Encouraging Music-"Alive Again" by Matt Maher

Encouraging Music-"Today Is The Day" by Lincoln Brewster

Encouraging Music-"You Are For Me" by Kari Jobe

Encouraging Music-"Huntry (Falling On My Knees)" by John Tesh

Encouraging Music-"The Light in Me" by Brandon Heath

Encouraging Music-"I Want Your Presence" by Bethany Dillon

Encouraging Music-"Watch Over Me" by Aaron Shust

Encouraging Words-The Important Stuff Lasts Forever

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I missed sending out an Encouraging Word last week due to the passing of my mother-in-law.  She was laid to rest in her hometown of Lynchburg, VA last Thursday amidst an outpouring of love from family and friends.  These events tend to get one thinking, and I’ve spent a lot of time doing that the last few days.

Like most of you, I’ve experienced several seasons of significant change in my life, seldom of my choosing and usually accompanied with pain and a great sense of loss.  I’ve lost both parents, a wife, and now two mothers-in-law, milestones which became before-and-after marker points in my life.  Like anyone else, I’ve also gone through career changes, relationship changes, moving, and coped with changes around me.

Whether it’s as simple as a favorite restaurant closing or a television show you have faithfully watched for years coming to an end, a friend moving away or a friendship ending in a dispute, a layoff from your job or moving to your dream house, change, even desirable ones, is often unsettling.

So why does God, the one who promises us comfort and peace, allow our lives to get shuffled, confusing, and painful?  Why does He allow us to lose things in our life that bring comfort and pleasure and require us to adjust to new situations?  Why does he allow loved ones, people we count on as reliable anchors of love and support, to die?

These questions weren’t as difficult with losing Brenda’s mom as they can sometimes be—she was 88 years old and had become frail and weak.  When she suffered a major stroke last week, it wasn’t hard to see the end coming quickly.  As I listened to dozens of people talk about how Mary Evelyn Smith had touched their lives, it was clear that, despite her advance age, her passing would leave significant holes in the lives of many friends and family members.  How could they cope with this sudden separation?

By remembering, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, that everything in the flesh is temporary.  Everything and everyone around us will cease to exist in the natural at some point.  Everything and everyone.  If I stopped there, I’d have to rename this note “Discouraging Words.”  Fortunately, though, we are promised that this temporary existence, this season, will be overshadowed by the glory that awaits our eternal souls in heaven.  When Brenda’s mom reached heaven’s gates, she felt no pain, no weakness, and could bask in the glory of our creator!  She could be reunited with her husband, who preceded her by 25 years, and a large contingent of her family.

We all have a homecoming like that to look forward to.  Sometimes, perhaps often, it is hard to count on much on this earth but we can count on what waits for us when our spirits cross over.

The tone of Mary Evelyn’s funeral service was very evangelistic.  She wanted nothing more than for all four of her daughters and all of her family and friends to know Jesus and meet her up in heaven when the time came.  The preacher gave that message, and Brenda added to it in words that her mother could have written for her.  I’m not sure if there is a better goal we can have in our lives than to help everyone we love to know Jesus, and Brenda’s mom was, in a way, still doing that beyond the grave.

Are there people we love, that are a major or even minor part of our lives, who may not know the Lord?  Do you know people who you’re not sure you would meet in heaven?  I bet you do.  Have you thought of how you can help them make the connection?  Are you living a life that makes someone want what you have, that makes The Way look like a path they would want to follow?  Do you ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to opportunities to share what Jesus has meant to you and what He has done in your life? 

Are you waiting until it’s “convenient?” James write in James 4:14 “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Our souls are promised eternity if we have accepted Jesus as our savior, but our earthly bodies are not promised tomorrow.  I encourage you to make each day count.  Live in a way that causes the glory of the Lord to reflect from you and light the path for others to walk with Him.

Encouraging Music-"Beautiful Ending" by BarlowGirl

Encouraging Music-"To the Glory of God" by David Meece

Encouraging Music-"I'm Gonna Sing" by the Gaither Vocal Band

Encouraging Music-"I Need You" by Jars of Clay

Encouraging Music-"Speak to Me" by Rebecca St. James

Encouraging Music-"You're Still God" by Kathy Troccoli

Encouraging Music-"I'm Forgiven" by Russ Taff

Encouraging Music-"Walk By Faith" by Jeremy Camp

Encouraging Music-"I Go to the River" by Ray Boltz

Encouraging Music-"Love Won't Leave You" by Avalon

Encouraging Words-The Power of Moving Forward

Luke 9:62:  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  (ESV)

When a plane rolls down the runway for takeoff, it doesn’t do so with its nose pointing to the rear does it?  If you know of one that does, please share so I can avoid that airline.

A football team doesn’t line up backwards because the goal is to move forward.  Perhaps someone should share that with the Cowboys’ coaching staff (sorry my Dallas friends, I couldn’t resist).

These things I’ve stated are painfully obvious because the gain, the success, the POWER, is ours when we move forward, not backwards.

So why are so many of us stuck looking back at or even living in our past while the rest of the world moves forward without us?

There are counselors and therapists, who make a lot of money trying to help people answer that question, so I obviously won’t accomplish that in a brief essay, but I’ll offer an important point to think about—Jesus spent his ministry laying the foundation for what was to come, not dwelling on what had already passed.

The bible doesn’t tell us how Jesus sat around the campfire complaining about how Adam and Eve screwed up, or sharing how ticked off God must have been when the Israelites made a golden calf idol while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments.

Jesus spent His time looking ahead, trying to prepare his disciples for what was to come, even if they were too dense to comprehend it right away.  He came to show a better way, to provide a path to salvation for mankind, but many missed it.  They were too tied to their tradition, too connected to their past, to receive the Good News.

One of the worst answers I can get when I ask a question at work is “But we’ve always done it this way.”  What opportunities are we missing because our focus is behind us?  We’re trying to run plays lined up backwards and then wondering why they don’t work.

As I write this, tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of the passing of my beloved wife Bette, the lowest point of my life until the Lord lead me through that darkness into the light of the new, amazing future He had planned for me.  From the time I dropped to me knees and made myself available for Him to mold, the Lord wasted little time presenting me one opportunity after another.  The best of all, of course, was meeting and falling in love with my amazing wife Brenda.  If I had been stuck in the past I had with Bette, it is extremely unlikely that Brenda and I would have ever met and I would have missed the cornerstone of so much God had lined up for me.

Brothers and sisters, I pray that you take Luke 9:62 to heart.  No matter how you’ve been hurt, abused, disrespected, disappointed, or disillusioned, Jesus can show you a better way.  He’ll do all the work inside of you, but the one thing you have to do is make yourself available.  Perhaps the turning point in my life was that night in late October, 2004 when I was so broken, so vulnerable, I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to show my why I was still here and what He had planned for me.

I was right where He wanted me.  Not the sad and hurting part, but the part where I was yielding my life to Him.  I had never had such a strong feeling of despair, not knowing where to turn or what to do.  I knew of nowhere else to go other than right into His arms.  Despite all of my neglect over the years, He was waiting to hold me and comfort me like the loving Father He is.  I had been trying to fly the plane backwards, but He showed me how to turn it around and my life is soaring as a result.

He wants to do the same for you.

I encourage you to let Him.

We had a wonderful time at the Healing Rain Conference last weekend.  Brenda and I appreciate the hospitality from Raging Fire Ministries, and the powerful singing, dancing, and preaching that touched us both deeply. 

We’ll be participating in our first Northern Virginia Fellowship meeting this Sunday at 11 AM.  If you are interested in joining us, please drop me a note and I’ll get you directions.

I hope you’ve been encouraged by this note.  If so, please pass it on to someone who needs an encouraging word.  Also, please let me know if anyone would like to be added to this e-mail distribution.

Healing For Damaged Emotions Part 2-4 Contributing Areas of Emotional Pain

Four Contributing areas of emotional pain – these can overlap and are interrelated.

Generational/ancestral sins and resulting curses
Ungodly beliefs
Soul/Spirit hurts
Demonic oppression

1. Generational/Ancestral sins and resulting curses represents the accumulation of all sins committed by our ancestors. It is the heart tendency (iniquity) that we inherit from our ancestors to rebel (be disobedient) against God’s ways. It is the propensity to sin, particularly in ways that represent perversion and twisted character. The accumulation continues until God’s conditions for repentance are met (Ex. 20:1-17).

Curses are words spoken with some form of spiritual authority (either good or evil) that sets in motion something that will go on generation after generation. The spiritual authority represented is either God or Satan. You can even curse yourself. (Jam. 3:8-10)

2. Ungodly beliefs are all beliefs, decisions, attitudes, agreements, judgments, expectations, vows, or oaths that DO NOT agree with God, God’s word, or God’s nature or character. You need to know what God’s Word says about who you are in Christ to be able to recognize an ungodly belief.

3. Soul/Spirit hurts are hurts on the “inside” of a person. They are wounds to the inner core of who a person is. The presence of this type of hurt can be revealed by unhealed emotions, behaviors and thoughts. Hurts can affect the entire person – spirit, soul, mind, body, thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, etc.

4. Demonic oppression is the term used to represent “pressure” exerted by demons to get us to sin, or to keep us bound in limitations. Usually they have an open doorway to gain access to us. Open doorways come from ancestral sins/generational curses, ungodly beliefs, soul/spirit hurts, our own sin, as well as from witchcraft directed toward us. Demonic oppression can result when any one of the main areas are left unresolved.

The next blog post on Healing for Damaged Emotions will go into more detail of the characteristics of each of the four areas of emotional pain. This is done in the form of a checklist which can be very revealing.

Encouraging Music-"I Want to Know You" by Sonicflood

Encouraging Music-"Come Break the Chains" by Misty Edwards

Encouraging Music-"You Never Let Go" by the David Crowder Band

Encouraging Music="His Strength Is Perfect" by Steven Curtis Chapman

Encouraging Music-"Let It Rain" by Michael W. Smith

Encouraging Music- "Holy Ground" by Sandi Patty

Encouraging Music-"Here With Me" by Mercy Me

Intriducing a New Series-"Healing For Damaged Emotions"

Preface

Each of us can benefit from more healing in our emotions.  We have all experienced circumstances that have wounded us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Consequentially, we may be stuck on a merry-go-round of woundedness.  Healing for Damaged Emotions will help stop the merry-go-round, although it is not a quick fix.  Healing comes in stages and in layers.  Each time we go through the program we get healing on a deeper level. The original program was called Restoring the Foundations and was originated by Chester and Betsy Kilstra. The Healing for Damaged Emotions program contained in this blog has been adapted for our unique community’s needs.

This program was created to be administered one on one or in a team or group setting.  It is REQUIRED that when you get to the end of the program and are ready for the deliverance exercises, that you work with another person. DO NOT DO THE DELIVERANCE EXERCISES BY YOURSELF!  Get someone who is saved, filled with the Spirit, and full of faith to assist you. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.  Also, if your church or fellowship would be interested in having a Healing for Damaged Emotions Workshop just get in touch with me.  Be free, be healed!  Blessings, Brenda Johnson       Brenda_johnson685@yahoo.com

Introduction

Ever since God threw the devil and his cohorts out of heaven because of their rebellion against Jesus, (Isa. 14:12-15) there has been a great controversy over the eternal destination of the human soul.  Fortunately for Believers, Jesus has purchased the redemption of our souls by His death and resurrection (Eph. 1:7, I Pet. 1:3), and He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit for safe keeping until He returns to take us to heaven (Eph. 1:13).  That takes care of later. What about now?

Jesus has given us His Word, His authority, and His power to help us overcome the lies and deception of the devil.  We have the power and authority to shut, lock, and board up permanently any door that may have been knowingly or unknowingly opened to the devil’s oppression.  The key is finding out what those doors are and how to close them.

Healing for Damaged Emotions is based on the premise that the authority given to us through belief in the finished work of the Cross, when used appropriately, is more than enough to cancel any oppression the devil can throw our way. We can and WILL be set free (II Cor. 10:4, Eph. 6:12-18).

Prerequisites
Just going through the exercises and speaking the words is not enough if you are not saved and Spirit-filled.  Even the devil knows if you are just going through the motions.

In order for the exercises in the Healing for Damaged Emotions program to work there are a couple of prerequisites that must be met.

1.      Any participant MUST have received Jesus as Savior and Lord.

2.      Any participant MUST have received the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

3.      Forgiveness (Matt. 6:14, 15)

Forgiveness is a decision to release the offending person or situation from the responsibility of restitution.  When we forgive we choose to set them free. We don’t hold the resentment, we don’t hold the bitterness, we let go of our plans for retaliation. We let go of the feeling that they owe us something. Forgiveness is only the first step toward healing. It is a process and it is not determined by our emotions. Forgiveness does not mean that we excuse the wrong that was done.  Forgiveness is letting go of the need for restitution. Forgiveness puts the consequences into God’s hands and out of ours.  The longer we hold on to the need for retaliation or restitution, the longer we will hold on to the emotional damage.

The next blog post will address the four main areas that can cause emotional pain.

Encouraging Music-"We Will Glorify" by Twila Paris

Encouraging Words-Know Your Limits

Then he said to me, "This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies."--Zechariah 4:6 (NLT)

If you take time to peruse the Amazon.com site (one of my favorite things to do), you can easily find a plethora of books claiming they can show you how to live a life with no limits.  This philosophy, sometime well-intentioned, other times just a ruse, claims to lay out the path so a person can do or accomplish anything they set their mind to.  If we follow the steps they have laid out, you and I can have the job, wealth, house, body, and spouse of our dreams because the only limits we face are those we place upon ourselves with doubt and lack of self-discipline.

Then there’s the other approach, put forth by Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” in the movie Magnum Force, where he finds out his boss has never fired his gun.  Harry made the snide remark, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

You would think in an e-mail titled “Encouraging Words” I’d be a proponent of the “no limits” approach.  Instead, I believe in the gospel according to Dirty Harry—a man (or woman) DOES need to know their limitations.
If you don’t, they you won’t realize when the Lord is stepping in.  If you think you truly have no limits, why would you ever reach out to God?  Why does God allow us to feel overwhelmed?  I have no doubt it is so we can come to him and say HELP!

You see, our Lord does not want us to be self-sufficient.  Most of us were taught that value growing up and our society reinforces that, showing dependence on anyone or anything else as a major sign of weakness.  As a result, many people think Christians are weak when we drop to our knees and ask God for help, strength, peace, resolution of problems, etc.  If we were really strong, society tells us, we’d just hunker down and work harder.

Our Lord certainly values hard work, but he wants that work to bring glory to Him, not simply glory to us.  While I generally have a good awareness of that, it is easy for me and anyone else to get so caught up in the daily grind that we lose track of it.  I have 17 people working on my staff with a lot of different, unrelated, responsibilities.  That can make for some very interesting days on the job for me, and often does, but when several different situations require urgent attention at the same time, it does get overwhelming. 

I was at that point again last week when, on the way to my car, I heard the Lord’s voice clearly tell me, “It’s not about what you can do, it’s about what I can do.”  His loving words reminded me that it’s okay to feel like I can’t do it all.  I do have limits, and when those are exceeded is when He really shines through in our life!  The scripture above is often used in terms of a battle, but if the struggle with my own limitations isn’t a battle then I’ve never been in one.

Think about this-does Superman swoop down every time a cat is stuck in a tree?  No, we don’t need him for that.  If Lex Luthor is trying to start World War III, that is a job for Superman.  Although we can certainly see the Lord is the small, simple things in our lives, His specialty is bearing the burdens and accomplishing the things we can’t handle without Him.  When we narrowly avoid an accident or when a miraculous financial blessing comes through, we benefit but He is glorified! 

As Christians we often talk about wanting to bring glory to God.  One of the best ways to do that is, like Dirty Harry said, know our limitations.  Understand where we stop and God picks up.  We have limits, but His blessings are limitless.

Encouraging Music-"In the Middle of Me" by Todd Agnew

Encouraging Music-"Through It All" by Matt Redman

Encouraging Music-"Your Great Name" by Natalie Grant