October 18, 2010 Bubbles of Hope

God loves us so much!  He is daily sending out His messages of love and hope, if we just had ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to understand.  Jeremiah received a message of hope in a mundane transaction of real estate.  How often we miss these things because we're not expecting them.

Are you in the midst of disaster?  Turn to God.  He is the God of restoration.
Are you suffering from depression?  I am your hope, says the Lord.
Are you being disciplined?  "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34

In Christ we have a new covenant, the promise of God's goodness forever.  Even if you feel like you are at the bottom of the ocean. . . weighed down by impossible circumstances and crushed by unbearable heaviness. . . God is with you, and nothing is too hard for Him.  Do you feel separated from God's love?  There are bubbles all around you!  Take these to your heart, for they contain the oxygen of hope that will sustain you until He comes and lifts you up. 

"And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.  Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good" Jeremiah 31: 40-41a NKJV

October 15, 2010 Don't Grow Weary?

A verse really grabbed my attention today:  the apostle Paul saying "do not grow weary in doing good."  Since I tend to do that on a somewhat regular basis, I wondered if there were any readily available answers as to how to avoid that.  This is what I saw, just in the passages for today:

From Jeremiah:
Do and say what God tells you, no matter how strange and unexpected, and don't follow the crowd.  For one thing, this is not boring enough to get weary of, and for another, He strengthens and protects those who obey Him.

From Paul's letter to the Thessalonians:
The Word of God runs swiftly, so if we let it live in us, it will empower us.  We tend to get weary when we get opposition from those without faith, but here we are again assured that God will protect us and deliver us, because He is faithful.  We're warned not to hang around lazy leeches (I suppose that doesn't mean don't minister to such).  This was partly to be a warning to the "disorderly" people, but I think it's also an intelligent precaution on our own part, so it doesn't rub off on us.  If we hang around God, and His people who allow Him to move through them, we'll get motivated by Him.  Although His atmosphere and attitude is established and peaceful, His glory is not idle.

From the Psalms:
Since we all do get weary sometimes (and even burned-out), we can turn to the Lord for help.  He will forgive us, restore us, and revive us.  His peace is an important factor in maintaining a steady and faithful lifestyle of service. Over-stress, worry, and improper burden-bearing wear us down and steal our health and our joy, eventually leading us into sinful coping behaviors. 

I especially love verses 10-13 of Psalm 85,  It is such a great picture!

"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NKJV

August 11, 2010 The Secret Pavilion

I will share something about the book of Nehemiah that will revolutionize it for you, in case you've never seen it before.  I learned it while doing my degree work in Christian Biblical Psychology.  It's all about restoration, and it is pertinent to the rebuilding of a broken person, as well as the entire Church.  As are all the histories of the Jewish people, they are all written for our instruction.

Today I saw something a little different that I hadn't noticed (maybe I was taught it before, but I don't remember).   All the different people who worked on the wall are like all the different people we come in contact with when we are "under construction."  The Lord will use various people to be His hands in our life when we need help.  A great many people have been devastated emotionally and spiritually, and even physically (often as a result of those) and are in need of being healed and put back together.  God doesn't use any one person (such as a counselor or pastor) to "fix" someone; otherwise I think we would take credit for "building" someone or for making them who they are to become.  God uses teams, and He gets all the glory for it.    The teams are organized by the Holy Spirit, and not necessarily in a way we can see.  I can testify that while I was going through the greatest part of my restoration, that many people had a part to play in different areas in my life.  Sometimes they didn't even realize that God was working through them for the purpose of healing and restoration.  Others didn't realize they were getting in the way.

Notice that first Nehemiah assessed the damage, and then they began to work on the wall.  Most people who have been through life traumas don't have anything in the way of proper defenses.  This might be noticed in the lack of good boundaries, in behavior lacking in any kind of normal sense about what is healthy, and in the tendency to be overrun by harmful agents.  The picture of a war-ravaged city, burned down and with the walls in ruins, is a powerful image to help us understand how damaged people can be.  If you haven't been there yourself, I guarantee you know someone who is.  Likely, you are one of the people who is working on your little section of the wall.  When everyone does their part, a person is able to be restored to functioning more quickly.  The deeper issues of healing then, are dealt with in a safer environment.

