The O's of Ministry
ONENESS. God expects oneness with His followers. Through Christ He wants us right behind Him, walking with Him but never getting ahead of Him. He is looking for a bride for His groom not another groom. A bride is responsive in her oneness with her groom. One heart that leads to one mind and one soul. Oneness always overflows into ORDER.
ORDER. When you are ONE with someone you simply submit to their heart. When you are one with God you submit to His heart. His heart changes your agenda and how you think. Reading His word helps mature us into His agenda and His order. Seeking to move closer to God allows His Being to permeate our life. When His order sets up shop in our life we begin to enjoy overflow with Him.
OVERFLOW. When you have God's order in your life, you will always have overflow that you can share with those around you. It will naturally overflow.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Ready to Marry
Are they NAKED before God?
How to tell if they are NAKED before God?
A Man.
When the Apostle John met Jesus in His glorified state, he feel at His feet like a dead man. Too scared to move. Have you seen the man you are interested emotionally naked before His God like that? Then be very cautious. Test his repentance, test his forgiveness. The man who has "seen" God will be humble in forgiveness and quick in repentance. A man not lost in Christ will always be found by the world and the flesh, ALWAYS. Now it may be churchy flesh (the worst kind) but it will still be the same flesh.
A Woman.
When a woman has met God the most noticeable thing will be her mouth. She will be quick to hear, slow to speak. Her hope will be completely lost in her relationship with God. If you think that she is placing her hope in you, RUN. RUN FAST, RUN HARD, just RUN. She is not ready and you are going to fail her hope. God must be her only hope. If her IDEAL of marriage has become an IDOL, then she will treat you like an IDOL until you fail her or disappoint her. Then she will seek to break you down or try to get you to act like her image of her IDOL that she has set up in her mind and emotions.
How to tell if they are NAKED before God?
A Man.
When the Apostle John met Jesus in His glorified state, he feel at His feet like a dead man. Too scared to move. Have you seen the man you are interested emotionally naked before His God like that? Then be very cautious. Test his repentance, test his forgiveness. The man who has "seen" God will be humble in forgiveness and quick in repentance. A man not lost in Christ will always be found by the world and the flesh, ALWAYS. Now it may be churchy flesh (the worst kind) but it will still be the same flesh.
A Woman.
When a woman has met God the most noticeable thing will be her mouth. She will be quick to hear, slow to speak. Her hope will be completely lost in her relationship with God. If you think that she is placing her hope in you, RUN. RUN FAST, RUN HARD, just RUN. She is not ready and you are going to fail her hope. God must be her only hope. If her IDEAL of marriage has become an IDOL, then she will treat you like an IDOL until you fail her or disappoint her. Then she will seek to break you down or try to get you to act like her image of her IDOL that she has set up in her mind and emotions.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
God wounded me
I rode my first motorcycle when I was about 12 years old. Thousand upon thousands of miles on mini-bikes and motorcycles.
I don't do a lot of things for myself, ie, golf, hunt, fish, bowl, etc. But I did ride motorcycles. I could breathe on my bike. It was a great place to be.
God allowed an accident in November of 2007 and I have not ridden since. OUCH. That hurt. Though my injuries were minor, the bike was totaled.
I trust God for the every day details of my life. I did not begin this walk of God to have Him be a part of my life, but rather for HIM to be my life, my love and my reason for living. Our walk together is intimate, powerful and ever growing. And YOU allowed me to be thrown off my bike and it totaled. YOU are sovereign. YOU are God and there is no other. OUCH. That hurt.
I realize now that YOU did not hurt my heart but rather my soul. My mind, my emotions, my will. Perhaps my soul treasured my riding too much. I know that is the place where IDOLS are created from IDEALS. I still trust YOU. YOU are still my life, live and reason for living. I trust YOU completely.
The thought of the pain of my family if I wrecked and was hurt causes a fear in me I have never known. Perhaps a concern, that would make it valid. Either way, I am quiet and still before YOU, hurt in my soul, trusting YOU it was for my good, for OUR good for YOUR good.
YOU are good. YOU in me is good. A part for YOU I am not good. Without YOUR revelation in my life I am wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.
I am confident YOU hurt me for good. YOU can do that again, if it is necessary. I would rather it pass but it is very, very effective at getting me to pay attention to YOUR things and to YOUR heart. So bravo! I rejoice in YOUR present love. OUCH.
I don't do a lot of things for myself, ie, golf, hunt, fish, bowl, etc. But I did ride motorcycles. I could breathe on my bike. It was a great place to be.
God allowed an accident in November of 2007 and I have not ridden since. OUCH. That hurt. Though my injuries were minor, the bike was totaled.
I trust God for the every day details of my life. I did not begin this walk of God to have Him be a part of my life, but rather for HIM to be my life, my love and my reason for living. Our walk together is intimate, powerful and ever growing. And YOU allowed me to be thrown off my bike and it totaled. YOU are sovereign. YOU are God and there is no other. OUCH. That hurt.
I realize now that YOU did not hurt my heart but rather my soul. My mind, my emotions, my will. Perhaps my soul treasured my riding too much. I know that is the place where IDOLS are created from IDEALS. I still trust YOU. YOU are still my life, live and reason for living. I trust YOU completely.
The thought of the pain of my family if I wrecked and was hurt causes a fear in me I have never known. Perhaps a concern, that would make it valid. Either way, I am quiet and still before YOU, hurt in my soul, trusting YOU it was for my good, for OUR good for YOUR good.
YOU are good. YOU in me is good. A part for YOU I am not good. Without YOUR revelation in my life I am wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.
I am confident YOU hurt me for good. YOU can do that again, if it is necessary. I would rather it pass but it is very, very effective at getting me to pay attention to YOUR things and to YOUR heart. So bravo! I rejoice in YOUR present love. OUCH.
Trust
Trust is two hearts exchanging hope.
Trust is two hearts breathing together.
Trust is two hearts hurting together because of one's sin.
Trust is the result of joy that has matured together from grief shared.
Trust is years of shared joy from deep grief.
The deeper the grief - the higher the joy - the more powerful the trust.
Soul trust and heart ARE NOT the same.
Soul trust is of the mind or the emotions or the will.
Heart Trust is an exchange of essence.
Beauty
I attended the funeral of a beautiful woman last week. There was a lady who comforted the family with her attempts at speaking and sign language. Some may have felt challenged by her looks but God graced me to see something in her eyes. She was confident in her beauty and comforted the family in her confidence and love for the deceased. The message of her life was loud: I can't hear what you think or say about me. I have spent so much time in His presence, your words do not influence me any more. I know what He thinks about me and that is all that matters to me now.
Wow, she was free. I was at a very influential and wealthy church but she did not care. I was supporting a family well known for their ministry and influence but that did not influence her, not in the least. She wanted to bring comfort to the family and she had comfort to share.
She humbled me in her beauty.
Wow, she was free. I was at a very influential and wealthy church but she did not care. I was supporting a family well known for their ministry and influence but that did not influence her, not in the least. She wanted to bring comfort to the family and she had comfort to share.
She humbled me in her beauty.
Friday, June 21, 2013
God's Rights
Andrew, my oldest, was telling me about mirrors. The car mirrors are to tell where the other cars are. But some people have their mirrors adjusted so that they can see how other people see them. I remember our daughter taking a thousand pictures of herself so that she could see what she would look like from any angle.
God says, "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you." Jeremiah 1:5
He says, "I know who you are. Your parents do not know who you are. They may grow to learn you but only I know who you are. I reserve that right to be the only one who truly knows you."
I knew you before you became material. I knew you heart to heart before I placed you in the vehicle you walk around in now. I knew you before you were tall or short, young or old, white or black. I knew you before you were your mother's child or your father's offspring. I know you. They may know about you but I know you.
PS. You don't know you unless I tell you. So get to know ME to get to know YOU.
One mirror. What do You see God, when You look at me? Let me forget everything else and only KNOW that.
God says, "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you." Jeremiah 1:5
He says, "I know who you are. Your parents do not know who you are. They may grow to learn you but only I know who you are. I reserve that right to be the only one who truly knows you."
I knew you before you became material. I knew you heart to heart before I placed you in the vehicle you walk around in now. I knew you before you were tall or short, young or old, white or black. I knew you before you were your mother's child or your father's offspring. I know you. They may know about you but I know you.
PS. You don't know you unless I tell you. So get to know ME to get to know YOU.
One mirror. What do You see God, when You look at me? Let me forget everything else and only KNOW that.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Want and Needs
I asked the 10 year old young men to repeat a prayer for me. "I want my mom to be at my wedding but I need God."
Very simple request. At this time most young men are very, very tender toward their mom. It is only in the next couple of years do they buck against her "bossiness". Most of the young men would NOT repeat the prayer. They said that they needed their mother to be there at their wedding. Then I said that they were treating their mom like an idol.
They got it. They all said the prayer. One special young man said it with tears.
What do I need today? When we allow things to become needs our soul grabs onto them and they always, always, and always become secret IDOLS in our life. Almost all of our IDOLS come out of our God-given IDEALS that He wrote on our hearts.
What do I need today? By faith I have God. I have His care, His provision, His protection. Even though I ask for it, by the blood of Jesus and by His sovereign choice it is already mine.
The only thing I need to do today is to thank Him for everything He has given me. There are a lot of things I want today, some good and another things not so good but I need to give Him thanks. My heart needs to breathe, exhale the joy that is not natural to my soul. My heart must exhale into an atmosphere that despises joy that comes through faith. Yet I must let my heart exhale its great joy. Even though it hurts and stirs up deep grief hidden deep within my soul. I must breathe.
Very simple request. At this time most young men are very, very tender toward their mom. It is only in the next couple of years do they buck against her "bossiness". Most of the young men would NOT repeat the prayer. They said that they needed their mother to be there at their wedding. Then I said that they were treating their mom like an idol.
They got it. They all said the prayer. One special young man said it with tears.
What do I need today? When we allow things to become needs our soul grabs onto them and they always, always, and always become secret IDOLS in our life. Almost all of our IDOLS come out of our God-given IDEALS that He wrote on our hearts.
What do I need today? By faith I have God. I have His care, His provision, His protection. Even though I ask for it, by the blood of Jesus and by His sovereign choice it is already mine.
The only thing I need to do today is to thank Him for everything He has given me. There are a lot of things I want today, some good and another things not so good but I need to give Him thanks. My heart needs to breathe, exhale the joy that is not natural to my soul. My heart must exhale into an atmosphere that despises joy that comes through faith. Yet I must let my heart exhale its great joy. Even though it hurts and stirs up deep grief hidden deep within my soul. I must breathe.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Eyes
Had a great conversation with someone today about the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul. We need to be very, very careful about who we let look in and we need to be very careful about whose windows we look into.
It is very powerful and necessary for a relationship to grow for there to be HeartTalk through the open eyes. The heart talks freely when you are looking into someone's eyes. It is important to get the mind and the emotions out of the way of the heart and let the heart's talk. Can you get still enough to hear the other person's heart? It is powerful to be able to sense the being of another person.
It is very powerful and necessary for a relationship to grow for there to be HeartTalk through the open eyes. The heart talks freely when you are looking into someone's eyes. It is important to get the mind and the emotions out of the way of the heart and let the heart's talk. Can you get still enough to hear the other person's heart? It is powerful to be able to sense the being of another person.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
DANGER
I was talking with a counseling intern the other day and I spotted something wrong with their training. Though there was a Christian influence upon the training, the training focused on the fact that human's are a materialistic people. Not like Madonna sang but that the essence of their being is material. What you can see, what you can touch.
Danger Will Robinson!
Very dangerous.
We are NOT material beings. We are spiritual beings having a material experience. Our essence is spiritual. Humanist and evolutionary psychological scientists study what they can see and touch. They focus upon the material. What they observe about the material is valid and helpful. What they interpret about the same is often wrong and can do serious damage to their clients.
I am a wound specialist. The reason for my success is that I go to the root of the issue - the core wounds that affect who we are, damage to our being, the spiritual. Our solar system was not understood until we understood that the sun was the center. Material counselors can help with superficial issues but not deep heart wounds.
A material counselor must take a journey that we all have to take: a journey to the center. Once that understanding is achieved and the personal relationship with God and Christ is understood as primary, then the counselor can apply the science of the material to the application but not before.
Some are saying we need to have more mental health money to stop these shootings. It would help but not solve the problem. Most of the shooters were involved with counselors. There has not been an objective look into the counselors published that I know of. What can we learn? What can we stop and what is beyond us?
Danger Will Robinson!
Very dangerous.
We are NOT material beings. We are spiritual beings having a material experience. Our essence is spiritual. Humanist and evolutionary psychological scientists study what they can see and touch. They focus upon the material. What they observe about the material is valid and helpful. What they interpret about the same is often wrong and can do serious damage to their clients.
I am a wound specialist. The reason for my success is that I go to the root of the issue - the core wounds that affect who we are, damage to our being, the spiritual. Our solar system was not understood until we understood that the sun was the center. Material counselors can help with superficial issues but not deep heart wounds.
A material counselor must take a journey that we all have to take: a journey to the center. Once that understanding is achieved and the personal relationship with God and Christ is understood as primary, then the counselor can apply the science of the material to the application but not before.
Some are saying we need to have more mental health money to stop these shootings. It would help but not solve the problem. Most of the shooters were involved with counselors. There has not been an objective look into the counselors published that I know of. What can we learn? What can we stop and what is beyond us?
Confusion
The heart is NEVER confused. Where the presence of Christ is there is peace. In our heart of hearts there is perfect peace. If there is confusion it is because I have doubted what God has already whispered in my heart , or I have disobeyed something He has already told me, or I am not still enough to hear Him.
He is always speaking, always. If it seems that He is silent it is because I am not still and quiet enough to hear Him. The mind and emotions are never still unless told to be still. If there is confusion it is because the mind is trying to figure something out without letting the heart speak.
Be quiet.
In your quietness learn how to be still.
In your stillness learn how to rest.
In your rest learn how to listen.
In your listening learn how to reflect what He says without editing anything.
Then teach and proclaim what you know.
Friday, June 7, 2013
The Discipline of Repentance
I have been a Christian since 1977. I boldly came into the kingdom of God with profound and wonderful repentance. I have been humbled by God again and again and every time responded with my heart and repentance.
Pastor Carter spoke about how important repentance is to any relationship. I looked up some Scriptures about repentance. The Word challenged and humbled me. It is easy to get hard to the Holy Spirit and not maintain that tenderness of heart that comes from walking humbly with God. A walk with Christ is a joyful walk of repentance from the world and the flesh and a constant turning toward Him.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:9 NASB
Pastor Carter spoke about how important repentance is to any relationship. I looked up some Scriptures about repentance. The Word challenged and humbled me. It is easy to get hard to the Holy Spirit and not maintain that tenderness of heart that comes from walking humbly with God. A walk with Christ is a joyful walk of repentance from the world and the flesh and a constant turning toward Him.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:9 NASB
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Life God delights to Bless
There are two types of Christians
1. The ones who live life enjoying the life God allows. They live life chasing the desires of their own heart and try to stay close to the will of God.
2. The ones who live life focused on what God authors. They marry the one they believe God brought into their life. They seek the profession God desires for them. They are careful to speak the words God authors in their heart. They are quiet, gentle and powerful. God delights to bless their life and it is seen in their children. They are surprised by the consistent grace of God but those close to them are not. They are very aware of the brokenness that they delight to live with.
To know what God authors takes time and effort. You have to know His book and let His book know you. You have to know His people and let His people know you.
Breaking A Curse
If you are dealing with a generational curse it is going to take two generations back to back to break the curse.
A Mom (Tami) came in with her daughter (Maria). The mom exhausted herself not being her mom (Esther) who abused her horribly. All of her energy was focused on her not being like her mom so that her daughter would not know her pain.
Her daughter Maria, suffered because Tami, her mom was disconnected from her as she was pushing against the pressure of being like her mom, Esther.
It will take the mom, Tami and the daughter Maria to work together to break the cycle of the curse. If the mother and daughter do not work together the curse, in another form, will be passed down.
A Mom (Tami) came in with her daughter (Maria). The mom exhausted herself not being her mom (Esther) who abused her horribly. All of her energy was focused on her not being like her mom so that her daughter would not know her pain.
Her daughter Maria, suffered because Tami, her mom was disconnected from her as she was pushing against the pressure of being like her mom, Esther.
It will take the mom, Tami and the daughter Maria to work together to break the cycle of the curse. If the mother and daughter do not work together the curse, in another form, will be passed down.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
A Real Man
I have yet to see a real man who has become a real man without having significant mentors and significant peers and significant disciples.
I see some good men who have had great mentors but have no peers and no disciples. The fizzle in the soda. Shake it and its gone. UGH!
I see some good men who have had great mentors and great peers but have not poured their lives into disciples to the point where the disciples rise up and raise them. True disciples mature and eventually become your peers and then your mentors. Your submission to their heart keeps you out of the grey areas that finish off old men. The path is very, very narrow in old age and the ditches are very steep. Only great disciples will keep you out of the ditches.
Find a mentor who is willing to disciple you. Ask him and then follow him. There is one who came to my office and has told me he needs to learn from me. Ok, here is what I want you to do. A week later, nothing. Done. You cannot disciple a man who is not desperate to grow. Herod would take John the Baptist out of his prison and have him preach to him of the coming judgment. They get close but no cookie. Boys in men's bodies and wonder why their wives and soon their children have no respect for them. Old men who do not know how to receive instruction. Undid Solomon and will undo any man, especially old men.
Books can be mentors of sorts but there is nothing like an old man looking you in your face and challenging and encouraging you. Listen to his heart and do everything his heart tells you to do. Most mentors are good for a hot two years. After that, be careful. You will pick up their weaknesses as well as strengths.
Find peers who look like you want to look like. Commit to helping them grow and to letting them help you grow. If they are not growing get them out of your life. No mercy. Ministry, yes. Friendship NO!!! You will become like your friends every time. No time for fools.
When a young man comes up to you and asks you to help him, listen to his heart. What is he asking for? Guide him, be honest. If he is faithful to your heart then you have inherited a son. Raise him and he will raise you.
I see some good men who have had great mentors but have no peers and no disciples. The fizzle in the soda. Shake it and its gone. UGH!
I see some good men who have had great mentors and great peers but have not poured their lives into disciples to the point where the disciples rise up and raise them. True disciples mature and eventually become your peers and then your mentors. Your submission to their heart keeps you out of the grey areas that finish off old men. The path is very, very narrow in old age and the ditches are very steep. Only great disciples will keep you out of the ditches.
Find a mentor who is willing to disciple you. Ask him and then follow him. There is one who came to my office and has told me he needs to learn from me. Ok, here is what I want you to do. A week later, nothing. Done. You cannot disciple a man who is not desperate to grow. Herod would take John the Baptist out of his prison and have him preach to him of the coming judgment. They get close but no cookie. Boys in men's bodies and wonder why their wives and soon their children have no respect for them. Old men who do not know how to receive instruction. Undid Solomon and will undo any man, especially old men.
Books can be mentors of sorts but there is nothing like an old man looking you in your face and challenging and encouraging you. Listen to his heart and do everything his heart tells you to do. Most mentors are good for a hot two years. After that, be careful. You will pick up their weaknesses as well as strengths.
Find peers who look like you want to look like. Commit to helping them grow and to letting them help you grow. If they are not growing get them out of your life. No mercy. Ministry, yes. Friendship NO!!! You will become like your friends every time. No time for fools.
When a young man comes up to you and asks you to help him, listen to his heart. What is he asking for? Guide him, be honest. If he is faithful to your heart then you have inherited a son. Raise him and he will raise you.
Are you ready to get married?
A couple in my office the other day asked me if I thought they were ready to get married. I asked him, "Are you submitted to her heart?"
He paused and then stated that he did not understand the question.
I asked her and she quickly yet quietly said, "No."
"Then No. You are not ready. He does not know what he is doing and you are willfully not doing what you are supposed to be doing."
I have seen one thing that the Holy Spirit does again and again in relationships. When a man is in love from his heart, not from infatuation or sexual entanglement, but from God-given heart love, he willfully, joyfully and horribly submits to her heart. Not her head, or her mouth. But her heart and only her heart. A good father senses this and this brings him great peace and rest when he realizes that his daughter is marrying a man after his own heart, for he too is submitted to her heart.
I am wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to Tori's heart. Anything and I mean anything she can ask me from her heart is hers. Always and forever. Anything. And it would be mine to give with great joy and without hesitation.
I have told this story a thousand times and it is key to my relationship with Gabi, my wife. I was being discipled by a Sergeant named Don Conant. I was madly in love with Gabi. And she with me. For the first time, I really wanted to love her, to love someone with all. And I soon realized that there were others that could provide for her better than I could. I thought it would be noble to step aside and let another "more" worthy man take care of her. My friend and mentor, Don, asked me a simple question, "Is there anyone who is going to love her more than you?" I knew the answer. I was wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to her beautiful heart. No, there was no one who would every love her more than me. I knew that.
A man is spent in his noble task when he is wonderfully submitted to the women's hearts in his life. A man can do no wrong when he stays so...
A woman is wonderfully encased in God's love and protection when she is wonderfully submitted to the men's hearts in her life. And a woman can do no wrong when she stays so...
What grieves my heart is for the women and men who have no heart to be submitted to... Their lives are lives of confusion and pain, chaos and seeming meaninglessness.
My daughter bought me a pedometer for walking. God's provision for my future health is found in my submission to her heart in that pedometer. Complete and unquestioned obedience to her heart. What a place the world would be if Christ-like followers practiced that discipline.
What if Christ is wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to our hearts?
He paused and then stated that he did not understand the question.
I asked her and she quickly yet quietly said, "No."
"Then No. You are not ready. He does not know what he is doing and you are willfully not doing what you are supposed to be doing."
I have seen one thing that the Holy Spirit does again and again in relationships. When a man is in love from his heart, not from infatuation or sexual entanglement, but from God-given heart love, he willfully, joyfully and horribly submits to her heart. Not her head, or her mouth. But her heart and only her heart. A good father senses this and this brings him great peace and rest when he realizes that his daughter is marrying a man after his own heart, for he too is submitted to her heart.
I am wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to Tori's heart. Anything and I mean anything she can ask me from her heart is hers. Always and forever. Anything. And it would be mine to give with great joy and without hesitation.
I have told this story a thousand times and it is key to my relationship with Gabi, my wife. I was being discipled by a Sergeant named Don Conant. I was madly in love with Gabi. And she with me. For the first time, I really wanted to love her, to love someone with all. And I soon realized that there were others that could provide for her better than I could. I thought it would be noble to step aside and let another "more" worthy man take care of her. My friend and mentor, Don, asked me a simple question, "Is there anyone who is going to love her more than you?" I knew the answer. I was wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to her beautiful heart. No, there was no one who would every love her more than me. I knew that.
A man is spent in his noble task when he is wonderfully submitted to the women's hearts in his life. A man can do no wrong when he stays so...
A woman is wonderfully encased in God's love and protection when she is wonderfully submitted to the men's hearts in her life. And a woman can do no wrong when she stays so...
What grieves my heart is for the women and men who have no heart to be submitted to... Their lives are lives of confusion and pain, chaos and seeming meaninglessness.
My daughter bought me a pedometer for walking. God's provision for my future health is found in my submission to her heart in that pedometer. Complete and unquestioned obedience to her heart. What a place the world would be if Christ-like followers practiced that discipline.
What if Christ is wonderfully and completely and horribly submitted to our hearts?
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The Crucible
A friend is trapped by his soul in a crucible that God is using to free him from the idols in his soul. BUT he keeps getting out of the crucible.
It is so very important to stay in the crucible God creates for us. There are three elements to every crucible that we must master.
1. Time.
2. Pressure
3. Heart
My sainted mother used to pressure cook beef that was too tough to eat any other way. She would but the big steel pot on the stove and put on the lid and this round thing on top that would allow some steam to escape. We kids loved to come in and stomp on the ground. It caused the pressure to escape and she would say, "All your doing is delaying dinner." The meat needed a certain amount of time to become tender. The lower the pressure the longer the time needed to break down the toughness of the meat. Same with God and His crucibles - if we keep taking breaks with the world, sex and sin, we lengthen the time that is going to be needed to become what God is wanting from us.
One may use TV, sports, pornography, anger, alcohol, sex, games, friends to escape the pressure of what God is doing in our lives. We need to learn how to be still and trust Him and let His heat, His time and His pressure have its work in our life.
It is so very important to stay in the crucible God creates for us. There are three elements to every crucible that we must master.
1. Time.
2. Pressure
3. Heart
My sainted mother used to pressure cook beef that was too tough to eat any other way. She would but the big steel pot on the stove and put on the lid and this round thing on top that would allow some steam to escape. We kids loved to come in and stomp on the ground. It caused the pressure to escape and she would say, "All your doing is delaying dinner." The meat needed a certain amount of time to become tender. The lower the pressure the longer the time needed to break down the toughness of the meat. Same with God and His crucibles - if we keep taking breaks with the world, sex and sin, we lengthen the time that is going to be needed to become what God is wanting from us.
One may use TV, sports, pornography, anger, alcohol, sex, games, friends to escape the pressure of what God is doing in our lives. We need to learn how to be still and trust Him and let His heat, His time and His pressure have its work in our life.
What a Man Wants
What does a man want in a wife? What are we looking for?
1. Be careful when you ask us. Not sure most of us are aware of what we are looking for.
2. 1 Peter 3:1-6 is what our hearts are longing for...
a. Woman that can hear us without us having to say a word.
b. A woman who knows her beauty is from her heart.
c. A woman who is quiet and gentle. This does not mean silent. Her heart is loud and clear. Her mouth and mind are quiet and gently submitted to her heart.
A man falls in love with a woman because she gives him access to her heart by her laughter. Men live for meaning and when a woman trusts us with her laughter that means she believes in him. After marriage when our wives and later our daughters withhold their laughter from us, it is the greatest punishment that you can give to a man. It makes him seem as if he is living without purpose. If you want to humble a man, any man open your heart to him with your joy. Release your joy in his presence, appreciate anything and everything he does and you will wonderfully humble him.
1. Be careful when you ask us. Not sure most of us are aware of what we are looking for.
2. 1 Peter 3:1-6 is what our hearts are longing for...
a. Woman that can hear us without us having to say a word.
b. A woman who knows her beauty is from her heart.
c. A woman who is quiet and gentle. This does not mean silent. Her heart is loud and clear. Her mouth and mind are quiet and gently submitted to her heart.
A man falls in love with a woman because she gives him access to her heart by her laughter. Men live for meaning and when a woman trusts us with her laughter that means she believes in him. After marriage when our wives and later our daughters withhold their laughter from us, it is the greatest punishment that you can give to a man. It makes him seem as if he is living without purpose. If you want to humble a man, any man open your heart to him with your joy. Release your joy in his presence, appreciate anything and everything he does and you will wonderfully humble him.
The Two Great Principles Parents Pass on
The great lessons that children catch from their parents are directly related to their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Repentance and Forgiveness.
Good, clean, repentance makes all the difference in the world.
1. Own it. You did it. It was yours and you did it. Don't blame it or shame it on others. You may have been influenced by someone else but you are the one who did it.
2. Own the consequences. God forgives the sin completely. In other words, your relationship with Him is perfectly restored and we enjoyed renewed fellowship and communion. However, there are spiritual and physical consequences for our sin. God tempers these for our growth but He does not remove them.
3. Own the damage done to the other person. Reconciliation can take place if you own the wounds that you have caused on the other's person's heart. You may never fully understand how you have hurt their heart but you know that you have hurt them. Own the hurt and the scar. I have done things to my wife and children that they remember years later. The stain of what I did is gone and forgiven yet the scar remains. On some days the scar is tender.
Repentance and Forgiveness.
Good, clean, repentance makes all the difference in the world.
1. Own it. You did it. It was yours and you did it. Don't blame it or shame it on others. You may have been influenced by someone else but you are the one who did it.
