The Spirit of Vacation

Summer is approaching which means that many people are gearing up to go on vacation. My wife and I are leaving in a couple of days for our own getaway.

When you think of vacation, what comes to your mind?

White sandy beaches? Beautiful snow capped mountaintops? A week spent doing work that has piled up around the house? Clark Griswold and his family carrying their dead Aunt Edna on the roof of their Family Truckster?

The true “spirit” of a vacation is found in the idea of “vacating” your current situation with the intent being to rest, recreate, and rejuvenate before returning to reality. When the elements of rest, recreation, and rejuvenation are not present, then we never contacted the true “spirit” of vacation.

At some point, everyone needs a break from their day to day activities or the stress seems to build until you are a “crispy critter”. For many of us, the problem lies in the fact that the stress never ends and the vacations are too short! 

If we could just find a way to stay on vacation. Then, we could get free from the stress of life.

Well, no one gets to stay on constant vacation (at least no one who runs in my circles!). God has called us to work in His harvest field not live a secluded “monastic” life on a cruise ship. The spirit of vacation may not last long after the vacation but the Spirit of the Living God never leaves His children!

God has given us some clues as to how to work in His field and experience the “spirit” of rest, recreation, and rejuvenation while we work. You can find a few of these clues in the following Psalm.

Psalm 37:3-8: “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret–it only causes harm.”

In this passage, I see a few clues as to how to live in the “spirit” of vacation all year long! I’ll use one word from each section of scripture to reveal these clues.

TRUST

Where you find trust, you find peace. Nothing drains our energy, both emotionally and physically more than lack of trust. Where trust is lacking, you find a mind that never rests. But, those who trust in the Lord feast continually on His faithfulness. They are not afraid and do not expend emotional energy on needless worry. God has proven His motives to us at the cross. God has proven His ability at the empty tomb. God has made a commitment to us in the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let your mind rest! Feast on the promises of His Word! He will not – He cannot fail! Midnight buffets last for a moment, but His faithfulness lasts a lifetime!

DELIGHT

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:15: All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. We need to be careful as to what we take delight in. So many things are fleeting in this life. Building a life upon something that cannot endure leads to much worry and stress. Many things that we try to pull our strength from don’t have the inherent power to keep us energized. They simply weren’t built to supply us with happiness. To get off the “roller coaster” of life, find something to plug into that is unchanging in nature. If we delight in the Lord, then He will give us the desires of our heart…the true desires of our heart will be met. Desires for love, purpose, stability, wholeness – all these are part of the continual feast of the merry heart! 

COMMIT

Discouraged people “commit” all kinds of things: murder, suicide, adultery, etc. But, if we commit our needs to the Lord, the Bible says, that “He shall bring IT to pass.” Is “IT” bothering you really bad? All of us have “ITs” that steal our joy and peace.So, whatever “IT” is in your life, commit “IT” to Jesus! Commit “IT” to the “institution” of Lordship and believe God! Receive the peace and hope of a settled spirit!

REST

So many of us are not patient. When we lose our patience, we lose our peace and stability. We spend too much time looking around instead of looking up. We look at “this one” and “that one” and compare ourselves to others and soon, find ourselves living in constant unrest and  unhappiness.

If you are going to be at rest in your soul, you are going to have to master the art of learning to wait on God. His timing is always perfect. Stop trying to figure out how and when and learn to obey and rest!  How many problems has worry solved in your life? Climb into the “lounge chair” of patience and learn to rest in God! God knows what He is doing!!

CEASE

Everyone gets angry at times. But, consistent anger is a sign of fear and a lack of stability. Fear and anxiety are two “sisters” of the same family. You very seldom find one and not find the the other! Anger is a way in which many of us experience fear. Anger seldom stands on its own feet – it usually has something living below it that is “propping” it up. Fear and anxiety have been known to prop up anger! The Bible says that anxiety only causes harm. To begin a new process, you must stop or cease the old one. So, if you don’t like what your ship is serving, don’t take a trip on that ship anymore! Get off of the USS Anger and get on the the USS Tranquility! Jesus is at the helm, so you don’t have to be angry, anxious, or fearful!

TRUST….DELIGHT….COMMIT….REST….CEASE….

Sounds like a commercial for a vacation spot, doesn’t it!

“Trust your life to the Lord! Delight in His ways!! Commit yourself to His care! Rest in His faithfulness! Cease your fruitless efforts!!”

In this invitation, you find the “spirit” of vacation!!

When I return from my getaway, this invitation will be what sustains me!! Join me on the “trip” of a lifetime! No matter where life takes us, we will constantly be at peace!!!

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Where Did God Go?

god (Photo credit: the|G|™)

Do you remember when you were first saved?

During the early days of salvation, it seems as if God is so quick to respond to your call. If you were in trouble – you called and He answered and handled every issue in a supernatural way – and fast!

Then, as time goes along, it seemed as if God quit responding the way He used to. Instead of handling every issue quickly and supernaturally, He seemed to have gone on “leave” of some sort; leaving us to deal with the issues of life.

What changed? Did I do something wrong? Did God leave me for some reason?

To answer those questions, we need to look no further than our own family.

When children are young, their parents are actively involved in each step of their development. They move objects that are dangerous or that shouldn’t be broken from their path so that they cannot touch them. They keep them from hitting the ground by holding them up when they are learning to walk. When the child does something it shouldn’t, the child gets immediate discipline from the parents. The parents intervene and teach the child through direct discipline. This is all done with a goal of training the child for the future; looking toward the day when the child can discern things for themselves through what has been learned from the parents.

God deals with us in the same fashion.

At the beginning of our Christian life, He will be quick to intervene in each situation because He knows we are still learning His word. He knows that we are developing trust in Him and His direction so He removes things from our pathway divinely that could be harmful. He also will hold us up when it seems we are falling so to teach us to balance ourselves and walk in a healthy way. He will quickly discipline us when we do something wrong so that we have no questions as to what His will is.

But, this is all done with an eye toward the future.

In a child’s life, there comes a day in which they are no longer a baby. They have learned the family values and have been taught to walk on their own. They have been taught how to handle situations that arise that are dangerous and are expected to use what they have learned to deal successfully with those issues. You don’t spank a child forever. At some point of development, natural consequences become the deterrent instead of a spanking by the parents.

So, asking the question, “Where did God go?” may mean we are asking the wrong question. Instead, maybe we should be considering the fact that God didn’t go anywhere but He is expecting us to live by what He has taught us. Maybe we have been taught to walk in His ways and He is expecting us to obey Him. Maybe He isn’t going to intervene in a situation until we do what His word says. Maybe He wants us to learn to use the weaponry He has given us to fight and defeat the enemy.

We are no longer “baby” Christians but are growing up into Christ, therefore, like Christ, we are expected to know the Father’s will and do it!

Have you been praying about a situation and its seems as if God is nowhere to be found?

Have you considered that God has already told you what to do in His Word and is waiting for you to obey so that you can see His hand move?

Think of the children of Israel.

God never changes but He did work differently in their lives depending upon where they were in their development. When He delivered them from Egypt, He fed them with manna from heaven. But, when they entered the promise land, the manna stopped and the Israelis were expected to follow God’s word regarding sowing and reaping. Food didn’t fall out of the sky anymore. God provided it from the ground as they obeyed His word regarding honoring Him.

God didn’t leave you. He is right where He always has been in your life: ready to lead you and guide you into all truth. But, He does expect us to obey what He has revealed to us. It is in obedience to His word that we see the supernatural laws of His kingdom take effect in our lives.

Stand up and be the obedient servant God has called you to be! Obedience to the Word of God is intervention by God! Stop crying and start obeying!

God is transforming you into the mature image of His dear Son! If you obey, you become a “living epistle known and read by all men”.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Open the doors of your life so the King of Glory can come in! Everyone will see His glory through your belief in His Word!

How Do You Make Your Choices?

English: Decisions Decisions (Horton, Point or Green) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Each one of us have choices to make on a daily basis. Some choices have greater long term effects than others. What brand of soft drink I’m going to buy probably has less impact on my life than whether I should buy one at all!!

Where will I live? Where will I work? Whom shall I marry?

These type of decisions have a lot of impact upon life.

How do you make these type of life altering decisions? What criteria do you use to decide what to do?

In Genesis, chapter 3, we read about the interaction between Eve and the devil who was disguised as a serpent. If you read this conversation carefully, you can discern certain factors used by Eve to make the very important choice as to whether she would obey God or not. Times may have changed but the factors used by Eve are the same factors we often use to make very important choices in life today.

Let’s take a look at these factors. See if you use any of them to make your choices.

1. Reason

“What does it look like?” After satan began his temptation, Eve looked at the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and made the following evaluation: “It looks good!” One way of making choices involves the use of reason. Many people make a list of “pros and cons” when faced with a life altering decision. If we rely upon this method, we are relying upon our own ability to “figure things out” when making decisions about life and the future.

2. Senses

“What does it taste like?” Another factor used in Eve’s decision making process revolved around her evaluation that the fruit would be good. How many times do we make important decisions like who we are going to marry by our senses. “I really enjoy a physical relationship with this person!” Or, “It just feels right.” This method involves the use of emotions and experiences to make choices.

3. Promotion

“Will it promote me?” When making her choice about the fruit of the tree, Eve also factored in that the fruit would make her wise. Self promotion was a factor in her decision. How often do we consider the following factors in choices? “This will give me a big promotion!” Or, “This will give me more money!” How about, “This will make me more well known!” Using this factor makes the decision center around self.

4. Control

“Will it put me in control?” Satan’s knockout blow in his temptation boiled down to this: “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” Most of us don’t like to be “out of control”. We secretly desire situations in which we can control our own destiny. Even people who are Christians often speak of living by faith but desire situations in which they don’t have to! “I want to be rich so I don’t have to live by faith!” Or, “I want to be in control of decisions so I’m not at the mercy of life!” Have you ever felt that way?

People all over the world still use these factors in making their choices. While evaluating a situation is not necessarily a bad thing, many mistakes can be made depending upon these methods simply because you and I cannot see the future. We don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. A choice that looks good today can turn out to be disastrous tomorrow!

Another problem with these methods of decision making is that they center around self satisfaction and the illusion of control.

Since when do most people know what is going to make them happy?

Our decisions are so controlled by unhealed hurts and the deceptions of past experiences that we often end up making the choice that brings us safety but at the same time – the decision brings us unhappiness. We are seeking something that our defense systems will not allow for us!

And, remember: control is simply an illusion! We have absolute control over only two things in life – where you will spend eternity and the quality of life you will have while you are here. The second has nothing to do with circumstances. It is dependent upon your choice as to where you will spend eternity and from where you will draw your worth as a person.

Just like Eve, we are faced with choices with long term consequences. If we use the conventional way of making decisions, we are destined to make grave mistakes.

But…….

If we base our decisions and choices in this life upon the truth of the Word of God and the unchanging love of Jesus Christ, we will avoid the catastrophic outcomes that stem from making bad decisions.

Life contains enough struggle without adding the pain of “shooting ourselves in the foot” by making selfish, uninformed choices.

“For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6

Only God knows the future and because He does not change like shifting shadows, we can depend upon His guidance to be without confusion. Since God is love, we can depend upon His guidance to be in the best interest of us all.

You will avoid much trouble if you make decisions based upon His Word. Stop playing “amateur” God! You don’t have the foresight and knowledge to make informed, healthy decisions. Even your own views as to what will make you “happy” can be tainted!

Make the choice to rely upon the unfailing Word of God and the all knowing Holy Spirit!

The choice is up to you!!!

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What Do I Do With This Burden?

English: Heavy Burden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

A “burden” is defined in English as: “a load or a weight”. When we speak of a “burden” we most often mean that something we are dealing with is “heavy or difficult to bear”.

The scripture that we just read in Psalm 55 characterizes a “burden” as “our lot in life”; meaning “that which is given to us to bear”. The definition also carries within it the idea of the burden being a challenge for the bearer.

Every person in this life has their own battle to fight. One may have to deal with a disability. Another may have to deal with difficult family issues. Others may be involved in an intense battle to change a prevailing, evil mindset. If our battle continues for an extended period of time, it becomes a “burden” according to the scriptural definition.

Burdens create anxiety when they create questions within us. First, we just begin to get tired of an unchanging situation. Then, we begin to ask questions as to why the situation does not change. These questions work against our faith and build doubts within us. Doubt and fear create their own separate burden, which is added to the one we already deal with on a daily basis. Suddenly, we feel overwhelmed and the burden seems to be crushing the life out of us.

God tells us what to do with the burdens that we bear. The Psalm we read earlier tells us that we are to “cast our burdens upon the Lord”. Now, just because we cast a burden upon the Lord does not mean that the burden will suddenly vanish. Often, it will remain. But, when we give it to God, we sense the burden has lifted although it has not disappeared.

Oswald Chamber wrote this in “My Utmost For His Highest”:

“We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong.We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him–to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.”

Life has its burdens. Ministry has its burdens. Some burdens God will remove; others are just part of our calling or witness. Don’t allow doubt and fear to jump on top of you, adding a weight to your life that crushes you.

Isaiah 9:6: “The government will be upon His shoulders.”

If you submit your burden to His authority then the load of your burden shifts to His shoulders!

Nothing in your life can defeat you; no burden is too heavy, no responsibility too overwhelming IF we give it all over to the authority of Christ. Allow His word to speak to the burden and allow His Spirit to lift the weight.

You are not alone. There are many just like you who face battle everyday over whether Jesus or their burden will control their life and destiny. God has intended everything in your life to work toward your reward in heaven.

Don’t curse your burden!

Don’t nurse your self-pity!

Reverse the process of defeat.

Disperse the weight of your burden by giving God authority to reveal Himself however He desires in your life!

Whether your burden vanishes or remains, the load will lighten and you will shout for joy at the miracle working power of your God!

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Victim and Oppressor

Jesus’ actions during Holy Week will be recreated and celebrated throughout the world this weekend. As we put on our recreations, we may add a little bit of “theater” to what really happened in Jerusalem. Forgive us…..we, as Christians get a little bit excited about Easter, plus we feel the pressure to make these events “move” unbelievers.

Have you ever watched an Easter production and thought it looked kind of “fake”; not quite like what would happen in real life?

The events of Holy Week happened in real time in real life. I have realized that the closer those events come to “home” in someone’s life, the more impact they have. I believe that is the reason that the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” had such an impact. Many abhorred its brutality, yet its fidelity to what really happened was what moved so many people. It brought the sacrifice of Jesus into our world and therefore, people felt it’s impact.

This week, many pastors are thinking of how to creatively bring the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus “home” to people’s lives. We don’t have to feel pressure to find a “new” way to give our message – we just have to be faithful to the original account. It carries within it the power to change lives.

Jesus lived His life among the common irritations of us all: dirt, sickness, summer heat, winter cold, etc. He also lived among the more powerful threats of life: thievery, murder, adultery, etc. Before His life ended, He was vilified, rejected, beaten, and stolen from. When He died, He was murdered among thieves in a place known to be a “killing field” for those rejected as imposters and blasphemers. His name was associated with those who were the “problem people” of society; liars, “scam artists”, rebels and the like.

He felt the sting of having His life railroaded by “politics”. He knew the pain of having His mother witness His humiliation. He felt the rejection of having His friends abandon Him at His moment of greatest need. He knew what it was like to pour into people and then see them scatter in their own self-interest. He was stripped naked in front of women and children. He was treated like an animal with no advocate working toward His humane treatment. He had to watch His enemy laugh at His predicament. He lost His position of influence. He was brutalized. He was degraded. He was hurt. He was lied about.

These are the things that bring the story of Holy Week “home”. As we see what He went through, we feel “connected” because we have experienced at least part of what He knew.

I also connect to this story in another way: I have treated others in at least one of the ways in which He was treated. I stand before Him as both victim and oppressor.

What a predicament this puts me in!

I feel both empathy and shame in His presence.

But, the story of Easter is a story of healing for both victim and oppressor. Jesus came to heal the wounds of the victim and to free them in Him. He also came to forgive the oppressor and give Him a new opportunity at life – a life free of guilt and condemnation.

The drama of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is powerful, not because of an actor’s portrayal but because it happened where I live. I know it intimately. It is my life.

This week, we will share this drama with a world that can relate. There is no need to “dramatize” what happened – it is their life. Trust God this week and share His life with everyone who will listen!

Happy Easter everyone!

May the pain of Good Friday and the joy of Resurrection Sunday fill you with peace  in our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Sin Cycles

I deal with a lot of people who have cycles of sin operating in their lives. Many people call these cycles “addictions” because the behavior has become a part of the individual’s life. Both terms fit the set of behaviors I am speaking of. My definition of a sin cycle is:

A recurring behavior that is unhealthy for the individual and/or prohibited by the Word of God.

I have had these cycles operate in my life. Before I was born again, I had several addictions or sin cycles operating in my life concurrently. When I was saved by the power of Jesus Christ, every one of those cycles were broken off of me except one: a sexual addiction. I tried as hard as I could to stop the behavior I was involved in, but to no avail. The cycle brought great shame and depression into my life. If caused me to experience great “ups and downs” in my Christian walk. I loved the Lord with all my heart and His presence in my life and the salvation He had procured for me brought me great joy, but the addiction to the behavior created angst and shame in my life, which carried with it emotional pain.

Nothing was working…..I just couldn’t get free. The cycle continued on and every time I was involved in the behavior, I went through hours and sometimes days of condemnation. 

How could I love the Lord and still be involved in what I was involved in?

This question began to tear me apart.

Finally, I came to the Lord and admitted that I was powerless to change myself. I remember distinctly what happened next.

First, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Son, I know you can’t do this. I have known that all along. That’s why I am here; to break you free from this bondage.” I remember saying, “Lord, what do I do?”

I have to be honest: the next thing He said to me didn’t bless me! He said, “The next time you fall, I want you to get up, dust yourself off and trust my love and forgiveness.”

At that point, I wanted to hear about “The Ten Steps to Supernatural Deliverance”. Or, I wanted Him to “zap” me and tell me I was free forever. I surely didn’t want to hear about the certainty of another fall!!!

I remember saying, “Is that all? What comes next?” I didn’t hear anymore from Him at that time. It didn’t take long for the temptation to come again. The cycle continued as it always did: I was tempted; I fell to temptation and then the condemnation started. But, I remembered the direction the Lord gave me – “get up, dust yourself off and trust my love and forgiveness.” In the midst of the screaming condemnation, I said, “No! I am not hated by God because of my behavior! He loves me and has died to free me! If you have anything more to say about my relationship with Him, I am not listening! You will have to take up that conversation with Him because our conversation is over!”

Something began to happen to me. I began to realize that what I was saying was true – Jesus loved me and WOULD set me free in His time! What I didn’t realize at the time was that God was breaking a huge part of what causes addictive behaviors to continue out of my life. He was breaking self-hatred and shame. I was not in agreement that what I was doing was right but I was acknowledging that I was loved by God, I was saved and therefore, my deliverance was inevitable. 

