DAY 21: Wipe Clean

This afternoon, I was doing a devotional for a group of people and as I went to close, the Lord had me ask them to close their eyes and picture writing the name of the person they were having the most difficulty with on a board. Then before we prayed I asked them to wipe the board clean. I could tell that despite what I had said about there not being division among God's people (1 Corinthians 1:10) or about forgetting what was past and pressing towards the future (Philippians 3:13-14) there was still something that hadn't quite shaken loose. As I went back to my office I had the vision of some of them picturing themselves.

At times it is easy to discuss forgiveness when the object of our dissatisfaction lies outside of ourselves. It is often easy to point to another person and clearly define their flaws and ways that they could improve. However, what happens when the dissatisfaction lies within yourself? Today, I want to remind you that the same rules apply to you as to other people. Jesus said that we are to forgive someone "seven times seventy" times (Matthew 18:22)--you included.

No matter what you have done in your past. No matter what you have said in your present. No matter what may come in your future. You. Are. Worth. It. There is nothing too big and nothing too crazy that the Lord doesn't forgive you. Why, then, have you decided to hold onto what He has forgotten? The consequences to your actions may not be gone, but the act of forgiveness is not about absolving anyone of consequences to bad behavior. Instead forgiveness is a heart issue. It's an issue of LOVE. The Bible tells us that real love "keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Corinthians 13:5, NIV). As we hold onto unforgiveness, we hold ourselves in bondage and refuse ourselves the ultimate gift of love. If you don't show love to yourself, how can you expect love to flow freely from others? Demonstrate the love you seek by being that love...even to yourself.

Being able to forgive yourself today is about opening the doors and the windows to your life and letting fresh winds of the Holy Spirit flow through. It allows the Lord to reveal himself in newer ways. It allows the Lord to get through to you clearly instead of through the static of your own reduced self-worth and esteem. Forgiving yourself frees you up and releases you from the leech of bondage that unselfishly drains you of life instead of filling you with peace.

I don't know what issues are outstanding in your heart, but as you read this post, I pray that the Lord put some specific things on your mind to help you identify places of unforgiveness in your heart. While I also want to encourage you to forgive others, I admonish you today to take the first step and clean your personal record sheet before moving on to the records of others.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

DAY 14: Entitled to What?!

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the issue of feeling ENTITLED. As a person who works with many people from all over the world who approach people in different ways, I find that one way that truly rubs me wrong is that sense of entitlement that I can often see seep into conversations between someone from the "Western" world talking to someone raised in the developing world. As missionaries and aid workers, it is easy to get caught up into a self-righteous cycle where you hear people express (in direct and passive ways) that the people they've come to serve 'should be happy with whatever they are given'. The haughtiness of us "do-gooders" can sometimes be astounding. It's sad but the truth. People will excuse their lack of excellence or moments of slippage by saying that "it's okay because they should just be happy I'm here to start with." Definitely not the most Christian approach to being our brother's keeper. 

So this thought has been floating through my mind in my own self-righteous stupor and I realized that I do the same thing with God. How many times do I feel like I am entitled to something or envious because someone got something I thought I should have? How many times have I felt "deserving" of a particular blessing or allowance because I could point to how "good" I'd been trying to be in other areas. However, the truth of the matter is I (we) deserve nothing. It's a hard pill to swallow when you've been raised your whole life to be self-sufficient and been taught that the value of hard work is pay-off. But what are you to do when the pay-off for hard work is sacrifice and the pay-off for sacrifice is more hard work? 

There is an answer to that question that comes in two words: GRACE and MERCY. We forget that there's nothing that another of our brothers/sisters on this earth has or does that couldn't have been us if the circumstances of our birth were different. And Psalm 103:10-12 reminds us that God is so faithful in that he doesn't reward us according to what we deserve. "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." How dare I (or anyone for that matter) even deign to feel entitled. I am entitled to death. I am entitled to misery. But, by God's grace and his mercy, I have abundant life, never-ending joy and incomprehensible peace. Selah...pause and think on that.

The next time you begin to get annoyed with someone because you feel like their response to you should have been different, remember how our Lord wants your response to be different. The next time you begin to feel like you should have more than what you have because others do, remember how our Lord has given you so much more than you deserve and wants to give you exceedingly above even what you desire. When we shift the focus back to GRATITUDE then we open up our hearts to truly receive all that God has in store for us. 

Be encouraged today to give thanks.

Blessings,

Pastor Andrea

This Is Not A Drill

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, 

you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, 

considering yourself lest you also be tempted.  

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians: 6:1, 2

If you've never been on a hospital ship before then let me tell you there are some very interesting things that make the whole thing work efficiently. Just like in any other mainland office building, regular fire drills must be conducted to ensure that all crew are ready and able to handle it should a blaze ignite on board. Every crew member must evacuate the ship and congregate at a designated "muster station" where their names are checked against the master list of people on board. 

As you exit and head towards your muster station (arranged by last name alphabetical groupings), you pass a group of people holding a sign and soliciting for STRETCHER BEARERS. You check in at your muster station and then, if you're feeling so inclined, you head back to said sign and exchange your ID badge for one that marks you as a stretcher bearer on a particular team. In the event of a true emergency, teams of people bearing stretchers will re-enter the ship and head to the hospital where they will be directed in helping to get hospital patients out to safety. Needless to say, like so many other roles on the front line, the role of the stretcher bearer is important and cannot be neglected.

Similarly in life, the Lord has directed us to be Stretcher Bearers to one another. It is a role in this life that is important and cannot be neglected. In today's society it is easy to get into a rhythm and focus on what pertains only to self, but God challenges us in His Word to do different, better and more. Galatians 6 tells us to "restore" and "bear burdens" for others. We are indeed directed to be our brother's/sister's keepers. You may have been asking yourself recently if you should even bother to invest in this person or that. Or perhaps you've felt a bit annoyed by a coworker or friend's constant "dumping" of their problems at your doorstep. The thing is that they see something you forgot you had--your new ID badge. The Lord sent this note your way today to remind you that when you decided to follow him, you turned in your own ID and you now bear HIS identification--making you a key player in His team of Divine Stretcher Bearers.

This is not a drill. There are people all around you that need your light to shine and need your shoulder to lean on or that simply need a lift. This week, your challenge is to take your eyes off of your problems and see where you can be that touch of a gentle spirit that someone else needs. And, though you don't do it for this reason, just know that as you pour out that gentleness of spirit on others, the Lord is faithful and just to return that same spirit unto you. Other Stretcher Bearers will be sent your way and have a mission of helping to bear your burdens and put salve on your wounds. So be encouraged...help is on the way...

Blessings,
PastorA

P.S. If this spoke to you...don't forget to "pay it forward" and pass it along to another friend in need of a "lift"...

Emotional Work In Progress

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

 
I'm struggling to write this...probably because I'm in the middle of it. As much as I hate to admit it, I find myself the middle of trying to let go of negative emotions. Emotion...It's one of the greatest things that remind us of our humanity and challenges us in our need for a redeemer. Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a couple incidences with friends who have offended me. Most times, offenses can roll off my back. But there are times when it's just not that easy. And it's not about the other person. In most cases, when people offend, they do so unintentionally. So the question becomes one of self-preservation and personal spiritual development: What do you do when offense takes over where grace normally resides? How does a Christian respond when anger takes over or when disappointment seeps into the crevices of our souls? 


As I sit in the midst of my offense, I have been truly at war and praying to win this little battle of flesh against spirit. But what God reminded me was that I couldn't do this alone. There are times when you're in a pit so deep that you feel like your prayers can't even reach through to God. So instead of stewing in my mess, I reached out to a friend for prayer who reminded me of David's plea to God for a "clean heart" and a "renewed spirit". Every time my emotions have started to creep back in, I've been fighting with the best weapon I have--God's Word. Lord, in this moment clean my heart and renew my spirit. Lord, in this moment make intercession for me. Lord, in this moment help my anger not to lead me to sin...

It's definitely a work in progress and it's an active process. But what I know is that God is faithful to us in our desire to make spirit the winner over flesh. So I wanted to encourage you in this day that no matter who/what has offended you, in the past or present, make a decision to take action and choose His Spirit over your emotions. Choose life over death and light over darkness. Stand on God's Word and He will renew and clean you if you let Him.

Be encouraged and encourage someone else in this day.
Blessings,
PastorA

Day 28: Say What You Mean

"He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue."

Proverbs 28:23

There is a saying that goes "Say what you mean and mean what you say." Today's word from the proverbs is simple and to the point. The weight behind our words is immeasurable. This does not give us the license to say anything, but it does give us the responsibility to live in the middle of truth. Saying "I'm just keepin' it real" is not the same as rebuking a man in Christian love. Love is the key word. There has to be compassion and a sincere desire to improve the other person in order for it to be truly "real" and not just your opinion. So this is the day that you have an opportunity to speak in truth and love and refrain from simple flattery.

Be encouraged in truth and love.

Blessings,
MinD

Day 25: Choose Your Weapons Wisely

I often find when speaking to fellow adult Christians that we sound like children in some ways when it comes to how we deal with conflict. Our sense of entitlement to lash out supersedes any desire to be a good witness. Our spiritual reasoning goes out the window when we feel we've been wronged. We operate with that "he hit me first" type of mentality that says it's o.k. to gain vengeance when the recipient of said response is "deserving". Somehow it makes us feel better if the person is mean or rude or annoying or simply just so different from us, but the truth is we know better than that. Being a Christian, an ambassador for Christ, means we've made a conscious decision not to live tit for tat. Specifically, we are called to take the higher road and not even boast about it. Proverbs 25:21 tells us, "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;". Instead of getting someone who got you, this Christian journey is about getting them with a different tool than the one they used on you--repaying evil with kindness and stinginess with generosity. It's easier said than done in the heat of the moment. But it's possible when you have the Holy Spirit guiding your every move. When you've decided to place no other god before The God (not even self-righteous indignation) then you allow God to get the glory. It's as simple as that.

I know you know this. I'm not saying anything earth-shattering or ground-breaking. It's the A-B-C's of The Golden Rule (Do unto others...), but sometimes you need a reminder. So today, as you encounter people along your way, tests will come but be encouraged to choose to use joy and peace as your weapons of choice even when they "hit you first" with evil and disruption.

Blessings,
MinD

Day 20: Kindness...What A Novel Idea

They say that everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame. In today's media, it seems that so many people are getting more than their fair 15 though they seem to be doing nothing noteworthy. Do you know who I'm talking about? I'm talking about the lovely men and women (and now toddlers) of reality television. Now let me preface this by admitting that I'm a bit of a reality junkie and actually watch many shows. However, I do have a line. You see there are some shows where the people getting all the air-time and exposure are simply a hot mess. They do everything except honor God and manage to get paid to do it.

But as I began to meditate on the life of a reality star, I realized that many of them are here today and gone tomorrow. You see, they can't seem to sustain. They have no staying power--a fact that, in part, could probably be attributed to a simple lack of one character ingredient, lovingkindness. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 20:28 that "Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne." So many of us are looking for that staying power and can't seem to get it. We try one thing and it seems to fizzle. We try another and just can't get things to flow for us. Our fuses seem to get shorter and shorter as the trials in our lives seem to get longer and longer.

What we know is that as Christians we are called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and kindness is a part thereof. And while we watch those who are the most negative or least benevolent in our lives get this or that earthly reward, what we can rest in is that our eternal reward is much greater and that our ultimate staying power far exceeds theirs.As we are tested in life, it is up to us to decide to make the wise decision to choose kindness over being rushed or rude. It is up to us to look beyond our schedules and schemes to find God's ultimate plan for our continued success. It's so simple (and certainly not a novel idea) that I'm almost ashamed to write about this but I feel as though someone out there needs a reminder about the extreme power of kindness.

Be encouraged as those tests come think on that old saying, "you catch more bees with honey," and make kindness a priority in your walk.

Blessings,
MinD