Grace in War

Today is SynchroBlog day! There's going to be a lot of discussion (here and elsewhere) on the subject of Spiritual Warfare.

I've fairly recently discussed the topic already from a personal point of view and I didn't want to simply re-hash those thoughts. As I was thinking about Spiritual Warfare and how the term is used, abused, and thrown about, I got to thinking about what really matters in all this. The name I chose for my blog kept popping into my brain as I was pondering and so I decided on the subject of Grace and how it relates to spiritual warfare and what our attitudes should be in regards to it.

Definitions:

Here are a few of Dictionary.com's descriptions of the word Grace that relate:

grace /greɪs/
–noun
3. favor or good will.
4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior.
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
8. Theology.
a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
9. moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.

The following passage is from Ephesians 6 and is the word picture that prompted the use of "warfare".

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Ephesians 6:10-18

"Spiritual Warfare"

Call it what you will, Spiritual Warfare is a very real thing. Most of the time it doesn't feel very war-like though. We're not perpetually caught up in heated battles, duking it out with demons and evil presences. There are times when you may come face to face with evil, either in your own life, or in the lives of those around you, but for the most part, it's not a very "sensational" thing in American life.

As Christians, we are constantly fighting for the Kingdom of God, but what I find I'm fighting most often is myself. I struggle between what I know I should do and what my flesh and sinful desires would have me do. My first priority as follower of Jesus is to be with Him, learn from Him, and communicate who He is with others, be it through actions or words.

Christians are called to be where He is, to enter into what He is already doing in us and the world around us. We are given blessing that we don't deserve because of the grace of God. We are given the Spirit of God to lead us and speak for us when we don't have the words. We become heirs to the Kingdom of God and are given the spiritual authority to fight "against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." in the powerful name of Jesus.

The Dangers and the Benefits

It can be too easy to swing to the extremes when it comes to attitudes about spiritual warfare. One extreme is to basically ignore that it happens. The second is to emphasize it so much that it negates the power of God. We need to recognize that it exists so we can constantly be on alert for how we might fall prey to our own human, sinful tendencies, so we can rely on God to give us the strength to win over through His Spirit.

I have found that spiritual warfare within my own life has been a source of growth, knowledge through experience, and healing in my journey towards understanding God and becoming closer to Him and closer to who he created me to be. He has constantly continued to show His power over evil things I let into my life and became so entrenched that I didn't think I'd ever be free of them. He continually restores me closer towards His original intention of who He created me to be. He has given me knowledge through experience that has helped me walk beside people in my life through similar experiences and be a part of bringing them closer to Jesus.

Through the work of God in our own lives, through the internal wars that go on throughout our lives, God shapes us. He sharpens us, and softens us. He enables us to be a part of his plan in the lives of others as they journey closer to Him.

Grace Towards Others

Throughout it all, the important thing to remember is that just as God has given us all this through His grace and love, so we need to treat others with the same grace and love. We are not fighting against other people, regardless of whether they are followers of Jesus or not. It's easy to judge and put someone in a box when they lean towards an extreme attitude towards spiritual warfare, have differing beliefs, or speak incorrectly about spiritual warfare.

Our priority should be to pray for them, treat them with the same grace God's given us (after all, we could be the ones who are wrong!) and depending on the relationship with the person, challenge them about their attitudes in a spirit of love.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Stand firm against evil, but be filled with love and grace, let those guide your actions. Consistently be in prayer for fellow believers as we fight for the same causes, no matter how different our strategies may be.

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Others in the Discussion

Here's a list of the other SynchroBloggers participating on the discussion of Spiritual Warfare - I'm excited to see what other thoughts come out of this discussion...

Phil Wyman - Pagans, Witches, and Spiritual Warfare
John Smulo - Portraits of Spiritual Warfare
Mike Crockett - Sufism: How the Inner Jihad relates to Christian Spiritual Warfare
Steve Hayes - Thoughts on Spiritual Warfare
Marieke Schwartz - Grace in War
Cindy Harvey - Spiritual Warfare. (?)
Jenelle D'Allesandro - The Militancy of Worship
Mike Bursell - Spiritual Warfare: a liberal looking inwards
David Fisher - Spiritual Warfare: Does it have to be loud and wacky?
Brian Heasley - Something from Ibiza via Ireland
Webb Kline - Webb Kline
Sally Coleman - Sally Coleman
Mike Murrow - Mike Murrow

Sychronized Blogging

I'm participating in a "Synchronized Blogging" event next Wednesday, when a group of bloggers are going to post their thoughts on Spiritual Warfare. I'm oddly excited as some of the people participating are pastors and spiritual leaders I respect. I feel like I am reaching some new level of blogging or something, ha!

Anyway, my theme is going to be on grace and how it relates to spiritual warfare. I don't really know quite where I'm going with that yet, but the thought has been stuck in my head, so I'm going with it!

I'm gonna be doing a lot of thinking, praying, and studying my Bible this weekend (which is something I was planning on doing anyway...I just have a little extra impetus)....

Changes and a Restless Spirit

Changes:

2006 was a year of big changes, most notably, my marriage to Nathan.

There were a lot of associated changes and events that came along with it:

- Planning a wedding and all the spiritual and emotional stuff that goes along with preparing for marriage
- Moving into the 425 square foot apartment that Nathan and I now share from a spacious house I shared with 4 other girls.
- Sleeping next to another person
- Experiencing the spiritual changes that happen when you vow yourself to another person for life....there is no way I could describe it, since I don't totally understand it
- Joining finances and learning how to manage them with another person (whew!)
- Developing a different relationship with my parents and family and same with my husband and his family (we're both the first children to marry from our respective families)

One touchy subject for me lately is this:

- My friendships have changed.

I don't know if it's marriage that has changed things, or if there's something else, but it seems as though my relationships have morphed over the last year.

I've never tended towards having tons of friends. I usually have just one or two close female friends. I'm a pretty friendly person (I think) and have many people that I would consider friends, but I like having just one or two that I really make an effort to get together with and talk to about the deeper things of life.

