Who Are YOU?

The last Sunday of each month, I help out in Nursing Home ministries that my father leads. Today, at the start of his message he said something that struck me and I think you all need to think about it.

"Usually when we get up in the morning one of the first things we do is look at ourselves in the mirror. Why? What are we looking for? What do we expect to see? Do we expect to see anyone else? Do we look at the wrinkles and the hair loss or color change? What do we see?"

I thought about that during his message and on the way home today and I want to ask you, "WHO ARE YOU?"

Really!

WHO ARE YOU?

Think about that for a while. Do you know who you are?

Turn back the clock five years, ten years, twenty years. Think about the goals and aspirations you had back then, and what you expected out of life. Remember the good times and the bad times. Are you who you thought you would be five years ago? How about twenty years ago. What kind of person were you twenty years ago, and are you the same now?

I know that change can be good. Many of us are not what we expected to be. We are not living the life we thought we would have. But, is it better than what you had expected? Or has your life had many bumps and corners that have changed you? Is it a good change. Would the you from yesterday be satisfied with who you turned out to be?

Think about it.

Consider Samson.

He was born with a purpose. He was a Nazarite from birth. He had a destiny. It was laid out before him and he knew as a child what he was supposed to do. Most of us can say the same thing. We were born into a belief pattern, a vocation, or lifestyle and we never expected to ever deviate from that.

I remember so many times of how strong the anointing was in our churches when I was little, and even though I knew in my heart what God wanted of me, and was willing at the time, I really did not like the direction he was taking me when I was just a little bit older. But I was young. I didn't fully grasp the road I was on, and where I needed to be.

Life can come at you from all sides and before you know it, you are not who you were, or who you expected you would be. Sometimes that is a good thing. Most times, it is not good at all.

Samson thought he had it all together. He tormented the enemy. He would make fun of them, and he had the strength to do so. He made them an embarrassment among their own people, and he was only one man. He knew who he was, but more importantly, he knew who his God was, and he knew God would back him up.

Imagine tying the tails of foxes together and setting them on fire, and letting them run through wheat fields catching fire to the crops. What a destructive young man he was, but he was destroying the inquity of the time. Another time he took a bone from a donkey and slew thousands of the enemy. We are still talking about one man. Samson, destined with purpose, born to be a leader.

And then along came Delilah. Samson already had a promised bride. His plan was set forth before him, and a little bit of temptation got in the way.

Kind of like us right? We have a destiny planned before we are born; we have a purpose for being here, and yet...

In the beginning, Samson thinking he was something special toyed with Delilah too. He made fun of her, and was still destroying the enemies that came into his life. It wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't matter if he just looked, maybe touched it a little. He was still born a Nazerite. He was God's chosen.

And Delilah kept after him. He took his eyes off his destiny and looked at the temptation of what he could have, and he gave in to her seductive spirit.

I wonder how many of us grew up knowing our purpose, knowing who we were, knowing what we were raised to be? How did we get sidetracked? What was our Delilah? Ten years ago what was your expected life?

Some of us, we still act the same way we always did; just not as much. We still go to the places we used to go; as long as it is convenient. We still believe what we used to believe; unless some part of it bugs us.

Some of us grew up in families that go back generations of knowing plans, purpose, and destiny. I wonder what our grandfathers would think of the heritage we are leaving behind?

I imagine Samson thought the same thing when the enemy plucked out his eyes so that he could no longer see what was really good about life. Instead of making his own decisions, someone made them for him. He had no choice. He was the same as the oxen.

Do you ever wonder about blind people and food? Do they get tired of the same things over and over, or are they adventurous in trying new foods? They can appreciate the taste, the smell, the texture, but they don't get to see what they are eating, so they are forced to rely on someone else to make sure what they are getting is right and good.

Sin can blind us too. We take what we are given because we do not have a choice. We are forced to trust others to guide us and to lead us, to make sure we are okay. But like Samson, we end up trusting our enemy to make sure we are taken care of. Really? Five years ago, is this where you thought you would be tonight?

Now I realize not all change is bad. Some of it is very necessary for growth. Some of the things we leaned on when we were younger are no longer available to us, and we have been forced to change, to grow, to become who we are. But, ask yourself again, is this who you wanted to be?

Some of us when we were little wanted to be a fireman, cowboy, movie star, ballerina, etc. For most of us, those were hopes and dreams, but they were not based on reality. However, the bible says that 'while yet in our mother's womb, God knew us.' He knew the plan, the hopes, the dreams he had for our lives. He tried to direct us in those paths, but is that where we are?

