From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.Genesis 13:3-4
I heard a great sermon the other day about Genesis 13. I love how God lets us view people in the Bible with an almost cinematic touch. We reach deep into their thoughts, their trials, their sins, their joys. We can sit back and know they are about to fail or conquer. But like any good director, God places seemingly insignificant artifacts and occurrences into the story that, in order to get the beautiful breadth of the story we need to look again and dig deeper.
That’s the advantage of being in a church which hosts a good teaching pastor. They find the nuggets and carefully remove the outer layers, revealing the gems.
And so, I learned the other day about Bethel. About coming home. About retracing my steps to bring me back closer to God. Two little sentences in the Bible showing me where to go when I feel lost. When I have gone off track. I praise God today for Bethel – for His welcoming home.
Many years ago, I wrote a short poem for my mother in law. The gist of the poem was that like a bird finds its comfort in a beautiful birdhouse, so I find my home with her. A lot of people feel that way around her. She brings you in and gives you rest and comfort. In Abram’s case, after he had made some disastrous decisions while in Egypt, he made the wise choice to go back to God’s house – Bethel. It’s where he had built the first altar to honor God.
He didn’t just show up there, he entered back into communication with God. And he was surely welcomed.
Our human nature is to grow up and out of our parents’ homes. To plunge into the world of adulthood, seemingly going it alone. But for many who come from loving, healthy homes they know they can always come back for advice and aid.
Our relationship with God is unique. He wants us always tethered to Him. He desires to be constantly asked about who to marry, where to work, how to handle difficult relationships. He wants us to join His home gym, giving us strength to make it through trials and tribulations. He longs to have us sit around His dinner table sharing our day – our joys and our pains.
And when we wander too far away, we need to remember to retrace our steps. We need to follow our hearts back to Bethel.
I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;Isaiah 49:15-16
The other day my Bible study girls (or BSGs as I like to call them) were once again talking about praise versus thanksgiving. I had already been pondering over my praise life when we started talking about how we so often thank God in our prayers for things He has fixed or doors He has opened in our lives. But how often do we simply herald the Creator for being well, the Creator? For being the Holy King of our lives?
As I’ve prayed these last few weeks for direction after completing the Jesus Mindset series, I kept being drawn to this topic of praise. God speaks to us when we ask Him for direction. And throughout the last few weeks He has placed numerous psalms and Bible verses in front of me related to praise. So, it didn’t come as a surprise yesterday when our church’s guest pastor highlighted the following verses in the book of Luke:
"However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”Luke 10:20
And so today I praise God for remembering my name. I praise Jesus that if you look closely at His battered hands, you can see my name tattooed there. And if you have confessed that Christ is your Lord and Savior, that God is our Great Creator, you’ll find your name there too. It cannot be erased.
When we remember someone’s name it also brings to mind the details about their life.
Pastor Joel Fitzpatrick
God knows exactly who we are. What we have done. What we will do. And He still won’t erase our name from His hands. There’s no other relationship we could ever turn to which offers us so much love and forgiveness.
Knowing our name doesn’t take away trials and tribulations. Knowing our name doesn’t make our outer life easy street. Knowing our name brings us inner “settledness.” The knowledge that when the Book of Life is opened our names are carved there for all eternity. When this short life is done, we will rejoice in the heavens with the angels. And that, my friends is something worthy of praise.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
The day I sat on the edge of my bed whining to God about my miserable life – the lack of peace and joy – He spoke quite clearly to me. “What have you really done (to be close to me?),” He said. I got down on my knees and wept. I prayed for Him to show me the steps to take to draw nearer to Him. The next day He tasked me to go to the bookstore and get a devotional. So, I stood in front of the hundreds of books and prayed, “Show me.”
The book the Holy Spirit placed in my hands that day was called, “Power Thoughts” by Joyce Meyer. I try my best not to question God. He knew exactly where my problem lay – my mind.
“I am content and emotionally stable.”
