Ghosted by God?

The original title of this post was pretty boring. I couldn’t come up with anything better since finishing it and then this morning it came to me. So here you go, and thanks for reading.

Ghosted by God

Most people have heard of the 5 love languages, they are:

Words of affirmation.
Quality time.
Physical touch.
Acts of service.
Receiving gifts.

Its a good way to put into words how you express love. I’ve never read the book but I like it & I think it seems pretty accurate.

That got me thiking, I wonder what God’s love language is? And how can we speak His language? That would be awesome to be able to communicate with God using His own love language and it’s not that hard to figure out, it’s pretty straightforward actually.

God’s love language is trust

Its how God receives love from us…He loves to be trusted.

In fact, he loves that more than hearing you sing hymns, more than when you wear that cross around your neck, and even more than when you go to church on Sunday.

He loves it when you trust Him just on a Tuesday. He loves to be trusted!

I think that we as humans often equate love with comfort, I know I do.

But God equates love with trust

Think about it. It is so easy for us to confuse our human definition of love with what divine love is.

For us love is an action but to God it is His essence – it is who He is.

God is love.

Remember that cliche? Its more true than you could ever imagine.

There’s a big difference between God’s job and our job. See, God’s job is to provide the outcome; your job is to handle the process.

The longer you think you can control the outcomes in your life, the more frustration you are going to experience in this journey of faith.

How many of us were taught that faith was a way of controlling your outcomes? It was like,

“If you pray this and do that, then you can expect this…”

But everybody here has had something that made all that fall apart.

That thing in your life that caused you to question the very nature of faith. Right?

What was it for you? For me it was the loss of everything in my life I had hoped for – a wife, raising children together, worshiping together, growing together. Admittedly much of this came after Salvation, but the outcome was the same.

I hate to say this but it’s like we view faith as a form of bargaining. By which we get God to keep our schedule.

So many times I found myself begging God, “Please don’t let this happen..”

I have news for you, if I’ve learned one thing on this journey of faith & redemption – its that God will not be bargained with. God will not be moved just because we get uncomfortable in a situation. No matter how desperate we get.

I hate to break it to you, but faith is not a means of controlling the outcome.

We say “God can do anything,” but in that very same breath that you say, “God can do anything,” there is something in your life right now that God will not do. And even maybe something you see he did for somebody else – but he has not done for you yet.

Do you know how many times I’ve heard preached in church about how God took away this person’s depression, or this person’s anxiety?

And yet here we are suffering in the midst of it – begging God to take this burden from us. According to what I heard in church, He pretty much waved a magic wand over their life, and they were cured! Praise God! Their depression was gone.

And that’s fine. Praise to His glory for that!

Well, what about me? I waited. Month after month. Begging. Pleading. Nothing. Maybe my faith wasn’t strong enough? Maybe I did something to deserve this? Where are you God? I need you!

What I felt is what I know others have felt,

Is that if God really loved me, he would.

If God really saw me, he would.

If God was really strong like they say he is, he would.

If God really had all power in his hand, he would.

Here’s the thing – we feel like this because we never really get to the fundamental core of it – that the love of God is not proven by the way we feel his presence, but how much we trust Him when we don’t..

Does that make sense?

Back then it sure felt like He must have abandoned me to put me through all this…Why God?

So much pain. So much loneliness. So much not going right.

What I learned is, the love of God is really proven by the way I deal with his absence.

The love of God is not only proven in the times where I thank him for my blessings; but the love of God is proven in my life when I cannot feel Him

And by faith I praise Him..

Because He is God. Even when I don’t sense God, He is God. Give him a praise – not for what He does but who He is!

You know we’ve all said, “Hey Jesus, did you get my message?”

“Hey, Jesus, I’m depressed.”

“Hey, Jesus, I can hardly breathe right now.”
“Hey, Jesus, I feel all alone.”

“Hey, Jesus, I need to know the right decision.”

“Hey, Jesus, I need you to fix my relationship.”

“Hey Jesus!

“Straighten this out….”

Have you ever felt like you’ve been ghosted by Jesus? Have you ever prayed a prayer that hit the ceiling and bounced right back?

Have you ever prayed a prayer that came back to you with such velocity you barely got it out of your mouth before you had to stare at the same situation back in your face…?

Think about this – Maybe Jesus left you on read, ghosted you – because He loves you.

Not because he was busy, but because he loves you that much

See the problem is we have all these clichés about what we suppose Jesus or God is like.

Just know that if God put it on you, He will never give you any more than you can bear.” What I mean is we often equate God’s love with the circumstances of our lives.

And if you look to the circumstances of your life for the proof of God’s love, you are looking for His love in all of the wrong places.

What we have to realize is that what we do in painful situations is view things strictly as they are happening. And there’s no insight in that.

Because if we truly had insight we’d realize that afterwards, and in hindsight that once again

“…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (ROMANS 8:28)

The insight of hindsight is really powerful, but we don’t live our lives with the insight of hindsight about every situation do we?

Hindsight will come. It always does.

Be patient. Wait. Trust.

Trust God & trust the process..

Never put a period, where God puts a comma.

What I mean is this. That some things in your life will make sense after the fact that don’t make sense at all right now.

I have lived this. I know this to be true.

I am so thankful for some advice I got recently, and I want to share it with you if you are going through a season of pain:

I want you to see yourself worshiping.
I want you to see yourself grateful.
I want you to see yourself restored.
I want you to see yourself better.
I want you to see yourself free.
I want you to see yourself delivered.
I want you to see yourself healed.
I want you to see yourself with a testimony.

Take courage. Your hardship, your season doesn’t end in a period. Doesn’t end in failure or disappointment, but in the inevitable glory of God.

And you will see His glory not in the hereafter, but in the land of the living.

Do you know what faith and fear have in common?

They both require you to believe in something you cannot see. So which one will you choose today?

Trust in Him. Believe in Him.

Amen

NOTE: These are my thoughts as I go through “Heart of a Warrior” and put down into words its message and theme to help men reclaim their identity – as Kingdom men who stand firm in their faith and are willing and able to serve Christ and the greater good of this world.

Fighting for a Cause & a Calling in Life

A big part of my calling is to help men. Last August I made notes on it, “Blueprint of a Leader”. However, at the time, with so much going on in my life there was no way I could put together anything to help other men when what I needed most was to help myself.

Kind of like on the plane when you’re supposed to put on your own oxygen mask before you help others with theirs.

At the time I had reached out to a friend of mine who had a men’s group I had attended and asked for some advice on starting my own. Allen said to me, “You just need a good devotional and a desire to lead, and remember, always lead with love.”

Aside from the part about leading with love, I’ve come to realize that is a little off track.

I understand where he is coming from, though. Pretty much every church’s men’s group is like that – A good devotional, some scripture and some discussion.

I think I knew instinctively when I first put down my thoughts on it that men needed a ‘Blueprint’ as the title of my notes said, but that’s all I knew at that time.

Back then I didn’t view his advice as wrong. In fact, I thought it was great advice.

But there’s so much more to it, here’s why:

The go-to church method for dealing with men doesn’t produce engaged men. It doesn’t produce grounded men. It doesn’t produce trained men. Instead we arm him with a few bible verses and a weekly speech then send him off to a life group in someone else’s home where its assumed he will connect by talking with other men about that week’s speech.

What so many men get out of this is they have to do a better job in life. And they have to do more.

And then what? How?

Well, that’s pretty much where things stop. Well, you know you have to do a better job so go do it. Just be like Jesus… And that message is coming from someone else too – who is telling them about God and not coming their own relationship with Him.

The training they’re getting is…? Certainly not the life changing journey of personally walking with God.

Is that the best we can do?

Men are lost. Looking in wrong direction for initiation and validation. Turning to culture for answers to core questions about life and who they are.

A man should bring who he is to the world around him, not get his identity from it.

Men need to be equipped, guided, then deployed by God and remain in partnership with him, entering into battles for causes in this world, worthy & meaningful causes, and fight for the hearts of others. Every man should learn to see himself as a warrior – one that needs a cause and a (heavenly) King. Something he can fight for and someone he can fight with (i.e. at his side).

Because men were created this way. It is who men are. The story we are living in today is of war and conflict, both spiritual & physical. Men, real men are desperately needed who can bring kingdom ways into every aspect of his life and every situation. Especially his homefront.

Why does everything have to be such a fight? Because it is. That’s the reality of life – and one thing I’ve finally accepted. You have to step up and fight for what you want.

A real man knows how to fight with love and for love.

It took Salvation for me to know that, to be honest. But I think it might be the single most important thing I’ve learned about being a man.

That’s the thing, I know how valuable all this is to men. Me who are lost. Because I was one of them. And had been my entire life.

When I was saved, I saw disbelief everywhere. I would hear, “I hope that it is true.” I never followed up on that. Never felt the need to. Never will. I don’t need to explain myself to anyone.

Because that truly doesn’t matter to me. The point is I have nothing to prove, nothing to hide, and nothing to fear. My actions in this world speak for me and that’s all that counts.

