Rita's Ravings

HardWear

2012-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

Adam's Eve Trailer

2011-10-29T12:42:00.001-07:00

Adam's Eve Trailer on IMDb

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi701734425/

2011-10-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

All my dear friends,

The following is a link to the trailer for a new documentary called Miss Representation. I think it's an important video that discusses the way our society views men and women culturally. It's not JUST about inequality . . . it's about raising our children to view themselves in unhealthy and self-demeaning ways. Please view it and visit the website.

Miss Representation – Trailer [HQ]

CONFUSION . . . GOOD OR BAD?

2011-09-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

"Confusion is not of God . . . " How many times have you heard that said? Or have even said it yourself? Someone says that they are in a state of confusion about some issue in their spiritual walk and someone usually quotes 1 Cor. 14:33 " . . . for God is not a God of confusion but of peace . . . in reply. If you've adopted this scripture as your "confusion buster" then perhaps it's time to reexamine what part confusion plays in your growth process.

First, this verse has nothing at all to do with the type of confusion it's meant to dispel. The chapter is talking about spiritual gifts and in particularly the gifts of tongues and prophecy. Paul says that there is to be order in the church services and the confusion (noise, babbling, chaos) that was being created by the undisciplined use of spiritual gifts. And in the context of Paul's instruction, he states that this kind of mass confusion is not of God.

Second, the type of confusion most people experience is not an eruption of mass hysteria such as this but is almost always associated with uncertainty and lack of understanding. And it's ALLOWED by the Lord for our instruction. Confusion in itself is not a sin nor is it always bad. It can become sin when we attempt to clarify through our own understanding. Actually confusion should drive us to our knees in prayer, seeking the clarity through the Holy Spirit.

Third, is not always Satanic intervention. Satan gets blamed for a ton of stuff he doesn't do and our state of temporary confusion is one of them. Confusion is generated by the Flesh and usually the result of either challenged truth or lack of understanding. We believe a lot of things that we've adapted into our Christian world view that are simply not true. And often, when these "myths" are revealed to us for what they are, we become confused and disoriented. God wants all humans to be healed of their sicknesses. God wants us all to prosper financially. If, in faith, I just keep praying for something long enough, God will do it. Now, I'm not saying these are not true of God. I believe at the core of our Father's will, He desires these for us. But . . . first and foremost, God is interested in our relationship with Him and if it takes withholding any of these blessings to move us closer to Himself then He use then for that purpose.

When the Spirit seemingly "messes" with my belief system, it causes confusion and blurs the lines. I no longer am sure what God is doing. When this happens I can react in two ways. I can run to the Lord and sit before Him until clarity returns or I can run away and seek to unwind the mystery by my own means. The first option, of course, is the right reaction but often not the one I take first. I often do the second. After all, if perceive that the God I trusted has just betrayed that trust, how can I sit at His feet and wait for clarity? And when it's further reinforced by the misuse of 1 Cor. 14:33, I am justified. The best way to deal with it is to rebuke the enemy and move on. A typical fleshly solution which solves nothing, in fact, in only deepens my doubt and uncertainty that God has my best interests in mind.

Confusion, on the other hand, when viewed as a tool that God sometimes uses to drive me toward Him, can be a backward blessing. In Luke 11, Jesus begins the chapter by teaching the disciples to pray and then launches into a short treatise on prayer. In 11:9, he says, " . . . ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." This is the perfect remedy for dispelling confusion.

ASK. Go to Him, ask for clarity, for wisdom, for understanding and it will be given, Jesus says. He says that if we ask anything in His Name, it will be done. God wants us to reveal the truth . . . you want to know the truth.

SEEK. Don't stop there. Seek for the open doors to understanding Him and His ways. He doesn't operate according to the ways of this world. That's why we are confused because we don't understand His Ways. Seek them out!

KNOCK. When you find that door, knock on it. Sometimes we expect to just meander into all knowledge and truth. We want to kick the gold nuggets out of the earth with the toe of our shoe. We're lazy, we expect God to spoon feed us. But there is work involved. Truth discovered is truth retained. It's like money, when we earn it with hard work, we appreciate it much more than a free handout.

So when you find yourself confused, first, ask yourself why? What just happened here that has thrown me into this state. Run to the Lord, ask Him for wisdom and clarity and then go out seeking and knocking, confident that you will discover what God has. Clarity will come. Understanding will grow. Faith will be strengthened.

"If anyone of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5 (NASB)

FreeWILL . . . or FreeWON'T

2011-08-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

After this morning's study, I will never again view freewill the same way. I'm not sure about you, but I've always viewed it as something God gave us out of fairness but that is used against Him continuously. The angels exercised freewill when a third of them followed Lucifer. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God; an act of freewill. It seems like this freewill "gift" hasn't been in God's favor at all.

I believe Adam and Eve were the only humans who could fully exercise their freewill. Being innocent, there was no set "nature" to follow. But after the fall, their choice set the course for the rest of the human race and every child born (except for Jesus) has been born a sinner, sold into slavery to sin. Innocence is only in affect until the age of accountability which preserves the innocent child from hell. But once willful sin enters, the default destination is set to hell and a life of sin is the norm.

Now, I've always viewed the Fall and Redemption by Christ (and His second coming) as God's Plan A. If you view what happened in the Garden with Adam and Eve as simply a mistake and not a plan, then the Cross becomes Plan B and Plan A was "and they lived happily ever after." In this view, God's plan was victimized by Lucifer, Man fell, sin became the default "DNA" and God had to offer a way out. But if it was God's plan all along, that throws a whole new light on God and His methods of dealing with humans. If we view freewill as simply a necessary attribute given to humanity to keep God from being a puppeteer then Plan B sorta works. However, either way we look at it, God still wants humanity to love Him out of choice, not default.

But what if, freewill was as a mercy to us for the specific purpose of being able to choose Him AFTER the Fall. If all that happened in the Garden was Plan A, it makes perfect sense for God to design a safety net that included freewill, the cross, the resurrection and the Holy Spirit. I think we are born to walk away from God and into our own will without Him. Yes, we have a conscience as a monitor and guide which will point us to the truth, but think about it, it's ONLY by exercising freewill that we can choose to change our end. God didn't give freewill in hopes that mankind would choose Him from the beginning. I believe He gave freewill so that we could make a choice after the Fall. This doesn't nullify the statements about God wanting us to turn out of choice, it actually strengthens it. All humanity is being whisked downstream, flowing with the current, headed for destruction. But because of freewill, we can choose to turn around and swim the other way. It's harder, takes more guts and strength to go against the current but God provides all we need to do it. Including the freewill that made the choice possible. So I've summed it up like this. For Adam and Eve, freewill was the ability to turn from sin and stick with God. For us, it's the ability to turn from sin back to God. FreeWON'T is the status quo. FreeWILL is our gift from God.

2011-08-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

Cross Dissolve

2011-08-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

The first mistake I made this week was missing my morning devotions telling myself that just one day wouldn't matter. And perhaps it wouldn't have . . . but it stretched into two . . . then three. I've been working hard on a short film we've been trying to get ready for film festival submission and on day two, the justifications began. How quickly we can slip from spirit to self, what I like to call the Cross Dissolve, the fading of one scene into another. It's that slow, barely discernible exchange where your dependence moves from Spirit to Self. And it's not until you find yourself struggling with issues and emotions that you thought you'd overcome that you realize you've made the change.

Whenever my Self is in the center, it's always a fight to remove her from power. No amount of prayer or perseverance, rebuking or retaliation will help. Nope, the only way to get her to give it up is dogged determination to obey whatever the Holy Spirit asks. He knows exactly what to do. My command this morning was "Come sit down with Me." I felt my Self dig in her heels and beg me to reconsider. "Later, okay? First work on the film and THEN go spend time." Resistance stirred up her anger as she flung excuse after excuse at me. So with dogged determination, I grabbed my devotional, Bible and notebook. I didn't FEEL like it but at this point, feelings are part of my Self's deception. It's all about the will. Truth=Obedience=Feelings.

And what do you think my devotional (My Utmost For His Highest; Oswald Chambers) topic was for today? Self Awareness. What Chambers discussed this morning was exactly what I was dealing with--my Self clamoring to be heard, justified, validated and glorified. Is self awareness sin? No. As Eve gazed at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the serpent worked on her self-awareness and refocused her attention to her Self. "You will be like God . . ." Isn't that what my Self wants? To be "like" God. But the attempt of my Self to be like God ends in disaster. Imitation is the highest form of flattery AND the biggest source of failure.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of ways to detect just who's piloting the ship. But today, the Lord showed me another, incredibly simple way. As an artist type, I have a deep desire for my work to be appreciated. There is nothing wrong with that, it's inherit in all artists. We want to know we've made an impact on our world. God gave us the talent, the training and even the projects and He wants us to share them. My Self and my Spirit are both driven to seek approval. However, my Spirit seeks God's approval and His alone. My Self seeks approval from people. Now I'm not talking about someone expressing their delight or appreciation of what I've done. I'm talking about the impact of what other say . . . or don't say. How does that affect my creativity, my opinion of myself, and the value of my work. It's quite simple, really. Our Self seeks praise and approval from those around us, horizontally. Our Spirit seeks God's praise and approval, vertically.

Now I know THIS isn't any grand epiphany and all of you reading this might be saying "Duh!" But this it is one thing to know this and another thing to use it.

Paul writes to the Corinthian church:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB)

Testing ourselves is using what we know to see where we are. It's like a compass. If I am supposed to be traveling north but my compass says I'm headed west, should I keep going? Or change direction. So if I am crushed by the opinions and criticism of others, if I find myself determining to make a success of myself, if I'm striving for that "golden ring" and that's the focus of my creative career, then my Self is drivin' the bus. Self awareness is only dangerous in the hands of my Self. It turns into Eve's desire . . . to be like God. Self awareness handed over to the Holy Spirit turns into humility and repentance.

We live in a culture where the Self is worshiped, even in our churches. We all want to feel good about ourselves and seeking the approval and praise of others is how we try to satisfy the unquenchable thirst of Self. If the Self was so great, Jesus would have come to fix it . . . instead He nailed it to the cross. It was too far gone for repair.

WHY . . . ARE YOU FEARFUL?

2011-08-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

"Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Matthew 8:26

I have been asked this by the Holy Spirit so many times, it sounds like a tape running in my head. As I learn not to give into my fear but to know that the Lord is with me, (he was in the boat when these guys freaked out) and to trust that He's got it all covered, the tape has changed it's emphasis. At first it was, "Why are you FEARFUL?" which changed to "Why are YOU fearful?" and now I'm hearing "WHY . . . are you fearful?"

You see, as I mature in the Lord, the emphasis changes on the aspect of my fear and doubt. As a young Christian, I had to face the fact that anything that rocked my boat caused fear in me. Then I had to face the fact that though there may be a cause for fear, why was I fearful . . . didn't I trust God? And now I am facing the fact that denial of what's really going on can stumble me up and cause me to act in ways that are unbecoming a person who claims to truly trust Jesus.

There can be danger in knowledge. It can give us a false sense of security that by acknowledging it, somehow it has become experiential. It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to move knowledge from head to heart. It's like a kidney stone! And having once experienced that pain, we are reluctant to visit it again. So before the Lord can make it real to us, we try to ward off the pain by imitating the expected behavior or attitude. I know I should not fear the unexpected and walk in faith that He will provide. I know I should love my neighbor even if she gossips about me behind my back. I know I should not put my faith and hope in my own abilities . . . and on goes the list of things I should be. And I try . . . and fail of course because only God can BE those things in me. But failure is not the problem! God knows that we are going to fail. No the problem is that instead of calling a spade a spade, I call it something else and deny the real truth. I deceive myself into thinking that I wouldn't, couldn't, didn't really feel that or believe that. I relabel it and pray about the new, relabeled problem and get no results.

So God has been trying to call me out on this and the new emphasis on this verse is
WHY? . . . are you afraid? Why are you behaving this way? Why are you asking Me to fix this when it's really that? Why are you walking in darkness and denying what's really going on? It's hard for me at times to admit that some of my behavior is still so very immature and I really haven't resolved some core issues. After all of these years, I want to think that I've come past many things that still plague me. But alas, John says (in 1 John), you haven't come as far as you think and what you've really become good at is self-deception.

". . . God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth: but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light . . . the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin." 1 John 1:5-7

Self deception is the worst thing we can do. When my boys were growing up, they watched a cartoon show called GI Joe. One of his favorite sayings was "Knowing the problem is half the battle." Our problem isn't that we sin . . . or doubt . . . or fear. Our problem is that we won't admit it. And it rumbles around, bears fruit and causes no end of internal conflict and then the Lord has to come and as "WHY? . . . are you fearful?" Because fear is usually the root and reason of my unrest. I fear . . .

If the Holy Spirit can just get me to open my heart and mind, put aside my pride and my expectations or false opinion of myself, He can encourage me to look at all of the options. Because unless I'm willing to explore even the most remote possibility, I will remain in the dark.

Stepping out into the Light can be a very frightening thing. The older I get, the less I like the bright lights because they reveal my aging self. I want to still think of myself as young and but the light doesn't lie. I must face the truth before I can even deal with the problem.

WHY? If there's sorrow, depression, regret, dread, anger, unrest or anything that comes between you and the joy of the Lord, then I urge you to open your heart to the Holy Spirit. John when writing to the churches in the opening chapters of the Revelation, urges them to repent of their sins. At the end of the various exhortations, he writes these words of Christ:

"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." Revelation 3:19. These familiar words to the saints call for honesty and an open heart to those who read them. But what always strike me is that the next verse is usually used to encourage non-believers to repent and accept Christ.

