Pruning Shears & Living Space

Allowing God to expose and extract sin is one of the most difficult yet rewarding procedures of the Christian life. I have found that this process is especially painful when the sin is deeply rooted in selfishness, pride and entitlement. The hardest sin for God to pull from me is the sin that I wasn't even aware I had. God would take hold of the ugly weed, and I'd wallow in a mire of denial, pity and shock. A spiritual tug-of-war would commence, and I'd struggle with allowing the sharp (but quick) pruning of God's hand.

The most recent weed uprooting took place just a few weeks ago. A situation compressed with just the right elements brought to the forefront an incognito, tightly fastened and fully entitled sin of mine. This particular sin only shows up when the atmosphere is drenched with my supposed suffering and misfortune, and I find myself working in defense mode. Instead of claiming my rights and holding onto my justifications this time, God brought me to my knees with reality. No matter where the division of blame lie, I had to claim the sin that sat in my corner.

I wanted to focus on all the other ingredients of the mess, but God sifted through the bowl and handed me my portion of blame. BLAH! I yelled to God, Why must I be the only one to claim responsibility? Why must I be the only one to humble myself? Why must I be the only one committed to Your correction? (None of those statements are true, but that is exactly how I felt at the time).

Finally, I prayed for God to help me, and I took that weed out and laid it at the cross. Instantly, I was filled with the most amazing peace and satisfaction, and I felt righteous before the eyes of my Creator. God's healing and love covered me, and the presence of the Holy Spirit filled me even more. The entire process from the time I started feeling the pressure of God's hand to the actual removal of my entrenched sin only took a single evening, but it was a miserable journey that, thankfully, ended in a pool of grace.

I used to wonder what it meant to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit, but now I know. The Spirit of God dwells only in the parts of our hearts that have been surrendered to Him. The more sin that God is able to extract, the more places the Holy Spirit can fill. A person who is filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit is a person who has had a lot of sin pulled. When God exposes the dark parts of our hearts, He's trying to secure more living space for His Spirit. So now when I feel God's pruning shears coming, I can be ready with the knowledge that the painful procedure will be over soon, and the tender area will be generously soaked in God's healing peace and presence.

"Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise" (Proverbs 15.31 NIV).

FILLED

In the Bible humans are compared to vessels (Roman 9.19-24). We are each beautifully made by the potter, and we all have unique purposes based on our design. However, a vessel's main function is to be filled. God created us to be overflowing with His glory and to pour that glory onto the nations. We can not be filled with God's glory unless we have the righteousness of Jesus covering us. God is 100% perfect, and He does not commune with anything imperfect. Without Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, we stand flawed and separated from God.

Because of God's grace and our faith, we are miraculously found perfect in God's eyes when we profess our sins, ask for God's forgiveness and receive Jesus in our hearts; and the Holy Spirit can fill us. Even so, God will not force His presence into a Christian's life. We have free-will and we can deny the inpouring of the Holy Spirit and keep parts of our heart away from Him. Many Christians refuse God's leading, and they ignorantly believe that they stand alone. They think that they are neutral and that they direct themselves. What they don't realize is that this is exactly what the Enemy wants them to believe.

We never stand alone. We are vessels; and if we are not filled with the Spirit of God, we will be filled by the spirit of the Enemy. There are two spiritual waves influencing the physical world, and we will be pulled by the surge of good or evil. There is no third option. I believe Christians who are saved by grace but not led by the Holy Spirit do more damage to the Kingdom of God than people who are not redeemed. We point our fingers at non-believers and accuse them for living in darkness, yet it is the Christian who has light and chooses to walk in darkness that causes the most confusion.

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. But if we walk in light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1.5-7 NIV).

The Enemy wants to fill the righteous vessels. He plans carefully to knock our lights into sin. He wants to prove that he is strong, so he leads us to believe that our vessels can remain empty. Secretly, though, the Enemy begins to fill us with his ugliness; and before we know it, we are lost in a black hole of compromise and sin. The world watches us fall, while mocking our faith and our God.

I pray every day for God to fill me with His Spirit. I know I am a vessel, and I know the Enemy would like nothing better than to fill me. This knowledge gives me a holy fear. I am not blind to the Enemy's schemes. I know that if I'm not yoked to Jesus that I will be yoked by another who wants to deceive, hurt and destroy me. The world can offer me all its beautifully painted delicacies of sin, but I'm not falling for it. I will stand firm in the promises of God.

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!"
- Psalm 141.3-4 NIV

God is faithful. As Christians, our souls are secure in heaven because of Jesus' righteousness covering us. But, God also gives us free-will. We must choose to yoke ourselves with Jesus every day (Matthew 11.29). Only then can we be guided into God's best for our lives. Otherwise, we become puppets for the father of all lies (John 8.39-47). There is a purpose for our existence on this earth, and we need to "be wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10.16). Only then can we achieve our predetermined victories in Christ.

