Christianity | Paths to Dwell In

The Now and the Not Yet

March 18, 2010 By cyndi 3 Comments

By Cyndi

I was reading in the book of Numbers, this week, about the story of the twelve spies who went in to check out the Promised Land. This land was a place that God had said the Israelites would live after they had left Egypt. They would drive the inhabitants out, take over, divide the land between the families, and establish themselves homes. The twelve spies were sent to see exactly what was in the land and who they were up against.

To condense the account, out of the twelve men who observed the land, ten of them came back with negative reports. All they could talk about was how huge the people were and how they, the Israelites, would never be able to win a war with those giants and take their lands. The ten reported there were good fruits and farmlands, but in an, “oh, by the way” manner, still conceding there would be no way to oust the inhabitants to get the benefits.

The other two men, Joshua and Caleb, were optimistic. They brought back glowing reports of how awesome the land was—how sweet the fruits were and how rich the soil was for crops. They concurred that there were giants living there, but because God had given the land to the Israelites, even promised it to them, they could easily remove these beastly people.

What a difference in perception from these two groups. The first focused on the “now,” the second on the “not yet.” The now’s view included huge challenges to overcome and overwhelmingly impossible obstacles to face, but the not yet perceived a successful future of peace and prosperity.

How do we perceive our circumstances? Do we notice only the negatives, the insurmountable odds against us, or do we look beyond those hindrances and see what could be? It’s true we have to live in the now on a daily basis, but let’s put our faith in God, like Joshua and Caleb did, and believe for something better—the not yet.

Filed Under: Christianity, Rest, faith Tagged With: faith, hope, promised land

Hard or Soft?

February 12, 2010 By cyndi 11 Comments

By Cyndi

How do we Christians come across to the world around us? What do our friends, family, and co-workers think about our Christianity? Do we display the attributes of Christ in our daily lives? I was challenged by these questions just the other day and wondered how I appear to the people I meet every day.

Last week I was having a conversation with a friend and afterwards I realized that I dominated the conversation. It was all about me. What pride! Oh, I asked about how she was doing but I wasn’t really listening. I was waiting to share some more things about me the minute she stopped talking. And then when I got caught in traffic driving to another part of town, I was extremely impatient and furious with all the incompetent drivers I was around. “If they could all just drive like me it would be so much better,” I thought. Yes, dear reader, sometimes my Christianity is quite hard and harsh. It’s not always a pretty sight.

So I picked up Andrew Murray’s Humility book and decided it was time to re-read it again. (I think this is one of those books you need to read at least once a year—at least I need to.) I found this particular line quite interesting:

In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal, self-sacrifice, while the deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness, are scarcely thought of or valued (pg. 56).

So I can take the “onward Christian soldiers” approach, plowing through everything and everyone who gets in my way of living for God, or I can attempt to live by the “more heavenly graces,” as Murray says. If I were humble, I would carefully listen to my friend share about how she was doing—her challenges, her delights—so that I could pray for her or rejoice with her as Rom. 12:15 instructs me to do. If I were meek and lowly, I would not stress out in traffic, or get angry and judge the inapt drivers, but be patient and kind instead—-preferring others (Rom. 12:10).

I have repented for my rude behavior of the past and am trying to focus on the sensitive side of Christianity. Yes, I still think there is a place for the harder, stronger virtues of fasting, fearless preaching, and warring in the Spirit, but maybe our world needs to see more of the softer, gentler, loving and forgiving attributes of us Christians.

Filed Under: Christianity, Father's Love, humility Tagged With: Chrisitianity, humility, love, responsibility

Meekness Is the Passkey

February 4, 2010 By robert 3 Comments

Closed Theological System

One of my main mentors was Jack Frost. When I first came to work with him I had a somewhat closed theological system. I had a set of fixed ideas about God and doctrine and I was not that open to anything that went outside my box. Jack was very different.

Teachable and Diligent

He was first of all teachable. There were certain key books God used in his life that he had read fifteen times or more. Not only was he open to new ideas, he understood what it took to really get a hold of them and incorporate them to where he lived on a daily basis. We give this kind of effort in school to learn new material. A given class might include lectures, a textbook, several other books to read, and a research paper. However, now that we are older, we seem to have the idea that we can read one book just one time and it will change our lives forever.

