House Cleaning

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of his heart. Proverbs 20:27 NKJV

For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28 NKJV

Recently I became motivated to do a thorough house cleaning. It is amazing when I begin going through closets and dressers how much stuff I find that has been hidden away for YEARS! Some of it is useful and still needed. Much of it no longer needs to take up the space. This project is getting spread out over a number of weeks but when I am finished there will be a sense of accomplishment and welcome space.

This morning I am sensing God urging me to do an internal house cleaning. He is probing my heart with questions that are causing me to do a lot of thinking. It is not the kind of questioning that leaves me feeling shamed and condemned. Rather, the questions are inviting me to allow Him to reveal to me some hidden areas that need my attention and His touch. I am finding that over time I can pack away, stuff, and hide many things and it is time to open the doors and drawers of my heart so that WE can begin to clear away some clutter and allow His Spirit more space in me.

Here are the questions that have already begun to make their way down the corridors of my mind. What are the things I still fear? Is there anyone or anything in competition with God for my heart? Where do I still feel shaky in my walk with Him? What changes am I presently unwilling to make? Where is my energy, focus, and passion directed? What strongholds have yet to be demolished? What lies am I believing about God, myself, or others? To whom am I not willing to show love? What are my conversations centered around? How am I spending my free time? Where do I tend to walk in distrust? What are my priorities? What are my motives and agenda behind my actions? What wounds still need healing? What have been my most recent victories? Where do I see growth in my Christian life? With whom have I recently shared Jesus?

The questions are endless but certainly not daunting! God will use my honest answers to show me where we still need to work. I am assured of His love, patience, and help through all of this. I feel safe and cared for because He has already shown me His heart and character. May this time be productive and beneficial in many ways!

Father, do a thorough examination of my heart! Illuminate all that needs to go and all that needs to stay. I give You the key to every “room” in me. I rest under Your watchful eye and in Your tender hands. Amen.

The Ruining of Strongholds

You have broken down all his hedges; You have brought his strongholds to ruin. Psalm 89:40 NKJV

We hear a lot about strongholds today. We see evidences of them in addictions and perversions. Each one of us is aware of those things that have a vice grip hold on our mind and a death grip on our life. They consume our thoughts and reek havoc on our actions. They stand in competition with God for control of us. They are the mindsets that we carry with us and yet long to be free of. Today’s verse is our victory cry!

I have often forgotten that it is God who brings a stronghold to ruin. Educating myself about the stronghold and attempting to demolish it myself is not the answer. I have warn myself out in the past trying to gain the victory in certain areas. I thought that if I could just get enough answers I could figure out why it was a stronghold for me and I would be free. I can’t tell you the number of times I THOUGHT I had victory in an area only to fall in defeat. Frustration and failure seemed to mark my path continually. I figured there was either something I wasn’t seeing or something I wasn’t doing right and that is why I wasn’t experiencing a true release from the stronghold. I included warfare prayers in hopes of gaining freedom from the grip! I sought godly advice and read any book I could get my hands on in hopes that someone would give me the missing puzzle piece and set me free.

When it was all said and done, while I had stored up many helpful truths my mind was not free. The mindsets remained in tact and the belief grew that change would never come in this life. I had embraced a lie and began to live with resignation. That is when God used something in the Psalms to wake me up! I saw the number of times David would cry out for deliverance and decided to make that my prayer. For an entire day I simply asked God to deliver me from my mindsets in a particular area of my life. I asked Him to release me from the thoughts that had completely consumed my every waking moment. I literally handed it all to Him.

With a heart of gratitude I have spent the last few days thanking Him for the freedom that is finally mine in this particular area. I could tell deliverance had come because I was no longer battling the thoughts and new thoughts were able to enter my mind. I was not having to work at renewing my mind….He had done that for me. The cobwebs of confusion are gone, the sense of hopelessness is gone, the inner turmoil is gone. My view of God has been enlarged and my faith in His ability to set free has been strengthened. I now enter another day of precious liberation!

Father, I give You the praise and the credit for bringing my stronghold to ruin. You have shown me what true deliverance is like. With all that is in me, I thank You! Amen.

The Birthplace of Comforting Others

Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV

I have a close friend in Michigan who lives with a lot of physical pain. She has suffered with migraines since childhood, endured back and neck pain, and now her journey includes multiple sclerosis. In order to slow the progress of the MS, she must give herself a weekly shot that results in flu like symptoms for several days. She once told me she has never experienced a pain free day in her life. Her “good” days are when the pain is merely tolerable. She is one who is presently fettered by pain and she can minister to another individual who suffers with physical pain in ways that I cannot. She can also share the reality of God’s presence, strength, and comfort in the midst of it all. The compassion in her eyes and voice has been birthed through her own personal suffering.

Others are coming to mind this morning that have experienced heartbreak that will one day be used to comfort another. I think of a friend who lost twins early on in her pregnancy and now anticipates the birth of a daughter in September. I think of a number of friends who are walking a path of having daughters pregnant out of wedlock. I think of a dear friend who has experienced the break up of two marriages. I think of a couple in Michigan who were instrumental in my life as a teenager and now walk through days following brain surgery on him. I anticipate the day each of these sit across from a hurting individual and comfort them with the comfort they have received from the Father’s hand.

While my story would be different, God is desiring to do the same thing in me. I experienced this last night as I talked with a friend in the store. Her adult son is going through the difficulty of an ended relationship. I found myself deeply moved by his plight and very aware of all that must be going on in his internal world because I had walked a similar path in the last year. There were aspects of his heartache that I could easily identify and relate with because of my own experience. My ability to pray for him is deepened and broadened because of the memories I house as a result of my own circumstances. If given the opportunity, I could share with him the way God has walked me through the valley and graciously delivered me from the torment of it all.

Dear reader, the same is true for you! Ministry is birthed out of your own hurts, losses, disappointments, pain, and suffering. Know that one day you too will look into the eyes of a broken person and be used of God to comfort them in profound ways. I celebrate His work in us all!

Father, my tears will one day mingle with those of a hurting individual. I rejoice that nothing You have allowed in my life need ever be wasted. In Your wisdom, faithfulness, and love, continue to bring into my life that which would eventually comfort others. Amen.

Mustering or Asking?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11

Last night and this morning I have become acutely aware of my tendency to try to muster up what I perceive God is expecting of me. Commands are often viewed as something I need to perform out of my own determination and ability. All the things I still lack in my life become lists I think I need to find in myself to fulfill. Whether it is loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind, having a passion for souls, desiring His Word above all other literature, consistently demonstrating all the fruit of the Spirit, praying without ceasing, loving others with pure motives and tireless willingness, finding complete satisfaction and delight in God alone, looking more to Him and less to people, or any number of other abundant life qualities, I have so often felt God would be more pleased with me if I could manage these things without asking for His help. I viewed Him wrongly as the parent who was impressed with the child who could “do it all by himself.” What I have come to realize is this is the trap of legalism at the heart level. It is still performance based Christianity and polar worlds apart from what God intends.

What I am viewing as personal failures in my life are actually God’s invitation to ask His help! He knows I do not possess the capability to love Him and live for Him without His assistance. He is not looking for me to act independently of Him, but rather to come to the place of realizing how much I need Him to give me the very things He is asking of me. Every time I read something in the Bible that shows me what I should be doing needs to become a call for help! The passion must come from Him. The desire must come from Him. The ability must come from Him.

Several years ago I was astounded at the truth that God’s love is not dependent upon what I am doing. Today I am just as astounded at the truth that without Him I can do nothing! He has been wooing me to Himself and waiting for me to see my need of Him. My inabilities do not disappoint or disgust Him…He already knows my personal poverty! He stands with gifts of help to bestow on any who ask! He is willing to do IN me what He wants OF me. It must be a cooperative relationship whereby I ask Him for what He longs to pour into me. I receive what He willingly gives. My tiredness is finally being exchanged for His rest. Surely I am not His only child who has had it wrong all this time!

Father, continue to clear up the misconceptions I have of You and the Christian life. I lay them all at the foot of the cross and extend open hands to receive Your help. Amen.

An Interesting Poll

I received this email from a friend today. Maybe some of you have seen this already. The email was about an NBC POLL and read as follows:

Do you believe in God? NBC this morning had a poll on this question. They had the highest number of responses that they have ever had for one of their polls, and the percentage was the same as this: 86% to keep the words, IN GOD WE TRUST on our money and GOD in the Pledge of Allegiance. 14% against. That is a pretty ‘commanding’ public response. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having “In God We Trust” on our money and having “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why is the world catering to this 14%? Clyde McAdams

While I enjoyed seeing the results of this poll I was struck by some other thoughts. Even though this particular poll came out on the side for truth, I have read many other polls where the majority were just plain wrong. The reality, reliability, and trustworthiness of God is not contingent on a vote. God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do whether the majority agree or disagree.

I am thrilled that 86% of the Americans polled believe in God. My question is, "Does their belief in God affect their life?" And, "Is the God they believe in the God of the Bible?" Keeping IN GOD WE TRUST on our coins is commendable. Making that statement a part of our everyday life is where the rubber meets the road. Do we know Him personally, trust Him entirely, and follow Him with abandon? It is not what the majority say. It is what each individual says. What does each person mean when they say, "I believe in God." Is it merely a mental assent to His existence or a declaration of Him being their God and their life? Does it have any influence on their words, actions, and lifestyle?

God wants to be in their heart and life...not just on their coins and in their pledge. His love for them is incredible and yet so few seem to realize it and live out it. May He change that.

God, be more to us than a nice saying or palatable motto. Stamp Your image on the deepest part of us. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You are Lord! May knee bending and tongue confessing start now!

His Daughter,
Pam

The Gift of Mentors

So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Acts 18:26 NKJV

You will not see the word “mentor” in the Bible but you will see many examples of mentoring relationships. Today’s verse shows one such relationship between Aquila, Priscilla, and a Jew named Apollos. Previous verses reveal that he was an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures, instructed in the way of the Lord, fervent in spirit, one who taught diligently the things of the Lord, and a bold witness in the synagogue. Yet Aquila and Priscilla saw a need to further instruct him in some things he was lacking. God used them in his life to help him more fully understand His way.

Today is my 34th spiritual birthday. It was on July 13, 1973, that I was born into the family of God through faith in Christ. I look back over those three-plus decades and I can recount numerous individuals who stepped into my life for the purpose of mentoring me. Through their words as well as their life I learned the “way of God more accurately.” Some have gone on to Heaven, some I am in occasional contact with, and some are no longer a part of my life. I thank God for each of them. I would not be the person I am today without their influence. Occasionally I will revisit conversations I had with them and delight in the fact that they have left a precious mark on my spirit. I treasure the advice they gave, still practice principles they instilled, and carry on the rich heritage they left. They were my Aquila and Priscilla!

While God still crosses my path with individuals who encourage me in the faith, I am finding myself in a time of transition. Personal mentors are now coming through the pages of books that I read more than individuals I meet face to face. I metaphorically sit at their feet and drink in the lessons they teach. Even more so, God has become my prominent and predominant Mentor. He encourages me to bring the questions to Him and allow Him to give me the answers and direction I need. He is now the one I from whom I seek wisdom, comfort, and instruction. Will He still use people? Absolutely. But the dependency is finally switching over to Him and in that I have found a new freedom!

I now take the challenge to be available to Him when He calls upon me to mentor someone else. I want to be to others what so many have been to me. It is an ongoing process of passing on what I have received. May the chains of influence continue to grow!

Father, many faces are coming to mind as I recall the mentors in my life. Their investment in my life was not in vain. I treasure the memories and accept Your call to reach out to others. Amen.

Listening to His Voice

I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Psalm 85:8 NKJV

Peace accompanies the voice of God. Turmoil and confusion do not! I am learning to identify the times when the voice I am listening to is no longer that of my Father. In the past week I have had two distinct times of the enemy of my soul speaking lies to me and the result was a loss of peace. Uncertainty replaced confidence. Confusion replaced objectivity. All seemed dark and all seemed hopeless. I marvel at the extreme nature of my own thoughts. Both times were attacks on the journey God has had me on. His first tactic was to cause me to question my motives for the journey. His second was to cause me to question the source of that journey. These became terrifying times for me as I lost all sense of direction and reasoning. This quickly turned into condemnation, fear, and shame. NONE of these are of God! He does not use them as tools in our life. They are the calling cards of Satan himself, and he desires to use them effectively.

Deliverance comes and peace returns when I purposefully listen for God’s voice and He WILL speak. As we work together to identify and renounce the lies, He gives me truth to own and peace to embrace. I relish the settling that comes over me and the return of confidence and assurance in God’s love, presence, and provision. My mantra becomes, “Identify the enemy and listen to my Father!”

A person once asked me what I meant when I said, “God spoke to me.” I assured her it was not an audible voice (although at times it comes close). It is primarily through the vehicle of thoughts that I know are not my own. These are not random thoughts but rather distinct, accurate, and timely. For decades I use to think God only spoke through His Word. I was not aware of the variety of avenues He uses. While His Word is certainly primary, He also speaks to me through music, nature, conversations, sermons, experiences, books, and prayer.

I do not want to limit Him in any way. I want to be like the Bereans in Acts who “received the word with all readiness of mind.” I want to listen with expectancy and intensity. I want to allow God to speak to me in any way He wants, at any time He wants, for whatever purpose He wants. It may be to correct me, enlighten me, motivate me, teach me, or assure me. At times His voice has me in awe and at other times it has me in tears. May my ears stay open and my heart stay receptive to all that He has to say!

Father, You are such a communicator. I do not want to miss anything You are saying to me. I treasure Your words and purpose to hear You. Speak, Lord, for I am listening. Amen.