Bartimaeus's Gumption

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, heard that Jesus was arriving. A crowd surrounded Jesus, so Bartimaeus yelled, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many of the people Jesus healed were brought to Him by friends, but not Bartimaeus. Instead of helping him, the crowd told him to be quiet.

But Bartimaeus did not let his blindness and the lack of help stop him from calling out to Jesus. He couldn't see, but he could yell. So he yelled even louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" The title "Son of David" alludes to the Messiah: "Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root" (Isaiah 11:1 NLT). Bartimaeus knew that the Messiah was in his presence, and he was determined to reach Him.

Jesus picked Bartimaeus's voice out from the crowd and called him over. Bartimaeus threw aside his coat (probably the most expensive thing he owned), jumped up and ran to Jesus. Jesus asked him what he wanted, and Bartimaeus said, "My rabbi, I want to see!" Instantly, Bartimaeus was healed, and he followed Jesus (Mark 10.46-52).

My husband read me this story a few nights ago, and I couldn't help but feel encouraged. Bartimaeus didn't have sight, but he had a voice and he used it. When no one would see for him and lead him to Christ, he used the resources at his disposal. Bartimaeus's voice might not have sounded the best, but he used it with power and determination. He focused all His energy on Jesus and found himself at the foot of love, mercy and grace.

My weakness is my voice. I have nodules on my vocals cords, so I'm not supposed to yell, sing or talk too much. However, I have three young kids, and I find myself losing my voice a lot. I have to tell my oldest son--who happens to ask a lot of questions--that I have to take a break from talking because my throat hurts. I can't sing at church, I can't holler when I'm excited and I can't read out loud to my kids or talk on the phone very long. I have to be careful to conserve my voice because I don't have much of it to spare.

Since I can't use my physical voice to call out to Jesus, I write. My writing may not be the best, but I will use it to reach Jesus. I will not let the negative jeers of the crowd cause me to give up. Jesus tells me to come to Him, and I let go of all my desires so that I can run to the foot of His love, mercy and grace. I know He'll give me a voice to call attention to Him, and I will use it to give praise to His name and glory to God.

What giftings do you have that can call attention to Jesus? How can you use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses? How does God use your weaknesses to show His glory?

"They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination" (Nehemiah 6.9 NLT).

Take Root & Write Magazine

I'm honored to be featured on the June 2011 issue of Take Root and Write Magazine. This month's magazine is all about parenting! I hope you enjoy my article about growing in Christ and learning how to be the mother God has called me to be!

Open publication - Free publishing - More christian

A Church Divided

I'm reading Warriors Don't Cry, a beautiful memoir written by Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine black students integrated into Little Rock's Central High in 1957. As I read about her childhood, I walked through memories that were vastly different from mine. She grew up in a "sepia-toned world, a cocoon of familiar people and places." The few times she interacted with white people tended to be racially charged and negative. As a child, she felt like a second-class citizen, but she and her family firmly believed that God would bring forth His justice and liberty.

I, on the other hand, grew up on a military base in the 1980s. I was surrounded by people of all colors and blends of colors. I had best friends who were white, black, Hispanic, Chinese and Filipino. I didn't believe we were all the same. I could see the differences in each race first hand, but I enjoyed and soaked up those differences. I never had to fight for my rights against an entire nation because I enjoyed the freedoms fought by those before me. Though our nation is far from perfect, we have experienced great victories won by people faithful to God's will.

I write all this because I'm learning that each of us has a unique lens on life. We can never assume that we know what someone is thinking or feeling, especially if we have limited our focus to ourselves. Though Ms. Beals and I have unique upbringings and life-experiences, we both love and serve the same God. Our situation shapes our perspective on life, people and spirituality, yet God is able to form His love, mercy and grace to fit our personal need and understanding.

I read a lot of books written by diverse spiritual leaders. Each leader has his/her unique Holy Spirit inspired passion and perspective. After reading a handful of books, I started to become nervous and confused. Every leader was so different and had diverse takes on the world, God and spirituality. I felt like there were huge gaps between each leader's spiritual ideology, and it was difficult for me to jump from one school of thought to another. But I knew every single one of them was aligned with God's Word and His Spirit. They each deepened my relationship with and understanding of God with strict Bible teachings.

Instead of pointing my "false prophet" finger, I kept reading more books. The Holy Spirit began bringing a colorful array of spiritual mentors into my path, and I consumed their insights. As I continued reading, other spiritual ideologies arose, and those big gaps between schools of thought became smaller and smaller. Soon these amazing, God-breathed insights formed stepping stones that merged together to create a solid path to God. I discovered that these spiritual platforms tied together at the root of God made up His beloved bride: the Church! And God wants us to live in harmony so He can raise up His Bride that we may glorify Him.

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15.5-6 ESV).

Additional readings:

I write about counterfeit Christianity in my article, "Empty Spirituality."

I write about the church sanctfication in my article, "Peaceful Swords."

Receiving Mercy

I took my two sons (six and four years old) to an end of season soccer party. The kids got to play on a park, swim in a pool and jump on a trampoline. Many kids were running around having fun, but my oldest son was getting upset. One kid accidentally pushed him on the trampoline. Another kid unknowingly hit his eye with a water noodle. And a girl on a swing ran into him while he was walking through the park.

My son cried to me, “Why do kids keeping hurting me?”

“They are not doing it on purpose,” I told him in my sweetest mommy voice. “There are a lot of kids here, so they’re going to bump into each other.

“But, they are hitting me, and I don’t like it!” He screamed.

“Well, the only thing we can do is make all the kids go home, so you can play by yourself. Does that sound fun to you?” I asked him.

“No,” he answered.

“You have to understand that people accidentally hurt each other, so you have to give them mercy. No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes.”

“Okay, Mommy,” he said and went back into the pool.

Ten minutes later, I found my son standing with his head buried in a lawn chair. He looked like an ostrich hiding his face in the dirt.

“What happened,” I asked him.

He looked at me. His eyes were red and swollen, and his cheeks were wet with tears. “I accidentally pushed a girl!” he whispered.

“How?” I asked

“I was on the trampoline, and I ran into her!” he said, getting louder.

“Did you say sorry?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, “but everyone looked at me!”

“It’s okay,” I said pointing to the trampoline. “Look, they are all jumping again. They don’t even remember.”

“But, I ran into her, and they all looked at me!” he yelled.

I knew my son needed additional insight on mercy. “Guess what, Son? You are not perfect either. You also make mistakes, and you will need to receive mercy from others.”

“But I hurt her!” he screamed with fresh tears falling down his face.

I took my son into my arms and gave him a big hug. “I think you also need to give yourself a little mercy too.”

As I held my son, I realized that I also struggle with giving myself mercy. Through the years, I’ve learned to give mercy to others, but I never quite got the knack of receiving it. I’m hard on myself, and I tend to focus on my mistakes. I don’t give myself any slack, and this makes my life tense when I’m in a particularity difficult season.

I know that there is a balance between grace and diligence, and I’m determined to figure it out. I don’t want to limit God when I try to stick myself in a mold of perfection. I will never be perfect and I will hurt and offend people, but I trust that God will make my mistakes into something beautiful. I want to lean on His perfection and allow His grace to fill in the cracks of my imperfection. Hopefully, my son and I can step into the fullness of His mercy together.

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life" (1 Timothy 1.16 NIV).

The Harvest

I struggle with judging people and ministries trying to reach the world for Christ. I remembered hearing a Christian techno song once. I liked the song, but I imagined it being played at some Rave party, while the under aged kids danced with ecstasy streaming through their veins. I thought to myself, "How could this song possibly lead someone to Christ?"

I envisioned the seeds of the Gospel being scattered all over the party, sowing God's truth in fruitless efforts. "All those seeds go to waste," I told God.

"Not all of them," He replied.

Then I saw a girl in my mind's eye. She woke up depressed and hung over. She remembered dancing to a song about Jesus the night before. She thought it was weird at the time, but now she wanted to know more. She searched her mother's room for a Bible and while reading it, the Holy Spirit brought her to the cross. Saved by a techno Christian song!

Another time I judged was when I saw a man drag a cross up and down the beach. "There are so many more productive ways to reach people for Christ," I thought. "At most, He might reach a few in one day." Then I heard an amazing pastor talk at a conference. He was saved by a man who dragged a cross up and down the local street where his parents owned a beach rental store. The pastor now reaches thousands for Christ. Saved by a man dragging a cross!

I'm realizing that God reaches into the desert with His grace to touch the lives of His lost children. If every person has his or her own desert, then there are billions of deserts in this world that God wants to bring His mercy to. Each of us have deserts within walking distance of our individual lives. We can't focus with jealousy or judgement on what other people and ministries are doing. We need to look around and see who is in arm's reach of us. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few because they are all distracted by what every one else is doing!

So whether a ministry is small or large, cutting edge or traditional, local or oversees, individual or cooperate, we should pray for them but keep our eyes focused on the fields that God has planted us. We will do no good trying to analyze the steps of others and their ministries. And quite frankly it's exhausting and time consuming worrying about what everyone else is doing. We need to soberly ask God what desert He wants us to reach, and then plow that desert like we only have a vapor of time left to finish it.

"Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9.37-38 NIV).

Forsaken

For Good Friday, I'm doing a repost of last year's Easter meditation. This article means a lot to me because the Holy Spirit is teaching me how Jesus is pivitol to my life as a child of God. May we all go boldly to the throne in awareness of how much that privledge cost.

I've seen movies and heard descriptions of Jesus' crucifixion. The physical torture that Jesus experienced is explained in detail, and we see each lash ripping His flesh, the excruciating walk to Golgotha, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. Many times the pain is our sole focus, and we assume that the fear of this pain explains why Jesus petitioned God at Gethsemane to "take this cup from me." However, the physical sacrifice is only one aspect of Jesus' death on the cross. There is so much more that we many times forget to examine and meditate on.

The crucifixion is made up of three components, and physical pain is only one of them. Yes, Jesus is human, so the pain was a big part of why He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14.34 NIV). But I do not believe that it was fear of pain that made Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22.44 NIV). I know that Jesus loves me more than I can comprehend, and He would boldly confront physical persecution for my sake. I think He had a greater reason to feel anguish -- a reason that our culture has trouble even understanding.

The second aspect of the crucifixion that would cause Jesus to be overwhelmed with sorrow is that He became sin for us: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21 NIV). Please note that Jesus became sin. He was sin for us. What is sin? Sin is the absence of God. Sin is the absence of light, love, beauty, glory, etc. The best way I can illustrate this concept is to take the innocence of a newborn baby and force that innocence to experience every disgusting, revolting, hideous sin you can think of. Try to imagine the innocence of those you love (especially your own children) and your mind will shut down. Your heart can not process the anguish.

The third aspect of the crucifixion ties directly into the second. This was the "more" that I was looking for. It took a while for me to comprehend, which demonstrates just how much I do not know about love. Several months ago, I was reading through the New Testament, and I was struck by the relationship between God and Jesus. They are so deeply rooted together, and I wanted to know how it felt. I prayed and asked God, "Show me how much Jesus loves You."

After I prayed that prayer, I read about Jesus praying to God in Gethsemane. His soul was in anguish, and God sent Jesus an angel to comfort Him. As I read about Jesus just minutes before He would be betrayed, I remembered how I had always been dissatisfied with explanations of the crucifixion. Yes, the physical pain Jesus endured was incomprehensible, but I know that there was another pain that I wasn't understanding. Finally, it hit me. If Jesus became sin, and God can have no part of sin, then God would have to disconnect from Jesus for a time.

Jesus loved God so much, and His entire existence was solely dependent on God; therefore, Jesus' biggest fear was to be forsaken by God. I believe Jesus feared this more than the physical pain and more than becoming sin. When Jesus cried out on the cross with His only complaint, He did not cry out, "My God, My God, this pain hurts so bad" or "My God, My God this sin is so revolting." No, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Mark 15.34 NIV).

Nothing else mattered more to Jesus than the presence of God. That is how much Jesus loved God, and this showed me how much I do not. As I meditated on this, I became overwhelmed with anguish. God has been a side note, a ball I juggle in my busy schedule. Yes, He has also been a Father, a Friend, a Savior, a Healer, a Teacher, a Guide, an Encourager, yet He has never been my core. How do I know this? Because I constantly struggle with forsaking Him.

I forsake God for sleep, for my own desires, for my spouse, for my children, for my career, for the opinions of others, for security, for money, for prestige, for acclaim, for comfort, for pleasures, etc. I daily struggle with forsaking God, and I have no fear of it. Yes, I feel guilty and I repent when I know I've purposely walked away from His will, but do I fear? No.

I know that God loves me no matter what, and I'm happy to say that I have forgiveness of my sins through Jesus. However, I want God to be my core. I want Him to be my everything. I think that is why Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26 NIV).

Jesus does not actually want us hating people or ourselves. Research the Scriptures, and you'll see that Jesus tells us over and over again to love others. However, our love for God should be so immense and so deep that our love for anything else should be comparatively weak. Would we be willing to give up all that we have for God? Jesus did.

When Jesus asked God to "take this cup from me," I do not believe He was talking about the physical pain or even becoming sin. Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion is the only time I see that Jesus took a step of obedience that He did not willingly want to take. God asked Jesus to give up the one thing that Jesus loved the most so that humankind could have everlasting life with Him: Jesus gave up God. Jesus became sin, and God can not have any part of sin. If this weren't true, then our sins are not really forgiven. If Jesus did not take our sins upon Himself, they are still on us. If they are still on us, God can not allow us into His glory.

If I could just understand Jesus' step of obedience, His sacrifice for me, I think I could have a glimpse of how much Jesus loved God. I love Jesus so much because He took this step of faith for God, even if He didn't want to. I love God so much because He "so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3.16 NIV). That God chose to weave me into this Divine Romance between Father and Son boggles my mind. I want to love them both back with a love deserving of their love for me. I know that my love will pale in comparison, but God beautifully makes up the difference with His grace!

Jesus is my hero because of His complete obedience to God. Many times God asks me to do things that I don't want to do, but I do them out of obedience. However, I can trust that God will never ask me to do it alone -- God will never forsake me (Hebrews 13.5) and Jesus is always praying on my behalf (Romans 8.34). The words that Jesus whispered before becoming my Living Sacrifice have become my new life's prayer: "yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22.42 NIV).

"For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you" (Isaiah 54.7 NASB).

Find Your Happy Feet

My kids were at the optometrist for an eye exam, and the movie, Happy Feet, was playing in the waiting room. I was intrigued by the main character, Mumble -- a name that represents his weakness (he can't sing). He was born different. No matter what he did, he could not fit in. The other penguins couldn't understand him, so they rejected him.