Willing to Try

The next thing I noticed about Jack was that he was not afraid to try. He would at times make adjustments to his teaching, not always having it perfect from the start, however, the important thing was that he was willing to consider new thoughts and open to try them.

A Personal Example

About a year ago I found myself really stuck in my walk with the Lord. I heard a minister I respected mention that God has taught the church many things about deliverance and generational sin and some of it actually works. That struck right at one of my theological boxes. Because of ways I have considered the deliverance movement “out of balance,” I had thrown the whole thing out. A short time later I had an opportunity to be ministered to by this same man, and he recommended some deliverance and generational sin stuff I could pray through. I was desperate enough to try it. Guess what? It worked, I found whole new areas of freedom in my life. In the type of prayer ministry that I do, these are still not the primary tools I use, but I have a whole lot more respect for them than I used to.

With a closed theological system there is little possibility for growth. Meekness really is the passkey.

Filed Under: Christianity, Jack Frost Tagged With: Chrisitianity, deliverance, Jack Frost, ministry, sonship

Triangles

January 24, 2010 By robert Leave a Comment

By Robert

Understanding how triangles work puts a powerful growth tool in your hands. Anxieties are a part of life. Maybe my job status is insecure; perhaps that ache in my body is a serious health issue. What if the United States economy collapses and there are interruptions in the food supply? Nobody passes through life without facing anxious thoughts at times but what we do with those thoughts is what really matters.

Adam and Eve had an intimate relationship with God. As they dialogued about husbandry and naming the animals, they felt at ease with God and able to be vulnerable and transparent. Then the serpent came along and questioned God’s motives, “Hath God said?”

He did not discuss his own fears about who God was but instead he slandered and crossed mental and emotional boundaries. He sought to be controlling toward Eve’s thinking. Adam and Eve did not stand in the authority God had given them and they allowed their boundaries to be crossed, which led to sin. Now they experienced fear and felt they needed to hide from God. In place of intimacy they now had relational distance.

Adam, Eve, and the serpent formed a triangle. Rather than speaking honestly about how they felt and about their anxieties, they moved into blame. Triangles are a way to focus on other people’s motives rather than our own feelings when we are anxious.

“Triangles are our most common way of avoiding closeness and connection with others. They are the way people stabilize their relationships by externalizing their anxiety onto someone or something else.” (Richardson, p.29) When we can face and acknowledge our fears we have the opportunity to deal with them and move forward. Unfortunately, many stay stuck for years in their Christian lives. If you are ready to move forward we can help. Why not give us a call today?

Richardson, R. (2005). Becoming A Healthy Pastor. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress

Filed Under: Christianity, Counseling

The Power to Take Initiative

January 10, 2010 By robert 5 Comments

By Robert

What would your life be like if you never procrastinated? What could you accomplish if you had the ability to step out and try anything you wanted? There are reasons people get stuck in ruts. Most of us have gone down the “try harder” route so many times we have lost hope. However, it is possible to find the motivation to pursue your dreams. The following quote illustrates this well.

“A manager loses his cool and berates an employee in front of the rest of the team. He thinks his tirade was good for productivity because the rant ‘scared people straight,’ but their fear soon settles into caution. To perform at their best, the team members need to take risks, stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone, and even make some mistakes along the way. No one on the team wants to be the manager’s next target, so the team members play it safe and do only as they are told. When the manager gets docked a year later for leading a team that fails to take initiative, he wonders what’s wrong with the team” (Bradberry, Greaves, p.66 Emotional Intelligence 2.0).

Taking initiative involves risk. The only way a person can do this is if they feel safe. Often our parents first taught us that we live in a safe or unsafe environment. We learn early if we are free to take initiative even though we might fail.

Fear of failure is rooted here. In shame-based family rule systems, you are never to be out of control and never to be vulnerable. Somebody might get hurt. The answer to being more intentional in your life is not in trying harder. It is in dealing with the roots in your family system that creates the problem.

If this article is speaking to you, call us today for a phone appointment. We see people get free from these kinds of issues every day. (904.270.9472)

Filed Under: Christianity, Counseling, Prayer Ministry

Welfare Christianity

December 26, 2009 By robert 3 Comments

By Robert

Today’s article is taken from the best selling business book, “Good to Great.” It may challenge your thinking and theology. However, I believe there is a huge key here to what keeps people from fulfilling their destinies.

Good to Great Quote

“The ‘leadership is the answer to everything’ perspective is the modern equivalent of the ‘God is the answer to everything’ perspective that held back our scientific understanding of the physical world in the Dark Ages. In the 1500s, people ascribed all events they did not understand to God. With the Enlightenment, we began the search for understanding – physics, chemistry, biology, and so forth. Similarly, every time we attribute everything to leadership, we are admitting our ignorance. Not that we should become leadership atheists (leadership does matter), but every time we throw our hands up in frustration – reverting back to, “Well, the answer must be leadership!” – we prevent ourselves from gaining deeper, more scientific understanding about what makes great companies tick.”

Hyper-Spirituality

It is so easy to be hyper-spiritual. We have some sort of problem and we make comments like, “God will just have to give me His grace here,” or “God will just have to do a miracle.” It is not that there is not some truth to these statements, but what about stewardship or personal responsibility? Think of it this way. Your teenage son is going to mow the lawn as he has done many times before and the mower won’t start. He responds, “Dad, fix it.” This is not much different than, “God will just have to come through (and fix whatever problem).” At some point, we expect our teen to take a little personal responsibility, be a little proactive and problem solve. Did he check and see if there’s gas, is the switch on, does it smell flooded?

Depravity versus Treasure

We have this idea, based on a Calvinistic man’s a worm theology that says, “I can do nothing,” “in me is no good thing,” “it is only by God’s grace,” “that unless God comes through we are helpless.” God has invested in most of us many skills, understanding, faith and experiences. At some point He expects us to step up and do some problem solving, use our faith, apply some prayer, and look for some scriptural principles to apply. The depravity of man is a real doctrine, however, it is also true that God invests His treasure in us and He expects a return on His investment.

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Chrisitianity, faith, responsibility

Unexpected Christmas

December 20, 2009 By cyndi 6 Comments

I sit here in my living room between a brightly lit up Christmas tree and a lawn mower. Yes, there is a lawn mower in my living room, as well as a weed eater, gas cans, miscellaneous hand tools, and an empty propane container. Why, oh why, you ask, is this stuff in my living room? Well, it is like this: we are in the process of painting the house. This necessitated pressure washing, which led to the discovery of rotten wood on the porch, and then the exposure of a plethora of termites. This, in turn, caused the porch to be torn down, which led to the lawn mower and other items from the porch coming into my living room.

Isn’t it interesting that we can start out with one plan and it gets drastically changed to another in a matter of moments? Just think of Mary and Joseph. I would presume the original plan was to go Bethlehem, take the census, visit some friends and family, and then return home. Having their baby boy born in a smelly stable was probably not on that script, yet it happened. Imagine Mary’s thoughts-God had done so many supernatural things from angelicvisitations, the prophecy from Elisabeth, and supernatural conception, and yet He did not provide a room for her in Bethlehem. But she continued to trust. Things sometimes just don’t work out as we plan.

Many times we get frustrated, angry, even depressed when our plans go awry, but God knows the end of a thing before the beginning (Isa.48:5). Mary and Joseph had no idea of the unforeseen ramifications from the birth of their son, the shepherds coming, or any of the other unusual events that later took place. We too, have no idea what the future holds or the understanding of the reasons why we are forced to experience certain things in our lives. However, Father God does, and He uses all things for our good (Rom. 8:28) to shape us into the person that can fulfill the unique calling and destiny He has for each one of us.

So “Merry Christmas to all,” I say, as I sit back and enjoy my cup of tea, relishing the smells of pine and terra firma. Whatever God has in store for you this season, it is going to be good-unexpected maybe, but good.

