Who are you?

Careful! Don't be too hasty in answering that question. I am not asking who you want to be. I am not asking whom you are currently impersonating. I am asking, who are you? Hey, it's possible that you don't know. Even if you are a child of God you may not know.

What I am getting at today is the proposal to do away with the false self. Most of us are masters at operating in the false self. We do so because we fear that no one would like the real self if they truly knew us as we truly are. So, we live out of the false self until the facade falls, usually when we are found out for our acting out. Then what? Chances are we get more confused about our true self.

How about if we go back to what Paul said about this matter in I Corinthians 15:10..."But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." He said this just after he proclaimed his unworthiness, thus demonstrating how he was operating from his true self.

Good grief! Why are we such posers? Christ died for our sins, made us His children, guaranteed an incorruptible inheritance for us in heaven, gave a mandate of how to live according to His purpose, indwelt us with His Spirit, showed us the way with His Word, etc. What more do we need? For cying out loud, we are children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!

Yes, I know the root of our posing--FEAR! But remember, God has not given us the spirit of fear. Rather He has given us the spirit of power, love, and a sound (healthy) mind. Let's live in the true self operating on these truths. THEN we will truly know who we are!

I'm just too tired to care...

Been there? I know I have. Those that personally know me are not used to seeing that attitude in me. Honestly, I am very passionate about life and making it count for Christ. But there are days I just don't care. Maybe you can relate, too.

Here's practical help. I am indebted to Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries for reminding me of this truth. Here goes:

Never allow youself to get too:

HUNGRY
ANGRY
LONELY
TIRED

Looking at the first letter of each word you should spell HALT. Here's Stanley's advice--HALT when you are experiencing any of the four things listed above and address the matter(s) before proceeding with life.

You will come to find out if you have not already--we can't live well when any of the four things above are out of line.

In the battle with your addiction, be sure you address each of these areas before proceeding in the battle. Yes, HALT!

What is truth?

Hmmm...where have I heard that question before? Oh, yea, it was that Pontius Pilate guy. And millions of others since him. Why don't we take a look at the same question in today's post?

We live in a postmodern age. All that means is that truth has been retooled to fit man's desires. Postmodernism's end game simply says--"What's true for you may not be true for me." In other words, truth circumstantially defines itself rather than being absolute through all ages and all circumstances. Rather than having a fixed center, postmodernism's truth has a movable center. I have a problem with postmodernism's truth model, especially in light of our desire to use truth to break the bondages of our addictions and achieve inner wholeness and healing. The fluidity and instability of postmodern truth does not give us the tools to overcome our addictions and heal our brokenness.

Let's look at a silly illustration. Please notice the disclaimer. The illustration is silly. OK--here goes.There are three guys in a airplane getting ready to do a jump. Two of the guys have parachutes on. One guys doesn't. When that guy is asked why he doesn't have a chute on he simply says that in his mind gravity will not be a problem for him. He acknowledges that the other two guys' belief about gravity is good and fine for them. He just doesn't hold that belief himself. All three jump. The service for the guy without the chute will be held on Tuesday.

Absurd, you say? On the surface it may seem so; however, this is an accurate description of the postmodern truth model as taught in most all of our secular institutions of learning. Some churches and seminaries are even opting for variations on the postmodern truth model.

Let's go back to Jesus' words..."you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) He would also teach that He is The Truth (John 14:6). We need to let the Word of God stand as is. It is the fixed center upon which we can get the tools to overcome our addictions and heal our brokenness.

Uh, oh! I think I know.

Perhaps the Lord has recently shown you what your root of brokenness is. Now what? Do you run away from it skrieking in horror? Do you start the denial game? Or will it be a round of blame game? I think we all have to admit that we are quite good at playing these games. But, unfortunately, in these games there are no winners

All right, then--what now? Here it is--find the truth that matches your brokenness, embrace it, and ask the Holy Spirit to help carry out that truth in your daily life. Sounds simple, right? It is and it isn't. No, that's not double speak. It's just life. But I can assure you that is is possible and doable (if that's a word).

Come on, this is what Jesus wants! He said that we can know the truth and that it will set us free. He prayed for us that we would be sanctified by the truth. Then He even identified the truth--God's Word! Could it be any clearer?

But, in the end, it comes down to our "want to" if we are going to be delivered. We've got to want it to win it. And as the old cheer completed itself...and we want it more. Really? I certainly pray so!

Truth rules! (and we'll talk more about that at another time...)

Now what?

If you're at all like me, one of the hardest things you have to learn is to wait on the Lord. Ouch! Those of us who are active, on-the-move, in-charge types absolutely hate this vital part of spiritual growth. But learn to wait we must!

I think what happens is something like this...as you seek to wait on the Lord, he slowly reveals how badly you have to let go of the controls. You learn that the world can do just fine without your frenetic energy stirring up the scene. God Himself appears to become more powerful and truly reveals how much He is in charge of every situation in your life. Yes, you can actually come to trust Him from learning to wait. Imagine that!

So, what will it be? Will we make a spiritual "smoothie" of Isaiah 40:31 and Proverbs 3:5, 6 and thereby be delighted and refreshed? Or will we continue to "munch" through life eating the rice cakes, so to speak, with nothing spread on them, much like life lived by our own dry self-efforts? Hmmm...

Hey, don't look at me! I've have lots to learn...but that "smoothie" sounds so good about now!!

What's Missing?

Yesterday we took a look at medications of choice. We readily acknowledge that we use them to soothe emotional pain. Today we go one step further.

Today we ask, what's missing? This drives us to the root of the emotional issue that has pushed us to false medications. When we find this root we can truly heal. We also no longer need those false medications for the troubled soul.

What I would challenge you to do is to seek the Lord for the answer to the question. In today's "find-somebody-to-blame" culture, we need God's help to sort out truth from fiction. Rest in Him for the answer to the "what's missing?" question. He loves you. He wants you to be whole. He will answer the question. We'll chat more about what to do with His answer at another time...

What About All That Medication?

Have you ever paused just long enough to ask yourself, why am I using my medication of choice? Oh, most of you know that I am not talking about the stuff you get at the pharmacy. I am talking about illicit drugs, alcohol, sex, food, approval, workaholism, etc. You get the drift.

Have you asked yourself and God what's up with the medicating? Let me challenge you to do just that--ASK. True, you may not like the answer; but you will love the solution set that God can provide that will leave you with no adverse side effects.

Seek His healing, not your false medicating...

Why Finally Free 4 Him?

So often we make prisoners of ourselves simply by allowing our problems, addictions, and actions bind us from being who God created us to be. The hope of this blog is to explore ways we can release those fetters through the truth of Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.

There is no desire to be trite in this blog. Life is messy. We can't always get our heads around everything that crosses our life path. Yet, there is absolute truth that can help us to make enough sense of life that we can live with peace, purpose, and joy. That's the pursuit of this blog.

May the conversations start.