within us as we see God conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. All who have been born again will see clear evidences of a new life in Christ. While we will never become perfect in this life, we will, nevertheless, experience a changed life. It is this inward transformation that provides strong confirmation of our salvation.
The book of First John details what are the vital signs of our new life in Christ. The Apostle John writes, "We know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments."(8) In other words, we may be certain that we know Christ as we see within us a desired and willing obedience to God's Word. Likewise, John writes, other vital signs will follow: Love for other people,(9) love for God,(10) refusing the world,(11) understanding biblical truth,(12) righteous behavior,(13) opposition from the world(14) and answered prayer.(15) As we see this spiritual fruit produced in our lives, we may be confident that Christ lives within us.
Full Assurance of Salvation
Here are the four sturdy pillars on which the assurance of our salvation rests. Giving "full assurance of hope"(16) regarding our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, these pillars provide unshakable confidence of eternal life.
As I told the woman on the plane, we can be wrong about earthly directions but not about our eternal destiny. In our salvation we must be sure. Assurance of salvation is God's blessed gift for all who believe: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life."(17)
Be absolutely sure!
(1) Romans 10:13, NASB.
(2) John 6:37, NASB.
(3) John 19:30, NASB.
(4) Isaiah 1:18, NASB.
(5) 1 John 3:24, NASB.
(6) 1 John 4:13, NASB.
(7) Romans 8:16, NASB.
(8) 1 John 2:3, NASB.
(9) 1 John 2:9-11.
(10) 1 John 2:12-14.
(11) 1 John 2:15-17.
(12) 1 John 2:20-27.
(13) 1 John 3:4-6.
(14) 1 John 3:13.
(15) 1 John 3:22-24.
(16) Hebrews 6:11, NASB.
(17) 1 John 5:13, NASB.
Bible verses marked NASB are taken by permission from the New American Standard Bible, ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California
August 2, 2010 - According to the Bible, assurance of salvation rests on four unshakable pillars.
by Steven J. Lawson
Some time ago, on a flight to Oregon, I sat next to a woman who asked where I was going. "Sisters, Oregon," I answered. "Do you know where it is?"
Assuring me that she did, the woman asked, "What's your business there?"
After I said I was writing a book about how we can be sure we are going to heaven, she marveled, "You mean you can know that you are going to heaven?"
Realizing God had opened a door for me to tell her about Christ, I reinforced that we can know for certain our eternal destiny, saying, "We can afford to be wrong about going to Sisters, Oregon, but not about going to heaven."
How Can We Be Sure?
The truth is, we can be sure about where we will spend eternity. We can know with certainty that when we die, we will go to heaven. But how can we be sure? Many people struggle with the certainty of their salvation, especially new believers.
How can we know where we stand with God? The Bible teaches that the assurance of salvation rests securely upon four unshakable pillars:
Pillar #1
God Cannot Lie!
First, assurance is based on the absolute trustworthiness of Scripture. Throughout the New Testament, we read God's promises to save all who will believe upon His Son. The Bible says, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."(1) This is a promise! All who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ may have the firm confidence of salvation based upon the infallibility of God's Word.
Jesus said, "The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out."(2) If you come to Jesus with genuine repentance and faith, He promises that He will save you. We can know Jesus has received us because, quite simply, He said so! When the Bible speaks, God speaks. And what God said, He will surely do. He will save all who call upon Jesus Christ. You have His word on it.
Pillar #2
Jesus Paid It All
Second, assurance rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He bore our iniquities, enduring God's wrath, and cried out, "It is finished!"(3) By this, He meant that the full atonement for all our sins-past, present and future-has been made. His work of redemption now completed, our entire sin debt is paid in full.
Just as salvation comes from believing in Christ alone, so does assurance. As we trust in Christ's perfect sacrifice for our sins, the certainty of eternal life floods our hearts. No matter how great your sin, God's grace is greater still. The Bible says, "Come now, and let us reason together. ... Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."(4)
Pillar #3
The Great Convincer
Third, assurance comes through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. A divinely produced gift, assurance is bestowed by God's Spirit to all true believers. It is the Holy Spirit's ministry to convince our hearts of our salvation. In actuality, no preacher, evangelist, parent or friend can give us assurance. Neither can we work it up within ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit Himself can give us the absolute certainty of our eternal salvation.
The Bible says, "We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us."(5) ... "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."(6) ... "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."(7) This means, the Holy Spirit who convicted, called and converted us also convinces us that we belong to Christ. It is the Spirit's inward witness that persuades us of the genuineness of our salvation.
Pillar #4
New Life in Christ
Fourth, assurance comes through the evidence of a changed life. Ultimately, assurance is confirmed within us as we see God conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. All who have been born again will see clear evidences of a new life in Christ. While we will never become perfect in this life, we will, nevertheless, experience a changed life. It is this inward transformation that provides strong confirmation of our salvation.
The book of First John details what are the vital signs of our new life in Christ. The Apostle John writes, "We know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments."(8) In other words, we may be certain that we know Christ as we see within us a desired and willing obedience to God's Word. Likewise, John writes, other vital signs will follow: Love for other people,(9) love for God,(10) refusing the world,(11) understanding biblical truth,(12) righteous behavior,(13) opposition from the world(14) and answered prayer.(15) As we see this spiritual fruit produced in our lives, we may be confident that Christ lives within us.
Full Assurance of Salvation
Here are the four sturdy pillars on which the assurance of our salvation rests. Giving "full assurance of hope"(16) regarding our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, these pillars provide unshakable confidence of eternal life.
