Prayer….

God, everyone thinks me a dirt bag. (Update: Ok, not everyone….)

That hurts me, but you know what…. there is nothing I can do about that.

What I do know is you love me and I am a child of the king.

That is who I am, not what others think …

I choose today to act like the person I am, I am a child of the king…

Thank you Jesus.

Robert

Personal Devotions – Radical Obedience

The Lord is emphasizing radical obedience to me by speaking through a number of different sources.  One of my devotional emails I receive – Spiritual Fuel – spoke about the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27, the same Scripture I used to base one of my recent Personal Devotions posts.  It really spoke to me as it also mentions firm foundations – and spoke to the fact that the storms will come to everyone.

You will notice that the storm comes both to those who do Jesus’ sayings and those who don’t do them. No one is exempt. Storms are most certainly headed your way. The only question is, will you survive?

Will your foundations be strong enough to sustain the winds and floods? Those who walk in radical obedience have made themselves ready for the storm, and they will overcome.

The author said something that struck me: “The closer you get to God, the more obedient you must be.”  He mentioned Moses being so close to God that absolute obedience was a necessity:

The issue for Moses was no longer simply, “Is this action right or wrong?” The issue was, “What is God’s command?” For example, when Moses was on the fiery mountain the command was, “Stay behind the cleft of the rock. Because if you come out from behind the protective rock and see My face, you’ll die. You’re so close to Me right now, Moses, that if you make a wrong move you’ll see My face and have a cardiac arrest on the spot.”

Now, is there anything wrong or sinful about stepping out from behind a wall of rock? No. But when you’re that close to God, it’s imperative you follow His instructions to the letter and stay where He’s putting you. It bears repeating: The closer you get to God, the more obedient you must be.

Powerful words.

Fast forward to today – more confirmatory words in my inbox:  a prophetic word from another source, Retha McPherson, which says, in part:

“I will send you where I want you to go. I will stop the things that are not according to My will, if you keep on surrendering to me every day!” That is the secret: Keep on surrendering everything into God’s hands.

“Stay faithful to Me. Keep on walking in radical obedience to Me. Stay loyal to Me. And above all – be happy in all I ask you to do, because it is not about you; but all about Me.” Stay in God’s Word, and live the Word of God!

There it is again – radical obedience.

Yet one more source from a different angle – my Daily Audio Bible podcast for yesterday mentioned the rich young ruler in Mark 10:13-31.  Brian, the narrator of the DAB podcast,  asked the question, “What is it in our lives that we are not willing to surrender to God? What are the things in our lives that we would have a very difficult time letting go of in pursuit of the Kingdom?”  I was challenged by my one of my best friends about that.  What was it that was hardest to let go of?

For me it was praying for others, it was ministry – even in this time of sabbatical I have found myself periodically praying for the needy around me.  I was challenged to stop frequenting a Christian chat room that I love to go into for a time; I found that the temptation to pray for others is strong there.  It was a hard decision for me.  I hate how it makes me feel – I miss my friends.  But God has to come first.

I struggled because I had made ministry an idol – I knew it for a while – and even knew that I should take a break from the chat room.  Brian said in his podcast yesterday, “These may be idols that we are even worshiping in our lives because the thing is, anything…anything that exalts itself above the lordship of Christ in our lives is an idol. That is not to say that anything that we have exalted above the lordship of Jesus in our lives right now currently is a bad thing…”  And he mentions a word my counselor uses all the time: alignment. He said,” ….what that means is we are not in proper alignment and Jesus invites us to put things into proper alignment and come and follow him.”

So Father, I come to follow you.  I choose to follow you.  I repent of my sins and put down my idols.  I cast them off – I only want one focus – you.  I don’t want to be distracted; I don’t want to be sad and walk away from you like the rich young ruler did.  You promised me that there was a price for the anointing – but that if I walk in radical obedience, it will all be according to your will. Do what you will. I accept your hand to get at your heart.  In Jesus’ name. AMEN

Personal Devotions: Wilderness Protocol

Luke 4

The Temptation of Jesus

¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’^[a]”

⁵The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’^[b]”

⁹The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
¹¹they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[c]”

¹²Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”

¹³When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

This blog post was started on February 9th, but has been sitting in my Drafts folder for a while.  We’re now in the season of Lent, where traditionally Christians stop and ponder Christ’s sufferings 40 days before the Easter celebrations – where we focus on His death and resurrection.