"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

Our Lord is not knocking on the door of the unsaved heart. He's knocking on MY door. He's asking to come in and reprove and discipline the one who already belongs to him. But when we refuse to acknowledge that we've slipped back into the darkness, we break fellowship. Open the door, He says and let Me in. Let's have fellowship again.

Self deception is the worst enemy we have. WHY . . .are you fearful?

God . . . the Invisible Overlay

2011-08-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

I read My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers’ classic daily devotional, every morning (well almost) and have for the past 15 years. But since the end of this May I’ve been making a study of the reading and looking deep into the scriptures seeking more of whatever the Lord want to say through Chambers’ wisdom. The results have been truly awesome . . . sometimes joyful, often tearful but helpful, healing and revealing in the deepest parts of my hidden self, bringing to light those things I either refused to face, or didn’t know were there. Well, this morning was no different except that I feel compelled to share what I saw.

As an *artist, (all aspects of my creativity) I’ve struggled with my talent, the expression of it, corralling it, honing it and most of all, letting God use it. Most recently, I’ve had a very difficult time with my ego and no amount of reasoning, squelching, ignoring or trying to hand it off to the Lord has helped. It’s so full of itself . . . and I was beginning to feel the only way to rid myself of it was to stop creating. As if THAT would really fix the problem . . .

Well, after several days of beating myself up, the Lord finally stepped in. Probably because I’d given up hope and decided to just “let go and let God,” to use a hackneyed phrase albeit a true one. Today’s reading was focused mostly on prayer and I relished the insights from the Holy Spirit on praying (a future blog topic). But towards the end, Chambers turns to the subject of our abilities. He says this:

“Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God.“ **

His words struck me like a lightening bolt and illuminated a lie buried deep within my ego that had been lurking there forever. For some reason, I had always believed that I had to give up all of my own abilities and totally use God’s abilities to serve Him. Now there is truth in that but not the whole truth. Each of us has a unique combination of abilities designed specifically for us by God for His purpose.* They are natural, yes, but not evil or bad or even useless. Now when I look at Chambers’ statement the word worship stick out. I had never thought about my abilities worshiping God. And when I read the word transformed I began to get the picture. That’s when the lightening bolt hit. CRACK!

I have talent. I have ability. I am gifted. But if it remains only I then it’s wasted.

God IS talent. God IS ability. God IS . . . And He desires to use me. So this is what He showed me. My raw talent is the foundation for His overlaying enhancement. Being a film editor (and writer) I work with film clips. I pull a shot/clip onto the editing timeline and then trim, clip, enhance and sometimes overlay the clip with another one that enhances the original with special effects etc. God showed me that my raw talent is the underlying clip and He is the overlay. He takes what I have and enhances it until it shines like a diamond. He transforms my ability into a masterpiece. Moreover, all of this is done behind the scenes and the audience is clueless. All they see is a beautiful work of art. THAT’S what it’s all about. Letting God do what only He can do with what He's given to only me.

And as for the worship aspect, instead of worshiping God over my talent, I need to worship God in my talent by allowing Him to use it, overlay it with His marvelous supernatural ability and present it to the world for His purpose and glory. It’s not that I have to strip myself of my abilities for then He’d have nothing to work with . . . rather like the black space under a title in the opening credits. Without allowing Him to use us, it’s just the Title and though that can be beautiful, it’s much more interesting with a clip running underneath. And on the other end of the spectrum, trying to use my talent without His enhancement is like watching paint dry on a wall.

It takes both God and me to make a movie . . .or a book . . . or a painting or a ___________________ (you fill in the blank for yourself.) Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine and you are the branches . . . apart from Me you can do nothing. Watchman Nee says of this verse, "It's not that we can do nothing, but whatever we do is nothing." I love that.

*“For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. “(Eph. 2:10)

** August 9, My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers; Discovery House, 1992

I Have This Problem . . .

2011-07-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

My relationship with God should be (and is) the most important relationship in my life. I think most of you would agree or at least agree that it should. It's obvious that God has the same purpose in mind (the 1st Commandment testifies to that) and is willing to spend my whole life to bring it about. But there are certain "problems" I continually run into that make this a difficult task.

1) He's invisible . . .
Believe it our not, that's a huge thing. I remember years ago when I was going through a particular trial in my life and I felt all alone. I sat on the edge of my bed, weeping and bemoaning the fact that I had no one to share with. I could almost hear the sorrow in God's voice as He said,"You have Me." I knew that but I wanted someone with a face and arms. It's so hard to hug a spirit and yet, no one can give us that ultimate comfort like God.

2) He's in complete control. . .
Yes, this can be a problem, especially when something happens in my life that turns it (and me) upside down. I want to blame the devil, myself, or someone else (and they can be to blame) but behind ALL of that is God. He holds the keys to the gates of heaven and hell and only He is really in control of what happens in my life. So if I want to be realistic, I am going to need to face the dark truth that even though He cannot be the author of evil, He can and does allow it. This is a most difficult thing to accept but imperative if I'm truly going to place Him in that number one position.

3) He is no respector of persons . . .
How is this a problem? Well, it's not when it has to do with others. As long as I'm sitting in God's lap, safe and secure, protected by His love and care and it's my enemies who are tasting a bit of His indignation, it's great. But when His eye turns towards me and He doesn't regard my relationship as exclusive when it comes to being humbled in front of my enemies, then it's a problem. I can't get Him to "side with me." It makes me mad that MY FATHER also loves the person who just wounded me as much as He loves me! If I do wrong to another, it matters not if they believe in Him or regard Him as a myth, He will call me task for it and in front of them if necessary.

So now I have this Great Big, all controlling, all powerful, Master of the Universe whom I can't see (except on the pages of the Gospels) and whom I have to exclusive right to His goodness and mercy, as the primary relationship in my life. How do I trust, love, and put my whole existence in His hands? I guess that's what He and I are working out. And the first thing is to straighten those first three problems. Once we get past those, I am sure things will be a lot easier . . . maybe.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Rev. 22:13

2011-07-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is the trailer for our latest short film "Adam's Eve" Hopefully coming to a film festival near you. I'll keep you updated.

I'm Back!

2011-07-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time . . . nearly a year. Since last August so much has happened and so many changes have occurred in my life that I can only summarize by saying that I'm still making films, have moved back to Washington and feel closer to the Lord today than I did since my last post.

My son said to me yesterday, "I'm surprised you're not teaching."
I replied, "So am I."

But after thinking about it, I've spent the last seven years preparing for what lies ahead and though I haven't done much teaching in those seven years, I am about to embark on a new era of teaching in a different way . . . through film. God hasn't shown me how it's going to go, (mainly because He knows I'll just mess it all up before He can lay it out) but I can feel the tug and pull of the Holy Spirit and the desire well up in me to share the things He's been showing me these last few months. It's amazing how God can open your eyes to even deeper understanding when we are willing to wait before Him with open hearts and empty hands. He's put a burden on my heart for the Church (Christ's body as a whole) and the condition of the saints. I'm humbled by His presence and goodness in my life and only know that without Him, nothing in this world has any meaning. So, I am hoping that I will be able to post at least weekly. I will leave you this morning, with a short devotional in the way of a challenge.

SANCTIFICATION . . .

It's been on my heart to talk about this concept for many months. I am hoping that those who are reading this know what it is, what it means and how it works. I fear that it's a lost term in the modern church and that most Christians barely recognize it as a command to the believer. I'm sure there are those who understand what it means and who desire to know more but for many, I'm concerned it's neither a desire nor a quest. I do not wish to discuss all of the theological implications here, nor the theoretical concepts of how it works in a believer's life. I simply want you to recognize it and know that Jesus said it first, not by it's theological term but in practice.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Matt. 16:24)

There are two accompanying scripture verses I wish to throw in here. 1 John 1:6 and 2 Tim. 2:21. These, along with 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 begins to paint a picture of the importance of sanctification. I challenge you to take these verses and pray about them as you read. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened . . . " (Eph. 1:18) and that you might see that God sent Jesus to do more than pay for your sins and assure you eternal life. Accepting Christ is only the BEGINNING. There is so much more to salvation than simply being saved from hell and given a clean slate. Oh there's so much more . . .

Not all posts will be studies . . . lol!! But I feel it is IMPERATIVE that we, as the body of Christ, understand that sanctification is vital to the life of the believer. Without it, we are next to useless. And the times are such that God desires to use as many of His children as are willing to reach the vast sea of humanity before He sends Jesus back.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

J. Rudyard Kipling

2010-08-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

I ran across this poem by Rudyard Kipling(1865-1936) and was so amazed at the profound truth that lies within these verses. I thought you might enjoy it too.

A PILGRIM'S WAY

I DO not look for holy saints to guide me on my way,
Or male and female devilkins to lead my feet astray.
If these are added, I rejoice---if not, I shall not mind,
So long as I have leave and choice to meet my fellow-kind.
For as we come and as we go (and deadly-soon go we!)
The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!

Thus I will honour pious men whose virtue shines so bright
(Though none are more amazed than I when I by chance do right),
And I will pity foolish men for woe their sins have bred
(Though ninety-nine per cent. of mine I brought on my own head).
And, Amorite or Eremite, or General Averagee,
The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!

And when they bore me overmuch, I will not shake mine ears,
Recalling many thousand such whom I have bored to tears.
And when they labour to impress, I will not doubt nor scoff;
Since I myself have done no less and---sometimes pulled it off.
Yea, as we are and we are not, and we pretend to be,
The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!

And when they work me random wrong, as oftentimes hath been,
I will not cherish hate too long (my hands are none too clean).
And when they do me random good I will not feign surprise.
No more than those whom I have cheered with wayside charities.
But, as we give and as we take---whate'er our takings be---
The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!

But when I meet with frantic folk who sinfully declare
There is no pardon for their sin, the same I will not spare
Till I have proved that Heaven and Hell which in our hearts we have
Show nothing irredeemable on either side of the grave.
For as we live and as we die---if utter Death there be---
The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!

Deliver me from every pride---the Middle, High, and Low---
That bars me from a brother's side, whatever pride he show.
And purge me from all heresies of thought and speech and pen
That bid me judge him otherwise than I am judged. Amen!
That I may sing of Crowd or King or road-borne company,
That I may labour in my day, vocation and degree,
To prove the same in deed and name, and hold unshakenly
(Where'er I go, whate'er I know, whoe'er my neighbor be)
This single faith in Life and Death and to Eternity:
``The people, Lord, Thy people, are good enough for me!''

Rudyard Kipling

Blessed Are the Poor

2010-08-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I'm a huge Oswald Chambers fan and read his devotional My Utmost for His Highest daily and have for nearly 20 years. Most often there is something the Lord points out to me which pierce my heart like a splinter from the cross. Today was such a day. Bear with me as I lay a bit of foundation before getting to my point.

At a party a couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a rip roaring debate about the original sin or as theologians call it, "the depravity of man." One side advocated born good but condemned at the point of choice at which time the cross becomes relevant. The other group (mine) took the stance that one is born condemned but protected by the cross until the age of accountability and sins are the byproduct of the depraved human nature.

American Christianity in recent years has adopted the first premise, that our sins condemn us but essentially we're born good.* Though American Christianity has under gone many changes, this is perhaps the most damaging change because it propagates self promotional doctrines such as raising self esteem, planning personal advancement and promoting self awareness. But aren't those good things? Doesn't God want us to be all we can? Let's look at what Chambers has to say.

"The statement we so often hear, 'Make a decision for Jesus Christ,' places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very different."
Oswald Chambers

He makes a very BIG distinction between decide and yield; something we need to ponder. Decisions are ours, Christ cannot make them for us. We must decide daily what we will wear, eat, what to do with our money and what to do with our soul. Deciding to give our soul in God's care is a far cry from yielding our will into God's control. We may think we've done the latter when we've only done the former. Giving over the soul doesn't mean the self (will) automatically follows. Where your will resides can only be discerned and revealed by the Holy Spirit.

At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, “Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom.” I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness— I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.
Oswald Chambers

Here is the meat of the thing and one which Jesus demonstrated Himself while here on earth. We have no problem with WHY He came but we forget so easily HOW he came.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Phil. 2:5-8

It is imperative that we understand our state as humans, even saved humans. Salvation does not eradicate our depraved condition. Nor does it bestow upon us some special privileged life that gives us the keys to the Executive Bathroom. We may have the key but like Alice, in our natural state we're simply too big to fit through the door to the throne room. We must eat humble pie, come as paupers and admit we are not only unworthy but we are empty. This idea that the Kingdom of Heaven (I use this term to cover our spiritual blessings as laid out in Eph. 1)is automatically at our disposal simply by virtue of "membership" is a huge stumbling block to many who find themselves unable to access it. Jesus has covered the cost and all that's His is mine. Oswald, Paul, Jesus, Peter, James and the list goes on, all understood that that we must accept that ours is A NATURE WITHOUT WORTH OR EXCELLENCE to enter. This is hard, it cuts across our idea of prosperity, prestige and privilege. We come on God's terms or go begging. To have the victorious life we must realize it comes through a surrendered life. It's all about Him.

*As opposed to the Biblical premise that we're born into sin and sins are a result of what we are.

I AM TOO

2010-05-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3

Eternal Life. Have you ever really thought about what it is? I really never thought about it early in my Christian life. When I look back I used to think of eternal life as something that was akin to living in heaven with Jesus forever. Something that we got as part of the 'Salvation Package' along with forgiveness of sins, a new nature and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was our destiny, our future, existence that goes beyond this life. And it would happen someday. But I missed it.

Everyone will exist forever! The only thing that changes when a human dies is his or hers destination. Eternal existence is a given. And hell is as real as heaven. And it begins when we are born, this eternal existence. While here in time and space our soul is up for grabs. God gives us the right and dignity to choose not only our final destination but how we will live while still here.

Then eternal life must have another meaning beyond existence. For a moment lets reverse Jesus' statement. "This is eternal death, that they may never know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." That is damnation. Never knowing God. Never being able to experience His life in us. It's our condition from birth. It changes by invitation only. **

Two things happen when God receives that invitation. Our sins are obliterated and God instills in us the Holy Spirit. But there is another thing that happens; we encounter eternity. Not in theory but in experience. We are no longer chained to time because we are in the process of being restored to our original creation before the Fall. If we can grasp this reality, it will change us in dramatic ways. Suddenly such verses as Ephesians 2:1-7 (and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus)and Ephesians 1:3-6 (He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him) become less troublesome. Why? Because we no longer are restricted by thinking according to TIME. We are in both worlds, Time and Eternity. I live here by my five senses and there by the Holy Spirit.

So back to the original scripture. To know God is to experience Him in all facets of His being. He is exempt, beyond, and encompasses Time. What a glorious state of being He has granted us through Christ!
Oswald Chambers says it best:
"The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity— it is one amazing glorious now."

** However, prior to the age of accountability, a child's soul belongs to God.

The Land of Regret

2010-04-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.--Sydney J. Harris

My professor referred to this quote last night in my screenwriting class and it sent my "thinker" into deep contemplation mode. I've been mulling it over (I even think I dreamed about it) since.I started thinking about it in terms of our spiritual walk. How many regrets do I still have that interfere with trusting and believing God. Or following God. Or simply stepping out in obedience. Too many methinks.

I told someone once (or maybe twice or more . . . a pitfall of aging)that I had no regrets as far as my life was concerned. The things I wanted to do, I've done. I've lived a full, rich life and if the Lord takes me home now, I am satisfied with my experiences and adventures. Life is a journey anyway, to be embraced and enjoyed.

But now that I rethink regrets, I do have them and my biggest regret is that I didn't let my "regrets" go. I won't air all my dirty laundry here (where it will be eternally stored in the Google Book of E-life) except to say that we all have them. Those choices we wish we could go back and change. As I mull over the list, little sighs escape my lips. So maybe what I should do is make a real list. Just spell them out on paper and go over each one with the Lord; a final analysis, last confession, permanent healing and then burn it. I don't want to have my elder years riddled with regrets. John Barrymore is quoted as saying, "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." That goes for women too. But if I truly believe that all things work for good for those who are in Christ, then I should not have regrets, only confessions.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Cor. 7:10

If I am not living in the Land of Regret, then I can boldly go on with the Lord, expectant, excited and hopeful that I still have some use in me yet. I still have dreams, hopes and desires, things I want to do, and see and experience before I leave this place. But more than that, I want to embrace those things I have often regretted the most so I might understand that the wisdom I've gained from the choices I've made, is priceless.

Knitting, Writing and Perseverance

2010-04-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

I have taken up knitting in the past year. And as with anything I do, I give it everything I've got. I have my traditional knitters stash, (yarn you just couldn't resist buying and have stashed away in closets, under beds, in spare drawers) an array of needles, (bamboo, aluminum, acrylic, circular) patterns, (books, magazines, internet downloads stored on my laptop) and bags (I have six of various sizes and types) to carry all of this stuff. And most recently I've taken up lace knitting with beads. So now I have, in addition to my stash, needles, patterns, and bags, I have a treasure trove of glass beads in all colors and sizes. This past Christmas everyone in my family got a hat, a scarf, a pair of leg warmers or a pair of gloves as a gift . . . even the baby.

Of late, God has been using knitting to reveal His truth to me. For example, I embarked on a very intricate beaded shawl pattern a couple of months ago with a skill level way above my expertise. This became apparent after the first ten times I ripped it out and started again. I was also working on a screenplay that (in my opinion) was above my skill level. One evening as I ripped out the shawl yet another time, while contemplating the story line of my screenplay, the Lord showed me that the two were interrelated and both were teaching me a valuable spiritual lesson--tenacity. This process reminded of Philippians 3: 13-14: "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

While I've been a tenacious person most of my life, I saw this quality in a new light. The Lord calls tenacity by a different name; perseverance. In Romans 5:3-5, Paul lists perseverance among the qualities of righteousness and the path to hope. Peter (2 Peter 1:5-8) lists it among the qualities of spiritual maturity. We are called to persevere in doing good(Rom. 2:7), in running the good race (Heb. 12:1), in enduring trials (James 1:2-4), in prayer (Eph. 6:18) to name just a few. But just so we are clear on the Biblical concept of perseverance, it is NOT works, holding on tenaciously to our own plans nor inflexibility. Perseverance is not giving up when the going gets tough. Perseverance is faith in action.

The Good, The Bad and the Just Plain Miraculous

2010-02-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

A pastor once said that a sure fire way to know what you are doing is the will of God is gauge the amount of opposition the enemy throws at you and how God continues to lead you on. In other words, OPEN DOOR + OPPOSITION=GOD'S WILL. If there's an open door but no opposition or if there is heavy opposition but no blessing, chances are pretty good it's not God's path for you. Well, such was the case of the 168 Film Festival. We prayed and felt God leading us to produce a film this year. We gathered our team and began our preparations. Everyone who had entered this competition before kept saying that the "fun" begins on verse night. So Tuesday evening February 2nd we gathered at the church and when our team was called we picked up our rock. Our verse was Isaiah 40:4-5.

Every valley shall be raised up,every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Well, to say the least, we were puzzled on how we'd make this into a short film. But by the next morning God had given us a seed idea and I began the arduous task of writing a 10 minute screenplay.

During this time the enemy was near, shooting doubt arrows, stirring up dissension in the camp and generally making life miserable. But God gave us a marvelous story and when the time for camera roll on Friday Feb 12, we were ready . . .

Late on Thursday we found out there was a funeral scheduled at the church where we were to shoot our film. So we had to push back production to the late afternoon. Already before we even started we were several hours behind schedule. No worries, we'd make it up. After all we have a whiz-bang crew and 4 cameras. We got word early the next morning that my sister's car had died and my car had been broken into and my purse (that I had accidentally left in my car) had been stolen with all my money, ID and credit cards. Later that day, our producer discovers that someone had gotten her credit card number and went on a shopping spree in Atlanta Georgia.

Those are just a few of the stones the enemy threw. But God at every turn gave us a bigger blessing. God gave us more time by allowing the church that was to have services on Saturday night join someone else thereby giving us much needed time to make up our sadly behind shooting schedule. We originally planned to move our set for certain scenes but would have not finished our shoot when God provided another location for those scenes just a few hundred yards away! We finished ahead of schedule and got all of the shots we wanted.

Editing problems came and we were certain we weren't going to get the film edited on time. Our producer's brother, a seasoned editor and head of a post production house, stepped in and lent a much needed hand. Our composer wrote the theme song in two hours, record time even for him. But God saves the best to last.

The deadline was 2pm Friday, February 19th. One second past 2pm and we would be disqualified. Our film was 2 minutes over the allotted running time and it was now 1 pm. We left for the church knowing that we weren't going to make it. Heartbroken we drove the long road there and waited. But God had a blessing even then; an interview with the LA Times.

The interview finished at 1:50. We called our executive producer who was in charge of getting the finished film to the church drop off point. She was still on the road with the film, a DVD which was not the format we thought we were supposed to have. She arrived at 1:56 with DVD in hand. I told her to go ahead and submit it though I was sure it would be rejected. She came running back out waving a piece of paper with a time code written on it. 1:59:43. Seventeen seconds before the cut off time. WE HAD MADE IT!!! We screamed and jumped around like kangaroos. God had done it again!

So we're in the competition despite the stones the enemy threw because a great big God is in control. We have no idea if it will win anything; in fact we haven't even seen the finished product but who can doubt God now.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

How Empty Are YOUR Hands?

2009-10-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

I was thinking yesterday evening about relationship as it pertains to God. Anytime one ponders relationship with God it will inevitably lead to, “Why did God create us?” which leads to “For the sake of relationship based on free will,” which leads to “what is my purpose?” Over the past several decades I’ve had different answers to that question, all of which were partly right. And as I grow older and closer to my Heavenly Father I realize how much I’ve missed the mark.

We may all cite the primary relationship to God as that of Father and Child. He is our Father and we are His children. (I’m speaking of those who have accepted the gift of salvation.) And the secondary relationship would be one of Master and Servant. We could include Friends with Jesus as a second or third, but it doesn’t change the primary which is wherein the problem lies.

After our initial humbling before the cross, I’ve noticed the majority of Christians seem to struggle with the primary and over emphasis the secondary. Why is that? I believe it’s because we so want to please God we live in guilt and fear when we feel as though we’ve let Him down and we back away from the primary love relationship that brought us to him in the first place; to bring “many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10) We shrink away from the Throne of Grace (Heb 4:16) because we have nothing to offer.

God did not redeem us to be indentured, but to enjoy freedom as His children. It takes more grace to accept God’s unconditional love and mercy, than it does to serve Him. Serving seems to mean, “giving back to God.” Receiving means I have nothing to offer that would ever warrant His love. To receive we must come totally empty handed. If we cannot, then we change the order of relationship. (The parable of the Prodigal Son relates what God thinks about that.) The secondary must never overshadow with the primary. And it seems to me that after our initial acceptance of salvation we rarely come empty-handed again. We come with our money, our accomplishments, our good works, all to exchange for more grace to do more for God.

We are God’s children, often disobedient, always falling short, never perfect. But the relationship is not based on our attributes. It’s based on God’s character and His desire to simply be with us. Yes, we will serve Him, we will disappoint Him, we will have troubles and we will sin but like any good father, God is more interested in who we are than what we do. If we could only see how nurturing that primary relationship is more important to God than building the secondary one. Stop, listen, empty your hands and come to Him.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15

Christian Film . . . A Good Investment?

2009-10-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

How many of you love the Lord, love movies and but hate what Hollywood calls "entertainment" (for the most part.) Well there is good news! From what I've read, this is one of the best times in recent history for Christian Filmmakers to get their movies out in the market place. With recent hits like Fire Proof and Facing the Giants distributors and independent investors are realizing that there is a demographic out there that has money, will go to the right movies and are now beginning to invest in these films. Why? Because the market reflects that these movies do make money! With the big (and small) studios looking for new cash cows and knocking on doors that have "moved to India" signs in their windows, it's a prime time for Christians. Though we Christians hate it, the big CHA-CHING that surrounds Christian films makes Christian filmmaking an attractive investment.

Now, here's my question . . . I've been around the Christian community long enough to have heard the roar from the masses about the sub-quality of Hollywood's sausage factory productions. They are crude, poorly written, repetitive, morally degradating, and downright bad in most cases. "Why do they keep making the same old junk?" I've heard this over and over; even asked that question myself but until I came to Hollywood and entered the 30-Mile zone, I didn't understand either. But now I can answer that question . . . MONEY. It's all about the money. Profit is what makes investors sit up, take notice and pull out their check books. And whether we like it or not, nothing gets done without . . . MONEY.

So as Christians we need to quit complaining and begin producing. The Christian community is bulging with tons of great stories, hundreds of award winning writers, producers and directors and yes . . . lots of MONEY. Only by "putting our money where our mouth is" will we earn respect from "them" and be able to share Him.

Here's my question:

If you had an opportunity to invest in a good, well crafted, Christian film, would you? I am hoping this survey will help me target the market we're after. Oh not you all personally . . . but the demographic.

Oh, don't worry, I won't solicit, it's against the rules anyhow. So vote in the poll on the right hand sidebar and even better leave me a comment and let me know where you stand.

Guest on Tamera Kraft's Blog

2009-10-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've had the honor of being invited to be a guest blogger on Tamera Kraft's Word Sharpener's blog today.

http://wordsharpeners.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/halo-ministries-international-film-company

Drop by and take a peek.

2009-10-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

India

The distant call of the Hindu prayer
Floats on the humid sultry air, hot and heavy
Sandalwood mingled with sweat and curry
Permeates the very essence of land and river
Fish and hot spice mixed with rice
Washed down with sweet milk tea
Laneless traffic threatens milling crowds
The lonely beggar holds out his cup for a rupee
Temples and churches brush the horizon
Reminding all of India’s timeless tradition

I ran across this poem I wrote in 2004 after my first visit to India. At the time, I had no idea that God would call me to India once again.

Sometimes it seems as if God takes the long way around to reveal His will or His plan. And I've often asked Him why it took so long and why I had to go through such hoops to get to the place where He showed me what He was after.

"It's not that I took you the long way around. It was you who were not ready for the straight route. You still had a lot to learn." And He's so right. Had he showed me what He wanted back then, I would not have had the faith to continue. And I don't think He could have revealed to me any more than what I was ready for. Not that He doesn't know what will happen but there is something to be said for US maybe not being ready. To show someone a vision that a person hasn't the faith to fulfill, would be devastating to that person's faith.

I have a friend who goes by signs to know God's will. It's a dangerous thing to do that. Not that God does not give signs, but what if the outcome is not what you expected and then the signs become null and void. Looking for signs was something that the Lord chastised the Pharisees for doing. Too many times we need some sort of "writing in the sky" to know if ith's God's will. What if His will is to simply follow Him around and do what's before us to do? Why does doing God's will mean we will have a Big Job. If we have such expectations of God, we will have an even higher failure complex when things don't turn out the way we expect. If I see a church in a vision and think God is calling me to build a church and I go out and break my back trying to do it and it fails . . . who is to blame? I've realized in these later years of my life that God shows us His will so we can watch HIM work. He delights in doing things and having us simply walk through the doors He opens. Yes there's opposition, but it's usually not stuff that can't be overcome with prayer.

Don't take this thing of working FOR God so seriously. Being WITH God is a far more lofty aspiration. Being with Him solves the working for Him because you'll always be in awe, watching Him do the miraculous. Laugh and Love . . . enjoy your relationship with Him.

Mindset

2009-08-31T07:44:00.000-07:00

As I watch the fires burn here in Southern California, eating the landscape like a hungry demon, filling the air with smoke and ash, I'm reminded that one day, the whole earth will burn with fire destroying all of the works mankind has built. It will be smoke and ash, gone in a flash, as God unties the elements that hod it together and all of man's works, his hopes and dreams, his investment in this world will be obliterated. There will be no memory of those whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life nor their accomplishments. Everything man has worked for will be gone without a trace . . .

So where is my hope set? Am I trying to build something here on this earth, something that will last for eternity? Something that will be remembered when I'm gone? How long is a few centuries in comparison to eternity? If all things will be destroyed and nothing will remain but that which cannot be burned, what then am I working for?

Paul says in Romans 8:5-8 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

How can I tell where my mind if focused? What is this core root that I cannot seem to eradicate from my life? That was so bad, Jesus had had to kill it? That is repairable?

The vast majority of us can recognize the flesh in most cases. The obvious doesn't tempt us to rebellion against God. But the flesh is horribly deceitful and conniving, with an uncanny ability to look spiritual and to justify its ways. When Eve stood in front of that tree and gazed upon the forbidden fruit, Satan seized the opportunity to seduce her to eat. A fishhook was set in mankind giving Satan a back door into our lives.

Paul says here, the flesh is hostile toward God and cannot even subject itself to Him. He further states that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Duh! I might say. But do I really know all its wily ways? Do I honestly see how subtlety it sneaks into my spiritual life, sabotaging ever good intention and desire? Did you know that the flesh is quite religious? It loves spiritual endeavors and doing things for the Kingdom of God. It wants to be justified and recognized as rehabilitated, no longer the black sheep or bad son. It says, "Look at me? Look how good I am now." It can sing and dance and look like a million bucks but it is just a religious creature bent on it's own glory and self preservation. The flesh cannot be changed, trained or rearranged. It can look pious and it can look humble but it's still the same focus . . . me, myself and I, what I call the Unholy Trinity.

So if you wonder where your mind is set check who is getting the glory; to where is the attention drawn? Who benefits from this. And if you really want to know, ask yourself this question. "If I do this thing for God and not a soul ever knows here on earth but me and God and I don't get an ounce of credit or recognition, does it matter?" It nails me every time.

I therefore cry out with Paul, "Wretched (wo)man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25a

Praying or Plaguing?

2009-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

How’s your prayer life? On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate it? In my early days of faith, my prayer life was a 2 (or less.) Then about 10 years into my walk, it soared to a 5 (or 6 depending on my circumstances) and I would have to confess, stayed there for most of my Christian walk. I always felt guilty about my prayer life. I listened to preachers on prayer, read books on prayer, studied prayer in the scripture and tried every “technique” that was suggested to me, including sitting silently and just “listening.” Listening is perhaps the best, but most of the time I would just fall asleep. I took up writing my prayer requests in a prayer journal (which I highly recommend) but would fail to find the time to pray over those things I wrote in there. If this has been your experience, I urge you to read on. And if not . . . read on anyway.

This passage below has been used to teach persistence in prayer. I have heard many a message on this passage but honestly, it never clicked with me. I’ve read it countless times through the years and it still eluded me . . . until this morning.

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8

When I read this verse this morning, God broke through the fog of years of confusion with his blessed light and I said . . . wow! I’ve mostly heard this verse used to encourage persistence in prayer. Like the woman plaguing the judge, we need to continue to ask God until he grants our prayer or hears and responds at least. But this morning, I realized that isn’t at all what Jesus is saying.

Jesus uses the Judge as a comparison of both opposites here. The Judge is unrighteous, doesn’t respect God nor mankind but hates being nagged. And because of his position and responsibility to position and reputation, he concedes to grant her protection.

Opposite of that is God, righteous and loves mankind and wants to help. Jesus says, “Look at God who is neither unrighteous nor uncaring. Will He not hear and answer those in need? And bring help quickly?”

But instead of encouraged, this verse made me feel inadequate and lazy about prayer. Why? Because the common teaching on this verse made me feel that I somehow had to dislodge God from His apathy and beg His favor. And to do that I needed to cry and cry or fast for days or spend hours and hours on my knees. This is not so. I say that because of the second half of verse 8. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Why would Jesus add that? Most say to prove we need to be persistent. But that seems to clash with verse 7 and the first half of 8.

Will He find faith? What kind of faith is He talking about here? Trusting Faith . . .

Do I trust God that He has my best interests in mind. Or do I TELL Him what’s best for me. So many of my prayers in the past have consisted of me focusing on a solution or answer and then trying to get God to do THAT. I beg and plead but nothing happens. I want Him to do my will. I want that thing or that person to do something or that situation to be dealt with in a certain way or I need money or . . . . and the list goes on. I was taught that persistence is the key to getting answers from God. Just pray it through and keep praying until you get the answer you seek. Wow, what presumption. What if God has something entirely different he wants to do? What if He has something better or a lesson, or . . . good grief the list never ends. God KNOWS already what we need. We pray to get the benefit of seeing it come to pass and to be blessed by Him in partnership.

And faith . . . let’s not forget the biggest factor. Do we really believe that God has everything under control? Or do we think He is just a forgetful Old Man, too busy with so many things to remember or heed our small requests. Do I really need to keep after Him? Or do I believe He’s going to take care of it? Faith means believing and leaving it to God to do whatever He sees best.

But this kind of faith and trust is rare. That’s why Jesus asks the question, “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Will He? So far it’s not looking good.

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have . . . why? Because in prayer we are linked with God in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit and we have the opportunity to watch and participate the will of God being carried out. His will, His plan, His purpose. And it’s amazing. When I quit nagging God about what I want and begin laying out my requests for Him to take care of as He sees fit then I begin to live Phil. 4:6-7. And others notice. It's amazing how much peace you will have.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Blessed are You . . .

2009-08-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed that no matter how many times I read a passage of scripture, the Lord always reveals a deeper level of truth or a new take on a well-worn passage. Take for instance the Beatitudes. I've read them, memorized them as a child and poured over them as a teacher and Bible study leader. And today, I opened my Bible and for the first time (some of you may be saying "duh!") I saw a progression. Now if this is old school for you and I've come across something you have known for years . . . bear with me, lol!

I've taught on the various blessings in these verses as Jesus presented them. Back then it a total reverse on Jewish thought to be blessed if you were sad, meek, poor (spiritually or otherwise) or persecuted. Those were thought to be curses on the sinful and disobedient. Not only did Jesus praise and encourage those who felt this way, He actually used them as signs of maturity and growth. As we scroll through them, you'll see how successfully (and sneakily) He inserted the real measuring rod of true spirituality. I will use the Matthew list:

5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit
Poor, broken, at the end of the rope. It means we've come to a place where we are ready to hear God and heed Him

5:4 Blessed are they who mourn
Sorrow over sin, heart sick at what we are and have done. Confronting our own depravity is the only way we shall received God. Pride is the anti-christ in us.

5:5 Blessed are the meek
Humbled and in submission to the will of the Lord. The meek are in a spiritual position to be used for God's purpose.

5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness

This is truly a gift of God. We see how short we fall and know there is no for us apart from Christ. This desire prepares us for the path of death blows to our flesh.

These first four are the blessings of preparation. They are the ones where we must make choices to move toward God. He does the work, but we must give the green light by our choice to yield to the Holy Spirit.

The following four are the result. It's what will come of our choices to be abandoned to Christ.

5:7 Blessed are the merciful
I believe this is the first fruit we exhibit, mercy. It's what Jesus told the Pharisees they didn't have and needed. True mercy is from God and recognizes how much we need it ourselves because judgment is what we deserve. Without mercy there can be no exhibition of the other fruits of the spirit.

5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart
The only way one has a pure heart to be in Christ. This is a work of the Holy Spirit and how God looks upon us when He sees us. Being pure in heart is something only God can do. . . apart from us.

5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers
We are ambassadors of Christ, sent by Him to share the good news of reconciliation. When we finally get our eyes off ourselves, we can see as Jesus sees and our hearts are filled with compassion for those who are at war with God. We want to reach out.

5:10 Blessed are the persecuted
How can this possibly be a blessing? Because this type of persecution is only earned by our Christ-likeness. When we are reviled for Jesus sake it means we have entered into His sufferings as a member of His body and will be blessed for it. Only those abandoned to God can be persecuted like this.

This progressive maturity is both a life walk and a season walk. It spans our entire Christian life in Christ as we learn, yield, abandon ourselves and grow in His grace. And it also can be cyclical in the sense that when we are temporarily separated from the Lord by sin, we cycle through the first four steps in our return path.
As you revisit the Beautitudes it is my prayer that you may have "the eyes of your understanding enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance . . . and the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe . . ." (Eph. 1:18-19)

May God richly bless your walk toward maturity in Christ.

2009-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

I was going to post something encouraging today but this really says it all!

What's So Good About the Good News?

2009-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Why do we call the Gospel “good news” and then treat it as if it were a doomsday message? What is it about this Good News that makes us go crazy with guilt, frustration, depression, anxiety, anger, and hopelessness? Why do we profess such riches in Christ and live like spiritual paupers? Why do we sing great praises to our God and King on Sunday and whine about our miserable circumstances the rest of the week? What’s so good then about this Good News?

If this is Good News, then what’s the “bad news?” I fear for some of us the bad news is that the Good News hasn’t changed us that much. Do I still struggle with my self esteem? Do I still fall into the same sin traps over and over again? Do I still find it difficult to believe the great promises of scripture . . . as valid for me? Do I view life as ruled by Murphy’s Law than Roman’s 8:26-27 (And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.) Is the Good News little more than a pardon from sin and eternal life? Don’t get me wrong, that IS fantastic news, but according to God’s word there is much, much more.

I always laugh at the commercial for the great $19.95 bargains that are splashed across our tv screens. Whatever the item, knives, hair combs, wrenches, laundry soap, it’s always 19.95 and if you order “today” they will throw in a second one or two more or something. But by far my favorite is the one where the guy says, “But wait . . . there’s more! For only $19.95 you can get . . .” and off he goes to throw in another bonus to the package. Well this “Good News” is much like that in some ways. God says, “Simply invite me into your life and I will pardon your sin, wipe the slate clean and grant you eternal life.” And we are so amazed. “But wait,” he adds. “There’s more!” For the same invitation, I will empower you with the Holy Spirit, seat you at my Right Hand and give you an inheritance.” We look at him gratefully. Now it’s getting to be a little hard to believe. “And wait, there’s still more! I will also give you My Son’s holiness, His righteousness, and give you the keys to My Kingdom.” We smile and walk away . . . too good to be true. The Good News has now made us very uncomfortable.

Why is that? Think about it. Meditate on it. What about this Good News makes us feel so bad? Oh, intellectually, we are ecstatic. We talk about walking by faith, living our lives through Christ, allowing Him to guide and sanctify us. But try as we may . . . that Good News just doesn’t seem so good anymore.

Oswald Chambers cites that “sanctification means the impartation of the Holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me.” It is the gift of HIS patience, love, holiness, faith, purity and godliness. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy—it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him . . .” Sanctification is an impartation, NOT an imitation.”
There we have it, we are trying to imitate not utilize.

Think about what this Good News is in its entirety. All of it. The “but wait” parts that we can barely comprehend as being for us. Because THAT’S the Good News. They are for us.

Healing the Lame

2009-07-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

My church has a talented and blessed worship team and though I love the music, the words of the modern choruses are hardly theologically thought provoking. But this one Sunday, as I stood singing the worship chorus, I felt that familiar tug inside of me signaling that something profound was about to be whispered by the Spirit that would change me. I can't remember the song, only that it was something about glorifying the Lord with our lives. I stopped singing and closed my eyes to listen.

"Do you want to know My children could best glorify me with their lives?"

Several things went through my mind but none that seemed to adequately answer the question.

"By walking in what I've already done."

It seemed to simple. "Isn't that what we do?" I thought then shook my head as the gravity of His statement penetrated my soul.

That moment was one of those epiphany moments where you are able to see through the Spirit's eyes at what we really do. Then Hebrews 12: 1-3 came to mind. " . . . setting aside the sin that so easily besets us . . ." Unbelief. The inability to take God at His word.

Glorifying God with any less than walking in the completed life God has placed inside of us in Jesus Christ is a slap in His face. Jesus said from the cross "It is finished!"

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Hebrews 4:10

When we don't live our lives in the provision of the Spirit as God has given us, we do not glorify Him. When we try to walk the Christian life and appear righteous, we do not glorify Him.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Eph. 2:10

God does not expect us to produce righteousness and we all know that . . . intellectually anyway. God does not expect us to walk in sinfullness and the flesh . . . we all know this. What we don't see is that we fail to believe God, step out and walk in what He's already done. I don't need to explain these things, they are part of our doctrinal belief. But knowing and doing can be miles apart.

Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather healed. Heb. 12:12-13

This verse has eluded me for a long time but the other day, another beam of light shown in my spirit and I said "Aha . . . " Hands that hang down . . . failure to do in faith. Feeble knees . . . weakness to stand in His strength and adequacy and looking to ourselves. Make straight the paths . . . looking unto Jesus instead of the circumstances and temptations that lead us from a walk of faith. So that what is lame (our faith and confidence in the Lord) may not be dislocated but healed. Unbelief will dislocate all of our joints and cause us to fall down in a heap. What is the remedy? Believe and thou shalt be healed.

Challenge: Write down 10 things (promises, scriptures) that you know are in the Bible but honestly haven't really acted upon in total belief and trust in God. Paste them where you can see them every day and meditate on them. Be honest with God and let Him begin to heal what is lame. My prayer is that all of His children will walk in what He has already done to bring great glory to Him!

