Don't Miss out on God's Healing and Hope Today

While praying for my bible study sistas, I was asking God, "What can I do to create a safer atmosphere, a loving, safe place and what can I do better.. ..different? How can encourage them more in their faith? Right after praying this prayer I went to where I left off in my own personal Bible reading, Exodus 6. Look what I found!

Exodus 6:6-7,9

New Living Translation (NLT)

 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.  I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery." 

Other translations read:

Esv  "broken spirit and harsh slavery"
MSG "beaten down in spirit"
KJV “anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."

Then it dawned on me.

WE CANNOT RECEIVE WHEN WE ARE IN A PLACE OF DEEP DISCOURAGEMENT OR IN BONDAGE OF SOME SORT! 

This truth in scripture led me to share with my sistas on Monday night, "please don't let your life circumstances and pain keep you from hearing the Word of The Lord tonight!"

A great man in the Bible also almost missed out on the healing hope and help that God had for him, personally, because of his life situation and his intense feelings of humiliation. We learn of him in the Old Testament but Jesus also mentions him in the New Testament. This man was Naaman, the great Syrian General for King Aram.

2 Kings 5:5

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Naaman was a national hero who enjoyed fame and success....but he was a leper. This meant he couldn't really enjoy his life, his family or anything else. Leprosy was a very isolating disease that created a situation of loneliness without human contact for the leper. They had to call out "unclean unclean" wherever they went. No one could come close enough to even touch them for fear of contracting the disease themselves. Leprosy also signifies in scripture the sinful condition before washing in the Word and the grace of salvation. The enemy of our souls tries to isolate us and cut us off right in our place of pain. God wants to heal us and set us free from our malady.

THE ENEMY OF OUR SOULS WILL ISOLATE US RIGHT IN THE VERY PLACE OF OUR PAIN. GOD WANTS TO HEAL US AND SET US FREE TO ENJOY COMMUNITY.

The story continues with a servant girl, who had been captured and brought from Israel to serve Naaman’s wife, telling them of the prophet of God in Israel. She convinced Mrs. Naaman to have her husband go to Israel and see this famous man of God. Naaman goes to the king of Aram and the king immediately responds and sends him with a personal royal letter and an entourage of officials and gifts for the prophet. The story then takes us to Israel where Naaman finally arrives at the prophet Elisha's residence. But much to Naamans chagrin, Elisha sends his servant out to tell Naaman to go wash in the Jordan river seven times. This response from the man of God just fries Naaman’s bacon because he thought he would get special attention due to his notoriety and social status. Naaman starts to leave the vicinity, but his officials talk him into going back and doing as Elisha told him. This is almost too much for Naaman because he also feels the Jordan River is dirty and beneath him. He even goes into a tirade about how he couldn't believe the prophet chose the Jordan River when all these other rivers are so much more suitable. (After a bit of research I found out the Jordan is the lowest body of water in the world at 1300 ft. below sea level.) Naaman washes seven times in obedience to the prophet and gets healed of leprosy! He rejoices greatly and in the process renounces his false gods and decide to serve the one true God of Abraham.

I love that God healed him before he believed! He just had to be willing to invite God into his pain and seek out help from the prophet while humbling himself. He had to be willing to put away his pride enough to do as he was instructed. He had to believe this miracle of cleansing was at least possible, to step outside his own comfort zone, or should we say, step below his perceived dignity and status and humble himself.

In studying this story it also occurred to me that Jesus Himself went into the Jordan and sought out the prophet of his day and was baptized! Wow! Our savior humbled Himself and was immersed in the Jordan River! What love, what humility, to follow His Fathers plan and willingly humble himself as a man and then go even further! Just like we have been studying in Hebrews, Jesus is our high priest who understands our weaknesses and humbled himself even to the death on the cross.

God has a plan and if Naaman doesn't get on board he will miss out. Just like us. God says He has a plan for me of hope and good and a future (Jer 29:11) and I need to do whatever he asks of me to walk in that plan. ...uncomfortable? Probably.

Just like with Peter when Jesus wanted to wash his feet. Jesus said if I don't wash you, you can have no part of me. Just like with John, even though he felt unworthy to carry Jesus sandal, Jesus required John to baptize him according to the Fathers plan.