I find myself wanting to study this portion of Scripture, as I have a profound understanding of how Jesus must feel during this time. This happened directly after he was baptized and after he was publicly filled with the Holy Spirit – as in Luke 3:21-22 and Matthew 3:16-17.  Here is Matthew’s account:

“¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

In the next chapter in both books he is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted.  Now, what are the nature of his temptations?  Normally, it is portrayed that Jesus was in the wilderness and had Satan come to him in bodily form so that he could tempt Jesus – I guess I always had that in my mind based on the amount of accounts I read about this.

But what if it was more natural? I mean, no ethereal spirits materializing, no flashing lights …. just a man trying to do God’s will, and being attacked by thoughts? Still Satan attacking, don’t get me wrong, but attacking Jesus the same way he usually attacks us – by planting thoughts directly into his mind.  How would it look then?

A hungry man, who suddenly gets the thought of using the anointing of God to do something supernatural for his own benefit.  Turn stones into bread.  Ok. That’s powerful, right?  Jump off a building?  Ok no normal (or sane) man would have that as a temptation…. but this isn’t any normal man. This is Jesus.

Right?

But take it out of the story context.  I am in the same position – I’ve been asked to stay away from ministry, while I get my foundations strengthened.  God has endorsed the position of the assembly by supernaturally revealing through his word that I should stay hidden and build up my foundations.  But yet the temptation to use the anointing God gave me is still there.  As I told someone recently, praying for people is like breathing for me.  And the temptation to do what God has called me to is there every time a need presents itself in someone who wants prayer, someone who evidently wants deliverance …

I remember this Scripture because, when asking for prayer from one of my friends, he mentioned this phrase in his prayer: “God, help; him resist the temptation to turn stones into bread….”

It hit me.  God has asked me to hide away, to build my foundations.  And yet, here I am, wanting to use the anointing on my life for what?  Personal gain?  Ego building?  Fame?  Isn’t this the same thing Jesus struggled with?

Every time someone gets helped they heap praise on the one who helped them.  Is that my level of personal gain?

Every time someone is in need, I want to assist, like if God needs me to do this.  Isn’t that egotistical?

Every time someone is helped, they want to go and tell what Jesus has done, and how I was the one that God used. Am I seeking to build my own kingdom? Am I seeking fame?

As I ponder these questions, I struggle, but I will continue to fight my temptations.  I want to be in a position like Jesus, who fought the enemy with the Word until he was released to minister.  I heard a preacher say that Jesus, when he at first refused to help his mother at the wedding in Cana, was exercising great patience, because he was not blowing his own horn, but waiting for his Father to endorse him.

The end result of waiting for the Lord’s timing is in the end of the passage we started with – Luke 4:14:

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

May I have the same patience, and continue to fight the temptation to push myself forward.  Father, where I have  failed, forgive me.  Help me.  I want to be attuned to your timing.  I do not want to false-start at the beginning of this race, and thus be disqualified.  May the Word sustain me.   AMEN.

Personal Devotions – Acts, Call to Repentance and Prophetic Words

Today I spent about an hour reading a couple chapters in the Acts of the Apostles – just being swamped with how Paul and the others were directed by the Holy Spirit, protected and sustained by Him and were able to proclaim the Message of the Way to the Gentiles.   I thought of my own ministry, and realized that – in my current state – I couldn’t even raise my head far less be bold about God’s message!

I had shut the Bible and suddenly opened it up again on a whim – and my eyes fell on this:

2 Corinthians 12:19-21

19Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. 20For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

The last two verses hit me between the eyes – I thought of all those who would be ‘grieved’ over my recent actions …. and I repented right there before God.  I can’t let them, myself, or God down any more.  I want to live right.  I want to pursue righeousness…. no – as an act of my will … I AM pursuing righteousness as of right now, God helping me!

A friend of mine sent me this – she is the recipient of prophetic words through this sister Marsha Burns, and this quote was really applicable to my situation:

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — Dec. 22, 2009:

Beloved, I have already brought warnings to you to guard your heart with all diligence. Be aware that the enemy is roaring around, looking for those who will get in his most dangerous territory through allowing their emotions to run wild. Guard your thoughts and emotions, and refuse to allow the devil to bring discouragement, disappointment and depression. Rise up and embrace My joy, says the Lord, and be strengthened in your inner man. Draw near to me, and place your hope in My love for you. Resist the devil, for there is no temptation too great for you to overcome.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
NEW RELEASES!

