People of Fire

Or...people of ash. Recently, I realized how frighteningly easy it is for me to go from having all-consuming zeal in my heart for Jesus, to barely acknowledging His presence in my life. Horrifying. I had gone out of town between Christmas and New Year's to meet with a friend traveling through. We were to meet for coffee, and the whole drive there I anticipated our reunion-imagining it as being filled with our mutual passion: Christ. After the initial excitement over our long-overdue reunion wore off and we had caught up with each other's personal lives, the conversation degenerated. Rather than discuss the awesome presence of God in our lives, and how much we loved and appreciated Jesus, our passion and delight, the discussion devolved to the mundane, inconsequential, and finally, to the destructive. I struggled to turn it around, feeling desperate to convey to her that I had recently rediscovered my First Love, but to my shame, I found myself plummeting to her level of gossip, complaint, negativity, and critical judgment of people we knew in common, delightedly speculating why they were such losers (implying that we somehow, in our superiority, were winners?). I drove home ashamed and depressed. What happened to me? Where was my FIRE? Apparently the people pleasing, approval-seeking side of me triumphed over the "hungering for righteousness" side of me. What a huge bummer.

 I still squirm at the memory, haunted by my weakness, feeling so much like Peter, who denied Christ three times, after boldly protesting he would do no such thing. I am a spineless worm. I replayed the conversation over and over, trying to figure out when I first fell. For there was a crucial point when I could have gently but firmly said, "Hey, I really want to talk about the amazing things the Lord has been showing me." Or, "hey, let's not talk about that, we're gossiping here." You see I failed with a capital "F!" I failed to TESTIFY to the goodness and glory of God. I went from being a woman burning for Jesus and the things of God to a woman of ash in less than 15 minutes. I secretly imagine I would die for Christ, that I would never deny Him, but even in the simple test of a CONVERSATION (for goodness' sake) with only my friend's (who doesn't even live nearby) opinion of me at stake. And if the truth were known, I don't even think I really like this friend anymore. She draws out the worst in me. She has no real desire to follow Him. She is pursuing a "free" Christianity, completely convinced of the grace of God, but no desire to know Him or respect for His holiness, and I became just like her in less than an hour.

 I want to contrast that conversation with a recent one I had with my son, a man so filled with passion for Jesus, I am totally convinced he would die for Him in a heartbeat. He walks around looking for people to minister and witness to. Within 15 minutes of this contrasting conversation, I was so ignited with vision, purpose and boldness, I felt ready to bust down the walls of the hospital and go heal the sick! I was excited, burning with Zeal, and completely in love with my Savior. I want to BE a Woman of Fire. Not just act like one. I want to be someone who couldn't care less about the opinions and assessments of others, and run with the Holy Spirit no matter what. That MY fire would ignite the tinder of others.

I stumbled across this awesome website today: Access-Jesus.com, and will share a bit of what I found regarding passion for Christ:

"As long as we are close to Jesus, we will have a passion for Jesus. A passion for Jesus only overtakes us when we have an extraordinary encounter with Him. We must continue to purify our heart to stay in relationship with Jesus. A relationship with Jesus is an extremely passionate relationship. A passion for Jesus is a call for action that overcomes you when you encounter Jesus. A passion for Christ comes from knowing in your heart that Jesus defeated death and is alive today forever."

"A Passion for Jesus Comes From a Purified Heart.
How can you have a passion for Jesus unless this passion consumes you? A passion for Jesus can only occur if your heart is purely devoted to Jesus and God's purposes.

Draw Away From Jesus And You Will Lose Your Passion.
As long as Peter was close to Jesus, Peter was full of passion for Jesus. It is when Peter was separated from Jesus that his faith waned concerning Jesus."

"A Passion for Jesus Comes From a Pierced Heart.
A passion for Jesus only overtakes us when we have an extraordinary encounter with Him. Jesus and His resurrection must be experience to be believed. A passion for Jesus only occurs when He touches our heart and pierces it with His truth, His goodness, His love, and His grace."

"Astonishment Is What Creates A Passion for Jesus.
A relationship with Jesus is an extremely passionate relationship. A passion for Jesus is a call for action that overcomes you when you encounter Jesus. This encounter is so life-changing that your only desire is to continue to have more and more encounters with Christ."

"A Passion For Christ Comes When We Believe in His Resurrection.
A passion for Christ comes from knowing in your heart that Jesus defeated death and is alive today forever. The essence of having a passion for Christ is coming into the reality that Jesus (God in the flesh) defeated death on the cross and was resurrected from the dead." (from http://www.access-jesus.com/passion-for-jesus.html)

So then I must pursue HIM to the exclusion of everything else. I must so hunger and thirst for Him, that nothing else will satisfy. That I will not tolerate crap conversation. That I will not condone and participate in sin.

“And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God” (Titus 2:12).

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

“fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6).

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit AND FIRE" Matthew 3:11; John the Baptist)."

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28-29).

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2a).

You see, we are not called to be People of Ash, or even People of Glowing Embers, but PEOPLE OF FIRE! For Heaven's sake, WHAT on this earth can compare to the power, majesty and love of God?

Imagine this:

"Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lamp stands, and in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast. His head and His hair were white like white wool, [as white] as snow, and His eyes [flashed] like a flame of fire. His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead)" (Revelation 1:12-18, Amplified).

Everything pales in comparison to this Glorious One. He spoke creation in being! He parted the Red Sea, shook the mountains and tamed the Deep. He is not to be trifled with.

One of my favorite passages about our powerful God comes out of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in which Aslan, THE lion, represents Christ:

"Is - is he a man?" asked Lucy
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh," said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, abd make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king I tell you."

