Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? Proverbs 24:11-12 (NIV)
HonorBound Devotional says this about the Proverb above, "Some of our world’s heroes are unsuspecting people. They are not much different from most of us; they just refuse to stand by and let others be humiliated, harmed or persecuted. These heroes will jump into raging waters at the risk of their own life to save someone they do not know. What is in their heart is a quality that will enable them to confront adversity or misfortune. May God give us all the insight to know what is right, and the courage to live by it."
Our world today is ripe with heroes of this 'unsuspecting' type, even in the highly visible professions of a Fire Fighter, Police, Nurse, and Doctor. We look to those visible heroes as if they harbor some secret gene, a gene we wish ourselves to have, that makes them do crazy and impossible things like rescue a family from a structure engulfed in flames and smoke, take a highly dangerous criminal off the public streets, or rescue someone from a deadly accident by their skill and devotion to healing. We do not believe that such heroics lie within our capabilities; we aren't smart enough, strong enough, or brave enough.
So we yearn for what we believe we do not have and never realize the abundance of power, strength, and courage we gain from our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Kinsman Jesus Christ.
"He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though He Himself is surrounded by light." Daniel 2:22 (NLT)
God knows what He has designed and created each of us for; beyond the simplistic purpose of being in relationship with Him. We each have been called; some to ministry, some to business, some to missions, and some to what we believe aren't very 'prosperous' positions....a mother in the home, a brother in a large family, or even a friend to another. Simple seeming 'positions' in life that we miss the vital importance of, the very purposeful need to excel at.
We cheer the heroes of 9-11, as I believe we should; as a nation, as a people, and as individuals. We should cheer those who have stepped into harm's way at the drop of a hat, voluntarily and without hesistation, to go to the aid of a nation so devastated and torn by the eviliness of a religion and a man. As the quote I've placed under the picture to the left from Marian Anderson says, "There are many persons ready to do what is right because in their hearts they know it is right. But they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the first move. ... The minute a person whose word means a great deal dares to take the openhearted and courageous way, many others follow," these are the heroes who have stepped out to honor the word of a nation and its desire for democracy for a people ravaged by dictators and false doctrines.
Those are right and honorable recognitions.
But what about the mothers of this nation; nuturing and providing comfort to those they have been blessed to parent, to love, and to devote their lives to.....the Proverbs 31 woman? What about the fathers, who discipline, train, protect, and provide a foundation of belief to those who they have been called to serve as servants? What about those who have only themselves; the single parent who continues to love, to struggle, to achieve; not only to give their children what they need but to show them, through their life, that there IS a God and He is the Truth?
Heroes.
Who can also be villians, if they follow the wiles of the world and live a life separated from their Creator God.
Last night, at Soul Quest, was the second of seven classes in the teaching of the "Life of Freedom". Although I have some reservations about Henry Wright's theology of 'abundant healing', there are some kernels of Truth that he seems to fall into; like a blind man stumbling in the dark. Last night's class was about God's love, a Abba's love for His children. With the disappointments of the day still weighing heavily on my mind, and knowing that the warriors in my life wouldn't let me escape for too long from being AWOL from attending, I dragged myself into the session.....though I must admit, God's fatherly love felt as comforting as the wind on a cold winter day, more painful than useful. More a burden than a blessing.
Familiar verses of God's love, touching on the depth, width, height, and even length of His loving desires for His created children; Luke 15:1-7, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Matthew 7:21 and more. John 8:38 struck me more than any other, though I had heard it spoken, read it myself, many times. Jesus says, "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father."(NASB)
The Father wound.
We are raising children who reflect who we, as fathers, have done our jobs...either with godly insight or worldly rejection. They speak what we've told them.
Have you told them that they are loved, valued, special, someone to be proud of, and desired???
Or have you told them something more destructive and evil, even if you didn't intend to?