80/20

2009-07-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard it said that 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the members? Or that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients? Or 80% of your acquaintances remain casual while 20% will become friends? And so on it goes. It's called the 80/20 rule and is used by business, entrepreneurs, and even some churches who know that 80% of the giving comes from 20% of the membership. Well, I have one for you . . . . 80% of those born into the family of God will live a barely mediocre Christian life. . . and only 20% actually abandon themselves to God.

The first time I heard this I was astounded! I thought, no way. His people love Him and want to be totally His. Well, it took a while but God showed me that actually the 80/20 rule applies to the family of God as well. Sad . . .

Here's how it works. Ten people accept Christ are born again. Their lives are fulfilled and their new found faith sustains them with milk and love from a caring Heavenly Father. Soon, however, things get a bit rough as God begins the remolding process. Some drop off completely citing that if this is a loving God, they want nothing to do with him. The remainder grow.

Life seems good some of the time but and the blessings are sweet but the trials intensify and suffering becomes part of the everyday experience. Two or three more drop off, the blessings not enough to out weigh the pain. Perhaps there are 4 (maybe 3) left who limp along after Jesus, wondering when they will arrive at their destination.

Those remaining head into the toughest time of their lives when everything crashes around them, they feel abandoned by God, often angry, filled with doubt, pain and reeling from the onslaught of trials. Why? What did I do? God, why are You not taking care of me, helping me, holding back the destructive forces in my life? Where are You?

This is the place of separation. Flesh from Spirit . . . the place where God bears down with as much as the person can handle. The turning point, the breaking of our dependence on anything but God.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

This is where the Christian comes face to face with Jesus.

'Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."' Matt. 16:24

But . . . Didn't this happen already? Was there not a choice already made? The Jesus utters those life crushing words in the next verse.

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matt. 16:24

We are not talking a partial surrender here. It's all or nothing. All of our plans, our dreams, our aspirations, our life . . . ALL! The Lord holds out his hand. Two accept, the others back away. "You ask too much," one mutters. "God would not allow such suffering in anyone's life," another whispers. Back back into the shadows, willing to accept less than what God had originally planned for that life.

For the results of that decision to back away, read Hebrews 1-4. The Children of Israel did just that. Out of twelve sent into Canaan only two believed God and urged them to go in and take the land. The rest could only see the Giants, nothing else.

What are the results of taking God's hand? I think you know . . .

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Gal. 2:20

Yes Man

2009-05-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

I've MIA since January. Since that time I've worked on a 168Film Project short with Act One colleagues, produced and filmed my own short with my co-writer Terry Nolan (soon to be submitted to film festivals), have spent two glorious weeks in New Zealand and taken an acting class (which will be done in two weeks). That doesn't count the countless hours spent writing, developing, networking and trying to maintain life. I feel as though I've been on a long journey. . .

And so I have but God is still on the throne and He's not through with me yet. A few weeks ago I was reading Oswald Chambers and I realized that my own sinfulness still prevents me from fulfilling God's will and purpose in my life. When He says we are to lay down our lives, go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, I know in my spirit that it's because of Christ's humility and sacrifice that I am able to do these things. But something happens when I'm "walked on" by very ones I'm trying to serve and all manner of unholy emotions and self-righteous pride well up in me. I find ways to excuse my behavior by telling myself that there's a difference between being a servant and a door mat. And there is . . . it's just that God should be the one to distinguish the difference, not me. I'm to trust and obey . . . He's to lead. If I am truly trusting in His guidance, His discernment and His wisdom, I'll never be a door mat, never be a fool, never be anything but the servant of the Most High. So I can "suffer" humiliation and scorn at the hand of others but it will be heaped on Christ's shoulders, not mine. If I try to do His will in my strength, I'll break down and wrath will be my contribution. Hardly spiritual, eh.

While on the flight back from New Zealand I saw the movie, "Yes Man" starring Jim Carrey. A rather silly comedy but in the core of it's meaning lay an important concept that hit me as something we don't consider enough. The story is about a man, negative, sullen and a loner, who says no to everything. One night he forgets his best friends engagement party and when he realizes how much he hurt his friend by doing so, agrees to go to this "YES" seminar with another old friend. The gist of the "Yes" concept is to say yes to everything no matter what it is. It's a covenant made with oneself to enjoy life, take risks, chances and basically throw yourself to the mercy of fate. Now that would be dangerous if it were just that. But turn it around and think of saying YES to EVERYTHING the Lord says for us to do. Without hesitation, without regret nor fear nor second thoughts. What if we said yes to Him every time without a fight, without Him having to coax us and corner us and basically coerce us into acting upon His commands and requests? What if we just said YES! and then actually did it? What kind of life would we have? I think we'd find out quickly how much of our old nature is still operative and how much resistance we still have to obedience, simple trust and faith. Be quick to obey the Lord, with no hesitation . . . once you KNOW it's Him!

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20

Psalm 37

2009-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (Jan 24th) I attended a one day retreat and the scripture for the day was Psalm 37. It is by far one of my favorite Psalms and one I return to again and again when times of trouble hit. On this occasion there were no "times of trouble" that I knew of, only general trouble that we all experience being in this world. In my quiet time at the retreat I felt that I should continue reading this Psalm daily for the rest of the week and so I have done. And as in true God fashion, He continues to reveal my true character to me as I obey Him.

I wrote down the verbs in the first 8 verses in the order in which they appear.
FRET-ENVY-TRUST-DO GOOD-DWELL-FEED-DELIGHT-COMMIT-TRUST-REST-WAIT-FRET-CEASE-FORSAKE-FRET

As I meditated on these first 8 verses I saw a pattern . . . a very familiar pattern which is common to all believers after they first accept Christ. And I must confess this pattern repeats itself over and over as I face new challenges and trials.

FRET (worry) and ENVY cause a block in our lives; one that cuts us off from TRUST and DOING GOOD. We become obsessed with ourselves, our circumstances, our future, and in many cases our mistakes in the past. Eventually God shows us this and we experience a breakthrough. We honestly TRUST him which leads to DOING GOOD. This opens our eyes to the fact that we must DWELL in His promises, FEED on His faithfulness and DELIGHT solely in Him. But there's more. We then need to COMMIT our way to Him and abandon our own agenda. If we do that we enter into the second level of TRUST which allows us to REST and WAIT. And then the attacks begin all over again and we might return to FRET which generates anger. Now we must CEASE and FORSAKE that anger and FRET not. And the whole thing starts all over again.

Notice that the two verbs that cause the problems are FRET and ENVY. Notice what James has to say about this.

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4: 1-3

Worry and Envy are two very very dangerous enemies. So much so that they are pointed out over and over again. The other sins slip in when these two have been allowed in our lives. Praying for God to point out these two sins before they take root would keep us from running around in a circle with one foot nailed to the floor. And FRET (worry) is the worst I fear. It shipwrecks any attempt at faith.

With the current economic crisis and a gloomy future, we would do well to memorize Psalm 37:1-8. God has given it for us as a promise.

DO NOT NOT FRET--IT ONLY CAUSES HARM
Psalm 37:8b

Feelings, Facts and Faith

2008-12-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this word, faith . . . again. I'm troubled by the revelation that my own faith is founded less on God and more on me. I wrote this poem a few years back and I think it might relate what constitutes my basis for faith.

Never future; always past
Looking back; holding fast
Images printed on the brain
Some bring pleasure; others, pain

Twist, mold, shape and scar
Memories make us what we are
Now—a temporal, fleeting flash
Tomorrow—just beyond our grasp

Eyes unseeing, knowledge veiled
The future met in blind travail
The memory life line held in tow
Guides us where we cannot know

Thrust into the flow of time
A helpless, mapless, sightless mime
Memory, blessed and cursed
God’s reminder in reverse

When I think of faith as God intended it to be, I think of driving my car down a California freeway at 80 mph--blindfolded! A helpless, mapless, sightless mime who without God will surely crash and burn. Sadly, I trust my own instincts, feelings and memories and like a fool end up wrecked anyway.

Memories are based on two things . . . facts and feelings. However, the facts are often skewed by my feelings. I remember what I feel and often forget the facts. Memories, though useful to track God's faithfulness, can trick us into believing lies. I remember what God did the last time I trusted Him and it may feel like He abandoned me. My memory only reinforces that and I'm less inclined to trust Him in the same way again.

Faith on the other hand comes from completely outside of me and is based on something completely outside of me. "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me."John 15:26 It is foreign, often devoid of rationality, based on untried truth not skewed fact and stirs up great feelings of fear. For me, it's the fear that keeps me from walking in faith. Fear is familiar, it's looking out for me and it knows how I feel. Again, I'm foolishly trusting a feeling.

Truth is not facts. Truth is not feelings. Truth is not memories. All may hold seeds of Truth but to place our faith on anything less that the Truth is walk in darkness and fear. Truth exists whether I believe it or not. Truth is forever and will always remain steadfast, whether I trust it or not. Truth is what God says and is the only basis for faith.

" . . .if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31-32

Eyes of America

2008-11-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

I wrote this poem probably 10 years ago, back before the American church became so inward and "user friendly." Since that time, not much has changed except we've migrated even farther from our common goal to share the gospel of Jesus with those working and living next to us. We've caved in . . . become sheep in wolves clothing so to speak so we might attract the wolves into our churches and perhaps convert them. Instead of bringing more souls to Christ we've succeeded in weakening our own people by taking transforming our worship centers into immigration centers where the gospel is merely a watered down version of bring us your sick, your poor, etc. We haven't converted as many non-Christians as we have mis-taught our Christians. In an attempt to become attractive and compete in the market place, we've developed Christian "branding" where we use labels and philosophies to explain who we are instead of letting God define who we are. With all of our Christian communalization and separatism, we've become consumers who partake of only Christian products and services. We've become "Us" trying to reach "Them."

In an attempt to change this error, many Christians in their confusion and lack of training have resorted to becoming become Christian lawnmowers, trying to mow down the sins of the Lord instead of understand that it's the root that needs to be eradicated. Jesus died for the sin of the world (Adam's sin) and in the process took care of the fruit or sins. WE must get back to sound theology . . . back to the root of the Gospel . . . back to Calvary. And in light of all the political upheaval and dissatisfaction God is giving us an opportunity to do just that. I think His message is clear,"You have cared more for your Christian "rights" than for sharing my Message. I will take away your rights so you have nothing left to share BUT My message."

EYES OF AMERICA

“America, America, God shed His grace on thee . . .”
but when I look into her eyes, this is what I see

the watery blue of an old woman’s eyes
in their depths no hope lies
she sits in silence all alone
waiting for lunch in the nursing home

the liquid brown of a small child’s
questioning eyes, scared and wild
his mother turns tricks to make ends meet
his father? Somewhere on the streets

the haunted gray of a young girl’s
eyes hardened by a heartless world
that allowed her father the undue right
to sneak into her room night after night

the hollow eyes of a derelict bum
with wizened face and toothless gum
too numbed with wine and cold to feel
scavenging trash cans for a meal

the glazed eyes of a tiny babe
cold and stiff in an alley grave
behind the clinic; ripped from the womb
sent to heaven far too soon

black flashing eyes of an angry young man
taught by his gang to understand
hopes are for fools and dreams can be bought
in packets from the pusher down the block

the complacent eyes of the well bred
Gazing past the underfed
Pursuing a more important scheme
Called the great American dream

but the eyes of Heaven’s Lamb
looking down from God’s right hand
eyes of love that gaze upon
the babe, the bum, the old, the young

if we look into his eyes
maybe then we'll realize
a human soul's more precious than
the dreams and schemes of common man

"America, America God shed His grace on thee . . ."
but when I look into her eyes, His grace I do not see

2008-10-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

The True Prosperity Gospel

2008-09-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading the book of Exodus in my daily devotions but this morning I felt like reading from the Psalms. I opened to the first Psalm and the familiar words had a deepened meaning for me today which I’d like to share.

The first Psalm is the pre-incarnation gospel in a nutshell. For the Hebrew people, it simply stated that if you focus on God and walk according to His ways, you shall be blessed and saved from a life of fruitless wickedness. But this morning it held a deeper meaning for me.

When my late husband and I were deep into our ministry, God put several things on our hearts to do which never came to fruition during his lifetime. After he went home, I asked the Lord if he wanted me to close HALO Ministries Int’l and He plainly said “No.” So I waited. A few months later I felt compelled to move the 501 (c) (3) corporation from Arizona to California, which I did. And there it has lain dormant . . . until recently. One by one God began reminding—no compelling me to turn again to those things He’s spoken of which never came to pass. He’s brought scriptures He gave me over 20 years ago back to memory, dreams (actual) and “visions” He had given me, ministries He wanted started but hadn’t. Like a rush, they’ve come back and I’m humbled, scared, awed, excited . . . as I look at them one by one with prayer and counsel. I ask the Lord, “Why now? How can I do these things?”

Psalm 1 reads:

How blesses is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not whither and in whatever he does he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

This is the true gospel of prosperity. This is the way God has always meant to prosper His children. For the children of Israel, He gave them material blessings as a result of obedience. For the Christian, He gives spiritual fruitfulness as a result which may be accompanied by material blessings. The main point is that God first wants the heart, soul, and total attention of the person. He wants His child to be totally absorbed with Him. Then He will prosper the works of his or her hand. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added.”

There is a gospel of prosperity but not what is preached today. What is preached from a multitude of pulpits today is the Cotton Candy of Christian Capitalism spun from a few words of scripture into a pile of sugar sweet air. Jude has much to say about them. That is not true prosperity but a watered down version of presumptuous lust for money.

The true gospel of prosperity is God blessed, spirit generated, always fruitful in the things of the spirit and may be accompanied by material goods. The latter is often not a desire of the Christian, in fact, most often there is almost a complete apathy about material wealth because he or she knows that our God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills can more than adequately care for one of his children. No true prosperity begins and ends in the Lord, His will and His works. He gets the glory and we get Him.

