Freedom Moment

In our church planting quest, we have been visiting churches. One thing I didn’t count on, necessarily, is running into people I know. I’m not sure why.  I grew up in this region and I’m getting “older”.  The older you get it seems the more people you know. I’ve run into several familiar faces. I don’t always recognize people…we’re getting “older” and we’ve lost weight or in my case, gained some weight.  Or a teenage grew into an adult, etc.

Recently, I was recognized by a girl I went to high-school with.  As I was trying to placing her face…I knew it was familiar but it wasn’t clicking.  She told me her name.  That I recognized and then she added, for good measure, “I was the naughty (or maybe she said “bad”) cheer leader.”.  If I was an emoticon I would be the wide-eyed one.  We’ve been out of highschool for many years.  I was completely unaware of any highschool indiscretions she may have participated in.  In any case, I seriously doubt her highschool shenanigans would shock me today.  And more seriously, I ask myself, “How do I see myself? and how would I describe myself to someone from my past? How would I have handled the situation?”

I am not sure.  But I hope that I would not associate myself with my past or my sin.  To the best of my ability, I will associate myself with who God says I am; my best self.

Freedom is hard to come by…it took me a long time to get freed up.  Even recently, I prayed for continual healing.  Reluctantly.  Healing isn’t always fun but it is always good.  Deliverance isn’t always easy but it’s the best thing for us.

I prayed and a day or two later, I am driving down the road and I pass a house that I used to spend time at.  God tells me, “You have a soul tie with that house.”  A house?  Yes,  because  every time I drove by that house I remembered a season of my life that was sinful. Then I thought of the people who lived there and my mind would wonder to “Where are they now?”.  It triggered memories and emotions that were not from God.  I had to break it and let it go.

There are places we have to “break up” with.

I’m going to say something and please don’t take it out of context.  I don’t think I will go to hell if I walk into a bar.  I don’t also don’t want to sit in the bar with my family and eat dinner (too loud, too many TVs and too much bawdy behavior for my babies).  Having said all of that, there are some bars that I have no desire to step into and that’s because they used to be my place of worship…that’s right, I would go every Thursday, Saturday and sometimes Wednesdays or Sundays.  I was there all the time.  I had to stop going because I had made a choice to live my life for Jesus.  There are some things that are acceptable for us to do…the very act of walking into a bar isn’t going to cause me to lose faith in Jesus but it may also not be edifying for me.  And it’s not who I am.

I’ve given this testimony before, I know my parents were praying for me because I had a distinct moment walking back from the bathroom in a crowded bar…I was buzzing and all of the sudden, I had a moment of sobriety when God said to me, “Look around.”  I was surrounded by people who were drunk, making out, being loud and aggressive.  It was as if the lights have been turned on.  Have you ever been in a bar at 2 a.m. when they turn the lights on? The “cool” decor is suddenly dated, gross and filthy; literally very dirty. There is trash on the floors and drunk people shielding their eyes from the light.  It’s not pretty.  Not to mention, the people…that “10” becomes a “6” real fast.  Then God said, “You weren’t made for this.  You don’t belong here.  I made you for for more than this.”   That’s why I don’t go to bars these days…I’ve been there when the lights came on and it’s not pretty.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 12:8

That’s the whole thing about freedom.  When the light comes, you see things differently.  Once you are forgiven, you aren’t who you once were.   You must see yourself in the light.

Here’s an extra nugget…once you have asked God to forgive you for something, believe Him.  He forgave you.  Stop bringing it up to Him over and over.  It’s done.  Trusting that God has forgiven you is an act of faith.  You either believe Him or you don’t.  At times, it is easier to believe in God’s forgiveness for others than His forgiveness for us.   He hasn’t offered anything to anyone else that He isn’t offering to you.

God Bless You!

The Bravest Thing

 This past Wednesday at our church I witnessed one of the bravest things; an act of courage.  When you think about acts of courage, you may think of a soldier in a war zone or a firefighter battling a blaze.  Sometimes an act of courage is much closer to home. 