We must get over our sense of unworthiness as we discussed last week. And, we must get over our sense of pride as we see Naaman doing. I must not question my need to be washed in the Word and washed in the Blood of Jesus to accept this grace. Notice with me how human nature is either pushed to one extreme or the other. We either refuse to be washed by Jesus because we feel unworthy. Or, we refuse to go down to the river and wash seven times because it is beneath us and dirty and humiliating. Which is it for you and I? Are we feeling unworthy because of our past sin and shame. Or are we feeling unwilling because we don't want to be humbled and admit our need publicly? Naaman had to wash in the dirty Jordan in front of everyone. And, he had to do it seven times! Am I willing to go ask for prayer? Am I willing to walk to the altar in front of everyone and admit my neediness publicly? No, God doesn't want to shame us, he wants to heal us and set us free and answer our deepest prayer. 

Sometimes The Lord wants to partner with me to do something that I feel is above me (unworthy) and sometimes He wants to partner w me in something I feel is beneath me (pride). 

"Oh Abba keep me from either extreme, I pray!" 

Could it be that the answer or solution or miracle for every one of us is through one of these doors? The door of unworthiness and insecurity or the door of pride and that's beneath me, or embarrassing? Could it be that our answer to prayer is just on the other side of one of these three responses?

 1) The person who may not have even thought to invite Jesus into the pain.Like Naaman initially didn't even know there was a God who was powerful enough to heal him until his servant girl told him.

2) The person who has invited Jesus in but is unwilling to do as He has instructed. Like Naaman upon hearing the instructions immediately dismissed them because they felt too hard, too humiliating. 

3) The person who has invited Jesus into the problem, who has even obeyed His instructions, but is struggling with perseverance.

Naaman was asked to wash more than once or twice. He was instructed to keep at it and wash seven  times. Persevere in obedience. …John and the baptism of Jesus….. Jesus wanting to wash Peter’s feet…. Naaman and his unwillingness, as a national hero, to go down to the dirty Jordan….The Israelites and their inability to hear Moses' message to them about hope and freedom because of their broken hearts. Today we need to step out like the Israelites did when they crossed the Jordan. Today is our crossing and our washing in the Jordan. In the water of the Word. The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us! The Word who has all the answers to life! The Word who says He carries healing in His wings.

Step out in prayer.

Step out in humility to obey.

Step out in perseverance to keep pushing forward in faith. 

Prayer

Oh Jesus don't let me cower from your miracles because of unworthy and insecure feelings! And at the same time please don't let me miss your freedom and breakthrough because I'm prideful and I won't walk to the water and be washed. Where are you trying to wash me and I'm resisting? Make me willing, I pray against my stubborn resistance. Where do you want to upgrade me and I'm resisting because I do not feel worthy? Help me to get past myself and recognize that You alone make me worthy.  Open my eyes to false humility and false pride! Both extremes keep me from being washed in your presence and in the upgrade. You have for me here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen

Let me leave you with one parting thought:

We have a Savior who was willing to get dirty, to go "wash in the dirty Jordan" and he even spoke out about the incident with Naaman in Luke 4: 27. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.

Lord you are clearly saying that more healing and hope was available to others plagued with leprosy. Many more could have been healed and walked out of their isolation and pain if they had only been willing to come, wash and be clean.

We come to you Lord Jesus! Wash my feet my hands and my head. I have nothing to lose but pride and everything to gain!! 

Truth Bows Down to Unconditional Love and Grace

While sitting and journaling in my quiet place this morning, I got this overwhelming impression   from The Lord, "Tell them how much I love them, tonight”!  Immediate emotion surfaced in my heart.  I thought, "I can't Lord!" That is such a huge subject and I don't even hardly get the unconditional love thing for myself!!  What if I screw it up? Who am I to tell them?"  So I prayed right then and there.  "I'm Yours Lord and you love me just because you love me, because you love me, because you love me." 

So I guess I'll start right where He has shown me His unconditional love just this very week. He revealed something about His love that I'd never seen before. I had a big "aha" moment while I was in the depths of feeling bad about myself Thursday early morning.

I woke up on that particular morning feeling really bad about myself. In my tired and self-centered mood the evening before, I had hurt my husband's feelings. I justified myself by thinking, "Well, what I said. It’s the truth". I took my miserable self before The Lord in my quiet time and told him how sorry I was and how bad I felt. I even wrote a heartfelt apology email to Miguel. But, I was going into sort of a spiral of feeling poorly about myself until The Lord brought to my mind 

Romans 8:1 

 "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

Now...no condemnation. Yep that's it, I was feeling totally condemned. So I spoke the verse out loud to myself all alone in the house and just laid my head back and let it sink in. It's for me ...it's for now!  It's for this immediate failing. I instantly felt comforted. God loves me and will help me and forgives me and washes me clean. He will always redeem my poor choices if I bring them to Him. You're probably thinking well, selfishness...come on, Keely.  So let's up the anty...for the sake of this teaching. What if I'd committed adultery that night and I'd already had 5 husbands and was living with the 6th. What if I'd sacrificed my firstborn to a god like Molech, or rather in our culture ...aborted my baby last night at the local clinic?  Would I still be able to lay back my head in repentance and say the same thing? I'm forgiven and God loves me and there is now...no condemnation?  Yes, a resounding Yes, Yes, Yes!  His love is unconditional and his forgiveness is irrevocable and his grace covers all my sin. Not just the more “acceptable” sins we can discuss in Bible Study.

Stay with me here....back to my head back and knowing I'm His….Right after speaking that verse out loud, something came up in my heart about the whole thing with Miguel. Remember when I shared how I'd justified myself the night before? “The words spoken were the truth”, I thought.

Why is it I think I have to be totally "honest" about my feelings with Miguel? Is it that sometimes that brand of "truth" is just a selfishness that is insensitive and uncaring and wants relief?  Then it hit me. Truth submits to the higher authority. Truth is not the highest ground....love is!   Love takes precedence over truth. "And the greatest of these is LOVE."  Love must lead my mouth and love must guide the "truth" I speak.

ALL TRUTH BOWS TO LOVE, GODS LOVE:

If it's God’s truth it will submit to God’s love. I feel like sometimes I lift truth up to a place that is even higher ground than God’s unconditional love and rule of kindness   I often let truth lead the way. 

TRUTH MUST BE PUT THROUGH THE FILTER OF GOD'S LOVE:

Love is first. Love is always out front, in the lead.  I must remember this in all my relationships and in all my dealings with others. 

GODS LOVE NEVER CALLS ME OUT. HE CALLS ME UP:

Lord you always speak the truth to me in love. God never shames me and calls me out. He loves me unconditionally and calls me up higher and closer to Himself to a place where He can love me even more.  "Lord, let me take on that quality. I pray that kindness and gentleness would always be on my tongue.” This reminds me of the proverbs chapter on the Godly woman.

Proverbs 31:26
"She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." 

Philippians 4:5 (NIV)
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." 

My honesty should never diminish another...ever.  I don't have to say everything I think or feel, even if it's coming on strong and all up in my grill. My job and my character is to say the honest thing that will uplift another and call my loved ones to a higher place.  Speak the whole truth in love.

Eph 4:15-16 MSG

"God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." 

I've been on such a quest for truth that I've put it up higher than love at times.  In writing this I realize that God’s Grace is higher than truth too. This is where the unconditional love part comes in to fight for me and love me regardless of my condition.  As Christ's disciples we are taught by the word that we have 3 enemies. These 3 enemies of our souls; the world, the flesh, and the devil need to be addressed where this unconditional love and truth piece is concerned.

The World Is the Enemy:

The world has a system of "do good, get good, do bad, get bad."  The world will tell me I'm just not enough or I'm too much to ever possibly do anything for God!  After all, I don't have this and I haven't done that.  No formal education, money, position, status etc. It's all true.  But I read in God’ s word that He equips me and that He make me competent to do His work and that He gives me the mind of Christ. I also read that He calls the foolish of this world to confound the wise and He calls things that are not as though they were. (Heb 13:21,  2 Cor 3:5, 1 Cor 2:16,1 Cor 1:27, Romans 4:17).The world’s truth about me fades in the light of God’s truth and unconditional love.

The flesh-my humanity, my mind will and emotions are the enemy:

 I know the truth about my past behavior and sinful choices.  I have bad motives sometimes and hurtful thoughts and selfishness and pride and and and.  So here's the deal as I'm seeing it.  God loves me with unconditional love and that trumps all. The truth is I don't deserve it. The truth is that I should have to make up for my sins and pay back what I owe. The truth is that I haven't done anything big and awesome to be deserving of His love, or to be used by Him ..(.like say Mother Theresa or Heidi Baker). But again, here is Gods truth:

Romans 8:31-39: God's Everlasting Love 

" What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

BAM...TAKE THAT TO THE TRUTH BANK!