I remember times in an altar at church camp where I wanted more than anything to have God's will, but sometimes I have thought is it worth it with all that I have been thru? There have been times where I wanted to run away, not just walk from the graces of God because the battle was just too much. I am sure it is the same for many of you who might read this.

There are things that we begged God for, or perhaps told God we would do in those moments of epiphany and whether or not we believe it now, we believed it then. Do we think God forgot our promises to him?

Sometimes, I feel like if we could only turn back time, do things a bit different, maybe this or that would not have happened. Sometimes, I wish I could go back and undo or change things I have done and maybe change the course of life I have been on. But we cannot. Am I who I expected I was going to be? No.

I am certain Samson thought many of the same thoughts we all did when he was blind and tied to the mill grinding out the meal. Not only was he forced to trust his enemy for his survival, he was forced to make food for them as well. Because of his decisions it changed the course of his life forever. From a leader to a slave. From the anointed to the lost. And all the time he toiled and I am sure cried out to God for forgiveness, he was mocked, laughed at, and treated like an animal by his enemy.

See, even before the enemy took his sight, Samson lost his vision, and it cost him everything. "If only I had not given in. If this had not happened... If only I could go back and do things different!" But it was too late. He regained his vision though that day he begged God to restore his strength. No, he couldn't see, but he caught sight of his purpose once again. He got lucky.

Some are not so lucky. Judas didn't find a place of repentance. Paul said, "Demos has forsaken me (truth) having loved this present world."

I don't mean to come across as judgemental, but look around you. I am sure each of us can look at someone we know and wonder, 'How did they get there? Why did they marry that person? Look at the mess their life is in!' What happened?

How about are own lives? Are we who we thought we would be? Are we proud of what we have become? Do we really know who we are, or have we become blinded by the enemy and we will continue as we are until it is too late?

I was talking to someone the other day about a friend of mind. I know they have been through some tough times, but what was so terrible for them to go to such a level as they have? What was it about their trial that took them down? I know that I personally have been through a lot that no one knows about, and yet I am still here, so what was it that destroyed them? I really want to know.

Was it just some morning they got up and looked in the mirror and did not know who was standing there looking back? Was who they saw not enough for who they wanted to be? Did they remember back to those times of deep committment and feel lost? I don't know. You don't know.

But, when you look in the mirror, ask yourself, "Am I who I expected I would be five years ago? Ten? Twenty? Is my life something I can be proud of and have no fear about? Is my future (children, shelter, lifestyle, needs) headed in a direction that I am comfortable? Who Am I?'

Who Are You?

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Consider the Source!

I find it amazing some times the comments and thoughts that get back to me based on something that was said by myself, or at times even when I have said nothing at all. How twisted some thoughts become when it does not fit into our own ideas about what a person is saying. At times their own paranoia, for lack of a better word, will drive a person to do or say things that at times will literally shock us. Usually it exudes from insecurities in our own lacking that will make us say something about others. Whether or not what is said or not does not really matter if it is not ours to share then we should keep it to ourselves.

"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:15-17"

Now some would say what was wrong with what this lady said? Nothing. What she had to say was entirely truthful. However, this lady was known for spreading rumors, talking to spirits, backbiting, and in general she was a troubled spirit. She had said so many things that her following the ministry around caused doubt, simply because she had a habit of spreading it thick. It would have been the same in our day as talking to the pyschic hotline.

Most of us have enough common sense to realize that 'psychics' on 900 numbers are for entertainment purposes only, but some get so caught up in 'psychic babbling', horoscopes, or what so and so says, that we would believe anything that proceeds out of their mouth. John 8:44 says, "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." This is talking about Satan, but in fact almost all lies have a grain of truth in them, and at times we overlook or excuse the lie for reasons of our own choosing. Excuses can work the same way.

Years ago, my former pastors wife used to say something like, "an excuse is just the skin of the truth wrapped around a lie from the devil." And she was exactly right. However many times the reason we buy into what is said is because of the individual who said it. We have a common bond with this person and so we automatically assume that because we know them, it must be truth. Unfortunately, all of us from time to time tend to elaborate or embellish and what may have been true, no longer is.

And then there are those who are so hungry for a juicy morsel, that they will believe anything anyone says, and the other side of that issue is that there are some well meaning who are so afraid of controversy that they tell everyone what they think they need to hear. I think in some respects it is to make themselves look good, but generally it is because 'I didn't want you to feel bad.'

