PRAY. LISTEN. WORK.

I used to believe that hard work coupled with faith in God ensured success.  Therefore throughout my life, I have strived to give each task appointed to me my undivided attention.  I worked hard.  I prayed hard.  

But I didn’t listen hard enough.

I suppose that I never really understood, until recently, that my hard work is not really what makes the difference between success and failure; between joy and despair.  

God is the difference.  

God desires that we integrate Him into our lives in such a way that we are wholly dependent upon Him.  But, dependence is not a sniveling, whimpering reliance.  The type of dependence that God requires is active dependence.  God desires simply that His people, made in His image, seek Him for guidance on all things.  And then, he asks that we OBEY. 

God demands that we come to Him for everything: from the mundane to the ludicrous to the impossible.  We can ask Him for instructions, explanations, healing.  Specifically we can ask anything: Why we are being chastised. How to process betrayal.  How to deal with a break up.  What to say to a disgruntled youth. How to initiate healing.  How to be more disciplined in our food choices.  Where to look to find a good counselor.  How to handle credit card debt.  How to tap into the Holy Spirit.  What bank is the best one for refinancing  a mortgage.  Where to find a contractor for a kitchen repair.  How to stretch a weekly budget.  How to deal with a overbearing boss…..

Notice however, that even when we go to God for help, God expects us to do our part.  For example, if you are seeking to refinance your home.  God will work through you.  He may soften the heart of the bank rep. But you will still have to pay off your credit card debt.

We must realize it is not our efforts that solve our problems.  Rather it is God’s Power coupled with our union with Him that works a miracle.  

When we encounter an obstacle of any size, God wants us to go to him first.  Ask for help knowing that He will do it for His people.  And then wait in Joy for his signal.  

Once He gives the signal or direction, He wants us to GO! Run toward the goal using all of our talents, intellect, physical strength, endurance and spiritual gifts!  

It is a rather delicate balance: our efforts and God’s supernatural power.

Consider this example: 

We are like a woman sitting in a row boat in the middle of an ocean. God has commanded her to row against the current. So she is paddling like crazy to make progress. The fact that she is acting in God’s will as commanded, is significant. God rewards her act of obedience and faith by promising to take care of her. God will provide what she needs for her journey. He will send food, and shade. He will send fresh water and even a companion. He will also provide a time for her to rest. If she disobeys GOD and paddles every day all day…she will become too tired and worn out to be effective. 

We must live our lives with GOD.  God is the only one with the bird’s eye view.  He alone knows when we must paddle or when we may ely on the current.   

Surely it is better to get to know the navigator than to paddle in vain.   

Seek to cultivate a relationship with God in the same way you cultivate a relationship with your significant other.  Spend quiet time with God, reading about Him: his favorite things, his unique attributes.  Develop intimacy with God by sharing your secrets, your desires, your mistakes with Him.  Ask for forgiveness when you make a mistake and violate his precepts.  Celebrate your victories with God.  Acknowledge God for all that He has done to help you.  

The more time we spend with God, the stronger our relationship with Him will become.   In time, God will reward our diligence by amplifying the still small voice that lives within each of us.  Soon we will become receptive to God’s will.  We will be able to listen and understand the guidance that God has been trying to tell us all along.  

God’s plans for our lives unfold like the seasons.  

There is a time for everything: a time to rest, a time to paddle, a time to celebrate, a time to mourn.  

Oh, if only we would get in sync with God.  Then, we would discover real peace, real joy, real balance. 

28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

I am striving daily for this peace.  But, it only comes when I cultivate a daily relationship with God.

I promise, darling

Wondering How to Cultivate a Relationship with God?  Click Here

Getting Directions 1 

Getting Directions 2 

CHIN UP, DARLING!

God’s love in many ways is akin to a Father’s love.  A good father, like God the Father, loves his children with an active kind of love.  A good father, like God the Father also disciplines his own.

God’s discipline or chastening may take many forms but generally can be described as a change in circumstances, e.g., an illness, a broken relationship, financial hardship, a major disappointment, a betrayal, a set back, job loss, loss of funds, etc.  This does not mean that every bad thing that comes our way is sent as a punishment by God.  But it bears investigating.

The disciplines that are sanctioned by God are divinely orchestrated. In other words, God’s plans - even the uncomfortable moments are perfect and spring out of love.  God only chastises his beloved!

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, 

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a] 

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Hebrews 12:5-11

The concept of correcting a child out of love is not foreign to us.  On this side of glory, we have learned that children who are taught right from wrong through a series of metered punishments, time outs, and withholdings grow up to be more responsible, selfless adults.   Those unfortunate children who are never rebuked or scolded tend to grow up to be self centered, disrespectful and willful adults unconcerned with the needs or feelings of others.   This is documented.  

