Take up Your Cross

God Evening Family,

I'm not quite sure how to write this, but I know God wanted me to share what He showed me this morning.

Last Sunday I was fasting. As I was listening to the sermon that morning I heard God say pray for My body. So I continued the fast and each day focused my prayer on whatever the Holy Spirit led me to pray for His body. Among other things I prayed for the fear of the Lord, finances, missionaries, pastors, laborers for the harvest and workers to rise up.

One day I specifically prayed that God would heal His body. I felt such a certainty that the body of Christ was so sick and the sickness was like a cancer that was rapidly spreading.

Today was the last day of the fast and when I woke up, before I had even opened my eyes, I had a song on my heart about the Cross. As I opened my eyes I had a vision of Jesus. He was holding a cup in His hand and He said,

"The reason so many are falling away is because they refuse to embrace the Cross. The end is closer than ever before. For those who embrace the Cross the end is glorious."

He looked at me and held out the cup. "Will you drink from My cup?"

I hesitated because I knew it was the cup of suffering. I told Him I didn't want to drink from that cup and I needed His grace to help me to do so.

He said, "Embrace the cross, the end is glorious."

I took the cup and drank from it. It was so bitter and it made my stomach hurt. As I drank I saw so many things it was almost a blur and I couldn't see it all. I saw wars, strife, people suffering, others carrying or being nailed to their own crosses. Then all was silent and I was dressed as He was. My robe was so beautiful and everything was bright and white. Then I heard the worship of so many saints, all united in our praise of the Lamb. Finally My head was laid in His lap as He sat on His throne.

This vision could have lasted longer than a minute but for me the message was clear. In order for me to be with Jesus forever I must take up my cross, but in my flesh this is impossible. It is only through the strength of God that I can allow my flesh to suffer the agonizingly slow death of the cross.

When we think of suffering we often think of those who suffer unto blood shed. However in this country very few experience the pain of being martyred. At least for now. Our crosses tend more towards our dealings with people or circumstances. For instance when we encounter an offense the temptation is to respond in some carnal way, yet the Word of God says to forgive. To obey that Word I have to nail my fleshly desire for revenge firmly to the cross and graciously extend the hand of peace.

Crosses are not easy. No one wants to drink from the cup of suffering and humiliation. Yet Jesus gave the answer. In Luke 22:42-43 we find Jesus asking His Father to take away this same cup. Jesus was not spared but His Father sent an angel to strengthen Him.

The end truly is near folks and many are forsaking the Word of God to live their own version of Christianity where suffering and humiliation don't exist. Many are already deceived into thinking that they are still right with God despite the fact that they refuse to obey His Word.

Nothing in me wants to suffer. Yet God demands it because this flesh must die. So my part in the matter is to find my own Garden of Gethsemane and cry out to God for the grace to take up my cross, that I too may follow after Christ.

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Heb 12:3

Stay in Prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

The House of Kindness

God Morning Family,
There is a story in the New Testament that has always weighed on my mind in that I've never fully been at peace with the way some interpret it..

The story is found in John 5:1-9 and tells how there was a pool called Bethesda where miracles happened. At certain seasons an angel would stir the waters and whoever got into the water first was healed of whatever sickness they had.

Jesus comes on the scene and taking note of a man who had been lying by that pool for 38 years, He asked him,

"Would you like to get well?"

The man responds by saying that he could not get well because every time the waters were stirred someone would get in the water before he could. He had no one who would help Him.

I've heard this invalid described as an excuse maker, an apathetic man who was wallowing in self pity. I heard it said that if this man really wanted to be healed he would have found a way to get in that pool, therefore if you and I are not healed, delivered, or still struggling in some emotional area it's because we just don't want the victory bad enough.

I do believe that we are responsible to do our part when it comes to receiving things from the Lord. But, I also know that sometimes people suffer from conditions (Physically, mentally, spiritually) that they can do absolutely nothing about. They are not making excuses they just do not see a way out of their suffering. It is in these cases that God expects us to help one another.

It is amusing that the pool was called Bethesda which in the Hebrew means house of kindness. Imagine this. The pool is packed with the sick and infirm waiting for the angel to stir the water. They are as close to the pool as they can get. Day after day passes and everyone is afraid to sleep or take their eyes off the water for even a second. Everyone is on edge and no one is thinking about their neighbor. All they want is to be the first one in the water so they can be free from misery. Finally the waters begin to stir and the people are anything but kind. The sick are trampling on one another. Fists flail as each one desperately attempts to be the first to step in.