We attend a rather small church; a church on the grow.  Our vision is to grow a church in our community based on relationship; relationship with Jesus Christ and with each other.  Since we are small right now, we are acquainted with everyone who attends our church.  Relationships are growing but I would say that we are not necessarily closely knit together at present although we are growing in that direction.  Obviously, we are new so other members are closely knit together already.

When we began visiting and then attending our church, we met a lovely woman who I recognized as struggling with homosexuality.  For several years, I led a women’s Bible study and among the core group of attenders were three young women who had struggled with or were familiar with the lifestyle.  Our Bible study was close knit, especially after two or three years together and we addressed many of the core issues that led to entering lifestyles that oppose the Word of God (not only homosexual lifestyles but all ungodly lifestyles).  

This past Wednesday, after a particular powerful message from Pastor Buddy Rattray about stirring up things in your life, this lovely lady, stood on platform and with difficulty announced that she has been struggling with homosexuality.  Make no mistake, it was obviously difficult for her.  It was her standing before her family and stirring things up in her life.  It was raw honesty. It was real.  It was the bravest thing.  It was not surprising or shocking to most of us.  I had been aware of it for a while because…well, because once you become familiar with some spirits, you recognize them when are around them.  

Why was it the bravest thing?  Because quiet simply, she did not know how we would react.  We would shun her?  Would we act differently?  (I hope we do act differently, I hope we pray for her more and that we are more supportive of her struggle)  Would we REJECT her?  Will it be awkward? 

In so many Christian communities, people never get real…I mean really get real.  No one knows about that there is an issue in the marriage until the divorce is underway.  No one knows about the parent struggling with their child until the child is in rehab.   No one knows about the financial issues until the house is in foreclosure.  No one knows about the illness until chemo is underway.  No one wants to discuss the porn issue in the church.  No one wants to talk about the homosexual issue; the child and spousal abuse issue; the debt issue; the SIN issue!!  Who is willing to stand up and talk about the SIN issue??

What is it going to take for you to connect and get real with your spiritual family?  What crisis has to occur to change your answer to the question “How are you doing?” from “Blessed and highly favored!” to “Would you pray for me….” ?

Every one of us faces some struggle in our life; some sin; some issue.  When will we be brave?  What will it take for us to answer honestly?

Forgiveness

John 20:23
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

For years I have considered what Jesus said in this passage.  I have always been taugh that the only mediator I need is Jesus. I am not required to seek a man out to “forgive” me.  Still I agree with that.  My relationship with Jesus is what defines my salvation.

Recently, I found that someone in my life had willingly sinned.  There seems to have been a stronghold that caused this person to willingly participate in the sin repeatedly even though he/she knows it is a sin.  I was upset with this person.  When it comes to sin, I am very black and white – there are not many areas of grey with me.    Some aspects of the situation could be considered a sin against me personally but overall, the sin was against God and the person who committed the sin.  We can sin against ourselves. 

I was angry with the situation.  Wasted life; wasted dreams; wasted future.  Such waste. 

As I prayed, I forgave.  I felt the Holy Spirit to lead me to pray, “I forgive, PERSON’S NAME of the sin of this activitiy”.  It seemed a little strange. 

As I prayed about it, I felt God was telling me that there are many people who cannot come to a place of forgiveness becuase they are so bound by their sin.  If we can loosen them from the sin, they can come to place of seeking forgiveness for themselves.  Repentances is the first step in deliverance.

I’ve been reading a book by Frances Roberts called Come Away My Beloved.  Just this week as many of these things unfolded, I shared with Dennis about how forgiving others allows them to come to a place of forgiveness for themselves.  The next day, I was reading my devotional and almost exactly what I had shared was there in writing. 

This is why Jesus taught so strongly that we must forgive our enemies and those who despitefully use us.  If we forgive them, then they can find Him. 

Repentance is the first step in deliverance and in healing.

2 Chronicles 7:14
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What works on a corporate level (group) works on and individual level.  This scripture unfolds the mystery of healing.  Humble yourself.  Seek God’s face.  Repent; turn from your wickedness – stop doing it.  Then God will forgive you and heal you.  If you want healing in your life, repent.  If you want healing in your family repent and forgive, so others can find a place of repentance.  If you want to see your church changed, then repent and forgive.  If you want to see your city come to know Jesus, repent and forgive. 