At this point, I don't feel like I have any female friends I can easily talk to at a deeper level. I had that in the not too distant past, but it seems as though changing seasons have pulled me apart from those relationships. I can see how they gradually shifted through my engagement and into my marriage. Honestly, it's painful. But for some reason, it seems to happen over and over again in my life. I'll have one close friend during a particular season of my life and then we'll drift apart and eventually another friend comes into the pictures and so on. I know there is a natural ebb and flow to friendships, but it seems like very few of them actually stay in my life over the long haul. I'll end up trying to stay connected, but eventually give up after repeated attempts. This time, I am fighting harder to keep one friendship in particular, so we'll see how that plays out.

But, on the plus side, I did something unlike myself and joined a Knit Group that meets weekly, even though I didn't know a single person prior to joining. It's helped me get back into a hobby I enjoy (crocheting and now knitting) as well as introduced me to some women who are quickly becoming dear friends. Knit Group has become a precious thing to me and I hate missing it (which I only do when absolutely necessary!). I love the connection I have with other women, especially women who understand my passion for creating things.

Creativity and Community:

Another thing I've noticed about myself is how much I need community to fuel my creativity. I love music and creating it is a passion of mine, but I feel as though the fueling lines have been blocked. I realized that when I was at my peak musically, I was in the company of fellow musicians on a daily basis who encouraged me and vice versa. I was surrounded by music and creativity and others who shared that passion. So, despite the hecticness of my life, the lack of sleep, and the heightened stress-level, my passion was fueled and I was creating music, pushing myself to dig deeper. Since then, I've tried to fuel that passion on my own and it hasn't been very successful. Sadly, my music has fallen to the wayside and I wish I knew what to do to fix that.

On the flip side, during the height of my musical creativity, most of my other creative passions took a backseat. Now, it's through fiber arts that I am letting my creativity shine, and that probably wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the fact that I have a community of other women that I'm connected with who share that passion and cheer each other on.

Restlessness

There is a restlessness in my spirit that goes along with all these things. I can sense the music within me that wants an outlet...that is simmering below the surface of my soul ready to emerge when the time is right and the lines are unblocked.

This same restlessness keeps me from becoming too complacent in my relationship with God. Whenever God's wanting to do some work in me, the restlessness grows until I can't deny it. I get melancholy and crave time alone, time to think, time to spill out my spirit onto paper in the quietness of the presence of God and say "See this paper? These are the things on my heart...reveal to me what you want me to see. What changes do you want to make in my heart, in my life?"

I am glad for it because it keeps me from becoming too self-reliant. It reminds me that it is only in Jesus that I find true peace, direction, and security.

The future

2007 is going to bring many changes as well...possibly some big ones. I sense that melancholy restlessness as I prepare for going back to school to pursue my dream (currently one class at a time).

It's time to get out the Bible and journal and find some quiet space to reflect, pour out my heart to God, and wait on Him.

Living "offensively"

Offensive meaning "proactive", that is.

My husband, Nathan, and I were talking as we walked to lunch today and I shared with him how I feel like a lot of things in life have changed since we got married, not all directly related to marriage.

Lately I've been frustrated in the area of friends. I'm having to take the offensive and be the one to pursue my relationships outside my marriage (although that one also takes work, especially being only 4 months old). The thing is, I feel like I'm the only one making the effort to take the initiative. Whether it's my close friend that I don't see anymore unless we make specific plans, or the new friends I'm making through my knit group and other places. Honestly the lack of effort on my friends' sides at times makes me feel like I'm not important to them. And taking the initiative isn't always easy for me, which means that I end up not spending the time with my dear friends that I wish I did.

I could easily live "defensively" and end up a hermit, only spending time with my husband and probably driving him nutso. Perhaps if I waited long enough, someone would decide to actually call me up. It can also be tiring and discouraging, but in the end, when I'm connecting with that friend who's been with me through this and that, it's all worth it.

But I crave community and I crave the encouragement of others, especially other believers. It's the way God designed us. We are to sharpen iron on iron and that's what Church is about whether that's your normal church service, or two friends coming together in Christ to encourage, exhort and lift each other up.

On a spiritual level, the Bible is constantly using "offensive" terminology, and perhaps that's where the term "warfare" comes from, especially considering the continuous warring that went on in the Old Testament and throughout Israel's history. The wars and battles fought were both spiritual and literal. I think that we like to be able to label things, so we put the label of "warfare" on the spiritual battle that goes on in our lives. I know I feel a warring going on between my soul and my fleshly desires. And it's too easy to name off the demons "Greed, Lust, Self-righteousness, Pride, Anger". And it certainly feels like demonic oppression.

...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matt 16:18

The gates don't move. The church does. WE are on the offensive and the "powers of Hell" (as another translation puts it), are on the defensive. But that doesn't mean that we are knocking down people along the way. We are to overcome evil with GOOD. The greatest of these is LOVE. I think that's where a lot of us get confused (particularly in Charismatic circles). We become so impassioned, that we forget that Jesus' focus was on healing, restoration, touching the untouchables, recognizing people's needs and meeting them where they are at. He didn't sit back and just let people travel to him from wherever they were (although that did happen as well), he traveled to the people...he went to their homes and ate with them, healed them, and restored them.

We aren't better than people who don't know Jesus like we do. We aren't above them, or in some Holy club, we are simply followers of a God who has touched us and we are called to share His touch with those around us. He's given us His spirit so that we have authority and power over evil, but he calls us to love our neighbors above all else.

1. What do you struggle with when it comes to contemporary understandings of spiritual warfare?
2. What should spiritual warfare look like in everyday life?

I struggle with recognizing that I am CALLED to be on the offensive, to be proactive, in how I live my life. To GO. I can't just float along on the barge to heaven. But I'm not called to be on a "battleship" either. Rather, I'd like to think of it more like a mercy ship. Wherever I am, I should be reflecting the love of Christ to those around me. I need to See the people around me as Jesus sees them. I need to Touch them as He would touch them. I need to Meet them where they are and give of what Jesus has given to me.....I need to LOVE them.

So in the day to day, I think the number one thing is to be connecting with God...to See Him, to Touch Him, and to let Him meet our needs, to fill us with Himself. Without His love and life in us, we can't do it. I know I can't. We need him to open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to what's going on in our lives and the lives of those around us.

I do think that there may be times (moments or even longer periods of time) when the spiritual is more present in my awareness and there is a strong sense of very real, very demonic activity, but in the day to day it's not that sensational.

"Spiritual Warfare"?!?