Finally a shout of triumph! A young man with kidney stones had pushed down an elderly woman with cancer and stepped in the water first. Glorifying God he went home healed with out a second thought about those still sick. The crowd went back, each one to their place, some weeping, others grumbling, all dejected.

Then Jesus comes and His attention is immediately fixed on the one who had been their 38 years and his complaint was so genuine Jesus did not dispute it. There was no one who would help. So Jesus spoke and the man was healed.

I have several thoughts on the matter and even as I write I pray God convict me daily to put my needs on the back burner when I have an opportunity to show a kindness.

1) We are our brother's keeper. We have a responsibility to be the solution to an other's problem. I imagine Jesus angry at the selfishness of His people as they lay by that pool. He still gets angry. We get so wrapped up in ourselves, our trials, that we forget to have compassion for one another. When we get our breakthrough we praise God with our mouth but forget that our brother is still suffering.

I wonder what would have happened if someone had determined that the next time the pool stirred they would grab their brother and jump in together. Maybe God would have been so pleased that in His mercy they both would have been healed. Maybe a revival would have started and everyone who jumped in would have gotten healed.

Don't forget the four friends that tore up the roof of a house to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus healed that man and said it was because of the faith of his friends. Mark 2:1-5

2) Jesus healed the man by the pool and it was the sabbath. Jesus knew by healing this man on the sabbath He was asking for persecution as it was considered unlawful to heal on the sabbath.
It will cost us to extend help to someone else. We will suffer the little...maybe giving up our eating out money to give another family groceries. We will suffer greatly...as do those who bring the Gospel of Salvation to countries where Christians are persecuted to the death. Yet those who are willing to lay down their life to bless someone else are called the friends of Jesus.

3) Finally, and my sincere apologies if this sounds cynical but, in the end we can really only depend on Jesus. For 38 years no one would help this man and I imagine he must have reached out for help. He must have begged for help only to have people turn a deaf ear. For 38 years people had an opportunity to show kindness in the house of kindness and no one did. The man waited because he had no choice, but finally God showed up.

The proper response to this is to keep your heart soft and do not get bitter. Selfishness is human nature even in the most spiritual man or woman of God. The best of us have to fight off self more than the devil...how much more those in the church who do not seek God and His ways.

Just remember while you wait for God, though you may have been forsaken do not forsake others. When God shows up pay it forward.

We can all do something to help one another. We can even help those who make foolish decisions. Do not flippantly shrug your shoulders when, because of their rebelliousness or stubbornness, people suffer. Prayer and compassion is always needful, especially for the fool.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Phil 2:3-4

Stay in Prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

My Brother's Keeper

God Evening Family,

Some months ago I realized that having a fruitless life was a sure way to reserve a place in hell.

Yesterday I heard someone say that Christians who do not bear the fruits of Jesus Christ were going to hell. He referenced John 15:2 which says,

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away...

I also found in Luke 3:8 & 9,

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance...And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The scripture is in no way vague. Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches. If we branches do not bear the obvious fruit that marks us as Christ's then we have no place in Him and thus, no place in heaven.

But what fruit is Jesus talking about. Well obviously we must have the fruit of the Spirit found in Gal 5:22 & 23,

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

But the scripture in both Luke 3 and John 15 is specific. In both of these Jesus demands that those who are His must love the very people made in His image. Look at John 15: 16 & 17

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

In Luke 3 after John warns the people that the fruitless will be cut down and cast into the fire the people ask him what must they do to avoid such punishment. He tells everyone to share with others, the tax collectors were commanded to not cheat the people out of their money, and the soldiers were told to not use their authority to take advantage of others.

The fruit of our relationship with God is the love of people. He said Himself if we say we love Him and do not love others we are liars. (1 Jon 4:20) How we treat the least of us is how we treat God. Cheat others you cheat God. Turn your face away from a brother in need and you've just turned your back on God.

This is no milk toast, sappy, "God bless brother, be warmed and filled" kind of love. How must we love? We must lay down our very lives for one another. Prefer one another before ourselves. Go out of our way and be inconvenienced for one another. (1 Jn 3:16-17)

Still not convinced? How's this? On that great day God will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep on His right hand who will enter heaven, generously and on purpose loved others by clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and visited the shut-in and imprisoned. The ones that went to hell lived selfish, self-centered lives and God declared that He took their lack of love towards others as an expression of their lack of love toward Himself. (Matt 25: 31-36)

God doesn't make it complicated. Love God. Love People. Not too hard...

...right?

