The Bear

The Bear

 

1 Samuel 17:33-37

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

 The story of David and Goliath is well known; a young shepherd boy who kills a great Giant in the name of the Lord. But how foolish we are if we think that David’s courage was just a matter of his nature rather than an outcome of training. But the training David received was of a spiritual nature and out of conflict. Have we allowed God to train us spiritually? Through the conflicts that arise, do we learn to fight or do we learn to flee? The beautiful irony is that both fight and flight can teach us and train us about the battle. We never come out of a circumstance the way we went in. But if we flee, even if it is into the arms of our loving God, we will miss the opportunity to learn how to fight. Only by learning how to fight our battles will we develop the courage that says “If God is for me than who can ever be against me?”  

We do not fight alone, nor do we fight the way the world does, and certainly not for the same reasons. It is not for riches and glory that we are to arm ourselves but rather for the glory of God to free captives and demolish strongholds. David fought the Lion and Bear, to free the lost sheep. And Goliath was just another predator aligning himself for the killing of a flock. By the time David had defeated Goliath he had already allowed God to strengthen him through the battles before, to arm him with a confidence that come from seeing God equip us to fight and beat down the enemy. Paul describes this confidence we can have and this equipping God does for us to fight our own battles.

2 Corinthians 10:2-8

I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

⁷ You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. ⁸ So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

 David was not trained in worldly warfare but was equipped with the knowledge of God, to tear down the pretentious stronghold that came against the name of the Lord. As much as the story of David bringing down the Giant is one of physical triumph, it is one of that I believe God wants to give us as imagery of the power we have in him to bring down the giants in our life: the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical strongholds in our life.

So many times all we can hear is the giant roaring his curses over the sound of our Lord speaking. But often times it isn’t even the giant that has us bound up it is the world of human doubters all around us. Paul said that by waging this kind of warfare, we do not live by the standards of this world, nor do we fight like it. But what does that mean and what did that mean to David? David had three older brothers fighting in this war, and upon his father’s wishes he took food to them and was also sent to get a report. When he arrived he started asking around the camp about the enemy when he had an unkind encounter with his older brother.

1 Samuel 17:25-29

²⁵ Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
²⁸ When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
²⁹ “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” ³⁰ He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. ³¹ What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

 If our motives to bring down a stronghold are of riches and glory, popularity and prize, rather than freedom for the captives and glory to God alone, we will find ourselves much like the Israelite army was at that moment. We will be angry and divided by jealously and greed, we will be controlled by lust and fear and doubt. The world fights for riches, honor, even for the love of the king’s own daughter but all David wanted was to free the captives and restore the power and glory to the throne of God. Most men fight in the name of the Lord for the selfishness they so passionately defend. But we are to fight our giants so that the throne of our hearts and others hearts will be seated with Christ alone. David didn’t fight for the earthly crown that Saul so willingly offered the victor, he fought so that he could rip the crown of glory from the enemy and present it to God in front of all of His people. But his brother was filled with anger because his heart was not in submission to God's plans but rather his own selfish plans. And often times the world around us become another obstacle, another voice to tune out, in our pursuit of freedom.

What giant is cursing at you? What fellow brother is calling you names because they cannot see what God sees in you? Will we go back to the sheep? Or will we fight the enemy of our souls?

The course of a nation’s freedom rested in the rocks that David threw at Goliath. A king gave a shepherd a chance at glory because of something in his words and something in the way he commanded himself. And then a king watched as a boy took a victory that by all odds seemed impossible. What giant, Brother, King and nation is watching you? Although no Philistine army is knocking down my door, I have been given the weapons to defeat strongholds that will in fact change the course of history. Will I go back to my few sheep or will I take the rocks that God has given me and defeat the giant?

I had a very disturbing dream last Wednesday. My son was outside in the back yard and behind him was a massive demonic looking bear. His nose was pointy and his teeth were bared. He was growing in size and about to attack. I ran to the window and started screaming at the bear, to get his attention and to come after me instead. It was in this helpless moment that I awoke. No resolution.

Later that day in prayer I saw that image again of that demonic bear but this time instead of screaming at it. God handed me a bunch of rocks. I didn’t immediately know what to do with them and asked. “What are these, what am I supposed to do with them?” He told me to defeat the bear. At first I questioned the method but then I realized I hadn't previously question my inadequate method of screaming at it and telling it to go away, and that was very ineffective. I had a handful of rocks. I asked another question. “What is my bear, what is my enemy?” God just stepped out of the way and one by one, the unmasked bears appeared. They were my enemies, the things my ultimate enemy had sent to destroy me. I took the first rock and I threw it as hard as I could and I said “In the name of Jesus, Who is my rock and my strong tower I defeat you, Financial Problems!” I took another and threw it at another enemy, The Fear of Losing my Family. I threw another rock at Shame, Regret, at Pride, Selfishness, at Jealousy, Laziness, at Health Problems, Marriage Problems, at Strife, Exhaustion, at addiction, Anger, at Cruel Words and Self Hate, and at Lies.

 

I thought God had given me too many rocks at first but I soon realized that he would give me as many rocks as I needed to defeat these obstacles in my path. I felt helpless screaming at my bear as I watched it trying to take my family from me. But now as I realized the warrior inside of me, I knew that as long as I fought for the freedom of the captives and the glory of God that I could not lose.

 

My struggles are stronger than me, but my God is mightier than them. David learned that sometimes God’s way of delivering us out of terrible circumstances is not simply to take us out of the fight but to allow us to be trained in those moments for a bigger battle ahead. To equip us, to teach us and to lead us into battle.