“I purse peace with God, myself and others.”
“I live in the present and enjoy each moment.”
“I am disciplined and self-controlled.”
“I put God first in my life.”
These are just a few of the “power thoughts” I read over the course of the devotional that year. My God-centered counseling session began each morning to help me battle the overwhelmingly negative thoughts I had so solidly built. My stronghold was not fear of man, in fact my propensity was to be ready to fight each day I left my house. My stronghold was not fear of serving in His name. I did that willingly and often. My stronghold, my addiction you might say, was self-hatred and self-doubt. My husband once called me the “Queen of the Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.”
I’ve frequently been told I don’t come off that way. But I’ve come to realize there’s a difference between what a truly confident woman in Christ looks like and one that blusters her way through life.
Allowing Jesus and the Holy Word to become my wise counselor isn’t easy. It’s painful sitting in “the chair” having someone show you your weaknesses. And I have many. But the beauty of our Lord’s Word contains something that no one else can provide – a deep and lasting love behind every nudge, every reveal, every chastisement.
That’s not to say human counselors don’t have a place in our lives. God uses many ways and messengers to guide us toward righteousness. A poll released in May 2004 found that an estimated 59 million people had received mental health treatment in the two years prior, and that 80 percent of them found it effective. But for the Christian we should seek guidance that has our faith in mind. What is the point of a, say, marriage counselor who does not view or support marriage from God’s point of view? When we seek out counseling for our weaknesses, past hurts, we should be reminded of God’s overwhelming love and forgiveness.
This is why I love the counseling session at the well.
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:15-18
Jesus speaks to the woman about truth. Truth without condemnation. Just the naked truth. He goes on to share with her the truth about forgiveness of sins and salvation. She had lived her life in sin and shame. And kept doing the same thing over and over. That’s what shame does. It envelopes us to twist our minds into feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt, self-destruction.
Throughout Jesus’ three-year walk we see Him love and heal the sick, bring people into God’s service, comfort those in fear, teach so many about the ways of God. And woven amongst the stories of His life are the counseling moments like the one at the well. Moments where He uses all His God-given knowledge and skills to bring someone to a “truth” reveal.
Isn’t that what we seek when we ask a friend for advice about a problem? Or go to a professional counselor concerning a life issue? How can I fix this? How can I fix me? Unlike a teaching situation, where a topic outside ourselves is learned, seeking a wise counselor aims to reach into ourselves to find the “why?”
So often when our own friends or family express concerns about their life we know the “why” but are afraid of the damage the truth might do to our relationship so we stay silent. That’s the challenge of being a wise counselor. The culmination of all the Jesus traits.
I believe the stories of Jesus’ counseling moments are included in the Bible not just for us to see ourselves being counseled like the woman at the well. They are included so we can also learn to help others. Others who are hurting. Others who are living in sin. Others who don’t know about the gift of forgiveness of self.
We need to take an inventory of how our individual lives, our fruit, our behavior are affecting the people we come in contact with. The world is in such a desperate situation. Get yourself off your mind and see how you can bless someone else today.
Joyce Meyer
Join me this week, as we complete our series on The Jesus Mindset, in a deep dive into the methods of a wise counselor and how we might touch those around us, helping them to take a few bricks down from their strongholds.
Lesson #7: Forgiveness of others brings us the blessings of Christ
It is as none other than Paul—an old
man and now also a prisoner of Christ
Jesus— that I appeal to you for my son
Onesimus, who became my son while I was
in chains.Philemon 1:9-10
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about forgiveness. It keeps popping up in various Bible studies and readings. And when that happens, I realize God is trying to tell me something. So, the other day while in my “She Shed” – where I do my Bible reading and mediation – I just sat and did an inventory of the people in my life and those no longer in it. My question for each face that popped in my head was “Is there something I haven’t forgiven in this relationship?”
