Pay Full Price

I Chronicles 21:23-24 “Ornan said to David, take it; and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. I give you the oxen also for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the meal offering. I give it all. And King David said to Ornan, NO, but I will pay the full price. I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings which cost me nothing.”

We are about to enter the season of sales, shopping and savings that will abound. Everyone loves to get a deal when they go shopping and I believe that it is the favor of God when we save money on that which we are buying. Being an avid thrift store shopper, getting a deal is what I love to do. When certain stores offer discounts on top of clearance items, we are elated; when our favorite shoes are marked down we rejoice and I believe the Lord sets up these savings for us, so we smile, but also so we save money. However, I think when we bring this discount, thrift store, Craigslist shopping attitude into church, we run into a problem.

Christians are notorious for not wanting to pay full price for anything, but yet wanting to get the best quality of whatever it is they are buying. More than one person, on more than one occasion has told me that they will never do business with a Christian, because they are always looking to get something for nothing. This is very unfortunate, because it is fellow Christians who are saying this. But as sad as that is, I think the real challenge we face as Christians is realizing that savings at the store is favor from God, but trying to give a discounted tithe, 1/2 price worship, or thrift store sacrifices is foolishness to God.

When shopping it is okay to save money, but when we are in the house of God we have to be willing to pay full price or we will not get what we say we want in prayer. We have said all the right words, God is my provider, God is good all the time, He will never leave me or forsake me, and all these things are right and true, but what about you? God has never broken a promise, He has never sought to give as little as possible, He has always done more, given more, sacrificed more, than is required. Yet, so many Christians come into church and want worship to only be 20 minutes because they don’t like the style, the drums, the guitar, the whatever. We expect the Pastor to be funny, quick and relevant or we lose interest in what they have to say. Discounts, savings, thrift store church is what we want. Many Christians around the world are looking for a savings in church, but they want all the promises of God. This is an injustice, that will not be tolerated by God.

It is high time that we, who call ourselves believers, stop expecting service to be an hour or less, because we need to get home and watch the game, go out to lunch with, whomever, or go take a nap because it is Sunday afternoon. We need to start asking how much more can I give, how much more can I serve, how much more can I do. Jesus paid the highest price possible for our lives, by dying on a cross to save us from the cost of sin, and we are asking for a discounted tithe? This is baffling to God. He withholds nothing from us, but we are always looking for ways to cut corners, save time, money, and energy when in the house of God. Church, it is time we start paying full price.

God will answer all our prayers, give us the desires of our hearts, pour out His spirit in power, release us into the ministry we want, the job we desire, the relationship we long for, but it starts with paying full price in worship, paying full price in sacrifice, paying full price in our tithes and offerings, paying full price in listening, learning and loving God and others. Until we pay full price, it is foolish to ask God to give us anymore than we have already been given. I don’t know about you, but I love the savings God gives me when I am shopping, and I know He loves it when we pay full price to advance His kingdom on the earth.

It is time to pay full price.

 

Who Do People Say You Are?

Matthew 16:13 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?””

Personality tests say there are an innumerable different types of people in the world. We have been taught we are so unique there is no one else in the world like us. Which I believe is true, for our God is creative in nature, however, I also believe there are two main categories that people can be put into. Now I know, some are shutting down right now, for they think I am about to box people in, or stereotype them. I am asking that you give me the chance to unfold this thought to you, for in the end, my desire is that you see where I am coming from, not that you agree with me. So, often we think every thing is either right or wrong, when in essence, you can disagree, but still seek to understand. All I am asking for is for you to seek to understand what I am presenting, you do not have to agree.

I believe there are two types of people in the world. People who give and people who take. Now these are elementary, overused terms, but they get my point across, and create a premise for this dialogue. If you ask any Pastor, they will tell you there are people that come to the church for what they can get and there are people who come to church for what they can give. Now, to be honest with you, most Pastors have very few, if any people, who come to give something to the ministry, most are coming because of what they can get from the ministry. After being in the ministry for awhile, they will see how they can serve, but initially it is to see what they can get.

I was speaking to a Pastor friend the other day and he was sharing that I was a breath of fresh air to him, his wife and the ministry, because I actually came with something to give to the Pastor, I did not come for counseling, money, or any other need I had. As I left that place, I began to think of how exhausted Pastors and other people are, because people are so needy. Now, there is nothing wrong with being in need, but there is a syndrome that many people have, which makes them needy. I call it consumerism. They consume everywhere they go. They work for what they can get, they pray for what they can receive, they give in order to be given back to, they love in order to be loved. It is subtle, but it is real, there is a group of people, who are takers. Now, it is not that they do not give, ever, but if we were to strip it all away and see the why behind the what, we would find they are doing it to get something in return. 

The second group of people are the givers, they are the ones who have all their needs met through their relationship with God and go out into the world to distribute the wealth of resources they have been given. These people go into their job, their church, their family, looking for how they can serve, can give, can be a blessing to those they meet. They have a word in season, they have an abundance of love, finances and grace for everyone they meet. These people are unique, because they have what the bible calls a healthy soul. 3 John 2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers”. People who have a healthy soul, are those who are able to give on all occasions, they have a vast store of resources that they distribute throughout the day.

I got a phone call this morning from someone who said at the end of the conversation that she knew when she called me that I was a wealth of information. This person knew if she called me I would be able to help her or direct her to someone who could, what a compliment. I have people like this in my life as well, they are distributors of love, grace, truth, finances, resources, information, you just know when you call them they will have what you need or will know where you can get it. The common denominator with all these people, is that they have a healthy soul. When we are healthy, body soul and spirit, we become distributors, rather than consumers.

So, who do people say you are?

Concealed, Revealed, Healed

James 5:16 “…Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

While praying this morning for someone that has been wounded deeply by the church, family and various other people in his life, the Lord began to speak to me about healing of the soul. He began to show me that we have two paths we can take as it pertains to dealing with emotional pain. As a counselor, I was eager to sit at the feet of The Counselor, The Holy Spirit and learn, so this is what He said.

When we conceal the hurt, the wounds of our souls, we hinder our healing. Pain left in the dark will never be healed, rather it will become infected and over time will be effect the body. But when we reveal the hurt, the wounds of our soul, we will be healed. Hurt revealed is pain healed. As long as we allow the pain to stay in the dark, it can not be healed, but when we bring it out into the light, when we allow the Lord to touch it with His word, His presence, His power, that is where healing comes from. But pain concealed cannot be healed, because we are withholding it from the One who has the power to heal it.

Pastor Frank King, the Sr. Pastor of Refreshing Waters Worship Center in Kansas City, MO said on Wednesday at our weekly bible study, that we are a part of a wounded generation. That thought has been on my mind all week, so as I was praying for someone else, this wounded generation idea came back to me and then this revelation came.

What we see in our homes, our churches, our companies, our communities is a wounded generation. People who have chosen to conceal their pain, the wounds of their soul, because like the child who hurts himself, comes crying to their mom or dad, but then says, don’t touch it. We do this with God, we tell Him how much it hurts, but when He goes to touch it, we run away, we hide, we say, no don’t touch it. Knowing full well, unless we allow the Lord to touch it, it will never be healed.

Concealed pain, unhealed emotions, become infected and whether we realize it or not, that infection is affecting the whole body. The church is weak, because it is full of people who are living with internal infections that have gone unhealed, not because the Lord cannot or does not want to heal them, but because people would rather conceal their pain, instead of reveal their pain. Until we have the courage to reveal our pain to the one who can heal it, it will stay concealed and this will hinder our healing.

When we stop withholding ourselves from God in worship, in prayer, in giving, in every area of our lives, He will heal our wounds. One of His missions is to bind up the broken hearted, but He cannot do this unless we give Him permission to touch our pain. Now is the time to stop being concealed! Now is the time to be revealed, so we can be healed!

The Truth About Reconciliation

Matthew 5:21-24  “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, ‘ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

Before we begin a dialogue about the word reconcile, reconciliation or reconciled, it is important to be on the same page as it pertains to a working definition. Now www.dictionary.com is not the final authority on definitions of words, but it will give us a place to agree on in order to dialogue around this subject, that some are in sharp disagreement about. So, here is the definition I found:

1.	to make (oneself or another) no longer opposed; cause to acquiesce in something unpleasant: she reconciled herself to poverty
2.	to become friendly with (someone) after estrangement or to re-establish friendly relations between (two or more people)
3.	to settle (a quarrel or difference)
4.	to make (two apparently conflicting things) compatible or consistent with each other
5.	to reconsecrate The context for this post is birthed out of Pastor Frank’s sermon last night on unhealed emotions; a friends comments today over lunch and my own personal journey and beliefs about the subject. I know some may disagree, and that is okay, I just want us to be open to hear what others are saying and to hear the context from which they are saying it. These are my thoughts, coming from my context. To say you forgive someone without being willing to reconcile with them, I do not believe, is biblical forgiveness. I posted this on Facebook today and got a sharp reaction, from someone that has been abused and said, she had forgiven, but was not open to reconciliation. I began to think how can you say you have forgiven someone, but not be willing to reconcile with them? I realized it is because we believe reconciliation means we have to go back to the same level of trust with the person that hurt us. This is not what the Bible is saying, I believe we are to reconcile with people, not just forgive people, even if they have to stay at an arms distance until they show the fruit of their repentance. However, many people have found it easier to just say, I forgive them, but never want to do the hard work of dealing with the pain, and being open to reconciliation, because they could get hurt again. Forgiveness is a very deep, committed, spiritual truth, that we have made shallow, easy and quick. We say, I forgive you, like we say I love you, it has been cheapened, clichéd and done for selfish reasons. (Hint: if you don’t forgive others, Jesus says you can’t be forgiven) No one wants to be in a place where God does not forgive them, but how do we know the Father forgave us of our sins? He gave Jesus, His son, to the world in order to reconcile us back to God. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds like more than just something we say or do in our hearts, but never let that person close to us again. Biblical forgiveness is an issue of the heart, not an issue of the mind. We can deceive ourselves to believe we have forgiven someone, but our hearts have not forgiven them. We can know this because we are not willing to be reconciled to them, if they wanted that with us, because we are operating out of unhealed emotions. Sin is a divider of people, when we get hurt, our first reaction is to get away from that which causes us pain. Being Christians we know, we have to forgive the person, for we are aware of all the destructive things that come from unforgiveness, however, very few people are willing to face the pain or injustice that was done to them, in order to truly forgive from the heart, not just from the head. So, we say, I forgive you and then stay as far away from that person or those people as possible and anyone that says or does anything that may remind us of or resemble the one that hurt us, we push away. All the time being oblivious to the fact that we are living with unhealed emotions, unforgiveness and distance in our relationship with God and others. Reconciliation is the fruit of forgiveness. We may never be reconciled to some people, not because we are not open to it, but because they never change. But if someone wants to reconcile with you and you are not open to it, I would submit to you that you have unforgiveness which is buried under unhealed emotions. Then Jesus takes it a step further and says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” This is the truth about reconciliation.

Appease, Please or Respond

My dad is quoted for saying, “Religion is a powerful force in people’s lives!” Last night at dinner we were discussing the various religions we encountered while living in a foreign country. Some of the topics we broached were the amount of money that religion generates, as the Buddhist burn incense sticks that can cost up to $1500 or more per stick; The ignorance of people who are educated, some having PhD’s, Master’s Degrees, CEO’s of companies, or even doctors and lawyers, yet they believe a man with an elephant trunk for a nose is a God. As we engaged in this conversation with our friends, sharing with them some of the things we saw, heard, smelled and experienced while living in a foreign country, my dad made a comment that inspired this blog post. He said, “Religion is fear based, most people are just trying to please or appease their gods”. As he elaborated on this thought, I began to consider the idea of what are we really doing as people, and I determined it is one of three things, we are either appeasing, pleasing or responding to our God. Every religion calls what they do worship, so let’s look at why they are worshipping.

When you speak to people you hear the why, behind the what, they are doing and many will tell you they are worshipping in order to appease their god. They do not want their god to be mad at them and allow bad things to happen to them, so they worship them. They don’t want their god to ignore them, forget them, or hurt them, so they worship them. They worship to appease the potential wrath of their god. When our worship is rooted in fear, our worship can become appeasing, thinking we can keep the wrath of our god at bay, at least for a little while longer. Many religions are spending billions of dollars on worship materials in order to appease their god, but the root of this kind of worship is fear.

Other people, when asked about worship are doing it to please their God. They want their God’s approval and are afraid if they don’t please them and seek to do everything they want, the way they want it done, their God may not be pleased with them. Being affirmed is so important to them they will do whatever it takes to please their god. People are exhausted from doing so many works for their god, because it is rooted in a fear of not being pleasing to their god. Matthew 7 speaks about people who cast out demons, healed the sick and did all kinds of good works, but the chapter concludes with the statement, away from me I never knew you. People who seek to please their god, fear if they do not do good works, they will not be affirmed as a good person.

Thankfully, there is a third group of people who are responding to their God. Knowing who they are, knowing who their God is, these people have no fear, for they have been perfected in love. When you are not trying to earn something, run from something, please or appease something, you can genuinely respond to God out of love for Him, not out of fear of Him. Responding to God is the ability to lift up our hands and voices in praise, because of who He is. Knowing He is good, that He is faithful, that He is loving and that He is alive, makes responding to Him easy. While praying the other day, I found myself saying, Father it is easy to love you; it is easy to serve you; it is easy to pray to you; it is easy to worship you. Responding to God is easy when you know who He is and who you are to Him.

So, how do you know whether you are worshipping to appease, please or respond to your God?

Appeasing and pleasing are exhausting, responding is refreshing. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” When we are responding to God in worship, it does not feel like work, it does not wear us out from trying to appease or please, because we are responding to the One who first loved us.

Dictate or Communicate

Today I am going to share some things on my heart that the Lord has been speaking to me and that my Pastor, Steve Gray spoke about and confirmed to me this weekend.

From Genesis to Revelation the highest value of God is relationship. It started with God’s relationship to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where everything was prepared for them to live a successful life, but then sin entered the world and put a wedge in the relationship. Then throughout the Bible we see how God has been doing everything to create a place on earth where His people can be a success in every area of life. He subdues kings and countries because of His relationship with Israel; He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ because of His love for the world; and the stories continue until one day He will return in the clouds to take us home with Him, all because of relationship. What an awesome God we serve, are family with, and get the honor of calling our God.

Because relationships are of such a high value to God, the Lord has shown us through His actions, but also through His communication to us as His people, that He loves us. The Lord speaks to us tenderly, for me, I can tell you, God has never raised His voice at me, never scolded me out of anger, nor shamed me into doing what He wants. His words are always gentle, always full of grace and truth, lavished with love and building me up, even when He is correcting and convicting me. The Lord is the ultimate communicator and as a counselor this is intriguing to me, how He communicates.

God being God, He can talk to us however He wants. He can dictate what we do, when we are to do, how He wants it done. But if He dictates, rather than communicates there is no relationship. You see there are people who love to dictate, because they do not want to put in the hard work of learning how to communicate. There are many reasons for this, some are insecure and so to communicate would mean they may not be right about everything and their self-worth cannot handle being wrong. For others to dictate is a default style, they saw it in their family or their culture or both, so they know no other way of speaking to people. But, no matter the why behind people who dictate, the truth is, those who dictate, rather than communicate do not have a relationship with the one to whom they are dictating.

To communicate means we listen to the other persons heart, thoughts, feelings, ideas, no discounting them as invaluable, but taking what they have to say into consideration as we communicate through an issue, conflict or decision. To communicate is to value the relationship over the need to be right. To communicate takes trust, takes time and takes energy. The Lord communicates with us and invites us to communicate with Him, because relationship is His highest value. Prayer is a place to communicate with God, not a place to dictate to God what to do. If you listen to people pray, you will realize whether they are in a relationship with God and are seeking to communicate, or if they are trying to dictate what God does. Listen to yourself in prayer, is a dictating or communicating with God?

I am so thankful that we have a God who wants to communicate with us, rather than dictate to us what we are to do, who we are to be, where we are to go. Now, He is God, even after we communicate, His say is final, and if we will obey, it strengthens our relationship with Him. But God so values us, that in His desire to communicate, it shows us how much we mean to Him and makes obeying Him so much easier. Sometimes, I wonder if people who believe God’s word is a dictation, rather than communication is why they struggle to obey? I am not sure how you view God speaking to you, but for me and to me, God communicates, He does not dictate, and I am willing and wanting to do whatever He asks of me, because I know He values me and our relationship so much, it is easy for me to obey.

I think this concept of relationships plays out in our marriages, with our children, in our company and in the church as well. If the leader dictates what people are to do, then it is challenging for those under them to want to do it, because they do not feel valued in the relationship. But if the leader, takes the time to communicate, it expresses value, it highlights the relationship, and it produces people who are more than willing and wanting to follow. I speak to my son, not as a dictation, but as communication, and I find that he does what I say, because I know how God speaks to me and values me, and I want to do the same for others. We may not always agree with what is being asked, but if we can communicate, rather than dictate, even if we or someone else disagrees, they will follow, because they know they are valued and all because we took the time to communicate rather than dictate.

When All You See Is Water

Matthew 14:25-29 “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus”.

While I was praying today, the Lord revealed to me that Christians step out in faith, but they do not walk by faith. I got the sense that many people through the centuries and even on earth right now, stepped out in faith, as it pertained to something they heard God say. But when what God told them did not happen in the time frame they thought it should, they stopped believing.

When I was a young Christian, the Lord would speak to me and I would step out by faith and things would happen almost immediately. Whether it was a financial breakthrough that was needed, a physical healing, or a reconciled relationship. It seemed as though everything happened so fast. Then my faith would rise and I would be “on fire”. But as I have matured in my faith, I realize that those were my faith training wheels. God would answer prayers quickly, to encourage me that He heard me and that He was going to do what I ask. But, as I have gotten older, as more time has elapsed, more God activity has happened in my life, I find that more time passes before the prayers are answered.

For some people, time means no, but for others time means a maturing of their faith, so they can believe who God is, not what God does, alone. God loves to reveal his activity to us, He loves to shower us with answered prayer, but what He loves more than that, is people who know who He is. I have discovered that when I know who He is, what He does or doesn’t do, will not change who He is in my mind.

I am in a place in life right now, where all I see is water. I stepped out of the boat by faith, but even though situations are not aligning the way I know they will, I have not stopped walking by faith. I have learned that who God is, determines what God will do. So, I am hanging on to who God is, because I know I heard His voice, but all I see is water. When we quit walking by faith, because the circumstances are not aligning with the promise we have been given, we show that our faith is young, undeveloped, small. But when we can hang on to the promise, even though the circumstances don’t line up, yet, we can be confident that our faith is growing, stronger, and more stable than it was when we depended on circumstances to confirm the promise we heard.

Hebrews 11:39 says, “All of these, though they won divine approval by means of their faith, did not received the fulfillment of what was promised”. The men and women of faith in scripture that we admire stepped out by faith, walked by faith and when all they saw was water, continued to walk by faith, because they knew Who it was that gave them the promise.

You have already stepped out by faith, you are already walking by faith, don’t stop now because all you see is water. Keep walking by faith, hang on to the promise, for the One who gave it to you is God, and He is faithful.