 

Are we fighting on our knees in prayer for our families as much as we are screaming at the wind in frustration? Have we picked up the right cause? Do we fight for the freedom from our sins and the glory for God, or are we just fighting for our selfish rights? David had authority because he was in God’s authority. His enemy had no size other than this, “HE WAS SMALLER THAN HIS GOD” Our enemy is smaller than our God and if we can turn our hearts and ask God to purify us and make us right with him, he will equip us with the stones to throw at our enemy. But God won’t arm us if we are in the mood to throw stones at the wrong target. We tend to lob our stones at those we love and those who need love (and grace) rather than at the enemy of our souls. And even if we have our enemy in our sights, we tend to scream at him in our selfishness and self-protective nature rather than to pick up the stones that God would equip us with if we humbled ourselves before Him.

 

I often fight the wrong enemy just as Eliab (David's Brother) wanted to fight with David. I find myself throwing stones at my husband, children, neighbors, co workers, friends and basically the whole world, because they offend me or they don't appreciate me, or treat me the way I want to be treated, or respected the way I deserve. I am fighting for me in those moments and God will not honor that self serving fight for rights.  Eliab had been on the front lines, trained and equipped by human standards and here comes little brother who thinks he can save the day. So he throws his stones. How many times have we found ourselves serving the enemies purposes and fighting for the wrong side? Do not be deceived by the enemy and start picking up his stones to throw at just anyone who gets in the way of your pride.   

Be a David who learns how to be a true warrior. With a teachable spirit, a humble heart. A worshiper who seeks God, who does not stray away from the fight but aggressively attacks the Lion and Bear and Giant in the authority of God for the purposes of God.

 Not a Saul: who keeps offering a mighty prize to whomever can kill his giant for him. Hiding behind the idea that someday God will deliver his people.

Not an Eliab : who wants the spoils of victory, who lusts after the earthly prize and claims to be a follower of God, hiding behind the lines of defense and cursing those who desire to fight the giant for God all because of jealousy.

And not the whole army of Israel: who stood and let one man spout out curses to them and their God. While trembling in fear at the might of a deceiver.

The enemy will bring a giant, a bear, a lion, a disease, a tragedy, a conflict, anything he can to make our hearts stand still, frozen in our own inadequacy. But David so boldly proclaimed in 1 Samuel 17:45-47  to the enemy:

⁴⁵  “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

 Are you ready to say this to your giant? Prepare your heart, get it where God asks it to be in submission to him, and he will hand you your stones.

The question isn’t are you ready to start a fight. The question isn’t about beginning to fight because you have already been fighting too long. Most of us are tired from the constant battle. The question is, are you ready to start winning?

 

 

Veiled

I heard the sounds of hurried steps. I looked around at the columns that held strong a white stone palace. I saw a woman running with long strides. Her dress was white, flowing softly and angelically. Her hair in curls with small white flowers woven throughout. She was adorned with silver and gold cuffs. As beautiful the sight of this Grecian princess, it was the way she moved that caught my attention. At first when she ran past I assumed she was late for something or being chased by someone, because no one would expend that kind of energy unless they had too. But as her face quickly turned back to meet my gaze I saw something I wasn’t prepared to see. She smiled back at me as though she had great news and maybe even a secret that would change the world. But only had time for an excited motion with her hand for me to follow. Then she quickly turned her gaze to the path ahead. She was so excited and so determined to get wherever she was going that all I could do was completely forget what I was doing so I could follow her.

I could barely keep up and amazingly enough she didn’t even seem to break a sweat or be out of breath. Whatever it was that she was running towards must be worth a great deal. Perhaps a treasure.  Others started to join the pursuit. I didn’t know their motive, maybe it was fear that something bad was coming or that they would miss something great. Maybe it was the thrill of it all or that others were doing it so they wanted to be part of something. Maybe it was that they had nothing other to do and the curiosity had overcome them too. I noticed that as she ran up some stairs and through corridors, the pursuit of her was more difficult and many of those who were just along for the ride began to lose interest. But her determination to pursue this unseen treasure was unlike anything I had ever seen.

Soon we came to a very large courtyard. A marvelous staircase led up to a beautiful doorway. Many people were sitting all along the stairs, some standing even but she ran passed them all and entered the door.  I slowly walked the steps, enjoying the company of those around me. It was comfortable at the steps, it was easy to want to stay outside and be with others that seemed very content to stay just outside the door. But I had to know where she went and why she was so excited. As I drew closer to the door I could see more people inside. They were singing. It was ominous, it was joyous, it was peaceful, sheltered from any storm. But it was not intimate, it was large and crowded with others who had gathered for the safety and warmth.

Just then I saw just a glimpse of the woman run straight into another room at the very back of this chamber. I followed but when I arrived at the door I noticed a line of people just standing at the door. On the floor a torn curtain lay at my feet. The woman had run into this room but others were acting as though their was still a curtain standing in their way. They would say, “What do you think is in there? I wish I could know how it feels, sounds and looks in the inner court.” I was confused because I could see right into the room and didn’t have to guess but when I looked again at those who were in confusion, they were wearing veils and could not see clearly. They could not even see me as I entered into that inner court.

Upon entering that Holy place I saw the woman run and leap into the arms of her one true love. He spun her around with an embrace that makes all other attempts at embracing seem week. I was captivated by the scene. I watched as he gently brushed away a stray ringlet of hair away from her eyes and embraced her face with both hands. “I have been waiting for you here.” He said softly.  “My beautiful bride!”

In a single moment of surrender as I collapsed to my knees and wept with desire to be that bride. I looked up to a loving suitor wiping my tear and taking my hand. As I rose, I went from the spectator to the bride. The rags of my former life had withered away like a dying plant in the extreme heat of the sun. Underneath it all I was wearing a garment of white. I was pure and in his sight I was so very loved.  

From that moment on I was the bride running to the inner court every day to be with my true love. And one day, in one glorious moment in time I will finally hear the procession music as I walk down the aisle to be completely his.

Church we are the bride of Christ and if we do not know how very exciting it is or how very beautiful we are, or how very loved we are by our king, then we have not been this bride who understands that the veil was torn so that we could enter into his presence. I don’t want to be the bride just outside the door. with her veil that hides who the groom is and hides who his bride is. I want to see his face and hear his voice.  I want to understand how great his love is for me.

 I don’t want to be the ones in the outer court just using my Christianity for a shelter from the storm. Feeling safe from the outside but never knowing my God deeply.

 I don’t want to gather just outside the gate on the very steps of his kingdom. I want to run to him! Every day I want to leap into the arms of the lover of my soul. It is a great treasure, a great prize of unsurpassable glory. There is no other thing worthy of our desire. And on that day when he takes his bride I will not be caught unprepared or unaware, only completely enthralled that for every moment for the rest of my life I get to spend it in the arms of my Lord.  

Matthew 27:50,51

 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split

2 Corinthians 3:16-18

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate^[] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 "Father make us see that we are your bride and that you love us passionately. Give us the fire inside our hearts to pursue you every day and in every moment. Let our hearts be filled with youthful expectation and mature adoration for your love. We need our eyes to be unveiled so our hearts can leap again at the sight of your glory oh God. I love you so much! Amen"

 

Oh Poop!

So I here I am at the cusp of something really profound, something meaningful and something lovely. I have this idea that I am meant to speak flowery, poetry like words that will awaken the dead and open the eyes of the blind. Words that will instill passion in the hearts of those who have fallen asleep and will spark a fire inside those who have not felt the Spirit’s flame. … And he gives me this: A story about chicken poop. Isn’t that just the way it is? He just wants to get real with us. A verse out of 1 Corinthians 13 says paraphrased, “if I speak with all eloquence, with the words and tongues of angels but have not love, it is of no value.”

You see God doesn’t care if I am politically correct or use proper punctuation. He doesn’t care that I have a bachelor’s degree or what my qualifications are. I said, “God, speak to me, use me, put your words in my mouth, put your life in my body, put your "Will" so deep within my soul that I can’t find the place that it stops and I start.”  And he answers, not with lofty lovely words but a story about poop.

It’s because we know poop. We know the smell of things that are very unpleasant. We can relate to poop no matter who we are. Every person and animal knows what poop is. And no station of life, be it wealthy or poor has escaped its necessity. No difference in race, gender or age can claim the status of achieving a life that is absent from poop. No one can deny the fact that we are designed to consume and then refuse the waste that is created.

So my story begins with me in my back yard. For those of you who do not know I have recently discovered the joys of urban chicken farming. I have ten “lovely ladies” (as I call them) in my back yard. Now it would be incorrect for you to imagine a spacious backyard of grass because I live in a town home with just a small little patio attached to the back of our home. So as you can imagine, ten chickens can make quite a mess of things as they are known for how often they poop. Every night I put them in the coop and then grab a garden hose and spray off every square inch of my concrete yard. I was picking up a pile of wet straw and waste and placing it around my shrubs and trees and then finished up hosing off the patio. I came inside, washed up and then continued on with my night.

Later on I asked my husband to change our youngest child because it was really obvious to me that he had a poopy diaper. I even left the room so I wouldn’t have to smell it because it was a bad one. About twenty minutes later I smelled it again, and then again and then again. At this point I knew that it wasn’t him so then I started investigating. I am looking all over the place for this smell. Out of complete frustration I take my hands and cover my face. Instantly, I realize the smell is coming from me; from under my fingernails. I had washed up but had not taken the time to really scrub my hands. The smell is chicken poop!

 Now I realize this analogy could be used for many different things, “don’t judge lest ye be judged” or “don’t try to remove the twig from someone else’s eye till you remove the log from your own.” But the word God gave me was dealing with something else.

We live in a world where poop happens. Let’s face it, there is physical poop, emotional poop, mental poop and even spiritual poop. It isn’t meant to be something we continue to live with but rather something that is disposed of properly. In some circumstances it can be utilized as fertilizer if we dispose of it properly but if we don’t recognize it and deal with it, it can become toxic.

God used the chicken poop story to show me that I was dealing with a spiritual poop problem improperly. Recently I had been wrestling with some demons. I had been going head to head in prayer over some demonic strongholds that had been plaguing loved ones. At one point in time God asked me to deal with a poop problem in the spiritual realm and I did. Afterward I went on with life and washed myself in him and continued on only to find myself dealing with issues that I normally don’t struggle with, specifically a spirit of defeat. I just felt so defeated in so many areas and hope was hard to find, soon my joy was being taken and then my faith was starting to crumble. I kept looking for the poop so to speak. I wanted to find the stinky thing and it was keeping me so distracted.

 Just like when I was so frustrated with not knowing what was smelling up my house and blamed the baby, I began to be frustrated not knowing what was stinking up my heart. In a state of abandonment to the search I spiritually put my hand to head and there it was. Like I did when I realized it was right underneath my fingernails I went to the throne, not the bathroom throne but the throne room of God and allowed the Holy Spirit to cleanse me from the filth of the enemy. In one simple moment of thankfulness to God, of worship and acknowledgement of his great power, I was clean.

I had been wrestling with issues in the Spirit that I saw as enormous, I saw them out of context. I thought the world was covered in poop and all along it was only a little leftover stench from a cleanup project. I had asked God for a bazooka to deal with my struggle when instead he handed me a bar of soap. We don’t always know what it is that is plaguing us or where the smell is coming from. Sometimes in these moments of mystery and of crisis we begin to doubt God, to blame, to think that he is absent from the fight. The enemy capitalizes on our lack of understanding and counts on us to look for the smell rather than to cleanse ourselves fully in the presence of God.

I don’t know the struggles that you face but I do know the God who desires to face those struggles with you. He is perfect in his love for you which means that no matter the poop that comes your way his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control is enough to wash the smell off. We all have our own poop to dispose of but that doesn’t mean we have to smell bad.

I know it isn’t a flowery message about roses and sunshine, and that many people would rather ignore the reality of poop than address it. I am here to say that poop happens, and instead of me trying to take your poop away for you, how about I just encourage you in the truth that we are meant and equipped, each of us individually, to face it, dispose of it and then wash ourselves in him to be clean from it.

I might be talking about your depression, about your disease, about your broken heart. I might be talking about your grief, or your disappointment, or your fear. I might be talking about your anger, or about your sadness. I might be talking about your loneliness, or your poverty. I might be talking about your inability to move forward as though you are frozen in time. I might be talking about your eating disorder or your addiction. Whatever it is that has become that festering smell in your life, that is now not just repulsing you but is starting to drive away others, It is time to dispose of it and wash yourself in him.  God will let us smell like poop for as long as we refuse to cleanse ourselves of it. Instead of cursing him for creating the smell I have begun to thank him for it because without its repulsive fragrance I think I would disregard the need to be clean from it.

     

"Father, we come now and we ask for your cleansing water, we have chosen to remove the waste maybe it has been gone for a long time but there is just this lingering smell. We worship you and we dispel the grime beneath our nails, the thoughts within our minds the pain inside our heart that speaks lies to who you are. We trust you. We worship you because you are a righteous, and loving God who does not desire for us to be stuck in a place of stench and filth from past refuse. God please wash us and give us the capability to walk a clean and pure life with you as we allow your spirit to wash us daily. Cleanse my tongue that I may speak love and light, truth and worship to you. Cleanse my heart that I may know only your righteousness and love as my foundation for all truth. I love you so completely and yet I am so broken so I ask you in your goodness to make me whole once again and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. To you be all the glory and honor and worship forever, amen."

A Little Seed; A Little Spark

I believe that God delights in small things; it was from nothing that he spoke life and the creation of all that we know was birthed. Why does he enjoy taking nothing and making something? The manna from heaven that fed the Israelites, the loaves and the fish that fed the five thousand as Jesus preached were both examples of our human reasoning failing and God providing. Our Lord takes something small and makes something great. I recently found myself very troubled by my inadequacy and I felt small. It was a moment of discouragement and I found myself very troubled when God spoke to me these words: "All it takes is a single match to set a field on fire." When my small self is struck up against the plans of God, I know that I can set the world on fire. Sometimes we dwell a little too long on what we "are not" and it overshadows what "we are".

Why does God enjoy using such little instruments for his big plans? I believe it is so that we will know beyond all our doubts, the truth of his glory, majesty and power. If we know that by creation we were made for a purpose (like a cup made for drinking) and see the impossibility of us fulfilling any purpose without God then we have solved the great mystery of life. The enemy would say, you are just a small tin can, what can you do? And we know as the word says that apart from God we can do no good thing. But when tethered with God's plans we begin to see the usefulness of a cup as it is filled with living water. There is a time coming of great thirst and of great famine in the Spirit and it will be the flourishing, faithful, few that will be given a purpose to be poured out over and over and over again upon the children of God. A harvest so great and yet so few to bring it in. To be of purpose and to be used by the great God of all, is what every man secretly longs for. To be loved, needed, important and to find the reason for why.

My name means my little one. I have always loved it and felt very much like it is a term of endearment. I see my Father God calling to me using those words when he is reassuring me of his great affection for me. Sometimes though being so small brings out the inadequacies that the world and the prince of darkness are all too quick to capitalize on. I find myself questioning God in the midst of my small moments and soon I am in the corner of self doubt because my faith in God has been challenged.

 Christ gave us a parable that speaks to God's opinion on our size. Mark 4:30 is the Parable of the Mustard seed. "Again he said, What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."   

When God knit you together in your mothers womb, he knew the value and importance of what he was doing. He gave us each a special and unique set of gifts and in that moment that he designed you, he was naming you, and speaking the truth of your worth into the world. You and I are the reason that he sent his son to die. He had so much love for his creation that he was willing to give up his live for the revelation we needed to see our value to him.

He could have stopped with telling us about his love but instead he went and showed it so that there would be no reason to question it. But then why are we still questioning it? The disciples did the same thing when Christ was crucified. Even though they had seen him raise the dead and heal the sick and cast out demons they questioned his ability to use them. You find in the scriptures of Luke after the crucifixion, when Christ returns his disciples were not out preaching about a man who just gave his live for them, but that even though they knew he was risen they went back to what they did before Christ had come to them, they went back to being fishermen. Christ said you will be fishers of men yet in their crises of faith, they became aware of how small they were. It is what happens next that gives me great cause for celebration!! He comes to them, he even appears to them in ways that are undeniable miracles and he says that he is sending them a helper. I think that was a bit of an understatement. He tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit comes upon them the will be his witnesses.

Finally they will have, not just the creation to be what they are, nor the calling to be what they are, but they will have the empowerment to be what they are!!!! What great news! We are not expected to be something we are not, we are merely expected to be filled with what it is that we lack, in order to be everything that we were created to be.

So here we are being asked to allow this amazing Spirit of God to fill us, to free us, to move through us, to change us more into his likeness. Will we go back to what we knew before Christ? I love that he doesn't tell his fishermen disciples not to fish, for he knows that they are fisherman, he just says that they are fishing in the wrong place and for the wrong thing! He doesn't dislike who we are, nor does he want to change who he created us to be. He merely wants to complete our purpose and fill us, so that every empty part of us can stop searching and start proclaiming; life to dead, healing to the sick, and sight to the blind.

We need a spirit of boldness to manifest in the hearts of God's people. What would that look like if we all knew who we were, and we all became aware of our strengths and abilities, how would we walk out our faith with this revelation that: WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US.

It takes one little spark to set the whole world on fire for Jesus. It takes one spark!

Thank you Holy Spirit that you are the fire in me that can set hearts a flame with desire for you. You are the wind that blows this fire to every heart that is searching and you are the living water that cools us, and brings us the refreshing truth that we need in order to be alive in Christ. Thank you Holy Spirit that you waited patiently for me to finally allow you to burn inside of me with an eternal flame that can not be put out but only grows the more I spend time in you. Teach me how to be the fullness of who I was created to be in you. Amen

The Yoke That Brings Freedom

 

 

    I often think about the verse in the bible about the yoke.

Mt 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

     I am someone who likes to feel like a free spirit all while living comfortably inside of my safe controlled environment. I am a paradox I am a caged bird who wants the door left open just in case. I think I struggle the most with the idea of submission and surrender because I hate the idea of a yoke. It looks so uncomfortable and binding and permanent.

 

     It was last weekend and I felt God moving in my heart that my problem has never been that first step of laying everything down at his feet but rather the part where he asks me to take his yoke. Is it a lack of trust and past of failure that cautions me that the yoke is not for me or just my wild untamed heart that wants to be free?

    

     I seem to have a history with wanting to do things for others, but on my own terms. I want to do it my way. When I played the piano as a youth I didn’t understand what I was being taught so I adapted by ignoring the lesson completely and spending hours learning the music by ear. I would come with a shakey unpolished piece of music that I exerted so much of myself to produce only to find my teacher very displeased with the result. What she didn’t know was that after three years of lessons I had not learned to read music. Another example is my desire to cook, I always want to improve on recipes or forgo recipes all together in search of that perfect food that I can take all the credit for. I can’t even begin to tell you of all the failures that my lack of following directions has led to. I just get ahead of myself. I never could just stay the course and follow the lead.

 

     I always saw the picture of the oxen baring the yoke as a struggle and a chore but then I started to think about what the yoke is. It is merely a tool used for maximum productivity while utilizing all the strengths of the oxen.  God doesn’t place expectations on me that are cumbersome but rather gives us a tool to accomplish what we never knew we could in a much smaller time frame than we ever could have imagined. Another common type of yoke is the kind used for carrying water, a person wears this long apparatus over his or her shoulders to carry buckets of water on both ends, the water is balanced and weighs a fraction of what it would weigh if you just carried it at your sides. Longer trips are possible and fewer of them making the task much more attainable.

 

     See we have it all wrong, God isn’t trying to tie us down with a burden that we cannot bare, he is giving us a tool to bare the weight of something that we cannot carry alone, something we are trying to do all by ourselves because we mistakenly think that a yoke is a prison and so we continue on not utilizing our strength all while struggling with our weaknesses. So what is this yoke that Christ speaks of? Our Savior took upon him the crucifixion. Is that the yoke? No the yoke is not the struggle, it is the tool that helps you bare the struggle and if Christ was able to bare what he did we need to be asking ourselves why we still refuse to take this yoke upon us.

 

     What is the yoke? The word yoke is also used in the bible as a caution.

 

2 Cor 6:14 – Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?Gal 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.”

 

We use this verse to warn about unhealthy, ungodly relationships. Is the yoke a someone rather than a something? As Christ returned and spoke to his disciples giving them the great commission he didn’t just leave it at that. He gave them the hope that they should go and wait for the gift he was sending; a helper; the Holy Spirit. I believe that God always gives us the tools when he asks us to do his will. He doesn’t expect us to do it all on our own. He gave us the Holy Spirit, are we utilizing that Connection between man and God? The Holy Spirit is the Yoke that tethers us to Christ, To the Father, to other believers and as we become one in the Spirit we are able to do unspeakably more than we could ever imagine.

 

We have to let go of our pride that says This is my burden to bare, my soil to till, and I will do it by myself. We want the credit for effort even if it means we get very little accomplished. I know I have pride to lay down and its time I tried accepting the gifts before me and getting amazing things done for the kingdom. First step: admitting that you can not do it alone. Second step: allowing God to fit us and equip us with his Spirit. Third Step: Walk in the fullness of  the Holy Spirit; a yoke that is not heavy to bare.

 

 I am so thankful that I do not carry the yoke of the law (Acts 15:10 – Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?). We negate the purpose of Christ baring that yoke for us if we continue to bare the yoke of the Law. We can only wear one yoke.

 

Galatians 5:1-6

 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

 

So many of us are glad to rid ourselves of the burden of the old yoke of religion and law but are then mistakenly thrust into this idea of being free and baring no yoke at all.

 

Romans 6:15-18

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

 

 Weather it is the yoke of the law or of man, or that I try to walk without a yoke at all, all those paths come up short to the freedom I receive when I walk with the Yoke that Christ promised. I am so thankful that I can be tethered with the Holy Spirit and do mighty things in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

I pray with all my heart that you; mighty God, would help me to stay this course. I know that as long as I am yoked to you that no rock meant to trip me or weed meant to stop me, or hard earth underneath me could ever stop the plans that you have. I am called to go out and make disciples and I see a field that must be tilled for your beautiful seed, a field that will contain a harvest that only the store houses of heaven can possibly hold. Father I am all yours and I desire for you to fit me every day with this yoke that keeps us connected. I love you so much and I look forward to a future of me following you instead of you chasing after me. I cannot even imagine the amazing things ahead. All of my heart is yours, I surrender to this yoke and I ask that you would change my stubborn heart and give me a soft and receiving spirit to your voice. Amen

A Dangerous Ingnorance of a Dangerous Foe

 

 It’s dark. You hear a noise and you know someone is there. As if eyes you cannot see are piercing hatred through your very soul you start to become aware that you are being hunted. If you think its all just in your head, that is exactly right and that is exactly the problem.

Our mind is a place easily manipulated  and in our thought life a series of games that we have already lost begin to take place. Our enemies ability to bend reality is unmatched in skill. He is the enemy of our soul, his hatred for us is a hatred founded in despising Love and all that it represents. He never sleeps and he has legions of disciples; demons who carry out his plans. Why am I so concerned with revealing this reality? Although I am not trying to scare anyone, I do desire to shed light on a very dark intruder. I have become lazy and unconcerned about the spiritual realm, as is the atmosphere and temperature of the world these days. I have turned a blind eye to the enemy only recognizing his schemes after they have already been set into motion or completely realized. I have seen many of his attacks as my own sufferings and my own sins, my faults, my problems. I have lost serious ground in my attempt to ignore him and I want back what the thief has stolen while I kept a blind eye.

Let me explain with an example of the attack on my mind that I have faced the last two days. On Sunday a couple hours before a church worship event I was taking a nap and my dreams were taken hold by a spiritual force. I couldn’t have told you if it was from God or the enemy in that moment but I knew it was a very important dream specifically created for me. The dream involved me in ministry and was a well forged series of events that as I awoke, it had unearthed and dredged up a bunch of my insecurities and growing offenses toward some leadership. I felt very determined to stop the offense and to speak out against it. I Thankfully did not do anything in the moment. Then last night I had a dream that my husband had been unfaithful to me. The most alarming part of these dreams is that I had recently asked the Lord for more discernment in spiritual things. Having two disturbing dreams that had the calling card of a spiritual nature was more than a coincidence but weather it was God or the devil I could not tell. 

Let me tell you that these imaginations of the mind did a very serious toll on my heart.  I realized very quickly as the Lord started bringing scripture to mind that it was not from Him. But without the foundation of his words I would have fallen for the (much improved) schemes of the devil. Let me tell you now that if you want discernment you need the word of truth, His truth is the belt in our armor that keeps our pants up! The Word of God is our sword and the shield of faith that flows from his word keeps us protected. Both offensively and defensively the devil will win if we do not stand protected by God’s truth.

Thankfully the Lord brought this wisdom to mind and I was able to see the schemes of the devil for what they were. One amazing thing that came from all of it was that the enemy stirred up some very sensitive issues that I felt the need to defend and fight in my flesh. I would have gone after the wrong enemy. The fight was right it was just misplaced. The word of truth is our sword and shield. God only gives a weapon to us if He is intends for us to use it and I am pleased to say that I don’t have to repress my need for being a warrior, I just have to keep in mind who my enemy is!  

The Bible is constantly telling us to guard ourselves. 

 

 1 Peter 5

Be alert and of sober mind. The enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

I want to point out a few very key things in this passage.

1.       Be alert and of Sober mind

2.       “Like” a lion

3.       Looking for someone to devour

4.       Resist, Stand Firm

5.       Family of Believers are also going through this

 

 1.       Be alert!

Are we aware? Are we sober enough to see it coming? I was more interested in blaming myself or others to realize that I have an enemy and I can ignore it all I want but it won't change the fact that he is on the prowl. By staying alert I can divert! I can keep myself from falling prey. I love the Sober part because if I let my mind dwell on the bad seed, the offense, the doubt or fear, all of a sudden I feel like a crazy person who is out of control with emotion. But by recognizing that I am being attacked I can divert my thoughts to what God says and avoid becoming trapped by insecurities.

2.       “Like” a Lion

His not called a lion but it says he is acting the part of one. We have a true Lion of Judah and we must be aware that it is our true Lion who sits on the throne, not the imposter of power that prowls around “Like” a lion. It is his pride that reveals his true nature. And although we have no need to be afraid we are told to be alert.

3.       Looking for someone to devour.

His intentions are not merely to bother us or inconvenience us or if we are truly ignorant to think he wants to help us. He whispers prideful thoughts of our deserved offenses and as we hold those grievances against the world he has managed to stop the flow of love, mercy and grace, turning brother against brother. And as we stand firm in our justification to be offended, He sits and devours us as we devour one another.

4.       Resist, Stand Firm.

These words indicate our tactical advantage that the enemy wishes for us not to recognize. WE are to resist and stand firm. Location is important and he wants us to move further away from the places that God has set our feet upon, the stronghold of our God will hold during attack but if we step away from our advantage we find ourselves quickly loosing to his schemes. We have the true Lion of Judah watching Guard over us. That is why we must Stand our ground and resist wanting to get into the middle of his games. This is also where knowing the word of God becomes vital. I know we think of God’s word as our Bread and I am guilty of being able to go without food but when you realize that you are in the middle of a battlefield being without a sword and shield isn’t a good position to be in. We need to hold onto his truth and that means daily putting it into our hearts and minds.

5.       Family of believers are also going through this.

It is also important to recognize that the fight is universal and we are not one isolated case. It isn’t for us alone that we need to be filled with the truth, it is for all of God’s family that we fight. We are part of a family of believers and when your family is being attacked, you stand and fight for them. Growing up with siblings you fight every day but if someone else is trying to take down your brother or sister some kind of natural defense mechanism sets in and you want to protect them from the foreign foe. Don’t let the enemy distract you from the truth that we are brothers and sisters and he is at every turn trying to take down our family. Get your fight right! God has given us power to defeat, defend and Stand up against this foe.

When I woke up to the dreams that literally filled me with doubt and fear and seeds of discontent and offense, I could have gone down the path of destruction instead of standing firm. I could have emailed my offenders with my desire to defend myself, or I could have woke up my husband and asked him questions that I didn’t need the answers to. That path of distrust feeds the insecurities rather than subdues them. I will do as Christ did in the desert when the enemy pressed him with half truths and temptations to prove himself, I will not be moved. The enemy hands us seeds for a garden of darkness. Doubt, fear, discontent, offense, jealousy, envy, hatred, lust, or pride are the seeds that he tempts us to plant. We are good gardeners but our garden doesn’t have room for both the seeds that thrive in darkness and the seeds of God that thrive in light. What kind of garden have we been watering?

We have to recognize that if we are feeling the fruit of the enemy growing inside of us that our garden needs to be pruned. God says in John 15 that he prunes, cuts away and burns in the fire that which bears no good fruit. Do you realize that this is not a hateful act but one of true love? He wants to remove the things in us that bare no good fruit, let him kill the plans of the enemy in our lives that have become thorns of distrust and vines of suffocating envy. God has pruned these thorns away until his hands are bloody from the task. I have pruned roses before and walked away with scars. Our savior was given a crown of thorns that pierced his brow and nails that pierced his hands and feet, he was pierced in his side with a sword. He did this so that we could be free from the curse of those seeds of darkness. When he prunes us it is at no cost to us but to him who loves us extravagantly more than we understand. And yet we wince at the thought of the pruning and we moan at the sight of the sheer.      

The opening scene to mankind was a garden. And the enemy has been trying to steal our Eden every since that first seed filled fruit that he presented to Eve. What a pretty little lie. A seed of doubt, of pride, of independence. It was the idea that God is holding out on us. Eve took the fruit and the seed was planted deep inside all of mankind. It was with her belief that if he truly loved her than he would let her have this fruit that then in turn all of mankind has been under the misguided understanding that our true garden is of this fruit. That fruit was never intended for us, it was the fruit of a world that God in his love never wanted for us. Do you realize it is from that same tree that the enemy has been using the same seeds to grow in us a spirit of rebellion and pride, a spirit of jealousy, fear and doubt. The seeds of depression are also fruit from this vine and we have God who has been pulling these weeds as furious as he can, all while we water them.

I am determined from this day on to reduce the need for pruning in my life by cutting off the liar and his seed to my garden. When I feel offended I will use that as a sign that dark seed is in my presence, When I feel alienated, alone, jealous, afraid, ashamed, annoyed, frustrated, restless, stupid, alone, intimidated, alarmed, incapable, depressed and abandoned I will know that the enemy has sown, but he will find no available place to sow in this garden for the Lord has planted beautiful roots of his vine deep within me, intertwining my heart and mind with his. And I will water the seeds of God's will so that I may bare the fruit of one who is not just filled with peace but embodies it, not just one who is aware of love but one who is becoming love. We can not grow two competing gardens of dark and light, we must choose what we will sow, what we will tend, what we will allow to be cut off. What garden are we growing?   

 

I just feel like it's so much work.

Hey You.

I know some days seem like a blessing and a gift and then other days are very trying and the struggle is just overwhelming. I guess I want to encourage you through the other kind of day that no one seems to acknowledge. It is the day that seems to be the kind that occupies my thoughts today.  Its the kind of day where you just don’t know why but you can’t find yourself. It’s as though you hoped in the car and 25 miles down the road you realize you forgot something vital to the journey. You pray that you find it rather than have to turn back but just can’t see it among the garbage in your car that never got thrown away or the toys and articles of clothing that never can seem to make it into the house. You pull off to the side of the road to frantically dig and then you realize it’s at home strategically placed right where your keys were so you wouldn’t forget it. Its like the Charlie Brown cloud that seems to follow just you and even though you can see the sun shining on the world, for some reason its just not shining on you. No this is not an add for anti depressants. Or a sales pitch to sell you something you are missing like a gym membership or a dream vacation. And all the trying to fill that void with the world’s way of filling it isn’t going to fix a thing.

So if you weren’t depressed before maybe you are now but I hope that instead you are encouraged that you are not alone, it isn’t you. The problem is not something to cover up or hide from others. For some reason we think that being vulnerable and open about our unexplained feelings of unworthiness, doubt and fear shows how week we are. But even those women who look like they have the whole world in their hands struggle with this from time to time and if they can’t admit it they are probably living in self doubt so their house of cards doesn’t collapse in on them. We live in a world where we can cut and paste what we want people to see and perceive us as but I think where I get really scared about this out of control feeling is that I feel like this is my only chance. I get one shot at doing this right for my children, husband, and others and what if I mess it all up?

Some days I feel like I applied for a job as a janitor cleaning toilets at NASA  and they mistakenly thought I was an astronaut. I am strapped into a rocket ship on my way to the moon and the only part of the rocket I know anything about is the bathroom and even that looks foreign to me. Do you ever just look at your life and go, I should be so thankful or happy but honestly “What Was God Thinking, I Can’t Fly This Ship!”?

I think the enemy knows when one of his masterful lies has matured into a plant ready to bare fruit. He is a gardener of nasty weeds my friend! My neighbors are older and are not exactly thrilled with my bubbly, growing family. In other words, four rambunctious children living across the street is a little much for them. The only thing we have in common is our love for gardening. Elliot is 3 and loves herself some dandy lions. Yesterday our neighbors are in their yard pruning trees and minding their own business, so in true three year old fashion Elliot runs over to their yard and in a matter of a few seconds has blown dandy lion seeds (in the countless millions) all over their yard. All the while yelling to me “I’m making wishes mom!!” Needless to say my neighbors were less than amused. But I just couldn’t stop thinking about how, here we are trying to tend to our garden, we are exhausted from all the work and the enemy of our soul comes over and with one breath plants the seeds that will develop into a million dandy lions.

I guess we could give up and some days I feel like that is exactly what I am doing but I guess the real question is why are we in the garden? Isn’t it God’s job to do the pruning in our lives, isn’t it God who makes things grow and has the power to kill the weeds? I am outmatched by the devil if I am in the garden alone. He knows gardens, His first deceptive act that plummeted the world into sin was in a garden and the woman was ALONE. Why was she alone? God said as He was creating Eve that his reasons for creating companionship for man was, “It is not good for man to be alone.” He knows that when we wander off by ourselves we are more likely to fall victim to the enemies’ schemes and lies. (Side Note: Adam and Eve where not required to toil in this garden, hardship and pestilence was introduced after the enemy introduced the idea of man being independent. And man believed it making the choice to disobey God and bring Sin into the world).

So as I meditate on the picture of my neighbors scowling at my daughter for spreading her seed as they toil in there yard I realize that I am a reflection of that same frustration. I feel like all I do is work and I fall short, sometimes loving my family feels like an impossible thing. I am toiling and I am tired and I am screaming at the enemy to leave me alone but when I turn around it isn’t the enemy getting the worst of me, it is my family and it is me. I am a neighbor chasing dandy lion seeds in the wind, in a garden that belongs to God. I hate to be the voice of reason but maybe it’s time to stop toiling. Sometimes giving up just means SURRENDER, Surrendering to the true gardener.

 What does a successful day look like? For me it would be that mountain of a “Mother Trucker” on my couch called LAUNDRY! It never goes away! If I could only get it to stop! But truthfully if at the end of the day I have laundry on my couch but my kids put their heads on their pillows with a smile on their faces knowing they are loved; that is true success. Where does that kind of love come from? Do we manufacture it or does it grow from the garden that God is tending to inside of us? We are a complicated creature of contradiction. We long for rest from our toiling but we refuse to surrender the tools in our hands to the loving father who is longing to take care of us, to nurture us to provide for us, and to tend to our needs. I often feel like I give and give and have nothing left for me. What source do we pull from? Our Father in Heaven is our one true source of all we need.

I have been studying the life of Paul (once Saul) in the book of Acts. I am amazed as the effortlessness of his faith. Countless times situations that would have left me paralyzed by inadequacy he turned trial and tribulation into a story of glory to God. He is imprisoned but praising God and through it an earthquake sets him free only for him to stay in those chains to minister Christ’s love to a jailer. It was as if he was blinded to the fact he was imprisoned by physical chains because his spirit was free. We can fight our trials and see them as the prisons they are or we can waste nothing and turn or prisons into heavenly palaces for ourselves and others. We can be like my neighbors and scowl at the devil and his dandy lion seeds or we can be led by the spirit and turn those dandy lions into tea or wine. I say that because currently as I write this my children are in the back yard gathering up dandy lions for a harvest. Why work for the Devil when he can work for us! Have you ever stopped to think of the power of the verse “For God works for the good of those who love him.”? If we can understand the power of our garden tending God, we can find the rest for our souls!

One of my favorite analogies that Jesus tells us in his final days with his disciples before his crucifixion; it is of the vine. We think we are the gardener but God is saying Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. God is the gardener and he will prune us! Our main job in this life is to abide in him. To let the Holy Spirit life flow through us so that we can bare fruit. So that in the end we are not found lifeless and cut off. Our fruit is not produced by our abilities rather it is produced as we abide. Are we abiding or are we toiling?

Those days we feel as though we left the house without something, it is our source of strength we are missing. We are not loosing our minds we are merely missing a part of our life force, and that cloud over our heads can only be chased away by the Sun (Son). Most days I look at God like he is crazy for strapping me into this Rocket ship of parenting. And I may not be able to fly the ship but I can enjoy the ride as he takes me places I never imagined possible. It is His love inside me that can take me beyond what I could have ever imagined.

When we feel so helpless and we try to compensate for our insecurity and incapability, all we were ever meant to do was turn to God and let Him be everything that we can’t be. When the Devil reminds you of everything you can’t do, thank him for the reminder because when we get to the end of ourselves, we get to the beginning of what we can do in Christ. And in Christ we can do ALL THINGS. So don’t be afraid to admit when you can’t go on the way you are. Because it is He who is greater than this world, who overcame all of our can not’s so that in Him we could be overcomers. When you fall or feel pushed down by the enemy make sure to fall all the way to your knees, because in our surrender and praise to an almighty God we find a place of rest for our weary hearts, we find our strength in Him!