Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Common Father: Part I


We all come from many different places, different situations, and different backgrounds.
But beneath all of those differences, we are bound by a divine commonality of a heavenly Father who not only knows where we've been, but knows where we're going.

Did you know that we have a common Father? Now, I don't mean common as in ordinary. There is nothing ordinary about God. But common in that He is the same Father to me as He is to you. And His love and mercy and grace that can be shared by all is offered to everyone regardless of where they have come from, who they are or who they've been.

This is importent to grasp because we need to take the time to examine our hearts and personally clear away the debris of our past responses and recognize the times we have stopped short of allowing what we have heard and seen and witnessed to really take effect in our lives.

Why should God continue to feed us if we don't chew and swallow and process what's already in our mouths?

Yes, God is our common Father - no matter where you've been, God has a word for you.

He wants us all to gain a deeper understanding of His love, His mercy, and His grace. He desires to enlarge and repair the perameters of our foundational beliefs and restore our hearts.

Father, as we begin to consider how much You love us and how much we need You, prepare our hearts to receive Your Word.

Check out: Psalm 139

Monday, June 29, 2009

Spiritual Survival


As human beings, we do what we need to ensure our survival-we eat, sleep, enjoy, and learn. We form relationships, live in houses, invest our energy and our time in jobs and careers, and we buy cars to get us safely where we want to go. If our environments aren’t giving us a sense of safety and reward, we grow unhappy and restless. Most of us will take this dissatisfaction and use it to change what isn’t working and alter what isn’t providing us with what we feel we need.

As spiritual beings, our need to survive often takes second even third place in our lives. We ignore the word of God and starve; we hide from our relationship with God and suffer from a sense of isolation and depression; we do not rest in his presence and burn out; we do not rejoice in the Lord and enjoy his presence, and we complain we are empty but make excuses for not studying the Word. We spend our time and money “furnishing a house that will decay” and ignore the house of the Lord.

So why do we do that? Sometimes I think because the things of the Spirit aren’t as tangible, I pay more attention to what I can see and feel - the things that I can have more control over. You see, if I am cold, I can put on a coat. If I am hungry, I can go to the store, buy food, and prepare it. If I am lonely, I can call a friend and talk. These things seems so easy and natural to do.

It can be harder when transferring these needs to the spiritual. My natural man fights for control – fights to be in charge. But what happens when we begin to believe that satisfying the inner man can become just as natural as feeding the outer one?

If when I am cold – feeling apathetic and hopeless – I can wrap myself up with the warmth and energy of His Spirit.
If when I am hungry – feeling empty and unsatisfied - I can feed on the substance of His Word.
If when I am lonely – feeling isolated and distant - I can draw close to His love and the love of His people.

Lord of my humanness, help me to turn my affections toward You. I look to You for hope, for satisfaction, and for peace.

Check out: Hebrews 10:19-25

Friday, June 26, 2009

More Love and Intimacy


As I was reading this morning, I couldn't help but be reminded again how much I am loved by God. His desire to be known by His children is as great as His love for them. This intimate love is the very thing that holds together the foundation of my relationship with God.


Recipricating this kind of intimacy requires a seeking heart. Seek and you will find is a spiritual principle. God says that if we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him. But what if we’re seeking something else such as personal empowerment or personal satisfaction? What if we’re really seeking something that agrees with our own spiritual agenda? And what if we’re only half-looking? So what does God say about intimacy? What is God’s perspective and is it at odds with our perspective?

Looking in the Bible, it may, at first, be difficult to narrow down a search for specific verses about God’s perspective on intimacy. The truth is that everything that God does and says in His Word displays His intimate love for the human race. There is not a word of scripture that does not shout the desire of the Father to have deep fellowship with His children, to become intimate with them so they can experience the fullness of Christ in their lives. It is because God reaches out to us with His desire for intimacy that we, His children, are able to reciprocate that desire back to Him. A heart that has allowed the deep intimacy of God to take ownership reveals and reflects it back.

That’s when the “deep calls to deep” principle goes into effect. This phrase comes from Psalm 42:7. If you look at it in the original, it becomes clear. The word “deep” means: bottomless or anything too great or deep to be measured. The word “calls” means the idea of accosting a person met, to encounter, not calling from a distance, up close and personal calling.
Literally this means: measureless, bottomless depth intimately encounters and accosts measureless, bottomless depth. There is great depth to God, a never-ending story, but sometimes we want the Reader’s Digest version, and then wonder why we are weak, distracted, misdirected, and fearful.

Father-God, Your deep love for me is sometimes beyond my capacity to understand it. As I encounter and seek You in an up close and personal way, reinforce and strengthen my very foundation.

Check out: Psalm 42

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall


Imagine you have been instructed to enter an unknown room and report back the details of what you saw in a mirror. As you enter the room, you are immediately surrounded by a dark grayness. The light is so very weak, you almost feel like you are suffocating. You do, however, notice that on the far wall there is a mirror.


You approach slowly because it is difficult to maneuver your way around the room because it is so dark. You make your way to the mirror and stand before it. Your reflection seems distorted and blurry. You can see a semblance of features, but the dimness has almost altered your true appearance. No matter how long you stare at your reflection, it is no use. In fact, the longer you stare at your reflection, the more distorted it becomes. There is simply not enough light in the room to get a true picture. You get frustrated and make you way back out of the room.
When asked what details you saw in the mirror, you hesitate because you weren’t able to see anything specific. You react in one of three ways:


1. You lie. You fear that others must have been able to see clearly, and because you must not have given it enough effort, you failed. You lie because you are afraid and because you are insecure. You leave the experience feeling ashamed. You never want to return.


2. You get angry. How could anyone expect you to see anything in that dim room. You did your best. “They” should have provided more light for you so that you could have been successful. It wasn’t your fault. Someone else was to blame. You leave feeling self-righteous and hurt. You never want to return.


Or 3. You are honest. You explain exactly what happened and how you felt. You ask how it could have gone better and honestly desire an answer. You spend time communing with the One who has asked this of you and end up understanding and feeling loved. You can’t wait to enter the room again knowing that, this time, there will be more than enough light to see.

To seek out the truth about ourselves, we need to seek out the Truth.

Father of Light, open my eyes to Your Truth. Let the standard of Your Word be the mirror through which I see myself reflected.

Check out: James 1:22-25

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Waiting Rom



The other day I was sitting in my doctor’s office. It was one of those days, and I had already been waiting for thirty-five minutes. As I sat there, I started thinking. I had a health problem that I needed a doctor to attend to. But I was getting impatient, and it was inconvenient waiting all that time to see the doctor.

So I began to look around the room. There was a receptionist sitting behind the desk. I suppose I could take a chance and ask her for advice. She does have some medical training after all. But my problem was very serious, and did I want to take a chance with my health just because I was tired of waiting?

Then I looked at those sitting around me. The chairs were filled with people who were also waiting to see the doctor. I could go to them. They would understand how I felt. They’d even agree with me that it was inconsiderate for the doctor to keep us waiting. Perhaps they had even had a similar experience and could share how they dealt with it. But I would still have this serious health problem. These people couldn’t help me either. They were in the same shape I was. They needed answers, too. A few minutes later, the nurse called me in. I was glad I waited.
As I drove home, I thought about how I felt in the waiting room. As I took this before the Lord, I began to see the how similar it was to how I feel when waiting on God for answers or for healing. When I go to His people for help, they understand but they are in the same boat I am. They can share their experiences with me, maybe even become my partners in complaining, but they can't "heal" me.

It is the same with those who have more knowledge and training. They can certainly help with some things, but in the end, they are limited by their humanity.

Dear Soul, God is the Great Physician. Understanding friends and experienced counselors are important and necessary in our lives. But when all is said and done, we need to lay all before the One who knows every inch of us, inside and out, for our very survival. The reality is we are more than just natural beings – we are spiritual beings as well. The One who created us, knows us.

Lord of my body, soul and mind, I bring all before You – my physical pain, my emotional distress, and my mental anguish. I thank You for empathetic friends and trained counselors who enrich my life and help me in the journey. But You, Lord, are the Doctor of all my diseases.

Check out: Isaiah 53:5

Tuesday, June 23, 2009


Our spiritual life is like a car:

The gas tank must be filled with the proper fuel to run at its best.
* What would happen if you put water in your gas tank?
Not only wouldn’t your car run, but you could ruin your engine.
* Water fuels our bodies and makes them healthy, but it is not the proper fuel for a car.
* Water symbolizes the things of the world that can fill and satisfy us.
They are not bad unto themselves, but they’re not enough to fuel
us spiritually. Water can equal a career, a hobby, an interest,
money, relationships, anything that in a fleshly sense fuels us.
* The proper fuel for our spiritual life is spiritual in nature (Galatians 3:3).

They both must be regularly serviced.
* When you get a new car, the dealership requires you to come
in for periodic check-ups. Not going can even invalidate your
warranty.
* It is not wise to let the internal mechanisms of your car
go because you don’t have time. If you ignore a problem,
it can lead to other problems.
* Spiritually speaking, regularly servicing your spirit man
means to daily come to the Lord, be in the Word, pray,
and fellowship. Don’t wait until you have a problem.
Prevention is better than damage control of a problem.

It can be dangerous if you don’t obey the rules of the road.
* When we drive a car, we need to obey the rules of the road:
speed limits, turns, etc. If we don’t, not only can we be hurt,
but we can hurt others as well. Obeying the “rules” as Christians
means living by the standard of God’s Word. In Jesus’ time,
the Pharisees had reduced the holy life to a set of prescribed
rules and regulations. But, obedience to God is simply
living out a life of love.
The closer we get to God, the more natural it
becomes to follow Him. It is love that drives the humbled heart;
otherwise, it merely becomes just another set of rules
(Isaiah 28: 9-13).

You can’t drive safely with a dirty windshield.
* A seemingly small detail, but an important one. A dirty windshield
can make it impossible to drive safely. It will impair your vision.
The dirtier it is, the more dangerous it can become.
* As a Christian having a dirty windshield is like having
something distorting your ability to see clearly. It might be
a preconceived notion about who God is. It might be a past judgment
or bias; it might even be a past hurt. It can be anything that prevents
you from seeing clearly.

Last, but certainly not least, is that both are easier to steer when they are moving.
* Ever sit in a car that is turned off? Try to turn the wheel.
It moves a little but there is resistance. Remember when
you were younger and your father let you sit behind the wheel
and pretend to drive? You can pretend drive all you want,
but you still won’t get anywhere. As a Christian, we are to walk
in faith. There is something called active passivity (Francis Schaffer).
It means that even when we are seemingly standing still, we are
moving ahead. Moving ahead means to be daily coming to Christ.
Prayer moves us - repentance moves us - sharing moves us -
giving moves us – you get the idea.
God’s Word says that His Word is a lamp unto our feet,
not a lighthouse with a big light that illuminates our entire way.
But a lamp to our feet to see one step in front of the other.

Lord of my path, direct my steps as I follow close. Fill me with Your Spirit, cleanse my heart, heal my hurts, clear my vision, and keep me moving ever closer to You.

Check out: Psalm 139

Monday, June 22, 2009

Here I am

I was looking through some old papers and found this poem. I wrote it quite a while ago, but wanted to share it.


Here I am alone, standing
in the fire. Instead of laying
at Your feet, I’m weary, Lord, I’m
tired.
I’ve dropped my sword in battle, frightened
by the cost, bombarded by my failure, I fear
the war is lost.

No longer able, Lord, to run
I drop upon my knees. I cry
to You, “This burden, Lord, is
just too much for me. I cannot
carry anymore; I cannot bear it, Lord.
It seems I’m just not strong enough
– a casualty of war.”

Amidst my bitter cries, I hear a stirring sound. I look
out of my darkness and see angels all around.
His gentle hand before me, I’m lifted to my feet.
Standing there, forgiven, my sword’s returned to me.

