The Fear Of Man

Let's just jump right in. If you long to walk with the Spirit of God the way I do you must put people, along with their opinions and expectations of you, in their proper place.

Being overly concerned (read obsessed) about what others think of you is a hindrance in cultivating intimacy with the Holy Ghost.

Even as a child I ran myself ragged trying to make everyone happy. As a young adult I was a chameleon. I did all I could to be like everyone in order to be liked.

I brought this into my walk with God. Wanting to be accepted I frantically tried to please everyone. If I at all sensed someone was displeased with me I lost sleep and did all I could to regain their approval.

Ridiculous! If Jesus Himself cannot please everyone then why would I think I can?

The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This cannot be done when the fear of man moves us to please people instead of God.

Approval seekers cannot follow or obey God unless they feel everyone approves of them, their decisions, their words, or their actions. Therefore deliverance in this area is imperative.

In attempting to be delivered of approval seeking I have seen people go the opposite way. Instead of seeking to please others they live to please themselves alone. People like this love the scripture that says we ought to obey God rather than men Acts 5:29. They adopt the stance that no longer are they subject to the authority of others and cast off restraint. This is rebellion and foolishness. My Granny would have said they are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

God's word is clear concerning to our submission to spiritual and natural authority. A good disciple, wife, child, or servant certainly should seek to please the one in authority over them. In doing so they please God as all authority comes from Him.

Selfishness is also not deliverance. After loving God the second commandment is that we must love our brother as ourselves. In Philippians we are exhorted to not only look out for our own welfare but also for the welfare of others. Serving, loving, helping, and sharing with one another is not approval seeking. It is Christianity in the practical.

When I speak of deliverance from approval seeking, people pleasing, and the fear of man I am really talking about freedom from SELF. SELF is always self-analyzing, naval gazing, and preoccupied with appearance. Bookstores, even Christian ones are filled with self-help, self-actualizing, and self-fulfillment books.

SELF is the biggest idol there ever was. Destroy SELF and you destroy the power of the fear of man.

When my mind is on God and not SELF I can acknowledge my sins, faults, and frailties without falling apart. I can repent without walking in condemnation. I can take correction without rebellion rising up. I can be rebuked and still not be defeated. Why? Because my faults are my faults. They are not me. If I love God I want Him to correct my faults because I want to be like Him. If I love people I want my faults to be corrected because I don't want to hurt anyone.

When my mind is on God and not SELF I can be judged, disapproved of, criticized, and falsely accused because I know what He thinks of me...and that's all that really matters. He is the only one I'll have to stand before on that great day.

When my mind is on God and not SELF everyone inthe world can hate me and I can still love them all. How do I know? Because Jesus did it first.

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like. Jn 2:23-25 NLT

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Is 53:3 NKJ

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. Is 53:7 NKJ

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Lk 23:34 NKJ

From Glory To Glory?

There are times as I sit in service and hear the people shout and clap, that I think to myself,

 

They hear but they do not hear.

 

Most of God's people must not pray or really read His Word. I laugh when I hear people shouting whenever some one preaches about going from glory to glory. They either don't know, or forget, that suffering and death precede glory. So yes, the victorious will indeed go from glory to glory but they're going to endure alot of pain on the trip.

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket. I love the exuberance and the prophetic words and the call to go higher. I just think that the majority of God's people are like the Jews on Palm Sunday. They love the triumphant march, the songs, and the atmosphere but they really don't know, or understand the mission of Jesus Christ.

 

He was born to die that others might live.

 

He expects us to do the same.

 

When Jesus told us to come and follow Him He didn't mean for us to simply accompany Him on His journey as a spectator, but to be as He is. He said if we would not be willing to lay down our lives and pick up the cross we couldn't be His disciples. If we would not allow ourselves to be nailed to that proverbial cross, endure it's shame and pain, and finally die on it...

 

DAILY

 

 ...we could not be called His children.

 

Satan's doctrine is spreading through out the church. It says you can be a Christian without being a disciple of Christ. It lulls those that call themselves by His name into false hope and security by promising painless salvation. It declares that the cross is only for the really dedicated and hyper-spiritual. It soothes the flesh that only special Christians are called to that kind of life, but it's not for everyone.

 

You don't have to be that radical to be saved, you're not Jesus you know.

 

This is the lie that keeps God's people running after the comfort of this world...running from the suffering of this present life.  Running to false doctrine, denial of Christ's mission, rebellion, and ultimately into eternal suffering and torment in hell.

Please understand, having your lights turned off because you spent your electric bill money foolishly is not suffering, neither is enduring the shame of pregnancy apart from wedlock. The hardship we endure from bad decisions, or sin, is simply reaping the consequences of what we've sown.

True suffering is the loss, persecution, or trials one experiences from being obedient to God. Biblical suffering often causes those we love to suffer as well, through no fault of their own. Suffering comes to all who will live Godly...to all who refuse to compromise their faith for the sake of comfort or popularity.

The servant will never be greater than the Master. Jesus set the example. We are to walk in His footprints and drink from the same cup.

 

Suffering is not a part of the Christian life, it is the Christian life.

It's the Jesus life.

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

Phil 3:10 The Message

Prayer...Just Do It!

I  love prayer and the Word of God!

Oh, there are times when I'd rather do something else. There are times when prayer or reading my Bible seems as interesting as taking out the trash. I have found, however, if I just wait on God or press in a little more, read a few more verses, He always makes His presence known somehow.

When I first gave my life to Christ in 1995 prayer was better than television. I loved singing to Jesus and telling Him how awesome He was.

Within about six months my hunger for prayer began to wane. My prayer life was erratic and I had lost the fire of just wanting to be with my God.

I had been saved 14 months when I realized connecting to God in prayer was the most important thing in the world.

Shawn and I had been married less than a year and fights were almost a daily occurrence. It was my first day home with our new baby Shannon. In pain from the recent c-section I had a very short temper. I had probably not prayed the whole time I was hospitalized.

I don't remember what started the fight but the argument took place in the bedroom with our 3 day old baby asleep on our bed. The fight escalated until I finally slapped my husband who pushed me down on the bed. As we struggled furiously I suddenly realized we were on top of our new daughter. I suddenly sobered and with voice shaking said, "Shawn, we're on the baby."

He quickly stood up and I took the baby in my arms who, fortunately, was not harmed.

It was that day that I vowed to never be prayerless again. (It was that resolve to pray, and Shawn's decision to be a man of prayer that helped save our marriage.)

Without God I am capable of very ugly things. Without prayer we are all capable of very ugly things. It's remembering the story of how Israel was reduced to eating their own children during a famine that reminds me of the importance of prayer and keeping His Word.

It's in prayer that God convicts me of anger and impatience. Through prayer and His Word He slaps my behind and forces me out of my pity parties. He does it so gently, so lovingly, yet I'm reduced to tears because it is His goodness that drives me to repentance.

In prayer the real me is revealed. Yet God is not ashamed. He is not impatient but He is firm. Change is not an option yet God doesn't force it over night. He works with those who stay in His hand.

Just when I think I'm finally a spiritual woman He exposes yet another flaw and continues the good work He began in me. He began it and He will finish it. It is not our job, to change ourselves. If we were capable of that we would have done it a long time ago. We would have no need of the Holy Spirit or the blood of Jesus.

What is our part then? Our part is to draw near in prayer and behold our Creator...and keep beholding. As we remain in the light of His glory it is impossible not to change. Our part is to discover the purpose and desire of God through His Word, to come in agreement with Him, and with a contrite heart appeal to Him that He never leave us to ourselves. This is how we work out our salvation day by day.

I love prayer because God is faithful whether I feel Him or not.

As I cling to Him He reminds me how proud He is of me just because I am His. Yet I realize He is also Holy. I realize He is not my BFF (best friend forever) or my home-boy. He is GOD and He is to be reverenced. The same God that is proud of me today is capable of casting this soul into hell if I forsake my relationship with Him. He loves me. He still loves every soul that is in hell at this moment.

Yet I do not pray out of fear of hell but rather out of fear that I'll be separated from Him forever.

Imagine...an eternity of suffering in hell without even one glimpse of His precious face.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV

I'm in the midst of transition. I personally love and despise (mostly despise) change.

I enjoy day dreaming about 'what will be' concerning the promises God has given me, but I personally wish God would let me write the script concerning how it will be done.

We were having a ladies meeting some years back and as we were worshipping God in song I was thinking some very judgemental thoughts about one of the ladies. In exasperation over my critical spirit I thought, Lord, can't I just go to a mountain somewhere and be alone with you? Right after that our Pastor's wife began to sing these words in the prophetic,

Who will go to the mountain of the Lord, who will go to the mountain of the Lord, who will go to the mountain of the Lord....I will!

Suffice it to say the next day I began a 40 day trek to the mountain of God. The Lord nudged me to begin to read Exodus and I was delighted to find there are exactly 40 chapters in that book...One for each day of my trip. Of course I was not making a physical journey to Horeb but each day that went by I learned  more about myself and about God. Though I hadn't left home it felt as if I was on a sabbatical.

One of the things I realized as I read Exodus is how much we are inclined to resist God.

The Israelites cried out for deliverance from slavery but when the answer (change) came they resisted.

I imagine when they were praying for freedom they never imagined God would lead them out of Egypt on foot into the desert. They probably imagined some great warrior would rise up, storm Pharaoh's palace, there would be a mighty slaughter, and the Hebrews would rule Egypt. They would stay in that familiar place...maybe upgrade their houses but, except for the slavery part, life would go on as usual.

I have some opinions about how I think God should do things, but I never realized until now how much I cling to those opinions.

God wants to bless His church. He's been trying to get us on the move to the promised land and we've sat down in the sand like  mules (read jack a_ _?) and have refused to budge because the way He's doing it doesn't line up with the way we'd like to see it done.

This can't be God it's too different...no one else is doing it like that...what will people think?

God specializes in the unexpected which is hard for a control freak like me. I hate surprises. I want to know what's going on, make the decisions, give the orders.

 I WANT TO BE

...god.


I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Is 43:17-19 (The Message)

Scars

I have skin that scars very easily. As a child I would rarely wear shorts because my shins were so banged up. One morning as I was praying I glance down and the scars on my arms seemed to stand out in stark relief. The next few minutes of prayer went something like this,

God my arms are so ugly can't I just go dip in the Jordan River like Naaman and come out with skin soft, beautiful, and young? (2 Kings 5)

Daughter I love your scars.

 

What? What do you mean?

 

Well like that scar on your left forearm....

 

The big one I got from jumping a hurdle that was too high for me when I ran track in high school?

 

Yes! What I love about it is you didn't think you could do it, but when your coach told you to take that event you tried with all your might.

 

But I wiped out God...flat on my face.

 

But you didn't quit. That scar is a permanent reminder that you're no quitter. It speaks of who you are.

 

But my scars are so ugly God and permanent.

 

So are the scars in the hands and feet of my Son.

 

Every scar has a story to tell. Every scar speaks of a persons life; where they have been, what they spent their time doing, what they loved most. There are scars that carry shame and there are the scars of great warriors.

 

There are even those who carry no scars because they would never take a risk in life.

 

Obeying God involves risk. Those who say it does not perhaps have never had God challenge them to give up something they love. To do something they fear the most. Whether one risks their reputation, finances, or relationships, doing the will of God has a price. It's going to hurt one way or another. In the end there will be a wound that with time will become a scar.

 

A scar that tells the story of what it costs to obey God.

 

The rich young ruler should have had a scar. Jesus told him to sell all he had and follow Him. (Mk 10:17-23) With shaking hands, a lump in his throat, and the knowledge that everyone would think he was a lunatic, he should have obeyed the Master. Years down the road as he was preaching the Gospel and healing the sick perhaps a memory would surface of the comfort he gave up to follow Jesus. But as he saw people coming to the Kingdom of God, being set free from sin, he would smile and think,

 

It was worth it.

 

The ache of sacrifice now gone and the wound just a painless reflection of the cost of following Christ.

He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum.But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. Is 53:2-6 The Message

The House Of Kindness

There is a story in the New Testament that has always weighed on my mind in that I've never fully been at peace with the way some interpret it..

The story is found in John 5:1-9 and tells how there was a pool called Bethesda where miracles happened. At certain seasons an angel would stir the waters and whoever got into the water first was healed of whatever sickness they had.

Jesus comes on the scene and taking note of a man who had been lying by that pool for 38 years, He asked him,

"Would you like to get well?"

The man responds by saying that he could not get well because every time the waters were stirred someone would get in the water before he could. He had no one who would help Him.

I've heard this invalid described as an excuse maker, an apathetic man who was wallowing in self pity. I heard it said that if this man really wanted to be healed he would have found a way to get in that pool, therefore if you and I are not healed, delivered, or still struggling in some

area it's because we just don't want the victory bad enough.

I do believe that we are responsible to do our part when it comes to receiving things from the Lord. But, I also know that sometimes people suffer from conditions (Physically, mentally, spiritually) that they can do absolutely nothing about. They are not making excuses they just do not see a way out of their suffering. It is in these cases that God expects us to help one another.

It is amusing that the pool was called Bethesda which in the Hebrew means house of kindness.

Imagine this.

The pool is packed with the sick and infirm waiting for the angel to stir the water. They are as close to the pool as they can get. Day after day passes and everyone is afraid to sleep or take their eyes off the water for even a second. Everyone is on edge and no one is thinking about their neighbor. All they want is to be the first one in the water so they can be free from misery. Finally the waters begin to stir and the people are anything but kind. The sick are trampling on one another. Fists flail as each one desperately attempts to be the first to step in.

Finally a shout of triumph!

A young man with kidney stones had pushed down an elderly woman with cancer and stepped in the water first. Glorifying God he went home healed with out a second thought about those still sick. The crowd went back, each one to their place, some weeping, others grumbling, all dejected.

Then Jesus comes and His attention is immediately fixed on the one who had been there 38 years and his complaint was so genuine Jesus did not dispute it. There was no one who would help. So Jesus spoke and the man was healed.

I have several thoughts on the matter and even as I write I pray God convict me daily to put my needs on the back burner when I have an opportunity to show a kindness.

