1000 Year Plan

Obedience releases blessing! A praise report!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 03:24:00 +0000

This is a follow up to my last post
http://1000yearplan.blogspot.com/2013/02/focus-on-jesus-with-our-eyes-toward.html

I have a wonderful praise report! The person who had bought the ticket to leave my life and run from the plans the Lord had for them CHANGED THEIR MIND at very literally the last moment. The result has been overwhelming. Obedience to the Lord releases the blessings He has laid up for you, and this person is living that out in a very large way. My family has been blessed, and we're excited to watch how God will continue to show off in their life because of this huge decision.

Prayer works! Obedience is ALWAYS the best plan!

Focus on Jesus, with our eyes toward eternity - to protect our Love.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:33:00 +0000

Today, God has illustrated to me a sad but critical lesson about the part we play in our relationship with Him. There is a very important person in my life who is choosing to walk away from me, not just me, but my entire family. Nothing I have said or done has been able to change this person's mind, or convince them that love is worth fighting for. After years of sharing life and honoring this person in heart, word, and deed, I've learned that not only has it all been in vain, but that our relationship was destroyed long ago by lies that took deep root in this person's mind so much that there is no amount of truth that will change today's situation. This person left their heart unguarded and the enemy was given a foothold long ago, whispering lie upon lie, until their mind was a mountain of steel boxes filled with untruths that completely shape their reality.

Friends, God loves us. He has done so much for us, that we can never be worthy of - but His love MAKES us worthy. He offers redemption and relationship without first requiring works or service. We can never earn His gifts. All He asks is that we choose to begin a relationship with Him, and then REMAIN in relationship with Him. That we love Him. Through that love, He transforms us, and through that love, we are inspired to do good works and acts of service, but they are not what saves us.

BUT - If we allow the enemy to convince us that our worthiness depends on our actions, if we allow the enemy to convince us that we have to clean up our hearts on our own, if we allow the enemy to convince us that God's love is conditional, then we begin to see God as a master who is constantly disappointed in us. We lose our love. We begin to do good works out of obligation and fear. We begin to tear apart other believers or withdraw and not have any fellowship at all. We also begin to critique God, and compare His love for us with His love for others, and become jealous or gloating.

The Bible tells us about this - and warns of this kind of relationship deterioration. At almost every wedding that happens in a church, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is read. Those verses tell us what love IS. With all key passages, I like to read the surrounding verses, and often, I realize the depths out of which the key verses rise. The first part of 1 Corinthians 13 tells us how important love really is. Without it, you can read your Bible all day long, and it simply doesn't matter. Without love, you can spend your whole life in service to the poor and it's worthless. Eternally worthless. You can even have amazing faith and great spiritual giftings, but when they are not paired with love, they are only of temporary value. Worse than that, the Bible says they are like an obnoxious noise!

We are to store our treasures in heaven, and 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us the only eternal treasures we can cultivate on this earth. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Our love for God, and our love for one another are the greatest treasures and should be most highly prized. Why then are we so quick to believe the world's definition of love, and the world's disposable view of love?

God doesn't force us to love Him. I can't force this person to love me, to love my family. I can't force this person not to leave us. I can make my pleas, and I can attempt to reason with them and convince them of the value of family and this relationship, but in the end, it's simply not my decision. Free will and the lies of the enemy are taking this person out of our lives. Free will and the lies of the enemy can take us out of God's presence as well.

Be so careful to guard your heart - don't let your love grow cold, even as the wickedness of this world and the lateness of the hour are so unsettling. REMAIN IN JESUS - and let HIM fan the flame of your heart's fire, focus on Jesus because only by remaining so close to Him can we ever hope to survive the coming days. Only relationships that are grounded in Jesus will survive as well.

If we are focusing on ETERNITY, and not our present circumstances, then love becomes more important than disagreement, more valuable than opinion, and more treasured than our own desires. We will have the kind of love that would lay its life down for a friend, or a daughter. We will love unconditionally and without condemnation. We will do good works out of our joy and love for God, and for one another, instead of to try to earn our keep or heal a wound. We will communicate and bear with one another, put up with one another, while we allow God to smooth the personality conflicts that are inevitable. But love overcomes. Love doesn't give up.

My heart is breaking over this loss, and what it means for all involved. The door of my heart will always be open to this person, but their choices are widening the gap more than I can bridge on my own.

Back to the Salt thing again...

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:25:00 +0000

Jesus tells us we are to be salt and light to the world.

Matthew 5:13 & 14

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden."

Often, I've been chastised by fellow believers who get bristled by my personal brand of salt and light, and I'm admonished to tone it down, or be more loving, or not to discuss certain things publicly. Now, I'm not writing this in response to anything recent - but tonight as I was enjoying a lovely and quiet drive home from visiting family God just popped this teaching in my head and I have to share it.

This teaching is long, so I'll split it in two.

First, let's talk about SALT:

If I had a dollar for every time someone said something like "salt makes things taste better, so if we are to be salt in the world, we should enhance the world around us..." well, I'd have at least
ten bucks.

But what else does salt do? How is salt supposed to behave?

Salt is a preservative - if you cure meat in salt, it will keep for a very long time, even without refrigeration. The meat's value is maintained, and it is kept useful and edifying to the body because it was treated with salt.

Salt is a purifier - one of the main ways that salt preserves meat is by killing the bacteria that would naturally devour it. It also is so powerful, that it makes unclean meat able to be consumed safely - how else are we able to eat pork and pork products? The bacteria that naturally live in pork meat could kill a person. Curing it in salt kills the bacteria, and viola - bacon. It takes what was detestable and not good for the body and makes it acceptable and able to be used.

Salt is a protector - say you were lost in the woods with nothing but your leftover McDonald's breakfast bag and you got cut on barbed wire from an old broken down part of a fence. You could tear open that little salt packet you didn't use earlier from your fork & knife package and pour it in that cut, and your chances of developing a nasty infection before reaching civilization and some neosporin and a band-aid will be next to zero. In the moment that an invading army of potentially flesh-eating microbes entered your system, salt protected the body against a serious and possibly deadly threat.

Salt is painful - did I forget to mention that you'll probably cry like a baby when you pour that salt on that cut? The healing properties of salt carry with them one mean sting, but it's a small price to pay for your life. The pain that salt brings to an open wound is the signal that healing is taking place and that the wound is being purified.

Salt is powerful - It's a basic building block of our planet. Did you know that if the salt in the sea could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth's land surface it would form a layer more than 500 feet thick, about the height of a 40-story office building? Salt is foundational to life in our oceans, and our water cycle in general. If that salt all of a sudden wasn't "salty" anymore, life on this planet would literally die off. Salt dissolves in the oceans and interacts with other minerals to create an environment that is life-sustaining.

Salt is poison - As much as God used salt in the Bible to purify and protect, He also used it to ruin fertile ground - think Sodom & Gomorrah, and a half a dozen other instances as well. In the ocean, massive amounts of salt are the mainstay of life...but on the soil, massive amounts of salt are deadly poison. The same is true in the body. If you consume too much salt, your heart will suffer and you may even die. Salt in heavy concentrations is poisonous to the body, and to the land.

So, while salt does make things tasty...it has other purposes too. Putting salt on our food to enhance its flavor is just part of salt's important role in the world. If we are to be the salt in the world, besides making life more vibrant and interesting, we have other jobs too.

Christians as preservatives - what are we to preserve? We are to preserve justice. Isaiah 56:1. We are to preserve the Gospel. Galatians 2:5. Another word for preserve is "keep." We are to keep Jesus' commands. John 14:21.

Christians as purifiers - what needs to be made pure? We are to purify our hearts. James 4:8, 1 Timothy 1:5, 2 Timothy 2:22, 1 John 3:2&3. We are to purify our minds. Philippians 4:8.

Christians as protectors - God is our protector, but what can we protect? We are to protect the ones we love. 1 Corinthians 13:6&7. Another word for protect is "guard." We are to guard ourselves from hypocrisy. Luke 12:1. We are to guard against greed. Luke 12:15. We are to guard against sin becoming accepted in our midst. Luke 17:3. We are to guard our doctrine, guard those under our spiritual care, and guard against false doctrine. Acts 20:25-31. We are to guard the gift of salvation and the understanding of the Kingdom. 1 Timothy 6:20, 2 Timothy 1:14, 2 Peter 3:17. We are to be on guard against the enemy. 1 Peter 5:8.

Christians causing pain -when is pain an act of love? Salt causes pain when it is applied to an infection that is growing in living tissue. The infection in the Body of Christ is sin. When we rightly deal with sin, it may cause pain, but it will preserve the Body. If sin is not dealt with quickly, and appropriately, and the infection is allowed to spread, Body parts can get gangrenous and need to be removed entirely. That is never God's desire. Better the pain of discipline and healing, than removal. Matthew 5:30, Matthew 18:8, 1 Corinthians the entire 5th chapter, Titus 3:10, Ephesians 5:27.

Christians with power - What Christians have is foundational to life - eternal life. Sharing what we have makes us a life-sustaining powerful force that can offer rescue to the world from death. The good news of the Gospel is what we have, and what we must share to bring life to the world. If we spread out and cover the most territory possible, we can be as effective as the sea at making sure the whole world not only hears the gospel, but sees it lived out through our lives and testimony. Our tides can change generations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Matthew 11:5&6, Acts 5:42, Acts 8:4, Romans 15:18-20, Ephesians 2:17.

Christians as poison? - There are two ways to look at this - God used salt as a punishment for ungodliness, so from time to time God may still use salt (Christians) to bring a punishment to pass. But don't confuse punishment for judgement. A father disciplines those He loves. Revelations 3:19, Proverbs 3:12. (Praise God that He disciplines us gently, as opposed to how He deals with the world. Deuteronomy 29:23)

However, you can look at it another way, and that is that if we are to be salt in the world, we should probably strive to be be salt in the ocean, all spread out and salient, instead of on land, all piled up and killing things. Yet - what do we see happening in the Church today? Statistics show that large churches are getting much much larger, and small churches are getting much smaller, and closing their doors. Instead of dotting our map with mega-churches, wouldn't it seem more biblical to have a unified network of smaller churches covering the entire map, communicating and working together to fill gaps, and capitalize on strengths and weaknesses? Imagine if all the salt in the ocean was balled up in salt-pockets. Mark 16:15, Romans 10:15.

On a more personal level, like the heart - as we are salting the world around us we should be careful not to over-do it and clog the arteries so to speak of those we are witnessing to. When trying to reach the lost - think sprinkles, not spoonfulls. John 4:36-38.

Phew - I told you this would be long...but also an exciting and important lesson. Don't let anyone misuse popular Scripture quotes in an attempt to condemn you or shut you up. If you are rightly dividing the Word of God and being SALT in any of the ways that SALT is supposed to behave, then you just keep on keeping on. Be encouraged - so that you won't lose your saltiness.

How can you lose your saltiness? By not behaving like SALT is supposed to behave! We'll talk about how LIGHT behaves another day. Now...go have some pretzels or something...you know all this salt talk has kicked up your cravings.

If being humble is rewarded, what will happen to the proud?

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:57:00 +0000

We talked about the promises God makes to those who aren't afraid to humble themselves, and today I want to take a look at the consequences if hanging on to our pride. I think just about everyone knows the saying "pride goes before a fall" but that's not the half of it.

Here's the source of the saying we all know:

Proverbs 16:18 - " Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall."

also Proverbs 18:12 - "Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor."

But what else can we learn about pride?

The Lord Himself deals with the proud. He humbles His children by changing their circumstances or afflicting them so that their pride is stripped away - look what He says about the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness...

Deuteronomy 8:3 - "He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Deuteronomy 8:16 - "He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper."

Others He just wipes out.

Proverbs 15:25 - "The LORD destroys the house of the proud"

But either way, He doesn't just blow it off. He really hates pride.

Proverbs 16:5 - "Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished."

Often God will keep our resources limited (finances, influence, etc) to protect us from the pride He knows is lurking in our hearts. He knows that when life is good, we are prone to forget Him.

Hosea 13:6 - "When they had pasture, they became satisfied; they were satisfied, and their hearts became proud. Therefore they forgot Me."

Do you feel like God is resisting you? Does it seem like everything you are trying to accomplish, even in ministry, is hard and uphill? Check your heart - are you certain you don't have pride to repent of?

James 4:6 - "Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

What should be our response to pride when we recognize it?

Proverbs 8:13 - "To fear the LORD is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech."

1 John 2:15-17 - "Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever."

Pride in our lifestyle - I've been convicted of this because I really didn't think anything of being "proud to be an American" and pursuing the "American Dream" but isn't that really just pride in my lifestyle? It's only by the grace of God that I was born here, and not into the extreme poverty that grips most of the planet. Who am I to be proud of that? It's not my doing...or my parent's. Only God.

What does Jesus say about pride? Check out the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector...

Luke 18:9-14 - "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteousand looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple complex to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.'
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me—a sinner!' I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

If we are so self-assured that we are doing good with God - we run the risk of being like that pharisee, over confident, arrogant (prideful) and condescending. God expects us to always remember that it is only His mercy that makes us worthy and holy - not our own great efforts. We are never to approach Him with anything less than humility.

I don't know about you, but I've had to be humbled by God many times in my life. For years I lived out the very words of 1 Corinthians 8:1 - "Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up." I was real short on love, and long on arrogance. Thankfully, the older I get, the more I realize what I don't know, and I've learned to pray that God would increase the love in my heart and my ability to share His grace and mercy with others. I admit though, I still struggle with pride!

Pride comes with self-confidence: "I can handle it." No, I can't. I need the power of Christ in every situation, and so do you.

Pride comes with accomplishment: "I did this." No, I didn't. Without the gifts, talents, abilities and health that God has given me, I wouldn't be doing anything.

Pride comes with comfort: "I'm doing well." No, I'm not. I'm always one step away from disaster and only God allows me success and a comfortable lifestyle - lest I forget it, and He takes it away.

You can think of other ways pride shows up in our lives - "I can figure this out," "I don't need anyone's help," "I deserve to be happy," "I," "I," "I..."

I pray that if you feel convicted of pride in any way shape or form in your life, that you will take this opportunity to humble yourself before God and begin to practice spiritual discipline to remove pride and keep it from rearing it's ugly head and thus hindering your progress in the Kingdom.

Promises for the Humble

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:45:00 +0000

I can't get past this topic! I keep thinking we can move on to another verse or section of the Sermon on the Mount, and then I get sucked back into this word - Humility. Today I want to share with you two things:

The Webster's Dictionary definition of Humble so we know what we're aiming for...

1: not proud or haughty ; not arrogant or assertive

2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission <a humble apology>

3: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant, unpretentious

4: not costly or luxurious <a humble contraption>

Examples of the word humble in a sentence:

Despite all his achievements, he has remained humble.
He is very humble about his achievements.
She is too humble to let praise go to her head.
Please accept my humble apologies.
Her humble suggestion is that we review the data more carefully.
He comes from a humble background.
She's not ashamed of her humble beginnings.

Other words for Humble: compliant, demure, down-to-earth, lowly, meek, modest, unassuming, unpretentious

What Humble is NOT: arrogant, cocky, conceited, condescending, egotistic, haughty, huffy, immodest, narcissistic, overbearing, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, proud, self-centered, superior, uppity, vain

* * *

Now let's look at promises in God's Word for those who aren't afraid to be humble...

Psalm 10:16-18, "Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully, doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed so that men of the earth may terrify them no more."

Psalm 22:26, "The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!"

Psalm 25:8 - 10, "The LORD is good and upright; therefore He shows sinners the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep His covenant and decrees."

Psalm 37:11, "But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity."

Psalm 51:17, " The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart."

Psalm 149:4, "For Yahweh takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation."

Proverbs 3:34, "He mocks those who mock, but gives grace to the humble."

Proverbs 29:23, "A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor."

Isaiah 29:19, " The humble will have joy after joy in the LORD, and the poor people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."

Isaiah 66:2, " My hand made all these things, and so they all came into being. This is the LORD’s declaration. I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at My word."

Matthew 18:4, "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 23:12, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

1 Peter 5:5b, 6 & 7, "clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.

Tomorrow we'll look at the other side of humility. God has all these promises for the humble, but He also has consequences for the proud. The thing about pride is, anybody can have it, and we often don't even realize we suffer from it.

Use today's verses to encourage you in your resolve to remain humble - or as incentive to become humble if you are feeling convicted of pride or any of those words up there that are "not" humble. Remember our first "to do" is to become like Christ, and being humble is part of that project.

Power of Humility

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:09:00 +0000

As I was researching for our post on Matthew 5:3, I noticed a trend that I thought deserved it's own entry. We were discussing what it means to be "poor in spirit," and Scripture gave us as part of that definition, to be humble. We learned that Jesus was humble, and we learned that in God's economy humility is like currency. When we are humble, He exalts us or lifts us up.

When I read through all the verses in the Bible that deal with humility, I noticed quite a trend in the Old Testament with the many kings recorded in 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Over the years, Israel and Judah had many earthly kings. Some were good, and some were bad. Some started out good, and ended badly, and others started out horrible, and ended well. Humility was a huge factor as God judged those kings. Let's take a look...

King Ahab of Israel. He was one dirty dog. He and his wife Jezebel were so evil, their very names are to this day synonymous with evil. Jezebel has an evil spirit named after her. Bad folks. You can read their story in 1 Kings 16:29-33 Then Chapters 18-22, but I want to focus on 1 Kings 21:27-29. Elijah the prophet had just hand-delivered a scathing judgement from God, exposing Ahab's evil heart and how burning angry God was toward him for his wickedness.

What was King Ahab's response? "When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around subdued." He was afraid. He heard the word of the Lord against him, and he trembled. What did we learn in Matthew 23:12 about God's currency? "he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Really? Ahab was horrible. His whole life he did what was evil in God's sight. Would God really be true to His word with such a scoundrel? Verse 29 is God's response (speaking to Elijah), "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before Me." Yes, God forgave Ahab and didn't deliver the punishment Elijah had prophesied.

However, sin still has to be paid for, and since Ahab lived long before Jesus and salvation through grace, God said "I will bring the disaster on his house during his son's lifetime." If you flip to 2 Kings 9, you can read how God fulfilled his word through Jehu, who was annointed by God to be king of Israel in place of his nephew Ahaziah (God had promised not to cut off David's lineage, but He was doing some rearranging). Jehu was used to fulfill another judgement from God also, in eliminating the entire lineage of Ahab. (2 Kings 10:11) Don't feel too bad for Ahab's kids though - they were just as wicked as their folks.

Ahab is just one example of humility rescuing a king from God's wrath. I won't dig into all the stories - you can read them on your own if you're interested, but here's a quick list:

King Josiah of Judah - I like this whole story - Josiah was just a kid, and he did BIG things. I also love that the word of the Lord was delivered to him by a WOMAN prophet - Huldah. 2 Kings 22:18 - 20 "Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD: This is what the LORD God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you—this is the LORD’s declaration— therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”

King Rehoboam of Judah - he was David's grandson, and it was during his reign that God's people were split into two kingdoms, Judah & Israel. He started out good - following the Lord and making wise decisions as he built his kingdom, but once he got comfortable, he abandoned the law of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 12:5-8 the prophet Shemaiah delivers God's judgement, and Rehoboam and his leaders "humbled themselves and said, 'the Lord is righteous.'" God's response was the same as to Ahab "They have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them," Verse 12 of the same chapter refers to Rehoboam's humility again, "When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord's anger turned away from him."

Judah's King Hezekiah - he was a good king, but he became proud, and when God healed him from a grave illness, he didn't give God the glory - so God was angry. But in 2 Chronicles 32:26 "Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart - he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem - so the Lord's wrath didn't come on them during Hezekiah's lifetime." The king humbled himself, and because of his leadership, so did all of Jerusalem, and God was pleased.

Then there's Manasseh, his son. Manasseh probably ties Ahab for the Evilest King award. Not only was he evil, he plunged all of Judah back into idolatry, worse than ever before. God gave Manasseh several chances, but he ignored God, as did all the people. So we can read in 2 Chronicles 33:10-13 that God allowed Manasseh to be captured by the Assyrians and led away by hooks to Babylon. Have you ever known anyone who was so stubborn, they only cried out to God when their lives were in crisis? That was Menasseh. "When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to Him, so He heard his petition and granted his request, and brought him back to Jerusalem. So Manasseh came to know that the Lord is God."

This passage gives hope to all the parents who raised their kids in the Lord, only for them to run screaming the other way as adults. Hezekiah raised Manasseh to know God, and although Manasseh was evil beyond measure, in the end, he came back to God. JUST like God promises in Proverbs 22:6 "Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Might take a while, but God is faithful!

* * *

Humility is powerful. A humbled heart has the power to melt God's heart. Humility comes before repentance, and the two go hand in hand. When we sin, we must repent. Even as believers, we aren't to deliberately go on sinning (Hebrews 10:26). God is the same God today that He was when these kings were alive, and even the good kings had to reckon with God when they sinned. So do we.

Humility, repentance, a healthy fear of God - all part of our definition of "poor in spirit" from Matthew 5:3. Foundationally necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven.

What then, is your response? I hope that you understand the power of humility and necessity of repentance. I hope that you will allow God to convict your heart and that you will respond with humility and repent.

Yesterday's Homework

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:17:00 +0000

Yesterday we learned some hard truths about relationships and I hope that you have had time to meditate on them. Have you had the chance to make any apologies to anyone yet? One of the hardest parts of apologizing is mustering up the humility to just do it. Our pride gets awfully big, and awfully in our way in moments like those. If you're struggling with humility, hopefully today's teaching will help.

We're going to break down Matthew 5:3 today, and travel all over Scripture to gain understanding about this key verse. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs."
Amen! That's what we want right? Our 1000 Year Plan is all about the Kingdom. We've got plans to make it there. Ok. So, are we "poor in spirit?" What does that even mean?

Whenever you read a passage of Scripture that doesn't quite make sense to you, there are a few quick things you can do to help. First, if your Bible has cross-reference footnotes, you can look up any verses that are related to the one you're unclear about. In my Bible, this verse has two footnotes - let's start there.

Isaiah 57:15, "For the High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: 'I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and revive the heart of the oppressed.'" That's a related reference that defines a little better for us what "poor in spirit" means.

My next footnote takes us to Isaiah 66:2, (and up in verse 1, you'll see this is God talking again through the prophet Isaiah) "My hand made all these things, and so they all came into being. This is the Lord's declaration. I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and who trembles at My word." Our definition is getting even clearer, which is good, because I was still not sure what He meant by "lowly." He first reminds us who He is - our maker, the maker of all things - then explains characteristics He favors in us, His creation.

So, we've got oppressed, humble, submissive, and reverently fearful. We can take those words back to Matthew 5:3 and get a better understanding of who this first blessing is for.

Another way to search the Bible is to use a concordance which can be found in the back of many Bibles. There are also online resources like http://www.biblegateway.com as well where you can look up a keyword or phrase and find every verse in which it appears. Let's see what else God's Word says about being "poor in spirit" using the definitions we just found.

Still in Isaiah, tucked in with a prophecy about Jesus in chapter 53, verse 7, we learn that Jesus experienced oppression; He can identify with the oppressed. "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth." Not only was Jesus oppressed and afflicted (prophesying here about his final hours before the crucifixion), but He didn't defend Himself, didn't complain, didn't fight back. Later in verse 12, we learn that Jesus was also submissive, "Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels."

Jesus was humble too, we see in Zechariah 9:9 a prophecy about Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. "Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." He was entering as a king, and being celebrated as a king, not on a high horse, but a donkey.

Jesus described Himself as humble - in Matthew 11:29, "All of you, take up my yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle, and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves."

Then Phillipians 2:8-11 we read "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death - even to death on a cross. For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow - of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth - and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins, with humility, and out of obedience. He wasn't up there saying that's right, look at what you made me do. And because of His humility, God exalted Him, confirming what Jesus explained about God's procedures in Matthew 23:12, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (and fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12 we just read).

We are to strive to be like Christ, so it's important to understand what about His nature it is that we are to emulate. I think we're on a really good track here, and it strikes me that we're learning these things by examining the very first phrase the Bible records of Jesus' teaching.

From moment one - He's telling us that the KEY to the KINGDOM is in being like HIM. Wow. One verse. And we know our first "to do" that we need to put on our 1000 Year Planning List. Be Like Christ. He knows how hard it is to be oppressed, afflicted, beat down. He knows how hard it is to be humble, and obedient, and submissive. He lived out all those things, as an example to us, and to bring us victory through Him!

He suffered and died to pay our sin debt. But He rose again to give us new life. We have a different kind of debt as believers. Our 1000 Year Plan is pre-paid with Christ's blood, but not without specific instructions about how to keep it a "free" plan. Have you ever bought something "free with mail-in rebate?" You actually have to mail in that form, otherwise, you're out the money, right? Well Jesus left us a mail-in rebate...and we do have to mail it in, so to speak. We are to love one another. That's our postage paid rebate form.

Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."

Mark 12: 29 - 31, "This is the most important, Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

And that brings us back to yesterday, and going with humility to ask forgiveness from those we have wronged, or anyone who has a problem with us, whether we think we've wronged them or not. Offering forgiveness even when it hasn't been sought. Humility, relationships, reconciliation - basically the theme of the entire Bible. If you're hesitating to go make things right with someone, and you love Jesus, believe in His Word - you *might* want to get over that hesitation and take care of your business so you can move on.

We've got a lot more to learn, and even more to put into action. We're just getting started.

{I'd love to read stories of reconciliation in the comments if anyone is willing to share.}

You Got a Problem With Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:21:00 +0000

Relationships can be hard. They're often messy, frustrating, and sometimes even volatile. You won't find one perfect family out there. In every family there are conflicts that run the gamut between periods of silence at the very least, through passive-aggressive banter, cold shoulders, to rifts and all out blowups.

There's always one aunt who isn't talking to that cousin because she overheard his wife call her fat, or a mother who refuses to accept the fact that her daughter-in-law really can manage a household without her input. There's a brother whose lack of career motivation frustrates his ladder climbing siblings and a divorced grandfather who moved away and nobody seems to even acknowledge is even still alive.

Besides all of that, there are the daily battles waging between husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings...then we're supposed to duplicate all this "relating" at church with our church family too?

Actually, Jesus teaches us not to even think about church unless we've dealt with the relationship problems in our lives. Specifically, when we know that it's us who's in the wrong. Matthew 5:23 & 24 says "if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift." Be reconciled - apologize. Make it right. Do your part to heal that relationship before you even come to worship. Since we're supposed to come to the altar regularly, this means we should be performing regular relationship maintenance as well.

Sometimes you're not in the wrong though. Sometimes you have a good reason to be angry. Depending on the nature of the relationship, you may find it very difficult to forgive them at all. Personally, I struggle most with the egregious repeat offenders in my life. The people who make me actually do the math; what is seventy times seven, anyway? Yep - I can be done now. Jesus talks about that too. Same spot, verse 22, "I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement." Before I enter into worship I have a responsibility to clear that anger - to let it go, release it, forgive the offense. If I don't, then my offering, whether it be my tithe or my service or my worship, won't be pleasing to God.

God is more concerned with the state of your heart, and your relationships, than He is with your giving. He designed you to be a social being, reliant upon others, contributing to a community, and any breakdowns in relationships are harmful not only to the community or family, but also to your health.

Jesus takes this idea of protecting relationships even farther in verse 23 when he warns against name calling. What is the bully's favorite weapon? Words. Every bully who gets physically abusive starts out with verbal taunts and jabs. It's the same whether you're talking about first graders on the bus, a husband on the edge, or an insecure boss. Verbal abuse is loosely defined and generally tolerated. Jesus' definition of verbal abuse is quite strict. "whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire." What? Think of all the words we use that are similar - airhead, idiot, stupid, dummy - and that's just the lower level word-daggers we have in our modern day arsenals. He said hellfire. I've had to take myself back to the foot of the cross more than once about this issue. My mouth is my biggest liability. Yours probably is too.

Jesus knew that words carry weight, they impact us, they stick with us, they affect our thinking. Of course He would understand that - He is THE Word. John 1:1 & 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and took up residence among us."

The very beginning of this little section of Matthew 5 is verse 21 where Jesus reminds the crowds about the sixth commandment with which they would have been very familiar. "You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgement." Most sane and rational people can say check, I got that one covered. Not gonna kill anybody. But since we looked at this passage backwards, we already know that Jesus was setting his listeners up for some shocking expansions on that three word nugget from Exodus 26:13.

I wonder how many men who were standing on the edges of the crowd with their arms folded smugly heard Jesus' words and muttered "nutjob!" under their breath and left in a huff.

The point was and is, that murder begins in the heart. If we tear one another apart with our words and our thoughts, we are guilty of murder. If we harbor anger, grudges and feuds, we are guilty of murder. If we are unwilling to apologize and beg forgiveness, we are guilty of murder (murdering the relationship). If we are unwilling to pay restitution or prevent lawsuits (verses 25 & 26) we are guilty of murder (murdering our reputation, and the reputation of Christ)

Repentance and forgiveness is the only answer. Today, it's time to admit where you have crossed these lines, GO do all you can to make things right and restore your relationships, and repent to the Lord.

If you need a little push to get you going, flip to Matthew 6:14 & 15 - "for if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing." That "if you don't" part - that's your push.

There will undoubtably be people who refuse to allow you to repair your relationship with them. They may refuse to forgive you. They may unleash a whole new level of abuse on you for telling them you forgive them for something they won't take responsibility for. That's ok. At that point, it is not your problem. You don't have to beat yourself up if restoration is not possible. Just let them know that your door is open, and then keep it open. Pray for them. You never know what God will do.

You may be having to forgive someone who has died, or maybe the person you wronged is the one who has passed on. Let Jesus be the substitute for that person - just as He was our substitute when He paid the price for our sin, and pour out your heart to Him.

For those repeat offenders, I've found that there is wisdom in maintaining a guarded relationship. I have to keep myself from sinning by getting so jaded with "forgiving" that it becomes it's own form of bitterness. Abusive relationships are unhealthy, and it's ok to remove yourself from them. Sometimes, restoration is something we hope for, we leave room for, but every relationship takes work on both sides. Personally, I have seen God do amazing things in this area. I quietly distanced myself from an abusive relationship with a family member, and turned the situation over to God. It was painful to let go, and as years went by and this person didn't change, I was tempted to write him off for good. But God was faithful, and after ten years, our relationship is not only restored, but he is a whole new man and he treats me and my husband and kids better than I could have ever expected. God cares about relationships.

Remember our 1000 Year Plan? What will endure? What do we get to take with us from this life? What is eternal, and therefore vital to the Kingdom?

Our relationships. With each other. With the Lord. Relationships. That's it, that's all we get to keep, that's all that matters. If we are going to focus on developing our 1000 Year Plan, we've got to care about relationships as much as God does. Protect them. Nurture them. Fight for them.

If I was focused on a 5 year or even 10 year plan, I'd have missed out on my restored relationship. Isn't ten years a short time to wait when I'm thinking in thousands? Next time you don't get a thank you card, or your mother-in-law brings up an ancient quarrel, think in thousands, and remember that relationships might be hard now, but that's only because of sin and this fatally flawed world you're breezing through. In less than a blip, not even an ip - it will be over, and all you get to take with you are those hammered out treasures - our relationships.

In the new heaven and the new earth sin won't weigh us down, so why let it weigh you down today? Jesus said "repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!" Matthew 4:17 - His first spoken words in the New Testament. Repent today, let go of your pride and apologize. Forgive offenses and give out some big hugs.

Resolve to live the Kingdom lifestyle here and now. Picture yourself 1000 years from now, knowing all these things won't even be a vague memory.

Seasoned to Taste

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:52:00 +0000

Some people will pour salt and pepper on their entire plate of food before even tasting a bite as if they have some kind of fear of flavor. One time, I asked a family member as they were dumping salt on their food pre-dining, why they make this a habit. They assured me they could not taste the food without the salt.

When I began my journey to physical health in 2009, I learned a lot about salt. Immediately, with the information I obtained, changes were made, and out went the iodized, overprocessed table salt. I introduced our family to fresh ground natural sea salt. It's ugly. It smells weird. But it TASTES amazing, and all you need is a little, tiny bit. We realized that the common, cheap table salt we'd grown up on had no flavor whatsoever in comparison. Actually, if anything, now I can taste a faint hint of bleach when I'm out at a restaurant. As our family switched from processed to natural & organic foods, we found this taste sensation to be true across the board. All natural, minimally processed foods taste significantly better and are fundamentally healthier for us.

We've been tricked. As consumers, we've been railroaded in America into loading up day after day on tasteless junk that is killing us. There's no way they can fix the junk to make it better either. You can't add a process to an already over-processed sugar granual to bring it back to an organic state. You can't chemically adjust the bleached salt to synthetically put the natural sea salt goodness back in.

What has this cost us? Our health, lives of loved ones, quality of life, energy, self-confidence, money, the list goes on and on. Who did this to our food? How did this happen? Leadership. Leadership of governments, corporations, regulatory entities that were corrupt, lazy, greedy, careless, and neglectful.

Let me put a spin on our topic. Imagine with me that the consumers are the World - the unbelievers. Imagine that the salt is the Church - the believers. Wait - that's not imagining, that's Scripture. Matthew 5:13 - "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It's no longer food for anything but to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Too many people call themselves Christians, but their faith, their walk, is like overprocessed, bleached and tasteless salt. They have allowed themselves to sit under teachers who artificially whitewash, water down, use synthetic fillers, and even genetically alter the Word of God as they are spoon fed Sunday after Sunday in the neat little rows at their processing plant.