The part that is  underlined really struck out to my friend – and stuck out to me as well.  We both know of situations in our lives where we have let our emotions run wild and that Satan is roaring around in our lives. The Scripture in 1 Cor 10:13 also spoke to both of us – no temptation has befallen us beyond our capacity to handle it! God has always provided a way of escape!

We were discussing that as it relates to our own situations and encouraging ourselves to take Christ at his word and not continue in a life of sin and compromise.

And then – another prophetic word – this time from MY email.  Kim Clement – one of the prophetic voices that I follow by reading their newsletters – said in his last publication:  “Betrayal has been the order of the day and yet I see a noose with betrayal hanging on it. What am I sensing? RESURRECTION!”

He continues to say, in part –

A few weeks ago, while under one of the most unusual anointings I’ve ever experienced, I was “taken” for a few moments to the tomb of Christ. I literally saw His resurrection through the eyes of Mary. It was one of the most impacting moments of my ministry life, but it was far more than just an experience, it was a message. I have no doubt that Jesus rose from the dead; it’s a historical fact, but that night, I believed it from the perspective of someone who was physically there in the moment and who saw it with their own eyes. It’s difficult to explain, but everything changed for me after that. For days and even weeks now, I would suddenly find myself deeply moved to tears and saying, “He has risen.” I went to prayer this morning and spoke to God about this. Why am I so emotional about this all of a sudden? What is the message? I heard Him so simply say, “Resurrection.” Then it dawned on me; Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything and a season for every purpose under Heaven; A time to be born and a time to die…a time to PLANT and a time to reap…”

He senses a season of resurrection!  (That’s great – I felt like I was in the valley of the shadow of death just recently….)  He continues –

I was reminded of the prophet Elisha who had died and was buried in a tomb. During that time, Israel was constantly being raided by Moabites and while the Israelites were busy burying a man, they suddenly saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet. Can you imagine that? God spoke to me about the season we are entering and simply said, “Resurrection.”

So … I’m holding on to THOSE WORDS WITH BOTH HANDS.  I crave for the season of not just restoration but of resurrection! I am calling for it now, with the faith of the desperate, the cry of one at the point of death…. JESUS…. RESURRECT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE: I am posting the link of one of my friends’ websites to a very appropriate poem – may we call call on God’s Mercy! (Thanks, Jonie!)

Personal Devotions Series: Psalm 91:9-12

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

(Psalm 91:9-12)

May only be a ‘little’ thing, but it just hit me what was wrong with the Tempter’s use of Scripture in Jesus’ temptation.  He was  taking it out of context and claiming the promise without meeting the condition – and maybe even claiming the promise in a wrong way, too.  Jump off a building and expect angels to catch you so that you float smoothly to the ground???? That’s foolhardy, at least.  The law of gravity supersedes rash actions.  That’s why Jesus retorts with, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Personal Devotions Series: Prophetic Challenge

God told me a great way that I could stay on top of my personal devotions – blog about what He has said through his word!  So, I’ll start today and see what happens…

God has been stirring me this morning – I read 2 Chronicles 18:1-27, where the prophet Micaiah has prophesied not just Ahab’s death, but the method through which he would be lured to his death.

Context – The kings of Israel and Judah have allied through marriage, and want to go to war.   Ahab calls on his court prophets and asks them if he should attack Ramoth Gilead, but Jehosaphat wanted to hear from a ‘prophet of the Lord.’

What struck out to me was the fact that Micaiah was adamant that he would only say what God would have him say, even although everyone else was ‘prophesying’ success.  When I was reading this, the Lord said to me that a prophet’s job doesn’t make you popular….

The prophet tells the kings that he sees all Israel “like sheep without a shepherd” …. and then continues to tell them that the Lord has sent a lying spirit amongst the court prophets to lure Ahab to his death.

What struck out to me is that, although Ahab tries to act all macho by having Micaiah imprisoned ‘until [he] returns safely’,  he still went to war dressed in an ordinary soldier’s uniform as a disguise – and he still dies.  Did Ahab really trust the prophet, or was he being cautious? You know – ‘Just in case he was right….’?

The Lord was reminding me of a prophetic word that he gave to me – that I was one of his trumpets, sounding a clear clarion call to others…. To declare clearly, I must be able to stand up against opposition, no matter what.

Lord, help me to be like Micaiah – faithful to hear and report only what you say, and faithful to you and you alone, even if everyone else is saying something different….

A Party in Heaven…..

^“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:10

I am rejoicing this morning! The Lord is good and worthy to be praised!   Yesterday, my wife went to her church’s cell group’s for people born in June and came home with prophetic words for our two boys and for me.

Before I mention what they were, let me say that before our boys were out of their mother’s womb, we had prayed, prophesied and laid hands on them through her bump and called God’s pupose down upon them. We spoke the prophetic into and over them both and said to God that they belonged to him.  Our second son, Jonathan, especially, has a major call upon his life.  We knew this because Satan kept trying to take him out – even BEFORE he came out of the womb!  There were several times that Lesanne (my wife) nearly tripped and fell, there was one person who was encouraging us to abort him (as he was a surprise to us and we weren’t planning for him!) and even some medical conditions that arose in Lesanne during and after his birth.  We always said that God had to have a special work for him if Satan would be working so hard to stop him from being born!

Our older son Nikao  (means ‘He who overcomes’), who is four years old, loves to make up songs and we got him into learning the violin early, as ours is a musical family – his mother and I and one aunt (her sister) all sing well, and her sister’s husband plays the keyboard at his assembly.  Her uncle plays the organ at an Anglican church as well.   With that being said, the one giving the prophetic word over Nikao didn’t know any of that when he said that Nick would be a prophetic psalmist, who would be able to play several different instruments and would be able to release the presence of God through songs that he plays and writes.   People will be released from bondages when he plays, too!  Our friend said that strongholds would be broken when he plays, and that nothing will stop the songs from being released.  When I heard that both Lesanne and I were excited, to say the least!  WOW!

Our younger son Jonathan is two, and loves to dance.  He also likes to try to boss people around! 😆  Anyway, for him, our friend said that he saw the little boy as a dancer and a preacher, also able to release the prophetic.  Again, our friend doesn’t see when Jonathan dances at every single jingle that comes onto the television. You should hear him singing “How Great is Our God” – he can’t pronounce all the words yet, but he loves it!  Our friend said that Jonathan will be a prophetic worshipper, and that the Glory of the Lord will fill the place when he ministers – like when the Glory filled the Temple after Solomon dedicated it.  Again …. WOW!

For me our friend simply said that God has an anointing for me, and when it hits me it will be big and awesome.

God is ….. WOW….

But all of that is just the introduction for the real reason for this post.

This morning, before I sent the family off to assembly, Nikao was watching a show on TV with a preacher praying for the sick and seeng them healed.  First, I realized that this was the first time that he was sitting down in one place and being intent on the TV for something that wasn’t cartoons. Lesanne and I started to pray that what God was doing on the TV would impart to the little boy.  At breakfast, I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit, so I knelt down beside him as he had his cereal.  I asked him if he remembered the story of Jesus dying for him on the Cross.  He did.  (He makes me read it to him quite often.)  I had a toy in my hand and I asked him if I gave it to him as a gift what would he say.  He said “Thank you” after I presented him with the toy.  I explained that Jesus dying on the Cross was a gift to us, so that we could live with him and have him in our hearts.  I sang the old Sunday School chorus that I learned as a boy:

“Into my heart, into my heart
Come into my heart Lord Jesus
Come in today
Come in to stay
Come into my heart Lord Jesus”

And I explained that to have Jesus into his heart all he has to do is thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ’s death.  I was being a little overwhelmed by the presence of God and my emotions at that point, so Lesanne led him in a prayer of salvation.  I laid hands on him afterwards and prayed that God’s purposes would be done in his life, and that what he had prayed be sealed so that Satan would not steal it.  And then I knelt on the floor and cried in joy. 🙂

I know the little boy is only four.  I’m praying that my God will keep him, as the Word says that He is able to keep that which I have committed to him.  So in faith I am declaring to the blogosphere – I LED MY LITTLE BOY TO JESUS CHRIST TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

!

Nikao, Robert, Lesanne and Jonathan (l-r)

Please pray for our family – Nikao, his brother Jonathan, my wife Lesanne and myself – that GOD WILL CONTINUE TO POUR OUT HIS BLESSINGS ON US ALL – and that at the proper time, Jonathan too, will COME TO FAITH and that the Glory of the LORD will rest upon us ALL!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY! GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!!!!!!

Life Together: Showing Mercy

Almost done this series! Continuing onward we’re going to look at showing mercy.  The title of the devotion was “Life Together: Don’t be Reluctant to Show Mercy”.

You can read the devotion here.

Rev Warren comments that,

“In real fellowship people experience mercy. Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren’t rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.”  

I mentioned an example of this in my second last post on Authentic Friendship , where my church came around me and supported and accepted me when I confessed a sin to them.  That’s just showing mercy in action – true fellowship!

I like what he says here:

You can’t have fellowship without forgiveness because bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowship. Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship. 

How about marriage?  I’m sure my wife would agree with the above statement right now – massive amounts of mercy and grace….  “Fellowship” is usually seen in the context of friends, or a small group, or a church… but reading that above statement,  I’m sure that the family should be a microcosm of true fellowship.  You have to forgive to maintain any relationship.  

Quoting the Scripture, Rev Warren continues:

The Bible says, “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13 NLT).

The mercy God shows to us is the motivation for us to show mercy to others. Whenever you’re hurt by someone, you have a choice to make: Will I use my energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution?

It’s easy to retalliate, hard to choose to forgive – but God says it’s necessary.  (Did I just say that?  Lord, help me to obey!)

I like the contrast he makes between forgiveness and trust:

Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don’t understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior.

Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. 

Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you. They must prove they have changed over time. The best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small group that offers both encouragement and accountability.

“Forgiveness must be immediate….trust must be built over time”  I’m working this out in my own marriage right now… it’s not easy rebuilding trust… and every slip back jepordizes the whole process.  I’m pushing ahead, though, with my friends and loved ones who are like Aaron and Hur, holding up Moses’ hands so that Joshua could win the battle

The passage is from Exodus 17:10-13:

 ¹⁰ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

I’m Joshua, fighting my battle against the Amalekites – my flesh and demonic oppression – but I have awesome friends and family who are like Moses, Aaron and Hur… interceding to heaven on my behalf!

…..

Now I have been fortunate, and I have been exposed to some of my readers’ and online friends’ struggle with spiritual abuse.  I know that some reading this may be going through a mix of emotions as they deal with memories, reading how things should be and remembering how they were treated and abused…. just let me say that THE LORD LOVES YOU!  No matter what others have done to you or with you…. just know that God loves you.  Also, I want you to know, in the words of one of my blogging buddies, that you are safe with me.  I know that trust takes a while to build, I know that people who promised to love you abused you… but here, you are safe.

My encouragement, then, is ask God to help us all to forgive, and to show mercy towards each other – that is true fellowship!

Thoughts?

Life Together: A Mutual Dependency

Continuing on with the current series, I will be commenting on the next devotion in the Purpose Driven Life – A Mutual Dependency.  

To read the whole devotion, click here.

How many Christians would see that authentic Christian life can be seen in the word interdependence?  Rev. Warren starts of this devotion by saying,

“In authentic Christian fellowship people should experience a mutual dependency. This mutuality is the art of giving and receiving; it’s depending on each other.”

Now, personally, I don’t  like depending on people.  Honestly, I find it hard to ask for things.  I willingly give of myself, but when it comes to asking … well… ummm… let’s say I’m still working on that.  This devotion cuts across that, though. We are encouraged to depend on each other – for “no man is an island” is the popular adage, right?

I love The Message.  It makes things so clear and understandable.  Check this out:

The Bible says, “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part” (1 Corinthians 12:25 MSG).

Now that’s clear!  The church is seen as a Body… how much does the ‘smallest’ part NEED the ‘bigger’ parts?  It wouldn’t be a fully functioning Body without every single part!  Interesting thought….

All of us are more consistent in our faith when others walk with us and encourage us. The Bible commands mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, and mutual honoring.

I know that’s true in my own life, for sure.  Who hasn’t tried to work out alone? 🙂  Have you been able to stick it on your own?  No. I didn’t think so…. 😆  Reminds me of one of my most quoted Scriptures –  Ecclesiastes 4:10-12

 ¹⁰ If one falls down, 
       his friend can help him up. 
       But pity the man who falls 
       and has no one to help him up!

 ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 
       But how can one keep warm alone?

 ¹² Though one may be overpowered, 
       two can defend themselves. 
       A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 Isn’t that powerful? “If one falls down, his friend can pick him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up?”  I’ve been down a lot recently (I’m going through a painful process), and thank God for my friends who are constantly there to help me up – through encouragement, prayer and support – several of them, who don’t live in the same country as me (thank God for Internet friends – long live the Blogosphere!) have independently mailed me books and resources that can help me through this time.  I have cried thinking about how much my friends love me – some without seeing my face in person!  I wouldn’t trade them for the world…. 

*wipes tears*  Ok, where was I?  Right… *cough* *cough*

Rev. Warren next says this:

Over fifty times in the New Testament we’re commanded to do different tasks for “one another” and “each other.” The Bible says, “Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19 NIV).

Derek Prince makes mentions of the “one anothers” in Scripture.  Over FIFTY TIMES!!!!!! WOW!  I know that when God wants to emphasize something he repeats himself, “I, even I, am the Lord….” So what is he trying to say by repeating the same point over and over? Go figure.  This isn’t supposed to be a solitary faith walk. No sir-ee…

The concluding statement is this:

You are not responsible for everyone in the body of Christ, but you are responsible to them. God expects you do whatever you can to help them.

So, what are you responsible to the Body of Christ with?  What can you help with?  How do you see yourself being of assistance to the Body?

Love is a Habit/Love is an Action

First – Sunday is November 30th – Barbados’ 42nd anniversary of our independence from Great Britain.  I was going to have a whole post on Independence…. and what it means for a Christian, but …. maybe later on today. I’m on a roll with the Love posts, so….

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Two for the price of one! Realized I missed a day of the Purpose Driven Live devoitional (Love is an Action, two days ago) so I’m going to comment on both of them.  

When I think about love, I think about action.  I can say I have love, but if I don’t do anything, it’s just talk. It’s just like faith – it is exercised in action:

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” 
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (James 2:18 NIV)

 

Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 1 John 3:18 (NLT)

To show love, you have to act!  Acts of selflessness, acts of kindness, acts of mercy, acts of forgiveness – all actions that show love.  Literary types will tell you there is a rule when writing scripts: “Show, don’t tell!”  A good story just doesn’t tell you what happened, it describes the scene – sets the mood.  

Over and over again, in the Bible, God commands us to love each other. And you can’t command an emotion. If I told you “Be sad!” right now, you couldn’t be sad on cue. Just like an actor, you can fake it, but you’re not wired for your emotions to change on command. Have you ever told a little kid, “Be happy!” I’m trying, daddy!

Very true – you can’t command an emotion.  But you can command a choice, an action.  Love the thought: ‘Be sad, right now!’  ….  Why not try that out on someone???  (You’d probably get wierd looks.)

We can talk a good act: “I love people.” But do we really love them? Do you really love them? Our love is revealed in how we act toward them.

Yeah that’s what I’m saying… talk is cheap.  Let’s strive to act out our love.  Does anyone have a problem demonstrating that love? Any thoughts?

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I love this: “Love is a Habit” (today’s Purpose Driven Devotion).  

If you only love on and off like a light switch, you do not love others like God wants you to love. Jesus said, “If you only love those who love you what credit is that to you?” (Luke 6:32 NIV).

 

His point is this: anybody can love those who love them. Becoming a master lover means you learn to love the unlovable. It’s when you love people who don’t love you, when you love people who irritate you, when you love people who stab you in the back or gossip about you.

Now I’ll admit: this is difficult.  Very difficult.  Especially for me – because I have a short fuse.  I hate when people upset me.  I blow up very quickly…. but it doesn’t last.  I usu use it like a stop valve.  I will quarrel and fume until it’s out of my system, and then I’m good again.  But I can’t stand stupid people! (oops, did I say that out loud? Ok I got more work to do here….)  I’m working at loving the unloveable.

When you realize how much God loves you – with an extravagant, irresistible, unconditional love – then his love will change your entire focus on life. If we don’t receive God’s love for us, we’ll have a hard time loving other people. I’m talking about loving the unlovely, loving the difficult, loving the irritable, loving people who are different or demanding.

I agree – I needed to receive God’s love before I could even accept myself  or even start work on loving others!   (Thank you, Daddy, for your love for me!)

You can’t do that until you have God’s love coming through you. You need to know God’s love so it can overflow out of your life into others.

Let that be our aim – to receive God’s love and work on loving others.  How difficult is it for you to love people who ‘spitefully use you’, according to Scripture?