Obey

So, I am reading a devotional today. I don't do that often, but today the prompting from the Spirit to read this devotional was very strong. I believe God speaks. He doesn't always speak with a booming voice, but over the years, I have learned to know that voice... I heard it today.

"What has God told you to do? Stop waiting for ideal conditions and start doing it!"

In my personal faith walk, right now, I am struggling with obedience--because I see no heavenly miracle. I am waiting for God to make the first step, and it is MY job to take the first step of obedience to do what He has ALREADY told me to do.

So, if you are a part of my world, hang on. I have to obey... take a chance... get out of the boat and walk on water...

My job is not to decide the outcome, but to obey the voice of God!!!!!

Chemical Imbalances

I wrote the following in an e-mail to someone struggling with chemical/mental issues. This is what I have learned from 23 years of full time ministry... and a lot of pain.

"I believe that the chemicals our body emits are in response to trauma we have experienced. With that, many modern psychologists and the "wholistic healer" would agree. The question is how do we heal them?

Psychatrists and Doctors believe drugs are the answer. The "wholistic healer" believes spiritual cleansing and wholistic health are the answer.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe TRUTH brings freedom. So….
1. Embrace the truth, about what you are, what you have done, who has affected you, etc…
2. Walk the truth… make SYSTEMATIC choices to do right, and your own body and spirit will follow (very slowly)
3. Rejoice in the Truth… worship God and choose hope in the middle of the crap."

It would take a long time to elaborate on these thoughts. Instead, I leave them with you to consider. Please, begin to get to know and embrace Jesus, "the truth" and he will "set you free."

A Major Paradigm Shift

I was just talking to a pastor who comes from Oklahoma. As I was listening to him talk and dialoging about the "church," I heard myself describing a major paradigm shift in my thinking regarding church.

Years ago, my goal was to get people to "attend church," which meant that I wanted them to attend services at the church I was leading. In those days, I expected the same people to attend three different services on Sunday (Sunday School, Morning Worship, Evening Worship). I was always frustrated that people didn't attend church as much as I thought they should.

Today, I heard myself talking about the desire I have for people to BE the church. I still believe a person should "attend" services with the church, but I am much more concerned with people acting like, and living like Jesus every day of their lives. I want them to love people and to invest in positive ways in those closest to them.

The goal of my life is to help people become all God made them to be. You see, now I TRUST people and believe God is working through them. I want them to be in relationship with people and share life together. I have found great value in relationships and value interaction with others more than using them to accomplish my goals.

Biblically, I believe this is why the Holy Spirit is promised to ALL, not just a few. It is time for people to quit passively attending "church" and start BEING the church.

What do you believe?

I recieved the following from a friend. It seems that the question I asked had quite an impact on her. This is what she sent me... I pray that it blesses and challenges you!

There are a few particular dates in your life, which will change your life. They will change who you are, who you become, and perhaps what paths you take along the way. For me some of those dates are the day I got married, the day I had my daughter, the day I had my son, and the day I lost my mom to name a few. I am a born again Bible believing Christian and nowhere in that did I mention my relationship with Christ. They were all things that happened to me physically. I didn’t happen to mention any dates that pertained to my faith, because as much as I think I love the Lord; maybe I don’t have Him in the place where He needs to be in my life. I can’t remember the day I was saved. I vaguely remember the day I was filled with the Holy Spirit (I was 11 and it was at summer camp at Big Prairie in Ohio). I do remember rededicating my life to Him at a youth service one Wednesday night in Spring of 2000, right before I graduated from High School (a “Christian” High School no less). I went to a Christian Bible School and definitely got some really good tools that have helped me along the years. But I’ve never had that longing to know Him and put Him above everything else in my life- including myself!

I have really started searching and seeking Him with my whole heart in the last few years, I’ve finally become desperate for Him! I was feeling good with the strides that I was making in my walk until one day I asked my pastor for some help with a discussion I had been having with a friend. I needed help clarifying a few things, so I could go and finish the discussion with confidence. I needed to know what we, as a church, as Bible believing Christians- think about this particular topic. And I think of all the dates that have been important for me in my life, this might be the most important. He wouldn’t give me an answer! He asked me “What do you believe?” I was caught off guard. “Wait! You want me to think for myself and find the answer myself?!”

So, I did. I began thinking and looking for an answer right away. I was consumed with finding an answer. I emailed my pastor and he would email back with verses that would help me in my search. He was not brushing off my need for help at all; instead he very wisely pushed me to look for it myself. I don’t know if he knew that his simple 4 word question would change my life like this, but it has. It most definitely goes on the list of dates that have changed my life. “What do I believe?” It’s not up to my pastor, my husband, my kids, or anyone else to define me and my beliefs. It’s up to me! I am the only one who will be held accountable for my actions, and I am the only one who can choose my way in life.

What About Marijuana?