He said:
“Fight on my sweet and weary child, I’ve not forsaken you.
Because you did not trust My Word, your burdens crippled you.
I offer you unceasing rest and strength to stand
once more. Remember do not lose your hope,
for I have won the war.”
©1990


My Dearest Protector, help me to trust in the unfailing power of Your Word. My hope is in You.


Check out: Ephesians 6:14-18

Friday, June 19, 2009

Intention - Connection - Commitment




I’ve been thinking about some things my son shared with me a while ago. They were three things that spoke to me because they were areas in my life that I had been having struggles with: intentionality, connection, and commitment.


Be purposefully awake: to be awake in Scripture means to be fully awake, to waken thoroughly, to rouse with the idea of collecting one’s faculties. To be confident of your purpose daily - to live intentionally, not just stumble from one crisis to another - to live in a purposeful manner. To know that for us to live is Christ. Do I begin each day with a sense of purpose? Do I live a deliberate life?


Grope Hope: it is an odd idea to use the words “grope” and “hope” in the same thought; the dictionary defines grope as to feel, reach or search about uncertainly, but in the Old Testament, it just means to feel about - no uncertainty. To me, the word grope has the connotation of a passionate and fully-connected attempt to hold on to something, to make a connection with it. But think about it – what might it mean to grope hope? How about to feel its shape, to feel its depth, and length, and breadth- to know it without seeing it. And as you're discovering and groping hope, you begin to sense faith within its texture. Isn’t hope intimately tied to faith?


Be committed to rest: rest is defined as putting into another’s care and custody.
In the New Testament, it can mean a deposit. What have we deposited in God’s care in order to enter into or receive His rest? In the OT, it seems that God’s rest is something entered into. In the NT, Jesus says he will give us rest. How committed are we to receiving God’s rest? We know what happens when we don’t experience it. So why do we run from it?


Do I live in an intentional way?
Do I passionately take hold of hope?
Have I deposited my restless heart in God?

Father of all Peace, help me to live intentionally, to take hold of Your hope, and to allow Your rest to sustain and preserve me.

Check out: Matthew 11:28

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Desire of the Heart


Desire is a strong emotion. It propels and drives us and very often, it controls us. Over the years, there have been those who have tried to take the idea of desire and passion out of the Christian experience because of the sexual connection. But God is a passionate God who desires to have deep fellowship with His creation.


There are many references to desire in God’s Word:
In Luke 22:15, Jesus speaks to his disciples about his desires: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Paul speaks of one of the things the Christian should desire in 1 Corinthians 14:1: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts ….” Peter relates how we should desire or crave “pure spiritual milk” the way a new baby craves to be nourished by its mother (1 Peter 2:2).


What do you desire? What areas of your life are affected by that craving?
I started thinking about what I desire – what God’s Spirit within me craves. Here are just a few of my heart’s deepest desires.

Lord, I desire for You to:
- teach me to be self-aware, not self-absorbed
- show me how to allow the truth of Your Spirit to be the mirror through which I see myself
- expand Your Word in my life so it can be the standard by which I live
- help me stop making excuses for the acts of my flesh
- give me an undivided heart as I give you control over my life. If I confess Christ with my mouth, then I need to trust You with my life. Help me remember that I am not my own; I was bought with a price.
- breathe life into the sleeping areas of my life. I desire to be a living sacrifice, not a dead ritual.
- enlarge the fullness of Your creativity to fill me to overflowing.
- use me. The level I seek to serve You at is directly proportional to the level I seek to know You at.

- I want my faith to be expressed through my culture, not be defined by it.
- I want my light to shine. Lord, keeping myself “clean” before You is related to how brightly my light shines. I know that even in the natural sense when a light bulb is covered in dust it expends more energy than a clean one. Cleanse me.
- I desire for everything I have learned to spill over and teach someone else. I am a living testament to those who are needy, those who are young, and those who are lost. If I was the only Christian on earth, what would the world know of God by observing my life?

Father-God, I desire You. I crave Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Purify my heart and give me singleness of heart, soul, mind, and spirit.

Check out: Psalm 73:23-28

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Shadow of His Wings



I once heard a story about a farmer whose barn caught on fire. After the flames had died down and the smoke began to clear, he began to survey all the damage. He had lost everything. Stumbling through the wreckage, he came across one of his chickens that had been burned to death. In his frustration and sorrow, he thoughtlessly kicked the bird. What he saw next not only surprised him, but humbled him as well. Out from under the lifeless and burned carcass came the hen's chicks, alive and chirping. They had been saved from the flames by hiding underneath their mother's wings.


In the Psalms, there are many references to being under the shadow of God’s wings:

Psalm 17:8 – Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings …
Psalm 36:7 – How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 57:1 – Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 91:1 – He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty.

The literal meaning of the word “shadow” is shade, with the connotation of hovering over. The dictionary defines shade as “to protect; to come between.” What a beautiful picture of how God desires to protect us and to put Himself between us and what might harm us.

In the New Testament, as Jesus is lamenting over Jerusalem’s hardness, He says, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).

Dear heart, take refuge under the shadow of His mighty wings of protection for He truly cares for you.

Loving Father, You long to cover me with your love – to hide and protect me – under the shade of your grace. I draw close to your sheltering embrace.

Check out: Zephaniah 3:14-20

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A River of Intimacy


I’ve been thinking a lot about what intimacy is. Being an English teacher, I did what all good English teachers do and looked it up in a Thesaurus to get a better sense of related words. What I found began to give me a deeper sense of the meaning: acquaintance, affection, communion, confidence, friendship, inwardness, and understanding.


So how does that translate to being intimate with God? Here are some things I thought about:


* Intimacy with God is to know Him as He desires to be known. It means communing with Him and having confidence in His character, so much so that your relationship exists deep within you.
It means that I live daily in His presence, yearning for Him and His word so that it becomes impossible to exist without them. What do you yearn for? What does it even really mean to yearn? To yearn means to feel a deep desire or longing for. Usually we think about yearning for that special loved one or perhaps for that elusive, distant dream. It is something that consumes us.

