Become a Follower!

Now, normally I would not suggest what the title says! But just this once ... I ask you to become a follower!

You'll notice in the lower right of the blog, a section that shows how you can become a "follower" of this blog. Don't worry, I'm not trying to expose you or embarrass you. I simply would like to know if this blog has ANY readers and if it is helpful in any way. You can publicly follow or stay anonymous; your choice. Also, please post your comments if a particular blog post has either helped you or upset you. ;>)

Thanks for reading!

"Look for God's Handwriting!"

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Psalm 56:3

With the content of my last post, I thought it would be good to balance it with the other side of the story. Although God will "bless" us with the process of struggles, it's a great comfort to know that we have the confidence that He is always there with us.

It's so important when we raise awareness of the nature of God's "blessing", ie. difficulty to strengthen us, that we include traces of comfort to look for. God's blessing, purging, wrestling WILL come and we WILL come through it as pure gold but christians need an assurance in the midst of it. Especially when they've been so conditioned with the opposite teaching, that God is a God of comfort and ease.

We came across this story in the book, Steel in His Soul, The Dick Hillis Story and it really ministered to us so we thought we'd pass it along.

Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis found themselves caught in China during the Japanese invasion. The couple lived with their two children in the inland town of Shenkiu. The village was tense with fear, for every day brought terrifying reports of the Japanese advance.

At the worst possible time, Dick developed appendicitis, and he knew his life depended on making the long journey to the hospital. On January 15, 1941, with deep foreboding, Margaret watched him leave.Soon the Chinese colonel came with the news. The enemy was near and townspeople must evacuate. Margaret shivered, knowing that one-year-old Johnny and two-month-old Margaret Anne would never survive as refugees. So she stayed put.

Early next morning she tore the page from the wall calendar and read the new day's Scripture. It was Psalm 56:3 -- "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."

The town emptied during the day, and the next morning Margaret arose, feeling abandoned. The new verse on the calendar was Psalm 9:10 -- "Thou, Lord, has not forsaken them that seek thee."

The next morning she arose to distant sounds of gunfire and worried about food and her children. The calendar verse was Genesis 50:21 -- "I will nourish you and your little ones." An old woman suddenly popped in with a pail of steaming goat's milk, and another straggler arrived with a basket of eggs.

Through the day, sounds of warfare grew louder, and during the night Margaret prayed for deliverance. The next morning she tore the page from the calendar to read Psalm 56:9 -- "When I cry unto Thee, then shall my enemies turn back."

The battle was looming closer, and Margaret didn't go to bed that night. Invasion seemed imminent. But the next morning, all was quiet. Suddenly, villagers began returning to their homes, and the colonel knocked on her door. For some reason, he told her, the Japanese had withdrawn their troops. No one could understand it, but the danger had passed. They were safe.

Margaret glanced at her wall calendar and felt she had been reading the handwriting of God.

God's handwriting is all around us but so often in the midst of the wars we face, we neglect to take notice. Let's make an effort to see His merciful hand at work in our lives today. He cares for us more than we can imagine!

(Thanks to George Whitten from Worthy Ministries for the content of this post. George and his family live and minister from the Negev Desert in Israel)

"God, You call that a Blessing?!"

The catch phrase of the day seems to be: "Lord, bless me!" I've heard the phrase countless times in church and from christians. If not, "Lord, bless ME" then "the Lord bless YOU!" or how about this one: "God wants to and is going to bless you".

Nothing wrong with the phrase. What's wrong is our definition of a "blessing". Often we define a blessing as favor from God in the form of benefits such as added finances, health, feelings, or anything that provides greater comfort and ease to our lives. I'm not denying that God does bestow these "blessings" upon us. However, let's look at a portion of Scripture that gives us great insight into God's blessing.

In Genesis 32, we find the story of Jacob. Jacob is facing a major decision, in fact, confrontation the next day and he seeks God's help in prayer. He even asks for the Lord to bless him. The answer to his desperate prayer comes in an unusual form. God wrestles with Jacob! Our toughest battles are often not with the devil, but with God. It's often easier to say no to the devil than to say yes to God!

Jacob perceived a problem with his brother Esau. He perceived correctly; a relationship problem. But he got the relationship wrong. It was not a relationship problem between Jacob and Esau. It was a relationship problem between Jacob and God. Jacob prays to God for help and it seems to get worse!

God is on a mission to change us because He loves us too much to leave us as we are. The church in North America has a "comfort" problem. Let's make the church "seeker-friendly". Make sure churches are "comfortable", "enjoyable", a "place of refuge". If we are to bring the Gospel message to the world, it won't be with a "comfort theology". If that be the case, at the first sign of adversity, the new christian will be devastated.

Wait a minute, Ray, are you saying that God does not bless His children? Oh yes, God blesses! And God IS a God of prosperity (more than enough). However, what is your definition of "blessing"? Are you prepared for the "manifestation" of that blessing? How it's packaged?

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have been partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons." Hebrews 12:5-8

Genesis 32:24 says that "Jacob was left alone and there wrestled with a man". I used to think that the most powerful moments in my walk with God were those exciting church services surrounded by people, music, singing, with a prolific orator delivering eloquently and exergenically the wonderful Word of God with dazzling clarity. Those times ARE good! But I've found that when God really gets ready to work me over, He takes me out of the crowd by myself so He can deal with me without me pretending. Nobody left to impress. Nobody around to appear "religious" for. Alone. It doesn't matter who I am in a crowd. What matters is who I am when I am alone. God won't deal with my name, reputation, degrees, or money. He wants to deal with that part of me that no one sees so He'll put me in isolation to give me revelation. I thank God for that; for giving me privacy while He chastens me.

In verse 25 of Genesis 32, the day is breaking so the Theophonic manifestation of God has to change the nature of the struggle. He touches Jacob at the hip-joint. Note that this was not just a bad hair day or a stubbed toe. It was something that knocked the props out from under him. Note also that it was God that did it. You may have been through so much that you've finally reached the point where you are now saying, "God, I can't fight You any longer; I need You!" Now, He's no longer wrestling with you but He's holding you up. You've been brought to a place a total surrender and trust. And you'll never arrive at that place until you limp.

I don't rely on or place my trust in men who don't limp. The person that is too confident in their own abilities, giftings, or strengths. The greatest people of God are those who somewhere in their life have had a limp.

Do you want to draw near to God and to really know Him? Be prepared for the manner in which He shows up! Genesis 32:29b says that "He blessed him there". "God, you call that a blessing?!" Yes! When you really have an encounter with God, you will walk differently and look differently. Think about it. In verse 31, Jacob crossed over the brook to meet with his family and he was a mess! He's limping down the road, dirty, beat up and perhaps Rachel says to him, "What happened to you? Did you get robbed or beat up by thugs?" Jacob says, "No! I've been visiting with God! And He blessed me!"

Do you still want to be blessed by God? It may not be more money, a new car, increased comfort or rest. It may come in the form of a struggle, wrestling, or a problem but when you come through it, and you will, you will come through it better than when you went in!

You're Not Alone

The following clip from Youtube expresses the heartbeat of this blog. I trust you are able to watch the video link. It truly says what I hope to convey. The purpose of creating this blog is to help heal wounded christians and assist in discipling them for service in God's Kingdom. Enjoy.

God Meets People in Their Brokenness - Not in Their Denial

"The people who do us good are never those who sympathize with us, they always hinder, because sympathy enervates." Oswald Chambers

“There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just fine.”

“I don’t need any help. I can handle things by myself.”

“I opened up once, and look where it got me. I’ll never do that again.”

People who need help—people who need recovery—are often the most difficult people in the world to reach. They deny there is a problem and refuse to seek the help they desperately need to recover. To do so would be an admission of weakness, and that’s something many are unwilling to do, especially men.

For those of us who know the value of help that comes from those who have “traveled our path,” it’s hard to understand why so many choose to continue in self-defeating behavior rather than make the necessary changes to live a life of value—a life rich with meaning and purpose.

When it comes to religious abuse, the task of overcoming denial is even more difficult because, unlike abusing alcohol, food, sex, or drugs, there’s no outward manifestation of dysfunction. It’s all on the inside, where its destructiveness eats away at the soul of the abusee.

Frequently, someone will ask how they can convince a friend or loved one to seek help. The answer is simple: Most of the time, you can’t.

The person in need has to come to that realization without your interference. Until that happens, there’s nothing you can do other than pray they will bottom-out and become willing to make seek help. There are things, however, that you can do that will hinder the recovery of another.

You can sympathize with their difficulties, which will do nothing but feed into their self-pity.

You can agree with them in their delusion that they are coping with life the best that they can.

You can enable them to continue with self-destructive attitudes and behavior by not allowing them to suffer the proper consequences of their actions.

You can make things easier for them—softening life’s blows by intervening, which seems like “the Christian” thing to do.

Each of these actions is what a good friend would do, right?

Wrong!

It’s how you prolong their suffering and their avoidance of reality. By being a “good friend,” you may inadvertently be standing in the way of the Lord who is intent on gaining the attention of the person who is suffering. Let them crash. When the pain becomes too intense, they will reach out for help—not before. It’s much better to pray for a loved one to reach the end of their rope than to ask God to minimize their suffering when they are headed in the wrong direction.

God meets people in their brokenness—not in their denial.

(many thanks to John "Jack" Watts for the content of this post)

God IS There!

This blog was started in response to an outcry from christians that were hurting. The hurt was caused either BY "church" or people IN the church. Unfortunately, often times people confuse the church for God. In fact, they think that because church leadership "represents" God, if they are hurt by church leadership, it's GOD who is hurting them. Actually, church leadership is made up of imperfect humans, myself being at the top of the imperfect list! No church leader is beyond mistakes and we all need to realize that. It IS important however that we take some of the responsibility in the hurt.

By shutting God out because of hurt from the "church", we are also refusing His help with the healing process and ultimately, that help is what we want, isn't it?

I've had people tell me, "I can't FEEL God! Is He really there?"

It doesn’t matter whether you think God is there or not; He is. His existence doesn’t depend upon your opinion, which is irrelevant. You might say, “I don’t feel God’s presence. It doesn’t feel like He’s there at all.”

How you feel about God is just that–your feeling-nothing else. Who He is does not depend on how you feel about Him, which should be quite liberating. He is there for you-no matter what.
Regardless about how you feel, you can count on this: He has not abandoned you, and your feelings don’t change that. You have not been abandoned-period.

If you depend on how you feel, your blood-sugar is more important than God’s promises in the Scriptures. Your life will be a never-ending roller coaster ride to nowhere. In my travels to conferences on counseling, the catch-phrase was always, "How does that make you feel?" While that may be important in discovering the roots of your hurt, "how you feel" doesn't matter when acknowledging God's presence.

God is there. Count on it. You can believe it because it’s true. That’s the reality you should never surrender. It doesn’t matter how you feel. God is there, and His love for you has not diminished in the slightest. Neither has His commitment.

This is the easiest thing in the world to do, but for most of us, it can also be the most difficult. It’s much easier to do something than simply believe, but that’s what you need to do. Learn to count on God’s presence as a reality and not as a feeling.

Trusting after hurting is a very difficult thing to do. Trusting God after hurting is the most important thing you can do. God IS there! Count on it!

Knowing Our Identity

In a recently released book entitled, Defending Identity, Natan Sharansky writes, "The Pentecostals in the Soviet Union were prohibited from teaching their religion, persecuted remorselessly, exiled, and moved deeper and deeper into Siberia, all the way to the border of China and Japan, and even there were not left alone ... and were willing to be imprisoned to teach their children their religion."

What was the source of their strength? Sharansky makes the case that ultimately without one knowing and valuing his identity there is little likelihood that he will be able to maintain his position, or even survive. He shows the relationship between identity and freedom and argues that Americans and others are slowly being deprogammed and taught to discredit their own country and its ideals. Sharansky, a Jew, gives historical reference to the struggle of the Jewish people and points out present dangers that are overwhelming Europe. The book references the Pentecostals of the Soviet Union as a people who understood who they were and discusses how this understanding gave them courage to place their lives on the line.

He states, "The enemy's will is strong because his identity is strong. And we must match his strength of purpose with strong identities of our own. The universal quality of identity is that it gives life and meaning beyond life itself." Oxford dictionary defines identity this way: "The fact of who or what a person or thing is."

Reflecting on the past several years one can see identity problems developing throughout Christianity. Many have developed an admiration for success and shifted from declaration of the Truth to imitation of personalities and church-growth formulas. politically correct values have distorted the church's voice with regard to morals and the absoluteness of salvation through Christ alone.

Inconsistency with regard to values, morals, and even Bible validity, has weakened our young people's sense of identity. If adults do not know clearly what they value, who they are, and the importance of the Word of God, how can they hope to convince their children that they are serious about their faith?

Everyday the world hammers the dogma of devils into the brains of our youth. The modern tools of media - ever so cool, pervasive, portable, intrusive, intoxicating, calculated, and controlled largely by anti-Christian corporations that reap billions in profits - are the most effective weapons the devil has ever possessed. There is a spirit in this world, and the spirit is the spirit od the Antichrist.

Victory over this spirit will not come by attempting to duplicate the devil's weapons. The media, the machine and the technology are not the attraction. The content, evil imagery, lust, and sensationalized lifestyles are the attraction. Getting our message delivered in some modish media format will not win the battle. The power of God demonstrated through the gifts of the Spirit and preaching of the Word will overcome the enemy, and thankfully the drawing power of Christ operates independent of our talents. Jesus said, "I will draw all men to me."

The battle is won by knowing who we are in Christ, knowing Him, and living in His presence. It's not the entertainment that will keep young people. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit will identify for them His purpose in their lives, not some personality-based survey. Only God can give man the resolve to, if necessary, die in Siberia like the Russian Pentecostals. It is the anointed, spirit-intoxicated services that will transform young people into soldiers of the cross prepared to face the threat of militant Islamism. We hardly need another service fashioned like and imitating some asinine television show. Be Pentecostal. Have church. Preach the Word. Cry out. Challenge the Christians. Disciple the youth. This is how identity is shaped, hearts are transformed, gifts are imparted, callings are transmitted, and destinies are understood. This is how the fiery torch is passed to the next generation of whom the world will say, "These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4)

(many thanks to my Bible College president, Paul Mooney, for the content of this blog)