You Can Be Free

And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” Acts 12:11

There are times in our lives that are burned in our memories as times when God did a major working in us. Maybe it was a time when you felt the greatest pain or the greatest confusion. Or it could have even been the time you felt the greatest triumph or joy. As I heard someone read this scripture this morning, my mind immediately went to one of those times in my life. It was a time of growing and a time of stretching. For me it was painful and lonely I couldn't imagine when it would end. 

But it did.

At some point the pressure eased up and I could see through the fog that had settled to one big word...expectations. As I meditated and reflected, I could see that part of God helping me to make peace with elements of my past meant doing a critical thing: delivering me from expectations of people. A lot of times we focus on the first part of what God does just like it says in Acts 12:11. We focus on being delivered from the hand of our enemies (ex. Herod). However, the fullness of God's freedom includes deliverance from expectations as well. In some cases, I needed to release myself from what others expected of me, but the main person I had to get delivered from was myself. 

So many of my hurts and disappointments were tied up in who I hoped, wanted, expected others to be for me. I have wonderful family and friends who are supportive and encouraging and loving; yet even with that I had places hidden in my heart that were disappointed by this or that. Truly my heart was tied to places where people hadn't been what I had hoped. When I needed them, they hadn't been there. What I wanted, they hadn't delivered. I had sometimes measured the love in our relationship by what they had/hadn't given to me and not always on what I had given to them. They had missed their lines in the play of my life that I had cast them in and I realized through this process that it wasn't fair because I had cast them in a part and with lines that they hadn't agreed to. 

Those people around me had been just who God wanted them to be and not who I wanted them to be. They had been who I needed them to be and not always what I wanted them to be. At the moments when I wished they had been on the other side of a phone when I called, God wanted me to be turning to Him. When they had said "no" instead of saying "yes", God's plan was at play. Even in times when they had done things "wrong" or hurtful, Romans 8:28 was truly at work with all things working together for my good. I couldn't see it then. I felt hurt and confused and abandoned at times. However, as I looked back I realized that everything had happened just the way that it should--mistakes, hurts and all. 

There's a thin line between setting standards of excellence so that we strive for the best and setting expectations for others based on an ideal that we have created that may not always be in line with what is fair and/or what God wants for our lives. Being healthy and at peace is about realizing when that line has been crossed. And so the cookie crumbles both ways. Just as God released me from my expectations of others, he also delivered me from unrealistic expectations of others that did not match the journey that he had/has me on. There are times when people want you to be more than you can be for them. The weight of that can be tremendous. There are times when your actions don't match with the hopes that others have for you. Your obligation is to living a life that strives for excellence but that is not bound by mistakes you may make or times when you miss the mark.

I don't know what you are going through or what pieces of your past are weighing you down now in your present and preventing you from moving pain-free into your future. What I do know is that God is able to deliver you from the heart of some of this pain and hurt--your expectations. Perhaps you had expectations of your mom to be positive when instead she said negative things to you. Perhaps you had expectations of your father to protect you at all costs, but you still got hurt on his watch. Perhaps you expected your child to do better than you had done and are disappointed at some of the choices they have made. 

No matter what your expectations, today is a good day to allow the Spirit of the Lord to release you from them. Cry out to Him. Tell Him. Then release it! Your total freedom hinges on this very thing. Freedom from the places of past hurts and pain does not end with apologies. Instead it ends with forgiveness--forgiving others for not doing right, for not doing what you'd hoped, and for not being who you'd expected. Today I want to encourage you to take advantage of what God is offering--freedom from your enemies and deliverance from expectations (i.e. peace of mind). It's yours for the taking. 

Be encouraged.

Blessings,
Pastor A

P.S. Don't forget to share the blessing. If you know someone who needs this word...pass it along.