Similarly, the Christian that is rebuked and scolded benefits from such chastisements.  If we, as followers of Christ, accept and learn from our punishments, we will be better, stronger, and more equipped for the next battle. 

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Make no mistake, we are engaged in spiritual warfare.  And yet, we need not be worried.  God has already won the battle.  We simply must withstand to the end.  See, Spirit Life Has it’s Privileges 

How do we withstand?  

We can stand because we are not only well equipped, but we have been trained by the best.  Think of it like this:  the series of chastisements that we face serve as a type of bootcamp designed to teach us, refine us, and prepare us not only for the next battle but for life in eternity with God.  These refinements are necessary because “only the righteous shall see God.” 

Now that we understand the value of God’s chastisements.  How do we ensure that these chastisements serve their purpose of refining our character to resemble the character of Jesus?

Chastisements do not work automatically to refine us.  In fact, there is a right and wrong way of dealing with God’s chastisements.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]  Hebrews 12:5-6

1. We must not make light of the Lord’s discipline

In today’s society, we have become somewhat desensitized to the hardships that plague us and others.  We can be so nonchalant that we become impersonal and loosely attached to our fellow man, to our family, to our children.  We no longer feel responsible for others. Therefore we can easily walk away from our obligations to them.  

These days, we celebrate the man or woman who is able to deal dispassionately with painful circumstances.  “She/he is so strong,” we say!  “She/he is putting on such a brave front.”  But sometimes we can take this “brave front” too far.  We can anesthetize ourselves with mood altering drugs/alcohol, a party, or reckless behavior in an effort to escape painful circumstances.  “You had a bad day at work? No worries, lets go to happy hour.”  

Instead of trying to escape our punishments, we should take time to analyze them with God’s help.  When we are in the midst of a chastisement, we should take a moment to examine ourselves to discern what God is really trying to show us.  

Ask yourself:  Is God trying to get my attention?  Am I on the right path?  Have I strayed?  Is there a sin in my life that I need to address?  Am I not spending enough time with God?  Am I in danger?  Have I elevated another person, place, thing and displaced God in my life?

Don’t skip through your hardships without examination.  Pay attention!  God may be trying to tell you something.  Go to Him and ask Him for clarification.

2.  We must not lose heart or become bitter

It is essential that we do not “faint” under the burden of God’s punishments.  We cannot give up. We cannot slide into despair.   We must not grumble and complain.  We must not become bitter. God has not given us up.  FAINT NOT!

Notice that we unconsciously communicate who we are by how we behave under difficult circumstances.

Those who are not children of God tend to become bitter when faced with misfortune. Sometimes even God’s own feel bitter temporarily.  But we are warned in Hebrews to RESIST this response.

IT IS VITAL THAT WE RESIST THE REACTIONS LISTED ABOVE! 

We must not take our chastisements lightly, we must not lose heart, we must not become bitter.

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? Hebrews 12:5

According to D Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this scripture should be read as: Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as GROWN MEN.  

 “When we are [punished as] children we always think we are being death with harshly, that it is most unfair of our parents and that we do not deserve it. That is the child’s reaction and, spiritually, some of us remain children.  But this [scripture] says: ‘Now remember that you are not children.  You are men, you are sons, you are adults.’  -D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Pull yourself together!  

Do you remember the Pixar animated fim, The Incredibles featuring fictional character, Edna Mode.  In one of my favorite scenes, Elasti-Girl visits Edna and has a meltdown.  She believes her husband is having an affair and she, despondent, cries out, “What will I do?”

Edna, the diminutive designer of super hero costumes, jumps on the table in front of Elasti-Girl and exclaims, 

“What are you talking about?  You are Elast-Girl. My God, pull yourself together. What will you do? Is this a question? You will show him you remember that he is Mr. Incredible. And you will remind him who you are.…Go! Confront the problem. Fight. Win. And call me when you get back, darling.”  The Incredibles

What must we do when confronted by a real painful change in our circumstances?

We must remember the word of EXHORTATION!  

When things go wrong in the life of a Christian, we fall back on the Word of God.  We go to the Scriptures to find out what the Scriptures say and then we apply it to our lives.

But do not read the Scriptures passively.  Instead, we follow the logic of it and bring intelligence to our reading.  The Scriptures are not meant to merely soothe and comfort,  Your favorite Psalm is not merely an incantation.  No!  Follow the logic and let the scriptures reason with you.

THE ARGUMENT:

“The great argument is that it is God who is doing this, and God is doing it to you because you are His child.”  

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.  Hebrews 12:9-10

The TRUTH is that because God is doing this to us for our good, we do not make light of it, we do not lose heart, we do not become bitter.  

We say: GOD IS IN THIS AND GOD IS DOING THIS TO ME BECAUSE I AM HIS CHILD, BECAUSE I DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD, BECAUSE HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE FOR ME AND HAS DESTINED ME FOR HEAVEN.  GOD IS IN THIS, AND IT IS ALL BEING DONE FOR MY GOOD. 

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Hebrews 12: 11-12

In order to be transformed into the image of Jesus the Christ, we must be strengthened.  We must exercise.  We must go through God’s boot camp.  

We must put our tin hat on, thrust our CHIN UP and out, accept the trial and endure the pain.  

But, darlings, we are not in this alone.  We are well equipped remember!  See Spirit Life Has Its Privileges 

Trust that this refining process yields dividends.  Through this process we become HOLY in the sight of God.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:  Hebrews 12:14

Without holiness, no man shall see God!

I promise, darling.

LOVE, defined.

We serve a generous GOD, one who loves us regardless of our foibles, iniquities and sins.  The love of God is awesome because it is an active love that never fails.

I read once that pity without responsibility is useless.  In other words, pitying a homeless man without attempting to meet his needs by offering him a kind word, food or money is useless.

We are admonished by God to love one another.  

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31

This love we are asked to extend to others is an active love.  We don’t get any points by uttering the words,”I love you” with no action.  If we love God, we are asked to do something:  to feed his sheep.  If we love others, we are likewise called to action.

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.  John 21:17

Over time, I have refined my definition of love.  Love is so much more than the sentimental platitudes interwoven into the average Hollywood script.  Instead, love can be defined as acts of kindness deserved and undeserved.  

Exercising this type of “active” love requires supernatural help.  It is impossible to be loving in the face of prolonged cruelty, hatred, mean spiritedness and betrayal without God’s help. Likewise, without God, It is impossible to be loving when we don’t feel particularly lovable.

Because GOD loves us, He takes a special interest in each of his children.  God delights in giving us presents.  At creation, we were each given a series of perfect gifts: perfect love, perfect understanding perfect peace, perfect health.  In order to actually access these gifts, to be able to unwrap the gift boxes and actualize them, we have to first access the Holy Spirit.

Recall the words of Jesus found in John 14:6.

And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:6

The Comforter that Jesus speaks of is the Holy Spirit sent to dwell inside of us and to provide us with all we need to be our most perfect / healthy / happy / beautiful selves.

The Holy Spirit is really the light of God...it is GOD ENERGY that resides inside each of us. This GOD ENERGY is Supernatural Power.

What do I mean by GOD ENERGY??

Remember back in science class, we learned that all matter, even human cells are made of spinning atoms of energy.  This energy is really light energy.  When a person's light is at it's peak or at it's best, the person’s atoms spin harmoniously: radiating perfect health, perfect joy, perfect LOVE!

The world is beginning to develop its own ways to jump start and revive the Spirit energy in all of use.  Consider the newest acne remedies by Illumask that actually treats and prevents blackheads with daily 20 minute doses of red and blue light.

Or the latest acupuncture techniques that involve shining light into hollow tubes to activate cells and heal organs from the inside out.

Isn't it terrific that as Christians, we can recharge our energy levels through contact with the Holy Spirit?  We don't need light acupuncture or a mask.  Instead, we need only draw down on the Power of the Holy Spirit that God freely gave to us at birth.

The Holy Spirit enables us to access all the gifts that God has given us.  When we are living in the Sprit, our internal light shines very bright and our aura is a magnificent BLUE color.  

According to Charles Fillmore, author of Teach Us to Pray, when we are in the Spirit, we, like Jesus, have supernatural powers, e.g.,

• LOVE: An ability to be extend kindness even when it is not deserved

• DISCERNMENT: A perfect vision for our lives

• CAPACITY: Perfect courage and fearlessness in the face of difficulties

• RECEPTION: Perfect heart to heart communication with God

• JUDGEMENT: Craving only those things that are sanctioned by God

• INTUITION: Knowing right from wrong and conceding to the "right'

• TELEPATHY: An ability to transmit our thoughts, desires, prayers, and praise directly to God

Basically, when we live in the Spirit we can access the Upper Room, we become more like Jesus and we can do all things including, LOVING our enemies, LOVING ourselves, LOVING our neighbors.
So how do we build up our Spirit energy?  How do we access the Holy Spirit?

Simply and Consistently by:

• studying the word

• reflecting on God's goodness

• praying constantly

• carving out quiet time to commune with God

• extending random acts of kindness to others

We must cultivate a practice of BEING STILL to revive, renew and recharge our GOD ENERGY.

When we are calm and living in the SPIRIT, we are operating in the image of GOD.  We radiate light from within.  Over time, we become like Jesus, able to actively LOVE others whether it is deserved or not.