The Highest Form of Resistance

One of the most difficult strongholds to contend with is the twisted, evil mindset the enemy tries to instill in every person, especially believers. This kind of opposition cannot be resisted by direct combat, for it is psychological, not physical. We must choose to believe God in the middle of hardships, even if it appears to be to our disadvantage. This is when true spiritual growth occurs.

God made a covenant with Abraham. And that promise was passed down to Isaac, his son and to Jacob, his grandson. Jacob had 12 sons; the 11th was Joseph. Young Joseph was a tattletale(Genesis 37:2) and he liked to brag(verse 5). Above that, Jacob favored Joseph above the others and spoiled him with gifts including the infamous coat of many colors. None of these factors promoted goodwill with Joseph’s older brothers.

God gave Joseph two dreams. He was very excited about the dreams and the promise of leadership so he shared those dreams with his brothers along with his interpretation that he would one day rule in leadership, even over them as family. Not surprisingly the brothers didn’t share Joseph’s enthusiasm but hated him even more. The story unfolds to where his brothers threw him in a pit to rot and die. But then they started thinking that they could make a profit by selling him as a slave. There intent was to erase his identity, rob Joseph of his inheritance and his family forever. Keep in mind, these were his brothers who did this! It’s hard for us today to comprehend the injustice done to Joseph. They erased his name, completely stripping him of his identity. When a man was sold as a slave to another country, he would remain a slave until death. It was almost as if Joseph was now a living “dead man.”

You and I can read this story in the Bible thousands of years after it happened , so we know the outcome. But remember, Joseph didn’t have the book of Genesis to read. He didn’t know what the future held for him except for slavery in a foreign land. When the caravan of slaves arrived in Egypt, Joseph was sold to a man named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. Joseph served Potiphar for 10 years. He probably was certain by now that his father Jacob had mourned his loss and moved on without him. As time passed, Joseph found favor with Potiphar. But at the same time, Potiphar’s wife had lusting eyes for Joseph, and she wasn’t shy about it. She was a wealthy woman accustomed to getting her way, and determined to dress and scent herself with the best –almost certainly she had a strong, seducing spirit. Joseph wisely resisted sexual immorality and every attempt from her to seduce him and he ran from the house. The scorned woman’s embarrassment quickly turned to anger, and she screamed “Rape!” Potiphar had Joseph thrown into Pharaoh’s dungeon. Once again, in a single day every good thing in Joseph’s life had been lost.

Potiphar had put him in this dungeon to die. In those days, prisoners were given only enough water and food to remain alive, because dying would be too easy for them. Joseph had no hope. He had descended as low as a person could without being dead. Can you imagine the thoughts Joseph had to ward off in that damp, dark dungeon with all kinds of time on his hands? I’m sure the enemy attacked his mind and imagination without mercy with every attempt to turn his heart away from God. Joseph had very limited freedom in prison, but he still had the right to choose his responses to all that it happened to him! Would he become bitter and resentful, despising the Word of God, entertaining thoughts of revenge against his family? Or would he steadfastly resist the rush of negative thoughts and emotions that undoubtedly flooded his soul? I doubt that it ever crossed Joseph’s mind until much later that this horrific series of events was God’s way of preparing him to rule. Joseph was learning obedience through suffering.

It’s easy to blame everyone else for diversity and imagine how much better off you’d be if it had not been for all those who seem to oppose you. But the truth is that such thoughts only weaken our resistance to what will ultimately harm us. The real threat is not our adverse circumstances but the wrong beliefs and thoughts that try to slip in during our hardship. We must be relentless in our belief in God’s sovereign plan and firm to resist any logic contrary to His Word. This truth must be established in our heart: no man, woman, or devil can ever get us out of the will of God! No one but God holds our destiny. Do we think that it caught God off guard when they sold Joseph into slavery?

The ultimate test for Joseph came when two new prisoners arrived into the dungeon. They both had dreams and they were looking for an interpretation. Could Joseph proclaim the faithfulness of God to these two men when he had not seen one shred of evidence of God’s faithfulness in his own life in more than 10 years? If Joseph had been like many today, he would have said to the two men, ” so you so you guys had a dream last night. I had a dream once, and it shattered… now leave me alone.” If this had been his response, he would have destroyed the pathway to his destiny. Joseph didn’t see that God-given promise fulfilled for 21 years.  Yet it was indeed fulfilled because God is faithful to keep His promises!

Joseph started out as a tattletale and was a bit haughty in his younger days. But he didn’t remain this way through time. He obeyed through adversity, and consequently he developed the character he would need in order to eventually rule effectively. He became the second most powerful man on earth. Mature character had established, strengthened, and settled in Joseph’s heart – Christlike character! BTW, he did rule in leadership and blessed his family with great favor and never sought revenge against his brothers!

