Empty of everything else

So my newest epiphany is this: every day a follower of Christ should take a few moments to do what I'll call a heart-flushing. And before you think I've gone schizo, let me clarify.

If we look at the state of our hearts, we might find a lot of clutter. Worry, guilt, shame, fear, materialism, ambition, pride, desire, pain, selfishness, and so on. If we were to write down the contents of our hearts, it would not take long to fill up the notepad. And by necessity of life, our hearts will be filled with these things daily. And I believe God expects us to face them and deal with them. After all, He's not in the business of denial. But if we desire to experience the fullness of the Presence of His Spirit, we must make time to focus on Him without distraction from anything else.

Here's what I read last night. It from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century Monk from France. Brace yourself:

"I know that for the right practice of [spirituality] the heart must be empty of all other things, because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him."

So is my heart left vacant to Christ? Am I able, even for a few moments, to flush everything else and let Him claim it? Are you?

Granted, this is no easy task. Life is hard. Sin is tempting. Our enemy is cunning. Stress abounds.

But with God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)

Jesus said to all of them, "If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me." -Luke 9:23 (NCV)

Some people might try to tell you that being a follower of Christ is easy, that all your problems will be solved if you ask Him to save you, that He will give you whatever you want just because you ask for it.

Don't believe them. Following Christ is expensive. It will cost you everything you have. It will be painful at times, and the trials will not cease until you meet Him in the air. He will ask you for that which you count most dear: your heart. He will want to take it over and reside within you, draw as near to you as your very breath.

And you will love Him even more than you thought possible. He will help you to cleanse your heart of all else save His Presence, and then He will fill you with His love, peace, power, and comfort. You'll chase after Him and ask Him for it.

The most beautiful part of it all? He'll be here waiting for you to do it all over again tomorrow.

Flush.

Does the Bible ever make you laugh out loud?

You know, God does have a sense of humor. The Bible says laughter is medicine for the soul.

Like this one: Job 19:17a (NIV) "My breath is offensive to my wife . . ." Yeah. Been there.

And how about when the Bible talks about bad drivers? 2 Kings 9:20 (NIV)"The lookout reported, "He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi--he drives like a madman." I guess road-rage isn't a new concept.

It's good to remember that God is funny and He likes to laugh with us. I bet He thinks we're pretty hilarious at times too.

What about you? Has the Bible ever made you laugh? What jokes have you shared with God lately?

If you haven't had a good laugh with Jesus recently, try it. Let Him tickle you, like every good parent does. It's one of the countless ways He loves us!

First Book Deal (kind-of)

Well, today I came home from my fabulous Pastors' Wives Retreat to a surprise - a box of 10 of my new books: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Mothers. My story is one of the 101 devotions! I haven't read the others yet, but I'm sure they are wonderful, and I'm excited to make it a part of my daily time with God. If you'd like to check it out, click here

And, thank you, friends and family for all of your love, support, and prayers along my writing journey.

P.S. I'm thinking of doing Bible Literacy trivia once a week from now on. I just had so much fun with you last week!

Biblical Literacy - Part 4

Can I just say that I've had a lot of fun with you this week? If you're new here, let me just re-cap again: we're spending a few days this week testing our Biblical Literacy, and by that I mean - how well do we know the Word of God and how it applies to our lives? Please go back and quiz yourself to see if you know the answers from the past few days.

Yesterday I asked you about the Gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit, and I got two really great answers. I'm really proud of us so far! I'd just like to add my explanation of the between the two, in support of what Denise and Jama wrote yesterday.

The Gifts of the Spirit are given to every Christ-follower upon his or her confession of faith in Jesus for eternal Salvation, and are given for the two-fold purpose of 1. edification of the Church 2. spreading of the Gospel into all the World. We should all aim to use our gifts consistently. The Fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, are evidences of God's power in our lives to transform us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus, through the working of the Holy Spirit in us. Every Christ-follower should generally see a growth of these fruits throughout the course of his or her life. If you're not seeing more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I would suggest you need to do one of the following: 1. Check yourself - do you accept Jesus as your Savior? Is He the Lord of your life? (2 Corinthians 13:5-6) 2. Surrender once again and daily to the Holy Spirit and His influence over your life. Cooperate with His will and allow Him to mold you into the person God created you to be. Remember: maturity is gradual.

