Drawing Near Pt.2

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, it's hard to believe that it's over already.  This was the first with my wife and children, really the first Christmas I've shared and enjoyed in a family setting in many years. I felt the warmth of the season, and also a bit of the hustle and bustle as well. We stayed mildly busy leading up to Christmas, as we got most of our shopping done ahead of time, it was Christmas Day that put the hurting on us. Family dinners, kids going nuts, toys to put together, and all the boxes, wrapping paper, and plastic to be picked up and taken out. This Christmas was different for me also because I really focused on the reason for the season, really for the first time in my life. The birth of our Savior split time in two, BC and AD, which is a matter of fact, and no other event has had any greater impact on all humanity than His birth, life, and death. "For God so loved the world..."

Last week I issued the challenge to Draw Near to God over the next month, purposely and with great intention. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." There are several reasons for this challenge. (I'm taking it too.) This blog is not meant to be preachy, as it edifies me also. I'm simply sharing my journey and helping to cultivate your heart as well. God desires intimacy with us and secrets are only revealed to those who are intimate. So, to grow in our knowledge of God we must get close to His heart. Finally, we are going into a New Year, and I truly believe the Lord is trying to draw His children very close for a reason.

Here it is...The greatest thing we will do during the challenge is Fast. Some of you may have participated in a church wide fast last year, and if you did I'm sure you were blessed. I'm going to briefly discuss the reasons and benefits of fasting, just to get the idea in your heart over the next week. First, fasting is not a way to get what you want. We cannot manipulate God in anyway shape or form. (I have been guilty of attempting this) Fasting does not get you favored anymore than somebody else either. It simply cleanses our hearts and gets us in line with His desires and will. Fasting takes our minds off of the things around us and helps us focus on God as our provider. I'm not saying miracles can't happen, in fact I have seen some powerful things happen when I have fasted, I'm saying the real reason is to draw near. The case may be God truly does want to do something awesome in your life, but first you must understand His heart on the matter.

Fasting is also a spiritual discipline, one that is biblical. Those in the Old Testament fasted, I'm sure you have heard Isaiah 58, and there are many others. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 6:16, "When you fast..." Fasting was something that was expected of them, and really something they all did and knew about. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert. He had to get close to the heart of His Father. Jesus said He only spoke what He heard, meaning He was so in tune He could hear, sense, and understand what the Father wanted Him to do.  It was not until after fasting that His public ministry started. The healings, miracles, deliverances, and teachings. Fasting can also break strongholds in your life; it can root out sin, and break habits. 

This is for those who are hungry and thirsty for God. Psalm 42 says," As the deer pants for the water brooks so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." I heard a man say, "You can have as much of God as you want to." You absolutely can, it's up to us how much we pursue and cultivate our relationship. There are many different types of fasts, my wife and I will be doing the Daniel Fast, which is fruits and vegetables. Remember, I said there is no formula to follow here, I'm only guiding. The important thing is to cut out something that means something to you, and fill the void with God; praying, reading, worshiping, however you feel led. If you give up something that doesn't mean anything to you, chances are very good it doesn't mean anything to God.

In closing allow me to share a few scriptures. The first two are pretty brutal. I came across them last week, and it made me think deeply about how close my relationship is to the Lord, and how much of a priority I place on it. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) "Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, 'Sir, open the door for us!' But he called back, 'I don't know you!" (Matthew 25:11-12) Jesus is telling his people there, He doesn't know them. They weren't ready for Him. Think about it this way. Who would you invite to Thanksgiving? Would it be every person you know, or just close friends and family? And how is it people become your friend? What separates a friend from another person? Intimacy. 


My prayer is for our hearts to be behind our lips, and our hearts to be in sync with God. It easy to get in the ruts where we read the Word from a distance and just go through the motions of prayer and worship. Isn't that boring? How do you think God feels about that? If our hearts aren't in it, we aren't fooling Him. We can experience God's presence fresh and new everyday and that's when pursuing God is exciting, and that's the way it's supposed to be! Fasting will help us get our hearts back in order, I promise you that. We are looking to start the fast on Jan 1st, and go through the 21st. If you can't do 21 days, pick whatever you would like to do, but please continue to focus on Him throughout the 21 days. God Bless!

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong." (Eccl 5:1) *Humble Ourselves*

"The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love Him. (Psalm 145:18-20)

"I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?" (Jer. 30:21)

Drawing Near

Yesterday, I was thinking about my own personal walk with God, and how much I've grown over the last few months. I posted an article on facebook about a year ago, entitled Spiritual Rhythm, which came to mind as I was reflecting and thinking about the season. Over the next month, I want to issue a challenge to all those (5), lol, who read this blog or at least follow it, to draw closer to the Lord. We'll take a journey together with the intent of drawing closer to our Lord. I'm not looking for comments, if you'd like to share please do, but I'm expecting God to do the work inside of your hearts. There is no formula to follow here, just please read the blogs and let God speak into your life.

Ok, spiritual rhythm... As I have rethought my spiritual life from the perspective of the seasons, I have given up a myth I long cherished: the quest for balance. I wanted to find the point of perfect equipoise between work, play, family, and rest. But, as I started to see my life and faith seasonally, I saw how little the idea made sense. No season has perfect balance. It’s either too hot, or to cold, to wet or to dry, to muddy or to parched. Seasons don't call for balance...They call for RHYTHM. If my heart is in winter, it’s hardly the season to try and sow seed. Winter is good for pruning, but not for grafting. It’s good for transplanting, but not for fertilizing. Likewise spring is not the season for idleness, there is a brief window of time to ready the ground to collaborate with earth's deep stirrings. Each season requires a pace and a motion for moving through it that best matches the season’s demands. The rhythm of winter is waiting, the rhythm of spring preparing, and summer enjoying, and in fall, gathering. As we move in rhythm with each season we find Christ in the middle of it all. (Credit: Mark Buchanan)

Spiritual seasons. That's my point. The season we are in now is the time to draw close. We are about to celebrate Christmas, and enter a new year. 2012, wow. Many churches will be doing a 21 day fast to start out the New Year. Tammy and I participated last year, and it turned out to be very rewarding. I personally believe 2012 is going to be a year of great change, perhaps one that will change the course of history and life as we know it. There are many things happening and that have happened behind the scenes, and all is in place for "it" to unfold. I'm not into conspiracies, one just needs to take a glance around the world stage to understand what I'm referring to.  I'm not preaching doomsday, I'm issuing a warning. We need to allow God to speak into our lives and this is only done by drawing near. We must be strengthened, renewed, and walk out His will as best we can. Wake up, for it is high time. Think about the events of the last year, or two. Can you see how God has been trying to get your attention?

Let me share a few scriptures to get us started. Keep these in your mind over the next few weeks. Perhaps write them down and meditate on them. "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8) We have heard that many times, but let it really sink in. How do we get closer to God? We draw near, and what? He, God, draws near to us. "Seek and you shall find." "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." All we need to do is consciously, humbly, and honestly, seek Him. Put aside everything you think you know, open your heart, and allow Him to fill it. The greatest hindrance to spiritual growth is a hardened heart, one that cannot receive any new knowledge of God. There are so many people who pride themselves on a knowledge of God they simply do not possess. These tend to be those who are actually living secret lives, and have no peace. Hence, if they have the knowledge they claim to possess their life would speak for itself. You can judge a tree by it's fruit. Growing in the knowledge of God isn't for spiritual pride and ego. It's for living a life of worship and fellowship with God!

The second scripture, (first one is James) I want to share is John 4:23, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." Again, honesty, humility, and a sincere effort to worship Him is all it takes. Let me be clear on what worship is. Worship is a lifestyle of obedience, praise, and serving the Lord in all we do. Look at the end of that verse. "They are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." Other translations elaborate a bit more, but try and wrap your mind around the fact that Holy God, Creator, is seeking you out. Last verse. John 14:21, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Do I need to elaborate? That's one of my favorite scriptures and its jam packed full of power.

"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day, and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8) Ok, this is God telling us to meditate on His Word; therefore it must be pretty important to do so. Why? When we meditate on His Word we grow in knowledge, thus learning to walk in His ways, we learn to think as He thinks, and it also keeps our hearts close to His. The first step in drawing closer is to confess of any known sins, empty your heart, and ask Him to speak to you through His Word. He knows we are ignorant, so don't put on a front like you know what to ask and pray. "Lord, I don't know your Word that well, I want to draw closer, and I'm asking you to help me do so." Then begin meditating, thinking about a passage or two throughout the day. There is an application and experience that goes with each scripture and it always changes.:)  This is called revelation. In keeping with the challenge, let’s make it simple and meditate on the scriptures in the blog. If you'd like to add more that's fine too.

Finally, it’s Christmas, well almost. Pull out your Bible, and each time you do, read the story of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2 is a good one. Let us meditate on the birth of our Lord this Christmas. We can't get closer to the Father without getting closer to the Son. Merry Christmas to you all!

"My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord I am coming." Psalm 27:8 (NLT)

The Christmas Tree and the Candy Cane

As Tammy and I were talking about buying our Christmas tree over the weekend, I thought to myself, "Where exactly did we get the idea for Christmas trees?" Tammy had a few thoughts and I had no clue. So, I decided to do a little investigating, and I was surprised by what I found. It's strange that I had never pondered this question before. Myself, probably like many other people get lost in the Christmas chaos, forgetting about the true meaning and reason for the season. It's about Jesus Christ, the most important person that walked this earth. No other person in history has had a greater impact on this world, in the here and now, but eternity as well. No other person has ever claimed to be the Son of God, the prophesied Messiah. That's the reason for the season, now let's dig into the history of the Christmas tree.

King Tut never saw a Christmas tree, but he would have understood the tradition which traces back long before the first Christmas. The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived, they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life. Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life, and placed evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.

The fir tree has a long association with Christianity, it began in Germany almost 1,000 years ago when St Boniface, who converted the German people to Christianity, was said to have come across a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree. In anger, St Boniface is said to have cut down the oak tree and to his amazement a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. St Boniface took this as a sign of the Christian faith. But it was not until the 16th century that fir trees were brought indoors at Christmas time. Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth. (If you're not familiar with Martin Luther take some time and google him this week.)

Now, I have to admit that I'm surprised that we have adopted pagan traditions and somehow associated them with Christ. Equally interesting is the fact that trees do in fact represent life, and all throughout the Bible trees are used to describe us. There are many verses, one of my favorites is Jeremiah 17:8, which says, "He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Trees and branches can be made purposeful as well as symbolic. The Christmas tree is a symbol of a living Christmas spirit and brings into our lives a pleasant aroma of the forest. The fact that balsam fir trees, more than any other evergreen trees, resemble crosses, may have had much to do with the early popularity of balsam fir used as Christmas trees.

Let's move on to candy canes. Tammy knew most of the history behind the delicious treat, while I, again, was clueless. Usually, this is not the case. The candy cane is a Christmas tradition that many hold dear but nobody really knows why. Let’s face it, the only things we really know about candy canes is that they taste good and that they are red and white. I used to to lick mine until I made some sort of sharp spear, then I would throw it away. I never made it to the hook, and I only ate the hook if the only candy cane I could get my hands on was broken.

This is the story of the candy cane. In 1670, at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the children that went to church there were really loud and noisy. They often moved around and would not pay attention to the choirmaster. So the choirmaster gave them a stick of candy and he bent it on the end to look like a cane. It was meant to look like a shepherd’s cane, and so it reminded the children of the shepherds at Jesus’ birth. The use of candy canes on Christmas trees made its way to America by the 1800’s, however during this time they were still pure white. They are represented this way on Christmas cards made before 1900, and it is not until the early 20th century that they appear with their familiar red stripes.

Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. It is said that its shape is like the letter “J” in Jesus’ name. It is also in the shape of the shepherds’ crook, symbolic of how Jesus, like the “Good Shepherd” watches over his children like little lambs. It is a hard candy, solid like a “rock”, the foundation of the Church. Some say the white of the candy cane represents the purity of Jesus and his virgin birth. The bold red stripe represents God’s love. The three fine stripes are said by some to represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From its plain early beginnings to its familiar shape and color of today, the candy cane is a symbol of Christmas and a reminder of the meaning of the holiday.

