Does Your Thought Life Defy God?

/0 Comments/in /by

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

“You are insignificant … Nobody cares about you … You have nothing of any real value to offer … Things will never change … It’s hopeless.”

I wonder if any of those words seem a little too familiar.

I’ll confess I’ve heard them myself. Many times. But they weren’t spoken by another person. I heard them in my own mind.

Whether we openly admit it or not, we all have fears that rob us of the blessings God longs to pour out. Messages often rotate through our thoughts on auto play, keeping us captive to their deceptions.

Beloved, we sin every time we believe them.

We all easily recognize things like lying, stealing, cheating, and lust as sin. But God hates everything that separates us from Him. And much of the time, what separates us from Him are the thoughts and attitudes we maintain that defy His Word and His love for us.

When we believe we’re insignificant, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” Jeremiah 1:5

When we believe nobody cares, God says, “…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3

When we believe we have no value, God says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Beloved, every time we actively believe messages that contradict God’s truth, we sin. We’re not trying to be defiant. We may not even mean to think those thoughts. But according to our opening scripture, that ignorance within us  separates us from the life of God.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

It’s time we step from ignorance into faith, dear one. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His sacrificial love has freed us from the powers of darkness that rob us of abundant life. But we’ll only experience the life Jesus offers when we choose to believe Him.

Beloved, those messages repeatedly filling your head do have a source. The enemy of your soul planted them in your mind and heart. And every time we trust his words over what God speaks, we fall into the same sin Adam and Eve committed in the garden. We reject God in favor of his enemy. And we give the enemy power he isn’t meant to have.

You and I need to stop agreeing with the wrong spirit.

Isaiah 51:22-23 makes a bold promise.

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors…”

Jesus has turned the tables on our tormentors—the ones filling our heads and hearts with darkness. Who are those tormentors? Ephesians 6:12 describes them.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We fight a very real battle against spiritual influences. They pursue us relentlessly, trying to get our hearts to agree with their dark, oppressive messages. The rest of Isaiah 51:23 reveals where they get their power.

“…who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

I wonder if that scripture brings out the same repulsion in you that it does in me. Nobody likes the feeling of being walked on. But that’s exactly how the Word of God describes humanity’s posture with the enemy.

The cross of Christ released us from our position under the enemy’s feet, beloved. But we have a nasty habit of placing ourselves right back under them. Notice how they get their power. “Who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over.’” All our spiritual enemies can do is suggest behavior to us. We position ourselves under their feet every time we believe them.

Beloved, the enemy and his forces have been using our bent backs as their streets and bridges.

But you and I hold the power to stop them, dear one. Jesus set us free from Satan’s authority and placed him firmly under our feet. To manifest that victory, we simply need to start believing what God says.

The next time one of those thoughts comes knocking, don’t entertain it. Your story has been rewritten with Jesus’ blood. The enemy can’t tell you who you are. He doesn’t own you anymore. Only God has that right. Open your heart to His love and choose to believe what God says. His Spirit will empower you to stand.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Why Does God Allow Pain?

/0 Comments/in /by

For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:6

In October 2016, I found myself in another hospital waiting room. My husband had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. It was his second surgery in as many years, and he couldn’t walk or drive for six weeks. You don’t plan for these things. They just happen.

Sometimes they happen more frequently than others.

That year had been a challenging one, with many precious family members and other loved ones spending hours and days in hospital rooms. I had been fortunate enough to just take up space in the waiting areas. But while my heart ached with and for them, these people I love felt it physically.

Pain. Nausea. Discomfort. Weakness. Weariness. Fear.

In those moments of heartache and pain, we naturally grasp for an answer to a tiny yet profound question. Why?

And in this world where Christianity is often touted as a direct link to blessing and prosperity, believers can be tempted to doubt God’s promises.

I get it. I’ve been there myself, wondering if God’s Word could really be true—wondering how a loving God could allow hard things like pain, suffering, and loss. The events of recent days could keep our hearts questioning God’s intentions for us if we don’t truly know His heart.

But I’d like to take a few moments to look at difficulty from God’s perspective. Jesus said in John 16:33,

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Beloved, scripture confirms something you and I already know. This world is hard. We’re going to face pain, and there’s no way around it. We live in a world that rejects the love we were made for and lives from fear instead. But Jesus came and conquered through the cross so that you and I could experience His victory. In Him, we can also overcome. Romans 8:16-17 says it this way:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Dear one, with or without Christ, this world produces suffering. But in Christ our suffering has purpose. Suffering with Him provides the means to establish us in our inheritance—to take hold of the promises available to us in Christ as co-heirs of all that God has given us.

You see, our promises aren’t just meant for heaven. We’re supposed to experience them here. And adversity provides the opportunity for us to do that.

Stick with me here. Ephesians 1:3 promises that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” But God wants those blessings lived out “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). He wants our heavenly position to be evident on earth as He reveals His glory through us.

God’s glory becomes evident when we do what Jesus did: We face the darkness on this earth and overcome.

Beloved, every spiritual blessing available to us in Christ remains a theory if we don’t grab hold of it and use it. Our trials provide an opportunity to reveal our heavenly position and manifest our blessings on earth.  We conquer fear when we face it and choose faith in spite of it. We’ll only experience the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) when we face circumstances that rob our peace.

Our suffering allows us opportunity to encounter and know God in ways our hearts never would without it.

Everyone will hurt and suffer in this life. But in Christ, God has granted us a glorious opportunity! In our struggles, we can experience God and overcome, establishing victories we didn’t know we had in us and putting our enemy firmly under our feet.

David offers a good example of this in scripture. The Philistine army had the Israelites trembling in fear because of Goliath. The giant defied their God and challenged a man to fight him. If he won, Israel would serve the Philistines.

But David knew the Word of the Lord. Intimately. He knew God’s character and the inheritance available to him as His child. So, he didn’t let the appearance of his circumstances overpower him. He drew on God’s promises, faced Goliath head on, and established his spiritual promise of victory as his earthly reality. (See 1 Samuel 17)

Our opening scripture reveals an important truth: living water bursts forth in desert places. If God has allowed suffering in your life, dear one, it isn’t because He has abandoned you or doesn’t love you. He’s closer than ever. And He has provided an opportunity for you to take hold of Him and bring some good out of  the enemy’s evil.

Suffering provides an opportunity to release our spiritual blessings in the earthly realm. Share on X

Without the suffering of recent years, I would never have experienced the miracle of His peace. I would not have discovered deceptions hidden deep within my own heart, and I wouldn’t have learned how to pray from my position in Christ and see heaven move. I wouldn’t have known the joy of my Comforter, or watched spiritual chains fall from my loved ones.

God is for you, beloved. He offers you Himself, and your suffering provides an opportunity to experience His presence and be held in His love. And when glory reveals itself, suffering fades. And you experience the wonder of resurrection life.

Healing From The Last Two Weeks

/0 Comments/in , /by

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. …35 Jesus wept. John 11:33, 35

It’s been a rough couple of weeks.

First, Charlie Kirk. Then, one week to the day after his horrifying assassination, evil hit even closer to home. You may have heard about a police shooting in a little town called Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. Three officers lost their lives, and 2 others were hospitalized when a man they were serving a warrant to opened fire on them. That shooting took place about a mile from my church, and one of the men killed was our chief of security, the dear friend of dear friends.

We received word of the shooting while my husband was with another dear friend needing an ambulance for a rapidly spreading infection. A terrifying fever raged through his body while they waited for an ambulance from a neighboring town. Why the delay? All the local ambulances were on site with the officers in Spring Grove.

I was on the phone with my husband, sharing the news that our Christian brother was one of the officers killed. I heard a sob wrench from him in disbelief, then I felt something quite unexpected rise within me. I’m not sure how else to describe it, except to say that I went cold. It was as if a wall erected itself around my heart. I felt separate from everything. Numb.

I knew what it was. My heart was protecting itself from the heaviness of overwhelming emotion. Knowing how this news would impact our friends and that several families had just been shattered. Concern for our friend and his wife still waiting for an ambulance with my husband.

And something in me just wanted to check out. To not feel it. To let it be separate from me so that I could keep going. To hide my heart from what was happening so it couldn’t break me.

Have you ever been there? I’m guessing an honest answer would be yes. There are times when we just want to retreat inside ourselves so the pain in this world can’t hurt us.

