Encouraging Words-Less Fear, More Faith

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.  For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  (Isaiah 41:10-13 NIV)

It’s nice to be back in the flow after a bout with bronchitis.  Unfortunately, there was no easing back into work after several days off.  About five minutes after I returned home from my latest doctor visit, I got a text message from my boss asking me to let him know when he could call me with some major breaking news.  Knowing that the only question here was how bad this news was, I connected with him right away and learned that our organization had lost one of its biggest contracts.  We were now in a “all hands on deck” situation to determine the financial impact and come up with a plan of how to move forward.

I returned to work the next day into an environment dominated by fear.  I learned that our CEO, instead of leading with a calm, focused approach, freaked out worse than anyone.  Swell, my boss and I now had that additional obstacle to circumvent as we tried to engage our program teams and work toward a constructive plan of action.  That is still very much a work in progress, and I don’t know how it will turn out, but I was reminded of how contrary to God’s way the element of fear is.

From a leadership perspective, it is almost always non-productive and leads to emotional responses that are not well thought out and usually harmful, often more so than the original situation that required action in the first place.

From a faith perspective, though, it is something much worse.  At its very root, fear is our way of telling God “I don’t trust you.”  That sounds really harsh, and most of us would never dream of saying that directly to Him, but if we give in to fear, isn’t that the message we are sending to Him?  How many times do we have to read text in the Bible that says “do not fear” to understand that this goes beyond simple encouragement, which is certainly nice, to direct commands from our Lord.

It’s one thing experiencing fear-we’re human, and that happens.  God knew that, that’s why we are coached throughout the Bible on how to handle it.  I’ll never forget the sensation of my blood running cold when Brenda told me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Scared-you bet!  So was she.  We fought that by praying and trusting, and nearly five years later there is no trace of cancer in Brenda’s body.  Praise the Lord, which we often have for that healing!

Other times in my life, before my walk with the Lord was as strong as it is now, I gave in.  I was in a job I should have left, but I watched the company crumble around me because I was so afraid of getting another job.  I allowed myself to be paralyzed by fear, and my inaction resulted in me being laid off and unemployed for eight months.  Even when I found a job out of desperation, it was at a lower level than the one I had lost.

Our actions always have consequences.  Giving in to fear can have terrible physical, emotional and psychological ramifications.  Spiritually, it also distances us from God when we really need Him the most.  Faith, however, works the other way.  The Lord gives us His strength, his peace, during the most challenging circumstances if we reach out to Him for it.  It keeps us away from the “why me?” mode and moves us into the “God has a plan for this” mindset.  Where would you rather be?

I’m not just talking the talk here; the Lord has given me an opportunity to walk it out in the workplace.  My team is responding to the calm and focus God has filled me with and been calm and focused themselves.  They are doing a great job of stepping up and producing what we need to so our upper management has the information they need to formulate a plan for moving forward.
That’s what the Lord always wants us to do-move forward.  It’s hard to do when you’re curled up in a corner shaking with fear, but NOTHING can hold us back when we are walking with the Lord and being fed by the encouragement of His word.  He says don’t fear, so don’t fear!

Encouraging Words-Start With the Finish in Mind

Start With the Finish in Mind

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?  Galatians 3:3 NIV

I’m sticking with a New Year’s theme one more week, but I’m going to take you forward to January 1, 2013.  Wow, that year just flashed by, didn’t it?  So what’s the rush?  None really, but bear with me for a moment.

Remember those resolutions you made last week of everything you were going to get done in 2012, how you were going to improve your health, how you were going to strengthen you walk with the Lord?  If not, may I suggest adding improving your memory to the list. 

So what will that look like this time next year?  If you’re trying to lose weight, what will your new body look like?  What are your goals?  If you said “I want to walk more closely with the Lord in 2012” what will that mean in 2013?  What does that walk look like in your mind?

The more important your commitment or project is, the more critical it is to start with the finish in mind.  When you get in your car, you usually have a destination in mind, don’t you?  You measure success by reaching your destination, and failure would be getting lost and not finding the location you set out for.

I am reminded of the book “The Principle of the Path” written by Andy Stanley.  In it, he defined the principle of the path as “direction not intention determines our destination.”  Essentially he says that we have to know where we want to wind up before we set out on a path in our lives.  We will take certain steps, but if we’re not pointing to a specific place how do we know where those steps will take us. 

Wait a minute though, if we’re thinking things through on our own, aren’t we taking it out of God’s hands and putting it in ours?  Psalm 16:11 says otherwise:

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Then there is Psalm 119:105 (also a beautiful Amy Grant song):

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Jesus warned us about taking the wrong path in Matthew 7:13

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

In Jeremiah 6:16 we are taught to carefully consider our path before embarking on our journey (look before you leap):

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

When the Lord has brought us to a time of change in our lives, He doesn’t tell us to turn our minds off and just wander off in the name of “trusting in Him.”  Remember how we’ve been taught that God has a plan for our lives?  Proverbs 3:5-6, a very familiar passage to many of us, spells it out very well:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

My takeaway from these and other texts:

1)      God has a plan for us that starts with step one, continues with step two, and eventually reaches a definable destination.

2)      Something may seem like our idea, but if it is truly in our hearts, it’s very likely that God put it there and will bless it.

3)      We need to trust and actively engage the Lord as we move through His plan by praying (ask where the good way is) and studying his word (a lamp unto my feet).

4)      If we lose focus on 1-3, our path will diverge from what God would show us, and we will wind up in a ditch or worse because our plan is NEVER better than His.

So you’ve got goals for 2012? Good.  Start with your finish in mind, seek the Lord’s blessing, submit to His will, and follow the path He lays out for you.  If your goal is to loose weight this year, he will not likely be leading you to McDonalds for double quarter pounders (sad but true).  If that’s the path you take, you may have the intention of losing weight, but I can say from personal experience that your destination will be different from your goal (probably the plus-size section).

Whatever the Lord is calling you to do right now, I encourage you to answer that call and Brenda and I will happily support you with prayer.  Please feel free to drop me a note and tell me what your goal is so we know what to pray for.

Encouaging Words-Calling the New Into Being

He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  Romans 4:17b (NIV)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a time of celebration and refreshment over the holidays and is ready to jump back into the tasks and opportunities of everyday living.

2012 is off to an exciting start for me and Brenda, that’s for sure.  We welcomed the New Year by sharing communion at the Resolution 2012 conference at God’s Remnant Ministries in Maryville, TN.  The conference was amazing, the music and dance were stirring, the words were powerful, and the fellowship was wonderful.  We had the chance to reconnect with some dear ministry friends, and make some new connections with some precious servants of the Lord.  A very special thanks to Pastor Pam Wright and the family at GRM for being such wonderful and loving hosts!

For me, Sunday was the highlight of the weekend.  I was moved to tears (bawling, actually) when the Holy Spirit grabbed ahold of me during a prophetic dance to the song “Lord, You’re Holy.”  I’m still not sure if it was a cleansing, an unbinding, or something else but whatever He did in me was amazing!  I had never had an experience like that before—God absolutely rocked my world and left me with a peace and sense of purpose like none I had ever felt before.

I was primed to receive the message brought by Bishop Randy Morgan, who based his sermon on Romans 4:17.  I was ready to own that principle and put it into practice.  What better way to start a new year than to take inventory of what has not yet manifested in your life and call it into existence by the power of the Holy Spirit! 

I can’t encourage you enough to mediate on this scripture and apply it to your life.  In case you are afraid I’m just being naïve or using wishful thinking, let me remind you, as Bishop Randy did on Sunday, that earlier in Romans 4 Paul reminded readers of Abraham, who God declared would be “the father of many nations” when his wife Sarah was waaaaay beyond child-bearing years.  God called into being something that was not as if it were and, as they say, the rest is history. 

Won’t you join me in speaking to what is not in your life and call it into being for 2012.  I am declaring that, by God’s power, Brenda will be pain free and regain full mobility and strength in her body!  I am declaring that Brenda’s family will come together in peace and harmony and those who don’t know the Lord will come to do so!  I am declaring that I will be a servant leader that reflects Jesus and can teach others how to do the same!   I am declaring that my best friend will enter into a relationship with the Lord that will change his life!  I am declaring that our ministry will grow and be a source of insight, strength, and encouragement to many people! 

The Lord has already blessed me and Brenda so richly that our list may be shorter than yours.  Since our God has no limits, make your list as long as you need to, then PRAY.  When you’re done, speak God’s promises back to Him about your situation and keep speaking them.  He is listening, and He will come through, even if sometimes He may be on a different schedule than we are.  Believe it, own it, and boldly move forward into the New Year!

I am also very excited to announce that Brenda and I are now co-leaders of Encouraging Word Ministries.  You can find our Internet home page at www.encouragingword.us. This is an extension of the Encouragement for Living (www.encouargementforliving.com) ministry that I’ve been doing and that will remain under this umbrella.   We are adding two new parts, Encouragement for Leading, and Healing for Damaged Emotions.

Encouragement for Leading will be a section where I will share what I have learned and put into practice regarding the concept of Servant Leadership.  You may have heard of the primary example of this practice-Jesus Christ.  We believe this applies to everyone because leadership is about influence, and we all have the opportunity to influence someone in our lives.  Like Encouragement for Living, this will also have a blog that can be found at www.encouragementforleading.blogspot.com or linked from our homepage.  I’ll also be starting a weekly “Leading Words” e-mail soon, which you can of course opt out of if you choose.

Brenda is leading the Healing for Damaged Emotions (www.healingfordamagedemotions.blogspot.com) part of our ministry.  This is an inner healing ministry that can be presented in a group workshop setting as well as a private, individual ministry.  We are available to travel to your church or conference, or have you come to our home for private ministry (with referral by a ministry leader).  Brenda is also available to give you a personal prophetic word, simply e-mail your request to info@encouragingword.us.

