PRESSING in...

Philippians 3:12-13 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

I have recently been reminded by the Lord of a women’s conference that I attended a few years ago. The speaker was excellent and as she spoke she used a phrase over and over again and I don’t think I would have paid much attention to it except that the Lord brought it to my attention when, just before we went to a break, she used it for the last time.  That phrase was “Press in to the Lord” or “Pressing in to the Lord”.  When we went to the break I remember just sitting there in my chair, jelled out, while the other women were getting up and milling around or talking, I was thinking about that phase “pressing in to the Lord”.

As I was meditating on it, the Lord showed me this vision.  I saw Jesus in my minds eye like he is depicted in the movies when He walked on earth, dressed in robes, and he was standing on a grassy hillside.  Then the vision filled up with people that stood between me and Jesus.  I could see him, but I couldn't get to him because of all the people that were between me and Him.  He wasn't very far from me, maybe about 150 yards or so. Then He said, “Press into me” and I started moving forward through the people towards Him.  It was actually much more difficult than I initially thought it would be!!  The people were really hard to get past and it seemed like the harder I tried the more they pushed back and prevented my progress.  Then the Lord started naming these people that had come between us… He named them “busyness”, “T.V.”, “jobs”, “money”, “children”, “spouse”, “sleeping in”, “hobbies”, “fear”, “anxiety”, “doubt”, “unbelief”, “disappointments”, “anger”, “excuses”… Wow.  I realized that what He was telling me was that I was allowing these things to come between us and that He wanted me to PRESS IN past these things so that I could get closer to Him!  

Reading Paul’s letter in Philippians, He mentions pressing on towards the goal, straining toward what is ahead, and in Hosea he says “let us press on to acknowledge Him”.  These are all “action” words and phrases, to exert effort and energy!  I just looked up the definition for “press” and this is what it says:

1. to act upon with steadily applied weight or force.

2.to move by weight or force in a certain direction or into a certain position: The crowd pressed him into a corner.

3.to compress or squeeze, as to alter in shape or size: He pressed the clay into a ball.

It is SO much easier to allow other things to distract and prevent me from spending time with the Lord.  I can come up with a bunch of excuses but the bottom line is, if my desire truly is to get closer to Christ, then I need to exert steady force and really press in past the excuses and strain toward Him every day!

“… As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

Lord, I pray that you help me to lift the spiritual weights on a daily basis and strengthen me to be able to press in to you more and more every day!  Help me Lord to not allow other things to distract and prevent our time together but enable me to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" to strain ahead and press into you, in Jesus name I pray, amen!

"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." (Matthew 11:12)

Linda's Journal - Monday, April 11, 2011

 

March was a very intense month!  Many things happened and I even had one week that was super intense!

God continues to speak to me about doing a “new thing” in my life.  I have pretty much let go of doing another FWO group… not really sure whether this means “this year” or “ever” but I continue to take one day at a time as I wait on the Lord’s direction.  The good news is that Stacy started up her group on April 5^th!  I am very excited for her and I know she will do a fabulous job! :) 

I have been feeling very stretched lately.  It’s like the Lord is saying “Ok Linda, now that you have a handle on what I have given you up to this point, let’s go deeper!” Even though I am not doing a group, He continues to bring women to me, only these women are struggling with things that I have never dealt with before!!  Super and intense situations that, not only have I not experienced myself, but really have no experience with helping anyone with before.  The thought that comes to mind is, “it’s not about what YOU can do Linda, but about what God will do through you!”  When I think I have the answers, I run ahead of the Lord with what I think these ladies need, but, when I have “NO CLUE”, I can only look to HIM for the answers (and to be honest, HE truly IS the answer for all things, situations and circumstances).  I have gone from familiar to unfamiliar territories and have to trust the Lord more than ever for the words and the resources for these women… which is exactly where He wants me to be!

One of the new things that has come across my plate is that I was asked to speak to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group.  I let them know I had never been asked to speak before so this would be a first for me and they still were willing to take a chance and proceed with me.  A noteworthy point is that my speaking date was on March 22^nd, my 31^st spiritual birthday!!  What a neat way to celebrate 31 years of walking with the Lord!  So anyway, typically in the past, when I have had opportunities to get in front of people to say something, even for a minute, I completely choke!  My brain freezes, my heart pounds in my chest, my mouth goes completely dry, I stammer, stutter and walk away wondering what the heck I just said and if I made any sense to anyone!!  I think they call that stage fright! So, knowing this about myself, I wondered what on earth I was going to do in this situation.  I had 30 minutes to speak on Sexual addiction which seemed, in one respect, such a “short” period of time to try to fit in everything that I needed to say, and then in another respect, an “eternity” to have to stand up there in front of these people!  I was asked to speak early in Oct of 2010 and at that time, March seemed so far away!  I wasn’t stressed or nervous about it until about mid February… then, when I started thinking about it, my stomach would do flip-flops and I would start wondering if I would “choke” again like I have in the past.  So, I decided to take that time and really process “why” I get nervous and spent some time in prayer asking the Lord to help me understand this aspect of myself.  What was I afraid of?  Was it pride and the fear of failure? Or looking stupid?  I think it would be safe to say “all of the above”!  I also asked several people to pray for me which I know helped quite a bit.  So, in the end, I have to say, God pulled through for me big time!  I had the biggest frog in my throat all that morning and thought, in addition to “dry mouth”, I would be clearing my throat the whole time so I brought some water up with me.  But, once I got started, miraculously things just started clicking for me! Everything went great!  When I was done I saw my water bottle sitting on the podium and it was then that I realized I did not take one drink, and I didn’t clear my throat even once the entire time!  THAT was the amazing signature and fingerprint of God! He is so amazingly faithful!!

So, that was a Tuesday, and on Thursday morning I got a call from Gerry.  She asked me if I could come early that day because she had “taken a little spill” the night before and was in quite a bit of pain and asked if I would take her to the doctors!  As it turned out, she broke her hip and had to have surgery the next day.  So, I spent quite a bit of time at the hospital and taking care of things for her while she was there.  She is currently MUCH better and in a nursing home rehab facility and doing great!  She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and should be released sometime this week.  Since she lives at home alone, her son plans to drive her to Atlanta to stay with him and his family until she is fully recovered and they are confident that she can go back to living alone again.

Another update is that we were really hoping, and actually planning, to go to CA for this years family reunion in June but, at this point in time, it looks like we will not be able to go.  Since Candis works for the airlines she offered us her “non-rev” passes which would only cost us the amount of the taxes.  At that time, just a few months ago, the taxes were around $100 per ticket but now, for some reason, they have increased to almost $300 dollars each!  The amount of a regular ticket price!  Not to mention we would be last on the list for each flight, not knowing when, or if, we would ever arrive!  Then, Tom’s parents called to let us know that there wasn’t any room in anyone’s car to drive to Ramona with so we would need to rent a car and drive ourselves and then we would need to get a hotel room because there wasn’t room in the house for us to stay for the weekend.  So… that just increased our cost right out of the realm of possibilities!!  Tom is really bummed about it, especially since he missed his parent’s 80^th birthday celebration in April as well.  I know he misses his family and really wants to get there at some point in time!  But, for some reason, God is shutting those doors.

Another part of being “stretched” at this time is that God’s provision has decreased again to what it was before we started working for the B&B.  Our needs are still met but we don’t have as much “extra” as we have gotten used to having.  Part of that is due to the fact that gas prices have gone up again to almost $4 a gallon!!  It costs us $55 to fill the tank now!!  That is pretty much what I get from Gerry each week and it used to buy gas and groceries… now we can just get gas.  But, God’s faithfulness is never ending!  He has provided for us each and every day.  If not with cash, we get food given to us at random times from random people!  We never get tired of watching God work :)

Thank you Lord that YOU are in control of all things!  There is nothing that goes on that is surprise to you and nothing that is not within Your knowledge and control.  You always tell us in Your word “do not be afraid!” because with you in control, there is nothing to be afraid of!  I rest in Your loving and very strong arms as all manner of things come and go in my world.  Only You are worthy Lord of honor, praise and glory. In Jesus name, amen!

What does Satan REALLY look like?

Dark and Sinister:

I would like to present to you two scenario's.  The first one goes like this: You are approached by a person who looks dark and sinister, their eyes are shifty (or really intense) and their over all appearance is down right unpleasant and untrustworthy.  Everything about them shouts "I am a no good scoundrel out to take advantage of you!” And everything inside you shouts "avoid this person at all costs!"... And "run away"!!!  And then this person attempts to befriend you, making small talk and shows an interest in you and your children.  How would you respond?? If you are like me, you would make every effort to make haste and get out of that uncomfortable and creepy situation as quickly as possible, right??!!

Light and Friendly:

Now, here is the second scenario: You are approached by a person who looks good, has a kind and friendly demeanor and shows a genuine interest in you and your family.  There is nothing about this person that is outwardly alarming, scary or untrustworthy and they actually seem like someone you would want to become friends with.  Typically, we would not hesitate to engage in conversation with this person and, with our guards down, we share our lives, idea’s and heart… and maybe even exchange email addresses?

Lies vs. Truth:

I present these two scenarios to make a point.  In all the media, movies, books and programming, how is Satan depicted?  Isn't he depicted either as a silly, laughable man in a red suit with horns, carrying a pitchfork, or a dark, slinky, slimy, evil looking dude?  And even his voice is some how snake like as he hisses out his words…  (Insert Vince Price’s evil voice here).  Wouldn’t this depiction automatically put us on guard?  Wouldn’t we sense danger and flee?  Or, laugh hysterically if we saw him in a silly red suit… :)

Light vs. Dark:

So… what DOES Satan really look like??  How do we truly know when we are talking with him, or listening to him? Isaiah refers to him as “morning Star, son of the dawn!” (Isaiah 14:12) and Paul tells us that he “masquerades as an angel of light”!! (2 Corinthians 11:14) That is what is so funny about Hollywood and the world’s depiction of Satan!!  The two descriptions don’t match!  I think we are being set up by Satan to look for him as ugly and unpleasant so that when he does come, we are deceived, caught off guard and unprepared for his dark plan.  Jesus also tells us that he is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) so he is not going to be truthful in anything he does. So, with this information, we can be certain that he will not be an obvious person to avoid!!  The lie that he is selling us is that his physical appearance is ugly and displeasing, so we think we will be alerted when he approaches, but the TRUTH is, he will appear to us as a friend (angel of light) who is reasonable, kind and friendly. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 even tells us that he is capable of displaying “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders”!!

Good vs. Evil:

So, this is where the danger truly lies.  Satan’s greatest asset is that he appears to be “good”, “reasonable” and he makes complete “sense” to us as he approaches us and appeals to our common sense, our “logic”, and the desires of our “flesh”.  James 1:14 warns us that we can, “by [our] own evil desire, [be] dragged away and enticed.”  Satan presents things to us that are “good” and reasonable to our common sense, and then he twists God’s truth and causes us to doubt God’s word "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"… “You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman… For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:3-5)

Obedience vs. Common Sense:

