Tag: christ followers

Oh For Shame . . .

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I’ve been doing the Esther study written by my Fran, Beth Moore.  ;0) In the week three video session, she says this:

“One of the most important parts of fulfilling your destiny will be your transparency.”

Now, I loves me some Beth Moore, but I was quite irritated when I heard her say this.  In a room full of other women eager to hear the word of God, I wanted to shout, “Hey Siesta, mind your own business!”  :0/  I was just so frustrated that the Lord would be using her to, once again, make me uncomfortable with the covering I had afforded myself adapted by and from shame.  ugh.

Has anybody out there ever struggled with being ashamed of themselves other than me?

Those of you nodding your head yes, know the things that we do to try to make ourselves feel better and look better.  But it never works.  God is authentic and He came that we may have life and have it to the full (see John 10:10).  Operating under illegitimate shame cannot work in tandem with His work for us to have an abundant life.

But hold on!  Help is on the way!

There are two kinds of shame: legitimate shame and illegitimate shame.

“Legitimate shame is the same inner experience as biblical humbling.  It is the recognition of our state as desperate and our response to our rebellious condition as deplorable, deserving condemnation and death. . . Legitimate shame, in other words, always leads to a sense of being lifted up by God to possess what is surprising, unnerving, and undeserved. . .Shame is experienced before the one I’ve entitled or given the right to judge me.  Ultimately, that is the prerogative of  God alone.  To give that privilege–in essence, the opportunity to bestow or retract life–to anyone other than God is idolatry.  This concept helps clarify further the difference between legitimate and illegitimate shame.“~Dr. Dan B. Allender

If you have sinned, repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and move toward Him.  Do not take direction from our great ancestors, Adam and Eve,  who sought cover through fig leaves and hid from Him (Genesis 3:7-8).  Satan knows what he’s doing.  When he can convince you to walk around with a lowered head, feeling less than who God says you are, and living beneath what God has for you, not operating in your destiny nor getting any closer to it, he’s won.

We serve such a loving God.  Even after Adam and Eve sinned, God was there to correct and deal with the sin but He was also there to provide.  He got rid of those pitiful fig leaves and “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)”   Every attempt we make to act independently of God will render us pitiful.  Whatever your fig leaves are, drop ’em.  Let Him clothe you in His love.

Photo found on Google, from http://rockthenations.deviantart.com/art/sadness-64267947

Anything?

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Saw this today in my email from (in)courage.  Got me thinking . . .

Check it out.

Jennie Allen was also featured on Life Today with James and Betty Robison today.  Today she spoke about her bible study Stuck and she had some very relevant insights.

Today was the first that I had heard of Jennie Allen but her current project, Anything, really spoke to me and I thought that you may enjoy it too.

Risky prayer to pray, “God, I’ll do anything.  I’ll give you anything . . . even the very thing of which I am most afraid.”

Or is it?

Are you desperate enough for God to pray that prayer?

Wednesdays with Beth: Out of the Net

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So.  We’ve finished The Law of Kindness and now Beth wants us to see the Lord as our rescuer who will pluck us Out of the Net.  Is there anybody out there who needs to know the Lord as her rescuer as much as I do?!  She started this series about a week ago and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.  Check it out!

http://lifetoday.org/video/out-of-the-net-part-1

Image from http://www.lifetoday.org

Hi Frans!!

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It’s been a long time. I shouldn’t have left you, without a  . . .  :0)(couldn’t figure out something cool to finish off Eric B. and Rakim’s masterpiece to make it my own . . .)

Last week I did not post a word.  AlL. WeEk. LoNg.  I was running around like a sugared up child preparing to host a bridal shower for a dear friend of mine.  Her wedding is July 8, just a couple of weeks away and I’m pretty excited about going to Charleston, SC to celebrate with her (and the fact that Huni and I will be parlaying that wedding weekend into an anniversary excursion adds a splash of giddiness to the pie!!)

Everything at the shower was great but ole Pammie-Pam is still in class, taking life lessons on time management sooooo . . . the fact that I did not post a word last week, should tell you how I scored on that last test.  :0/

BUT!  I love to write and I love the practice that I get here and I love that I have a few faithful readers who actually enjoy reading my musings and ponderings.  I pray that the Lord is being glorified with every word.

So.  Tomorrow is Wednesday and we’ll be in the word with Beth (Beth Moore, that is.  I just like her so much that I feel like we’re on a first name basis :0)) but I wanted to end this post with a piece of a scripture she’s teaching on:

12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them. (Psalm 25:12-14, NIV)

May this particular word be life for someone, right now.

Accountability

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I have two little girls and they are sweeeeeeeeeeet and sooooooo funny.

Izzie, my oldest, is often off doing her own thing and she engages her little sister, Ava (affectionately known as VaVa) when she wants to.  :0)  She loves her little sister and she always wants her around, but sometimes she doesn’t act like it.

Izzie has a habit of exploring parts of the house that VaVa is not allowed to entertain.  One of those places is the stairs.

Izzie has enough skill and stamina to play on the stairs, within reason, but Va, not so much.  She gives us a scare every time she goes near the stairs because she is apt to fall and we don’t want her to get hurt.  She enjoys being on the stairs but she could be happily playing, giving no thought to the stairs and then her sister will sashay her little self over there and it’s like kingdom come.  Oh the stairs!  My favorite place!  And it begins.

It’s the same with the kitchen cabinets.  Iz takes a peek in and the Va is like oh, yeah, what’s in there anyway?  Let’s explore!  Iz takes to my blinds and Va is there, the dutiful supporting lady, ready to do whatever it is that they are trying to do as they rattle the wooden-like slats against the doors and windows.  Even though she’s only two, we try to impress upon Iz the importance of being a good leader and setting a good example for Av because she’s watching Izzie and wants to do everything that Izzie does.  Iz doesn’t quite get it, but she’s trying.

It’s funny how accountability can work that way.  It seems that most often we think about accountability in a very self-centered manner;  how we can use our relationships to make us answerable for the way we live and help us accomplish goals and better ourselves.   But, like it or not, we are always answerable to someone about something.  Our behavior should compel people to the good and we have to be careful to live like we know this.  God requires that we love one another and that we take care of each other.  One way to do this is by the example we set for others to follow.  It could mean freedom or bondage for someone.  It’s such a big deal.

19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 5:19 NIV)

Abide . . .

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Pulling from one of my favorite authors/Christ followers/women of God today: Ann Voskamp.

Abide.  Because it’s never about your capabilities.  When you’re in covenant with Christ, it’s His responsibility to cover your cracks, to be all your competency and completeness.  Inabilities, in Christ are made all sufficient, just right abilities.  Abandon worries–wholly abide. ~Ann Voskamp

This woman is amazing.  For reals.  She is using her writing as ministry and has delivered me right into the hands of the Father where I can receive true and ultimate deliverance.  Her writing is a ministry that gets result for God, drawing people to God.  She has written a book called One Thousand Gifts, a book that I read from cover to cover and am looking forward to reading again and it is the  inspiration for my “My One Thousand” page on this here little blog.  She blogs at http://www.aholyexperience.com/ daily and if by chance you do not get a new post, the archives are enough to keep you for a few weeks!  When I click away from that site, I am encouraged, challenged and excited.  When you have a moment, drop by.  It will not be a waste of time.

So.  How do you abide?  This week I am choosing to abide through scripture memory.   Huni and I have a huge decision in front of us, a decision to follow Christ wholeheartedly with true abandon in a way that we have never done before.  While I know that there is no way that we can turn and look the other way, it is still quite a decision to face because with it comes all of the ways that I am still challenged in the level of trust I have in God and how much I believe Him, not just believe in Him, but actually believe Him.  So I’m abiding by meditating on Scripture.  This one:

“Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs. (Jonah 2:8 NIV)

This verse may not strike your fancy but in my space of abiding, every time I look at it (I have it taped to my microwave because I spend most of my day in the kitchen) I’m stilled and my mind is checked and renewed and I move deeper into that trust place.  And when the hum of the day provides the soundtrack to my busy-ness and eases my mind back into self-reliance and self-trust, I walk past that verse again and again my mind has to submit to the truth of the word of God, another opportunity to believe Him.  Another chance to ditch my comfort idol and thrust myself into the will of God knowing that what He offers is so much greater than this pithy comfort I cling onto.  And bit by bit, this HUGE, CrAzY idea is becoming more and more right and necessary.

So.  How do you abide?