Prayer-Worrier or Prayer-Warrior?

I was on my way home from a frustrating rehearsal one night, and I called Paul to talk with him as I made the drive.  As soon as he answered I immediately unleashed my tirade of who said this and who did that and why this is all a bunch of malarkey.  About 15 minutes in I suddenly became aware that this was the first time I had spoken to my husband that entire day, and I hadn’t even said “hello”.    I stopped myself, apologized, said “Hi honey.  I love you most,” and reset the tone of our conversation.    Instead of anxiety and anger ruling the conversation, I was able to share my frustrations in a calm manner and receive his comfort, insight and wisdom in return.

It got me thinking about how I often pray.   Somewhere along the line I picked up that prayer was simply asking God for different things.   Prayer meetings always meant kneeling for an hour at a pew and running down your checklist:  Lord, please bless the pastors; Lord, please help the missionaries; Lord, please be sure our unbelieving friends and family get saved before they die; Lord, please help dad get a good job; Lord, please heal my cat; CRAP, it’s only been 10 minutes, better go through the list again; Lord, please bless that pastors; and so on and so on and so on.  

Outside of prayer meetings, prayer was a crisis hotline.   Whenever anything went wrong I would frantically cry out to God to intervene, and then I would wring my hands worrying until an answer came.   Sometimes it took a while for the answer to come, so I would cry out again and again until I was sure He heard me and the situation was resolved.

It’s no wonder that when someone who was praying for me said that I had the gift of intercession I asked if I could exchange it for something that I would actually use.  I had been convinced that prayer was good for “intercessors”, but for those of us who weren’t “gifted” it was more of a request line to Jesus.   I always believed that there were people whose prayers were “always” answered, and I was not one of those people.  Therefore, praying could not be my gift. 

Then I met some really cool people who loved to pray and they were always happy while doing it.   This was completely foreign to me, so I had to learn more.   These men and women taught me that prayer is simply asking for God’s perspective and then setting my agreement with Him.   This is based on “The Lord’s Prayer”, found in Matt 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, where Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”     Since we have been raised with Christ, and are seated with Him in heavenly places, we can get His perspective, His will, His plans rather than getting lost in the storm of the current situations (Col 3:1-3). 

 

It’s a little like flying in a thunderstorm.   There is always a little turbulence as you take off through the rain, and the plane shakes as you ascend, but when you reach cruising altitude, it’s bright, sunny, and completely calm.   My first experience with this made me very anxious, grasping the armrests until my knuckles were white.   The man next to me just laughed and told me it would be alright when we got above the clouds.    It was more than “alright” when we got above the clouds, it was beautiful!  There is something spectacular about seeing the red and orange hues of the sun shine bright about the fluffy clouds that are as white as snow, a stark contrast to the foreboding charcoal color of the clouds below.   And there is peace. 

How does this relate to prayer?   James gives us some insight in chapter 4, verse 3 when he says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives…” 

When we stay in the storm, our tendency is to pray about how the storm is making us feel.  For example, when I am in the midst of a hard day at work, I might pray that God will give me a new boss or open the door for me to leave or remove the pain in my &%*(# that has been driving me nuts for the last month.   All the while, I will remain in a state of agitation, frustration, discouragement and all around bleh.   Often these circumstances and resulting emotions cause us to question the goodness and kindness of God.  We hear that little voice whispering in our ears, “If God really loved you, you wouldn’t be stuck in this job you hate,” or worse, “It will never get better than this, so you’d better just learn to live with it,” and we are soaked to the skin by the lying rain of the enemy.   

But (isn’t that a great word? It means there is good news around the corner), then came Jesus!   With His death and resurrection, we are now hidden with Him, seated in heavenly places.   We get to come to Him in all the craziness and emotion of life, lay it out before Him, and talk to Him about what He’s doing. Often He uses the very storm that we’re in to call us higher so that He can reveal a part of Himself we’ve never seen before.    He is good, and His plans are always good.  He is perfect love, and His ways are always bigger than we can fully understand.   He is sovereign, and nothing takes Him by surprise.   Think about that for a minute…NOTHING takes Him by surprise.   He knows every minute of every day, and He has a strategy for expanding His kingdom through every circumstance, and we get to be a part of it!

The Word tells us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT).   Righteousness is “right-standing with God”.  Since God is heavenly places, doesn’t it make sense that “right-standing” with Him would mean standing with Him in heavenly places?   Since we are hidden with Christ in God, and we are seated with Him in heavenly places, we have been made righteous, which means prayer is for all of us, not just for the “gifted”!  

Storms will always happen, that’s just part of life, but we have the choice of perspective.   We can stay on the ground worrying about the storm soaked by the rain, or we can make the choice to put up with the turbulence of our emotions rising above the storm and cruising in His peace and in His power.  When you choose to trust Him, you get to fly with Him, and He is a master pilot, and HE ALWAYS brings us to a new place in Him!   

The Father offers each one of us an invitation to embark on a new journey of discovery, excitement, and relationship with Him.     Will we be prayer-worriers, grounded in fear and anxiety begging Him to meet our needs, or will we be prayer-warriors, soaring with Him above the storms to new destinations in His kingdom, trusting that He has every provision for every need already prepared?

“…an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks. The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.”         (From “Eagles in A Storm”, author unknown)

Scavenger Hunt, Big Bang Style

There is something thrilling about scavenger hunts.  Working with a partner or a team to decipher clues that lead you to your next clue and then the next until you finally make it to the prize is exhilarating, and sometimes frustrating (depending on your team or the quality of the clues).   When I was a little girl, my parents switched from hiding Easter eggs to hiding the Easter basket with clues.  I loved it so much more, because there was a feeling of achievement when I solved each clue, and the sense of victory when I finally held that Easter basket in my hands was overwhelming.  

With this in mind, you can imagine how much I laughed when The Big Bang Theory dedicated an entire episode to a scavenger hunt amongst the primary characters.  For those of you who might not be familiar with The Big Bang Theory, it’s a television sitcom in the United States based on the lives and relationships of 4 physicists and their wannabe actress neighbor.   The primary characters are: Sheldon, a genius with little to no social skills; Leonard, your average nerd who is always trying to fit in with “normal” people; Howard, the scientist who “only” has a Masters degree, lives with his mother, and is a little creepy; Raj, the physicist from India who is the self-described metro-sexual who longs for a relationship with a woman, but is scared to talk to them unless he’s drunk; and Penny, the wannabe actress who lives next door to Sheldon and Leonard and is the stereotypical blonde waitress waiting for her big break.     

While, it’s much funnier to watch in person (which I highly encourage), I want to give a quick overview of the episode.   I promise, I really do have a point in all of this!

Raj is known for putting together “fun” evenings for the group, including dinner mysteries and the like, which all turn out to be giant flops.   In the “Scavenger Vortex” (Season 7, Episode 3), the group had all ditched Raj’s last planned event, so he decided to put together a scavenger hunt for them, reminiscent of their college days.    The primary characters, along with a couple of their girlfriends (Amy, a socially awkward neuroscientist, and Bernadette, a short and sweet microbiologist), are sitting in the apartment waiting to decide teams and get their first clues.   

It was initially determined that teams should be by couples, however, no one wanted Penny on their team, because she was considered a “liability” (even by her boyfriend, Leonard).  After some discussion, they decide to draw names from the hat, and the teams are linked as follows, as the hunt begins:
                                                                   Sheldon - Penny
                                                                   Leonard – Bernadette
                                                                   Howard – Amy

Sheldon, the genius, is initially upset about being paired with Penny, who throughout the course of the game continues to get more of the clues faster than he does, though he ignores her each time having to solve the riddle himself.   

Leonard discovers that Bernadette is nowhere near as sweet as she has appeared to be as she barks at him the entire time, criticizing his driving, yelling at him to move faster, telling him he’s nothing but a big girl.  

Howard and Amy start with awkward silence but then discover a mutual passion for Neil Diamond, ending up completely distracted and not even finishing the “race”.   

In the end, Penny ditches Sheldon and makes it to the “prize” (a golden coin) first, immediately followed by Leonard and Bernadette.   The three are furiously tearing the couch apart looking for the coin when Raj comes out with a cigar and a smile and tells them to look in their pockets.  They find that they each had the gold coin in their pocket the entire time.   At that point, Sheldon walks in with a big smile on his face, saying “Look, I won!”   Amy and Howard are nowhere to be seen.   Because the hunt had been full of arguing, criticism, strife and drama, the participants were angry with Raj, saying that this was the “stupidest game ever”, but Raj responded that he just wanted everyone to have fun and be together as he pulls out his own gold coin.  “See, I won too,” he said.  

There are so many “life lessons” that can be drawn from this episode, including the value of good partnerships, how we treat each other in the pursuit of a goal, enjoying the game without getting sucked into the competition, or how we treat those who aren’t the “same” as us (not as smart, nothing in common, etc).   But, for the sake of this particular post, I want to focus on the hunt itself.  

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. ~ Prov. 25:2

Recently, I’ve been meditating on this proverb.  Initially, I thought that it wasn’t really very glorious or even very nice for God to hide things, but as I watched that Big Bang episode and reminisced on Easters past, I started to see it a little bit differently.  

I don’t remember exactly who said it (I think it was Bill Johnson), but I believe this is true: “God doesn’t hide things from us, He hides things FOR us.” He’s not trying to keep us from knowing Him, understanding Him and His ways, but He is wooing us into a “game” of sorts, to go deeper in our relationship with Him.    The word “glory” in this passage means “glory, honor, abundance, riches, dignity”, and there is so much more than we can even begin to imagine!   He is anxious to share His glory, riches, abundance with anyone who will go after Him.   The amazing thing is that He doesn’t just wait on the other side for us to find Him, but He plays the game with us, helping us decipher each clue, rejoicing with us in each step, encouraging us with every frustration.  

I know that there may be some out there who will get their panties into a bit of a twist when they hear me likening our walk with the Lord to a silly game, and I’d like to be sorry about that, but I just can’t be.  You see, there is such joy in discovering the secret treasures of His heart.  There is so much delight in pursuing Him and finding Him in the most unexpected places.   It is so much fun to partner with Him each and every day.   This is why we were created, to walk with Him, to be His kid!  

When I was a baby, my daddy played “peek-a-boo” with me.   He was always there, and easy to find!  As I grew, the game changed to hide-and-seek.   And I would count to 10 and run to find him, and I always did find him.   As I became a young adult, the games changed to more strategy type games, including Monopoly and Risk.  To be successful in these games, you need to understand your opponent’s though process, and it’s a little trickier.   I cannot even begin to remember who won or lost, because those times were never even really about the game.  It was about spending time together, growing together, and building our relationship.

As a Father, God is always inviting us into a deeper relationship with Him.   He wants us to know Him, understand how He thinks, how He works.   And as we grow in our walk, sometimes the game gets a little trickier.   Sometimes it’s harder to know what He’s thinking, or catch His heartbeat regarding a certain matter.  Sometimes there is a lot of yelling, crying, frustration and distraction.   But, we’re always together, and we always “win”.   Remember, that when things are hidden, they are hidden FOR you, not from you, and it is your Father’s delight for you to discover all that He has for you. Like Raj said, the winning is in the playing the game together!      

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  ~ Jer 29:13

Famished and Full

The man displayed the patience of Job as his three-year old daughter read “The Cat in the Hat” from cover to cover, just to start it over again and again.  This went on the entire commute to the office, while walking into the office, while conducting business at the office and all the way home.   He smiled at her, encouraged her, and cheered her on as she had finally learned how to read.   

It was that day in sunny San Diego that I developed my passion for reading.   As a young girl, the highlight of my week was going to the library.   I devoured every book I could get my hands on, from mystery novels to cheesy romances to the classics.   My mom had to limit my weekly checkout count to 20, and it was not uncommon for me to finish all 20 books in the first 4 days of the week, leaving me anxious for the next trip to the library.   

I was 10 when I first read the thousand pages of Gone With the Wind, often staying up all night and being found huddled next to my lamp, eyes glued to the pages when my dad woke up for work the next morning, much to his chagrin.   I was the “nerd” who loved school, everything about learning, studying, and reading.   I even liked homework (most of the time), and would check out Algebra books from the library during the summer to work on the problems.   

When I was in college, I always took the most classes I could take, even auditing a couple, just so that I could get the information being presented.   After graduating, I moved to Phoenix, where I enrolled in a Bible college associated with my church, quickly earning another couple of degrees.   My personal library continued to grow, through book clubs, book stores, book tables at conferences.   I just could never get enough.

As a young professional, I started building my business leadership library, often reading and recommending books to my colleagues and managers.    One of those books was called “Strengths Finder 2.0”, a book that helps you to discover what your personal strengths are, and how to utilize them in your career.   I’m sure you will not be surprised to discover that one of my top strengths is “Learner”, one who is passionate about learning, reading, growing in knowledge.  

It’s no wonder that one of the first items on my to-do list when moving to a new town is to get a library card.  My heart still skips a beat when I visit the library.   I walk down each and every aisle, touching the books, lamenting that there is just not enough time to read every book and learn everything that is contained within the pages.   While I do have an e-Reader as well with hundreds of unread books loaded on it, it just cannot compare to the smell of an old book, the feel of pages turning in my hands, and the joy (and sorrow) of coming to the end of a riveting story.

With all this passion for knowledge and reading, you might think that studying the Bible has come naturally to me, but you would be sadly mistaken.   Growing up, I read through the Bible almost every year as part of church contests and programs, but it was a checklist.   There were stories that I had heard in Sunday School, and then there were the parts that I just could not understand (Ezekiel, anyone?).   Reading the Bible was always just something that “good Christians” did, so I tried to read it regularly.  There were seasons where it was dry and of minimal priority as I was “busy” doing other things, and other seasons where it felt alive and I didn’t mind it as much.   But when I would hear about men and women who loved the Word, and passionately devoured it, I couldn’t comprehend what that really meant.   Oh, I loved participating in Bible Studies, getting into the Greek and Hebrew, but for my own personal study, I fought with the “want to”.   I 

really wanted to want to, and I would read because I needed to, but it still felt forced.  

And then everything changed.   A few months ago, my husband and I left the comfort of a rich home church, an environment where everyone basically believed in the Lord, and spiritual nourishment was as abundant as an all-you-can-eat buffet, and we moved to one of the most un-churched cities in the most atheistic state in America.   We went from buffet to virtual famine in the blink of an eye, where even those who are in church appear to be just barely surviving.    I went from having nutrient rich food handed to me, to becoming a hunter for anything remotely edible, and suddenly I started to understand what it meant to be spiritually famished.

Every sermon challenged everything I had ever heard and believed in.  Neighbors began challenging my theology.  I was overwhelmed with questions without answers, and I was hungry for hope.   I had to know who Jesus really is, who His Father is, who the Holy Spirit is; I had to know what salvation really means; I had to find out what He had to say about x, y, z, and what how to apply that to my life here and now.    I started reading Matthew, and I couldn’t stop.   Then I started seeing how it correlated with Romans, and Psalms, and how there is so much depth interwoven between each chapter.  I started sneaking my phone under my blanket at 1am, and reading through entire books of the Bible in different versions.  I wake up and I can’t wait to read and study more to discover the riches of every word, and I am finding myself disappointed when I have to put it down for silly things like making dinner or doing laundry.

The more I read, the more I find that I don’t know, and I want to know everything (remember, I’m a Learner).   I still get frustrated when there are things I don’t understand (which happens at least 2-3 times a day), and I get frustrated that some of the resources to help us understand are themselves difficult to understand.   But, it makes me go deeper.   It has become like a treasure hunt, and instead of being satisfied with the gold flake on top of the mountain, I have to keep digging and digging and digging.   It’s here that I have discovered that there is so much more than just “gold” in these mountains, there are diamonds, rubies, sapphires and gems of every variety.  

More than anything, I have discovered that God has so much that He wants to tell us, that He is waiting to show us, if we will be still and dig in to His love letter to us.   I am learning that it’s not a sprint, but a leisurely stroll as with a friend on the beach, stopping to pick up seashells, driftwood and pretty rocks.   It’s okay to be “stuck” on just a couple verses, meditating on them, studying them, digging in to them, to hear what He has to say.   It’s actually more than “okay”, it’s where hunger is both ignited and satiated at the same time.  And this is exactly the place He loves to meet us, this place where we are both famished and full.

An Illustrated Story

There once was a girl who was shattered, scarred, broken, and ashamed.   She hated herself, even to the point of considering suicide sure that it was the only way to be freed from her wretchedness. 
 

One day, she saw a man hanging, bleeding, dying on a cross.  When He looked at her, love shot from her eyes into the deepest part of her soul.  She was so ashamed of her tattered appearance, she ran to change her clothes, taking time to iron, scrub, clean every spot.

She quickly returned, keenly aware that her best effort to look good for this Man was not enough to hide the scars, blackness, and broken heart of stone that defined her.   She ducked her head in shame, defeated yet again.    But then something amazing happened.   The Man came down off the cross, completely healed and very alive.  The same love that radiated from His eyes soothed her as He spoke.

The Man said, "Come to Me, and I will make you brand new.  Come, exchange your broken life for mine."   It sounded too good to be true, but something drew me closer.   She stepped up, then stepped away.   "I don't have anything to offer Him," she thought.  "Even my clothes can't cover up the ugly in me".    Again, He said to her, "Come."

So, with determination, she walked closer.  With every step she realized that her old life was completely gone.  He had completely consumed her, and she was now alive in His very existence.  Everything He was became who she was .  "No one would even recognize me," she smiled to herself, "I don't even recognize myself."    All because of one Man, hanging on a cross with love in His eyes.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself...For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

2 Cor. 5:17-18, 21

Scared to Life

The day was February 27, 1986.   I was six years old, living in Snoqualmie, WA, a small town outside of Seattle known for it's majestic waterfalls.  Here my dad pastored a tiny church and oversaw the one-room schoolhouse that was attached (yes, you read that right..one-room schoolhouse, where I as a second grader sat near those who were in middle school).    As my mom prepared dinner, I sat fixed to the black and white tv in the dining room, watching the great R.W. Schambach preaching about the atrocities of hell in the stereotypical hellfire and brimstone sort of way, and I was terrified.

We had just had a minor kitchen fire, that required the fire department's help to extinguish.  Our kitchen had blackened walls and ceiling, and it stunk!   Of course, there is nothing "minor" about a fire in the house when you're six years old, and this was especially true in my case.  You see, the year before, my grandmother had been severely burned in a kitchen fire in her home, and the trauma of that for her, as well as for the rest of the family, was still on my mind.  

As Mr. Schambach preached and yelled about the fires of hell burning hot and how I was destined to go there if I didn't receive Christ into my heart, I panicked.    Having grown up in the church, I always believed in God.  My mom even tells the story that I would dance in the womb every time praise and worship was happening in church.   I didn't know any different, nor did I want to know anything different.  I prayed, and I knew that God heard me and answered prayer (after all, he healed my cat when I was three!).   But in that moment, I believed that I was doomed to the destruction of hell.   I ran to my mom and asked her if I was saved.  I don't remember exactly what she said, but she comforted me and said that we could pray together so that I could be sure.   So I knelt down at the recliner along side of my mother, and prayed the "sinners prayer" as she led me, and gave my heart to Christ that night.

It's a day I've celebrated ever since, a "birthday" of sorts, and today is no different.   I love living life with Christ, and I wouldn't have it any other way.   But, I've begun to question this "fear-based" evangelism as a way of sharing the Good News.   So, below, I'm going to throw around some thoughts, some questions, some ponderings, not because I know the "right" way to do it, but because I would like to open up the dialogue, and because I wonder if there is a better way.

My experience was that I was told I was a sinner (shame), so I had to repent, or else I would go to hell (fear), so I said the prayer, then had to try to obey all of God's rules (control).     In the last few years, I've been learning about the connectedness between fear, shame, and control (thanks to Pastor Terry Moore who wrote Free Indeed), and how in an effort to live a "christian life" we become so performance oriented, completely missing the freedom of living in a relationship with Christ.  

Shame tells us there is something wrong with us.    We believe that there is something wrong with us, and we're afraid that people will find out, so out of fear, we try to control everything in our lives.   But knowing that we're living with masks feeds our shame, and the voices tell us that we're just a fraud.  So the cycle continues - shame-fear-control-shame-fear-control----

When we start sharing the gospel with "You're a sinner", we are telling people that there is something wrong with them.   Then we throw in a good dose of guilt and fear by telling them that they are separated from God, and therefore will go to hell if they died today.    A lot of times, this results in them saying a "prayer" to give their lives to Christ, and we rejoice because we converted another one.   However, many studies have shown that many who say these prayers, often fall away, or never have a "life-changing experience" and simply continue living life the same way.  So I put it to you, are we manipulating conversions with shame and fear and calling it evangelism?

When Jesus was finished with his ministry, he told the disciples "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.." (Matt 28:19) and "you shall be witnesses to Me" (Acts 1:8).   These verses are championed by those with great motives of evangelizing the world, often leading to guilt and condemnation for those of us who aren't as excited about jumping into a conversation about the gospel with a complete stranger (as an introvert, this is especially challenging for me).   However, when I read these verses, it seems to me that Jesus is more concerned about who we are and how we are living, then what we are saying.    

Track with me here for a minute.   What does "make disciples" mean?   As a non-scholar, I consider what Jesus did.   He found twelve men, said "follow me", and then spent three years pouring his life into them.   He shared kingdom principles with them, he loved them (even when they were being petty), he gave himself to them, he showed them how to live in relationship with the Father, then He commissioned them to do the same.    Yes, Jesus preached to crowds, but He conversed with individuals.  He wasn't worried about the numbers of people following Him.  In fact, the gospels show us multiple times where he tried to escape the crowds.   He was invested in his disciples. He know that they would invest in others, and so on and so on.  

In Acts 1:8, Jesus never said "go and witness to everyone you meet".  He said, "you will be witnesses to Me".   Have you ever considered that witnessing is who we are, not what we do?   In John 13:35, Jesus says, "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  

Love.   It's who HE is!    It's what He does.   We love God because he first loved us.   Jesus made it simple:  because we are so loved, we can love God and love others.   He did it first!  He does it still.   "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18).     If we are loved and commanded to love, and if ALL will know we are his disciples by our love, and if love casts out fear, why are we trying to scare people to heaven?

So, what if evangelism looked like this:  "Hey, did you know that you are so extravagantly loved by a God who knew you before you were even conceived?   Did you know that He is so intrigued by you, that He knows how many hairs are on your head at any given moment?  Did you know that He is so consumed with passion for you, that He sent His own Son to show you what life can look like when you have a relationship with Him?   Can I tell you how my life has radically changed because of Jesus?"

Sin is just a part of the story, it's not the beginning, and it's not the end.   God created us with a divine destiny to live in relationship with Him.   Man missed the mark, and has struggled with trying to know God while dealing with sin.  Jesus came and triumphed over ALL sin, making a mockery of all darkness, and has invited us to live in Him, where we are given new DNA, free from all sin, shame, rejection, and every evil thing.   We are hidden in Christ, where all the fullness of God dwells.  Here is life, and life abundantly.  It is this goodness and kindness that leads us to repentance.   Let's make Him the main attraction of the Good News!!!

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  ~ John 12:32

Free?

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Last night I was so excited to get a coupon for a free sample of a new product that encourages healthy eating.  But when I went to the website to claim my "free" sample, I was required to input my credit card information with a promise that I could cancel at any time after my free sample had arrived.    Technically, I could still get the product free, but the hook (and likelihood) is that I will probably forget to cancel the account and then I will be charged for my "free" product.    

Today I got an email promising me 2 free movie tickets and popcorn, of course I would have to spend $40 in the store before I could claim my "free" tickets.   It would actually be cheaper for me to just buy the tickets!   

There are a lot of gimmicks out there, a lot of things screaming "Free", but laced with a hook.    These hooks are a mockery of freedom.    They lure you in promising a prize, a gift, a service, all the while capturing you with their fine print.   

There are so many times we find "free" isn't really "free".   But, I have some good news!  There is a freedom without hooks, without fine print!!!  

Matthew 17:25-26 recounts a conversation that Jesus had with Peter: "...Jesus spoke to him first, saying 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?'  And when he said, 'From others,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are free.'"

There are so many verses that tell us that because of God's great love and Jesus' sacrifice, we are now called "children of God" (1 John 3:1-2, for example).   As "sons", we are free.    That word in the Greek is eleutheros, and it means "free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by obligation".   

John 8:36 says "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."    This is the same Greek word for free, but adds the emphasis of indeed, which in the Greek means "truly, in reality, in point of fact, as opposed to what is pretended, fictitious, false, conjectural".   Jesus is wanting to drive home the point that we are truly unrestrained, free from obligation to the law, not just in words, but in truth.  

This is good news!  In fact, it's great news!    In Christ, we have been set completely free!    He has broken every chain, opened every prison door! He has given us a new name, a new life, freedom to love and to be loved - all without restraint.

You were born for freedom in Him!   What's holding you back?  Jump up and out of those chains and run unrestrained into the arms of the Father!  He's been waiting for you!




 

Loud and Clear

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Paul and I took a little trip down south to New Hampshire for an errand.   Since we were there, we decided to explore a little, and found a cute little coastal town with a fort and lighthouse.   As we drove through the historic downtown, I captured this picture.

I don't know why it struck me, but I saw the street, and made Paul turn around and stop, so I could take the picture.   Fast forward about an hour (while still in New Hampshire), I looked up while we were at a stoplight and saw this vehicle.  I made a silly remark about finding another of the few Christians in Maine, and snapped a picture to prove it.

Being caught up in the errand, I was not making any connections.  Honestly, I wasn't even listening for the Lord's voice.   So, when I was checking my twitter account and saw Chris Quilala's tweet, I finally got the message.

Paul and I looked up Psalm 91 on our phones, and prayed it together over ourselves from the Message and New King James versions.   Below, I want to share it with you from the Passion Translation (thanks to my dear friend, Lin, for helping me find it).    Read it as a prayer that I'm praying for you, dear one, and let the Lord love you in a new way.  

Whoever lives within the secret shadow of Shaddai,

Hidden in the strength of God Most-High,

Will always be kept safe and feel secure!

Here's how I describe Him:

He's the Hope that holds me, and the Stronghold to shelter me,

The only God for me, and my Great Confidence.

Yes, He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, 

And He will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse.

His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.

You can run under HIs covering of Majesty and hide.

His faithfulness is a wrap-around shield keeping you from harm.

You will never worry about an attack of demonic forces at night,

Not have to fear a spirit of darkness coming against you.

Don't fear a thing!  Whether by night or by day.

Demonic danger will not trouble you.,

Not the powers of evil launched against you.

For God will keep you safe and secure, they won't lay a hand on you!

Even in a time of disaster with thousands and thousands being killed,

You will remain unscathed and unharmed!

You will be a spectator as the wicked perish in judgment,

For you will still be kept safe and secure!

When we live our lives within the shadow

Of the God-Most-High, our Secret Hiding Place,

We will always be shielded from harm!

How then could evil prevail against us, or disease infect us?

God will send His messenger-angels

With special orders to protect you wherever you go,

Defending you from all harm.

If you walk into a trap, they'll be there for you

And keep you from stumbling!

You'll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness,

Trampling every one of them beneath your feet!

For here is what the Lord has spoken to me:

Because you have chosen to be my great lover,

I have chosen to greatly protect you.

I will set you in a high place,

Safe and secure before My face.

I will answer Your cry for help every time you pray,

And you will find and feel My presence.

Even in your time of pressure and trouble,

I will be Your glorious Hero and give you success!

You will be satisfied with a full life,

And with all that I do for you!

For you will feast Your eyes

On the fullness of My salvation,

Drinking deeply of Me!