We ALL Need A Love Like That

I have become a huge fan of Jen Hatmaker over the last several years.  She is one of the most caring, authentic, and sincere people when it comes to writing and speaking about Jesus.  The first video I ever watched was from the first If Gathering.  She was talking about Christians treating the gospel as something to defend and it resonated with me.    Her and her husband started the Legacy Collective which I am proud to invest in.  We focus on funding initiatives that partner with others who are providing sustainable solutions to systemic social issues.  I'll write more about Legacy Collective soon.  I had the opportunity to meet both of them at the Legacy Collective launch party and I was impressed with how gracious they both were.  My point is that Jen Hatmaker is a person of influence who is using her influence to make a tangible difference.

Jen recently wrote a post on her Facebook wall about an experience that she had after speaking at an event.  The woman had said she had waited her whole life to hear someone in the church say the words that Jen had spoken.  Jen said, "One thing I said was that it is high time Christians opened wide their arms, wide their churches, wide their tables, wide their homes to the LGBT community. So great has our condemnation and exclusion been, that gay Christian teens are SEVEN TIMES more likely to commit suicide."  Jen went on to say, "Nope. No. No ma'am. Not on my watch. No more. This is so far outside the gospel of Jesus that I don't even recognize its reflection. I can't. I won't. I refuse."

I finished reading Jen's post and then continued to read the comments of others..  As of right now there are 1,758 comments on this particular post.  I found  that I was getting extremely upset at some of the comments.  I think part of the reason why is because the writers of some of those comments must have always known Jesus or have forgotten what life was like before Him.  

I think the reason that everyone's comments are making me so upset is because I remember my life before Jesus.  I remember when I thought I was all alone in this world.  I remember when everyone was telling me about all of the sins I was committing and all of the repenting that I needed to be doing.  I remember how it made me feel like I was under attack and how I was considered "less than" the Christian doing the talking.  One particular comment on Jen's post hit me hard.  It said, "...We are all sinners who need Jesus, but we must first repent or confess, then turn away and lead a life of righteousness."   Listen friends...if I would've had to repent and confess before I could've known the love of Jesus...I would be dead by now.  It is the "BUT WE MUST FIRST" in the comment that is so heart breaking to me.  There is no "BUT YOU MUST FIRST" before Jesus will love you.  There is no "BUT YOU MUST FIRST" before you can commit your life to God. Trust me, once you know the love of Jesus, it will change you for the better.  God will ask you to give up things that keep you away from Him, but you will be so head over heels in love with Him that you will surrender what He asks.  He asks different things from different people as each of us have our own things that keep us from Him.  

I used to wear a t-shirt that said "Religion never saved anyone" on the front.  I can't tell you how many people would stop me in a store to attempt to argue with me.  They would screw their face all up and get angry and just as they were about to start telling me all the reasons I was wrong, I would turn my back to them.  The back of my shirt said, "Jesus Saves".  They really couldn't argue with that.  I didn't buy the shirt to cause any issues, I just really believed in its message.  "Religion" almost kept me away from Jesus.  

I remember all of the people who were pointing out what they perceived to be my sins instead of pointing me to Jesus.  Had I known that a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus was possible - I sure would have run to Him much faster - not because I needed to be absolved of my sin, but because I needed to be loved like that. As I mentioned in a previous post, God works out salvation in each person differently.  Let us be those who are known for drawing people nearer to Jesus and not pushing them farther away.  

Just Enough to Keep Going

First of all.....I GOT MY BLOG BACK!!   I am so happy, I can hardly stand it.  There were things about the other blog that I really liked but one thing I didn't like was that people couldn't just sign up to get an email whenever I posted.  I will try to move the things I wrote on the new platform back over here so if you get bombarded with e-mails, I'm sorry (not sorry).  A huge thanks to a friend who went above and beyond to help me get my access back.  He knows who he is.

I just returned from an amazing week on the beach.  We were blessed to rent a condo last year and went ahead and booked it again for the same week this year.  When life is crazy and everything seems to be uncertain, there is something soul healing about having a no-agenda vacation with just God and the waves.  The first day was pretty frustrating as we walked along the beach.  I would see beautiful shells but couldn't bend down to pick them up.  I am still on no bending, twisting, or lifting restriction for another month or so.  Leanna got me hooked up on day two and made sure that I had my shell scoop with me at all times.  She also willingly carried the beach bag, chairs, umbrella, and everything else that was needed for our days in the sun.