I know about this father wound from my teaching with the Awakened Hearts Ministry's M3 program. If you are in the area of Troy, Michigan; I would highly recommend you come to a meeting (the next is Aug 16th) and explore this valuable garnering of the Scriptures in relation to men. There is a wealth of realization and releasing of the bondage men have placed themselves under since the time of Adam. But, I digress a bit.
One of the teachings of the Wright 'theology' which stumbles into Truth is the importance of a Father; not only to live a Godly design and purposed life, but to represent the Father to his children, to his wife, and to those in his community. Fathers, the earthly ones, have neglected that truth and have wounded their children who wound their children. The epidemic that started towards the end of the World Wars is seemingly suddenly appearing on the societal viewscreens, but this is a generational neglect that has eroded our cultural identity and our families; creating a generation that is incapable of realizing a heavenly Father's love because of the distortions caused by their earthly father's neglect to live GODLY fatherhood.
I volunteered to participate in an exercise last night, seemingly simple in its steps but powerful in its impact. I stood in front of a dear sister in Christ, M....., who had never heard her father say he was proud of her, loved her, or cherished her. It was a definate God-moment, as her name was the name of my mother (the one who raised me). Standing in her earthly father's stead, I expressed to her the things he had failed to say; either due to his own wounding or misunderstanding of what impact he had upon this dear soul. It was a powerful moment, and deeply affected all those who participated or sat silently in their seats.
My new sister in Christ, Holly, came up too and I was honored to step into that role that has been so abused in her life. To tell her how valuable she was, how loved she was, how special she was....things she should have heard in the days of her growing up....the younger years.....
Two women, two different lives, and at two different spots in their christian walk......
Wounded by the cupability of their fathers in surrendering their God-instilled purpose to cherish, love, and express pride in the precious life of their daughters and their sons, creating a generational disconnect with God's design.
And the world is reeling now from that neglect and disconnection. In a society that values what you have, how much of it you collect, and the 'boys and their toys' mentality, this is the pinpoint cause of the failing morality of America and its youth. This is why children, for too long told that they are lucky to have been given birth, are carrying guns to school. This is why, shown that they aren't uniquely created and preciously valued, that the society is into 'free-love' that isn't free and babies are being born to babies.......this is why; men since the time of Adam have given away their God-purposed design to protect and defend beauty and order......that beauty and order that is manifested in their daughters. They have neglected to raise their sons to take their role in society as future warriors to protect and defend.
Pastor Henry Varley once say that, "The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him."
Last night was a turning point for two women. And I was honored to be able to be a part of that realization that God's perfect love is something each man is called to show; reflecting his Heavenly Father in the raising of His children, gifted to us men for such a short time. To rescue from a life distorted and to open their eyes to a Father's true love. Deep, abiding, and unconditional.
"As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain." 2 Corinthians 6:1
Instead, let us take heart to the promise given and reach out to those who have a wound that has festered within for too long and grown so deep. Let us realize that Heavenly Father's heart of love, grace, and mercy and extend it into the lives of our children, our wives, and our society.
Let us stand as men and reclaim the honor, glory, and purpose to which we were designed.......reflections of a true father's heart to the generations to come.
Ms Baker remarks in the AllAboutGod.com devotional today, ".....As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonment's and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
Fathers, your children need you to be a reflection of God's fathership.
TIME TO MAN UP.
Time to stand firm and reclaim those lost daughters' and sons' hearts.
Thursday, July 24
Tuesday, July 22
My "Life Abundant"
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose You and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my Name. This is My command: Love each other. John 15:15-17
I woke up in a all-too familiar state of mind; the peace of God far from my heart. If not far, then the drone of the world drowning it out to where it wasn't evident. I've been truly burdened with all of the things going on in my life; the kids, the church, the call, the 'image' that people have of me with the divorce situation and the financial situation that is so grim that the Grim Reaper has taken a holiday.
'Feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders', as the saying goes.
A few days ago, coming back from the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, my friend thanked me for driving her out there and waiting for her MRI procedure to be done. It was late at night, which I guess is typical for the UofM hospital, when we were heading back from Ann Arbor.