Jesus' words about such a person are difficult.

As we journey through His sermon on the mount together, we'll encounter many difficult portions. Harsh, even. Don't let it discourage you, but challenge you. The first time I read the fifth through seventh chapters of Matthew with Spiritual eyes, I was blown away at what I had been missing all the other countless times I'd read it, heard sermons on it, memorized it...and for a while I felt so convicted by what I read that I allowed the enemy to convince me I'd never be good enough to enter the Kingdom of God. That in fact, I'd already blown it and there was no hope for me even through repentance. I can assure you, any thoughts that cross your mind like those, any fears of inadequacy or unworthiness - those are from the enemy who more than anything does not want you to understand this fundamental, foundational truth - the first instruction from the human mouth of God.

Are you a victim of overprocessing? Genetic altering? Were you spoon fed a bleached and synthetically fluffed up faith? If so, then it's time to get far away from that leadership who did this to you, and go directly to the wellspring of Living Water [Jesus] who will wash away that useless salt, and fill you with the perfect combination of natural, pure salt derived directly from the outpouring of His blood.

There are two things happening in the Christian world today, as prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24:12-14 about believers in the end of the end of days - "because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come." There's much to discuss from those verses, but two things to deal with at the moment.

1. Many believers will fall away from the faith (also called the Great Apostacy or falling away)
2. The good news or the Gospel about the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world. (a great Revival)

God is busy sorting - restoring order - preparing His Bride for Jesus' return. Christians worldwide are undergoing a sifting process right now, and it's unique to this particular time in history. God has always demanded order, but this time - this scale is different. If you're reading this, you've likely been hit other places with similar messages already. God is reaching out to you. He is calling you, placing you in His collander. Will your faith have substance? Your salt be natural pure rocks? Or will your faith be synthetic, and your salt be shaved and processed so fine that it falls right through?

You have been granted this day to repent, to be renewed and restored. Let Christ give you fresh salt so that you can not only be healthy, but you can bring health, life, vitality, flavor to the World - the unbelievers around you.

Father God, You alone are worthy to be praised. You five me life and breath and second chances. You have called me to be separated, and as I see my turn in Your hand approaching, I see that I am not ready. I praise You that You have given me this day to realize my lack. To repent of my apathy, my laziness, my irresponsibility. God, I want to be flavorful, fragrant, and whole. I want my salt to bring honor to You, and not be found tasteless and useless. I choose to return to the foot of the cross where You first rescued me, and start fresh, with a new filling of Jesus' love, His vigor, His trustworthiness. I place myself under Your care, and remove myself out from under from leadership that has allowed me to fall so far. You are my shepherd. You alone will never let me stray. You alone have sought me out and restored me to Your care. Thank you, Father, for Your relentless pursuit of my heart. Thank you for giving me hope and a future with You. I praise You because Your kingdom reigns, and Your mercy endures forever. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Seriously? This is important.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikayla Kayne) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:18:00 +0000

I've heard it said that life is too important to be taken seriously, and I have no idea what that means, but I do know that life can feel too serious most of the time. Especially in today's economy, climate, political quagmire, everywhere we turn, important things are seriously messed up.

The amazing thing is that spiritually speaking, THIS life, THESE important things, are just a blip...our childhood...and REAL life doesn't even begin until we're long gone from this one. If we can maintain the proper perspective, the troubles of this life become not only manageable but light. In the scope of eternity, what is today?
Less than a blip. It's not even an ip.

Thinking about life that way has helped me realize that today's problems are nothing, even when they look enormous. When trouble comes my way - I laugh and say "it's not my problem!" because I learned long ago that I can't do anything about anything. When I try, boy do I make messes. God knows how to sort things out, and He always does, if I keep my hands off and wait for His instructions.

Remember that your life is eternal - take just a moment and imagine with me...do you think in a thousand years, we'll be reading each others thoughts and ideas on some heavenly social network or sitting around gorgeous hillsides sharing life face to face? I can tell you, we won't be discussing politics or religion - finances or sports scores. How silly all that will seem, when we're in the presence of the Almighty.

Try to spend your days here and now preparing your heart for 1000 years from now instead of working on your five year plan. What can you take with you beyond this life? Your relationship with Jesus, and your spiritual children. Pray daily that your natural children will become your spiritual children as well, and pour yourself into them. Build relationships within the Body of Christ (other believers) and limit your exposure to the world to the basic tasks of living, evangelizing and serving others. This life is short, regardless of whether it's good or bad, but we all can make it count for the Kingdom.

What's important is the treasure you should be banking in the heavenlies, and what's serious is the reality that too many of us are more concerned with the distractions and activities here in the "ip."

Matthew 6:19-21
Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.