Are you Distressed and Agitated?

In reading John 14 tonight, I am almost in awe of how patient Jesus was with the disciples.  I always assumed that since the disciples had first-hand knowledge and witness to the works and miracles of Jesus that they wouldn’t have any doubts about who he is.  It surprises me to see that it wasn’t only Thomas who still had doubts of Jesus.   I don’t know if the doubts were of Jesus and who he said he was, or of the fact that no one had come across something of this magnitude before, and are not quite sure how to consume it.  It is almost as if our brains are not able to actually believe the miracle that is Jesus.

I love in John 14:1 that Jesus says DO NOT and its capitalized, so we know this is something we really should be working hard to not allow in our lives.  DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated.)  You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. 

I don’t know about you but I have some problems with the two things Jesus says that we are NOT to DO.   I struggle with not being distressed or agitated.   The meaning of distressed is to be suffering from anxiety, sorrow or pain.  Another definition of distressed is to be impoverished.   I can sit here and say, and believe, that I am not created to be a distressed Christian.  I was not created to live in anxiety, sorry, pain or to be impoverished.  I was created in the image of God, and we know that God is none of those things, so why then do I feel these things? 

The easy answer is to say that it’s the devil, and I should just fight off the attack and move along about my day.  While, this is indeed how we are to operate with an attack from the devil and his demons, it takes some time to get to this place. 

What if you are like me, and didn’t know, or realize, that I wasn’t supposed to operate in anxiety, sorry, pain or be impoverished?  What if these things felt as second nature to you, as walking, breathing and just existing in the world?  What if I went so far as to say, it was part of my identity or personality?

I am sure that some of you right now are in agreement with that paragraph.  I know people like this, I am, struggling not to be, one of these people. 

I have had anxiety all of my life.  I don’t know a day without anxiety.  Anxiety to me is part of my make-up.  It’s part of my identity, it’s part of who I am, and definitely part of my personality… so I thought.  

For many years, I believed all of those things.  I believed there was nothing I could do about my feelings of anxiety, worry, depression, sadness, and fear, or add whatever word works for you to this list.  I thought this was who I was, and I would have to learn to cope with them.  I was so incredibly wrong.  Clueless would be an appropriate word to use for me here. 

I really thought it was OK for me to live in a distressed or agitated state every day.  I saw my mom live like this, a lot of my friends lived like this, so it makes sense that I would live like this.   Until I started reading about the Characteristics of God and saw that none of those things make up who he is.   It was at that time that I realized, maybe, these were negative things in my life, and that I had a choice to have them or not have them.

It made some sense to me.  I had that choice to believe in Jesus.  I have a choice whether to have Faith or not.  I have a choice to follow my emotions or not, so it would make sense that living a distressed and agitated life, would be a choice, I was making.   It didn’t necessarily feel like a choice to me.  I never woke up and thought, oh, today I am going to be agitated all day.  No, I woke up agitated, or something quickly would happen to bring me to that place. 

 It never dawned on me that I allowed that feeling or emotion to stay with me! I never thought twice about the fact that just as I had chosen to feel distressed or agitated I could choose not to!   How great is that!  OK, so I’ve made up my mind, I can now choose to not be distressed or agitated.  Just that simple and easy, choice is made, now let’s get moving! 

Again, not how it works, if you are like me, and these emotions have become so ingrained in you, that they are more than second nature, it’s not going to be that easy to turn them off.   This is a decision you will likely have to make a thousand times every day.  You now have to change one pattern and create a new one.   We have to rewire our thinking to create the change.  We have to be on high alert, so that when we find ourselves starting to allow one of those emotions to rise up, that we stop it dead in its tracks.

Now, you say, how do you stop it?  As my good friend says, you replace the current negative emotion or thought with a new one.  You change the self-talk.  You stop allowing the devil to speak to you, as if he was you.

Since most of us are not born with worry, anxiety, depression, sadness, feeling troubled or nervous, this must be a characteristic we develop over time.  This is a way for satan to attack you, and since he probably started on you when you were very young, you weren’t aware of it happening.  By the time you were able to say, something isn’t right with this feeling, he had already developed and cultivated the ability to use this against you.  

None of these emotions are positive.  None of them are adding anything to your life or are keeping you from harm.  No, they are actually robbing you from joy, peace, contentment, feeling of ease, which all of these things we are supposed to feel.  I am not suggesting that we ride on a cloud every day with music playing around us, though it would be nice, but life happens every day.  I am not suggesting that just because you are Christian bad things don’t happen to you, because they do, we just know the one who can rescue us from those bad times.

The way to fight off this developed negative, emotion is to use the power of God over it.   Fight back!  Use your words, but instead of using them to defeat you, use them to empower you.  Turn the attack of the devil and use it for your good.   Take his lies and turn them back on him.  Tell him who your God is.  Tell him who you serve!  Stand in the Blood bought inheritance you have to be free of negativity.   Stop allowing yourself to be entrapped in the pits of hell by your own free will.

Some days this is easier than others.  Some days you just feel like the energy is gone for this fight, and that’s the day when the fight is the most important.  That’s the day you win ground over the enemy.  The day’s when you are riding on a cloud, you don’t need to fight because you feel good, life is moving nicely along and you are feeling calm, so the fight isn’t as strong that day.  The very next day, or it could be the next hour, that can all change, and you need to pull out those gloves of the Word and speak them against your attacker. 

You speak out life giving Words. You speak the Words of Jesus, if you can’t come up with anything, you just say the name Jesus, and every knee shall bow, on earth and below the earth.  You can simple just repeat Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help me Jesus.   The key here is you must do something.  If you allow the thought to grow and fester you are giving satan dominion over your mind, emotions and life.   You are a Child of the Most High God, which means that satan has no power over your life, if you don’t let him.  It means you have the weapons in your arsenal to fight off the attacks that are being thrown at you.  You have the weapon of the Word and the Name!  Use it! 

If Jesus says in John 14:1 DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated).  You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.  That in itself is telling you that you can do it!  You have the ability to do it, if you take the time to trust the one who gave you this life that He will not let anything harm you, in fact, He will protect you with the whole armor of God, and then we have nothing to be distressed or agitated about!

Remember it says in the Word that No Weapon formed against me shall prosper, but every tongue that raises up against you in judgment; He shall prove to be in the wrong!   You have all you need right there!!!  You are fighting on Team Jesus… and he’s already won the war, now, go fight this Battle!!!

I love you just the way you are

There is really only way for us to transfer our love for Jesus onto another person, and that is to love them, just the way they are.   You will only be able to show, teach or convince a non-believer that Jesus is true, by your actions.  Keep this in mind when you scowl at someone who looks differently than you, or has a past that is not like yours.

 We all come to God in our own way.  That path that I have taken to come to God is not the same path that you will take to come to God.  We can’t judge someone for not being at the same level as we are or for how they got there.  The only way to really inflict change in another person is to love them as they are.  To accept them for the person that stands before you.   

There are many times in every day that we are given the opportunity to accept people for who they are, and how they got there.  Many times we try to change them, mold them and shape them into who we are, or think they should be.   When we do that and we inject ourselves or our conditions on to them how are we any better than the Pharisees were with Jesus?  How are we exhibiting anything but a judgmental, self-inflated sense of self? 

Many people we come across are probably struggling with something as well.  Maybe they are not struggling with the same things you are, but they are in their own struggle.  To them what is happening in their lives is what is most important.  We need to recognize pain and suffering in other people and be their encourager in their times of need.  I know I have had many times when my circumstances have overtaken me and my friends have been there to lift me back up and set me back on track.  We are to be that for everyone we meet.  

Love is a universal emotion, feeling, word, expression and need.   You won’t meet anyone who doesn’t desire for Love in some way or another.  There is a longing for love, acceptance and validation from every human being in this world.  The level of need for each person is different, and also the way they express the need is different. 

You may see someone who you think has it all together.  Their life looks really good from the outside, but that person, I am sure of it, is fighting an internal battle.  They might be over compensating for the lack of affection they have or had in their life through excelling at other things in life.  They may be using work to mask the pain of loneliness in their lives.   

I understand this person, because I am this person.  I won’t share my true inner feelings with just anyone, so when you see my exterior, or my outside expression to the world, you see the opposite of what I am experiencing internally.  

I can be hard, cold and quick, but I use this as a shield to protect the world from my inner person.  I am actually a shy, very sensitive, loving person, but it is not easy for me to express those things to the people around me.  I will show you that I care for you in ways you might not even notice, unless you pay attention.  I am working on this and with God’s help, I will be able to express my feelings to people that matter to me, without fear of rejection.

Jesus says in John 13:34, a verse that we all know very well.  I give you a new commandment; that you should love one another.  Just as I have loved you, so you to should love one another.  (35) By this shall all (men) know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (if you keep on showing love among yourselves).

These words, when read, seem to be a very easy request that Jesus is making.  We should be able to love each other, just as Jesus has loved us, right?   This shouldn’t be too hard…

 

Yeah, right.  This I believe might be the hardest of them all.  You see, to love someone the way Jesus loves them is to love them flaws and all.  It’s to say to someone, I know we are very different and our outlook on life is different, but I choose to love you anyway.  I choose to love the person inside of you because that is the same person that is inside of me.  I love you because; God loves me, so that means I love you.  Seems easy enough!

Have you ever gotten up late for work, and everything is going wrong.  You are late, so you wake up in a panic, you can’t find something to wear, the dogs have peed on the floor again, you need to feed them and get yourself out the door.  Just as you are walking out the door you realize you have forgotten something and have to rush right back in to find it, and of course it’s not where you thought you put it so you are searching frantically only to find it and wonder how it got there. 

Driving to work you get behind every school bus, you hit every red light and of course every cautious driver.  By this time your ability to love is just about gone.   Then BAM in walks the person whom you avoid everyday but yet, you are to be kind to them and love them.  How easy does it sound now?

Love always gets placed in this gooey, flowers, candy and romantic music column, and many times; it is none of those things.   Love is a choice.  We decide every day, whether our day started out brilliantly or in chaos, if we are going to love people that day.   We put on love just like we put on our socks.  You have to will yourself to love.

Love looks very different to each person as well.  Maybe your ability to walk in love with a person is just giving them a smile and a simple how are you as you walk past them in the hallway.  Maybe it’s remembering their birthday and sending them a Happy Birthday text.  Maybe it’s taking a minute to help someone who is feeling left behind as they transition in life.   Love isn’t always that big moment where you run through the daisy’s and jump into each other’s arms longingly.   It would be great if it was, but just so you know you have to make a series of decisions to get to that part as well. 

 
Love can be brutal.   Love can cause you to cry, scream, throw things, say mean things; love can cause you to become someone you are not.  But again, all of those things are decisions.  

We make the decision to love or not love.  We have the ability to tell our minds how we are going to handle each person we meet.   When you greet someone with kindness, respect and warmth you are showing them Love.  You are giving them a piece of Jesus.   We need to be more aware of this.  We need to be more aware of the feelings we are leaving behind with each person we meet.