He left and wandered the wilderness; finally free from the expectations of tradition, he cultivated his gifting. When he returned to his home, he no longer feared the opinions of others. He was determined to express his gift; and as the penguins embraced this change, he was given a new name, Mambo (he can dance).

Little did Mambo know that his uniqueness was given to him for a reason. The life of penguins was transitioning, and Mambo was able to prepare them for the change. The older penguins fought the change, but the process of life can't be stopped. Life will never be stagnant or frozen in time. The established customs of the past are not always applicable in the future.

As a teacher, I've felt the movement of life first hand. Though my rules, justice and love never changed, my system of doing things had to keep up with the growth of my students. I cared about my students' education more than my comfortable way of teaching. When I saw my students becoming disinterested or lost, I knew it was time for something new. I changed my style, my systems and my presentations to better serve them. This made teaching a constant source of struggle and movement, but it was worth it because I grew along with them.

What does it mean to be a Christian? Many people check off all the traditions involved with being a Christian, but the core of Christianity is to love God (Mark 12.30 NIV). We are supernaturally able to love God through the righteousness we gain from Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, through the received gift of the Holy Spirit and through the amazing force of God's Word, the Bible.

Systems are formed by the direction of God's Spirit throughout history, so that each generation can better know how to love Him; and these systems change through the years. You can study God's waves of movement in the Old and New Testaments and in church history. God loves His people so much that He presents Himself in revolutionary ways. His rules, justice and love never change; but God is so full and so mysterious that there are infinite attributes to His divine nature, and each generation is able to taste something new!

Many times God plants a seed of change -- a vision -- in His people, which will help facilitate His movement. He placed a seed in Abraham, Moses, King David, Nehemiah, John the Baptist, Paul, Constantine, Martin Luther, and so on. And God placed Jesus at the center of this movement with his left arm embracing the past and his right arm embracing the future, holding the balance of existence in His pierced hands. These people were different, and they were all shunned by their peers because they didn't fit in. But, they found their calling in the wilderness and returned to share God's grace to the desert places of the human heart.

God loves us more than traditions or customs (though there is nothing inherently wrong with them), and He wants to reach His children by the movement of His Spirit. So my question to Christians is what about you is different? What vision has God planted in your life that will reap a harvest of grace in the next generation? Allow God to take you into the wilderness, so you can find your "Happy Feet" beyond the opinions of our current culture. Then, share your vision with those around you, so that the next generation will know how to love their God.

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43.18-19 NIV).

Michael Hyatt of Thomas Nelson Publisher

My article entitled, "In Defense of Self-help Books," has been published on Michael Hyatt's blog! Mr. Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publisher, the largest Christian publishing group in the world.

I would be honored if you would read the post and make a comment. If you Twitter, Facebook or post a link to the article, I would be overjoyed! Here is the link:

http://michaelhyatt.com/2010/08/in-defense-of-self-help-books.html

Blessings to you!

Granola Bar Devotional: Rebuke Me

Here is my newest Granola Bar Devotional. Go here to check out more!

Rebuke Me!

I was talking to my twin sister about a concern I had with a particular topic. She wisely told me that my opinion might be judgmental and that I should probably keep it to myself. I was upset at first because I thought, Surely, my opinion is godly and right. However, her loving rebuke stayed in my mind; and throughout the next several days, I came into contact with three different friends on separate occasions. This particular topic that my sister advised me on came up. Though my opinion popped into my head – and I still as of yet didn’t see a problem with it – I kept it to myself. During the conversation with each friend, I had a chance to voice my “godly and right” opinion, but I respected my sister’s judgment and I trusted her counsel. In retrospect, I realized that though my opinion was “right” for me, it wasn’t necessarily right for everyone. I discovered that I was transferring the Holy Spirit’s will towards my life onto others. What was a godly yoke for me, would have been a religious burden for my friends. I am so thankful that I listened to my sister, and I am proud of myself that I didn’t allow my feelings to get in the way of God’s protection. I will never be perfect, and I will always make mistakes. But I will continually be on the lookout for God’s reprimand because I know that He is trying to prepare me for victory ahead.

Memory Verse:
“The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, and a wise friend's timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.”
- Proverbs 25.11 (The Message)

Prayer Prompt:
“Lord, I value Your rebuke, and I am honored that You would take time to teach me. Thank You for surrounding me with wise family and friends who are willing to speak Your truth into my life. Please help me to joyfully take reprimands because I know that they will make me wiser….”

Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner

Imperfect Vessel

I struggle with a feeling of unworthiness. This feeling is especially crippling when I'm doing things for the Lord. I want to cover up my imperfections, but God won't let me. I wish I could pretend that I were strong, but I can't. How can I -- flawed as I am -- do anything right for the kingdom of God? My mistakes are guaranteed. My stumbling is certain. How can I move forward knowing I am not good enough?

