Do You See the Blue Bird?

In the 1940 movie The Blue Bird, Shirley Temple travels in the past, present and future to find the Blue Bird of happiness.  While the overriding theme of the movie is contentment, as she finds at the end of the story that the Blue Bird was at home the whole time, I wonder if a minor theme is to not miss the obvious.  I remember early in the movie that Shirley Temple’s character saw the bird her mother had and her mother saw the bird as a Blue Bird, but Shirley Temple’s character did not. 

How often does that happen in other areas of life; in marriage, in the church, at work, with our friends and relatives?  Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home,” (Mark 6:4).  I think sometimes we get “used to” or “comfortable with” the ideas we have about people.  Not a day goes by that my brother does not amaze and astound me.  And why?  Because growing up, while he was quite intelligent, he didn’t apply it in many areas and barely graduated high school.  Many of his teachers were shocked that my brother was eligible to get his diploma.  But today, over 10 years later, he and his wife are living within their means, they are able to enjoy life with their two little girls, and he even has amazing vision and a financial plan for where he sees himself moving professionally. 

I’ve seen this with people we know, friends, acquaintances; they start out in life, hit some rough patches, stumble for a while, but through God’s wisdom, grace, & love are transformed into strong, God-honoring men and beautiful, passionate women.  Who are these men and women?  They live among us.  They are Blue Birds in disguise.  Not by any disguise of their own choosing, but by a shroud their slip-up, trip-ups, and give-ups have laid over them.  What do we need to do?  How do we keep these Blue Birds from flying away, seeking refuge and a chance to start again, seeking a chance to be seen as something other than their past failures? 

We walk with them in Galatians 6-style: restore them gently; carry each other’s burdens; don’t quit on them on or on trying to encourage and coach them along, (vv. 1, 2, 9, 10).  While it’s true that in all of each person’s tough and painful situations, the common denominator is that person, isn’t it sad to think that Blue Birds in disguise are wandering around among us, waiting to be seen as true, beautiful Blue Birds?

Father, open my eyes to the Blue Birds around me, those whose ways and past days have left them scared and broken.  Help me to follow your lead, Lord, to love them back to you, to encourage them, to allow them to blossom and to bloom.  Help me not to disregard the Blue Birds, Lord.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ~ Isaiah 58:11

Changing Desires

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ~ James 4:9

This scripture doesn’t sound Biblical…I’m sure it can’t possibly be in there.  Why would the Bible say this?  Because this verse isn’t speaking of healthy, biblical things.  James 4 is talking about what our flesh, our lusts, and our culture have told us we need to desire…not what our heavenly Father desires for us.  So when the Bible says to grieve, mourn, and wail, it’s talking about separating ourselves from the attitudes, desires, and “needs,” we had when we were more connected to the world than we were to our heavenly Father.  I’ll say that again, we are to separate ourselves from being more connected with the world than with God.  God wants us to shift our needs and desires from what our culture says we need and desire to what Father God says we need and what He desires for our lives.

Here’s a brief illustration of marriage.  The Bible is clear that the husband is to be the head of the household, even the head of the wife and he is to love her as Christ loved the church, (Ephesians 5:21-33).  Our culture has taught us that if our husbands don’t lead the way we feel they should, then it is up to the bold, vocal, and strong-willed women to lead the home “the way God would want it.”  Somewhere along the way, women were fed the lie that it is “biblically sound” to push our “weaker” husbands aside and take charge of the home and that by doing so, we are doing what is best for our marriages and our children.  But how is that living out anything in Ephesians 5?  Don’t misunderstand or misalign this message; God does not want abused families to continue to be abused.  God desires healthy marriages and healthy families.

So how do we make the shift from being more connected with our culture’s desires to God’s?  “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:7).  Our society has taught us that “submit” is a very ugly word, but it means to “voluntarily arrange ourselves under the command of a leader, to arrange under authority, to yield to one’s admonition [counsel, advice, caution],” (submission,blueletterbible.org; admonition,dictionary.com).  We are to go to God, ask Him what He desires for our lives, and then arrange our lives as such.  And if we do not understand what He is saying to us (if we don’t understand what it looks like or how to Biblically submit to our husbands), then we are told to ask God for wisdom, and He promises to give us an abundance of wisdom, (James 1:5).  God doesn’t want us to live a lie or live in misunderstanding.  God wants His kids to have victory!

