There are many people who would say it isn't beneficial or even practical in today's world to be devoted to a set of principles or a divine being one cannot see or touch. They may have bought into the Darwinian survival of the fittest mentality, the belief that we are all victims of circumstance, or that we make our own Karma and experience the results of our own behavior--either in this life or a former one--if they even philosophize about it at all.
I bought into some variation of these and many other theories at one time or another in my youth, but my search was driven by a desire for the meaningful relationship with God that I eventually found. God is not threatened when we question His authority, His divinity, His omnipotence or even His love. He would not have given us a choice in the matter if He was threatened by our decision. It is this very freedom to choose whether or not to accept His love that makes Him unlike any other deity--for He doesn't withhold it whether we accept it or not.
I am not really a deep thinker, and I realize that much of my desire to devote my heart to God is based on feelings, but since we are created as living souls and the ability to feel and reason are unique to man, I am not sure I should be concerned that feeling good about my relationship with my maker is all that bad.
When I believed that the Law was the path to relate to God, I was not as interested in living according to it because I knew I was incapable of fulfilling the Law on my own. Oh, I could manage the Ten Commandments alright because those were ingrained early in life. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is a lot of pain involved if you kill, steal or break any number of those laws. It wasn't the thou shalt not's of the Old Testament that had me worried about relating to God, it was the writings in the New Testament and all the various warnings that had me thinking I could never measure up.
Once I realized the words of excellent guidance offered in the Bible were tributes of God's unlimited love to all mankind instead of a set of rules to gain His approval, I was able to break the old thought patterns of needing to measure up for acceptance. God not only gave us true-north guidance and wisdom but He also gave Jesus that we might have access to His power and ability (grace) to live above our circumstances and hear His voice to avoid chaos. I really do need that grace to enable me to walk in love because I am very self-centered without it. Self-centered living leads to loneliness, pain and chaos--at least in my experience.
It is only by acknowledging God as my Father that I can access the identity of being His child. It is by identifying with Him that I have access to His grace. His grace enables me to walk in love and in wisdom. By walking in love I experience fulfillment, and by listening to His voice I am able to be wise and avoid chaos and fear. The more I walk in love, the easier it is to overlook offenses and keep peace. This peace that passes understanding is the prosperity of the soul that leads to abundance.
What a generous and loving God to have given everything we need before we even asked. I daily uncover some new aspect of His perfect love which fulfills more than any fallible human could ever do. Until I discovered His love for me, I lived in fear of His judgment, but now I walk in His love which does away with fear. I know I will never be judged for my short-comings or mistakes, but that He will remind me of my position as His righteous child who has rights and responsibilities of the position. It is His love that draws me to repentance (changing my mind/direction) not the fear of His disapproval.
I pray you will discover this God-of-love and grow to know and love Him intimately. He is the one who gives the power and ability to love at all, and with His love flowing in and through us, we are able to broadcast love and acceptance to others who are searching, just as I once was, for a meaningful life. Indeed, it is the sharing of this perfect God-love that is the purpose of life.
Tuesday, April 17
Wednesday, April 11
Focus on the Positive
It seems there is always a kernel of truth any time someone offers a critical remark. It may not be true in reality, but it is a reflection of their thoughts and beliefs or they would not have come up with it to say aloud.
I am finding it is better to not even think negative thoughts about another, but just focus on their positive attributes. It keeps me from inadvertently spouting off something I may regret later. In truth, most people have enough positive attributes that this is easy. It is only when they touch our self-worth that we look for a way to discredit them in some way.
I am not about to admit that this has been easy for me, nor am I all that good at it, but I am tapping into God's grace and any other method I have at my disposal to make it a reality. It is not really all that fun to live life on the outskirts of everything, and until I can see others through God's eyes of unconditional love, I will always be looking for ways to categorize people as those I can trust or not, befriend or not, accept or not, etc.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
I think this is one of those verses that has some really great benefits attached when we apply it to our lives. May you find many excellent and praiseworthy things in your life everyday.
