The Capture-Bag: When Letting Go of Hurt and Anger is Way Past Due

You may think I've gone to meddling now...

I was at the bedside of a dying woman some years ago. In her last few days, she talked about her brother. She didn't describe what he'd done, but she was still angry more than 75 years later. 

That memory had gnawed at her all her life and left a root of bitterness that was so deep it had become anchored in her heart.

We talked about the importance of forgiveness, but she chose to hold the memory and the anger close, as if it were a kind of prize.

Holding the memory was a prize, but it wasn't hers. That tight-fisted holding was a trophy for the evil one. 

When bad things happen, and they will, we can process the bad thing, forgive, and find the healing only Christ can give, or we can hang onto it and let it devour us with anger and bitterness.

Which one makes sense to you?

Evil abounds in this world, but we are to overcome evil with good. That's not my own Pollyanna-style foolishness. It comes straight from Scripture.

"Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21 NLT

Before we go further, let me make one thing clear. There are terrible things that are done to children, and they leave a lasting impact. 

I hate those wicked deeds. 

There are acts of betrayal that feel like you've been kicked in the gut and trampled in the mud, and they can leave a lasting impact. 

I hate those acts of betrayal.

What I hate more, however, is the way those terrible deeds and acts of betrayal can gain the upper hand and destroy the rest of our lives. They can, in a way, train us to believe that we deserved the evil or that everyone betrays. That everyone will act in an evil way. 

Those are lies from the evil one and there is no freedom in them.

"It is for freedom that Christ set us free..." That's Galatians 5:1. Christ died and rose again to give us freedom over the wickedness in our own hearts and the wickedness of others perpetrated on us.

I'm not saying processing our hurts is easy or that freedom is cheap, but it is possible and we can have it if we want it. If we're willing to work for it.

I've had my share of hurt and betrayal and I've tried to let God heal it all. 

Yesterday in staff devotions I mentioned a beautiful thing that happened recently. Years ago, someone had said terrible things about me and been unkind. I had forgiven it, mainly because that was better for me than holding on and letting bitterness have a root. God eventually restored the relationship. I shared the sweetness of restoration.

"I know she hurt me, but the odd thing is that I can't remember what she did."

That's healing. Not only has the hurt lost its power over me, it's lost its hold in my head. I took those thoughts captive and asked God to remove them, and He did.  

"I can forgive but I can't forget" is a common adage, but it's not Scriptural wisdom. Let's agree to stop quoting this bit of trickiness from the evil one. If God can help you forgive, He can handle forgetting, too. 

You may not believe this right now, but, if you'll take your thoughts captive and give them to our Heavenly Father, He'll deal with them. You can't keep pulling them out of the capture-bag and massaging them to see if they still hurt, though. 

Do we want a free heart and free head or not? 

Here's how we do it. Start at the beginning of the hurt. Examine it, look for all it's roots in our lives, dig it up, forgive it, and offer it to God in a metaphorical capture-bag. Continue, one by one, through the hurts in our lives until the thought-capture-bag is full, then hand it over to the Only One who can remove it.

That sounds simplistic, I know, but the theory is right. Only God can help us process the biggest of hurts, but He's more than able. He stands ready and willing.

He's waiting for us to choose freedom. We may need help from a pastor or Christian counselor, and it may take time, but we can have release from all the hurts if we want it.

Today, let's choose freedom. When we do, we'll find we've made more room for God. 

"...and to know that love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God." Ephesians 3:19

_______________

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: When You've Been Kicked in the Repenter One Too Many Times 

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

ps -the photo is of the traditional empty tomb of Jesus, who left it empty to remind us that we can overcome sin and death, because of Him, too. 

When You've Been Kicked in the Repenter One Too Many Times

Sometimes, I absolutely say the dumbest things imaginable. Last night was a perfect example. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that James kicked me in the repenter just about every day while I was writing the study. One day, I got kicked so bad, I repented and cried all day, but I kept typing. Now that I'm taking the study I wrote, he's kicking me in the repenter again. 

There comes a point when you're ashamed to blog about repenting even one more time. Obviously, I'm doing it anyway.

Last night, I crawled into bed with my Bible and my laptop. I didn't really think I could do my morning Bible study the night before, but I thought maybe I could write a blog without Bible study. (That never works, so don't worry. I didn't do it.) 

Anyway, I was bone-tired and sick of all the repenter-kicking, so I announced, out loud, to the Lord. "I'm not gonna repent of anything tomorrow." Yes. It still sounds stupid today.

That still small voice whispered in my heart, "Oh, really?"

I deserved a lot worse than that, but those two words cut me to the core. "No, sir. I'll just get started tonight. I'm really sorry for that sassiness." 

As it turns out, refusing to repent for a whole day is a very bad idea. In fact, when we sin, we're suppose to repent on the spot and stop doing the sin. I highly recommend it.

There's nothing better than a clean heart and a right spirit, but you can't have them unless you allow God to get rid of the sin-mess first. Today, let's make an early start at repenting, and keep at it until we're done. 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 nasb

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 nasb
__________
ps - photo above was taken at the Lithostrotos, traditional site of Jesus' beating, place where soldiers cast lots, and Pilate delivered Him to the Jews to be crucified. John 19:13.
_________
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  Using Grace as a Speech-Seasoning

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

Using Grace as a Speech-Seasoning

I've been a little stuck in the James study. The sections on sin have slowed me down because of all the repentance they've required. Today, I finally made it to Day 4: Anger and Entitlement. 

I didn't get far this morning before I hit a snag. "What does Colossians 4:6 have to say about our speech?" I wrote the answer in my journal. "Seasoned with salt." 

The next question threw me. It was a Greek word study on grace. I'd expected a question about salt. (I know I wrote this study, but I'm still surprised by what I wrote.) I immediately assumed I'd made an error, so I went back to Colossians and realized I'd misread the verse.

"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person." Col. 4:6 nasb

When I add seasoning to food, I judge the amount based on what it will take to add flavor but not overwhelm. Too much, and the food becomes unpalatable, especially if I'm adding salt.

God did not intend for us to have such salty, caustic speech that it left people parched and burned by our intensity. Instead, our speech should be seasoned with the sweetness of spirit that only Christ can bring. 

This grace with which we should speak "affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, and grace of speech". (1)

I have to wonder if my words offer all that and, if I'm honest, I know they don't. Not always. There are times when my speech is peppered with complaints, whining, and a few harsh judgments. 

I don't want to be a complaining, whining, grumbler. Probably none of us do.

Thanks be to God, the solution is simple. 

Repent. Restart.

Is our speech filled with words that bring "joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness" to our hearers? If not, let's ask God to cleanse our hearts minds, and mouths. 

We're supposed to do more than receive grace. We're supposed to dispense grace with our words, as well. Let's be sure we do.

_____________

(1)"G5485 - charis - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NASB)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 9 Feb, 2017. https://www.blueletterbible.org//lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5485&t=NASB

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: What to Do if We Want More Jesus

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. Literally, I don't get a salary until there are enough donations to cover it. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841
#Jesus

What to Do If We Want More Jesus

This morning, as I scrolled through previous blog posts, my New Year's Day post caught my eye. Some of my Facebook friends had posted their "word of the year" for 2017. They'd chosen everything from Courage to Dare, from Adventure to Healing. I didn't know people had a word for the year, but I decided my word would be Jesus, and I penned theses lines: "To have more Jesus, there will have to be less Leanna. Less pride. Less selfishness. Less whining. Less grumbling. 

"My 2017: Less me. More Him."

As I read these words this morning, I laughed out loud. I didn't realize it at the time, but the James study was about to deliver less of Leanna. 

His words are completely straightforward. Misunderstanding is impossible. 

"God is opposed to the proud.... " (4:6) 

"Where jealously and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing..." (3:16)  

"The tongue is a fire..." (3:6) 

Need I continue?

James has nailed my sinful self with his words. I find that my heart has more black sin in it than I imagined, and I am sick of it. Sick of my sin.

The love of money may be the root of all evil, but I'm pretty sure pride is tied up in there somewhere. 

God is opposed to the proud. 

Those are sobering words. I don't want Him to be opposed to me, so pride has to go. When I searched for "pride" in my blogger control panel today, I found that I've written about pride 86 times. How sad is that? 86 times and still not done with it.

One of my mentoring partners and I spent considerable time on our knees yesterday praying about this very thing. Our need for control comes from pride. When we think our way is always best, it's because of pride. When we are frustrated because people don't see things "our" way, it's pride again... 

Pride is so pervasive, in our churches, in our culture, that we've come to see it as natural. As normal. But it's not. 

Pride offends God. Defies Him. Rejects Him. To put it mildly, He is not about to put up with pride in our hearts.

If we plan to serve Him, pride has to go.

Once again, I've confessed my sin and repented. I hope it's for the last time, because I feel considerably better without it.

What about your heart? What sin lurks there? Why are you hanging onto it? Today, let's confess the sin God already knows about, repent, and ask Him to remove it. 

If we want more Jesus, the sin has to go.
________________
This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. Literally, I don't get a salary until there are enough donations to cover it. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: This is How We Know We Belong To Jesus 
#pride #Jesus 

This is How We Know We Belong to Jesus

One of the things Sam Wiley talks about is having a "know-so" salvation. Pastor Scooter used the phrase recently, too, so it's been on my mind. Scripture tells us that we don't have to wonder about our salvation. We can know for sure.

1 John was written to people struggling with Gnosticism, the idea that knowledge is supreme, and that there is a "higher" knowledge to which the average Christian could not attain.

John disagreed. It's really simple to tell that you know Jesus, he told his readers. If you know Him, you keep His commandments. That's it.

The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The second commandment is what James referred to as the Royal Law of our King. 

Love your neighbor as yourself.

All the other commandments can be rolled up into those two. 

If you know Jesus, you will love God and others. Period. If we don't love God and others, we don't know Jesus. I'm not making this up. It comes straight from 1 John.

"The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in Him." 1 John 2:4 nasb

In case you've wondered, pew-sitting is not one of the commandments of Jesus.  Even if you attend every church service in a five-mile radius of your home, that is not salvation. 

Salvation is demonstrated by obedience. 

If we're not trying to do what Jesus said to do, we should be asking, "Am I saved or not?"

The Royal Law of our King is love, and that love fills our hearts and lives with light that illuminates our path, even in the darkness times. 

This is what the Christian life looks like: All-encompassing love for God. All-encompassing love for others.

Is that how our lives look? 

Consider this question today, "In what way have I actively loved someone who is different from me in the last two weeks?" If the answer is, "I haven't," something is wrong.

Jesus did not die on the cross so we could sit on a pew. He died so that we could be free to love and live as He lived, and that looks a lot different than the way most of us live. 

Today's the day for some serious soul-searching, because our eternal destination hangs in the balance. Is the love of Christ evident in the way I live or not? If not, what should I do about it?

_____________

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. Literally, I don't get a salary until there are enough donations to cover it. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Words We're Waiting To Hear 

#Jesus #salvation 

The Words We're Waiting To Hear

Last night, I let Maggie and Mamie out the back door one more time before we went to bed. Mamie was surprisingly efficient, and was back inside in no time. 

Maggie, however, was another story. The rumble of the train as it passed through our town was audible in the distance. Maggie doesn't like the deep rumbling sound, and she barked her hardest to make it stop, like she always does.

When I grew tired of the barking, I stepped outside and walked toward Maggie. Her little barking did nothing at all to stop the big train, but I said what she waited to hear.

"Good job, Maggie. You can come in now."

I don't know why she waits for those words, but she always does. She stopped barking and ran inside.

It's a Shih Tzu's job to be territorial around their owner. When she barks at the train, she's doing what she was born to do, and waiting for the affirmation that she's been faithful.

Last night, as she ran in the door, I wondered if all my works are a little like barking at the train. Good effort but no effect. 

One day, I'll step into eternity and listen expectantly for the words I most want to hear, too. "Well done, good and faithful servant." Those words then depend upon the choices I make now, upon the actions I take. 

As believers, our salvation from hell is faith-based. Our commendations in eternity are works-based, and utterly dependent upon what we do with what we've been given. Did we take five talents and turn them into ten? Did we take one talent and turn it into two?

Let ask ourselves a serious question with eternal consequences. Will my actions today concerning that entrusted to me by God earn me a "well done" in eternity or not?

If not, make a change. We can one day hear "well done" from our Heavenly Father, but only if we do well now.

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." Matthew   25:23 nasb

______

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. Literally, I don't get a salary until there are enough donations to cover it. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Pauses that Refresh 
#Jesus #faithful

The Pauses That Refresh

The perfect day, at least for me, is any day spent with my son. The next-most-perfect day is one spent at my farm. Much of that time is on the screened porch, writing, the Wonder Dogs at my side and a pot of tea on the warmer, topped off  by time rambling in the woods with the dogs. 

I don't have enough of those days anymore, but I treasure them when they come. They're rest to me, a kind of pause that refreshes. 

I looked at Luke 4 this morning and was reminded of another pause that refreshed. After Jesus finished his forty-day wilderness retreat and the devilish temptation that followed, an unexpected thing happened. 

The devil gave Him a break. 

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NASB)

That always surprises me. When I'm doing what I love to do, I can happily work sixteen hours days, and often do. I don't know why the evil one gave Jesus a break, or why he sometimes gives us a break, but I'm glad he does.

The reality for disciples is that temptations will come our way. There'll be seasons of severe temptation when, without the grace of God, we would surely succumb. 

There'll also be the pause that refreshes, when the enemy leaves us until a more opportune time.

Our job during those pauses is to dig deep in the Word of God, spend time with our Lord, and gain strength for the next round of battles. 

There's another pause designed to refresh, and I'm not always the best at taking advantage of it. The Sabbath Rest isn't a suggestion by God to weary travelers. It's a command to His people. 

Take a break every week. 

Don't work at all. 

Focus on God. 

In case you're wondering, this God-designed holy break is a beautiful piece of health maintenance and faith maintenance. 

Today, let's do what God says. Be still. Focus on Him. Stop all our work. Rest. Recharge. Refresh. 

It's not a suggestion. It's a command.

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8 nasb
___________

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Why Dropping the Drama is One of the Best Decisions of All
#Jesus #rest