This thing commonly referred to as "Spiritual Warfare" has been coming up quite a bit lately in some blogs I've been reading (Phil Wyman and John Smulo in particular).

Honestly, it's messing with my head. In a good way. At the moment, I somehow feel the desire to cry after reading Smulo's latest entry on the topic, which I don't understand at all. He asks the questions:

1. What do you struggle with when it comes to contemporary understandings of spiritual warfare?
2. What should spiritual warfare look like in everyday life?

Honestly, I have no clue at the moment. I could wax on about something or another and make it sound coherent and logical, but I don't feel that would do myself or anyone else justice. So instead, this post is simply a spilling out of what's in my head and heart...all to be taken with a grain of salt.

Perhaps I'm feeling emotional about it because if certain parts of my current understanding of spiritual warfare (and I agree that we need another term for that, John) aren't "real" then it casts a completely different light on some of the experiences I've had and I have to re-think and re-process them with a different spiritual understanding of what happened at those points in my life. Not to say that God didn't do anything, but the question would be, what did He actually do? Was some of it simply in my head?

Silence

Louann Mims was forced into a kind of stillness that few can imagine. But stillness is something we all need more of. As Mother Teresa wrote, "We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees, flowers, grass — grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence ... we need silence to be able to touch souls."

As we struggle to find our way through situations that make us feel helpless, we need to take time to rest in God. Those silent moments can become a source of strength and clarity. As it says in Isaiah 30:15, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." Surviving Desperation by Jenny Shroedel

Wednesday night I went to the House of Blues in Anaheim with Nathan for the Hotel Cafe Tour (see my review of the show here). Rachael Yamagata was playing a song and had the audience singing along. She got to a point in the song where she paused, and there was silence. An audience member started singing the next line and she stopped them saying "that was a dramatic pause" and launched into an amusing explanation of the dramatic pause while playing the piano.

Music has been on my mind a lot lately as well as how Music, that huge part of myself, relates to God and my relationship with Him.

The above quote made me think of that moment between Rachael and the audience and how silence has it's own purpose, even with music, which we mostly think of in terms of sound, not silence.

Silence is a reprieve.

It is a moment to take in what you've just hear. To anticipate what's to come. To simply sit back and enjoy the eye of the storm.

Sometimes there is silence before the drop that fills your soul with excitement.

There is silence that reverberates with the harshness of what has passed, allowing your senses to recuperate.

Other times there is silence filled with suspense...in eager anticipation of that final resolution of a chord, the echoes of a music suspended in the conscious.

Yet it all has purpose. Silence is not a void, so much as it is a space. A space to grieve, to heal, to wait, to anticipate. Sometimes you rest, sometimes you are frustrated waiting for what's to come. It is not always restful if you're waiting for that resolution.

How does this realization apply to my life now?

I feel in some ways my soul, my musical soul, has been in a period of silence, even with a cacophony of sound happening in the outside parts of my life.

The music within me is swirling, unknown, untouched, waiting for the right moment of silence and openness to reveal itself.

I get frustrated. Sometimes it's because of the outer sounds of life that crowd out the silence that I desperately need. Other times it's because I am not letting myself be still and try to create noise that shouldn't be there.

When I am quiet, when I allow the silence to come over me. That is when I often hear the deep, gut-wrenching cry of my soul to touch the Creator and to create something that honors, praises, and adores Him.

Voodoo Practitioner tries to Jinx Bush

BOGOR, Indonesia - A renowned black magic practitioner performed a voodoo ritual Thursday to jinx President George W. Bush and his entourage while he was on a brief visit to Indonesia.

Ki Gendeng Pamungkas slit the throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest, stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before drank the "potion" and smeared some on his face.

"I don't hate Americans, but I don't like Bush," said Pamungkas, who believed the ritual would succeed as, "the devil is with me today."

He said the jinx would sent spirits to posses Secret Service personnel guarding Bush and left them in a trance, leading them into falsely thinking the President was under attack, thus eventually causing chaos in Bogor Presidential Palace, where the American leader was scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.

Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim country, however many still practicing animist rituals, including black magic, that predate Islam's arrival in the archipelago.

"I am doing voodoo, because other ritual would not work," he told reporters after he conducted the gory ritual about 1 kilometers from the palace.

This gave me the chills! Regardless of what you think of Bush, it's sobering to realize the spiritual warfare leaders endure. Who knows how many things like this happen to our President, to other political leaders, and especially spiritual leaders?

Definitely a reminder to be praying for our leaders on all levels.

In response: "To Whom Can the Pastor Confess?"

Rather than take up a ton of comment space, I've decided to repond here (I'm too long-winded!!)

The numbered questions/notes are PB's and the responses are mine...his original post is linked above.

1. Do we subtly want our leaders to be inhuman?

I think that many do. My guess is that the root is that people want a connection with God and end up placing a pastor in an idolatrous position, rather than seeing them for who they are: humans who make mistakes and are on this journey with us. What they really need is JESUS in that place of leadership in their lives, rather than relying on the leader to facilitate their relationship with God (directly or indirectly) to the point that they

I touched on this in my own blog today, but I personally feel *closer* to leadership that ARE human. I feel like I can relate more and in a sense trust that leader more because I know they’ve gone through the things I go through in my attempts to get closer to God and learn more about who he is and what that means in my life and my actions.

On a personal and specific level, I love that you pastor in a way that you are honest about your searching, your doubts, your failing and weaknesses (obviously not telling us everything…some things should only be for close, trusted mentors and friends). I think that makes a stronger spiritual leader, because you are allowing God to be glorified, rather than yourself. Plus, I appreciate knowing how I can pray for you more effectively.

I think showing honesty, brokenness, and a lack of knowledge as a spiritual leader (thereby allowing God to work through it) is one of those things that can only make sense in the Kingdom of God, because the world will think us foolish. Somehow, I am drawn to leaders who confess, even on a “small” level of their failings because I know they are being genuine.

2. Should the pastor confess to others in the local faith community?

I think the answer to this lies in what kind of relationships are fostered within that community. I think that pastors may be surprised at how people will support them in their struggles. But it depends on the person with whom they foster that relationship.

There may be issues that come up specifically within leadership that only other leaders will fully understand, just as there are issues within every person’s life that only someone else who’s walked in those shoes can understand (a few that come to mind are marriage, parenthood, death of a loved one, gender differences, age, different work experiences), though someone who hasn’t may be able to empathize.

No matter what our own personal and differing experiences may be, anyone can pray for another person! And that is the most powerful thing, because it allows God to do the work.

3. The myth of “up the ladder” confession.

I totally know what you mean, even without specifically being in leadership. I think there is a built in fear of being truly vulnerable (and confession is definitely that!) to someone in a position “above” you, not to mention the complexity of different relationship “hats” like you mentioned. I can understand to a degree, as someone in a relationship that takes on two different expressions (work and family) and how the mixture can create tension in either or both expressions because of that blurring of lines.

4. Pastors without peers.

The buddy-buddy thing so many church communities have has never failed to bug the hell out of me. I always get excited to see pastors of different communities come together to share life and share the unique challenges and joys you share…and especially to pray for one another and the Church as a whole. A separated church was not God’s intention, and I don’t see isolated pastors as being part of his intention either. I’m glad you take time to foster relationship with other young leaders in our community in a joint effort.

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On a personal note, my prayer for you and other leaders is that you’d find true fellowship and friendship and that would pave the way in creating real relationships and fostering honesty and that God would pour out grace upon you in this area. I think you have paved the way already…certainly much more than I’ve ever seen in any other leader that I’ve known.

I think the first steps in that are to encourage that within the community you lead, and because Aqueous is so community-based, I think that there is much more of a “friendly” environment in terms of confessing and receiving grace, no matter if you’re a leader or not.

~Marieke

Why do I care about Ted Haggard?

Ted Haggard's Statement to New Life Church

A Letter by Jack Hayford Regarding Ted Haggard & NAE Statement Release (Blogged by Billy Calderwood)

Billy's blogpost regarding Haggard & Comments

(I listed the links above instead of embedding them because they (and the news websites like CNN and MSNBC) are where I've gotten my information and are worth reading.)


I just posted my most recent comment on Pastor Billy's Blog (the third link) and it got me thinking...

Why do I care about the Ted Haggard situation?

I don't have any personal connection to him, to his church, and I don't think I've read any of his books. I don't even know that I would have recognized his name immediately as a Christian leader until recently (though I have heard his name before). Yet for some reason, I'm finding myself drawn into dialogue in various places and pondering his situation.

Growing up in the culture of modern Evangelicalism, specifically pretty conservative and "traditional" expressions, but now having a bit more of a post-modern, emergent church outlook, I have been on two sides of the coin, so to speak, when it comes to issues of leadership, sin, and the collision of both.

I remember the outrage that ensued after Amy Grant got divorced and then remarried not too long after. Christian radio stations stopped playing her music, people pointed fingers and condemned her without knowing the full story. I'll admit, a part of myself condemned her (there was no admittance of abuse or adultery or unfaithfulness- situations where divorce is Biblically allowed to my understanding - that I can recall), but I also started to question how people who don't know her personally could possibly cast judgement when each of us deals with our own sin issues and personal failings.

Then later on, through my own personal journey, my understanding of grace increased as I came to know God's grace more fully in my own life. I realized that there truly are complexities in so many modern-day situation that aren't explicitly addressed in the Bible. It forces us to dig deeper and look at the root values God gives us...the issues that truly matter, beyond a list of "Do's and Don'ts".

What of women who are abused or abandoned, both physically and emotionally? Again, there's no physical act of adultery, yet is that not unfaithfulness? Who in their right mind would tell a woman who is being emotionally or physically battered by her husband to stay with him because to divorce would be a sin?

Then there is the issue of Church Leaders.

Pastor Billy (PB) cited Scot McKnight's comments on the issue of Ted Haggard and the lack of openness about sin issues in evangelicalism:

But, what I find here is what I want to call the evangelical environment. In evangelicalism, and the charismatic stream in which Ted Haggard swims, sin is bad and sin by leaders is real bad. This leads to a complex of features that creates a serious problem:

1. Christians, and not just pastors, do not feel free to disclose sins to anyone;
2. Christians, including pastors, sin and sin all the time;
3. Christians, including pastors, in evangelicalism do not have a mechanism of confession;
4. Christians and pastors, because of the environment of condemnation of sin and the absence of a mechanism of confession, bottle up their sins, hide their sins, and create around themselves an apparent purity and a reality of unconfessed/unadmitted sin.
5. When Christians do confess, and it is often only after getting caught, they are eaten alive by fellow evangelicals — thus leading some to deeper levels of secrecy and deceit.

What we saw with Haggard is not just about leaders; it is about all of us.

Thus, a proposal, and I can only suggest it and hope that some evangelical leaders will catch the same vision — some at the national and international leadership level: evangelicals need to work hard at creating an environment of honesty. It is dishonest to the human condition to pretend that Christians don’t sin; but as long as we are afraid to confess to one another we will continue to create an unrealistic and hypocritical environment.

This "environment of honesty" is an idea that has always been something on my heart, even if it's lain dormant for periods at a time.

I've always put the most trust in leaders who were willing to admit to their failings, past or present. Whenever I heard a pastor mention some example of a failing in his own life as an object lesson, I tended to listen up more. Those moments of vulnerability were the catalyst for trust, ironically.

If a leader can be open about their failings, they seem more human and there is less of this "you are great, I am not" barrier that prevents the layperson from hiding their own sin to "impress" others with their strong faith.

It takes more strength to admit to mistakes and lay it out there for others to help you gain the spiritual strength to continue tackling the sins that persist, than to simply hide it all from prying eyes...which then compounds the problem by letting it grow in darkness.

McKnight further states:

To do this, we need to begin at the local church level of learning to utter honesty with one another, to confess sins, privately as much as possible, to mentors who are spiritually sensitive. I believe if confession becomes a safe environment — and exposure of what is confessed in private must be treated as a serious offense — that an entirely new environment can be created in which time will bring out the sins of Christians in such a way that it is both recognized and simultaneously dealt with responsibly so that ongoing growth and periodic healing and restoration can take place.

This is SO HUGE. It is not just "leaders" who need to make changes, but ALL of us...because each one of us who claim to follow Christ as the Lord of our lives have a responsibility to reflect Him. We are ALL called to a higher standard by the God who has called us to Him.

Rather than pointing the finger at others, we need to check out the fingers pointing right back at us and search ourselves. We need to pursue honesty and grace within that. We need to seek out mentors and those we ourselves can mentor and create that safe environment of honesty one person at a time.

The times of greatest healing in my life have been when I've faced the demons and sins in my own life and I've called them out for what they were to people that I trusted. In those times, I knew that what I said and experienced wouldn't be spread beyond the eyes and ears in that room.

I care because Haggard is a fellow Christian who has fallen like all of us do and needs our grace and mercy.

I care because he is hurting, his family is hurting, and a great many others are hurting and they need God's healing touch.

I care because I want to see God glorified through Haggard's weakness.

I care because Christians' reactions (grace or condemnation) will affect how others view our faith.

Most of all, we should all care because Jesus cares enough about each one of us that he died for EACH ONE of our sins. Not one of us is spotless, nor are we in any position to judge another just because our sins are more "acceptable".

Music & God - Creativity & God

Over the last year in particular, I've been grappling with what exactly I should be doing with this gift of music that God's given me. I've dabbled in songwriting, but lately its been a frustrating effort for me as I am not involved in a community of music like I was when I wrote my best songs (as a music major at City College). Being involved in that community was what fed my creative spirit and it's harder to motivate yourself when not in that type of environment.

Anyway, I've also been on a path of discovering what the idea of "music" means to God, to my relationship with God and I don't fully have words for all the thoughts in my head about the matter.

Getting to the point of this post (or perhaps, the lack of a point...) a fellow poster on the Relevant Magazine Message Boards posted this question towards "Creative Types":

I know the churh I attend is not very creative (but they think they are). Talented, yes; Creative, no!

Creative people are just too hard to handle for most people I've come across in the church so they're simply ignored or even put down until they conform.

That's my experience. I would like to hear about how other people see it.

This is what I posted in return (you can read the thread for all the responses):

I came from a church (grew up in it, actually) that was very stuck in it's ways and now I'm a part of a church that allows creativity to flow naturally (and not to the point of focusing on that and not what God is leading us to do).

I sometimes struggle with "worship" at my old church when I go there with my family since they are still involved and I truly love the people. The lack of talent, besides a lack of creativity, used to bug the hell out of me. But the problem was with ME, not with the church (well, not all of it anyway). My attitude was that my way was better and I had to fight the distraction of thinking about how much the music sucked, particularly since music is where I'm talented and where I do my best to be creative.

I'm very glad to be involved in the church community where I am now. My gifts (both creative and otherwise) are nurtured and given space to move as everyone else's are as well.

Someone mentioned how certain creative influences would be better if given space outside the standard "church" context. I totally agree! Our church doesn't have "special music" or really anything that isn't interactive in some way or another. But people are encouraged in their gifts. For instance, a band made up of various members from the church worship team (that isn't explicitly Christian in their songwriting) has been plugged in church because they are people who are trying to reach people through non-traditional means and out in the community, rather than just within the church community.

I think that certain God-given talents and creativity are better served OUTSIDE the church context (but encouraged within it) because that's where we can reach people and share God's love better than if we only use our gifts to serve the church community.

I don't know if I've made sense. I'm still figuring out what "music" means to my relationship with God, with the church, with other people, etc, since it is such a huge part of who I am and who God made me.

I don't have a neat way to close up these thoughts because they are still so open-ended to me. I certainly haven't figured it out, but I'm curious what other people may have to say (if they are even still checking my poor abandoned blog!)

Homosexuality a big deal?

This post may not make much sense. It is simply my rambling thoughts on an issue that I haven't figured out and I don't pretend to have all the answers.

Nathan and I went to see Brokeback Mountain with Ryan and Heather recently and it has certainly stirred things up, in a good way. Ryan wrote an excellent post about the movie and his experiences with running into a friend (linked above).

I wrote a brief review with my thoughts about the movie on a message board I frequent. The message board is predominantly conservative Christian women, although there are a few that are further on the liberal side on some issues. They are a wonderful group of women, many of whom I count as good friends.

Because I wrote that review (and I kinda risked it a little, because I wasn't sure if I'd get backlash, which I didn't), one woman private messaged me sharing her views on homosexuality (that it's ok) and shared with me that she was quite hurt by some of the responses she received when she'd shared those views.

That really got me thinking about how the church handles the issue of homosexuality and what exactly is in the Bible regarding homosexuality (and how the Bible addresses it). It seems to me that the proportion of time the church spends discussing the issue (oftentimes without really accomplishing much) compared to other issues is disproportionate to how often it's discussed in the Bible compared to other issues. For instance, homosexuality isn't referenced or directly addressed as much as the issue of money is referenced or directly addressed.

Could it be that perhaps the church is spending too much time focusing on this issue? It seems to me that we should spend the time discussing the issues that are most important to God, as touchy as they may be with the church. How many sermons do you hear that talk about being godly with money, for instance? Yet that is one of, if not the most discussed issue in the Bible. When most people think about a sermon regarding money, they think of televangelist's trying to get people to send money to them so that God will bless them financially. I've heard some very good sermons regarding money, but it's sad that pastors have to tip-toe around the issue because so many people will think that they're just trying to get money, when it's a legitimate spiritual issue.

Or even more pointedly, think of how strongly Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their legalism? How prevalent is that issue in the church? It's probably one of the biggest issues, in my opinion. Who are we to say we're better than someone else? We have been given the grace of God not by any effort on our part, but because Jesus died on the cross for each and every one of us, because we were ALL sinners. We are supposed to be reflections of Christ? But did he point fingers and rebuke the sinners he talked with every day? No, his righteous anger was directed towards the religious leaders who were judgemental, condemning and legalistic.

Obviously, homosexuality is something that the church needs to address because sexuality is something that many people struggle with, be it hetero- or homosexually, but it seems to me that most discussions the church has over this issue end up doing a lot of harm and not necessarily so much good.

We hear the cliche's of "Love the sinner, hate the sin" and such, but what does that really mean anyway? Most people who call themselves gal or lesbian, feel that their sexuality identifies who they are. They hear "love the sinner, hate the sin" and most likely hear something to the effect of "I'll love you when you're straight". That cliche really does nothing except make Christians feel better about themselves and gives them a way out.

