OPEN HEARTS

Dear Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:32:00 +0000

I want you to know I am going to take a sabbatical from posting. There are numerous reasons that I will not go into at this time. That being said, I will only write when I feel I am being led to write; therefore, something might just pop up and you will be notified.

Feel free to download any post and use them for your benefit and for other's benefit. I make no claim on any of the posts. I hope you will share and or teach or use in any manner you see fit.

Thank you for your interests over these past seven months. God bless and take care of each of you during these turbulent times.

In Christ,
Micky Land

Connecting with the Love of God

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:28:00 +0000

Today I want to share with you a section from my book Ending the War with Myself. Chapter 1 is entitled "Something is Wrong: Why Don't I Connect with the Love of God" The title implies there are numerous obstacles in our lives that hold us back from actually experiencing in our inner man/woman the love and grace of God.

We all know perpetual willful sin keeps us in a downward spiral of despair. When in this spiral our negative self-talk further keeps us from experiencing God's grace. Additionally we might not recognize other unknown things blocking His Grace. Following are two sequential passages delineating just one of those possible unknowns. Remember, God's grace is ALWAYS available to His children. We often block it unknowingly.

Toxic Lies Guide our Lives
Each of us was wounded in some way during our growing years, some more than others. We experience wounding in smaller or larger events at school, at home, in our neighborhood, in church, on sport teams, and in other groups. Some of the wounds we vividly remember; some are more subtle and we may not remember them at all. These events may cause us to internalize lies about ourselves. These poisonous, toxic lies silently drive our lives.

How a father treats his child is critical. Perhaps he had little personal interaction with you, but you noticed when you excelled he commended you and seemed proud of you. You might say to yourself, “For my father to love me, I must make him proud of me.” This statement gradually becomes, “To be loved, I must be successful in everything,”

We can see how toxic this false statement is when we acknowledge we can not always be successful.What happens when you are not successful? It is the "what happens when you are not successful" that causes us pain. We have a tendency to berate ourselves and when we berate ourselves, we feel emotional distress. We actually feel and believe, "I am not loved." We strive even more for success, fighting feeling unloved. The toxic lie drives our lives.

As a different example, you may have experienced a father who often slapped you, and yelled, “I wish you had never been born!” You come to believe the lie, “I am worthless and deserve to be slapped around.” This toxic lie colors all your relationships with men who continue to wound you.

According to Dr. Ed Smith, “the only authority Satan has in a Christian’s life is based on the lies we believe.” Either an authority figure tells us a lie or we tell ourselves a lie as to regarding who we really are in Christ, God’s love is just a concept in our minds. Healing takes place when the lies are exposed.

The Effects of Childhood Wounds
Accepting God’s grace has roots in these childhood wounds. As children, we learn how to treat ourselves by the ways others treat us. If perfection is expected, we expect we should be perfect. In spite of knowing, we truly cannot be perfect we try diligently anyway. Soon we begin to dislike our "imperfect selves". We try to be strong, but we feel false shame in that imperfection. We try to hide our real selves and earn acceptance so that the false self we show looks perfect.

Under all this working, earning and trying, our wounded self remains.
If the wounds we suffered are not examined and healed, they do not just go away with time. Wounds of our past adversely influence our inner lives and our current relationships.

Recent technology now allows us to understand how the brain functions. Different parts of the brain perform different functions and holds different types of memory. Understanding how our brain holds our past pain gives us reason to go on an inner journey into our hearts with God to heal our childhood wounds.

The front of the brain, called the cerebral cortex, is the area of conscious thought, perception, and logic. The outer layer of the cerebrum is composed of gray matter and forms a cap over the rest of the brain. This cerebral cortex is labeled the thinking cap. It holds and organizes information and facts and works well with numbers, but it has no feelings to go with the logic. Like Mr. Spock, a Vulcan in the television and movie series, Star Trek, who could not feel emotions, some people have so suppressed their emotions they operate almost exclusively out of the cerebral cortex. They operate in a superficial and informational kind of way.Cerebral individuals generally do not have deep intimate relationships because they are too emotionally closed down to connect with others. As an aside, there is a reason they cannot connect.

In the back of the brain, the limbic system holds our emotions, our pain, and our emotional experience memory. Sometimes referred to as the emotional brain the limbic system is the site of emotional states (anger, sadness, fear, etc.) and behavior (what we do with our emotional states). The emotional brain has no words to express its' self and has no understanding of time. Any emotional pain experienced in our growing years is still alive in the emotional brain waiting to be triggered in the present. We can "time travel" back to the pain while in the present.

The emotional brain will override the logical thinking cap every time.
The emotional brain may surprise us by causing us to overreact repeatedly. We may have little to no awareness a dynamic triggered from our childhood wounds have triggered us. These triggers control us and wreak havoc in our relationships. It feels like what is happening in our emotions is our present reality. We believe the person in front of us is intentionally doing something to us when an emotional feeling of the past triggers us. We blame the other person for our overreactions.** In reality, any heightened disproportionate response is born in the emotional memory set from a past event. However, we do not understand any of this; therefore, we judge ourselves and blame others for our bad actions.

Once we are spinning reality by judging ourselves, and blaming others, it is as if we are on automatic pilot to self and relational destruction. This formidable pattern is so pervasive; I believe Satan loves to fan the fire of our self-defeating spiritual and psychological drama. Satan can easily accomplish his objective simply by letting us fly on automatic pilot into the mountainside to crash and burn. Healing comes when the lie is exposed.

Using a mind, will and emotion paradigm, we see how these parts of the brain are centers for different contributions to healing. The mind centers in the thinking cap, holding the facts. Emotions center in the emotional brain, holding experiences as vivid emotional feelings. Our will plays a part as we choose to work or not to work in concert with God toward healing. God desires to heal this destructive cycle within us. When we over react we can choose to cooperate with God and allow Him to expose and then heal our over reactions, toxic lies and wounds.

Without accepting His grace, we will have difficulty experiencing the peace that passes understanding. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]” (John 14:27)

**You can determine if your wound is in control. You will feel and know when you are over-reacting. Something will happen that pushes you to handle the event in a child like manner. When triggered, yes the other person may have said or done something that was upsetting, but our child like over-reaction says something deep in you is touched. I use a scale of 1-10, 10 measures the strongest over reaction. One person with healthy relational skills will measure a 3-5 while when confronted with an uncomfortable situation, another person who is wounded will register a 8 to 10. This person will experience a 3 of the present event plus the 8 of the wound of the past which equals a 10; over the top.

Whose We Are

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 01:01:00 +0000

dreamhost codes
Each of us has our own relationship with God. It may be a love relationship, an angry relationship, a neutral (neither hot nor cold) relationship or even an "I am not speaking to You, God" relationship. But all in all, we have some sort of unique relationship with God. I remember telling my teenage son, "I don't have any issues with Jesus, as I can see how loving and compassionate He was with the sinners of His day, but God is another story. I don't feel safe with Him." My son piped up and said, "Mooooooooom!!! They are one and the same."

I knew that but that was not how it felt to me. Jesus was safe but God, I was not so sure He was safe. Since then I have settled that issue with God- both are safe for believers. However, back then I had my own skewed relationship with God and His Son Jesus. The amazing thing about our having skewed relationships with God is it is similar to the song sung at the end of every Billy Graham revival. God takes us "Just as I am without one plea." He accepted me confusion and all.

We are all somewhere in life where we might not desire to be. What is crucial for us to knowis it is not where we are that is our focus but Whose we are and where He is taking us that is essential. If I focus on my ability to love God, I will always fall short and when I fall short, I have a tendency to berate myself, which pushes my spirit down into some degree of oppression.

I often say to the students in my classes, "When you and I made a commitment to God through His son Jesus, we made an imperfect commitment to Him, because we are human. What do humans do best? Operate imperfectly. God, on the other hand, made a perfect commitment us; a commitment to make us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ." I find this gives me comfort as the emphasis in on God's work in and through me to perfect me not on my work to perfect myself.

It is like a surgeon who is preparing to operate on you. Your job was to make the appointment, follow up on that appointment and when told you needed surgery, show up for the procedure. The surgeon and his team will do the rest. They will remove that which is keeping you from living a rich, full, healthy life.

So it is with God. He prefers working on us from the inside out and desires we corporate with His expertise. His disciples asked Jesus the same question we seem to ask.

"What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." John 6:28

We have a "to do". That to do is to believe. Believe God sent Jesus to show us the love of God. God not only loves us but also accepts us with all our idiosyncrasies, inhibitions and neuroses.
We are to believe: Ephesians 1:5-7 (Amplified Bible)

“5For He (God) foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [[a]because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]--
6[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor."

Because we are accepted in the Beloved, we can take any condemnation off ourselves for not being all we would like to be in Christ. In so doing, we will align ourselves with God. He says in Romans 8:1,
1THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Imagine that, no condemnation for the believer! So were does that condemnation we feel so intensely come from? It comes from us, which by default commissions Satan to fan the fires of disbelief into a wedge between God and ourselves. Satan longs to build up hundreds, even thousands, of wedges between you and God until they become an impenetrable wall. When God says I love you, I accept you, I forgive you past, present and future, I do not condemned you; it is then our job to agree with Him. If we are not in agreement with Him then we are choosing to be in agreement with Satan. What would that look like? We would live and express life through our lies. "I am not loved. I am not accepted. I am not forgiven and I am condemned by God."

We can know what the Bible says yet until we can know because we know in our "inner man/woman" that what the Bible says is true for me, our lives will be as James 1:6 declares,
"For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind like a wave tossed upon the sea.”

I find my best approach at this Christian faith as a human is to remind myself Jesus came for the sick and He uses small, seemingly weak things. By sick I mean all the way from our having neuroses, to lack of faith, to addictions, both good and bad ones, to relational issues, to anger issues, and I could go on.

A father asked Jesus a tentative question regarding his sick son. He asked,
"If you can do anything have pity on me and my son."
And Jesus said, “[You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!”
24At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, “Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!”

This verse speaks to me. Even if my faith is weak and my "believer" seems to be set on barely audible, God can and will work with our authenticity about our lack of belief.

I find the most difficult requirement from God is for us to admit we have a problem. Yet we see this father confess his faith as muted. Jesus honors the father's integrity to admit that he may not have enough faith. God acts for those who see they are the problem and they desire to be changed.
As an aside, I hope this helps you understand why we have so much hate and pain in this world inflicted by humans. There are millions of people who do not stop to consider God's existence, who will not admit they have problems that need healing and do not desire God to change them. God will not cross our boundaries. Being real with God is immense to Him. If you are where this father was, then that is where you need to begin. Know it is "a ok" with God. He takes us wherever we are and loves on us.
In closing, we have four to do's as Christians. These "to do's" minister to our Father.

1.Desire God.
2.Believe in the Son and all the good He has for you, even if the faith is the size of a mustard seed.
3.Agree with God as to who I am to Him.
4.Be authentic with God regarding your weaknesses and "can't do’s."

One last verse to remember is 1Peter 5:10b:

"The God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you." Your job is to believe this.

A great Grace site is Steve Brown's site at www.Keylife.org

Signs of the Times

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 01:48:00 +0000

I must confess today's blog expresses my frustration with where we are as Americans. I just want you to be aware of this before you read.

I am confused by our churches (the abundant numbers of churches in America). Where might God's spokesperson(s) be? I hope the reason why the church is not visible is because it’s on its knees praying. But given what I know, it seems most of the churches have not yet put 2 and 2 together in order to notice that the events outside the church are relevant to the people inside the church.

Thank goodness for the few pastors who are addressing the issues of our time. (Links below) My pastor happens to be one of them. Born an Egyptian and raised a Christian he has a depth of understanding living with radical Islam that most of us hopefully will never experience. He teaches the whole counsel of God and stands up for what the Bible says. As he says about himself, "You might not want to mess with me regarding the faith, because I tell it like it is no matter who you are or what the consequences." I admire him greatly.

His son once commented while in the pulpit, "Dad, isn't it bizarre that early in your life you had to flee Egypt for fear of imprisonment. Now, if things keep going the way they are going in America, you may once again have to fear either for your very life or for imprisonment. How ironic."

Many of our grand old churches that use to protect and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ are gone. Like most of our prestigious universities, founded for the glory of God, such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale, they all seem to follow a pattern I see repeated in other realms of life. Churches, para-church organizations, secular organizations, non-profits, and governments mostly begin with integrity, truth, morality and good intentions if you will. As time and new owners/pastors/presidents come and go each begins to slide downward. The organizations go from integrity and the preeminence of God, into hypocrisy (pretending they are adherents of the faith fooling the people) to out and out apostasy (the renunciation of a religious or political belief or allegiance). In so doing they lead unsuspecting supporters into a way of thinking and being that ultimately leads them into apostatcy and permissiveness.

Take for instance our school systems. I am old enough to have seen the decline personally. When did this all begin? I believe it was when the government ushered God out of the schools. Confusion, emotional pain, unruliness and disorder permeate our schools. Our ranking in the world among developed nations has dropped severely.

While attending another church I often wondered when something tragic happened in the community or to Americans why no reference or prayers were offered on behalf of the families. It was as if upon entering church, all the reality going on outside the church becomes irrelevant. We are here to teach the Bible. What have we to do with that? What is disconcerting outside the church is still disconcerting when inside the church. Nothing is irrelevant to God. We are to bring everything to Him for help and comfort. I often ask myself, "Are most of the churches just playing church?"

Recently I watched a five hour special highlighting the German populace during World War II. I have seen numerous history programs regarding hitler (I cannot give his name a capitol H); however, this documentary was completely created from letters, diaries, pictures and even what we once called moving pictures. All was told from hitler's early years in office to his bitter end regarding the lives of the German people. It focused on what they were thinking and experiencing during this time. Early on hitler brought them out of a deep depression into a life style similar to our American lifestyle. They were content and enjoying the privileges of money. Hitler began slowly taking away their freedom until the government manipulated the people into being dependent.

Most of the civilians did not know for quite a while what was happening to the Jews. Neighbors began noticing their neighbors were disappearing. They wondered and whispered to each other, "It seems to be only the Jews. They are taking them somewhere." Others noticed when the Jews were herded into the train cars while their belongings were put into the last few cars. What began to give them some idea that something malevolent was occurring was when the train pulled out of the station the cars with their belongings were not coupled to the train. The Jews left, yet their belongings stayed. Something was wrong.

When the civilians did know what was happening only a few tried to do something about it. I did not know, and you might be interested, when the Allies came to release those still alive in the concentration camps, the Allies forced the citizens of Germany to go into the concentration camps. There they saw the thin emaciated Jews still alive along with the bodies of their fellow Jews cast away into large piles of human "garbage.” The Allies made the citizens not only look at them but pick up, carry and bury each and every one of the bodies.

Why do I bring this up? I wonder," What could I have done? What would I have done?" I am not sure. I would like to think I would work with the underground rescuing Christians and Jews. At heart I am a, "Let's keep the peace. Let's not rock the boat" person. Giving most of the German civilians the benefit of the doubt, they too probably felt the way I do, thinking, "I don't know what I can do. I am afraid of going against the Nazis. They will seek me out and kill me. I have children to care for. I cannot and will not face this reality so I will force myself to get up tomorrow and live life as normal as possible."

As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I can understand why the German civilians learned to live either in denial or in suppression. Suppression is a method we use to protect ourselves from some truth that we believe will devastate us and our way of life. We do know the truth but will not allow it to come into our consciousness. We do have the capacity to push down potentially harmful information. As we get older, it gets harder to do this and as therapists say, "We start leaking."

Denial is also a way of protection, yet ensconced so deep within the person that they do not see the reality of what others see clearly. A friend of mine once said, "I am going to open an office right next to yours to help people stay in denial." We laughed. Although staying in denial or suppression seems to be a good alternative to reality; however, the outcome of that denial as it works its truth deep into the person is it "always" has tragic outcomes. I highlight the word always because I try not to use all or nothing terms, as there are generally some exceptions. Regarding God's principles however: there are no exceptions when it comes to living as an antagonist against God and His principles. If we are not honest with ourselves, with God and with others the devastation "will" come. Count on it.

Galatians 6:7 Amplified Bible states:
Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.

I sense the apostate churches, the liberal universities along with the general populace and our leaders live in suppression and/or denial; suppressing the reality that we do have enemies and we do have overwhelming financial issues. First, Islam practiced as outlined in the Koran is conflicting and irreconcilable with Christianity. Secondly, pretending America is not in a financial free fall comes under the category of denial and suppression. I sense our populace in general does not see that the bridge is out.

Regarding our financial issues: It seems over the years congress did not want to rock the boat and upset the seemingly radiant system of prosperity. Money makes the people feel happy and secure. Secondly, facing the problem would most likely be too emotionally volatile for the people and the economy. So, "let's keep putting off reality. Let's not address that today. Let someone else deal with it down the line."

Thirdly, the congressional representatives would be booted, losing their power, prestige, jobs and our money. Therefore, not unlike us, they ignored the problem of their overspending and massive debt putting off dealing with the issue repeatedly. This too is a pattern with individual people. It is for me. We wait to the last minute when the pain hits to have that tooth fixed We decide not to think about the lump in the breast and do not go to the doctor until it is too late. We use our many charge cards until we are at our limit and it's time to pay back and spend no more. Yet we find ways to borrow more money and go further into debt until the loss of our house, our car and bankruptcy looms over us.

We as individuals and as a country have broken God's principles regarding money. We are to balance our own private budgets, pay off our debts, give a least a tenth to the church, and not lend to others unless we are willing to lose the money. Jesus spoke of money more than any other topic while with us. He even said, "The LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil." Money is not the root of evil. Many Godly believers over the centuries and in the present are wealthy. It is the love of money that leads to deception, manipulation and embezzlement.

Put off way to long by our congress, this possible devastation and chaos seems to be staring us in the face. The scenario is like a battered woman who lives in denial until she ends up in the ICU in a comma with broken bones and a small chance of surviving. This malevolent behavior should have been dealt with years ago. Now it has escalated into a tragic end. As a nation we are backed into that proverbial corner and the crisis we have put off, I fear is here.

Many Christians are saying God is punishing us for our life style. As a Christian, I have a particular belief system that may differ from yours. God gave everyone the gift, and often the curse, of free will. If we choose to go into debt, we are sinning against God and ourselves. If others who have authority over us allow us to go into deep dept, they are sinning against us and against God. As I said earlier, the consequences of going against God's principles will eventually take place. My belief is God is not punishing us. We are punishing ourselves as God allows our free wills to have its way.

Unfortunately, I have no concrete solutions. Nevertheless, I do have a sense of urgency. I would hope churches would do two things. The most important one is prayer, prayer for revival outside our churches and within our churches. The second thing for church members is to begin organizing and sharing plans with its people regarding what to do and how to prepare in case the worst does happen financialy.

I do know God wants us to bring everything of concern to Him. What we cannot do He can do. Those over us seem to ignore God. Since God has no authority to help them against their free wills, we are outnumbered. Nevertheless, God is at his best with small numbers of believers. He uses the weak things of the world to confound the world. He uses small numbers to mystify the majority. This is what our faith is about: if we think, we cannot do xyz and turn to God for help He works for us. Let's ask the God of this Universe for help.

•Check out revival in Hungary and what God can do. You will be inspired. http://www.leadingtheway.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sto_videos
When on website scroll down to the forth video. The gentleman holding the flag.
•Joel Rosenberg: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/
•Dr. Michael Youssef: http://www.michaelyoussef.com/
•Sign up to pray at Worldrevival.org

COMING OUT OF THE WORLD SYSTEM

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:54:00 +0000

It has been said, and I find it to be true, that Christianity is opposite in its fundamentals from the world system. Let me explain. The world system is best observed in our media, be it television with its soap operas, or news media with its conjuring up what they think the Republicans meant when so and so said xyz or what the Democrats meant when they said the opposite. Almost all seem to be trying to mind read the heart and intentions of each group and impugning motives to each as if they can indeed read their minds. All of this speculation then becomes fact and we, with me included, can get drawn in with a sort of addiction taking place. We have to hear more. We can’t turn it off.

Additionally, the world system appears to be composed of judging people by race, religion, beauty, money, popularity, station in life etc. It seems to be about envy and judgment. When we envy something we have a tendency to want it. If we cannot get it, we judge and put it down. We discredit it. If we do set out minds to get it, whatever it is, most often we lower our standards to climb, manipulate, and deceive in order to get what we believe will make us happy.

Before, and even after becoming a Christian, I operated out of the world system. I wanted to be in the popular group, I wanted to be pretty, and I wanted cute boyfriends. I wanted people to see me and think, "she is really something special." Our family was a member of a country club. I loved to go there to see and be seen. As I think about this, I actually got a bit of a high "being something."However, underneath all of that there was a driveness to be accepted. According to my view, I was not acceptable to people unless I projected all the attributes of the world system.

Everyone probably has some American Dream scenario in their hearts for their life. By the time I was 30 I had reached my own personal American Dream. I wanted to marry a lawyer, not a doctor, because that would take too long struggling while he was in medical school. So when a "handsome" young lawyer to be asked me out and we began dating,I thought,"he meets the career and looks criteria for a husband." After marriage we were able to build a brand new house in a beautiful neighborhood that I had admired from childhood. We were twenty-five and twenty-six when we moved in.

After about a year living in my lovely new home,I began to be aware of a pattern in my life that was starting all over again. The pattern went something like this: I would long for something but upon receiving it I would only be happy for a short amount of time and when, poof, I was back to being unhappy and longing for something else. This happened with little things like Christmas presents and with big things like getting in a sorority at college or getting this big new "impressive" home so young. The newness wore off and I was back where I started- longing for something else.

I guess for the first time in my life I began to think about what was going on. A friend invited me to a small group of women led by a therapist in her home. It had sort of a "who am I"agenda. I only remember two things; one, I did not have a clue who I was. The second thing I remember was a girl who shared her homework assignment with the group. We were to write our obituaries. Hers went something like this: Susie Q was found deceased in her kitchen having baked two dozen brownies for her child's class party.

I got the point of my life. It was not much better than Susie Q's. This really got me thinking. Who am I? Who do I want to be? What do I like and dislike? I had zero answers. I remember my first trip alone, driving my two boys to a ski resort in North Carolina. I did not ski, they did. The plan was to drop them off at the ski lodge and pick them back up later in the day. I was too intimidated to sit alone at the ski lodge. What would all those people think? No date? No husband? No friends? Therefore, I went back to the hotel and sat in my room wrestling with "what do I want to do?” Anxiety rose as nothing came to mind. Now I can think of a 100 things I can do alone, but not back then. This is just another example of my not even knowing what I liked to do and didn't like to do. I felt like a chameleon. Let's just do what you like to do!

This was about the time a friend invited me to a prayer breakfast. I had no idea what a prayer breakfast was, BUT it was going to be at a prestigious country club and the ones sponsoring the event were members of a social club I wanted to join. Of course my answer was, yes,I'll go!

God knew He would not catch me in a church. Little did I know this was a "set up" from God. The woman who spoke had a theme that ran throughout her story. Every time she told us about her accomplishments she would say, upon getting what she so desired, the bubble would burst and she would find herself back in despondency. I so identified with her. She told us that she eventually recognized her life was empty and discovered the only thing that would fill her permanently was Jesus Christ. So when she prayed and asked all of those who wanted to pray with her, I prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into my life and give my life meaning and purpose.

I must report that I did have an experience with the Lord in that moment. A driving force, if you will, of joy settled into my being that some thirty-six years later has not subsided and I don't expect that it ever will subside. I have up and down days like everyone else but the driveness to connect with God and His Son Jesus remains. Experiencing His lovestill remains.

Now back to my original premises that Christianity is directly opposite in its everyday operational fundamentals as compared to the world system. Jesus said He came for the sick and not the well. Now sick can mean many different dysfunctional ways we try to function and survive on this planet. My particular method of survival was to try to climb the social ladder. I never could find just that one right ladder. There were many ladders or organizations that would make you think you had arrived until you were at the top. You then discovered you either had to play the game and stay in denial about your life or change the direction of your life.

In Christianity I found I had no ladders to climb. I could come out from playing games with people and myself. I could be authentic about my struggles, disappointments, and fears of rejection. I discovered that God uses people who know and can admit they are weak. That was a sigh of relief for me, no more impression management. He even said, "when you are weak I will be strong on your behalf."

I even received purpose in life: people. I am called by God to love Him, to love others as I do myself, and to love myself the way God loves me. There is an old saying that you can't take it with you when you die. Of course, they are referring to all the things we gain through the world system. However, there is one thing we can take to heaven with us and that is people.

The Bible tells us God is love. If you reverse that you get love is God. Now love has many different meanings to people. In English, we use only one word. With just one word I can say I love hot dogs, I love Girl Scout cookies, I love you and I love God. However, in Greek there are numerous words for the different types of love. A boy may tell a girl, "I love you." When in reality his heart is saying "I lust for you." God's love is an unconditional love. You do not have to be somebody for Him to love you. You do not have to have money for Him to love you or good looks or be popular. None of the requirements of the world system are needed. In fact, you can hate Him or ignore His existence and He still will love you.

Oh, but to enjoy His presence and get to know this kind of supernatural love you must desire to have a relationship with Him and His Son. Both parties must want this. This connection with Him is what makes life here on earth worth living. God does not want you to work for Him. He desires to work through you. God loves you in spite of your weaknesses, in spite of your sins. He loves you just because you are His child. The way you become His child is by accepting the reality that Jesus took all of your sins past, present and future onto Himself and in return gave you all of His righteousness. That's a deal. Jesus gets our sins and we get His righteousness. Once we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness we can go boldly to God's throne of grace day and night to find grace and mercy in times of need and trouble.

Thirty- six years ago I laid down my inabilities for God's abilities in me. I laid down my good works because Grace is based on God's performance on our behalf not my performance on His behalf. I invite you to rest with me in God's system for living.

Only Three Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:44:00 +0000

Studying the gift of healing this Sunday at church, I was reminded of the three areas of healing that Jesus offers each of us. From His own words Jesus states in
Luke 4:18-28 (Amplified Bible).

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news [the Gospel] to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].

The three areas of healing I refer to are:
1. Spiritual Healing - Jesus came preaching the good news (Gospel). Jesus has authority to save us from God's Holiness. In addition, He saves us from God's requirement that we be perfect in order to be in His presence. Jesus also saves us from our own propensity to sabotage our lives.
2. Physical Healing - The recovery of sight to the blind and all other infirmities.
3. Emotional Healing - Deliverance to all of those oppressed, bruised, and crushed by calamity.

From the time I became a Christian, my passion has been healing for the wounded emotions of hurting people. I believe the emotional healing of the Christian clears the way to spiritual maturity. When the Lord began to heal my wounded emotions and I began to experience His freedom and joy, I wanted to pass that good news on to others.

Why my emotional pain you ask? The best I can discern is it was a mixture of several things. One, due to being an "overly protected" child by my parents, I experienced a form of covert rejection. The word covert means hidden, stealth, secret. Neither my parents nor I realized the rejection. None of us knew what the result would be of their over protection. My parents thought for me, fought my battles for me, and made decisions for me. They did not intend to make me feel rejected. What my parents meant for good Satan used against me.

Take a compliant child who has overly protective parents and as time goes by the child begins to believe she must not be able to handle her own life issues. Her parents have to do it for her. As years pass, the child becomes an adult, and because she learned to be helpless as a child, she is a helpless adult. Do you know any people like this?

I learned to second-guess myself and not trust my decisions. Thinking less of myself became a way of life. We would call this low self-esteem. Secondly, I now know that as I went through puberty my brain chemistry changed. I did not have enough neorepinephrine or serotonin to supply my brain. Depression began. This depression lasted 43 years before I was finally convinced that I really was depressed. You see, if you live with depression every day, you begin to think it is normal. When someone tells you it is not normal, it takes time to consider if what was said is truth.

One of the greatest benefits of my own emotional healing, was it had a positive impact on my rather strained marriage. As I have referred to in previous posts, I wanted my husband to think for me, make decisions for me, and give me direction. He would not and I raged for many years. I raged at him and at myself for raging. Sound familiar? Finally, the Lord showed me I had three choices and only three choices regarding the marriage.

t, I could divorce him. I am not saying God said this was one of His choices for me, but it could be a free will choice of mine to divorce. God did give us the blessing and the curse of free will. Many Christians take the divorce route. Does God forsake them and not love them anymore? No. He hates divorce not divorcees.

If we unpacked this statement, we would probably all agree that divorce is extremely painful for all concerned: family, children and friends included. One's world turns upside-down with the discovery that there are more unexpected losses experienced than just the legal aspects of the divorce itself. Divorce was out of the question for me. Why? My husband was not abusive, nor did he have an affair or dabble in things that are blatantly against the law and the will of God.

I had little reason to protect myself from him. He is a good provider, comes home each evening and loves us the best he can. However, I could not say this at that time because my learned helplessness triggered me daily. I believed the pain I was experiencing was intentionally coming from my husband. I continually felt rejected, dismissed, not heard, and trapped. I had no idea it was the unresolved fallout of my upbringing.

My second choice was to remain in misery, raging, not forgiving and not maturing. I could just live a miserable life until it ended. I could see myself as a bitter old woman whose life never began yet ended with death. When you live by this second choice you live life feeling helpless and hopeless, believing there is no way out. As portrayed in "The King's Speech" you have no voice. You are stuck. How terribly sad this is, living an entire life of misery and then dying.

Too many people try to escape (they probably do not see this as an escape at the time) with alcohol, drugs, gambling etc. There are hundreds of ways we try to escape, but in the end, we know our lives were not authentic. It was just a way to survive until life is over.

My third choice was to take God's promises seriously, follow the Lord, and grow in my faith. Paul said he could be content in all circumstance. I wanted that contentment. Jesus said He came to give us peace, a peace the world does not understand. I wanted that peace. I learned God desired to guide me by His Holy Spirit, help me partake of the mind of Christ when making decisions, and fill my heart and mind with the word of God. He led me to my purpose in life, counseling the wounded. God wants to fill and satisfy all of the holes in our souls. I took my umbilical cord from my parents and plugged it into Jesus.

I believe we have only these three choices. I have counseled many Christians who want to hear there is another choice. They are experiencing so much pain in their marriages. Upon getting to know more about the client, I discover their focus is on changing the spouse. God has not given any of us the authority to change another person except ourselves and we cannot even do that without Jesus.

You might wonder why I am a counselor if we are not to change people.The client decides they need help. They come in for counseling asking for that help. I am not out in the community trying to fix people who have not asked me for help. This is the difference. In order to help our husbands they need to ask for help and if they don't, God can give you His peace and contentment as you follow Him and let Him, If not let someone you trust, work with you on your childhood wounds. God, too, waits for us to ask for His help. He wants your desire for healing and your request.

Know Your Spiritual Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:56:00 +0000

At my church we are studying the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12, 13 and14). My pastor wants us to be as effective as we can as Christians. Each member was asked to take a spiritual gifts test, get their results, and then speak with one of our associate pastors about those results. (http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/intro.php)

Additionally a website has been built inviting people all over the world to pray for revival(www.worldrevival.org). Knowing our gifts will prepare us for when God answers these prayers.

As a counselor, I am aware of how many of us don't claim all that God has given us. Spiritual gifts are often not taught. How effective can we be if we don't even know what our spiritual gifts are?

1 Corinthians 14:1 says, "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy:" and 1 Corinthians 12:1 states, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant."

Now that is a pretty clear statement concerning God's intentions for us regarding His gifts. Because I test people's natural God-given aptitudes (non-learned abilities) that give career and/or volunteer direction to their lives, I know how much being aware of our gifts gives critical information regarding what we were created for: our ministry if you will.(www.highlandsco.com)

Some people believe we operate out of one gift, others believe we operate out of a number of gifts. My first teachings on the gifts indicated that we each have one major gift. This gift can be funneled through one of the five fold ministries as mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers). Our gifts are then distributed as the Holy Spirit directs to the people involved in whatever you are doing. For instance, a person may have the gift of teaching that is funneled through one of the five fold ministry gifts, say, the ministry of pastor. This gift of teaching is received by others listening to him, possibly as encouragement to one, to another a word of knowledge and to another faith. There are numerous combinations that can be formed by the Holy Spirit.

Others believe we have several spiritual gifts. I am not sure which one of the two views I side with. Regardless, spiritual gifts are given to us for the purpose of ministering to others as 1Corinthians14:12 states, we are to, "try to excel in the spiritual gifts that build up the church". If we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us He will direct our spiritual gifts in helping others.

My spiritual gift test results are exhortation, wisdom, teaching and leadership. I enjoy my gifts because the Holy Spirit gave them to me, but better yet, I love to see how God uses them in people's lives. They are not given because we are special.

I am often amazed and humbled when people tell me how much what I said changed their lives. I ask, "What did I say?” When they tell me what I said I don't remember ever saying it, and if I did, it was just teaching to me but to them the Holy Spirit made it life changing. Twice I prayed with people and they exclaimed, "What did you do to me?" I am thinking, "I didn't do anything but pray." Both of these people reported feeling a heat rush through their bodies from head to toe. I am baffled as to what happened, other than it being the Holy Spirit. Both of these people later reported accounts of emotional healing in certain areas they had struggled with for a long time.

I just want to praise the Lord for being used by God without me even knowing. I was led to be born again as a woman was speaking about how her expectations of life always seem to crash and burn. I identified. When she came to the invitation I prayed with her because I heard, "Invite Jesus into your life. Let Him use your hands, your mouth, your feet to walk around the streets of Atlanta and be Jesus to hurting people." I had struggled with the "I can't live the Christian life syndrome" for so many years and beat myself up for being such a failure. I was instantly drawn to the Lord, hearing Jesus would live His resurrected life in and through me. I was overjoyed and prayed to receive Christ. I bought the tape of her talk and looked forward to hearing it again, especially the part that explained the “how to” of Christianity. I never found it. I rewound it and listened again and again. Did the Holy Spirit take her teaching gift and manifest to me the way I needed to hear it? I think so.

I received an e-mail today I would like to share with you. It is from Os Hillman who speaks indirectly about spiritual gifts. His interesting title Jesus Could Not Heal the Sick reminds me of what Billy Graham once said. I was taken back when Dr. Graham said, "I have never saved anyone." I thought, "What does he mean? He has held hundreds of worldwide evangelical campaigns and hundreds of thousands of people were saved." What, of course, he meant was God saves people. People do not save people.

As you read the article, think about how God can use your spiritual gifts. (Jesus Could Not Heal the Sick TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman) "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22).

In his book, When Heaven Invades Earth, Pastor Bill Johnson makes an insightful observation about Jesus. "He could not heal the sick. Neither could He deliver the tormented from demons or raise the dead. To believe otherwise is to ignore what He said about Himself, and more importantly, to miss the purpose of His self-imposed restriction to live as a man." Jesus Christ said of Himself, "The Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees the Father doing" (John 5:19). In the Greek language that word nothing has a unique meaning - it means NOTHING, just like it does in English! He had NO supernatural capabilities whatsoever! While He is 100 percent God, He chose to live with the same limitations that man would face. He performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God - not as God. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us. But if He did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue His lifestyle.

Recapturing this simple truth changes everything - and makes possible a full restoration of the ministry of Jesus in His Church. What were the distinctions of Jesus' humanity?
1. He had no sin to separate Him from the Father.
2. He was completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him.

What are the distinctions of our humanity?
1. We are sinners cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Through His sacrifice He has successfully dealt with the power and effect of sin for all who believe. Now nothing separates us from the Father.
2. There remains only one unsettled issue - how dependent on the Holy Spirit are we willing to live?

You too might want to take the free Spiritual Gifts test I took and experience the miraculous. You can find it at http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/intro.php

When Pain Knocks You Down

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:58:00 +0000

My computer crashed last week. I suspect that few of you got this post. I don't mean to not post this week but want to send this one out once again. Thank you for understanding. Micky

I lost my adult son 14 years ago. I lost him first to the drug culture while he was in high school. I lost him and his relationship to the family due to his manipulation and lying. He lost his own sanity as the drugs went from "recreational" to addiction. Once addiction took over, for all practical purposes, he was gone. All this took place over a 12 year period. The ultimate loss was when he took his life at age 26.
During my Christian walk I had purposely avoided pain, meaning I did everything I could to avoid it. I was as obedient as I knew how to be. I could not go hear speakers like Joni Eareckson when she came to our church to speak. For those of you who not know Joni, she became a quadriplegic during her teens. As a spokesperson for God, she travels the world as an ambassador of Christ.

Two weeks after receiving Christ into my life, I told my new Bible study teacher, "I will do anything God wants me to do in order to stay out of pain." I had no awareness at that time that my relationship with Him would be based on this motivation. So off I went with my new relationship with God.
Looking back on my motivation, I do not want to be too hard on myself or anyone else. First, I really did not know this motivation governed my walk with the Lord. God did. Secondly, God will take us any way we will come to Him. And this is how I came. Thirdly, He will work the lie I believed out of my life. The lie that said, "I can ward off pain if I am obedient to God." As I write out the lie, I am reminded again my trying to keep pain out of my life is not biblical. It is contrary to what Jesus told us.

• John 16:33 In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] Amplified

What I was saying to myself and God was, "MY works of obedience will be rewarded by God warding off pain.” This is legalism. Why? Christianity is not based on the external works of my own strength such as, "What can do for you God?" It will always be based on grace."What God can do in me and through me." Plus this lie is not honoring to God. Why? Because I would get the glory when rewarded by God for "MY" obedience. God operates from His standpoint of Grace (His unmerited favor). When anything good happens in my life it is because of God's mercy and love, not my obedience. Thus He gets the glory, as I know I could not have changed inside on my own or achieved what I did on my own.
So when pain began to knock me over, my response was not exactly an exemplary example that would lead to an outstanding testimony in the future. I was the proverbial basket case internally. I did not know how to fix the situation. My husband did not think our son was engaging in drugs. I was ashamed of what was happening and could not talk to anyone at first. I felt alone and frozen in my pain.

If you have ever been frozen with pain, you barely feel alive. The pain is a visceral internal feeling that seems to grab your inner parts and won't let go. I could not pray. I felt like a victim of some personal assault on my life. I was frozen in time, space, and pain. I told myself I was a failure as a mom and as a Christian. I was not holding up well in comparison to the many testimonies of joy in the midst of the circumstances that I had heard. There was no joy.

I managed to go on with my daily life. I did become pro-active though, going to Tough Love groups and going for counseling. It became apparent that neither I nor my counselor could change my son. She gave me suggestions of what to do like put him in inpatient, which we did two times; get him counseling, which we did, get him on meds, which we did etc. Since he was not changing I began to realize what could change was me. I could move out of the frozen pain into experiencing the peace that passes understanding that Jesus spoke of in John 14:27.

• Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

I continued to see my Christian therapist..

One day upon entering my therapist's office, I was ready to cry "uncle.” I am sure God smiled as I said, "I do not care if the circumstances ever change. I just want to live life above the circumstances as Jesus promised." It was at this point I began ever so slightly to deal with the pain issue and my lie. As with any new door that is opened in our hearts, I learned a little here and a little there. As says “Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little there a little. ( Isaiah 20:10 )

Over time the strong, frozen emotions began to thaw. When asked how I was doing, my response was, "I am here with you now and enjoying my visit with you." and meant it. How did this come about? I was in the mountains on a weekend and still frozen in pain. I walked alone to the top of a small hill because from this hill I could see the expanse of a beautiful range of mountains painted on a bright blue sky. As I sat there contemplating my son's fate, I didn't realize I had gotten lost in the beauty of the mountains. Suddenly I realized my heart was soaring with joy. I was not frozen in pain. It is possible to live above the circumstances even if for a tiny little while, I thought. God was making real in my heart His truth that I could live in peace one day at a time. It was no longer just head knowledge.

• Matthew 6:34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

I knew this verse but it was in my head. This day it took hold of my heart and gave it peace. I realized it was possible to live in this moment and then the next moment and then the next moment and so on. My time in peace grew even as I still lived in the midst of the ongoing circumstances. This is not to say, life was a lark from then on, but once a person knows there is a healthy way out of their pain, the fear of the pain diminishes. And when the fear diminishes the pain and anxiety diminishes. You see, my great fear of pain was an additional catalyst for creating more pain as were my circumstances.

I began my own study of pain just as C.S. Lewis did. His study of pain was academic until he lost his new bride and then it became personal and experiential. For me the dread of this study was gone. I was hungry to know all there is about suffering. Learning to face pain and suffering was no different a process than the process of grief. If you are not familiar with those stages I will explain. First, I denied the pain existed. Second, I became angry it did exist. Third, I bargained with God: if I do this, then You will do this, God, Fourth, I became stuck in the depression of pain and finally, fifth, I accepted the reality of pain.

A friend once asked me in the middle of the circumstances, "How are you doing?" This thought popped into my head as I stated, "I am so glad that now I have enough of a self to stay with myself and not judge and condemn myself for the choices my son is making."

Do I like suffering? Absolutely not!! But I am committed to spending the rest of my life helping people get out of pain while learning to accept its existence.

Ending the War with Myself is the book I wrote to help people overcome any conflict that rages and stifles emotional and spiritual growth and development.
Some books that helped me.
• Dark Night Journey by Sandra Cronk
• When Heaven is Silent by Ronald Dunn
Don't Waste your Sorrows by Paul E. Bellheimer
• The Wounded Healer by Henri Nowen
• The Burden of a Secret by Jimmy Allen
• Finding Purpose in Your Pain by V. Gilbert Beers

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:25:00 +0000

SELF-DISCLOSURE AND TRANSPARENCY = AUTHENTICITY

When I was growing up, in my church there was an emphasis on three things: Bible stories, obedience, and sin. Each story told of a biblical hero who obeyed God, even if that hero struggled to obey God. The hero's sin was pointed out to us; for example, Jonah trying to run from God, yet finally obeying Him. There seems to be nothing wrong with this approach except leaving out how to live the Christian life. What was not taught kept me stuck in condemnation for a very long time. Eventually I came to the place where I did not like myself at all. I even hated myself for not being able to be like the heroes of the Bible.

A friend once told me "Exhortation without explanation leads to frustration." With no explanation of how to live the Christian life I learned how to hide my inner life. I was frustrated, because all the application meant to me was, "I am not obedient; therefore, God is going to do something bad to me to get my attention." This kept me afraid of God, believing He would hurt me if I did not do what He wanted. Yet I could not muster up the wherewithal to follow in the footsteps of these heroes.

What became paramount in my life was to save face with my peers, my teachers and my parents by not letting on that I was indeed a sinner who on most occasions did not want to be obedient to God. Inadvertenly I did the same thing Adam and Eve did : I covered up my sins. I began what therapists call "playing games with people" in order to present myself in a good light. In reality, if we cover up our sins we still have them rather than allowing Jesus to take them from us.

You see I was too afraid of God to go to Him for mercy, forgiveness, or help. I was never taught that when I am weak that is when God can be strong on my behalf.

2 Corinthians 12: 9 But God said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [b]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I, Paul) will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [c]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

I never knew God was looking for weak people to glorify Him rather than strong people.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. 28And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,

Living the Christian life was all up to me. I knew nothing about the Holy Spirit. As I look back, my church taught only two aspects of the Trinity; the Father and the Son. Not one word was mentioned about the Holy Spirit who was specially sent to each believer by Jesus. How can we have healthy churches leaving out one third of the Trinity and His work?
Generally speaking, Christians have spent years denying emotions, hiding their true feelings, and trying to control what they sense as their inner badness so it will not pop out unexpectedly and cause others, and God, to reject them. There was no platform within the church to be real even though the scriptures tell us, "to share one another's burdens so that you may be healed." There was no place to pour out your heart with all of its confusion, hurts and questions.

Donald Sloat, PhD. discovered that many of the Adult Children of Alcoholics concepts also fit dysfunctional Christian families and churches. Four of these rules include the Don't Talk, Don't Trust, Don't Feel, and Don't Want. Generally each of these laws are implied rather than delineated in the family or the church. No one really knows the reality of what is going on, but the enemy does. These laws are caught not necessarily taught.

Sloat concludes that "when these laws are systematically applied: They strike at the very heart of the normal, developmental, God-given processes that people must experience to grow into emotionally health people. In other words, following these laws leads to diminished emotional health because they cut the legs from under healthy development and wreak havoc with personal boundaries."

Let's look at these four laws. How many times in your family or in your church do you remember sitting under teachings or lectures; be it a Pastor, a Sunday school teacher, or even a parent and you know the unspoken law is to be silent, listen and not ask questions. This is the "Don't Talk Rule." Most homes and churches are run on this principle. Nothing unpleasant or the questioning of authority is permissible.

In many homes and churches we begin to learn to "Not Trust" our parents or our teachers, because if we are transparent we are put down, ridiculed, and judged. There is no affirmation of any internal conflict or questions we may have. We learn to be quiet and not trust others with our interior lives. We become skilled at "living lives of quiet desperation." Ultimately we realize it is just better to "Not Feel." Any anger or sadness is punished rather than trained how to "be angry and sin not." Our crying is ridiculed and punished with statements like "only babies cry."

The fourth concept is to "Not Need". We are to be content in whatever state we find ourselves. When principles become law we are subject to the outcome which is "the letter of the law kills." Once again this practiced law negates the internal personhood of a child or adult. We each need a safe place to talk, a person to trust and have our feelings understood rather than judged. Paul was a mature Christian who discovered the work God had done in his life and that gave him the ability to be content in any given situation. He could not just be commanded, "Be content." None of us can. We may try; but what we are really doing is negating a need we have by setting ourselves up for failure by forcing ourselves to do something we have not yet grown into through the Holy Spirit.

What might be a starting point toward resolution of these "disgraceful" rules? How can we and the churches help their members to enter the process of becoming open, honest, authentic Christians? As Carl Rogers expresses "a process by which the individual drops one after another of the defensive masks with which he has faced life, so that he may experience fully the hidden aspects of himself".

I would like to offer a starting place. This place is reflected in a research study entitled "Effects of Reciprocity and Self-monitoring on Self-Disclosure with a New Acquaintance" by Jourard. The research asserts that the matching of a subject's level of self-disclosure to a partner's level of self-disclosure has been repeatedly demonstrated in laboratory experiments. They call this phenomenon disclosure reciprocity. It seems that if a one person will self-disclose, then the partner will self-disclose at the same level as their partner. The deeper one discloses the deeper the other goes. Why is this so? When you are with someone who is honest about their inner life, an environment of safety is created for the other person who gives them the safety they need to self-disclose also.

I propose that pastors, Sunday school teachers, deacons, parents, teens, counselors etc. take the initiative to self-disclose their own personal struggles. Others will slowly begin to feel safe to share their inner most pain and confusion along with their imperfections and humanness. As they are accepted and not rejected, fragile people will begin to open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and growth toward health will begin.

Self-disclosure for the sake of transparency is not the end goal. Being loved by the God of this universe regardless of where we are in our journey to wholeness is the end goal. Once the church community begins to self-disclose and be authentic about their shortcomings and interior lives, we must then point the person to the God of grace. We need to remind them that He is not surprised by anything we may express to Him out of our inner emotional pain and suffering. Along with Dr. David Seamonds we need to be in a place ourselves to show them that "Grace is never shocked, never repulsed, and never withdrawn - whatever it is faced with. It is freely given, without any references to our goodness or badness, worthiness or unworthiness".

What If .....

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:00:00 +0000

I am lounging here on my sofa for the third day of being snowed in. Being from the South I find it cleansing. It is soooo white. It seems to unify our neighborhood as one yard blends into the next. Children are out playing, husbands taking off from work. My girlfriends decided enough is enough .We wanted to go see The Kings Speech, but no one came to work at the theatre today. Our city is closed. Closed to those who are stuck and want to get to their homes and closed to those who want to come to our city. When the malls are closed you know you are in trouble.

Because we have several more days of possibly not getting on the roads these are some of the thoughts that began to plague me. What if this was some sort of terrorist attack and we were all sequestered in our homes due to "whatever" comes with that? (Fear goes up) My regular, put together meals, would be gone in several days. I have a lot of canned goods, but how much canned tomatoes and canned asparagus can you eat?

With all that is going on in the world, every day seems like a new disaster has taken place somewhere in the world; Australia with the floods, Arizona with the tragic killings, and the birds and fish that died last week for seemingly no reason. It's just plain scary.

Now just what if we are near the end of times and the Christians do go through the tribulation? (Fear way up now) How will I make it? Even though Jesus returning makes me happy; however, just as a young mother who has just learned she is pregnant is happy with the news; each realizes that in order to have that happiness we must go through a lot of pain and struggle to get there. Pain is the main reason I became a Licensed Professional Counselor. I wanted to alleviate the pain of others. I have no shame in declaring, "I hate pain." Whatever kind of pain, I hate it.

This brings me to the issue of today; control. How much control do we really have in life and why do we want that control. I believe the main reason we want control is we see control as a means to protect ourselves. From what? From everything that seems to threaten us, whatever that may be. Each of us has a uniquely different set of things that intimidate us.

Our childhood more than likely laid down a foundation for many of the things that frighten us. But also the world today with all of its complexities can scare us. Some of which are work, family, education, health and political issues. Others are the sin nature of man/woman (What will they do next?), our children, foreign threats, personal attacks on our faith, and personal attacks on our personhood such as rejection, negation, dismissal by significant others in our lives. All of which we have little control over.

We may study hard, borrow money from the bank to educate ourselves, all the while thinking we are in control of our circumstances and, boom, we have an economy like we have today and no jobs are to be found. And how are we going to make our school loan payments? So even though we think we are in control of many of life's circumstances, we never know just what might be around the corner.

Secular psychology contends there is a hierarchy of needs that we all have. Maslow, who came up with this hierarchy, studied healthy people, while most psychologists studied sick people. Due to the fact that Maslow put 20 years into this study we can only touch a tiny portion, but suffice it to say the lowest rung on the ladder are the needs for breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, excretion, homeostasis (the need for everything in life to stand still). Most of our third world country neighbors exist on this level. However, many in America, more often than not, need for everything not to change.

One of the characteristics at the top of the hierarchy, under the mantel of self-actualization, is being able to live in the "not knowing." Not knowing what is going to happen and being at peace with that. In other words realizing, "I cannot control life outside of myself and I am ok with that."

This self-actualization of being ok with not knowing, is a major theme throughout the Bible. Numerous verses come to mind.
• Exodus 14:13
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
• 2 Chronicles 20:17
17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

God is encouraging us when our "not knowing" is plaguing us. We are to stand still and watch God work on our behalf. He desires we be ok with the not knowing of how He can possibly work out such a bad situation,

In Nave's topical Bible I notice that faith and trust are considered to be one and the same. How many times do we read "trust Me" and "have faith in Me" throughout the Old and New Testament? When earthly fears overtake us we are encouraged to trust God and His capability. Have faith not in our ability but in God's ability. I found 113 instances of the words “have trust” and “have faith.”

Can we just let go and let God as they say in AA? Or do we want to control and manipulate the situation for our good. There is a verse in the Old Testament that says, "manipulation is as witchcraft, says the Lord." Think about witchcraft. The person using whatever form is trying to either discover the future in order to possibly manipulate the outcome or manipulate people so the outcome is in their favor. We as Americans have subtle ways of manipulating people and circumstances. We don't call it witchcraft; however, it is.

A friend of ours manipulated his son by being the first to obtain his son's acceptance letter to the college the young man desired to go. He tore it up and told his son he did not get in. The young man ended up going to the small college his father desired. To this day I don't think this 40+ year old man knows what his father did; manipulate the circumstances. God would say the father used witchcraft.

The final passage that comes to mind regarding our trying to control or manipulate our circumstances rather than standing still and seeing the salvation of the Lord is found in Matthew 6: 25-3. With Jesus speaking it begins with; “Therefore I tell you, stop being [v]perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?” …..

From this point Jesus encourages us to think about the birds and how they do not worry, but the Lord supplies their needs. He asks, "What has worrying ever gotten us?” We can't control how or when we are going to die. Jesus refers to the flowers and their glory and reminds us they do not spin, toil or fret about the future. If my Father takes care of birds and flowers He will even take better care of you. Don't worry about what we are going to eat, drink, and wear because God knows we need these things to live.
Jesus ends with, "So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble."

One day at a time, Micky. One day at a time, Micky. One day at a time.

Blog ping service Blog ping service

Christian Books for Women Christian women find help with issues they face every day. How to Hear from God, gain self esteem, and overcome jealousy are just some of things you'll find.

Spiritual Stages of Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:16:00 +0000

As Christians we all grow at different rates and go through stages at different times in our walk with the Lord. Not understanding these stages creates the majority of conflict, judgment, backbiting, sinful conduct and splits within Church congregations. Meeting a Christian, who was not where I was, or vice versa, who seemed to understand at a greater depth than I did, upset me. My sin nature was at work. On one hand I was angry with the one who believed and acted as a child in the faith and on the other hand I envied and felt less than in the presence of someone I thought to be "better than myself."

From the time we are born until we die each of us will go through various types of developmental stages including spiritual development. For instance, we obviously go through a series of physical stages. We are told by scientists that once every seven years dramatic changes take place in our bodies. Think with me of the physical state of a new born, then a seven-year-old, a fourteen-year-old, a twenty-one-year-old etc. We would not expect the same degree of physical maturity from a seven-year-old and a twenty-one-year-old, would we?

In addition to physical changes there are also mental changes. Piaget is well known to educators for his theory of cognitive development. Piaget asserts that people develop cognitive capacities to meet needs that emerge at different ages and continue throughout life. The person meets these needs in different ways during different stages of life…..Thus one would expect a vast difference between a fourth grade class study of geology and an undergraduate course in college in geology. The fourth grade class would be geared for the cognitive developmental stage of the child as would the college course be geared for 20 year olds.

According to Eric Erickson we go through numerous psychosocial stages of development. One stage pertinent to my age (between 40 and 65) is called “Generativity verses Stagnation and self-absorption.” If between 40 and 65 years of age I negotiate this stage successfully I will have come to a place in life where I will reexamine my life, ask the hard questions of myself, and make mid-life corrections. Out of my life experiences I will be concerned for my community and be free for a life of care and concern for others. After negotiating this final stage in life, age 65, labeled stage of integrity, whereby I can look back on my life and have a sense of satisfaction knowing that I lived life well. If however, on the other hand I do not negotiate this stage successfully and become stagnated and self-preoccupied; I will find myself at age 65 entering the final stage of life called the stage of Despair, as I come to terms with what my life could have been.

Spiritual development is the same. We are told in Romans 8:29-30 to “be conformed to the image of Jesus;”and in Ephesians 4: 14- 15 "we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ." As we have seen in previous posts, this being conformed cannot be done in our own efforts, but by the Holy Spirits' leading and enabling us to grow. Philippians 2: 13 states "For it is God who is at work within you helping you want to do His will and then helping you to do His will."

Spiritual growth in knowledge and wisdom is a process. We are shown in Isaiah 28: 9-10 how we learn, "line upon line…, precept upon precept…, here a little there a little." And we all learn at different rates, plus we internalize and integrate different principles into our lives at different rates. So I may have internalized something you have not yet internalized and vice versa.

Scott Peck proposes 4 Stages of Faith development.
Peck contends that most all young children and perhaps one in five Christians fall into Stage I. These people seem generally incapable of loving others. They may pretend to be loving but are essentially manipulative and self-serving. In truth they are what one might call a Pseudo-Christian. Some may be quite disciplined in the service of the church in order to get their needs met. Thus they may rise to positions of considerable prestige and power even to become influential preachers.

From time to time people in this stage get in touch with the chaos and conflict of their own being. Most people just ride it out unchanged. A few take their own lives and some convert, if you will, to Stage II.
Such conversions are sudden and dramatic. It is as if God has reached down and grabbed that soul and yanked it up a quantum leap. Anything is preferable to chaos so people in Stage II are willing to submit themselves to an institution for their governance by principles and laws. But they have not yet understood the spirit of the law (grace). Consequently they are legalistic, parochial and dogmatic. God to them is almost entirely that of an external, transcendent Being. Transcendent meaning so far above us, so independent of us. Although they consider Him loving they generally feel He possesses and will use punitive power against them. They are threatened by anyone who thinks differently and so regard it their responsibility to defend the law. The law to them is more important than the relationship.

Frequently people in Stage II begin to question the inconsistencies they see between imposing the law and walking a walk of love and grace, thus they move into Stage III. This is considered a questioning phase. To on lookers it appears the person has backslidden. These questions are a required beginning of an emptying process. Emptying oneself of preconceptions, prejudices and the need to control others. Individuals generally remain stuck in Stage II because they do not doubt deeply enough. Stage III would be considered a period of time when the person begins to own their own faith. To summarize Stage III, people begin to seek truth for themselves.

Peck contends that one out of 20 Christians move on into Stage IV. This is a period that is not easy to define. These people are extremely aware of mystery. They acknowledge the enormity of the unknown but rather than being frightened by it, they seek to penetrate ever deeper into it that they may understand more. They are most acutely aware that as Christians we are collectively called to community (a unity of love) and realize that what divides us into warring camps is precisely the lack of this awareness. Additionally they have become practiced at emptying themselves of preconceived notions, prejudices and judgments. They know that we are to all be one in Christ.

Our most pure example of a Stage IV person is Jesus Himself. Jesus was criticized for associating with drunkards, tax collectors, and sinners. Jesus emptied Himself and became a servant to mankind, seeking the lost, encouraging and giving life to the down trodden, loving and healing the mentally and physically ill.

The angriest Jesus became was at Stage II people who considered the law more important than relationship to people. He encouraged people in Stage III who were struggling with their faith rather than judging them. The disciples were clearly those of “little faith” but Jesus said it didn’t take great faith, just faith as large as tiny mustard seed would do.

Jesus commissioned us to Love God, Love ourselves, and to Love others; in fact, love others as Christ loved us. He called us to community: to come together in unity of the Spirit. Whether we are from any one of the many Protestant denominations or any one of the Catholic denominations all else is non-essential to salvation except who we say Jesus is and our relationship with Jesus. We can all fellowship with each other as we fellowship around Jesus.

Peck contends that people in Stage II understand people in Stage I but cannot relate to people in Stage III. Similarly, people in Stage III can relate to people in Stage II but cannot relate to people in Stage IV and so on.

Which stage do you want to be in? That answer will either propel you into a greater spiritual maturity or keep you stuck. Paul encourages us in Hebrews 5: 11 - 6 to not be "partakers only of milk, a babe…solid food is for the mature ….we are to leave the elemental teachings and press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God."

And in Philippians 3: 12 - 16 we see a very motivated Paul speaking of "pressing on in order that he may lay hold of that for which also he was laid hold of by Christ Jesus….and reaching forward to what lies ahead…
he presses on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you press on.

The Hassle and Hope of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:18:00 +0000

My friends have often heard me say, "I wish I could just cancel Christmas!" This is said with tongue in cheek, of course. I really don't want to cancel the church service and the celebration of Jesus' birth. It is just the hassle of all the rest of the fluff.

The angst all begins while I am enjoying Thanksgiving with my family. A light goes off that Christmas is coming with all of its trappings. My heart beats a little faster, a bit of depression hits due to feeling overwhelmed already. And the rest of the day is dampened. Why?

Here is how it goes: Week one after Thanksgiving - get the outside done first. Put up the lights, nail up the door wreath and fancy up the mailbox. Even if you die, at least the neighbors know you are trying. Week two - bring up from the basement at least 20 boxes of decorations to decorate the house. Now the house is beginning to look good. I wish I could leave it up all throughout the year. I'm beginning to have tiny moments of the "Christ"mas spirit.

Week three - the tree goes up and the decorations go on. As I pull out each ornament I have fond memories of years past. For some reason I have always been drawn to small replicas of real life things such as a tiny angel, a tiny purse, a tiny snowmen etc. My favorite of all the ornaments are the crosses. I began collecting crosses years ago. There are crystal ones, silver ones, metal ones, cloth ones all different sizes and colors. My heart begins to sing a little. My tree says, "Jesus is the reason for this celebration." Now I am a bit more into the season. But what am I going to buy everyone!!!

Without going into great detail, I spend hours on the internet checking items and prices and e-mailing my daughter-in-law about who wants what etc. Because I am a practical type of person, when I find "the" item I like, I spend more hours price checking to find the lowest price. Then I hope all will arrive in time for wrapping and taking to the people I have shopped for.

Everything arrives in time and I am staring at a corner full of boxes that have to be wrapped. Get out the wrapping paper, the scissors, the tape, the ribbon, the boxes, the note cards. Oh, have I mentioned the special food that has to be prepared! And guess what? Once Christmas day is over, the process of taking everything down begins yet just opposite of how it is put up. According to an old wives' tale, everything has to be down by January 1 or you will have bad luck. Of course I don't believe in bad luck, yet my neighbors might. And I don't want them to think I don't know the custom. So I came up with a plan. Take everything down outside - the mail box decorations, the wreath on the door and the lights. Now I can take my time with the rest. They will never know all the decorations are still up in the house. They may even stay up for days, maybe even weeks after January 1 before I get around to taking it all down.

You say I could choose not to fall for all our society has waged against us to forget Jesus and celebrate Santa, but I am hooked. My childhood Christmases were magical years and now I have grandchildren ages 3 and 6 and the magic is back. Am I sinning? I know I am not. Paul's directive to the Corinthians is about choosing to eat meat offered to idols or choosing not to eat meat offered to idols. He states there are neither benefits nor any loss for us as far as God is concerned. 1 Corinthians 8:8 states, "Now food [itself] will not cause our acceptance by God nor commend us to Him. Eating [food offered to idols] gives us no advantage; neither do we come short or become any worse if we do not eat [it]."

Applying this principle to Christmas trees and Santa Clause we are no better off or any worse celebrating the fun of Christmas. We know God is the only God and that Santa is pretend. Our heart is what God considers. Are we connected to Him, living in relationship with Him, open to His guidance in our lives? Is Jesus not only our Savior but our life? Are we exalting and praising God in our hearts as we celebrate His Son's birth along with the fun of Christmas. If you want more information read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.

As of today, Wednesday, December 22, all is done. I have until January 1 to enjoy the magic of the season, but better yet to enjoy the mystery of the season; the mystery of a baby being born in a stable who is the King of Kings. Who is this baby? All of the people of the then known world do not know what His birth means. Satan does not even know this baby is "the one". He has no idea what God's plan is from ages past. Paul says, "I have become (the church's) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:25-27 and Romans 16:25-27). For all these people know He is just another baby being born on a cold winter's night, no one of any importance. If He were important surely He would not be born in a stable!

The story of Jesus' birth was actually birthed within the Trinity way before the earth was ever formed. God foreknew the fall of man and set into motion a plan that would culminate "in the fullness of time." That plan was and still is Jesus. God knew we all needed a savior to save us from His punishment of the coldness of our heart towards Him and our resulting misconduct (sin). We need to also be saved from ourselves. We seem to have a bent to straying. Have you noticed?

This baby grows up and takes all of our sins, past, present and future onto Himself. We cannot just look at Christmas alone and revel in the birth of a child. Everyone who has ever lived was born. That is easy. Every one of us dies. There is nothing special about that. But only Jesus Christ took the payment for our sins, died and then rose from the dead. Christmas and Easter must be in our hearts as we go about this season.

In the song Hark the Herald Angles God declares "peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled." Think about what this is saying. With the birth of Jesus God is prepared to accept those of us who are sinners. And who are these sinners? They are every person on the face of this earth. God accepts all and excludes none. Christianity is not exclusive as many would say. God is inclusive. All are welcomed. God sends no one to hell. We exclude ourselves and send ourselves to hell. Jesus has made the way to God for each and everyone. What do we have to do? Accept our acceptance into the family of God. May the Christ of Christmas and Easter be born in many this season. Amen
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

P.S. I WILL NOT BE POSTING NEXT WEEK. I WILL SEE YOU IN 2011

http://Ping website

Silent Night

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:23:00 +0000

"Silently, How Silently His Wondrous Gift is Given....So God Imparts to Human Hearts the Wonders of His Heaven"
You probably recognize the title of this post as being from the lyrics of Silent Night. This phrase is my favorite line in the entire song. Yes, we can celebrate Jesus' birth at Christmas, however, the true meaning of Christ's coming is that God would shortly be leaving the Holy of Holies in the Temple and moving His residence into the hearts of those who, in humbleness, would receive Him into their hearts. 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price."

Christmas takes place in each of us the hour we first believe, no matter what time of the year it is. Christ is born into our hearts just as He was born into the world 2010 (give or take a few) years ago. We instantly are given the Holy Spirit as He comes into our dead to God hearts and makes our hearts alive to God. The Bible uses the word quickens similarly to the life giving force an expectant mother senses when her baby is felt moving around and kicking inside. We experience "God in us our hope of Glory." Colossians 1:27 "God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

We are born into God’s Family. This is where the phrase born again comes from. “You have been regenerated [born again], not from a mortal origin [seed, sperm], but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God (1 Peter 1:23).” We were once born of human sperm; now we are born of the spirit of God. We are born a second time, thus born again.

Christmas took place inside of me personally when I was born again. The day before, God was not even on my radar. The next day all I knew was something unbelievably wonderful had happened. I was filled with joy and excitement about God. I wanted to know everything I could about Him and how to let Christ live His resurrected life in me. There was a complete paradigm shift in my heart.

We are given many presents from God at this personal Christmas of ours. At the moment we are born again we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. “In Him, we also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of our salvation having also believed, we were sealed in Him [Christ] with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (2 Corinthians 1:22, New American Standard version).” Like a child whose hand is stamped as he pays for his ticket to the carnival, we too are stamped. The child can freely go out and come back through the gate because he has the official carnival stamp that indicates he paid for his ticket.

Jesus paid for our ticket on the cross. That payment gets us through the gate and into the Father’s throne room during our life here on earth and later into heaven when we die. The child’s stamp will wash off, but the Holy Spirit’s stamp is permanent and can never be removed. This gift lasts an eternity.

Additional gifts are given. God cannot seal us with His Holy Spirit until our temples are cleansed, so He cleanses our temples for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “God made Jesus [who did measure up to God’s perfection] who knew no sin, to become SIN on our behalf (who would never be able to measure up and would always be inadequate in ourselves) so that we might become the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God in Christ Jesus.” (Underline mine). This is called The Great Exchange.

What a transaction! Jesus takes our sins on Himself and we get His righteousness. Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we now measure up just like Jesus measures up, but not because of anything we do. Our acceptance is based on what God the Father did through His Son for us.

But this is not all that happens to us on our personal Christmas day. Not only is Christ in us but we are in Christ. More than 140 passages use the similar phrases in Christ, in Him, in Whom, and through Him. For every one verse that tells us Christ is in us, there are ten verses that say we are in Christ. Some examples:

Ephesians 1:7--In Him we have (present tense) redemption [deliverance and salvation] through His blood, the remission [forgiveness] of our offences, in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor.

Romans 8:1--There is therefore NOW (present tense) no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

I Corinthians 1:2--To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who HAVE BEEN (past tense) sanctified in Christ, saints by calling with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

These verses are only samples of the 140 other gifts we have already been given. These verses say we have salvation and forgiveness of sins. These gifts are God's grace! And God will never ever condemn us. God has already given us (past tense) everything that pertains to our being Godly and everything (present tense) that pertains to life. We are sanctified in Christ. We are saints.

Since we are now in God’s family, He considers us His children just as He does His Son Jesus. What a position of honor God has given us in Christ! As His children we call Him Abba. “For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the Spirit of adoption [the Holy Spirit] whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:15-17).”

The word Abba suggests familial intimacy. In English it means papa or daddy. This kind of intimacy with God was unheard of and a stumbling block to the Jews. They did not, and some still do not, write out the word God as we do. They would have written G_ _. No other religion purports such an intimacy with their God! The verse goes on to validate that we are not only children of God but joint-heirs with Christ. Everything that Jesus inherits from His Father now belongs to us also. We are not part of the Trinity, but God provided a way for each of us to have a connected, intimate relationship with Him just as Jesus has a connected, intimate relationship with Him.

There is stability in our lives when we have experienced our very own personal experiential Christmas. What God gifts us with cannot ever be taken away from us. We take personally the foundational truth that cannot be shaken, “I am a child of God.” We might be a child of God who happens to be in financial trouble this Christmas, or are having relational difficulties. Regardless of what is going on externally, remember during this Christmas season, you are gifted with a true identity which comes from our Father. It is when our identity is based on who God says we are that we can begin to experience emotional security in our frazzled, exhausted world. Merry Christmas

The Law vs. the Holy Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:39:00 +0000

As I have stated before, I knew I could not live up to the expectations of God, therefore, I left the church for 13 years. I had no anger at the laws of God. They seemed right to me, I just knew I couldn't call myself a Christian and not live by those laws. So I left. I left, that is, until I heard a speaker say, "Invite Jesus into your life and let Him live His resurrected life in and through you. Let Him use your hands, your feet, and your mouth to share His Good News of the Gospel." It was then the "the light" went on in my heart and said, "You mean I don't have to live the Christian life, Jesus will do it for me?" With this child like thought, I prayed to give my life, as best I could, to having this type of relationship with God.

I discovered it was the Holy Spirit who came into my soul the second I prayed to receive the Lord and sealed me as God's child (Ephesians 4:30). I could not study enough, desiring to understand just how this alliance worked. For at least 2 to 3 years I searched out everything I could get my hands on that would help me understand this Holy "Ghost" living His life in and through me.

For the past two postings we have looked at Jesus' take on the Holy Spirit (John 13-17). As I pondered, with the Lord, what to post today regarding the Holy Spirit, I came across a verse I had not seen before, and I want to explore it with you in light of my frustration of not being able to be a "good little" Christian.
Hang in there with me as we dissect 2 Corinthians 3:7-9. The Good News is on the way.

7Now if the dispensation of death engraved in letters on stone [the ministration of the Law], was inaugurated with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its brilliance, [a glory] that was to fade and pass away,
8Why should not the dispensation of the Spirit [this spiritual ministry] whose task it is to cause men to obtain and be governed by the Holy Spirit] be attended with much greater and more splendid glory?
9For if the service that condemns [the ministration of doom] had glory, how infinitely more abounding in splendor and glory must be the service that makes righteous [the ministry that produces and fosters righteous living and right standing with God]!

What is this saying? If you remember when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets containing the 10 Commandments, his face glowed with the glory of God. In fact, he had to cover his face because the people were frightened (Exodus 34:29-35). Our verses are saying if the 10 Commandments were introduced to us with such fan fair, if you will, how much more infinitely abounding "fan fair" should be the introduction of the Holy Spirit.

Why? Notice how the Law is referred to as "the dispensation of death, the ministration of doom, the service that condemns us." On the other hand the Holy Spirit is referred to as "the ministry that causes men to obtain and be governed by the Holy Spirit, the service that makes righteous, produces and fosters righteous living and right standing with God."

This all brings us to Romans 7 where Paul struggles with the law, just as I had struggled with not being able to keep the principles and laws of God.
Romans 7:18 b "I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]
19For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.
20Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [[c]fixed and operating in my soul].
21So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands."

There is a sin principle living in us that overrides our desires to do what we know to be right and we are subject to that principle as we have no power to carry out what we know is right. We feel trapped in our pathetic selves along with experiencing a lot of guilt, as I did, and questioning God's goodness and love towards me, the great sinner.

Why is the Holy Spirit's coming such a big deal in God's sight and in Jesus' sight and hopefully in your sight. I always knew that Jesus came to earth, showed us how to live and took away my sins which meant I would go to heaven in the bye and bye. The bye and bye gets closer the older I get. Anyway, I wanted something relevant for today, not in the "sweet bye and bye.

One day I found myself like Paul, in Romans 7: 24, scream out in my heart, "O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?" It turned out to be Jesus' emissary; the Holy Spirit would set me free. From what you may ask? The Holy Spirit came to set me free from myself; to save me in the here and now from me.

Yes, Jesus did the work here on earth and paved the way for the Holy Spirit to come. Remember Jesus saying, "It is expedient that I go away for if I do not go away the Holy Spirit cannot come." But I would rather have Jesus here, you say.

In Jesus' physical body he could only be with just so many people at one time. With the Holy Spirit indwelling His people He can be with me right now, with you right now, wherever you live and with all believers across the world 24/7. What the law cannot do, save us from hell and ourselves, the Holy Spirit can do, living from the inside out of each of us, conforming us to the image of Jesus.

God announces how much more fan fair we need for the Holy Spirit's coming verses the Law! The law keeps us stuck in never being able to measure up to what we know is right. It is a ministry of condemnation. The Holy Spirit says, You can never measure up to God's laws, that is why you need a savior; a savior to save you from the consequences of not living up to the law.
We will all drown in the sea of laws. Look back at 2 Corinthians 3:9. The Holy Spirit produces and fosters righteous living and right standing with God! We do not produce and foster righteous living and right standing with God. The Holy Spirit will do the work of God in and through you. How? By believing God's word and taking by faith the Holy Spirit is initiating your growth as long as you desire to grow. Titus 1:2 says, "God is not a man that He should lie (about these things). Now all of this is a big deal and is the Good News of the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit: the How to of Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:43:00 +0000

Week before last I wrote a post regarding the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. We saw that the Holy Spirit is a person sent by Jesus to lead, guide, comfort, and direct us. God sent Jesus to us. Jesus completed His work here on earth and now Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to us. (See November 17, 2010 archive)

Jesus even tells His disciples, "It is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]." (Amplified Bible)

If we want to experience the peace that passes understanding, we need to know all about this Holy Spirit who is the nuts and bolts and the how to of Christianity. Philippians 4:7 says, "And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

The disciples lived in the days of Jesus. We live in the times of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, however, has been in existence since before the beginning of time. God sent Him to specific people in the Old Testament for specific purposes. The Holy Spirit worked though a person to lead God's people and speak through that person for God. The Holy Spirit was not available to all of God's people, just the leader. In fact, the Holy Spirit could be removed from the person. That is not true today after Jesus' completed work on the cross for us. (Ephesians 4:30)

In John 13-17 we see Jesus telling the disciples, "17The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you (John 14:17).”

Jesus tells the disciples the Holy Spirit has been with them constantly BUT will be in you. There is an immense difference between those two participles "with" and "in". A friend can be with you during some of life's trials but cannot be in you living moment by moment in you through the good times and the painful times. But now, as a child of God, the Comforter is not only with you but in you 24/7.

Being an insecure person most of my life, I found this to be very comforting. I have an internal "entity" to lead me, guide me, direct me, comfort me, to intercede for me when I do not know how to pray and to strengthen me when I am weak. In John 16: 14 & 15 Jesus states, "Everything that the Father has is Mine. He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.” It is the Holy Spirit with whom we have close contact with. He is the one prompting and revealing God's will for your life moment by moment.

I want to digress by saying, I believe God has a general will for each and every one of us. Meaning, there are certain everyday principles by which we are to live. But I also believe God has a specific will that is unique for each of us. This unique will is another reason we are not to judge others when they are not on "our page" in our walk with the Lord. Some folks have a lot to work though due to situations beyond their control. Situations they were submitted to as a child resulting in compromising choices made in the present. God takes us where He finds us and walks us through to health and wholeness. Many people have a longer journey to experientially experience that wholeness, yet the Spirit of God is working in these people's lives just as mightily as He is in our lives. The only thing I ever look for in a person is that person's "desire" to be all that God created them to be. When two Christians' desires converge to be all that God created them to be, we can fellowship with Christians whose lives may be "all over the place", if you will.

We discover the Holy Spirit is the writer of the Old and New Testament as He inspired men of old to write down God's words for us. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, " 20[Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving).

21For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so--it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were born along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit."

Technically, because the Holy Spirit is the One who wrote Scripture, He also is the one who quickens God's word to your heart just at the time you need to hear what God wants to say specifically to you that day for your particular situation. As you experience this phenomenon, you find your desire to lean on God becomes greater and greater.

After Jesus' resurrection we find a short verse that can be overlooked. It is during Jesus' first appearing with the 11 disciples behind closed doors. (John 20:19-22) In the evening on Sunday Jesus appeared and stood among them and said, "Peace to you!" He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples saw the Lord and were filled with ecstasy.

Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! Just as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you." And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Most of us are familiar with the account of the day of Pentecost and the tongues of fire and the speaking in tongues that happened after Jesus' ascension back to His Father(Acts 1). What and why does there seem to be two accounts? It appears to me (the one who is not an educated theological scholar) this experience with Jesus was the fulfillment of Jesus' numerous promises in John 13-17; That for a little while you will not see me, but I will return and you will be filled with great joy. You will receive the comforter, the Holy Spirit of God who will be in you not just with you. (My shortened account)

As I write this I think of those of us who have surrendered our lives to Jesus. As you know at the moment of surrender we receive the Holy Spirit just as the disciples did in that closed door room. And what does the Bible say about us? We are born again. We are born once of water as a mother's water breaks and we enter into this world. Remember Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews, who snuck in during the night to talk with Jesus. In John 3 he was, told "You must be born of water and of the spirit." You must be born a second time; once into your family of origin and a second time into the family of God. Just as we are born again, I believe the disciples were born again that day. They could not have been born again as they traveled with Jesus prior to the crucifixion. Why? Because, Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. The New Covenant had not yet begun. What do you think?

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 02:59:00 +0000

As you know tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Due to the holiday with all the busyness and family coming I am skipping this week's post.

I pray each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving. During these unusual times in America's history, those of us who know the Lord can trust His protection no matter what the future may hold. I pray for those who do not know the Lord. See you next week to continue our discussion of the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

Micky

The Holy Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:38:00 +0000

      As a child growing up Baptist, I knew who God was and I knew who Jesus was. I was acquainted with all the stories in the Old and New Testament. Baptists are good in this way. Whether you are eighty years old or three years old, when you are Baptist, you study the Bible on Sundays. However, the third person of the Trinity was never mentioned. He just did not exist at our church other than in Scripture readings or songs. I always wondered who this Holy Ghost might be. I was clueless.

     This is unfortunate because, as I discovered, the Holy Spirit is the how to of the Christian faith; how to live this new life I had just received upon making a commit to follow Jesus. It was two weeks after my conversion that a friend brought me a booklet about the Holy Spirit. It was only then that I realized the Holy Spirit is a person, a person sent by Jesus to lead, guide, direct, convict and be a comforter to me. This was not all He was sent to do. This is Part I of a series on the Holy Spirit as described in the New Testament and the Epistles.

     I am glad we use the term Holy Spirit today instead of the Holy Ghost. We say the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. How can this Holy Spirit be a person as Jesus is depicted? A person is defined as one having intellect, personality, character, is a unique individual, who holds a position and has a role to play with responsibilities to perform. These terms describe all three persons of the Trinity; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

     How these three persons can be one is a mystery. A number of good simple explanations are sufficient, at least for me. One example is, I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a professional. I have at least three identities and each identity has certain functions to perform which come with differing responsibilities. Yet it is the same person performing the tasks.

     Another explanation is H2O. Water comes in three forms. One form is liquid. Another is ice and the third is steam. Yet these three entities are all the same, H2O. Each has a unique form with distinct tasks to perform.

     At this point I will leave the more complex explanations to the theologians. What I want to focus on is understanding the purpose and functions of the Holy Spirit. I am not writing a thesis characterizing every role the Holy Spirit plays in our salvation, I will, however, touch on a few today that I believe will help you better understand some of the ways He plays a practical role in your life. I will continue next week with additional insights. I encourage you to do a comprehensive study getting to know the third person of the Trinity.

     Even though the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament and we know the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism, it is only just before Jesus' crucifixion that He introduces the disciples to the purpose of the Holy Spirit. In John chapters 13 -17 we find Jesus with the disciples at the Last Supper. He is informing them of His soon departure. This five chapter discourse is filled with an earnest look at the heart of God and Jesus.

     The disciples hear Jesus say in John 16: 7-8: 13-15,

     "However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].   8And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment."

     13But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].  14He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. 15Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.

     This is only a partial list of the duties for the Holy Spirit. I will continue His (the Holy Spirit's) story next week. He, the Holy Spirit, is the one who convicts us of a need for a savior by convicting us of our sins and a pending judgment, along with our need for righteousness which Jesus gives freely to each of us upon becoming one of His (2 Corinthians 5:21 ). When Billy Graham traveled the world preaching the Gospel (Good News of Jesus Christ) and hundreds came forward for salvation, it was the Holy Spirit convicting the people not Billy Graham. I once read where Billy Graham said, "I have never saved anyone in my entire life time." WHAT! He knew who does the saving and it is not us.

     From the very moment we enter into God's family the Holy Spirit becomes our "home school teacher" if you will. It is His duty to grow us in our faith by guiding us into all truth regarding God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He like Jesus will only speak the Father's truth and will for our lives. If you sense something contrary to the word of God, attribute that to what I call the unholy spirit of the antichrist who is in the world at all times until Jesus sets up His reign here on earth.

     When you are reading your Bible or listening to a message from another Christian and something your read or they said jumps out at you with great meaning for you, you have just had a Holy Spirit revelation. The Bible itself is written in words which are called logos . Secular books are written in logos, which means words on a page. That is why people can read the Bible and seem to get nothing out of it, they just experience words on a page. But when the Holy Spirit speaks, the word of God becomes rhema, alive. A rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to a current situation or need for direction. In the regular course of our daily reading of God’s Word (logos), we need to ask the God to speak to us through His Word and give us insight into it. The Holy Spirit can cause certain passages to stand out with significant meaning or application for our lives. These are the rhemas of Scripture and should become a part of our daily thoughts and actions.

     Next week we will look at additional practical ways the Holy Spirit interacts with and for you.

Ending the War with Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:32:00 +0000

I haven't said much about my book Ending the War with Myself. Even though I use myself in many of the examples, the book could be titled Ending the War with Yourself. So here are some thoughts about parts of the book.

During my years of counseling Christian clients, I continually found a common theme with each person I saw. Note, we can fall anywhere on the continuum of life. Some of us come across as extremely capable and self-sufficient while others of us believe we can't accomplish much of anything on our own. When either is asked, "How is your relationship with yourself?" They respond, without batting an eyelid, or asking me if I were crazy to ask such a question, "Oh, I am very hard on myself," or "I push myself really hard." "I'm a perfectionist," or "I judge myself all the time."

Now who is the person we are having this "insensitive relationship" with? Do you sometimes wonder to whom your self-talk is directed? I believe as Christians we each experience ourselves through three different avenues. One is the new recreated, born into God's family, filled with the Holy Spirit you. We like this one. The second is the flesh part of you. The part that is tempted to sin and by golly we fall for that temptation, "again!" We are not very happy with this one. :( Thirdly, there is the wounded part of you. Most of us are aware of the first two, but the third one, I am not so sure about.

As Christians we learn a lot about being loved and accepted by God in church. We are taught the Bible with all its principles for living healthy lives. Conversely, we also hear about the consequences of our missing the mark of God's perfection (sin). But the wounded you is not normally addressed. If we do get help, it is generally outside the church. Church for me was only learning about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Once that is under your belt, church was about going out and helping people. Something always seemed to be missing.

I now know we, the church, are leaving out a significant part of ourselves in our healing process with God. It was not until seven years ago as I was helping with a program called Living Waters, that I became acutely aware that the wounded parts of ourselves need to be addressed within the church. We used a small group format as many Bible studies do. I knew the program included teaching, praying and confessing of sin. What I observed was the program not only dealt with our personal failings (sins) but also with the pain of being sinned against.

Being sinned against by others brings on our woundedness. Unless the woundedness is dealt with it follows us into adulthood affecting the quality of our emotional and spiritual lives and the quality of our significant relationships. And to top it off, we continue wounding ourselves over and over again with our negative self-talk. We judge, condemn and drive ourselves without even knowing that we are adding to our own pain.

Is all of this biblical? As God's children He wants us to say about ourselves what He says about us. Of the many positive things He says about us one is Romans 8:1a, " 1THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus." God's children are no longer judged by God, therefore we are not to judge ourselves and add to our own woundedness. Yes, we are to listen to the Holy Spirit and discern when we truly do sin and ask for forgiveness, which is delivered instantly. There is a difference between judgment and discernment. As I studied judgment in Naves Topical Bible on http://www.biblegateway.com, I discovered that judgment always comes with either a punishment or reward. Discern means the ability to differentiate, recognize, detect between good and evil. Yes, we are to discern our sins, but not pronounce judgment on ourselves. Clients, who cut their bodies, not for suicidal purposes, are cutting their bodies as a judgment on themselves; a judgment of guilty with a self-imposed selected punishment.

One day as I was reading my Bible about the Pharisees asking Jesus, "What is the most important of all the commandments?" I saw something in Jesus' answer, found in Matthew 22:34, I had never seen before. See if you can find it.

34Now when the Pharisees heard that He (Jesus) had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. 36Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light--which are heavy?] 37And He (Jesus) replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect) 38This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. 40These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets."

I knew the first two laws; love God and love others. This time, however, "as you do yourself" jumped out at me. Love myself? Is this heretical? Jesus tells us these two laws are preeminent over all other laws. The first law tells us to love God. The second law tells us to love others as we love ourselves. Look closely at these two laws and you will find Jesus commanding us to love three entities; first and above the others, we are to love God; secondly, to love ourselves; and thirdly, to love others. Only two of these three are generally addressed in Christian circles: God and others.

Leaving out loving yourself is a grave oversight. As Jesus goes on to say; “If you love God, and love others as you love yourself, you will be fulfilling all the law and the prophets.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary says, “Everything hangs upon the law of love; take away this, and all falls to the ground and comes to nothing.” “For the fulfilling of the law is love and the end of the law is love (Romans 13:10).” The Christian faith is about love being preeminent in all facets of our lives. “Love never fails (1Timothy 1:5).”

The Day After the Elections

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:11:00 +0000

Years ago my two children and I innocently climbed onto the Space Mountain ride at Disney World. I do not do roller coasters, never have. I am a chicken and proud of it. For those who don't know, Space Mountain is inside of a man made mountain. So, from the outside, you cannot see anything about the ride. As the ride proceeded in total darkness, I knew I was in trouble. My screams were not that of fun, but terror. The strange thing about terror is there comes a time when the screams of terror move into silence. I was dead silent, fearing for my life.

Strange as that might sound to all you dare devils, I never want to experience that feeling ever again. Yet, I came close to it over the past 3 years. It began when our president just began running for office. The news media made mention of his church and that he was a Christian. This was way before the exposure of his pastor's views on America. So doing my due diligence, I put the name of the church into my browser and up came his Pastor, Jeremiah Wright. espousing the damning of America. I sat incredulous, horrified and frightened. As a result, I sent the clip to all of my friends. The rest is history as the media discovered the same thing I did, a false gospel in the name of Christianity.

These past 3 years I've been on that Space Mountain ride, fearing the death of our Constitutional America, the Pledge of Allegiance, moving from a Democracy to Socialism, the further removal of God from our country, a grand monetary depression and softness regarding the terrorist. Yesterday's election has given me the opportunity to get off that ride, at least for now. I praise God for what happened yesterday. He is giving us another chance and I pray we all become a part of the solution for our country.

Since the beginning of time, governments/kings have put people on roller coasters. Many of those rides have ended in death for millions of people. Our salvation does not come from governments but from our Lord. If you remember the "President/King" of the young Hebrew nation was God. They looked to Him for leadership, protection, food, direction etc. Over time they saw that other nations had kings. So they asked God for a king. Now sometimes we get what we ask for. The Hebrews got a king and his name was Saul (I Samuel 8: 8-22). God did warn them- and us - beforehand.

God speaking to Samuel: "8 According to all the works which they (the Hebrews) have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee (Samuel). 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king

In the Garden of Eden God gave us His first gift; freedom of choice ((Genesis 2: 16-17). The Hebrews wanted a king. God was to be their king yet they turned to a human to lead them. As God warned, Saul was not a good leader. Regardless, as far as God was concerned their choice would remain and the consequences of that king's rule would indeed come to fruition.

Down through the centuries, regardless of our will to have earthly leaders, God has worked through those leaders. Because God lives by His own rule of freedom choice, if the leader allows God to lead, He will. Conversely, if a leader does not listen to God, He allows the consequences of their leadership to fall upon that nation. We see this throughout the history of the Hebrew nation. There were godly leaders and un-godly leaders. Positive and negative consequences were experienced accordingly.

Remembering God has all contingencies covered, He is able to bring good out of an evil nation as the result of a Godless leader (Romans 8:28). An example in our time is the Holocaust. An evil leader brought about the evil destruction of millions of Jews and Christians. God used that horror to fulfill His promise to return the Children of Israel to their land. Using worldwide sympathy for the Jews, they were allowed to return to their God-given land promised to Abraham and his all his descendents.

I felt out of control during these past 3 years. Guess what? Feeling out of control is a good place to be spiritually. Why? Because I can look to God to be in control for me. One recent Sunday our pastor spoke of things we hold onto in our lives. Things we know are not good for us. At the end of the service he asked anyone who had something they wanted to turn over to the Lord to stand up. I stood. Why? I knew I had to give America over to the Lord because I was keeping myself upset and in angst. Was I still angry? Yes, as we all should be when we know we are headed for disaster. However, a peace and relief came over me as I shed tears and accepted the fact that God is in control of America.

Regardless of what party is in leadership at any given time, remember God reigns over me, over you and over our country. Even with our new leadership we are not to look to them to save us. We are to look to the one who has already saved us and bestowed upon us empowering gifts to be salt and light - Jesus Christ. We are, however, commanded to pray for them and this may be your way of being part of the solution for our country (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

GOD-ESTEEM VS. SELF-ESTEEM

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 02:33:00 +0000

[This topic is two-fold. I am writing to you the person reading this, but also to those who are parents of children. You can apply this to your children as well as yourself]

The definition of self-esteem according to Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology states: Self-esteem is the unique characteristic of human beings to describe and evaluate themselves. Self-esteem is the degree of positive or negative feelings that one has as a result of such assessment.

As Christian parents we want our children to have a strong, positive foundation of acceptance of who they are. To date, the major characteristics of psychosocial development have not been amended since Eric Erikson devised the eight stages we each go through, either successfully or unsuccessfully. The list in order of development includes:

 Basic trust vs. Mistrust (very early childhood, based on quality of parent- child relationship)

 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (preschool, dealing with self-control or over-parental control)

 Initiative vs. Guilt (grammar school, child plans and conquers and then must deal with issues of any guilt as a result)

 Industry vs. Inferiority (winning recognition through production) sports, music, academic achievement, leadership, whatever)

 Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence self-concept issues)

 Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood, connecting with others)

 Regeneration vs. Stagnation (adulthood, regarding productivity in adulthood and the ability to reinvent one's self)

 Personal Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood, life evaluation)

Each of us pray our children will not get stuck in any one particular developmental stage. We want them to successfully go through each stage and conquer it in order to have a healthy sense of self. And if as adults we became stuck in any one stage it would be advisable to receive some help in order to get unstuck and move on.

The word self-esteem in and of itself is neither positive nor negative nor right or wrong. It depends on how it is framed for a child or a Christian adult. God-esteem is a word I coined in order to replace the word self-esteem. Why? Self-esteem seems to have a negative connotation to many Christians. To many it denotes having confidence in self, in one's ability to succeed, in one's ability to live life our way with confidence without God. We trust in ourselves to do life. It is expressed in Frank Sinatra's song entitled "My Way" where he sings the refrain, "I did it my way." This implies he didn't do it God's way but his way.

The main difference I see between God-esteem and self-esteem is God is not in the life of the person. When God is not in a person's life you operate out of humanism. Humanism is the ability of men/women in and of themselves to bring about good, peace and justice for humanity. Their emphasis is on man's ability to self-actualize and become self-transcendent beings controlled by no one outside of themselves but by their own values and choices alone.

Many great and mighty things have been accomplished without God, as well as horrific things; however, becoming stronger in ourselves is in direct opposition to the Word of God. Christianity teaches we are unable to live out God’s directives. Hopefully we turn to God for His strength and His ability and His plan for our lives which He gives us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God-esteem frees us to embrace the reality of our inadequacy yet at the same time to embrace the truth that we are loved and accepted by God. Humanism, on the other hand, builds up the flesh.

Flesh is defined in Romans 8:3 (Amplified Bible) as "the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit;" in Romans 8:12 as "the carnal nature of man;" in 1 Corinthians 1:3 as “under the control of ordinary impulses;” and finally in Ephesians 2:3, "we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God's] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind."

This way of life is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God desires our "esteem" or estimation of ourselves to come from Him; thus the word "God-esteem". To me God-esteem seems to reflect God's intent towards us, His children. That intent is to love, to accept, to protect, to teach, to care for, to mentor, to forgive and to give mercy to us especially when it is undeserved. I John 4:19 states, "We love God because He first loved us." While we were in the depth of sin and did not know or care about Him, God loved us (Romans5:8 paraphrase). In sending Jesus he made a way for us to receive His love. Once we discover how much He loves us, we feel safe to love Him back. Our God-esteem comes from God's love for us.

But what happens to our God-esteem if we fail at something? I do not know what humanists feel or think when they fail. I do know what I think and feel. In the past I did one of two things. I was angry and found someone else to blame which protected me from my own reality or I would lash out at myself, judging and condemning myself which led to depression and anxiety.

God does not want Christians blaming others for our failures. He also does not want us to beat up on ourselves for days, weeks, months or a life time for our failures. It is in your failures and your child's failures "God-Esteem" comes to the rescue. Once you sense true remorse in yourself or your child, it is time to build back up your God-Esteem. Remind yourself of who you are in Christ. Remind yourself what God has done for you because of Jesus' completed work on the cross. One gift from God is His forgiveness and “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1)Celebrate with your child God's forgiveness. Celebrate with enthusiasm how merciful and loving God is. Thank God and give Him praise. By doing this you are building up the child's God-esteem.

THE QUESTION OF "HOW TO…”

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:05:00 +0000

I am a practical person, maybe to a fault. I love to discuss theoretical issues, yet when all is said and done, I want to know how to live out what was discussed. A Sunday School teacher of mine once said, "Exhortation without explanation leads to frustration." He was expressing his feelings regarding a teacher or a pastor who spends his time urging us to be or do something the Bible tells us, such as, "Do not provoke your children to anger (Ephesians 6:4)” without giving us the biblical information of how to do that. My teacher knew frustration would set in as we tried to live up to the exhortation. As I have found in working with hundreds of people when you try and fail, you more than likely will judge yourself. Judging yourself, as I have stated before, leads to depression, a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.

I am more interested in the how to of my faith. So when I read my Bible I am looking for the how to. For me the four Gospels seem to be more the exhortation part of the equation while the Epistles seem to be the explanation or the how to of our faith. Jesus had a lot to say about how we should live. One of His bottom line messages is "You are to be perfect as my Father in Heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).” Oh my, how is that possible? How can I do that?

It is my belief that since Jesus came to live out the law for us, He regularly pointed out the legal requirement for fellowship with God: perfection. Yet He knew we could not do this. I believe He was giving the people the opportunity to exclaim, "We cannot do this, Lord. We need a savior." Then in response He would tell them He would do it for them by living a perfect life and taking their punishment for not being able to be perfect. All for the purpose of opening a way for us to become, not just creations of God, but children of God with all the rights and privileges that Jesus has (Ephesians 2: 4-6).

One example of a man who wanted to know the "how to" was the Pharisee, Nicodemus. He slipped in to see Jesus in the middle of the night to ask questions. Jesus told him you must be born again. Nicodemus asked "How can a person be born again?" We, like Nicodemus, might ask Jesus, "How can I be perfect? I know I am not perfect as a Christian?"

Colossians 3:3 states, "You have died and your life is now hidden in Christ." The old you is dead that part of you that kicks against God's will. That part of you that could care less about what God wants for your life. That part of you who desires to live outside of God's will. As children of God we will of course experience these attitudes from time to time, but when we do we will desire with all our heart not to express these attitudes anymore. We will live with a desire to be the person God created us to be. This attitude change will be a sign that you are in Christ.

Now Colossians 3:3 is either true or not true. We have died and our lives are now hidden in Christ. Know that each verse that says, "Christ in you, the hope of Glory;”(Colossians 1:26-27) there are 10 verses that say you are now "in Christ." Colossians 3 also says you are hidden "in Christ." Because I am hidden in Christ, I know I am concealed and protected inside the God of this universe. In this hidden place I am loved. Jesus encourages me, guides me, corrects me, and fellowships with me. Even when chaos reigns in my daily world I see myself nestled away from the harshness, confusion, and evil of this world. Jesus does the warfare. He is on the front line living His perfect resurrected life in and through me. This is how we live a perfect life: we take God's word that Jesus will live it for us. Christ in me lives out that life while at the same time my earthly miss steps are covered and forgiven by the blood of Jesus.

What might hidden in Christ mean to you personally? How might the phrase hidden in Christ comfort you? Some synonyms for hidden are concealed, out of sight, veiled, and invisible.

WHAT DOES BEING A CHRISTIAN REALLY MEAN?

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 03:31:00 +0000

If anything good has come of all the political turmoil we find ourselves in, it is the mainstream media's discussion of God and what it means to be spiritual. Last night my husband and I watched PBS's second in a three part series entitled "God in America." Even though it covered various God oriented religions, I am a spokes person for Christianity.

A recent Pew survey tells us that not only secular people but also Christians don't know much about Christianity. Christians not knowing much about their faith seems strange to me, yet I was one of those people brought up in the faith and at age 30 still had little idea of what Christianity was all about.

From the time I was little, up through high school, I was taken to church weekly. I went to a church where the Bible was taught; thus I should know a lot. Even the high school I attended taught the Bible. Yet I missed what the Bible was saying. I knew the stories and the characters from Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and all, but what were those stories telling me? All I understood was there is a God and that these people loved God and were obedient. Jesus is God's Son sent to earth to show us how to live. He loved God and was obedient. What was the bottom line application for me; love God and be obedient?

Around the age of 16 or so I decided I had nothing against Christians or my Christian upbringing, but I could not muster up the love for God others seemed to have, nor could I come close to "doing what Jesus would do." Obedience was not an option for me. I could not pull it off. I drifted from the faith of my family for 14 years.

Due to some difficult, unexpected things happening inside my home and outside my home, I began to think about God again. But what to do, I did not know. A friend invited me to a "Prayer Breakfast." I liked my friend, had nothing against Christians, so I went. Little did I know my life would be changed forever that day.

The speaker told her story; how each thing she desired and pursued, upon getting it, her bubble of excitement would bust. The entity did not satisfy. Off she would go chasing another goal and so on. I was mesmerized as I identified with her. Our goals were different yet the pursuing, obtaining, and the let down were the same. Why this melancholy, I would ask? I have the thing I so desired.

Being caught up in her story, I was suddenly brought back as I heard her say, "If anyone would like to invite Jesus to come into their lives, pray this prayer with me." Oh no! I thought. I was raised being asked this question Sunday after Sunday. What in the heck are they talking about? I never did understand the meaning of "invite Jesus into your life." Like, where was He to live and what was I to do as a result? What are they asking of me?

Anxiety rose up in my stomach. I so identified with her story. I so wanted to understand what this "invite Jesus into your life" meant. As I later found out, God looks at the heart of people not necessarily their actions. He looked at my heart that day. Of all the things my heart might be holding that were not so godly, there was one thing He saw and I knew also. I was desperate to know Him.

As she continued, I heard something that would forever change me and take me out of the kingdom of my own darkness and translate me into the kingdom of His son (Colossians1:13). She said, "Invite Jesus into your life and let Him live His resurrected life in and through you. Let Him walk around the streets of Atlanta using your hands and your heart to reach out to the hurting people of Atlanta."

My immediate thought was, "Do you mean Jesus will live the Christian life for me? He will live His resurrected life in and through me?All I have to do is to invite Him into my life and He will do His Father's will as I allow Him?" Reality hit me. Me, in my own strength, trying to be like Jesus was not Christianity. Conversely, Christianity is God's strength in me doing God's will, not vice versa.

Now this is doable, I reflected. Jesus will do for me what I cannot do for myself. A pin hole of light hit me as I began to understand with Jesus in me, actually it is the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), I will have to have a very close personal relationship with Him as we will be working together. This is what Christians are talking about when they ask, "Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?"

I was ecstatic! What a relief! I felt free. A burden came off of me that day and was put onto Jesus, just like He asked in Matthew 11:28. I am to let Him work through me. Why does it have to be this way? God knows we are sinful (missing the mark of perfection). No big surprise to God. Because God is perfect and demands perfection (perfect good works, perfect Godly thoughts) from us, He knew we could never measure up to His standards. We were stuck, mired down in our own imperfections and dysfunctions. In order to bring us into His family and begin to change us from the inside out His Son would come to earth, live a perfect life "for us", take our punishment on Himself for every sin in the world (past, present, future) and give us the opportunity to take His perfect righteousness, if we so choose.

You and I are not Christians because of our good works. Good works are the icing on the cake and come after we have fallen in love with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We do not earn any "brownie points" with God by doing good works. The bottom line is I cannot fix you. You cannot fix yourself. Only God can fix us. He happens to have already done this 2000 years ago in Jesus' finished work on the cross. We either accept Jesus' righteousness for ourselves or reject it and do our own good works by trying to do what Jesus would do.

If you allow Jesus to live in you and do His works, then God gets all the glory. As you will know I could not have done that by myself. If you live doing the works of Jesus yourself, then you will get the glory and it counts for nothing .You get to choose. Do good works your way or God's way, "Christ in you is your hope of glory." Amen

Colossians1:13 [The Father] has delivered and [a]drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son [b]of His love.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God?

Matthew 11:28 and Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will [a]ease and relieve and [b]refresh [c]your souls.]"

Leave a comment or question please or send on to a friend who might benefit from this post. Micky

PRAYER CONFUSION

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:00:00 +0000

(If you have further insight into this issue or have experienced the same problem, please leave a comment. Also, if you join my blog you will get a once a week post from me.)

The first years of my Christian walk I was considered a prayer warrior. I met with friends and we would pray for an hour or two for our families and anything of concern. I was even asked to lead prayer time in my rather large Sunday school class. I knew nothing of theological issues regarding prayer. I just prayed, which is not a bad thing at all. But I had some hidden detrimental beliefs that I wasn’t even aware of.

I put myself under several Bible teachers outside of my home church. From each of them I heard the same message regarding prayer. It was based on some of the teachings of John Wesley. This type of prayer is based on a quote by Wesley: "The hand of God does not move except through prayer.”

I spent hours, days and years taking God’s Word and praying it back to Him. For instance, if you were not saved I would pray, “Lord, Joe is not saved but I know You are not willing that anyone should perish.” I was told if I prayed Scripture prayers, God would answer. So with that belief, I was about the business of "moving the hands of God" for my family and others.

Now praying Scripture is not wrong. In fact it is biblical, it was the subliminal belief that nothing would happen unless "I" moved the hand of God. I began to get weary and sensed this terrible responsibility on my shoulders to get God moving.

Somewhere in my 10th year of being a Christian, my younger son, unbeknownst to my husband and myself, became involved with drugs. Over a ten year period I wrestled and struggled with my son and with God. He was in and out of rehab 4 times. Prayers were revved up. Praise God he did become a Christian, asked to be baptized, and got into a Bible study. Yet the drugs still had a hold on him. More prayers! I just knew God was going to work all of this together for my son’s good. He would be able to minister to those trapped by drugs. Right?

This did not happen. At age 26 he took his life. Devastation set in. Where were the hands of God? Didn’t I pray rightly? I described the next year or so as that period of my wrestling with God. I felt as if He and I were going round and round, wrestling as Jacob did with the angel of God. I too, like Job, never got a direct answer. I did get a heart implant though, as did Job. I knew because I knew that God is God and I am not. This was extremely comforting. Every Christian knows this but, in the past, I only knew this in my head. But now I knew it in my heart of hearts. The hidden misbelief that pressured me was gone. I still could not verbalize it though.

Ok, God is in charge now. I am not God. Without knowing anything at that time about Armenian prayer theology or Calvinistic prayer theology, my heart swung from one (Armenian) to the other (Calvinistic). I acknowledged I was exhausted moving the hand of God. I just could not do that anymore. I was confused. This confusion lasted quite a while.

I found myself thinking, if God is in charge and not me, then I will submit my day to the Lord knowing He has all contingences covered in my life and in yours. Whatever comes up, I said, I will face it at that time with God and not fret as to what could happen. And per chance I miss the will of God, He had that choice covered and would work it out for His good and my good even if there were consequences connected to my choice. Grace would see me through each day.

But I am not spending hours in prayer. Guilt hits me. Messages such as, "You do not love God. You are being too passive. None of your hopes are ever going to be answered. You are not willing to put in the sweat and blood and time," flashed through my mind. Evangelicals are untiring in reminding you to pray, pray, pray. More guilt. But if you trust God, I mean really trust Him, how much begging do you need to do?

The truth is both sides of this prayer coin are delineated in the Bible which comes down to the much discussed issue of the Free Will of Man and the Sovereignty of God. Man chooses to pray and God's hands move or God is Sovereign and my life is in His hands. When I was about the business of moving the hand of God I felt the burden was on me to know what to pray for each person, even though I knew the Scripture regarding the Holy Spirit praying through me.

Being a counselor didn't help either. I knew what to pray for my clients because they had allowed me into their inner most being. The discernment of God led these prayers. But if you asked me to pray for Suzie Jones, I had no idea what to pray. Why, because generally what the surface prayer request is, is not the real root of the issue. I wanted to go for the root of their request and pray for that.

Recently I discovered a way of praying that has helped me. These prayers are called "You are" prayers. For example; instead of having an attitude of asking or begging God, I pray, "Father, You are sufficient for me in this circumstance. You are the one who works all things together for good in this situation. You are my Father who forgives me for my sin. You are the great 'I Am' present with me every second, every minute of each day." I am praying Scripture yet I do not have the responsibility of moving God's hands. I am praising Him for who He is and at the same time reminding me, not Him, of His promises. God is now the one who has the responsibility of either answering or not answering my prayer.

I find in all areas of life grace always sets you free of heavy chronic internal burdens. The ever present burden I had was, it is my duty and responsibility to move the hands of God by reminding Him of His words in Scripture. What is different? Now, I remind myself of God's word. I remind myself God is responsible for moving His own hands. It is interesting how such a small nuance in my thinking has made such a heavy burden disappear.

This is not an inclusive blog regarding prayer. It is my story of my confusion. If you want further information regarding prayer I would highly recommend Jennifer Dean's website, blog, videos, Bible Study on prayer. Jennifer Kennedy Dean is Executive director of The Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is the author of numerous books, studies, and magazine articles specializing in prayer and spiritual formation. Her book Heart's Cry is a primary resource for National Day of Prayer. Her book, Live a Praying Life, has been called a flagship work on prayer. Widely recognized as an unusually gifted communicator of the deep truths of God's Word, Jennifer speaks all over the country calling God's people to discover the difference between "a prayer life" and "a praying life."

You can find her at http://www.prayinglife.org/

Christianity vs. the Christian

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Believe it or not there is a difference between Christianity and Christians.
Christianity is the full account of the life and works of Jesus Christ. Jesus emptied Himself of any Godly powers while here on earth. This is called gnosis (Philippians 2:7). He operated not as God but as you and I operate, as humans. Jesus was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning (Hebrews 4:15). Thus Jesus was perfect in all ways for us.

Why would Jesus have to come to earth to be perfect in all ways for us?
First you must know God is love (1John 4:16). Love desires fellowship, connection, bonding. God who is perfect in all ways is referred to as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). If we were to step into His presence with all of our imperfections (sins), we would literally be toast. This leaves us with no way to connect with God. This love God, however, made a way for us to connect with Him. That way is through His perfect son.

Secondly, we already know, yet we must take seriously, that we are imperfect (sinners). The great forefathers of us all, Adam and Eve, were created to live and walk in perfect harmony with God forever. We do not know how long the three of them walked in perfect harmony, yet we do know they eventually transgressed the one and only boundary set by God. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned them that “in the day you eat of this fruit you will surely die.” Now we need to understand what the word die means. It means to be cut off from "Life" - the life flowing connection to God.

Prior to that day Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good or evil. They were innocent children, so to speak, enjoying life, enjoying God with no cares or foreboding conscience+ to hound them. They were free of all restrictions but one. They eventually caved in to that one restriction. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then they had to live with that knowledge. That knowledge is repressive and heavy to live under- knowing that the world, the people of earth, and even yourself, are not as you should be or could be. Our conscience can and does harass us, judge us, and condemn us. We lie, steal, cheat, manipulate, puff ourselves up believing we are better than others, murder, embezzle, gossip, stir up trouble and on and on.

So what did God do about our disconnection from Him? When the perfect "Jesus" was crucified on the cross, Romans (2 Corinthians 5:21) tells us, "He (Jesus) who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." Prior to the moment of Jesus' death, Jesus literally became sin for every person who ever lived or was to live. He took your sins, my sins, everyone's' sins onto Himself. His Father departed from that sin and Jesus cried out, "Why oh why have you forsaken me (Mark 15:34).” At this very same moment all of us people - past, present, and future - were given Jesus' righteousness. We call this the Great Exchange. Jesus got our sins. We got His righteousness.

Now we are free to have an intimate relationship with God again. Why? Because of Jesus' sacrifice for us we are not only forgiven, but no longer judged. We are the children of God, loved and accepted in the beloved. All anyone has to do to have this relationship with God is to desire to have a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then ask and accept this free gift God in Christ has already prepared for you and He will give it all to you.

What is the truth about those of us who do accept and ask to have a relationship with God; those of us who are called Christians? Having a relationship with God is like the beginning of a new marriage. We come into this new relationship with all of our family of origin baggage. A teacher once said, "If you are squirrely the day before you ask Christ into your life then you are squirrely the day after you ask Christ into your life.”

Christians are in process from the day they become believers until the day they die. We never reach perfection this side of Heaven. We screw up every day and sin in a many diverse ways. People look at us and think, "You tell us you are a Christian. Aren't you supposed to be perfect, no longer sinners? You project to us (the non-Christian) that you are better than we are because you are so very perfect and we are the sinners, but I see your imperfections. You are nothing but a hypocrite."

I will admit that this is the way many Christians conduct themselves. It breaks my heart. They are sinning when this is their attitude. This way of being is not God's desire for us. Mature Christians know if it were not for Jesus they would have zero reason to have a relationship with God. Mature Christians know it is only because of God's grace that we can say, "I am loved. I am accepted by God not because of anything I did or could do. My acceptance is totally dependent on God's merciful grace.” We know we have nothing to offer God. We operate out of humility due to this knowledge, not arrogance. This is the heart of a true Christian. I am broken and God is fixing me. Thank you Lord for doing what I cannot do for myself.).”

I often say I live at the first step of AA. Some of the additional steps are slightly modified for Christian purposes. This is the outline of where we start as Christians and where we are headed as Christians. "God who began a good work in us will complete it (Philippians 1:6).

• Step 1- I admit I am powerless over my (sin) addiction- that my life has become unmanageable (in some particular area de jour)
• Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves (Jesus Christ )could restore us to sanity
• Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God
• Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
• Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
• Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

• Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings

Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them a
• Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or othe
• Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted i
• Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
• Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other (sin) addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

THE TREASURE CHEST

noreply@blogger.com (Anna "Micky" Land) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:56:00 +0000

DreamHost rebate

The Bible tells us that we love God because He first loved us. It is critical we understand how much He loves us. I am reading the book of Colossians from the New Testament. It reminds me of all the "treasures" we have in Christ and how loved we are. When I first became a Christian I could not stop reading the Epistles (all the books after Acts through Revelation). My husband accused me of not being secure in my faith, saying that I emerged myself in the Bible because I was still looking for answers. I remember saying, "Oh no! The Bible is like a treasure chest filled with beautiful promises from God. When I read the Bible I find more and more things God has done for me." It is still that way today.

Colossians is a perfect example of reminders of the treasures we have in Christ. If I were asked, "What does being a Christian practically mean to you?" I would say, "Jesus came into my life to save me from myself." I was young when I realized I was not perfect - I kept shooting myself in my own foot. Also, because I was a sensitive child with a sensitive conscience, I even compounded the shooting by telling my parents what I had done wrong, therefore guaranteeing for myself appropriate discipline. I realized early, I needed help, but I didn't know where to get that help. Now I know. I get it from God.

God's first desire for us is to know deeply and clearly He loves us with an unconditional love. Secondly, He wants us to understand what He has done for us in Christ to prove that love. Way too many believe God's love is unconditional yet act and teach as if His love is conditional. If you do this then I will do that for you. But this is not what the New Testament teaches. Conditional love is not Agape love. In truth, understanding God's unconditional love is like those of us who cannot comprehend Albert Einstein's fact (no longer a theory but a fact) that the faster we go, the slower time passes. If we were to reach the speed of light time disappears and everything - past, present and future - merges into a whole. (Gerald L. Schroder, The Science of God)

For me love is better understood by using the word “acceptance”. Everyone is accepted by God because of Jesus' completed work on the Cross. (we'll talk about this at another time). This sounds like Universalism but is not. All we have to do is have a burning desire to accept our acceptance and we become God's child. We are born again not to an earthy father but to a Heavenly Father.

How many people do you know who are beautiful yet they will not accept that they are beautiful? How many people do you know who are too thin or addicted to something (drugs, golf, work, gambling, exercise etc) yet they will not accept that they have a problem? These people continue in their distortion of truth to their detriment. Additionally, they hurt those who love them. The same is true for God. For six thousand years He has been offering His love. Some accept it others don't, to their detriment.

For those who accept Jesus, the Treasures of God are available. Now as Christians we can either accept His treasures or not. It is our free will choice that God gave us, spoken of in the book of Genesis. I have counseled with so many Christians who cannot get their hearts around receiving God's Treasures. My heart aches for them. They continue their Christian lives only accepting that at the end of their lives they will go to heaven. Yes they will, but they will have missed the Treasures provided by God that are ours now while we are alive.

If I wrote of all those Treasures I would be rewriting a large part of the New Testament. Listed below of some of those Treasures.

1. A love relationship like no other. A fire in the belly type of love.

2. Our emotional state: "experienced" as calm, at peace, filled with joy, loved, filled with hope that God will do what is best in each and every circumstance that comes into our lives, filled with assurance of God's acceptance, experience faith (even if it is as small as a mustard seed).

3. Our intellectual state: I have (present tense) an inheritance in Christ to use now. Christ in me is my Hope of Glory. We have been taken out of our own darkness and the world's darkness and put into the kingdom of God's light. We have the actual mind of Christ. Jesus took away my sin nature (not desiring to have a relationship with God and wanting to do life Frank Sinatra's way, "My Way"). All of my sins (missing the marks of perfection) past, present, and future are removed

4. Our spiritual state: We are born again by the Holy Spirit, accepted in the Beloved, filled with the Holy Spirit, forgiven, no more condemnation by God forever, joint heirs with Christ Jesus, Child of God, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in me, the Holy Spirit and I are in Christ. The Holy Spirit, myself and Christ are in God. I am, at this very moment, present with and seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. (Remember Einstein's Fact)

5. Our relational state: Our negative personality traits are being changed day by day by the Holy Spirit. There is no more predigest as we who are in Christ (Chinese, Indian, Blacks, Europeans, those from the Middle East etc.) are all brothers and sisters in Christ having one Father and the same brother, as Jesus was the first born among many brethren.

I truly could go on. If you want a conformation regarding where to find the affirmations I have listed contact me. You will find the “contact me” button on the right hand side of the page under Ending the War with Myself book cover. Consider signing up and you will receive a post once a week.

Paul's prayer for us is: "In Him (Christ) all the treasures of [divine] wisdom ([d]comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden (for us). Colossians 2:3

Christian Living, In Christ, ending the war with myself, Free Will, Colossians, Born Again, sin nature, unconditional love, conditional love, help