Roaring Like a Lion

(Roar (c) iam_photography flickr.com Creative Commons License)

My God's not dead, He's surely alive

He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion.

Catchy tune, but some questionable lyrics. 

I has been my pleasure since Friday night to attend the Supernatural Lifestyle Conference with Kevin Dedmon. There is one more session in a couple of hours at the Fellowship of Christians here in Russellville, Arkansas.

I had never heard of Kevin Dedmon before, and I don't attend FOC regularly. But, they frequently host some extraordinary events, and this is another one of them. I haven't noticed a single thing Kevin Dedmon has said that doesn't line up with God's Word. If I had, I wouldn't have attended every session. 

This definitely is not one of those conferences where you sit back in comfortable anonymity, take notes, and get educated. This is experiential, hands on, in your face training in spiritual warfare.

God of Abundance

"Overflowing Hospitality" PhotosByDavid under Creative Commons License

I am a God of abundance. I will never run out of resources; My capacity to bless you is unlimited. You have access to as much of Me as you have faith to receive. Rejoice in My abundance--living by faith, not by sight.

~Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

It is so easy to lose our perspective when we take our eyes off of God and look at our circumstances instead. We get caught up in what we see and, while those are facts, those things exist, they are not Truth. 

And, the real problem is that what we concentrate on, what we look at, what we think about, tends to grow. So, if you are worried about a lack of finances and concentrating on that, you are, in effect, watering that plant of lack so that it will grow.

Who do you think you are?

"Tornado" (c) Jmos via Creative Commons License; Flickr.com

I'm a big believer in faith. The Bible says that without faith, it's impossible to please God. I study faith, I listen to faith ministers, and I attend a full-gospel faith church.

But, I have to tell you, there is something odd about some of the people in the "faith movement". You know the ones I'm talking about. I'm sure you've met some of them.

They are the ones who shake their heads and tsk, tsk, when a fellow church member faces a challenge in his or her life. They huddle together in a corner wondering what sin Suzie committed to bring such a disaster into her life. Or they wonder how Bob and Sharon failed in raising their children, because they just didn't turn out right and always seem to be getting into trouble. Or they think it's a crying shame that Dave's faith wasn't strong enough to prevent his illness.

I'm certainly not going to tell you that I have it all figured out, because I don't. But, I can tell you that there are some things I do know.

I know that when bad things happen to us, they don't come from God.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

~ John 10:10

There really shouldn't be any question in the mind of a Christian as to who steals, kills and destroys. You can only give what you have, and I'm pretty sure God doesn't have a storehouse of evil to torture us with for any purpose. God doesn't send us bad things to teach us, or train us, or strengthen us, or test us. What He has to give is life more abundantly.

I also know that trouble comes to everyone.

Don't think for one minute that you can ever develop your faith to the point that you won't have any problems in this life. Do you really think that's possible? What about the apostles? Do you think their faith was undeveloped? Look at the life of Paul and his "light afflictions" that are far worse than most of us will ever experience. Would you say that he was not a man of faith?

And, if the example of Paul isn't enough, consider Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten son of God. Do you think he lacked faith? Look at what he suffered. Surely if faith alone could prevent bad things from happening, the Bible would tell a completely different story.

In fact, this is what Jesus told us:

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

~John 16:33  

I want to really dissect this verse. He begins by saying "These things I have spoken unto you."  What are the things he had just said? He had just told them that He was going away so that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, could come. He said that we should ask and we would receive so that our joy would be full, and that whatever we ask the Father in His name and will be given to us. He said that in him, we would have peace, or tranquility.

And, just as life wasn't a rose garden for Paul, or Stephen, or Peter, or Jesus, he tells us "In the world ye shall have tribulation". Just in case you have any doubt in your mind about what tribulation means, this is the Greek word thlipsis, and it's bad. It means: affliction,anguish, burdened, persecuted, tribulation, trouble. As a noun, it means: to crush, press, compress, squeeze, break; pressure, compression; distress, calamity, persecution; heavy, burdensome weight, agitation, disturbance.

This is Jesus speaking. These words are written in red in my Bible, and probably in yours as well.

But, don't despair. Look what they are followed by: a three-letter word "but". "But" is a conjunction, and it means simply that Jesus wasn't finished talking. "But be of good cheer." This is the Greek word tharseo, which means to have courage, or to take comfort. (Interesting, in that He has just promised to send "the Comforter".)

Why are we to have courage, take comfort and be of good cheer? Because, Jesus said, "I have overcome the world." Overcome is from the Greek word nikao, to subdue, conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory.

He has stripped evil of its power and ability to harm us. Oh, it can still come upon us, but it can't destroy us.

Remember the story of the two houses: one built on the sand, and the other built on a strong foundation. The storms pounded both of the houses. The house built on sand was destroyed. But the house built on the firm foundation, the house that was fortified by faith, the house that was filled with the Comforter, stood strong.

I wish I could tell you that when you surrender your life to God and make Jesus your Lord and Savior, that your life will be filled with nothing but good. But, I can't.

What I can tell you is that God is faithful.