As I told the woman on the plane, we can be wrong about earthly directions but not about our eternal destiny. In our salvation we must be sure. Assurance of salvation is God's blessed gift for all who believe: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life."(17)
Be absolutely sure!
(1) Romans 10:13, NASB.
(2) John 6:37, NASB.
(3) John 19:30, NASB.
(4) Isaiah 1:18, NASB.
(5) 1 John 3:24, NASB.
(6) 1 John 4:13, NASB.
(7) Romans 8:16, NASB.
(8) 1 John 2:3, NASB.
(9) 1 John 2:9-11.
(10) 1 John 2:12-14.
(11) 1 John 2:15-17.
(12) 1 John 2:20-27.
(13) 1 John 3:4-6.
(14) 1 John 3:13.
(15) 1 John 3:22-24.
(16) Hebrews 6:11, NASB.
(17) 1 John 5:13, NASB.
Bible verses marked NASB are taken by permission from the New American Standard Bible, ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
October 5, 2010
The Rewards of Initiative
One of the characteristics we admire in people is initiative. A person with initiative takes steps in a positive direction without having to be prompted, cajoled or motivated by someone else. Instead of being reactive or passive, they are proactive in the way they live their lives. They engage rather than disengage with their responsibilities, assignments and opportunities.
Initiative is a wonderful quality in a person. It results in promotion and positive momentum. Good things happen to people who possess it. It makes us a better spouse, friend, employee or student. It makes us a more productive person.
Initiative also communicates significant things about someone. It is a sign of their interest, appetite, need, desire or passion. It indicates a willingness on their part to make a personal investment in the duties they have been given or the relationships they have with others.
Initiative is a great asset in our spiritual journey as well. God is blessed and eagerly responds to people who demonstrate spiritual initiative. He comes to the aid of people who take positive steps toward Him.
Jesus gave us a wonderful illustration about the rewards of spiritual initiative in Luke 15:11-24. Jesus described a young man who wanted to leave home. He longed to experience the pleasures and attractions of worldly living. He asked his dad for his inheritance, headed out on his own, and ultimately wasted his wealth and lost everything. He ended up working in a pig pen, eating the same food the pigs ate. This experience brought him to his senses. He decided to take the initiative to go back home to his father, seeking forgiveness and some degree of reconciliation.
Take a look at the results of this young man’s initiative:
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” –– Luke 15:20 (NLT)
It’s obvious from the story that the father was anxiously and lovingly waiting for his son to take steps in the right direction. And as soon as the father saw the son’s initiative, he came running to him!
The Apostle James brings the lesson home to all of us, describing a beautiful spiritual principle and promise from God:
“Come close to God, and He will come close to you … ” –– James 4:8 (NLT)
When we take the initiative to approach –– to draw near –– to God, we are assured of a reciprocal response from Him! He rewards our spiritual initiative.
How many times do we miss out on intimate fellowship with God because we don’t take the time to seek Him? How many times do we forfeit the help, wisdom, power and grace God longs to give us because we don’t take the initiative to go to Him, ask Him and wait on Him? Many blessings are missed when we don’t develop and maintain our spiritual initiative.
What do you need from God? What do you want Him to do in your life? Go ahead and take the initiative with Him. Approach Him with full confidence of His promise: “If you come near to me, I will come near to you!”
Pastor Dale
One of the characteristics we admire in people is initiative. A person with initiative takes steps in a positive direction without having to be prompted, cajoled or motivated by someone else. Instead of being reactive or passive, they are proactive in the way they live their lives. They engage rather than disengage with their responsibilities, assignments and opportunities.
Initiative is a wonderful quality in a person. It results in promotion and positive momentum. Good things happen to people who possess it. It makes us a better spouse, friend, employee or student. It makes us a more productive person.
Initiative also communicates significant things about someone. It is a sign of their interest, appetite, need, desire or passion. It indicates a willingness on their part to make a personal investment in the duties they have been given or the relationships they have with others.
Initiative is a great asset in our spiritual journey as well. God is blessed and eagerly responds to people who demonstrate spiritual initiative. He comes to the aid of people who take positive steps toward Him.
Jesus gave us a wonderful illustration about the rewards of spiritual initiative in Luke 15:11-24. Jesus described a young man who wanted to leave home. He longed to experience the pleasures and attractions of worldly living. He asked his dad for his inheritance, headed out on his own, and ultimately wasted his wealth and lost everything. He ended up working in a pig pen, eating the same food the pigs ate. This experience brought him to his senses. He decided to take the initiative to go back home to his father, seeking forgiveness and some degree of reconciliation.
Take a look at the results of this young man’s initiative:
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” –– Luke 15:20 (NLT)
It’s obvious from the story that the father was anxiously and lovingly waiting for his son to take steps in the right direction. And as soon as the father saw the son’s initiative, he came running to him!
The Apostle James brings the lesson home to all of us, describing a beautiful spiritual principle and promise from God:
“Come close to God, and He will come close to you … ” –– James 4:8 (NLT)
When we take the initiative to approach –– to draw near –– to God, we are assured of a reciprocal response from Him! He rewards our spiritual initiative.
How many times do we miss out on intimate fellowship with God because we don’t take the time to seek Him? How many times do we forfeit the help, wisdom, power and grace God longs to give us because we don’t take the initiative to go to Him, ask Him and wait on Him? Many blessings are missed when we don’t develop and maintain our spiritual initiative.