And honestly, that protection is a God-given gift. He created us with that capacity for self-preservation. That’s how emergency workers are able to do their jobs and keep functioning, how children survive traumatic events and keep on living.

But a problem arises when that protection stays in place, when we don’t ever let ourselves feel the pain we want to avoid. We never process it, so we never heal. And we lose some of who we are as our hearts grow cold.

I felt that coldness the other night, and it threw me. You see, it was unfamiliar. I’ve spent the last 26 years pursuing and growing in God’s love. That means I feel things deeply. My default response has been to press in, not check out. And I didn’t like the feeling.

The next day, I gathered with some of my team members at the ministry, and we prayed. We prayed for our friends, the hurting families, our broken world. But we also prayed for our own hearts, that they would not grow cold in self-protection. That we would feel what we need to feel so that love can heal.

That’s what’s causing all this pain, you know. Hearts growing cold. We haven’t known how to deal with our emotions, so we press them down. When it gets too much, we check out, numbing ourselves with our drug of choice, like mindless scrolling or binge watching. Whatever we need to do to escape.

But that’s not who we are. God created humanity for love and connection. To live lives intertwined with the people around us, and to care. That was the beauty and strength of the early church. They cared deeply and shared everything.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:32-33

Power and grace flow through unity. When we begin to care more about the whole than merely protecting ourselves, God’s presence manifests through our image bearing. To look like that church seems impossible, but I believe it’s the very thing this broken world is waiting for. We won’t change the world with arguments. We’re meant to heal it with love.

So that’s what I’m choosing.

Jesus, help me to feel what You feel, to give like You give. Help us to burn with a purity that draws the hurting to Your warmth. Show us the power of Your love. Reveal in us the love that cannot fail.

When Fear Costs a Blessing

/0 Comments/in /by

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. Proverbs 5:22

I don’t like drawing attention to myself.

I know that might sound strange coming from a woman who regularly speaks from a stage, but here’s the truth. I would never have chosen this path for myself. I prefer obscurity.

I’d rather live life far from any public eye, enjoying my family and loving people. But God had other designs for me when I said yes to Jesus’ invitation to “Follow Me.” It’s like one of our pastors proclaimed years ago. “Following Jesus will inevitably lead you to places you’d never choose to go on your own.”

I’m living proof of that. Once I fell in love with Jesus, my desire to follow Him pushed me past some overwhelming fear. I determined that I would trust Him no matter what. So when He began to open doors for me to publicly teach His Word, I stepped through them—fighting through the nausea that told me to run the other way.

And I began to see Jesus work miracles every time I stepped up to a podium. Each time I taught His Word, God responded to my faith by showing up. His presence would push back the feelings fear had brought and overtake me with His peace. Not only that, but the people hearing the Word encountered Him too as He gave them new understanding of His truth. The grace He poured out on me also marked them.

Now Jesus has conquered my fear in that area of ministry. I no longer fear public speaking. His love set me free! But even when we’ve come so far with Him, His mercy will reveal places we have yet to go. And one Sunday morning in the middle of worship, He showed me one of those places.

While we were singing, I felt the Spirit well up inside of me, urging me to walk to the front of the church.

But I didn’t go.

I hesitate even now to share the story. I’ve spent the last 20 years telling God that I’ll go wherever He sends me. And I believed I would. I’ve followed Him to churches, meeting rooms, and retreat centers all over the place. Yet when He sent me that Sunday to the altar in my home church to lift my hands and worship Him in front of the congregation, my feet would not move.

…she is held fast in the cords of her sin. Proverbs 5:22

You see people didn’t typically flood to the altar in my old church. They stayed in their seats. They worshiped in the safety of anonymity. But that day, Jesus asked me to step from the crowd, walk boldly to the front alone, and raise my hands to worship Him.

And I didn’t go.

This prompting had come in answer to my own prayers. Longing to experience more of Him, I’d been asking for bold faith—faith that moves me from my comfort to love the lost. And the podium—which had once been my greatest fear—had become my safe place.

But what of the man sitting next to me on a plane? Or the waitress whose pained look reveals a burden? I find that I struggle to “impose myself” on someone who hasn’t invited me to help them.