One of the biggest issues that drives others away from God is the rumors or accusations they hear from people in the church they attend. It doesn't even matter if what is said is truth or not, people get hurt by it. I was talking with someone just a few days ago who was consoling a wounded soul because another individual was telling her husband that the pastor said not to talk to his wife anymore because they are trouble. First off, the pastor would not have said something like that and expected it to be spread to the husband of the woman who it was supposedly about. Yet, the very source of the comment, who if there was any trouble it was from her, went so far as to tell anothers mate the gossip. Seriously? I have heard people say when this one or that one no longer comes back to church that 'they must not have loved God like I do.' It is incredibly sad when we think it is ok to make judgements on others lives based on what we think our spiritually level is. 99% of the time we are wrong.

Now I realize not everyone spreads gossip. Not everyone is a talebearer. But how often do you hear something about a person and wonder if it is true? Or even if you do not think it is true, you still have doubts in your mind, and it colors your impression of that person. It can directly affect that persons life, and it most certainly will have an effect on that persons ability to grow. Words hurt; even true words hurt. And most usually the hurt extends further than we could even imagine.

What is said may affect many people for eternity. So why do we listen to what is said about others? Aren't we just as guilty for listening as those who spread rumors? Doesn't the bible say 'believe a lie and be damned?' And yet, we base our belief based on relationship with the person without 'trying the spirit' when what we should be doing is stopping the conversation because if it involves anything that may injure or otherwise change our perception of a person then it is wrong. It may cost a soul. More than likely it will cost more than one, and how will it affect you personally?

Mark Twain said, "He gossips habitually; he lacks the common wisdom to keep still that deadly enemy of man, his own tongue.” And sadly, as Will Rogers said, "the only time people dislike gossip, is when the gossip is about them." Gossip is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, but we should always consider the source.

Something to think about, The Beatles rock band George Harrison said, "Gossip is the Devil's radio." So where are you getting your news?

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More Than...

In the church I attend in Alaska one of the duties I have is leading prayer meetings and give direction on what I have learned, or am learning about prayer. Sometimes, I talk about how to pray, but each month I also write a newsletter in which I attempt to give some keys or insight to a greater prayer life. I had planned to do the same this month, but the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night with this message and I would like to share it with you.

We would have to be locked up in some closet not to recognize that this is the holiday season. Our lives are filled with spending time with family and friends, running to the stores, pushing our way thru the crowds, or even getting up entirely too early to attempt to get that one item that Walmart has marked down in a marketing scheme to get us in the door. They may only have one of two of these items that are gone first thing as the crowd pushes their way in, but it gets us in the doors, and then we end up spending more than we can afford on items we won't even remember a week or two after Christmas is over, with the exception of the bills.

It is also the time of year, when regardless of our personal religious beliefs, we can find displays and ornaments, and our thoughts turn to the birth of Christ. I realize we can get easily caught up in all the commercialization, Santa Claus, and all the amazing food items that never seem to be out except at this time of year, but for most of us we also remember the baby in the manger.

When Jesus was born it wasn't in a hospital; he didn't have doctors, and Mary didn't go through prenatal classes. There wasn't a sterile room with rubber gloves and gowns abundant. He didn't even have a midwife to deliver him. The bible doesn't specify who delivered Jesus, but only exclaims that he was born. We know he was born in a borrowed stable. We know that they laid him in a manger which the reality is, was the place the cattle got their food. He didn't have pressed linen sheets, or even a pillow. He will forever be known as the baby in the manger. For some of us, that is all we see him as, just the baby in the manger. Saints been down in awe to this baby; this icon of what is good about all of us before we are corrupted with cares of life, and we esteem him as a miracle and perfect. While we all seem amazed by his birth, some of us stop right there and never see him as anything else, but he is so much more than the baby in the manger.

Scripture and tradition teach us that Joseph was a carpenter, and thus when Jesus came of age it was only common for the sons to learn the trade of their father. Jesus probably spent untold hours sweeping, sanding, putting together wood to make something of use. In those days, carpenters not only helped in construction of housing, but also in the very furniture that would be in that house. Jesus may have had his own work bench where he would carve, saw, and hammer a piece of wood into something of use. Perhaps he made chairs or tables, and many of his day only saw him as the carpenter's son. He was so much more than a carpenter's son though, and history has told us so.

We read that he went about doing good, teaching in the synagogues and on the hillsides. He astounded the teachers and theologians at an early age with his knowledge of laws and scripture. There are many passages that speak of him as a rabbi, or teacher, and he could tell stories with the best taking the examples from life as he would instruct those who listened in steps to lead a productive, successful life. He taught so even the little children could understand how they should go about their day and grow into adulthood with purpose. If he was alive today, I am certain he would be on the best seller list, and people would buy his self help books to go on the shelf with all the other wisdom that ends up there. He was a great teacher, and some would spend hours, go without food even just to hear him teach, but he was so much more than just a teacher.

