SHARPEN OUR SCALPELS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

 

“Do not recite words just to prove to yourself and others that you know and love God; for he already put his breath and light inside you. Instead, put TRUTH in your every word and action…” - Kazzam

 

I was in Shelby Ohio last night.  And before you say “where is Shelby Ohio”, it is in RICHLAND COUNTY near Mansfield.  I was there to support the Attorney General’s team and their community by introducing/offering Refuge Ohio and WOODHAVEN as possible solutions for their addicted and hurting.

 

And because he lives in a neighboring county, my friend Jerry stopped into the event. 

He is uniquely gifted man. 

 

He suffers from severe dyslexia, but his KNOWLEDGE of the written WORD, the Bible, is astounding.  He has persevered through his affliction thanks to creativity and a truly remarkable wife who will tireless READ the WORD of GOD and other teachings to him.  And equally remarkable is that GOD has gifted Jerry with a photographic sort of memory. 

 

So, when HE consumes the WORD of GOD, it STICKS!  And I will tell you, Jerry is then QUICK to wield and LEVERAGE that WORD in scalpel-like fashion in his ministry and in the face of his critics and challengers. 

His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word – Hebrews 4:12 (MSG)

 

Jerry and I are in collaboration on several projects.  He helps me engage the CHURCH in our efforts against addiction, he is a part of a new cooperative to provide sober options down the I-71 corridor, and he has offered me his connections and conduit to some of the now highest positions in our government. 

 

Yet as he and I were wrapping up last night, he was sharing the progress of an initiative to open a “hub” of opportunity and recovery in Holmes County. 

That plan is being met with some intense resistance. 

And as Jerry described the adversity, I started to feel myself becoming a little incredulous toward his opponents, but Jerry was QUICK to share THE WORD of GOD with me. 

He pulled from the precedents set by folks like Nehemiah. 

He reminded me of the teachings and processes Jesus employed when He faced opposition; guiding me to remember that JESUS was never deterred from His mission to, “seek and save the lost” – Luke 19:10 (NIV) regardless of roadblocks or myopic thinking.

 

That is what I admire so much about Jerry. 

I admire that he navigates his life with scalpel ALWAYS in hand. 

It seems that everything he encounters or every thought that he entertains is ALWAYS processed through the filter of the WORD of GOD. 

He exercises its TRUTH continuously; in every WORD and ACTION!  

And that allows him to remain patient. 

That allows him to persevere. 

That grants him the supernatural wisdom and insight to “keep the main things in life”, the main things.

 

And that challenged me today.  When I am faced with life’s challenges or its opposition, am I quick to consult “THE TRUTH” or do I instead lean on my own understanding?  I know I am not “supposed to” (Proverbs 3:5).

Am I quick to see today’s circumstances through the lens that says there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and that GOD’s PURPOSE will prevail! (Proverbs 19:21)

 

My friend Jerry does and he does it well.

 

So, the question for today is clear. 

Do WE KNOW the WORD of GOD well enough to WIELD it with confidence and clarity? 

Have we used it to equip us effectively for the trials and opposition we will face?

 

Perhaps it is time to sharpen our scalpels!

 

 

I love you all.

Have a blessed day!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

WHO IS LEADING?

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the poorer we become - the more we realize that everything in life is a gift. The tenor of our lives becomes one of humble and joyful thanksgiving. Awareness of our poverty and ineptitude causes us to rejoice in the gift of being called out of darkness into wondrous light and translated into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.”― Brennan Manning

He must grow greater and greater and I less and less. – John 3:30

Both Manning and John the Baptist “get it”.

For the SPIRIT of GOD to be truly fulfilled in us, we must embrace HIM more each day than we embrace “US” each day. - let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. – Galatians 5:16 (NLT)

And that takes acknowledgement.  

Manning refers to it as becoming aware of our “poverty and ineptitude”, but we could also say becoming aware of our frailties and our selfishness. That is the first step to moving from a life that is “flesh driven” to one that is “Spirit-led”.  And while acknowledgement of our fallibility is important, the important step is a willingness to surrender to the SPIRIT as a result. 

He must grow greater and that starts by ME surrendering…ME; US surrendering US!

Case in point…

I am on the phone with a good friend who has been struggling in his addiction for years.  In recent months, his addiction has led him into some dark and precarious places.  He has even had some scrapes with death.  But he has been spared and now faces an important crossroad in his life.

He has some questions to answer…

Will he SURRENDER to the SPIRIT that has been living in him since he was a youth and STEP OUT of the DARKNESS or will he continued to be marshaled by the enemy and his addiction down the path that only has one destination, death?

For him, nothing short of full surrender to the SPIRIT and to those GOD has put in his path for accountability, love and focus will do.  He must allow GOD to become greater so that he, his cravings, and his addiction will become less.

And that is no easy order.

His body is demanding the drugs.

His pride is causing reluctance to the accountability.

And even though surrender will bring ultimate freedom, he fears it, he even resents it.

I pray he embraces this next important step. 

Will you join me in prayer for him? 

But we all have moments like that, don’t we?

We want what WE want when WE want it regardless of what the SPIRIT or that still small voice has to say about the matter.  We are in charge, right? We are the kings and queens of our castles and destinies.  Why listen to that SPIRIT when WE know what we need and what WE need to have?

Never felt that way?  Really? Come on be honest.

Manning reminds us that our lives should reflect humility and thanksgiving, surrender and acceptance of GOD’S providence and care.

And the Apostle Paul and Peterson surmises/translates and paraphrases just how that works.  From Galatians 5:16 again... 

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions…?

So…

The choice to surrender is ours.

The choice as to WHO will be greater is ours.

Who will do the leading today?

What choice will we make?

I love you all.

Have a blessed day!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

THE MYSTERY

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. – Colossians 1:27 (MSG)

Isn’t that a reassurance for the believer today?

Simply that CHRIST is in us and that we, regardless of our “religious standing”, can look forward to participating in and sharing in GOD’S glory.

That message, that passage was shared yesterday by our “First Lady”, Pastor Anna. And she went as far as to PERSONALIZE that verse for herself. 

She pointed out that GOD wanted HER to be clued in to the “secret” that CHRIST had taken residence in her and had amazing things to SHOW her as she acknowledged HIS presence each day and each moment.

Be it a beautiful landscape or a new song in her spirit GOD was in the business of sharing HIS awesomeness with her and she was deeply grateful.  

She wanted us to be equally grateful.

I am. 

The passage is clear and it is simple as Peterson surmises.

This mystery of CHRIST’S intentional intimacy with us is not reserved just for Pastor Anna.  Quite the contrary, it is for ALL of us.

The question is, are we willing to embrace it?

Embrace the truth of the mystery? 

And more importantly be GRATEFUL for it?

Friends, this CHRIST ‘in us’ is not something to ever be taken for granted.  

It is the FOUNDATION of another crucial truth.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

Christ IN us!

Christ CONNECTED inseparably to us.

CHRIST the HOPE of GLORY for us and intimately intertwined with us!

So, the thought for today is probably easy to decipher.

Do we understand that magnitude of the privilege to have CHRIST IN US?

Do we understand the magnitude of having CHRIST for us?

Are we attuned to His glory?

Are we grateful for all of it?

Do we acknowledge it?

“The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.” ― Brennan Manning

I love you all.

Have a blessed day connected to this CHRIST in YOU, your HOPE of GLORY!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE