Recently, I felt like I was treated very poorly by individuals that I expected more from. I was left standing in disbelief and speechless.

It did not take long for this disbelief to turn to anger toward the people that should have behaved differently. It began to consume my thoughts over a period of a few hours and then carried over into the next day. I really wanted justice and felt that something should be done. How could I be treated like that!? Funny how if we slow down and look at our situations for a few seconds, we can see them in a new light. It probably was not even about me and even if it was, there was little I could do to help myself.

I sought justice but received little consolation. I thought about what else I could do and then I stopped and thought about what this situation might be doing to me. It was such a huge distraction! It was distracting me from my physical work and my spiritual work. I was not thinking much about what God might be saying or the things He might be asking me to pray about and focus on. I was consumed with what I wanted – and wanted the wrong to be righted immediately!

There are always going to be people that do things the wrong way. It may even be people that we never expect it from. If we focus on what they have done or are doing we will not focus on what God is most definitely saying in the situation. God is always saying something and can always work it out for our good – even if it is just a lesson and not a spectacular miracle.  We will miss His “still small voice” saying, “This is the way and I want you to move right now.”

If we are screaming out our threats and seeking our own justice, we will not pray about the situation like we need to. Perhaps the upsetting situations we face could just be the enemy’s attempt to distract us from what we really need to be focusing on and praying about.

Whatever situation we may face, I am certain that God’s way is best and if we ask Him, He will show us His way. If we put things in perspective we will most certainly see a bigger picture.

On Friday, October 16th, we will expanding our present recovery program to include ministry to family members of those who are seeking recovery from addictions.

Often the focus is on the individual who is struggling with the addiction while the rest of the family is left to deal with their feelings, disappointments, and frustrations on their own. Our intention is to offer support and ministry to these families and help them discover truth and solutions through the Word of God.

If you know anyone who could benefit from this type of support ministry, please encourage them to participate in the weekly meetings. We are offering this as a service to our community and all are welcome regardless of their church  affiliation.

“For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.”

“How to Prosper in a Depression”

“…follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Probably a more direct way to word that statement would simply be, “Follow me and I will make you ________.”

Is the blank still empty as pertains to you? In reality, the blank can only be filled in through the process of following the one who created you and placed you on the earth at a specific time in a specific place.

Here they were trying their best to catch fish (because eternity was already in their hearts) but still short of their ultimate calling. It took an encounter with Jesus and a response by them to put down their way and take up His.

As we follow Him, He is fashioning us into who we need to be so that we can accomplish those holy purposes that He designed us for long before we even arrived!

“At once they left their nets and became His disciples.” (v.20)

We need to take care not to allow this “poverty mindset” to infiltrate our vocabulary. It is apparent that adjustments need to be made (especially in the area of excessive debt), but they must come from sound biblical wisdom and not knee jerk reactions to the fluctuations of the marketplace.

One of the primary gauges of blessing is our desire and ability to give. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

What is happening in the world does not change the principles of scripture. The Word of God is “forever settled in heaven” (Psalm 119″89) and what happens on earth does not have the power to circumvent God’s order. God’s economic system has always been paradoxal to the world.

If we want to continue to receive, we have to continue to give. Be careful not to restrict yourself by closing your heart and your hand. Our kingdom is not of this world.

God wants to fix our spirit first because that is the part that God connects with.  When God sets us free in our spirit then our emotions and our body will fall in line.  Remember, God is our father and as a father He will do whatever it takes (for as long as it takes) to break us of our self-sufficiency so that He can be demonstrated through us.

We want to be fixed right away, but we must remember that when we let God fix us it will be done in God’s time.  He loves us so much.  He loves to help us get through our hard times.  We have to let Him do it because He knows us better than we do.  When it comes to God, manipulation is out.  We need to have faith.

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?  He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.  For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”  As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children.  Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?  If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.  Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?  for our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how.  But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.  No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening–it’s painful!  But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.  (Hebrews 12:5-11)

Some phases of our recovery may be very painful.  We may feel that we are being punished for our failures.  We may assume that bad things are happening to us because we are bad.  And we may even begin to believe that God doesn’t love us.  It may hurt when God disciplines us, but this in itself displays his love for us.  (Hebrews 12:5-7, 10-11)

Recovery is a time of correction, a time of facing problems and character flaws and changing incorrect beliefs.  There may be seasons when we do have to pay for our past.  God will use these times to redirect our life toward something better.  His correction isn’t arbitrary or abusive, but it is still painful.  Knowing that God’s discipline demonstrates his love for us can be comforting in the midst of our pain.  It helps to remember that his love will allow only that which is for our ultimate good.

The Life Recovery Bible, pg. 1593

We live in a world that doesn’t see value in broken things.  Our lives are full of brokenness and God wants to bring beauty out of your brokenness.

When a plant raises from a seed, the seed has to be broken first.

For a baby chick to be born the shell has to break.

As a young man, King David wasn’t ready for God to change his character because he didn’t recognize that it had defects.  He prayed, “Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners….I am not like that; I live with integrity.  So redeem me and show me mercy” (Psalm 26:9-11).  He approached God on the basis of his own merit.

It wasn’t until later in his life when he was confronted with his sins of adultery and murder that he was able to say, “For I was born a sinner–yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).  He also said, “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one….The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:16-17)

Jesus taught that “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).  God isn’t looking for evidence of how good we are or how hard we try.  He only wants us to mourn over our sins and admit our brokenness.  Then he will not ignore our needs but will forgive us, comfort us, and cleanse us.

The Life Recovery Bible, pg. 715

When we let our pride be broken, that’s when God’s light starts shining through.  What God is trying to teach us is that true brokenness is when he strips us of self sufficiency to the extent that we have no strength left to fix ourselves.  That is when God blocks every exit we try to take.  We find that we have nowhere to run and nowhere left to hide.  You are at rock bottom.  That is when God is all you have and He is all you need.  We have to learn to let God’s power fix our brokenness.

Paul writes, “May God sanctify you entirely.  May your spirit, soul, and body be without blame to our Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)  Sanctify means to be set apart.  For God’s purposes, to be sanctified means to be set apart for the high calling of God.  This happens from the inside out.  Our fleshly body must come last.  For example, the problem with a theif isn’t his hands.  The problem is in his mind or spirit which tell him stealing is ok.  His mind tells his hands what to do.  So if you transform his spirit his hands will follow suit and he won’t be a thief anymore.

We must press on.

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14)

…more next week

For the “Kingdom-minded” individual, I see this as a positive thing. As awkward as it feels, we should be welcoming anything that challenges our ultimate trust – which of course should be in God.

“Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Everything that God is orchestrating in our lives is geared towards bringing us to a place where we can say this about ourselves.

Our internal reality will determine our external reality. The Kingdom transformations taking place within us are equipping us to be able to stand firmly in an unstable environment! Jesus impacted people, social systems, and even the weather because His internal reality was firmly established in the Father’s will.

The following  Scripture speaks of two distinct identities – “in Christ” or “in the world.”  Take some time to meditate on it and then make a determination to plant yourself in Him Who will give you the power to live above everything else that is going on around you.

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have perfect peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer! For I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.” (John 16:33)