Okay, so on to our next question for a prize! If you don't remember the rules, here they are again: open-Book, provide scripture reference to back-up your answer, and the first one to comment below with the correct answer wins a super-great prize!

Question #4: Who was the reigning king in Judah when Babylon invaded the nation of God's people and sent them into Exile, and in what year did this happen? For bonus points: Explain the significance of the Exile in the History of God's people. (I told you they'd get harder)

Ready, Set . . .

Biblical Literacy - Part 3

If you're just joining us, we've been doing something new this week - a test in our Biblical literacy. We've also been learning some more about the Bible and what Jesus wants us to know. Yesterday I pulled a dirty prank and asked you to find a reference for something that's not really in the Bible, but many people quote it as if it were. Dawn and Jim knew their stuff, though, and we talked about how it's important that we know the difference between Bible and mythology. BIG difference.

And before I ask my question for the prize of the day, I'd like to talk to you a little about one reason NOT to study the Bible: Pride in your own knowledge.

Ironic, I know, but truly God - here's what I read from my daily reading plan this morning: "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels . . . What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either." - Matthew 23:5, 13 (NLT).

Ouch.

Please take a minute today to read all of Matthew 23. It just might be the most hard-nosed portion of Jesus' ministry on earth. He berates the teachers of the Scriptures over and over, saying their knowledge of the Bible is not enough because their actions do not align with, but rather contradict the law they've memorized. It's all a show. A Broadway-like production featuring pride, pride, and more pride. And it absolutely disgusted Jesus.

So, as we talk about learning, knowing, and understanding the Bible, there's one big reason NOT to, and that's for flaunting your knowledge in front of others. Don't. If that's your reason for learning, just put it down now and pray first. Ask God to show you what His Word is truly purposed for: redemptive love. He shows us His love for humanity, His sacrifice to redeem us, and subsequent ways we can reciprocate that love back to Him and others. THAT, my friends is why I believe Biblical Literacy is important.

"Okay, okay . . . get to the question already, Robyn," you say.

Here goes. Remember, it's open-Book, and I want references. The first to answer in the comments gets a super-fantastic prize. And please chime in about your thoughts on Biblical Literacy - I'm curious what you think, too.

#3 Name at least 3 Spiritual Gifts and at least 3 Fruits of the Spirit and explain the difference between the two categories. (see, I told you they'd get a little harder each day.)

Ready, set . . .

Biblical Literacy - Part 2

Yesterday Jim answered correctly that a gentle answer turns away wrath. May we remember that in our moments of heated discussions and arguments.

To re-cap, we're doing a series of Bible trivia questions as a test of our Biblical literacy. Since the Bible is the basis of our beliefs (or, rather, it should be), we want to know it. For me personally, I'm a perpetual student of the Bible. I'm absolutely enthralled with the fact that I learn something new, fresh, and full of life-application every time I open it. No joke! And I think I open it just about every day.

I'd also like to take a moment to challenge you to read the Bible from cover to cover if you never have. Truthfully, you might come across some confusing or boring passages, but you know what - KEEP GOING! I have realized that after I've read the entire context of the Bible, when I go back and read those parts again, they actually make more sense to me and sometimes it's exciting to see how even a set of ancient laws or a list of names can come alive with discovery when I see how it fits into the mosaic puzzle of the whole of Scripture. Try it. I dare you.

Here comes our second test, but even if you're not the first to answer, put your response in the comments too, as well as your thoughts on what I asked yesterday: Would you call yourself Biblically literate? How would you define the term? How important is it to you?

The first one to comment with the correct answer gets a super-fantastic prize. Open-book. One question per day. Scripture reference to back up your answer. They'll get harder as we go.

Ready, set . . .

#2 (Fill in the blank) Heaven helps those who help ________________. (remember to include your scripture reference to back up your answer)

Is Biblical Literacy Important?

Well, you probably already know my answer, but I wonder what others might think.

Most of the population might answer, "Well sure, if you're a Christian." However, the Barna Research Group might beg to differ. As it turns out, reading, understanding, and knowing the Bible isn't as important to Christians as one might assume, or as it once was. "Less than one out of every five born again adults (19%) has a biblical worldview, which is unchanged in the past 15 years." (George Barna, 2009)

So, let me get this straight: they claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but they don't know what He believed or said - pre- or post-incarnate? They claim to know God, but they've never read His Love-Letter all-the-way-through? They go to church and let the preacher spoon-feed them, but they don't pull up a chair to partake of His feast Monday through Saturday?

Hmmm . . . doesn't quite add up does it?

What about you? Would you call yourself Biblically literate? How would you define the term? How important is it to you?

Tell you what, let's play a little game. I'll give a surprise to the first person to comment with the correct answer to my Bible trivia this week. Open-book. One question per day. Scripture reference to back up your answer. They'll get harder as we go.

Ready, set . . .

#1. According to the Bible, what turns away wrath?

(you never know, it might be a really great surprise I've got behind my back!)

fighting with love

I recently attended a conference where I was able to learn from a panel of "experts" on justice and compassion. These are people who are on the front lines - doing the hard work of acting on behalf of those in need of a voice and a friend, as well as writing and speaking on their behalf to bring awareness to those not yet involved in this lifestyle.
Here are a few bites to chew on:

"You can't be greedy and fight against greed." - John Perkins

"There was a point when I realized that conversion was not only about my relationship with Jesus, but about conversion of the world and its institutions of injustice . . . We can't divorce justice from the Gospel." - Lisa Sharon-Harper

Jesus was God walking on earth, turning everything we are on its head. He was the ultimate hero for justice. And we are His followers. Should not our lives resemble His? Hanging out with sinners and poor people . . . establishing reconciliation where there is quarrelling and war . . . speaking out for children in need of a blessing . . . challenging the attitudes of the greedy and hypocritical . . . meeting the needs of the sinful with extravagant Grace . . . these are the actions that characterized His life. Are they the actions of Christ-followers?

I would say not always. I would even go so far as to say not often. Too often we are characterized by our desire to be blessed, our judgemental thoughts, words, and actions, and our need for power and control. And, my brothers and sisters, this must change.

"Lord, send revival, start with me . . " -Matt Redmond

Are you ready? Are you already in the midst of this battle? How has God called you to be a justice fighter?

Let us fight the powers and institutions of injustice, and let us use the foremost weapon that we alone carry: Love. May we be warriors of Justice every day. In our awareness, our words, and especially our actions. God has called us to it. Jesus has led the way. The Holy Spirit has and will continue to help us.

"This is the kind of fasting I have chosen:
Loosen the chains of wickedness,
untie the straps of the yoke,
let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke.
Share your food with the hungry,
take the poor and homeless into your house,
and cover them with clothes when you see them naked.
Don’t refuse to help your relatives." -Isaiah 58:6-7 (GWT)

Obedient Thoughts

How much control do you have over your thoughts? A lot? Not much at all? If you were to engage in a little meta-cognition, what would you find? A disciplined, self-controlled thought-life, or one of random, chaotic, lascivious indulgence?

If you think about your own thoughts, and even the thoughts of others around you, what you'll find is a wide spectrum on the meter of intentionality. It seems some people are able to use their minds for positive purpose and direction, yet others seem to be floundering, wavering, even drowning in their own thoughts, or in the thoughts of others. Why is this?

It's a matter of Spiritual Discipline. Notice I did not say SELF discipline, because it goes beyond our own human abilities to control the direction of our thoughts. It takes a profusion of help from and cooperation with the Holy Spirit. If by your own power you try to reign in your thoughts, you'll be straining against a runaway team of wild stallions. But if you continually surrender to God's influence over your mind, and fill your thoughts with His Word, you might just find yourself leading a well-trained mare before a smoothly drawn carriage.

"Of course we are human, but we don’t fight like humans. The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (GWT)

God has lovingly granted us weapons to use in fighting this battle in our minds. We are not left defenseless. May we use what He has given us, these powerful weapons of Spiritual renewal and regeneration to destroy the negative thoughts of others, as well as the chaotic internal workings of our own minds. What are these weapons, you may ask? The Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), and the Gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). May we learn to wield these divine weapons as we surrender to the Spirit's leadership, both in our actions and our thoughts. We can ask God to make our hearts and minds pleasing to Him (Psalm 19:14). And if we do ask, He will help.