To yearn also means to pine. This means to become sick gradually from sorrow or loneliness. Do you pine for God? That for every day you do not meet with Him and commune with His Spirit, you grow sick and lonely? Are you lonely for God? Is He that real to you? Or is he just a notion - a nameless, abstract higher power that has no identity or intention?


* Intimacy also has the connotation of being filled with pity or compassion. It seems that when we have an inward, deep relationship with God, a compassion for others springs forth. We give out to others what we have received from God. Imagine a river building in depth and height, straining against its borders. It will eventually spill out and over to flood the surrounding areas. It is similar when the love and mercy of God builds within you. This river of grace cannot and should not stay underground and hidden. Its merciful current flows to a hurting, lonely world, bringing healing and compassion to all who stand in its wake.


* Another aspect of intimacy is acknowledging God for who He is. Who is God? Here are just a few of the ways God reveals Himself in His Word:
God is a creator.
God is a father and a mother.
God is a judge.
God is a warrior.
God is a husband and a wife.
God is light.

Who do you think God is? What evidence is there in His Word of this perception? When we allow our notions and traditions, which have been formed by our experiences to infiltrate what God says about Himself, we are actually fabricating and fashioning an idol. God is who He is whether we agree with Him or not. He is either God as He reveals Himself in His Word, or He is anything I make Him up to be. The trouble with this is that He is no longer God. He is just a figment of my imagination that not only has no power to redeem, but has no interest in my heart. I cannot be intimate with someone I do not truly know.

* Intimacy is to desire service at an ever increasing level. Out of a full inner man comes the desire to serve.

* Intimacy leads to fulfillment spiritually, personally, creatively, intellectually, relationally, and emotionally.

* Intimacy is to no longer be satisfied to exist on the surface, but to consistently dive deeper and deeper into your relationship with the Lord. We need to ask if we have compartmentalized God? Does He only exist on Sundays and holidays in a particular building? Is He just a name we call out when we are in crisis? Has he infiltrated all the areas of our life? Intimate means deep, essential and innermost. Does that describe the way I see God?

* Intimacy is to allow the Spirit into your inner man to cleanse you from your secret sin, to release you from your life-controlling strongholds, to fill you with sustaining peace, and to inhabit you in increasing measure forever.

* Intimacy is hope fulfilled, passion expressed, and joy unleashed.

Merciful Father, I am sorry for the distance that I have put between us. You desire closeness and truth in my inward parts. You are my hope, my passion and my joy.

Check out: I Corinthians 13:4-13

Monday, June 15, 2009

The Deep: Conclusion


Verse 10 of James 4:7-10: Now after all that sobbing and grieving, do we get to do something fun?
Well, first we are told to:
(first part of verse ten): humiliate your heart before the face of the supreme Lord.

What? First sobbing, now humiliation?

Humiliation is something we as humans don’t like to think about, but we are told to do just that. The key? We are to do it before the face of the supreme Lord. The heart is your feelings, your will and your intellect- we all have individual things that need to be humiliated, to be brought low in submission before God. And it is only when we get into the presence of God, alone, that we are able to discern just what those things are.

Why before the face of the supreme Lord? Because it is there that our hearts are safe, and it is there that He shall lift you up. We learn our self-worth in the presence of God. It is there that we understand how much we are loved.

The second part of that verse is the reason for the humbling: to be dignified by God.

It is from the open hand of God’s tender mercy that our self-esteem is fashioned. It is Him who gives us dignity and worth. If we allow ourselves to be dignified and elevated by the world, we are in danger of developing a distorted self-concept and fragile self-esteem. The world does not offer constancy of affection.

As Christians, we are given dignity not only because we are now cleansed by the blood of Christ and stand new, but because we can now fully realized the original purpose of mankind - to live eternally in sweet, intimate fellowship with our Creator.

If we allow our achievements or our culture or our traditions or our works to dignify and define us, then we miss it. We miss the blessing, and we miss the intimacy that only comes from being built up and restored by the One who made you.


So, after the submitting, the resisting, the coming, the washing and purifying, the grieving and changing and humbling, we can stand refreshed and new. If you read Chapter Four in its entirety, it looks like James just stuck verses 7-10 in the middle of a discourse about relating to others and appropriate behavior. But, of course, it is an inspired, intentional placement. Why? Because in order to be rightly related to others, we must first be rightly related to God. Make your relationship with God right on the inside and your relationships on the outside will be positively affected.

Father-God, I submit myself to You. I resist the enemy of my heart and come to You to be washed and purified. I grieve over my rebellious sins and humble myself before Your throne of grace. Help me to share this inward peace to those around me.

Check out: Isaiah 45:2-7

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Deep: Part VIII


Now the last part of verse nine:
Let the satisfaction of your gratitude be changed from one nature to another so that you experience your grief, and your happy cheerfulness is turned into intense heaviness.

Yikes! More grief? Heaviness? Let the satisfaction of your gratitude be changed from one nature to another? What does that mean?

Let’s try to understand in light of what has come before. As we go deeper with God, everything we have felt, things like satisfaction and gratitude, is changed from experiencing those things from the perspective of our old nature to the perspective of the nature of our new man in Christ.

In the world, when we are satisfied with something, we’re likely to keep it the same - like the ocean analogy of getting into the water up to your neck and staying there. You can become satisfied with the way things are; you’re grateful, but the tendency of the flesh is to be passive, not active. Why change something if you’re satisfied with it? When the satisfaction of your gratitude is allowed to be expressed in the nature of the new man, it becomes active, spirit-directed, driven by a desire to go deeper and deeper.

We grieve and sob, not because we have just been moved emotionally by a sermon or a song, but because we have been convicted by the Holy Spirit.

Godly sorrow is different because it is an inside-out grief, begun with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is the result of a willing heart that has decided to go through the breaking to become more. Consider the butterfly as it breaks free from its cocoon; the process of breaking its boundaries strengthens its wings so it can fly.