DAY 33: He's Got You

There's no other feeling like the one that God has forgotten you. I'm not sure what the emotion word would be to express the feeling of being lost or perhaps neglected. The one word that seems to make the most sense is FORSAKEN. I just felt the need to write today a brief reminder that you have not been forsaken. I realize that it's easy for me to say and harder to believe. However, there really are some things that you need to take at face value. This promise is one of them. There are a few things that God says over and over and over again throughout the Bible. For instance, there are so many references to "do not fear" or to "be courageous". Similarly, there are many notations throughout God's Word that says that he will never leave you or forsake you. Earlier, I was reminded of two of my favorite scriptures that constantly keep that before me: Isaiah 42:16 and 49:16. The point of them both? God has not forgotten you. Just like people write things on their hands in an effort to remember them, God has permanently engraved your name on the palm of his hand so that you know that you are always at the top of his thoughts.

It's easy to feel like you are on the road to nowhere all by yourself. You can't see what's coming next, but just remember that that is the essence of faith--trusting in what you can't see and what you can't figure out. It's possible that you're in one of those situations where you can't lean on your own understanding (Prov 3:5-6) and have to fully trust in the Lord. Maybe you've stepped out on the proverbial water like Peter and you are searching for Christ to be out there with you. Or maybe you're trying to find the courage to try something completely different or new. While your hesitation in moving forward may be normal, it is not necessary. God is ready to walk with you, behind you, in front of you and carry you as the situation may require.

As you feel troubles and distress coming at you on every side, today, be reminded that God has you in the palm of His hand. He has not forgotten you. And, though you can't see the path clearly, just know that God is leading the way.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 30-32: One for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?

I've been thinking a lot about a phrase that I've read in the bible a lot and wondered what it would take to get to. It's been a prayer of mine since I came to know the Lord that I would never understand fully what it means to have a hardened heart. And over the last few days the thought has truly been pressing on my mind. In fact, the last 72 hours have truly been a bit of a whirlwind. I've struggled with the devotional--not for lack of trying. Each day, I've spent the time in personal devotion around having a hardened heart, and each day I've felt like I've had a topic that wasn't quite finished.

It didn't make much sense to me until I finally realized that it wasn't really just one negative emotion or behavior but that there were really three in one that are so closely united that they are best discussed together--self-righteousness, conceit, and hardened heart. As I read the scriptures around having a hard heart, I grew sadder and sadder. I think that I've come to understand some of my sadness after some events of the last few days. As a pastor/counselor, over the years I've had the opportunity to walk with people through some of the highest of their highs and the lowest of their lows. And as you watch people make their own personal journeys from the outside looking in, it is only natural to do some self-checking on your own "right-ness".

It's like watching a child go to touch a hot stove burner. You tell them, "Don't touch. It's hot." Most of us as children were just hard-headed enough to try it anyway. And we'd have to have touched the heated metal before we had a concept of what "hot" meant. Usually, that would be enough to ward us off. But then there's the child who, after they got that understanding would tempt fate and try to see just how close they could place their hand over and over again without reaching that final sting--getting close enough to feel the increased heat but not so close that they are truly burned. Then you have those few for whom the sting of burning flesh may not have been enough. Those are the few (perhaps somewhat psychotic) who would touch the eyelet and see how long they could stand the burn. Even the smell of burning flesh could not be enough to register in their brain that they had crossed a line.

It seems crazy, right? And yet this is the image God has given me of myself and of other Christians. As I think of all of the things that I've struggled with through the years--all of the ways that I've sinned and compromised righteousness and push the limits on how far I'd go to stay just within the boundaries of "the law"--I'm amazed at God's continued mercy and grace. I often read through the Old Testament and shake my head at the children of Israel. I can see them from the outside looking in and say "How can you be so stupid and so disobedient to a gracious God? How could you spend 40 years in the desert making an 8-11 day trip? Why couldn't you just get it right?!" It's just like with the child touching the burner. You think, "Why can't you just listen when I say 'don't touch' instead of having to push the envelope?" I can point the finger at them and see the "splinters in their eyes", however that has usually backfired on me as God points out the planks in mine (Mathew 7:3-5).

It's that place of judgement and self-righteousness that I began to see is tied to a hardened heart. Often we get into a space where our confidence is misplaced. We become confident to the point of conceit and think that we can't be broken or that nothing can get beyond us. We tell ourselves so many self-elevating lies: We're on top of everything. We are superheros in our own minds. The thing that trips up another person will not trip us up. The same rules that apply to others, the same cautions from the Lord, don't apply to us. God's commands are merely guidelines that we can use. And it's so easy to do that most of us do it daily. We push the boundaries and subconsciously (and consciously) try to figure out just how far we can go before we have truly broken the rules. We get as close to the edge of our spiritual obedience cliffs as possible without falling over.

And just as we watch children burning their fingers or read of the children of Israel in disbelief, I believe that God watches us with an equally grieved heart. God's desire is for the best for us. Like any parent, He'd love for us to understand and get things merely on his "say so". But like any parent he also understands that there are some things we just have to experience. And so we go through the ringer and we experience testing and trials that are, in some cases, of our own making as we push the boundaries. Sometimes God has to use that "tough love" methodology and not rescue us but allow the consequences of our behavior to humble us and remind us that there is none righteous except God.

Today, I want to encourage you to do a self check and ask yourself where you are pushing the boundaries. Where have you been delayed in your obedience (thus creating disobedience)? Where have you held confidence in yourself and not kept your confidence in Christ. Where have you allowed your confidence and self-righteousness to distance you from sage advice turning your hard head to a hardened heart? "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:15) Listen close to the heeding of the Lord and walk boldly in the confidence we have in him to accomplish all that he has for you. And I pray that the places that your heart has begun to harden will get chipped away by his voice, his guiding, his love and his grace.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 29: Ending the Search for Significance

Over the last few years, I've watched both afar and up close as people have searched for SIGNIFICANCE. It's so very easy to get to the place where you feel as though your life or you specifically are the essence of being "too small or unimportant to be worth consideration; meaningless". Perhaps you feel as though your contribution on your job is meaningless. Or maybe you constantly feel like the people around you see you as unimportant. But I was reading in Colossians today and was really encouraged by a single phrase. Now, I have to warn you up front that I am completely taking this out of context here, but I could not resist. Chapter 2, verse 18 begins by saying, "Let no one disqualify you..." Another translation says, "Let no man rob you of your prize..."

I thought about it for a while and realized so many of us disqualify ourselves before anyone else even has a chance. While we anticipate being rendered as insignificant in someone else's eyes, we must first ask ourselves if we are significant in our own. Just like beauty, significance is in the eye of the beholder. Though there are times functionally that you may have less work-related significance; no profession or social interaction can ever have the power to define who you are. I Peter 2:9 reminds us that in the Kingdom economy of significance, we are a part of a "chosen generation" and "royal". As children of the King of Kings, we are to find our significance in that and not in the day-to-day workings of our lives.

True, that is easier said than done. When someone is facing you with a look of disdain or when you don't feel heard or trusted or valued, it is difficult to remember that your search for significance should lead you to the cross. Your search for significance should remind you that God even made something as small as a mustard seed be a symbol for faith. If a mustard seed has relevance and significance in this life, then how much more do we? When we measure our value and our worth, are we seeing the people whose lives are affected because we prayed for them or because we smiled at them when they thought no one cared? Are we thinking of the times when God has used a person or His Word to speak directly to us in answer to prayer--making us significant enough to warrant a response? Are we considering times when we have prayed or spent time with the Lord and simply felt the amazing warmth of the Spirit of the Lord comfort of his presence make us feel special and cared for?

Maybe that's the problem. Perhaps you've never had an encounter with God that gave you that comfort or that gave you that reminder. Today, my prayer is that each of you reading these Prayer Points will have such an encounter with God. I pray that your significance will be wrapped up in His presence and delivered with a bow. I pray that in the coming days, you will experience God in new, reviving ways that end your search for significance in the right spot--Him.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 23: Thought I Was Good...Until I Wasn't...

I was wondering what I would write about today. Today was a good day. I felt like I handled things fine and that no new negative issues came out of me. I also didn't interact with someone where I saw something negative glaring out at me. Like I said, it was a good day. So I sat down to pray about it and got distracted by instagram. Yes...I allowed the allure of the "you've got mail/notifications" draw my attention. As I ran through some of photos of the day, I stopped at one of a lady in her wedding dress and thought to myself how I could never afford such a beautiful, extravagant dress or gorgeous photographs but wishing deeply that I could. In that small moment of nothingingness the word ENVY crossed my heart.