We are in the process of setting up a 501(c)3 organization, and are honored to have Jenny Hart, Robbie Ousley, and Doug Sewell serving on our Board of Directors.  We are also honored to serve under the spiritual covering of Bishop Randy Morgan.

If it sounds like we’ll be busy, well, the Lord has told us it’s time to get busy with His work, so we’re just following directions. 

Encouraging Words-Why We Should Give Thanks

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
Psalm 34:1, NIV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV

I hope all of our American friends had a great Thanksgiving enjoying a bountiful feast, lots of football, and not suffering any casualties during the ensuing shopping frenzy (don’t laugh, it happened).

Brenda and I shared the holiday meal with her family, which is still going through a challenging time after the recent passing of her mother and nephew. As you can imagine, a family experiencing the first major holiday without their matriarch dealt with a wide range of emotions.

Holidays in general can produce some of the most extreme emotions we experience at both ends of the spectrum. When things are good, when we are enjoying abundance, it is the best time to acknowledge and celebrate those blessings. It is also a time when we often miss what we don’t have the most intensely, whether it is material things or loved ones.

It is especially sweet to enjoy the security and opportunities that material wealth can provide, and Brenda and I are more blessed in that area than either of have ever been, either separately or together. While she is well along in the grieving and healing process, it was painful to see other members of her family, already in much more challenging situations than ours, still struggling mightily with the pain of loss and survivors guilt.

I believe the Lord spoke to me when I was asked to offer the blessing before our Thanksgiving meal. I gave thanks for those who were standing in that house, ready to dive into a delicious meal, and also gave thanks for those who weren’t with us, for what they meant to us and will continue to mean in our lives.

You see, giving thanks is not just a good idea. It’s not just a way of humbling ourselves by acknowledging the true source of our blessings (although I believe that is very important).

We should give thanks, first and foremost, because the Bible tells us to. I quote two verses above showing that message very clearly, but there are plenty of others.

The part of that we so often lose track of is to give thanks at ALL times.

Really? Brenda is supposed to give thanks because her mother passed away? No, but she should, and did, give thanks for the life she led, for the impact she had on her family and church, and for the knowledge that she is in heaven feeling no pain and enjoying her glorified body and fellowship with Jesus!

Is Brenda supposed to give thanks for the gaping hole her mother’s passing left in her family? No, but she can give thanks for the opportunity to draw closer to her sisters and nieces, to help them lean more on each other instead of her mother.

Is Brenda supposed to give thanks that her nephew passed away just as it appeared his life was moving it its most positive direction yet? No, but she can be thankful that this led to his daughter and two grandchildren got reconnected with his mother and now have the potential of having a relationship that was previously non-existent.

Our God is a “glass half full” God. In fact, He is always poised to fill the other half back up when some spills out, even though it may not look quite like (or anything like) what was lost. Sometimes we have to look very, very hard, but I believe there will always be something positive our lives can gain from even the worst events or circumstances.

If we have trouble seeing that in the natural, we can always ask the Holy Spirit to point it out to us.

Then we can give thanks, not just because God told us to, but because we want to.

Encouraging Words-The Blessing of an Uncluttered Mind

At that time the disciples came toJesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child to him, and placedthe child among them.  And hesaid: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, youwill never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position ofthis child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my namewelcomes me. 
Matthew 18:1-5 (NIV)

Brenda and Irecently had the opportunity to attend her great niece’s fifth birthday party,where we were blessed by the fact that the adults clearly outnumbered thefive-year olds.  While I was observingthe somewhat contained chaos that ensued from a safe distance, I was stuck bythe pure enjoyment the kids were having just running around and screaming andbatting balloons. 

These childrenweren’t worrying about going in to work the next day.  They weren’t preoccupied with family problemsor watching their 401(k) tanking.  Theydidn’t even care about the results of the football games that were inprogress.  All they were thinking aboutwas running around and screaming and batting balloons.  Did I mention the screaming?

How great wouldit be to be blessed with such an uncluttered mind?  I’ll bet that sounds pretty appealing. 

I think that isthe core of the text from Matthew 26, where the Lord tells us we should becomelike little children.  When is the lasttime we approached Him with an uncluttered mind?

It’s hard, Iknow, and I’m as guilty as anyone.  Myjob gives me responsibility for overseeing a team of 17 people, and it is rarethat I’m not thinking about something one of them did or needs to do or thatthey will be impacted by.  I try to be agood husband, so I’m thinking about Brenda and things that affect her welfare alot.  When I “relax,” I’m often thinkingabout my Ravens, Terps, and why my fantasy football quarterbacks are justkilling my team.

I have a hardtime clearing my mind when I come to the Lord, approaching Him like a smallchild (if only I had the same trouble acting childish).  God is quite the gentleman; he generally won’tshout at us.  More often, He is thatsmall, soft voice that can easily get drowned out by all of the noise in ourlives. 

It’s our loss,but it disappoints Him also.  God hasgone to a lot of trouble to build a relationship with us.  After all, that’s one of the overarchingthemes of the Bible, from Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to Jesus’ultimate sacrifice for us. 

I don’t think ourLord spends time being angry with us.  Ido think, however, that he misses us. You know how frustrating it is when you’re talking with someone whoreally isn’t paying attention?  Kind ofhurts your feelings, doesn’t it?  SinceGod made us in His image, isn’t it reasonable to think that when we come to himbut aren’t really focused that it hurts His feelings?  I think it does.

Now while I doubtthe Lord wants us to approach Him with the attention span of a five-year old(although a lot of us already do), He does look for an uncluttered mind, onethat is receiving Him and only Him.  Howcan we do that?  Here are a couple of wordsI will focus on and encourage you to consider—priority and trust.

The urgency oflife realistically prevents us from consciously making God our priority every wakingminute, but I think it is critical that we intentionally set some time asideevery day to do just that.  All rightGod, I’m turning off the TV, turning off my computer, turning off my phone, andtuning in to you.  Pray out loud, readscripture, or just meditate on Him and listen to what He has to say, but let’smake sure to have some quality time with the Lord.

How can we turneverything off, something might happen we need to know about.  How can I turn off all the noise in my mind,I have so much I need to be thinking about. Trust Him.  Trust that the worldwill not figuratively come to an end while you’re not paying attention.  Trust in the Lord that He has something tobless you with when you spend time with Him. Trust that He will show you a way to get things done, even when you’reoverwhelmed, after you take time out for Him.

God won’t shoutthrough the noise in our lives, but he will richly bless the quiet, unclutteredmind.  We just need to bring it to Him.

Encouraging Words-Sowing Seeds

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”  Mark 4:3-8 (NIV)

I had the opportunity to attend my 35-year high school reunion with Brenda this weekend.  As I anticipated the event, I suspected it would wind up setting the tone for an Encouraging Word.  I was right, but not quite in the way I expected.

I made friends in high school, but I wasn’t in the cool crowd.  My fiend Robin once said about us, “We weren’t the nerds, but we could feel their pain.”  My corollary to that was “we were nerds who went to the games and occasionally dated.”  As a result, when I attend my 10^th and 15th year reunions, I stuck very closely to friends who also fit that description and didn’t mingle a lot for fear of rejection (or re-rejection).

I’ve grown a lot over the years and went into the 35^th with a different approach.  I’ve learned how to “work a room” and wanted to reach out to as many of my former classmates as possible.  Having already connected with some of them on Facebook made that approach much easier, even though I hadn’t seen most of them since graduation—we have lived roughly 2/3 of our lives since then!  I was also immensely more comfortable in my own skin that I’ve ever been, and having my beautiful wife at my side and a good answer to “so, what are you doing these days?” definitely helped that.

Even with all of that going in, I was stunned by how the evening played out. 

People who I didn’t think would remember me not only did but seemed genuinely excited to see me!  Even more significant to me, I was asked to lead everyone in a blessing before the meal!  If that’s what I’m known for, then more of the seeds I’ve been sowing the last few years have borne fruit than I ever imagined!

This was a powerful lesson for me, and was further reinforced during the evening as people complimented me for the prayer. 

People pay more attention to us than we think.  We are sowing seeds into other people’s lives every single day. 

That hug and word of encouragement we might quickly give someone could stick with them a long time—it could be just the right word at the time they needed it the most.

If we talk the talk of faith but don’t walk it out in our everyday lives, people see that and remember it.  The words we say in faith have to have a foundation built upon how we live—people can sniff out a hypocrite at a thousand paces.

Conversely, when we endure loss, hardship, or other stressors, people are observing how we do so.  If we do it in a positive way where we are holding on firmly to God’s word and the Holy Spirit, more people than we imagine are seeing that. 

A wonderful example of this is my friend Karen, who has dealt with loss of hearing for most of her life.  She recently received an ear implant that has given her 90% hearing in one ear, and by her own admission you couldn’t shut her up at the reunion!  She was so joyful with this miracle and happily telling everyone her story of faith and praising the Lord for making it happen and thanking those who have been holding her up in prayer.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one paying attention.  Maybe someone’s life was changed last night by hearing her story.  We many never know, but that’s not part of the deal.  God tells us in Mark 4 that we are to sow the seeds.  The harvest is up to Him.

I encourage you to be mindful of the seeds you are sowing into the lives of your loved ones, church family, co-workers, or even the person serving you at McDonalds (yes, that one’s especially for me).  Even if you don’t have moments of affirmation like I did this weekend, those seeds can still grow and make an impact in someone’s life.  That’s something ALL spirit-filled believers can do.

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 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.

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 Words-Who Are You?

Zephaniah 3:17: The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (NIV)

Hebrews 13:5: He loves us so much that, He will never leave us or forsake us. (NIV)

Who are you?

No, I’m not asking it like an inquisitive six-year old or screaming it at you with obscenities like the Who song in the 70’s.  it’s a question I’m asking because it’s one we ask ourselves many times over the course of our lives.  I believe there are three sources we use to answer this question.  Two of them often mislead us, the other never does but we often forget to ask.