When we forgive we loosen the bands of the enemy over the person or persons who we forgive.

How Protective are You?

We had a series or message recently that spoke about “My Church”.  It was about taking ownership of our church.  Owning it.

So how protective are we over our church?  What types of things should be on guard about?

If you found out something was going on at your church that was immoral (opposed to the Word of God) or something unethical was taking place what would you do?  Let’s say the pastor is not involved but possibly someone else in leadership, how should the information be handled?

 “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (I Corinthians 5) is what Paul said in regard to sexual sins in the church at Corinth.  He said we should not allow even a little sin in the church. 

The church is there to help save sinners.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone falls short sometimes.  Romans says, we have all fallen short of the glory of God.

Should some situations spur us on to protect the church?  If there is sin present, actively being pursued, by someone who knows better and that person is participating in ministry, does it spiritually effect the church? I think it does.  How can the body of Christ (the church) have some members who want to remain fleshly and worldly in character and some members who want to become spiritual move forward in unity?  This seems impossible.

When we realize how our choices effect others, we make wiser choices.  Do we consider how our actions effect our church?  Our attitudes and choices set the tone and atmosphere for our church.  We fail to consider that all the parts of the body effect the whole body.  If the arm is injured the whole body knows it.  If the leg is infected, it slows down the whole body; an infection in your leg can cause a fever to rage through your body.  We must begin to consider how are choices effect our family members, our church, our community.  What you do matters.

Own It

In the past several years I’ve heard a phrase over and over that has recently started to irritate me.  There are variations of this phrase.  Perhaps you’ve heard it.  “I made a bad choice.”  “She made a bad choice.”  “He made a bad choice” “Maybe that was a bad choice.”  “I could have (should have) made a better chioce”  “It was his/her choice.” 

Most of the time this phrase is used, it is in reference to what us “old schoolers” would call SIN.

One of the biggest issues we see today is a generation unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions.  Instead of “owning up” or simply “owning” an action, excuses are offered and blame is laid.  It’s time for each one of  us to stop watering down the truth and face it.  We are all sinners; we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Not one of us can live up the the standard (Jesus) that has been placed before us.  We simple cannot compare to Him. (Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God)

Being a leader is more about responsibility than it is about position.  Anyone can be a leader, even if they do not have a title or position.  Being a leader is about about “Owning it”.  Every leader has to start somewhere.  If you want to be a leader and take on a role of responsiblity, begin at home; begin with yourself.  If you fail, admit it.  If you do not know the answer, say “I do not know”.  If you have sinned say outloud, “I sinned.”  God can only forgive us when we admit our sin, ask for His forgiveness and stop repeating the offense.  The first step is admitting we were wrong.

Here’s a news flash for all you young adults out there.  No matter how much you know, you do not know as much as you think you know.  I heard a  quote once that said, “When I was 16 I thought my father was an idiot. When I turned 21 I was astonished by how much he had learned in only 5 years”.  The older you get, the more life you experience you realize in the vast realm of the universe, you simple do not know much.  Even if you study, learn, earn degrees, etc. you may know more than you once knew but you also realize there is so much more to learn. 

Stop making excuses.  Stop trying to impress everyone by how “mature” you are, how wise you are or how much you know.  Own who and what you are right now and give God the opportunity (permission) to work on you.  He’s the one who causes expotential change and growth in our life.

Fervent vs. Righteous

Psalm 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord will not hear.

James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Psalm 55:19
God will hear, and afflict them,Even He who abides from of old.  Selah  Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God.

Last night I was writing about listening.  I used this scripture from James.  Everyone who has every taught, preached, ranted, written or studied about prayer has quoted “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  We always talk about how our prayers need to be fervent.  And they should.   Our prayers should be passionate and from the heart.  No matter how effective and fervent our prayers are, if we are not righteous (in right standing with God) then those prayers will not be heard.

To take it a step farther, many of us (most people have done this at least once) will get ourselves right but then we don’t really change.  It is a temporary change so our prayers will be heard but once the prayers are answered we go right back to what we were doing in the past.

If you truly want God to hear your prayers, you must pursue righteousness as a lifestyle.  We must become as passionate about being righteous as we are about praying fervently.

Foolishness or Youthfulness?

As a dog returns to his own vomit,
      So a fool repeats his folly. 
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
      There is more hope for a fool than for him.   – Proverbs 26:11-12

Why is purity so vital?  Why should we purpose holiness in our hearts?  Why should we pursue a sinless life?  Because once you have pursued sin; once you have given in to it, it is very difficult NOT to return to it.

People use youth as an excuse to justify so many things.  “Oh, they are just young.”  “They will grow out of this eventually.”  “This is just a phase of development.” 

Sin is sin, no matter what type of “pretty” terminology is applied to it.  Does God make excuses for our actions and choices?  Do you suppose He is in heaven saying to Himself, “I gave this person so many opportunities and warnings that this could happen.  Oh well, they are just human.  Maybe one day they will ‘grow out of it’.”  Our pursuit of sin, or our lack of running away from sin, grieves the heart of God. I have always held to the idea that Jesus is not bound by our laws of time and space.  That’s how He could be in the fiery furnace with the Neb’s boys (read the book of Daniel).  When we sin, it is as if Jesus is once more back in the garden of Gethsemane drinking the cup of our sin that was presented to Him.  When we willfully sin, we mock the work Jesus did on Calvary; we minimize it; we cause Him to revisit the shame He endured (see Hebrews 12).

Very few people live lives of purity.  It’s true.   There are few people who maintain their physically purity until marriage and remain faithful to their marriages until the end.  There are few people who guard their eyes, their ears and their mouths.  Purity is a pursuit. 

What about areas that you KNOW are problematic for you?  How do you avoid those things?  What are the boundaries you apply to your life in pursuit of purity? 

An acquaintance of mine fell into some sinful activity in the recent past.  Steps were taken to separate from the activity.  There were some relationships however that were not completely severed.  Can this person return to the situation, maintain relationships with people with who sins were committed and NOT fall back into the sin?

My deepest feeling on this subject is unequivocally, “NO”.  If you put yourself in the same situation, atmosphere and relationships, the same or very similar results will occur. 

I see similar situations in the lives of young people everywhere.  They are so intent on maintaining relationships, even extremely BAD, sinful relationships that they fall into the same situations repeatedly.  It’s like a dog returning to his vomit.  They return to their sin.

The real deception is thinking you are wise enough to “handle it”.  The lie is thinking we are stronger than the pull of sin.  Stop lying to yourself.  Relationships based on sin, relationships that have been sinful in the past will pull you back into sin. 

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? -2 Corinthians 6:14

While this scripture, in context, refers to marriage, it can be applied to all relationships.  Do not be unequally yoked (tied to someone) in friendships.  Do not be unequally yoke with business partners.  I would take it one step farther and say, do not be unequally yoked in a Christian marriage.  A woman, who has been a Christian for many years, should not marry a man who has just become a Christian; it is unbalanced and unequal.  It will be difficult for that man to ever be the spiritual leader in the home. 

It is time to let those sin-based relationships fall away.  Pray about them.  When I recommitted my life to Jesus in my 20s, I prayed that God would allow those relationships that were NOT His will for me begin to fall away.  They did.  I had to get to a place in my life that God’s will for me was more important than any other relationship.  I only want the relationships God desires for me.  I only want the plans He has for me.  His plans for me are better than anything I could imagine or ask for myself.

Before anyone starts saying, “I am trying to witness to my unsaved friend” or “I just want my ex to get saved so we can be together”.  Ask yourself, am I pulling them up or are they pulling me down?  If someone is standing on a chair and another person is standing on the ground, it is much easier for the person on the ground to pull the person off the chair.  The person on the ground has gravity working in their favor.  The same is true for Christians and non-Christians.  The non-Christians have sin working in their favor just like gravity.  Overcoming sin is as difficult as overcoming gravity.  Only Jesus was and is able to Overcome Sin.  When we place ourselves in situations outside God’s Will; outside His plan for our lives, He will interfere.  He will not shield us when we are willfully opposing Him.

 When it comes to sin, Christians must become ruthless and unyielding.