But that’s not who Jesus is. He pursues the lost without shame. He extends Himself without invitation. He gives of Himself freely without fear of rejection—a fear I admit I’ve wrestled with most of my life.

And during  morning worship that Sunday, God provided an opportunity to follow Him. The lyrics we sang invited me to proclaim my deliverance. I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God. As I sang the words, I wanted to run to the front of the church and step into that freedom. But I couldn’t.

Apparently, sometimes I still live like a slave.

Don't settle for old victories. Jesus has new ones for today. #livingfaithdoesn'tstaycomfortable Share on X

I felt my heart beating faster as I hesitated, trying to discern if it was really Him prompting me to go. Then He whispered, “Walk with Me, child.” I knew He wanted me to put one foot in front of the other and walk out my faith to the front of that sanctuary. And I discovered the stronghold keeping me from living my full inheritance.

I still feared how people would judge me. I worried what they might think. How can I follow Him to the lost if I can’t follow Him to the front of the church?

I’m like the woman with the issue of blood who sought Jesus for her healing. She slipped quietly through the crowd to touch the hem of His garment. Immediately, she felt her body heal and retreated into the crowd.

She wanted miracles, but she preferred anonymity. Still, Jesus challenged her to reveal herself.

And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” Luke 8:45-46

Jesus’ question intrigues me. He knew exactly who touched Him. Scripture reveals that Jesus knows the thoughts of men. He certainly knew hers. And still, He asked the question.

 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Luke 8:47-48

Beloved, sometimes we can experience miracles but still carry our shame. We prefer not to expose ourselves to people, because the enemy of our souls has convinced us it’s safer in the darkness.

But Jesus dwells in the light, dear one. If we want to shine as light in the world, we’re going to have to trust Him and leave the shadows. Darkness might be comfortable, but it’s bondage.

And Jesus loves us too much to leave us there.

Here’s the truth, dear one. Any place where fear still reigns is a place untouched by the love of God. And here’s what’s even more beautiful. Jesus didn’t condemn me for not walking to the front of the church that day. His prompting simply highlighted a fear in my heart He wanted to heal with His love. He didn’t push me away. He drew me closer.

And His love cannot fail.

Are We Helping People into Hell?

/0 Comments/in /by

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. Isaiah 59:14-15

It’s getting harder and harder to stand in agreement with God’s Word without being attacked. Isaiah 59:14 reveals why. Truth has stumbled in the public squares. The deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9) has established his agenda, convincing the public that wrong is right. Even self-proclaimed Christians have bought the lies and wandered from God’s truth, allowing society’s convictions to dictate theirs. Now,

Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Recently, my husband’s defense of biblical marriage between a man and a woman earned him the accusation of being homophobic. Today people rush to judgment without understanding. I’d like to set the record straight.

While I’m aware that homophobia is all too real and even dangerous, many people who don’t support the LGBT lifestyle for biblical reasons aren’t projecting fear or hatred toward those involved in it. We fear for them.

Beloved, we believe in Jesus, and Jesus came to deliver mankind from our destructive bondage to sin. He came to sever our attachment to anything the enemy of our souls planted in our hearts that pulls us away from God and the life He planned for us. Those things are the natural desires of the flesh that find their root in darkness.

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our fallen, natural condition.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Beloved, without Jesus, our very nature condemns us. Ephesians 2 explains the reason we have need of the cross! The natural passions of our flesh come from the evil one instead of the God who created us. Our sin nature that sets us following the course of this world instead of God’s desires positions us for wrath.

But God loved us too much to leave us in that state! So He sent Jesus.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

John 3:17-19 confirms God’s intentions for mankind through Jesus.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Beloved, I fear for those who choose to remain in darkness. Because I know where that choice will end. And my heart aches for the influence the darkness wields over their minds and hearts.

Do you know what lies at the heart of the transgender movement, dear one? The prince of this world has convinced people to hate who God created them to be. The inner voice telling them something is wrong with them has become so powerful they’re willing to mutilate their bodies to try to feel better and escape the pain. Pain that only exists because the deceiver has blinded them to the beauty of who they are. God did not give them that misery, dear one. The thief robbed their identity. Jesus said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

What these people are searching for can’t be found by different clothes or a surgeon’s knife. Bruce Jenner proved that. People applauded his bold step to come out and reveal his life long struggle with his identity. But my heart broke as I saw the pain in his eyes during his interview. He fought tears much of the time.