Soon, God began to show me the lie embedded in my sin cycle.

One of the reasons I kept doing the behavior was because I was getting some type of “perceived” benefit from it. I say “perceived” because there was some enjoyment of the sin, but the behavior was not meeting the underlying need that I had. As a matter of fact, the sin was not only not meeting the underlying need for love and security but was making me feel worse! It attacked the feelings of love I did possess and made me feel more out of control!

I remembered these words from Romans 6:20-21:

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit (benefit) did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.”

God also revealed to me how satan was playing me.

Satan would get on one of my shoulders and tempt me to be involved in the sexual addiction, promising it would help me feel better about myself. After the behavior was over, satan would jump on my other shoulder and tell me how lousy I was; how weak my faith was, and how hopeless my situation was!

This revelation began to develop in me an anger: not at myself but at satan! I hated him for what he was doing to me! I realized that the seconds of relief I was getting from my sin was not worth the hours and sometimes days of condemnation satan threw at me!

The combination of accepting God’s love for me in my imperfect state and the hatred, not of myself but the behavior set off a reaction that set me free! The love of God met the need for love and security that was driving the behavior. The revelation of the game satan was playing brought about a rejection of the lie that the sin was somehow benefiting me. These two revelations caused me to have no more desire or need for the behavior!!

I was free! 

If you are experiencing addictions or are “riding the cycle of sin”, don’t despair: God will deliver you too! Call out to Him and listen to His voice. In His love and direction, you will find freedom for your life!

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Become a son of God. He sets His sons (and daughters!) free!

Explaining the Unexplainable

How big is your God?

We do indeed serve a small God when we can understand and explain everything that He is and does. If your God is as big as you think He is, then there will be things that He does and aspects of His greatness that will be beyond your understanding.

It is natural for us to desire to know more about God and His ways. Once you have tasted God’s goodness and been enthralled by new revelation, you always thirst for more. But, if we serve a God who created all things and knows every secret of the Universe, then it follows that there will be many times that He moves in ways that are mysterious to us.

There are times when things happen that I don’t understand or have any explanation for. As humans, we have this belief that we should be able to adequately explain all that occurs and if we can’t, something is wrong with us or God or life. A world in which everything is totally explainable is a world too small to live in. I realize that mystery creates feelings of vulnerability but it also creates a sense of wonder. Life without a sense of wonder is boring and predictable.

What if God explained everything to you? What if you knew the reason that everything happened? Wouldn’t you soon begin to move to wipe out the uncertainties? Wouldn’t you take steps to ensure that all risk and danger were removed from your life? Soon, we would create a world in which we believed we didn’t need God and would remove every aspect of life that held within it wonder and a sense of awe because wonder and awe rises from that which is without explanation or understanding.

I love it when God shows me things that I didn’t know. But, I also never want to lose that sense of awe that I experience every time I think of Him or consider what He has done.

Are you afraid because of unknowns? Has something happened in your life that you do not understand?

My favorite scripture in dealing with unknowns is found in Romans 8:28:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

When I can’t explain something, I remind myself of the truths of this verse. If I love God and live for His purposes, then I can rest in knowing that everything that happens whether good or bad is working together to bring good into my life!

Trying to explain the unexplainable will leave you with more questions than answers. Are you demanding that life bend itself to your desires and will? This is a recipe for depression, anger, and isolation. Can you survive if you know that even bad things are being turned by God into something which brings about good for you?

The answer is not to make unreasonable demands of life but to give our lives into the sovereign control of Jesus. You can trust His motives. He has proven them on the cross. 

Peace doesn’t come from knowing everything but knowing the important things. Peace is within your grasp today. The Prince of Peace is near. I hear Him knocking…let Him in.