Monthly Archives: January 2014

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Yesterday, I received an email that really got me riled up.

I doubted that the person who sent it meant any offense and it wasn’t a huge deal, but I was so ready to hit “reply” and defend myself.

So I did hit reply and my fingers were poised over the keyboard to let it fly…and then I remembered the verse Jesus had given to me in my quiet time with Him earlier that day:

Keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. —(I Peter 4:8).

Love covers.

Then He spoke to me again through another verse that I am committing to memory:

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop, leave it, let it go in order that your Father, who is in Heaven  may also forgive you your own failings and shortcomings and let them drop. —(Mark 11: 25, emphasis added).

Drop it. Leave it. Let it go.

“But….”

Drop it. Leave it. Let it go.

You see, I still wanted to send that email. I have never  hesitated to stand up for myself and set someone straight. In my flesh without Jesus, I can be hot-headed and my words can be sharp.

But He wasn’t asking me to set anyone straight. He was asking me to consider my actions carefully. He was asking me to submit to HIS ways, to bring my feelings in line with His Word. He was asking me to show the same mercy and grace to this person as He has shown to me.  He was asking me to trust Him with my reputation. (Note: yes, there are times when  it is important to speak your mind. Being a Christ follower does not mean being a doormat. However, this situation did not call for that. It was simply a bruise to my ego).

I read in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church that he made it His aim to please Jesus in all he did. (2 Cor. 5:9). The commentary in my ESV Bible said the following about this verse: “Paul lives his entire life in light of  the hope that his actions will bring delight to God day by day.” 

Would the words I intended to use in that email have brought delight to Jesus?

Was my desire to bring glory to Him?

That would be a big NO. 

Drop it. Leave it. Let it go.

So I did. (After complaining a little more to Jesus). But that’s okay. He is always listening and He cares about every single detail of our lives. He is the only One who can take all our negative feelings and attitudes and not be burdened down by them. He is also the only One who can give us the strength to make another choice. (Philippians 4:13).

Peace reigned in my heart and my sleep was sweet.

The following day, I saw  the writer of the email. Jesus had removed any irritation I felt.

What happened next made me smile. This person apologized and acknowledged that the email had been over the top.

I had kept my peace. I had not said words that I might later regret. I entrusted myself to Jesus.

Unbeknownst to me, He had worked on the writer’s heart and all was well.

I was so grateful that I had kept my big mouth shut and handled things His way. It is a beautiful thing to not have to regret words spoken rashly.

Knowing that this is going to happen again (opportunities for us  to get  offended are numerous), I looked at some Scriptures that teach us how to relate to others and made a list. This helped me immensely and I hope it helps you as well!

When you are offended and want to hit back, ask:

1. Will this display compassion,kindness, humility and gentleness?
2. Can I say or do this in the Name of Jesus?
3. Will this word or deed bring a blessing and give God’s grace?
4. Is what I want to do or say good and beneficial?
5. Will this promote peace and unity?
6. Will this build up or tear down?
7. Will this word or action grieve or sadden Jesus?
8. Am I imitating Jesus in this situation?
9. Am I remembering how much God has forgiven me?
10. Is it kind?
11. Am I following Christ’s example?

What are we commanded to do?

1. Bear with one another, forgiving whatever grievances you may have against on another.
2. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.
3. Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus.
4. Live with complete lowliness of mind, humility, unselfishness, gentleness, mildness, and patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.
5.Strip yourselves of your former nature (put off and discard your un-renewed self).
6. Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude) and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image.
7.Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage,bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil speaking, abusive, or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill-will, or baseness of any kind).
8. Walk in love (esteeming and delighting in one another.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. —(Romans 12:18).

(Scripture references: Colossians 3:12,17; Ephesians 4: 1-3, 15, 22, 24, 30-31; Ephesians 5: 1-2)

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We all know the story…

…the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.  

Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them, “Take courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid!”

“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water!”

“Come, ” He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. (Matthew 14: 24-29).

I have always read this passage and been amazed by the astonishing courage of Peter.

But then I read these words tonight from Emily Freeman: “We are all Peter, standing ankle deep in cold water. The Lord walks toward us, the arm of God stretched strong in our direction. 

We lock eyes and feel His invitation to hold His gaze.

There is nothing about His appearance that should draw us, yet we are pulled into the fullness of Heaven reflected in His dark eyes.”  —(A Million Little Ways, p. 85).

Those words stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away.

This story really isn’t about the astonishing courage of Peter.

It is about the astonishing magnetism of Jesus Christ, who brings the Kingdom of Heaven blazing to this earth.

Jesus is intensely personal with each of us who love Him.

In the midst of a raging and terrifying storm, the very eyes of God focus like a laser beam onto yours, drawing you closer to Him and away from fear, boredom, aimlessness, and stagnation. 

You see, you were never meant to stay inside the boat.

Jesus beckons you to join Him in His quest to bring the stunning beauty of redemption into the brokenness of this world.

He holds out His hand to you and invites you to leave the stifling confines of your comfort zone and walk with Him into a life that is lit with joy and filled with the unique adventure that comes when your heart is joined to the very heart of God Himself.

That heart that is filled with love, power, strength, passion, and LIFE.

This is the  irresistible Jesus that I know. 

I have chosen to leave the boat and even though the storms around me can look scary and threatening, I lock my eyes onto His.

I have never felt more alive.

The fears that once held me in place are gone.

His relentless love is transforming me, as my ugly is increasingly eclipsed by His beauty.

The chains that once bound me are falling away as I learn to walk in the glorious freedom that He died and rose again to give me.

The safety of the boat has lost its allure.

It’s a beautiful life.

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Every year, our  pastor gives us a theme for the new year that always rhymes with the number of the year.

It makes it easier to remember and by the time January is over, we are filled with fresh resolve to follow hard after Jesus.

This year’s theme is: Coming Clean in 2014.

No more hiding. No more masks. No more pretending to be strong when you feel like you are going to shatter into a million pieces. And certainly no more trying to hide from your Savior. (A pointless effort if there ever was one).

The following day, an email arrived in my inbox from one of the ladies who was in my small group for the fall’s Bible study. (The same email came to the other three facilitators as well).

This sweet lady was led to write to us after listening to our pastor’s sermon. She was tired of hiding. She could not plaster a big smile on her face any longer, cheerfully declaring that she was fine when her heart was breaking.

His sermon gave her the courage to remove her mask and reveal her heart by sharing her pain.

That took guts.

It is not easy to come clean and admit that life isn’t perfect; that in fact, it is  one big mess.

I texted her immediately and invited her to come over the next night. One of my fellow facilitators joined us and we had the privilege of listening to this young woman’s heart. She was raw, honest, and real.

The mask shattered…and her journey to freedom began.

She did not receive the one thing she feared most, which was condemnation.

Do you know why that was?

Because my friend and I have walked long enough with our sweet Jesus that we KNOW how broken we are, that there is NOTHING good in us apart from Him. Our track records are poor and the hopes we thought that this world was going to fulfill have been shown to be absolutely empty, hollow, and meaningless. We have messed up more times than we can count.

But this we know: Jesus is faithful. He redeems, restores, and rebuilds and we can never go so far that His grace cannot reach us.

There were no rocks to throw. Only grace and love to extend. As has been said, the ground is level at the cross. We are all in need of a Savior.

I could weep at the beautiful heart of Jesus. He saw one of His own in pain and filled her with the courage to reach out, type that email, and press send. Then He came to her through my friend and me. His Spirit in us ministered to her hurting heart through our hugs, our encouragement, our listening ears ,compassionate hearts and heartfelt prayers.

When she left my home that night, she shared that she felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Her life did not miraculously change the next day. However, she now knows she is not alone, that her sisters in Christ are standing in the gap for her and praying on her behalf even if she lacks the strength to do so. She also knows that He is always working even when she can’t see it and that her prayers will be answered in His perfect time and in His perfect way. (We already have a  plan to celebrate when that happens. 🙂 ).

All because she was willing to come clean and throw away the mask that only serves to suffocate.

How are you bringing the love of Christ to those around you? While He is with us by His Spirit and speaks to us through His Word, we are not yet with Him physically. But that awesome day WILL come! (Revelation 22:4).

However, we have the incredible privilege of being His hands, His feet, His mouth, His ears, His arms to those precious ones who populate our lives.

Are you sensitive to His leading? Is He bringing someone to mind who could use some of your time or your resources?

Are you a safe place for people to come to who are searching for His hope, peace, and joy?

You don’t have to have all the answers. (Nobody does). You just have to be available.

Have you allowed Jesus to heal and free you enough that you can come clean with others about how He has met you in your sin with His grace?

There is no greater privilege than to represent Him to a lost and dying world.

Your Redeemer lives.

Follow His fearless heart into your world and share that good news with others as He leads.

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Happy 2014!

A couple of days ago, I read a Facebook friend’s review of a new movie. One of his readers breathlessly wrote that the film was “bold and daring.”

This film appears to be full of illicit sex, infidelity, lots of drug use, and people generally being rotten to each other. In other words, a whole lot of glorifying a whole lot of darkness.

Those words “bold” and “daring” continued to stay with me all day long and throughout the rest of the week.

What if, in this new year, we decide to live a bold and daring life?

The words bold and daring do not just apply to the broken things and cheap imitations of this world.

Jesus Christ lived the boldest, most daring life ever. God walking the earth in human form is radical.

God went for the jugular when He sent His own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In His Son Jesus, He personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. –Romans 8:3-4

And since it is His very Spirit that lives inside believers, why in the world tiptoe in fear through this  life?

Jesus was not afraid to step into our disordered mess.

Which disordered mess in your life had you cowering through much of 2013? Armed with His supernatural strength and faith in His promises that cannot fail, march right into the center of that mess, trust Him to transfigure it to His glory and your good, and give Him all the praise in 2014!

A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death..God Himself has taken up residence in your life!—Romans 8:2,9

Do not let the world co-opt the words bold and daring.

Allow the world around you to see what Jesus can do through one person who is completely surrendered to Him!

Dare to live the life of the freed! 

What are you afraid of?!

The Lord God is your strength, your personal bravery, and your invincible army..He makes you to walk, not to stand still in terror but to walk and make progress… —Habakkuk 3:19.

As my pastor recently said, “You are invincible until the Lord calls you home.”

Do you know what invincible means? Just this: “incapable of being conquered, defeated, or subdued.”

Let me ask you this: What would your life look like if you went forth from this moment on and lived as one  who is incapable of being conquered, defeated, or subdued because of the fact that Jesus Christ Himself lives in you?”

That is the very definition of one who lives a bold and daring life!

This is a new year, a fresh start.

His marvelous and astonishing mercies are new every single morning.

Today really can be different.

This year really can be different.

Your heritage in Him is victory.

He offers that very thing to you as He beckons you to follow Him fearlessly and joyfully into the next 365 days.

Will you take it?

The resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, “What’s next, Papa?”—Romans 8:15