Insecurity

Insecurity Keeps us in a prison of our own making.

  An insecure person is one of the most dangerous people on the planet...to themselves and to anyone around them. That is a bold statement to begin a brief note about the topic of insecurity. What does it mean to be insecure?  An insecure person is someone who is not confident or sure....uncertain....not firmly rooted, fastened or fixed. Insecurity flows out of identity confusion. When you don't know who you really are as a person, it's impossible to feel secure in oneself. Symptoms of insecurity include fear, anxiety, jealousy and envy.

  An insecure person is someone who spends tremendous effort in hiding who they really are. They tend to spend money and time looking and acting like others in their peer group. There is a a tendency to focus on appearances and not on deeper issues of character and commitment. Emotionally and relationally, insecurity breeds a tendency toward holding on to what should be released or rejected. An insecure person ironically has great difficulty in receiving affirmation, forgiveness and acceptance.

  When insecurity steers your soul, collisions and conflict are inevitable. Insecure people tend to have revolving door relationships and friendships. When you don't like who you are, you inevitably don't believe that others are capable of liking you either. This leads to the development of relational schizophrenia. You become adept at developing multiple personalities that you 'wear' depending upon who you are with at the moment. Conflict in relationships for the insecure is inevitable because all relationships demand some level of honesty and transparency. When people begin to unravel your masks, you react and strike back out of your your own inherent anxiety and fears. The result is the tendency to withdrawl and abandon... and start the same unhealthy cycle all over again. A lot of people know your name... but no one really knows you. Insecure people are deeply lonely and isolated no matter how busy their social calendar. Since insecure people are seeking for acceptance and love using artificial and ineffective methods, they frequently act out to reduce their inner pain. The acting out can involve sexual promiscuity, abuse of drugs or alcohol or physical and emotional abuse. An insecure person feels a lack of control over their lives. They can't stand being alone, but because of self deception and the wearing of masks they always feel alone. No one really know a truly insecure person.

  What is the way out of relational prison for an insecure person? The foundational principle in all of life's inner healing is this: God cannot fix something that we deny is broken. The first step to healing is always to admit and reveal our broken places. Jesus profoundly tells us of a progressive healing of the soul that comes when we apply truth to our lives, "You shall know the truth... and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) God wants to transform us into who we really were born to be. He does this by changing the way we think about ourselves. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. (Romans 12:2)

  People get lost physically because they don't know where they are. People get lost spiritually because they don't know who they are. God's word provides the answer regarding our identity issues to all who will be humble enough to ask, seek and knock.

  You were born to be loved.You have to know who you are before you know what to do. In an atmosphere of of love, acceptance and forgiveness we become who God created us to be. Insecurity dissipates over time when we know we're loved for who we really are. We can lay aside the masks and self deception and for the first time experience the power and pure joy of relational intimacy. You can be healed of insecurity..... you must be healed. Let's walk into the light of God's love, acceptance and forgiveness together....welcome home...welcome to love.

Jim

Resolving to Change

  Watching and waiting
   I whisper your name
  Striving and straining to somehow bring change


  The changes I'm needing, won't come from within
   I'm needing your Spirit to rattle my cage
   Shaken and broken, I'm ready to yield
   My first and my last prayer is simple and plain


   I need transformation, I need a new life
   Please come Lord inside me and bring heaven's rain.
   I'm breathing you in now, I'm feeling the burn
   The old and the broken, are leaving the room


  Resolving to change hasn't helped me at all
  The new things I'm needing aren't made on this earth
  But your life has come and made everything new
  Jesus your power has created the hope


  Breathing you in Lord, I'm alive deep inside
  I'm ceasing to strive and beginning to live
  Worship is real now, I see you who you are
  You're my  everlasting, My Father, My Lord


Jim

The Grace of Forgetting

The Grace of Forgetting

  As we prepare to begin a new year one of the possible obstacles in receiving the new things God has prepared for our lives are our own unhealed memories. For most aspects of our lives, our ability to remember is a vital skill so necessary for success. But there are times when the things we remember and how we interpret them can paralyze us and hinder our growth and progress. Today I would like to look at the scriptures and how they instruct us about what I would like to call the 'grace of forgetting'.