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another 1 Jn 3:10-11

Stay in the Word and in Prayer!

Love in Our Lord,
Lauren

Prayer

God Morning Family,

I just love prayer and the Word of God!

Oh, there are times when I'd rather do something else. There are times when prayer or reading my Bible seems as interesting as taking out the trash. I have found, however, if I just wait on God or press in a little more, read a few more verses, He always makes His presence known somehow.

When I first gave my life to Christ in 1995 prayer was better than television. I loved singing to Jesus and telling Him how awesome He was.

Within about six months my hunger for prayer began to wane. My prayer life was erratic and I had lost the fire of just wanting to be with my God.

I had been saved 14 months when I realized connecting to God in prayer was the most important thing in the world.

Shawn and I had been married less than a year and fights were almost a daily occurrence. It was my first day home with our new baby Shannon. In pain from the recent c-section I had a very short temper. I had probably not prayed the whole time I was hospitalized.

I don't remember what started the fight but the argument took place in the bedroom with our 3 day old baby asleep on our bed. The fight escalated until I finally slapped my husband who pushed me down on the bed. As we struggled furiously I suddenly realized we were on top of our new daughter. I suddenly sobered and with voice shaking said, "Shawn, we're on the baby."
He quickly stood up and I took the baby in my arms who, fortunately, was not harmed.

It was that day that I vowed to never be prayerless again. (It was that resolve to pray, and Shawn's decision to be a man of prayer that saved our marriage.)

Without God I am capable of very ugly things. Without prayer we are all capable of very ugly things. It's remembering the story of how Israel was reduced to eating their own children during a famine that reminds me of the importance of prayer and keeping His Word.

It's in prayer that God convicts me of anger and impatience. Through prayer and His Word He slaps my behind and forces me out of my pity parties. He does it so gently, so lovingly, yet I'm reduced to tears because it is His goodness that drives me to repentance.

In prayer the real me is revealed. Yet God is not ashamed. He is not impatient but He is firm. Change is not an option yet God doesn't force it over night. He works with those who stay in His hand.

Just when I think I'm finally a spiritual woman He exposes yet another flaw and continues the good work He began in me. He began it and He will finish it. It is not our job family, to change ourselves. If we were capable of that we would have done it a long time ago. We would have no need of the Holy Spirit or the blood of Jesus.

What is our part then? Our part is to draw near in prayer and behold our Creator...and keep beholding. As we remain in the light of His glory it is impossible not to change. Our part is to discover the purpose and desire of God through His Word, to come in agreement with Him, and with a contrite heart appeal to Him that He never leave us to ourselves. This is how we work out our salvation day by day.

I love prayer because God is faithful whether I feel Him or not. As I cling to Him He reminds me how proud He is of me just because I am His. Yet I realize He is also Holy. I realize He is not my BFF (best friend forever) or my home-boy. He is GOD and He is to be reverenced. The same God that is proud of me today is capable of casting this soul into hell if I forsake my relationship with Him. He loves me. He still loves every soul that is in hell at this moment.

Yet I do not pray out of fear of hell but rather out of fear that I'll be separated from Him forever.

Imagine...an eternity of hell without even one glimpse of His precious face.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

Stay in Prayer and the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

Stink Until You Get Good!

God Morning Family,
This past Saturday God blessed me! As I prayed He posed this question; "Are you willing to stink until I resurrect you?".

I had to laugh and rejoice. Indeed God does not think like we do at all!

God reminded me of Lazurus. I won't go into detail, but I encourage you to read John chapter 11 for yourself. The following is what God spoke to me.

Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus and loved by Him, yet when Jesus heard Lazarus was deathly ill He purposely delayed going to his side. His reasoning? That God would get glory and He Himself would be glorified.

Lesson 1: Getting close to Jesus means sometimes He will purposely let something really bad happen to you. Or He will seemingly lift His hand off your life and let the real you be exposed for all to see. This is the honor of being His friend. Those who want intimacy with God ask that our lives will give Him glory and we think that means we go to church, share our faith, and don't live in sin anymore. Jesus glorified God through His suffering, humiliation, and death on the cross.

It wasn't until Lazarus was dead and beyond hope that Jesus responded to the request that He go to His friend.

Lesson 2: Just when you think things are bad God will let it get worse. And not just worse but beyond hope. God gets the glory when your situation is beyond human rescue. God gets the glory when your situation, or you, are so awful that even the most faith filled, Holy Ghost people you know will shake their heads with doubt. No flesh shall glory in Gods presence and when the big rescue comes no man will get the credit.

When Jesus got there Lazarus had already been put in a tomb.

Lesson 3: Tombs are places of isolation. Don't be surprised you feel alone when your life is falling apart. Don't be shocked when you're trying to do your best but people steer clear of you because you've stepped on their toes. Not because of righteousness but because you're just a mess. This is a good place. This is where, if you don't get offended, you learn to love people without pinning your hopes on them. This is where you learn that really, only God has an answer. This is where you learn God is a jealous God and as long as you trust in anything or anyone besides Him He will not be satisfied. God will allow the worst in you or your life in order to remove your dependence on flesh.

Lesson 4: People put Lazarus in a tomb not God. Don't be moved when people give up on you. People do not have the final say God does. I don't care if you have been in the same condition for 10, 20, or even 75 years.

When Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda he'd had that infirmity for 38 years. The woman with the issue of blood had been sick 12 years. And there is no telling how long the wild man of the Gadarenes had been demon possessed when Jesus set him free.

Keep believing God for change in your life, keep believing in God's mercy. It's better to be found contending for His will then to throw in the towel. Just don't quit!

"Roll away the stone."
"Uh, Jesus, surely you're aware that the body stinks? "

Lesson 5: You would think that once one has stopped fighting God, has submitted to the crucifixion of their flesh, and died to self one life would be glorious . But it's not. There is a stench as the flesh corrupts.

When one surrenders to God and chooses to walk in the Spirit all is not lovely. While the stony heart may have been rolled away and replaced with a heart of flesh, this disciple has no idea how to walk with God...even if they have been saved for 20 years. They stink at it.

Don't be discouraged Lazarus. Right now you're probably doing all you can to be godly yet people always seem to be offended with you. You're doing all you can yet your circumstances are the same. It's not because you are the same person you used to be . That one died. It's because you are just a seedling who has yet to bear fruit. Remember, it's only when the seed falls to the ground and dies that it bears fruit.

But you want to bear fruit NOW. You look awful and you need that fruit to make you look good to all the people that think you're such a loser. Just let the Master water, tend, and prune you. Trust in Him. You may be broke, you may be rough around the edges, hasty, and have no idea how to communicate but you will bear the fruit of the Spirit.

Oh and by the way, all the poop that gets dumped on you instead of patience and understanding...it's called fertilizer and you need it to grow. Yes! It makes you stink all the more. Are you willing to stink until you get good? Can you deal with the humiliation of submitting to that until you bear godly fruit? Not to look good to people, but to His glory?

"Lazarus come forth!"

Lesson 6: Remember Jesus did not come to Lazarus when he was sick, but waited until he died and there seemed to be no hope. There is a set time for everything family. God has a schedule and He knows the day and the hour of your deliverance.

Hang in there, trust Jesus, stay humble, and be willing to stink until you get good.

Don't quit!!!! Resurrection time is coming!

Stay in Prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren

What Price?

God Morning Family,

I'm still on one particular vein; walking with and knowing the Holy Spirit.

I believe their are many Christians who feel the pull to cast off all restraint and fling themselves wholeheartedly into the fire of God. I believe that if any of us are saved then the Spirit of God is within us. He will ever draw us nearer to the Father, glorifying Jesus who died to bring us into relationship with the One He loved to the death.

Yes, I believe that so many want more.

I also know many believers will never obtain that more. Let me explain.

Nothing gets done until one deals with self truthfully. Knowing the motives of the heart is so imperative in our walk with God, but we cannot know motives of our own hearts unless the Spirit and the Word reveals them.

So many Christians do not pray or spend time seeking God in His Word. May I clarify seeking God?

I am talking about prayer from the heart not empty religious gestures. Not the punching in of the Christian time clock.

Prayer ought to position the believer to hear truth because the believer hungers for truth. Petitioning God for our wants and problems is not the heart of prayer. Jesus lived to know and do the will of the Father. He was able to boldly say He knew and loved the Father because He lived to please Him alone. Jesus prayed.

In our Bible reading there ought to be more than skimming words on a page. Where is the careful study, memorization, meditation, and application (read obedience) of the Holy scriptures? Yet this is not enough without a hunger for truth.

In Jesus' day none prayed, fasted, or knew the Word of God better than the Pharisees. Yet when Jesus showed up they rejected their Messiah. How could this be? The Pharisees loved the adulation of men more than the quiet praise of God. (Jn 12:43)

Do you think the Pharisees knew this was in their hearts? Do you think they honestly confessed their sin? Of course not. They searched for an excuse that would appease their guilty conscience and fixated on it until they believed it was truth.

This is human nature.

Our human nature is to be feared far and above all the works of the devil and his angels with him.

We are capable of such creativity, reasoning, brilliance, and courage. We are capable of the most heinous of crimes and cowardice. We can even lie to ourselves.

When one determines in his heart that he will give all to God, the Holy Spirit begins to deal with that heart. So few allow that dealing.

We are looking for the touch of God that pleases us. He is looking for holiness, purity of heart, and faith that please Him.

He is looking for the one that says,

I will stand naked and unashamed before You and mankind..I am willing that You to expose me, humiliate me, and make me the least of my brothers. I willing to be the servant of Your servants. I am willing to be overlooked, unappreciated, unjustly treated, and falsely accused. I am willing to look like a fool for Your sake or to cover those in authority over me and my peers. I am willing to endure the crucifixion moments of my life that this flesh will be destroyed and I can walk in the truth of Your ways.

He is the Spirit of Truth. He loves us and is so gentle. He will not break the spirit of the one who seeks him but He has no mercy on the flesh. His dealings cause pain. That pain is sometimes physical, but mostly it is a pain to our ego. A harsh blow to our pride. A destruction of the thing we love more than Christ which is most generally ourselves.

This is why I say many will never walk in the more or the fire of intimacy with the Holy Spirit on this earth. The cost is indeed high.

But if you desire Him...all of Him...and you are willing to pay the price, fear not. Though it be a rough and treacherous rode He will be your guide. Remember Lots wife and never look back. What lies ahead is glorious!

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27-33

Stay in Prayer and the Word!

Love in Our Lord,
Lauren

The Fear of Man

God Morning Family,

Let's just jump right in. If you long to walk with the Spirit of God the way I do you must put people, along with their opinions and expectations of you, in their proper place.

Being overly concerned (read obsessed) about what others think of you is a hindrance in cultivating intimacy with the Holy Ghost.

Even as a child I ran myself ragged trying to make everyone happy. As a young adult I was a chameleon. I did all I could to be like everyone in order to be liked.

I brought this into my walk with God. Wanting to be accepted I frantically tried to please everyone. If I at all sensed someone was displeased with me I lost sleep and did all I could to regain their approval.

Ridiculous! If Jesus Himself cannot please everyone then why would I think I can?

The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This cannot be done when the fear of man moves us to please people instead of God.

Approval seekers cannot follow or obey God unless they feel everyone approves of them, their decisions, their words, or their actions. Therefore deliverance in this area is imperative.

In attempting to be delivered of approval seeking I have seen people go the opposite way. Instead of seeking to please others they live to please themselves alone. People like this love the scripture that says we ought to obey God rather than men Acts 5:29. They adopt the stance that no longer are they subject to the authority of others and cast off restraint. This is rebellion and foolishness. My Granny would have said they are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

God's word is clear concerning to our submission to spiritual and natural authority. A good disciple, wife, child, or servant certainly should seek to please the one in authority over them. In doing so they please God as all authority comes from Him.

Selfishness is also not deliverance. After loving God the second commandment is that we must love our brother as ourselves. In Philippians we are exhorted to not only look out for our own welfare but also for the welfare of others. Serving, loving, helping, and sharing with one another is not approval seeking. It is Christianity in the practical.

When I speak of deliverance from approval seeking, people pleasing, and the fear of man I am really talking about freedom from SELF. SELF is always self-analyzing, naval gazing, and preoccupied with appearance. Bookstores, even Christian ones are filled with self-help, self-actualizing, and self-fulfillment books.

SELF is the biggest idol there ever was. Destroy SELF and you destroy the power of the fear of man.

When my mind is on God and not SELF I can acknowledge my sins, faults, and frailties without falling apart. I can repent without walking in condemnation. I can take correction without rebellion rising up. I can be rebuked and still not be defeated. Why? Because my faults are my faults. They are not me. If I love God I want Him to correct my faults because I want to be like Him. If I love people I want my faults to be corrected because I don't want to hurt anyone.

When my mind is on God and not SELF I can be judged, disapproved of, criticized, and falsely accused because I know what He thinks of me...and that's all that really matters. He is the only one I'll have to stand before on that great day.

When my mind is on God and not SELF everyone in the world can hate me and I can still love them all. How do I know? Because Jesus did it first.

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like. Jn 2:23-25 NLT

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Is 53:3 NKJ

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. Is 53:7 NKJ

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Lk 23:34 NKJ

Stay in prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,
Lauren