Grumbler or Grateful?

2008-08-31T07:24:00.000-07:00

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Col. 3:14-15

Lately I've been thinking about thankfulness. I'm not talking about praise here. We all praise the Lord for what He does and who He is. We know that praise is a huge part of our relational response to God. Is it possible to praise God without being thankful?

The praise song "Give thanks with a grateful heart . . ." rattles around and around in my head. Do I really have a grateful heart? I'd like to think so but I wonder.

I can always find something to whine about. When God delivered the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh they were good for a few miles and then the whining began. First it was the Red Sea, then water, food, meat, and on and on. For the most part they did not have grateful hearts. Nor were they very thankful. Never mind that they weren't slaves anymore or that God had sent them out of Egypt with more wealth than Bill Gates. Or that He'd promised them a whole LAND of their own. Instead of focusing on what they had, they focused on what the didn't have.

Last month my sister and I moved from a one bedroom apartment on the second floor of our building to a two bedroom on the first floor. It seemed like a simple move, just transferring everything from one floor to the other. NOT! It was a backbreaking five day, bit-by-bit move with two dollies in a small elevator and then down four steps into our apartment. By the fourth day I'd been reduced to a tired, sweaty, exhausted grumbler. As I pulled my umpteenth load load out of the elevator, the wheel caught and the whole mess dumped into the hallway. A millisecond from exploding I shook my head and started laughing. I felt like an Israelite leaving Egypt. I looked around and decided to thank God instead of fuming. I thanked Him for the elevater so I didn't have to carry everything down the stairs; for the dolly, for the strength to pull the dolly . . . Get my drift. What a difference thankfulness can make.

I can either look at what I think I need or what I have. I can thank God or grumble. I can be grateful for even the shampoo to wash my hair, the running water from my tap, my shower . . . These things we take for granted and actually expect! All of life is a gift. If we got ONLY what we needed, my goodness, we'd certainly have a lot fewer possessions to worry about.

So today, I choose to thank God for this computer, for the apartment I live in, for clothing, for water, for the nice mattress I slept on, for my car to drive myself to church, for the funds for the gas and for the air I breathe. A grateful heart changes us in ways we can't imagine. Instead of grumbling I want to live with a grateful heart, giving thanks for all that I have; both materially and spiritually. Hmmm, maybe if we all did this we'd start a revolution.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

The Boomer Backlash?

2008-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

There's something to be said for aging. As a member of the Baby Boomers, I know we've monopolized the whole market being the target STILL for music, art, products and most everything else. We still are trying to rule. It's no wonder our kids are weak willed and many of them still at home. We haven't let go of the reins; haven't handed off the baton. We still want to prove we can run and win! Growing old is something we are definitely not doing very gracefully. Even Christians.

I want to say that we're terrified that we will be left to be cared for by a weak generation that we created. And we want to stay around for the rebellion of our grandchildren who seem more hopeful than our own children. I know by now you're scratching your head and thinking, "what's she been smoking?"

Well let me back up. Yesterday I spent the morning in my Act One class and the instructor, a wonderful teacher about my age, spent half the class time trying to get these 30something writes to explain what she meant by raw nerve of society and the secrets we don't talk about--the things our stories are made of that make them resonate with humanity. I understood what she meant, understood what she wanted us to think about but after talking for an hour about it, most of them were still staring at her with a "deer-in-the-headlights" look. I couldn't figure out what the problem was.

Then later I realized what was going on. She and I had lived, experienced, struggled and worked through major themes in our lives that are common to humanity. Who am I? What does life really mean? and so on. We had studied history, worked on understanding people, been burned, bitten, loved and lost more than most of those in the room had ever seen. For those of you who are over 40, have (or are going through) that Golden Decad (40-50) and are finally realizing so much about life you never saw before you know what I'm talking about. There's a reason for the adage "Life begins at forty." It's not pulled out of a hat.

So what am I trying to say? We need to quit running the race and begin to train the runners. We need to quit trying to hold on the the reins and let the next generation take over. We need to quit trying to make things happen and learn to pass on the wisdom we've gained. God did not intend for us to be in control until we die. I think that's why so many people want Obama for president. He isn't over 60! And that's why so many of us older one don't trust him . . . (forget the vast political differences, just look at the age groups) The younger generation, the thirty-somethings are trying to wrest the helm from the over achieving Boomers and we just won't let go. As Christians, we need to nurture and assist our next leaders or when we go they will be left with umbilical cord in had asking," where do I plug this in?"

When God Says Go (Pt. 2)

2008-08-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

When God says to go and we finally obey, our "Esau" is waiting to for us. Jacob's brother had justifiable anger against Jacob. After all he stole his birthright and his blessings, took off in the night and left him to care for their mother after Isaac's death. Esau represents those things in our past that we've never dealt with and though they may lie dormant for years, there will be a day when we must face them. They usually crop up when as we begin to obey God and heed his will in our lives.

Jacob was told to return home, back to Canaan and take possession of what was God had promised. He was, after all, the heir with the birthright of the firstborn. The promise of God to Abraham and Isaac had been passed on to him, not Esau. But there was this little matter of unfinished business. And Jacob knew that everything hinged on him making peace with his brother. The way back to the center of God's will, the plan of God for Jacob's life, traveled through Esau's territory. And Esau had to be dealt with.

Whenever God gives me the command to "go" I ususally have to face my Esau. For me he represents things that come back from my past to haunt me. Or things I never took care of such as forgiving someone, righting a wrong, old fears, doubts. Usually it's an issue I have not resolved with another person. Bitterness or apathy has set in because I'd chosen to bury it instead of resolving it. It comes back and I have to deal with it.

Satan wants to trip us up and uses any scraps of sin, iniquity, attitude, fear, disappointment to keep us from entering into God's will. We stop, look at Esau and shake our heads. He's too much for us to handle. But Jacob, stayed back, prayed and had a plan according to what God told him to do. He dealt with Esau. And even after he made his gestures he wasn't sure if he would be forgiven. God knew and sent Jacob and his family into the promise where his enemy dwelt. God always takes care of obstacles, either by removing them, neutralizing them or giving us the grace to handle them. Don't ever let an Esau keep you from obeying God.

When God Says Go (Pt. 1)

2008-07-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Genesis is a fascinating book, filled with human stories of failure and triumph, faith and despair, sin and grace. The story of Jacob speaks deeply into my own deceiving heart every time I read it and brings hope in the darkness of my own unworthiness.

Jacob, like many of us, suffered from all kinds of character flaws and family issues. Treachery, jealously, favoritism, competition . . . you name it and it abounded in his past. Things weren’t much better after he left to find a bride. He got a healthy dose of his own deceitfulness and ended up slaving for his conniving Uncle Laban for twenty years. Finally, God spoke to him to return to Canaan (Genesis 31) where he would prosper, multiply and receive the land promised to his forefathers.

In chapter 32, Jacob makes his plans to leave. He packs up his 4 wives, 12 sons (and at least one daughter), staggering wealth and starts out for Canaan. He doesn’t get far before he hits opposition.
His first attack is spiritual. It seems Rachael has stolen the household gods, a major offense in that culture. They were more than just objects of worship, they served as a guarantee of inheritance. What does this say to me? Household gods . . . idols of worship . . . spiritual deities. These could represent a multitude of personal problems that we tote around with us. They interfere with our relationship with God and compete for His devotion. When God says go, we need to be totally and completely dedicated to him or the enemy will have an inroad into our spiritual lives. Something else will come between us.

It didn’t take long for Laban to discover the theft and takes out after them. When he catches up with them, Jacob, furious at Laban, vows that if he finds these gods, he will execute the thief in front of everyone. When they discover it’s Rachael, both ignore the vow. They make a covenant, have a meal over it and go on their separate ways. God will use whatever means necessary to rid/expose the idols in our lives. Laban, symbolic of the world, takes Jacob to task. And the sad part? Laban’s right. Ignorance, denial, false vows . . . none of these will fix the problem nor impress the world. If we just own up, do whatever is necessary to make it right, rectify the error, we do more to witness Christ than all the phony excuses or false piety could ever do. Call it what it is, make it right, move on.
And finally, there’s Esau.

To be continued . . . . .

A Snowflake in a Rain Storm

2008-07-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

I wrote this song some years back which evolved out of an English writing class I was taking at the time. Our text book was Montage, a very interesting study on the English language and the symbolism in the word pictures represented in our words. The phrase snowflake in a rainstorm turning over and over in my mind. The results was this song.

Children of the Light

Ever feel like a snowflake in a rain storm
Ever feel like you don't fit
Standing at the window
Nose against the glass
Wondering why they won't let you in

Standing in a crowd, they're all laughing
Until the moment you walk in
Suddenly they're silent, looking at their toes
Can't figure out what you just did

Bridge:
Our light shines bright
Sheds too much light
On things they don't want to be seen
But there's no way to hide
From the sin in our lives
Only Jesus can set us free
Set us free

Chorus:
Children of the Light
Children of the Light
Shining in the darkness bringing truth into the night
Children of the Light
Children of the Light
Shining in the darkness bringing hope and life

Sometimes we so want to be accepted and try with ever fiber of our being to be gracious, loving and accepting of those who have not been rescued yet. We approach, flashlight in hand, ready to show the way out of the dark tunnels where they are trapped like lepers. We turn on the light and they either shrink away or turn on us for exposing their disfigurement. Instead seeing their own need, they mock our wholeness is mocked and ridicule us for being too clean. Our rescue become our demise in their eyes. It wasn't our intent at all. We simply wanted to share our own source, our rescue, our way out.

We are Children of the Light and there is little we can do about that. We have forsaken our diseased selves for Christ's whole self, our faltering life for His victorious one and our blindness for His sight. We forget that the walking dead are blind and deaf still. They cannot see what we see and they are repulsed and frightened by the Light that would give them sight.

So the next time you feel like a Snowflake in a Rainstorm, remember you are a Child of the Light and it's not you that is on the outside looking in but Jesus.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spiritis in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. Eph. 5:8-10

The Nameless Longing

2008-06-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to imagine eternity? Or tried to comprehend the meaning of forever? Or gazed at the night sky tried to visual never ending? Every time you try to wrap your mind around infinity you feel it being stretched like a rubber band and if you don’t let go it will break.

Why do you think these concepts are so impossible for us to grasp? Oh, we understand the term, much like we understand black holes, atoms or algorithms but to really KNOW what it is, I can’t go there. My theory on why we can’t grasp forever is because it’s a visual of God, the great I AM, the eternal, everlasting.

Space and time are where we meet and get to know God. It’s a box, a controlled environment where He keeps us in a finite state, unable to move beyond His set boundaries for the purpose of preparing us for the Timeless, Limitless, Forever Now.

Honestly, can you imagine being released into His Unending Dimension in our twisted and corrupt state? Adam and Eve were created for the eternal now and I believe they understood what we can only name. They lived in both, realized both and blew it. When they fell, it was not only from innocence into sin, but from knowledge of eternity into the ignorance of time. And this for their own protection until the Second Adam put things right again.

Only through Christ are we reunited with the Eternal concept, with that sense of forever. Through Him we can gaze at the stars and though our finite mind may not “grasp” unending, our spirit understands the freedom we know is there. Just beyond time and space lies our true home and like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz we long to return to Kansas.

I think that’s why I’ve always loved fantasy and fairy tales. There’s something about the “other world” that draws me like a thirsty soul to water and I didn’t understand why until I realized it soothes my ache for eternity. Humanity was not created to short term existence. We hunger for more, for that union with God and the immortal BEing that awaits us. The “eternal weight of glory” as Paul called it.

So if you find yourself longing for something you can’t quite describe, it’s probably for that "thing" you can’t quite comprehend. You're probably longing for the eternal and nothing in time and space will satisfy it. And it’s okay.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” 1 Cor. 13:12

The Protection of Bondage

2008-06-05T06:49:00.004-07:00

I've been traveling through Genesis in my morning devotional time and revisiting the stories and personalities of the patriarchal era. The more I study these early dealings with God, the more amazed I am at the faithfulness of God. Screw-ups we are, all of us and yet God never tires of blessing us.

In Genesis 15, God tells Abraham that his descendants will be brought into bondage and oppression for 400 years but "I will also judge the nation whom they serve and afterward they will come out the many possessions." (vs. 14). This verse struck a deep chord in my heart as I read it. The words "afterward" and "many possessions" leaped off the page. I suddenly say my own life, the times I've been oppressed and in bondage (not sin) to situations, trials, testings and seasons. I look back at many of the tough times in my life . . . heck, my life as a whole and I see oppression, suffering and frustration. I've asked God "why?" sometimes receiving an answer but more often not. Until yesterday . . .

I remember the first time the Lord showed me about Israel's bondage. I was teaching a class on the Pentateuch and we were studying Exodus. As I prepared for the class it suddenly occurred to me (duh!) how important the bondage in Egypt was to the development of the nation Israel. God took the tiny embryo of a nation and placed it in the Egyptian incubator where it was protected, free from outside influence and kept pure (no inner marriage) and able to grow from a handful to a great multitude. Had the family stayed in Canaan, there would be no nation today. Outsiders would have infiltrated and the nation would have dissappated in a matter of a few generations. God used Egypt to prosper Israel and when they were released they were a mighty nation.

So it is with our bondages . . . God places us somewhere or in some situation (job, family, geographical location) and there we feel the sting of oppression. We moan and complain, struggle and lament often trying to understand what it is we did to deserve this. Sound familiar? But when we are finally delivered, we come out with many possessions. Usually they are spiritual possessions. Greater faith, understanding, wisdom, a better prayer life, better relationships . . . all which would never have been discovered or realized if it were not for our bondage. I can look back and see those times and what I gained that directly related to being stuck in some place I didn't want to be. As I've said over and over, God is sooooooo good and His mercies are never ending. Discovering His goodness sometimes means embracing the the suffering so we might gain the possession.

Gettin' Glory

2008-05-02T09:56:00.004-07:00

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Each April, screenwriters all over the country (maybe even the world) are invited to take the ScriptFrenzy Challenge—write a hundred page screen play in thirty days. The prize? A small icon that says “ScriptFrenzy 2008 Winner,” you can display on your website, in your signature or where ever.

At this point you may be asking yourself why? Why would anyone even want to torture themselves for thirty days for a little icon? For the sheer pleasure of having done it and knowing you pulled it off.

Well, one of the leaders in our Act One community sent out a group e-mail asking if anyone wanted to sign up. By February 29, over thirty Act Oners were set and ready to go.

I already had an idea and an outline so I thought I was in pretty good shape. I set a daily page goal and on April first wrote my first four pages. Well, it didn’t take long for me to fall behind. Act One homework, life and other writing managed to trump my ScriptFrenzy writing time. By the time I left for my short trip to Arizona on the 19^th I had less than 30 pages. Well, I still had plenty of time so I wasn’t too stressed. I’d planned on writing in Arizona so I thought I could catch up. Yeah, right! I got home on the 22^nd and was so tired the next day, I couldn’t write a word. The clock ticked away and I began to think I’d made a mistake signing up for this thing.

On the 24^th, I had to get my homework done for class on Saturday. Friday, the 25^th I asked God if I should just throw in the towel. “Not yet.” I planted myself in front of the computer but after a million interruptions only managed to bang out about 6 pages. This wasn’t looking good. Saturday was Act One class and then Sunday, which for me is not a writing day. *SIGH* That just leaves three days to write 59 pages. I felt like an acrophobic hiker being asked to climb Mt. Everest.

Monday rolled around and I prayed again. “Keep going.” I shrugged and sat down at my now place of torment—my computer. By five I had another 20 pages. Wow, my page count was not 61! But only one day left.

April 30 dawned bright and beautiful. “I must be crazy,” I told my sister as she left for work. “I’m going for it.”

Nine-thirty a.m. I bowed my head. “Lord. I don’t know why you want me to do this, but You do. So, I’m asking for a miracle. If you want this done, you’re going to have to do it.” I logged onto the ScriptFrenzy website and wrote these words on our Act One thread. “I’m still going for it.”

The following are my forum updates:

It's 1:30 pm, I'm a writing machine. I've got 70 pages and only 30 to go . . . I think my main character has slipped into Neverland and I can't find her. . . Oh well, I have a bunch of nuts willing to take her place. Write on.!
Just wanted to update my page count. It’s now 3:40 pm and I’m at 77 pages. I can—I can—I can.
Okay it's now 5:50, I'm at 82 pages. I certainly hope no one ever reads this mess. But it's been fun so far.
Yep. It's 7:05 and I'm taking a food break, eating as I write this . . . splot on my keyboard— ew . . .
I'm headed down the home stretch. Still got five hours and I am GOING TO FINISH THIS!!Thanks Tom for the encouragement. My prize is watching Lars and the Real Girl which my sis just rented. Can't ‘til I'm done.
Update: 8:25 and page 90. I'm at the big crisis. Hope I can pull it all together.
Wowzers, this is a trip. I've found out things about my characters I had no idea they were hiding. There's ever a murderer!! Idol is coming up at 9:00. Will I get 3 more pages before it starts?
I did it!!! I finished at 11:50 with ten minutes to spare. I am very proud to be a part of this rockin' group of writers. Congrats to all of you. You guys are the BEST!! Now where's the party??

So why did God want me to keep going? When Jesus learned Lazarus was sick, He waited four more days before going to Bethany. Instead of merely healing his illness, He planned a bigger event, resurrection.

God showed me that when I pray for something I believe is in His will, no matter how impossible it looks, He will do it! Oh, what's the name of my screenplay? "Gettin' Glory."

Life's Defining Moments

2008-04-27T05:06:00.002-07:00

As some of you know (or don't know), I am in the Act One Saturday Screenwriting Program here in Hollywood. Great program, great staff, great opportunity! We have classes three Saturday's a month with great instructors and yesterday was no disappointment. We talked about developing characters, using life defining moments to develop them and what make them who they are. But to get to that point, our instructor spent most of the morning discussing OUR most defining moments and how they have made us who WE are. It was eye opening.

Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are? Why you think or react certain ways, why you have certain flaws or strengths? Many of these character traits come from life changing incidents in our lives. It's the times when we are pushed up against the wall and must make a choice, a decision or take action that defines what our true character is like. Taking time to go over those moments can be a blessing and a bane. Most often it's hard and painful. We shrink back, turn our face and tell God we don't want to look at those things.

We are what we do, not what we say. I can say that I trust God but when a crisis comes, it's what I do that defines my true faith. Haven you ever been caught doing something you never thought you'd do? Yeah, me too. Many of our actions are triggered by past tragedies, wounds or disappointments where we were left holding ourselves and wondering why such a think happened to us. Often we harbor bitterness, fear, resentment and unforgiveness because of a life defining moment somewhere in our past.

I can remember one such incident when I was 10 and my paternal grandmother came to live with us. She was mean and I didn't like her. I'd only seen her one other time and so she'd never been a part of our family. She wasn't well and that was probably why. But no one in my family took the time to help me understand so I never felt anything for her but resentment. I can remember in the privacy of my own little world, praying that she would die. And then she did! She had a stroke and was gone, just like that. I blamed myself but was too afraid to tell anyone of my horrendous sin. I carried that sin, that fear, that guilt until I was in my twenties! It warped my relationship with God and was probably why I wandered away from Him early in my life. I couldn't face Him. Funny too, I didn't blame God, I blamed me.

I challenge you to sit down with pen and paper and scan your life. Start with the earliest years, pinpointing moments when something happened in your life that may have changed or developed the person you are today. Write them down and how they changed or molded your life. I bet you'll be surprised at what big effects even the smallest thing can have on your character development.

I've tried to find a scripture to add here but nothing specific comes to mind. Instead, God has used the whole of scripture to help us understand by way of story and example how life defining moments change and mold us. Abraham, David, Paul, Peter . . . all have many life defining moments that we can relate to. Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac. Paul and his conversion experience on the road to Damascus and Peter denying the Lord. These moments changed them forever. For good or bad, we too have moments that have changed us in a deep way. Discovering those can be life changing in itself.

Occupy "Till I Come

2008-04-09T08:34:00.001-07:00

American Christianity--who says it isn't powerful. We have it all! We have some of the largest churches in the world. In fact according to statistics, we are the most religious nation on earth with more churches, synagogues, temples and mosques per capita than any other country—one for every 885 people. Christianity in America is more alive than ever. Or is it? In a recent poll Christians were asked if they believed it was the duty of a Christian to evangelize people of other faiths. Only 24% responded yes while the other 76% didn’t think Christians should evangelize anyone. We’ve succumbed to apathetic ignorance. Most Christians today are not only ignorant of the Bible, but ignorant of their own faith. In addition, we’ve become apathetic, more concerned with our own interests. “That’s not my problem,” has become the catch all phrase for apathy today.

In Luke 19:11-27, (The Parable of the Minas) Jesus exhorts the readers to “do business” or “occupy” until he comes. But what kind of “business” are we doing? In our attempt to make the church attractive to the lost, we’ve adapted so much of the world system into our churches we are no longer a threat to mainstream society—except as voters. We run our churches as businesses and treat members as clients. . We have become user friendly and media savvy. We know how to advertise, put together a growth plan, offer programs, benefits, support groups and activities. We have learned to specialize. We measure a church's success by the size of its building, congregation and bank account. The church is so secularized, it has changed the way it views Jesus. Instead of the suffering servant he's become the successful steward.

But it wasn't so different in Jesus day. When Jesus started his ministry and did all those miracles and healings, he drew huge crowds. So huge that he had to sometimes get in a boat and row out from shore just so he could speak to the people. He fed five thousand, four thousand, walked on water, healed thousands, raised the dead, and turned water into wine. He was popular; he was a “success.” But toward the end of his ministry the crowds started dwindling. People turned and left, following him no more. What caused his ministry to fail? Yes, fail. According to the modern Christian standards of success, Jesus failed. He lost the momentum somehow and people began leaving his following. By the time he died only 11 disciples and a small band of men and women remained. The people left him because his plan wasn’t their plan. They wanted a king, someone to come in a take David’s throne and set them free from the Roman and religious oppression. He wanted to die for them and set them free from the oppression of sin. They wanted a victorious leader to overthrow the world system. He wanted to give them victory in the midst of the world system. They wanted a new kingdom. He wanted to give them new life. He died not giving them anything they wanted. But He died giving everything they needed. According to the standards of then and now, Jesus died a failure.

But then the most extraordinary thing happened. On that Sunday morning so long ago, just before the dawn met the darkness, a power came into that tomb, on the side of that hill, that shook the very foundation of the universe. The stone was rolled away and Jesus walked out of that grave alive. He changed the world forever

And now Jesus has gone to sit at God’s right hand, leaving us a mina and a command to “occupy and do business” until He returns. What is that mina? Literally, it’s a piece of money, but symbolically it represents the opportunity he gives us for ministry. You could say the mina is a work to do, an opportunity to do it and the tools with which to do it. However, the focus of the parable is not on the mina, but on the faithfulness.

As Christians, we are tempted to gage our success in ministry by the visible "fruit of success" like prosperity, prestige, power or prominence. But God is not interested in those marks of success. God is interested in the faithfulness of the servant not the greatness of the ministry. Neither the size of the work nor the greatness of the gifts nor the glory of the opportunity will be rewarded. That which will be commended is the faithfulness of the servant. Faithfulness is not a calling, it is a characteristic. Faithfulness is not a work it is a trait. Faithfulness does not focus on the goal but on God. Jesus taught much on faithfulness. “He who is faithful in little will be given much” and “the first shall be last” were words our Lord repeated often. These great themes are definitely not the American way but they are the Christian way. The world lusts for the recognition of the crowds. The Christian waits for the commendation of the King.

Faithfulness is not always exciting. Most of the time is means waiting patiently for God to move. Faithfulness means putting in for the long haul; enduring to the end. It is easy to be faithful in the heat of battle or in the glory of blessing. When we are being attacked, we know where to go for help. When we are being blessed, we know where to go to give thanks. But when we find ourselves in the midst of the mundane, faithfulness is like a heavy yoke we can hardly bear. The enemy especially delights in monotony, for in the “doldrums” of waiting he can find a listening ear. If the work isn’t going as we want or the opportunities slow to a dribble or if the inspiration fizzles, we begin to look for other fields to plow. God is far more interested in building faithful people than large ministries. There is no failure if you're focusing on God. But if the work has taken the place of the relationship or success has become more important than the Master your ministry has failed already.

It’s not the work, it’s not the gifts, it’s not the opportunity—it’s the Master! It’s the relationship to Him. It’s the faithfulness of the walk. Who is he that is faithful? The one whom the Master finds doing the work when He returns. James encourages us, “Therefore be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil being patient about it until it gets the early and late rain . . . You too be patient, strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is near.” (James 5:7-8) Occupy until He comes!

Expelled--the Movie

2008-03-30T21:12:00.001-07:00

'Expelled--No Intelligence Allowed'
A Review
by Rita L. Betti

On Friday evening, I attended a private viewing of BenStein’s movie “Expelled—No Intelligence Allowed” at the Director’s Guild ofAmerica here in Hollywood. I wasn’t sure what to knowing that Ben Stein isJewish and this wasn't about teaching creationism in the schools. But I didknow it was an important film, one I needed to review.

“Expelled—No Intelligence Allowed” is not about getting Godback into the classrooms except for the freedom to openly discuss Him alongsideof Darwin, Newton, Einstein and other scientists. This film is not aboutrestoring “religion” into our learning institutions or culture, it’s not aboutgiving the creationists, Christians, Jews or any other religious communitiesequal time to teach their religious beliefs. No it goes much deeper than that.

This film exposes the hidden discrimination and intolerancefor those who would dare give any mention of Intelligent Design as a possiblescientific theory for how life came to be. This film reveals how the scientificcommunity is not only pressuring society to accept Darwinism as the onlypossible answer for how life came about, it actually suppresses newfindings, condemns those who dare speakup by ostracizing and black listing them. This film reveals the actual campaignby Darwinists to eradicate any other possible theories by the repression offreedom of thought. This film must be seen.

In this film, Ben Stein, due to all of our new technologyscientists now have the ability to explore the complexity of the cell as neverbefore raising new questions and uncovering new evidence that Darwinism isunable to answer. Intelligent Design has been gaining notoriety and credibilityin recent years as an alternate explanation for the inception of life. But thescientific community dominated by Darwinists, rather than being open-minded andwelcoming discussion of new ideas, has turned a wrathful eye to those to any mentionof Intelligent Design labeling those who simply want to discuss thepossibilities as creationists and right wing fundamentalists.

Ben Stein carefully explores both the Darwinist andIntelligent Design positions, beliefs and underlying agendas. Many of theDarwinists state very pointedly that belief in God, religion and or even ahigher intelligence apart from ourselvesis not only ludicrous but downright dangerous thinking and should beeradicated. One of the biggest proponents of debunking the religious myths isRichard Dawkins who in his recent book “The God Delusion” gives his all againstGod and sets up Darwin as his new idol to bow down and worship, had plenty tosay about Intelligent Design but not very much in the way of explanation of howall that matter, minerals, elements and the like got here in the first place,which is the same problem all scientific theories have . . .