Some didn't come to hear him teach, but rather to see what he would do. To many he was a magician, a seer, a miracle worker. They came to watch the show, or perhaps even be involved in it. We read with astonishment and maybe even a smile about the time he fed the five thousand, or when he raised Jarius daughter from the dead. See, they knew where to come when they had problems, when they didn't know where else to turn. Even his closest flowerers, his disciples, whom he would teach more in-depth, who should have realized that he was giving them a great gift, saw him many times as just the one who could fix things when they were in trouble. To most, he was just the one who did the miracles, but he was so much more than the miracle worker.

I have had a copy of the passion movie on my desk for more than a year. I have planned to watch it. I have heard many stories about how close the real deal it must have been. The scenes of agony and and powerful testament of what took place has been shown by Hollywood to be more real than ever before. I like anyone else have seen bits and pieces online, but I often wonder why I never seem to have time to watch the movie. It has went with me on several airline flights but remained in my bag, and someday I will watch it, but he is so much more than just the depiction of his struggles with humanity and praying in the garden, tempted and abused by the people of his day.

We can read the passages of scripture ourselves, where he wanted someone to just pray with him for an hour when the religious right of his day conspired with the government to do away with this man that is upsetting their plans. We read about how he was beaten, carried his own cross up a criminal's trail to a hill where they hammered nails into his hands and feet and stuck him in a hole, naked before all humanity, to die for his transgressions of trying to help others. History has cleaned up the story; it was so much more brutal than we can imagine, and they have given us and image of this pretty cross with a man hanging on it dressed in some sort of garment as he died there on Golgotha.

I can relate with most people as to the power of the cross, and many of us have preached about it, and some religious entities have made the cross into an icon that they hang on the wall, wear around their neck, or put in a place of honor in their cathedrals. They look to the image of a man hanging on a cross to find strength in times of trouble, to restore hope, and as a companion, while most of the time, the words of this man sit idly on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. At Christmas, or any time of the year you can find all sorts of icons, images, idols of Jesus on the cross, or the cross itself as a reminder of what he did for us. While it is a powerful image, he isn't that little idol; he isn't on that cross you carry around, and even though he died on a cross and we all know he rose again, he is so much more than the man on the cross.

Most of us make an effort to attend some sort of worship service each week, where we will sing, pray, listen to someone talk about some passage in the bible that is usually meant to be uplifting and a way to feel the humanity of Jesus. We tell the different bible stories of old, how David killed the giant, Jonah and his big fish, Jesus walking on the water. We sing songs praising his name, his blood, the significance of the price he paid as we embrace who he was, and how his life has changed the destiny of most who listen. A lot of us get this idea that if we go to church on Sunday, and listen to the preacher then we become good people, and of course good people go to heaven. There were times when we listened and our hearts were pierced with the suffering of our savior, but these days of more modern influences, it has become more about the social aspects, the gathering together, and perhaps the prayer for our needs. We reflect on Jesus, and we have ministers who can make him come alive with stories, but the truth of the matter is Jesus is more than what we do on Sunday.

I am sure by now, some are a bit rattled in what I am writing, and yes I do believe he is all of these things. I myself have known him as a healer. I depend on him to supply my needs. The scriptures tell us to. We are taught to cast our cares on him; trust in the Lord with all our might; if we have a need to take it to him. Growing up in a preacher's home I saw many miracles over the years. Broken bodies have been healed by the power of his name; families have been put back together; in times of dire financial straits, somehow the money has just been there. Even now I pray for my own healing and restoration of my body, spirit, life, and ministry after some terrible circumstances have changed my life forever. I pray for my family and friends, all the while believing that God is going to give them what they need. God has shown me revival in churches soon to come. He has showed me that certain people I know are going to be healed to such a magnitude that right now they are not able to comprehend it. He has shown me things that are set to transpire in my own life, that even I have a hard time accepting. He is so many things to all of us, and yet he is so much more.

More than...
a baby in a manger
a carpenter's son
a good teacher
a prophet
a miracle worker
the man on the cross
the one who rose again
an image on a cross
strength in need
something to do on Sunday
a song or message
a memory of what he has done
a celebration time
even more than our savior
anything we can imagine

He is still more...

It is easy in our circumstances or trials to forget how powerful Jesus really is. Sometimes we become so complacent with the day to day, that we forget him. Even when we are doing good ourselves helping humanity, leading others to him, we can sometimes forget just who he really is.

I used to sing specials in church and there were times when I would feel God leading me to minister in song to let others know he is there. One of my favorite songs was "More than Enough." My dad would play the piano, and I would sing and I would see tears on even the most wounded spirit as they remembered that he really is enough to take care of their circumstance. Many times if we are not in the midst of the trial, then we tend to overlook the power of his deity, the strength he gives in the midst of the storms and that welcome hug when we have nowhere else to turn to. If we haven't been thru times of crisis, we cannot really appreciate just how "More than.." he really can be.

I used to hear people talk about how Jesus was this or that, and many times to me I didn't fully get it. I knew he could do anything; I knew he healed; I knew he supplied; I knew he saved, but I didn't fully grasp just how 'more than..' he really was until I faced hardships in my own personal life. Faced with situations in which I had no control I agonized over how I was going to make it. It seemed just when one part of life got better another part got worse, and it has been a long battle. There have been days I thought I couldn't get out of bed anymore; days where I questioned God and his methods; situations where I really just felt like giving up. I still face things that I don't have the answers to, I don't know the outcome, and can be very fearful. However, in the midst of all of this, there is a depth in God that I feel that I could not have known had I not been thru that trial.

I know some are going thru devastating illness and burdens that seem to have no end, but I am living proof to say, he is More than Enough.

He's more than enough, more than enough,
He is el shaddi, the God of plenty,
The all sufficient one, God almighty,
He is more than enough.

No matter the trial you are in, no matter the questions you have about God, no matter what others might think about God, He is more than enough for any situation. He is more than just a baby in a manger.

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What is a LIE?

Over the past several weeks, I have been faced with situations that I am sure well meaning people thought they were protecting me, but in fact they didn't tell me the truth. That is a LIE!

Somehow, we have gotten the idea that when we know things, even if we are not sure if they are true, we tend to let it out to someone thinking that the way to fix everything is to tell other people. This only spreads the rumors and makes the individuals affected hurt and upset. It does nothing to correct the situation.

So what exactly is a lie?

If you hear something and it doesn't come direct from the individual involved, whether it be good or bad then there is a chance that the information is not correct and therefore, that is hearsay and could in fact be a lie.

There are times when we hear something, but by the time we tell it, it is expanded on some and then the person we tell adds their own take on what they heard from us, and by the time it gets back to those involved it is completely not the truth. That is a lie.

I know that sometimes we realize people will get hurt if they knew what was said about them behind their back, and so we keep it to ourselves, and let the rumors continue, rather than telling the person saying it that they need to stop and they need to talk to the actual individuals involved so that the are aware of whats been said. If we do not, then we are helping to circulate and adding to the fire and perhaps causing detrimental actions to those involved, because we allowed a lie to continue.

I realize there are many circumstances where we would prefer not to get involved, but instead of taking it to the person who it is about, or, telling the person who is saying that they need to stop, then we just allow it to continue. That makes us just as guilty of the lie. We think we are doing someone a favor by not being forthcoming, but in fact, we are more concerned with how others may view us, and in turn we generally really hurt someone who loves us.

More than 90% of lies are generally started by friends or family, and usually it is meant to bring harm to someone.

So why am I bringing this up?

The Bible says, ALL liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.

Yet, somehow we have this idea that it wasn't a big lie, I did it to protect you, it would have hurt worse if you knew, so... how can we not realize then, that what we are doing is still a lie? It doesn't matter the size of the lie, or whether we were doing it for someone's benefit, or thinking it was our way of showing we care, it is still a lie. And ALL liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.

I know lies come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes we don't even realize that we are lying. So, I have compiled a list of lies below for your reference. See if any apply to you?

If you hear something and have not verified it, be it good or bad, and you tell anyone else, then it is a lie.
If you tell someone, you are, or will be somewhere and you are not, or don't show up when you said, then that is a lie.
If you pretend to be something you are not, so that people will think better of you, or less even, then you are lying.
If you say you will do something and you do not then you are lying.
If you act like you are younger than you are, or older than you are lying.
If you well meaning to not tell someone the whole truth about what is affecting them, or even your own life, that is a lie.
If you say I am fine, when the reality is your life is a mess, or you don't feel well, and you think its a way to keep people from thinking you are not a whiner, then you are a liar.
If you say it doesn't matter when someone does something to hurt you, but in your heart or in secret it upsets you, then you are lying.
If you say you made so much, when the truth is you made less or more, then you are lying.
If you don't want to offend someone or hurt their feelings, so you don't tell them what you know, that is a lie.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. We have this idea that only the lies that we tell knowing full well that we are lying is wrong. But that is A LIE!

So, when you get where you are going, and you stand there thinking you are ok, knowing full well that you did some of the above, do not be surprised when you go the other way, because you believed a lie, and all liars, and those who believe lies shall be damned. Look it up, it is in there. And that is not a lie.

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