Filed Under: Christianity, Rest

Expressions of God

November 27, 2009 By cyndi 1 Comment

BY CYNDI

While walking through Home Depot the other day, I passed by the paint department and was drawn to the many color samples on the wall. I began looking at all the different shades and was somewhat humored by the names of the colors: Cheerful Hue, Crème Brulee, Medieval Forest, Chai Latte, Polar Bear, Woven Basket, just to name a few. With so many shades of colors, there must be one person whose only job is to come up with names!

Thinking about the sample names and stepping back to take in the realm of colors, it dawned on me that this is a great example of the many ways God creates people. Having traveled to different parts of the world, I have seen multiple “shades” of people. I am not just referring to skin tones here, but personalities, ways of looking at life, unique talents, distinctive abilities to bless and be life-giving to the world around them. Each and every person is uniquely made–an original–handcrafted by God Almighty Himself.

Looking at paint cards for Toasted Marshmallow and Blueberry Cobbler I think of how God knew who we would be before we were even formed (Eph.1:4). Before the foundation of the world He designed us–what we would look like, what parents we would have, when we would be born. He took the time to think through all these things, even down to how long our eyelashes would be. To me this is a very comforting thought since much of the world seems to believe in randomness and happenstance.

We each have our own color to bring to the world–different shades and nuances to reveal the nature of God, to paint a picture of Who He is. You may be Wild Honey and I might be Passionflower, but we each have something to contribute to the world, a facet of God to express to those around us. As we see the tints and hues of each other and ourselves, we gain a better picture of Who God really is. You have an expression of God the world needs!

Filed Under: Christianity

The Blank Page and the Goodness of God

November 20, 2009 By cyndi 5 Comments

Ah, the proverbial blank page. Now they are on computer screens so you cannot crumple them up when they have only one or two lines of dead ideas that are getting you nowhere and toss them purposefully to the trash can. At least then you could have racked up some points. But this morning as I open up my Word document to a glaring white rectangle staring at me, I must testify of the goodness of God.

Last night as my son was heading into the computer room to work on an English paper, it violently occurred to him that he forgot to bring home the article he was supposed to write about. His mood turned frantic, as this was an important paper, and he tried to think of all the ways possible to do it, but no one could help, so he might as well hope for the best and turn it in a day late. He never even got to the blank page.

Now is the part where the goodness of God comes in. As he conceded to his fate and I began washing the dishes it occurred to me that this article might possibly be on the internet. I relayed my idea to him, he quickly searched the web, joyfully found said article, and began writing his paper.

I continued washing the dishes smiling within at how full of loving-kindness Father God is. Oh, how He reveals things to me and guides me in such little things. Sometimes it is just simple help with my son’s homework, but His goodness is immeasurable.

And now this blank page in front of me has been filled. I could easily take many more words and use innumerable adjectives to describe how wonderful and caring my Father is, but it would probably be better if you opened up your own blank page and started yourself.

Filed Under: Christianity, Father's Love, faith Tagged With: Chrisitianity, Family, Father's Love

First Things First

November 13, 2009 By cyndi 3 Comments

I was reading a little devotional the other day and it made this statement: The things that are urgent are rarely important, and the things that important are rarely urgent. As I write these very words, I open up my calendar and place another task on my list that I just remembered needed to be done–today. So many things pile up on my list of “things to do,” and, unfortunately, I find my devotional time getting squeezed out and more pressing matters taking its place.

Urgent matters tend to scream louder, I think: wash the dishes, balance the checkbook, walk the dog, put the car in the shop, pick up the kids, mow the yard, write the bills off, call the plumber, and so on. We all have our lists and many of these things are quite important; however, what is the One thing that will enable us to do all these other things better? Phil. 4:13–I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.

If I walk into a dark room and God is my only source of light, then it would be best to put the “Light” on before trying to navigate around the room. I could do it without Him, but it would probably take longer and I may stub a toe or two as I felt my way through. Bible 2

My prayer is that I see the urgency and necessity of having a “Light” to guide me through all the particulars on my “to do” list. Many things are critical to me, my family, our ministry, but with the Lord strengthening me, I can get them all done. Taking the time to acknowledge Father, listening to His words of love over me, seeing His promises in the scriptures, and connecting heart to heart with Him is putting first things first.

Filed Under: Christianity, Father's Love

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