There are people whom I actively must work at forgiving. There’s one person in my neighborhood that, each time I see him I need to remind myself I no longer harbor ill feelings toward him. It’s fascinating however, to pay attention to my whole body and mind when he enters my sphere. I remind myself I have forgiven him yet my body wants to remember the hurt feelings. It’s a brief little battle that, thankfully Jesus and the Holy Spirit help me to win. In fact, the last time I saw him I thought it was a different neighbor and I waved. When I realized who it was, I did a mental flip – “Ugh, why did you wave to him of all people? You’re just not supposed to think anything and move along!” But waving gave the impression I was happy to see him. I suddenly realized in my mini battle that it was again the Holy Spirit forcing me to step out of my comfort zone and not just be “neutral” but be kind.
That individual aside, I came to an even greater realization about my need to forgive. These days I can’t think of a greater forgiveness need in me than to forgive my church. Actually, just about all churches who have shuttered their doors during such desperate times.
But let me back up a bit. Today, we jump into the little book of Philemon. Paul, currently imprisoned in Rome, writes to a wealthy Christian friend in Colosse concerning the slave Onesimus. Onesimus took off from Philemon’s household having stolen from him. Onesimus found himself in the company of Paul and was converted. And now Paul humbly asks Philemon to forgive his slave and allow him to return.
I remember as a child my mom talking about converted prisoners. She scoffed at the idea that murderers and thieves could “find Jesus” and change their lives. She thought it was all just a ploy to get out of jail earlier or to garner forgiveness without truly repenting. And she may be right in some cases. Who is to know the heart of a sinner but God?
I wonder if Philemon thought the same? To Onesimus’ benefit he had the great apostle Paul standing up for him. How often have we held out forgiving someone because they didn’t meet our list of requirements for forgiveness? The person in my neighborhood that I must remind myself to forgive frequently? He hasn’t ever asked me for forgiveness. He’s never acted in a way that showed he even knows he needs my forgiveness.
My church, who locked their doors and turned me away from praying at the outdoor steps of the sanctuary, doesn’t see any need for me to forgive them. The elders and pastor who either ignored my pleas for help or worse, said hurtful things, have not asked for forgiveness. So why should I forgive them? Why should Philemon forgive a man to whom he gave so much and then stole from him?
I once was in a discussion about forgiveness during a Bible study. The leader, who also was an elder in the church, said to the group, “You can’t forgive someone unless they have paid a price or asked for forgiveness.” (There’s that Biblical truth issue popping up!) Now, I’m working on my path from being a “baby Christian” to a mature one but even I know that’s just not sound Jesus teaching.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked,
“Lord, how many times shall I forgive
my brother or sister who sins against
me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered,
“I tell you, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times."Matthew 18:21-22
The thing I like about this conversation in Matthew is he deals with a real world situation. So many of us keep doing things that need forgiveness from others. And Jesus says to keep on forgiving – each and every time.
I was reading about forgiveness and came across this list of spiritual characteristics of someone who forgives:
Concern for his place with God
Concern for people
Concern for fellowship
Concern for knowledge
Concern for glory
Concern for blessing
My response to the Bible study leader was that if her “rules” about forgiveness were true then how can we forgive people who have already died but negatively impacted our lives? Or how can we forgive people that either don’t have anything to do with us anymore or have no idea they did something wrong? Under her idea so many of us would live with a horrible burden of pain and hurt and anger. And Jesus doesn’t want that for us. He wants to shower us with that glory and those blessings listed in the “forgiver characteristics.”
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.Mark 11:25
Against anyone – for any reason. But the most important part of the forgiveness lesson? “So that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” I want to be forgiven because I know I have a lot for which I need to be forgiven. Therefore, I need to search my heart and truly forgive our churches.
I’ve learned a lot this last year about compassion and our human tendency to live in fear. And although our pastors preach to have faith rather than fear, we fall back into the flesh so easily. I do it, you do it and our church leaders (who are just humans too) do it. It doesn’t make me feel good to see our churches closed but I also don’t want to have the burden of unforgiveness on my heart and soul. I realized I can be sad and still forgive.
I like that in this letter to Philemon, Paul doesn’t demand that the slave Onesimus be taken back into the household. Paul wields a lot of authority. He could’ve just said, “Take him back and don’t be mean to him.” But God wants our hearts. Jesus and the Holy Spirit work on our transformation. That’s why each time I see what was previously my “nemesis” in the neighborhood I know the Holy Spirit is working in me. My hand was purposely lifted up to wave at him – not the mistaken neighbor. To help my heart be free of any last morsels of unforgiveness.
Friends, I have seen the miracle healing of forgiveness in others. I have felt it in myself. It’s there for the taking for you. Let’s be like the father of the prodigal son – from a long way off he saw his son returning. He didn’t know why his son was coming back. It could’ve been to ask for more money. Instead of looking out the window and thinking every bad thought, he ran to him. (Luke 15:20) He tucked his tunic between his legs and ran to hug him in front of the townspeople. He might’ve needed to forgive him a few more times in the course of their lives, we don’t know. But the joy he had with that one action has given us the lesson for the ages.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 8:9-13
It’s my guess that before many of us heard Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”, we all thought we were some level of great.
It’s okay, you can admit it. I will too. Before knowing Jesus, our lives were centered around the greatness of self. Achieving selfish desires and seeking after things that would fulfill and establish a name for ourselves. I know before I knew Christ, I was on a slippery slope of idolization of self-value and worth – mainly in what others thought of me. I so desperately wanted to be like Simon. I wanted to be looked upon by those low and high with great respect, reverence and awe. I thought that if I could just attain a certain level of status with those I looked up to most, then certainly, I would be fulfilled.
As described in the text, Simon had great fame amongst the people of Samaria. Those who knew him even thought he was god-like. He had all eyes on him, all the time. He knew how to command a room and keep their attention with amazing and impressive acts of sorcery and magic. Surely, this was the peak of Simon’s life. He had great influence over those who looked up to him. The people listened to him and were continuously amazed by him.
Are you looking for glitz to influence or God?
But one day, Simon found the attention of the people was no longer in the palm of his hands. Someone else was stealing the show…
Philip had stolen the attention of his audience with the truth of the gospel. Now all of a sudden, the people were more interested in hearing about Jesus, rather than seeing Simon’s sorcery, and Simon was too.
Miraculously, Simon was also among the many who were touched by Philip’s faithfulness to share the gospel everywhere he went. Simon became a follower of Philip and chose to no longer be a chief producer of propaganda for himself, but a disciple of Jesus, and one who laid down his “greatness” to serve the one and only Great God.
Many of us look at Simon’s life before Christ and think, “Man, he had it all.” I mean, being a magician is no noble or holy position, but he had the love and respect of the people — two things every human being deeply long for more than anything else. The fact of the matter is, the influence Simon had on those people was superficial, surface level and would only last for a while until they found their next source of entertainment. His influence didn’t have deep roots in their hearts, it wasn’t truth-centered.
The same goes with the superficial influence many of us THINK will make a lasting impact on others. We want the status, the attention and the glamour, but in reality all of that, will amount to nothing.
True, deeply-rooted influence on others takes time. It takes a gospel-centered approach that puts the others’ hearts and souls first. It takes laboring in love, sacrificing time and resources and really listening to what the other person has to say. Simon may have captured the attention of the townspeople, but it didn’t take much for someone like Philip, who brought both truth and love, to steal their attention.
Now, loving others and sharing the gospel is certainly no popularity contest. But, establishing effective and genuine and amazing influence is key to making strides for the Kingdom.
So, what kind of influence have you been attempting to have on others? Do you seek glitz and glamour like Simon? Or, have you sought genuine, amazing relationships that are truth-based like Philip?
Consider those around you who look up to you and think of how you can take one step towards influencing them towards Christ-centeredness today.
emboldened.net 