Harboring Offense

How many of us remain in wounded offense? Are we living for the glory of God, or are we reacting to, nursing, or harboring a grievance? Keeping an offense alive and well is just as destructive (and sinful) as committing an offense. Let’s face it: at one time or another ALL of us are going to offend someone, whether we mean to or not. Here’s my sensitive advice: GET OVER IT!

For when we nurture our hurts, hold them and keep them as part of our life portfolio, we resemble juvenile eagles, fully capable of powerful soaring, but letting our hurts and fears confine us to a small life.

It is time to FLY! Time to rise up, shake off the SIN that so easily entangles and get on with it! Forgive those who have offended you. Forgive just as God forgave you, and MOVE past it. How would we like it if God remained offended by our sins? What if He mulled it over and kept a record of wrongs?

My daughter told me a funny story the other day: apparently one day when she was around junior high age, she and her younger brother were alone together while I was at work. During this time they had a spat. She ended up being so furious with all his “sins” that she kicked him. She knew he would tell on her when I got home, so she went to her bedroom and wrote a long list of everything he did that day to provoke her to violence. He came in and asked her what she was doing, and she told him she was making the list. He admonished, “Remember Teal, God doesn’t want us to keep a record of wrongs!” I have laughed over that daily since I heard it. Yes, just as God does NOT keep a record of our wrongs, He doesn’t want us to keep a record of sins committed against us. He wants us to soar with power and freedom, and each time we refuse to move in favor of nursing our hurts and wounds or we avoid the call on our lives because of past bad experiences, we are like those giant baby birds…fully powerful, yet completely crippled by our own decision to remain in offense.

 "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:10-14

True Obedience Brings the Promises of God

I have been reading Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets, a powerful and challenging book.  I quote him (at length as what he says is so amazingly eloquent):

"Whether or not God directly controls every event in the life a Christian can be answered by stating that the basic laws of sowing and reaping, cause and effect, individual responsibility and the free will aren't negated when we come to Christ. All Promises from God are attached to conditions-governing principles. Most, if not all, of these conditions involve responsibility on our part. Protection is no exception.
      Most of us don't like that. It threatens us and somehow weakens God in our minds to imply He's not in total control of everything. And the majority are greatly offended if anything is taught implying that a failure to receive protection, provision, healing, and answer to prayer or anything else from God could be our fault...
     Why are we offended and opposed to a teaching that says our unbelief kept us from receiving something when so often the Bible says if believe and do not doubt or waver we'll receive (see Matt. 17:20, 21:21; Mark 11:22-24; Jas. 1:6,7)?
     Why are we offended when it is implied that our inability to persevere created lack when the Bible says that we "through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12)?
     Why are we confused or angry when it is suggested that our not doing something caused failure when the Bible says if we're "willing and obedient" we'll eat the good of the land (Isa. 1:19, KJV)?
      As many as 80 percoent of those who consider themselves born again don't tithe, thereby opening themselves to a curse. Yet they are offended when someone implies that their lack of provision might be their own fault (see Mal. 3:8-12).
     We don't forgive and still hae the gall to think God will hear and answer our prayers (see Mark 11:25, 26).
     Often we eat poorly, don't exercise and abuse our bodies in other ways. Then we blame our sicknesses on God's will...
     We know faith comes through hearing and meditating on God's Word (see Rom. 10:7), and most of us do very little of that. But let someone imply that we didn't receive a promise because of unbelief and we're irate."  Thanks to Dutch for speaking the truth!

I submit that we prefer to lie to ourselves and believe that God somehow supersedes all our poor choices and complacencies and then sovereignly overrides our decisions in order to produce the best in our lives. That ain't biblical truth though, folks!

Someone once said, "Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain.  The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be."

Daniel Kolenda wrote, "As long as the enemy can keep the people of God convinced that they are powerless against the circumstances they face, their impact on earth with be anemic."

So let us own our part in obedience to God's Word, and we will "reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9b)."

Quest: 21 Days to Change the Course of Our Nation

I am on a quest: a 21 day prayer and Daniel "fast" (very similar to a strict Vegan diet :) to impact the course of our country. During this time period I have also given up most forms of entertainment so as to focus on praying and seeking God, not only for the upcoming election, but also for revival in our country: For the United States to turn from our gods of "enlightenment," money, entertainment, worship of the environment, prestige, etc., to the roots of our founding: One Nation Under God.

Last night my husband and I watched the movie, "2016: Obama's America."  I invite you to watch it, no matter what political party you support.  It is incredibly well done and enlightening, and contrary to what you may think, it doesn't slam Obama. It reveals the roots of his life philosophy, his political agenda, and what my friend Jody said, "...helps explain [his] unusual [presidential] behavior."  It helped me to understand why he doesn't mind exponentially increasing our national debt and deficit. Why he is sympathetic to Muslims and terrorists. Why he is not a fan of America.

Do you truly want a government that will bankrupt your children? That will saddle your grandchildren with a debt that will break them?   Do you want the United States to be vulnerable to the terrorists of the world?  Do you truly want a world-wide level playing field? Have you thought about the consequences of your voting choice this upcoming election, or are you following the lemmings off the edge of the cliff?

Character Matters

Character, rather than intentions, is what separates the men from the boys, so to speak. It's what separates the doers from the dreamers, the givers from the merely sentimental.  I have been reading about the lives of old time Christians-the revivalists who changed the world. And though all of them were doers and sold out to Christ, some had major character struggles that eventually led to their ruin. I'm not talking about people who slipped up and then repented, but those with  glaring personal flaws that tainted their ministries.

I've ruminated on why some people have weaker characters than others, and I believe it comes down to the practice of excusing sin.  When we allow and excuse the little sins they lead to bigger ones, until eventually, our character is shot full of holes. These holes fall mainly into the category of the sins of the flesh: lust, gluttony, addictions, pride and the like.  We become self-serving rather than God-serving.  If I excuse the sin of gossip, I am watering the seedling of criticism, causing it to grow and flourish into a tree of judgmentalism.  If, however, I nip that sprout of gossip in the bud, I develop the muscle of self-control and can resist the temptation of idle chatter. So goes the sin of allowing the eye to wander lustfully, which eventually, if unchecked, progresses from adultery, pornography, and finally to the prison of sexual addiction. With addiction comes demonically entrapment, and that, boys and girls, is much harder to escape than the beginning sin of lust.   Selfishness, anger, self-pity, dishonesty, gluttony, drunkenness, drug use, etc. follow this same pattern.

Song of Solomon 2:15 says, "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."  To me this metaphor urges us to squelch the small sins in our lives before they rage out of control.  Confess and repent quickly, don't tolerate, excuse or nurture character flaws.  We don't have the luxury of laziness or self-indulgence. Our lives don't belong to us but to the KING!

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Living Like We Mean It.

I just got back from a Washington funeral for a young friend, taken from us at the tender age of 18. It brought home the reality that none of us knows how long we have left on this planet, how long we're here to grace the world with our lives. I'm not being facetious or arrogant, but speaking the truth: We ARE fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14); we are workmanships of our Creator, thus we are precious and necessary, but our days as as grass: short and unknown.

 Ephesians 2:10 says: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." So we are powerfully created and wonderfully equipped, yet here for such a brief time; some of us even briefer.

Psalm 103:15-16 reads "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."

 Rather than be depressed about life's brevity, Jason Gray puts it like this in the song, "Good to be Alive:"

Hold on Is this really the life I'm living? 
Cause I don't feel like I deserve it 
Every day that I wake, 
Every breath that I take You've given 

 I wanna live like there's no tomorrow 
Love like I'm on borrowed time 
It's good to be alive I won't take it for granted 

I won't waste another second 
All I want is to give you 
A life well lived, to say "thank You...thank You"

Jesus gave us the great commission in Matthew 28: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Here's to not wasting another second.

Dedicated to Taylor Stacy:  "Good to be Alive" ...A man who lived like there was tomorrow!

A Generation of Fire

My generation, the Baby Boomers (born from approximately 1946-1964, according to Wikipedia), has an attitude problem.  As a collective, we are suspicious of anything the younger generation does, even God-related. We don't like their clothes, their tattoos and piercings, their music, their passion, or their anointing (ironically, some of us were radicals during the '60's hippee generation!). We are much like King David's wife, Michal, when she despised him for "dancing with all his might"(half-naked, I might add) before the Lord as the Israelites brought home the ark of the Lord (2 Sam 6:14-16).  Michal earned barrenness for her contempt. I submit we are earning spiritual barrenness for our contempt for the young Spirit-filled believers.

Smith Wigglesworth nailed it on the head when he said, "I believe you need to have something more than smoke to touch people; you need to be a burning light for that.  His ministers must be flames of fire...I tell you, a flame of fire can do anything. Things change in the fire. This is Pentecost."

My generation prefers smoke to fire. We like to talk about God, spend our regulated quiet times with the Lord, busy ourselves with Christian deeds, get together for church potlucks and fellowship, but we don't like the messy power of God. We want to be catered to. We are workaholics, so we don't mind rushing about like Marthas, but we don't like the generations of Marys who sit at the feet of Jesus and ask Him what they should do.  We want them to listen to us.  To model themselves after us.  To go to college, get a good job and have a 401-K plan. To be conservative and "balanced" in their approach to God-not to be wild and embarrassing.  We are much poorer for this attitude. While the next generation of fire-breathers completely sells out to God's call, we responsibly go to work, drive our new cars and decorate our already beautiful homes. We are self-absorbed while they are God-absorbed, and if that isn't enough of a discrepancy, we then criticize them for impractical and irresponsible living.

I'm deserting my generation and becoming an honorary member of Generation Y-those who will usher in the next revival. Hope they'll have me.

Why I am a Political Conservative

Contrary to what you may believe, I was raised by staunch liberals.  My paternal grandparents, who had a huge influence on my life, were likewise liberals.  It wasn't until I was 25, and a friend asked me, "why are you a liberal?" that I realized I didn't know. So I did some research and looked at both the left and right for their beliefs and tenants and found that, lo and behold, I supported Conservative views.
I list them here in no particular order of importance except for number one!

1. The right to LIFE as promised by our constitution.  The inherent value of each human being's life, regardless of age.  Liberals have no regard for the unborn. I cannot tolerate this. It is murder to take the life of ANYONE, including the newly conceived (my only exception to this-see #9). The fact of the matter is that sex often results in conception, so to try and circumvent that fact and erase the consequences is not only heinous, but ridiculous.  If you jump in front of a car you will most likely be killed. If you have sex, you most likely will conceive a child. Get over it.  I will NEVER vote for a pro-choice candidate, ever.

2. The rights of non-human living things should never supersede the rights of human beings. Don't get me wrong, I totally believe we should be good stewards of the earth and of living things; way too little concern has been shown to preserving our environmental heritage, BUT we people are created in the image of God, and the rest of the natural world exists for our use and delight.  We don't, however, have the right to abuse and eradicate anything (except maybe horseflies).

3. Social programs for the most part do not work.  Don't give a man a fish, TEACH him how to fish. I believe in helping the truly needy, but this has gone WAY too far.   There are consequences to laziness and bodily abuse.  If you are on the street because you are a bum, you will suffer. Get a job. Not everyone on the street is mentally ill. The government is not your sugar daddy.   Thank you.

4.  Those who have initiative should not have to pay for those who don't.  The Robin Hood philosophy is crap.  Leveling the playing field is also crap.  Our Constitution guarantees us the right to "life, liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness."

5.  Families have the right to educate their own children as they see fit. They do not need the government to intervene.  It does not take a village to raise a child.  I hate that saying.

6. Americans need to be loyal to America and Americans, first and foremost.  Just as you should be more loyal to your family and household than the surrounding neighborhood.  This is our country, paid for by the blood of our people.  This isn't to say America's leadership hasn't made serious mistakes, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. If an American cannot be loyal to America, I really think he/she should move elsewhere :).

7. Our military must be strong to protect our country, as there are many haters in this world, those with absolutely no compunction against using terrorism against our country (remember 9/11?). Terrorists should be shot.

8. I do not totally agree with everything the Republican party stands for, but by jingo, it definitely comes far closer to my strongly held beliefs than does the Democratic party, hence that is how I always vote.  I don't think our country is ready for a third party, so I don't waste my vote on Independent or Libertarian candidates.

9. I believe in the death penalty. Charles Manson should have been executed LONG ago, and I'm glad Hitler is dead.  Some crimes are so heinous, the only answer for them is execution.  If they go to Hell, that is not my problem.

10.  Right and wrong does exist.  Morality isn't spongy.

11. Our country was founded on Christianity.  While everyone has the freedom to choose what to believe, Christianity should not be slammed by those in places of leadership, the media, or for entertainment.  Notice how other non-Judeo-Christian religions are protected by mainstream thinking...have you ever wondered why that is?  Try slamming Muslims or Hindus and see what sort of fall-out you get.

12. The Constitution should not be messed with, period. For example, I have the right to own and bear arms.  Thank God I live in Montana!

There are undoubtedly more reasons I'm a conservative, but that's all I can think of for now. [An interesting side note: 3.5 of my liberal parents' 4 children are conservatives :)]

For an awesome article, check out:
http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2008/03/14/why_i_am_a_conservative