I am finding it is better to not even think negative thoughts about another, but just focus on their positive attributes. It keeps me from inadvertently spouting off something I may regret later. In truth, most people have enough positive attributes that this is easy. It is only when they touch our self-worth that we look for a way to discredit them in some way.
I am not about to admit that this has been easy for me, nor am I all that good at it, but I am tapping into God's grace and any other method I have at my disposal to make it a reality. It is not really all that fun to live life on the outskirts of everything, and until I can see others through God's eyes of unconditional love, I will always be looking for ways to categorize people as those I can trust or not, befriend or not, accept or not, etc.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
I think this is one of those verses that has some really great benefits attached when we apply it to our lives. May you find many excellent and praiseworthy things in your life everyday.
Tuesday, April 10
Speaking Kindness
Today during a meditative exercise, a startling recollection of an long forgotten incident that occurred when I was about four years old surfaced in my mind and brought mortified tears of shame to my eyes. As I recalled it, I could feel the horrible wrenching pain that was dealt to me with this teasing remark. With adult reasoning the event could easily be laughed off and dismissed as a playful remark from someone who was just looking for an excuse not to do something they didn't want to do: from the perspective of a vulnerable child it was devastating.
The same opinion was expressed in diverse ways on multiple occasions by many different people, always having the same painful effect on my heart. Eventually, that internal burden was heavy enough to drive me deeper and deeper into the lifestyle predicted by those misguided people. It only takes three times for a negative remark to become reality--imagine hearing it repeated so many different ways over many years!
Unfortunately children are often dealt these off-the-cuff insults in the name of teasing, or in some cases from a misguided sense of "helping" them. They may or may not sink into the heart to later surface as a blockage of some sort, but if there is any emotion attached--embarrassment, shame, fear, anger--without the tools to release the pain and send away the offense, a child will bury the memory and it will later haunt them with some sort of physical or emotional ailment or impediment to a happy life.
The most cruel of these remarks are those that relate to a child's physical or mental state, over which even an adult has little control--much less would a child. The inability to reason, which is not developed until around the age of 12, makes it all the more necessary to be very honest with a child, building him up with truth from God's word about his worth. Calling him names or impugning his character in some way has a strong negative effect on his sense of worth.
Laughter, which reflects the desirable emotion of joy, is just as potent as shame as a means for applying a negative emotion to the heart. For instance, if mother always refers to her child as a brat or hellion, then laughs about it, a child can easily transfer that opinion to his or her heart, thereby cementing it as an owned trait. Later in life when they are continually in and out of trouble, unless they discover the tools to release the emotional burden placed on them, they will have no way to overcome a life of chaos and misery. They were repeatedly told this was who they were, so they have no choice but to assume that identity.
Consider what effect it would have for someone you counted on for love and acceptance to continually berate you for your weight, height, or lack of some physical characteristic considered to be beautiful by societal standards. The remarks need not even be overt, but might be something like, "If you wouldn't eat so much..." or "You are so short ..." It is challenging enough to hear that as an adult for most people, although there seem to be some that are able to overlook such remarks. But consider how a child might react--they feel judged and found guilty of an offense they have no control over.
I am grateful to have discovered the tools necessary to identify and clear out the burdens that were placed on me in my youth, which was marked by many losses and little positive encouragement toward God's view and opinion of me. As I gradually peel away the layers and reveal the source of many of my poor decisions and misguided paths, I am finding some wonderful God-given gifts and much love that had been buried along with the pain.
I pray you will spend some time quietly before the Lord asking yourself some questions about your past to discover the cause of the limits in your life. As you discover these indignities and hurts, release them and find a path to the person you were meant to be and the life you were meant to live. Then concentrate on finding all the good, beautiful, perfect, kind aspects of your life and those around you and speak them frequently and with fluency. As you reinforce God's good opinion of yourself and others, you will see a lovely life unfold around you.
God has provided you with healing, dignity and worth through Jesus Christ and wishes above all things that you prosper in all ways. As your soul prospers (your thoughts and emotions) you will walk in abundance in all areas of your life. So be it.
The same opinion was expressed in diverse ways on multiple occasions by many different people, always having the same painful effect on my heart. Eventually, that internal burden was heavy enough to drive me deeper and deeper into the lifestyle predicted by those misguided people. It only takes three times for a negative remark to become reality--imagine hearing it repeated so many different ways over many years!
Unfortunately children are often dealt these off-the-cuff insults in the name of teasing, or in some cases from a misguided sense of "helping" them. They may or may not sink into the heart to later surface as a blockage of some sort, but if there is any emotion attached--embarrassment, shame, fear, anger--without the tools to release the pain and send away the offense, a child will bury the memory and it will later haunt them with some sort of physical or emotional ailment or impediment to a happy life.
The most cruel of these remarks are those that relate to a child's physical or mental state, over which even an adult has little control--much less would a child. The inability to reason, which is not developed until around the age of 12, makes it all the more necessary to be very honest with a child, building him up with truth from God's word about his worth. Calling him names or impugning his character in some way has a strong negative effect on his sense of worth.
Laughter, which reflects the desirable emotion of joy, is just as potent as shame as a means for applying a negative emotion to the heart. For instance, if mother always refers to her child as a brat or hellion, then laughs about it, a child can easily transfer that opinion to his or her heart, thereby cementing it as an owned trait. Later in life when they are continually in and out of trouble, unless they discover the tools to release the emotional burden placed on them, they will have no way to overcome a life of chaos and misery. They were repeatedly told this was who they were, so they have no choice but to assume that identity.
Consider what effect it would have for someone you counted on for love and acceptance to continually berate you for your weight, height, or lack of some physical characteristic considered to be beautiful by societal standards. The remarks need not even be overt, but might be something like, "If you wouldn't eat so much..." or "You are so short ..." It is challenging enough to hear that as an adult for most people, although there seem to be some that are able to overlook such remarks. But consider how a child might react--they feel judged and found guilty of an offense they have no control over.
I am grateful to have discovered the tools necessary to identify and clear out the burdens that were placed on me in my youth, which was marked by many losses and little positive encouragement toward God's view and opinion of me. As I gradually peel away the layers and reveal the source of many of my poor decisions and misguided paths, I am finding some wonderful God-given gifts and much love that had been buried along with the pain.
I pray you will spend some time quietly before the Lord asking yourself some questions about your past to discover the cause of the limits in your life. As you discover these indignities and hurts, release them and find a path to the person you were meant to be and the life you were meant to live. Then concentrate on finding all the good, beautiful, perfect, kind aspects of your life and those around you and speak them frequently and with fluency. As you reinforce God's good opinion of yourself and others, you will see a lovely life unfold around you.
God has provided you with healing, dignity and worth through Jesus Christ and wishes above all things that you prosper in all ways. As your soul prospers (your thoughts and emotions) you will walk in abundance in all areas of your life. So be it.
Wednesday, April 4
Giving an Answer
Almost always when I meet someone new, eventually the conversation comes around to religion. It seems like lately there have been many opportunities to answer the questions, "What religion are you?" or "Where do you go to church?"
Both these questions indicate to me that a person is trying to find the quickest way to discover who I am, what I believe and whether or not they can identify with me. Unfortunately, it seems like my answers to either question do not gain them favorable insight.
I am a Christ follower and have an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe. I am not religious, though. I am not bound by a set of traditions or rules that govern my behavior; rather I try to walk in love and compassion, which Jesus says fulfills the law. I consider myself to be part of a family, where God is my Father and Jesus is my brother.
I believe in the New Covenant offered by the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and believe that I am saved, redeemed, healed, prospered, delivered, righteous, and that all the promises ever given to anyone in the Bible are yes and amen to me. I believe that faith, the measure of which is given to every believer, is the cornerstone of seeing the life of abundance we are promised in the Scriptures--not only in the New Heaven and Earth, but here, now, in this life.
I believe that we are free to make choices, and to a large extent, we control the world as it affects us based on what we are willing to receive from God. There is nothing else He has to do for us, it has all already been done. Laws were set in motion at the creation of the world that continue to perpetuate, and we are responsible for applying them to our lives, whether they seem visible or "real" to us or not. God is only in control if we invite Him to be, and we do not need to live as fatalistic victims of circumstance because His grace empowers us to live beyond our circumstances.
Now, while that is a very sketchy view of our beliefs, and barely touches how fully life encompassing our love-relationship with God is, it is still more than I can offer in answer to the casual acquaintance who querries! It is vastly different than the reply, "I am a Christian," an answer that is interpreted in so many ways from narrow minded to liberal thinking, or, "I am a Protestant," which really only narrows that field slightly. If I say I am Charismatic, which in some ways I am, that conjures up a whole different set of images and depending on their perspective or experience with others in that group may completely put them ill at ease.
How do you tell someone you are having a love affair with your Maker? What do I say to define how God has changed my heart, my mind, my life, my relationships, my goals, my perspective, my philosophy, my health, my feelings and my dreams? If you can tell me, I'd sure appreciate your insight, because I don't want to be boxed in, nor do I want to lead someone down a path that will keep them from experiencing the joy and love I have been blessed with because of some past experience they have had with someone who professes to have faith in God.
Both these questions indicate to me that a person is trying to find the quickest way to discover who I am, what I believe and whether or not they can identify with me. Unfortunately, it seems like my answers to either question do not gain them favorable insight.
I am a Christ follower and have an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe. I am not religious, though. I am not bound by a set of traditions or rules that govern my behavior; rather I try to walk in love and compassion, which Jesus says fulfills the law. I consider myself to be part of a family, where God is my Father and Jesus is my brother.
I believe in the New Covenant offered by the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and believe that I am saved, redeemed, healed, prospered, delivered, righteous, and that all the promises ever given to anyone in the Bible are yes and amen to me. I believe that faith, the measure of which is given to every believer, is the cornerstone of seeing the life of abundance we are promised in the Scriptures--not only in the New Heaven and Earth, but here, now, in this life.
I believe that we are free to make choices, and to a large extent, we control the world as it affects us based on what we are willing to receive from God. There is nothing else He has to do for us, it has all already been done. Laws were set in motion at the creation of the world that continue to perpetuate, and we are responsible for applying them to our lives, whether they seem visible or "real" to us or not. God is only in control if we invite Him to be, and we do not need to live as fatalistic victims of circumstance because His grace empowers us to live beyond our circumstances.
Now, while that is a very sketchy view of our beliefs, and barely touches how fully life encompassing our love-relationship with God is, it is still more than I can offer in answer to the casual acquaintance who querries! It is vastly different than the reply, "I am a Christian," an answer that is interpreted in so many ways from narrow minded to liberal thinking, or, "I am a Protestant," which really only narrows that field slightly. If I say I am Charismatic, which in some ways I am, that conjures up a whole different set of images and depending on their perspective or experience with others in that group may completely put them ill at ease.
How do you tell someone you are having a love affair with your Maker? What do I say to define how God has changed my heart, my mind, my life, my relationships, my goals, my perspective, my philosophy, my health, my feelings and my dreams? If you can tell me, I'd sure appreciate your insight, because I don't want to be boxed in, nor do I want to lead someone down a path that will keep them from experiencing the joy and love I have been blessed with because of some past experience they have had with someone who professes to have faith in God.
Saturday, March 31
Bird Brain
A robin is determined to fly through my studio window. It spends hours each day flying into the glass and dropping to the window sill. From there it darts up to the fence and makes another run at the window. Over and over, all day long. He can never catch the other bird, or enter into the house, or whatever his bird-brain is telling him to do, despite repeating the same exercise over and over again.
My bird friend has a vast world in which to seek entertainment. If it is a partner he wants, there are millions of other robins around that are far less elusive than the one he thinks he sees reflected in the glass. If it is a threat he perceives, a mere change in perspective is all he needs to realize the error of his ways, although the battering he gives himself each time he throws himself against the window is likely painful enough for him to believe he is being abused!
Albert Einstein reportedly said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action expecting different results.
It is a good exercise to consider all the things I have repeated in life to no avail. Weight loss and controlling people are two that come to mind right away. It has taken me so many years to understand that control is an illusion, whether over my own life or someone else's.
When I change my perspective to view my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit rather than a battleground for my will, I am able to release my control and consider how best to care for it--which starving and abusing through excessive exercise is not!
Likewise when I consider my propensity to herd others toward my viewpoint of what is right, I have discovered that a change in perspective gives me freedom to allow others to make their own mistakes and revel in their own successes. I have no guilt if things go awry, nor pride if they do not. There is much peace with this way of life not experienced at any time when I felt the need to direct the lives of those around me.
I can't change the bird's mind, but with the grace (power and ability) of God within me, I can certainly set a different course for my own life.
I pray as you consider the areas in your life in which you are confronted with an impenetrable resistance, you will not repeatedly batter yourself with the same actions only to end with the same miserable resulting experiences. Rather, I hope you will tap into God's grace and allow Him to change your perspective so that you may see your situation in a different light, with different solutions to your problems or such a changed view that you realize your problems were merely figments of your imagination after all.
My bird friend has a vast world in which to seek entertainment. If it is a partner he wants, there are millions of other robins around that are far less elusive than the one he thinks he sees reflected in the glass. If it is a threat he perceives, a mere change in perspective is all he needs to realize the error of his ways, although the battering he gives himself each time he throws himself against the window is likely painful enough for him to believe he is being abused!
Albert Einstein reportedly said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action expecting different results.
It is a good exercise to consider all the things I have repeated in life to no avail. Weight loss and controlling people are two that come to mind right away. It has taken me so many years to understand that control is an illusion, whether over my own life or someone else's.
When I change my perspective to view my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit rather than a battleground for my will, I am able to release my control and consider how best to care for it--which starving and abusing through excessive exercise is not!
Likewise when I consider my propensity to herd others toward my viewpoint of what is right, I have discovered that a change in perspective gives me freedom to allow others to make their own mistakes and revel in their own successes. I have no guilt if things go awry, nor pride if they do not. There is much peace with this way of life not experienced at any time when I felt the need to direct the lives of those around me.
I can't change the bird's mind, but with the grace (power and ability) of God within me, I can certainly set a different course for my own life.
I pray as you consider the areas in your life in which you are confronted with an impenetrable resistance, you will not repeatedly batter yourself with the same actions only to end with the same miserable resulting experiences. Rather, I hope you will tap into God's grace and allow Him to change your perspective so that you may see your situation in a different light, with different solutions to your problems or such a changed view that you realize your problems were merely figments of your imagination after all.
Thursday, March 29
Pride and Self-worth
It isn't very fun to discover that my behavior often stems from the idea that "I know the right way, so I am doing it that way." One of my favorite teachers asserts that those who have to always be right in any given argument or situation are acting out of pride, and before they can really have any significant transformation in their lives, they must deal with that spiritual blockage. (moan)
I often say, "I'm proud of ..." It may be my children, my work, my writing, my progress, etc. Some might say I have a "right" to be proud of those things. When I consider that Jesus is living in me, that all I do is a reflection of His work, I have no right to be proud, only extremely grateful. It is HIS presence in my children's lives that make them the man and woman they are. It is HIS inspiration and motivation to press on that enables me to accomplish any worthwhile goal, be it creatively or in the physical realm. I am only a vessel, a cracked pot as it were, and as such there is nothing in me other than Christ to be "proud" of.
However, there is much to be grateful for, and as I discover words and ways to demonstrate my appreciation for all that God has done in the lives of my family and myself, hopefully my pride will subside and be replaced by an overwhelming sense of gratitude and praise for His magnificent love, grace and mercy--none of which can I lay claim to on my own merit.
I have learned there is a difference between pride and self-worth. Pride is a self-righteous feeling that comes from things I do. Self-worth is an awareness of who I am in Christ and the great value God places on my life because Jesus has given me to His Father. Pride rejoices in behavior and situations I feel responsible for, but self-worth is not related to anything I can do; only the awareness that the creator of the universe thought enough of me to make sure every good thing was available to me without my having to life a finger to get them.
May your heart be touched by the immense value God has placed on your life. In response to that great love may you in turn reach out to others with all your gifts, talents and encouragement.
Need
A much loved and re-read novel tells of a twenty-something spinster living with her mother and aunt in a dreary, unloving environment. She has developed a heart condition and covertly seeks the counsel of a local physician who informs her by mail that she has but a short time to live. With nothing to lose, she throws off the restraints of her meddling and belittling family that previously hindered her from fully living.
She leaves her sanctimonious mother's home to care for a dying motherless friend whose life was marked by disgrace; the daughter of a local drunkard. While there she befriends and falls in love with a mysterious man known about town as "notorious."
Several weeks after she assumes her role as care-giver, her friend passes away and she is left to deliberate her future. She has not told her family of her impending demise, but she cannot imagine returning to her former dreary existence, so she asks her notorious new friend if he will marry her. To her surprise, he agrees.
With the freedom to discover herself and the remarkable world around her, she is transformed from a dull spinster to a fascinating woman. Her appearance improves, and even the usual colds and other indignities of an unhappy life desert her entirely. In the end, a moment of extreme happiness cures her heart condition--inaccurately represented by the doctor who had received startling news just as he finished examining her and erroneously sent her the letter that was to go to another patient.
The thing that strikes me most fervently each time I read the story is how it took the belief that she had nothing left to lose before she determined to take her life into her own hands. When she believed she had no other options, she silently suffered through ignominious insults and grievous family gatherings. Once her perspective altered and she had no fear for the future, she went after that which she wanted: to be needed.
While good works will not ever gain us anything from our Heavenly Father who has already given us every good thing, they do serve the purpose of satisfying a God-given desire to feel needed by someone.
It is natural to exchange with others the experience of feeling and meeting needs. My wish for you is that you learn how to offer and graciously receive love and care from others as an expression of God's wonderful love. May you always feel a need to experience His lavish love and ultimately the satisfaction of believing you already have it.
She leaves her sanctimonious mother's home to care for a dying motherless friend whose life was marked by disgrace; the daughter of a local drunkard. While there she befriends and falls in love with a mysterious man known about town as "notorious."
Several weeks after she assumes her role as care-giver, her friend passes away and she is left to deliberate her future. She has not told her family of her impending demise, but she cannot imagine returning to her former dreary existence, so she asks her notorious new friend if he will marry her. To her surprise, he agrees.
With the freedom to discover herself and the remarkable world around her, she is transformed from a dull spinster to a fascinating woman. Her appearance improves, and even the usual colds and other indignities of an unhappy life desert her entirely. In the end, a moment of extreme happiness cures her heart condition--inaccurately represented by the doctor who had received startling news just as he finished examining her and erroneously sent her the letter that was to go to another patient.
The thing that strikes me most fervently each time I read the story is how it took the belief that she had nothing left to lose before she determined to take her life into her own hands. When she believed she had no other options, she silently suffered through ignominious insults and grievous family gatherings. Once her perspective altered and she had no fear for the future, she went after that which she wanted: to be needed.
While good works will not ever gain us anything from our Heavenly Father who has already given us every good thing, they do serve the purpose of satisfying a God-given desire to feel needed by someone.
It is natural to exchange with others the experience of feeling and meeting needs. My wish for you is that you learn how to offer and graciously receive love and care from others as an expression of God's wonderful love. May you always feel a need to experience His lavish love and ultimately the satisfaction of believing you already have it.
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