As I am still recovering from spine surgery, I would get worn out pretty easily.  There was one moment where I had been shell hunting in one particular spot for a while.  We were looking for one particular type of spiral shell and we weren't finding them very fast.  I was getting tired and kept thinking about quitting and going to sit down but every time I would start thinking this way, I would find a few spirals in my scoop.  I would pull the spirals out of the scoop full of broken shells and then put my scoop back in for more.  I would then go on a stretch of not finding any.  As soon as I felt like giving up again, more spirals would appear.  I thought to myself, these spiral shells keep coming just when I have decided to go sit down.  In that moment, I could hear the Lord whisper to my spirit, "And so it shall be with Me too."  He made it clear to me that no matter what He calls me to do - no matter how tired or frustrated I become- He will give me just enough to keep going.  I just have to be willing to keep dipping into the Water.

I don't know about you but I have a history of pulling away from God when things start getting rough. I get caught up in the emotion and stress of it all.  Don't get me wrong, I know that He is the source of all that I need but I start to lose faith.  If I'm honest, I start to think that I'm not worthy of Him.   I don't spend as much time in that frame of mind as I used to as I've learned that this is exactly what the devil wants.  He wants me to get caught up in the circumstances of my life.  The devil doesn't want me spending time in the Word, or spending time in prayer.  He doesn't want my spirit to be reminded of all that God promises for my life.

When we are exhausted and frustrated, may we be those who will continue to keep dipping into the Living Water who will refresh our soul and give us just enough hope to keep going.

He Works Differently in All of Us

In a book I've been reading, the author recalls the experience of the first bible study that he ever attended.  Both of his parents were gay and his only exposure to Christians were those on the street corner condemning his family.  He decided that he was going to start going to church so he could learn about Christians in order to have more knowledge to fight against them.  Along the way, God captured his heart.

He was invited to his first bible study by someone at the church.  He recalls how "green" he was.  The leader asked them to open their bibles to 1 Corinthians and some how he managed to land on 1 Chronicles.  As the leader started reading, the author quickly realized that he was in the wrong place. Then the leader asked each member to take a verse and read it aloud.  He was scared to admit that he thought he had the wrong version of bible or something.  When he finally admitted that something was wrong, some in the group tried to be helpful, while others were frustrated and/or made fun of him.  The point of him sharing the story in the book was that we as Christians need to remember that not everyone is on the same page or at the same place in their walk.  

It reminded me of a Vacation Bible School (VBS) that I was sent to when I was younger.  I was probably eleven or twelve.  I just remember being in the oldest VBS class.  At first, I thought it was some kind of punishment for something I had done wrong.  I didn't know why I had to go be "watched over" when I could've been at home watching old Leave It To Beaver re-runs on tv.  It really turned out to be pretty fun though.  I especially liked snack time and playing softball.  There was a moment though that has stuck with me over the years.  Considering that I hit the fourth floor in age last year, that's a lot of years.

 The VBS wasn't all fun and games, there was one part of the rotation where they talked to us about the bible.  The leader of that group started out by asking us to introduce ourselves.  She wanted us to state our names and tell her when we were saved.  To this day, I can almost feel the overwhelming panic that started to rise up in me.  I didn't really know what being saved meant.  She started at the front of the room.  Lucky for me I always hung out in the back.  I was hoping that I would figure out what being saved meant before she got to me.  One by one, each kid stated their name and then said what month and year they were saved.  Slowly, the teacher crept ever closer to me.  By then, I switched my thinking from trying to figure out what being saved meant to trying to figure out what lie would make the most sense.  I wasn't about to be the outsider who either admitted that she didn't know what being saved meant or who hadn't been saved at all.  I started trying to find a month and year somewhere close, but different, to what others were saying. When I got to me, I stated my name and rattled off my saving date.  I was so utterly relieved when she went on to the next person and didn't call me out on the lie.  

As I mentioned, that incident stuck with me for years.  I was "saved" in 1998.  As I began to get more involved in ministry at my church, I always tried to remember that moment.  I tried to be aware of people who were not only new to our specific church but new to this whole way of life.  I also tried to remember that experience at VBS,  when someone was struggling in a particular area of their life.  My pastor was famous for saying that God works out salvation in each of us in different ways.  We can never expect that the path God is using in our life to draw us closer to Him is the same path He is using for everyone.  I used to be a smoker. I remember a co-worker asking me how I could stand on the smoke dock at work and talk about Jesus.  I knew that my body was a temple and that smoking was not good for me but God knew that there were more pressing issues in my spirit that needed to be dealt with first.   God will never pull us along the path He has for us, faster than our ability to follow Him.

May we be those who remember that we are all in different places in our walk and may we have grace for each other.

When You Shouldn't Listen

I was mentioning in yesterday's post about how God has used different people to speak truth into my life.  I was contemplating yesterday morning about how God has me in a season of Winter.  Then I thought about my dear friend who gave me that word straight from the Lord.  Of course, then I started thinking about times God has had someone speak right to where I was standing.  

As I was pondering these handful of people that God has used, I thought about HOW I knew that what they were telling me was from God.  I caution folks all the time to be careful about who they are listening to.  I can't begin to count how many times someone has come up to me and said, "The Lord told me to tell you that you should  (fill in the blank)."  My immediate gut reaction to those people is, "No He didn't."  Maybe I am wrong, but I don't believe God will ever use someone else to tell me which choice to make or how to think or what to believe.  I think God uses people in my life to confirm something that He has already been telling me or to point me in a direction of prayer.  

​One example of this I've discussed in a previous blog post.  God had been working in my heart to find a place of forgiveness for my Dad.  I didn't want to.  I mean...I REALLY didn't want to.  Completely out of the blue, God sent someone who I wasn't really close to, but I knew to be faithful in prayer, to tell me that God wanted to heal my Daddy issues, I just had to ask Him to.  This sweet friend met the criteria that I use to determine if the messenger is really delivering a message from God.  How many of you know that the devil will use people too??  This friend confirmed something that God had already put on my heart.  She also didn't approach me with a message telling me WHAT to do.  Had she walked up and said to me, "God told me to tell you that you need to drive to your Dad's house and tell him that you forgive him", I wouldn't have listened to her.  She would've been confirming something God put on my heart, but she would have been taking the place of God.  In the New Living Translation of Isaiah 30:21 it says "Your own ears will hear Him.  Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go" whether to right or to the left."  God and only God will direct my steps.

The other example is the one that I opened with where God used my friend to give me the word Winter.  I had reached out to the tribe that I wrote about yesterday.  Those trusted prayer warriors who pray for me regularly.  I sent out a message letting them know that we had been advised my company that we would be closing and that we would all be losing our jobs.  I asked them to pray for a number of things.  A few days later, this friend sent me a message and said that the word she was getting from the Lord was Winter.  She made it clear that she didn't really know how God was going to reveal that word to me, she just encouraged me to get into the Word and meditate on Winter.  To look at how nature handles Winter.  Basically, she said, the Lord gave me this word for you, now go get with Him so HE can tell you what it means.  She didn't tell me that it should mean this or that.  

I guess I just want all of us to be careful about who or what we are listening to.  Here is just a small list of the things I have heard:

• God told me to tell you that you should just leave your husband.
• God told me to tell you that if you aren't happy at your job, you should quit.
• God told me to tell you that if you don't quit living that way, you are going to Hell.

We need to be able to measure that nonsense up against the truth and say, "No, He didn't."  Don't get me wrong, I think some of these folks mean well.  They may have even heard from the Lord on your behalf but maybe...just maybe..they were trying to finish His sentence.  If you are praying for someone else and God gives you the word Winter for them, don't you go trying to figure out what He means by it and if someone else is praying for you, don't let THEM interpret HIS message.

Who Is Praying For You?

I was thinking today about all of the times in my life that God has used other people to speak His truth to me.  I was thinking about dear friends who have come to me in specific seasons of my life with a word from the Lord.  These are people who I know to be fervent prayer warriors.  Friends who know the power of intercessory prayer.   For those who don't know what intercessory prayer is, it is basically just a big Christian word meaning "to pray to God for someone else".  

 I have a tribe of people that I pray for every day.  I pray to God for them. Often times I know specific needs but sometimes I don't.  I pray for their families and their jobs and their sense of self worth.  I just pray for them.  I also know that I have a tribe of people who are praying those same things for me.  He has used those prayer warriors in my life more than I could've ever imagined.

How many of you know that God sometimes answers prayer through other people?  I do.  Sometimes we are struggling to hear from God.    We need to know that this storm will pass. We need to know that we matter.  That we are making our lives count for something.  We need to hear something.  We need answers!!

Sometimes God won't answer me directly.  He will send someone whom I trust to speak His answers.  I've often wondered why He does that.  I am constantly seeking His will. Okay...sometimes I just want to do it my way....so I am "most of the time" seeking His will.  I am open to hearing from Him.  I have learned the sound of His voice in my heart.  So why use other people?  Perhaps it is because He knows that we need to work on building those trusting relationships with each other.  Maybe He knows that we aren't meant to walk this journey alone.

 I think He wants me to learn to trust others with my hard stuff, my secret stuff, the stuff that I worry about, the stuff that I dream about.  He wants me to have friends to lean on when all I want to do is run away and isolate.  He knows the importance of having a tribe of friends who will hunt me down when I've "gone quiet" for too long.  We aren't meant to go through this life alone.  Do you have a tribe of people that you know you can rely on?  It could be a tribe of 2, it doesn't have to be some HUGE group.  Do you have someone in your life that you know is praying for you daily?  If not, send me a message, I'll be happy to pray for you.

Funny thing- This post started out with a completely different message in my head.  It was supposed to be about knowing when to listen to others but I guess God wanted to make sure you knew you needed others before I told you when to listen to them.