In Christ Alone

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. I Corinthians 11:1 (King James Version)

Paul penned these words to the converts in Corinth, Ephesus, and Thessalonica. His goal was not to have people ultimately follow him but to point them to the One who could be their Savior, Deliverer, Healer, Friend, Comforter, and Companion….Jesus Christ. Paul set an example for them to follow which would eventually lead them into an intimate relationship with God through Christ. Today, we have many people in ministry who would voice his same words to new believers as well. People are being used of God to mentor and encourage young believers in their faith until they reach a point whereby they are completely reliant upon God and able to then become an encourager to someone else. It is a precious system God has used and honored many times.

I have been the recipient of such encouragers. For over three decades I have been blessed by several significant relationships that had the flavor of Paul’s words. God graciously brought women into my life who saw something in me that needed to be nurtured and cultivated. Out of love they invested themselves into my life. I would not be the person I am today without their influence. If that were the entire picture all would be well in my corner of the world. Unfortunately what they never fully saw and what I never fully understood was an un-addressed issue in my life.

My area of struggle had to do with emotional dependency (also known as soul ties and relational idolatry). This is the case of one who looks to people and relationships to receive a sense of love, acceptance, significance, identity, and attention. All deep needs are directed toward the significant person who becomes their HOPE of getting those needs met. The relationship is for the sole purpose of survival. While I knew something was not right in the way I related to and looked to the significant people in my life I was clueless as to why I did it and how I could be free from it!

I was forced to take a hard look at this issue when a mentoring relationship abruptly ended a year and a half ago. As I found myself recently heading into yet another dependency driven relationship, I became desperate for not only release from pain and captivity, but to experience God as my true Source for the meeting of all needs. When that became the cry of my heart, He graciously led me to freedom which is only found in Himself!

Some who do not struggle with this issue, might read what I have written and wonder what the big deal is. But to any who are in the stronghold of emotional dependency, I pray my words offer you the hope that freedom is available and possible for YOU! The two resources God used to show me my bondage and way to freedom were EMOTIONAL DEPENDENCY by Lori Rentzel and PLEASE DON’T SAY YOU NEED ME by Jan Silvious. To God be the glory for the writing of both and the effect they have had on my life. It is now my sincere desire to help point others to the only One who can and will set them free. That One is Jesus Christ!

Father, I cannot find the words to thank you fully for all You have done! I am free and I can’t get over the wonder of it! I praise You! Amen.

Staying Free

Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:22 (New International Version)

What a vivid picture is painted with these words. As true as they are for dogs and pigs, they are more so for people. Experiencing freedom from bondage and sin is exhilarating, but oh the devastation to find oneself returning to the very thing you had been released from. The “vomit and mud” of our past can easily become part of our present if we allow it. For some, finding freedom may have taken years, but a return to the bondage can happen within minutes! Just one taste of what you begged God to free you from can entangle you once again. Whatever the addiction or sinful behavior was, is what we must continue to stand guard against and alert to. So how is that done? How do we “stand fast in the liberty in which Christ has made us free and not return to the bondage?” (Gal. 5:1) It necessitates seeing our enemy, our self, and our Source. Be AWARE!

Be aware that you have an enemy who knows you are free and desires nothing more than to allure you back into captivity. Just like the Egyptian army pursued the children of Israel with the intent on taking them back to Egypt and slavery, the enemy of your soul pursues you! You have won a battle for freedom but be assured there will be a war to fight in order to remain free. Satan is not going to just lie down and die. He is going to use every trick and tactic against you. He will use people, circumstances, weaknesses, temptations, counterfeits, and more to attempt to re-enslave you. Don’t give him what he wants. Always choose to stand and fight!

Be aware of your capability to return to bondage. James 1:14 says we are drawn away and enticed by our own lusts. That which first drew you into bondage still lives within you. Be aware of your areas of vulnerability and weakness. Set up limits for who or what you are involved. It will require the severing of unhealthy relationships and activities. Know the truth about your own sin nature and what you must avoid at all costs. Ask God to continually remind you of the pain you experienced that was used to birth in you a desire for freedom in the first place.

Be aware that your Source for continued freedom is Christ! Keep your eyes on Him and nurture yourself with the things that keep you close to Him. Feed on His Word, prayer, Christian fellowship, supplementary reading, inspiring music, and whatever else encourages your faith. Just as He set you free, He will keep you free as you cooperate with Him. Talk to Him, listen to Him, and yield to Him. He is passionate about you and your freedom!

Father, may I never forget the pain of bondage and the desire for freedom. Keep my passion for You foremost in my mind. May my bondage be to You alone! Captivate me with Yourself. Amen.

Hearing the Invitation

But I am poor and needy; yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God. Psalm 40:17 (New King James Version)

My ability to see God as my help and deliverer begins with the realization of my neediness and bondage. Until I see the truth of my mindsets and internal world I will not see the necessity of allowing God to come to my aid. As long as I walk in independence of Him I will not be able to establish my dependence on Him. These truths became clear to me one morning as I journaled a note to myself and began to see the extent of my own neediness and God’s extravagant offer of fulfillment. What follows is a look into the first of many steps toward freedom for me. With tears and timidity I wrote:

You do not like feelings of loneliness and insignificance. When they come you seek to anesthetize them through contact with people. Although a phone call or good email will relieve you for a moment the feelings stay hidden in the shadows only to resurface a short time later. Let them be what draw you to God for comfort and company. Each can be an opportunity to cry out to Him for His filling and presence. God desires to fill you with an awareness of His deep love. You have yet to fully embrace that truth and live out of its experience. That is why you are still looking to other sources. All your desire for affection, attention, affirmation, encouragement, and security is legitimate but the way you go about attempting to receive it all is where the problem lies. Allow God to show you His availability and capability to be your All in All. Allow Him to be the One to nurture and protect you. Receive your true identity from Christ. This is not a matter of success versus failure. It is a process! You live in a fallen world and possess a fallen nature, therefore you will always be in need of Him. The deepest places in you need His touch. Open yourself up to receive all He longs to give you on a daily basis. Don’t feel that because you still experience these feelings and longings that you aren’t “getting it.” You have spent so many years looking to substitutes that looking to God needs to be learned and experienced. Whether it is every 5 minutes or every hour keep pressing in to Him. Keep looking to Him. Keep resting in Him. Let Him saturate your entire being so that relationships can be a joy rather than an attempt to get your needs met. Value the ones who are in your life at the present. Relate to them out of your relationship with your Father. You are precious in His sight and He will complete the work He has started in you. He is wooing you to Himself even now. Reach out and receive all that He extends to you. Accept His invitation to be completely loved by Him.

I had to ask myself, “How do I refuse an offer like that?” I am finding that not only does God extend such a radical invitation to me, He does amazing things when I dare to take Him up on it. As I am learning to look to Him for comfort and direction, I am able to let my friends off the hook for being primary need meeters in my life. To God be the glory because without Him THAT would never have happened.

Father, I never rested long enough to hear Your words of invitation to me. I now turn to You to find what no one else could supply for me. Amen.

Sought Out

As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. Ezekiel 34:12 (New King James Version)

If I read the 34th chapter of Ezekiel and see it only as a passage spoken to and about the nation of Israel thousands of years ago, it will have little affect upon my Christian life. It will bring me little comfort or hope. That which would put me in bondage and fear will appear indestructible and inescapable. BUT if I allow God to speak those same words to me and I own them for myself then they become promises I can claim as my way of escape and victory. I choose to do the latter!

I enjoy being the recipient of God’s seeking, feeding, nurturing, deliverance, and care. He knows me intuitively and intimately and stands ready and willing to meet every need I would bring to Him. He is a tender Shepherd full of compassion and mercy. No matter my situation, no matter my stronghold, no matter my depravity, He makes Himself completely responsible to shepherd me emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and socially. I will never find Him unavailable, disinterested, distracted, or distant. His ear is always open to my verbalized and non verbalized cries for help. As I learn to press in to Him on a daily basis, I am experiencing an aspect of the Christian life that I never knew could be experienced. That of taking my deepest needs to the only One who can meet them.

This morning I drink in His precious words to me and to any who would receive them for themselves. These are the words I embrace and find hope in with delight: Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick. They shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them. They shall dwell in safety, and none shall make them afraid. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, are my people, saith the LORD God. (Ezekiel 34:11, 15, 16, 27, 28, 29)

He has given us His word that He will do all of this and more for us if we will but let Him. We need not fear that He has ever withdrawn His offer. His back will not be turned. His ears will not be shut. His welcome mat will not be pulled in. He has freely offered to be our Deliverer. All the glory goes to Him as He brings us to the place of accepting His invitation.

Father, thank you for your words of life and the grace that helps me receive them for myself. Amen.

And the Scales Fell

And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. Acts 9:18 (King James Version)

Saul (later called Paul) had been physically blinded by a bright light from Heaven and spiritually blinded by the realization that everything he based his spirituality on was counter to the very God he thought he was serving. He was bankrupt of any eternal treasure he thought he had stored up. Blinded and broken was his condition when God sent Ananias to lay hands on him and speak a blessing of healing over him. The result was instant sight as the scales fell from his eyes. What started out on a road to Damascus ended on a path through life that included preaching, prison, and penning many books of the New Testament.

This morning I am seeing correlations of Paul’s life in my own. Although I have never been physically blind, I have faced the realization that my own “spirituality” has often been faulty. That which I thought was bringing me closer to God was actually hindering me from really knowing Him on an intimate level. For decades I was on a road strewn with legalism and performance. What I thought would gain me God’s love, favor, and acceptance actually left me bankrupt and empty. Once I realized God’s love was not dependent on what I was doing, I stepped off my road of self effort and knew I was on a different path. For a time (two years to be exact) I thought all was well. God has been gracious to reveal to me the truth.

While I was no longer “performing” for Him, I was still detoured in many ways. Not by religious activity but by meaningful relationships. I had unknowingly mistaken the high of friendships for closeness to God. A life time of looking to individuals to meet my deepest internal needs for love, approval, affirmation, and acceptance was finally exposed in a painful way. Saul waited three days for the scales to fall. I waited a year and a half! Tears, confusion, and fear marked my path as I slowly came to grips with the depths of my own propensity toward idolatry…not of statues but of significant people. I thought the truth of this would do me in but instead it has laid the ground work for freedom.

I am presently on a journey of discovery. It entails seeing the areas in my life that need God’s touch of grace and redemption as well as coming to know a God who can truly meet every need I have and satisfy me in a way that I have never known. The scales have fallen and what I am seeing for the first time is taking my breath away!

Father, I use to fear exposure but now I welcome it. In Your presence I am free to see the truth about myself and ecstatic to see the truth about You! Amen.

Given and Received

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 (New King James Version)

A troubled heart and fear can be two very disturbing things in the life of a believer. We all experience them in one way or another. Today, Jesus desires for us to hear Him whisper His words of peace over any trouble or fear that we are presently sensing. Whether it is with finances, health, relationships, occupations, possessions, dreams, or any other area, His words apply. The same Jesus who spoke to the storm at sea and instantly the wind and waves died down. The same Jesus who raised the dead, healed diseases, fed thousands with a single lunch, and came back to life. The same Jesus who gives the peace speaks the words of peace. It was not and is not a cliché or pat answer. It is still promised today just as it was to His disciples and it is offered to all who will receive it for themselves.

I was once again reminded of the need to make wise choices. My troubled heart and fearful thoughts are presently stemming from my own thinking and the suggestions of the enemy. He never comes in full force, but instead brings slight movement to my internal sea of emotions. If I don’t do battle at the first sign of trouble the stirring gets more profound. The longer I wait, the more fierce the storm that brews. I am learning not to let it get to the point of a full force hurricane! I can no longer claim ignorance to his methods and persistence. As long as I am drawing breath on this earth, he is going to be prowling and looking for the most effective way to attack me. I do not have to let him and I do not have to allow my heart to become troubled because of him.

I also do not have to fear that somehow I will fail the tests, lose the battle, be abandoned by my Abba Father, find myself alone and defenseless, or be completely removed from the precious journey He has me on. Each attack, each struggle, each battle, becomes a means of strengthening me for the next. I am continually learning better ways to fight. I no longer feel like a sitting duck. At least now I am a moving target…and one who is praying Scripture and singing praises as I move. I am learning the power of my words and God’s Words. At times I have believers who come along side me to cheer me on and straighten me out. I value them highly. But at ALL times, the God of Heaven and Earth stands with me in incredible ways. I revel in that!

Father, I claim Your words as my own today. I receive the peace You offer to me. Anoint me afresh! Amen.

Taking Charge

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (King James Version)

The purposes, thoughts, perceptions, and schemes of my mind are significant. They are powerful enough to direct the course of my day. If left unattended they can run rampant and cause major trouble for me. Until recently I was not too good at taking charge of the things that entered my mind or the things I proceeded to dwell on. Once a negative thought toward myself or another individual became a part of my thinking process, I either let it take over or had some ineffective battles with it. Usually my attempt at controlling my thoughts was to simply counter them with better thoughts. If it was a lie I would try to think on what was true. If it was negative, I would try to think of something positive. If I couldn’t ignore it I felt I could at least replace it. I thought this was what the Bible meant when it said to take every thought captive. At best I was barely staying ahead of the mental games. My thoughts were still more in charge than I was.

God has had to open my eyes to something I was missing. He did so by bringing today’s verse to mind. Within it are housed two essential steps for finally being in control of my thoughts. Step one is to cast down the subtle imaginations and speculations that come across my mental path. Much like a wall the enemy is attempting to build with one “brick” at a time, I am to pull down and demolish the construction of the wall. Step two is to then lead the thought away like I would a prisoner. And where better to lead the thought than straight to the throne room of God, where He will then cast it into outer darkness. It is not only a demolition, it is a dethroning!

The incredible part is that this does not take a long time to do. As soon as I am aware of an approaching dangerous thought, my effective prayer is as follows: I cast that thought down and command it to go right to the throne room of God! I ask for a fresh anointing of my mind by the Spirit of God and the blood of Christ. I take authority over my mind and my thoughts. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Sometimes the prayer may vary but the content remains. This prayer was birthed in me just three days ago and I am in open mouthed wonder at the powerful effect it has had on me. I gladly offer it to any who are barely battling their own thoughts. I am breathing the first precious breaths of emotional and mental freedom that I have known little of in my Christian life. To God be the glory!

Father, I praise You for the power of effective prayer. Rule my life as I reign in my thoughts. The many trips to Your throne room each day are a delight! Amen.