Assassin

I have been thinking a lot about the lengths, the schemes that the Satan will go to in order to get us confused and off track. I want to start out by saying I am not an expert on this subject or any other for that matter, but what I do know is that there is a real enemy.  If you have been a Christian any length of time you have probably heard the sentiment, "God has a plan for you".  This is very true.  You were created ON purpose, WITH a purpose and FOR a purpose. He does have a plan that he has specifically designed for each of us that will be a great joy in our life.  (Check out my earlier post called "Longing to Calling").  In the last 5 years I have become painfully aware of an undesirable truth and that is that Satan has a plan for us too.  Take a look at these verses: 

The thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy, I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10   ---  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

I have always believed that there was an enemy but I never really realized the seriousness of how evil the enemy is and how much he hates me.  All the little sins that I struggled with I just passed off with a "that's life and it doesn't matter that much" attitude.  When really it was Satan at work all along.  When you seek to grow in God, Satan is your adversary.  We need to think of Satan as an assassin and he has his sights set on us.  The worst thing that Satan can do to us is separate us from God because he knows that our life apart from God is death.   He is subtle and leads us off track little bits at a time.  Next thing you know, we are far away from God and going down a road we never thought that we would be on.  Here's what I want to do:  Turn the tables on Satan!  The Bible says that all things work together for my good. (Romans 8:28)  Let's use the tactics he intends for harm, for our good; as a stepping stone that will ultimately bring us closer to God.  This thinking goes way back to Joseph in the book of Genesis.  In fact Joseph said those exact words to his enemies, his own brothers, who conspired against him.  He said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.."  That's what we can say to Satan.   Every morning, I want the enemy to be like......"not her again, she resists in every way!"  I don't want to assist Satan in leading me astray, I want to resist him.  I want to say to him every time I feel tempted, "you intend to harm me, but God intends good for me....oh and by the way Satan, don't forget you lose."

Some final rambling thoughts:

• Be a student of your Bible -- The word of God is our very best weapon to fight the schemes of Satan.  Learn some verses, it's not that hard.  Satan hates God's word.  Jesus used the word of God when he was tempted and so should we. 
• Know your weaknesses -- Know what your weaknesses are because you can be sure that Satan already knows them are and will use them against you every time. 
• Learn who is speaking to you -- We all have trouble sometimes figuring out if something is from God or Satan.  To begin to know the difference, get to know God by reading the Bible and praying.  Anyone can know about God, but we need to KNOW Him.  You cannot hear from God if you do not know him.  Also, when God is speaking to you, it will always line up with his word and lead you to Him.    

He Gives Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah 61:1-3 

Do you have anything in your life that has went up in flames?  Something that you tried at and failed?  Or your broken heart lies in ruins.  There are so many things that we could fail at and so many things that can break our heart make us feel captive like these verses in Isaiah are saying.  You probably already have a list running in your mind of things that have happened in your life; either by your own choices or something that you feel has been done unfairly to you.  In my own life I struggle to move beyond the ashes to the beauty that God wants to give me.  I kind of sit around in the "self pity pouty party" like Pastor Derek Amsler spoke about on Sept 22 in his message series: Scarecrow In A Melon Patch.  I am so busy dwelling and holding onto my past and where I have been and every thing that I have done wrong that I totally miss this one important truth!!  Here it is: Realize that what God has planned for our future is already better than where we've been.

Philippians 3:13-14 -- Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

We all have been down a rough road or two, but God has something better for you, when in your faith you step out and trust Him to lead you to it.  All of the things that you have been through are things that God can use and wants to use to help the people around you. You (and me) are His greatest tools.

• Be positive!!  It begins with a choice.  Sometimes a choice we have to make several times a day.  Choose to live for God and to be positive. Find people that can encourage you and point you toward God.  Eliminate negativity and the self pity pouty poor me party.
• Take small steps toward God.  Everyday do something to draw closer to Him. 
• Let go of the death grip on the dead things in your life!!  If something in your life is dead (like the past), don't die with it.  Don't continue to let it drag you down.  Take that thought captive and cut it off, move forward believing that God has something better for you. 

If you and I would let go of the ashes.... there is beauty.

Cross references:

1. Philippians 3:13 : Lk 9:62
2. Philippians 3:14 : Heb 6:1
3. Philippians 3:14 : 1Co 9:24
4. Philippians 3:14 : S Ro 8:28

Identity Crisis

A subject that I find so hard to address in my own life is overcoming sin that just seem to linger. The ones that we just can't seem to let go of.  Or we succeed for a time but somehow revert back to it.  First we need to come to a simple truth:  The journey that we are on is not one of merely lifestyle change or omitting sin from our lives.  Our journey is about allowing Jesus to be our saviour, our guide and friend. Our sin is not our identity.  Our behavior is not our identity.  Our identity and hope is Jesus Christ.  I am sure that if you have sin in your life that you have wanted to conquer, you have felt the judgement and guilt that comes when you've failed.  I for one am tired of living this way.  God wants us to be more that conquers. (Romans 8:37-39) 

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation.  Well isn't that just peachy!  I have to tell you, sometimes I get really frustrated when people talk about this verse.  Come on, if you have been following God for any length of time, you already know that there is no magic wand that changes all the things we don't like about ourselves.  Now before you think I am trying to disagree with a bible verse let me explain.  We are a new creation, yes!  This is how I think it looks.  We give our lives to Jesus and here we are with all the same messed up crap in our lives, then there is Jesus covering our sin.  God looks at us and we are filtered by Jesus....God sees Jesus not our sin.  Isn't that the reason Jesus died on the cross?  Now this doesn't mean that we should go on with our bad selves and not have a plan to address the sin in our lives.  But come to God because you actually want to be like Jesus.  You should come to God because you want HIM, and you actually want your identity to be in Jesus Christ by having a relationship with him...not just because you want Him to change a behavior in you or a "get out of hell free" card.  And like I said, just because you come to God, that doesn't mean that everything that you don't like about yourself changes with a snap.  It is a process that God reveals over time.  And sometimes it is painful and hard.  At least that is how I have experienced it.  This is so important to grasp because I think so many people live not fully experiencing all that God wants for them because they feel such guilt in their life over sins that they have not overcome. Sometimes we just pretend we have it all together.  After all we can fool most people,  but reality is, noone can fool an all-knowing God.  Come to God just as you are, and stop trying to figure out whether something is right or wrong and just start seeking God on a daily basis.  Be honest with God, he knows you already.  Nothing you do or have done surprises him.  It's not like God is at the water cooler of heaven saying to Saint Peter...."Can you believe what she did, I didn't expect that."  Not at all!  He knows you, he understands you better than anyone!  HE made you.  You do not need to change or "clean up your act" before you come to Jesus.  If you are truely seeking God, He will lead you in his time to what is right.  The question you need to ask yourself is this:

If being/doing _____(fill in the blank)_______ is wrong, do I still want to follow God, and will I let him take me through the process of change? 

As we draw near to a Holy God we will begin to understand through His word and the leading of His Spirit the things that He does not desire.  Our heart and our feelings will begin to change. We have to decide if that is truely what we want.  What is the point of seeking God if you never really plan on allowing Him to change things in your life.  He only desires what is best for you.  It is sad to think that so many are missing out on all the great things God wants to give to us simply because we won't yield and give up what we think is best for us.  It is always our choice.  But it takes everything, no holding back.  Surrendering all of ourselves wholeheartedly to Him.  Seeking him in prayer and reading His word.  He never begs us to give him anything, but to fully experience all of Him, we must give Him all of us.  As God reveals things to us that He wants us to change, then it is up to us to take steps to try and make that change.  It may be small steps at first, but every step towards Him is always right.  How do you know that something is a God desired change?  You will know that you know that you know that you know!   That may seem like a vague answer but it is the truth.  When you are convicted about something from God, you will know!  Don't let Satan try to talk you out of it.  But seriously, I challenge anyone to ask the question above of themselves.  If your answer is yes, then surround yourself with wise people who love you and dilligently seek God through His word, praying and just listening to Him.  He never returns our efforts in seeking Him void.  I just read on another blog reciently, "God watches over His word to perform it.  He responds to His word.  When we begin sowing His word into every facet of our life and we begin to remind God of His word in those areas, He responds!" (Guaranteed Results  by Melissa Leslie)   Wow, I love that!  The idea of God watching over his word to perform it.  That's awesome.  He will perform it in your life if you let Him.  Decide to let Jesus be your identity.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

How can we become closer to God?  This is a question that is often asked.  Is it merely a quest for knowledge that brings us closer to God?  Should we immerse ourselves in bible studies, church small groups or classes to gain more knowledge of the bible?  While doing these thing are certainly worthwhile, this alone I don't believe will get any of us where we would like to be in our relationship with God.  All of these things will help us to know about Him more but not know him more.  If we want to truly KNOW him, we have to strive be like his son Jesus.  We have to do the things he did.  When Jesus walked the earth, he went from day to day, living a life that was an example.  He taught when the circumstances called for it.  He would speak into peoples lives in the moment right when they needed it.  It is a continual lifestyle not a seminar or class that will help you to know God.  Here is the real question:  Do you want to KNOW God or do you want to KNOW ABOUT God?

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.”   Isaiah 43:1

This is God speaking through the prophet Isaiah.  He is saying that He has chosen us to serve him so ultimately we can KNOW him and BELIEVE him.  Notice it does not say "know about me" or "believe in me."  Think about this. 

We can know about God, but not know him.  We can believe in God, but not believe Him. 

To know about God and to believe in Him implies no action on our part.  But in order to know him personally and to believe him we must act.  We must be his witnesses.  How can we do this?  The answer is so simple to put down in words but so hard sometimes to carry out.   1.) Serve: Get involved in a church that is committed to bringing people into a relationship with Jesus Christ.   2.) Be a Light: (Matthew 5:14-16)  Let's start talking about how Jesus is changing us, and about what he his doing in our lives.  None of us is perfect and we all have a ways to go.  But our experiences can help others if we are willing.  We'll start seeing opportunities to talk about him in our day to day life if we open our eyes.  We can speak hope into others lives, just like Jesus did.  In fact. He's planning on it and has divine appointments already lined up for each of us.  To know him we must take action, not just aquire more knowledge.  I say again, If we want to truly KNOW him, we have to strive be like him.

Now imagine this!  Jesus said that we would do even greater things than even he. 

"I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  John 14:12

We not only have God's resourses, we also tap into his power.  The same power that flowed through Jesus is in us.  With great power comes great responsibility.  Do you realize that you hold life in your very hands.  How can we keep silent?  We cannot covet God's power in order to gain more knowledge.  What good is knowledge if it is not used to bring people into a relationship with Jesus?  We must allow God's power to work through us and bring people into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  When we do this we will be closer to God and know him more.

Are You Hiding?

1 Samuel 10 What would it be like to become the first King of Israel? To practically be thrown right into the job. Saul was told by Samuel that he would be the king. It wasn't because God wanted a king but it was because the people of Israel wanted to be like all the other nations. But Samuel didn't want the Israelite king to be like the kings from all the other nations where they made their own rules. He wanted Saul to answer to a higher authority - God. Saul starts out pretty good, but he struggled with insecurity, jealousy, pride and other things throughout his reign. In 1 Samuel 10, we see the first signs of his on/off again allegiance to God. He goes from being inspired boldness to uninspired weakness, all in one chapter. Samuel tells Saul that the Spirit of God will come upon him. And just as Samuel had said, the Spirit does come upon him. Saul meets up with some prophets and he proceeds to speak the words of God along with them. Very commendable and bold. I think that he was coming off of a spiritual high after being with Samuel and hearing all the things that Samuel told him. He was ready and prepared to receive the Spirit. If you are a church leader this is much like what we experience after we get back from a leadership conference. We are hyped and excited about new possibilities God is revealing to us. But this spiritual high ended for Saul. When Samuel was ready to announce Saul as king to the tribes of Israel, Saul hides among the baggage. People had to go look for him and drag him out. Stop for a second and think about that. The bible does not linger on this and it is easy to read right past the significance of him hiding. It would be like the President of the United States hiding backstage and refusing to come out when it was announced the he won the Presidency. Not a good sign of things to come, that's for sure. Maybe it was Saul's fear of the unknown. Like I said at the beginning, he was pretty much thrown into the job. Maybe it was because he was afraid to fail or look stupid in front of his peers. Saul went from allowing the Spirit to reign in Him where he boldly spoke of God, to allowing his insecurities to cause him to cower among the baggage. I can't help but see the parallel in for our lives today. Sometimes, when we are faced with something difficult, we hide, we don't act, we don't go for it like we should. Often, things look impossible to us. We think, "How can I ever get through this?" When things look impossible, I challenge you (and me) to rely on HIM to pull you through. Don't hide from something God is calling you to do or from something that looks impossible. These situations are the perfect time to rely on Him because then you will see Him move and your faith will become stronger.

Longing To Calling

A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me "God's truth is in your DNA". I knew this instintively to be true but seeing it in print intrigued me. I wanted to find proof of it in God's word. A verse I found while reading in Ephesians 2 is one of many that show that God has implanted us with a God longing that can ONLY be filled by God Himself. A God longing is a desire to know Him and to be loved by Him and we don't even know we have it at first. Try as we may to fill our longing with all sorts of other things, only to be left wanting and spiritually parched. Most times we don't realize the source of our condition so we continue to try to fill it with other things...some things may even be good worthy things, but if we are using it as a stand in for God it still won't fulfill the God longing inside of us. Here's the verse in Ephesians 2 I mentioned earlier

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

So God has something He has already prepared for us to do! How awesome is that? And not just the "talented" people, ALL of us are created to do something amazing for God. It IS in our DNA to be "alive in Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5) If we are not ALIVE in Christ, then we are DEAD in our sin. If you are a Christ follower you know that it is not always easy to follow Him. We still sometimes feel like sinning, but we have the assurance that God is there to give us strength...not human strength but His un-explainable strength. We cannot withstand our own evil desires or the prowling of Satan on our own. We receive the gift of strength from God. That is a beautiful gift we recieve when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives.

I can do all this through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

And then...when we fail, we turn to Him and receive HIS INCREDIBLE grace. Grace is defined in the dictionary as divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration. Grace is immediate restoration to God and forgiveness. Plain and simple, His absolute forgiveness is immediate and covers all my stupid!

Now back to the original verse that I started with. Let's not forget how Ephesians 2:10 says that we are created to do good works. We have that longing but what good is a longing when it isn't magnified and used by God. Our longing for God will ultimately move us into a calling. When we are seeking Him we will always desire to serve Him in some way. Sometimes it is hard to know what God is calling us to do, but keep seeking and with His leading you will figure it out. It IS in your DNA to live for Him and if you fight it, there will always be an unfulfilled longing and never a realized calling that leads to great reward. (2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 6:7-8)