I love going to the campus, though I was no where near the Big House this time around. Any Wolverine fan will swear by the mythical draw of the Big House, where the battle between the Wolverines and their opponents take on epic portions on Saturdays during football season.
But I digress.
I feel embarrassed when people do that, thank me for something that is really nothing (at least to me). I would give the shirt off my back if it would help someone else, I truly don't need the shirt that badly for me to deny it to someone's need.
A wise person once said, "I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a ... feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them."
I expressed it to her this way, "God requires it of me, to serve those I love and care for regardless of their status or position in my life. If someone I didn't know all that well called me and said they were broke down in Detroit and needed help, I would come. To serve is what I've been called to do."
The other night, a new friend of mine spoke of her fears of dating, because of radical changes in her physical appearance and the 'side-effects' of the surgeries. I spent some time online with her, she lives in an East-side state, talking about it with her. She expressed being hurt before and how she'd like to avoid that if at all possible. The gentleman who had asked her 'out' is a proclaiming Christian. She feared rejection, and worried that she'd never find that 'godly man' that God has provided for her. She asked me if I believed in "Mr. Right" or "Mrs. Right".
Four hours later, her outlook very much changed and a peace about the pending future as far as a date with this gentleman, I logged off from the internet and crawled to bed.
She said that I was born to minister and she could see that God had indeed called me to ministry. She was appreciative and thankful for the few words I said, the few points I made that contrasted the secular view with God's view on the subjects she sought understanding of.
Not to diminish the recognition of the act of providing my rather 'exceptional' driving skills (just kidding) and companionship to someone who asked for it or even my rather 'brilliant' counseling ability (again, they aren't so wonderful), I find myself wondering why people say nice things to me about anything I've done, for it was something, to me, that I could give. Nothing really newsworthy, just small (to me) things that ease their journey in this world.
I cannot be who I am without God, I cannot be who I want to be without Christ, and I cannot live without doing what the Spirit prompts me to do.
In my pursuit of God, I find myself trying to be more and more like His Son, who set the example for us all.
In the study that I am attending at my church, the verse where Jesus spoke of coming to bring life--- not just life, but abundant life (or life in abundance, depending on the translation) is referenced to support the theory that God's will is to heal us, or in other 'prosperity' gospels of the Osteens, Meyers, and Copelands of the movement to give us wealth.
I have oft thought of that; what is abundant life?
If it is what the Copelands and the Wrights of this world say it is, then there is something wrong either with the God I serve or myself. I have neither wealth nor health in abundance.
I have my obvious financial problems and struggles; neither do I have a totally healthy constitution.
Christ Himself had no place in which to rest His head and told the rich man to give away all of His wealth to follow Christ. Christ suffered stress, evidenced by Luke's account of sweating blood in the Garden prior to His arrest, and knew of temptation's touch, though He Himself never sinned.
Paul spoke of the trials and tribulations that he faced in his service to God and how he considered anything gained loss for the cause of the Gospel. He walked away from fame and position to serve humbly his Lord and Savior.
Somehow I don't think that Paul would consider his life anything but abundant. But it doesn't fit the 'prosperity' formula. Paul worked his trade as a tent maker to support himself and the ministry to which he provided the churches planted during his journeys.
William Wilberforce, the subject of the movie Amazing Grace. Somehow, in the heaviness of his sickness, I don't think he ever considered his life unfulfilled, unpurposed, or anything less than abundant.
I look at my life; ripe with financial woes, professional roadblocks, and man-made denials and find it lacking so much in terms of what the 'prosperity' gospel would have me name and claim. One would point to my life and say that I am failing to grasp the blessings upon which the Lord has an overwhelming desire to confer upon me.
When I look to that definition of an abundant life; I am failing miserably to meet such high and lofty goals.
What if, this abundant life that Christ came to give us is nothing more than living life in the struggles; peace, contentment, and joy within the rage of the storm tossed seas and ice-cold waves that crash over the bow of our vessel as we head dead on into the wind. What if our cry isn't of despair but "Damn the torpedoes! Full Steam Ahead!"? What if this abundant life we are conferred upon by the blessings of Christ and our Heavenly Father....what if it is living the purpose to which God set aside for us, individually, before we were even born?
What if this abundant life is feeling the presence of God each and every day of our life; His touch, His voice, His love, and His grace? Would the enticements of this world matter all that much in light of those blessings? Would even the ravaging of cancer bear strength against such things? To me, the hope that's given that I will never EVER be alone regardless of how many times I fail to win the fight against the sinful flesh or fail to hear my Savior's voice within my ears is more precious than the gold within the walls of Fort Knox or the accolades of my peers.
My abundant life lies within the abilities and opportunities that God blesses me with day in and day out; to be a servant to those who cross my path and be an example to those I hold near and dear to my heart. It is the peace that defies the storm, the mercy that confounds reason, and the blood of my Savior shed for the payment of my sins upon a cross of wood so many years ago.
It is the opportunity to honor that memory with the communion, to remember the sacrifice given for a sinner undeserving, so that I might have abundant life…..fully. It is why I bring the wafer to my mouth; to remember the body broken for me, and the little cup of grape juice to my lips to swallow; to remember the blood shed so I could be heir to a life abundant.
And when my life on this earth is finished, either before the coming of my King or after, I will know if I have lived my life abundantly in the eyes of my Lord and Savior if I hear those sweet and precious words come from His lips as I stand before the throne, my works and deed upon the foundation of Christ set fire to by righteous flame……
"Well done, good and faithful servant……….You have loved and loved well, my friend!"
I woke up in a all-too familiar state of mind; the peace of God far from my heart. If not far, then the drone of the world drowning it out to where it wasn't evident. I've been truly burdened with all of the things going on in my life; the kids, the church, the call, the 'image' that people have of me with the divorce situation and the financial situation that is so grim that the Grim Reaper has taken a holiday.
'Feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders', as the saying goes.
A few days ago, coming back from the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, my friend thanked me for driving her out there and waiting for her MRI procedure to be done. It was late at night, which I guess is typical for the UofM hospital, when we were heading back from Ann Arbor.
I love going to the campus, though I was no where near the Big House this time around. Any Wolverine fan will swear by the mythical draw of the Big House, where the battle between the Wolverines and their opponents take on epic portions on Saturdays during football season.
But I digress.
I feel embarrassed when people do that, thank me for something that is really nothing (at least to me). I would give the shirt off my back if it would help someone else, I truly don't need the shirt that badly for me to deny it to someone's need.
A wise person once said, "I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a ... feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them."
I expressed it to her this way, "God requires it of me, to serve those I love and care for regardless of their status or position in my life. If someone I didn't know all that well called me and said they were broke down in Detroit and needed help, I would come. To serve is what I've been called to do."
The other night, a new friend of mine spoke of her fears of dating, because of radical changes in her physical appearance and the 'side-effects' of the surgeries. I spent some time online with her, she lives in an East-side state, talking about it with her. She expressed being hurt before and how she'd like to avoid that if at all possible. The gentleman who had asked her 'out' is a proclaiming Christian. She feared rejection, and worried that she'd never find that 'godly man' that God has provided for her. She asked me if I believed in "Mr. Right" or "Mrs. Right".
Four hours later, her outlook very much changed and a peace about the pending future as far as a date with this gentleman, I logged off from the internet and crawled to bed.
She said that I was born to minister and she could see that God had indeed called me to ministry. She was appreciative and thankful for the few words I said, the few points I made that contrasted the secular view with God's view on the subjects she sought understanding of.
Not to diminish the recognition of the act of providing my rather 'exceptional' driving skills (just kidding) and companionship to someone who asked for it or even my rather 'brilliant' counseling ability (again, they aren't so wonderful), I find myself wondering why people say nice things to me about anything I've done, for it was something, to me, that I could give. Nothing really newsworthy, just small (to me) things that ease their journey in this world.
I cannot be who I am without God, I cannot be who I want to be without Christ, and I cannot live without doing what the Spirit prompts me to do.
In my pursuit of God, I find myself trying to be more and more like His Son, who set the example for us all.
In the study that I am attending at my church, the verse where Jesus spoke of coming to bring life--- not just life, but abundant life (or life in abundance, depending on the translation) is referenced to support the theory that God's will is to heal us, or in other 'prosperity' gospels of the Osteens, Meyers, and Copelands of the movement to give us wealth.
I have oft thought of that; what is abundant life?
If it is what the Copelands and the Wrights of this world say it is, then there is something wrong either with the God I serve or myself. I have neither wealth nor health in abundance.
I have my obvious financial problems and struggles; neither do I have a totally healthy constitution.
Christ Himself had no place in which to rest His head and told the rich man to give away all of His wealth to follow Christ. Christ suffered stress, evidenced by Luke's account of sweating blood in the Garden prior to His arrest, and knew of temptation's touch, though He Himself never sinned.
Paul spoke of the trials and tribulations that he faced in his service to God and how he considered anything gained loss for the cause of the Gospel. He walked away from fame and position to serve humbly his Lord and Savior.
Somehow I don't think that Paul would consider his life anything but abundant. But it doesn't fit the 'prosperity' formula. Paul worked his trade as a tent maker to support himself and the ministry to which he provided the churches planted during his journeys.
William Wilberforce, the subject of the movie Amazing Grace. Somehow, in the heaviness of his sickness, I don't think he ever considered his life unfulfilled, unpurposed, or anything less than abundant.
I look at my life; ripe with financial woes, professional roadblocks, and man-made denials and find it lacking so much in terms of what the 'prosperity' gospel would have me name and claim. One would point to my life and say that I am failing to grasp the blessings upon which the Lord has an overwhelming desire to confer upon me.
When I look to that definition of an abundant life; I am failing miserably to meet such high and lofty goals.
What if, this abundant life that Christ came to give us is nothing more than living life in the struggles; peace, contentment, and joy within the rage of the storm tossed seas and ice-cold waves that crash over the bow of our vessel as we head dead on into the wind. What if our cry isn't of despair but "Damn the torpedoes! Full Steam Ahead!"? What if this abundant life we are conferred upon by the blessings of Christ and our Heavenly Father....what if it is living the purpose to which God set aside for us, individually, before we were even born?
What if this abundant life is feeling the presence of God each and every day of our life; His touch, His voice, His love, and His grace? Would the enticements of this world matter all that much in light of those blessings? Would even the ravaging of cancer bear strength against such things? To me, the hope that's given that I will never EVER be alone regardless of how many times I fail to win the fight against the sinful flesh or fail to hear my Savior's voice within my ears is more precious than the gold within the walls of Fort Knox or the accolades of my peers.
My abundant life lies within the abilities and opportunities that God blesses me with day in and day out; to be a servant to those who cross my path and be an example to those I hold near and dear to my heart. It is the peace that defies the storm, the mercy that confounds reason, and the blood of my Savior shed for the payment of my sins upon a cross of wood so many years ago.
It is the opportunity to honor that memory with the communion, to remember the sacrifice given for a sinner undeserving, so that I might have abundant life…..fully. It is why I bring the wafer to my mouth; to remember the body broken for me, and the little cup of grape juice to my lips to swallow; to remember the blood shed so I could be heir to a life abundant.
And when my life on this earth is finished, either before the coming of my King or after, I will know if I have lived my life abundantly in the eyes of my Lord and Savior if I hear those sweet and precious words come from His lips as I stand before the throne, my works and deed upon the foundation of Christ set fire to by righteous flame……
"Well done, good and faithful servant……….You have loved and loved well, my friend!"
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