Have you been dragged away and enticed?  Has God given you a calling or instructions that “reason” and “common sense” caused you to doubt God’s word?  I know I have! When I think about the struggle between common sense and obedience, I can't help but think about Abraham and what God asked him to do.  If I knew someone that told me that “God said” to sacrifice his son…  I would seriously question this person’s sanity!!  Common sense would say “God wouldn’t ask us to sacrifice our children”!!  Why would He do that!!?  Especially the LONG awaited son that was the result of a promise and a couple of miracles!  I have to admit, I would have struggled BIG TIME with those instructions!  I think I would have listened to “reason” and “common sense” and reasoned that maybe I had eaten something bad the night before and ignored those instructions.  But, there is nothing written about any struggles Abraham might have had.  The Bible tells us that “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.” (Genesis 22:3) and set out on the 3 day journey.  There was no hesitation… Even with that said, I can’t help but wonder, what went through his mind during those three days?  Did Satan come in and try to persuade him to turn around and go home by causing him to doubt?  I have to think that Abraham was not immune to the powers of Satan, BUT, we do have a little insight into the heart and mind of Abraham in the New Testament.  Paul tells us in Romans, regarding the promised birth of Isaac, that “he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,” (Romans 4:20).  And then the writer of Hebrews speaks about Abraham’s faith regarding God’s instructions to sacrifice Isaac; “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead,” (Hebrews 11:19).  Wow.  Now that is a man of FAITH.  His belief and relationship with God was SO good that there was no doubt in Abraham’s mind that God could and would do something… be it raise Isaac from the dead, or some other miracle, and he was still obedient even if God’s instructions did not make sense to him.  He did not let fear, doubt or common sense redirect his steps away from the task God set before him.  LORD, help me get there!!!

Faith vs. Understanding:

Ok, I’m sorry I think I digressed just a little bit there.  Anyway, just to reiterate, I believe one of Satan’s greatest deceptions is persuading us to believe that he is “dark and sinister” so that he can sneak in as "good and reasonable" to deceive us.  Then we actually believe that when we are listening to him,  we are doing the “right” and “good” thing, when actually, we are being disobedient, and being robbed of a greater relationship with our Lord and Savior.  Here are a couple scriptures that come to mind regarding our thoughts and understanding: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5). And another good one is:  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8)  How can we possibly think we can out reason God or understand His ways and plans for us?? God says NOT to lean on our understanding and tells us that His thoughts are WAY beyond anything we can possibly wrap our minds around.  So, the bottom line for all of us is, to have faith in God and trust that what He says is true and to be obedient to His word.  Don’t allow doubt, fear and common sense take you out of God’s will and His plan for you. Satan will always oppose God and convince us that He is unreasonable. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) It doesn’t take faith to do the “logical” or "reasonable" thing!  “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death!” Proverbs 14:12

Lord help us!

Lord Jesus, I pray that you would give us discernment to know the difference between Your voice and the enemy’s voice.  Your word tells us that Your sheep know Your voice…  I know that this “knowledge” comes from our “relationship” with You!  Help me Lord to pursue you with all my heart so that I can discern clearly the voice of the enemy!  Thank you Lord for leading and guiding us and for being the Light upon our path.  May we set aside the natural man’s desire to reason and allow Your Spirit to guide us no matter how “crazy. Illogical, or unreasonable” it seems, and trust in you with ALL our heart.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Words to LIVE by!

The other day I was searching for a scripture in e-sword, looking for the verse that said that God has already determined every place that we will “live” (which, btw, I found in Acts 17:26:”From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”)  So, when I searched under the word “live” in the New Testament, 121 scriptures came up and, as I was going through them, I was amazed at how many of these were instructions on how we should “live” as Christians!!  So, I thought I would pull them out and list them for myself:

Romans 1:17: "The righteous will live by faith."

Romans 8:4:”…do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

Romans 12:18: “…live at peace with everyone.”

2 Corinthians 5:7: “…We live by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:15: “… [We] should no longer live for [ourselves] but for him who died for [us] and was raised again.”

2 Corinthians 10:3: “...though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.”

Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 3:11: “The righteous will live by faith."

Galatians 5:13: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

Gal 5:14: “…Love your neighbor as yourself."

Galatians 5:16: “… live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Ephesians 4:1: “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Ephesians 5:2: “…live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:8: “... Live as children of light”

Ephesians 5:15: “…Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise,”

Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Philippians 4:5: “Let your gentleness be evident to all…”

Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God…”

Philippians 4:8: “...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

Colossians 1:10: “…live a life worthy of the Lord and may [you] please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,”

Colossians 2:6: “… just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…”

1Thessalonians 2:12: “… [we are] encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

1Thessalonians 4:3: “…you should avoid sexual immorality…”

1Thessalonians 4:4: “… you should learn to control [your] own body in a way that is holy and honorable…”

1Thessalonians 4:7: “…God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

1Thessalonians 4:11: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands…”

1Thessalonians 5:13: “… Live in peace with each other.”

1Timothy 2:2: “…that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Titus 2:2: “…Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.”

Titus 2:3: “…Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.”

Titus 2:4-5: “… train the younger women to love their husbands and children… [ to be] self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Titus 2:6: “… encourage the young men to be self-controlled.”

Titus 2:12: “… say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”

Titus 3:14: “… learn to devote [yourselves] to doing what is good… and not live unproductive lives.”

Hebrews 10:38: “…my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

Hebrews 12:9: “… submit to the Father of our spirits and live!”

Hebrews 12:14: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

Hebrews 13:18: “…desire to live honorably in every way.”

James 3:13: “…Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

James 3:17: “…But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

James 3:18: “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

1Peter 1:17: “…live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”

1Peter 2:16: “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

1Peter 2:24: “…die to sins and live for righteousness…”

1Peter 3:7-8: “Husbands… be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect…”

1Peter 3:8: “…all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”

1Peter 4:2: “… [do] not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

1Peter 4:11: “…If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides…”

1Peter 4:12-13: “…do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

2 Peter 3:11: “…You ought to live holy and godly lives”

2 Peter 3:14: “… make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”

2 Peter 3:17: “…be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”

2 Peter 3:18: “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

1John 2:6: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

1John 3:24: “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them.”

Matthew 4:4: “Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

There are still MANY more instructions like these but I think these are a good representation of what is listed and they will keep me busy for awhile…!!!

Father, I pray that these words and instructions will burn in my heart and mind and guide me in my daily life as I allow the Holy Spirit to remind and instruct me. I thank you Lord for making these instructions available to me and then giving me the desire and the strength to live them out. In your Holy Name I pray, Amen.

Linda's Journal - Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Last night, or rather early this morning, I had a dream that was very spiritual in nature.  It began when I overheard this girl talking about church or religion and saying “who would even want to have anything to do with it!” Even though I did not know this girl I felt compelled to answer her. I said something to the effect of, “There is a difference between ‘God’ and ‘religion’…  With God there is relationship and truth and it has the power to change and transform the lives of people…”  And when I was speaking, and sharing the Truth, I felt a shift in the spirit and I felt power go forth from my words and they had a powerful impact on this girl and it rocked her to her core and brought her to tears!! She felt the Truth of who Jesus was and recognized it! Then, later on in the dream I was sharing with another girl about the Lord and I wanted to show her something so I took her to a “locker room” type setting where I had my books and study’s in one of the lockers and on my way there, I saw the first girl that I spoke to sitting in the room, and she had a book and journal of her own with lots of notes and scriptures and was completely engrossed, enthralled, consumed, overtaken and overwhelmed by the Lord as she was discovering who He was… she was trying to explain it to me but words were not enough, just tears flowed from her eyes. I KNEW what she was feeling and I connected with her there and held her and caressed her like a mother with her child and it was like we shared a secret ‘treasure’ that few find! I assured her that she didn’t need to explain… I knew already what she was feeling and I met her there…  It was very cool!

When I woke up, I thought about both of these segments of my dream and processed them and then got up and did my yoga workout (Jillian’s yoga “meltdown” for the first time!).  After my workout I sat on the couch and got ready to read the “Adventuring through the Bible” chapter on Obadiah but before I did, I thought about the dream again and the connection that the girl and I shared with finding Jesus and the “Truth”. I have that now with some of the girls that I meet with… we share a connection with the truth and we are able to talk about Jesus and our walk with each other that we can’t with others and it is a very special thing. As I was thinking about this I pictured us, the women I have connected with, in a mining tunnel digging in the dirt searching for the gems and jewels we knew where there… and then discovering that the gems didn’t look like what we, or others, thought they would look like… but we found them while others looked past them and missed them!! The truth is always there but if we are looking for something else, we will miss it!! 

So, after that thought process was complete, I decided to get into Obadiah with Ray and was blown away by the Lord when I read the last sentence of the second paragraph; “…but diligent students mine an amazing array of rich treasures at a deeper level…”!!!! Oh my gosh! I never think about “mining” or digging treasures… and then when I do, God uses the same analogy in a book I am reading to confirm what I was thinking!  Lord, you are so amazing!!

Father, I thank you that you meet us where we are… no matter where that is. I thank you that you reveal Yourself to those who diligently seek you and reveal the treasures of the TRUTH in a world full of lies, deceptions and distractions.  You are Truth and Your Love is real and full of transforming power to make us more like You to bring glory to your Name, Amen!

What thoughts should we take CAPTIVE?

I have had a couple of rough months lately... for several reasons but I will spare you all the gory details :) My main struggle has been primarily with my thoughts... as usual... What else is new, right?!  Can any of you relate??  Although, I do have to say that this time the thoughts came from a different direction so I was caught off guard and it took me a little while longer to get back on track.  I have been wanting to write about "taking our thoughts captive" for a while so, now that I am on the other side of this, I thought that now might be a good time :)

Jesus has already won the VICTORY!

The enemy of our souls is constantly waging war against us... lying, deceiving, distracting and constantly working to keep us off track from our purpose as servants of the Lord.  He even uses "good" things to distract us from what is "best" ("When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye..." (Genesis 3:6).  Our mind is truly the only place where the battle continues to wage because Jesus has already WON the victory for us!!  Do we truly KNOW that the battle has already been won?  Do we live in the freedom He died to give us or continue to allow the enemy to take us captive even though Christ has already completely paid for our freedom??  Do we combat the lies with the truth of who we are in Christ?  Or do we just let him control our thoughts and let them run away with us?  Just for example, how many of us are still bound up in FEAR and ANXIETY.... ?  This world has pumped us FULL of reasons to fear but Jesus has not given us a spirit of "fear" but of Love, Power and a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7 kJV) Perfect love casts out all fear...(1John 4:18)  And how many times does He say "Do not fear"... Do we believe these truths or do we believe the lies that keep us in fear and in bondage?

What thoughts should we take CAPTIVE?

So, back to the question in the subject line "What thoughts should we take CAPTIVE?"  Here is a really good scripture to help us with the answer to that question: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)  

Did you catch that!!??  We take captive every thought that "sets itself up against the KNOWLEDGE of God"  Those are the thoughts that are most dangerous to our freedom in Christ.  I had never seen that before until recently!!  I always just skipped to the "take captive every thought" part.  Wow.  The enemy does NOT want us to KNOW God... Hmmm very interesting!!  Why do you think that is??  Could it be that there is freedom and power in our knowledge of Him??  When we truly KNOW Him, we will KNOW the Truth, and the Truth will SET US FREE!!  Now, here is another question... Do we know and trust Christ enough to make this happen now?  Do we know Him, His love for us and the freedom He has purchased for us enough to "stand your ground" and "stand firm" in the truth and full armor of God when the enemy comes against you with lies and distractions (Ephesians 6)?  If not, what are we doing about it?? 

Busyness.... Worry and Fear

So, what are the thoughts that come against our knowledge of God?  One of the biggies in this day and age is busyness.  Thinking we need to "DO" things for Christ... and thinking we don't have the time and are too busy to spend the time we know we need with Him; "I don't have time for you today Lord, I am too busy with church and Bible studies, children and activities... maybe tomorrow... or next week?"  I served the church and worked for God with my whole heart, for many years, but after all those years of hard work, I did not KNOW God any better than I did when I started, yet, those were the very things that kept me from spending time with Him!! Other thoughts that come against the knowledge of God, as I mentioned earlier, are worry and fear... about provision... will we have enough?  Worry about health, stability, family.... All of those thoughts keep our minds so busy with worry and fear that we are not meditating on God's truth and amazing provision He has already provided for us!!  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life....? (Matthew 6:25-32)  

Is God enough?

And, yet another battle of the mind, for those of us who have husbands that are addicts, are thoughts about our husbands!!  Focusing too much on him and the things he doesn't do (that we want him to do) and the things he does do (that we don't want him to do), and finding fault in things that he does that make us angry and then we run scenario's over and over in our minds of things that have never, and will never happened...  We spend so much wasted time on these unproductive and unpleasant thoughts that just tear us down and not build us up. We need to ask ourselves; Do I trust God with my husband?  Is God BIG enough, strong enough, wise enough?  Does the creator of the universe, heaven and earth, and all the things in them, need my help to fix things? These are just a few examples of the lies that come against the knowledge of God... how about you??  Can you think of any?? 

What does the Bible say about seeking the knowledge of God?

The last couple of years God has given me this burning desire to KNOW Him... I mean truly KNOW Him.  Not just know "about" Him or "of" Him, or even rely on all the things I have been taught about Him, but really truly get to know HIM.  So, now, whenever I am reading the Bible, I am seeing, (like for the first time) all the scriptures that talk about KNOWING God and Jesus and seeking the Knowledge of God.  Here are a few that I have found:

"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." Romans 1:28

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." 2 Corinthians 2:14 

"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6 

"...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13 

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Colossians 1:9 

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God," Colossians 1:10 

"Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth," 2 Timothy 2:25  - (Remember, Jesus is the way, the "Truth" and the life)

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-- " Titus 1:1 

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." 2 Peter 1:2

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3 This is a powerful one!!  Our knowledge of Him will give us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness...  wow.

"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" Philippians 3:8 

"He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, " 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'" Luke 8:10

He is speaking to His disciples here, the ones who "knew" Him the best... 

Have NO other motivation...?

In Oswald Chamber's September 16th entry he is talking about prayer.  He say's that we should all have times when we go to our quiet and secret places of prayer and during that time he say's that we should "Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven."  Now, that is a new one... and very challenging!  Aren't we supposed to pray for others? Pray for ourselves?  Seek direction and answers to our life's questions??  I believe that when we have "no motivation other than to know" our Father in heaven, all those things will be answered and taken care of (Matthew 6:33)!!!  That is another one of Satan's distractions of what is "good" but not "best"!  Yes, it is a good thing to pray for others, it is a good thing to seek God's counsel for life choices, but what is best is to truly KNOW HIM, walk with Him talk with Him, searching out the wonders of who He is...  like you would with your first love ("Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart...). One of my favorite song lyrics is "I want to know the color of your eyes"... YES!  That is my hearts desire!!  I can so see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, looking into His eyes (as Martha is all flustered with the cares of the meal), and she is longingly looking into the face of her Lord, listening to every word He speaks... saying nothing but desiring to catch every word that comes from His mouth...  I believe Mary truly wanted to "know" God and Martha was struggling with all the thoughts that "set themselves up against the knowledge of God."

What does it mean to "Know" God?

So, how do we define "knowing" God? What does that really mean?  I looked up a couple definitions to the original words that were used in these scriptures and have listed them below:

Thayer Definition:

1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel

1a) to become known

2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of

2a) to understand

2b) to know

3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman

4) to become acquainted with, to know

(I am seeing some "action" words here....)

Thayer Definition:

1) to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly

1a) to know accurately, know well

2) to know

2a) to recognise

2a1) by sight, hearing, of certain signs, to perceive who a person is

2b) to know, i.e. to perceive

2c) to know, i.e. to find out, ascertain

2d) to know, i.e. to understand

Relationship and Intimacy

All of these definitions really just boil down to "relationship"... and "intimacy".  The more time you spend with someone, invest your time with them, and pursue them, the more you will know them... That knowledge of them comes in handy when someone else comes along and speaks lies about that person!  If you truly know that person you can refute those lies with the truth of who they are... but if you don't know them, how can you do that?

So, in a nutshell, the thoughts that we are to take captive are; every thought that keeps you from pursuing and knowing God, thoughts that cause fear and anxiety, thoughts that make you doubt God's goodness and the truth of who He is and His love for you.  Thoughts that He is too busy, too weak, and/or just can't handle you or your life.  You need to take those thoughts captive by not allowing them to consume your thoughts and influence your behavior and then replace those lies with the truth of who God is and who you are in Him... but, remember,  that requires "knowing" Him and who you are in Him :)  Boy, this is so much easier said than done!!

Father, I truly want to KNOW You... I pray that you would give us ALL that burning desire, hunger and thirst that David had when he said "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Psalms 42:1).  I thank you also for the insight as to what the enemy is trying to distract us from... The knowledge of you is what gives us "everything we need for life and godliness"!  Help us Lord to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ and not let the enemy distract us with the "good" things when we can have the "best"!!  I pray that you would show each of us what that means and looks like in each of our lives, and give us the strength to live it out.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

Linda's Journal - Thursday, February 3, 2011

It has been awhile since I have written…  Not sure why, but I just have not felt led or “compelled” to write.  When I did, I didn’t have the time and the moment or inspiration faded with the activities of the days. I started sleeping in again which limited my time to do things like write, workout… and spend time with the Lord, but I am back on track now… hopefully I will stay consistent with this for awhile :)

I have been struggling with depression the last month or so.  I was going to start the FWO group up on January 6^th but no one was able to come so I was wondering what the Lord was doing. I felt like he was doing a “new thing” (Isaiah 48) but at this point I am still waiting. Then I made an email mistake with the FWO group that got several women very angry with me and that was very hard on me. Then I got a job opportunity presented to me that was VERY tempting but after prayer I felt the Lord reminding me that I already have a job and if I took that one, He would fade from my focus and the job would become my God. 

I have felt like the Lord is telling me to “forget the former things”… to look to Him and not do my normal follow-up emails and check-in’s with the girls but to let them go and trust Him with them. I have done my part and it is now up to them and Him to go forward. I tend to slip into my “fix-it” mode and try to prop up and encourage and convince these women of what they need to do, but they have to WANT to do it… if they don’t, no amount of propping, encouraging or convincing will help them.

This morning I was reading about the book of Jeremiah in Adventuring through the Bible and was reminded again that we are called to be “obedient” to what God is asking of us… not “successful”!!! The results are completely in God’s hands not ours. Jeremiah spent 40 years serving the Lord without success in the worlds eyes… ignored, persecuted, rejected, imprisoned and with no apparent results of his dedication, prophesies and words to the kings of his time.That seemed to hit a cord with me this morning. I have spent 10 years pouring my heart out to women who come to me, looking for help, but then when I tell them what they need to do, they either reject it, or say it is too hard and go back to the way they were. Very few of them really “get it” and do what they are supposed to do and then see the desired results. 

Ray Steadman’s final comments for the book of Jeremiah are “God is greater than our circumstances, our setbacks, our disappointments, and our opposition.  He is bigger than anything and everything else in our lives. No matter how depressing life may seem, the God who has called us is the same great God who is able to sustain us. If we take our eyes off our circumstances and fasten them firmly on God, then we will be strengthened to rise to our task and to achieve true success: obedience to God.”

This was a good reminder for me!! All I am called to do is be obedient… to abide, to fix my eyes on Jesus and trust God for the rest!! Thank you, Jeremiah, for your life and example to all of us to endure and be obedient no matter what happens, or doesn’t happen, in this life.

Father, I thank you for “being bigger than anything and everything else in our lives” and that your plan is the best, no matter what it looks like to me!!  Help me Lord to keep my eyes on you and not my circumstances. Thank you for my perspective adjustment this morning. Help me Lord to remember this and not to allow my circumstances to dictate how I feel about things in my life. In your precious name Lord, amen!