You are not going to run into a world filled with people like yourself, you probably wouldn’t like them anyway, but you’re not.  You are going to run into people who are complete opposites of you and who will grate on your last nerve.  You will not like one thing that they do and they might even bring out the worst in you.   Keep in mind that they were brought into your life for a reason.  It’s probably not the reason that you want it to be, but a reason none the less. 

In these moments make a decision to love.  Make the decision to do as Jesus commanded us to do, and love each other as Jesus loves us.  Allow Jesus to be our example, our guide in how to love people.  Jesus made a decision to love you, even though you didn’t deserve it, so make the same decision and love the people around you, because they don’t deserve it either! 

When we begin to all start to love each other because that’s what we are supposed to do, not what we feel like doing, the world will be a very different place.  The love that you are sharing will come right back to you, and those hard decisions will become easier and easier to make. 

How did you come to Jesus?

In John 2:19-20 Jesus tells the Jews to destroy the temple and that he will raise it up again in three days.  The Jews responded with it took forty-six years to build this temple, how are you going to raise it up again in three days.

Now, I know from reading verse 23, that Jesus was actually referring to his body as the temple, and that the Jews would destroy him, and he would be raised again in three days, but these two verses had me thinking.   They revealed something else to me and that is, why do we make a mess of our lives for 10, 15, 20 years and expect Jesus to change things over night. 

We all know that God is capable of miracles, for we are each a miracle that he created, but why would or should God give you a miracle, when you spent years not listening to him and living by your own fleshly desires.   

When most of us have come to Jesus we come beaten down, exhausted and drained from living the life we have wanted to live.  We have made our own decisions and lived for our emotions and not for the ramifications of them.   So when we are distraught and unable to be fulfilled by the fleshly desires we once had enjoyed, and are left empty shells of ourselves, we start to seek for God.  We start to seek for guidance and how to live our lives differently. 

For some people this isn’t how they come to God, but I think most of us come in pure exhaustion from living the life we had been living.  The fun of being rebellious and living by our feelings isn’t fun anymore and we are starting to believe there is more to life than what we are living.   I say whatever way that leads you to Jesus is a good way because your path has lead you to Jesus. 

But, why do we think that God is going to wave a magic wand over our heads and we will be instantly changed, to the person we “think” we should be.  Why would God want to change you that quickly without testing your heart and intentions? 

It makes sense to me that God doesn’t give most people miracles he needs you to do your part in the healing of your soul.  Jesus did the big part, the main part, when he died for our sins.  Jesus made the sacrifice that most of us wouldn’t make for the people we love dearly when he went to the cross for you and me.   He made it possible for us to live lives of a sinful nature and still come to God and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus and be forgiven.  Jesus made it possible for all of us rich, poor, black, white, educated or not educated to have eternity with him and God, so why would we expect to be “healed” from our pasts overnight? 

When we have been hurt by someone we love and hurt deeply, you might forgive them, but you don’t for the most part, throw open the doors of your heart, without making them do some work, to build your trust up in them again.  You want to test them, in a way, to make sure that they have changed, and that they aren’t going to be careless with your feelings like they had been in the past.  Well God does the same thing.

I know, it would be great for us all to have an instantly, but if we did why wouldn’t we continue to live a life that serves us and not God.   If it was that easy to just have an instant change we truly would never change.  There would never be a total cleansing of our hearts, minds, emotions, souls and desires. 

God has to test you, to an extent, to make sure that you indeed desire a total change.  He will give you the Grace and Mercy to do so but he has to see your intentions.   God has to see that you are stepping out and trying to change.  He knows that we are not perfect beings, once again, that’s why we are so blessed to have Jesus, and that’s why he gives us chance after chance.  God never gets tired of trying to help you.  God will never look at the person who is addicted to drugs and say to them, well; this is your fifth relapse, I just don’t think I can do this anymore.  No, God says, I understand and I see your heart, come to me, bring your burden to me and I will help you in your times of struggle.

If the Jews wouldn’t have labored for forty-six years on the temple do you think it would have been such a sacrifice to destroy the temple?  No, it wouldn’t have been a sacrifice at all.   Jesus knew the work and time that went into creating the Temple, and the intent behind creating the Temple, so for Jesus to say, destroy what you have taken so long to build, was saying to them make a sacrifice for God, tear down what you labored so long to create.   Now, Jesus knew that wasn’t the case here but could it be the case for you? 

Do you think that God can be saying to you, tear down the walls of control, reasoning, guilt, shame, fear and addiction, that you have spent twenty years building, tear them down and be exposed, so that I can build you back up again. 

There are many times in life you will hit the bottom.  You will come to the end of yourself and realize that you just have nothing left to give.  Hopefully in those moments, you have either already found God, or find God.  Let’s assume you have found God, those are the moments, I think, God has a little party for himself.  Not because we are in pain or struggling, but because he can then do his work in us.

We are the ones who prohibit God from working in our own lives, not God.  I have been struggling with a relationship, that means very much to me, and I am a person who doesn’t like to feel out of control in my life, so when I had to hand this relationship over to God, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.   

I knew that God had a plan for this relationship, God even went far enough, to share his plan with me for the relationship, and yet I still struggled to hand it over to him.    I struggled with Casting my Cares on the Lord, and then leaving them with the Lord.  I would cast my care and say, here God have this problem, this problem, and this problem, then five minutes later I would walk right back over and take them all back.  

I grew up in a very destructive and abusive home, so I crave stability and structure in my life.  I had to “fix” my own problems in life and the problems of my family, many of the times as well, so I was very comfortable, being in the place of control.   It was a very easy role for me to fill, as I had been doing it all my life. 

Then in walks a problem I couldn’t fix.  Not just a problem I couldn’t fix, but a problem I had never come across before, and had no idea how to even begin to fix or repair, and it made me come to the end of myself.  

The relationship was extremely important to me, and still is, and it would hurt my heart, to see a person that I love, struggle with something that I couldn’t help him with.   I would pray, cry, pray, cry and beg God for help, to show me what to do and he did. 

God began speaking to me and showing me, the directions and plans, he has for this relationship.  And I know many of you right now are saying, oh, wow, I wish God would tell me what to do with my problem.  Well, I said the same thing, until God did start telling me what to do with my problems.  I struggled with having Faith and trusting God.   I knew, and know, that God gives us all gifts and we are to use them to bring people to him, and glorify him, but what I couldn’t understand was, why me.  I could stand in Faith for anyone.  I could believe that God was going to do miracles in your life, but when it came to my own my Faith and trust it was small.  

One day God said to me, I can’t restore your relationship until you have Faith and Trust in me.   I need you to believe that I can restore your relationship, to be able to do so.   I still struggled with this, and why, because I had to give God control of my life. I had to say OK, God, here you go.  I take my hands off of this and I surrender it to you.  This is still a struggle for me, so I don’t want to make it seem easy and carefree.  For some people it may be, but for me it doesn’t work that way. 

What I am learning, is that when I need to have control over something, I am telling God that I can do it better then he can, and that’s just a joke.   Not only can I not do it better than he can, but I can’t do anything without him.  I have decided to give all of this to God and do my part of the plan he has spoken to me.   I have decided to trust God. 

Would I love for God to use a magical wand and wipe away all of the pain, tears, fear, sadness, anger, control and feelings of rejection from me and this relationship?  Yes, YES, I surely would, but I know that’s not how it’s going to happen.  I know that God is using this to grow my Faith in him.  I know God is using this to grow my trust in him.  God is taking this trial in my life, and using it as a way to cultivate his nature and his characteristics in my life, and for my part; I have to surrender to what he is doing and trust him. 

I have to believe that God has chosen me to do his work in this world and that he has a plan of restoration for my relationship.  I have to believe that God is also doing a work in him as well.  

The testing of our Faith is a painful time, a time for us to try to be thankful for what God is doing in us.  God wouldn’t be testing you if he knew you were going to fail.  He is testing you because he knows you have the ability (through him) to pass the test.  

If God said to me here is your miracle, and in the miracle came the healing of my relationship, but not the changes that are needed in both of us to make a successful relationship in God, or you can suffer through the pain and the time and be changed from the inside out, I would take option two.  

I will suffer through the pain of this time to end up a stronger, more faith filled, trusting person of God, who can come to the relationship, if that’s God’s will, with what I have learned and rebuild the relationship, not only based on the changes that have occurred, but also knowing that all things are indeed possible through Christ Jesus who loves us. 

Chose to tear down whatever your Temple might be, and allow God to rebuild you in his image, his desire for your life, so that your Temple, will be built on the Rock, with a strong foundation of God, and not built on the sand of your fleshly desires! 

 

Raise your Hands and Rejoice!

For many years I wore my cross around my neck as a symbol of my love for God.  I wasn’t the kind of Christian who spoke about their Faith.  I never felt comfortable about speaking to people in-depth about my love for God.  I had a couple friends that I shared my inner most thoughts with but as far as everyone else I was very surface in my relationship with Jesus

I was a very carnal or I like to say surface Christian.  I believed with all my heart that Jesus died on the Cross for my sins.  I believed that God raised Jesus from death, three days after his Crucifixion and that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven.  I would pray when I felt like I needed something, could be something material or something emotional.  I knew enough that I needed to pray and have communication with God, but I wouldn’t go as far to say we had a relationship.

I was in my mid-twenties, when I knew that I needed to go deeper with God than where I was.  I knew I needed to know him and for him to know me in a different way.   I was in school at the time and was just about to enter my first job in my career, and as God would have it, I worked among many believers.  I thought it was really cool how people would just openly discuss their relationships with God and share what was happening in their lives. 

I have come in and out of being a smoker in my life, and at this particular time, I was a smoker.  They had a designated smoking room at my job and I would go in there to smoke and became friends with a woman who also smoked while spending time in there.  I can’t even tell you how we became friends, but we did and she started talking to me about Jesus.  She started sharing with me her love and relationship with God and all the amazing things he’s done in her life.

We just started sharing our lives and our friendship took off from there.  She introduced me to a woman, Joyce Meyer, whom I still watch today, and I would say about six months after working there, I gave my life to Christ in my Childhood bedroom.  I was twenty-six at the time.

I began going to church, occasionally, with my new friends and trying, through my own efforts, to be what I thought a good Christian should be.  After some time I left that job for a better position closer to my home.  I entered into a very different atmosphere, one where you faith wasn’t openly known, and definitely not openly talked about, as I had grown accustomed too.  

As time had gone by I lost contact with my friends from my old job and began to lose the foundation that I thought I had started.  I was as the church world says a back slider.   I had experienced a death in my family that really shook me to my core and started to really distance myself from God.  I stopped praying, watching Joyce and any bit of reading I was doing was gone as well.   I was really struggling in my life and turned away from God.

After many years and the loss of my Grandmother, whom I cherish more than words can explain, I found myself at a new job with people who loved God.  I 

Became friends with one lady there and we started discussing God and what our faith is and where we stand in our faith.   I felt a strong pull to come back to God.  I had been through several failed relationships, broken friendships, change of jobs and still I wasn’t happy.  I wasn’t connected to anything.  I prayed occasionally but nothing that would really strengthen the inner part of me. 

I started to watch God based television again, reading God filled self-help books and praying.   I was attending conferences that were in my area and really feeling like things were starting to come together.   I was given a job offer that I couldn’t refuse and decided to take the offer.  I entered into another job, all still in the same field.  I had maintained a close friendship with the woman from my other job and we really began to share our lives with each other and our beliefs in God.   I have learned tremendously from her, and hopefully I have been of some use to her as well. 

I started going to church a couple years ago with my mom, which in itself is amazing, and really decided that I am going to make this God thing work.  I purposed myself to be the Christian I expected I should be.  Well, as I am sure you can all guess, it doesn’t work that way.   My ideas of what a Christian should be and God’s ideas of what a Christian should be were a little different. 

I decided instead of making myself crazy trying to fit into the mold of super Christian, I was going to let God mold me.  I decided that really what was important to me was having a relationship with God.  I wanted to know him.  I wanted to understand him and more than anything I wanted to have the life that Jesus died for me to have. 

This brings us to now.  I am still a work in progress, but not as much of a mess that I was in my mid-twenties.  I can honestly say I have a relationship with God that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world.   I still have many faults and fall short every day but I have Jesus.  I have a redeemer who loves me and who died on the Cross so that I can be free.    I still struggle with life.  I struggle with understanding God’s timing, purpose and I struggle with patience.  My faith has grown but there is definite room to grow there, as well. 

I say all of this because in my reading tonight I saw myself.  Or I should say I saw the old me.  I was reading John 12:42 where it says, And yet (in spite of all this) many even of the leading men (the authorities and the nobles) believed and trusted in Him.  But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that (if they should acknowledge Him) they would be expelled from the synagogue; (verse 43) For they loved the approval and the praise and the glory that come from men (instead of and) more than the glory that comes from God.  (They valued their credit with men more than their credit with God.)

I knew this person.  I was this person.  I was the person for many years who was afraid of sharing their faith and because of that fear, I stifled my faith.  I didn’t permit my faith to grow and flourish.  I hid from it.  I hid because I was afraid of change and afraid of being out casted by my friends, because I was different.   I was looking for the approval of men, more than I was looking for the love of God.  I hid my light under a bushel for fear of not being accepted. 

I would go to church, which I truly enjoyed doing, and watch people during the praise and worship, which was my least favorite thing about church, and be in awe of people as they freely worshiped God.  I would see people crying, people raising their hands, people praying, dancing and singing to God.  I wanted so badly to be like them.  I wanted to throw caution to the wind and step out of myself.  I felt it in my spirit.  I felt all the things internally that they were expressing outwardly.   

I would stand for praise and worship and I could feel God telling me to lift my hands and praise him, but I never would.  I was once again, more concerned with the looks of things than I was about glorifying my God.   I was looking for approval from man instead of praising Jesus. 

I was watching one of my daily teaching programs and found myself singing, praising, dancing and lifting my hands in the privacy of my home and God spoke to me and said if you can do this here, why can’t you do this at church?  He got me!!  He was right!  If I could do this at home, why couldn’t I do this at church?   If I could weep at home why couldn’t I weep at church?  Church is to be our safety.  Church is to build us up and bring us into community with other believers; church is a safe place for expression.

I needed to break free of the approval of men.  I needed to let God’s light shine through me, on me and all around me.  One morning while getting ready for Church, God again, spoke to my heart and told me that I was going to go for prayer after the service.  I had no idea what I was going to prayer for or even what the service was about.  I immediately laughed and said, nope, I am not doing that.  For me to do that I would have to walk in front of the entire church and then go to someone and ask for prayer.  I would then have to tell them what I need prayer for.   None of those things had I signed up to do when I entered into this relationship with God. 

Guess who won?  That’s right.  I found myself standing in the front of the church, telling the pastor’s wife, of all people, that I needed prayer and she began to pray for me.  I could actually feel the Holy Spirit all over me.  I was electric and extremely hot all at the same time.  Oh, and of course, I cried.  Again, I tell this story to show you that hiding your relationship with God to have acceptance from man is only hurting you.

When you decide to worship in secret the God who wants to bless you in the open, you are only hurting yourself.  You are keeping yourself locked in a box of approval and approval of people who are not better than you are.  You are saying that I care more about what Man says of me than I do what God says of me.   We are devaluing the Cross and the man who hung on the Cross, Jesus. 

If we all kept our relationships with God a secret, how would any of us be able to share the love of God with the people around us?  How would God ever be able to use you if you are too ashamed to be his? 

Today, I cry if I need to cry, I praise if I need to praise, I raise my hands to worship my savior if I need to raise my hands.  I will proudly and boldly confess that I am a child of God and that the most important thing in my life is that relationship between me and God.  I will pray at work, I will spread the word of God at work or anywhere else I feel led to do so.   I no longer need to wear a cross around my neck to show that I am a Christian because the Love and Light of Jesus Christ shines through me!!  I am recognized now not by my jewelry but by my life!!

 

Seek ye First the Kingdom of God...

Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and then all these things will be added unto you. 

This was a scripture that for years I was not fond of but now, now it is a scripture that can make me weep with sadness for not doing those things my entire life, but more so out of a Joy that I have a Father who loves me and all I have to do is Seek him First, and everything else I need in life will be added unto me.

This verse is a very powerful verse to me.  There are many facets of this verse that you can focus on and adopt as your own guidelines for life.   First thing is first.  God wants you to seek him for many reasons and we will try to touch on just a few of them here. 

God created man for someone to commune with.  He wanted someone to share his life with and have fellowship with, so when he says to seek him, it’s coming from a pure place or desire to be found.   This is not a game of Hide and Seek.  I guarantee you that if you diligently (put in effort) to find God, you will find him.

If you open your heart and mind, even on the drive to work, you will find God in everything you see.   Everything on this earth God created.  He created the person, who created the item you are looking at.   If you are driving down a farm road and look around you, you will see grass, animals, blue sky, a bright yellow sun, clouds, flowers, bugs, trees, leaves, people, cars, black top, paint, houses, livestock and so much more and every last one of those things were created by God.  He breathed life into their bodies and gave people the ability to create, design, farm and function among all the things that he gave us.  

That’s why I say it’s not hard to find God.  Just open your eyes in the morning and you have already found him. 

God wants us to seek him first.  So now that we have sought him out and have found him, now he wants us to do this first.  He wants us to crave him like some people crave coffee in the morning.  He wants us to open our eyes and say Good Morning God!!  Thank you Lord for this day you given me.  Thank you for having the chance to spend time with you again today.  He wants to be a vital need for us.

 A vital need is something we must have.  Like we must have air to breathe, we must have water to stay hydrated, we must have food to nourish our bodies and we must have God to be whole people.    God wants us to want him like it is something we have to have or our lives will surely end.    God says if we drink from his well, of his water, we shall never thirst again.   Meaning if we stay hydrated in the word of God, spend time in his presence, we will never want for anything, which falls into this verse.  Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and ALL these things will be added unto you. 

When we seek God, purposely look for him, and do so first, like it is more pressing than air itself, we will find him, we will find his desires for us.   He will bless you with the things you need and want in this life. 

Now, before I go any further, I need to say this.  Do not Seek God to get things.  Example, I want a new car so I am going to seek God and since I am seeking God I will be blessed with a new car.  No!  We are to seek God’s face and not God’s hand.   If you had a friend who every time you were around them they took from you.  They could take from you emotionally, financially or even spiritually but every time you were around them when you left them you felt depleted in some way, wouldn’t you start to feel used, and as if you were not worth anything of importance to them?  

God will feel the same way if you seek him just for things.   You might get them at first because God loves you and he has a heart that wants to give us the things we desire for.  But just as you would get tired of being the one giving and not receiving, so will God. 

So when you seek God, seek his face.  Seek the characteristics of God, seek to be filled with him, who he is and to feel the love of God.  Come to God with a pure heart not filled with motives or strategies, because just like you and your friend, God will know the difference.   I am not saying you can’t ask God for anything, because you should ask God for things that you want, but your time spent Seeking God should not be like a wish list for the Toy Store.

At first, you might not know how to Seek God and that’s OK.  When I started on this journey with God I had no idea how to “seek” God.   I wasn’t a big reader and always wanted to learn how to meditate, but never could get my brain and body to sit still and quiet for long enough.  I could sit and do nothing for an hour but as soon as I purposed myself to seek God a million thoughts would enter my mind, my phone would ring, I would have to use the bathroom or the dog would need to go out, and of course none of those things were happening five minutes before I purposed to seek God. 

What happens in these situations is the Devil knows that we are trying to connect with God.  That we, our hearts, want to have a deeper relationship and connection with God and know more, and when you bring light into darkness, the darkness is revealed.  

Satan doesn’t want you to spend time with God so he will send all of these things to start happening to disturb you and hopefully you will give up and not try again.  What I am going to ask you to do is do it, again and again and again. 

I don’t care if you sit still for five minutes, do it!!  Those five minutes will feel like the longest five minutes that ever existed, but I promise you that you can do it, and when you have achieved the five minutes you will feel accomplished and want to do more. 

In those five minutes what you do is kind of up to you.  I would suggest that you actually have a timer, so you know when the five minutes are up.  What I like to do is come before God with praise. 

My routine goes something like this.  First I take the dogs out, get a drink of water for myself,  grab my lap top, my Bible, my highlighter, a notepad, a pen, I tell my Best Friend that I am going to study, so she doesn’t think I am ignoring her and I turn off my phone.

I have a couple places in my home that I like to study and spend time with God.  I will go to the place I feel like going to that day and I just sit there.  Sometimes I will praise and thank God in quiet, that helps me to be still and silent, then there are days when I am speaking out loud to God.

When I first started to do this it was very difficult.   I would set my timer for five minutes so I didn’t have to keep looking at the clock.   I have a few things that I say to him each time I spend quiet time with him. I like to thank God for what he has given to me, I will name the things that come to mind. I will tell God how much I love him and how much I need him in my life.  I will invite God to come into every situation of my life and help me with it.  Most importantly I try to love on God.  I thank him for being him, for loving me even in my worst of times.  I try not to ask for anything in this time because God needs to know I am searching for his face and not his hand. 

There are times when I just sit completely quiet and breathe.  When I first started doing this, productively, I must say, a very dear person to me told me to just focus on breathing in positivity and breathing out negativity.  What I did, was I would breathe in, God loves me and breathe out I am not in fear, or whatever thing was bothering me at that time.  This truly helped me start to spend quiet time with God.  I then began to add in praying for people that would come to my heart and then I would ask God for help in my life.  

I am at the point now where I crave the quiet times I spend with God.  If I miss those times my day just doesn’t seem right.   You can do these things at your desk at work, over your lunchtime, in your car, just don’t close your eyes, but you can love on God and spend time with him anywhere you are.  

I probably shouldn’t tell people this but I will Thank God and love on God every time I use the bathroom.  I am a person who uses the bathroom a lot during the night, so I try every time to say I love you God, thank you God, and I know you are working in my life.  I believe this helps keep my connection to God open at all times.

These are just some of the ways that I have come to connect with God.  I don’t want you to think you have to do what I do, or make a law out of what I am suggesting.  You will find your own rhythm and what feels organic and helpful to you.  I promise you that once you start doing it, you will crave it.  I have stopped setting a timer, and I now will know when I am good and able to either move forward with my day, or move into studying and writing God’s word.

Seeking God is not a hard thing to do, but to a new person it might feel overwhelming, so do what you feel lead to do.  God will see your desire to spend time with him, he will know your heart and purpose for seeking him and he will give you the grace to do exactly that. 

When we spend more time with God and in his word we start to learn about him, like his characteristics, his righteousness, those things are transplanted and birthed into us. 

The word of God is life.  It is alive and no matter what situation you are in, when you go to God’s word, with an open heart, he will start to heal you right where you are.    You will begin to feel a change in your spirit and in your mind.  You will feel new, fresh, and re-energized, to face the mountain before you.   There truly is life in God’s word.   I didn’t believe it, when I would hear people say it, in my early days of walking with God, but I now can say I have experienced it for myself. 

When we seek God, we are doing ourselves a favor.  We are giving ourselves a gift. There is nothing else in this world that will change you the way that God can change you, and that’s why we seek him, because we need to change. 

When you start to seek God you will start to notice things around you changing as well.  Your desires might change your emotions might change, your outlook on things might change.  The person who used to annoy you beyond belief you find that you have more patience for.  These are the rewards or benefits from seeking God. 

We often want our circumstances to change, but God is not so worried about changing our circumstances, as he is about changing us.   Many times you will find that once you have started to change, your circumstances might not matter so much anymore.    This also is a process.  I don’t want to sell God or explain God like he is a magic trick.  Some people might notice things right away are different for them, but if you are like me, it will take some time.  Don’t be disappointed or discouraged if you are not seeing things happen overnight.  Remember, you didn’t get to the place you are overnight, so don’t expect to get out of the place you are overnight. 

This leads me to this thought…  Please don’t think that you are not able to seek God because of what you have done in your past, or even what you might have done today.  Our God, that would be my God and yours, is a God of forgiveness.  He is a God of a second, third, fourth, fifth and tenth chance.  Now, we obviously don’ t want to take advantage of that, but God knows that we are far from perfect, and that we need a covering, and that’s why he sent his son Jesus, to die for us.  

Now, that God will meet you right where you are mess and all.  God will meet you in the Bar, in the Club, in the Crack House, in the Restaurant, at your job, in your car or in the deep of the night.  There are no hours on God.  When you need him, he is there.   There is no pit too deep for the arm of God. 

He will come right into your life and give you Grace and Mercy, if you ask him too.   Like I said, the Matthew 6:33 Verse, Seek ye First the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you was a verse that I wasn’t fond of for years but now, now, it has changed my life. 

This verse has become one of the verses I meditate on over and over again.  I have written this verse on bathroom mirrors and on post it notes all over my desk at work.   This is the one verse that I know has changed my life and will surely change yours!!! 

 

 

Have you put Jesus in a Box?

There are many stories in the Bible that hold multiple meanings and a lot of times you have to search, or read between the lines, to see the other meanings.  Sometimes what is obvious to one is hidden to another, and each person will interpret a story differently.  I think this is beautiful because it not only enables us to see from a different perspective but it also shows us that the Bible is indeed living word!                                  

I have heard the story of Lazarus many times.  I have read it, heard it preached in sermon and on television.  I felt well versed in this story until reading it tonight and I noticed something I had not seen before.   I believe this is God giving me the opportunity to reveal a deeper understanding of himself.

In this story Lazarus is very ill and Lazarus has two sisters, Mary and Martha.  We have heard of them earlier in the Bible and see the affection that they have for Jesus but also the affection that he has for them.   These two sisters hold a wealth of knowledge for us, in today’s society.   You will see of these two sisters and their brother mentioned numerous times in the New Testament. 

On this occasion a deep friendship has already been established and Jesus gets word that Lazarus, who resides in Bethany, about two miles from where Jesus was is very ill.  The sisters were very concerned about the welfare of their brother and had sent to let Jesus know that Lazarus was ill, and to come. 

When Jesus received the message, as you can see in John 11:4, he says, this sickness is not going to end in death; but (on the contrary) it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it.   Jesus then decided to stay another two days and then return to Judea.

The disciples were concerned about Jesus returning to Judea, as not that long ago they were threatening to stone Jesus for blasphemy, but Jesus was not concerned.    They began their trip back to Judea, and to see Lazarus, where Jesus had pronounced he was going to awaken him from his sleep.      When Jesus used the word Sleep, in this case He was referring to the death of Lazarus, but the disciples thought Lazarus was getting some much needed restful sleep to help in his recovery.  Jesus then states Lazarus is Dead.   

He then goes on to say and for your sake I am glad that I was not there; it will help you to believe.  However, let us go to him.   What I have learned in reading the Bible is you can’t take things for face value.  There is usually another meaning to most things written.  In this case, much like others, Jesus was saying to the disciples, I knew Lazarus was going to die, and I waited another two days to show glory to my Father, and help strengthen your faith in me. 

By now I think we have all experienced the fact that Jesus will take any opportunity he can to make it a teachable one.

On the way back to Lazarus, Martha, heard that Jesus was on his way back and raced out to meet him.  When she came upon him she said to Jesus, if only you were here my brother would not have died.   So Martha is proclaiming that Jesus is who he says he is but in saying if only he was here when Lazarus died, she is limiting Jesus in her own mind, and the minds of others.  She is saying Jesus, you are too late, and he is already dead. 

 

Jesus then says to Martha, something he will repeat to Mary, when he meets her on the road to Lazarus, and that is, Your brother will rise again.  Martha agrees that Lazarus will rise again on resurrection day.  Jesus then confirms who Martha has suggested he is with this statement in John 11:25.  Jesus said to her, I am (Myself) the Resurrection and the Life.  Whoever believes in Me, although he may die, yet shall live. 

I believe that Jesus at this time was giving Martha a hint, saying, Martha, I have this under control.  I am Jesus, I am the resurrection and the Life, and I can handle Lazarus being dead.   Martha then returns home and summons for Mary to come and meet Jesus.  Now, Jesus hasn’t moved and waits for Mary to come to him.  Mary has left in such a panic that the Jews who were grieving with her have also come out of worry for Mary. 

 

Mary proceeds to have a very similar conversation with Jesus as Martha did but this time when Jesus saw Mary sobbing and the many Jews that had come with her, Jesus also wept.   I believe there was significance in Jesus weeping at this time.  I believe that it showed him to be in fact a gentle man, with profound compassion and a love for this family. 

When they arrive at Lazarus’s tomb Jesus has asked Martha to remove the stone.  Now, remember, Martha was the one who had limited Faith in what Jesus was able to do.  Jesus would have been able to heal Lazarus if he was alive but that was the end of her faith.   When Jesus asks Martha to move the stone, he is giving her the opportunity to step out in Faith for his ability.  Also, keep in mind this is all happening around a crowd of people, some believers but many non-believers. 

Martha comes back to Jesus with, but Jesus, he has been in the tomb for four days and he will surely smell.   Jesus then says, did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?   I think that Jesus took this moment, to remind Martha of this statement but also to share the truth with the crowd that has gathered. 

When the stone was removed Jesus looks up to the sky and speaks aloud (John 11:41-42) Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  Yes, I know You always hear and listen to Me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You did send Me(that You have made Me Your Messenger.)   This was the confirmation that Jesus said to the disciples back in the beginning of chapter 11 upon hearing of Lazarus’s illness.  Jesus knew the entire time that Lazarus was going to die so He wanted to wait till the process of death was completed and that Lazarus would have been entered into the tomb, and Jesus would be given the ability to Glorify God, and his ability to perform Miracles.

Jesus was using this as a teaching moment.  He was taking something that was extremely painful to a group of people and he allowed them to feel the pain and sadness of this death and he was going to stretch them in the midst of it.  He knew that the Faith of Martha and Mary had been tested and that when he arrived late to find Lazarus dead they would be left with no hope.  This was his chance to show believers and non-believers exactly who he is!

Jesus then shouted in a loud voice for Lazarus to Come Out!  And out walked Lazarus.  He was still in his burial clothes. 

Now, obviously, this is a miracle.  Jesus has raised a man to life!  This is a way for people to begin to believe in Jesus, whom they did but I thought to myself what about the people who already believe in Jesus.  How does this pertain to someone like me? 

Here’s my thought.  This situation does not have to be literal.  This could pertain to a dead situation, a dead dream, and a non-believing family member, death of a relationship or maybe death of your Faith.  In this story is death of a human but I don’t think it has to be.  I think it can be anything that is dead to you.

If you take that situation that is dead in your eyes and you release it to Jesus, and believe, truly, believe that Jesus can breathe life back into your situation, you can have it!   

If you go to God and you say God here is my relationship and I believe Lord, that you can restore this relationship and build it back up in you and surrender it to God, you are giving God the opportunity to be glorified in the restoration of the relationship.  You are asking Jesus to shout at your relationship to come walking out alive from the tomb.    You are taking a moment that was teachable thousands of years ago and glorifying God with the chance to bring new-believers to him, through your new teachable moment. 

I don’t believe that Jesus was surprised for a second during the story of Lazarus.  I believe that Jesus saw the whole picture, a picture that we so rarely get to see.  Martha and Mary entered into this illness with Hope when they sent for Jesus but by the time Jesus came, their Hope was gone.   They boxed in Jesus, and Jesus isn’t on board for being boxed in.  Jesus will every chance he gets break open the box.  He will prove that there is no box big enough to contain the ability that he has. 

There are many times we box in Jesus.  Many times we think our “Lazarus” is too big for Jesus, just like Martha and Mary did.  We will make the decision for Jesus before we even give Jesus the opportunity to work.  We will say, nope, this one is too big for even you Jesus; I’ll just give up and walk away.   What happens when we walk away?  Do we just walk away and that’s the end of it?  Nope!

What happens is this is an opening for Satan to continue his attack on your Faith in Jesus.  This is an opening for distance to be developed and the chance for your closeness with Jesus to be severed.  Don’t allow this to happen.  Don’t you decide what is too big or too small for Jesus?   When you look at your problem no matter what it is, you remember that Jesus shouted to a man who had been dead for four days Come Out… and he came!!  You remember that your Jesus, the one that you serve and trust, is the right hand man of God, the creator of the universe and you come on your knees with a humble heart and mind and you ask for whatever it is you need.  You pray for what you need, for what someone else needs, for what hurts you.   You give God the chance to answer your prayer and meet your need.  

There are always hidden meanings and teachable moments to every story and maybe just maybe Jesus is taking something that’s happening in your life and taking time to teach you something