Who knew? The idea to give the candy to the kids is understandable. However, the choirmaster also bent the candy into the shape of a crook, representing the Good Shepherd. So, as far back as we care to think about, our ancestors were celebrating Christ's birth on Christmas. He was the focus of the celebration. There was no paganism involved in the making of the candy cane. I like that, yes I'm biased. We put up our tree yesterday, set out our decorations, and have almost completed purchasing our gifts for our loved ones. None of these things however, give Christmas it's spirit other than Christ Himself. My focus this year is on Him, not what He can do for me, although I am thankful for what He's brought me through, but who He is, and what I can do for Him. Here is a promise. "But truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." 

Credits: "The history of the Christmas Tree", David Robson 

             "The History of the Candy Cane", Laura Goldstein

Strongholds

In the last post I talked about the importance of reading and studying the Word. One of the key reasons we need to do so is to break strongholds that have been erected in our minds. I'm going into a little more detail of what a stronghold is and how they have an effect on our lives. For those who live in a cycle of defeat, it is their beliefs or misbeliefs rather than behaviors that hold them there. These "beliefs" and patterns of thought are called strongholds. 

Previously, I used the "boiled egg" example. You've been boiling an egg the same way your entire life; it's how you were taught, either by watching someone or teaching yourself. What if you found out the way you have been boiling an egg is wrong? It's not the correct way. You see, you've been boiling the egg the way you "believed" was the proper way, and you've been doing it that way for so long it's the natural way for you to boil an egg. A stronghold works like this. A stronghold is created by believing something for so long that it becomes your natural pattern of thinking about a given "belief." Picture this. When a truck drives on a dirt road for so long, it eventually wears ruts in the road. The way you think wears ruts in your mind. Eventually the ruts become so deep there is no need to hold the steering wheel because the tires stay in the ruts. You can try to pull out of the ruts with all your might, but eventually the tires go right back in.

This is what the Bible refers to as a stronghold, or fortress. Ancient fortresses had exceptionally thick, very high, impregnable walls that were designed to keep outsiders from scaling the walls or from breaking inside. The walls were designed to keep intruders out. Prison comes from the same root word for stronghold. The most secure, highly guarded prisons were usually constructed deep inside a fortress. Whereas a fortress keeps outsiders from getting in, a prison keeps insiders from getting out. They have fortified walls as well as bars of steel that hold a prisoner in captivity. When a person has a stronghold in their mind or emotions, they have thick, invisible walls around them that act like a fortress and a prison.

Defense mechanisms are similar. Over time, our worldview has been shaped by our environment and how we were raised. We have learned ways to cope with life or defend ourselves in ways that are not mentally or emotionally healthy. An example would be lying. I "believe" it's ok to lie, because it doesn't expose my feelings and I've been doing it for so long it's just natural. Lying is a behavior based off of a belief that it's ok to do so. So many times we try to change our behavior first and then hope our mind and body will fall into place. That doesn't work to well does it? There is a reason we think and act the way we do. Everything stems from a belief deeply rooted in our mind. We must change our beliefs, then our behavior will change.

Allow me to suggest something. If the beliefs you have are leading to unwanted lifestyles, stress, hopelessness, depression, etc, you have strongholds in your life that need to be dealt with. When you became a Christian nobody, not even God, flipped the switch on your mind to erase all of your old patterns of thinking. This takes work, and Paul refers to it as "renewing your mind." You used to think this way, but now you know the truth, start thinking this way. Strongholds are broken by Truth. You believed a lie, now you must believe the truth. "The truth will set you free." That's exactly what Jesus is referring to. 

In conclusion, this is basic teaching. There is much more to this and maybe sometime in the future we can dig into this topic more. Without getting too much into it, remember we have an enemy who does not want strongholds broken. This is why he hates the Word of God. Simply put, because it's the "Truth.". Ever wonder where the thoughts come from "I don't need to read the Bible. Oh, you can do it later. You don't believe that do you?" Well, I have experienced strongholds being broken first hand. It's awesome. It's like someone cut the chains that have been holding you back, and now you can run full speed. Our thoughts control our lives. "As man thinketh, so is he."With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible."

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God in the pulling down of strongholds." 

-2Corinthians 10:4