1) We are our brother's keeper. We have a responsibility to be the solution to another's problem. I imagine Jesus was angry at the selfishness of His people as they lay by that pool. He still gets angry. We get so wrapped up in ourselves, our trials, that we forget to have compassion for one another. When we get our breakthrough we praise God with our mouth but forget that our brother is still suffering.

I wonder what would have happened if someone had determined that the next time the pool stirred they would grab their brother and jump in together. Maybe God would have been so pleased that in His mercy they both would have been healed. Maybe a revival would have started and everyone who jumped in would have gotten healed.

Don't forget the four friends that tore up the roof of a house to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus healed that man and said it was because of the faith of his friends. Mark 2:1-5

2) Jesus healed the man by the pool and it was the sabbath. Jesus knew by healing this man on the sabbath He was asking for persecution as it was considered unlawful to heal on the sabbath.

It will cost us to extend help to someone else. We will suffer the little...maybe giving up our eating out money to give another family groceries. We will suffer greatly...as do those who bring the Gospel of Salvation to countries where Christians are persecuted to the death. Yet those who are willing to lay down their life to bless someone else are called the friends of Jesus.

3) Finally, and my sincere apologies if this sounds cynical but, in the end, we can really only depend on Jesus.

 For 38 years no one would help this man and I imagine he must have reached out for help. He must have begged for help only to have people turn a deaf ear. For 38 years people had an opportunity to show kindness in the house of kindness and no one did. The man waited because he had no choice, but finally God showed up.

The proper response to this is to keep your heart soft and do not get bitter. Selfishness is human nature even in the most spiritual man or woman of God. The best of us have to fight off self more than the devil...how much more those in the church who do not seek God and His ways.

Just remember while you wait for God, though you may have been forsaken do not forsake others. When God shows up pay it forward.

We can all do something to help one another. We can even help those who make foolish decisions. Do not flippantly shrug your shoulders when, because of their rebelliousness or stubbornness, people suffer. Prayer and compassion is always needful, especially for the fool.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Phil 2:3-4

From The Cross To Glory

A Sunday, some years ago, I was fasting. As I was listening to the sermon that morning I heard God say, 

 "Pray for My body."

So I continued the fast and each day focused my prayer on whatever the Holy Spirit led me to pray for His body. Among other things I prayed for the fear of the Lord, finances, missionaries, pastors, laborers for the harvest and workers to rise up.

One day I specifically prayed that God would heal His body. I felt such a certainty that the body of Christ was so sick and the sickness was like a cancer that was rapidly spreading.

On the last day of the fast  I woke up and before I had even opened my eyes, I had a song on my heart about the Cross. As I fully awakened I had a vision of Jesus. He was holding a cup in His hand and He said,

"The reason so many are falling away is because they refuse to embrace the Cross. The end is closer than ever before. For those who embrace the Cross the end is glorious."

He looked at me and held out the cup. "Will you drink from My cup?"

I hesitated because I knew it was the cup of suffering. I told Him I didn't want to drink from that cup and I needed His grace to help me to do so.

He said, "Embrace the cross, the end is glorious."

I took the cup and drank from it. It was so bitter and it made my stomach hurt. As I drank I saw so many things it was almost a blur and I couldn't see it all. I saw wars, strife, people suffering, others carrying or being nailed to their own crosses. Then all was silent and I was dressed as He was. My robe was so beautiful and everything was bright and white. Then I heard the worship of so many saints, all united in our praise of the Lamb. Finally My head was laid in His lap as He sat on His throne.

This vision could have lasted longer than a minute but for me the message was clear. In order for me to be with Jesus forever I must take up my cross, but in my flesh this is impossible. It is only through the strength of God that I can allow my flesh to suffer the agonizingly slow death of the cross.

When we think of suffering we often think of those who suffer unto blood shed. However in this country very few experience the pain of being martyred. At least for now. Our crosses tend more towards our dealings with people or circumstances. For instance when we encounter an offense the temptation is to respond in some carnal way, yet the Word of God says to forgive. To obey that Word I have to nail my fleshly desire for revenge firmly to the cross and graciously extend the hand of peace.

Crosses are not easy. No one wants to drink from the cup of suffering and humiliation. Yet Jesus gave the answer. In Luke 22:42-43 we find Jesus asking His Father to take away this same cup. Jesus was not spared but His Father sent an angel to strengthen Him.

The end truly is near folks and many are forsaking the Word of God to live their own version of Christianity where suffering and humiliation don't exist. Many are already deceived into thinking that they are still right with God despite the fact that they refuse to obey His Word.

Nothing in me wants to suffer. Yet God demands it because this flesh must die. So my part in the matter is to find my own Garden of Gethsemane and cry out to God for the grace to take up my cross, that I too may follow after Christ.

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Heb 12:3