How many people have we rejected from the church because they struggle with homosexuality, no matter whether they're flamingly open about it, or still in the closet, or somewhere in between? How can people open up and be vulnerable on this issue (that they may not even want to be struggling with) only to be shot down? Yet how often are people rejected from the church for other sins? Is there a disparity here?

Granted, there are people in the church who are open to learning about these struggles without just shoving people into a box labeled "sinner". We all have our struggles with sexuality in one way or another. Paraphrasing Ryan -- How can I say I'm any better than someone else just because my struggles are heterosexual in nature?

I don't really have answers, but I have questions... and I think that's where the church needs to start. We need to be open to hearing and understanding the difficulties and complications of homosexuality. People who struggle with these issues are hurting and need to be TRULY loved, first and foremost. I've walked with some friends through these issues and it totally changed my viewpoint and made me realize that it's not as cut and dried an issue as some churches, some people, some leaders make it out to be.

I sincerely hope that movies like "Brokeback Mountain" will cultivate questions in people, especially Christians, that will help them search for truth.

And I hope it will help people to respond in love and grace when these issues come up, rather than judgement and condemnation. Because that's really the heart of the issue.

I'm engaged!!!

Most of the people who read this blog probably know already, but here is the story, in detail, of Nathan's proposal. Enjoy!! :-)

Nathan and I recently hit 10 months of dating (November 8th) and Nathan told me that he had plans for us on Saturday the 12th. He told me we had to be somewhere at a specific time in the morning, so he’d have to pick me up at 7am.

The night before, we were hanging out and cuddling and Nathan decides to take off my rings, saying that he “wanted to wear them”. He’s weird (as am I), so it didn’t phase me too much. He actually did put them both on his pinky for a little while (they only fit about a 3rd of the way down, hahaha!!). But then he put them on his desk and I had a feeling he was up to something. I didn’t think too much of it though, cause for all I knew, he was doing that early as a precautionary measure.

So, the next morning he picks me up at my house and we go to Jack’s Bagels and pick up some lox and bagels to eat for breakfast.

We went up to the Riviera Theater, which is this old theater that plays artsy, foreign, and independent films that come in to town. The building is pretty old and right next to it is a courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the middle. We ate on the steps facing the fountain and just talked for a little bit.

Then, Nathan said we needed to go on to the next thing, so we walked back to the parking lot, but Nathan walked right past our car and I started wondering what was going on.

We walked into the theater (by this time it was 8am and NO theaters in Santa Barbara ever show movies that early – especially on a Saturday morning!). We walked right past the staff and the box office and right into the theater. I asked Nathan “What’s going on?” and he said not to worry.

Nathan got us to our seats and we sat down and the movie started. The moment it started, I recognized by the music that it was “Garden State”, our favorite movie and one that holds a LOT of sentimental value to us. Nathan had arranged for a private showing for us! I DEFINITELY knew something was up at this point, but a part of me was so thrown off, I wasn’t totally sure what was gonna happen next.

We watched the movie and had a blast enjoying a theater to ourselves. We talked as loudly as we wanted, didn’t have to worry about blocking views or bothering anyone. The thought crossed my mind that we could even burp out loud if we wanted to and I said so to Nathan, so he obliged, haha.

When the movie ended, we walked out, but Nathan stopped me right before the doors to the lobby area. He hugged me and gave me a kiss and told me he loved me.

Then, he opened the doors and I saw a pathway of white, pink and lavender rose petals. I exclaimed “oh crap!” as the realization hit me that this was it! An odd thing to say, but oh well!

He led me along the pathway out to the top of the front steps of the theater where there was a bed of white rose petals. He started his speech (none of which I remember) then got down on one knee to continue, including a part of a poem he had memorized. Then he asked me “Would you give me the pleasure of being my wife?” To which I of course replied “Yes!”

We hugged and savored the moment, and then he yelled inside “She said yes!” I thought at first that perhaps he was telling the staff cause he was so excited, but then my family starting coming down the steps in the lobby! They had been the ones to come and lay out the rose petals for us. They congratulated us and took lots of pictures. We were wondering where my dad was, when he pops out of the bushes across the driveway with a video camera in hand! Nathan didn’t even know he was gonna do that!

Then we all went out to brunch at Anderson’s Bakery, downtown to celebrate!

I am SOOO blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life! He's a keeper for sure!

Prayer Warrior

We all slept in our clothes--I, my brothers, my workmen, and the guards backing me up. And each one kept his spear in his hand, even when getting water. ~ Nehemiah 4:23 The Message

Last Saturday, at Aqueous, Pastor Billy's sermon (click link to be taken to podcast of sermon) mostly consisted of sharing his heart and the spiritual state of our church and his own spiritual walk. It was a powerful and emotional service, in a VERY good way. I am continually amazed at how God has worked in PB's life and how He has brought him and his family to lead our church. I feel so blessed to be led by these two amazing followers of Jesus.

As PB talked openly about the spiritual battles we are facing at this point in time, I felt my spirit be charged with passion. As he talked about how a lot of us are getting tired and discouraged at this point in our battle to reach the city of Goleta, I realized how much that is true for me. But rather than sit back and wallow, I realized that now is the time to press forward and persevere past the discouragement. The enemy is gearing up for attack and we need to be ready.

In line with the analogy of the book of Nehemiah, we have the walls half up. The enemy is seeing that we ARE persevering and making a difference, and realizing that they better do something to prevent us from furthering God's kingdom in Goleta. It's an exciting, but also difficult time.

PB talked about speaking with a man who formerly pastored a Foursquare church in Goleta that started in the 1950s. He said the average tenure of a pastor was about 3 years and the church ended up closing its doors. Our church has only been in existence for 7 years now, and our first pastors resigned after 4 years. At the same time, God obviously has a big plan for Goleta. The former pastor that PB talked with also said that he hasn't seen the same level of life-change in any church he's worked in since he pastored the Goleta Foursquare church.

That really struck me. It is obvious that God has something awesome planned for Goleta, but the battle is difficult. We're in the thick of it.

As I was contemplating the story of Nehemiah, I noticed how dedicated Nehemiah was to prayer. He often gathered the people for prayer. And that's when it hit me. We have 24 hour prayer from 8am Friday to 8am Saturday, but no specifically mobilized prayer the rest of the week. We don't have the attendance necessary to have 24/7 prayer, but we can certainly mobilize people to be praying each day of the week.

So I emailed PB and gave him my idea. Here's the basics:

Purpose:

To mobilize daily intercessory prayer from within the Aqueous community for our church leadership, church community, our neighborhoods and cities, and our global partners in ministry.

To give our community the opportunity to be intentional in prayer and give them the tools to pray effectively and specifically.

To build hedges of protection around our church leaders, especially Pastors Billy & Kristin as they minister to our community, our church community, and global partners in ministry.


Team Function:

Team members would sign up for a specific day on which to pray and possibly fast. Once signed up, the day stays the same unless the team member requests a change.

On the day a prayer team is scheduled, they will pray for the specific prayer needs of our church leadership, church community, neighborhoods and cities, and our global partners in ministry.

If urgent situations arise that can be communicated to the team, the Ministry leader will contact a team member, starting a chain of contact to pass the message on so team members can be praying.

Tools:

The main source of communication would be email. An email would go out to Team members prior to their prayer day listing any current needs for their prayer day, along with encouragements, Bible verses, and any other pertinent communication. Telephone contact would be used in the event of urgent, day-of needs.

Prayer cards/bookmarks could be a helpful tool for ongoing prayer needs.

Over the past few years, different prophecies have been spoken over me that indicated that I am meant to be a spiritual warrior. God has continually pressed upon my heart the need to be constantly interceding. Another part of the prophetic words spoken over me has been an image of leadership...leading others into the battle.

I have admittedly not been following that call very much. I've been lazy and content to do my own thing, just doing enough to "get by". I don't want to do that anymore. I am the most impassioned when I think about God's people mobilizing and seeking Him, ushering in His Kingdom and winning spiritual ground through prayer.

I'm stepping up, and I hope the church in Santa Barbara will too. It's time to fight, persevere through the tough times, and win the battle before us!!!

Save a Child

I'm sure most, if not all, of you have heard about World Vision and their child sponsorship programs. If you haven't, World Vision is an organization that provides for the physical and spiritual needs of communities all over the world. They are working in war-torn, impoverished, famine-stricken countries, as well as providing emergency relief to communities all over the world.

Nathan and I decided to sponsor a child together through World Vision a few months ago. Her name is Jane and she lives in Uganda. I've actually traveled to Uganda and been to a WV program facility there while I was on a missions trip with a different organization. The staff are amazing people and really do impact the communities both on practical and spiritual levels.

Jane's community is one where HIV/AIDS is prevalent and World Vision is there helping families and the community as well as raising awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as providing assistance to people who's lives have been impacted by the disease.

One awesome thing about sponsorship is that Nathan and I are both able to minister to her by sending letters and stickers and items like that as well as providing the means for her to get an education and proper nutrition and medical care. We hope that someday we'll get to visit her.

Please consider sponsoring a child if you don't already. The sacrifice of $30 (or $35 for a Hope Child in an AIDS/HIV impacted area) isn't really that much compared to the things we buy every day. You could sponsor 2 or 3 kids each day with the money spent on coffee at Starbucks every day for a month!

You can click on the link below to get more information...

Religion

I was reading a fellow blogger's post and it got me thinking about the term "religion".

Honestly, I hate the word. Particular in Western society, the word religion has connotations of rules, rote actions, and rites that don't really carry any real meaning. To most, Religion is something people often use as a weapon to beat the brows of people who disagree with their ideologies; it is people in suits knocking on your door; it is fire and brimstone; it is the right-wingers; it is judgement and condemnation.

And I just want to SCREAM that that's not what it's supposed to be about!! So many religions in this world do fit some or all of those things. Many Christians turn our faith into many of the those things.

I don't see my faith in Jesus as a religion. It's not a dead thing to me. My faith is LIFE! It is what brings joy and salvation to my life, and hopefully to the people around me.

My faith is Jesus is a RELATIONSHIP, first and foremost. It is about joyful abandon and reckless love. It is about diving headfirst into the depths of God's love. It is about a love so deep and wide that Jesus sacrificed his own perfect life that I might live with him for eternity, so that I might have hope that this life is not all there is, that I might have joy in this life while I am here (despite the difficulties) and that I might live and abundant life in the things that truly matter. It is about sacrificing my own desires and wishes that I might be more like Christ and live in a way that shows that He is the one in control of my life. It is about the grace of God that allows me to overcome my own sinfulness and the influence of evil in my life that I might come to know God even more.

After all, if God could create the entire Universe, from the largest galaxy to the smallest electron, then surely He knows much better what to do with my life than I do.

A postcript to "Birth Control"

I realized that I didn't really clarify that the thoughts in my previous post are my opinions. I think there are very valid reasons for women to use hormonal birth control and I don't want to seem judgement towards those that do because I'm not that way.

It's up to each person to decide, with prayer, what the best option is for them. I do wish more women and couples would consider and seriously look into natural options more, though, and I wish that the word about it would get out more as well, so I just thought I would share my thoughts.

~M

Birth Control

I posted this on another blog that I have, and thought I'd post it here. I think this is particularly valuable information for Christians!

.............................................................

Birth control has always been something in the back of my mind, but I knew I would never really had to answer the question for sure until my future husband and I discussed it prior to getting married.

I have researched it off and on for a couple years and I’ve learned about different methods of birth control. One that always fascinated me was the Fertility Awareness Method (also known as Natural Family Planning, but NFP is a little different). I know a few people who have used FAM for birth control and for pregnancy achievement as well. The more I looked into it, the more I realized that it was the way I want to go.

Now that Nathan and I are approaching engagement and I'm looking into wedding stuff, I am more and more sure that I do not want to use hormonal birth control (the Pill, Depo Provera shots, etc). I talked to Nathan about it, and he's totally supportive.

FAM is a scientifically-based method (unlike the Rhythm method, which is complete bunk - and also sometimes mistaken for FAM/NFP) that a lot of people use to try to conceive, but it is also highly effective (if used properly) as birth control. It (along with Natural Family Planning) gets a bad rap because of the failure rates don’t take into account user-failure. A lot of people don’t take the time to really understand how to use it, or they aren’t really trying all that hard to avoid.

Anyway, I got a book about FAM, Taking Charge of Your Fertility (TCOYF), and read up on it and started charting. It can seem complicated at first, but it's not really all that difficult once you get the hang of it. It’s not really any more difficult than remembering to take a pill every day!

Basically, I take my temperature every morning before I get out of bed and record it on a chart. There are a couple other things I take note of during the day and record as well. For most women there is a clear jump in temperature as hormones change, combined with other signs that my body gives me, that indicates when ovulation occurs. Another thing I really like about FAM is that I have become a lot more familiar with my body and my cycle. And for when Nathan and I get married, there are certain rules (based on how long sperm and eggs can survive) that we would use to determine when we'd need to use barrier methods of birth control.

As far as hormonal birth control is concerned, I have a few reason for not wanting to take it:

1. Moral – The abortion factor. I know it’s debatable as to whether the Pill actually causes abortions or not, but I’d rather not risk it. Most types of hormonal birth control work on a one to all of a few different levels. First, they prevent ovulation from occurring at all. Second, they thin the lining of the uterine wall, preventing any egg that might have been fertilized from implanting. There’s a third, but I don’t remember offhand what it is. I believe that life starts at conception, and that conception starts at fertilization. I am not at peace at all about taking the Pill for this reason.

2. Physical – I am already prone to health issues, so I don’t want to mess with my natural hormones and screw things up even more! Additionally, my mom never took hormonal birth control, and she never had issues with fertility. My aunt, on the other hand, did use hormonal birth control and she had fertility problems once she went off it, and she also battled breast cancer later on. My family has cancer tendencies, and I don’t want to add to the risk. Additionally, there is a history of various forms of depression in my family, and I know that hormonal birth control can affect women mentally as well. I just do not want to deal with the possible side effects.

3. Spiritual – The only reason I would even use birth control of any kind is because I don’t believe that it’s in God’s plan for us to start a family right away. There are other places that he is leading us at this point in time. However, once he leads us to start a family, with FAM, we’d be able to start trying right away! We wouldn’t have to deal with the residual effects of hormonal birth control and the possibility of miscarriage.


Here are some resources:

FAM info: www.tcoyf.com

Free online charting software (designed for women trying to conceive, but also useful combined with FAM birth control guidelines): www.fertilityfriend.com

I really believe that this is a beneficial and useful alternative, and I wish I knew more people who used it. I don't know anyone in my area who uses this method (although I'm sure there's SOMEONE!). And it's unfortunate that it gets a bad rap at times, or doesn't even get mentioned as an option!

New Design

So, my formatting got all screwed up and I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so welcome to the new design! It's not as personal, but oh well. Now you can actually see my posts without having to scroll down *rolls eyes*.....

My thoughts on life

Lately I've been thinking about life and what really matters.

I wrote out my life purpose for the money map thing and I realized that a lot of the things that our culture values aren't necessary to fulfill what I believe my purpose during the short period of time that is my life.

Here is my life purpose:

My Life purpose is to glorify God through my relationship with Him (through prayer, worship, reading my Bible, and acting on the things that He calls me to do), through loving and serving my family and friends and giving them the grace that God gives me, and through serving and ministering to people by using the gifts that God has given me.

I feel that all the details of my life with work out for the best as long as I live with that purpose in mind, because I know that wherever God leads me is the perfect and best place for me to be. My life so far has been nowhere near what I expected, but I love it, because I know that I am right where God wants me and there are good and wonderful things happening!

A lot of people lately have been telling me what they think I should do with my life. I realize that it's out of love and caring, but it's frustrating to me sometimes. The things they mention (education, finances, etc) are important to me, but whatever it is that GOD has for me is much more important. I know that God will give me the education I need (whether it's at a University, or whether it's through reading my Bible and living life), the finances I need (whether it's a lot or a little) and everything else. I would really like to finish my education and get a degree, but if I don't, that's not the end of the world. My degree isn't going to matter in heaven, and it doesn't even matter on earth if that's not something I need.

What is important to me is that at the end of my life, I can look back and see that I was faithful with what God entrusted me with...my life, my mind, my talents, my family, my friends, the people in the circle of influence. If getting my degree means missing out on something better that GOD has planned for me, I don't want it.

What I've said won't make sense to a lot of people, I would imagine. But I don't want to make sense to the world, I want to follow God's leading in my life. I trust that He will give me the knowledge I need, guide me, and provide for me.


~M

*Collapse*

I think my ability to deal with all that life is throwing me at the moment is becoming less and less.

I feel like I have so many things coming at me that I may crumple. Thankfully, God's grace sustains me and He also has given me a wonderful man who is there for me when I really need him to be.

All this is teaching me the importance of spending good time with God, no matter how busy I am, because I simply can't survive without His guidance and help. I'm not necessarily doing so great, but I continue to improve.

The funny thing is, I think the more I grow and learn, the more I realize how far away from perfection I truly am. I know so many people, myself included, who feel like they are moving backwards in their relationship with God. I don't think it's so much that, as I growing realization of how far from perfection we are, and how much we really need God. I think that the more we realize how far we are from God, the more we want to pursue Him and get closer to Him, and the more He works in our lives, whether we realize it or not.

I have a feeling that God is doing things in my life that I don't realize at all. Thankfully, it doesn't all fall on my shoulders, really. All I have to do is obey Him and let him do the rest.

I read the August 1st entry in "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers and it really spoke about this matter:

Learning About His Ways

When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples . . . He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities
—Matthew 11:1

He comes where He commands us to leave. If you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach, but as long as you were disobedient, you blocked His way. Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, "I know that He told me to go, but my duty is here," it simply means that you do not believe that Jesus means what He says.

He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. "Master . . . let us make three tabernacles . . ." ( Luke 9:33 ).

Are we playing the part of an amateur providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? Are we so noisy in our instruction of other people that God cannot get near them? We must learn to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert. God wants to instruct us regarding His Son, and He wants to turn our times of prayer into mounts of transfiguration. When we become certain that God is going to work in a particular way, He will never work in that way again.

He works where He sends us to wait. ". . . tarry . . . until . . ." ( Luke 24:49 ). "Wait on the Lord" and He will work ( Psalm 37:34 ). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual fits of emotion to "wait patiently for Him"? ( Psalm 37:7 ). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.

These are some of the facets of His ways that we rarely recognize.

~M