I called my spiritual mentor and asked her if I could come by for a visit. We are both busy, but, somehow, God arranged two precious hours for us to sit together at the foot of Jesus' throne. No time existed during those two hours. We were just two souls in the presence of the Spirit of the Holy One. We drew our open hands up to God, grasped pieces of His goodness and exchanged them with each other.

My friend handed me a mug of coffee, and I didn't notice the mug's appearance. I only noticed its feel, and it felt comfortable and perfect. As we chatted, I sipped from the mug, never once looking down at it. She began telling me where she found the mug. She was at a store looking at all the beautiful handmade mugs. While she looked at the perfectly shaped vessels, she saw one that should have been thrown away.

This mug was made too thin and the body of it had collapsed. The maker stretched the body back up, but the damage was already done. The mug was warped with wrinkles and folds, yet the maker still put the mug into the kiln. He added a handle and glazed it and presented it in his store. How could the maker offer an imperfect mug in his store? Why did he place value on something so flawed?

My friend looked at the mug then looked and me and said, "It's an imperfect vessel and it's beautiful."

I held the mug protectively in my hands. It might be flawed, but it could still be used. For the first time, I looked at the mug, and I could honestly say that I've never seen a more beautiful vessel in my life. In that moment, I placed a great amount value on the mug. That imperfect vessel reminded me of myself.

God holds me tightly in His hands, and He places an expensive price tag on my life. I've been weak and I've crumbled, but He stretched me back up, glazed me with His spirit and put me through the fires. Yes, I am flawed . . . but I am no longer frail. I may have wrinkles and folds, but God thinks I am beautiful. He has fastened me with His handle, and He is ready to use me.

God show me how to be confident in my imperfections!

"Do you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob? Don't be afraid. Feel like a fragile insect, Israel? I'll help you. I, God, want to reassure you. The God who buys you back, The Holy of Israel. I'm transforming you from worm to harrow [a tool used for soil], from insect to iron. As a sharp-toothed harrow you'll smooth out the mountains, turn those tough old hills into loamy soil. You'll open the rough ground to the weather, to the blasts of sun and wind and rain. But you'll be confident and exuberant, expansive in The Holy of Israel!"

- (Isaiah 41:14 MSG)

Every fiber in my soul knows that I am nothing in the light of God. If you were to place my soul next to the Spirit of the Lord, I would completely disappear. It would be like placing a tea candle next to the sun. The more I grow in Christ, the more I comprehend my inconsequentialness without Him.

The story of the immoral woman washing Jesus' feet always bothered me. Jesus forgave the woman of her many sins and He said,

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love" (Luke 7: 47 NLT).

What I don't think people realize is that we are all immoral. I don't care how the world categorizes and ranks our sins, but compared to the perfection of the Holy God, we are all liars, prostitues, thieves and murderes. We all have need for great amounts of forgiveness. The only difference between the immoral woman and us is that she comprehended the truth -- she is nothing without Him.

The world might label us as a sinner or a saint, but it doesn't matter. We are all sinful without the redemption of the cross. We are all that immoral woman at Jesus' feet. The distinction between people who are forgiven much is not their appearance of "many sins"; it is their full understanding and awareness of their "many sins." We all have an outstanding dept of sin that we cannot pay.

All my value and all my self-worth can only come from God. I might be a tea light, but I got the power of the sun around me. I have no significance without my Creator. It's time I let go of finding my own value and start allowing God to place His value on me. I am an imperfect vessel, and God thinks I'm worthy to be used.

God, please help us to shed ourselves of self-confidence, self-worth & self-control and to clothe ourselves with God-confidence, God-worth & God-control. Only then will we truly be beautiful vessles!


Dedicated to my spiritual mentor and special friend, Cheryl Grundy.

The Wii Circle

I make compilation Christian CDs and play them while I drive. I love all Christian music, and I like to expose my kids to the wide selection we are blessed with today. My oldest son reads the track number of each song and memorizes what song goes with what number.

While I was driving yesterday, I really wanted to listen to track 2 ("Awakening" by Switchfoot), but my son kept insisting that we listen to his favorite. I asked him what his favorite was. He thought for a moment and said, "Number 12." I didn't believe him. I told him that he was making up a number just because he didn't want to listen to what I wanted to listen to.

He kept yelling from the backseat to play track 12. I asked him to tell me what the song was about. He couldn't explain it, and again I thought he was just making it up. (Sometimes I forget that my son is only five).

Once we got home, I skipped the CD to track 12 because I wanted to make a point to my son. I just knew it was one of the songs he didn't prefer. When the song came on, I realized that he had picked my current favorite song, "One Trick Pony" by Mercy Me.

"You see, Mom! I wanted you to play your favorite song!" he said from the backseat.

I felt horrible. All along my son wanted me to play my favorite song. He knew that this song always cheered me up. I was totally missing the point. I was so consumed with what I wanted that I couldn't see my own son trying to bless me.

I gave him a big hug and apologized, and I thanked him for being so sweet to me.

As I walked into the house, I asked God, "Why can't I get it right?"

God has been teaching me a lot lately about His children. What I've realized is that my kids are not mine at all. I know people say it all the time, "They're not really my kids. God just loaned them to me." However, I never really understood the depth of that statement until recently.

God gave me an image of my son's soul next to mine in Heaven. I was no longer his mother. We were both simply souls in a vast horizon made up of God's children. The important thing is not that I'm his earthly mother. The important thing is that God chose my son's soul to be under my care for a season. God has allowed me to have a huge influence on another soul of His creation.

God has made it abundantly clear that I will raise His child precisely as He says. I will be held accountable, and this is a job I do not take lightly. But with this realization came an intense weight of responsibility. I do not want to mess up.

But, as in the track 12 example, I do mess up. I started to feel anxious. How could I possibly raise God's children perfectly? I'm an imperfect human. There is no way I'll raise my kids according to God's plan exactly. I daily make mistakes.

As I fretted over this, God gave me an image of the "Wii Circle." If you don't know what the Wii is, it's a video game system. Along with this system, you can purchase a fitness program called Wii Fit.

I don't own a Wii; but I went to a friend's house for a game night, and she had one. I played one session of the Wii Fit. I had to stand on a platform that weighed me - in front of everyone! - and I began doing different strength training moves. On the TV screen was a dot that represented my performance. There was a circle around the dot. If I could keep my dot within the circle's limits, I would have a near perfect score.

My dot wasn't streamlined; in fact, it moved and wiggled a lot. Nevertheless, my dot stayed within the circle. As long as it stayed within the circle, my score was great!

When God showed me the image of the Wii Circle, I instantly felt relieved. Of course I would never be perfect. God knows that! He puts a circle of grace around me. Even though I mess up, I can still do an awesome job at raising my kids, at being a wife, a friend, a leader, etc. As long as I stay within the confines of His grace, I can still make a near perfect score at this life.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4.16(NIV)

That Stinking "I" in Pride.

A while back I was reading a book about God's grace, and I had to be honest with God. I didn't quite understand the whole concept of grace. I knew it was important because I've read so much about it, but it was obvious I was missing something. I prayed and asked God to help me gain a better understanding, and I had faith that He would.

God kicked-off my lesson in grace a few days later while I was in the shower. (It seems like God always talks to me in the shower). I was complaining to God about how I always make mistakes and that it feels like no matter what I do, what I read, what I learn; I always say, do or think something wrong. I always fail. I always fall. I always sin.

I was acting like the victim in this thing called life, and I pointed my finger at God and demanded, "Why is life so difficult"? "Why do I always stumble?" "Why do I always do something stupid?"

On my spiritual journey, I have an idea of where I want to be, and no matter how I grow, it feels like I always fall short. The person I want to be doesn't put her foot in her mouth. The person I want to be doesn't have insecurities. The person I want to be doesn't have problems with eating, lusting, lying, gossiping, pride, laziness, blah, blah, blah. The person I want to be is PERFECT!!!

Oh! And that's when God pulled a fast one on me. He uncovered my "I'm-the-victim-attitude" and exposed it for what it really was: pride. I wasn't where I thought I should be and I was upset: pride. I couldn't accept the fact that I was flawed and I made mistakes: pride. I didn't want others know my struggles and watch me stumble: pride. My little pity-party was boiling over the flame called pride.

And after God nicely humbled me there in the shower, He gave me a smile (in my mind's eye) and said gently, "That's why you need my grace."

What I realized is that I didn't want to accept God's grace because my pride was telling me that I should be something that I was not. But I am a woman that says things to friends that I later regret. I am a woman who just ate about 15 Peppermint York Patties without stopping to exert some semblance of self-control. I am a woman who has to fight with feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I am a woman who has to stop herself from judging the actions and decisions of others. I am a woman who's stuck in the middle of a battle between her own will and the will of the Holy Spirit.

I am not perfect, and I will never be. I will fall on a daily basis and those around me will see it. I can't put on a show for others or for me. Accepting God's grace frees me from being hard on myself. I am not loved because I try to be the best Christian girl possible. I am loved because God created me and He chooses to love me. There is nothing that I can do to make Him love me more or less. I will make mistakes, and I should not care who sees them because I have grace. And I won't use those mistakes to justify playing the victim role again.


Just today I read some of Jeanne Guyon's writings that spoke on this topic. She lived in the 1600s, which comforted me because I realized that even women in the 1600s dealt with this problem and overcame it. She wrote:


"Always guard yourself from being anxious because of your faults. First of all, such distress only stirs up the soul and distracts you to outward things. Secondly, your distress really springs from a secret root of pride. What you are experiencing is, in fact, a love of your own worth. To put it in other words, you are simply hurt and upset at seeing what you really are. If the Lord should be so merciful as to give you a true spirit of His humility, you will not be surprised at your faults, your failures, or even your own basic nature."


Thank You, God, for Your grace. Help me to see the beauty in holes of my weakness, for that is where Your glory shines through.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Got Make-believe friends?

I think about my friends a lot. I think about their lives and families. I think about any struggles they're going through or about any wonderful blessings they've been given. I pray for them through out the day whenever they come to my mind.

When my friends are on vacation, I pray that they are enjoying themselves and that God is refreshing their souls. When they come back home, I'm so anxious to hear about what they did and how they relaxed.

When a friend is experiencing a cloudy season, I want to hear about how they are feeling and what God is showing them. I want to see them build strength under the weight of their struggle and grasp onto an outpour of provision that only comes from God.

My friends (and family!) occupy my mind while I work-out, wash the dishes, drive my car and do anything else that allows my mind to wander. The interesting thing is, though, I don't remember being like this. Thinking and praying for my friends continuously each day is a new habit I have formed.

As I was walking at the gym, I wondered what had changed in my life. Why did my mind and heart seem to have more compassion for those friends that God has placed in my life? I know for sure that God is constantly changing my heart to be more compassionate. But, why does my mind seem to always go to them? I'm just a normal friend like anyone else. Compassion and mercy are actually very low on my spiritual gift list.

Then I remembered a few months ago when my daughter was born. I started watching a little TV whenever I had to pump milk or breast feed. There was one particular show that I would watch, and I noticed that my mind was occupied with it. Even when I wasn't watching it, I was thinking about the show and characters and what was happening. I stopped watching the show because I noticed that I was getting too wrapped up into the storyline.

It took a few weeks, but my mind stop thinking about the show so much. Then I found myself once again thinking and praying for my friends.

It is well known that our minds dwell on those things we pour into it, but I don't know if we fully understand the implications. Now I'm not one to bash TV or music, I just think we need to be cognizant about how much we pour into our minds. Is there room left for our friends, our family our God? Are we watching so much TV that we don't even think about our friends or pray for them? Do some of us not even bother with having friends?

TV friends are easier, I must admit. They do their thing, making you laugh, cry or feel a dozen other emotions. Then, after thirty minutes, they go away. No mess. No hassle. No hurt feelings. No compromise. No insecurity. No arguments. Easy as pie.

But we are forgetting something. Jesus made loving others just as important as loving God Himself. Now that is pretty amazing. Sometimes Christians are so concerned with squeezing in their daily quiet time with God, but we forget to have our daily time with our friends.

How can we possibly make time for friends? We are busy. We have kids, jobs, spouses, ministries, churches, groceries, dishes, school, and a thousand of other things to keep us busy. But none of that matters if we don't have love. What is this life for if we don't have love? What are we doing here running in our own hamster wheels if we are not concerned about love?

I know that I'm not one to talk. Loving is just as hard for me as it is for anyone. I am naturally extremely introverted. It wasn't until I started being obedient to the Holy Spirit that I've been able to focus on others and not on my own insecurities. However, I find that not watching TV forces me to be more extroverted. I'm a lover of stories, especially the ones that God weaves together, and my mind craves the beauty of friendship. So instead of imaginary TV friends, I surround myself with flesh-and-blood friends who are just as lovely and messy as I am!

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for
everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NIV)

Imagination Quotes

For more information regarding this collection or to submit a quote click here.


"This is something people have struggled with since the beginning: how to talk about God when God is bigger than our words, our brains, our worldviews, and our imaginations." - Rob Bell: Velvet Elvis

"My imagination flows through God's eyes." - Nick Vujicic: Life Without Limits.

"Dare to give it a go and to soar as high as your imagination will take you." - Nick Vujicic: Life Without Limits

"We need to quit praying out of memory and start praying out of imagination." - Mark Batterson: Wild Goose Chase

"Rather than ignore our imagination, I believe we should fuel it with Scripture, allowing it to step through the doors that Scripture opens." - Randy Alcorn: Heaven

"One of the great duties of the Christian mind is imagination." - John Piper: Life as a Vapor

"Imagination may be the hardest work of the human mind. And perhaps the most God-like." - John Piper: Life as a Vapor

"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning." - C.S. Lewis

"In accord with his original intent, the heavenly Father has in fact prepared an individualized kingdom for every person, from the outset of creation. That may seem impossible for us. But we do have a very weak imagination toward God, and we are confused by our own desires and fears, as well as by gross misinformation. It is a small thing for him." - Dallas Willard: The Divine Conspiracy

"Animals can never have an imagination in the way we do, because imagination is the work of the spirit." - Dr. David Yonggi Cho: The Fourth Dimension

"Above all he wants to keep us out of that Promised Land of blessing beyond imagination that is the province of the spiritually mature believer." - Karen Hancock: The Angelic Conflict

"I'm out to activate your faith and inspire your imagination." - Steven Furtick: Sun Stand Still

"I confess that the devil doesn't have the right to work in my mind and imagination." -Rick Renner: Sparkling Gems from the Greek