I have an identity. I know who I am. I am a beloved son of the Father. And I find my security & strength in that identity alone.

I know where I am in life. God opened my eyes. To see and hear what is going on around me. And I am alert to the spiritual forces at work behind physical circumstances. Let me tell you – its pretty amazing what Salvation can do.

I have a mission & purpose. One that comes straight from a Heavenly King alive & working in my life. I am always alert and looking for the good God is doing in my life and through my life. I trust God completely that He will open the doors for me in everything – at just the right place and just the right time.

As the saying goes, God may not be early, but He is never late. And it’s my job to recognize that and go through those doors when they open.

I’ve seen it happen time and time again. It is real. Someday I’ll even meet my person like that. I believe in that one hundred percent.

Nowadays if someone doesn’t like me for who I am, I’m ok with it. Because I love myself & I know God loves me more than I’ll ever be able to know. As a man I can’t tell you how critical that is – to receive a father’s love & to love yourself, so that you can not only love others, but fight in every aspect of life – with love & for love.

What’s amazing is all this started with a five-dollar audio book that God put in front of me. It took about a month, but I kept seeing it over and over until I finally clicked on it and saw it was only 5 bucks and said what the heck, I can afford to waste that if its no good. I honesty don’t think I would have bought it if it had been 20 dollars. Not surprisingly it turned out to be the foundation of what my calling is.

I’m slowly making it into a program, expanding on its ideas using my own testimony & personal experiences in life.

A man’s life is a journey. It is the result of discovering & rediscovering oneself, time after time, failure after failure, success after success, through the grace & effectiveness of walking with God and living a purpose driven life.

Praise and Glory to GOD!

SESSION NOTES:

We had a great workout. We did battle ropes, leg work, and did a trail run. Two new members came out, I am so grateful for that. Even more so that my words of faith at the end had personal meaning for them. That makes everything worth it. Its why I do this.

Word of the Day (WOD):

Eternal

I was fortunate that I was never one of the spiritually dead of this world. That said, I always had one foot in the door of God’s will and the other foot in this world. In short, I served two masters. You can’t do that. Trust me on that one.

Sooner or later one of those masters in going to come calling. It was almost the devil, but God stepped into my life in a monumental way and saved me from a life that would have only ended in bitterness, disappointment and maybe even eternal damnation.

In my opinion I think it’s actually much worse to serve two masters than to be one of the spiritually dead.

That said, I often wonder why so many people remain dead to the spirit of God within them.

I think that’s because God is a bigger story than most people can imagine. Its so big for most, they cannot realize it, and how hard it must be to believe in the possibility that God could step into human history, into our story through His son Jesus Christ.

To actually take on flesh and blood and become human. That’s a lot to believe.

If I could pinpoint the source of all this, I’d say it’s because we are temporal beings living in a temporary world trying to grasp the eternal.

Andy Warhol, the pop icon of the 1960’s once said, “I’ve got these desperate feelings that nothing means anything.”

Its those feelings of emptiness & desperation – that that nothing really means anything & everything we’re doing in this life is probably just a waste of time.

Its amazing actually that he said that, because here you have this guy who’s attained everything in life imaginable. The fame, wealth, recognition, etc. that all of us want

And yet he has this desperate feeling that none of this means anything – at all.

I think we’ve all felt like that. Felt as if you’re just trying to find something that matters. Something of significance. Something that gives you meaning.

The thing is, it doesn’t matter whether its fame, more fame, wealth, more wealth, or power, or more power – no matter how much you have it always somehow leaves you empty.

The trap here is we see ourselves as temporary beings. Even many Christians fall into this because
the temporary nature of this world gives us this momentary meaning of everything. And what we desperately want, what we strive so hard for is something that we can touch and see and feel and taste.

We’re so satisfied with temporary things. We dream of them. They are our life goals. The reason we get up out of bed each day and work so hard.

Dreaming of owning mansions, travelling the world, private jets, fabulous cocktail parties. We feel so satisfied by these things.

Even the things that are not supposed to be temporary, like love we move on from. From relationship to relationship to relationship – we’re never fulfilled, but we’re so satisfied.

We really do see ourselves as temporary beings. And how can you believe in a forever love if you’re just a temporary being? I’ve been there and have some broken dreams to prove it.

Its just human nature, to do everything we can to distract us from the harsh reality that everything in this world has an expiration date including us. But there’s always the next new temporary experience waiting for us tomorrow, and the next day and the next, on and on and on – filling us for the moment before it evaporates like a drop of water in the eternal sunlight of our souls, leaving the same old barren, empty landscape within us. When Jesus spoke of springs of living water flowing from within us, this is what He’s talking about. (thank you Holy Spirit for those words)

But why do we keep looking for the eternal in the temporary?

it’s like a shell game and every time you pick a shell there’s nothing underneath. Then another shell – nothing. And another shell – nothing. And another…

It’s because we’re looking everywhere except where it is.

