Discipline

A Preschool Prayer

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Psalm 100:4-5

New Living Translation

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

A few weeks ago, I started pondering a little prayer I learned to recite in pre-school. You’ve probably heard of it, or maybe even memorized it yourself as a child,

“God is good.

God is great.

Let us thank Him for our food.

By His hand, we are fed.

Give us Lord, our daily bread.

Amen.”

At the same time, I was also meditating on verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 100. Taking God quite literally at His Word, my man and I started thanking God and praising Him each morning during our daily walks.

Realizing my personality type lends itself to focusing on the negative/glass half full point of view, I wondered if this discipline might change my perspective and perhaps hinder some of my grumbling and complaining.

It didn’t.

At least, not right away.

But when my scheduled fasting day arrived this week, something shifted. I started seeing things differently. In the morning, I felt discouraged and deeply disappointed about a few things. To be honest, I just wanted to stay in bed and pout about it, or maybe even throw a preschool sized pity party. But instead of looking inward, I looked upward. I sought the Father – and His Kingdom. I entered into His gates with thanksgiving. I went into His courts with praise. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, right in the middle of the mundane of the day, revelation came.

Manna from heaven.

Daily bread.

Here’s the hard truth about fasting: it HURTS! But you know what can happen when we persevere (by His grace) through physical pain? Emotional pain has the opportunity to rise to the surface. Crucifying our flesh allows His Spirit to reveal what’s hidden and covered up in our soul. This is how He purifies our hearts! In His presence, God himself invites us to pour out our complaints and process all our feels in a healthy, productive way. Then, as we surrender our will to His, we are able to see things from HIS perspective. And that vantage point, my friend, is far above every power or principality of darkness that tries to deceive or tempt us to doubt that…

God really is good.

God really is great.

Healthy is HARD!

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Luke 14:25-30

Amplified Bible

25 Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [a]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him,30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’

On this journey down the narrow road of restoration, I’ve discovered that getting- and staying healthy is HARD. Hiring a counselor was HARD. Humbling myself to ask for help was HARD. It cost my body a lot of time and money. It cost my soul a lot of letting go to embrace God’s will and way for my life, according to His Word. Hiring a nutrition coach was HARD. Humbling myself to ask for help was HARD. It cost my body a lot of time and money. It cost my soul a lot of letting go to embrace God’s will and way for my life, according to His Word.

Staying on the path others helped prepare me for is still… HARD. I no longer have constant encouragement from my counselor and coach. Outside influences aren’t holding me accountable. I must rely fully on the One who dwells on the inside to help me persevere. I’ll admit, at times I’ve felt discouraged. I even entertained the passing thought that said it would be easier to just quit. But what a waste that would be! The foundation has already been laid. I MUST keep building. This house needs to be healthy- and holy. This house needs to be a place God’s Spirit wants to dwell. This house needs to reflects JESUS to a world living in darkness.

I see so many in this generation receiving the Lord with joy, yet refusing to build their lives on His Word. They get caught up in the trap of successful ministry, seeking the approval and applause of man as they use their gifts to build His Kingdom, yet all the while- they do not know Him. In due season, the winds and waves inevitably come crashing down over their lives. The resulting devastation often brings destruction to their family and the family of God as their unstable foundation drifts back into the sea.

Getting healthy and staying healthy in the Lord is HARD. The cross is weighty. Following Jesus is costly. But if we’ll stay on the narrow road which leads to the valley of the shadow, we will find life…after death.  This is the way, my friend. This is the truth. It’s good news! It’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Father is searching for sons and daughters who will give up everything to worship Him in Spirit and Truth. He wants us to be healthy- and holy. He wants us to be ready for His Son’s return. The day is drawing near, my friend. Will you surrender to His Spirit? Will you submit to the Lord’s training; body and soul?

Healthy is HARD.

Holy is HARD.

But, HE is WORTHY!!!

Self-Care

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Matthew 23:1-4, 25-26

Amplified Bible

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; 3 so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them.4 The scribes and Pharisees tie up [a]heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter].

25 “Woe to you, [self–righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self–indulgence (unrestrained greed).26 You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate[examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

Since the Good Shepherd told me to LAY DOWN last year, I’ve been letting go of a few old things to embrace what’s new. In the midst of this great exchange, I came to realize that His grace was no longer sustaining the weight of some of the baggage I was carrying. What I previously lifted with ease in a former season suddenly felt heavy in this one. And so, the Lord, in His loving kindness invited me further into the valley of the shadow of death to bury some dry bones. As I did what He required, His Spirit began breathing resurrection life into my body… and soul. At times, I’ll admit, the process was extremely painful. My flesh cried out on more than one occasion as my mind, will and emotions wrestled between what I wanted and what He wanted.

Before laying down, I had been stuck in the hustle and bustle of everyday life; consumed by what I was doing, while neglecting who I was being. As the Lord corrected Martha, reorienting her heart towards His, so He did with me. His Word cut between soul and spirit, reminding me that the inside of my cup was far more valuable to Him than the outside. His rebuke to the Pharisee’s was even more direct. What they were teaching people was RIGHT, but the motivation of their hearts was all WRONG.

If we aren’t careful, we too can get stuck faking the funk- working up a sweat in our scrubbing bubbles to make our cups look good on the outside, while neglecting the filth that’s piling up on the inside. Religious activity has a way of setting us up for that kind of hypocrisy. If we’re not careful, we can easily fall prey to the enemy’s trap: desiring to be praised by people. It feels really good to be accepted, affirmed and acknowledge for our giftedness, but God deserves all the praise for what we do since everything comes from Him and is for Him. Furthermore, seeking the approval of man will always leave us disappointed anyway. Instead, Jesus invites us to choose a different way. His way…which leads to eternal life: pleasing the Father.

If you, like me, struggle with people pleasing, I have good news for you! Take heart, my friend. There’s always HOPE! Seek the Lord. You will find Him. Ask Him to examine every area of your soul that is bowing to the fear of man. He will ever so gently illuminate the dark places with His marvelous light, releasing you from the enemy’s lies which hold you captive.

I’m so grateful for the freedom to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth in this season and for the saints who told me what I needed to hear. I’m even thankful for the sinners who told me what I needed to hear, because God uses all things for my good- but especially for HIS glory!

As I’ve submit to this process of cleansing, the Lord has taught me a few valuable lessons about self-care in this season:

  1. First and foremost, I must constantly care for my spirit. I literally cannot live without His bread and water sustaining me every day. The secret place is my happy place. Rising early every morning I worship Him in silence, reading/hearing scripture, praying in the spirit and being a scribe (journaling). That quiet time carries me the rest of the day as I continue meditating on His Word and praying, without ceasing.
  2. Second, my soul needs compassionate care. In His presence, as I pour out the complaints in my mind, will and emotions, He comforts, cares and corrects anything I believe which is contrary to what He says about Himself, myself and others.
  3. Third, my body needs continual care. After hiring a nutrition coach, I realized this temple needed some serious cleansing, ‘cuz what I was puttin’ in my mouth wasn’t holy! Our enemy has convinced us that fast, fake food will satisfy us. It’s a lie. God has already provided everything we need since the dawn of creation: what grows in the ground, what grazes on it, and what swims in the waters that separates the dry land. Spend the time and money required to eat healthy foods- and move your body!

Beloved, it’s time to clean the inside of our cups. Let’s not just be hearers of the Word, let’s do it! We need to practice what we preach. God is watching. And so is the world.

A Prayer (fighting the good fight)

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1 Timothy 6:11-14

11 … Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. 13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

God, YOU said that when we fight the good fight of faith, it’s not by our strength or our power, but by YOUR Spirit. That means: we have to SEEK first YOUR Kingdom. Then all the things, all the plans for how to resist the devil will be given to us. Only then will we be able to go – and possess the land YOU promised. When we humble ourselves, seek YOUR face and turn from our wicked ways, no power or principality of darkness will harm us. No weapon formed against us will prosper. When we submit to YOU, as children, in childlike faith, we prove that YOU are our Father. A chosen few are doing that. But many that are called are running around like orphans with poopy diapers, swinging swords they aren’t strong enough to handle. Oh, that we would grow up and become spiritually mature sons and daughters!

How many times have YOU forgiven us our trespasses against YOU? In our ignorance we’ve believed we’re grown- just because we’re gifted! Heaven, help us. Many of us are doing good works; using spiritual gifts with gusto as explosive diarrhea overflows our sagging diapers. Our sacrifices have been detestable to YOU. They stink like week old dirty diapers! YOU are not interested in our Simon the Sorcerer routine; performing miracles, signs and wonders for the crowd….without knowing YOU. Without loving YOU! It’s obvious: we love ourselves and others more. The proof is evidence against us: we refuse to obey YOU. We’ve been content performing for love instead of from love.

When will we STOP?

When will we BE STILL?

When will we LAY DOWN and let our parents (the spiritually mature believers YOU have placed in our lives) help change us?

When we confess that we’ve rejected YOU as Father. When we repent for resisting YOUR authority. When we realize we’ve been deceived, doubted and followed the advice of the father of lies. “Don’t tell me what to do!” is the mantra of his children. They’ve declared their declaration of independence in their hearts. They’ve chosen to remain orphans; independent, impetuous and impatient… willing to survive alone, as individuals.

Lord, forgive us. We do not know what we are doing! We need a spanking. We need a time out. We need to be grounded. We need our toy swords to be taken away for a season to rest, recover and be restored to YOU: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need to become HOLY as YOU are holy! Then we need to be reconciled to our fathers and mothers & brothers and sisters in Christ.

We confess all our crap to you, Lord! We repent for acting like orphans. We repent for being rebellious children. We declare a new declaration of DEPENDANCE on YOU, our good Father. We ask for YOUR helper- YOUR Spirit to lead us into all Truth. Change our hearts as YOU change our diapers! Train us in the way we should go. Potty train us. Teach us to grow up! We wanna become spiritually mature. We want to develop into healthy & holy kids, teenagers and adults. And when we are able, we ask that YOU show us how to parent the young ones as YOU have parented us; teaching us to obey all YOU have commanded.

Amen.

Enriched

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1 Corinthians 1:4-9

New Living Translation

4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

This morning at corporate prayer, as a young man read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, my mind fixated on the word ENRICHED. As he continued speaking & praying into the passage, I was reminded of the marketing phrase etched on most bags of flour in our grocery stores. Advertisers ensure consumers that its contents are “enriched” with vital nutrients for our good.

It’s a lie.

As a stereotypical homeschool mom, I know how to make & bake bread. In previous seasons, we were members of a local co-op that purchased hundreds of pounds of wheat each quarter. After doing a bit of research and learning from older, wiser mommas, our family eventually invested in a grain grinder and bread maker. Having previously suffered from what I thought was a gluten intolerance, I was pleasantly surprised when my home-made loaves not only tasted better, they actually improved my digestion. The bread we were consuming was full of life giving vitamins and minerals!  

Once a grain of wheat is broken, the consumer has approximately 72 hours to grind, make, bake and eat before the loaf is void of all nutritional value. Otherwise, it rots.

The same was true of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. But they only had 24 hours before maggots consumed their meal. Manna fell by God’s grace, from heaven every day and for 6 days God’s children had to go out and get it, eat it and digest it. They could only store what they gathered on the 6th day for Sabbath. Otherwise, what they tried to contain for themselves would rot. It would, in essence return to them void.

Beloved, such is the case with all of God’s children. We cannot live without our daily bread. All that’s required is to get up and get it! Consuming other people’s loaves that sit on shelves year after year won’t sustain us. Our souls were made to eat the bread of life every day. When we wake up each morning, we must go to a secret place, shut the door, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to breathe on the pages of Scripture. Only then will we receive the nutrients our hearts yearn for: wisdom & revelation of Jesus Christ. If we do, He promises: we will never be hungry again…and His Word will NOT return void!!!

John 6:35

New Living Translation

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Into the Land

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Deuteronomy 6:10-12

New Living Translation

10 “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

Matthew 1:18-25

New King James Version

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being [a]a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is [b]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name [c]Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and [d]did not know her till she had brought forth her[e] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

The Lord brought our family into the land almost 5 months ago. Possessing the promise has been an exciting, exhausting process. How best can I describe the pain of the previous season?

Pregnancy.

A reallllllly loooooooong pregnancy.

Imagine carrying such a burden- a baby, of the Spirit, for YEARS (did I mention it took YEARS? Yes, my friend: YEARS!) During pregnancy- natural or spiritual- every thought, every decision, every action is made in consideration of the one that depends on you; the carrier of life. A pregnant mother is literally subject to the demands of the seed that requires body & soul  to survive and thrive to maturity. The same is true of spiritual pregnancy. A person literally surrenders to the Spirit so that the seed can survive and thrive. Spiritual pregnancy follows the same painful process of natural pregnancy:

Conception.

Growth.

Contractions.

Labor.

Transition.

Delivery.

But, OH the joy when that precious little one is finally born! In the euphoria of the moment, a momma forgets all the pain of the previous season as she holds that newborn in her arms…all too quickly, however, the moment is over. More pain is coming:

Post-partum.  

Nursing.

Colic.

Vomiting.

Diarrhea.

Screaming.

Sleeplessness.

Welcome to motherhood! Congratulations for surviving pregnancy. Now you must persevere YEAR after YEAR in the process called maturing. Some say parenting is an 18-year commitment. I believe it’s a covenant between God and man for life.

And so, here I am. A new spiritual momma to a new spiritual baby that I love, but don’t yet know. In a new spiritual land, in a new spiritual family, in a new spiritual house. The pain of pregnancy, labor and delivery is behind me. The adventure of maturity lies ahead. But just for a moment, allow me to praise Him for all that He has done in the previous season….

Lord, thank You for,

Bringing me out Egypt, in the midst of famine.

Giving me Yourself and Your Spirit.

Baptizing me with Your fire and power.

Placing me in family, to grow and produce good fruit.

Teaching me to pray.

Rescuing me from captivity.

Helping me forgive those who’ve oppressed me.

Binding up my broken heart.

Delivering me from slavery.

Sustaining me in a dry and weary land.

Making a way through the desert.

Giving me manna from heaven, and water from a rock.

Discipling me.

Disciplining me.

Giving me Your Word, causing it to take root in my heart, and grow.

Prospering me in a city I did not build.

Stocking my house with goods I did not produce.

Supplying water from cisterns I did not dig and food from vineyards and trees I did not plant.

Help me never forget, Lord….