The devil- who is a liar and the father of lies is the enemy:

He is also happy to throw truth in my face.  Truth that hasn't gone through the filter of God’s Love and Grace for me is damaging. Satan will lie to me about my worth and value and try to use the "truth" of my actions and sins to diminish me and keep me down. He will use lies and will mix them up with the "truth" of who and what I am in light of my sin and short comings. The enemy will use lies and truths to condemn me and keep me from allowing God to love on me like He wants to. Satan’s goal is to keep me from my purpose in Christ, to convince me that it's too late for me or...I missed it.....I blew it. These are all lies from the pit of hell! As long as there is breath in my body, I can turn my heart toward The Lord and live in His plan for me.  I can be forgiven, redeemed, justified and made new.

My personal journal entry:  Lord, I've prayed with so many women lately that are trying to earn your favor. We throw around the word grace so much and yet don't really stop to think about what it really means. Even your death and resurrection can turn into me trying to earn it by giving up something. For me in this very moment grace is you saying that I'm of much more value to you than my message or the word I bring to bible study. This is grace. You love me more than my ability to perform or earn.  I guess I don't really truly understand this love that you want to give me. The people I love most on this earth still require things from me that I feel I need to give them. You require nothing but my willingness to come to you. To lay down my efforts and ask you to forgive me and fill me with your love.

Truth must bow to love…. And the greatest of these is love! His love, not my piddley ability to love! His love that says "Come to Me if your heavily laden or weighed down with sin."  His love that says He will tenderly takes my hands that are gripped ever so tightly. 

“You can't fix it Keely, but I can. Will you let go? Will you walk with me through this and work with Me and watch How I do it? Will you stop forcing your way because it seems best to you and let me teach you my unforced rhythms of grace for this situation, for this relationship?  If you will just let me have it and trust me you will learn how to take a real rest...like bone deep. A rest for your soul." 

God, I don't get this kind of love yet, but I'm learning. I'm listening. It's hard sometimes because the culture is really loud in my head about my "doing".

Ending Journal Entry: 

What If tonight we all walked out of here with just one slightly different piece of unconditional love that we'd never seen before? What if we all realized God wants to be something or someone to us now that we've never allowed Him to be, or imagined He could be? 

Prayer

Lord you know how much we need your love. You know how we throw truth around like a knife. Forgive us and wash our hearts clean of pride and selfishness. Fill us with your supernatural love. A Love that can love the unlovely or forgive the unforgivable.

Thank you and praise you Abba, for your unconditional love!

Amen

A Better Hope

I read through Hebrews 7 and 8 today and the words "better hope" from Hebrews 7:19, rolled around in my head.  The writer of our bible study, “Hebrews”, Lisa Harper goes into church tradition and our personal preferences on pages 86 and 87.  She  makes the point that the people of God giving up their priest and sacrifices and the way they had been doing things for ages, must've been very difficult. The writer of Hebrews was getting them to let go of the old way and embrace Jesus as their "better hope".  

Now I know we don't have a weird attachment to animal sacrifices or high priests to atone for our sins. We don't wait for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement to be forgiven and free of guilt and shame. We are gaining an understanding through this study, that Jesus paid the price once and for all. That nothing I can do will make up for or atone for my sin except to repent (have a change of mind and direction) and accept His forgiveness. Even trying to right my old wrongs, shows that I'm stuck in the old covenant way of rules, religion and performance  We are seeing clearly that God made a new covenant, a better way...a better Hope. And that hope is Jesus, our new high priest and our sacrifice. 

My question for us today is not unlike the writer of Hebrews. What is my hope in? What do you put your hope in?  Hope is a strong word so let me soften it for the sake of this teaching. What do you spend your time thinking about that you feel you need most?  What do wake up thinking about? What do you go to bed thinking about? What do sense yourself feeling?  "If  I could only have or attain____________ I would feel so much better.....I would find resolve.”

I have to be careful here. In my attempt to make my life better I can cross over into over-focus. A better healthy body can turn into hours of focus and obsession. A cleaner house can turn into, "I'd really enjoy my home if.....discontent. These attitudes of over-focus and discontent are a sure sign of needing a "better hope"

So let me ask the question again.  Where are you trying to gain approval? Is it from a person? Is it hope of a better position or pay at your work? Is it in having children? Or children that will listen? Is it in a better marriage? Is it in a nicer house, or neighborhood? None of the above are bad things, in fact they're blessings and gracious gifts from God. But they make lousy "Hopes." Let me state it clearly....hanging my everyday emotions on any one of them will leave me discontented, discouraged and grasping. That's why we need the Better Hope we are learning about:

Hebrews 7:19 (NLT) But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. (namely Jesus). 

Jesus, we just read in Hebrews 7 that you are a "better hope" than the old covenant....the old way. I think you are a better hope than my efforts to better myself. You are a better hope than my attempts to fix my void and pain with a better person. You are a better hope than the old way of religion of trying to be better than I used to be by working so hard to modify my own behavior....to crack the code. What is it I put my hope in? 

  

We discussed last week that feeling unworthy was getting in our way of being used by God. We need to let Him push us past this "unworthiness" go on to maturity. Part of going on to maturity is recognizing that the enemy of our souls loves for us to get hung up right there. So maybe this could be considered Part 2 of our teaching last week "Washed Worthy and Willing." 

1) We must identify where we are putting our hope so we can lay it down and accept the "better hope" that Jesus offers. I think I've already given a couple of ways to identify these areas. Back in our last study when we were studying Gideon, these areas of my heart and life would've been referred to as high places or idols. For more direction, let's turn to those red letters in the Bible, Jesus' very words. We open up in the wilderness right after getting John to baptize Him. Jesus is being tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger from His 40 day fast. 

Matt4: Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Jesus even saw physical hunger as a need God should meet for Him and not try and make it happen through His own resources. This quote and answer to the enemy came straight out of the Old Testament:

 Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV) "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, (which neither you nor your ancestors had known,) to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

2) Is it possible this ongoing "hunger” in our lives is to humble us so that we will turn to Him to meet our need? Could it be He wants to show you how to trust in Him for His answer to your life need right now?      *Manna was a supernatural answer to a natural need. Is it possible that part of living in His Unforced Rhythms of Grace is to turn to Him for the provision and the satisfaction and to stop putting our trust in flesh?  Doesn't Jesus try and tell us that we will live stressed hurried unfulfilled sleepless lives when we are putting our hope in anything but Him and His Word? Let's go back to our theme verse for our bible study and the theme of this blog: 

 Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep Company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Now let's look at what He says in His Word about trusting in a person or anything but Him...

Isaiah 2:22 (NIV)"Stop trusting in mere humans who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?" 

Isaiah 51:12-13, 15MSG)"I, I’m the One comforting you.  What are you afraid of—or who?Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust?You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. For I am God, your very own God, who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies. I teach you how to talk, word by word, and personally watch over you". 

3) Jesus knows that putting our trust in anything or anyone or any formula but Him leads to a stressed out and harassed life. He is clearly trying to tell us that He wants to meet our needs here "on earth as it is in heaven." 

Psalm 34:8 (NLT)"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!"

 In summary, Jesus is the BETTER HOPE for my life and God’s Word is how I find my needs met for my hungers as Jesus words echo in my heart. "Man shall not live in bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God". Bread is man-made and Manna is God made. Would I rather find my answer in man or in a trustworthy God who humbles me so I will look to Him for my hunger? 

Let's pray together:

Lord we acknowledge that you are a better hope

Looking to man has left us all discouraged and empty and sometimes grasping

We can't fix this

As Peter said, "You alone have the Words of life"

I want to live out Acts 17:28 that tells me

"For in Him I live and move and have my being.’

God I want this new way of living in your unforced rhythms of grace.

I am humbled by my need, I bring my hunger to you

I know you will give me your supernatural help for my natural earthly needs.

Thank you that you are a better hope, what a relief!

Amen

WASHED, WORTHY AND WILLING

When starting to prepare for this teaching I asked The Lord where He wanted me to read in His Word. I immediately felt impressed to go to Hebrews 6. I read through the whole chapter and nothing really stuck out to me except the 4 words, "go on to maturity" in the first couple verses.

So, I decided to shift gears and to go onto my own personal writing and get a fresh start where I felt God directing me in the writing of the Living in the URG bible study.
This writing project has not come easily for me because I keep getting in my own way. Even my own daughter keeps asking me why I'm so hesitant.  In her usual direct style with me she keeps telling me to get over myself and my misgivings.  Then last week I'm sitting in Starbucks with my sweet friend Lois, and even she starts to prod me about writing the new bible study. As she was expressing her confidence in me, I found myself reacting and actually feeling emotional. Why? What's this about Lord? What is this reaction inside me Lord?

He is so faithful to show me my own heart when I go to Him about myself. In this next set verses He showed me in the kindest and most encouraging way. I am dealing with feelings of unworthiness”. So I've decided to push aside my unworthiness and insecurities and step out. 

As I said "yes" in my spirit I felt The Lord saying to me learn to "walk with me, work with me and watch how I do it". (Matt 11:29 MSG) And nothing seems so clearly practical to carry this out as to go to the red letter words that He spoke directly to us in scripture.

I got captivated with the first Words Jesus spoke in Matthew in the 3rd chapter under the heading of "John Baptizes Jesus". (Recorded also in Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22). Wow! Lord, the first thing you bring up is so personal and actually causes me to get emotional. God is so sweet that He always lets me know that I'm not alone. In fact this "unworthy" thing is shared by some heavy hitters in the New Testament. And, like me, they were letting it get in the way of what Jesus wanted to do through them and with them. And, suddenly I realized this might be you too sistas! So I'm learning and teaching simultaneously.

#1. He wants to do something through you and me too. But, this unworthiness insecurity is an area of negativity in me that He wants to wash off and out of me. You can just hear the feelings of unworthiness John the Baptist was feeling when Jesus came to him and asked him to baptize Him. John had just been preaching about how he was baptizing in water but how One was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Matt3:11 "I will baptize you with water for repentance but after me will come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Then just one verse later we see verse 13.

 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness?"

(This is part of Abbas redemption plan)

#2.  I need recognize my sense of unworthiness and insecurity as an area of immaturity and decide to move it out of the way. Of course I'm not worthy. But, God wants to use me and if I stay stuck in my position, I cannot move forward and partner with Jesus on earth as it is in heaven. This "unworthy" feeling is also what Peter was feeling when Jesus wanted to wash the disciples feet at the last supper. 

John 13:3-6
Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” 8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!” Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

#3.  Unworthiness is a negativity that has got to go!  In order to partner with Jesus in His plans, I have got to let it go.  Of course I am unworthy! Anything He does for me is not because I earned it or am worthy. All is mercy, all is grace! Time to cooperate!  Look at the choices these two men made when confronted with Jesus wanting to work through them and use them to partner with Him on his earthly assignment…. 

Then John consented (yielded) 9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

Part of this business in my maturing and moving forward with Jesus and being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is to lay down all resistance and yield, consent. This sense of being worthy by my following a prescribed set of rules, or the converse, feeling unworthy because I've blown it, has got to go. Like Graham Cooke (writer, worshipper and  ministry leader of Brilliant Perspectives) loves to say, "There are unclaimed upgrades all over this room".

God has called me up..."Christ in me the hope of glory"...  "I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ" ...."greater things shall you do than Me" ...."He speaks a better Word over me".

 Hebrews 12:24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks a better Word of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

#4.  Jesus speaks a better Word over me than the law, than our society and definitely better than I speak over myself.  My sins don't disqualify me for His work. Jesus qualifies me when He baptizes me in The Holy Spirit and washes me with the water of His word.

That leads me back to my original thought for this teaching: 

Hebrews 6:1" Let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity,"

#5.  I can't make myself worthy....ever! Christ already did!!! But I can cooperate with His already finished work in me and for me. He has washed me! My feet my hands my head....and my heart.

Hebrews 10:22 NLT “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

Titus 3:5 (ESV) “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…”

1 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV)

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

#6.  So I need to get on with it! Step into what Christ has for me. Stop worrying about being worthy or holy or righteous enough to ever do anything for God. Thinking that His great plans are for everyone else around me...my sister, my mom, my friend....no...his great plans are for ME!

He knows the plans he has for me...(Jeremiah 29:11)

2 Cor 3: 4
“We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.  It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.  He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13)

What is he calling you to that you shrink away from? Do you feeling unworthy because of this weird lie you've bought into that you are not enough, or that you are too much?
He sees the greatness He planted in us and wants to partner w us to bring about His plans. There is no more room for this negativity about ourselves. Like John, we need to yield. Just like Peter we need to let him wash us and then jump right in to all He has for us. He has an assignment unique to each one of us. I, for one, don't want to miss it while slinking under my own unworthiness blanket.

Pray this prayer with me:

Holy Spirit thank you for being here with us tonight. Thank you for uncovering this lie I've been buying into.  Thank you that I am enough and that I'm not too much.

I renounce the lie that I am unworthy, I choose to go onto maturity.

Jesus I receive your Holy Spirit into my life.

Holy Spirit baptize me in your fire.

I receive all that you have for me.

Empower me to walk out of negativity about myself.

Empower me to partner with you and to change my world.

Fill me with your love.

Amen.

A Moment of Favor is Worth a Lifetime of Labor!

In the video for session #3 Lisa Harper does such a good job of discussing this weeks subject...REST 

I'm huge on this subject as The Lord has been having me intern with Him on what it means to live in the URG. (Unforced Rhythms of Grace) 

Matt 11:2828 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

We have to fight for our rest because the enemy of our souls hates it! We fight and beat down anxiety stress and fear with rest. God always blesses and has ordained my rest!  

Hebrews 4:11 says we have to strive to enter that rest..funny huh? But it's so true. When God first started to teach me this principle and train me in rest every fiber of my mind will and emotions fought it. But ahhhhh my spirit loved it! I began to realize that to receive from Him and to hear Him I had to sit down on the inside, to rest. 

I loved the week 2 intro in our Hebrews study on page 40; MOSES GAVE US RULES BUT JESUS GIVES US REST. I kept having this flash in my mind last week as I recovered from bronchitis. What is it that drives me? Why do I feel like less of a person when I rest or sleep in? God is having to change my whole mindset in this area. Maybe that's why I've received so much resistance in this area....rest is blessed by God, ordained by God and exhibited by God. 

Jesus came to wipe out the written code and to teach me to live and move and have my being in Him. He puts His spirit in me to teach me this new way of living. Jesus is not just my savior, He is Lord of my life. As Lord He wants me to learn this new way, to rest...

I love the saying, "A moment of favor is worth a lifetime of labor" . After reading it, what goes through your mind?  Jesus knows we are needy,  He just wants us to realize our neediness rests in Him  (no pun intended). He wants to provide for us and keep us from the hectic scramble. Look at the way he fed the 5000. 

John 6:5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated

Jesus wants us to sit down so He can minister to us and meet our needs. We cannot receive while in the standing posture. We have to surrender our efforts and sit down to receive from Jesus. Have you ever tried to have a meal or a real conversation with someone who won't sit down? Have you ever walked into Starbucks with your friends and there were no tables? Sitting down is a physical sign of submission and a relaxed resting posture. It is also a sign of authority as we learned last week when Kelsie taught on Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father. We are also taught that we are seated with Him. 

Col 2:6: "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."

Jesus is huge on rest and so is the book of Hebrews. Just for fun I looked at how many times the word rest is repeated in Hebrews 4:1-12......Fifteen times!  Whoa! I won't go into all 12 verses for the sake of time, but God is huge on rest for my soul, my mind, my body and most of all my spirit!!

Look at Hebrews Verse 7:

"So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: don’t harden your hearts. Today when you hear his voice".

 While praying and preparing for this message,  I felt the whisper in my heart

1) Gods provision of peace is coupled with His rest

2) True peace and real rest require surrender...sitting down on the inside. 

3) I'm thinking based on the feeding of the 5000 that His provision requires rest and surrender as well. 

He even warns us in Hebrew 4:11 that if we don't learn to rest we will fall. 

Today is the day to surrender to His rest.  It's awesome.  It's peaceful! Let's do it.  

My prayer for us: 

LORD this work in my hand, this grip I have is keeping me wound up. This person I am trying to change resists me, this anxiety keeping me up at night is wearing me down. I am needing your rest.

I am wanting and needing your rest Lord.

Holy Spirit show me where I am trying to control. 

Teach me surrender that leads to rest and peace.

I need peace for my soul. I need you holy spirit.  I SURRENDER.  Amen. 

My prayer for you:

Lord tear down the enemy's plans to keep my sisters all worked up and stressed. Clear their eyes to see and their ears to hear like never before, I pray. Bring rest and peace and provision. let them renounce and reject worry and control of anyone or anything. Grow trust in us I pray. Amen

Love- Keely