If that sounds really oversimplified – it’s not.

I love this point from Pastor Erwin McManus, its very fitting – Did you ever wonder why Jesus made declaration, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He did it to let us know that when we find ourselves abandoned and so empty that he understands exactly where we are..

Solomon felt with way too at the end of his life. If you study Solomon you know he wrote 3 books, roughly in chronological order with his life. Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

At the end of his life, despite his Kingdom & all his wealth, 700 wives, and 300 concubines, he begins the book of Ecclesiastes with:

“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”

Thats pretty powerful. In a sense Solomon felt just like Andy Warhol. Maybe we could all take a lesson from that.

So where is it then? Where are we looking but just can’t find it.

Where God placed it – within you

He placed the eternal within us, but somehow we’ve lost it. And that longing that craving that
frustrating never-ending desire to find a reason to be alive – that’s your soul saying you were born for the eternal but all you’re feeding it is the temporary pleasures of this world.

God didn’t send Jesus into this world to give you principles to be a better human being, he didn’t come to upgrade your status life, he didn’t come to make life a little easier –

He came to convince you that what you think is life is just existence at best.

And when you invite God into your life, when you enter into relationship with God, he doesn’t just make you better – He makes you alive.

He’s trying to convince us that we’re not just temporary creatures with an expiration date, but we
are eternal creatures created in his image & likeness. That’s huge. But its so hard for God to convince us of this.

We were created by God for love, created for hope, created for laughter and joy, created to enjoy the beauty and wonder of this world (His creation).

This is controversial, but I am convinced now that stress & anxiety and depression and fear & despair in life is your soul’s longing for the eternal that’s lost within you. I lived my entire life with depression & anxiety and nothing I ever did could fill the emptiness & despair that crippled my life. It cost me everything, relationships, jobs, the people I loved most.

When I was saved, it didn’t happen immediately, but gradually over time as my eyes were opened to the eternal truths of the Lord, depression & anxiety faded, and now a little less than a year later I do not suffer from these anymore. I thank God every day for that. I have such an unbelievable feeling of fulfillment in my life, in my soul. I can’t put it in words really.

Jesus died on the cross & rose from the dead, so that two thousand years later we could know this truth.

If you’re looking for that which is lost, that eternal, that fulfillment, that peace – I promise you, the path will start with one simple declaration:

“Jesus, I give you my life.”

When you say those words, you’re choosing to cross that line of faith, to go from darkness into light from spiritually dead to etnerally alive.

You’ll find a brand-new life, and one that for the first time in your life will feel like you are living a life that matters.

I bought this ring because its imperfect. Its shape is unique, I haven’t seen one like it before. It’s a raw silver ring that’s attractiveness lies in its unfinished & flawed shape. I probably own about a dozen polished steel or silver rings. For the most part they all look the same except for minor differences. It doesn’t matter which one I pick out and wear, they all look pretty much the same.

Not this one. It stands out for its major differences. Its beauty is in its rough edges & imperfections. This ring has a lot of personal meaning for me. I bought it because I recognized how symbolic it was of myself.

I never used to view my imperfections as anything more than flaws. I questioned God many times for the way He made me. All I ever saw was my imperfect self. To me, that was who I was. I’ve come to realize I completely overlooked all of the amazing qualities I was given because all I could see was flaws.

Nowadays, I see my flaws as beautiful. I believe that one hundred percent. The ways that I am imperfect are so unique and they give me some pretty rare qualities to be honest. I have major differences from most everyday people. As a strong & emotionally intelligent man I stand out.

I never paid much attention to any of that. But I now realize how unique I am. And what an unusual and unique person at that. I wouldn’t trade that for anything – to be so different than that box of silver rings that all look the same.

I value myself. Very highly, nowadays for what I have to offer. Because I bring a ton of value to the table. There’s nothing arrogant or wrong in saying that. If everyone could get to that place in life this world would be a much better place. So much hurt in this world comes from feelings of worthlessness. That you don’t matter.

Today I no longer let anyone into my life, they have to pass qualifications first. They themselves have to be worthy of what I have to offer. Then we go from there.

Haven’t found anyone like that so far. But that’s ok. I can’t have anyone in my life right now anyway, because it would distract me from God’s mission & purpose in my life. God comes first, even above relationships.

One of the most important things I learned in learning my value was I could be completely happy with only myself. I used to say that, but those were just words back then.

Everyone says that to be honest. But I had to live it. And I had to prove it. To myself and myself only.

One day I’ll have the family, the partner in life, the spiritual soulmate I desire, but until then I’ll wait, for as long as it takes.

Because I’m worth it.

I was reflecting on a decision I made recently about a situation that I prayed very hard for about receiving guidance. I prayed to the Lord to show me the right path to take.

In one of those rare occasions, God’s voice spoke directly to me about it. It was short, He told me exactly what I needed to do in the situation.

With the guidance I needed, it was up to me to fill in the details that fit and take whatever action was necessary to fulfill God’s words.

In short it was to contact someone about an apology letter I had written, praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance in my words. That they be honest, truthful, and compassionate. It was written solely for this person, but it was also the much-needed forgiveness I needed for myself and that I’ve wanted to give to the whole situation for months.

I can’t tell you how many times I prayed to God to let me forgive and put all the anger, hurt, and resentment out of my heart. I never could get there, however, no matter how many times I tried.

I understand now why that is. Forgiveness is a step-by-step process and forgiveness cannot come until you are able to take the first step of accountability for your own actions, whatever situation it is. Once I was able to own my role in the situation, stop passing blame, and hold myself accountable, the words I needed to say came out on paper and the burden was lifted off of my shoulders.

I hold myself accountable in this life. I hold myself to a very high standard. Its part of having integrity. I wasn’t able to do that before my salvation. I am very grateful for the spiritual gifts I received from the Lord when I gave myself to Him.

Accountability & ownership in life is like adding a layer of barbwire to your boundaries. Its like an extra layer of reinforcement because you know that if you let others or even yourself violate your boundaries, YOU will be the one held accountable. And that’s no one else’s fault but yours.

True forgiveness is always the goal. There are 3 levels you that must go through in the process of forgiveness before (as a believer) it can be fully complete.

The first level of forgiveness is forgiving someone in your mind. This is where you say the words, “I forgive you”. You can even convince yourself that’s the case by saying things in your mind over and over like “I’m so happy I’ve forgiven you..” etc. But you haven’t. Eventually, the anger, resentment, and hurt always finds a way to creep back in. And you repeat the process over and over never getting anywhere. There’s no letting go & there’s no healing in this place. I’ve known it very well.

The second level of forgiveness is forgiving someone in your heart. This is a critical step and it means you’ve let go. Let go of the incident or whatever, and released yourself from the emotional prison you built. Because that’s what it is. Hold onto the hurt & anger long enough and those wounds will become permanent scars.

The older I get the more people I seem to know who are carrying these scars. They never could fully let go and heal. Its very sad. It breaks my heart because I know its too late. Releasing these emotions from your heart allows you the freedom to move on with your life. Onwards to better things in store for you.

The third level of forgiveness is forgiving someone in your soul. This is true forgiveness. This cannot happen without faith. Most people will never reach true forgiveness, which is very sad. It allows you to not only let go, but to have compassion for the individual no matter how badly they hurt you. Knowing that we are imperfect beings and as such we act in ways that are of this world, and not the spirit.

In other words, when Jesus Christ said, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they are doing.” this is the response we as Christians should also have. To love them in spite of their actions because they are simply following their own human nature.

True forgiveness can only possible if you can say with absolute certainty, “I cast this upon your shoulder’s Heavenly Father.”, knowing that God will always seek justice on your behalf and His response will divinely perfect regardless of what you think the outcome should be. “It is in your hands, Heavenly Father.”

“Not my will be done, but yours Lord.”

If you can say this and truly believe it you will have more freedom & healing than you ever thought possible. To love your enemies in spite of their actions, and do it with all your heart and soul is the very definition of Christ’s love.

And Its faith that builds the bridge to the soul that makes this possible. Without faith, there cannot be true forgiveness in life.

I rarely talk about my Salvation because it concerns me & not the Gospel, which is my priority. That said, I’m going to talk about it because its been so incredible, & its pretty powerful testimony. This is and will be my life’s testimony.

The transformation in my life since July of last year has been nothing short of a miracle. Knowing and being on the inside of this process, it is a miracle. I’ve been shown more signs, received more divine mentoring & guidance & wisdom from the Holy Spirt than I could have ever imagined. I’ve even been spoken to by God on several occasions. When He spoke to me for the first time after my Salvation, He said “You have no idea what I have in store for you young man.” He was right.

I never expected or asked for any of this. I simply told God last July my life was now in His hands and to do what he wanted with me. What was different this time though, was I meant it.

When I was saved that day, God entered my soul like a lightning bolt. I was running in the park and I froze because I had just heard God’s voice speak inside of me. My GPS pace said 11:11, my wristwatch said 11:11 and my iPhone said 11:11. Later that night I glanced up at the kitchen clock on the way to bed and it said 11:11.

That number was the time I was born, at 11:11 AM. Its on my birth certificate.

For me, it wasn’t a gentle experience. For some it is, I guess everyone is different. I’ve heard it described as a gentle wind. For me it was like being overwhelmed instantly by God’s power. It caused so much physical & emotional & spiritual pain I can only liken it to what it would be like dying and being born at the same time. I guess in a sense it was. I was aware shortly afterwards of the spiritual gifts I was given. I couldn’t really do anything with them (as I soon realized), but I was ready to take on the world. I had all these amazing and grand plans. I think that’s pretty common to feel that way at first from having heard others’ salvation experiences.

It actually took me a very long time to even grow spiritually enough to realize I hadn’t even begun to crawl yet.

Since then, as the process of Salvation continues – I’ve been tempted numerous times, experienced a satanic attack, had my faith tested to its absolute limits, experienced more pain & sorrow than I could have thought possible & survive, and been isolated by God almost completely during this process.

It culminated this past Easter Sunday, on the day of resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Afterwards, the storm began to pass as I (assume) passed the last test He put me through before that season of my life could come to a close.

Will there be more seasons like that? I don’t know. But the man who has emerged from this storm or crucible, or whatever, has been forged by our Lord into one of His beloved sons.

I’m still crawling, but I’m aware now of what a capable & strong man of God I’m being transformed into. And every last ounce of pain, disappointment, and sorrow I’ve experienced has been worth it. When He showed me the vision of specifically where and what I would be doing I understood the level of integrity, strength & faith I would need to carry out His mission.

Because ultimately that’s what this is about. Carrying out God’s mission. Nothing comes above God & that mission. Not relationships or even family. God must come first. But in doing so, I am able to give back so much more to the people I love than I ever could’ve done before. Funny how that works.

I still have stress in my life, but I’m learning not to stress about it. I sometimes feel lonely, but I am learning I’m never alone. I don’t worry about my future, because like my tattoo says, “God’s got this.” His promises are a certainty. He’s going to provide for me more than I could ever imagine than if I tried to make it happen on my own. I am guided by His will in life now and not my own, regardless of the outcome.

If it sounds like you’re surrendering your freedom & will in life when you give yourself to God and vow that His will be done and not your own, I can tell you that there is so much freedom in it that I can’t even put it into words.

I no longer play for victory in this life. I play from victory, knowing that with God’s presence in my life – I’ve already won the game.

SESSION NOTES:

We had a good AM workout. Our new member was there and I got to work with her one on one and help her along her journey. That’s what its about.

Word Of the Day (WOD):

God’s Schedule

How many of us have a schedule of how we want things to be in our lives?

Spoiler Alert: God doesn’t check your schedule.

For that matter, neither does the devil. The Devil doesn’t look and say, “Would it be all right if I stopped by at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon and visit you with depression, anxiety, a panic attack, and shortness of breath?” No. The heavenly realms don’t operate on a human schedule. But we as humans, that’s so hard for us to accept

You have to stay in a place where you know how to breath in the presence of God. A place where you are looking at the presence of God.

The apostle Paul knew this very well. I wrote a post about it, “Paul’s faith”

Paul was aware of the presence of the almighty God with him.

Its written in Psalms as well,

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (PS. 121:1-2 ESV)

When God comes calling and wants to reset your schedule, will you let him?

You see when God comes into the middle of your life, you’ve got all these things going on and – boom. Your now on His schedule. And its almost like He’s saying “let me make it up to you.” “I’m going to do exceedingly & abundantly above what you had on your schedule.” and He’s also saying “Let me get you ready for what I’ve got in store for you.”

How many of us are in that get you ready phase? Yet we want our own schedule.

If you are really going to trust the Lord, trust Him with all your heart – then you’ve got to move with Him.

When it happens it really doesn’t matter what your schedule is. What matters is what God spoke about you before you were even born. Abraham tried to have a baby with Hagar because He got tired of waiting on God’s schedule.

Its almost like God is saying, “Stop trying to schedule me. Build your own schedule but realize that some of the best things I’m going to do in your life are not going to be on your schedule.”

The greatest blessings in life are unschedulable.

If you’re stuck on what you thought this stage of life would look like or be, or maybe even what you thought your day would be like, you are going to miss the gift. You have to wait on the gift.

God wants you to depend on Him

When God is resetting our schedules, what we’re calling interruptions are really invitations.

When Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.” When He got to the house, his little girl was dead to the other people. But to Jesus she was just sleeping, because He has His own schedule.

Heaven has a schedule. Heaven has a purpose. Heaven has a blueprint.

How many times have we sent our schedule to the Lord just to say, “Lord, I want to reschedule this.”? That time were so stressed out, or depressed, or so confused. And your trying to control the timing, to control the schedule.

We serve an unscheduable God. And we need to thank Him for unschedulable blessings.

We can’t control how things unfold in our lives, so we just have to wait. Not because we’re lazy, but because we know God loves us.

Some of the best stuff God will do in your life will not be on your schedule.

So when your waiting for the gift. Ask God, say to Him, “You give me the direction, and I’ll supply you with the details.”

Kairos (Ancient Greek: καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning ‘the right, critical, or opportune moment’.

Kairos is a concept present throughout the Old Testament. Basically, it refers to the moment in time of an occurrence that forever changes the trajectory of one’s existence.

SESSION NOTES:

The workout was humid! We did some great new exercises picked up from the camp gladiator folks. This weekend was also the birthday weekend for the disadvantaged child we sponsor. We bought her presents and delivered them to her. It was an awesome experience.

WORD OF THE DAY (WOD):

Note: This is based off of a sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley. I quote him directly throughout since his words fit so perfect.

Satan’s Strategy

“If I were the devil I would assemble all my minions and my demons in my strategy room, and I’d give them your phone number, your picture, your email address, and I would review with them your weaknesses one by one.

I would tell my staff about your bouts with doubt. How I all but had you convinced that the bible was a joke. So, if I were the devil, I think I would try to take your joy. I’d try to load you with so much anxiety and fear and dread and trepidation that you couldn’t sleep at night.

The devil knows he can’t touch your Salvation because you’re a child of God bought with the blood of Christ, and no one can snatch you from your Father’s hands. He can’t take your Salvation, but boy can he take the spring from your step and the sleep from your night, and the love from your relationships.

So if I were the devil I might download a dump truck of guilt on you, and I would every time you stepped forward in faith. I would remind you of the times you fell, the times you stumbled, just last week, just two decades ago. I just keep that scrapbook of sin circulating through your mind, and I would whisper “You really think there’s enough grace in the world to cover you?”

I would leave you just in the shadow of a doubt and if that didn’t work, I would try what seems to be his most popular tool of the day, and that’s distraction.

I would post my minions on every corner every stairwell, every office and they would load on you things to do, people to see, tasks to complete, sales to make, assignments to complete, one thing after another, do this, do that, do this, do that until if at all if you even came home, you’d come home exhausted & distracted.

Busyness, clutter, hurry, catch another flight, write another report, hurry, hurry, hurry. Or distraction in the form of what you read and see, staring at a phone or a computer for hours and hours, leading life through a screen, counting likes, counting friends, how many hearts did I get? Measuring self-worth according to the number of people who looked at your Instagram.

I would keep you so busy you’d never have time to read God’s word.

I can tell you that Satan’s plan today is to keep people so busy with the things of this world that they have no time to devote to their spiritual lives. I love this acronym for BUSY – Sometimes being busy b-u-s-y just means:

Being Under Satan’s Yoke.

You see, if Satan can encourage us to get our lives so full of other things that we have no time for God, then he’s begun his work in us and the ultimate end of it will not be something pretty. You have to see the devil for who he is… The devil is a liar, the father of lies. And you can be sure he has carefully studied each one of us for a very long time.

I wonder, how long have you studied him?

The devil begins early in our life by bombarding our minds with cleverly devised patterns of little nagging thoughts of doubt & fear. The thing is, he moves slowly and cautiously. Below the radar. After all, well laid plans take time. You can be sure, we’re in a war and our enemy is Satan, not people.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (EPH 6:12 KJV)

He’ll do everything he can to distract you, and he takes his time to work out his plan. If we don’t know our enemy, we don’t have much of a chance to win over our enemy. We should remember that our enemies are not people. We must see beyond people, Satan may use people to persecute us, he may use people to lie to us or cheat us or hurt us or even kill us, but our real enemy lurks unseen in the shadows, moving people like pawns on the chessboard.

The devil is a divider – he likes to split marriages, he likes to split friendships, he likes to split any sense of community, any place there’s gossip or tension or separation or hostility or unforgiveness the devil’s marks are all over it. Think about this, what he did in the garden of Eden was separate Adam and Eve from God. And that is what he wants to do with every person – separate us from God and separate us from each other.

Satan is the opposite of Christ.

He wants us to hate God or doubt God and hate our neighbor. He dwells in the world of isolation & loneliness. Wherever you see Satan at work there’s always division, and he loves to divide people. Especially God’s people. If we could only understand that we would step back from our petty differences and realize that we’re just playing into the hand of our enemy, whose purpose is to divide. He does not know the meaning of unity; he has no concept of unity. His whole strategy is the strategy of division.

He’s the great deceiver, the great divider, and he’s the great destroyer. Think of the book of Job. When God allowed Satan access to the life of Job, what did he do? He destroyed everything – he destroyed his servants, his cattle, his children, and his family.

Satan is the destroyer.

Satan only has one plan for your life. He wants to destroy us. We should pray every day against him. We should pray that Satan would have no place in our lives. Because he comes to deceive, he comes to divide, and he comes to destroy.

There are so many people in the world are deceived by him, and their deception is very evident when they say, “I don’t believe in the devil”

One of the first things he does is to point out something in your life that you don’t have. He doesn’t remind you of how much you do have, how blessed you are, or how healthy you are.

He points out the one thing you don’t have.

He uses the same tactics he used in the garden of Eden. You’d think people would have caught on by now. He points out to Eve the one thing she doesn’t have, so that if you want to be complete you need to have it. And did it satisfy her? No. And it doesn’t satisfy people today. He creates this desire in order to get people off base, off track, if you only had that.

You can never have enough of anything that is not the will of God for your life to ever make you happy, ever make you feel complete or ever make you feel content.

Satan is perfectly happy convincing you to worship anything or anyone short of God. If he can convince you to worship a girlfriend or a boyfriend, to worship sex, if he can convince you to worship a career, or if he can convince you to give everything you have to get that new house or car, or whatever.

When we worship something, we depend upon that thing or person for our identity. We align ourselves with that thing or person so the devil knows if he can get me to worship a bass boat, then someday that bass boat is going to rot and I’m going to be disappointed and he’ll just chalk that up to another victory.

We’ll worship that person only to be rejected and heartbroken. We’ll worship that career only to be dejected and be heartbroken. We’ll go lurching through life – up and down, up and down, and finally when we get to the final days of our life, we’ll be cynical and disappointed. We’ll say life wasn’t all it was cut out to be.

For our own good God says, worship God. Worship the endless, strong, powerful, loving, radiant king of kings. Let your mind be consumed with heavenly thoughts.

Satan chooses his timing; he knows when we’re the most vulnerable, and that’s when Satan will attack. He knows exactly when to attack us, how to attack us. He knows our weakest points. Everybody has a weakness. You need to give your weaknesses to Christ before the devil uses them against you. The devil he’s an opportunist, when you’re the weakest, he’s the most evil.

The devil doesn’t control your thoughts, but he influences them. He wants to whisper thoughts of fear to us so we’ll accept them and he can control our lives.

God will never use fear to control your lives. God will never bring fear into your life to cause you to do anything. The devil wants you to believe that God’s always kind of mad at you, and he really doesn’t like you. That’s the concept of God the devil wants you to have. Go to Jesus when you’re feeling fearful. He will tell you He knows exactly what you’re feeling and let Me help you overcome it.

Fear is expecting the devil to move. Faith is expecting God to move.

Fear is the main thing that Satan uses to try to control people. Fear keeps you from doing so many things in life. Don’t let fear steal your life. Don’t let fear steal your relationships. Don’t let fear steal your joy. God wants you to have a good life but one thing’s for sure – you have an enemy and his name is Satan, and he does not want you to enjoy your life. He wants you to be afraid all the time. The devil would love for you to live by fear, because when you’re afraid you run away.

What you need to run to is the Bible. The Bible gives you two tools: number one pray – pray when the devil knocks at your door, you don’t need to deal with the devil on your own. All you need to do is turn to God.

Glance at the devil but gaze at Christ.

The second tool is God’s Word. Arm yourself with God’s Word. Arm yourself with God’s Word – load your pistol with scriptures and keep a finger on the trigger. Jesus reacted and responded to temptation by quoting scripture. Jesus responded to temptation from the devil by doing the same thing you can do, and that is he quoted scripture.

God’s book is enough.

Jesus overcame temptation not with special voices or supernatural signs, but by remembering and quoting scripture – that’s it.

You just need to read the Bible, and to read it and receive it. God’s word is an indispensable weapon in the same way prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.

Pray long and hard. Pray for your brothers and sisters and use the two tools – God’s word and prayer. And the conviction that God’s spirit in you is greater than the devil of this the world.