"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

~Isaiah 41:13

I can also tell you that no matter what happens, it will be alright. I've read the end of the story, and it's a happy one.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

~Philippians 4:13  

Putting it in Print

My book "Standing in Faith: How to Keep the Faith When Things Look Bad" is now available at amazon for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U9T1WC

If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can borrow my book from the lending library for free. If you don't have a prime account, the cost of the book is $4.97.  If you do read my book, I'd appreciate a review (good, bad or indifferent!); it will help me know what people are looking for before I publish volume 2.

The Political Process

(Picture by jacinta lluch valero)

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 20: Today, I'm Thankful for the Political Process

I came home from work the other night to a barrage of complaints from my son and his friend about how horrible America is, and what an awful government we have. They were ready to move to Europe to escape the horrors of America.

The berated our current and past Presidents, and talked about how they have ruined the economy and the country in general.

Curious as to where they got their facts, I probed for more information. Of course, there were no facts to back up their very emotional statements. I asked them why they thought Europe was better than America, and was told that they weren't in debt like we are. 

Obviously, they haven't been keeping up with the news of the financial crisis going on over there.

They complained about our taxes, until I reminded them that they didn't earn enough to pay taxes.

They complained about how terrible it is to live here, and I reminded them that we have a high rate of immigration to the states from countries all over the world, so it must not be that bad to live in America.

They complained about the elected officials, and I reminded them that when they actually participate in the process by voting in politicians they believe in and voting out those they don't believe in, they really don't have a right to complain about the process.

Later that night, I asked my son what set them off. Apparently, it was all about SOPA. Again, there was a misunderstanding. They thought that Google and Wikipedia had been shut down by the politicians instead of realizing that Google and Wikipedia had voluntarily blacked out to make a statement and to encourage the American public to contact their elected officials to vote against SOPA and PIPA. 

I explained that this is the beauty of the American system. That we can actually make a difference by banding together and speaking out. That often grass-roots movements can change the course of events.

We can do it with legislation. 

We can do it with elected officials.

One of the most dangerous beliefs is, "My vote doesn't count." There have been many elections, local and national, in which the winning margin was incredibly small. If only a fraction of the people who thought their vote didn't matter had bothered to go to the polls, the outcome could have been entirely different.

The internet is huge. Obviously, the American people have spoken, and SOPA has gone down to defeat. For now, Freedom of Speech is intact. We can still share information freely among our friends and relatives, and on our blogs, Facebook pages, and websites. 

While I have no doubt this isn't the end of the story, it is satisfying to know that we can still band together and make a difference.

We have a strange system in which often the vocal minority overpowers the silent majority. While these issues are seen as issues of freedom, it seems that many times one person's freedom results in another person's loss of freedom.

Take Christianity, for instance. This nation was originally founded as a Christian nation. The founding father's wove their Christian beliefs right into the legislation. Now, we have a President who says that America is no longer a Christian nation. Tell that to the 83% of Americans who identify themselves as Christian.

There is a movement to take the word "God" out of anything having to do with the government or our educational system. 

The pledge of allegiance was written in 1892. 1892 was also when it was first recited by approximately 12 million school children. I grew up saying the pledge of allegiance in school every morning, complete with the line "One nation under God..."

In 1963, prayer was taken out of school. It was considered "unconstitutional". In my opinion, the First Amendment, rather than outlawing prayer, actually supports it. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." 

If prayer is forbidden in schools, isn't that a violation of my rights by prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging my freedom of speech? To allow prayer is constitutional. To mandate prayer would be illegal.

Why is it that "freedom of religion" is translated as 

"freedom from religion"?

I have seen the erosion of Christianity throughout our nation since I was a young girl. And, I have to say, I don't like the trend that I have seen. The year after prayer was taken out of schools, the pregnancy rate for girls under fifteen skyrocketed from 5,000 per year to 27,000 per year.  At the same time, SAT scores plummeted. Violence and drug use has also increased dramatically over the years. 

It would seem clear that we are not headed in the right direction.

But, the events of the past week, and the uprising against SOPA give me hope. If we could stand together against our freedom on the internet being taken away, then what is to prevent the 83% of the American public from standing together to defend our religious freedom? 

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

~ Galatians 1:3-5

Today, I'm Thankful for the Political Process. 

It may not always be perfect, but it does give us the power to change things.

Forgiveness

(Jesus Does Math by LivingOS @Flikr via Creative Commons License)

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 19: Today, I'm Thankful for Forgiveness

Have you ever had a difficult time forgiving someone for something they did? Who hasn't, right? Sometimes people can be so insensitive, and the things they do can hurt so deeply...

How many times have you thought (or even said) "I can never forgive him for what he did"?

Or how about, "I've forgiven her, but I'll never forget what she did".

Sometimes we are so deeply offended that it seems we can never truly let go of the pain. The truth is, forgiving others isn't nearly as important for the other person as it is for ourselves.

Laughter

(Laughing Baby photo by Weird Beard @ Flikr - Creative Commons License)

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 18: Today, I am Thankful for Laughter

I was thinking about laughter today. Seems it's a popular vein in my household right now. I came home, and Nick has been watching comedians all night. Laughter is a good thing.

Have you ever had one of those days (or nights) when everything just strikes you as funny? You start laughing and just can't stop.You can barely talk because you are laughing so much. Every time you think you have your laughter under control, you start up again.

It's been a long time since I've laughed like that. I think I'm overdue for a good belly laugh.

There's nothing like laughing so hard that your stomach hurts and your muscles ache -- both in your abdomen and in your face!