To Seek & Save What was Lost

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” ~Luke 19

Credit: godlywoman.co

Hi there friends! Today I have some heavy thoughts swirling in my mind, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

The verse above, in context, speaks about Jesus saving His people from their due punishment: eternal life apart from Him.

However, when I heard it this morning, it struck me that Jesus came to save a lot of things. Yes, this includes our souls which is by far the most important! But He also seeks to save our hearts and the valuable things we’ve lost on life’s journey.

What have you lost that was precious to you? Maybe…

A relationship. A person you loved. Your dignity. Purity. A job and financial provision. Respect. Peace. Your joy. Perhaps even your faith.

I admit we face a lot of perplexing situations in life. At the top of the list is losing our most treasured possessions (and not just the material things). Why people sometimes experience difficulties is unfathomable to me (my thoughts today are on Colorado Springs)! Our hearts go out to people dealing with grief and loss.

But even more than having compassion for the hurting, we long to see God RESTORE all things to His people, as He speaks about in Joel 2:

“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for He has given the early rain for your vindication;
He has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.

“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years 
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
My great army, which I sent among you.

“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And My people shall never again be put to shame.”

How wonderful that God says He will RESTORE THE YEARS that were taken from us! I’ve lost many years to the devourer. Have you?

The persistent, fiery question occupying my thoughts lately is this: When will this day of redemption come? Must we wait til we reach heaven, or will we “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (aka here on earth)?

I believe the answer is BOTH. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, not only our souls from a dark eternity (our long-range blessing) but also today’s blessing:

Jesus wants to restore the things someone took from us without our permission, what we foolishly surrendered through our poor decisions/outright rebellion, or what the enemy tried to destroy in our lives (our family, marriage, physical body, reputation, finances, peace of mind, even our “sweet sleep”)!

Do we always know the when & the how of Jesus’s saving miraculous work? Does it always come packaged the way we want? No and no. His ways are higher and at times a mystery to us earth-huggers. We simply know that Jesus is seeking to save what was lost in the world… but He faces some obstacles.

For starters: We all have a sworn enemy who wants nothing more than to ruin our lives! But for believers, because he can’t have our God-betrothed souls, he goes for the jugular: Our hearts.

The devil is a thief, a murderer, and a destroyer! He knows that a “heart attack” will steal our life. This is why Proverbs 4 warns us to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” 

The enemy doesn’t want us to have the abundant life Jesus came to give us! And he definitely doesn’t want us sharing such life with anyone else.

So he aims to destroy anything good (aka Godly) in our lives by targeting 1) our FAITH in God and His goodness, 2) our HOPE that He’s restoring our life’s losses, and 3) God’s LOVE from touching our hearts and the people’s around us.

But sometimes I forget I have a sworn enemy, so I blame my life’s mishaps and every winding road on God Himself.

This morning I asked God where His love was in my life… and why I didn’t feel it most of the time. I asked Him why He seems to expect so much of me while at the same time not healing vital parts of my heart that are required for what He’s calling me to do. He knows my desires and sees my struggle to overcome, so why hasn’t He fixed it?

How can a human lift a heavy burden with one healthy arm? How can a bird fly with a broken wing? I haven’t understood Him, nor His ways, nor where I fit into them.

So I prayed and listened and started writing. And this is what came out.

Maybe He wants to remind you and I that He IS healing us and restoring us – but He needs our cooperation. And patience. He needs our prayers to invite Him into our broken areas and the losses we’ve endured in life. He needs us to guard our hearts wisely and take responsibility for its meanderings. He needs us to worship Him in the meantime – not chase something/someone else – as we wait for Him to be revealed in our circumstance.

We need to be careful not to blame God for the devil’s work. Or the work of our own hands. Or the work of another person’s hands. Or the results of living in an imperfect world broken by human sin.

We need to trust that God is restoring the years we’ve lost and that He’s mending our hearts. This reminds me of the butterfly in the cocoon who cannot understand why the struggle to break free is so difficult… only to learn afterwards that the struggle is what strengthened her wings to fly.

We need to remind ourselves and each other that Jesus is actively seeking to save what was lost in our lives and on this earth. That is His stated goal [see this post’s opening line]! If we lost our abundant life along the way, then we need to trust that He’s actively working to restore it to us.

I’m reminded of this awesome proverb today:

“But if [a thief] is found out, he must restore seven times [what he stole]; he must give the whole substance of his house [if necessary—to meet his fine].” ~Proverbs 6

If we apprehend “the thief” in our lives, we’ll receive seven-fold what we lost. Let’s pray this together:

“Father, thank You for Your word that shines light on our struggles! We ask that You please show us where the enemy has stolen from us. We thank You that he be found out immediately, and declare that he must restore to us seven-fold what he took! We thank You Father for restoring to us what is rightfully ours through Your son Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.” 

Lord, Where’s My Healing?

Yesterday God answered a pressing prayer of mine. In light of my physical struggles the last 1.5 years and those of people around me, I’ve been asking Him for wisdom on healing and His will for us in this area.

I fully believe God is our Healer. He’s healed me of numerous issues, including “incurable” ones and most recently, this daunting one. How awesome is that?!

So in recent years, I’ve been very perplexed when people I know and myself go months or YEARS praying and believing God for healing without seeing the fruit of it.

What gives? How can God (who’s not a man that He should lie) say He’s our Healer while His children walk around unhealed? I needed to know.

Before going any further, we must cover a few reasons why people received healing in the Bible. Yes, Jesus healed a lot of people with all kinds of sicknesses and diseases – blindness, lameness, bleeding disorders, people possessed by evil spirits, even dead people He brought back to life. Tens of thousands witnessed His miracles; these aren’t stories manufactured in some author’s basement. Jesus was a historical man with incredible authority to make humans whole again, even physically!

However, Jesus declared time & time again to people He healed that “Your faith has made you well.” He didn’t beat around the bush: Faith & healing are intertwined. At times Jesus went places to heal people, but their lack of faith prevented His miracles from happening there. These people rejected Jesus’s power and missed out on His blessings. From this we learn that our belief activates His power.

But what if I’d been praying in faith, so much that I was surprised by His seeming apathy? I’ve prayed for many things through the years & watched them happen – so why should healing be any different?

I’ve come to realize that whenever I pray God’s will (as He laid out in Scripture) for a person or situation on my heart, I can fully expect Him to respond! In fact I SHOULD expect His response because I’m just asking Him to do what He already wants to! Whenever I don’t receive a response from Him, I must be missing key insights in that area of my prayers. I must need more understanding about His will in that area before I can expect to see it manifest.

Jesus also tied forgiveness and healing together. Many times after healing someone, Jesus said “Go and sin no more!” What a bold thing to say, yet it appears Jesus was giving them the key to walking in continued healing. He’d cured them, but if they persisted in the sin that brought their illness on in the first place (though Scripture makes clear that not all ailments are caused by sin!) they may wind up back in their diseased condition. Jesus was showing people how to stay forever free from their maladies: Quit sinning!

Side note: If our sin triggers a physical problem in our lives (e.g. Alcoholics who get liver disease), OUR ILLNESS IS NOT GOD’S PUNISHMENT. Scripture simply says we will reap what we sow – if we sow to our flesh, we reap destruction, chaos, and eventual death. If we sow to the Spirit, we reap health, life, and peace. God warns us what paths to avoid, but if we rebel we bring bad things on ourselves! Scripture also says (rather comically in my opinion) that “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the LORD” (Prov. 19:3). We can create huge messes for ourselves and others, but we mustn’t blame Him for them. Yet mercifully, when we pray for Him to intervene, God comes in and restores our messes even when we don’t deserve it.

In light of all this, the last year and a half I’ve searched my heart and life for sinful attitudes, unforgiveness, and a whole host of things that Scripture says cause illness and physical decay. I’ve confessed and repented of things He’s revealed and felt lighter with each load – yet no healing. I couldn’t understand it.

As Prayer Team members at our church, we often receive requests for healing prayers. However, my struggle has been how and what to pray for these people while waiting for my own physical healing. I prayed and claimed Scripture over them for physical health – and I believe those claims, I really do! But maybe it’s easier to believe for someone else’s healing than your own. Maybe my faith for myself wasn’t as strong as I thought. It’s hard to know sometimes.

One more thing Scripture teaches about healing is that sickness can be a test – as in the case of the Biblical man Job. God said he was more righteous than any other man on the face of the earth (no big deal). While I’m nowhere near that status, I’m wondering if I was being tested, too? Perhaps my physical problems weren’t caused by my sin or unbelief but rather God testing my heart to reveal if I would blame Him or recognize my true enemy – the one who tries to steal, kill, and destroy. If that was His lesson, I failed miserably for awhile! :) I complained a LOT on my down days – especially in the beginning – cried and got angry at Him. Eventually, however, I started fighting back at the enemy for trying to steal my life from me. Only then did I start to see breakthrough!

With all that said, yesterday as I read “The Power of a Praying Wife” by Stormie Omartian, the following words rang loud and clear. This was the answer I’d been seeking, at least in part – an excerpt from chapter 11 on praying for your husband’s health:

“I believe that when God said, ‘I am the LORD who heals you,’ He meant it (Exodus 15:26). I have the same faith as Jeremiah who prayed, ‘Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed’ (Jeremiah 17:14). I trust His Word when it promises ‘I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds’ (Jeremiah 30:17).

Jesus ‘took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses’ (Matthew 8:17). He gave His disciples power to ‘heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease’ (Matthew 10:1). He said ‘These signs will follow those who believe…. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover’ (Mark 16:17, 18). It seems to me that God is interested in healing, and He didn’t put a time limit on it; only a faith limit (Matthew 9:22)…

Even though we pray and have faith, the outcome and timing are God’s decisions. He says there is a ‘time to heal’ (Ecclesiastes 3:3). If you pray for healing and nothing happens, don’t beat yourself up for it. God sometimes uses a man’s physical ailments to get his attention so He can speak to him. Keep praying, but know God’s decision is the bottom line.

The same is true when praying that God will save someone’s life. We don’t have the final say over anyone’s hour of death. The Bible says there is ‘a time to die’ (Ecclesiastes 3:2), and we are not the ones who decide that, God does. And we must accept it. We can pray, but He determines the outcome. We have to give Him that privilege without resenting, faulting, or getting angry at Him. Pray for your husband’s health, but leave it in God’s hands.”

Wow.

I know God is our healer, but sometimes the how and when hasn’t been as clear. Thank You, Lord, for enlightening me on this – that “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

I hope I always pray in faith for His complete healing (for others & myself) but that I leave the end results in His all-knowing hands. I don’t EVER want my lack of faith or my sin to hinder Him from healing anyone! If someone passes away without receiving physical healing, may it be only because God knew it was their time and not because I didn’t have the faith to believe for it.

Ultimately, perhaps the best way God heals us is to take us home. Only He knows when that will be. I can just rest in knowing that our Father knows best and that His will is our complete healing – whether here on earth or in eternity with Him.

3 Ways To Be Unhappy

Credit: Inspired Every Moment

“Because Of You” by Kelly Clarkson

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did, you fell so hard
I’ve learned the hard way to never let it get that far

Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you I am afraid

Because of you I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you I don’t know how to let anyone else in
Because of you I’m ashamed of my life because it’s empty
Because of you I am afraid
Because of you

I appreciate good music like any girl, especially from the talented Kelly Clarkson, but for some reason this song has never settled well with me.

I realized why a couple weeks ago when it came on my Pandora station: The singer acts powerless, blaming her life’s troubles on someone else.

It’s true that people give us baggage sometimes. We can be walking through life, happy as clams, when a person does something intentional or not-so-intentional to hurt us and make our lives more difficult. In order for us to move past it, we must learn how to deal effectively with each hurt as it comes along.

This song has some powerful lessons for us on “what not to do” in such a scenario. Here goes :)

3 Ways To Be Unhappy:

1. Make internal vows. The first 4 lines of this song are the singer promising to never repeat what whoever in her life (her parent?) did to get their heart broken. “I will not….” are some very strong words to use. Jimmy Evans of Marriage Today Ministries taught the following about vows. He pointed out that the Bible cautions us against making such hasty vows because they have power to shape our future. Jesus said that any vow (beyond letting our “Yes be yes” and “No be no”) is from the enemy! In this case, the singer vows to close herself off from other people to spare herself similar heartache. Doesn’t that sound like the enemy’s work? While protecting ourselves is human nature, she’s doing so at her own expense. We find out why her vows are so damaging in the next 4 verses!
2. Don’t forgive. This song is devoted to the object of the singer’s anger. She blames this person for her problems: Shame, fear, not being able to get close to people anymore. Yet she doesn’t seem to recognize the strong connection between her vows to “Not break the way you did” and “Not make the same mistakes that you did” and her fears like not knowing “how to let anyone else in”. Her vows to protect herself from others also shielded new people from entering her life. When we don’t let painful events go and instead choose to protect ourselves with “I’ll nevers”, we become prisoners of our own bitterness. I can relate to this myself, but to move forward into the life God wants for us, bitterness is not a biblical option. Who knows the amazing relationships and joys such vows prevent us from experiencing! I hope we’ll see that letting go is the best way to live.
3. Give others the keys to our life. The saddest part of this whole song is that the singer blames another person for her troubles and never takes personal responsibility for her reaction to the pain she endured. While doing this seems difficult, it’s the most freeing thing we can do when we’ve been hurt! Every time I’ve owned up to my mistakes (even if it was ‘just’ my reaction) I’ve experienced freedom. But every time I’ve shifted blame onto someone else’s shoulders and made them the reason for my difficulties, I’ve gotten “stuck” in life and continued revisiting the hurt “they” caused me – a very natural response. It’s no surprise then that this singer would devote an entire song to someone who hurt her! At times we give others the keys to our lives, making them responsible for repaying us for any harm done… but this gives them control over our lives and hands them the keys to our future. God never said we should take responsibility for someone else’s behavior or that they’re responsible for ours. He simply encourages us to own up to our own. Accepting my part in a situation (no matter how small) is the best thing I can do for myself and the people in my life. This means that no matter what situation I find myself in, I CAN TAKE ACTION. I can move forward. I don’t have to remain powerless and hurt, allowing someone else to hinder me from growing and loving new people. I can be free from their mistakes and sins against me. I can even love on them and pray for them, from a safe distance!

Grudge-holding makes us feel strong, but it really makes us weak. Once we recognize that we’re handing over our God-given power to people who have hurt us, it loses its appeal. By staying angry, we put ourselves at our transgressor’s mercy – not “because of them” as this song says but because of our own choices. We have a say in the matter, but we forfeit that when we hold onto our anger.

We can take back our lives by 1) forgiving others, 2) breaking harmful vows and agreements we’ve made because of our past hurts, and 3) accepting responsibility for our actions. To do so may require the help of the Holy Spirit, but He is more than willing to assist us in obeying God’s word.

We were never meant to handle unforgiveness. Romans 12 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” When we take vengeance into our own hands, we relinquish our authority in the situation and may interfere with God’s plans to bring His vengeance into it. Also, when we focus on what others “owe” us, we lose our vision and become consumed with “debt collecting” even though we may never succeed at settling our accounts.

Let’s allow the Lord to handle our justice and repayment so that we can move forward unhindered by what others do to us. We can trust Him to make the situation right in due time and to restore what’s been lost.

I’m learning this along with you! My hope is that we will become people who let God settle the score, wait for His justice instead of our own, and even learn to love those who’ve hurt us most.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” -Lewis B. Smedes

Why & How to Go Gluten-Free

Credit:  http://mensjournal.com

My Gluten Experience 

Like many of us, I’ve heard of people eating gluten-free for years but dismissed it as some extreme fad diet. That all changed recently.

For the last 1 ½ years, I’ve had health issues that have challenged my ability to exercise, be social, work a full-time job, run errands, and live a normal life.

Last January, I began having severe fatigue and migraines that came out of nowhere. I stopped exercising (mostly) because it started draining me and spent Saturdays on the couch & living room floor – a very tough adjustment for me. I cancelled outings with friends because my body suddenly ran out of energy and increasingly relied on my wonderful husband for grocery runs, cooking, and errands. I stopped most extracurricular activities because I was failing to care for my family, myself, and our home well. We also struggled getting pregnant but are still trusting in God’s timing. As I learned to live with my new limitations, we decided I should go part-time with my job.

Initially I was confused, down, and angry – even in prayer. I did everything I knew to “fix” myself to little avail: detoxing, fasts, new vitamins & adrenal/thyroid pills, a health assessment, copious amounts of research, and pleading with God our Healer. If I’m honest, I shed some tears, too. I couldn’t fix my body and didn’t understand why God didn’t seem to either. Although I’d had similar health issues off & on since college (to a lesser degree), last year I hit a brick wall that I couldn’t move.

Leading up to my crash, I’d been eating an unusual diet due to my hectic schedule and personal stressors – fast food for lunch, whole wheat pasta for dinner, frozen yogurt for dessert, licorice as a snack. I’ve since learned that all 4 have something in common: lots of gluten! Who knew that the #1 ingredient in licorice is wheat flour, or that many chocolate ice creams/froyos add it as a stabilizer? And who would imagine that whole wheat flour actually has MORE gluten than white? Now I’m seeing that – in college, when I first realized something was amiss with my health – I’d just switched to eating all “whole wheat” food!

Then 2 months ago I came across compelling information about gluten and realized it may be part of my problem. I’d tried various “cures” and wasn’t expecting a quick turnaround this time, but to my surprise, after I went gluten-free for several weeks I felt GREAT. I’ve continued eating 90% gluten-free since then and am regaining energy & stamina every day for the first time in 18 months. This is a miracle and God’s answer to my prayers!

I’m overjoyed to say that I can exercise again! I also feel much happier, more peaceful, and less anxious (praise God). My mind seems sharper, my body stronger, and my stamina’s increased. Hallelujah! I don’t want to credit gluten-free eating alone with my health improvements, but I know it’s a major factor. Ultimately, God is the One who heals us, and I’m very thankful He’s been showing me how to regain my health. I’m not in “perfect” health yet, but I hope with time and positive changes I can get there.

Gluten-free may not be the answer for everyone, but I hope my story can help you and others who may be experiencing similar health issues (or others from the list below). If you’re just curious about the gluten-free hype, it’s worth learning about. I only wish I’d considered it sooner!

I’m not an expert, but I researched what a lot of medical/health professionals had to say about gluten for you guys to save you time. Here are my “Cliffs Notes” to going gluten-free. I hope you find it helpful.

Bon appétit!
Summer

[Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, so I highly recommend you consult a health professional before starting any new eating program.]

What is Gluten & Why Should I Consider Avoiding it?

Gluten comes from the Latin word for “glue” and is a naturally-occurring protein in wheat, rye, barley and triticale (a wheat/rye hybrid). Translation: Gluten holds stuff together. This sticky protein likes to linger in our food, bodies, or wherever it goes:

“Gluten is the glue that is used to preserve food for a longer shelf life. When our great, great grandmother baked homemade bread 100 years ago, it fell apart after a day. Now a day’s bread can sit on our counter for weeks and in the refrigerator for at least a month.” –Dr. Dena Mendes

For reasons I’ll explain, many people today are experiencing reactions to gluten. According to Dr. Amy Myers (right here in Austin, Texas), the spectrum of gluten sensitivity ranges from: No problem –> Gluten sensitivity –> Celiac disease (an autoimmune disease).

When someone has celiac disease, small amounts of gluten in their bloodstream (even a crouton’s amount) can trigger an immune response that damages their small intestinal lining. This may interfere with nutrient absorption and cause issues like osteoporosis, infertility, nerve damage, and seizures. Celiacs have to be very vigilant about the amount of gluten they consume because of its damage potential.

While most people aren’t Celiacs, many more are gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive.

Gluten facts:

1. 99% of people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease are never diagnosed.
2. Between 15-30% of the U.S. population is believed to be gluten-sensitive. In addition, 1% of people worldwide have celiac disease, though experts believe this is greater due to undiagnosed cases.
3. In the 1950’s, 1 in 700 people had celiac disease. Today it’s 1 in 133 people (a 5-6 fold increase)!
4. A June 2007 study showed that nearly everyone has (at least) a mild reaction to gluten.
5. 55+ diseases have been linked to gluten (scroll down for a list).

Wait, but how can gluten be bad for us if it’s natural? Aren’t wheat, rye & barley in the Bible (“Ezekiel bread”)? Didn’t Jesus pray for “our daily bread” and weren’t Temple sacrifices made from wheat?

Here’s what I’ve learned.

Gluten gives bread dough its elasticity, helps it keep its shape, and gives bread a chewy texture. Natural levels of gluten in wheat are a good thing!

However, today’s wheat is very different than God’s recipe or what we ate in the 1950’s.

In the ‘60s, U.S. food makers increased gluten levels in wheat to make it sturdier & easier to process, allowing it to stretch further (and improving their bottom line). They cross-bred or “hybridized” wheat with other grasses to increase its gluten levels, which changed the genetic structure of “new wheat” from 2-4 sets of chromosomes (depending on which type) to 6! New wheat has significantly less nutrients due to the way it’s grown & cultivated.

The bread Americans eats today is prepared very differently than in the past. We don’t bake it ourselves, we use “quick rise” yeast and old/potentially rancid flour, and it sits longer on shelves before consumption (thus increasing the need for preservatives from unnatural sources).

Then, when food makers learned that gluten was a strong binder & stabilizer, they began adding it to a whole host of other items to increase their cohesiveness (“stickiness”): medications, vitamins, veggie and protein burgers, sauces/marinades, salad dressings, ketchup, condiments, even ice cream! They’ve put gluten in so many places – including some toothpastes, cosmetics, & beauty products that leech into our skin – that our exposure to this highly inflammatory substance is much greater than before.

All of these factors combined have drastically increased how much gluten we’re consuming in America.

I don’t believe God intended for us to mess with our food’s genes (hybridizing or “genetically-modifying” them). GMO foods, for instance, are now listed in American’s top 10 most inflammatory (or allergenic) foods including soy, corn, eggs, dairy, and wheat. God made these wonderful foods for us to enjoy, but our bodies don’t recognize their new genetic structure. Instead of digesting them, our bodies often attack them or us, and we become sick.

My personal belief is that many people having success on “Paleo” and “Low carb” diets are getting healthier and losing weight by avoiding the major gluten-containing foods.

What Does Gluten Do?

“New wheat” contains 5% of proteins that weren’t there before. Our bodies don’t know what to do with these proteins! When this happens, it stimulates (or aggravates) our immune systems and causes allergic reactions or even “leaky gut” syndrome.

Inflammation is the root of all disease, and gluten is an extremely inflammatory food, according to Dr. Amy Myers. Because Americans are overexposed to gluten in its unnatural form (“new” wheat), many people have bad reactions to it now.

Most people can’t “feel” inflammation in their body or their thyroid swelling up. Gluten causes “silent inflammation”, but your antibodies can be tested to see if they increase with gluten exposure.

Gluten causes inflammation in the body & more mucus to be produced (maybe because our bodies don’t know how to digest it well). Glutinous carbohydrates also slow your metabolism & prevent healthy brain development. Yet another issue is that gluten-containing food can mimic opiates in our brain, causing strong cravings, compulsive overeating, and physiological withdrawal symptoms when removed – all signs of addiction (no wonder donuts taste so good!).

Signs of Gluten Sensitivity:

1. Overall – Chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia (gluten is frequently a part of both), cancer, lethargy after eating gluten, difficulty losing weight (Adults), lack of growth/underweight/malnutrition (Kids)
2. Digestive – Gas, bloating, IBS, heartburn/acid reflux, malabsorption, nausea/vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, indigestion, diarrhea, strong cravings (sugar, bread, starchy foods), GERD
3. Neurological – Migraines, brain fog, “grain brain” (brain lesions), Alzheimer’s, poor concentration or memory (poor word recall), vertigo/dizziness, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Restless Legs syndrome, insomnia, seizures, numbness in extremities
4. Skin – Acne, eczema, keratosis pilaris (“chicken skin” on back of arms), fever blisters, psoriasis, rashes, rosacea, dermatitis
5. Respiratory – Asthma, allergies, sinus congestion, respiratory infections
6. Behavioral/Mental/Mood – ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, irritability, depression, mood swings
7. Endocrine/Hormonal – PCOS, infertility, miscarriage, hormonal imbalances, PMS, thyroid disease, iron-deficient anemia, endometriosis, hypoglycemia, diabetes, abnormal periods
8. Muscular/Joints – Joint paint, muscle aches or spasms, bone pain, osteoporosis, osteopenia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, joint inflammation/swelling
9. Autoimmune – Yeast infections, UTI’s, gallbladder issues, lymphoma, platelet disorders, colitis, lupus, thyroiditis

Dogs and cats don’t digest gluten well either, yet many pet foods contain gluten or MSG (which causes them to eat more)! Today pets have an epidemic of cancer & disease due to eating a processed, unnatural diet similar to our own. If you want a healthier pet, try switching them to a gluten-free diet too.

Best Test for Gluten Sensitivity

There are tests for gluten sensitivity & celiac disease, but several medical professionals recommended a gluten elimination diet for 3-4 weeks as the most accurate way to determine if you have a gluten issue. If you start feeling better, you know you’re on the right track. Then get a test to see if your issue is as serious as celiac disease. A negative celiac result doesn’t mean you aren’t gluten sensitive, though!

Foods to Avoid (unless labeled “Gluten-Free”):

All wheat/barley/rye/triticale products (including malt, malt flavoring & malt vinegar), bulgur, durum flour, farina, graham flour, kamut, semolina, spelt, white flour, wheat germ, wheat bran, breads, pasta, pastries/baked goods, pizza, bagels, bread flour, flour tortillas, couscous, muffins, cookies/cakes/pies, pretzels, crackers, cereal, breadcrumbs/croutons, French fries, fried foods, gravy, imitation meat & seafood (i.e. imitation crab in sushi), matzo, processed lunch meat, hot dogs, dressings (including salad dressings), sauces (including soy sauce), seasoned rice & pasta mixes, seasoned potato & tortilla chips, soups, soup broth/bouillon cubes, vegetables in sauce, self-basting poultry. Wheat is also the first ingredient in many “vegan” or “fake meat” products, candy, licorice, and beer.

Foods to Enjoy!

1. Fresh, organic/all-natural meat, fish & poultry (except if it’s marinated, battered, or breaded)
2. Organic eggs & most dairy
3. Organic fruits & vegetables (if too pricey, just buy organic when you’ll be eating the skins)
4. Organic/extra virgin oils like coconut & olive oil
5. Beans (especially sprouted), seeds, nuts, avocados – healthy fats!
6. Quinoa, quinoa pasta, brown & wild rice, corn, pure corn tortillas, & hominy (corn)
7. Breads made with “heirloom” / “ancient” / or “heritage” grains (made from saved “old wheat” seeds) & gluten-free oats (make sure they’re labeled GF due to manufacturing cross-contamination – I got mine at HEB)
8. Foods from these grains: Amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, corn/cornmeal, flax, gluten-free flours (e.g. almond, coconut,  rice, soy, corn, potato & bean), millet, sorghum, soy, tapioca, teff
9. As for alcohol – wine, cider, “gluten-free” beers, and many distilled products
10. Gluten-free labeled foods. There are tons of options out there! Just be careful with packaged GF foods because many are highly-refined & not as nutrient-dense. Fresh food is best to ensure you get enough fiber & vitamins. Pregnant/nursing women should take a GF multivitamin.
11. Google/Pinterest “gluten-free recipes” or buy The Wheat Belly Cookbook by Dr. William Davis (I saw it for sale at Sprouts last week!)

Bread Alert: You don’t have to swear off the dough! Besides exploring a variety of gluten-free breads on the market, a promising alternative is to go old school and make your own! Instead of buying industrialized breads made for long shelf-lives, you can use a hand grain mill to freshly-grind flour (in lieu of rancid old flour) made from “heritage” grains (instead of hybridized modern grains) and using fermented sourdough cultures (not “quick rise” yeast which doesn’t ferment as well).

Properly-fermented bread should pre-digest the proteins (AKA gluten) in bread so our bodies don’t have to, which may eliminate gluten allergies or potentially even a celiac patient’s negative reaction! The exciting news is there has been some success with this, but always check with a doctor before experimenting with new foods (if you have gluten sensitivity). You can buy “heritage grain” dough on Amazon and make fresh bread from it!

I encourage you to research more for yourself. Here are some helpful resources:

1. Top 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Gluten [Video]  
2. The Problems with Modern Wheat  
3. Whole Grains and the Gluten-Free Diet – Great breakdown of GF grains, preparation, & recipes
4. Do Heritage Grains Hold Promise for the Gluten Sensitive? 
5. Gluten-Free Girl
6. 9 Food Staples for a Gluten-Free Pantry

Have you tried eating gluten-free? Please share your experience in the comments below!

Exceedingly Abundantly Above All We Ask or Think

Credit: http://www.sprinklesonmycupcakes.xanga.com

 

“May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” –Eph 3 (emphasis mine)

This beautiful passage is famous! Another version says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (NKJV).

God’s able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Wow!

I’ve loved this Scripture for years. I love knowing God is able to completely blow our minds by doing far more than we could even dream!  That is amazing!

So why, after so many years of reading this passage, have I never seen the last part: “According to the power that works in us”? 

Is the Apostle Paul suggesting that perhaps God is waiting to blow our minds by using – us?  Is that part of this “exceedingly abundantly” business He’s ready to do?

Also, I realized for the first time that this passage doesn’t say GOD WILL DO exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. It says GOD IS ABLE.

But His ability is “through His mighty power at work within us”.

Whoa whoa whoa. This is too much for my mind to comprehend (and I think that’s the point :).

God wants to blow our minds and do incredible things for us and people around us… through us! His power – Jesus – lives in us and enables us to do mighty deeds.

But Jesus isn’t gonna manifest in front of our eyes to help others. He borrows our “hands” and “feet”. He needs a willing person on earth.

If we had a dime for every time people ask “Where is God in ____?”, we could all quit working now.

Maybe people ask this because they’re waiting for someone to bring God’s power into the world – to demonstrate He’s real and that He cares.

Maybe God’s waiting for that, too. Maybe He’s as frustrated as we are of people questioning Him – especially in tragedies like Monday’s massive tornado disaster in Moore, Oklahoma.

Yet numerous broadcasts I’ve seen show God at work in Moore – through ordinary people like us – and it’s been so encouraging. I’ve also seen so many people reach out to meet the needs of residents there. That is God working among us, is it not?

Jesus said His followers would do what He did and even greater things!  But it’s up to us to step out. We must change our mindsets from “me seeking” to “need seeking”.

God promises that if we put His kingdom first, He will take care of all our needs for us. We’ll be carefree and able to quit trying to satisfy ourselves, knowing He’ll bless us for pursuing His interests first.

I’d like to point out one crucial point in this passage. Please note what happens before believers can go out and cooperate with God to bring His power and miracles to the world around us: His love must first penetrate our hearts. 

As God’s children, we must be so convinced He loves us that He fills us to the brim. God’s love will then fuel our good works. Without His love, we may risk running out of gas or operating out of impure motives (like wanting attention for ourselves for our good deeds instead of trying to bless others).

When we’re anchored in His love, His heart to act powerfully on people’s behalf will spring forth naturally.

Let’s try this this week: Read Scriptures about God’s love, then ask God to reveal His love to you so powerfully that you can’t help but 1) Feel secure in Him and 2) Love on other people, too.

And who knows. Maybe He’ll do exceeding, abundant things among us :)

I hope to have a story to share soon!

The World Doesn’t Need More Successful People

“The planet does not need more successful people.

But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.

It needs people who live well in their places.

It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane.

And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.”

~David Orr

Enough For Everyone!

Guys, this is a good word of encouragement. I hope you enjoy it! ~Summer

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Credit: www.parent24.com

 

“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?”  -Romans 8

Many times, Christians get caught up in the rat race. We look over our shoulder at others’ accomplishments, envying their successes and secretly hoping to beat them. This is expected in Satan’s domain (the world), but among God’s children it’s out of place. Spiritually-speaking, we live in a different “kingdom” with a different ruler! 

God gives each of His kids abundant life, so why are we seeking other people’s blessings? We evidently don’t need them because His Word says, “God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.” ALL our needs, my friends.

So why do we waste precious time focused on our neighbors’ activities? Other people’s success at church? Colleagues getting promoted at work? Who’s getting married, having babies, or buying a prettier house when we aren’t? We try to emulate their path instead of traveling our own, thinking that will lead to fulfillment.

I think it’s, in part, because many of us place too much confidence in our roles & talents: I’m the funny one. The pretty one. The one who gets things done. The artist. The sage. The businessman. Super Mom. The graphic designer. The fitness buff.

I’ve heard of pastors competing with each other instead of collaborating to reach their cities, coworkers tearing each other down, cliques ostracizing people :(, best friends backstabbing one another, and of course infamous sibling rivalries  Each involve people who should be working together.  Instead they’re lured into competition! 

Yes, what we do in life is important, but it must first flow from who we are. If our identity is mistaken & placed in the wrong things, we’ll find ourselves frequently threatened by the talented new leaders and mommy-marathoners of the world.

I believe something bigger than insecurity is at work here. What is it?

The Orphan Spirit 

My friend Wade Thompson wrote a fantastic book about discovering your life’s purpose. In it Wade identifies a leading cause of division, even in the church: The orphan spirit. 

So what’s an “orphan spirit” or mentality?

By definition, orphans have to fend for themselves. They trust no one. Everyone they meet is seen as a competitor for scarce resources like food, money, jobs, power/status/position, people’s time & attention, relationships, love – anything they need.

Sadly orphans (both real & figurative) learn through tough circumstances that “no one” is looking out for them. They believe they’re alone in the world, without a father’s provision and protection, so they resort to scrounging for their everyday needs. They’ve often been left desperate and starving for things to satisfy them.

But God never intended for His kids to have unmet needs. In Scripture He inexhaustibly looks after “the fatherless”:

“In You the orphan finds mercy.” -Hosea 14

“You are the helper of the fatherless… You will cause Your ear to hear, to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.” -Psalm 10

“Father to the fatherless, Defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.” -Psalm 68

“Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives.” -Jeremiah 49

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” -John 14

Many Christians don’t yet understand that once we join God’s family, we’re no longer orphans! It’s easy to forget you’re no longer on your own when you’ve programmed yourself otherwise. Yet a lot of believers continue playing the part and forfeit the outstanding benefits of being His child.

So even as adults, we compete with others we think threaten our physical, financial, social, or relational well-being. Instead of going to our Father with each need, we elbow our way to the table, making sure we’re near the front of the line. After all, we haven’t survived this long through charity! We’re convinced we must always “Look out for number one”. 

If one word best defines a person living with an orphan mentality, it’s “vying”. Never content, never at peace, and never truly happy for others, they find themselves always wondering, “When’s it gonna be my turn?” or “How can I get what they have?” They don’t believe they’ll ever be satisfied, that their needs will be taken care of, so they languish in lack & resent other people’s blessings.

God’s people the Israelites needlessly wandered in a desert for 40 years for this reason. They refused to believe God would take care of them. Yet even in their doubting, the Lord cared for His kids like a good Father.

The Israelites shunned God’s care & chose to believe they were orphans. They gave up the peace & satisfaction God had for them in exchange for fear, doubt, and discouragement. Hebrews 4 contrasts us with the Israelites:

“Good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest.”

Belief = Our rest. Faith gives us peace of heart, soul, mind & body – trusting our Dad to give us good things at the proper time. When we know our needs are taken care of, envy has no place in us because we’re resting in faith.

But just like the Israelites acted as “orphans”, our unbelief in our Father can block us from having His joyful peace (if we allow it). This same passage goes on to reassure us that when we’re in need, we can go confidently to God to receive His help (see below). We don’t have to doubt He’ll provide exactly what we need. There is no other confidence quite like this:

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We act like orphans when we don’t show up to God’s house each day expecting Him to satisfy every need. It’s no wonder many of us are stressed & anxious. We’re searching elsewhere to quell our hunger because our needs are not being met by the right person. 

Proverbs 27:7 says this:

“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb: but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” 

When we reject God’s help, we trade satisfaction for bitterness – and call it sweet. This is the root of all addictions: Rejecting God’s love & provision and going elsewhere to try to fill His place.

Addictive cycles stem from gorging ourselves on things – people, food, substances, activities, success, status/positions – that will never be enough. We have to keep coming back for more because they don’t fill us up. This cycle NEVER ends! The only thing addictions give us is a bitter taste in our mouths because we’re worn out from pursuing them (instead of energized & nourished).

How many times have I fed myself things that don’t satiate my hunger – even bitter things that weren’t making me happy – because I neglected the one thing that fills me up? 

The ultimate danger in having an orphan mentality is denying our Father’s help.

Clawing our way through life in search of fulfillment will exhaust us and leave us empty.  We’ll never meet all our needs ourselves. The good news is we weren’t designed to.

God provides a way to meet our every need – with our permission. If we spurn His assistance, we forfeit the blessing of His satisfaction.

Even if God’s answers aren’t packaged how we expect, we can trust He’s doing everything for our benefit (Romans 8:28).

A New Perspective

One day I was going about my business when I felt the Lord quietly whisper this to me:

“There’s enough for everyone.” 

Whoa, was He for real? It sounded too good to be true, but the Bible sure seems to affirms it.

The more we accept that God has enough abundance to take care of us all & that in His economy there is no scarcity, the more we can trust Him to provide all we need. Our trust ushers in great peace & joy, positioning us to receive everything He wants to give us.

Whenever I’ve trusted God in an area, I’ve experienced wonderful & surprising blessings! When He prodded me to believe Him in more areas – ones I held onto with tight fists – He unfurled tiny knots of fear and anxiety in my heart that were holding me hostage. He challenged areas I displayed doubt & mistrust in, not to freak me out (though it may have :) but to free me from their power.

He wants us to have perfect peace that He’ll deliver what we need, when we need it, every day. When we’re at peace, trusting in God’s care, we won’t fear any perceived threats to our well-being.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” -Exodus 14

God encourages us to cast our cares on Him because He has the solution. Even if it’s not a “quick fix”, it’s always a lasting solution.

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” Jesus (John 6)

The Cure for Competition & Drivenness

So how should we react when dealing with an orphan mentality? Here are 6 antidotes I’m learning:

1) Accept your adoption into God’s family. No matter what your family tree looks like, you have a Father in God. He’s looking out for your best interests every day, and Hebrews says He wants to give you good gifts – but you must first believe He exists and that He wants to bless you! He’s also given you a family in the church. The sense of family I have with my fellow church members and other believers is indescribable! Many times it feels like they’re my own mothers, fathers, and siblings. It’s a miracle ~ God’s Spirit unites us. This is an amazing benefit of being a child of God!

2) Be grateful to be you! No one else gets this privilege :) Embrace His gifts in you & remember to express them to the world. Our gifts are meant to bless others, so we shouldn’t neglect them. Ask God to direct you to the right career/ relationships/ places He’s carved out for you – then be willing to do what He asks. He’s leading you towards His destiny for you! You can’t afford to miss it through disobedience. I am doing the same.

3) Appreciate the uniqueness of others, including perceived “rivals”. Don’t give into a petty spirit of competition. They ain’t got nothing on you, and you ain’t got nothing on them. You’re both completely unique. Celebrate how God created them and the side of Him they bring into the world.

4) Ask “Whose kingdom am I building?” This is a challenging one. You know you’re living in a self-focused world when you seek accolades and glory for yourself. Proverbs 25 says, “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.”  When you & I are living in a God-focused world, we’re no longer concerned if the mission is accomplished by us or by someone else (or if we get credit for our part), as long as the mission is completed. That is true success.

5) Start viewing your “rival” as a teammate, not an opposing player. I like what Abe Lincoln once said: “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”  Give your teammate kudos when they excel, and be the first to extend any credit you receive to others. YES – this may not come naturally, but we’re most blessed when we don’t live for another’s praise, only God’s.

6) Trust in God’s provision as your Dad. Remember: There’s enough for everyone! He doesn’t love your “rivals” more than you. He may be lifting them up for a specific purpose… or just blessing them. What’s that to you & me? Other people’s blessings don’t take away from our own – but the day we pray for God’s hand to bless those we’re threatened by is the day we’re most blessed. He draws nearer when we trust His love for us and don’t stoop to competing with other people.

Competition & “sibling” rivalries may happen, but they’re simply a test. They reveal where we’ve placed (or misplaced) our confidence – and in who/what we find our identity. Is it in God’s love, or something else?

We don’t need to step on people on our vain climb up the success ladder. We don’t need to compete with or discredit our rivals. The reality is we don’t even have true rivals because no two people are alike!

If we trust God to supply all our needs with His unlimited resources, we won’t fear when someone more talented, fitter, wealthier, funnier or cooler arrives on the scene. God shows no partiality or favoritism. He loves us all equally, deeply & without reservation, and He gives to us freely!

We can celebrate who they are and be at peace with ourselves and everything we’ve been given – because there’s enough for everyone.

“God sent forth His Son… to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”  -Galatians 4

Credit: http://amandalee-farmorethandiamonds.blogspot.com

Beauty Does.

Credit: thertyone.com

“Beauty is as beauty does.”

Yesterday morning I had a vision of a lovely woman decked out in a long, beautiful dress. She was glamorous and beautiful, walking gracefully across the room toward her destination. The scene was a ball, and I had the sense that she was en route to (or arriving at) a heavenly place.

Upon closer inspection, I realized her dress was made of – wait for it – moving machine parts including spinning wheels. So random!

But do you know what instantly flashed through my mind as I watched her dress move in many directions?  That the good works she’d accumulated in her lifetime – symbolized by moving machinery – made up the fabric of her stunning ball gown!

She was literally adorned by her good works, the beautiful things she’d set in motion during her life on earth. 

The lady wore her good acts like a gown, and they covered what would’ve otherwise been her nakedness – her shame.  Without each beautiful machine working its magic, this lovely woman would’ve been nude or wearing far too little to cover her properly. She would’ve been walking around embarrassed by her lack of clothing, her failure to display true beauty to those in her life. [Have you ever felt like that girl at a party, dressed all wrong for the occasion? That’s what I’m picturing here.]

Beauty isn’t a look; it’s an action.  Put another way: Beauty is as beauty does. 

The most beautiful, lovely, feminine woman – physically well-manicured or not – is one whose beautiful deeds are so plentiful that they could be knit together and worn as a garment!

Such a woman busies herself making the world around her a better place. She brings beauty into her world!  She creates it with her own two hands, the words of her mouth, the way she treats people, the special things she does for those around her, by listening with her own ears.

Isn’t that a neat way to think of us ladies?  I loved it.

So where do we turn to learn what our “beautiful deeds” should look like?  How can we best gauge our progress in becoming increasingly more attractive women?

The best mirror we can look into every day as our “Beauty Barometer” is God’s word, which describes the lovely edible fruit all Christian women can bear with Jesus living in us.  This fruit can be enjoyed by both ourselves and the people around us!

Proverbs 31 may be one of Scripture’s most famous passages for its amazing description of a Godly wife & woman.  The famous Proverbs 31 woman sounds incredible in every way!  But the passage mentions next to nothing about her physical appearance except her buff arms (which enable her to work effectively) and her lovely lips (with which she speaks wisdom & kindness).  When we read her description, we can’t help but hope someday someone will say the same about us.

Here are a few excerpts from this passage:

“[An excellent wife] does [her husband] good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.”  Verses 12-13

“She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.  She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.”  Verses 20-21

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”  Verse 25

“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”  Verse 27

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.”  Verses 30-31

What will praise the virtuous woman in the gates?  Her works!  What will she be given one day as her reward?  The fruit of her hands! 

Don’t you want to enjoy a sweet harvest after spending your life sowing good deeds? Don’t you want to be praised citywide for the beauty you’ve brought into the world?

I know I do.  But I must remember what it is that makes me beautiful.  I want to be beautiful on the outside, yes, but I cannot forget that my BEST assets are those I use to help others and to create a world that is a more lovely, more loving, more beautiful, more gracious, more heavenly place.

These will make up the fabric of my life, the ball gown I’ll wear one day when I reach heaven’s gates.

My final thoughts…

Let’s remember this when we look in our mirror every day (& maybe spend less time focusing on it?).

Let’s remember this when we encourage our girl friends why they’re amazing people.

And let’s remember this when we sit down to teach our daughters what it means to be godly women.

Credit: Katie Rhoads, The Educated Owl (Etsy)

The Human Condition (Pt. 3)

Guys, I’ve left you hanging for a month! Are you biting your nails over there or what?! ;) I have tons of great things to share with you, so let’s complete this series shall we! It’s a good one.

In Part 1 we learned God’s view of our “Human Condition” (in Jeremiah 17): We have hearts drawn to evil… persistently. Ugh.

In Part 2 we discovered sin’s incredible power to destroy lives (including our own) and its long-lasting consequences i.e. The wages of sin is death. Something or someone had to DIE to pay for our wrongs – or else we die.

In Part 3 I am grateful to share with you God’s solution to our pressing need to be saved… from ourselves and from others! This is some weighty stuff, so I hope I’ve written clearly about this subject. I so wish someone had written something like this for me long ago.

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Have you ever wondered why Jesus is such a big deal to Christians? Or have you been like me (til age 22, when someone explained the full Gospel to me) & never understood why some guy you didn’t know had to die for sins you didn’t think you had, when you never asked Him to in the first place?

Or are you a Christian who doesn’t understand this Christ-dying-for-you thing? You may have prayed for Jesus to save you years ago yet still not grasp your daily need for His help & what He accomplished for you. It’s hard to appreciate a gift without knowing how much it cost, so I’ll try to explain what the Bible teaches us about this wonderful gift we’ve been given :)

I’ve been a Christian since I was 3 or 4 years old. I distinctly remember saying “Yes” when my parents asked if I wanted to give my life to God, going upstairs & kneeling beside my bed to pray for His forgiveness. It’s one of my earliest memories, yet it’s taken me several decades to begin to understand why this was the most important decision of my life.

The Bad News: Our Broken Condition

Like everyone else, we believe ourselves to be “good people” (who sometimes do stupid things), so this sin business is a bit far-fetched. Ridiculous even.

Yet when we make mistakes – especially big ones – we can’t help but feel weighed down. We wanna cover up what we did because it’s ugly. 

We can live in this state of “Hide & Seek” with our sin our whole lives, pretending bad decisions away and sweeping them under the rug.  Hebrews 3:13 says this: “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Sin is, by its very nature, deceitful. And it hardens us to its terrible impact on our lives, if left unchallenged.

Sin says what you’re doing is “no big deal”, that “God loves & forgives me anyway”, and that the consequences aren’t as bad as they seem. This is a very slippery slope, and Scripture says one of the antidotes is other believers in our lives who can encourage & challenge you so you don’t slide down this path. The Bible adds the word “daily” – that’s how often our lives need examining! Every day sin is trying to dominate us. We must be vigilant & we need the help of others :)

It’s very easy to talk ourselves into doing something morally wrong and calling it “Okay” when we’re the only ones aware of it. Don’t let sin fool you!  I can tell you firsthand I did this for years, and no amount of justifying myself in my mind or “do-gooding” could remove the stain I felt on my conscience.

Because I was wrong. And I needed to be made right again.

We can give all we have to charity, but it won’t pay back the enormous debt we have to our Creator! If it did, philanthropy would be our answer… so why, despite our good deeds, do we have a lingering need to “make up” for our errors?

Our own hearts betray us, warning that we’re still indebted to God.

Scripture says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, so this applies to every one of us. Without help, none of us escape punishment! One day He will rightfully judge all of our wrongs, so we need to get right with Him before that day.

The Bible also says all our righteous acts are like filthy rags to God. Nothing we do makes us right in His eyes. Many religions offer a way to “right ourselves” with the divine and “undo” what’s been done via religious exercises like meditation, prayer, fasting, or helping others.

But Christianity acknowledges that we’ll never be able to pay back how much we’ve hurt others or God or ourselves. We can never take back what we did. Trying to atone for our sins is like covering mounds of mud with tiny strips of cloth – they couldn’t possibly absorb such a giant mess!

I am very thankful God was “long-suffering” and patient with me to endure my repeated sins. 2 Peter 3 says,

“In the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? …

But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men… 

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

This passage details the earth’s future & today’s common phenomenon: Mockers saying “There is no God!” without fear of imminent punishment if they continue rejecting Him.

Yet God is patient. He’s graciously giving people plenty of time to repent, which explains why people make continued poor choices and don’t appear to reap the consequences. Their judgment awaits if they don’t repent. God is awaiting the appointed time when everything we see will be destroyed.

The Good News: A Free Gift!

So what hope do humans have, who are daily drawn to evil & need to be washed clean of their actions? They need a Savior.

In light of God’s need to execute absolute justice on Judgment Day – my only pardon as a Christian will be that my penalty, the “death wages” I accrued in my lifetime, was paid for by someone else.

This someone had to be perfect – sinless – or their sacrifice would be meaningless. Their very kind gesture would still amount to “filthy rags” as far as earning righteousness is concerned.

However, Jesus was God’s Son & He was perfect! He didn’t have the same sinful human nature we have that draws us to sin – He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, not of man’s “seed” but of God’s. That is why Jesus was able to overcome the temptations He experienced and the dreadful death He had… because He wasn’t subject (or enslaved) to our HUMAN CONDITION: the fallen nature. As a man with human limitations, Jesus was still vulnerable to our same temptations, yet the Spirit of God within Him helped Him withstand them.

Jesus single-handedly overcame the death, despair, and brokenness that people brought into this world through our fallen nature. He defied the devil and gave His life on our behalf so that we, too, could have a “rebirth” spiritually – a new nature like He had!

Because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice (“covering”) for our sins, God’s wrath over our wrongs was satisfied, and thus His Holy Spirit was able to coexist in human flesh. That is why we are now able to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, and the reason we can invite Jesus into our hearts!

Before Jesus died, God’s people had to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins & they had to keep doing it. Jesus only had to die once because He was perfect.

This is what we call a very big deal! :)

Jesus bought me back from spiritual death because He paid for me Himself. He did this while I was still a sinner – and He did it for every person on earth.

The reason I have hope is that I ACCEPTED Jesus’s sacrifice. If I rejected it, I’d be as hopeless as if He’d never died for me.

Jesus alone was in the unique position to stand in my place because He hadn’t sinned. When He assumed my debt, He paid my costly entrance fee (Holiness) into heaven so I could be with God forever… but I had to accept His offer.

Many of us carry pride with us every day. We don’t wanna believe we need anyone, especially some gracious divinity who rights our perceived wrongs. If we did, we’d have to ADMIT we were wrong in the first place then LEAVE our bad path. Some of us aren’t willing to do that.

For years I sincerely didn’t see a need for God in my life either. I thought the idea was silly & not worth my time. Coming from a Christian girl who grew up in Christian circles. 

When Judgment Day comes, our good & bad deeds will be publicly revealed. Based on what we did with Jesus’s gift to us, we’ll receive a ticket “up” or “down”. Our forever-future hinges on our answer to this question: Did we receive Jesus’s gift or reject it?

The sad reality is that people go to hell every day because they refuse to face the truth about who they are inside & most importantly, about their great need for a Savior. They live their lives “proving” their worth – a total sham – and then face God after life is over with no valid excuse for their behavior. So He must punish them.

Many people succeed in this life yet fail in the most important one: Our future, eternal life. Mark 8:36 says,

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

We should never be so proud to admit we fail or that we need help because once we accept this, we open ourselves up to receiving Jesus, our salvation! But we must believe we’re sinners & that God made a way for us to become saints (in His eyes). 

I am so thankful for this next passage of Biblical truth! 1 John 1:9 states: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

YAY! God’s only requirement for salvation is that we CONFESS our wrongdoings to Him, accept Jesus’s sacrifice – our need for Him to cover us with His purity & innocence, and declare that He is now Lord (“ruler”) of our life. God then promises to purify us from all unrighteousness, making us right with Him.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9.

When I said “yes” to Jesus, God was able to balance my spiritual checkbook & declare I no longer owe Him or anyone else anything. 

I now stand debt-free before God with unhindered access to Him!

This wasn’t a “Get Outta Jail Free” card: My debt was paid, just not by me! And now I have great peace every day because I’m not living with the guilt of my past or the pain of what others did to me. I’m free!

Once you & I become believers in Jesus, we must keep in mind that He is our righteousness – “the One who’s made us right with God” – not anything we do or how well we perform as Christians. When we rest in what Jesus did, we are then free to live our lives loving people with His Spirit working through us. We don’t have to waste our lives “making up for” sins that have already been atoned for. We live in freedom and forgiveness.

Jesus set us completely free, even from our old lives! He saves us not only the first day we welcome Him into our lives, but every day we face temptation to return to our old ways. Jesus said in John 8:

“Truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

We must realize that we are either SLAVES TO SIN or SLAVES TO GOD. There is no other one you can be enslaved to… but “slavery” to God is really true freedom! He loves us dearly and, by honoring Him in each area of our lives, we open the door in that area to be set free from what used to entangle us in our past.

If the Son sets you free (from sin), you will be free indeed (and IN DEED)! :)

And… My Favorite Part!!

One of my favorite aspects of our redemption is this: Jesus paid for the trouble I caused… and He HEALS the very same people I broke through my sin.

This also means that Jesus heals YOU & ME from the brokenness others gave us!

That is HUGE! Our Savior redeemed us from death in eternity… and He restores what sin destroyed in our lives (& in other people’s lives around us). We don’t have to live with the weight of what we did to someone else. We can apologize, release it to God, and ask Him to heal them because He is our healer. What more could we hope for in a God?

At the end of all this, God remains true to His character as the Good & Just Judge! And because of our Savior, we are free to be with our Father in heaven forever! We don’t have to experience separation from Him because of what we’ve done, and we don’t have to live with the guilt and shame and pain we caused others with our bad choices.

That is a miracle. That is why it’s called grace, or “unmerited favor”. We did nothing to merit grace, but by it we have favor with God nonetheless.

And to bring our 3-part series full-circle…. when we say ‘yes’ to Jesus, He CHANGES OUR HUMAN CONDITION!!

This is what people call being “born again” – having a new spirit different from your old sinful one! Jesus rebirths us by bringing His spirit into our hearts. His spirit within us gives us power to make better choices & gives us new, good desires in place of evil desires.

We are made “alive with Christ” and become “dead to sin”. IT IS AWESOME. We’re no longer slaves to our appetites, lusts, sins, pride & ego. We’re no longer powerless to overcome temptation. We are FREE to obey God because our sin doesn’t cling to us like it once did.

If you’ve ever struggled with habitual sins, addictions, or very bad patterns of behavior (like so many of us have), this is one of the greatest freedoms we receive in Christ. We are no longer enslaved to eating disorders, drugs, pornography, anger or depression. Christ set us free.

Yes, we must still battle our earthly flesh, but we have a heavenly spirit that makes us “more than conquerors” (as Scripture calls us). We must read God’s Word – which tells us His many promises He’s given to us – and claim them as our own when we become His child. We can then take a stand on God’s promises to experience freedom from every earthly temptation.

A lot changes when we surrender to Christ. The Bible is full of wisdom and truth about this change of state. It’s so important to read it regularly to understand the freedom we have in Jesus – the truths that set us free from our struggles & this world.

So my friends, this is the drastic measure God took to make us right with Him & secure our future with Him forever. Because that’s how much He loves us.

“At one time you Gentiles in the flesh… [were] separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

~Ephesians 2

The Human Condition (Pt. 2)

Without further adieu, here is the “much anticipated” second part to my post The Human Condition (Pt. 1).

In Part One, we learned from Scripture that we have 3 enemies: Satan, the world, and our own wicked hearts. Yet the only one we can control is ourselves!  The problem we face is that we can’t “fix” our wicked inclinations ourselves – we need supernatural help.

And with that, let’s begin Part Two… because this is VERY important to the rest of our lives!

“God is tough on our sin, but tender on our hearts.”

God doesn’t entertain or coddle our bad habits. He vehemently opposes them.  If you don’t think God dislikes sin, you haven’t read the Bible long.

The question we must ask ourselves is: Why does God hate sin so much?  This is a VERY important question to ask – I promise I’m not wasting your time!  If we fail to understand why sin is so bad, we won’t discipline ourselves to oppose it.

Sin has huge consequences:

1. Sin hurts people and separates us from each other.  When we steal, lie, cheat, gossip, hate people or groups of people, we hurt ourselves and others.  Our sin has consequences – for them and for us!
2. Sin creates a debt that has to be paid.  God LOVES us. He loves you and the people you’ve hurt.  Because He’s Just, He must punish us when we harm others. We either must complete our “death” sentence or someone else must bear it in our place.
3. Sin blocks us from God. Because God is perfect, He can’t coexist with our sin.  This creates a huge dilemma for Him – He loves us and wants to be near us, but our sin makes that impossible.  It creates a chasm between unholy us and holy Him.
4. Sin hurts us and will destroy us if we don’t deal with it.  Have you ever met a person in “self-destruct” mode?  There’s often unaddressed sin and guilt involved (a debt that needs to be paid).  The good news is, even what others do to us can be restored in our lives if we forgive them and give our pain to God (release the debt for Him to deal with).  If we keep rehashing it, we prolong our pain and bring it into each new day. We must LET IT GO or eventually be DESTROYED by it.
5. Sin wreaks havoc in our world!  Have you noticed our world has some jacked-up things happening in it?  Yeah, me too.  This wasn’t God’s design.  He has a perfect plan for every area of our lives, but as soon as sin enters that area, His design begins to unravel.  “Design” means “established order” or “under control”.  When we throw out God’s design (by sinning), we’re left with only “chaos” and “disorder”!  Yet we often blame God for the chaos WE create in our lives.
6. Sin leads to death.  The Bible says “the wages of sin is death”, meaning that when we sin, we literally EARN death as our paycheck.  We worked for it, but instead of reaping a positive wage like money, we reap destruction and death!  It’s not always a physical death though – it’s often the death of relationships, our health, our good reputation, our company or finances, our happiness, our peace of mind.  As we persist in sin, we destroy all that is good in our lives – with our own hands.  Biblically, the ultimate death is eternal separation from God, which is NEVER God’s plan for anyone.

What makes these truths about ourselves inconvenient?  THEY MUST BE DEALT WITH in all of our lives.  We cannot simply pretend them away in eternity.

A favorite quote of mine is: “Ignoring the facts doesn’t change the facts.”  We will reap what we sow, even if we tell ourselves otherwise.  Dreams are fun ‘til we wake up to reality unprepared.

Years ago, my awesome college pastor Jake English said this:

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go,
Keep you longer than you want to stay,
And cost you more than you want to pay.”

Isn’t that the truth?  This is “The Human Condition” – our struggle with sin.

So how do we undo what we’ve done?  How do we make ourselves right with God and with everyone we’ve hurt?

Clearly, God can’t pardon us without consequence.  To do so would mean He would rob someone ELSE of their vindication.  Justice wouldn’t be served, and the scales would forever be tipped unfairly.  God’s very character demands justice – that the scales be balanced!

Imagine us walking up to God in heaven and explaining away everything bad we’ve ever done.

“God, I was hurting that day. That’s why I lashed out and said that.”

“I cheated on him, but he was SUCH A JERK to me!”

“I fudged on my taxes but everyone’s done it. The IRS takes too much of my money as is.”

“I slept with her, but we both agreed to it and we really cared about each other.”

The problem in every scenario is that we believe our sin doesn’t impact others… that what we do is our business alone.

Guess what?  It’s not.

My sin does impact everyone around me.  Your sin does, too!

In fact, your own “private” sin can impact people you’d never expect – your spouse, children (and their future spouses), your neighbors and coworkers, even your grandchildren.

Sin is a serious disease, and it’s contagious!  But we spend more time “explaining ours away” than owning it and giving it to God in repentance.  When we cling to it, it begins to consume and suck the life out of us and our world.

Imagine for a moment what it’s like for God to hear the other side of the stories above:

“God, I can’t believe she said that. Her words hurt so bad that I keep replaying them in my mind years later. She’s right about me – I’ll never amount to the person I wanna be.” 

“God, I can’t trust women since she cheated.  I gave her my heart, and she betrayed me.  I’ll never trust a woman again, and I’ll never get married.  All women are cold & heartless.”

“Lord, we were so young when we slept together!  I didn’t know it then, but we formed a bond I can’t break on my own.  Now I think of her when I’m with my wife, and I can’t stop comparing the two!  But I love my wife, and I don’t want to destroy the purity of what we have.  Will I ever be free of her memory?”

Is it no small matter when a father abuses his child?  When a person steals another’s hard-earned money?  When slander costs someone their reputation, job, or friends?

Make no mistake: These are very big deals to God.  Scripture says every word we utter will be up for review when we face Him one day. He is deeply interested in our daily choices – including ones we say only impact us.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Even our addictions – which we claim affect only us – GREATLY impact our families and people in our circle!  Ask anyone who’s attended an “Adult Children of Alcoholics” meeting, adults still recovering from a tumultuous upbringing.  Those closest to an addict often suffer the most.

Addiction blocks us from being the whole person God created us to be!  We rob the world of God’s gifts in us when we’re desperately feeding our appetites, and we can’t give our families the love they need when we’re consumed with satisfying our cravings.

God created us to be solutions in this world… so we steal our world’s blessing when we live for ourselves, caring for our needs at their expense.  We say, “This is MY life.  I can do whatever I want!”  What a lie.

• We are all connected.
• We don’t sin in a vacuum.
• What I do affects you. What you do affects me.
• We either make the world a better place, or we tear it down choice-by-choice.

God will never justify our sin!  Ever!  In fact, He can’t.

He doesn’t wipe our slate clean without recompense. Someone MUST pay for the wrong I did yesterday because every time I sin, I create a void… a debt.

This isn’t a scare tactic.  It’s a wake-up call!  Our lives matter, and what we choose to do (or NOT do) has serious, long-lasting effects on us and our world.

But… I’m so thankful to tell you that God has a solution to our human condition!  We’ll discover it in Part Three.