How is it possible I can fear a weak, erring, insecure and CREATED person, but not THE CREATOR/ALL-POWERFUL KING??? Talk about lunacy! I have resolved: I WILL worship, serve and FEAR Him only, so HELP ME God.

Caterpillars or Butterflies?

Much of modern Christianity keeps us in the larval stage. We are no longer eggs, but neither are we butterflies. Rather, we creep about: big, fat caterpillars, swollen with unrealized power. The Lord longs to transform us into the beauty, grace and freedom He has promised, but most of the time we're too afraid, distracted, unaware of what we are missing, or yes, even lazy, to reach for our destiny. We'd rather play it safe, munch on leaves and crawl around the ground, than fly in tune with the Holy Spirit.

My life scripture is Ephesians 1:17-19, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." I love the "great power part!" Power for our own sanctification, the salvation and discipleship of the world, healing of the sick, raising of the dead, casting out of demons…the very defeat of Satan.

 John 14:12-14 promises that we WILL perform miraculous acts: "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." We need a revelation of the power we inherited from Jesus. Not soul-ish power to assert ourselves in the workplace or physical strength to climb literal mountains, but inner equipping strength to tenaciously follow the Lord's call. Our spirit (indwelt by the Holy Spirit) should be our master, our soul our servant, and our body our slave, but more often we are slaves to our bodies-our appetites-and servants to our souls (moods, griefs, dissatisfactions,boredom, etc). We fill ourselves and our time with the things of this world...things that are not inherently evil, but nevertheless rob us of our destiny. They give us temporary pleasure, but do not satisfy our God-hunger. They displace the Holy Spirit, and keep us from transformation.

 The first commandment reads: "You shall have no other gods before me." In case you fixate on the fact this was Old Testament, Matt. 22:38 reads: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." It is very difficult, if not impossible, to love the Lord with that sort of single-mindedness if we clutter our lives with the junk of this world. I'll bet if most of us are totally honest with ourselves, we who are believers have a "God compartment" that we don't allow to interfere with the rest of our lives. We spend a small amount of time (if we even get around to that) in daily communion and worship of Him, then get to the real substance of our lives: work, prestige, competition, amassing of STUFF, satisfying our bodily cravings, entertainment and recreation.

 1 Cor. 2:14 says, "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." And though we may have tasted of the Lord, we are not making Him our regular diet-we feed on pop culture. We can't wait for the next movie, electronic gadget, or latte flavor to be released. We are essentially still natural men (and women). We are not living on the God-edge, ready to follow His every leading, but on the cutting edge of technology. How do we return to our first love? I truly believe we must begin to wean ourselves from the common and focus on the divine.

 Eph. 5:15-16 (I totally recommend reading the whole chapter-good stuff!) says, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Damon Thompson from the Ramp defines it this way: "[You need the] divine indwelling of the Holy Ghost that squeezes out your appetite for lesser things." We must listen to Jesus as he admonished the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-22, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (verse 21b). We must divest ourselves of that which distracts and weighs us down, that which consumes our time and attention. We must set aside a place and time (a cocoon, if we keep with the caterpillar analogy) for communion with the One who sacrificed His life for us. In doing so, we can allow the Holy Spirit to transform us "from glory to glory," and get on with our destiny!

Amazons from Proverbs 31!

I love the word "Amazon." I want to be an Amazon, a powerful woman who doesn't take any crap, makes things happen, and kicks some booty! I decided I better look the word up, in case I'm romanticizing the term: "a member of a race of female warriors of Greek mythology." Love it! The second definition has a slightly worse connotation, "a tall, strong, often masculine, woman," but I still am pleased with "strong." So how can I be an Amazon?

I looked up Proverbs 31, the go-to passage definining godly womanhood. Verse 17 says, "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." And then in verse 25 and 26, "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Those are not fluff words, baby; she's an Amazon, in my book. The most important verses, however, are 29 and 30: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

 A true Amazon is one who FEARS the Lord. One who realizes her human strength pales in comparison to the strength she derives by honoring and serving God. Over the years, however, many of my Christian women friends complain about this biblical example-feeling like failures in the face of such accomplishments as verses 13-21: "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet."

 I admit, that list of accomplishments daunts the most Super Mom or Female Powerhouse among us. However, I want to point out a few things: first of all, she HAS servant girls! So obviously, they help her do that list of monumental tasks. Do you have servant girls? I certainly don't, and I can't understand why my husband hasn't seen fit to get me one or two on the 20-some birthdays I've had since we've been married! Secondly, do you see anywhere in this verse where she has to run this kid to soccer, that one to dance, bake cookies for scouts, help the kids feed their 4-H hogs, or manage a classroom of unruly little people? NO! So there you go. Also, she may make scarlet (or red to you less sophisticated gals) clothes for her family, but she hasn't had to battle the throngs on Black Friday, to wrestle the deals out of other snatching hands, right? I've been known to get up at 4:00 am to get there, so that counts for "gets up while it's still dark," as does my ice fishing excursions to bring home some fresh trout to keep the hubby thinking I still like him and wasn't lying during dating days about enjoying frozen fishing. So she doesn't let her lamp go out at night?


Haven't you sat up with puking children or waited in ambush for your teen to get home so you can smell her/his breath and give them a piece of your mind? Or skip sleeping altogether to finish a late night project for work? So she buys a field-you bought a house or two or even negotiated a car loan sometime in your life. She is charitable...so are you. She plants a vineyard. Again, she has SERVANTS to do this with her. You may have planted a garden or had house plants-piece of cake! My point here is that you don't need to be intimidated by the Proverbs 31 woman-in fact, she would be completely intimidated by you, you computer savvy, shopping cart wielding, credit card using, teenager managing, van driving Amazon, you!