While all this work is going on, God nurtures us in the Secret Pavilion.  It's the secret place of His presence, and it's there for all who fear God and trust Him.  It's for the workers and well as those "under construction."  Sometimes it takes a person a while to learn to trust God, as well as have the right kind of reverent awe of the Lord.  When those around them are living in this place, it's a lot easier for them to be led to into it.  No matter who's trying to do you in, or who's speaking evil against you, you're hidden from it in the Secret Pavilion.  Even plaguing inner voices are shut down in this tent of peace, where the love of God surrounds you and protects you.

In the Secret Pavilion, you can also receive a vision of the Heavenly City, the New Jerusalem.  "Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!" Psalm 31:21  This vision of  the wholeness, holiness, and oneness of the finished product of God's people-- what Jesus is working on and will finish--  is what gives the workers and the people being restored, hope enough to continue.  It's what gives us courage, strengthening our hearts.  And Satan will be just as surprised about the results as he was when Jesus was resurrected!

Questions to ponder:
Have you ever noticed how many loud and opposing voices there are all around you all the time?  Have you ever experienced the peace and quiet of God's secret pavilion?
Who do you know that is in a broken and ruined condition?  How is God moving through you to help rebuild the wall?
What was your impression of how Nehemiah communicated with the king?  What kind of instruction does this give you for your own life? 

August 5, 2010 When All Seems Lost, God Makes A Way

I was suicidal once, years back; for a month or more, I struggled with thoughts of how I could end my life because chronic depression had left me hopeless, and my circumstances seemed unchangeable.  I had lost connection with my faith in God, although I would not have denied it consciously.  The only thing that kept me going was that I needed to take care of my children.  I thank God for a dad who heard God, comprehended where I was at, and offered to pay for therapy.  This was the beginning of a long journey of healing and restoration for me.  That I now have abiding peace and joy in my life, and a stable environment and relationships, is a great example of the power of the cross of Christ.  It is in Him alone that I have found reality, sanity and purpose.

I share this because it is the first thing I thought of when I saw the heading for today's reading in Ezra: End of the Babylonian Captivity.  What I saw in the passage was that if God could stir up the spirit of Cyrus, He can do whatever needs to be done to rescue us from our distresses.  He did do that for me.  When I thought no good could come from my life (that was of course, a deception), God broke through my darkness and brought me out.  My sinful choices had gotten me into captivity in the first place.  God used it for good in my life anyway. 

When humanity had fallen into the depths of depravity, God made a way.  When Jesus went to the cross to die, He took upon Himself the whole of mankind's mess.  He came back from the depths of death bringing our deliverance with Him.  As Paul said, it sounds like foolishness to a lot of people, but I say, foolishness or not, it's wisdom and life.  I can testify first hand-- I'm only alive because of Him.

The Corinthians passages are some of the most powerful and hopeful I know of: I love them!  When you put them together with the Ezra account, the Psalms and the Proverbs, today's reading packs a powerfully hopeful punch! I completely embrace being a "foolish thing"!  It means I'm chosen to put to shame the "high and mighty" things of the world.  I just said to my husband this morning, that I didn't belong in the big, bad world-- that I just wanted to hide out "in a cave" and be a little girl.  The fact is, I am God's little girl!  I don't have to fit in with, or be accepted by, the world (that's perishing anyway); I don't belong!  I belong to the Kingdom!  I'm in Christ and Christ is in God.  I can be strong in the power of His might!  I  can glory in Him!  I don't have to be anything, because He is everything.  However, as I keep pressing into Him, the foolishness that is me gives way to the wisdom that is Him.  I begin to realize that in the Kingdom I have substance, significance, sustainability.

If you are lost, Jesus is the Way.  If you have been found by Him, Jesus is still the Way.  Along the Way you find Truth and Life.  These things are worth living for!  Whether you know it or not, Jesus already died for you and proclaimed you "forgiven."  Your future love relationship with God began at that moment.  Whenever you awake to this reality and say "yes," the adventure begins.  Never give up on your life!  You will be totally surprised at the wondrous things He has in store for you, even if you feel like a foolish thing right now.   

Bonus: Negativity is the beginning of the suicidal road; here's how not to get there, ever:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD."
Psalm 27:13-14

Questions to ponder:
Have you ever struggled with despair or suicidal thoughts? How did you get out from under them?
If you have had victory in this area, have you ever shared it with others?
Do you know anyone who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts?
How do you deal with that? 
Even if these things are far from your own experience, what have you learned that is applicable to you?

Truth: Whatever you've overcome in your life is what the Lord will use to minister life to others through you.

July 31, 2010 Suddenly

One of the reasons we're told not to judge others on "doubtful matters"-- things that aren't stated outright in Scripture-- is that we don't know what God is working on with someone else.  We don't even know that about ourselves so often.  Because Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith, it is His job to decide what needs to be changed when.  Our job is receive one another, accept one another, and live according to the law of love in order not to trouble others with our mode of life.  That is hard enough without trying to fix others.
If any correction needs to happen, let it be done by those with the authority to do so, and let it be on the clear doctrines of Christ, such as fornication.

When King Hezekiah-- grieved by the spiritual adulteries perpetrated by his predecessor-- desired to bring the nation back to a right relationship with God and reinstate the temple worship, he didn't seem to dictate exactly how that was to be done.  He exhorted the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and to cleanse out the temple.  He told them to take out the rubbish, but he left it to them to do the work.  Since we each are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and each of us kings and priests unto the Lord, it is the Holy Spirit's task to lead each one of us as to how to cleanse ourselves from dead works.  Some of the rubbish in our souls might be obvious to others, but some of it might look OK to someone else, but the Lord reveals to us that it's not OK for us.  "Whatever is not of faith is sin."  This is a basic key to walking in holiness (wholeness), but it really comes down to the individual working out their salvation with Christ's leading.  We are all in different stages of our growth and development.

The mysterious thing is how the Spirit works in each of us, deep inside our hearts, to prepare us for the next stage.  Sometimes we observe a brother or sister who seems to be wandering around in darkness, and then, voila!  All of a sudden they seem to have snapped out of it, moving forward in a level of glory that might even pass us by temporarily.  We should rejoice when that happens.  It gives me hope to know that if I'm struggling in life, God's got it under control, and He's leading me step by step out of the maze of confusion and darkness that I might be in.

I think we can anticipate a sudden "coming round the bend" for the Church in general.  God is doing a work in His people, much of it unseen.  Christ is still the head of His body.  He is still in charge of each individual's salvation process, and of the building of His Kingdom, living stone by living stone.  Maybe at this moment some of the trash is being taken out of the temple in one person's life, and another is getting their instrument of praise polished up and ready to go.  At the proper time, all will be in order and the glory of God will be seen in a unity, joy and love that is greater than has ever been seen before.  This verse will again be very relevant:  "All the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly." 
2 Chronicles 29:36   

July 7, 2010 Sticks, Stones and Word-Grenades

I remember learning a sort of proverb when I was a kid: "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."  Children try to believe what their elders tell them-- it's in their basic make-up to do so.  But when their own sense of right and wrong contradicts what they've been told, it's very confusing.  The old adage wasn't true, of course; it was a terrible type of denial, that instead of protecting me, left me very vulnerable to the injury of other people's words.  Lying statements about a person, when undetected or undefused, go deep down into a person's psyche and erode like acid, or they can later go off like bombs, debilitating and even destroying them.

Today we came across the very short, and somewhat hidden statement about Jabez (if you don't at least skim the geneologies and other parts of the Bible you consider boring, you miss important nuggets, or even a best-selling book!).  Here was an innocent kid being told over and over, simply by hearing his name, that he was a pain! (and possibly other words of a mother who had a bad attitude): "Come here, YouCausePain, and do these dishes for me.  That's the least you can do to make up for the suffering you've caused!"  Ouch! 

As Christians, we tend to name our children truthful and empowering things, and for a good reason!  God didn't change people's names for kicks--  He knew what names can do to people.  Names, when well-chosen, can help a child reach his or her full potential in God.  Parents should continue in that vein, speaking the truth in love over their children, as well as nurturing them in other ways.  We're going to make mistakes, obviously, but if we discover we've said something hurtful or untrue,  it is "best practice" to immediately ask a child's forgiveness and replace the untruth with the word of God.  Children also need to be taught what to do when they are ridiculed and picked on, since everyone is at one time or another. Sensitive children, especially, can really be hurt by this and need reinforcement.  The earlier we learn to receive God's comfort and allow Him to build us up with truth, the better.

We're not told how Jabez managed to become "more honorable than his brothers"-- God may have sent someone along to help him.  Since we're told about his prayer, he must have early turned to God in his disappointment.   
I wish this happened more often, but I have listened to the stories of many adults whose personalities were twisted and whose minds were warped by the things they were called as a child (along with other problems of their environment).  We see, however, that if a person will call out to God in faith, He will take up their case, deliver them from evil, restore their personhood, and bless them in their life with His favor.  Jabez even asked for a greater platform in which to testify of God's goodness.  God was able to use for good what the enemy meant for evil.  This is true for anyone who will turn to the Lord rather than remain in bitterness. 

God was able to use the lying statements of the Jews about Paul to get him to an even higher platform.  This could not have happened if Paul had buckled under the barrage of accusations being flung at him for years.  It is extremely important that we learn to hear God's words over us, over our life and person.  We have to believe Him and not the rest of the world, abusive or flattering as it may be.  If there's ever a time of "tearing down" in our life, it probably has a lot to do with tearing down the ways we operate based on lies we've believed about ourselves.  We can only reach our full potential if we are standing on the truth.  God says of you:   
"Rejoice, you who put your trust in Me;
You will shout for joy, because I defend you;
You will be joyful in Me, because you love My name.
I the LORD, will bless You, because you are the righteous in Christ;
I will surround you with My favor as with a shield." from Psalm 5: 11-12 

July 5, 2010 Strengthening The Spiritual Immune System

Psalm 3 showed up at a good time for me; it must have been on Paul's mind too when 40 men had vowed to kill him.  I don't have people vowing to kill me, (that I know of), but all it takes is one to throw a spiritual javelin at you and take you out (if you don't have your shield of faith up).  When an angry person shows up at my door with no good intentions, I have to be reminded that it's "not against flesh and blood" that we fight against, but against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, KJV and NKJV combined). 

When we're threatened in any way, we tend to go into our natural "fight or flight" reaction, don't we?  I haven't overcome that yet, and I'm not sure we're supposed to.  The best thing to do, I think, is to train ourselves to "fly" to God, and then, if we're going to have to fight, we'll do it in His strength and wisdom, and inside His protective shield.  I would like to be found in Him to the point where I'm invulnerable to enemy penetration, and always have the Spirit-led response to an attack-- but unfortunately I'm not always where I should be at every given moment. 

God uses any attacks from the evil one (and yes, they often come through people who allow themselves to be used) to show us our weak places, or wrong states of being.  He heals us right up when we go to Him, so it's not the end of the world when we take a hit.  However, when we're not in the place of safety, we are at risk unnecessarily.  We waste time when we're knocked out for a while.  And the devil plays dirty and likes to kick us when we're down.

One of the worse things about getting wounded by a spiritual attack is that we tend to further injure ourselves with our unhealthy habitual responses to pain.  I do better than I used to, but I have to admit I still tend to fall into fleshly "self-medicating" when I am deeply hurt.  Our spiritual enemy studies how to hit us where he knows we're vulnerable: we advertise our vulnerabilities all the time, don't we?  Most of us have trouble facing what "open books" we are to all who care to observe.  Someone who hates you and wants to hurt you will go right for the jugular!  All he has to do, then, is watch our behavior afterward to know the attack was effective.  He doesn't have to do anything more, knowing we'll finish off the destruction all by ourselves. 

I've learned that I will recover much more slowly from a spiritual attack, and even end up getting sick, sometimes depressed, when I take refuge in fleshly things.  I thought the Proverb today was such an appropriate reminder:  "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?  The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Proverbs 18:14-15  If our response to spiritual attack isn't to immediately seek out the Lord-- His word, His comfort, His healing and His wisdom-- we will lower our physical and our spiritual immune systems, becoming even that more vulnerable to whatever would like to destroy us.  Even our own weaknesses, then-- things we may have begun to have some victory in-- become greater enemies.  The world's lies have more access into us if we take refuge in worldly media when we are down.  Do you see why it is so important to go to the Lord first of all, no matter how we feel--even if we are angry with Him for some reason?

My immune systems are pretty strong right now, because I've been spending time in the Word, and I'm generally in a place of closeness with the Lord.  But I can still clearly remember times when I was not.  I don't want to get there again!  I can see the enemy would like to break my spirit so that I will succumb to sickness and sin and not be able to recover.  I am grateful to be shown that I am not where I need to be, and that I can improve my level of immunity.  I hope my experience, and these Scriptures today, will encourage you to stay close to the Lord, and run to Him first whenever you are challenged.   He is your shield, your defender, your sustenance, and the One who lifts your head.

Extra credit:  If the devil shows contempt for Christ by trying to thwart His purposes of redemption, can we be witnesses of the Gospel and gain great personal victories over the devil by overcoming sin, sickness and emotional disorders?  See Isaiah 53, Psalm 103, Luke 4:18, 2 Corinthians10:5

May 4, 2010

What a good role-model is John the Baptist!  He faithfully and passionately carried out his mission from God: to prepare the people for the Messiah.  He was a great preacher, and got results.  Lots of people followed him.  But when the Messiah was indeed revealed to him, just as God had told him, John the Baptist gave way to him.  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  He had joy, not resentment when the fulfillment of his calling had brought his ministry to an end.  His testimony about Christ is one of the most clearly articulated in Scripture: he left no doubt as to who Jesus was and what He was here to accomplish.  It would be good for us to meditate on John the Baptist's words and get them deep into our hearts.

There is plenty of practical application of John the Baptist's gracious giving-way to Christ.  Parents' ministry is to raise children to grow up and have their own life.  Ministers are preparing the saints to mature and carry out their own callings.  If we do our job well, we will come to an obvious place of having to release that which we birthed, for it has a life of its own. 

I came to the Lord as a broken and dysfunctional person who had no idea who she was.  My personhood had been stolen from me.  The Lord Jesus, by His Spirit and Word, and through His godly ministers, nursed me back to health, restored me to healthy functioning, and gave me a sense of worth, identity and purpose.  He gave me back myself!  It was so awesome to finally feel good about myself and about being alive.  Then I truly had the opportunity to "lay down my life" for Him.  Before that, I had little to offer, only a "broken and contrite heart", which we know He does not despise.  Now I'm in a different place of making way for Christ. 

I think it is important to note that John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  The Lord certainly increased in me, building me up from the inside out, starting from a below-basement level of destruction.  As I learned who I was, I discovered my weaknesses and how He could fill them.  I discovered my empty places and how He could fill those too.  He revealed my wrong thinking and replaced it with His truth.  He showed me my strengths and how He could empower them for His glory.  There's much, much more to do, (I'm far from being Christlike) but at least now, I know how to let Him live in me. 

At a certain point in my life, however, I became aware that He was "letting go."  He again gave me a choice to follow and serve Him.  Now that He had restored me, He was setting me free!  Is this amazing or what?  Of course, it wasn't a difficult choice for me.  I was like that Old Testament picture of the slave who didn't want to be set free because of love for the master, choosing to become a bondservant for life.  My ear has been pierced!  I totally belong to Him!  He chose me first, but then He gave me a chance to choose Him back.  I chose Him, and I have never regretted it. 

Now, as I live for Him, study His Word and get more revelation of Him, He continues to grow in me; it gets very uncomfortable for my "self" and I have to make more room for Him by letting go of pride, an agenda, or anything else that doesn't fit with Him.  I don't just try to get rid of something about myself or "kill myself off".  Picking up your cross and following Him daily is not the same as trying to crucify yourself!  That just doesn't work.  It leaves holes in us that can be filled with something other than Him if we're not very careful.  I think it's dangerous to try to decrease yourself so that He can increase.  The Lord will expose deeper holes in you that need to be filled with Him (He's done this to me more than once lately, through some trials).  He will also discipline us if we're resisting Him.  Seek the Lord with as much of your heart as you can, being as pliable as you are able, and let Him increase.  Present yourself to Him, obey Him, and He will take care of the rest.

Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith.  I have total confidence in His ability to finish the work He started in me, and in you too.  He knows what He's doing.  He is the Author and Finisher of the Church too, and He is in charge (the Head).  We should trust Him in forming us, and in forming the Church.  He's going to present us to the Father without spot or blemish.  What a glorious day that will be!

April 19, 2010

All the passages today, from Luke on, seemed to speak to me of the consequences of rejecting the Word of God.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem, prophesying that “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44

As I read Psalm 88, it seemed like the psalmist (not David) was seeing ahead to that day of destruction and expressing the feelings of a people who had experienced that destruction.  He seemed not to see the restoration, but that doesn't mean there was not to be one.  It reminds me of the times I have been in the throes of deep depression and hopelessness.  It does truly feel like a waking death.  However, I can testify that if we will continue to cry out to the Lord, He will come to us, and again reveal Himself to us and restore us, if we will respond to Him and believe His word to us.  He will come with whatever we need-- conviction, correction, healing-- but He always comes with love.

How often, I wonder, does our Lord visit our life with His presence and weep for our lack of response to Him?  It does not give Him pleasure to have to bring discipline, or to have to allow us to "hit bottom" so that we will turn to Him.  But one thing is certain, when we do realize we are in need of Him, He will answer our cry for help.  He will come with "the things that make for our peace."

April 12, 2010

As I read today in the Joshua passage, I saw something that simply took my breath away! It's possible that I may have heard it taught before, but I don't remember it, and I certainly never "got it" with such impact. What I saw in the story about Jericho was intercession and spiritual warfare over individuals and cities. I'm not saying that we should do literally what the Israelites did, but that it is a symbolic word picture through and through, as well as the historical account.

The Lord brought a Scripture to my mind that upheld what He was saying to me (He is always so kind, isn't He, to help us understand). "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city." Proverbs 18:19  [Many people are offended with God-- I think it's true of anyone who won't receive Him or others.]

When I read of Joshua encountering the Captain of the Hosts (He was Jesus, the Word, wasn't He!), it absolutely gave me chills. It is His battle-- we are fighting with Him as part of the army of God, and it's a spiritual one, not fought with flesh and blood, but with effective weapons against spiritual enemies-- and He is victorious! Only, we must bow before Him and obey His commands.

Rather than try to pick the story apart for an exact strategy, I will share the things that became energized to me today. I saw the seven days, seven times, seven priests, seven trumpets, as God's perfect and complete plan of redemption and restoration, the trumpets as praise of God and announcing His presence, and the circling in silence as forgiveness. What did Jesus say, "seventy times seven?" 

Oh, I could write a long essay on this! Have we ever been able to win a person who has a hardened heart-- or with walls of defense built up around them-- by trying to batter the walls down? No! And yet, it has been done to me, and I have done it to others. I have learned the hard way that if I haven't interceeded for a person, coming before God with a humble heart (to be circumcised of the selfishness, or to have the log removed from my own eye), the Lord will not allow me to speak.  If I do it without His permission and in His timing, the walls will not fall down, they will only be fortified, and often I will be the one attacked. Most of the time, a confrontation is not needed when intercession is done, declaring the Word over a person (in private, as the Spirit dictates only), and declaring the truth of their deliverance to the enemies who hold them captive-- until their enemies melt with fear. And at the proper time, we can shout the praises of God for the victory, and the walls come down without ever having attacked the person.

Rahab, a prostitute who had come to fear God and believe His Word, was saved along with her family, and everything else was devoted to destruction! There was a heavy penalty for anyone who would take something that was supposed to be destroyed. It is so important to let the Lord deal with anything in us that would hold a person to their sin, especially someone we are close to, such as a spouse,child, or close friend. It is too easy to become attached to the one we used to know, or out of some unmet need, to try to save the very things that God is burning. You could call that co-dependency. I know by experience that it is painful to go through the process of having the walls fall down, and the sinful nature burned up-- when I'm there myself, or when I'm around another who is going through the process. But we must allow the Captain of the Host to do His work.

Salvation rarely looks the way we think it should. So often it offends our proud and self-righteous spirits (religious). Just when we think the process is done within ourselves or in another, something else begins to burn or fall down. Don't forget the picture we saw of the loving Father, who forgives, receives, restores and rejoices over the one who had gone astray-- or the Good Shepherd, who leaves the 99 and goes after the one.

Now, take this picture and see how the Spirit of Wisdom might apply this to winning cities for the Kingdom of God!

February 17, 2010

When I read all the descriptions of sacrifices in Leviticus, which all seem quite gruesome to me, I get a feeling for how much God hates sin, and how often I miss the mark. But more than that, I am struck by the love and mercy of God. He has always been about making a way of atonement and forgiveness, and Jesus finally paid the price, making all the killing of animals unnecessary.

Jesus showed the Father's heart for forgiveness and His purpose of redemption so often, how could we miss it and become sin-worried as if we lived in the Old Testament? Jesus got criticized for eating with sinners (Mark 2:16), and for breaking the Sabbath (in the Pharisee's mind), but He was in redemptive, restoration mode at all times. "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath." (NRSV) And what He's doing with us now is getting us ready for new wine. vs 21