God Wants to Help!

Sometimes the hardest thing to say to God is simply, "I need help."  Despite clear evidence to the contrary in the Word, a prevailing attitude has been that we are unfit to approach Him with what scripture refers to as 'the issues of life'.  Quite the contrary, the issues of life matters greatly to God.  Are you facing a challenge today?  Take it to Him and allow His peace and sovereignty to work everything out for your good. 

"Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help." (Hebrews 4:14-16 NET)

"We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." (Romans 8:28 AMP)

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7 ESV)

Through the Looking-Glass - The Word Reflects Your Nature

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:22-25 ESV)


As the children of the Almighty, believers carry the image, the imprint, of the Living God.  Of the various Hebrew and Greek words rendered as image, they share a common definition as a representation, similiarity, replication, exactness of an original object.  Christ Jesus is the original, the Pattern Son, from which all believers are fashioned.  As Romans 8:29 teaches us, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."  Externally, humanity is born with His image for that is specifically how we were created. (Genesis 1:26)  It is never lost or diminished.  It remains constant throughout our lives, a token of affection from the Lord to His most prized creation.  Internally, the image and likeness of the godhead is worked in us as we encounter and interact with The Word.  The Word of God functions as a mirror of our true image.  As one spends time in the Word, its truth permits us to see ourselves as He sees us, our true nature as redeemed, perfected, holy, and blameless, fully equipped for every good work.  This is the pattern by which conversion takes place and salvation is initiated.  The Word is the point of contact through which my internal man (soul: mind, will and emotions) is made aware of what has, externally, already been granted to me; His image and likeness.  But this transformation, if left unapplied, dissipates over time and losses its effectiveness.  The admonition in today's passage from the Epistle of James is that the Word we encounter must also be put into practice in order to be retained and made real.  Just hearing the Word will only benefit you in the moment in which its heard.  For that period of time, the image of Christ wherein you are called to do "greater things than these" will shine forth with a radiance that can overcome any obstacle or challenge.  Nothing will seem impossible to you as the God of the impossible, He who overcame the world, reveals your true nature and purpose.  But our conduct ("be ye doers of the Word") must be in agreement with the image by putting the Word into practice.  Without application, we forget whose image we carry.  And without an awareness of that image, we lose ourselves.  

Full Of It and Proud Of It!

"For in him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, AND YOU HAVE BEEN FILLED IN HIM, who is the head of all rule and authority." (Colossians 2:9-10 ESV)

The miracle of the new birth is that all that Christ is was exchanged for all that we were.  The fallen, powerlessness of the first Adam has been consumed by the better sacrifice of the last Adam, Jesus.  Its easy for the believer to accept that the fullness of the godhead dwelled in Jesus.  After all, our Sunday School lessons from childhood were filled with these core teachings.  But embracing your call to manifest His presence on the earth is another thing entirely.  Scripture is replete with examples of God's intention in the Great Exchange.  Jesus is referred to as "the firstborn among many brethren". (Romans 8:29).  Likewise He told the disciples, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) 

The reality of Kingdom living is that we carry the same Holy Spirit as Jesus and are therefore capable and equipped to continue and expand His rule on the earth.  Like the investors referenced in the Parable of the Talents, we are to "occupy till I come". (Luke 19:13)

YOU WERE FILLED FOR A REASON!  BE FULL OF IT AND PROUD OF IT!

Only Free People Can Free Others

"And the word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.' " (Ezekiel 14:12-14 / ESV)

Under the Old Covenant, when a nation embraced faithless living, God responded by placing a famine on the land in an effort to get the people's attention.  His intention was that this would result in genuine repentance and restoration of the national vision.  Many could say we are in a similar state today in America.  For reasons too numerous, and equally unproductive to list, we find ourselves as believers often at philosophical and moral odds with our countrymen.  While we endeavor to sustain the biblical mandate upon which this nation was founded, during periods of discouragement we feel as though we are in an ever-increasing minority.  

Regardless of how things may feel or appear, the glory of this passage is that, like Noah, Daniel, and Job, believers can still live victorious and prosperous lives, even in the midst of a nation operating outside God's order.  This in no way diminishes our responsibility to change the land and intercede on its behalf.  But it does give us His assured hope that as we labor, our success is unaffected by the poor choices of our land.  So stop stressing about the economy, your 401k, and the chaos you see around you.  Stand secure in the knowledge that God will see His people through, prospering all the way.  Instead, expend your energy on prayer and intercession, decreeing that the nations would receive the revelation which God, in His grace, saw fit to reveal to you.  

Remember, the beauty of the Gospel is this:  Because we have been freed, we are free to free others.

Mind Your Own Business! - How Second-Hand Offenses Steal Joy and Divide Friendships

"Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears." (Proverbs 26:17 ESV)

We've all been there.  Two friends or family members we care for a great deal become involved in a dispute over some seemingly ridiculous, inconsequential thing and we feel pressured to enter the fray and 'pick a side'.  But with picking a side comes the all consuming need to carry the perceived offense as one's own and produces a variety of joy-stealing emotional, psychological, and spiritual challenges.  This is generally referred to as a second-hand offense.  It usually begins by giving ear to the frustrations of others, which psychobabble has termed, 'venting'.  As we listen to the person 'vent', we gradually become engaged in a form of co-dependency in which we identify with the offense and make it ours.  Now all of a sudden, we're as mad and upset as the person we have given ear to.  And thus a second-hand offense is born. 

Proverbs 26:17 gives us clear direction for when disputes not our own occur around us: STAY OUT OF IT AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!  

He Doesn't Sleep

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber." (Psalm 121:1-3 ESV)

Vulnerability is an inevitable part of life's journey. No matter how well trained, educated, or skilled, you will eventually face a circumstance which you feel totally unequipped to face.  It's in those universal moments that we must remember that we are not our own keeper; that we have a Father who loves us and keeps watch over us 24/7.  Unlike natural fathers who must eventually rest their eyes and lower their guard, the Lord's protective eye never wanes. So when challenges come, remember that God is watching: not to judge you, but to cover you. 

Life In The Fast Lane

"Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.  When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.  Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on." (Proverbs 4:10-15 ESV)

When God's wisdom is our guide, we are promised that we will be upheld.  As we stay in the path of the righteous, and away from the path of the wicked, our footing will be sure regardless of our speed.

For many, we creep along at such a slow pace, fearful that we will loose our balance if we are not oh so very careful.  True to His Word, He upholds us and keeps us from falling.  But how long did it take us to get to our destination?  How much time was wasted in the process?  In this season, God is looking for people who will run toward the prize of the high calling, not meandor at a leisurely pace as if lives were not hanging in the balance.  If we're going to get there regardless of speed, let's go fast!

Everything Begins with Relationship

Counseling, like a lot of disciplines, is overburdened by format, methodology, and techniques.  At nearly any conference or related gathering of clinicians, the topic invariably comes up, "so what school of thought do you belong to".  Trained as an Adlerian who specializes in children and adolescents, I somehow always seem to gravitate toward the other Adlerians who specialize in children and adolescents.  After all, if we don't make fun of the Gestaltists and Jungians, who will?  But in the midst of all the myriad of therapeutic methods and schools of thought, I was recently reminded that NOTHING matters more than relationship.  

Love covers a multitude of sins.  And more than anything else, relationship is about love.  Its about respecting and caring enough about a person that you want to get to know them on their turf before you put on your glasses of derision, pointing out their every flaw, problem, and cognitive distortion.  Its only when we care enough to get to know people that they'll lower their guard and let us help them.  All the methodology in the world never directly helped anyone.  Rather, like the Apostle Paul, we must become all things to all people that we might save some.

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV)