Truth

Honesty with oneself can be difficult to achieve. Every day I struggle to be more, achieve more and to accomplish more than I did yesterday. Unfortunately, it is in the everyday battles where truth and honesty are most important.

   

A mirror in the hands of a beast conjures up very different feelings than one in the hands of a beauty. The beast has a tendency to see the flaws, the ugly, the coarse in himself but I cannot help but wonder how many times we don't stop to examine our own lives because, like the beast, we're afraid to dwell on the uglier things we'll see.

   

Dwelling on our flaws and uglier parts does not necessarily bring satisfaction but examining ourselves and knowing our weaknesses and then targeting them for growth and change cannot be a bad exercise. For instance, a man in debt to the tune of $75,000 gains nothing by ignoring his situation except more debt and heartache whereas a man who faces the reality of his situation and takes the baby steps necessary to change will see growth and change a year from now.

Courage v Fear

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you'll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey."

Quotes for thought…

"God births desire in the heart of man; desire births vision and vision births the Kingdom of God on the earth."

"Expect the need, Ask for the Blessing and leave the rest up to God."

Moving in the Opposite Spirit

Graham Cooke's teaching on operating in the opposite spirit is powerful. Instead of trying to re-hash the concept, I'll briefly mention that Graham teaches that there are seasons when believers need to operate in the opposite spirit of the things coming against them, the enemies attacking them or the personal defects plaguing them.

The idea here is to allow the Holy Spirit to show you what the opposite blessing is for every curse thrown our way. Does fear plague you life? Maybe courage is the opposite spirit God wants to give you in its place. Tempted by lust? May God bless you with purity in its place.

Graham proposes that once God tells you He has promoted you to a new level it is not your responsibility to make yourself ready to attain everything that new level represents. Why? God has already established you in that new level, you just have to keep from moving out of the place in which He has established you.

Interestingly this teaching reminds me of how the Israelites were instructed to move into their promised land. Before they could fully occupy the land God had given them they had to drive out the enemy from those lands.

Personally, I am convinced with every passing day of this season of life that the Lord has promoted me and called me to enter into the "promised land" he has for my life. His favor and strength rest on me in a new way and the only responsibility I feel I have is this…stay close the heart of God and pursue his righteousness and kingdom so that sin disgusts me in the light of His love over me. May I walk closely to his heart so I'm aware of the things he's trying to accomplish on the earth so I can partner with Him in His agenda…not my own agenda.

Last night, after a long day of brainstorming and casting vision for my new software product, I was preparing for bed and reading a little bit of Exodus. While reading Exodus 1 and 2 I discovered two examples of how the enemy intended evil toward people but God turned that evil into blessings.

Israelite Population Explosion

You see, the first example has to do with the Israelites. Joseph and all of his brothers had passed away by now and a new Pharaoh, one who did not know Joseph, was alarmed concerning the large number of Israelites in his country. Pharaoh feared that during war the Israelites would either join Egypt's enemies and fight against him or simply walk away during the battle.

The key to noticing God's blessing in this scripture is to recognize that even though Joseph and his brothers had passed on, the Israelites were reproducing very well…to the point of experiencing a population explosion.

Pharaoh, in his fear, worked to find ways to "contain" the Israelites and prevent them from reproducing any further. The Egyptians decided the best way to contain the Israelites and stop the population growth was to burden the people with hard labor.

Now, this is where the blessing comes in because the bible states that as the Egyptians imposed this hard labor on God's people they only produced more children. The harder Pharaoh worked them the more children the Israelites produced.

The plan of the enemy here was obvious…"contain" the Israelites by distracting them with hard labor. Interestingly, the exact opposite happened. The more the enemy pressed God's people the more fertile they became and the more children were born.

Killing Baby Boy's

Pharaoh noticed his plan to contain the Israelite population wasn't working. After a failed attempt to have Hebrew midwives kill the baby boy's birthed by Israelite women Pharaoh took things to the next level and ordered all of his people to kill the baby boy's born to the Israelite women by drowning them in the river.

Obviously, this is where the birth of Moses occurs and after 3 months of hiding Moses his mother decides to place Moses into a water-proof basket in the Nile. You know the story from here; Pharaoh's wife finds the basket, pulls it out of the water and decides to raise the child.

Once again the clearly expressed plan of the enemy was to kill all of the male children. True to the opposite spirit, not only did Moses survive but his mother was paid by Pharaoh's wife to raise her own child. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned for good.

Insult to Injury

Once again, Pharaoh's motivation here was to contain the Israelites because he feared there response during war-time. Now, God acting in the opposite spirit not only delivers Moses from certain death in the Nile but uses the Israelite child now raised in his very household as the instrument of fulfilling Pharaoh's fears.

May we be so lucky in our lives as to recognize the plans of our enemy against us so we can begin to expect the blessing God has designed to take its place. Maybe, just maybe, the plans of the enemy can be used to understand the blessing of God intended for our lives as we live our lives out each day.

RM

What We Speak

Reminders of truth come often in our lives. Truths we learned and embraced long ago and truths we are learning today all have a place in our memory or heart. Interestingly it is the present truths that come in repeating pattern from diverse, yet disconnected, sources that begin to show me glimpses of what is on the Lord's heart.

Regardless, while listening to Graham I was reminded of a scripture concerning the power of our words and the severity we should take in judiciously guarding what comes out. A scripture I read recently, which evades me at the moment, stated that our words are eternal.

Today, as I will be doing, give thought to the words you say, the power those words hold for life and death, and the power those words have to guide the ship of your life into or out of the things God considers important.

RM

Exodus

Years ago I began studying the early chapters of exodus. Believe it or not Exodus is full of truth applicable to our lives today. Originally, the Lord used the beginning of Exodus to show me how we are enslaved to the enemy. Next, the Lord used Exodus to provoke me to getting out of debt. Now, as I continue to be drawn back to this fundamental book of the Bible I realize that God is working very hard to teach me that there is a place, even today, where we need deliverance from the hand of Egypt.

God wants to take his people out of slavery to sin, debt and world systems. He wants to deliver us into his promised land but we have a lot of "Egypt" still in running through our veins that He needs to root out of us. The Promised Land is still a bit of a mystery to me since I don't believe I have yet left my Egypt but I'm curious to find out if my promised land is similar to your promised land.

What I do know is that God seems to be calling his people out of Egypt with regard to at least three things that enslave his people;

• sin (which builds the enemy's kingdom)
• debt (which keeps us bound and fettered to the enemy's systems of finance)
• world-systems (which keep us busy slaving away, living in debt and raped of our dominion)

I believe God has promised me there is a land, a promised land, flowing with milk and honey that I am to occupy. Am I willing to leave my comforts to find it?

Corporations

Today I spoke with an attorney regarding the establishment of a corporation. Actually, I told him I was developing some software I wished to sell and needed his assistance knowing what steps I should take to get this accomplished.

First, he said, I need to form either an s-corp or llc based corporation as a means of sheltering me from potential lawsuits and/or litigation resulting from problems my software may/may not create. Second, I needed to copyright my software to protect the investment I've made into it.

It's an expensive thing to pursue but well worth it in the end. I need much wisdom and guidance in this endeavor. I'm in uncharted territory.

RM

Assignments

Lately, a theme has surfaced in my life regarding the idea of Assignments. Assignments, as I think of them, are defined as the singular purpose which God gives an individual that helps to define that person's purpose while also providing a framework for making decisions throughout their life.

Knowing the assignment God has given you in life helps provide a framework from which you can answer some of the questions you may have about your future. Here's a silly example…if you know God has asked you to spread the joys of the color red around the world then you can make an informed decision when someone offers you a job selling the color black. Why? Because you know your assignment is the color red and understanding that assignment helps you know what jobs do / do not fit you. Similarly, I believe that knowing your assignment strengthens you to know your place as you navigate through your life.

Recently, when I started transitioning away from my current work and into the season I find myself now a respected friend asked me " Do you believe God gives people assignments?" "Yes", I replied. "Good, what do you think your assignment is?" Without pause an emotional response came from me when I said, "to minister to the Lord". The experience impacted me. Frankly I was surprised of what came out of my mouth. Years ago someone praying for me said they thought I had a gift of ministering to the Lord. I didn't really know what that meant back then but I am starting to learn more. Normally when I am faced with such a question I pause, think a bit and try to figure out the answer. Oddly enough I knew the answer without thinking this time.

Days following this conversation with my friend I began to notice other people who had a clear assignment from the Lord. One such person was the Apostle Paul. Ephesians 3:1-7 shows us that Paul confidently knew that his life's assignment was to share the truth of the gospel and let people know that the message of the gospel was available to everyone, not just those who've heard of God before but those who had never heard of him were also included. Paul's life and message were spent proclaiming this truth. Knowing his purpose helped him navigate all of the trials and pain that came in his life because he knew his purpose and he knew what he was to be about. It provided a framework from which he could live his life and fulfill his assignment.

Jesus also had a clear assignment. Hebrews 12:1-2 says that it was "for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." While there were many other factors that strengthened Jesus on his journey nonetheless his understanding of God's assignment for him to save the world through death, burial and resurrection was the framework or perspective He needed to stay true when the events of his life turned sour and the truth of his purpose unfolded in to history. Even during the time when he felt forsaken by God I believe he knew his assignment and knew he must surrender to god's will because his assignment had purpose.

In conclusion, let me ask you two simple questions: 1) Do YOU believe God gives people assignments? 2) What assignment has he given for your life? 3) Does that knowledge answer any questions about where you should go next?

What do you Seek

What do you Seek?

People wake up every day and we go through the "grind" of life. Each and every day we face choices drawing from our character to determine whether we will make our decisions based on fear, self-preservation or based on integrity and good ethics. We seek after jobs and work so we can provide food, shelter and clothing for our families. Other people wake up driven by temptation and choose to seek after those sins or while others may be seeking ways to fight those sins.

Take all the things we each face on a daily basis and boil them down to one simple question…"What do you seek"? I'm not looking for the text-book answer here. No, instead I'm asking you to dig deep, be completely honest with yourself and ask yourself what it is that you seek?

Personally, that answer changes on a daily, if not an hourly, basis. Maybe you go to work to seek income to pay for your food, shelter and clothing. Others of you, like myself, may be seeking new work opportunities. Others may have no need to work so you seek out ways to stay busy or increase your wealth.

Work is an easy one but what about basic human needs for love, value and acceptance. Do you seek any of those today? Maybe some of you are seeking to be more spiritual, better intercessors or just better people. Maybe you are seeking to make a name for yourself.

Others of us, the ones who are willing to be gut-wrenchingly honest, might say we have subtle motives to seek out sin today. Maybe we really want someone of interest at work today to take notice of us so we can escape the tensions of a strained relationship at home. Maybe you are flipping the channels on TV hoping for just a glimpse of something provocative. Heck maybe you are flat-out seeking how to get your next alcohol or drug fix. Who knows?

Life is full of things to seek. Obviously some of the things we seek are good things that make us better people while other things erode our character and leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled at the end of the day.

Regardless of what you seek I would ask you to step back from your life today. Step back from the activity, the pressures and the decisions that pull on you each day and simply ask yourself what it is you are ultimately seeking.

Take a few minutes to really evaluate your motives today. Ask the Spirit to shine light so that you will know the truth…even the hidden motives of the heart we would prefer remain hidden.

Seek a New Yoke

A heavy yoke rests upon the shoulders of many people today. A yoke God never intended for his people to carry. The burdens we all carry are as diverse and unique as each individual reading this blog. Contrary to what your feelings may say, God has made it clear that those who are weary and burdened are to come to Him and He will give them rest (Matt 11:28). He invites us to take up his yoke and learn from him because he is gentle and humble in heart and promises that we will find rest for our souls if we take him up on his offer. He tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matt 11:29-30)

Obviously we need to seek something in life but what is worthy of our attention, focus and energy? Can we find a way to step back from all of the issues and needs of life to prioritize and narrow them all down to a single thing worth our efforts? What if while stepping back we could find the one thing that held this promise…"If you seek after this 'one thing' everything else that is important to you will be taken care of for you". Would it be worth it?

Ask yourself if there was one thing I could seek that would squelch my fears, quiet my anxieties, relieve the burdens I feel. Well, Matt 6:33 makes just such a promise when it says "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Contextually this verse is surrounded by promises the Lord has made to his children regarding basic provision of food, shelter and clothing. He has promised these things to us but if you think about what is written in these few verse God is really using Matthew to tell us, "Hey, you've got all sorts of things you are worried about. I tell you, don't worry about them you are precious to me and I promise you that I will meet your needs. Now, since you know I have taken care of all the worries and anxieties of life I have freed you up to just seek after me. When you come before me don't worry about asking about all of the things I already know you need. Instead, just come to me to relate, to learn and to sit with me. The rest will be taken care of if you'll just sit with me a while."

The Lord knows our eyes and our focus are instinctively pulled to our natural circumstances but if we take up his yoke, the one he promises us is easy, and let him teach us then he promises to lead us into a place of rest. In fact, Psalm 23:2 re-enforces this truth when he says "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul".

God wants to restore your soul but some of you are so worried and anxious about everything in life when you come before him it robs of you of being able to learn from him. Instead, when you spend time with him clear your mind of your needs, clear your heart of your sins and just spend time with him. No Agenda, no judgment, no nothing. Just you and Him together…learning how to relate.

Taste and See

Years ago I encountered a taste and see moment with the Lord. What I mean is that the Lord allowed me to walk out a two-week period of my life that gave me a taste of what it really means to experience the "and everything else will be added unto you" portion of Matthew 6:33.

Upon starting this "taste and see" experience I had a hunger to hear from the Lord prophetically, I also felt like the Lord wanted me serve meals at a weekly single-parents dinner hosted by a soup-kitchen ministry in Bolivar, Mo. Honest truth is that while I knew the Lord was asking me to participate I had absolutely no interest or desire to work at that soup-kitchen.

Instead of just forcing myself to go work at the soup-kitchen, which is sometimes a good thing, I cleaned the slate of what I thought the Lord was asking me to do and I put those "to do's" on the backburner. Instead, I decided to set out on a journey where I would do my best to seek God's kingdom and his righteousness in my daily life. Instead of just forcing myself to try and have a heart for that soup-kitchen or for the prophetic I chose to seek God first.

The first thing I knew about this time of seeking God was that I was supposed to identify all of the crutches in my life. I was to identify both the good and the bad crutches that I used as placebo's to truly trusting God. Once the crutches were identified I asked the Lord to help me identify those things I should do to counter-act the negative influence of each individual crutch.

One such crutch was TV. I knew I was watching way to much TV. I also knew that there were some issues of lust that stirred in my heart when I watched it. Instead of watching TV I decided to replace that time with reading inspirational books. I wanted to replace the crutch of apathy and lust with something that fed my spirit rather than robbed from it. I did the same thing for each crutch I had identified. I asked the Lord how that activity / issue effected my spirit and asked Him to help me find a spirit-feeding activity to replace each crutch.

The first week of this journey was hell. I would literally lay in bed and fight with myself to read scripture. I would sit in my living room bored to tears because I was so used to watching TV all the time. The decision to stand my ground against these crutches and make my days be able seeking him first was a difficult battle against my own will. I'm sure if people could have seen me in my house they would have laughed while I argued with myself and my flesh to try and choose what I knew God had told me was right and true.

Like an alcoholic weaning himself off alcohol the crutches I had propping my life up were very difficult to release but at the beginning of week two something changed. The battle had lessened and I found myself in a level of relationship with God I had never experienced. I was hearing his voice clearer than I'd ever heard him and I was seeing old struggles start to fall away as my focus shifted from me, my struggles and my desires to this place where his love for me became so real that I realized did not want to sin because I wanted nothing to jeopardize the level of intimacy I was experiencing with Him.

During that second week I felt his heart. Miraculously, where reading scripture was a drudgery that first week, during the second week I found myself insatiably hungry to read it. I kid you not, I woke up at 5 a.m. each morning excited to try and spend time with God before I went to work…even if I fell asleep during it. :) I looked forward to getting home and seeking him again. I was in love with him much as teenagers might feel about their first love.

My desires and my heart were beginning to reflect His. Now, during that two week period I did not ask God to change my heart regarding single parents dinner. Nor did I focus my prayers on any other issues. Instead I took Matthew 6:33 for what it said…he told me to seek his kingdom and his righteousness and that he would take care of the rest. He took care of changing my heart, he brought joy to seeking him and I saw for the first time that the reason God doesn't go around bashing us over the head concerning sin is that he doesn't want us to just "behave" like good religious people.

Instead, he wants us to seek after him of our own free will because he knows that once we experience the truth of his love everyday we won't want to sin. Our motivation will shift from seeking to be perfectly sinless so we can approach him to being so lost in love with him that sin would hurt us and him much as many people never cheat on their husband or wife because the love they have for each other is much more important than the experience of sin for a moment.

Conclusion

The question which provokes my mind and inspires me today is the question I'm asking myself. "What do I seek?" Will I take up my cross, set aside those sins which so very easily enslave me and seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness? Will I allow such an experience to change me, heal me and transform me where I have failed trying to do these things for myself in the past?

The decision for you is the same for me. Will we venture out into the ugly unknown, the raw truth of who we are so that we can find real truth, experience and love that compels us to flee sin not because it is just the "right" thing to do but rather that we are so immersed in God's love that the idea of sin is repulsive because it would pull us out of the bliss that is rightfully ours….the bliss that is God's love.

My prayer is that the month of April will be just that for me...an encounter with love. I hope it is for you too.

RM

Dying to Self

The Face or Flee post from a few days ago keeps stirring in my mind. The point of it was to center my thoughts around how we as believers can Face our fears or Flee our fears. Over the last few days, as I have let this concept stew in my mind, I realize that this Face or Flee concept can be applied much more abstractly than originally occurred to me. The issues of life require us to daily make choices to face or flee our circumstances. Fear may be one area but dying to self encompasses a much broader area of consideration.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." – Luke 9:23-24

The phrase "take up his cross daily" stood out to me. Over the last few days I've become sensitive to the fact the Lord would have me die to some things. These things have been around for a long time and quite frankly strike me at my core. I'll be honest, I don't know how to embrace a season of dying to self but I feel as if part of this month is designed to deal with some issues I have avoided for a long time. I can't run from them any longer…instead it's time to face some things.

Actually, it occurs to me that things have been building up to this moment. I believe He is leading me to the cross. I'm scared…I won't lie. I'm not very good at dying to those things which strike at the very core of who I am. I know it needs to happen, I know he wants to lead me to a better place through all of it.

Daily, throughout this month, I know I am to take up my cross and follow Him. Right now it seems as if taking up my cross means daily making the choice to consciously choose to align with truth and listen to the Spirit for as Romans 8:13 says "but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."

The idea of not knowing how to deal with something makes walking through a season like this very difficult for my personality type. Nonetheless some very conscious decisions must be made and must be followed out.

The concept of being one of the "sons of God" resurfaced this week and Romans 8:14 makes it clear that those who are led by the Spirit of God truly are the sons of God. I'm sure I'll be writing more on sonship here soon. What I need to remember now is that I "did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship."

I pray for mercy and grace during this month. I pray that God's strength be upon me. I've run from some things for a while. Maybe he is leading me to a place of facing some issues and dying to them so that it can truly be said of me that I am a trusted son of God who can be led by the Spirit of God.

The idea of dying to self truly frightens me. The fact today is Easter just heightens this call. The cross represented an atrocious weight to Christ but he submitted himself to it for me, my sins, and my life. Maybe this is an appointed time for me. The path I've been on over the last week leads me to conclude that it is time to face the things which I have been running from for a while. Seems appropriate doesn't it? I did just write an entry called Face or Flee.

RM

Face or Flee

One of life's greatest chameleons has to be fear. It doesn't matter where you go or who you talk to most people have one fear or another. Sadly, fear can even be a driving force behind an individual's very life. Personally, fear has been an ever present force providing me an opportunity. What opportunity does fear offer? Well, I have the choice to either face my fears or flee my fears.

Years ago I was dealing with a rather difficult tax situation. I had at least 2 or 3 years worth of unfiled back taxes. Why? Fear. I had just come through a few years of attempting self-employment and in order to make it through the year and pay my bills I thought I had to skip paying my taxes and hope I could deal with them at the end of the year.

The first year I did this I ended up owing close to $3,000. The next two years that followed I made the situation worse by not filing my taxes. Three years of this behavior and some IRS letters brought reality to my doorstep. I knew at the time my decisions weren't rational but who ever said facing your fears was a rational experience.

Obviously running from a situation is not an answer but this is where the opportunity arises. Bills and checks alike were coming that first year I skipped paying taxes. Instead of seeking God and asking him for his direction and provision I tried to figure things out myself. Well, I didn't really figure things out I just tried to avoid it. I tried to not think about it.

The day came when I had to deal with the situation and despite the horror stories I've heard regarding IRS troubles I worked with them to slowly pay off what grew to over $12,000 of back taxes with several thousand of that being penalties and interest. A high price to pay for fear.

Recently, I wrote on how the month of April is a time of seeking God and trusting him for my provision. There are times when I am fearful that I should be looking for jobs instead of using up my savings but this is another Face or Flee opportunity. I can try to just avoid my fears and put them out of my mind OR I can face them and replace them with the truth of God's word. One approach deals with the issue the other just avoids it and leaves it open for it to resurface.

The principle I'm learning is this; facing fear by replacing it with truth honors God and makes me stronger. Fleeing fear and just trying to avoid those thoughts by distracting myself just hides the issue leaving it for me to have to deal with at a later time. Why not embrace truth now, grow past it so I learn to deal with my life instead of hide from it.

RM

A Season of Change

The ebb and flow of life has often been compared to nature's seasons. The cold of winter drives us inside where we enter into a sort of necessary hibernation. The heat and activity of summer brings us out of our homes and the extra "padding" from winter months starts melting away. Interestingly the months people enjoy the most are those transitional seasons of spring and fall. The temperatures are milder, change is in the air and the promise of moving away from the old and embracing the new fills our hearts and minds.

Now, we as human beings all grow up realizing there are four seasons in nature. Each season has specific characteristics that distinguish them from the others and each follows in a sequential order that never changes. We always know spring will lead to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, winter to spring and then the cycle starts again.

Change has been thrust upon me in recent days. The Lord, in His sovereign wisdom, enacted his will once again into my life and I welcome it. I'm in a place of decision, a place of change and a place of testing or resting.

The interesting thing about the tests God brings our way is that they are chalked full of purpose. God doesn't just sit in heaven mocking us as he throws lightning-bolt trials at us in some heartless act supernatural cruelty. Rather, as our father he desires to train us up in ways that make us stronger and more capable of handling what life is throwing and will throw at us.

Over the next few weeks I have chosen to enter into a journey that is somewhat familiar and largely new to me. Years ago the Lord gave me a "taste and see" moment with him that changed my perception of his simplicity forever. The time I'm speaking of was a time of abandoning my unhealthy life crutches and replacing them with activities which bring life and growth.

Today I have an opportunity to pursue this place once again. It's time to quiet my mind. Abandon my fears and allow the arm and strength of the Lord to work his will and intentions while I focus on Him. My mind says this pause in career and work is irresponsible and irrational but the Lord has made it clear to me that he has invited me to this time of seeking Him and His righteousness.

Personally, the point of this season is for me to explore the facets of who I am, to seek out the Lord in fuller expression of who He is and to wait for whatever he brings to me. Sounds like a glorified vacation, maybe it is, but the mandate and joy of this season is that I get to spend time doing the things I've wanted to explore; writing, reading, worship, prayer, composing, fellowship and hopefully starting a small business. The last one is the most daunting to me but the first version of the software I want to market is effectively finished, some URL's are purchased, the website is being constructed and the only things remaining are learning the legal sides of protecting my investment and learning to effectively market it and support it.

I do not know where the journey of the next 4 weeks will take me but I'd be understating things if I didn't feel God was going bless this time and that his favor would be on me to discover again and bring to reality the dreams of my heart. My invitation to you is to join me on this journey. I promise not to blog every day (I'm not that disciplined) but as writings or inspiration strike I will work to share them with you.

RM