What do you need from God? What do you want Him to do in your life? Go ahead and take the initiative with Him. Approach Him with full confidence of His promise: “If you come near to me, I will come near to you!”
Pastor Dale
Monday, October 4, 2010
October 4, 2010
The Valley of Baca
By Os Hillman
October 4
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion" (Ps 84:5-7).
There is a spiritual law in the Kingdom of God. Every great leader in the Kingdom will pass through the Valley of Baca. Baca means to weep. It comes from the Hebrew word, bakah (baw-kaw'); a primitive root; to weep; generally to bemoan.
However, Baca is also a place of springs. There is nothing better on a hot day when you're thirsty and weary than to drink water from a mountain spring. It refreshes. It renews. It gives you a second wind to continue your journey. Those who commit themselves to a pilgrimage with God will experience the Valley of Baca. But in the midst of Baca they will discover that in this valley they will also drink from a very special spring that refreshes with a different kind of living water.
It becomes the source of "secret things in hidden places" described by the prophet Isaiah (Isa 45:3) reserved only for those willing to journey on the Great Pilgrimage with God. Once you drink from this spring you will be energized in your spiritual man from strength to strength. Each Valley of Baca will result in a new spiritual spring from which you will drink. It is handmade just for you by God. But know this...it will be used to provide a refreshing drink for others you will encounter who are also on their pilgrimage.
Ultimately, Baca leads to the presence of God. There is something about being in a place with God that results in our weeping and crying out to Him. Do you find yourself in this place with God today? If so, know that His springs are also available to you. Ask him today to give you a drink from His spring only available in the Valley of Baca.
By Os Hillman
October 4
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion" (Ps 84:5-7).
There is a spiritual law in the Kingdom of God. Every great leader in the Kingdom will pass through the Valley of Baca. Baca means to weep. It comes from the Hebrew word, bakah (baw-kaw'); a primitive root; to weep; generally to bemoan.
However, Baca is also a place of springs. There is nothing better on a hot day when you're thirsty and weary than to drink water from a mountain spring. It refreshes. It renews. It gives you a second wind to continue your journey. Those who commit themselves to a pilgrimage with God will experience the Valley of Baca. But in the midst of Baca they will discover that in this valley they will also drink from a very special spring that refreshes with a different kind of living water.
It becomes the source of "secret things in hidden places" described by the prophet Isaiah (Isa 45:3) reserved only for those willing to journey on the Great Pilgrimage with God. Once you drink from this spring you will be energized in your spiritual man from strength to strength. Each Valley of Baca will result in a new spiritual spring from which you will drink. It is handmade just for you by God. But know this...it will be used to provide a refreshing drink for others you will encounter who are also on their pilgrimage.
Ultimately, Baca leads to the presence of God. There is something about being in a place with God that results in our weeping and crying out to Him. Do you find yourself in this place with God today? If so, know that His springs are also available to you. Ask him today to give you a drink from His spring only available in the Valley of Baca.
Friday, October 1, 2010
October 1, 2010
Does Prayer Really Do Any Good?
Paul Miller
I was camping for the weekend in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania with five of our six kids. My wife, Jill, was home with our eight-year-old daughter, Kim. After a disastrous camping experience the summer before, Jill was happy to stay home. She said she was giving up camping for Lent.
I was walking down from our campsite to our Dodge Caravan when I noticed our fourteen-year-old daughter, Ashley, standing in front of the van, tense and upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I lost my contact lens. It’s gone.” I looked down with her at the forest floor, covered with leaves and twigs. There were a million little crevices for the lens to fall into and disappear.
I said, “Ashley, don’t move. Let’s pray.” But before I could pray, she burst into tears. “What good does it do? I’ve prayed for Kim to speak, and she isn’t speaking.”
Kim struggles with autism and developmental delay. Because of her weak fine motor skills and problems with motor planning, she is also mute. One day after five years of speech therapy, Kim crawled out of the speech therapist’s office, crying from frustration. Jill said, “No more,” and we stopped speech therapy.
Prayer was no mere formality for Ashley. She had taken God at his word and asked that he would let Kim speak. But nothing happened. Kim’s muteness was testimony to a silent God. Prayer, it seemed, doesn’t work.
Few of us have Ashley’s courage to articulate the quiet cynicism or spiritual weariness that develops in us when heartfelt prayer goes unanswered. We keep our doubts hidden even from ourselves because we don’t want to sound like bad Christians. No reason to add shame to our cynicism. So our hearts shut down.
The glib way people talk about prayer often reinforces our cynicism. We end our conversations with “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” We have a vocabulary of “prayer speak,” including “I’ll lift you up in prayer” and “I’ll remember you in prayer.” Many who use these phrases, including us, never get around to praying. Why? Because we don’t think prayer makes much difference.
Cynicism and glibness are just part of the problem. The most common frustration is the activity of praying itself. We last for about fifteen seconds, and then out of nowhere the day’s to-do list pops up and our minds are off on a tangent. We catch ourselves and, by sheer force of the will, go back to praying. Before we know it, it has happened again. Instead of praying, we are doing a confused mix of wandering and worrying. Then the guilt sets in. Something must be wrong with me. Other Christians don’t seem to have this trouble praying. After five minutes we give up, saying, “I’m no good at this. I might as well get some work done.”