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Don't Get Caught

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. ~ 1 Peter 4:7

When we are not “on guard” we will always be caught “off guard.”

When hit with a pretty serious illness, or the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, or a huge bill, people often say, “I never saw that one coming.”  And they say that because they’ve been “caught off guard.”  But that begs the question, how does one stay “on guard,” so as not to be “caught off guard”?

The answer is in the gospels.  Jesus tells the parable about watchfulness, “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into,” (Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39).  The point Jesus is making is not for you to sit on your front porch with a shotgun all day and all night to ward off intruders.  Rather, be watchful and alert through prayer.  It’s in those intimate times of listening that the Holy Spirit reveals what to be on the look-out for, or for what or whom you are to pray.

1 Peter 4:7 says to have sound judgment, which means to have control over your thoughts.  If your thoughts are running amuck, the still, small voice of the Lord won’t be able to break through the noise in your head or at least won’t be loud enough for you to pay attention.  Therefore, you need to take authority over your thoughts so that you may accurately perceive the Truth. 

This scripture also says to be of sober spirit, which means to be calm and watchful.  When your emotions are going here, there, and everywhere, you’re never able to be on guard and will always be caught off guard.  But the Bible declares that we should never be caught off guard.

The end of all things is near; therefore save your mind so that with full understanding you can accurately discern and decide authoritatively and remain calm and watchful—be on guard—so that you are able to pray. ~ 1 Peter 4:7

Answered Prayers

The all-inclusive condition of answered prayer ~ Finis Dake

Isn’t that what everyone longs for, for their prayers to be answered?  I know it is mine and I’ve learned some interesting and important tools along the way.

1) Pray in Jesus’ Name.  I know that may sound obvious, but it’s really quite important that it’s by and through Christ’s authority and not your own.

2) It’s not your reputation on the line.  When you pray in Jesus’ Name (vs. your own), it’s His reputation on the line and, therefore, His responsibility to answer the prayer and not yours.

3) Abide in the Father and His Word.  It’s important to know scriptures, but it’s even more important to know the Author.  When you walk daily with Father God, His Word changes from head knowledge to heart knowledge and from logos to rhema.  If you only have logos—head knowledge—of God’s Word, then it may happen to you as happened to the seven sons of Sceva, “One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’" (Acts 19:15).

4) Pray God’s revealed Word.  Praying scripture has power, but praying scriptures the Holy Spirit revealed to you as promises from the Father is even more empowering.  It gives you the power to tell the devil, when he lies to you, that your God will answer your prayers just as He promised in His Word.

5) Follow the John 15:7 formula. Remain in the Father and His Son + Keep God’s revealed Word (rhema) with you + ask what you need or desire = it will come into existence and begin to happen.

The John 15:7 formula is the all-inclusive condition that Finis Dake was referring to, so try it out in your life and see what happens.  Let God blow your mind as He answers your prayers.

If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. ~ John 15:7

Takeover

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ~ Exodus 17:11

Takeover

Such a simple word, and yet, so powerful!  I love it when God reaches down and touches us in simple, yet intimate ways.  When God calls you to greatness, calls you for His purposes and plan, it is His desire that you will take back and takeover the places in which the enemy has had control. 

Last Tuesday, God showed me that when we stand with our whole lives worshiping Him, the enemy is defeated, because he has no power.  It is in that time, that the army of the Lord begins to gain ground—to takeover—defeating the enemy.  The chains of pity, defeat, depression, anxiety and sickness are loosed from around you and begin to bind up your enemy.  Freed from those chains, with your heart stayed on the Father, He is able to promote you from glory to glory, as you grow in the image of the Son and the Father.

But when the details start to pick at you and you begin to notice them more than you do the glory of the Father, when your life of worship begins to fade and become stale, the chains that were binding your enemy become loosed around him and begin to bind you, again.  You stop gaining ground for the Lord and begin to lose the battle you are in. 

But there is yet hope, even for those bound in chains.

A life once lifted up in worship can be lifted up again!  One small step toward the Father is a giant leap toward victory.  Each step we take in our walk of faith is blow after blow in the enemy’s face.

Takeover

That was the word at my seat in a meeting that very same Tuesday.

Thank you, Father God for loving us so personally.  Thank you for taking the time to touch us in intimate ways, just to let us know that you are with us.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Ah-Ha Moment

Ever had one?  It’s when all that’s been going on around you and the things that have happened and have been said to you make sense.  Mine was the other day.

In the midst of all the craziness and the trials we are facing, God said to me, “Don’t make this about you.”  What do you say to that?!  When I asked Him what He meant, I was met with silence.

God has been preparing us to face these trials for some time.  First, He led us to pray for Him to move MIGHTILY.  That’s not to say that the only way God can move is through or after trials, nor that God causes trials.  But God, being omniscient, knew the trials were coming, so He began to prepare us for victory over them.  He gave us a desire for something far greater than ourselves and then led us to read books and hear sermons about overcoming and victory over trials.  He reminded us that this is war and when—not if—we overcome, He gets all the glory.

One night, after a long week, I was being beaten up pretty badly.  The enemy was pouncing upon me, blow after blow.  And when I thought about reaching out for help, the enemy told me that to reach out was weak and I should be able to handle it on my own.  But then I remembered the picture of Moses being helped by his friends.  With Moses’ hands lifted up, the enemy was defeated and when they dropped, the enemy began to win.  And when Moses couldn’t do it on his own, two of his friends came, each holding up one of Moses’ hands, (see Exodus 17:11-13).  So at midnight, I asked my friends to pray for me, because I didn’t feel I had the strength to do it for myself.  And they did!

And after that came my ah-ha moment.  God spoke to me through one of my beautiful friends.  She said, “God is using this time to stretch you into a woman who depends on her faith in Him to get her through.”  God showed me that it’s not about my strength or my ability to get it done.  This time that we are in is about seeking and praying and praising.

God moves mightily when we believe mightily.

War is not for the faint of heart, but for the armed.  We arm ourselves through seeking and praying and praising.

With great intensity and mighty power, this war will be one—this trial overcome—through worship, prayer, faith, and courage to believe!

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. ~ James 5:16 AMP

All in a Game of Skip-Bo

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. ~ Romans 8:28-30

I’ve heard Romans 8:28 my whole growing up, as it was my mom’s favorite verse.  I was thinking about it again yesterday, in light of some recent teachings I’d heard.  I began to remember my Grandma Mary Erkilla, my mom’s mom, and how she loved to play cards.  We would play everything from Gin Rummy to Skip-Bo.  I remember when my cousins were just old enough that they could understand and grasp rules and so my grandma worked hard to teach them to play Skip-Bo, as they always wanted to play with us.  My grandma would sit them to her left—as play went to the left—so that what she did always benefited them.  Every time she would finish her turn she explained what she had done, reminded them of the cards they had in their hands and how the two working together would benefit them.  She always let them pick which card to play, so that they could learn.  But if it was going to be a very bad play for them, she would stop them and say, “Well let’s look at this,” and begin to point out how that one play would affect so many future plays.

Isn’t that what God does with us?  Doesn’t He send us teachers and friends to teach us things about Him and His Truths and then ask us to dig more into the Word and spend personal, quiet time with Him?  He allows us to make our own moves, but also sends the Holy Spirit to walk daily with us, giving us constant instruction to help mold and shape us, so that we begin to better reflect the image of His Son.

Thank you, Father God, for sending me friends and teachers, for my parents, my grandparents, my uncles and aunts, my cousins, and all the other relatives you have sent to help mold me to become more like You.  Lord, I pray that I will continue to draw closer and closer, so that I will be the best reflection of You, Lord.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.