Help People to Their Feet

Acts 3:2
Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

Acts 3:6-7
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

These two verses are interesting when you look at them side by side. I think they kind of reflect two different ministry philosophies.

There’s a crippled man. He needs help.
One group of people decides to help him by carrying him to the gate to beg everyday.
Peter and John decided to help him by reaching down, pulling him up on his feet, and telling him to walk.

Our ministry philosophy at Mending Hearts is more like the latter. We don’t really have much interest in carrying people to the gate to beg. We don’t coddle and cater and spoon feed.

We’ll reach down and help you. We’ll impart the healing power of Jesus to you. But you’ve got to get up and walk. You’ve got to make a personal investment into studying God’s Word for yourself.

How about you? Are you investing too much time in carrying people to the gate and dropping them off to beg? Are you the one doing the begging when you should be lifting somebody else’s burden?

Take some advice from Peter.

In the name of Jesus, walk.

The Ghost and the Darkness

How many remember the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness” starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer? That movie is based on an event that took place in the late 1800′s. It has become one of my favorites over time. There is a defining moment in this movie that inspires this blog today.

There is a supervisor who feeds the fear of his men while stirring them to abandon the work on a massive train bridge in Uganda that they had agreed to finish. On the other side you have three men, Remington, Patterson, and Patterson’s aide, who refuse to give up their responsibilities or allow fear of the man-eating lions to drive them to defeat. You should see this movie if you haven’t already… It’s a really good story based from true events. Ultimately it comes down to a stand much like we have the choice to make nearly every day… I refuse to give up! They win in the end but know that victory comes at great cost.

As ambassadors of God, we too build bridges. Ours don’t cross rivers; they span the gap between heaven and earth. We also face opposition, and the scriptures depict our adversary as a man-eating lion seeking to devour.

There are battles to be won and strongholds to overcome. Often these are rooted in mind-sets, modes of operation, and patterns the enemy has instilled in the people of this world. Our opposition is a worthy component to us, but “in Christ” we are more powerful and always able to conquer.

The question we face everyday is “will we be the frightened workmen who fled adversity to save their lives, or will we be courageous and unstoppable as we pursue heaven’s mandate and finish our jobs? Right now you need to know, as a believer that follows after Christ, you are equipped with the empowerment of God’s grace to overcome and make a huge positive difference in your sphere of influence!

By faith, we have effect to shut the mouths to all the lions of adversity that lurk in the darkness around us. You were created to make a difference in your world. Together, we will accept the challenge to keep taking people to the bridge of Christ between the lost of this world and our God in heaven and we knowing we have what it takes, will never give up!

The Shepherd

Many times we see people within the church body that build a strong confidence in their pastors or leadership. This is not necessarily a bad thing until it gets to the point that they become dependent upon the person and not the ministry of the Lord the person stands for. I love the respect and honor our church family show us as their pastors at MHC. I also recognize that in both locations of MHC, we have people who show their love to us and our leadership by following us in the ministry and our calling. But what I don’t want any of them to do is to put us on a pedestal where they begin to follow after us in place of following after our Lord. Ultimately, Pastor Shonda and I will make mistakes and disappoint some… Probably her more so than me… Just kidding Baby! We are shepherds, but we a not “the Chief Shepherd.” Jesus is our ultimate leader!

“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:2) Everyone of us, regardless of titles or status in the kingdom must keep our eyes on Him as our leader and teacher of how it is to be done! When we need an example of how to love people including those that are against us, we look to Him. When we need an example of how not to judge others, we look to and learn from Him. When we need to become better at trusting the Father and not worrying about what we have or don’t have, we learn from Him!

I was reading today in the book of Psalm and came upon one of the most familiar segments of the book… Chapter 23! A lesson we all need to learn and remember… The Lord is the Shepherd of His People!

Psalm 23 reminds us of what God alone can control and what’s out of our control. It defines God as our Possession, our Provision, our Peace, our Rest, our Pardon, our Restoration, our Leader, our Partner, our Protector, our Security, our Partner, our Guardian, our Comforter, our Power, our Lover, our Caregiver and our Shelter!

The a problems in this life that we ourselves can do something about to change. However, we would do well not to worry about the things that only the real Shepherd (not our pastor or ministry director) can and will provide as we lean to and trust in Him! Just sayin’

Is Connection Addiction Making Us iCrazy?

The Internet… it seems to make people happier and more productive… But does it really? We all feel we know the pros to search engines and social networking, but what are the cons, if any, to staying connected to the iworld outside of our personal boxes?

Believe it or not, studies show that not only could our portable devices and social networks be making us dumber and lonelier, but could also be causing us depression, anxiety, to be prone to obsessive-compulsive (OCD) and attention-deficit disorders (ADHD) and even causing outright psychotic nature. Ouch! Our digital minds are causing normal people like you and me (sometimes I wonder about you) breakdowns in seemingly new ways and I’m not sure we recognize it!

I read this morning that in the summer of 1996, seven young researchers at MIT blurred the lines between man and computer, living simultaneously in the physical and virtual worlds. They carried keyboards in their pockets, radio-transmitters in their backpacks, and a clip-on screen in front of their eyes. They called themselves “cyborgs”—and they were freaks. But a woman named Sherry Turkle, a psychologist at MIT, points out, “we are all cyborgs now” in this 21st Century. This life of continuous connection has come to seem normal, but that’s not the same as saying that it’s healthy or sustainable, as technology—to paraphrase the old line about alcohol—becomes the cause of and solution to of all life’s problems.

In less than the span of one childhood, the average person has merged with machine, staring at one screen at least, but for most two or more screens, for at least eight hours a day, more time than we spend on any other activity including sleeping. Teens have some seven hours of screen time into the average school day; 11, if you count time spent multitasking on several devices. Just over 4 years ago when President Obama last ran for office, the iPhone had yet to be launched. Now smartphones outnumber the old models in America, and more than a third of users get online before getting out of bed. Wow!

Meanwhile, texting has become like blinking: the average person, regardless of age, sends or receives about 400 texts a month, four times the 2007 number. The average teen processes an astounding 3,700 texts a month, double the 2007 figure. And more than two-thirds of these normal, everyday cyborgs, myself included, report feeling their phone vibrate when in fact nothing is happening. Researchers call it “phantom-vibration syndrome.” I felt that more than 10 times in one day just last week. I kept checking my iPhone screen only to see there was no communication attempts made. I must admit… I was slightly disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong friends from this blog, I appreciate my technology and social networking sites. I try to use them to encourage others about Christ and our Father while it helps me excel in the workplace but hopefully not to the point of addiction or stronghold. However, I think we need to be aware of where this may be heading down the line so we can keep a grip on our reality, our faith and who God is creating us to be and not who the iworld wants us to be. The Internet is still ours to shape, but our minds may very well be in the balance if we don’t stay in control. I don’t desire any of us to become iCrazy!

EVERY STARFISH MATTERS

Normal people want to live a burden free life. By nature, we tend to think of ourselves first. It’s unquestionably normal. God didn’t call us to be normal. Why do our biggest dreams and goals seem to be so self-centered? “Do you really think that God sent Jesus to bleed and die for our sins so our biggest dream in life would be to get a new boat or motorcycle?”

“We are God’s workmanship [or masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10)

God put you on Earth with a divine assignment – something prepared in advance for you to do. I’ve found that the things that make us sad, the things that make us righteously angry, or the things we care about that others don’t are often a key that unlocks our reason for living. It’s our burden.

One day an older gentleman was strolling down the beach and saw a young boy frantically picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. Noticing the hundreds, if not thousands, of displaced starfish washing up on shore, the polite gentleman laughed softly as he approached the eager boy. “Hey there, youngster,” he said compassionately. “You really shouldn’t waste your time. There’s too many of them. You’ll never be able to make a difference.” Looking up, the boy held a single starfish in his palm and suddenly hurled the creature full force back into the ocean. “I made a difference to that one!” He said and continued on his mission.

When you break out of the normal mode and allow your burden to grow, chances are good that it will feel futile at times. You’ll hear a voice … “You might as well give up. You can’t change anything. What difference is this really going to make?”

But remember, you can’t do everything, but you can do something. Every starfish matters.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. May God bless you with the weirdness blessing possible – his divine burden.

Keep Putting Down Roots

We always need to remember that all growth is seasonal. Every living thing goes through seasons of growth (spring and summer) and dormancy (fall and winter). Churches and Ministries go through these seasons and so do our lives. Healthy growth takes TIME. When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes about 6 hours. When he wants to make an oak tree, he takes approximately 60 years. Do you want to be a mushroom or an oak tree?

For instance, churches that explode overnight are not necessarily growing; they may simply be swelling by attracting believers who transfer from other churches. This is not legitimate growth. Conversion growth is real growth, so focus on how many new believers you are winning, baptizing and discipling, not your attendance.

Nothing bears fruit year round. Your church or life may be in a Fall-like season right now (no leaves, no fruit) or winter (everything seems dead.) Keep on believing, learning, loving, and putting down roots. Spring and summer are coming! Hang on! The tide goes out, but it always comes back in.