Something is wrong with us. Our natural desire to pray comes from Creation. We are made in the image of God. Our inability to pray comes from the Fall. Evil has marred the image. We want to talk to God but can’t. The friction of our desire to pray, combined with our badly damaged prayer antennae, leads to constant frustration. It’s as if we’ve had a stroke.
Complicating this is the enormous confusion about what makes for good prayer. We vaguely sense that we should begin by focusing on God, not on ourselves. So when we start to pray, we try to worship. That works for a minute, but it feels contrived; then guilt sets in again. We wonder, Did I worship enough? Did I really mean it?
In a burst of spiritual enthusiasm we put together a prayer list, but praying through the list gets dull, and nothing seems to happen. The list gets long and cumbersome; we lose touch with many of the needs. Praying feels like whistling in the wind. When someone is healed or helped, we wonder if it would have happened anyway. Then we misplace the list.
Praying exposes how self-preoccupied we are and uncovers our doubts. It was easier on our faith not to pray. After only a few minutes, our prayer is in shambles. Barely out of the starting gate, we collapse on the sidelines—cynical, guilty, and hopeless.
The hardest place in the world to pray
American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray. We are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, “Get to work.”
When we aren’t working, we are used to being entertained. Television, the Internet, video games, and cell phones make free time as busy as work. When we do slow down, we slip into a stupor. Exhausted by the pace of life, we veg out in front of a screen or with earplugs.
If we try to be quiet, we are assaulted by what C.S. Lewis called “the Kingdom of Noise.” Everywhere we go we hear background noise. If the noise isn’t provided for us, we can bring our own via iPod.
Even our church services can have that same restless energy. There is little space to be still before God. We want our money’s worth, so something should always be happening. We are uncomfortable with silence.
One of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it is quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick.
The oddness of praying
It’s worse if we stop and think about how odd prayer is. When we have a phone conversation, we hear a voice and can respond. When we pray, we are talking to air. Only crazy people talk to themselves. How do we talk with a Spirit, with someone who doesn’t speak with an audible voice?
And if we believe that God can talk to us in prayer, how do we distinguish our thoughts from his thoughts? Prayer is confusing. We vaguely know that the Holy Spirit is somehow involved, but we are never sure how or when a spirit will show up or what that even means. Some people seem to have a lot of the Spirit. We don’t.
Forget about God for a minute. Where do you fit in? Can you pray for what you want? And what is the point of praying if God already knows what you need? Why bore God? It sounds like nagging. Just thinking about prayer ties us all up in knots.
Has this been your experience? If so, know that you have lots of company. Most Christians feel frustrated when it comes to prayer!
A visit to a prayer therapist
Let’s imagine that you see a prayer therapist to get your prayer life straightened out. The therapist says, “Let’s begin by looking at your relationship with your heavenly Father. God said, ‘I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me’ (2 Corinthians 6:18). What does it mean that you are a son or daughter of God?”
You reply that it means you have complete access to your heavenly Father through Jesus. You have true intimacy, based not on how good you are but on the goodness of Jesus. Not only that, Jesus is your brother. You are a fellow heir with him.
The therapist smiles and says, “That is right. You’ve done a wonderful job of describing the doctrine of Sonship. Now tell me what it is like for you to be with your Father? What is it like to talk with him?”
You cautiously tell the therapist how difficult it is to be in your Father’s presence, even for a couple of minutes. Your mind wanders. You aren’t sure what to say. You wonder, Does prayer make any difference? Is God even there? Then you feel guilty for your doubts and just give up.
Your therapist tells you what you already suspect. “Your relationship with your heavenly Father is dysfunctional. You talk as if you have an intimate relationship, but you don’t. Theoretically, it is close. Practically, it is distant. You need help.”
Ashley’s contact
I needed help when Ashley burst into tears in front of our minivan. I was frozen, caught between her doubts and my own. I had no idea that she’d been praying for Kim to speak. What made Ashley’s tears so disturbing was that she was right. God had not answered her prayers. Kim was still mute. I was fearful for my daughter’s faith and for my own. I did not know what to do.
Would I make the problem worse by praying? If we prayed and couldn’t find the contact, it would just confirm Ashley’s growing unbelief. Already, Jill and I were beginning to lose her heart. Her childhood faith in God was being replaced by faith in boys. Ashley was cute, warm, and outgoing. Jill was having trouble keeping track of Ashley’s boyfriends, so she started naming them like ancient kings. Ashley’s first boyfriend was Frank, so his successors became Frank the Second, Frank the Third, and so on. Jill and I needed help.
I had little confidence God would do anything, but I prayed silently, Father, this would be a really good time to come through. You’ve got to hear this prayer for the sake of Ashley. Then I prayed aloud with Ashley, Father, help us to find this contact.
When I finished, we bent down to look through the dirt and twigs. There sitting on a leaf, was the missing lens.
Prayer made a difference after all.
Excerpted from A Praying Life, by Paul Miller, copyright 2009.
Paul Miller
I was camping for the weekend in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania with five of our six kids. My wife, Jill, was home with our eight-year-old daughter, Kim. After a disastrous camping experience the summer before, Jill was happy to stay home. She said she was giving up camping for Lent.
I was walking down from our campsite to our Dodge Caravan when I noticed our fourteen-year-old daughter, Ashley, standing in front of the van, tense and upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I lost my contact lens. It’s gone.” I looked down with her at the forest floor, covered with leaves and twigs. There were a million little crevices for the lens to fall into and disappear.
I said, “Ashley, don’t move. Let’s pray.” But before I could pray, she burst into tears. “What good does it do? I’ve prayed for Kim to speak, and she isn’t speaking.”