The first source is other people.  This starts from our earliest memories, a parent’s warm embrace tells us we are worth loving, while not being chosen for the basketball team shows us we don’t measure up.

I’m 52 years old and I still have tapes playing in my head of events that happened to me growing up that can still stir some deep emotion.  They are mixed, times I was praised by teachers in school and loved by my mother, but also scorned by schoolmates because, well, I was kind of a dork, and berated by my mother.

As I’ve grown older, the stakes have only gotten higher.  I’ve received performance awards and pink slips at work.  I’ve been blissfully happy in marriage and been divorced.  I’ve been distanced from what’s left of my family yet felt deep love and acceptance from my ministry family. 

The one thing that is consistent throughout is the inconsistency of people.  The best example that comes to mind from my life was the gushing praise I received from the Treasurer where I worked, only to have him turn around and get me fired a few months later.  Oh yes, that was at a church where I was a member—try and wrap your arms around THAT mixed message.  If we gauge our value as a person from what others think of us, we’ll only succeed in twisting ourselves up into an emotional knot and waste a lot of energy trying to untie it throughout our lives.

The second source is ourselves.  One of the lessons I learned from my mother was how to be really, really hard on myself.  This charming trait has made it very difficult for me to really enjoy the satisfaction of doing something well (“you could have tried harder Junior”) or to relax and enjoy doing nothing at all (“why are you wasting time when there’s work to be done?”).

Unfortunately, I know other people who have the opposite problem.  They have accepted as fact that they don’t have any special skills or gifts and just plod along in life.  They settle for mediocre jobs, mediocre relationships, and mediocre if any faith because they just don’t think they deserve or can attain anything better.

For those of you my age or older, you have probably heard the quote from the old “Pogo” cartoon strip where he said “We have met the enemy, and it is us.”  He meant “ours.” But that twisted cliché can carry so much truth in our lives.  We can set up filters so think around our brains and hearts that anything positive and encouraging someone says or event that happens to us can be negative.  Big bonus at work-“Look at all those taxes they take out.”  Interest from someone you would like to date-“Boy, they must be desperate to give me a second look.” 

Okay, now to the encouraging part.  The best source of answering the question “Who are you?” comes from our Lord and Savior.  You are a child of the Most High God!  So maybe you came from a poor or dysfunctional family (didn’t we all?).  Maybe you didn’t get high SAT scores and couldn’t hit a baseball sitting on a tee.  That is all secondary to the fact that you are a child of God! 

You are not an accident.  You are not worthless.  You are not unloved.  Many of us have heard some or all of those words from people who deeply hurt us, but in the grand scheme of things those words are lies!  Our heavenly father created us and has a plan to prosper us and give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Our Lord, who cannot lie, tells us throughout His word, from Genesis to Revelation, how much He loves us and what value we have in His eyes.  In light of this, does it really matter if our knucklehead boss doesn’t like us if our Lord loves us?  The correct answer is no.

So at the end of the day, who do we believe?  Do we take our parents’ word for it despite the emotional scars they accumulated before we ever came on the scene?  Do we accept the verdict of our schoolmates who are struggling with their own self-esteem issues?  Do we buy the verdict of our employers who may be pursuing their own agenda at our expense?  Or do we accept the word of the one person who loves us perfectly, unconditionally, and eternally?  Personally, I’ll go with the latter choice and encourage you to remember to do the same.

That’s the hard part, isn’t it?  We can sooooo easily get caught up in the constant flurry of activity in our lives that we just get swept away and lose focus on the only person NOT demanding anything from us.  Isn’t that ironic, as I find so many things are about God.  The one who could demand everything from us doesn’t.  He waits patiently with open arms for us to seek Him out.

It’s in those arms that we can truly find out who we are and be who our creator intended for us be.  Let’s make time to spend there this week.

Encouraging Words-We are ambassadors!

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV): We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

Do you ever feel like you are in a dead-end job with little important responsibility and ability to impact the world around you? I have information that can cure you of that, but you’ll have to read further down to find out what it is. Queue dramatic background music….

The organization I work for is very involved in the diplomatic community, so at the annual fundraising dinner I attended last week, there were numerous diplomats in the audience. Through the magic of assigned table numbers, I wound up sitting next to an ambassador from the country of Sri Lanka, a small island nation off the southern cost of India. She was a very pleasant lady, and we attempted to engage in some small talk, but a white-bread American like me didn’t have much in common with her.

We did share one characteristic, however. We were both at the dinner as representatives. She was, of course, representing her nation, while I was representing my organization. Anything either one of us said or did had the potential to impact how others felt about those we represented. Since the ambassador was only the second native Sri Lankan I had ever been aware of meeting, if she had wiped her mouth with the tablecloth or told off-color jokes, a portion of my brain would have attributed those characteristics to her entire nation. As it was, we were both pleasantly engaged with one another and probably left there with a good impression of those the other person represented.

This is exactly the point that Paul was making to the Corinthian church.

The cure for insignificance that I mentioned above is the realization that we are representatives of our Lord Jesus Christ! Those of us who live near the Nation’s Capital understand the respect that ambassadors from other nations receive. You’ve probably heard of “diplomatic immunity.” Well, we have that with God, and it’s called salvation. We are immune to the rule of Satan in our lives because we are covered with the blood of Jesus at the cross. The devil can’t touch us, just like our laws cannot touch those representing other nations.

More important than what’s in it for us, though, is the opportunity we have to impact the lives of others. One of the key functions of an ambassador is to influence others on behalf of those he represents. When we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, we can share that love and the power with others so they can also be blessed. Sadly, though, Christians often have just the opposite affect and chase people away from wanting a relationship with Jesus. I would have reflected poorly on the organization I represented at our dinner with obnoxious behavior, but even worse, especially if I had shared anything about my faith in the process, my obnoxiousness would have been an embarrassment to my Lord.

I encourage you to remember what I call “the gospel of Spider Man.” In the comics and the movies, he is motivated by the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility.” He didn’t use his power to catch a crook and his beloved uncle was later killed by that same crook. He didn’t use his power responsibly, and others suffered. When we don’t use the power of the Holy Spirit to positively influence others, we are not upholding our responsibility as God’s ambassadors.

When we head to work tomorrow, whether it’s as an executive or as a clerk, we have great power to impact the world around us if we have Christ. I encourage you to use it. Represent!

Encouraging Words is back!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Philippians 2:3-7 (NIV)


“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:42-44 (NIV)

Hello again everyone. It is a pleasure to be visiting your e-mail in-box again with Encouraging Words. Unless you no longer want to receive these, you can again expect one from me on a weekly basis. Brenda and I are emerging from a time of study and preparation for a new season of our Encouragement For Living ministry, and I’ll share a bit more about that at the end of this note.
I return to this aspect of ministry sharing the above scripture because humility has been lesson #1 the Lord has been teaching me over the last few months, and I think it is one we can all benefit from reviewing.

A few months ago, I had several goals that I felt squared very nicely with what I discerned the Lord’s plan was for me as an individual and for Brenda and me as a couple. Funny thing though; those goals were never reached. Attracting traffic for my Encouragement For Living blog and the Facebook and Twitter pages—not so much. Changing the culture in my workplace to one of cooperation and accountability for financial results—not even close. Achieving technical computer certifications—nada.

After a while, it got really frustrating. Sure, perseverance is a Godly trait and I was trying to do that, but sometimes failure to achieve objectives means you’re not seeking the ones that the Lord really wants you to have.

Then I ran across the text from Luke, and it just hit me right between the eyes—had I truly surrendered myself to God’s will? Even though everything I was striving for matched up very nicely with a good Christian life, was it really, really, what God wanted me to do?

As I kept studying the Gospel, I came back to the concept of servant leadership—developing the vision and setting the large goals for a team, then coming back behind and equipping people to achieve them. I found where I was falling short of that—I was still too focused on equipping ME and not nearly enough on others.

That realization has led to several significant revelations which have moved me away from the goals I stated earlier but have led me to ones even better. I yielded to the understanding that it is not God’s goal for me to be widely read in print or on the Internet, nor is it to achieve great notoriety at work and gain more technical marketability…yet. That may or may not happen down the road, but now is the time to not focus on myself—it is to focus on others. Rather than only writing encouragement, I need to make a greater effort to give it in person. Rather than focus on my own career management, it is time to be a positive influence and help those who work for me (17 at last count) grow in their careers and add value to our organization in the process. He’s already show me steps to take toward both goals.

Jesus is the ultimate example of humility—the greatest person ever to walk the earth who allowed himself to be treated like the worst because he put our salvation ahead of his glory, comfort, and His very flesh. I believe it is extremely helpful to keep that in mind when we feel our spouse isn’t meeting our needs, our friends aren’t attentive enough for us, or we don’t believe we are receiving the appropriate amount of respect in the workplace.

Are we putting others ahead of ourselves and not resenting the act of doing so? Jesus took that approach, in part, to show us how to. If He wasn’t too good for that, I know I’m not and I’m pretty sure you’re not either. I encourage you to start your day tomorrow with the intent of walking that out in your own life. Even if you don’t hold a formal leadership position, there are still ways we can all reach out and unselfishly bless others. The really cool thing is, we are the ones who wind up receiving the greatest blessings, as we always do when we live like Jesus.

If you live anywhere near Damascus, MD, Brenda and I invite you to our home on Sunday, September 11 to participate in the Encouragement For Living Fellowship. We sing, we praise, we worship, we study, and we, well, fellowship. Oh yes, we also eat. We’ve been doing this once a month whenever Apostle Dale Jarrett is in the area to lead us in worship music, but we’re now adding a second fellowship every month. Our next one will be on Sunday, September 25. People usually start arriving at 10:30 AM, and we get started around 11:00. We don’t have a program, we just allow the Holy Spirit to flow and encourage everyone to use the gifts of the spirit. Our friends Sharone and Erica and hoping to start another fellowship in Northern Virginia soon. I’ll let you know when that gets started.
Brenda and I are also gearing up for some travelling on behalf of ARC Ministries. Like us, ARC has been quiet in recent months, but that is changing. We will be attending the Healing Rain Conference hosted by Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefied, WV from October 7-9. We’d love to connect with you there!

I’m glad to be reengaged in this ministry. I hope you’ve been encouraged by this note. If so, please pass it on to someone who needs an encouraging word.

Encouraging Words-Hope

From Daily Disciples

Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 21:34

The word "hope" is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Psalms to bring encouragement in the Lord. Most of us speak of "hope" interchangeably with other words such as dreams, wishes, desires and goals. We pray and hope, dream and hope, and you can probably think of other words that you use in connection with "hope." The Bible most commonly uses the word "trust" in association with its definition. To hope in the Lord means that we are putting our trust in Him. In searching how often "hope" is used, I found that it comes up most frequently in the book of Job and the Psalms. One book describes pain and suffering; the other, praise and worship. But hope is the common thread in both.

When we are down, we are desperate for something or someone to place our hopes in or upon. We need to know that tomorrow will be better. We need to believe that lives are changing toward the good. If we are sick, we hope to be healed. If we are in financial crises, we hope for restoration and prosperity. If we are in any kind of trouble, we hope that everything works out positively. We hope for a tomorrow that is better than today. Without hope, where would we be? How could we keep going? Hebrews 11:1 says that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." We must trust in the only One who brings real hope – Jesus Christ. Though we cannot physically see Him, we must place our faith in His love for us. Jesus is our only hope, for only He has the power to change our tomorrows.

Do you need hope for today? Pick up God's Word and ask Him to show you His hope for your situation. regardless of where you are, He already knows everything about it. No trouble or trial is too great for our Lord. We have but one requirement: to place all of our hope in Him. There is no hope in the world, only fleeting moments. But God gives us hope in the eternal life that awaits us. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that our light affliction is but for a moment compared to the eternal glory that awaits those of us in Christ Jesus. Put your hope and trust today in Jesus. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit to comfort you with His hope of glory.

Encouraging Words-How Can God Bring Good From This?

From Encouragement For Today

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28 (NIV)


Have you ever faced a personal struggle and wondered how God could possibly bring good out of it? How could Romans 8:28 apply to my hidden issues -- the ones I don't like to think about, deal with, or even admit I have?

If you would have told me 10 years ago that God could bring good out of my weight issues and food struggles, I would have seriously doubted you. I would have rolled my eyes and excused myself to the bathroom.

Bathroom stalls are great places to cry in secret.

When a soul is rubbed raw from years of trying and failing, you don't want to hear, "eventually good will come from this."

I wanted something to instantly fix my issues.

I wanted to stop calling myself awful names I'd never let another person call me.

I wanted to be naturally thin like my sister.

I wanted to stop crying when I walked into my closet to get dressed in the morning.

I would have cared less about some elusive, eventual good. My jeans didn't fit. Even my sweatpants didn't fit. I felt horrible. I couldn't stay committed to a healthy eating plan to save my life. And I saw no hope in sight.

It's a terrible thing to scan the horizon and see no evidence of hope.

Maybe you've been there with some hidden issue. Maybe you've been there like me with food and weight struggles. Maybe you're there today.

Whether your issues are the same as mine or not, all of us Jesus girls have struggles. We all fall short in some way. And we all need to know more about this "good" mentioned in Romans 8:28.

But instead of a three point sermonette, I want to share with you a letter I recently received. As I read it, the mercy gates of heaven split wide open and reigned down "this working of good." It was heaven's salve soothing deep places in me.

It is a picture of the reality of God's Word being true. Always true. God does work for the good... in all things... every single thing… even our most raw and seemingly impossible things... but we must know it even when we don't feel it.

"Just want to say thank you for sharing your struggles, Lysa. I've had an eating disorder since August,1978. Full blown anorexia, which led years down the road to bulimia.

I became a Christian in 2002, but never could fully surrender my eating disorder to our Lord. Through your story and the advice you shared the Holy Spirit is empowering me as I never knew possible. I've had 7 days of no binging or purging!!!

This may not seem like a high number to you, but after 33 full years with this binge/purge addiction, this is AMAZING. Hallelujah!!

You shed such new light on scriptures that I have read, but never knew how to interpret in my life especially with regards to eating. I'll be honest I figured my eating disorder wasn't that big a deal to our Lord. In fact I had told myself that He made me this way so it must just be the sin I was born to deal with; so glad to know that it isn't, and that I matter to HIM." -- Melissa P.

As I read this, my tears leaked free. We don't have to figure out how God will bring good, we just have to stay on the journey with Him and watch Him work.

May this be a glimpse of hope in the midst of your struggles as well.

"And we know (we know it even if we don't feel it) that in all things (even the ones we can't even fathom being used for good) God works for the good. (He works for the good. Our job is to walk with Him day by day. His job is to work the good.)

Dear Lord, thank You for this hope. Thank You that You don't waste our tears, our struggles, or those places rubbed raw from years of trying and failing. Once we do what You've instructed us to do, You always do what only You can do. I know You will bring good even when I can't see it or feel it. And what a comfort that is to me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Encouraging Words-Chew It Up

From Reflections

Psalm 1:2, NIV: But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

It seems there are a great many questions in our hearts. We come to God’s Word and seek, and hope to find good Biblical principal by which to live our lives. If we don’t, we should. But when we do, what are we looking for? Perhaps we are looking for the answers to particular questions. There is much that God has prepared for those who will seek Him. But there are many simple truths within God’s Word that often become the “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” passages. They are often the treasures overlooked as we hurry to something more tailored to our wants. Moms are famed for instructing children to “chew” their food. God’s Word is something to be savored—something for us to consider—to reflect on. As we meditate on His Word, His answers are revealed. Sometimes we are looking for wisdom, but He is leading us to worship. Sometimes we seek purpose, while He is leading us to simply praise Him. The question we must ask when we come to His Word is foremost, “What does God want to say.” And with that, it would be wise for us to take the advice of moms to heart—and simply chew our food.

Encouraging Words-Don't Get Stuck

From Strength For the Journey

"Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:16

I had just landed in Phoenix for some meetings when the clerk at the rental car desk told me they were all out of cars except for one expensive luxury car that he would give me for the compact rate.

Admittedly, I was a little worried that someone seeing me drive up in this cool over-the-top auto would think that I had lost any sense of good stewardship. But it was, take the car or walk. So I took the car! And, I must admit, I loved driving the car—until my trip back to the airport.

Gliding down the highway in style, I heard an ominous thumping noise and knew immediately that it was a flat tire. I was stuck, and regardless of how nice the car was, I was going nowhere and would probably miss the plane. You probably know the feeling. You need to get somewhere and suddenly you’re stuck in a snowdrift or a muddy ditch—or you get a flat tire. No matter what, getting stuck is not a good thing.

And as bad as it is when you’re traveling, it’s even worse if you get stuck spiritually. You probably know what it’s like. Someone special to you wounds you with their words or actions, and rather than forgiving and turning the other cheek you get stuck in a fight with them only to realize that the more you try to get even the more stuck you become. Or perhaps in the midst of difficult circumstances, seeds of disappointment and bitterness take root and you get stuck in discouragement land. To say nothing of the fact that the spiritual blow of unconfessed sin can completely immobilize us.

All of this makes me love what I read in Hebrews 11: 6-16 . Real people, living in a world like yours and mine, refused to get stuck by the disappointing and discouraging circumstances of their lives. The common thread woven through these individuals is the fact that they saw themselves as “aliens and strangers” in this world, on their way to a “better country—a heavenly one.” Simply put, they caught sight of the fact that they were on a journey and that something greater awaited them. Nothing, or no one, would deter them from keeping their eyes on where they were headed. They refused to get stuck! And in Hebrews 11:16, we get a glimpse of God’s pleasure and delight in the way they persisted in their journey when we read that He is not “ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

So, the next time someone’s words or actions threaten to mire you down—the next time life’s circumstances give you an excuse to blow out and get stuck—remember who you are and where you’re headed. There isn’t a person or thing in your life that is worth getting stuck for! You’re headed home. They can duke it out by themselves if they choose!

Encouraging Words-Seated With Christ

From Daily In Christ

Ephesians 2:4-6
God . . . made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus

The New Testament clearly reveals that Christ's power and authority over Satan and his kingdom have been conferred to those of us who are in Christ. In Ephesians 2:4-6, Paul explains that when Christ was raised from the dead, those of us who have believed in Him were also resurrected from our condition of spiritual death and made alive "together with Christ." It's only logical that the head (Christ) and the body (His church) should be raised together.

Furthermore, when God seated Christ at His right hand and conferred on Him all authority (Ephesians 1:20, 21), He also seated us at His right hand and conferred on us through Christ all authority because we are "together with Christ." The moment you receive Christ, you take possession of what God did for you 2000 years ago. Your identity as a child of God and your authority over spiritual powers are not things you are receiving or will receive at some time in the future; you have them right now. You are a spiritually-alive child of God right now . You are seated in the heavenlies with Christ right now . You have power and authority over the kingdom of darkness right now . We have the authority because of our position in Christ, and we have the power when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul also related this life-changing truth in his letter to the Colossians: "In Him [Christ] you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority" (Colossians 2:10). Notice again that the action is past: We have been made complete. When? At the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. And since Christ is the God-appointed head over all rule and authority, and since we are seated with Him in the heavenlies, we have the authority and power to live responsible lives.

Prayer: Father, help me want to live responsibly, to claim my position as Your child, and to grow to full stature in You.