  It doesn't take long for us to accumulate experiences, relationships and failures that we would like to forget. But often those mental images we would like to erase stick to our souls and cause us to despair and lose hope for our lives. We need something beyond ourselves to move forward from our places of hurt and disappointment. We need the grace of forgetting.

                                                        A Transformed Mind

  I am not saying we need a spiritual 'lobotomy' or the complete removal of our memories. What I am talking about involves something deeper and more profound than a physical reality. When grace is at work in our minds it involves both transformation and translation of our memories into a kingdom perspective where God can rule over our pain and brokenness. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." (Romans 12:2)

  The Old Testament prophet Isaiah spoke to the nation of Israel about not losing hope for the future. They were living in a foreign land and had lost the ability to hope for the promises God had given them. God had to lay out the hope of the future for them again and it began with a command to forget! In Isaiah 43:18, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."

                                                    Letting go of Painful memories

  We often don't want to yield and surrender our painful memories to God. Soul pain is rooted deep and nourished by our repetitive remembering of what others have done to us.... what we have done to ourselves. We build altars over our injuries and participate in the false worship of our pain. God through the prophet Isaiah clearly calls us to forget the former things.... the old things of our past. We are being called to welcome and discern the new thing  that God is actively wanting to bring into our lives. The question needs to be asked, 'do we perceive it'? The ability to discern what God might want to do in our lives is hindered by the inability to open our minds beyond what 'has been' to 'what will be'.  There is a difference between tolerating evil and harm to ourselves and wallowing in the memory of what has been done to us. The grace of forgetting does not enable or discount the evil that has been done to you or through you. When we receive the grace of forgetting we are looking beyond ourselves into the throne room of heaven and saying to God, "I need your grace to go on!" I need you to breathe into me the hope and truth of your promises for my future life. I can't go on without hope! Soul pain runs very deep into our minds and emotions. Only God can make a way in the 'wilderness' and 'desert' of our souls. When he pours out a 'fresh word' of hope into our minds and hearts it's like a river bursting forth in the driest desert. My prayer for all of us as we enter 2012 is that we will enter the new year with an openness to the new thing God wants to do in all our lives. I want all of us to be empowered with the supernatural grace of forgetting.

                                                Leaning into the Future with Grace

  In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul who had once been a religious terrorist and prideful bigot knew the grace of forgetting. While in the natural he had so much to 'brag about' in his own religious and cultural heritage and past he made a willful and wise decision to firmly leave his past behind. In Philippians chapter 3: 13 we read, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  The grace of forgetting is meant to take us deeper than we have ever gone in a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is so much 'impossibility' wrapped around the unforgiveness deeply embedded in our souls. Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves.... and those closest to us... who have the ability to get close enough to hurt us so deeply.

                                              A New Year and a New Opportunity

  Every new year, opportunity, relationship and life direction demands both a 'letting go' of the past and an openness to the new. God wants to soften you on the inside. He wants your soul to be tender enough that he can take his finger and write upon your heart a new chapter... a chapter of hope, restoration and healing. The things that have been stolen need to be replaced.... the things that have been lost need to be found. Are you willing to receive the grace of forgetting? There is a very real and costly choice involved. You will have to be open and trusting to an unknown future. You will have to believe again. You will have to nurture and develop your relationship with the God of grace and love. You will have to let go of cynicism and a critical spirit. But it's worth it to have that fresh water of life flowing over your soul. As the new year dawns, its time to open your life to that cleansing stream of  life that flows from the river of God's love. Welcome 2012 with hope and expectancy! God has good things in store for us all. Let the dreams inside of you out into the open. Dreamers believe and believers dream!

Jim

Soul Satisfaction: Intimacy with God

What we seek for in a relationship can determine it's depth and intimacy. There is real danger in our seeking to know God that our search for more facts and information leads to a false sense of 'knowing' God. We can know many facts about someone without really knowing them. Some aspects of knowledge are limited to the 'public domain' but intimacy implies that the real essence of a person is shared in the context of commitment and trust.
You can know facts about God but not be on 'speaking terms'. Many attend religious ceremonies, say prayers and do various religious acts without ever hearing God speak to them in a personal way. Intimacy at its root is an inner knowing of one another to the point of total satisfaction. When you really know God in the place of intimate friendship, there is an inner satisfaction and fullness that keeps one safe from other false lovers. You aren't tempted toward spiritual adultery once you have tasted the all sufficiency of the perfect Lover, Savior, Friend and Lord.
Are you satisfied in your soul? Do you find yourself falling prey to sensual temptations? Perhaps its because your soul has not fed sufficiently on the greatest lover of every soul, Jesus Christ.
Our prayers, our reading of scripture, our service on behalf of God when separated from the gracious call to sit at the feet of the loving Savior lead to dissatisfaction, frustration and confusion. We must first rest in his presence before we can act on his behalf. There is a progression in our relationship with God that can never be violated. First, we sit in his presence and marvel at his finished work of salvation. Then in the light of his risen SON we walk hand in hand with him and live the life he has given. Finally, in the shadow of his presence we stand and do battle against evil in our world.
The minute I stop embracing God is the minute I begin to lose the essence of life itself. Apart from him... his love, his word, his ongoing grace and care... I die.... slowly, inexorably, my life is totally dependent on Jesus Christ... the way, the truth, the life.... and the love of my life.

Jim

Belonging and Believing

  The first call from God is not to a system of belief or to a religious organization. The first call from God is always to himself. Belief is meant to flow out of divine love and relationship and not the logic or systematic flow of depersonalized truth. Truth in its purest form is always personal and deeply embedded in the personhood of God himself. Jesus said it this way, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6)

  Allow me to share some scripture to help you understand my thinking on this subject. From Mark's gospel chapter 1 and verses 14-17, "After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near, Repent and believe in the good news!  As he was passing along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother.  They were casting a net into the sea, since  they were fishermen.

  'Follow ME," Jesus told them, 'and I will make you fish for people!" Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little farther, He saw James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in their boat mending their nets.  Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."

  The kingdom of God's primary work is the calling of men and women to the King's service. A life of intimacy, satisfaction and deep meaning... and challenge.  Following the King's call to establish something that will last forever!  Nothing else will ever totally satisfy the man or woman who has by the Spirit heard the voice of Jesus calling him or her to "Come and follow me.!"

God's call to himself is a call to relationship.
God's call to himself is to a life of service and worship.
God's call to himself involves a transformation of relationships and priorities.
In the security of intimacy and belonging to God all other relationships and commitments find their proper place and order.

  Another place of belonging: The call to covenant relationship with other Christ followers.
  1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 1, "Follow me as I follow Christ." Other translations render this verse as "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" and "Pattern yourself after me, as I imitate and follow Christ."

  Because of our own insecurities we often don't call people to follow Christ in us as Paul did...but there is no 'Plan B' to Christian disciple making. When you substitute anything in place of the biblical pattern  you're no longer building the kingdom of God.  Many more people are being called to 'church' or a religious experience or institution than they are to a life changing encounter with the living Christ.

  Jesus Christ cannot be reduced to a program or a sermon outline. His life must be demonstrated  in real relationships and life experiences and not held hostage to the 'safe' confines of church auditoriums or Sunday school classrooms.  It's time we let God out of the 'boxes' made by human hands.
  Jesus command to "Come follow me" is still echoing outward into our present day world.  Even as you read this blog if you listen for the voice of God's Spirit you can hear him calling you to himself in relationship!  What will be your answer to the Lord? Are you willing to leave the security of your own 'nets' and 'families' to simply follow him wherever he may lead?

  The massive changes which are coming into our world in the coming years will either destroy us or drive us deeper into the realities of a Kingdom which cannot be shaken or destroyed.  The voice of our loving, holy and sovereign King is calling us to himself. Jesus knows exactly who we are and still he welcomes us to belong to him and to use us in his grand plans of calling others to believe and belong.

  Today, even as you read this, the Lord 'sees you' in a deep and intimate way. He knows exactly where you are in every sense of your being: body, soul and spirit. His word to you today is a radical and liberating call to himself...not to resolve to be a 'better person' in your own power and strength....but to surrender to the love that will change you from the inside out.

  It's love that liberates, changes and transforms. Jesus first and last call is always to himself.  Come and follow Jesus as I follow him. Together in a community of belonging and believing, real life truly begins!
Jim

Preparing for 2012

 

    One of the constants in modern life is change. The rapid pace of change in every dimension of life causes stress and anxiety for many people. Change is often viewed as an enemy in life. When we resist change and avoid it, we only postpone the inevitable. Change waits for no one because it is a harbinger and guide into the future. Change is not an enemy, its a friend, calling you into the future.

    When we resist change we ignore the spiritual realities of life. At the center of the universe is a spiritual being.... God. God has created not a static universe but an ever expanding reality. You can't bottle up time...it marches on and only those who embrace change are in step with where history is taking us. When we ignore spiritual reality and don't relate to our creator in relationship, we get disconnected from both who he is and where he is taking us.

  People with a real and dynamic faith should  not only embrace change.... we need to anticipate it and plan for it. Learning to adapt and embrace change becomes easier when we know both the plan and person of God. Yes, God has a plan and history is not meant to be a random series of events. God tells us plainly in Romans 8: 28, 29, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

  There is a purpose and more importantly a divine person behind the events of history and in our present day reality. When you are in relationship with God by the Holy Spirit you can hear a voice and discern a presence to the change that comes into your world daily. You are not meant to have a sacred/secular division in your life. Everything and everyone that comes into a believers life has significance from God's point of view. The last thing we need to be doing as people of faith is hiding in Bible studies or church ghettoes from the realities of every day life. Truth not juxtaposed into the middle of everyday challenges quickly devolves into fantasy and myth. The world is waiting for men and women of real faith who walk with God in the midst of rapid and seemingly unpredictable change.

  God wants to breathe into you and me an expectation and an excitement about the change that is upon us. When your faith is a real and vibrant trust in a living God, you are not a victim of circumstance or change. You are an active participant in God's plan for your life. When you get your direction and guidance from the author and finisher of life's great reality, you can have confidence and faith in the future instead of fear and hopelessness.

  Remember, change is not your enemy, it's the voice of a friend.... your God and creator, calling you into a future prepared for you before the foundation of the world!

Jim

Searching for Inspiration in 2012

Inspiration is a word whose root meaning flows out of the physiology of the body. Inspiration at its root means to "breathe". To take in oxygen by inspiration and to remove carbon dioxide (the waste products) by expiration enables physical life to go on. Without a fresh supply of oxygen you will die within minutes.
Life is dependent on an ongoing intake of "new" air both to energize and supply the body but also to remove that which is no longer alive.... The new thing DEMANDS the removal of the old. If we hold onto Carbon Dioxide too long we will also die.
As it is in the physical realm so it is in the spiritual realm. Our financial provision flows out of an exchange in time and energy... When what we do brings added value to the world in which we live we are compensated/rewarded for that exchange. When the world changes suddenly and what we do no longer adds value, the compensation either diminishes or is eliminated. This is how the world works. When we fight against this we are wasting time. The world rewards a fresh supply of life and responds accordingly. When we live in the past we can count on diminished returns and lack. God allows us to hunger and thirst and even suffer to some extent so that we will embrace the new things he is trying to do in the earth. Let's reflect on the powerful word from the prophet Isaiah 43:18 and beyond, "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 desert and streams in the wasteland. ....".
When we hold onto last year's provision, profession, idea or memory we deny God the opportunity to provide for us with fresh creativity and inspiration and we ensure our personal lives, families and communities will become a wasteland. God wants to restore, refresh and bring life to barren souls and communities but first we have to take a risk... open our hands and grasp the new things from God. Turmoil breeds distrust and paralysis. Risk apart from knowledge of God's will is futile and foolish. But when we cry out to God and he "impresses" our hearts and minds with a vision and plan we MUST MOVE with him into his future... the only secure place on the planet. Are you willing to move with me as I follow God? God wants to inspire your heart and mind in the coming new year of 2012. Open your heart and let him breathe fresh air into your soul!
Jim