Kim struggles with autism and developmental delay. Because of her weak fine motor skills and problems with motor planning, she is also mute. One day after five years of speech therapy, Kim crawled out of the speech therapist’s office, crying from frustration. Jill said, “No more,” and we stopped speech therapy.
Prayer was no mere formality for Ashley. She had taken God at his word and asked that he would let Kim speak. But nothing happened. Kim’s muteness was testimony to a silent God. Prayer, it seemed, doesn’t work.
Few of us have Ashley’s courage to articulate the quiet cynicism or spiritual weariness that develops in us when heartfelt prayer goes unanswered. We keep our doubts hidden even from ourselves because we don’t want to sound like bad Christians. No reason to add shame to our cynicism. So our hearts shut down.
The glib way people talk about prayer often reinforces our cynicism. We end our conversations with “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” We have a vocabulary of “prayer speak,” including “I’ll lift you up in prayer” and “I’ll remember you in prayer.” Many who use these phrases, including us, never get around to praying. Why? Because we don’t think prayer makes much difference.
Cynicism and glibness are just part of the problem. The most common frustration is the activity of praying itself. We last for about fifteen seconds, and then out of nowhere the day’s to-do list pops up and our minds are off on a tangent. We catch ourselves and, by sheer force of the will, go back to praying. Before we know it, it has happened again. Instead of praying, we are doing a confused mix of wandering and worrying. Then the guilt sets in. Something must be wrong with me. Other Christians don’t seem to have this trouble praying. After five minutes we give up, saying, “I’m no good at this. I might as well get some work done.”
Something is wrong with us. Our natural desire to pray comes from Creation. We are made in the image of God. Our inability to pray comes from the Fall. Evil has marred the image. We want to talk to God but can’t. The friction of our desire to pray, combined with our badly damaged prayer antennae, leads to constant frustration. It’s as if we’ve had a stroke.
Complicating this is the enormous confusion about what makes for good prayer. We vaguely sense that we should begin by focusing on God, not on ourselves. So when we start to pray, we try to worship. That works for a minute, but it feels contrived; then guilt sets in again. We wonder, Did I worship enough? Did I really mean it?
In a burst of spiritual enthusiasm we put together a prayer list, but praying through the list gets dull, and nothing seems to happen. The list gets long and cumbersome; we lose touch with many of the needs. Praying feels like whistling in the wind. When someone is healed or helped, we wonder if it would have happened anyway. Then we misplace the list.
Praying exposes how self-preoccupied we are and uncovers our doubts. It was easier on our faith not to pray. After only a few minutes, our prayer is in shambles. Barely out of the starting gate, we collapse on the sidelines—cynical, guilty, and hopeless.
The hardest place in the world to pray
American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray. We are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, “Get to work.”
When we aren’t working, we are used to being entertained. Television, the Internet, video games, and cell phones make free time as busy as work. When we do slow down, we slip into a stupor. Exhausted by the pace of life, we veg out in front of a screen or with earplugs.
If we try to be quiet, we are assaulted by what C.S. Lewis called “the Kingdom of Noise.” Everywhere we go we hear background noise. If the noise isn’t provided for us, we can bring our own via iPod.
Even our church services can have that same restless energy. There is little space to be still before God. We want our money’s worth, so something should always be happening. We are uncomfortable with silence.
One of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it is quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick.
The oddness of praying
It’s worse if we stop and think about how odd prayer is. When we have a phone conversation, we hear a voice and can respond. When we pray, we are talking to air. Only crazy people talk to themselves. How do we talk with a Spirit, with someone who doesn’t speak with an audible voice?
And if we believe that God can talk to us in prayer, how do we distinguish our thoughts from his thoughts? Prayer is confusing. We vaguely know that the Holy Spirit is somehow involved, but we are never sure how or when a spirit will show up or what that even means. Some people seem to have a lot of the Spirit. We don’t.
Forget about God for a minute. Where do you fit in? Can you pray for what you want? And what is the point of praying if God already knows what you need? Why bore God? It sounds like nagging. Just thinking about prayer ties us all up in knots.
Has this been your experience? If so, know that you have lots of company. Most Christians feel frustrated when it comes to prayer!
A visit to a prayer therapist
Let’s imagine that you see a prayer therapist to get your prayer life straightened out. The therapist says, “Let’s begin by looking at your relationship with your heavenly Father. God said, ‘I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me’ (2 Corinthians 6:18). What does it mean that you are a son or daughter of God?”
You reply that it means you have complete access to your heavenly Father through Jesus. You have true intimacy, based not on how good you are but on the goodness of Jesus. Not only that, Jesus is your brother. You are a fellow heir with him.
The therapist smiles and says, “That is right. You’ve done a wonderful job of describing the doctrine of Sonship. Now tell me what it is like for you to be with your Father? What is it like to talk with him?”
You cautiously tell the therapist how difficult it is to be in your Father’s presence, even for a couple of minutes. Your mind wanders. You aren’t sure what to say. You wonder, Does prayer make any difference? Is God even there? Then you feel guilty for your doubts and just give up.
Your therapist tells you what you already suspect. “Your relationship with your heavenly Father is dysfunctional. You talk as if you have an intimate relationship, but you don’t. Theoretically, it is close. Practically, it is distant. You need help.”
Ashley’s contact
I needed help when Ashley burst into tears in front of our minivan. I was frozen, caught between her doubts and my own. I had no idea that she’d been praying for Kim to speak. What made Ashley’s tears so disturbing was that she was right. God had not answered her prayers. Kim was still mute. I was fearful for my daughter’s faith and for my own. I did not know what to do.
Would I make the problem worse by praying? If we prayed and couldn’t find the contact, it would just confirm Ashley’s growing unbelief. Already, Jill and I were beginning to lose her heart. Her childhood faith in God was being replaced by faith in boys. Ashley was cute, warm, and outgoing. Jill was having trouble keeping track of Ashley’s boyfriends, so she started naming them like ancient kings. Ashley’s first boyfriend was Frank, so his successors became Frank the Second, Frank the Third, and so on. Jill and I needed help.
I had little confidence God would do anything, but I prayed silently, Father, this would be a really good time to come through. You’ve got to hear this prayer for the sake of Ashley. Then I prayed aloud with Ashley, Father, help us to find this contact.
When I finished, we bent down to look through the dirt and twigs. There sitting on a leaf, was the missing lens.
Prayer made a difference after all.
Excerpted from A Praying Life, by Paul Miller, copyright 2009.
September 30, 2010
Our Becoming a
Wheel Within a Wheel
By Wade Taylor
www.WadeTaylor.org
All that Jesus did in condescension through a single body in His first coming, He will again do through a corporate body in preparation for His second coming.
At this present time, those who will be this “corporate body” are being “made ready” to function in manifest glory, as being a living martyr, so only Jesus will be seen. We are very close to the time in which Jesus will come to these “overcomers” (saints), to be glorified.
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” II Thessalonians 1:7-10
This passage of Scripture describes the “glory,” which will be manifested through those whom the Lord has prepared for this purpose.
“And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.” Ezekiel 1:4
This is a picture of the corporate Body of Christ functioning in glory, which will lead to the establishing of the government of God in the earth.
“The appearance of the wheels and their work was like to the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” Ezekiel 1:16
We are living at the end of the “sixth day,” during the time in which Jesus is beginning to reveal His manifest glory in order to prepare “overcomers” for His ultimate purposes. This is the “wheel within a wheel” – our lives merged into His life, in order to become the expression of His life, which will greatly affect the nations and all mankind.
“Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with its four faces.” Ezekiel 1:15
This represents our lives as being “fully submitted” and “moving” with Jesus – “one wheel upon the earth” – Jesus coming to be glorified in His saints. Thus, the wheel, and the will of God can be thought of as being synonymous, as each speaks of our moving together with Him in glory, harmony, and obedience.
This glory is a moving glory in which we are being made aware of His manifested presence in glory, and in which we are learning how to function under this high level of anointing and enabling power.
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings... their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.” Ezekiel 1:5-6, 9
“And every one had four faces.” This speaks of our identity with the Lord as being spiritually mature - overcomer, bride, son, and man-child. Each of us has a different part and function within this “wheel.” Having “one likeness,” is our lives being so yielded that we become the manifest expression of His life, so we can function as being the “corporate” body of Jesus.
“And every one had four wings.” Each of us has built within us the ability to move in the realms of the Spirit.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
“They turned not when they went.” This act of obedient submission begins within us (wheel), and then it will expand outwardly from us (wheel within a wheel) until it fills all the earth.
“And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Ezekiel 1:14
This speaks of total commitment and obedience with a single eye, and also of “spirit-transportation,” which will increasingly take place in the days ahead.
“As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.” Ezekiel 1:13
Not only are we cleansed and purified in glory (Isaiah 6:5), but we are also being changed “from glory to glory.” Our appearance being as “burning coals of fire” speaks of our being under a heavy anointing, and experiencing clear spirit-perception and direction by our relating to, and functioning through the seven spirits of God - seeing and understanding what others neither see nor understand.
“…I have ordained a lamp for My anointed.” Psalm 132:17
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.” Daniel 7:9
“A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.” Psalm 97:3-4
This speaks of the “word with consequence” – the rule of a “rod of iron,” in a relationship of functioning with Jesus in His manifested glory, through Holy Spirit fire, which requires a high level of spiritual hearing and obedience.
“Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, there was their spirit to go… when those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up opposite them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” Ezekiel 1:20-21
The “wheel” is the Lord (Head) coming in His glory - manifesting Himself through the wheel that is within this wheel - our lives within His life, to accomplish His end-time visitation in which multitudes will be saved, and the Kingdom established. As a result, “every eye shall see Him” (Revelation 1:7).
“When He shall come to be glorified in His saints….” II Thessalonians 1:10
The “wheel in the middle of a wheel” speaks of the Lord sovereignly coming into our lives through divine intervention, to move through us to accomplish His purposes. This transcends any faith or ability that we may have. Because this is a very high calling, a commitment and purity of life is required that is beyond that which is required of others.
“Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3
This speaks of our being caught up through a specific act of intervention (a part of His coming), into His manifested glory, in which we will be given the ability to function with authority in the purposes of God. We are living in the last days, in the final time of preparation, in which those who respond will be brought into this high level of corporate unity, becoming so one, with one another and with Jesus, that we become the expression of His life and ministry.
The greatest visitation this world has ever experienced is yet to take place with a two-fold purpose. First, the out-calling of a people into a cooperative relationship with the Lord. Second, the judgments on the nations, which will take place through the corporate functioning of this “wheel within a wheel.”
At this present time, the Lord is beginning to lift “forerunners” into His presence – those who are beginning to experience a “taste” of the age to come.
“And have tasted… the powers of the world to come.” Hebrews 6:5
After our rightly responding to this process as forerunners, we will be enabled to function in power, having a foretaste of kingdom authority with consequence.
“And he that overcomes, and keeps My works to the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27
This relates to the functioning of this “wheel within a wheel” moving in His manifested glory to establish the government of God in the earth.
“And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.” Ezekiel 1:19
The Lord is preparing a corporate bride that is “clothed with the sun” (Son), who, through direct personal revelation, will be “caught up” to have a part in the visitation that will come to mankind (the wheels were lifted up).
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” Revelation 12:1-2
She being “with child, travailing in birth” speaks of intercession. Just as Mary became impregnated to birth our redemption through Jesus, so also today, there is a body of intercessors who are being “impregnated” to birth the coming time of transition (intervention). As Mary, we do not need to understand how or why. Rather, we simply need to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice,” and obey.
We will not come into this overnight, but there is a progression that will bring us into this higher level of intercession. Our part is to make ourselves available and then allow the birthing process to have its full work within us. Our effectiveness in this birthing process will increase through experience.
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to His throne.” Revelation 12:5
The Word tells us that both the “man-child” and those who are “overcomers,” will rule all nations with a “rod of iron.” These are one and the same, and are seen by Ezekiel as being the “wheel within a wheel, which moved on its four sides.”
These “four sides” function in harmony and unity. As an “overcomer,” I am being qualified. As a “bride,” I am totally submitted to the Lord. As a “son,” I enter into a cooperative relationship with the Lord in the outworking of His purposes. As a “man-child,” I move in delegated authority. Since there is neither male nor female in the Body of Christ, these are representative types.
The heart of God is reaching out for a people who are “willing” (as Mary was) in the day of His power, who as “intercessors” (a corporate Mary), birth the purpose of the Lord into the earth in this day. The Lord always moves through, and accomplishes His purpose through human agency.
Experientially, we must go through a gradual unfolding progression of the workings of God to bring us to the place where, as overcomers, we are ready to be caught up into this “wheel within a wheel.”
Only then can the Lord say to us:
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter you into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:23
Wheel Within a Wheel
By Wade Taylor
www.WadeTaylor.org
All that Jesus did in condescension through a single body in His first coming, He will again do through a corporate body in preparation for His second coming.
At this present time, those who will be this “corporate body” are being “made ready” to function in manifest glory, as being a living martyr, so only Jesus will be seen. We are very close to the time in which Jesus will come to these “overcomers” (saints), to be glorified.
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” II Thessalonians 1:7-10
This passage of Scripture describes the “glory,” which will be manifested through those whom the Lord has prepared for this purpose.
“And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.” Ezekiel 1:4
This is a picture of the corporate Body of Christ functioning in glory, which will lead to the establishing of the government of God in the earth.
“The appearance of the wheels and their work was like to the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” Ezekiel 1:16
We are living at the end of the “sixth day,” during the time in which Jesus is beginning to reveal His manifest glory in order to prepare “overcomers” for His ultimate purposes. This is the “wheel within a wheel” – our lives merged into His life, in order to become the expression of His life, which will greatly affect the nations and all mankind.
“Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with its four faces.” Ezekiel 1:15
This represents our lives as being “fully submitted” and “moving” with Jesus – “one wheel upon the earth” – Jesus coming to be glorified in His saints. Thus, the wheel, and the will of God can be thought of as being synonymous, as each speaks of our moving together with Him in glory, harmony, and obedience.
This glory is a moving glory in which we are being made aware of His manifested presence in glory, and in which we are learning how to function under this high level of anointing and enabling power.
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings... their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.” Ezekiel 1:5-6, 9
“And every one had four faces.” This speaks of our identity with the Lord as being spiritually mature - overcomer, bride, son, and man-child. Each of us has a different part and function within this “wheel.” Having “one likeness,” is our lives being so yielded that we become the manifest expression of His life, so we can function as being the “corporate” body of Jesus.
“And every one had four wings.” Each of us has built within us the ability to move in the realms of the Spirit.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
“They turned not when they went.” This act of obedient submission begins within us (wheel), and then it will expand outwardly from us (wheel within a wheel) until it fills all the earth.
“And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Ezekiel 1:14
This speaks of total commitment and obedience with a single eye, and also of “spirit-transportation,” which will increasingly take place in the days ahead.
“As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.” Ezekiel 1:13
Not only are we cleansed and purified in glory (Isaiah 6:5), but we are also being changed “from glory to glory.” Our appearance being as “burning coals of fire” speaks of our being under a heavy anointing, and experiencing clear spirit-perception and direction by our relating to, and functioning through the seven spirits of God - seeing and understanding what others neither see nor understand.
“…I have ordained a lamp for My anointed.” Psalm 132:17
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.” Daniel 7:9
“A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.” Psalm 97:3-4
This speaks of the “word with consequence” – the rule of a “rod of iron,” in a relationship of functioning with Jesus in His manifested glory, through Holy Spirit fire, which requires a high level of spiritual hearing and obedience.
“Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, there was their spirit to go… when those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up opposite them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” Ezekiel 1:20-21
The “wheel” is the Lord (Head) coming in His glory - manifesting Himself through the wheel that is within this wheel - our lives within His life, to accomplish His end-time visitation in which multitudes will be saved, and the Kingdom established. As a result, “every eye shall see Him” (Revelation 1:7).
“When He shall come to be glorified in His saints….” II Thessalonians 1:10
The “wheel in the middle of a wheel” speaks of the Lord sovereignly coming into our lives through divine intervention, to move through us to accomplish His purposes. This transcends any faith or ability that we may have. Because this is a very high calling, a commitment and purity of life is required that is beyond that which is required of others.
“Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3
This speaks of our being caught up through a specific act of intervention (a part of His coming), into His manifested glory, in which we will be given the ability to function with authority in the purposes of God. We are living in the last days, in the final time of preparation, in which those who respond will be brought into this high level of corporate unity, becoming so one, with one another and with Jesus, that we become the expression of His life and ministry.
The greatest visitation this world has ever experienced is yet to take place with a two-fold purpose. First, the out-calling of a people into a cooperative relationship with the Lord. Second, the judgments on the nations, which will take place through the corporate functioning of this “wheel within a wheel.”
At this present time, the Lord is beginning to lift “forerunners” into His presence – those who are beginning to experience a “taste” of the age to come.
“And have tasted… the powers of the world to come.” Hebrews 6:5
After our rightly responding to this process as forerunners, we will be enabled to function in power, having a foretaste of kingdom authority with consequence.
“And he that overcomes, and keeps My works to the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27
This relates to the functioning of this “wheel within a wheel” moving in His manifested glory to establish the government of God in the earth.
“And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.” Ezekiel 1:19
The Lord is preparing a corporate bride that is “clothed with the sun” (Son), who, through direct personal revelation, will be “caught up” to have a part in the visitation that will come to mankind (the wheels were lifted up).
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” Revelation 12:1-2
She being “with child, travailing in birth” speaks of intercession. Just as Mary became impregnated to birth our redemption through Jesus, so also today, there is a body of intercessors who are being “impregnated” to birth the coming time of transition (intervention). As Mary, we do not need to understand how or why. Rather, we simply need to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice,” and obey.
We will not come into this overnight, but there is a progression that will bring us into this higher level of intercession. Our part is to make ourselves available and then allow the birthing process to have its full work within us. Our effectiveness in this birthing process will increase through experience.
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to His throne.” Revelation 12:5
The Word tells us that both the “man-child” and those who are “overcomers,” will rule all nations with a “rod of iron.” These are one and the same, and are seen by Ezekiel as being the “wheel within a wheel, which moved on its four sides.”
These “four sides” function in harmony and unity. As an “overcomer,” I am being qualified. As a “bride,” I am totally submitted to the Lord. As a “son,” I enter into a cooperative relationship with the Lord in the outworking of His purposes. As a “man-child,” I move in delegated authority. Since there is neither male nor female in the Body of Christ, these are representative types.
The heart of God is reaching out for a people who are “willing” (as Mary was) in the day of His power, who as “intercessors” (a corporate Mary), birth the purpose of the Lord into the earth in this day. The Lord always moves through, and accomplishes His purpose through human agency.
Experientially, we must go through a gradual unfolding progression of the workings of God to bring us to the place where, as overcomers, we are ready to be caught up into this “wheel within a wheel.”
Only then can the Lord say to us:
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter you into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:23
September 29, 2010
Your Greatest Call
What’s God’s calling for your your life?
Sometimes we hear people discuss and describe what they believe to be their “calling” in life. This term is usually connected with a profession or assignment of some kind of work. We may sense or feel that God has uniquely appointed and gifted us to help others and advance His Kingdom in some positive way. This is “our calling.”
While God does uniquely and personally call us to certain tasks to bless others, there is another kind of calling that goes beyond a particular profession or occupation. It is the call of worship.
To be effective at any other calling in life, we must first become committed, dedicated and consistent worshipers of God. Through our regular worship, we tap into the power, wisdom, grace and strength of God to fulfill the great work He wants us to do. Without a lifestyle of worship, our work will be never bear the kind of fruit God desires from us. Whatever advances are made will be short-lived — the result of human effort rather than the product of God’s life working in and through us.
Jesus made this call of worship very clear to us:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can co nothing.” – John 15:4, 5 (NLT)
Have your answered God’s greatest call? Have you developed a lifestyle of personal and corporate worship? Are you connecting regularly and deeply with Jesus? Are you receiving the resources that only come through intimate fellowship with Him?
Decide to answer God’s greatest call. The call of worship!
Pastor Dale
What’s God’s calling for your your life?
Sometimes we hear people discuss and describe what they believe to be their “calling” in life. This term is usually connected with a profession or assignment of some kind of work. We may sense or feel that God has uniquely appointed and gifted us to help others and advance His Kingdom in some positive way. This is “our calling.”
While God does uniquely and personally call us to certain tasks to bless others, there is another kind of calling that goes beyond a particular profession or occupation. It is the call of worship.
To be effective at any other calling in life, we must first become committed, dedicated and consistent worshipers of God. Through our regular worship, we tap into the power, wisdom, grace and strength of God to fulfill the great work He wants us to do. Without a lifestyle of worship, our work will be never bear the kind of fruit God desires from us. Whatever advances are made will be short-lived — the result of human effort rather than the product of God’s life working in and through us.
Jesus made this call of worship very clear to us:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can co nothing.” – John 15:4, 5 (NLT)
Have your answered God’s greatest call? Have you developed a lifestyle of personal and corporate worship? Are you connecting regularly and deeply with Jesus? Are you receiving the resources that only come through intimate fellowship with Him?
Decide to answer God’s greatest call. The call of worship!
Pastor Dale
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