Sherri Sand's Blog, page 7

Truth in Advertising

Do we sometimes feel we are “selling” Jesus to the ones that don’t know him?

Trying to look perfect, be good “Christian witnesses” so they will long for what we have?

In my early days of walking with Jesus, I so badly wanted others to know Him (that part hasn’t changed). I didn’t want to mess it up. I wanted to shine in such a way that they’d see their lack, that they’d discover this better way of living.

It’s kind of like walking the river bank, continually casting our hooks into the water and waiting for the tug so we can shout, “Fish on! Fish on!” And if they slip away, we wonder what we could have done differently to have convinced them they need Jesus.

Is that what Jesus meant by being fishers of men?

I’ve heard marketers say that good product sells itself. Isn’t Jesus good product?

Recently, one of my kids decided to sell a pair of used shoes online. He was incredulous at how many people were watching his item. I asked if he’d been clear that the shoes were used. He said he had. I shrugged. Guess some people don’t mind well worn items.

Then they sold. For a rather higher price than I would have expected for a pair of shoes in that condition. Before I shipped them to the winning bidder, I checked the description he wrote up. “In near perfect condition. Hard to tell these from new.” Um…well!

I contacted the bidder, sent him some up close pics and he kindly requested a refund. We parted on friendly terms.

That led to an illuminating discussion with my boy. Sometimes our eagerness for a sale may trip us into false advertising. When I shared with him that by making his shoes sound better than they were, he was opening the door to having the same done to him. The reaping and sowing principle. He thanked me for saving his skin.

Do we sometimes try to polish Jesus up because our lives don’t reflect Him they way we’d like? Or we don’t have what He promises? So we push the goods, while hiding our own pain and disconnect?

I wonder if we get so burdened by life that we haven’t learned how to live in the perfect peace Jesus promises us. I don’t mean perfect circumstances. But, rather the peace He has for us in those circumstances.

Do we sometimes settle for the lies the enemy feeds us instead of telling those lying spirits to take a hike and start declaring God’s goodness into our lives? We have the power, in Christ, to alter the atmosphere around our circumstances. To alter the atmosphere inside our souls.

He lives in us, so we have access to the River of Life flowing through us. We have access to everything of God. All the fruits (love, joy, peace…Gal. 5:22-23 ), and all the resources of heaven. He delights in us and wants for us to live in fullness and abundance (Eph. 3:19; 2Cor. 9:8).

Is it possible we’re being ripped off? Adam’s sin put mankind under a curse in the garden, but Jesus broke the curse when He became a curse for us at the cross

(Gal 3:13). But many of us continue to live under the lies.

Probably for a myriad of reasons. Not knowing there is a way free, not wanting the effort freedom requires, or so overwhelmed by the crud it seems impossible there is a way through.

Can you hear the battle cry?

All of heaven is cheering you on. There is no Jesus to sell to people. There is only relationship to introduce.

He just wants to know you, and for you to know Him at the most intimate level. It may begin by starting your day with Jesus and a cup of coffee.

How have our best relationships started? By spending time getting to know each other. Know He’s giving you an open invitation.

Prayer

Jesus, will you make Yourself real to me? I need to know you care that way I’m told you do. I  need Your hand to cover me and protect me in these challenging circumstances. Please reveal yourself to me. Teach me how to find You. I desperately need You. Make Your presence known. Help me to become aware of You in a real way, as Your word says that You never leave me. I need You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

Living Fulfilled

How do we live from our truest identity?

You’re probably wondering what that means.

My guess is that most of us would characterize our identity by what we do. The thing that occupies the majority of our time…I’m a pastor, a writer, a mom, a doctor…

But does what we do define who we are?

I think sometimes we cling tightly to what we do because we don’t know who we are without it. Or we struggle with finding value in ourselves apart from our occupation.

Perhaps our truest identity comes from how heaven sees us.

Maybe it is from what God has purposed for our lives. Who we are in Him that defines our identity.

Maybe we cling to what we do here on earth because we’ve never discovered who we are in the kingdom.

And what we do here may be absolutely tied to who we are in the kingdom, but if we never discover what it is that God has deposited in us, we won’t live in deepest fulfillment.

One thing I’ve discovered about my identity is that I’m an encourager. I feel most fulfilled when God highlights someone and I get to love on them.

The other day at the gym, I grabbed some hand weights and stepped back to start into my squats and overhead presses. An elderly woman stood near me and tentatively asked if she was in my way. I gave her a smile and assured her she was fine and started into my exercise set. I could see her in my periphery turn to watch me intently. Then she faced the mirror, got into the ready position and caught me on my next squat, mimicking my movements exactly through the rest of my reps.

She was adorable and it was all I could do to contain my chuckles. When we finished, I told her, “Good job!” I could feel God’s love for her nearly coming out of my pores. I felt Him loving her through my eyes, my smile and in the warmth of my voice as we chatted. He lives inside us and He loves when we truly are the vessel He can pour Himself through.

Loving people who may rarely get someone’s full and joyful attention is a privilege for me. I come away from these encounters feeling like this is why I was born. To love and encourage.

That’s part of my identity. Another is helping people get free from the pain and bondages that keep them locked behind the enemy lines of hopelessness, despair, and unforgiveness. All the lies the enemy feeds us to keep us from knowing who we are designed to truly be in Jesus.

I know, because I’ve lived behind enemy lines, buying into those lies. I also know the freedom that has been paid for us to walk whole and complete. And my most fervent desire is to help others attain that freedom.

Perhaps the restlessness we feel at times is a nudge to discover what we were created for. Who we were created to be. What pieces of Himself God has deposited within us that need some attention to grow into the fullness He designed us to walk in.

And it’s going to look different for each of us.

I feel that for someone, it’s for you to know that God designed you to be a mother. And you haven’t been able to fully embrace it because it doesn’t feel purposeful enough according to the world’s standards. But I feel God wants you to know it is the richest calling He’s designed. You get the privilege of raising and launching these precious gifts into His arms and the destinies He has for them. Rest in knowing you are walking in the highest calling.

Prayer

Father God, I want to know who I am in You. Who you created Me to be. I want the peace that comes with knowing and operating in my truest identity. The plans and purposes you put inside me at birth that would lead me to walk in intimacy with you. Show me why I feel restless at times. Help me to discover who I truly am in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo via Pixabay

Have Another Thought

How do we dump pessimistic thinking?

The other day I was wrestling through some issues. Just a few minor things, but added together they were draining.

I took myself to the gym and pulled up some Graham Cooke on my iPod. At one point he said, “If you don’t like the thought you’re having, have another thought.”

I’ve heard Graham say this a zillion of times, but I never applied it to my life. He went on to explain that Jesus died for all our stuff—-even our negativity.

But we are often encouraged to focus and work on the very thing we shouldn’t be entertaining.

If our thinking is loaded with negativity, how do we work through it? How can we process through a negative and come out with a positive?

Graham states that Jesus isn’t interested in working on our negativity. He’s already dealt with it (on the cross). He wants us to discard the negative thought and try a different one.

To put it in biblical terms—–take your negative thought captive, ditch it and choose to think about something that is good and true (2 Cor. 10:5, Phil. 4:8).

God encourages us to stop focusing on what we perceive as broken and start thinking from heaven’s perspective (Eph. 2:6).

Does it mean that we ignore issues, or pretend that things are lovely when, in fact, they are messy and damaged?

No.

It means that we need to find out what God thinks of our mess and what He wants to do about it.

God is not dejected or hopeless in the face of our difficulties…so why are we? I don’t say that blithely. I have had situations that I was so completely broken over, that I forgot they were not beyond God’s powerful reach.

Transformation

Fortunately, I have some lovely people in my life who are quick to remind me of God’s power, His love, His faithfulness. And I’m not talking about reciting pretty verses that we lean on to prop ourselves back to a place of hoping harder.

I’m talking about the tangible power of God. A power designed to take us to deeper and higher places in Him. Deeper into His arms, His laughter, His joy—-as experiences in our lives.

Growing up, I struggled with anxiety and fear. On rough nights, I’d clutch the Bible tightly in my arms as I huddled under the covers, trying to absorb something of comfort from that black book. I knew He was in there somewhere and I so desperately wanted Him to come out and save me from my torment.

I have been in a life long journey of seeking Him. And the amazing fact is: He wants to be found (Jer. 29:13, Matt. 7:7). He so desires to be more to us than words on a page.

What if we took one issue in our lives and asked God what He thinks about it. Or asked Holy Spirit the area He wants to help us with most?

The other day I asked Holy Spirit to highlight what I struggle with. As I jotted the words down, I felt the unpleasant weight of them. But then I asked what He wants to replace them with. Here’s what He gave me:

Peace for worry

Joy for fear

An Overcoming Nature for anxiety

Laughter for frustration

Love for anger

Acceptance for judgment

Peace for control

Joy for fearfulness

Kindness for impatience

As I wrote down each heaven sent piece of my identity, I felt buoyed. Lifted up. Encouraged. This is who I am. And I may not always walk in it, but when I trip, I can remember This is my identity. This is how God sees me. And discard the imposter-thinking and reach for who God says I am.

Because in Him all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).

Prayer

Father God, I want to replace the negative thinking in my life with Your thoughts and Your perspective. Teach me how to have an overcoming nature that is filled with Your joy and peace. Show me where negativity wars against my true identity in You. I want to walk in the freedom and wholeness You purchased for me. Show me how to grab hold of all You designed for me to walk in. And thank you that You are patient and thoroughly pleased in who You made me to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Melancholy 2” by Andrew Mason (London, UK) – cropped version of: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melancholys_Warm_Embrace.jpg. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo via Pixabay

Walking Away from Judging

If one thing was the root for most of our problems, what would it be?

I wonder if it would be judgment?

We live in a society so conditioned to judge that we rarely notice when we are doing it:

She’s too heavy.

Too thin.

Too talkative.

Why’d she style her hair like that?

That’s a horrible color on her.

I can’t believe she’d wear something that tight.

Why can’t she grow up?!

We constantly compare our behavior to theirs. Our kids to theirs. Our parenting to theirs. And we either come out on top…or we crumple to the bottom.

The bottom is bad because we feel the shame of our lack.

So to avoid that pain, we criticize. Elevating ourselves above others’ lack so we don’t see our own.

“Do not judge lest you be judged.” (Matt. 7:1)

There are several layers to that verse. Unfortunately, I’ve learned them first hand. When we judge others, we open a door into the kingdom of darkness. That kingdom manifests in several destructive ways:

By judging others, we invite the judgment of others.

It’s the principle of sowing and reaping (Gal. 6:7). When we judge—–whether in our own minds or with our voice—–we are guaranteed to be judged in return. It is unavoidable. Our choice to release judgment against others ensures that we will end up on the receiving end.

Painful.

The second layer is when we judge others, we become our own harshest critic. By the standard we judge others, we measure ourselves.

Doubly painful.

Why, you ask? Because it’s one thing to deal with the criticalness that comes at us, but it’s even more painful when it wells up inside, feeling like horrible and certain truth. We can deflect others’ criticism, but how do we defend against the voice that is our own?

The judge on the inside wields tremendous power over our ability to like and accept ourselves.

Self-hatred is rampant in our society. How many of us can look in the mirror and genuinely feel pleasure in who is staring back?

Again, painful to face.

This is the enemy’s plan against us. To gut us from the inside. And he gains access when we allow comparison and judgments to cloud our vision of others. And when we don’t recognize that the thoughts we are hearing and agreeing with inside our head have been planted there as lies from the enemy.

God loves the unlovely. He adores the less than perfect.

He wants to give us an upgrade (to use Graham Cooke’s verbiage). He wants to elevate our thinking and change the way we perceive ourselves and others.

He wants us to see ourselves as He does. Each one of us infinitely loved and desired by our Creator.

You may feel self-loathing when you look in the mirror, but God sees someone He adores.

We CAN live differently. We can offer acceptance to our imperfect selves and others. We can go on a hunt for the crazy love that God wants to fill us with and spill over onto the unloved and lonely around us.

Will you let Him give you an upgrade?

Prayer

Father God, will you forgive me for continually judging myself and others? Will you help me to catch myself when I’m opening the door to a judgmental and critical spirit? When I’m agreeing to thoughts of comparison and self-righteousness? When I allow the enemy to influence me through the mouths of others? Help me to have the strength to change the subject and walk away from the temptation to join in. And fill me. Fill the empty places where negative comparisons have been a trap for me. Where I’ve elevated myself by putting others down. And the places where I harbor self-loathing. I forgive myself for judging and criticizing myself and others. Wash me and cleanse me and make me whole. Give me a vision of myself through Your eyes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo Smirk? Sneer? by make less noise via Flickr

Hug via Pixabay

Who Are We Walking With?

How do we know which kingdom we are walking in?

This morning TDH (tall, dark and handsome) had to talk me off the ledge.

I had worked myself into a lather over the responsibilities of parenting. So many things on our radar—–SAT tests, scholarship research, college admissions—–and that’s my short list.

What is my responsibility and what is theirs? How do I guide and help them succeed without hijacking their journey and opportunity for growth, which often comes through failure and mistakes?

After TDH encouraged me to take a slow, deep breath, I was ready to listen.

“You’ve got to guard your mind.”

Ah, yes. Those sage words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 10:5).

I was letting my mind fly away with every worry and fear that was launched from the enemy’s camp. And also agreeing that if any of these steps weren’t completed perfectly, I would somehow be at fault.

So I handed control the car keys and let him drive. Did you catch that? Fear births control and completely stomps peace into the dirt, and then we find ourselves micromanaging the lives of those around us.

Yuck!

Choosing Who to Walk With

Then TDH said, “If we are not walking with Jesus, then who are we walking with?”

Put that way, I wanted to yank those car keys back and hand them to Jesus.

It hadn’t occurred to me that when I step into fear and control that I’m actually partnering with the enemy of God. I’ve wrapped my arm with his and hurry along, nodding to his every whisper of darkness—–fear, worry, anger, unforgiveness—–whatever it is we haven’t nailed to the cross.

You see, when we nail what Jesus has already paid for, then He gives us a gift in return. A gift that exactly fits what we need for our circumstances: peace, hope patience—–precisely what we need to come through victoriously.

When we look back upon the path we’ve recently traveled, do we see signs of Jesus?

Do we see glimpses of his peace and hope resting on our difficulties, His hand on our marriage, His kindness on our failures? Or do we see the smelly carcasses of fear and worry or anger and hopelessness scattered like a train wreck across our lives?

Sometimes we have to contend for those gifts.

We have to fight the battle the enemy brings to the doorstep of our minds. We have to tell fear that perfect love lives in our hearts (1 John 4:18). Tell hopelessness that God is a shield about us and there is no room for its lies

(Psalm 3:2-6). Tell unforgiveness that we will not harbor its poison any longer because God has forgiven us so much (Col. 3:13).

But for the truth and promises of scripture to begin working in our lives, we have to know the promise Keeper. Otherwise, we are quoting words. Powerful words that lose their ability to transform when we don’t know the heart of their Creator.

If I didn’t know Mat, but decided to run around telling everyone that he loves me, there would be no power in those words. No life changing hope or joy.

But when I know that Mat would die for me, that he sacrifices for me daily, that his sole desire behind loving Jesus is to love me well, I hold that knowledge with a deep reverence and honor. I am cherished. It doesn’t matter if my boss disrespects me because the person who truly knows me, deeply loves and respects me. His opinion, his words, his view of my world have tremendous meaning to me.

God desperately wants us to know that He cherishes us and desires an intimate relationship with us beyond anything that man can give.

Prayer

Father, help me to become aware of what I’m taking on that is not of You. Reveal thoughts that keep me trapped in unhealthy mindsets and reasoning. Teach me how to give these thoughts back to You and think what You are thinking. Show me how to receive Your rest and peace. I want to walk in the fullness of who You are in my life. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

My Story

How do we find freedom and healing?

I was broken and lost. Hurting so much. Though I smiled and conversed, I felt isolated and alone.

I hungered for love to find me, connect with me and rescue me from the anger and depression I often experienced.

For years, my only peace and joy came through spending time with God. My kids knew my closet was where I met with Him. Many times after I’d lost it and raged at those precious gifts, they’d gently push me toward my room, saying, “Go spend time with Jesus.”

But my closet wasn’t always a place of peace. Sometimes I’d rail at God, “I’m here, where are You?” I needed His comfort and I felt betrayed when that comfort didn’t come.

I lived by my emotions. Hating the roller coaster of ups and downs. I wanted to stay on those peaks because the valleys were so painful. Frustration. Stress. Anger. Fear. Depression.

One of the first pivotal lessons came through Graham Cooke. He said, “God is always with you and sometimes you feel Him.”

That realization made God real to my faith when He wasn’t to my emotions.

Belief is Key

Once I chose to believe God was with me (Heb. 13:5), I felt His presence more frequently. Belief always strengthens the foundation upon which we stand (Rom. 15:13,Mark 5:36).

Is God who He says He is? We have to make that decision apart from what we are experiencing. The Father of Lies is brilliant with his deceptions. Deception is like living in a house of mirrors, where everything is distorted and nothing is as it seems. And if we take what those mirrors are reflecting as reality and truth, then we will never trust in the goodness of God.

Doubt and unbelief are the enemy’s playground in our minds. They open so many doors for the enemy to steal from us. Hope. Joy. Peace. Fruitfulness. These all get ripped away.

Knowing God’s goodness wasn’t enough. It didn’t translate into freedom in my life. So I began a quest to find all the fruitfulness God promises us.

I was desperate. Beyond desperate.

It started when I lost track of my twelve-year-old son for forty minutes at an insanely crowded soccer fest—–I was convinced my friendly child had been lured off by a predator. And it culminated several weeks later when I couldn’t find my seven-year-old in my own house. Crazy-sounding, huh?

The door to fear had been thrown wide at the soccer fest and began plaguing me with thoughts that something horrible would happen to one of my kids.

Fear is a nasty, nasty beast. Unreasonable torment that the rationale side of your brain cannot turn off. Logic rarely (if ever) wrestles a negative emotion into submission.

I knew I needed to change, for my kids’ sake as well as my own. And so began my journey. And it will likely look much different than yours.

Some of us just need to get out of the rut of apathy. We need a fire ignited in our hearts for the Person of Jesus.

Some of us need healing from wounds that have clouded our view of Jesus and told us He is something different than He is.

And some of us need deliverance from the bondages in our thinking that compel behaviors we hate and are helpless to change. Shame rules us.

Usually we need a combination of all three.

Are the challenges and pain worth the journey?

Oh, yes! I am a radically different person than I was six years ago when I started searching for the wholeness that seemed a universe away from me.

Where I longed desperately to be loved, I now know this Love and the healing and freedom I yearned for.

And I’ll be your biggest cheerleader on this journey! If you have questions, feel free to comment below or email me privately.

Prayer

Father, I want to take this journey into the wholeness and freedom You have purchased for me. Show me the next step You have for me. And continue to reveal the steps You would have me take to walk more fully into who You designed me to be. I’m scared. There are so many things I’ve avoided. Please reveal Yourself to me as I step out in faith that You will never let me fall. Let me experience Your comfort and nearness through this process. Thank You for what You’ve planned in my freedom journey. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

Loving Ourselves Helps us to Like Others

What do we do when we don’t like someone?

There are people in my life that I struggle with. In fact, I don’t feel a lot of love for them.

This bothers me because we are called to love. I don’t want to be anything less than Jesus desires, and He adores everyone.

Sometimes, I feel like there are two sets of tracks and I’ve jumped to the loveless ones. I want to get back to the other set of rails—–the ones where love flows through you and infects everyone around you, but I can’t always get there.

In talking with my sister-in-law, she brought up the point that we have to love ourselves in order to love others.

We know the verse well, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Much of the time we obey that verse in the wrong direction. We don’t like ourselves and we don’t like others.

As I pondered what loving myself looked like, God asked me, “What do you like about yourself?”

What do I like about myself? It seemed a rather un-Godlike question. Aren’t we supposed to downplay our abilities, be humble, and point a finger skyward whenever someone praises one of our accomplishments?

I wonder if the verse that admonishes us not to think too highly of ourselves (Rom. 12:3) gets twisted into a false humility, where we can’t think positively of ourselves at all.

Perhaps it’s become “spiritual” to put ourselves down, to act as if we have no gifts, and that God just worked everything out through these weak vessels.

But if God thinks we rock, then why don’t we?

I’m talking about being real, not boastful (since He gets the glory for giving us all our giftings and abilities).

So when He asked me what I liked about myself, I started thinking. What did I like about myself?

I love my sense of humor. I love that I can laugh at the absurd, even when my family is staring like I’ve lost it (though I can’t be the only one advertisers spend millions of dollars to entertain—–so I know there are others out there with my warped take on life).

I love that I can confront difficult situations and speak truth into them. That thought actually surprised me a bit. I’ve viewed myself as hating conflict and confrontation. But as I thought it through, I realized I don’t back away from difficult situations. Sometimes I find myself running to them.

As I listed a few other things, I found that my estimation of myself grew. It was like seeing myself through someone else’s eyes.

As a recovering perfectionist, I tend to focus on areas that need improvement. The rough edges that need polishing. The broken parts that need an overhaul.

But listing out the positive traits took the magnifying glass off my brokenness and let me see the areas that are running beautifully.

It helped me be grateful to be me.

So if we start seeing ourselves differently, what will that do for our view of others? Criticalness and judgments will disappear, and love and acceptance for others will grow.

Prayer

Father God, give me eyes to see myself as You do. Through the blood of Jesus to fullness of love and acceptance. Let me fall as deeply in love with myself as You are. Break off the areas of sin in my life that cloud and pollute and keep me from being fully the me You designed me to be. And help me to see others through the same eyes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

In the Storm

What do we do when we are shadowed by our failings?

It’s been an interesting few days.

Normally, I have an abundance of peace and joy, but lately I’ve been dealing with tormenting thoughts. Loss and regret were the underlying theme. How I hadn’t done this right. How I would likely never would accomplish that.

So then I would avoid. I would read. I would find chocolate and devour it.

And continue feeling yucky.

Recently, I started taking a couple of my boys through Kris Vallotton’s Moral Revolution purity workbook. In it he quotes this statistic, “Psychologists say that 95-97% of people in the world do not have written goals and fail. While 3-5% have written goals and succeed.”

Great. Another failure. No written goals, so no chance of success.

Obviously a poverty spirit was wreaking havoc on my mind.

So that night I decided to write down the tasks I wanted to accomplish the next day. I asked Holy Spirit to help me and this is what I got:

Abide

Walk/Talk

Sing

Worship

Dance

Pray

Listen

Hope for future

Wisdom coming for you

Rise in Us

Sleep well—more tomorrow—we are yours, sweet girl!

Yeah, not exactly the list I expected either.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was still under the same cloud. I glanced at the list next to my bed, and if “Walk” hadn’t been on it, I wouldn’t have done it. There was nothing inside me that wanted to head outside.

But outside, I went. And talked. The first lie surfaced. It was a religious spirit, though I didn’t recognize it in that moment.

You see, my struggle was between doing what He asked (walk/talk) and doing what scripture teaches. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4)

So, how could I get His blessing if I didn’t start in the right order? I needed to go to thanksgiving and praise BEFORE talking. Didn’t He know that?

I felt frustrated as I realized my thinking was rooted in a belief that while God wouldn’t be upset with me if I didn’t do things “right,” I wouldn’t get the freedom and blessings that would be mine if I did.

So I shared my struggle with Him. I told I felt that if I didn’t do things right He would with hold from me. His response? “Why would I do that?” I shrugged, “No clue.”

The next thought He deposited was, “God with holds no good thing from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11).

The next attack hammered all my failings as a parent. The enemy is so crafty. He knows what our Achilles is and goes after it when we are vulnerable.

As sadness started enveloping me, God clearly reminded me that there was a sealed door between me and my past. My junk belongs to Jesus. He died for it, it’s His. No longer mine to sift through.

As I walked and talked and listened for the next hour, lies started breaking off my thinking.

Having purged the gunk from my heart, I actually wanted to sing to Him (very quietly), and when I got home I danced and worshipped (with the curtains closed).

God’s list created an amazing transformation in my thinking and in the atmosphere of my soul. Peace and joy started flowing back in and I went from feeling small and alone to strong and upright. God is good at restoring our identities back to solid footing and thinking.

Jesus Wants His Stuff

Here’s a great video about not taking our junk back from Jesus:

Prayer

Father, make me into Your image. Let me see myself through Your eyes and help me to love myself as You do. You’ve washed me free from all my failings. Help me to leave them on the cross with Jesus and embrace who You’ve created me to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos by Pixabay

Loving More Deeply

How much does God require from us?

Last week, I vented to God about a situation I was struggling with. He didn’t respond to any of my frustrations (I just wanted Him to say I was right and send a lightning bolt to deal with the violators).

Instead, He addressed my lack of love. And how sharp my tongue is without it. And He asked me to practice gentleness and patience until they flowed without effort through my life (and tongue—–can you hear my family cheering?).

In the minutes after God shared this, I called my insurance company. After giving my info to three different people and being passed from wrong department to wrong department, I knew I was being given the opportunity to be patient.

Fifteen minutes into the call, I didn’t care to practice any more. But I finally got a gal who could help. She told me she’d have to put me on hold, but would check on me every few minutes. When a half hour had passed, she told me she couldn’t help because of the HIPPA laws.

Gentleness was a tiny speck that fell off my horizon at that moment, and I told her how unhappy I was to have waited thirty minutes for her to figure that out.

A week later, I asked God what was next for me. He reminded me that my sole assignment is gentleness and patience. I want to share what He said to me:

You must love well. The enemy can still engage you. He’s going for areas you’ve not completely handed over to me. You’ve judged your lack. Is that fair? Do you judge others for what they don’t have?

That’s where My people move into error. They judge the deficits instead of loving people into the Light. Into My arms. Into wholeness and freedom.

Where you lack, another has resource. But love is the key that brings one’s resources to another’s lack. People withhold resources (time, energy, instruction, investment…) because they judge the lack.

But the lack needs the resources I’ve developed in My people.

(He brought to mind a particular man that is generally disliked in my community). Other’s judgment of him reinforces his weaknesses because that’s all he has. These weaknesses become his fortress and defense. All people see are the barricades he has around his heart: hardness, pride, judgment, selfishness.

They miss that those barricades hide and “protect” the frightened little boy who desperately needs approval. And the more people push away from him, the stronger his defenses become.

It is presumed that he chooses to be pompous and arrogant. But who wants to be that? Who would choose that mindfully?

Pride enticed him. Told him he was good at what he did. “Elevate yourself,” it said. “Promote yourself.” It invited him to stop feeling. To feel the self-glory of pride instead of the pain of never receiving his father’s approval.

Who wouldn’t make that trade? But it sacrifices relationships and people. It doesn’t allow love in.

And the church judges outwardly, never asking Me what is going on in another’s heart and soul. Not understanding that I’ve sent them as My ambassadors of love and approval.

Shackles drop off in the presence of love.

In My embrace, hearts are healed. I embrace through your arms. I approve through your mouth.

I want to send ambassadors of My goodwill. But My people have believed lies and instead made themselves judges.

Repent and turn from this wickedness that has enticed and lied to you. Drink deeply and be refreshed in My rivers of life and love. Be renewed so you can be a conduit of renewal for others. Be ambassadors of My goodwill and peace.

Father, take me deeper still. Where I can hear Your quiet voice speak to my heart. Teach me how to love myself so I can love and embrace others. Teach me how to drink of Your waters, instead of the polluted waters of the world. Show me where I can love more freely and openly. Give me eyes to see people who need Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scream by Greg Westfall via Flickr – no changes made

Love Never Fails by Leland Francisco via Flickr – no changes made

Storming the Enemy

How do we handle painful situations?

Too often we seek the Holy Spirit’s comfort, even as we embrace the enemy’s lies.

Letting the enemy lie and steal, while waiting for God to swoop in and rescue us from our situations.

But God’s already shown a light on our path:

We have to reject the lies (2 Cor. 10:5).
We have to embrace truth and fight to keep standing on it, despite our circumstances

(1 Tim. 6:12).
We have to practice thinking good, true and lovely thoughts. God is in those thoughts (Phil. 4:8).
We invite the Spirit of truth into our situation by the words we think and speak (James 3:9-10).
We have to stand firm on the promises God has given us. (1 Cor. 16:13).

Getting Cleaned Up!

We bought our kids river rafting tubes last summer. Right away, one of the tubes developed a hole. I’ve never gotten along well with patching kits. Mat is patient and thoroughly cleans and dries and scuffs up the area that requires the patch.

Me? I’m in a hurry. I want to stick the dog gone patch on and get back to our fun.

But that’s not how a patch adheres long term—-because you have to clean the surface. You have to remove every bit of dirt and residue to make the surface sparkly clean for the patch to hold.

Likewise, we have to reject the enemy’s lies before God’s truths can stick and be activated in our hearts.

We can’t hold onto the lie with one hand and truth with the other.

Our unbelief limits God’s power in our lives (Mark 6:5-6, Matt. 13:58). We have to decide where we are going to live. With doubt or with the Spirit? (Zech. 4:6)

When we truly understand that God means what he wrote to us in the Word, that there is power in declaring His truth into our circumstances, then we change the atmosphere we live under.

The Unseen Battle

You want to know why? Because we are in an unseen battle. And as long as we let the enemy slink into our homes and set up camp without challenging him in the least, we are going to be slimed with anger, frustration, resentments, irritations, depression, despair, fighting, selfishness and hopelessness.

Because each one of those “emotions” is actually a demonic entity sent on assignment against you. Against me. Against our kids, our marriages, our co-workers.

And the enemy is so crafty at staying hidden that we accept what is slung at us as “normal.” Just life.

We have to get washed in the blood of Jesus. We need to repent (get cleaned up) for agreeing with things that aren’t true. And we get to start declaring life and truth and freedom into what the world would call hopeless situations and then watch what God begins to do in our hearts.

Because God’s truth trumps any natural circumstance we walk in.

Are we going to walk in unbelief and doubt for our situation? Or are we going to find out what our assignment is and start declaring God’s goodness into it and over ourselves. Are we going to start tearing down strongholds that have come against our families? (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

As Graham Cooke says, “The battle is ours to lose.” Meaning, the battle has already been won for us. The only way we lose is to lay our weapons down and let the enemy walk over us.

Wouldn’t you rather meet your enemy with your sword raised high and watch Jesus step up behind him and wink at you, saying, “I’ve got this.”

Prayer

Father, take me to deeper levels of understanding. Help me to run to You, and declare Your truths into life’s difficulties. Give me eyes to see my circumstances as You do, and laugh at the enemy’s lies. Teach me to live by the higher truth of Your reality and not give into what the enemy is trying to tell me about my circumstances. Grow and deepen my faith and my belief in You and Your abilities. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Give Up via  via Flickr – no changes made

Jeanne D’Arc by Barbro Andersen via Flickr