The Bitter Root

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Perhaps you can’t relate to this, but occasionally, I get angry. And when I do, I have a list of very valid reasons that explain why I have every right to feel that way. If I choose to feed that anger, it can turn into something pretty ugly. Just ask my husband. After nineteen years, he’s witnessed a few of my less than godly moments.

Those moments, however, are always the ones I look back on with regret. Have you ever noticed how they usually come back to bite you?

Today my friend Wendy Blight, author and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries, shares her own experience with holding bitterness. I pray her story will encourage you to trust God and extend grace when you feel wronged by someone. Remember, God’s instructions don’t always feel natural, but they are always for us.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

The Bitter Root

By Wendy Blight

 

"See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." (Hebrews 12:15 NIV)

How dare she ask this of me?

I reread her email, which only fueled my fury. Rather than reply immediately, I decided to forward the note to my husband for his advice. Any words I would've written to her at that moment would not have been kind.

Bitterness took root as I typed a note to my husband, spewing out my frustration. When I finished, I reviewed my message with great satisfaction. I'd expressed myself well to a safe person. Then I pressed send.

In that moment, I glanced at the "to" box. I was horrified when I realized I'd hit "reply" instead of "forward." My heart sank. All my hurtful words and anger were now en route to her, not my husband.

I felt sick. What should I do? I picked up the phone and called my husband at work. We both agreed I needed to email her, explain what happened, and ask forgiveness. It was the hardest email I've ever written.

Her gracious response astounded me. She thanked me for my apology and closed her response with these words, "I forgive you, so let's just put this behind us." Her words of forgiveness melted the bitterness that had consumed my heart just an hour before. I'm sure she was hurt. My words were harsh. Yet she chose to overlook and pardon my offense.

It's easy to forget that we have choices when we're offended. We can surrender our hurt or hold on to our hurt. We can extend grace or harbor bitterness.

Bitterness is like poison that infects our lives. The author of Hebrews compares bitterness to a root that overtakes our hearts and causes trouble in many other areas of our lives (Hebrews 12:15). Although our feelings of bitterness, anger, and resentment may seem justified, they are not. Instead, they're hurtful and destructive—to ourselves as well as to the person who hurt us.

God's Word teaches us to forgive and instructs us not to let the sun go down while we're angry. When we do, we give the devil a place to work in our hearts and relationships. Instead of allowing the enemy room to plant relational weeds between us, my friend chose forgiveness, extended grace, and prevented a bitter root from taking hold.

She became a living example of the apostle Paul's words to the believers at Ephesus: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). Her wise example helped me move beyond my anger. My friend's gracious decision modeled humility. Her choice to forgive salvaged our friendship and changed how I react toward others who offend me. From that day forward, I've prayed that God's grace would flow through me, leaving no room for bitter roots.

Dear Lord, search my heart. See if there is any bitterness in me. Lead me to forgiveness. Enable me through the power of Your Holy Spirit to let go of all bitterness and to extend Your amazing grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Remember
Choosing forgiveness is the only way to prevent a bitter root from taking root in your heart and growing.

Reflect
Is there someone against whom you harbor unforgiveness? What is it that keeps you from being able to forgive this person?

Respond
Review the verses shared in this devotion. Prayerfully ask God what your next step is with this person. Ask Him to equip you to take that first step, and then take it.

Power Verses
Colossians 3:13; Romans 12:9

Taken from Encouragement for Today: Devotions for Everyday Living by Renee Swope, Lysa TerKeurst and Samantha Evilsizer and the Proverbs 31 Ministries Team. © 2013 Proverbs 31 Ministries. Used by permission of Zondervan.www.zondervan.com.

For more from Wendy Blight, visit her blog at www.wendyblight.com, or study with her at www.inscribedstudies.com.

Cancer – A Paradigm Shift

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This week’s Word comes from a friend of mine who has spent the last three years battling colon cancer. Today Wendy Stauffer, founder of Ultimate Wellness (www.UltimateWellness.jigsy.com), shares her thoughts on her journey so far.

Recently, God changed her view of her situation. Her words stirred my soul as I thought of the many times I have found myself in a battle. I have worked and fought for a particular outcome—and I have wearied myself with all the working. After reading her words, I can’t help but consider: How many hours have I spent fighting the “enemy,” when in fact I was actually fighting against God?

Think about it for a moment. Nothing passes into our lives that God didn’t either ordain or allow. Whether we like the idea or not, Satan must have permission from Jesus to attack and “sift” His disciples (Luke 22:31-32).

When things come into our lives we wouldn’t choose, we tirelessly battle against them, determined to change our circumstances to match our will. But if God has allowed our circumstances, wouldn’t that mean that we are actually fighting Him?

No wonder we get tired. You and I don’t have the strength to win that battle.

Perhaps God’s blessing for you in your trial looks different than the one you’ve been fighting for. And just maybe, dear one, you’re missing what He wants to give because you’re fighting so hard for it.

What if the secret to your great victory lies in rest, beloved? What if surrendering to God’s choice for you and allowing Him to shape your heart through it becomes the catalyst to experiencing Exodus 14:14?

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 

Cancer –  A Paradigm Shift

by Wendy Stauffer

People are constantly saying things like, “You are a fighter, Wendy.  You’re gonna beat cancer!” “You just keep fighting.  You are so strong.” My dearest family and friends often put out prayer requests that read, “Pray for Wendy in her battle against cancer.”  We’ve all been well programmed on how to view cancer.  I see organizations crusading in the fight against cancer with billboards and slogans properly worded for defeating or beating this horrible foe.

As I’ve had time to ponder just how this battle is going, Dr. Phil’s haunting question keeps coming to mind. “How’s it working for ya?”  Well, I need to be totally honest. It isn’t working!  I have been so consumed these past three years being afraid of cancer, being angry at having cancer, being on a crusade to wipe out cancer, (which I think is a curse from the pit of hell), trying to figure out how to avoid cancer, feeling defeated by cancer, saddened by new reports of loved ones getting cancer, being consumed trying to rid my body of cancer, being overcome with grief and tears over cancer, that I’ve wasted so much precious time and energy on it, and it is still winning! Not only is it winning; it has gotten worse!

All of my efforts to conquer and overcome cancer have sent my cortisol levels sky high, allowing cancer deeper access to me, blocking my immune system from getting rid of it naturally.   Something needs to change.  To continue to do the same thing and expect different outcomes is called insanity.

I believe it’s time for a paradigm shift. What would happen if I actually stopped fighting, stopped being angry, stopped crying, stopped trying or striving to conquer or overcome cancer?  One thing is certain.  My stress levels would go down!  What if I turned the tables on the Enemy’s strategy to engage me in this fight?  What if I accept cancer? Learn to enjoy every moment of every day – cancer and all? What if I stop fretting about having it and make peace with it? That doesn’t necessarily mean I give up HOPE and don’t do anything positive.  It doesn’t mean giving up and dying from it, but truly making peace with the situation I’m in, thanking God every day for allowing me to experience this and learn from this, viewing it as a way He is preparing me for future ways to bless others.  

You know what I think might happen? The Enemy won’t get any more evil pleasure from tormenting me because I refuse to be tormented.  Maybe he’ll just give up and move on. My cortisol levels will drop because my body won’t be constantly in a “fight or flight” mode and my immune system might actually kick in like it’s supposed to and kill the cancer cells.  It will no longer be sidetracked dealing with removing cortisol.  I will be honoring God and praising Him more, being grateful for each day, living life to the fullest as I tenderly care for my body, rather than declare war on cancer.  As I get my mind off the cancer, I get my mind on whose I am, God’s beloved daughter, treasured, worthy of health, a royal princess.  Instead of constantly being in battle-mode, I’d experience all the good things He wants me to have like peace, contentment, abundant life.  I’d let go of regret and embrace all I’ve learned through this season of life, excited for how He plans to work all things out for my good according to His good purpose. 

Cancer is not the enemy.  I believe it is being used BY the Enemy to destroy God’s precious children.  God is not our enemy either just because He allows people to experience cancer.  Cancer is something that can send you into the loving arms of God to learn life lessons, like it has me.

You’ve heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  Just like everything else we go through, this too shall pass one day, but not until I’ve been able to squeeze every drop of lemonade from it. So I don’t plan to fight anymore.  I plan to put up a lemonade stand so that all who come into my life can have a delicious, refreshing, alkalizing, life-giving drink of God’s goodness from my lemons. 

Anyone care for a cup of lemonade? (without the white sugar, of course!)

Unlikely Cherished Things

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Confession time again.

Have you ever held onto a promise of God—watching, waiting, wrestling with the time it has taken to fulfill it—and wondered if perhaps you had been wrong to believe it? You reason that God might fulfill this promise for someone else, but what if He’s decided not to do it for you? What if this isn’t part of your blessing?

A part of my heart has been broken for a very long time. Nothing particularly traumatic or extraordinary happened to me to break it. Years ago, I simply made some destructive choices in search of acceptance. Choices that the world offers as commonplace and right, but that God warns will leave their mark. They did.

I had no idea the extent of the damage. Like most of us do, I looked at my life and the progress I’d made with the Lord and thought I was okay.

But God is too good to allow us to settle for okay. After all, His Son was beaten, bled, and hung on a cross to heal what sin’s damage left broken. To restore us. To make us whole.

Still, as much as God has transformed me and poured His grace into my life, in this area, I have not been whole.

And I’ve struggled with God over it.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve cried out to Him in prayer, surrendering this one thing and asking for healing. Yet I remain stuck.

While Living Water flows and empowers so many areas of my life, something has blocked its movement here. This place remains a dry desert.

This week, I revisited Numbers 13. I stood in the desert with Moses and witnessed God sending men from each tribe to explore the land He’d promised to Israel. After forty days, the men returned and reported what they had found.

“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.” Numbers 13:27

They found the land exactly as God had promised. They even tasted the fruit available to them there.

“But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.” Numbers 13:28

So they determined not to even try to claim the land God had promised them.

Listen, dear one. Twelve men entered the land God clearly said He was giving them as an inheritance (verse 1). They all witnessed the same things. They all saw that the land was good, and they all saw the fortified cities and fighting men.

Two of those men focused on the promises of God and received them into their lives. The other ten focused on the obstacles keeping them from attaining it. Those ten, as well as the rest of the Israelites who believed them, never left the desert. That’s where they died.

It struck me that I have had a similar experience to those Israelites. I have witnessed God’s awesome power to deliver and have left the captivity of much of my sin. Now I stand in the desert looking at the promise of wholeness God has placed before me, that He has promised to give me through His Word. I have even tasted the fruit of it as God has graciously allowed breakthrough moments that have shown me what’s possible in Him.

But those moments always fade, and the obstacles loom large once again. Still, I remain in the desert.

I can’t help but ask the question. Why?

I’m not particularly fond of the answer He gave me.

You see, just like those Israelites, I have kept myself in the desert. Part of me clung to its familiarity, even while I cried out to God to deliver me from it.

Somehow along the way, this very part of myself that I hated and cried out to God to restore became a cherished thing. I wanted God to miraculously heal it, but at the same time, I’m recognizing that I didn’t really want to give it up. It defined me. It was familiar. I actually feared the void it might leave if I let go of it. So I didn’t. I asked God to take it, but I wasn’t willing to hand it to Him. I said I was, but I’ve discovered that my heart didn’t agree.

And that was the problem, dear one. Because God will only take what we freely offer Him.

Yesterday, my Scripture reading took me to Mount Moriah. I wept with Abraham as he placed his cherished thing, his beloved son Isaac, on the altar of sacrifice. He didn’t allow the obstacles ahead of him—death itself—to keep him from believing God’s promise to bless him through Isaac. Hebrews 11:19 reveals that he reasoned God could raise him from the dead.

So Abraham placed his son on the altar, fully believing in the goodness of his faithful God. Expecting a miracle, he chose not to withhold his cherished thing.

And God provided a ram in place of Abraham’s offering. God didn’t take, dear one. He gave. And He multiplied Abraham’s offering. Instead of only the one cherished son, Abraham would have “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17).”

Look at God’s response to His faithful servant.

“I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you . . .” Genesis 22:16-17

What are you withholding from God, dear one, that blocks the flow of His blessing into your life? As I discovered, sometimes the things we’re holding onto aren’t even good things. They’re destructive things. Things we’ve convinced ourselves we need, when actually they are the very things that rob us of the blessing we desire through them.

God doesn’t empty, beloved. He fills. He swears on His own name that He will do it.

“I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld ____________________________ I will surely bless you . . .” Genesis 22:16-17

Will you believe Him?

A Little Salt, Please?

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“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13

I’ve always been a little adventurous. So it didn’t surprise my parents when I decided to study abroad in the fall of my junior year.

I’m sure they had concerns, but they graciously gave me their blessing. And this country girl from a two-traffic-light town crossed the ocean to spend four months in Spain’s third largest city, studying at the University of Valencia.

I have to admit, it was one of the best times of my life before I met Jesus.

I completely loved immersing myself in another culture. And a whole new world opened up to me, one with public buses, taxis and trains. Before I left the continent, I had never used any kind of public transportation. 

I saved up some money to buy a Eur-rail pass, which allowed me to travel by train all throughout Europe. Almost every weekend my roommate and I—a Virginian who I met for the first time when I landed in Spain—boarded a train for a new destination. Sometimes we explored other Spanish towns, but sometimes our trips took us beyond Spain’s borders. One of my favorites landed me in Florence, Italy.

Those close to me know that other than Jesus, little excites me more than enjoying good food. Nothing beats an evening with family, good friends and a great meal.

I could hardly wait for my first taste of authentic Italian cuisine.

I remember sitting in the restaurant with my roommate and some friends of hers studying in Florence who had graciously allowed us to camp out on their floor during our brief stay in Italy. (Not glamorous, I know, but it beat the $15 hostals we usually stayed in.) We ordered our food, and the waitress brought out bread to munch on while we waited for our plates to arrive.

I was excited about the bread. I mean, who doesn’t love Italian bread? I broke off a piece from the warm loaf and popped it into my mouth with anticipation. My first Italian food on Italian soil!

Let’s just say, it was less than satisfying.

I was shocked. My friend and I looked at each other, wondering if the other was experiencing the same thing. We were. Whatever I was chewing didn’t taste like any bread I’d ever eaten. Actually, it didn’t taste like anything.

Our hosts saw our confusion and quickly explained. “They don’t use salt in the bread here.”

I had no idea how much salt brought out the flavor of a food. Without the salt, that bread was nothing special. It looked great and had a wonderful texture, but it had no appealing flavor. I was happy to leave it in the basket and look elsewhere for something a bit more satisfying to the taste buds.

Listen, dear one.

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13

Jesus has called you and I to preserve and season the earth with His Truth. I wonder if people are looking elsewhere for satisfaction because the bread we’re offering is missing the salt.

I speak from experience. I spent a good bit of my life trying to fit in. I wanted to be like everyone else. Somehow I actually believed blending into the world would make people see something good in me. Crazy, right? Trying to act like everyone else just made me ordinary. Bland. Nothing special. Easy to walk away from in search of something better. Bread without salt.

Then I met Jesus. He showed me who He saw in me, and I chose to believe Him.

I determined that I would live His way, by His Truth. I stopped just calling myself a Christian and decided to actually follow Jesus. I chose to live in His presence and spend time in His Word. I determined to embrace His values as my own; His instruction became my guide. I emerged a disciple instead of a church attendee.

And that changed everything.

Because people that used to pass right by my bland bread suddenly discovered something different that drew them to me. They didn’t recognize what it was at first, but I did. It was salt. They saw Jesus revealing Himself as His Word came alive in me.

You see, salt has another effect on people. It makes them thirst. And that thirst draws them to the Living Water.

Without the salt, beloved, you and I are just bland, unappetizing bread. We have no impact for Christ’s kingdom. We’re just ordinary, easily exchanged for a more satisfying alternative.

The hurting world doesn't need any more bland bread. It needs the incomparable Bread of Life.

Will you allow Jesus to make you different, dear one? Will you allow Him to season you with His salt?

It’s worth the risk, beloved. Ordinary is way over-rated. 

The Greater God

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We’ve spent the last few weeks looking at how idolatry and sin bring harmful consequences into our lives. If you’re like me, you may have found the journey a little painful. Well take a deep breath, my friend. Today we’re shifting gears. Let’s take a look a guy who actually got it right.

In a line of many unfaithful kings, Hezekiah received this acclaim in Scripture:

He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 2 Chronicles 29:2

Refreshing, isn’t it? It gives us hope that it can be done. Let’s see how Hezekiah began his triumphant reign as Judah’s king.

In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them.  He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. (verses 3-5)

What was Hezekiah’s first order of business? He got rid of anything corrupting or contaminating God’s dwelling place.

That’s exactly what God has been calling each one of us to do, dear one.  Clean house.

Of course, God no longer dwells in a man-made temple. He dwells within the hearts of His people. Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus have become the temple of the Most High God. But though the structure may be different, God’s purpose remains the same.

Getting rid of the idolatrous attachments in our hearts makes room for God Himself to fill the sanctuary! Why is that so important, beloved?

Because the presence of God brings the power of God.

Hezekiah understood that, and he led his wandering people to worship and serve God alone.

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21

Sounds good, doesn’t it…prospering under the Lord’s hand?

Part of me wants to stop right here. I know what’s about to happen, and you may not be pleased. You see, we delight in God’s promises to prosper His faithful people, but our limited understanding of prosperity makes us balk at the next verse.

After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 Chronicles 32:1

Surprised? That’s not supposed to happen, is it? We could easily understand God allowing Hezekiah to come under attack if he was a wayward king, but he was faithful to God. Doesn’t obedience to God lead to experiencing His favor?

Actually, it does. And that attack on Hezekiah occurred under God’s prospering hand.

But Hezekiah didn’t do what most of us do when God allows something to come into our lives that we didn’t ask for and don’t understand. He didn’t cry out that God had abandoned him or complain that it was unfair. He simply made preparations, knowing he belonged to the only, all-powerful God.

His men blocked off the springs outside the city to cut off the Assyrian king’s water supply. He repaired and built up walls and made large numbers of weapons and shields (verses 4-5). Then he assembled military officers before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” 

2 Chronicles 32:7-8, emphasis added

Funny how most of us still try to fight our battles with our own arms of flesh instead of trusting that the God of Scripture will fight for us.

What was different for Hezekiah? How could he so readily believe?

I see a direct link between Hezekiah’s purposeful submission to the one true God and his ability to trust in God’s power. You see, he had cleaned house and removed all the other idols. Unlike most of us, his heart was not divided between God and other sources of security. It was firmly set on God alone. So when an enemy rose against him, he didn’t flail and falter between the various potential gods that could save him. He had only one to turn to. His undivided heart made it easy to believe.

So when a powerful enemy that had toppled one kingdom after another came at Hezekiah, insulting his God and equating Him with the false gods of all the other nations he’d defeated, Hezekiah simply cried out in prayer to his one source of security.

And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.

So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. 2 Chronicles 32:21-22

Looks like God’s favor to me, dear one. The enemy rising against Hezekiah never once meant God had left him. Rather, it became the way in which God proved Himself present! The people of Judah got to witness God revealing His glory on their behalf. And . . .

Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations. (verse 23)

Hezekiah’s faith was tested, and he came forth as gold (1 Peter 1:7). Hezekiah received blessing, God’s name was glorified, and the world witnessed the power of the one true God. 

Do you see what wholehearted devotion to God can do, dear one? Why not give it a try.

Did God Really Say . . . ?

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Following Jesus isn’t getting any easier, is it? While God’s plumb line for distinguishing right and wrong has remained eternally the same, the world’s keeps changing. Things that our grandparents would have considered appalling have become commonplace. Acceptable. The lines have blurred, and so have our convictions.

Dear one, allowing anything other than God’s truth to shape our thinking leads to trouble. Sadly, tasting the sweet enticements of this world eventually results in death.

Kelly Minter witnessed this lesson experienced the hard way.

Lessons From a Lizard

Last week I was out for one of my neighborhood runs on an exceptionally hot and humid day in Nashville. Stifling is the word that comes to mind. I was about 20 minutes into my route when I noticed the oddest thing on the sidewalk . . . a lizard of some sort . . .about 9 inches long . . .

The really bizarre thing . . . is that its head was stuck in a Dr. Pepper can. I am not making this up. I have several theories, but my best one is that the glistening drops of sugary water lured this reptile in on a hot summer’s day. The poor little thing had worked so hard to wedge its head in there that it couldn’t get it out. It suffocated in the smothering heat.

. . . I couldn’t help but catch the symbolism. As I stood there staring at this peculiar sight, I though of the many times I had discovered a few drops I thought were sure to offer life. They were sugary sweet and went down smoothly, offering a respite from the blaze of summer’s heat. . . In the end they left me more thirsty and desperate than before . . . [Kelly Minter, No Other Gods, Lifeway Press, 2007, p.54-56]

Funny how some things are so easy to walk into and so impossible to back out of.

Have you ever found that to be true? At first something seemed so appealing, so right, so perfect. So you went after it. But once you got yourself in, you discovered a whole other side you hadn’t bargained for: the death side. The part that, had you known about it up front, would have stopped you from ever going in.

Beloved, God sees all of it, including the death that follows. That’s precisely why he has established boundaries for us, not to keep us from experiencing the sweet, sugary taste of momentary refreshment, but to protect us from the suffocating death that accompanies it.

The enemy has been deceiving and tempting us out of God’s protection since the Garden of Eden. Perhaps it’s time we got wise to his schemes.

Look at God’s instructions to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17.

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Pretty straight forward, right? Eat anything you want, except this one thing that will bring you death. Simple enough.

Enter the serpent.

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

God tells us one thing. The prince of this world tells us something else.

That’s where our enemy always begins, dear one, getting us to question God. He raises doubts about His motives, His goodness, His trustworthiness. Did God really say . . .

  •       Sex is only for marriage
  •       Wives should submit to their husbands
  •       Drunkenness is sin

Then he makes us believe we’re forfeiting something by obeying God.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5

And here’s the really tricky part. The world’s prince always offers some truth in his deceptions. Their eyes were opened (verse 7), and they did become like God in the sense that they would know both good and evil (verse 22). But what really hurt them—what devastated them— was what the enemy failed to reveal: the consequences of experiencing those things.

Had the serpent given full disclosure, I’m quite certain Adam and Eve would’ve made a different choice.  But that’s not his way.  No, our enemy reveals only what we’d perceive as benefit to entice us.  The rest of the dark horror that follows he keeps hidden, relishing the moment we will discover it for ourselves. 

Imagine his glee as he led Adam and Eve to experience a rush of emotions they had never known before. Shame. Fear. Guilt. Isolation. Blame. 

Imagine their terror as each chilling feeling gripped them and they began to face the reality of what they’d done.  Feel the awareness creeping over them that the relationship they’d known with their Creator was lost.  Sadly, that wasn’t the end of their pain.

Seeds of sin that we allow the enemy to cultivate in us don’t just sprout immediate fruit. 

They continue to birth consequences long after they’ve been sown, even transcending generations. 

As a mother of two boys, I’m especially stricken by the unimaginable grief that must have consumed Adam and Eve as they suffered the loss of a beloved son.  I wonder if they held his lifeless body in their arms, staring in disbelief into the vacant face of the first dead man, their precious Abel.   Far worse must have been the knowledge that he was taken from them at the hand of their firstborn.  In one terrible moment, jealousy and rage—two devastating results of their choice—stole their two oldest boys from them forever. 

Beloved, when you disregard God’s instruction, you may experience a momentary thrill. But what follows will devastate you and those you hold most dear.  The consequences are not always immediate, but they will always come. 

This is precisely why salvation comes through faith, dear one. We must decide whose voice we will trust to guide our steps. Will we follow the voice of Truth who always gives us full disclosure? Or will we follow the world’s prince and allow him to deceive us into death?

I don’t know about you, dear one, but I choose Jesus.

When Gifts Become Gods

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They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Romans 1:25

We like to think of idolatry as an Old Testament sin. After all, most of us don’t set up altars and statues of foreign gods in our living rooms. We proudly display crosses and plaques engraved with Scripture. We place Bibles on our coffee tables. By all appearances, we worship and serve the Lord!

But idolatry involves much more than graven images. It occurs every time something other than God rises to claim the worship and obedience of our hearts—like my need to be right that I shared with you last week. Inadvertently serving that need interfered with my ability to fully serve the Lord.

That’s idolatry, dear one, plain and simple.

Can you think of anything you have exalted to God’s rightful place in your heart? Something you “serve” that keeps you from living out God’s plan?

Our idols can be any number of things, ranging from addictions to relationships. Even comfort can be an idol.  We often refuse to follow Jesus into anything that makes us uncomfortable; we serve the promise of comfort instead of obeying God.

Let’s face it. Most of the time, the things we serve that pull us away from God aren’t things we’d obviously recognize as sin.  Sometimes they’re good things—even wonderful things—things God Himself gave us.

Beloved, sometimes we exalt and serve the gifts that come from His hand.

The Israelites did that when they made their famous golden calf. Do you know where they got the gold they used? Exodus 12:35-36 tells us:

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

I find the thought a little unsettling.

Israel used God’s own gift to them—a blessing He provided for them through His deliverance—to construct a god to replace Him.

What’s more, God had other intentions for that gold. It was supposed to build the articles for the tabernacle that would house His presence.

These people had witnessed God’s power through the plagues in Egypt and had seen Him descend in pillars of cloud and fire. They crossed the Red Sea on dry land and then watched the waters God had parted for them collapse and consume their enemies.

But they hadn’t seen any sign of Him for a couple of weeks while Moses met with Him on the mountain, so they thought it would be a good idea to abandon their Deliverer and come up with some new gods.

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”  So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.  He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:2-4

Jeremiah 2:11 comes to mind.

Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.

Indeed. How like humanity to exchange the Glory God meant for them—His power, presence and protection—for something man himself designed. Something that holds no power at all, whose only value comes from the fact that originally, it came from God.

And why did they do it? Apparently God took too long.

I can’t help but think of Abraham and Sarah. They found themselves trapped by this kind of idolatry when God’s blessed gift of a son became the idol they served.

God gave them the beautiful gift through a prophecy. He told them He would give them a son through whom He would bless the world. And they received God’s gift with joyful faith!

But then God took too long. So instead of waiting on God and trusting His timing to fulfill His promise, they began to serve the gift itself.

Sarah took matters into her own hands, giving her maidservant to her husband in marriage so they could conceive the son. And they did. But from the moment of that conception, misery followed. They had wandered from God’s purpose to bring about their own. Sadly, they discovered their idolatry also brought painful consequences.

Dear one, you and I often take God’s gifts to us and fashion them into gods. 

We naturally tend to worship and serve the gifts God gives us rather than worshiping the Giver through the gift.

I almost did that very thing with this ministry. I hadn’t intended to, but once God gave me His vision for Kelley Latta Ministries, I felt responsible to somehow make it happen. I put pressure on myself to establish it and grow it. God simply wanted me to rest in His plan and follow Him to its completion. Instead, I almost ran ahead of His timing.

I found myself tempted to serve the gift at the expense of the Giver.

Has God given you a gift, beloved, that you have unwittingly served as a god? Perhaps a relationship, a job, a child—even a talent that was meant to serve Him?

Serving our idols will not only weary us; it will also diminish the blessing God meant to provide through the gift. Just look at Abraham. The child born through his union with the maidservant became the enemy of the child of promise.

Dear one, serving anything other than God sets us on a destructive path. Let’s ask the Lord to show us every idol demanding the worship and service of our hearts. Rejecting them as gods and exalting God’s purpose alone allows us to fully receive the blessings God intended through them. They become gifts without bondage or consequences, gifts that remain good and perfect.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Are you ready to receive?

Living the “Right” Way

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I get to humble myself to you today. You see, God’s been revealing some things to me about myself. That’s what happens when you commit to let God be God and pray Psalm 139:23-24,

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Yep, God loves that kind of praying—when we pray His own Word back to Him with a sincere and seeking heart. He’s been answering that particular prayer of mine for the last 15 years.  Funny, after all this time, He hasn’t run out of  “offensive ways” to reveal to me. Thank goodness for His infinite love and patience! Obviously, I’m a work in progress.

I recently started a Bible study exploring modern-day idolatry, Kelly Minter’s “No Other Gods.” I got as far as day 2 when God revealed the latest offensive way He wanted to remove. 2 Kings 17:7 served as the springboard for my revelation.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt (emphasis mine).

I’ve taught often on the parallels between God’s deliverance of the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt to our deliverance through Christ from our own areas of spiritual bondage. Over the years, Christ has freed me from many things, but that day’s lesson offered a fresh look based on the wording of that verse. The commentary challenged me to consider anything that represented a “pharaoh” in my life. Did I have anything that exercised power over me other than God?

To be honest, I couldn’t come up with anything. So I did what I always do, knowing my deceptive heart will never give up its gods easily. I prayed, asking Jesus to show me if I did.

It didn’t take long for Him to answer. Five words surfaced clearly in my thoughts. “You need to be right.”

Well, doesn’t everybody?

I pondered the thought for several moments until realization slowly began to dawn. That “need” I had never been able to name had been a destructive factor in my life, displaying itself in several different areas. But the big one was this:

He showed me I felt so driven to be right that I feared ever being wrong. And that fear made me slow to trust Him.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt Jesus prompting me to take a step of faith and let doubt delay my obedience. Good and logical thought convinced me I needed to double-check with God to make sure I heard Him correctly. Like Gideon, I’d set out my fleece time and again to make sure He continued to give me the same answer. He would have to confirm His will to me several times before I’d finally move.

I thought my motives were pure. I wanted be in the heart of God’s will. I wanted to be certain the idea was truly coming from Him and not from me. I didn’t want to inadvertently step outside of His blessing and favor.

I didn’t want to be wrong.

So I would wait. And pray. And wrestle with my thoughts. And stand still.

Apparently, I’d rather remain in limbo than take a step in the wrong direction. Not so bad, right?

But God was trying to show me something. Inadvertently serving this need to be right interfered with my ability to serve Him.

I was behaving as if I didn’t have the relationship with Him that I have been building for the last 15 years. On several occasions in the midst of my doubt He has had to remind me,

“You know my voice.”

And I do. I’ve learned to recognize it. His quiet whisper penetrating the world’s noise has become my lifeline. I know it when I hear it.

Yet I still question it. My compulsive need to be right—my fear of being wrong— still makes me doubt it.  It keeps me wrestling with whether I even heard it. So I don’t move right away when Jesus tells me to. And here’s the truth of it, my friend. Delayed obedience is sin.

I wonder how many times my refusal to move has kept me from a blessing.

2 Kings 17:41 reveals a profound truth:

Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols.

Dear one, just like Israel, you and I can worship Jesus while serving other gods. I did. I was trying to follow Jesus while still serving my need to be right. The power that need maintained in my life interfered with me doing what God was leading me to do. Kind of gives new insight to Matthew 6:24:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and ________________. “

What do you still serve, dear one, that keeps you from wholeheartedly following Jesus? Are you willing to let God reveal your hidden chains?

I’ll warn you. You may be surprised by what you discover. But if you’re willing to take the journey, you’ll find the path leads to peace.

Rising to Life

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Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25

I had a good cry with Jesus this morning. A prayer journal I’ve been working through brought me to the streets of Jerusalem to witness His trial and execution. The scene did not evoke peace or comfort. The crowd grew ugly, crying out for blood.

The guards gladly gave it, pounding Jesus with fists and lashes, their mocking lips curled in treacherous smiles as they hailed Him “King of the Jews” and repeatedly beat a crown of thorns into His head. They spit on Him and mocked Him, then made Him carry His own cross, stumbling half dead through the streets to Golgotha. There, they hammered nails into His wrists and ankles, hanging Him between two thieves on splintered beams of wood.

I can barely stand the thought of it. My heart breaks for my Lord and friend when I think of what He suffered. I cannot imagine the searing rejection He felt, the pain He endured. If anyone ever had reason to rage against injustice, it was Jesus. He was innocent, undeserving; yet He suffered unspeakable pain. And at the hands of those He professed to love, many who only the week before had worshiped Him.

Yes, if ever anyone had reason to hold a grudge, it was Jesus. But He didn’t. Instead, He hung gasping for breath, ignored their insults, and uttered the impossible.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Unbelievable. The torture wasn’t even over. No one had apologized. In fact, they were still hurling insults at Him. His circumstances hadn’t changed. The people had not repented. Yet Jesus chose—in the midst of His pain—to release forgiveness.

It makes no sense to us. In fact, it’s almost unthinkable. It goes against every thread of instinct woven into our human nature. But that’s the point, actually. Our human nature rings synonymous with our fallen nature, and left unchecked it will destroy us.

Dear one, the part of you that rails against how unfair your circumstances seem—that screams you deserve better and schemes for retribution—that part of you has spent its life enslaved to sin and will always incite you to respond in ways that bring about death.

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. Romans 7:5

Beloved, no good ever comes from following our “natural” instincts, because what feels natural to us comes from our life-long bondage to sin. Whenever we allow our old nature to guide our actions, death of some kind eventually results. Every time. And when we hold a grudge, it won’t be the one we harbor anger toward that experiences that death. No, our bitterness brings death to our own souls.

If you think about it, you’ll probably find you know that to be true. You’ve likely tasted the poison of bitterness and felt its effects.

Have you ever had an “enemy” so preoccupy your thoughts that you can hardly think about anything else? Anger overshadows every other emotion until it’s hard to imagine being capable of another feeling. Unrest steals your peace; anxiety consumes your joy. The very mention of your offender sets your heart racing and your blood boiling. Ugly thoughts linger. And most of the time, you just feel miserable.

Do you see it, dear one? Death. Is this what we fight to protect by refusing to forgive?

The perfect Son of God made a different choice as He hung from His cross. Why? Because Jesus, unbound by our destructive sin nature, knew that forgiveness was the only way to keep Himself free.

Jesus didn’t only offer forgiveness as a grand act of mercy toward humanity. Jesus had to forgive, dear one. Accepting that sin into His heart would’ve thwarted everything He had come to accomplish.

Think about it. What made Jesus able to conquer death and rise from the grave? He defeated sin and its resulting death by remaining the perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb. If Jesus had allowed bitterness to take root in His heart, even He would’ve missed experiencing the glory of resurrection.

Forgiveness had to take place, beloved, or Jesus would have remained in the grave. Bitterness would have kept our Savior from rising to life.

The same rings true for you, dear one. The power to rise from the dead lies within your own heart. You can trust your old nature and hold onto the resentment you have every right to carry. Or, like Jesus, you can choose to believe that resurrection life lies on the other side of forgiveness.

You may even experience the same miracle Jesus did. He didn’t just rise to glory; the grace that forgiveness unleashed brought about a direct change in His circumstances.

Just look at the thief that hung beside Him. He began that torturous day among Jesus’ accusers.  Matthew 27:44 records, “In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”

Amazingly, one of the thieves suddenly switched sides after Jesus’ famous, pardoning words. Luke 23:39-41 records the abrupt change.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Jesus’ forgiveness released the power of grace to transform that thief’s hardened heart. In a powerful moment, Jesus’ opposition became His friend; His enemy became His ally. Transformation occurred because the faith expressed through forgiveness released God to move. And both Jesus and His accuser rose to new life.

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

Beloved, your faith expressed through obedience opens the door to release God’s grace. Why not give forgiveness a try? You may just see your enemy become your ally.

“Everything is possible for one who believes.”  Mark 9:23

Unexpected Pleasures

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You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

My life changed dramatically a week ago. Our family brought home an eight-week-old miniature Aussie puppy.

We already had a seven-year-old Australian Shepherd that we adore. Now Annie has a tumbling ball of fur named Jack for a playmate—whether she wants one or not.

At first she appeared less than enthusiastic about his arrival. He would snuggle into her for a nap, and she would abruptly move to another part of the room.

Now Annie has discovered what many of us do when we’re willing to open our hearts to unwanted interruptions in our comfortable lives. In God’s hands, things we once viewed as intolerable inconveniences have the potential to become our greatest blessings.

The two have become inseparable. Change can really be good.

Our house has become decidedly less quiet since Jack’s arrival, mostly due to all the laughter. He continually entertains us, enthralling us with his puppy antics. I wonder if Jack realizes how funny he is. He has single-handedly redefined the word “adorable.” I think Webster should put his picture in the dictionary.

He may be cute, but he’s only still when he’s sleeping. He loves to explore, leap and pounce on anything that moves, or anything that doesn’t move, for that matter. Nothing is off limits to his paws or his curious little mouth. At least, he doesn’t believe it should be.

That’s where I come in. Someone needs to give Jack direction to save him from himself.

Left on his own, Jack would have already choked on mulch and various small stones, broken some bones leaping from surfaces that are much too high, electrocuted himself chewing through my computer charging cord, and possibly drowned in our pool. Not to mention the many times I’ve rescued him from Annie when he insisted on taking her favorite toy.

Yes, limits and direction provide safety. That’s why our loving heavenly Father provides them.

. . . what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?  Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Did you catch that last part? God has provided commands and decrees for your own good.

With the same tender love that leads me to set boundaries for Jack, God has established boundaries for you and me. His limits don’t take from us or cause us harm. No, God has outlined limits to keep us safe.

We just don’t always see it that way. Jack doesn’t either.

For instance, he wasn’t fond of his crate when he first came home with us. He had enjoyed bounding around the house all day and did not agree with our decision to place him in a crate to sleep that night. He hardly noticed the nice, soft bed for him to snuggle into or his toys to keep him entertained. His eyes focused on the bars keeping him from “possibility.”

So he whined. And I wondered why we ever decided to get a puppy.

A funny thing happened on the second night. My husband lay down on the floor next to Jack’s crate after he put him in, and Jack discovered something. He didn’t really want the intriguing things that called to him from beyond the bars. What he had really been after was companionship. He snuggled into the corner of his crate nearest Steve, lay down his tiny head, and fell asleep in about a minute.

The joy Jack found in my husband’s nearness outweighed the lure of what enticed him from beyond the boundaries we had set for him. Perhaps if we learned to enjoy God’s nearness a bit more we wouldn’t grumble so much over His restrictions. After all, they help keep us in a prime position to experience Him fully.

Jack has now discovered the crate isn’t really the enemy he thought it was. It offers something that he doesn’t have when he’s outside its boundaries. Security. He doesn’t need to worry about every little sound or movement; he’s safe inside. Last night when I put him to bed, he didn’t even wine. He drifted off in peaceful sleep and slept for seven straight hours.

Isn’t it funny how things we think we’ll hate can end up being our favorites? Something we fear can become our security. Something we view as a nuisance can turn into our comfort and joy.

Perhaps we should open up our hearts to trust God for His best. Our emotions tend to lead us astray anyway. Just ask Annie and Jack. Their renewed thinking opened them up to tremendous blessing.

Yours will too.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2

Sounds like a good plan to me.