So, this past Sunday, we did a Q&A time on relationships. Of course, we couldn't answer ever question, but I thought this one deserved some attention.

"What does a woman do when her husband has an addiction that is harming the
family as it causes him to have rages but he says I anger him, not the marijuana?"

OK. There are multiple levels to this question. I want to get to the marijuana question, but first I have to answer several other parts.

1. THERE IS A DEEPER PROBLEM HERE. If a married, adult male has an addiction to marijuana that is affecting his relationship to the family, it isn't marijuana that is the issue. Marijuana makes a person relaxed, and you say that he has "rages." So, in an unprofessional opinion (but someone who has seen a lot of this), he is self-medicating. He has issues of anger and tension that he is MASKING by using marijuana. He should talk to a mental health professional to see if there is something more going on than just emotions.

2. "He says I anger him." Please understand that this is the blame casting statement that is made in every abusive relationship. The abuser always says that the person they abuse is to blame. If this is such an abusive relationship... protect yourself NOW! Flee to someplace safe and don't go back until the problems are under control.

3. "He says I anger him." If he isn't an abusive person, maybe he is right? Think about this. If he has issues relaxing and feels tension constantly, are you helping sooth or intensify that tension. As a wife, you can either turn up the heat of tension or turn down that heat.

4. Now to the use of marijuana: The problem with using marijuana is that it is unhealthy. Ok, I know it helps glaucoma. But, lets be serious... you don't have glaucoma. Just smoking the stuff fills your lungs with junk. The bible says, "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. But not everything is constructive." (1 Cor. 6:23) The only real reason to use marijuana in our culture is to "have some fun." And, I will tell you that if you need to use anything (drugs, alcohol, food, illicit sex, etc...) to have fun, then you aren't very comfortable in your own skin. The healthier way, the way of Godliness, is to learn to be OK in your own skin, as you are. To "have fun" in a healthy, benefical way.

So, here are some of the best arguments against marijuana:

• Pot takes motivation away. OK...I know you have this buddy that smokes pot and is a high performer. But, if we are really honest, those who smoke a lot of pot don't really excel in motivation. And to have a great life, you have to be motivated.
• IT IS STILL ILLEGAL, and it is really hard to get a good job with a police record.
• It costs a lot. What could you do with all the money you sent up in smoke?
• It makes you paranoid. So, you act like a jerk without even knowing it.
• IT IS STILL ILLEGAL, so you lose the respect of people who are law abiding.
• IT IS STILL ILLEGAL, so you can lose your job if you test positive for pot.

Being bit by a copperhead may not kill you, but I still say you are stupid if you play with them. I feel the same way about marijuana.

Thoughts on Paganism

I wrote this e-mail today, and thought it would be worth sharing... it was in a discussion about a person reading the satanic bible and being surpised how much it is a reaction AGAINST Christianity, not the worship of satan.

"Most people just randomly wander through life without ever THINKING about things.
Yes, you are right, something is amiss in the American church. We worship the bible, we serve money instead of God, we want to be successful. All of these things are good things, but one very smart person said years ago that every error is "a good thing pushed beyond its proper limits."

Several years ago, I visited the Mayan ruins Chechen Itza…. I was reading a book on the Pilgrims and was struggling with God on some other issues. What I realized is there is little difference between the “faith” of the Mayans and the Pilgrims, and me. All of us
do incredibly sacrificial and devoted things to “God” for the sake of gaining his favor. All the while, we mistreat certain select members of the culture around us.

The great commandment is to LOVE God and to LOVE your neighbor. To use God for financial prosperity isn’t to love him. To use your neighbor to gain more money, or as a stepping stone, or someone to be cared for only when it benefits you is not to LOVE your neighbor.

My goal now is to do my best to really LOVE God, regardless of what he does or doesn’t do for me. And I want to love people, whether they advance my agenda or not.

Sorry, didn’t mean to go off there, but that moment of realization taught me that most “Christians” in America are actually pagans in Christian clothes. And, lest I throw rocks, I have to admit that I am one of them."

Wouldn't it be great if we were to be real Christians? Wouldn't it be great if we were really to Love God on HIS terms, not ours? Maybe then, our faith would be more believeable for an unbelieving world.

The Christian Sin - Part 2

Here is part two of the link from my last blog.
This is good stuff.
http://www.perrynoble.com/2011/01/06/six-steps-to-overcoming-obesity-part-two/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+perrynoble%2FZvVU+%28Perry+Noble+dot+com%29
I pray that God blesses us all as we control our bodies!

The "Christian" Sin

Ok, I am not normally a "reblogger" but gotta send this one along: http://www.perrynoble.com/2011/01/05/six-steps-to-overcoming-obesity-part-one/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+perrynoble%2FZvVU+%28Perry+Noble+dot+com%29
No stones from me, but I believe this is a major problem in America.