2. Own the consequences. God forgives the sin completely. In other words, your relationship with Him is perfectly restored and we enjoyed renewed fellowship and communion. However, there are spiritual and physical consequences for our sin. God tempers these for our growth but He does not remove them.
3. Own the damage done to the other person. Reconciliation can take place if you own the wounds that you have caused on the other's person's heart. You may never fully understand how you have hurt their heart but you know that you have hurt them. Own the hurt and the scar. I have done things to my wife and children that they remember years later. The stain of what I did is gone and forgiven yet the scar remains. On some days the scar is tender.
Are you a witness?
Have you seen the glory of God with your own eyes? The eyes of your heart? Have you had a fresh vision of His presence in your life recently?
I have been asking Him for a fresh vision of Him and He has been wonderfully gentle and wise and kind to lead me into His presence. It is like I am becoming aware of His presence and power in my life in a new way but there is really nothing new about it, maybe a better word would be "Fresh".
My Father and God. I delight in Your Presence and Your Power and Your Authority. Thank You for Your continued patience, mercy and grace with me, your son and servant. Thank You for continuing to humble with Your presence. Help me to abide in Your presence and not let the things of the world distract me from You and Your things that You are doing in my life.
Grant me the grace, please, of instant obedience to the conviction of Your Holy Spirit. Grant unto me the complete response to the conviction of Your Word as well and to also the conviction that comes through a right relationship with Your Body here on the earth. I recognize that I am wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked without You. You have chosen to Agape Grip my heart with Your heart. I surrender to You unlimited and unconditional access to my heart, my life, my future and everything about me.
I have been asking Him for a fresh vision of Him and He has been wonderfully gentle and wise and kind to lead me into His presence. It is like I am becoming aware of His presence and power in my life in a new way but there is really nothing new about it, maybe a better word would be "Fresh".
My Father and God. I delight in Your Presence and Your Power and Your Authority. Thank You for Your continued patience, mercy and grace with me, your son and servant. Thank You for continuing to humble with Your presence. Help me to abide in Your presence and not let the things of the world distract me from You and Your things that You are doing in my life.
Grant me the grace, please, of instant obedience to the conviction of Your Holy Spirit. Grant unto me the complete response to the conviction of Your Word as well and to also the conviction that comes through a right relationship with Your Body here on the earth. I recognize that I am wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked without You. You have chosen to Agape Grip my heart with Your heart. I surrender to You unlimited and unconditional access to my heart, my life, my future and everything about me.
The Secret Life Shouted
Our children believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ because of two actions that we repeat in front of them again and again: We repent and we forgive.
Parents reveal their personal relationship with God through how clearly and consistently they repent and forgive. If their repentance is muddled with excuses and partial repentance the children will be confused morally and probably establish their own moral lines in their life.
The best way to preach the gospel is to live it before your children and let them testify. The worst way is to live partially the Christian life and have your children testify. Either way, they will testify.
Fathers: the greatest gift you can give to your children is the bold gift of repentance and forgiveness. I believe the thing that centers a son more than anything else is that the father fears God. Good fear that is authored by the presence of God and Jesus Christ centers the son on the Son.
Repentance is the immediate and complete obedience to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and the testimony of the Body of Christ. The repentance begins in the heart and overflows into the soul, mind, will and emotions.
The discipline of forgiveness is a desperate attempt to say thank you to God for our own forgiveness. If I have a hard time forgiving someone then I have a harder time receiving forgiveness from God. He who has a giving problem ALWAYS has a receiving problem.
Forgiveness is always unconditional, not to be confused with reconciliation and is because of the Agape Grip of God on the believer's heart. Forgiveness should always be given once the offense is realized and grieved. Reconciliation happens when the offender owns the wounds they have caused without excuse or escape. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS marks the repentee with a scar that matches the one they wounded. The scar is not has deep nor as traumatic but it is now a scar they share. This makes reconciliation possible.
Parents reveal their personal relationship with God through how clearly and consistently they repent and forgive. If their repentance is muddled with excuses and partial repentance the children will be confused morally and probably establish their own moral lines in their life.
The best way to preach the gospel is to live it before your children and let them testify. The worst way is to live partially the Christian life and have your children testify. Either way, they will testify.
Fathers: the greatest gift you can give to your children is the bold gift of repentance and forgiveness. I believe the thing that centers a son more than anything else is that the father fears God. Good fear that is authored by the presence of God and Jesus Christ centers the son on the Son.
Repentance is the immediate and complete obedience to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and the testimony of the Body of Christ. The repentance begins in the heart and overflows into the soul, mind, will and emotions.
The discipline of forgiveness is a desperate attempt to say thank you to God for our own forgiveness. If I have a hard time forgiving someone then I have a harder time receiving forgiveness from God. He who has a giving problem ALWAYS has a receiving problem.
Forgiveness is always unconditional, not to be confused with reconciliation and is because of the Agape Grip of God on the believer's heart. Forgiveness should always be given once the offense is realized and grieved. Reconciliation happens when the offender owns the wounds they have caused without excuse or escape. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS marks the repentee with a scar that matches the one they wounded. The scar is not has deep nor as traumatic but it is now a scar they share. This makes reconciliation possible.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Soul Must Die
The soul is what I call the mind, the will and the emotions. When the soul bonds together it speaks a voice, a voice of "I AM". It is a quiet, lying whisper. The Soul that sins must die. This bond, this soul identification now must be removed from the believer. The believer must allow their soul to be crucified again and again.
The soul will never, ever give up the voice of "I AM". Make the young person successful and life will even testify to the quiet whisper and the person will believe they are a god.
In ten years of ministry at a well to do North Dallas church I met men and women who thought they were God or at least a god or equal to God. They were young, very successful and believed that they had earned their god-status. I envied them and wanted to be like them, at least my soul did. I wanted them to admire me like they admired each other for their success and god-like qualities. It seemed like everything they did became successful. Except for their relationships.
In a black church you don't have to tell a brother he is not God. Perhaps the suffering has written God's name on his heart and spirit. Yet something is changing in the new generation of young African American men. We are losing something and it is going to hurt all of America.
The soul will never, ever give up the voice of "I AM". Make the young person successful and life will even testify to the quiet whisper and the person will believe they are a god.
In ten years of ministry at a well to do North Dallas church I met men and women who thought they were God or at least a god or equal to God. They were young, very successful and believed that they had earned their god-status. I envied them and wanted to be like them, at least my soul did. I wanted them to admire me like they admired each other for their success and god-like qualities. It seemed like everything they did became successful. Except for their relationships.
In a black church you don't have to tell a brother he is not God. Perhaps the suffering has written God's name on his heart and spirit. Yet something is changing in the new generation of young African American men. We are losing something and it is going to hurt all of America.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Friends with my kids
Just learned something. I need to develop hobbies with each of my kids. And together as a family. We function together well but that does not keep the bond up after they graduate. I commented to Andrew that most of his friends will not be friends after he graduates unless he has developed hobbies outside of their function as students at the same university.
I applied this to my life. The friends, good ones, I have left behind have been left because we did not have a relationship outside of whatever function we had together. Hahn Germany? Security Police or Hahn Baptist Church. We functioned together and then left. We rejoined some later in Titusville to build a ministry to affect the world. Then when that failed we all fell apart.
As an extended family we used to play Peanuts. A crazy card game. It was a lot of fun to introduce new people to the game. And it got passed on.
If Luke, my youngest, and I develop a hobby together we will have something for later once the normal function of the parenting situation matures. When he has children, I will begin to function as a grandparent and that will help our bond.Yet a hobby will help develop the relationship as well.
This works with Gabi and I. We work Tres Dias together. A lot of hard work, fun and ministry. Together. Not as a function of our marriage or family. A distracting bond outside of the duty of marriage and family. We get to know each other on a different level. And in the fall of 2013 she gets to be my boss!!! I think that she has been waiting for that for a long time!
I applied this to my life. The friends, good ones, I have left behind have been left because we did not have a relationship outside of whatever function we had together. Hahn Germany? Security Police or Hahn Baptist Church. We functioned together and then left. We rejoined some later in Titusville to build a ministry to affect the world. Then when that failed we all fell apart.
As an extended family we used to play Peanuts. A crazy card game. It was a lot of fun to introduce new people to the game. And it got passed on.
If Luke, my youngest, and I develop a hobby together we will have something for later once the normal function of the parenting situation matures. When he has children, I will begin to function as a grandparent and that will help our bond.Yet a hobby will help develop the relationship as well.
This works with Gabi and I. We work Tres Dias together. A lot of hard work, fun and ministry. Together. Not as a function of our marriage or family. A distracting bond outside of the duty of marriage and family. We get to know each other on a different level. And in the fall of 2013 she gets to be my boss!!! I think that she has been waiting for that for a long time!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Jesus Face
I just saw Jesus. I just saw Jesus' face. I just saw what Jesus looked like when He was on the cross dying for my sins.
A father was betrayed by his daughter. They came to see me to reconcile their relationship. She was open and honest about her damage to her father's heart. He was open and honest about the pain and grief. Right in the midst of his crying, I told her to look into his face, her dad's face. That was how Jesus looked when He was dying on the cross for her sins.
There was no anger in his face. None. The pain of his heart was evident by the tears and groaning. The love was evident because he could not take his eyes off her face. His longing was for her to see the pain, let the pain soak into her, become a part of her; let His scar be placed upon her heart to keep her safe in the future. He longed for her to share His scar, let them become One together in their woundedness over her sin. He did not want to push her away, He wanted to invite her to join Him in their grief. I was surprised over the lack of anger. Her open heart quickly dissipated His need for anger and His heart quickly moved toward her. As she responded with tears and allowed her to expose the lies that she believed as she treasured her soul greater than she treasured His heart.
After the session, I reflected on the dad's face. That is what Christ looks like when I sin, when He suffers for me and my actions. I am still surprised by the lack of anger. I expected anger. I have used anger in the past to communicate my hurt. But here I did not see any, not even a trace.
NOTE: This father and daughter came to see me a long time ago. These are notes from the encounter.
Justice
I was overwhelmed with pain the other day. I saw a Spiritual Director who was/is friends with a person that has done me great hurt. We talked, were polite. Afterward, I was overwhelmed with grief and pain. I forgave again. This time I decided to YADA the pain. Yada is the Hebrew word for knowing intimately.
First be quiet. Then be still and then rest. And then listen and finally reflect back what my heart heard.
I heard Justice as I YADA'd this person's name. I said their full name and worked through being quiet, being still, resting. The grief overwhelmed me. It was good to release it again. I so want to be done with this person and this pain. Justice. Not sure I want justice. I have lived, survived and thrived off of God's wonderful mercy time and time again. I am not interested in seeing God call to justice my sins, secret and known. I tremble but God was gently leading me down a path. I could tell it was Him. So I spoke the word JUSTICE. I then worked my way through YADA saying the word JUSTICE and this man's name. Slowly and carefully through each step, Quiet, Still, Rest, Listen and Reflect.
After breathing, walking, resting my way through YADA I then wrote down three words related to JUSTICE.
1. Money
2. Reputation
3. Time
I spent the next few days praying through these three. I arrived at a number, roughly of what was lost due to their actions. I was surprised. The number was horrific.
I recorded what would have to be done to temper the damage done to my reputation. The dollar amount made sense and could be somewhat recaptured. Yet the reputation was difficult. Ouch. This would last a lifetime. The arrow that was shot would affect me and my children for life. There are those who would not have anything to do with me because of their words. There are those who hesitate to have anything to do with me because of their words.
Finally, time. The time is lost. The opportunities lost. This cannot be recovered. Justice for time lost?
First be quiet. Then be still and then rest. And then listen and finally reflect back what my heart heard.
I heard Justice as I YADA'd this person's name. I said their full name and worked through being quiet, being still, resting. The grief overwhelmed me. It was good to release it again. I so want to be done with this person and this pain. Justice. Not sure I want justice. I have lived, survived and thrived off of God's wonderful mercy time and time again. I am not interested in seeing God call to justice my sins, secret and known. I tremble but God was gently leading me down a path. I could tell it was Him. So I spoke the word JUSTICE. I then worked my way through YADA saying the word JUSTICE and this man's name. Slowly and carefully through each step, Quiet, Still, Rest, Listen and Reflect.
After breathing, walking, resting my way through YADA I then wrote down three words related to JUSTICE.
1. Money
2. Reputation
3. Time
I spent the next few days praying through these three. I arrived at a number, roughly of what was lost due to their actions. I was surprised. The number was horrific.
I recorded what would have to be done to temper the damage done to my reputation. The dollar amount made sense and could be somewhat recaptured. Yet the reputation was difficult. Ouch. This would last a lifetime. The arrow that was shot would affect me and my children for life. There are those who would not have anything to do with me because of their words. There are those who hesitate to have anything to do with me because of their words.
Finally, time. The time is lost. The opportunities lost. This cannot be recovered. Justice for time lost?
Friday, March 22, 2013
Insight
I was asked once how old are people when they are walking out their heart, their child-God heart, the ABBA heart that He gives and remakes us in His kingdom. The answer surprised me: twelve years old.
I wonder if heaven when we get there we are given a perfect twelve year old body. I wonder if heaven is a perfect place for twelve year old children/youth. I just wonder.
I also know that children take a picture of their father at the age of about eight years old and they live with this image of God pasted upon their soul. If their father was absent they feel that have to chase and find God. If their father was abusive they identify God with the God of the Old Testament. If their father was sexually perverted they find it very difficult to trust God. Most are able to overcome this wound by faith. Their heart faith overcomes the soul picture of God.
If a child has a great father at the age of about eight, then they naturally trust God. There are things that they do not wrestle with. If the father was good then bad this greatly damages the child's image of God and they will always hold their heart close to themselves.
Just some thoughts.
I wonder if heaven when we get there we are given a perfect twelve year old body. I wonder if heaven is a perfect place for twelve year old children/youth. I just wonder.
I also know that children take a picture of their father at the age of about eight years old and they live with this image of God pasted upon their soul. If their father was absent they feel that have to chase and find God. If their father was abusive they identify God with the God of the Old Testament. If their father was sexually perverted they find it very difficult to trust God. Most are able to overcome this wound by faith. Their heart faith overcomes the soul picture of God.
If a child has a great father at the age of about eight, then they naturally trust God. There are things that they do not wrestle with. If the father was good then bad this greatly damages the child's image of God and they will always hold their heart close to themselves.
Just some thoughts.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
How do you want it done?
I heard Camille Roberts teach the staff at Concord one day.
I can do what you ask me to do. However, you must choose two of the following. Do not ask me for all three, I cannot. But I can do two and I need you to choose.
1. Good
2. Fast
3. Cheap
I can do it good and fast but it will probably not be cheap.
I can do it good and cheap but it will probably not be fast.
I can do it fast and cheap but it will probably not be good.
You choose.
Greatness
I see all types of people in my profession. I see the potential that most have for greatness. But very, very few will achieve it. I have cried out to God for myself and others and have learned about what God expects of me to do to be able to walk out what He has designed me for.
The Discipline of Prayer.
The Discipline of Focus.
The Discipline of One.
We are all created by a great God. In and out of His own
being He purposes us toward His perfect will. He delights in our design and
prepares us to fulfill the greatness He has purposed for us. There are several
factors that can limit our experience of that greatness and the fruit there of.
Some are of us and others are forced upon us. I have discerned from the heart
of God that there are three key disciplines we must master to stay in the grace
that God has purposed for us.
- 1. The discipline of Prayer.
- 2. The discipline of Focus.
- 3. The discipline of One.
I have seen men and women begin to fulfill their destiny of
greatness only to be sidetracked by one of the above disciplines. It is my
heart concern that you would understand what you must learn and practice in
your life to fulfill all that God has for your life.
The Discipline of Prayer.
- a. Intimate communion with God. Unlimited and unconditional access.
- b. Vision Praying. Hearing the heart aches of God and knowing His character so well you guide His hands with your heart.
- c. Learning how the heart prays.
The Discipline of Focus.
- a. Raw, instant, obedience to the Word of God and Spirit of God.
- b. Walking out YADA, quiet, still, rest, listening, reflecting.
- c. Ruthless, consistently, mechanically faithful to design and desire of God.
The Discipline of One.
- a. One with heart of God, order and then release of the joy in overflow.
- b. One with the heart of spouse, children and family, order, and then release the joy in overflow.
- c. One with Mentors, Peers and Disciples, order and then release the joy in overflow.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Meaning for Men
Simple, when the women in a man's life consistently release the joy and thus the wonderful fragrance of their heart toward their man, this produces a deep sense of purposeful meaning in the man's life and living. When the women withhold the release of joy due to fear it causes the man to doubt that his sacrifice was worth it and he pulls away from the battle lines of life.
A woman is wonderfully and horribly exposed when she opens up her heart and soul to release the joy. If she has known the protection of fathers and men in her life, it will be easy for her to boldly and with great confidence release the joy in front of her husband. This intoxicates the man and centers him on that female.When a good-hearted man has received the celebration of his wife's releasing of the joy, it is like drinking a pure heart wine. He will not be tempted by some woman offering dirty water to drink when he has heart rose wine at home.
A woman is wonderfully and horribly exposed when she opens up her heart and soul to release the joy. If she has known the protection of fathers and men in her life, it will be easy for her to boldly and with great confidence release the joy in front of her husband. This intoxicates the man and centers him on that female.When a good-hearted man has received the celebration of his wife's releasing of the joy, it is like drinking a pure heart wine. He will not be tempted by some woman offering dirty water to drink when he has heart rose wine at home.
Believing and Faith
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
Abram, later to be named Abraham, believed in the LORD. He believed what He said but that is not what makes the difference. He believed in the person of God. It was personal. Heart to heart. He believed in God's being. Not just His doing but His being. It is possible to believe a word He gives us, it is possible to believe somethings about God but do we believe in Him as a person?
Jesus introduced a revolutionary idea: That God was a person and you need to have a relationship with Him. The Pharisees had reduced their faith to compliance to some rules without any relationship. That is like couples who are married but don't like each other. Forget about love. God desires a person to person relationship. He desires for us deeply to experience His presence in our living and life.
Jesus warns us that those whom He will not allow into heaven are not because they were horrible sinners. The only criteria of getting into heaven is does Jesus personally know you? Have you talked to Him? Does He talk back? Or are you in a relationship with some rules but not a person?
Matthew records Jesus warning in his book, chapter 7 and verse 23, "I never knew you, depart from Me..." These are people who have attended church, done great things for God but did not know His Son.
Job was horribly attacked by Satan and tried to discredit God and His character. Satan wanted to ruin the personal relationship that Job had with God by making it seem as if God had personally abandoned Job. Even his friends assume that God has abandoned Job because Job has in some way abandoned God.
To know the person of God you must master the spiritual discipline of YADA.
1. You must learn how to be quiet.
2. In your quietness you must learn how to be still, very, very still.
3. In your stillness you must learn how to rest.
4. In your rest you must learn how to listen.
5. In your listening you must learn how to reflect back to God what He is saying to your heart without allowing any editing of your mind or your emotions.
God is never silent. He is quiet and gentle and you must be quiet and still and resting in faith and the ears of your heart wide open and receive what He says with an obedient heart. If you do, you will never lack from a sense of the presence of God in your life.
Abram, later to be named Abraham, believed in the LORD. He believed what He said but that is not what makes the difference. He believed in the person of God. It was personal. Heart to heart. He believed in God's being. Not just His doing but His being. It is possible to believe a word He gives us, it is possible to believe somethings about God but do we believe in Him as a person?
Jesus introduced a revolutionary idea: That God was a person and you need to have a relationship with Him. The Pharisees had reduced their faith to compliance to some rules without any relationship. That is like couples who are married but don't like each other. Forget about love. God desires a person to person relationship. He desires for us deeply to experience His presence in our living and life.
Jesus warns us that those whom He will not allow into heaven are not because they were horrible sinners. The only criteria of getting into heaven is does Jesus personally know you? Have you talked to Him? Does He talk back? Or are you in a relationship with some rules but not a person?
Matthew records Jesus warning in his book, chapter 7 and verse 23, "I never knew you, depart from Me..." These are people who have attended church, done great things for God but did not know His Son.
Job was horribly attacked by Satan and tried to discredit God and His character. Satan wanted to ruin the personal relationship that Job had with God by making it seem as if God had personally abandoned Job. Even his friends assume that God has abandoned Job because Job has in some way abandoned God.
To know the person of God you must master the spiritual discipline of YADA.
1. You must learn how to be quiet.
2. In your quietness you must learn how to be still, very, very still.
3. In your stillness you must learn how to rest.
4. In your rest you must learn how to listen.
5. In your listening you must learn how to reflect back to God what He is saying to your heart without allowing any editing of your mind or your emotions.
God is never silent. He is quiet and gentle and you must be quiet and still and resting in faith and the ears of your heart wide open and receive what He says with an obedient heart. If you do, you will never lack from a sense of the presence of God in your life.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Men Are Like Trees
I have known a few men that I could not figure out. I got close to them and they seemed to be real in their relationship with God. But the closer I got to them God revealed to me something about the men. There are men without roots in God and there are those who have spent their life deepening their life into God.
Men who have their roots into God have fresh manna overflowing their life. Those who don't have roots simply echo what they have heard from others.
Dear Rod
Dear Rod;
You are a precious son to Me. I love loving you.
I am going to be rough on you for the next few months. You are going to feel old feelings you knew as a child. You are going to be tempted to think and feel that I am the same as those who hurt you in your childhood. Your heart knows the truth.
I cannot and will not explain to you now why I am doing these things and allowing these things to happen to you. You will feel lonely and abandoned. In your heart you know the truth but your mind and will and emotions will torment you for a season.
Do not fake praise Me through this time. I hate fake praise. Learn to be very quiet and let your heart move forward in your chest. Let your tears and your groans speak for you, they will not dishonor My Name. If you move forward your mind to understand or to grasp what you are going through you will dishonor Me with your thoughts and soon your tongue. Be still and wait. Let your heart move forward in your chest.
Like the heat of summer drives the corn roots deep into the Iowa soil, this season will drive My words deep into your heart. You have learned to trust what you cannot see or understand. Rest in Me.
I do not delight in your pain. I do delight in you crawling up upon My chest and letting your heart rest on My heart. I do delight in your getting still in your pain to hear My heart beat and whisper your name. I do delight in you hearing My breathing and in every breath hearing of My great love for you. I do delight in your resting upon Me, nothing brings Me greater joy. It grieves me that you have not learned to find your way to My chest, My heart and My breathing but by trouble and pain. You are so easily pleased by the world and its deception and shadows.
Slippery Slope of Sin
Sin comes to us through our mind, our emotions and our will. When the three get together they produce a sense of the Holy Trinity and the three whisper i am. They mimic God's voice because the soul wants to be boss. The soul of itself does not want a God to worship but rather wants control.
When the soul encounters sin it whispers
1. I can handle this.
The soul always assumes the sin will be without consequence or severe cost. The mind calculates the threat of discovery and the emotions place a value on the pleasure of the sin and the will agrees and completes the act.
2. Wrong is easier than getting back to right.
The mind again re-calculates what it would take to get back to being right, i.e. repentance, confessions to offended parties, exposure of sin, path to sin revealed and destroyed. The emotions and mind agree that it is simply best to stay put for now. If it gets too bad, we will repent. And the will agrees.
3. Wrong is right and right is wrong.
Our morality now begins to reprogram our theology. The Holy Spirit within our heart grieves deeply while our mind begins the Romans 1:18 and following process. First our worship is defiled and God turns us over to our own understanding. Second, our intimate relationship with our spouse is let go of by God. And we wander away from His protection, His provision and His design. Our future is gone without His presence and power in our marriage. Then our family and community begins to fall apart. He pulls His hands off our family and we begin to fear our children. Their desires rule them. The community becomes selfish and a generation is lost to evil.
To arise in the morning and order the day through worship keeps the mind and will and emotions from attaching to each other. They serve the heart well when they are kept separate and following the heart. When we disengage our hearts we get into all sorts of trouble. Hearts - full speed ahead.
When the soul encounters sin it whispers
1. I can handle this.
The soul always assumes the sin will be without consequence or severe cost. The mind calculates the threat of discovery and the emotions place a value on the pleasure of the sin and the will agrees and completes the act.
2. Wrong is easier than getting back to right.
The mind again re-calculates what it would take to get back to being right, i.e. repentance, confessions to offended parties, exposure of sin, path to sin revealed and destroyed. The emotions and mind agree that it is simply best to stay put for now. If it gets too bad, we will repent. And the will agrees.
3. Wrong is right and right is wrong.
Our morality now begins to reprogram our theology. The Holy Spirit within our heart grieves deeply while our mind begins the Romans 1:18 and following process. First our worship is defiled and God turns us over to our own understanding. Second, our intimate relationship with our spouse is let go of by God. And we wander away from His protection, His provision and His design. Our future is gone without His presence and power in our marriage. Then our family and community begins to fall apart. He pulls His hands off our family and we begin to fear our children. Their desires rule them. The community becomes selfish and a generation is lost to evil.
To arise in the morning and order the day through worship keeps the mind and will and emotions from attaching to each other. They serve the heart well when they are kept separate and following the heart. When we disengage our hearts we get into all sorts of trouble. Hearts - full speed ahead.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Women Live by Hope
Gabi married me over thirty three years ago because she believed that her tomorrow with me was better than her yesterday. I am challenged every year to make her birthdays and her Christmas better than the year before. This hope must come out of her faith in God and not in me. I have fallen short and her hope has been dampened in me. But as her faith kicks in and sees Christ standing behind me, He comes through validating her faith and her hope.
I have seen women marry based upon a false hope. A hope their mind, emotions and will have made up. After the wedding, not long after, she comes to God and asks Him to bless her marriage. She did not ask nor need God in the dating relationship because her hope that the man would change was very real to her and she believed in her hope. But it is a false hope. Like those passengers who trusted the Titanic to carry them across the sea some paid for their false hope with their lives.
God is looking for daughters who have a desperate, focused hope in Him. See 1 Peter 3:1-6. Hope must arise out of her faith in her God. He will not acknowledge a hope and a situation that was created out of a false hope and no faith.
God seems to delight in allowing women to be put into situations where they are left without hope and only faith in their God. This testing and proving time proves to be extremely valuable in the future.
I have seen women marry based upon a false hope. A hope their mind, emotions and will have made up. After the wedding, not long after, she comes to God and asks Him to bless her marriage. She did not ask nor need God in the dating relationship because her hope that the man would change was very real to her and she believed in her hope. But it is a false hope. Like those passengers who trusted the Titanic to carry them across the sea some paid for their false hope with their lives.
God is looking for daughters who have a desperate, focused hope in Him. See 1 Peter 3:1-6. Hope must arise out of her faith in her God. He will not acknowledge a hope and a situation that was created out of a false hope and no faith.
God seems to delight in allowing women to be put into situations where they are left without hope and only faith in their God. This testing and proving time proves to be extremely valuable in the future.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
CPR What starts your heart?
God is wonderfully desperate to be your CPR. He is very jealous for anything that tries to move or touch our heart.
C = What is your Comfort when you need comfort? Where or to whom do you run? God wants to be the sole one we run to.
P = What is your Portion on this earth? Are you expecting someone to die and leave you something? What is your portion on this earth? Health, wealth? Long life? Love? Children? God wants to be the portion. Does not mean that you cannot enjoy those things but that they must be in order.
R = What is your Refuge? When you are being attacked, hurt where do you run?
It is probably not a good idea to ask yourself these questions. We have a horrible tendency to lie to ourselves. Ask loved ones.
C = What is your Comfort when you need comfort? Where or to whom do you run? God wants to be the sole one we run to.
P = What is your Portion on this earth? Are you expecting someone to die and leave you something? What is your portion on this earth? Health, wealth? Long life? Love? Children? God wants to be the portion. Does not mean that you cannot enjoy those things but that they must be in order.
R = What is your Refuge? When you are being attacked, hurt where do you run?
It is probably not a good idea to ask yourself these questions. We have a horrible tendency to lie to ourselves. Ask loved ones.
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