The breaking that happens to a submitted heart leads to freedom. This is not a story of defeat and sadness. It is a “on the third day, He rose from the grave” kind of victory. We are reminded of this third day perspective in Psalm 30:5 – weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Lord of empty tomb, I grieve over my distance from You. I trade in the passivity of my old nature for the activity of my new nature. Break me free so that I may fly.

Check out: Psalm 118:5

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Deep: Part VII


The next verse (hang in there-almost done):
1st part of verse nine:
Realize your own misery and experience grief and sob aloud.

Misery and grief? Isn’t the Christian life about joy? The brochure said nothing about misery and grief, and I remember it most certainly said nothing about sobbing aloud. Where’s the good news?

There are three important things in this verse that we should consider:
1) Coming to grips with and realizing the truth about what and who we are.
2) Experiencing grief over the state of our souls. This kind of Godly sorrow does not condemn, but cleanses us, drawing us closer to the forgiving arms of our Abba-Father.
3) And lastly, sobbing aloud. For those of us who are more reserved, this can be a scary concept. You may think, "I can be upset, but don't ask me to make a spectacle of myself." It’s interesting that the word “wail” (NIV) does not mean to cry silently. The word definitely denotes a loud, verbal noise, a sobbing over sin. It’s the kind of gut-cry that comes from somewhere deep within you. I'm not saying that we need to become an emotional mess, weeping and wailing at every opportunity. It's just that coming into the presence of God and releasing on this deep, vulnerable level, connects us in a way that mere words cannot.
Do you have someone who you can go to and just cry with? I mean really cry with? There is a closeness and a feeling of safety between you. You know that this person will not judge you, but will mourn with you and comfort you. It's the same when you come to God and pour out your innermost sorrow to Him. You can do it if you know that He is trustworthy and loving and desires this kind of closeness with you.
I can assure you He does.

Forgiving Father, have I ever expressed this kind of audible sorrow in your presence? If I haven’t, what could be the reason I’ve held back? Lord, reveal the truth to me. I submit to your Spirit and wait on you. Help me to fully understand the price you paid for my sin and how that sin has separated me from you.

Check out: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Friday, June 12, 2009

The Deep: Part VI


Continuing on in James 4:7-10

The middle part of verse eight says:
Clean your hands, the channels of your power; you who miss the mark and do not share in the prize.

Clean your hands – good hygiene aside, this type of deep cleanliness requires more than soap and water could accomplish. The word “clean” means more than free from literal dirt. It also means faultless, pure, uncontaminated, virtuous, and complete. What can clean this deeply? Titus 3:5 says: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This part of the verse is a call to be cleansed by the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus so that the work our hands set to do may be sanctified through His grace and mercy.

Now the last part of verse eight:
Make pure and holy your thoughts and feelings, you who are two-spirited, vacillating in opinion and purpose.

We are told to make pure and holy our thoughts and feelings. How do we do that? On our own, we are neither pure nor holy. But Jesus, our Redeemer and Lord, is our righteousness. It is His pureness and holiness that we take on as we daily commit our thoughts and emotions to God.

What does it mean to be a two-spirited person who goes back and forth in their opinion and purpose? Two spirits?

Mine, which was formed by the world and my flesh, and God’s, which is Spirit and Truth. For a long time, I tried to live a life divided between two worlds. The result was a back and forth up and down life that never rested on the level path of God. The idea of having two spirits instead of one means that there isn’t room for the fullness of either one, especially for the things of God. Intimacy with God? A sanctified inner man? For the two-spirited person this is an impossibility. And whatever one you “feed” will be the stronger.

Ephesians 4: 14 tells of the result of having Christ dwell in our inner man: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching, and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”
Pure and holy feelings and thoughts are a by-product of a one-spirited person.

Cleaning your hands, making pure and holy your thoughts and feelings – all necessary for not only inner peace, but outer peace as well. At the beginning of Chapter Four, James tells us that the battles between us come from the battles that rage within us. All aspects of who we are and what we do is affected by our relationship or lack of relationship with God. Just as our natural man is affected by the food and drink we put into it, our spiritual man is likewise affected by what it is fed with.

Father-God, how much time do I spend “feeding” your Spirit within me? How often do I come to You to be nourished? Am I starving?

Check out: John 6:57

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Deep: Part IV


Continuing on with James 4:7-10
1st part of verse eight:

Approach and squeeze God and he will approach and squeeze you.

Isn’t that a great picture?
- Your deep desire to know the Father calls to His deep desire to be known.
- We are not just to approach God, but to accost and squeeze him, be intimate with him
- Who do you greet like that? Someone who you only casually know? It would not only be awkward, but inappropriate.
- Standing on the outside looking in at God will not feed your spirit. It would be like standing outside of a great feast, looking through the window. You could smell the food, you could see and describe the food, but you could literally starve to death within feet of life.

Consider the relationship that exists (or should exist) inside of marriage. The Lord considers us His bride, so looking at a spiritual relationship through the eyes of an earthly one is not so strange.

In a marriage, there needs to be:
- faithfulness: to vows made
- commitment: to make it to the end, standing in agreement and working through the hard times
- honesty: in word and deed
- trust: built like a bridge that can carry the weight
- love: genuine and passionate

These are just a few of the necessary elements for a healthy, strong marriage. The same with our relationship to God.

In our relationship with God, there needs to be:
- faithfulness: to the vows we made when we received Christ as not only our Savior, but as our Lord
- commitment: to stand firm, to finish the race in the Spirit of the Lord, to work through hard times and issues
- honesty: to allow God into our innermost being, to open up our lives, to speak what’s in our hearts, knowing that He understands and loves us
- trust: to trust God with our hearts because He is ever trustworthy. Christ has laid down his life as a bridge to the Father. We need to trust this work and walk across, unafraid and secure.
- love: genuine love for God – not a display or a worked-up emotion, but genuine love because He first loved us when we weren’t so loveable. And passionate – to love with everything you have, everything you are, and everything you will be.

If you have never entered into relationship with Christ, He is calling. He desires to be your supplier, your protector, your King and your lover. Turn away from your sin, your own agenda and accept the sacrifice that makes it possible for you to not only experience eternity with God, but makes it possible for you to become a new creation – regenerated, refreshed, and revived.

If you have a relationship already, recommit yourself today. Jeremiah 2: 1-2 says: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me, and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.” Renew your vows with the lover of your soul, and rejoice once again in your redemption.

Savior of my life, I accost You - squeeze You with all my might. I embrace Your throne of grace and rest in the security of Your love.

Check out: Psalm 18 (I know it’s long, but it’s worth it. Read it out loud – with conviction and confidence)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Deep: Part V


Continuing on with James 4:7-10.

The second part of verse 7 literally reads:
B) Stand against and oppose the traducer, the slanderer, Satan, and he will run away from you and shun you because he dislikes you.

For years, I listened to the lies and accusations of the enemy. I was the one always running away, but scripture says it is supposed to be the other way around. We need to stand against and oppose Satan. But how do we do that?

This past year, the Lord has been trying to teach me something about opposing the lies of the enemy. I’ve begun to recognize some of them, such as “You’ll never get victory over that sin; you know you won’t.” Or my favorite: “No one ever appreciates you - all they do is use you; they don’t care if you have a need - all they ever want is to have their needs taken care of.” We have all felt the deep hurtful feelings that surround and come over us and hold us like a tight grip.
The Lord desires us to oppose it, to reject it instead of embrace and agree with it, to stand against the lies. When we begin to feel the weight of the enemy’s lies against us, we need to declare God’s Truth: The Lord has redeemed me. I am crucified with Christ. I am a new creation in Christ.
This is not the "if I think, therefore, I am" philosophy. It has to do with declaring God's Word - about you, about Him. Many have reduced this speaking out of God's truth to a kind of superstitious mantra. It's not mind over matter. It is the release of the living Word of God over my life as I submit to Him.

Is there a possibility that certain outward circumstances may never change? Sure there is, but we are not to live under the weight of that burden. As we daily stand firm, rejoicing in the love, mercy and grace we have been given, our firm grasp on the Truth leaves no room to hold on to the lies.

We are under the protective shadow of the Father’s wings and will no longer answer the call of the enemy and allow his words to take root within us.

Father of my heart, I surround myself with Your Words and Your whisperings to my soul. I am Your child. I hear Your voice and listen.

Check out: Psalm 29: 4-11

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Deep: Part IV


Now you may be thinking, living in the deep with God sure that sounds great, but how do I get there? One of the answers comes from James 4:7-10. In this scripture, there are eight commands concerning our spiritual posture that need to be understood and lived out in order for us to be in the proper place and the proper frame of mind where we can receive from God at a deep level and nurture the intimacy He desires. These commands are not a rigid formula based on performance. They are a practical revelation of spiritual principles meant to equip and complete us.
(Verses reflect original meaning from the Greek)
The first part of verse seven says:
1) be subordinate to and obey God
- subordinate means dependent upon. We must daily be dependent on God to sustain us; remember our natural man cannot survive at unnatural depths. It also means to make secondary; we need to daily lay ourselves before the Father, putting the things of God before everything else.
- obey God: scripture tells us that to obey is better than sacrifice. Have we replaced daily obedience with a sacrifice of our own making? In the Old Testament there was something called an unauthorized fire. That’s a fire or sacrifice God did not ask for nor require. What might be considered an “unauthorized fire” in my life? Do these sacrifices bring me closer to God or further away? Why might this be?

Father-God, for too long I have placed myself above Your will. I depend on You for my very survival.

Check out: Isaiah 40:26-31

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Deep: Part III


Now, picture yourself answering the call to go deeper. You start to swim out to where you cannot stand on your own anymore. You have left most of your friends behind, so there is no one to grab onto when you get tired. You decide to tread water for as long as you can and resist the Spirit’s urging to just let go and sink into the depth of the Father’s love and care. You finally come to the end of your strength and release yourself into God’s hands.

When you go under the water, you immediately notice that the world appears much different than on the surface - the noise of the world is muffled and distant. The burning, hot sun is diffused and cooled. You hold your breath for as long as you can, but your lungs are ready to burst. You see, in a natural sense, your body was not made to exist beneath the water, just as your old man, your natural man, cannot sustain you in the deep of your Christian life.

At this point you have three choices -

1) Go back to the surface where you can breathe on your own and spend your life treading water, never enjoying the intense pleasure and rest that comes from living in the deep.

2) Go back to the shallow water and spend your life getting slammed by life’s trials, being pushed and pulled by the world’s current

3) Listen to the voice that tells you to lean into the breath of God where to live is to depend upon His life-giving grace; respond to the call that urges you to lean into the intimate sustaining embrace that is hidden from those who exist on the surface, and discover the joyful worship that springs up from the depths of your inner man.

All-sustaining Father, I desire to live at an unnatural depth, where my very survival depends on You. Draw me ever deeper into your unlimited love and grace.

Check out: Romans 8:38-39

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The Deep: Part II


So you decide you’re tired of living on the shoreline and venture out a little deeper. You get past the breakers and find that you’re up to your neck, hanging out managing the waves like I did. You decide it’s nicer out here, no pushing and pulling, much easier, floating around, jumping over small waves. You think, “This is what God must have wanted and what he had meant when he called me deeper.” You might even be tempted to think, “Even though I can still stand on my own feet, I’m much deeper than I used to be and certainly much deeper than those people over there on the shore.” As you start to get your confidence up, you suddenly see a really big wave rolling towards you.

You start to panic. “God, you never said anything about waves this big. What am I supposed to do? I can’t jump over this one myself; I think I’ll just head back to the shore where it’s safer.” But through your panic and doubt, you hear the Lord whisper, “There isn’t time; just hang onto Me and I’ll take you through this trial because if you allow me, I am going to take you even deeper.” Well, you ignore that last part and because honestly you don’t have any other options, you put your trust in the Lord and of course, He brings you through. You are amazed that God has sustained you out here in the deep the way He did. You might even tell your friends the same way I told you about how I made it through the big one.
But there is a problem. Some people stay here in their Christian lives. They get to a place of trusting God, a place of learning, living deeper than they used to, even getting through some big trials, but for whatever reason, they decide not to go any deeper. But the Spirit’s voice will always call us on to a place of unnatural depth because it is there that we must totally depend on the supernatural sustaining power of God. And it is only in that state of total dependence that we will be able to form a consistent, lasting intimate dependence on the Father.

Eternal Lord, sustain me in the deep when trials try to sweep me away. You hold me in the palm of Your hand.

Check out: Psalm 73:23-28

Saturday, June 6, 2009

The Deep: Part I


I’d like you to think about the ocean. Personally because I am inexperienced swimming in the ocean, I have great respect for its unpredictable power. One of the main reasons relates to an experience I had a few years back. After spending hours being beaten up on the shoreline in a about a foot of water, a friend brought me out to where the water was up to my neck. She taught me to jump over the waves and enjoy the deeper water. Then I saw it. A huge wave was rolling right towards us. My friend swam over to me and told me that we would need to go under this one. Knowing that she wouldn’t let me drown, I clung on to her and when she said. “Now!” we dipped effortlessly beneath the wave.

When I came up on the other side of the wave, I looked toward the shoreline. I could see its swell rolling away from us, sweeping other more unsuspecting bathers away. I didn't drown. I had made it through the "big one."

So what does a first time experience in the ocean have to do with my relationship with God?
Imagine a person standing on the beach. This person represents us as we stand before the Christian life as we come to the unlimited majesty of the Almighty God. The water represents being immersed into the Christian life. The distance to which we are willing to go out towards the invisible horizon and the depth we are willing reach represents our walk and the level of our commitment to God.
You see, as I stood on the shoreline that day at the beach, I was in no danger of drowning. I could stand on my own two feet, and I could get out of the water without much trouble. But near the shoreline is where the waves break. It’s also where the current seems strongest, pulling and pushing you back and forth as the water yanks at your feet. If you stand there long enough, not only will your feet will begin to sink into the sand like anchors, but you will get really tired with all the waves breaking on you.
I spent a lot of time metaphorically on the beach in my Christian life. I was in the water, I was saved, but because my trust of God was limited and because there was no real depth or grounding to my understanding of His nature, I was afraid to venture out to a place of uncertainty. I would inwardly laugh when I’d hear Christians recite the verse: “Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) What rest I’d say; I’m exhausted. But there was always this gentle voice calling me towards the deep.

Consider: Where am I today? Am I on the shoreline, standing in the water? Or am I venturing out towards the deep?
Almighty Father, draw my fearful heart towards your limitless, deep love today. I will come.
Check out: Colossians 3:13-17

Friday, June 5, 2009

Beneath the Surface


Intimacy with God is not an experience that happens to us. It is a state of being, a state of existence that develops within us. As we allow God into our inner man, we are drawn deeper into His presence. It is when we place ourselves “in” Him, not near Him or around His people, but in Him that we can truly be intimate with God.

But why the need for such intimacy with God? Why not just a little depth? Can’t you just know of God and allow Him to be a part of your life, even the most important part of your life?
I remember my pastor asking the question, “Who here has Christ as the most important part of their life?” I smiled and proudly raised my hand. Was I surprised when he then said, “Christ should not be the most important part of your life. He should be your life.” I had missed it. It was the difference between acting like a Christian and being a Christian.

So many times I had reduced my Christianity with a compartmentalized attitude – God goes here, work goes here and so on. No wonder my walk was a series of up and down emotionally-driven experiences.

Consider: Why is it necessary to live “beneath” instead of on the “surface” of God?

Check out: John 15:4-8

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Deep Calls to Deep


Sometimes when we read through our bibles, we have a tendency to just read the words. We truly want to know the Word of God, but unless we get beneath the surface and spend time meditating and reflecting, we can often miss the power of this most unique written message.
Slowly read the psalm below (Psalm 139) - out loud. This translated version reflects the fullness of the language and the probable intent of the writer:

O Lord, you have intimately penetrated, examined, observed, instructed, recognized, punished, and cared for me. You know my dwellings and my risings, my strengths and weaknesses; you distinguish and separate my thoughts to tend and pasture them, to rule and associate with them (even when I am remote, I am precious). You winnow and sift my well-trodden roads; my sleeping and my dreams are familiar to you with all my roads and courses of life in order to cherish and minister to me. For there is not a word, topic, or discourse on my tongue, but lo, O Lord, you observe and recognize it all. You have confined and cramped me behind – backward to my past – and before me and placed your open palm upon me. Such observing, caring, recognizing, and instructing is too remarkable and difficult for me; it is lofty, strong, and inaccessible – I cannot attain it. Where, since I have and am nothing, shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I suddenly bolt from your face? If I mount and ascend up into the sky, you are there. If I make my bed in the world of the dead, behold, you are there, then. If I lift the wings of the dawn and reside in the uttermost parts of the roaring sea, even there shall your open hand guide and transport me, and your powerful open hand seize and possess me.
If I say, surely the dark, ignorant and sorrowful destruction shall overwhelm and snap me, even a twist away from the light shall be happy illumination about me. Yea, the darkness shall not withhold light from you, but the night is as luminous as the day. The sorrowful dark and the happy illumination are both alike to you. For you have purchased and owned my reins and my mind; you have entwined and fenced me in my mother’s womb. I will lift my hands to you, for I am made in a fearfully reverent and distinguished way. Great and wonderful are your actions, like poetry, and that my soul recognizes right well. My powerful body was not destroyed when I was made in secret, embroidered and fabricated in the depths of the womb – the earth.
Your eyes, like a fountain, did see my strong body, yet unformed, and in your written book all my structures were engraved, which daily were determined and molded into shape, when as yet there was none of them. How costly and valuable are your thoughts and ideas unto me, O God!
How powerfully numerous is the sum of them. If I should tally them, they are more in number than the whirling particles of sand. When I am abruptly startled from sleep, I am continually with you. Surely you will cut off those who are morally wrong, O God. Turn away from me therefore, you men who shed blood unto death; for they speak against you with evil plans and your foes who are watchful for mischief take your character, honor, and position as useless. Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate you? And am I not cut by those who rise up against you? I hate those with perfect and complete hatred. I count them my enemies.
Penetrate and examine me intimately, O God, and observe, care for, recognize, and instruct my heart and see if there be any idolatrous and wicked ways in me and guide me in the concealed and eternal course of life.
***************************

We need to understand that intimacy calls to intimacy; a desire for deep things, cradled in the Spirit, calls to the deep things of God. In return, the deep things of God call to the deep things within us.

Loving Lord, I draw close to you through your Word. I welcome the deepness of your love as it envelops and strengthens me today.

Check out: Psalm 42: 7-8

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Intimate Zone


Intimacy with God is above all internal, far within, deep-seated. Ephesians 3:16 speaks about allowing the Spirit to strengthen us in our inner man so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. So what is our inner man and what does it have to do with intimacy with God? It is because “inner man” literally means the inside point reached or entered as well as the countenance or the expression of who we are. This inside most basic region of our soul is the only place where spiritual intimacy truly can take root and begin to grow.
The world also recognizes this dimensional aspect of our humanity. Proxemics, the study of informal space, calls the zero to eighteen inches around us the “intimate zone.” This is the place that as humans we do not like to have violated by those we do not trust. It is a place we feel we own and in the world have learned to protect. Well below this intimate zone, lies the inner man. This is where we hide the possessive seeds of our past, the place where our fears accumulate, the place where we tuck away our private sins. It is the place where we curl around ourselves and the place where the world and those around us cannot see the extent of our own kingship in our lives. But God sees. That’s why the inner, the inmost places of man must be released and cleaned out so that Christ may dwell deep within us. But it is contrary to everything we know as humans. The idea of allowing anyone into our inner man is foreign and frightful for us. It is the place of the last stand.
Well, intimacy with God begins well beneath the zero to eighteen-inch barrier, deep within us. No wonder as humans we are uncomfortable with this and are resistant to it. Our natural tendency is to keep everything on the surface because it is more comfortable that way, reducing everything to an outward experience instead of an inward encounter. We often even view our salvation as an experience, something that happens “to” us, not “in” us.
So the first step to understanding the depth of our own spiritual intimacy is to identify whether we have compromised the integrity of our inner man.

Lord, when I think about allowing you into my “inner man,” I feel…
The reason I might feel this way is because…

Father, I invite you to dwell deep within me, to take up residence in the most vulnerable areas of my heart, and to heal my inner brokenness.

Check out: Eph. 3:16-19

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Weddings, Brides, and Tin Cans, oh my.


My husband and I love to look through old magazines. We have a small, musty collection that contain recipes calling for lard, egg yolks, and white sugar, advertisements for cigarettes claiming to improve health and concentration, and happy couples standing in front of white, picket-fenced homes with two smiling children and a well-behaved dog.
The other day I was looking through an old magazine from the 60’s and saw a picture of a newly married couple leaving the church in a car that had tin cans tied behind it. Despite the fact that this was an advertisement for a particular make of car, I started thinking about what this scene represented.
This used to be a common scene - shouts of joy, the honking of horns, and the noise of the cans rattling behind. As I looked closer at the picture, I noticed the contrast between the pure radiance of the bride’s expression and dress with the dirty commonness of the used tin cans. What a contradiction. It made me start to think about all the contradictions in my spiritual life. What do I have dragging behind me, weighing me down? Do I live with the dirty habits of my flesh clinging to the purity of my spirit?
Wouldn’t it be great if the night before a person’s wedding, instead of bachelor parties or stressful rehearsals, the bride and groom spent that time labeling these old cans with the things they need to leave behind that will intrude upon their new life, all the sinful restrictions of the past. Words like: absent father, overbearing mother, disastrous past relationships, anything that could color and shade the strength of their new relationship would be written across the cans.
They could then tie these cans to the back of the car the night before, laying them on the ground as a sign of their laying down of the past; then just before they drove off, the minister would cut the strings in the name of Jesus as a symbol of them leaving behind the captive regret of their experiences, dreams, and judgments. How different is my “marriage” to Christ?
What past things might be intruding upon my relationship with God today? What have I allowed to enter into this spiritually unique relationship that has negatively affected my Godly affections?

Dear Jesus, you considered the church your bride. I recommit myself to you and renew my “vows.” You are not only my Savior, you are my Lord and King.

Check out: Song of Solomon: 8:7

Monday, June 1, 2009

Comforter


I am a couch and comforter person. Combine a cold, damp day, a soft, cozy comforter, a good book and a cup of tea and I am a happy camper - an interesting analogy because when it’s cold and damp, I am anything but a happy camper. Anyway, back to topic.
One day as I was sitting under one of my favorite down comforters, I found myself in a deep conversation and contemplation with the Lord. I had been going through some difficult times and was feeling very overwhelmed. As I prayed, my attention was drawn to the design on the comforter. The lines swirled up and down and resembled a continuous train of lofty mountains and deep valleys. I laughed to myself and said, “Lord, that looks like my walk with you. I’m either struggling to get up to the victory of the mountaintop, or I’m trapped down in the shadowed sadness of the valley.”
As I changed my position to get more comfortable, I looked back down at the quilt and noticed that the design had also changed position. It now looked like a level meandering stream with no height or depth. The Lord spoke clearly to my heart: “Child, your hopelessness has affected your perspective. The journey was once a straight line to me, but sin entered the world and made the straight way crooked. If you allow my Spirit to direct you, I will make your way a level path. You just happen to be on one side of the curve and cannot see around the bend. It is the nature of the journey that causes your faith to grow. Believe that as you depend on me and deepen your walk, I will lead you in the way you should go. And, by the way, Child, it is no coincidence that you are sitting under a Comforter.”


Dear Father, guide me in the way I should go. Help me to find shelter and comfort under the shadow of your sings. Send your Holy Spirit to comfort and direct my path.

Check out: John 14:16; 14:26