Wow! How quickly had I gone from feeling like I was doing good to realizing that, even in my "goodness", I was still not alright. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not about condemnation. I fully understand what it says in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Finding the roots of negative feelings/emotions/behaviors in my and others' lives is not about pointing fingers or chastising any of us. But what I believe is that words and thoughts have power. So like what happened today, it would have been so easy for me to get fully distracted by that longing for what I feel like I couldn't/don't have (as per the definition of envy). We must remember that what distracts us can also be what delays us. What distracts us can be the thing that holds us back from truly accomplishing what God wants for us because we are so focused on idolizing the accomplishments and blessings of others.

In fact, the Bible says that envy is one of the "evil things" that "defile a person" (Mark 7:22-23) and that "envy makes bones rot" (Proverbs 14:30). This is not simply about being jealous and hating on someone else and thinking that you deserve what they have more, but instead coveting what they have and putting your soul in danger of a fate that doesn't seem to appealing to most. I don't know about you, but the thought of being defiled or rotten is simply not a good thing to me. So, when I take a moment to acknowledge these moments of envy, then I can stop it in its tracks. Saying "don't envy" is not saying "don't dream". Instead it's saying that you keep your dreams flowing in the right direction. When envy shows itself, I can commit that desire of my heart to the Lord and hope that my desire lines up with God's. I can ask God to change my heart towards the things that make his heart beat. Most importantly, I can redirect my distracted focus back where it should be--on the Father.

You likely aren't envious of a silly fluffy white dress or the eye of a good photographer capturing "your good side" as I. You may desire more money, a thinner body, a buffer body, a different professional opportunity, a different social opportunity...no matter what your thing is, know that I'm praying with and for you that God would take full control of your focus and full control of your dreams on this day.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 20: Over 200 Spots of Joy

There are over 200 references to the word "joy" (or a version thereof) in the ESV translation of the Bible. That means that in the midst of talking about prison, famine, sacrifice, humility, anger, salvation, trials, tribulations, persecution, and so much more, God inserts moments of JOY. So that's what I felt led to do today. In the mid-point of this devotional season devoted to rooting through our negative "stuff", God is inserting a moment of joy. It's my prayer that today you capture those moments, hold them tight and forward them along to someone else who is in need of your bright spot.

Blessings of Joy,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 17: Out of the Darkness

Sitting in a dark room can be comforting at times. Assuming you have no fear of the dark, the mere act of being alone in a space where everything is still can be life-giving when all the hustle and bustle of things have drained your last bit of energy. The darkness of the room seems to bring a silence that is calming to all angst. While, we often use the analogy of darkness to (appropriately) represent evil, there is a side of darkness that simply represents stillness and rest. In the still of the night so-to-speak... We sleep in the dark. Our bodies naturally regenerate in that time of still darkness. And then the light comes...

At some point, we must rejoin the world. At some point, we must allow the light, the activity of life to begin again. Whether you call it "the blues" or just being "down", depression is a big word with so many layers and so many levels. The one thing I know is that most people may not be clinical but have moments of depression in their lives. Sometimes it's because of relationships, sometimes our jobs, other times situations in the world and still other times we cannot even find the words to say why or how we got to this space...it just is.

But no matter how you get to the point of feeling engulfed in literal or figurative darkness, there is hope to pull us out of depression. What the enemy tries to convince us is that we must stay down in the depth of the darkness--turning it from a place of refuge to a place of bondage. But Truth says that "greater is he that is in YOU, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4) and that stinkin' enemy does not have the authority or the power to keep you in darkness. I'm not saying that taking that step will always be easy. For some, the mere idea of pressing forward can be overwhelming and cause anxiety. What I am saying is that there is a reward on the other side of the door...on the other side of the darkness. I'm here today to remind you that there is power in light. There can be joy in deciding to rejoin the world. There is freedom in making a conscious decision to speak to people and embrace life.

Maybe you've been feeling down, "blue", sad...depressed. The first step to healing is to move out of that space of darkness and into light. That may be a matter of shaking off your "blah" day and deciding by re-engaging with friends and family; or it may be that you shine light on true illness and seek help from a professional. You've rested. You've embraced the stillness. Now it's time to burst forth into life. The bible reminds us that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Put simply, God is interested in our mental and emotional health.

Today, be encouraged to move forward in the decision to not allow the enemy to keep you bound in darkness. Come into the marvelous light...

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 16: Good Grief!

Anyone who has ever watched a Peanuts special knows the phrase "Good grief!" It was the phrase that Charlie Brown uttered at every turn in exasperation. Now I may be telling my age at the mere mention of Charlie Brown, but it is not without cause. You see, I was reflecting on the term and wondered if there is ever such a thing as "good" grief. I've been in an emotional space that's a bit out of sorts. Nothing is wrong per se. I'm doing what I love to do. I work for an awesome God. I support some really wonderful people in doing great things for the Lord. I have love surrounding me in the form of friends and family. Truly, life is pretty good...and yet still out of sorts.

So as I have been attempting to unpack this space of dis-ease and I realized that most of it is just simple fatigue. However, there's a part of this space that has nothing to do with where I am and mostly to do with where I'm not. I realized that I was experiencing an undercurrent of grief.

No, no one I know recently died. That would have been a clear indicator of my grief. Instead, the remnants of this grief snuck in when I least expected it through what I call unfulfilled dreams. Most of the time, I don't think about it. However, every now and again the melancholy of life's ups and downs will sneak in. Perhaps for you it's not about things that haven't happened as much as it is about things that have. Maybe you've lost a friendship or you've changed professional direction. Perhaps you were fired from a job or fired from a relationship (i.e. divorce, break up). It could be that for you, it is genuinely the loss of a loved one. No matter what reason grief rears its ugly head, it just tends to show up on our doorsteps (at times unannounced).

As I had this epiphany, it was not without solution. Two things came my way and are ministering to me in this space. The first are two quotes that I stumbled upon that get right to the heart of the matter: "...the only cure for grief is to grieve." (Earl Grollman) and "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." (C.S. Lewis). So often, we are looking for a shortcut or a magic pill to get through the hard points in our life. But the truth is that we just have to go through some things. And, in the case of grief, we fear the thing...the person...the possibilities we miss. For those things that we have yet to see come to pass, we fear that they never will. For things that have happened before, we fear that they will never happen again.

But that's where the second thing that I discovered comes into play. It's, in fact, more important of my two discoveries and it is scripture that puts salve on the healing spaces in my heart:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts 

us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to 

comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with 

which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor 1:3-4)

At the end of the day, it's this scripture that fills my soul when I'm at my most fatigued. It's the Word of God that truly comforts my heart when I'm feeling most at a loss and trying not to be weary. It's His Word that reminds me that there is purpose in this time of wondering, hoping, and grieving--helping us...helping me to see that there really is a "good" element to grief. It doesn't make the fatigue or pain disappear, but it does assuage it just enough to make it possible for us to simply grieve and get through it.

Today, I pray that you be encouraged in the spaces of your grief. May the God of all comfort comfort you in all your affliction so that you will be able to comfort others who are afflicted. 

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 15: Argh!

I got angry.

It's not a very common occurrence in general in my life, but I have noted that I've gotten truly angry a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. That's a hard thing for me to digest because I'm the type to get annoyed or frustrated or hurt, yes... but angry? Yeah no...that's not really my thing. So when someone approached me in the dining room this evening and told me that they had to come check on me because I was "radiating anger from all the way across the room", I knew I needed to take heed. It was my testimony that was being compromised, my day that was being ruined and my face gaining more wrinkles while I stewed about issues of the day. It was harming me over anything else.

I can't blame hormones. I can't blame fatigue. These last two instances have truly been my own weakness, insecurities and sadness mixing together into one apparently volatile cocktail. But I don't know why I was surprised. I just came off of a few days of great personal victories and moments of joy. What I know to be true is that in this spiritual battle, the enemy went for the unexpected weapon--anger (Ephesians 6:12). When you least expect it, the enemy and your flesh will work in cahoots to ensure that you miss a moment of that joy and pieces of your peace.

I think that, in the end, I was more upset that I'd allowed the devil to win than I was at whatever issue had come my way. In hindsight, neither of the situations seemed to be worth "losing my religion over" and so I'm glad that even in my anger, I can be spirit-controlled. I did make every effort (sometimes successfully and sometimes not) to heed the words of Ephesians 4:26-27 to "be angry and sin not"; and I generally try my best to emulate the Lord's example and be "slow to anger". I appreciate that God doesn't tell us that we can't get angry. No. There are things that should anger you in this world. Instead, it's about how much we allow that anger to take up brain space and usurp our power. In both situations, my response (after a bit of venting) was to take it to the Lord in prayer. I can't wait until the day when that is my first response to everything.

So here's a head's up for you. This week, choose to be diligent in clear communication, check your judgments and disappointments about others at the door, and pray for the spiritual health of all those around you--avoiding the pitfalls that lead to anger. Whatever situations may present themselves, remember that 'whoever is slow to anger has great understanding and might' (Proverbs 14:29, 16:32), and trust that the Lord will be the one to secure vengeance and right any wrongs.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 13: Anxiety stinks...just sayin'...

The last few years have been...well...interesting, to say the least. I've truly been on a journey with God that I've likened to water-walking. It's been about stepping out onto the unknown and keeping my eyes on Jesus all the while. (If you don't know the story of Jesus' disciple Peter walking on water, then check out Matthew 14.) There have been plenty of moments where I've felt like I was about to sink. As friendships ebbed and flowed and money did the same, I wondered where I was going wrong. I felt like crying out to God on more occasions than I care to remember, "What's wrong with me?!" or "Why can't I have an EASY button, Lord?" And the Lord has heard my whines and has never turned a deaf ear. My anxieties are not news to God. The Bible tells me that he foreknew me before I was formed in my mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5). He is not surprised by my life's circumstances and he knew the decisions I would make because he knows me better than anyone. He knew that very early on, I would need Philippians 4:6-7 as one of my key life verses.

Each and every time I begin to experience anxiety about what I am or am not doing, who I have or have not become, God faithfully brings this verse back to my remembrance. And every time, I find that peace rising up to the top to quiet my anxieties. It's gotten to the point where I've begun to see anxiety as a place of sin in my heart. You see, every time I get anxious, it's like a slap in the face to God--saying that I don't believe that he knows me as good as he does or that his plan for me needs my help. My anxiousness is a sign of being on the water, taking my eyes off Jesus, beginning to watch the waves and sink. My anxiousness impedes my ability to trust him fully.

Today, I know that there are many people who are sinking...or at least you feel like you are. You feel as though you've taken a step of faith--either big or small--and are now in the middle of the ocean floundering. But the good news is that you are not alone. God is out there with you. He wants to remind you today that your focus needs to be on Him. He wants to encourage you that he's able to keep you from falling. He wants to comfort you with that "peace that surpasses all understanding." Just a suggestion where this is concerned: Take him up on it.

Lord today help us to truly 'cast our cares upon you knowing that you care for us' (1 Peter 5:7).

Thank you for being a great father who is the giver of the best gifts (James 1:17)...including peace.

Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Andrea

DAY 10: Be Bold Or Go Home

Have you ever felt unqualified? I mean, especially when it comes to the things of God, have you ever doubted that God knew fully what he was doing by asking you to be a part. Surely God has made a mistake because you're not this enough or that enough, right? You know your own self--your past and your present, your fears and your triumphs. In fact, I often think about Moses and how much he felt like he was unqualified to be used of God. He told God that his stuttering would hinder his ability to lead the people. But God was greater than Moses' weakness just as much as he is bigger than our varied INSECURITIES.

There are times when we spend so much time downplaying what God is doing in and through us that we begin to undermine our own (and others') confidence in the power of God. As the Lord speaks through us, we've gotten into the habit of being "politically" and "religiously" correct and not saying those words "Thus says the Lord" because we know that so many people have misused the term and we don't want to be wrongly classified. We downplay ourselves almost to a fault--putting on false humility in lieu of true boldness in the work and words of God.

We diminish our power in Christ by not acknowledging that it is truly Him at work in and through us. But the scripture gives us instruction to be "bold as lions" (Proverbs 28:1). God's word reminds us that "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold." (2 Corinthians 3:12). And finally, we forget that we should be able to shed our insecurities and walk in boldness and confidence because we "can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens" us (Philippians 4:13).

Today it's time to take that courage back. Some of you reading this have decisions to make and have been timidly approaching making a choice. Stop beating around the bush and just do it. Do not compare yourself to other people and what you see them doing and saying. Operate in your own gifts for this season. Flow out of the passions that God has given you. You are enough and uniquely equipped to do what He said. Trust Him to bring assurance where your confidence has waned through the years. Do not allow insecurities--the possibilities for failure and fears--to impede your ability to serve God with abandon and confidence. Knowing that our confidence is not in ourselves but in the power that Christ has given us, we can walk encouraged to speak clearly and with authority, to behave with strength and decisiveness.

My prayer today, Lord: I will give You thanks with all my heart; I

 will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple 

and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; 

For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. 

On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. 

(Psalm 138:1-4)

Blessings,

Pastor Andrea

DAY 8: Hope MORE or less

HOPE...that glorious four-letter word that most of us look forward to seeing and experiencing. Hope is so big and yet so little. It's those moments in our hearts that we can begin to look past the current situation that we find ourselves in and see even just a glimmer of the light on the other side of the tunnel. It's those moments in our minds that have stopped trying to figure out life and started resting on what we know to be true--God is in control. It's those moments in our spirits when our trust of God far outweighs our fatigue at waiting on Him to deliver whatever He has promised. Hope sweet hope... It's a beautiful thing.

Thus, the absence thereof is treacherous. As we reflect on those negative emotions and behaviors that God wants to rid our hearts of minds of, hopeLESSness is right at the top of that list. No matter what you are going through, no matter where you find yourself in life, God needs you to know that you know that you know that there is always hope. One sign I read said "Hold On, Pain Ends" as a good way to remember what the essence of hope is. Being hopeless means that you have let go of faith and decided to believe that the pain of circumstance and the pain of not seeing God's promises come to fruition will never end. But today I wanted to encourage you with the reminder that Jeremiah 29:11 always gives us. 'God knows the plans he has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a future.' The question is what are you going to hold on to?

Are you going to hold tight to the Creator of the universe who spoke and light came into existence, or the lies of the enemy whose goal is to keep you bathed in darkness? Are you going to hold tight to the promise of HIS plan and stop trying to create your own? Are you willing to continue to let the perfect time for your promise to come to pass be set by God's plan and not your watch? You and I both have choices.

Every day, I watch as others live out parts of the dream I have for my life--family, children, love and so on. Every day, I hear of new people walking into those very things that I desire. Every day, my situation doesn't necessarily seem to grow any closer to what God said. Yet every day, I make a decision to believe that what God has in store for me is so great and so worth the wait that I decide to air on the side of MOREhope than hopeLESS. Today, be encouraged that God has not forgotten you and He is worth believing in. Today, refuse to allow the enemy to steal the song in your heart that believes and wishes and dreams--allowing you to dance to the rhythm of what is to come in the midst of silence. As with most things, you have a choice. What are you going to choose?

Lord, today, I pray that Hope will resound and hopeLESSness will fail in the minds and hearts of your children. Keep us deciding today to believe YOU. Help us to stay focused on what YOU've promised and not the bleakness of our circumstance. Help us to block out the the 'no' of the world and rest in the anticipation of your 'maybe' and 'yes'. Let Jeremiah 29:11 reverberate through our minds and spirits as a constant reminder to Your promise; and help us to know that we know that we know that You're not a man that You should lie and You make good on Your promises. Amen.

Be encouraged.
Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 7: Changing the Playlist

Yesterday, I posted a picture on social media of something I was doing that day. It was a picture intended to relay the fun and silliness that I was engaging in. It was not a Glamour Shot (if you know what that is, then you are as old as me...haha), but it wasn't the worst picture I've ever taken either. As I read through the responses, many of which were positive, all I could see was the one negative comment among the group. Now to be clear, I don't think that the comment was made with malicious or negative intent. The man's statement about me looking "fat" may have been to be mean, but I doubt it. For some people in non-Western cultures, it's not an insult to make mention of someone's weight. It just is what it is. Stating the truth can be done without attention to the person's feelings. I know this. After living with and around people of many nations for most of my life, I have battled this exact commentary for years on end. Yet armed with my multi-cultural understanding of life, I STILL managed to feel the sting of his statement and play that tape (and replay old tapes that I thought I'd deleted) in my mind for much of yesterday evening and today.

I thought about this more and more I realized that it was the topic of today's devotional. I don't know what to call it though. It's not a clear-cut "emotion". Perhaps this is an issue of insecurities. But, at the end of the day, it's more about the negative tapes that we play in our minds. Your tape may have nothing to do with your appearance. It may be a compilation of things that you were told about what you could or could not do with your life. Maybe you compare your intelligence or your wealth or any number of other things that we can compare ourselves to others in. That point in your life that you lack the most confidence seems to annoyingly remain on "repeat" in our minds and needs to be silenced. No matter what your story is, today is the day to push the OFF button on those words.

As you are faced with what you want to think about yourself, remember that God didn't make a mistake in making you just as you are. In Zephaniah 3:17, we see the sweetest reminder that "...the Lord delights in us..." Rather than feeling as though you are always short of what you need in order to be who you want to be, you need to remember that that YOU ARE ENOUGH. Treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion that you expect from strangers. A friend of mine always says "stop talking about my friend that way" when she hears me say something negative about myself. Take the same care to be nice to yourself as you would to another person.

For it will be in the midst of those nice moments--those reminders of how much you are loved and delighted in--that the silence of negative thoughts will be born. May THOSE loving and nurturing thoughts be the ones that take up permanent residence in your mind's playlist instead.

Lord, today I pray that you will silence the tapes of negativity that have played in my mind. Help me to meditate on the positive and not get caught up on the negative. Help us find the words to cancel every hushed word that the enemy whispers into my ear.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 6: Grrrr...umble

It's funny how sneaky negative emotions can be. There you are, going about your day with a smile, then someone asks you a question or you are just having a basic conversation and you realize that negativity is about to slip out of your lips. That was me today. There I was, mindin' my own business, having a chat with a friend and realized that I was about to say something that wasn't necessary. It was one of those things that, had I said it it would have been like starting up an engine and taking both me and the other person on a ride through Murmurville.

Today, I caught myself, but how many other times have I failed that test miserably? How many times do I act like the Children of Israel did in the desert and murmur and complain when things aren't just the way I'd like? Countless. I have read Exodus often and thought that they seemed just like me--always with something to say about a situation and not always fully trusting the Lord to bring it all together. As I wonder about marriage and family and new direction for my life, I find myself sensitive about what words I speak. I try my best to speak life to who I am and what I will become knowing that 'death and life are in the power of my tongue' (Proverbs 18:21). So why is it then that negative words become so easy to spew?

James 3:7 calls the tongue "a fire, and a world of unrighteousness", but today I really want to set my mind, my heart and my tongue in line to be a fire that burns for Christ's righteousness and positivity. Be encouraged that you can make a decision mid-sentence to change the trajectory of any conversation for the better. If you find yourself in the midst of causing a brush fire, snuff out the flame and begin to take a different focus in your words and conversations. We sometimes forget the simplicity of making a difference in this world begins with small moments when you can choose to do something great with your small input. Choose today to be the day that your walk and talk match up in ways that bless others all for the Love of Christ.

Lord bridle my tongue. That is all. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea