"Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."
~Hosea 6:1-3
This passage of Scripture has always intrigued me. At first, it was mostly because I didn't understand it. I didn't get why God would injure, break or hurt us just to fix it. It didn't fit my image of a 'loving' God.
Over the past months, seeing God working in my own life, I see that He has to break me if I truly want to become more like Him. If I've built up this life that isn't pleasing to Him, full of things that aren't of Him, He has to chip away at that and then begin rebuilding me. It hurts now, but unless the Lord's will is at the heart of me, He can't make me into what I need to be.
And that's my thought for today. :o)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
And so we come to it
Lent begins tomorrow (or what's more likely by the time I'm done writing this post, today).
Lent brings to mind a few different things depending on what you've heard or experienced of it. Whenever I mention Lent, the most common response I receive is, 'But you're not Catholic.' Oh well. :P
Traditionally, Lent is viewed as a 40 day period of time in which believers do some sort of penance in the form of fasting from particular foods or activities in preparation for Holy Week, which includes the death and resurrection of our Savior.
Others take a less 'religious' view and simply see Lent as a great time to try giving up smoking or drinking soda or eating chocolate.
But what is the point of Lent? Can one really do penance for their sins, hoping to find favor in God's eyes? Of course not!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" ~Eph. 2:8
I think there is a fine, but significant, line between doing penance for sin and recognizing your desperate need for Christ's blood to cover your life. I think practices which can start out as the latter can drift into the category of doing penance if we're not careful.
While spending time thinking and praying about how I wanted to handle Lent this year, I asked God to show me what most I needed from Him, not just during this time, but for my life in general. One thing I've always liked about Lent is that you have a tangible goal to set for yourself. 40 days to work towards a new goal.
During this time of reflection, I recalled something we had talked about in our college small group last fall. We were talking about tithing and it was brought up what it might look like if we tithed a portion of each day to the Lord. I said then that I would do that for Lent. And so...that's what I'm going to do for Lent.
10% of every day will be for the Lord. I'm not talking about sitting and reading my Bible, but really spending time with the Lord. Praying, yes, but most importantly, listening. Truly spending quality time with my Jesus. My biggest prayer for this time is that I won't stop at 40 days...and that by the time that 40 days is up, I'll be giving more than 10%.
I want to spend the next 40 days truly connecting with Him and learning to listen to His voice. This is what I feel He wants most from me right now. All areas of spiritual growth in my life hinge on whether I am listening to His direction.
In order to maximize my ability to listen to God's voice (and know that it is only Him that I'm allowing to dictate the direction of my life), I've decide to make the following verse my theme verse for Lent:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~Phil. 4:8
The battle for the mind is as spiritual as any. Spending this Lenten season recognizing how Christ's sacrifice not only has redeemed my life and saved me for eternity, but also knowing that it's this very power that helps me to fight everyday temptation is a huge reason why this verse is key to successfully growing with Christ. It's going to come off a bit extreme, but I'm okay with that.
I want more Jesus and if that means less of everything else, so be it. I want to truly discover what it means to dwell solely on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. There are a lot of things I can do that wouldn't stand out to anyone simply because the rest of the world is doing it too.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." ~Romans 12:2
I want to cut out the unnecessary and be different! My life should look different to the world. In fact, I imagine that if I truly lived a life worthy of the calling that Christ has put on me, my life would look a lot different than most of the believers I know. I'm not saying that to rag on the people I know and love, goodness knows I'm right there with them. But I'm ready to step up and say enough is enough. Christ is in me which means that Christ should move through me. And Jesus didn't plan his life around a TV schedule or what tax bracket He fell into. He lived a life of love and truth and passion. He lived and died and rose to change the world.
Oh, that I could live a life like that! I want to affect those around me for eternity, and that journey begins with my own decision to allow Christ to completely take over and transform me.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Lent brings to mind a few different things depending on what you've heard or experienced of it. Whenever I mention Lent, the most common response I receive is, 'But you're not Catholic.' Oh well. :P
Traditionally, Lent is viewed as a 40 day period of time in which believers do some sort of penance in the form of fasting from particular foods or activities in preparation for Holy Week, which includes the death and resurrection of our Savior.
Others take a less 'religious' view and simply see Lent as a great time to try giving up smoking or drinking soda or eating chocolate.
But what is the point of Lent? Can one really do penance for their sins, hoping to find favor in God's eyes? Of course not!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" ~Eph. 2:8
I think there is a fine, but significant, line between doing penance for sin and recognizing your desperate need for Christ's blood to cover your life. I think practices which can start out as the latter can drift into the category of doing penance if we're not careful.
While spending time thinking and praying about how I wanted to handle Lent this year, I asked God to show me what most I needed from Him, not just during this time, but for my life in general. One thing I've always liked about Lent is that you have a tangible goal to set for yourself. 40 days to work towards a new goal.
During this time of reflection, I recalled something we had talked about in our college small group last fall. We were talking about tithing and it was brought up what it might look like if we tithed a portion of each day to the Lord. I said then that I would do that for Lent. And so...that's what I'm going to do for Lent.
10% of every day will be for the Lord. I'm not talking about sitting and reading my Bible, but really spending time with the Lord. Praying, yes, but most importantly, listening. Truly spending quality time with my Jesus. My biggest prayer for this time is that I won't stop at 40 days...and that by the time that 40 days is up, I'll be giving more than 10%.
I want to spend the next 40 days truly connecting with Him and learning to listen to His voice. This is what I feel He wants most from me right now. All areas of spiritual growth in my life hinge on whether I am listening to His direction.
In order to maximize my ability to listen to God's voice (and know that it is only Him that I'm allowing to dictate the direction of my life), I've decide to make the following verse my theme verse for Lent:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~Phil. 4:8
The battle for the mind is as spiritual as any. Spending this Lenten season recognizing how Christ's sacrifice not only has redeemed my life and saved me for eternity, but also knowing that it's this very power that helps me to fight everyday temptation is a huge reason why this verse is key to successfully growing with Christ. It's going to come off a bit extreme, but I'm okay with that.
I want more Jesus and if that means less of everything else, so be it. I want to truly discover what it means to dwell solely on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. There are a lot of things I can do that wouldn't stand out to anyone simply because the rest of the world is doing it too.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." ~Romans 12:2
I want to cut out the unnecessary and be different! My life should look different to the world. In fact, I imagine that if I truly lived a life worthy of the calling that Christ has put on me, my life would look a lot different than most of the believers I know. I'm not saying that to rag on the people I know and love, goodness knows I'm right there with them. But I'm ready to step up and say enough is enough. Christ is in me which means that Christ should move through me. And Jesus didn't plan his life around a TV schedule or what tax bracket He fell into. He lived a life of love and truth and passion. He lived and died and rose to change the world.
Oh, that I could live a life like that! I want to affect those around me for eternity, and that journey begins with my own decision to allow Christ to completely take over and transform me.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Heart check
I read this verse yesterday while I was up at Starting Grounds, and while I had read it before I had always kind of passed over it without a second though. Well, I guess Jesus thought it was time for me to pay attention to it. :P
"The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks." ~Luke 6:45
I know that from time to time I can feel like I've 'arrived' in certain areas of my walk, or at the very least, feel like I've grown enough to get by. Reading this verse yesterday pretty much brought me back to my senses. For one thing, the Bible says:
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 1:6
That tells me that I still need the Spirit to work in my life daily, shaping and transforming, and He will continue to do so until Christ returns.
Second, Scripture also says:
"there is no one who does good, no not one." ~Psalm 14:3
So it is by Christ alone in me that anything good comes from my life. And so now I come back to this passage in Luke. I'm a pretty positive person, but it's still my default to resort to sarcasm and biting remarks when I'm talking to people. I know that I can lean towards a more cynical view point and that fuels the kinds of things I say.
I want to see the world the way Jesus sees it. If my heart is in tune with His, wouldn't I be much more likely to respond out of compassion instead of cynicism? That is my prayer for today.
Father, as I seek to understand and know You more, show me the world through Your loving eyes instead of the blinded perspective I tend to take. Open my heart to extend grace and compassion to those around me.
"The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks." ~Luke 6:45
I know that from time to time I can feel like I've 'arrived' in certain areas of my walk, or at the very least, feel like I've grown enough to get by. Reading this verse yesterday pretty much brought me back to my senses. For one thing, the Bible says:
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 1:6
That tells me that I still need the Spirit to work in my life daily, shaping and transforming, and He will continue to do so until Christ returns.
Second, Scripture also says:
"there is no one who does good, no not one." ~Psalm 14:3
So it is by Christ alone in me that anything good comes from my life. And so now I come back to this passage in Luke. I'm a pretty positive person, but it's still my default to resort to sarcasm and biting remarks when I'm talking to people. I know that I can lean towards a more cynical view point and that fuels the kinds of things I say.
I want to see the world the way Jesus sees it. If my heart is in tune with His, wouldn't I be much more likely to respond out of compassion instead of cynicism? That is my prayer for today.
Father, as I seek to understand and know You more, show me the world through Your loving eyes instead of the blinded perspective I tend to take. Open my heart to extend grace and compassion to those around me.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
From All Sides
Do you ever have those times when it seems like God is using every possible area of your life to send you a message? This is definitely one of those times. And it's so good. Granted, there's been a little conviction involved, but I'm so ecstatic to be hearing the Lord speaking so clearly into my heart that I don't really mind. :P
First, this Scripture has been coming to my attention over the past couple of weeks:
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God based on faith." ~Philippians 3:7-9
And then, this song has been getting stuck in my head for the past few days (I haven't actually listened to this song in several months, go figure):
"Use me, break me, waste me on You, Lord
Ruin me, take me, waste me on You
For to die is to live...
To starve is to feast
And less of me is more of Jesus
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
If I lose my life
I gain everything
And at the cross
Away with all death's sting
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Come in power, wash me clean
Overwhelm me with Your presence
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Help me glory in the cross
Help me find my gain in loss"
~ I Want It All by Shane and Shane
And then! As if the message wasn't already clear enough, last night at youth group, Koby gave us a copy of a prayer by John Wesley that goes as follows:
"I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in Heaven. Amen." ~John Wesley
I can't tell you how many times I've read this prayer and made it my own in the past 24 hours. I don't know how to describe just how deeply the Spirit has been impressing upon me the importance of laying myself aside for the sake of Christ. I feel a physical ache in my chest to know Him more deeply. To find my purpose solely in Him and NOT my circumstances or position in life. Truly, as long as I have Christ I have everything that I need.
Jesus, continue to move in my heart and my life. Teach me to pursue You, and only You, wholeheartedly. Help me to walk in Your will and to relinquish control of my life to Your strong and capable hands. It is my joy and true happiness to offer my life to You to do with what You will.
First, this Scripture has been coming to my attention over the past couple of weeks:
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God based on faith." ~Philippians 3:7-9
And then, this song has been getting stuck in my head for the past few days (I haven't actually listened to this song in several months, go figure):
"Use me, break me, waste me on You, Lord
Ruin me, take me, waste me on You
For to die is to live...
To starve is to feast
And less of me is more of Jesus
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
If I lose my life
I gain everything
And at the cross
Away with all death's sting
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Come in power, wash me clean
Overwhelm me with Your presence
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Help me glory in the cross
Help me find my gain in loss"
~ I Want It All by Shane and Shane
And then! As if the message wasn't already clear enough, last night at youth group, Koby gave us a copy of a prayer by John Wesley that goes as follows:
"I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in Heaven. Amen." ~John Wesley
I can't tell you how many times I've read this prayer and made it my own in the past 24 hours. I don't know how to describe just how deeply the Spirit has been impressing upon me the importance of laying myself aside for the sake of Christ. I feel a physical ache in my chest to know Him more deeply. To find my purpose solely in Him and NOT my circumstances or position in life. Truly, as long as I have Christ I have everything that I need.
Jesus, continue to move in my heart and my life. Teach me to pursue You, and only You, wholeheartedly. Help me to walk in Your will and to relinquish control of my life to Your strong and capable hands. It is my joy and true happiness to offer my life to You to do with what You will.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mission Connexion Northwest - Part 4
Okay, so I lost my steam a little bit. :P
However, the most extensive portion of my blogging about the conference is over. Mostly it's because I personally received more out of the first part of the conference than the second. But there is still a little more I'd like to share.
The last two workshops I attended were less class-like than the first two. I took very sparse notes in the third workshop and I took no notes in the fourth. They were very awesome though.
The first workshop of the afternoon was presented by Voice of the Martyrs. The gal who ran the workshop gave a brief overview of the organization and the history behind it (fascinating and moving story, by the way).
We were about halfway through the workshop when we had some technical difficulties and weren't able to view a video that had been scheduled as part of the class. The gal didn't have anything to do for the last half of the workshop, but it so happened that a guy she knew from a Portland church was attending and he happened to be part of a group that regularly prays for and supports the persecuted church in North Korea. God works in amazing ways - he was able to share what the group at his church does and offered a ton of insight on how we can effectively pray for the church in North Korea.
For more info about what they do, visit http://www.prayforthepersecuted.com.
A random factoid that the gal shared with us: there isn't a single established church in Saudi Arabia. During the workshop I wasn't sure why, but that fact stuck in my brain. I found out in the next workshop why the Lord kept it in my mind.
The last workshop I attended was supposed to be a Muslim man sharing his testimony of how he came to know Christ. The workshop was canceled, but nobody saw the notice on the door and so we all filed into the chapel anyway. Turns out the guy who was supposed to speak had been in an accident and wasn't able to make it (I haven't heard, but I assume that he is okay because nothing was said otherwise). Another Muslim-turned-Christian had attended the previous session in the chapel and one of the conference volunteers asked him to share his testimony in lieu of canceling a session everyone had turned up for anyway.
I'm not going to share his story, a) it's not my story to tell and b) he shared his story at great risk to his own safety and the session wasn't even recorded. However, he is from Saudi Arabia and as soon as he told us that I knew that I had been in the Voice of the Martyrs session for a reason.
Can you imagine what extraordinary lengths God goes to to pursue His precious children? He plucked a man out of a country that literally does not have a single church in it and brought him all the way over here so that He could save him. Wow.
Suffice to say, this man has an incredible story. I can't share specifics, but I can tell you that our God is moving in mighty, mighty ways and He is pulling out all the stops to reach His children.
This session really exemplifies why I believe that everyone should make an effort to attend this conference next year. You may not feel called to missions, but all of us are called to go spread the Gospel in some way, shape or form. If you're not being led to serve as a missionary, go anyway and find out what organizations you can support and pray for. We have brothers and sisters all over the world who are literally putting their lives on the line to make sure Jesus' name is proclaimed to all nations. We have to be aware of what's going on out there and find our place in God's plan for reaching the world.
The things I saw and heard and experienced that weekend have changed my perspective and my life...how can I know about what's going on with the persecuted church and all of the people that have yet to be reached and not be transformed?
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
~Matthew 28:19-20
However, the most extensive portion of my blogging about the conference is over. Mostly it's because I personally received more out of the first part of the conference than the second. But there is still a little more I'd like to share.
The last two workshops I attended were less class-like than the first two. I took very sparse notes in the third workshop and I took no notes in the fourth. They were very awesome though.
The first workshop of the afternoon was presented by Voice of the Martyrs. The gal who ran the workshop gave a brief overview of the organization and the history behind it (fascinating and moving story, by the way).
We were about halfway through the workshop when we had some technical difficulties and weren't able to view a video that had been scheduled as part of the class. The gal didn't have anything to do for the last half of the workshop, but it so happened that a guy she knew from a Portland church was attending and he happened to be part of a group that regularly prays for and supports the persecuted church in North Korea. God works in amazing ways - he was able to share what the group at his church does and offered a ton of insight on how we can effectively pray for the church in North Korea.
For more info about what they do, visit http://www.prayforthepersecuted.com.
A random factoid that the gal shared with us: there isn't a single established church in Saudi Arabia. During the workshop I wasn't sure why, but that fact stuck in my brain. I found out in the next workshop why the Lord kept it in my mind.
The last workshop I attended was supposed to be a Muslim man sharing his testimony of how he came to know Christ. The workshop was canceled, but nobody saw the notice on the door and so we all filed into the chapel anyway. Turns out the guy who was supposed to speak had been in an accident and wasn't able to make it (I haven't heard, but I assume that he is okay because nothing was said otherwise). Another Muslim-turned-Christian had attended the previous session in the chapel and one of the conference volunteers asked him to share his testimony in lieu of canceling a session everyone had turned up for anyway.
I'm not going to share his story, a) it's not my story to tell and b) he shared his story at great risk to his own safety and the session wasn't even recorded. However, he is from Saudi Arabia and as soon as he told us that I knew that I had been in the Voice of the Martyrs session for a reason.
Can you imagine what extraordinary lengths God goes to to pursue His precious children? He plucked a man out of a country that literally does not have a single church in it and brought him all the way over here so that He could save him. Wow.
Suffice to say, this man has an incredible story. I can't share specifics, but I can tell you that our God is moving in mighty, mighty ways and He is pulling out all the stops to reach His children.
This session really exemplifies why I believe that everyone should make an effort to attend this conference next year. You may not feel called to missions, but all of us are called to go spread the Gospel in some way, shape or form. If you're not being led to serve as a missionary, go anyway and find out what organizations you can support and pray for. We have brothers and sisters all over the world who are literally putting their lives on the line to make sure Jesus' name is proclaimed to all nations. We have to be aware of what's going on out there and find our place in God's plan for reaching the world.
The things I saw and heard and experienced that weekend have changed my perspective and my life...how can I know about what's going on with the persecuted church and all of the people that have yet to be reached and not be transformed?
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
~Matthew 28:19-20
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Mission Connexion Northwest - Part 3
And so we continue. :o)
After the first workshop about spiritual warfare, Katie and I parted ways for the second workshop. While she attended a workshop about missions fundraising, I went to one about woman to woman mentoring.
Ele Parrott led this workshop and I will be completely honest and say that as excited as I was to take this workshop, as soon as I saw Ele, I was bummed. I had expected a younger woman, bubbly and full of energy. What I saw was a kindly, older woman who greeted me with a smile and a handshake.
Please don't ask why I assumed what I did. I don't even know. And I'm horribly embarrassed.
So as my excitement dwindled and my level of skepticism rose, I sat in my chair and waited for the workshop to start. Women started filtering in and chatting with each other. As it got to be time to start, Ele kind of reined everyone in and asked to open in prayer. Once again, my embarrassingly naive attitude crept up on me and I braced myself for a formal 'old lady' prayer. I'm laughing at myself as I'm writing this. I'm also cringing...Oh Jesus, will I never learn?!
As soon as that woman opened her mouth to pray I felt some Holy Spirit conviction come down on me...whew! Ele has got more fire than women half her age and it's a fire born of tough life experience and years of walking intimately with her Lord. I was immediately transported by her vivacious spirit and praise the Lord, open to her message.
Before I get too far into what I learned at this workshop, I want to preface why I wanted to take it at all. A title like 'woman to woman mentoring' doesn't exactly inspire a ton of excitement does it? Au contraire...as soon as I found this one on the list I knew that I wanted to take it.
I spent many years really disliking women...I didn't trust them, I thought they were all backstabbers and lying gossipers (mostly because that's how I was once upon a time - talk about projecting one's own shortcomings onto the rest of the world!). The Lord really got a hold of me several years ago and showed me just how valuable my relationships with other women are.
He has definitely instilled in me a deep desire to help encourage women in their relationships. The heart of a woman can be complex at times, but the beauty in it is incomparable and to see that beauty reconciled to the Lord and to other women is so powerful. The strength a woman has when she is vulnerable with the other women around her is unreal.
So I wanted to attend this workshop because now that I recognize this passion to help mentor and encourage women, I needed a little direction. Ele provided some of that much needed direction.
Basically she laid out what spiritual mentoring is and what it isn't. Pretty basic!
Mentoring starts with grace. John 1:14 says that Jesus is full of grace and truth. Ele pointed out how important the word order is here. People need truth, but the truth can be brutal. Grace needs to be given before the truth.
She stressed how important it is to BE in someone's life, not just speak into it. In order to be in someone's life, I have to be certain things in my own life first.
1. I need to be a woman of the Word of God
-not a woman about the Word, but of it
-detox from all of the Christian help books and rely completely on the Bible
-I need to allow the Spirit to instruct me and interpret Scripture for me
-"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him." ~1 John 2:27
2. I need to be a woman of faith
-"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." ~Hebrews 11:6
-I need to step out onto the invisible, not the non-existent
3. I need to be a woman of prayer
-"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
Authentic spiritual mentoring is coming alongside of another, partnering with who the Holy Spirit is being in their life, infusing truth into their reality in an appropriate and timely manner.
Spiritual mentoring is not:
1. Trying to fix someone - people are not projects and we don't have the power to change anyone.
2. Telling our story - it isn't about me, it's about them.
3. Imparting our wisdom.
4. Finding our significance or importance in mentoring.
-We are only here to prepare the way for Christ, making them independently dependent on Jesus. As the relationship progresses, I will decrease.
Her final word of advice was to know who to mentor. Look for the listeners and the ones who want to grow. The best relationships form when a woman seeks out a mentor because she is ready to be transformed.
I don't think there's anything I can add to this, pretty self-explanatory. I am really looking forward to taking this lesson and applying it to my own life. Definitely feeling more equipped.
Until the next post... :o)
After the first workshop about spiritual warfare, Katie and I parted ways for the second workshop. While she attended a workshop about missions fundraising, I went to one about woman to woman mentoring.
Ele Parrott led this workshop and I will be completely honest and say that as excited as I was to take this workshop, as soon as I saw Ele, I was bummed. I had expected a younger woman, bubbly and full of energy. What I saw was a kindly, older woman who greeted me with a smile and a handshake.
Please don't ask why I assumed what I did. I don't even know. And I'm horribly embarrassed.
So as my excitement dwindled and my level of skepticism rose, I sat in my chair and waited for the workshop to start. Women started filtering in and chatting with each other. As it got to be time to start, Ele kind of reined everyone in and asked to open in prayer. Once again, my embarrassingly naive attitude crept up on me and I braced myself for a formal 'old lady' prayer. I'm laughing at myself as I'm writing this. I'm also cringing...Oh Jesus, will I never learn?!
As soon as that woman opened her mouth to pray I felt some Holy Spirit conviction come down on me...whew! Ele has got more fire than women half her age and it's a fire born of tough life experience and years of walking intimately with her Lord. I was immediately transported by her vivacious spirit and praise the Lord, open to her message.
Before I get too far into what I learned at this workshop, I want to preface why I wanted to take it at all. A title like 'woman to woman mentoring' doesn't exactly inspire a ton of excitement does it? Au contraire...as soon as I found this one on the list I knew that I wanted to take it.
I spent many years really disliking women...I didn't trust them, I thought they were all backstabbers and lying gossipers (mostly because that's how I was once upon a time - talk about projecting one's own shortcomings onto the rest of the world!). The Lord really got a hold of me several years ago and showed me just how valuable my relationships with other women are.
He has definitely instilled in me a deep desire to help encourage women in their relationships. The heart of a woman can be complex at times, but the beauty in it is incomparable and to see that beauty reconciled to the Lord and to other women is so powerful. The strength a woman has when she is vulnerable with the other women around her is unreal.
So I wanted to attend this workshop because now that I recognize this passion to help mentor and encourage women, I needed a little direction. Ele provided some of that much needed direction.
Basically she laid out what spiritual mentoring is and what it isn't. Pretty basic!
Mentoring starts with grace. John 1:14 says that Jesus is full of grace and truth. Ele pointed out how important the word order is here. People need truth, but the truth can be brutal. Grace needs to be given before the truth.
She stressed how important it is to BE in someone's life, not just speak into it. In order to be in someone's life, I have to be certain things in my own life first.
1. I need to be a woman of the Word of God
-not a woman about the Word, but of it
-detox from all of the Christian help books and rely completely on the Bible
-I need to allow the Spirit to instruct me and interpret Scripture for me
-"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him." ~1 John 2:27
2. I need to be a woman of faith
-"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." ~Hebrews 11:6
-I need to step out onto the invisible, not the non-existent
3. I need to be a woman of prayer
-"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
Authentic spiritual mentoring is coming alongside of another, partnering with who the Holy Spirit is being in their life, infusing truth into their reality in an appropriate and timely manner.
Spiritual mentoring is not:
1. Trying to fix someone - people are not projects and we don't have the power to change anyone.
2. Telling our story - it isn't about me, it's about them.
3. Imparting our wisdom.
4. Finding our significance or importance in mentoring.
-We are only here to prepare the way for Christ, making them independently dependent on Jesus. As the relationship progresses, I will decrease.
Her final word of advice was to know who to mentor. Look for the listeners and the ones who want to grow. The best relationships form when a woman seeks out a mentor because she is ready to be transformed.
I don't think there's anything I can add to this, pretty self-explanatory. I am really looking forward to taking this lesson and applying it to my own life. Definitely feeling more equipped.
Until the next post... :o)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mission Connexion Northwest - Part 2
And so it continues. :o)
Saturday dawned neither bright nor early, but that was okay. Katie and I went out for a late dinner after the speaker the previous night so we took the opportunity to get a full 8 hours of sleep and a good breakfast before heading back out to the church.
We both had a full schedule of workshops and of course the keynote speakers throughout the day.
Katie and I did the first workshop together (astounding considering there was something like 70 workshops available that weekend and we could only choose 4). It was about spiritual warfare and it was AMAZING. I think that from time to time we need to refresh ourselves on how our enemy spends his time and the ways we equip ourselves to not only defend, but defeat.
The workshop was run by Kerry Kenyon who is a pastoral care team leader for the women's division of the Portland Rescue Mission. She was pretty fabulous...very spunky.
I won't recap the entire workshop, but the main points are awesome. She spent some time talking about how Satan operates through distraction before deception (ref. Genesis 3:1-3). She then discussed how Jesus' time of temptation in the desert is the perfect example of how we should handle spiritual attack, that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted in order that we would always know exactly what to do.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." ~Matt. 4:1-11
After reading this passage of Scripture, Kerry listed 5 things that Jesus did that show us just what we need to do to successfully withstand spiritual attack:
1. Be intentional about spending time alone with God.
-Listening, not just talking
-It's going to cost something - you will lose time you were used to having, you may have to re-prioritize, but it is essential.
2. We need the Spirit to identify the weapons and lies being used against us.
-I must be in the Word - I can't know the lies if I don't know the truth.
-"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." ~Eph. 6:11
3. Rebuke the lies, fear and shame with the truth.
4. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.
-"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." ~Hebrews 4:12-13
-"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." ~Romans 8:26
5. Replace the lies, fear and shame with the truth of God.
-Accountability - have your partner pray truth over you.
-"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
Overall, I was very pleased with this workshop. Kerry's passion and strength were absolutely inspiring.
And that's it for tonight - I'll have more from the conference tomorrow!
Saturday dawned neither bright nor early, but that was okay. Katie and I went out for a late dinner after the speaker the previous night so we took the opportunity to get a full 8 hours of sleep and a good breakfast before heading back out to the church.
We both had a full schedule of workshops and of course the keynote speakers throughout the day.
Katie and I did the first workshop together (astounding considering there was something like 70 workshops available that weekend and we could only choose 4). It was about spiritual warfare and it was AMAZING. I think that from time to time we need to refresh ourselves on how our enemy spends his time and the ways we equip ourselves to not only defend, but defeat.
The workshop was run by Kerry Kenyon who is a pastoral care team leader for the women's division of the Portland Rescue Mission. She was pretty fabulous...very spunky.
I won't recap the entire workshop, but the main points are awesome. She spent some time talking about how Satan operates through distraction before deception (ref. Genesis 3:1-3). She then discussed how Jesus' time of temptation in the desert is the perfect example of how we should handle spiritual attack, that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted in order that we would always know exactly what to do.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." ~Matt. 4:1-11
After reading this passage of Scripture, Kerry listed 5 things that Jesus did that show us just what we need to do to successfully withstand spiritual attack:
1. Be intentional about spending time alone with God.
-Listening, not just talking
-It's going to cost something - you will lose time you were used to having, you may have to re-prioritize, but it is essential.
2. We need the Spirit to identify the weapons and lies being used against us.
-I must be in the Word - I can't know the lies if I don't know the truth.
-"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." ~Eph. 6:11
3. Rebuke the lies, fear and shame with the truth.
4. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.
-"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." ~Hebrews 4:12-13
-"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." ~Romans 8:26
5. Replace the lies, fear and shame with the truth of God.
-Accountability - have your partner pray truth over you.
-"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
Overall, I was very pleased with this workshop. Kerry's passion and strength were absolutely inspiring.
And that's it for tonight - I'll have more from the conference tomorrow!
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