You see, taking that step didn’t make him feel any better. Becoming Caitlyn didn’t end the pain.

Choosing a new gender identity didn’t fix the problem, beloved. Happiness still eluded him. And it will until he discovers that true joy only comes when we find our identity in Christ.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.

We think the way to help people who suffer this way is to support their decision and make them feel safe. It isn’t. The problem isn’t that God made a mistake and gave them the wrong parts. He doesn’t make mistakes.

They suffer from a heart condition. The deceiver has darkened their thinking and stolen their joy.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

Beloved, only Christ can deliver them from the darkness. I’m not against establishing LGBT rights because I hate them. I believe Jesus wants to save and restore them.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NIV

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided a miraculous gift. He saved us from our condemned condition. He died to redeem our flesh, taking our sin so He could give us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus has literally provided us with divine power to change our natural, self-destructive desires (2 Peter 1:3-4)—the desires that keep us bound to the prince of darkness and will also bind us to his eternal fate. But we must, “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

If we keep pushing an agenda that supports the LGBT lifestyle—establishing what God has declared wrong to be right (Romans 1:18-32)—we only help send people to their eternal destruction. And we keep them from discovering the answer to the pain that their heart really longs for. Jesus.

Love doesn’t establish law that makes sin easier and helps people self-destruct. It speaks the truth and extends a hand to pull them out.

“Love is unselfishly choosing for another's highest good.” -C.S. Lewis #thecrossdelivers Share on X

Their highest good is their deliverance!

Jesus said, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He was either a lunatic, a liar, or exactly who He claimed to be: The Son of God who came to save the world.

I happen to believe Him.

Go From Poverty to Provision

/0 Comments/in /by

… in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 2 Corinthians 8:2

I wonder if you feel like your circumstances have left you with nothing to give. Maybe you feel depleted, barely able to hang on. Your scarcity may be financial, relational, or even emotional, but it really doesn’t matter. Your stores are empty. You don’t have what you need, never mind the ability to give to anyone else.

Can you relate, dear one? If so, perhaps that empty place is the perfect place for you to be.

Let’s see if you really pay attention to what you read. In our opening scripture, what did the Macedonian churches’ wealth of generosity flow from?

Yes. You read it right. Extreme poverty.

In the natural world, that sentence doesn’t even make sense. By definition, poverty represents lack. It means want or extreme need. Scarcity, shortage, deficit, and debt are all synonyms.

Beloved, extreme poverty means not having enough for yourself. So how can what you don’t have provide what somewhat else needs?

Yet that’s precisely how scripture describes these churches. Extreme poverty overflowed into wealth. Their own lack became generous provision for others. How?

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Our God of the impossible makes lack overflow into provision. It doesn’t make sense to the natural mind. It seems unbelievable. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

Take a moment to ponder Jesus’ words from Luke 6:38.

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

You and I need to understand this biblical truth, beloved. If we want to receive from God, He requires us to give.

If you need money, give to someone in need. If you need comfort, comfort someone else. If you need forgiveness, forgive. If you desperately need to feel love, be the one who gives it. And God promises that He will return what you give back to you. With good measure, pressed down and running over, He will put into your own lap the very thing you have given.

Because giving—particularly from lack—requires a little something from us. It requires faith. And faith moves God to pour out grace.

That, dear one, is how lack overflows into wealth. When we trust God by giving what we don’t have, the God of overflow fills the void to provide it.

Let’s look at a few scriptures relating God to overflow.

He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people? Psalm 78:20

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5

Beloved, God alone can make your cup overflow, even when enemies threaten to take everything. His presence made water flow from solid rock to provide for His thirsty people in the desert. He longs to show His overflow in your desert places. But He waits for you to exercise a little faith.

Jesus released God’s overflow when He fed five thousand men—plus women and children—with only five loaves and two fish. But do you know when that food multiplied, dear one? When the disciples trusted Jesus by giving the little they had in their hands away.

Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Matthew 14:19-20

Twelve disciples gave from their lack. They each went home with a basket of left overs—pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Oh beloved. Let’s not wait to give from our abundance. Giving from poverty releases God to reveal Himself.

 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

And she alone experienced God when He gave her more.

Get To Know Your New Self

/6 Comments/in /by

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21

My husband and I had an interesting conversation on the way home from church one Sunday. Someone made a statement in his Sunday school class that some of the men found a little unsettling. While discussing the struggle we all have with sin, the familiar comment surfaced that we’re all sinners who fall short of glory.

But one gentleman in the room interrupted to make a very different statement. He insisted he wouldn’t take that label. He wouldn’t call himself a sinner. He’s a redeemed child of God.

Most of the men in the room didn’t quite know how to respond to that. After all, everyone sins. Only Jesus lived a perfect life.

Well, that may be true at this point in humanity’s story. But once we’re saved, what does still calling ourselves sinners say about what Christ accomplished for us on the cross?

Bear with me for a moment here. Let’s pause to look at it from heaven’s perspective.

Every one of us came into this world bound by sin. Ephesians 2:1-3 describes it perfectly.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Our sin nature, bound to the prince of this world, made us children of wrath. None of us could do anything to save ourselves.

Then Jesus became a sacrificial Lamb to do something impossible.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Do you see it, dear one? Jesus made an exchange. In an astounding act of love and mercy, Jesus became sin so that we could become righteousness. He took our old nature—our sin nature that positioned us for wrath—and exchanged it for His. Now we can celebrate the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

I’ll be honest. For years, my mind translated that scripture something like, “if anyone is in Christ, one day if they work hard enough, they’ll eventually become a new creation.” Can you relate? But I need you to focus in on the tense of that scripture. It says that if I am in Christ, I am a new creation. Present tense. The old me has already passed away. Let’s look at a few more scriptures that confirm that truth.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24

Based on these scriptures, beloved, if you are in Christ, should you still call yourself a sinner? God’s Word answers that with a resounding “No.” Christ crucified your sin nature on that cross. Then He gave you His. Now you participate in Christ’s nature.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Jesus conquered your flesh and gave you His divine nature in its place. To continue to call yourself a sinner once you’ve been redeemed—though appearing like humility that recognizes your need of Jesus—actually denies what He accomplished for you on that cross. And that unbelief cuts you off from the power He poured out to accomplish it.

For many… walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Philippians 3:18

It’s time we start believing what God says about us. Faith alone ushers us into His grace. Faith alone transforms us from the inside out. As we receive the implanted word into our hearts by faith, the Spirit within us will water that seed, causing it to sprout fruit. Our faith allows the Spirit to manifest the word we have believed and empower us to live it out.

When something comes against me and I’m tempted to respond from my flesh, I’m learning to tell myself, “That’s not who I am anymore. Jesus crucified my flesh, and I refuse to give it life. Jesus has made me all that He is. I am love. I am purity. I am forgiveness. I am grace. Lord, empower me to live from the nature you have given me.”

That, dear one, is how I believe we live out Ephesians 4:22-24, which challenges us,

…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Renew your mind with the truth of God’s Word, dear one. Your sin nature has passed away. You have been given a new self, recreated in God’s likeness in true righteousness and holiness. Your enemy wants to convince you you’re still just a sinner, giving you the excuse to justify your sin so he can keep you bound by it. Don’t let him win, beloved. He has kept Christ’s church in bondage for far too long with his deceptions. Only the truth will set you free and empower you to live the life God intends.

Put off the sinner, dear one. It’s time we put on the righteousness Christ bought with His blood.

Are You a Fan or a Follower?

/0 Comments/in /by

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

You may have noticed, last week was the start of preseason football. Born and raised in New England, my family and I have spent hours watching the Patriots play. It was a way we connected for fun together, making special snacks and wearing our team shirts. We celebrated every victory and felt every loss.

But nothing quite compared to watching Super Bowl 51, the greatest football comeback in history. I will never forget my kids’ faces as Brady led the team back from a 25 point deficit. Discouragement and disbelief evolved into hope and then wide-eyed amazement as New England miraculously took the lead.

I watched it, and I still have trouble believing it. But I’ll confess. I sure was happy about it.

My cousin Ben posted this message to Facebook after that game.

So insanely happy about the Super Bowl win for the Patriots, but driving home I was convicted when I had the thought, “When was the last time I was this excited for Jesus Christ and how he died to save the entire world from sin?” After all, the greatest comeback of all time was not Super Bowl 51, but Jesus Christ coming back from the dead after 3 days.

He has a point. I really can’t think of anything more impressive than conquering death itself. Let’s take a moment to revisit the scene of Jesus’ final breath.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50-54, emphasis mine

Unbelievable … yet just as real as the Patriots’ staggering comeback. Death could not defeat the King of Kings.

But Jesus wasn’t the only person to come back from the dead. His resurrection also revealed a foretaste of what’s to come. Saints rose from their tombs and walked into Jerusalem! That’s the amazing story of the cross, beloved. This is the Jesus we profess to follow. He conquers death—and raises what death has taken back to life.

Now that’s something to celebrate!

Somehow fireworks and confetti seem much too small to honor it, but even that’s far more attention than we usually give it. So I’ll ask you the question the Spirit stirred in my cousin’s heart after the big game. When was the last time you were this excited for Jesus Christ and how he died to save the entire world from sin?

Are we as passionate about Jesus as we are about our football teams? Do we get as angry over someone disparaging Jesus’ name as we do if they disrespect our quarterback? Do we want to see Christ’s church prevail as much as we care if our team wins?

Sadly, most of the time the honest answer is no. We get pretty fired up about Jesus when we attend a worship event. We may even raise our hands to cheer Him within the safe embrace of other believers. But our passion fades when we return to normal life. And when confronted by people who aren’t fans, we often hide our devotion.

Even worse, when we believe Jesus has let us down, we become the very voices in the crowd who disparage Him.

Jesus didn’t die to make us fair weather fans, beloved. He died for followers, for those who would risk everything to stand with Him. And He made an astounding statement in our opening Scripture.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Do you experience this promise, beloved? Has darkness been eradicated from your life? If not, perhaps you haven’t really been close enough to Jesus to follow Him.

Real faith doesn’t fade when circumstances shout defeat or when others don’t believe. Instead, it swells in the moments that seem darkest. It whispers strength into the heart of true followers and empowers them to stand.

Jesus still reigns as the ultimate comeback champion. And when we choose to stand in faith while the world anticipates our defeat, He shows up to stand with us. But even more than that, when we open our hearts to receive His love, darkness flees and real life begins.

 

You Were Made To Change The World

/1 Comment/in /by

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Our opening scripture holds great promise. Where God is present and unquenched, faith and love will increase.

The next verse reveals the catalyst for that growth: persecutions and afflictions.

I want to suggest to you that this very moment—these days of great affliction and increasing persecutions—offer a backdrop to exponentially expand the faith and love of God’s people.

God has commissioned us to change the world and positioned us to see it done. The question is, are we willing?

I’m going to be honest for us. In most cases, we aren’t. We talk a good talk, but when the time comes to actually fulfill the role God has set before us, we offer all kinds of excuses. We act a bit like Jonah, running from God’s presence rather than boldly stepping up in obedience to our calling.

Then we blame God for not revealing more of His power.

But what if God has a message to speak to us through Jonah’s life, dear one? What if His Spirit stirs even now, daring us to hope for the miraculous? I think all of us can easily relate to Jonah’s stumbling. But what if we could also relate to his triumph?

Imagine it, beloved. Jonah’s story led to one of the greatest revivals recorded in history. A flawed, selfish man finally humbled himself, walked into the great city of Nineveh, and spoke eight words. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).

What happened next defied logic.

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. Jonah 3:5

Did you catch it, dear one? A pagan, rebellious people believed God.

Eight words spoken by a submitted prophet changed the heart of every citizen in Nineveh, from the least to the greatest. Amazing, isn’t it? One man’s obedience unleashed repentance and deliverance for an entire city—a city so big that in Jonah’s time it took three days to journey through it.

But this revival didn’t just touch the people. It transformed its king.

The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” Jonah 3:6-9

A godless king suddenly believed God held the power to destroy and redeem. And that belief brought him to his knees.

God responded precisely the way scripture promises He would.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Jonah 3:10

Oh, beloved. What if we could see this kind of miraculous transformation in our own nation? Our hearts cry out for revival! But like Jonah, most of us would rather not be the instruments God uses to bring it.

I wonder, dear one. What kind of storm will it take to humble you before God? Whose lives are you willing to risk?

Whether we care to admit it or not, our rebellion allows pain and disaster to increase around us. Our disobedience puts lives in jeopardy.

Just ask Jonah. His defiance stirred up a storm that threatened everyone aboard the ship he fled on—until Jonah finally stopped running and acknowledged his responsibility. Facing peril, his heart changed, and the lives of the men on board became more important than his own. Overcoming the selfishness that sent him running, Jonah offered his life to save them.

He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Jonah 1:12

When they hurled him into the sea, the raging ceased, and they “feared the LORD exceedingly” (verse 16). But Jonah’s story wasn’t over. He spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. There he learned the beauty of the fast. And he prayed.

God moved in response to his prayer, causing the great fish to spit him out onto land. And Jonah—humbled, yielded, changed, and anointed—traveled to Nineveh to deliver the message God had given him, saving thousands more.

What circumstance in your life has you in the belly of the fish, beloved? What is God asking you to surrender so that He can move through you in power? What will God unleash through you when you walk in the power of your own anointing?

Jonah’s success had nothing to do with his own talents or eloquence. It came from the presence of God working through him. When he finally denied his own desires in humble submission to God, the Spirit poured forth in power.

And an entire city repented, from the least to the greatest, including their king.

Immense hope looms before us, dear one. The miraculous redemption of our nation is possible if we believe.

But resurrection life first requires death.

So here’s the question before us. Are we willing to put to death our own desires to save those who are drowning?

Beloved, God’s power flowing through your life emerges from death and resurrection.

 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

We must first live the gospel in order to share the gospel. Otherwise, our self-righteous hypocrisy refutes the message. But when we are undone—crucified to the flesh—the Spirit flows in power.

The early church proved that to be true.

 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. Acts 11:21

Let’s stop running and own our responsibility. Let’s descend to the depths with Jesus and rise to new life.

Submitted. Selfless. Holy. Anointed.

Then we will change the world.

The Key To Unlock The Power Of The Gospel

/0 Comments/in /by

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. Philippians 1:3-5

Paul got excited over these Philippian believers.

Look at his words. He thanked God every time he remembered them. And always, each time he prayed for them, he lifted his prayer with joy.

What made these believers such a source of joy and thanksgiving? Their partnership in the Gospel.

I’ll be honest. For a long time I looked at those verses and thought that Paul simply rejoiced because they were helping in the work of kingdom building. But recently God took me deeper. He asked me to consider what that word partnership really meant.

So now I invite you to join me on the path He led me down. Let’s start by defining the Gospel itself. Paul defines it for us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

 The Gospel that saves hinges on three important truths.

  1. Christ died for our sins
  2. He was buried
  3. He was raised to new life

Here’s the heart of the gospel, beloved. Death. Burial. Resurrection.

And here’s why I believe we witness so little of the Gospel’s power in our own lives. We carry the message of the Gospel—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection— without participating in the Gospel ourselves.

We want the resurrection power the Gospel proclaims. We just don’t like the means to experience it. Beloved, death and burial always precede resurrection life.

And this, I believe, is what made Paul so excited about these Philippian believers. They had partnership in the Gospel from the first day they heard it. They themselves participated in the death, burial, and resurrection, experiencing the transforming work of the cross within their own hearts.

You see, the original Greek word translated partnership in Philippians 1:5 is Koinōnia, which means: close association between persons, emphasizing what is common between them; by extension: participation, sharing…fellowship, communion.

These believers shared in Christ’s suffering, choosing fellowship in the death and burial of their flesh nature, so that they could also experience Christ’s resurrection power. And this led to Paul’s often quoted proclamation in Philippians 1:6.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, what if we chose to embrace this way of thinking? What if our partnership in the Gospel could be more than just sharing creeds and faith? What if we committed to fellowship with Christ in the power of the Gospel instead of just sharing His message?

Oh that Jesus would look upon us with the same joy that Paul felt for those early believers at Philippi! May our lives prove the message of the Gospel and proclaim Christ’s kingdom in this hurting world.

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20