“Expelled—No Intelligence Allowed” is perhaps one of themost important films in the past forty years, focusing on the hypocrisy of the scientificcommunity as a free thinking, open minded and safe environment welcoming thediscussion and debate on all forms of ideas and theories. If this trendcontinues, we may find ourselves with no freedom at all.

Here I Am Lord, Send Me!

2008-03-12T09:12:00.002-07:00

I’ve been reading 2 Peter in my morning devotional time along with My Utmost for His Highest (O. Chambers). It’s amazing how God can coordinate readings so they speak the same words to the reader. Oswald Chamber spoke of total surrender to the Lord in a way that cuts across the grain of fleshly thinking and brings me down to the very core of my motives for wanting to give myself totally to Him. Chambers says the following:

We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ’This is what God has done for me.’” (My Utmost for His Highest March 12)

I have to rethink my reasons for surrender. Am I only interested in what I benefit? Do I really, really want God just for Himself or do I secretly, deep inside, want to BE the model Christian so people will be in awe over me?

I doubt anyone reading this has that type of motive or thinks that way consciously because in our conscious mind we KNOW that we need to love God and surrender to Him simply because He is. But in our subconscious mind, our soul, there lies a hidden agenda that can only be exposed by honesty.

To tie this in with 2 Peter 2 isn’t rocket science. Peter lambasts the false teachers in this chapter, very similar to Jude. He exposes their motives, their heresies and their bold proclamation of lies and deceptions. He warns the true children not to become listen to their perverted gospel nor engage in their practices. I believe the church in America has done just that . . . become the church that embraces a false gospel, demands gratification and deliverance from suffering, wants to look good before the watching world, and propagates sensuality.

Today as I prayed, I felt the sorrow and shame of what we’ve done, I felt as the pain of all the perversion and false teaching that has become American Christianity. It’s so like the drug war we are “fighting” in America. Drug use has escalated along with crime and all the follows. Likewise, false teaching has escalated turning hearts toward a prosperity gospel. God is calling an army to stand up for the truth, fight against this blight and be willing to suffer for the true Gospel!

I know what I’ve written here will not be popular with many; I make no apologies. As I prayed I also felt a bit like Isaiah:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send and who will go for US?” Then said, “Here I am. Send me!”Is. 6:8

I encourage anyone who is reading this to consider your motives for wanting to be totally given over to the Lord. If there be even one little mote of self in there, root it out. And join in with the cry of Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me!”

All You Need Is Love?

2008-02-23T09:24:00.002-08:00

God has me on a tight rope these days. I'm learning about Him the hard way. For the past three months I've been holed up in my little apartment, writing, alone mostly (except for my sis) no one to interfere. He wants me to understand how much I need Him, how much I need to focus on Him alone . . .

The words to that classic Beatles' song " rumble through my head as I write . . .

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.

There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy.

There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love
All you need is love,
All you need is love.
Love is all you need.

Sounds like a paraphrase from one of Paul's letters or perhaps John (not Lennon) penned these words . . . It could easily be a worship chorus or a Christian theme song . . . love-- the cry of the church today.

All we need is love . . . we hear it over and over again. Love conquerors all--Love covers a multitude of sins--Love is all we need. Now this in theory is soooo right on. God is love, love does cover a multitude of sins, love does conquer all . . . so if this is true, why oh why do we have such a hard time demonstrating this in the church? May I direct you to one little part of the lyric which is true (though not intended to be)

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game . . .

As Christians, (me included!) we proclaim to love others and then commit the worst atrocities of betrayal, slander, gossip, backbiting, competition and so on. Christian communities all over the map are rife with dissension, envy, jealousy, unwillingness to work together--all which totally void the love message. Yes, God DOES work in our midst, miraculously sending His word out to the masses through unworthy vessels but just think how powerful that message would be if it were not being sabotaged by our conflicting behavior. What if we actually did what John asks (1 John 1:6) and walked as Jesus walked.

This morning as pondered Oswald Chamber devotional for today, I realized I had it all wrong. Duh! My focus has been on love, loving, showing love, demonstrating love . . . love, love, love. (Love Is All You Need.) The OT folks had the same problem only their buzz word was obedience, obey the law, obey the commandments, obey obey obey. They couldn't do it. They failed. I too find myself a huge failure.

My focus should be on God, not on love. Love is not God but God is love. If I love God with all my heart, mind, soul first, then love will come. But if I'm trying to love in order to demonstrate God, doomed to fail. My focus must be on God and him alone. When I focus on love I display the most hypocritical kind of love (I've learned to "play the game.") Instead I need to focus on God, love God, submit to God, trust God and most of all devote all of myself to God. I find this the hardest thing. Usually I end up somewhere in walking in darkness.

If we say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness . . . 1 John 1:6

It's really not a new thing, it's really just the first two commandments. 1) love God 2) love your neighbor. When Jesus gave the new command (John 13:34) to love one another as he has loved us, He assumed the disciples (and me) understood that loving God first was a given. Hmmmm.

Why is it I always want to do something for God to show our love instead of simply loving him the way I ought-- first, foremost, always seeking Him, pursuing our relationship with Him . . . I don't know about you, but for me, it's fear. Not the good kind, the bad kind. I am simply afraid of Him. I don't trust Him, really, with my entire life. And that's all He wants, all of me. If I will turn my eyes to Him, love Him, let Him love me . . . then love will flow from my heart to others, pure, sincere and without hypocrisy.

. . . and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

(Note: These comments are directed at the visible church in the USA in general, not those individuals who are loving God with all their heart and walking like it)

See Through People

2008-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered why the church in America seems to be such an ineffective influence in today's society? Especially when you consider how many ways we have to communicate the gospel at our disposal. And we use them too . . . So why is it that our culture is headed for a Sodom and Gomorrah existence?

It's a loaded question and while I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers, I think I can shed some light on one contributing factor. Glitz. Yep, that's what I said, glitz. The church today seems to think each member should shine like a Marilyn Monroe diamond bracelet. We need to outshine the world, we need to make sure we are noticed and not just for our faith, but for all of our attributes, good works and love. Each of us are exhorted to go out there and shine for Jesus, put on our polished armor, spit shined shoes, halos and be counted for Christ. And never let them see you sweat . . . It's no wonder we're treated like snakes on a plane.

Jesus warned the disciples about being visible:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. Matt 6:5

I believe we have a problem with wanting to be seen today . . . huge churches, televised ministries, big Christian networks, big political voices and so on. None of these things are wrong in themselves but the more we take the stage, the more we come off like the Pharisees our Lord so condemned in His day. When we are visible Christ is hidden. If people are looking at me and saying what a wonderful Christian I am, something is wrong. Now granted, those of the world are going to notice us if even if we are transparent, but what they should be seeing is God's mercy, grace and goodness toward a sinner who doesn't measure up. I should be seen as a desperately in need of grace kinda person. Then not only will God get the glory but they well see there is hope for them.

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
Mark 10:18

These words came from Jesus' own lips. And HE was good enough to be called good. But he said this as an example that only God gets the glory, that's why He came.

Yes, we are to shine but as transparent light bulbs. It's not good enough for the light to shine IN us, it must shine THROUGH us.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Jesus said that we are to shine for only one purpose . . . so THEY may see and glorify God. We shouldn't have to do it for them. It's rather like this. John Doe is a great witness. His life is exemplary, he is successful, a bright shining star. He talks about how God did all this great stuff for him. Jim Heathen watches John, decides that John is either a phony or just one of those charmed people. He doesn't really believe John's charmed life is from God. Then we have Mike Bummer who is struggling just to make ends meet, has a bad attitude occasionally, maybe has some issues with his family, or marriage etc and generally isn't what you'd call a winner. But he loves God and seems to genuinely Him. Jim Heathen watches Mike and sees that his faith really does get him through all the garbage. Maybe if God loves a not so good guy like Mike, He can love Jim too.

Transparency isn't something that just happens overnight. God allows us to go through a trials, tribulations, ups and downs, whatever it takes to make us let go of ourselves and be just what we are . . . sinners saved by grace. That is the hope of Christ, the good news, the living word the Lord wants to shine through us. This kind of faith isn't for the gutless and wimps. This calls for a daily humility pill. It calls for courage and a willingness to be transparent. John the Baptist's words ring out. "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Let me ask one question: If Jesus came to you and said, "I have a wonderful ministry for you, many people will come to know me I will use you mightily but there's one catch. You will have to go undercover, no one will know nor recognize you and you will get no credit, no pay, and no pats on the back. Ya in?"

What would your answer be? That's just exactly what He is asking . . . the problem is He has few takers. Think about Paul's words and ask yourself---which am I, glitz or see through.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 2 Cor. 4:7-10

Heart Food

2008-01-27T06:28:00.000-08:00

As I’ve said, I’ve been walking through Hebrews and this morning I stumbled across a small verse that has a huge message. Isn’t it strange how the Holy Spirit can open the “eyes of the heart” (Eph. 1:18) in an instant and something we never noticed is brightly illuminated. And we say “Aha!”

Here’s the verse: “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.” Hebrews 13:9

Now on the outside it looks innocent enough but read it over a couple of times and see if the Lord says anything in particular. I’ll share what He showed me.

Is my heart strengthened by grace? Or do I continually seek “foods” to strengthen me? Grace is a tough thing for it is totally a God thing and I have no part in its making, its execution or its rewards. I can only stand in it. (Romans 5:2) And here’s the kicker . . . do I believe grace is enough? Or do I continually run to other means of strength for my heart.

In the Old Testament, the sacrifices were offered as a substitute for sin and often the one who did the sacrificing would eat certain parts of the animal. I would imagine he thought this somehow endowed him with some sort of extra covering or grace. But of course, it didn’t.

Bringing that to today, it seems I’m constantly trying to strengthen my own heart with my own “foods” or things I do to make myself more worthy. And there are plenty of strange teachings that will support this aberration of faith. It was the same back in this writer’s day. Paul wrote the book of Galatians to specifically address that problem.

Now back to this issue . . . grace is all we need. It’s all that’s acceptable. If I bring (or eat) anything else to the altar except for myself, it’s an abomination and God will have none of it. Grace is the only way we can approach God. Empty handed, palms open, humbled and ready to do His will. Anything less only wastes our time and God's.

What sacrifice am I to bring? Hebrews 13:15, that's what.

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Heb. 13:15

Faith Masters

2008-01-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

The 11th chapter of Hebrews reads like the credits of an Academy Award-winning movie. The credentials of these Faith Masters make them sound like super-heroes, bigger than life, the A-list of Biblical saints and I feel small and inconsequential beside of them. Because God did amazing things in their lives and I tend to over look the average. They are the “biggies” of the Bible and I tend to forget how human they really were. From Abraham the liar to David, the adulterer, their lives were stained, and their faith often lost. I’m reminded of Elijah’s victory over the 400 prophets of Baal only to flee from the threats of Jezebel. And yet God counted each of them as righteous for one reason. Faith.

In the beginning of the chapter, the writer gives us this golden definition of faith:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1 NASB)

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I had to work really, really hard to get through high school algebra with a B-. For some reason the abstract quality of formulas throw me. I need a picture, something I can see and apply. To me, this definition of faith reads like an algebraic formula; abstract, vague and inapplicable.

The other day, my travels brought me again to this Hebrews Hall of Heroes and the faith definition so elusive to me. Determined to understand, I prayed for clarity (James 1:5) and voila!

And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 NASB

It is like a math formula: A= B + C

However, B and C have always been illusive to me until God revealed that the interpretation is in verse six. Like this (bear with me):

In verse 1 it say that faith is the assurance of (1) things hoped for, which corresponds to God being a rewarder of those who seek him and (2)the conviction of things not seen, corresponding to the belief that God is. It also says that without faith (the according to the previous sentence) it is impossible to please God.

Okay, so now Ms. Non-math person . . . so what?

God asks so little of us, just believe, just trust, just take Him at his word. Do I believe He is? Sure, for me that’s not hard. But it’s the second part I struggle with, the part where I believe He rewards my seeking. I fail to realize that my rewards are not of this world, that I am here to train for the REAL life ahead. That my rewards for here are all the promises which can be summed up in Jesus’ words, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5) And believing that makes me a Faith Master too.

There are only three kinds of people; those who can count and those who can't.

Home With the Lord

2007-12-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

My Dear Family,

My husband, Joseph Betti, went to be with the Lord early Tuesday morning (December 18) and is now free from all the constraints of his sickly body and this world's trials. I rejoice he is no longer suffering. My heart breaks because we will miss him during this time of separation. Our family is strong, loves Jesus and is holding up well. We have a busy two weeks so keep us in your prayers.

Jesus Wept

2007-12-17T12:01:00.001-08:00

The shortest verse in the New Testament (perhaps the whole Bible) and perhaps one of the most profound. Jesus, being God incarnate and knowing the end of all things, the victories, the accomplishments and the end to sin and death, still wept at Lazarus' tomb. It has never ceased to amaze me how so very human our savior was while here.

Hebrews 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

The death experience from a human standpoint was just one of the things Jesus suffered. Lazarus was a dear friend and when he died, Jesus wept. His tears identify Him with me . . . and me with Him. He enters into my sorrow; I enter into His victory. Sin breaks God's heart because it causes separation from Him; not only is this life but for all eternity. Jesus wept . . . sin is a horrible tragedy.

In 2004, my mother passed away in late October making Christmas a bit blue. Last year we lost my brother-in-law in early December. This year, both my husband and my father-in-law hang on by a breath, ready to go any moment. It's hard.

Jesus wept . . . these two words mean so much to me. I feel Jesus' compassion, His understanding, His sorrow and I know He knows. He's been there. I also praise Him for calling Lazarus from the grave as a preview for all that was and is to come.

For now, separation is painful and tears don't wash away the sorrow. But one glorious day we shall be reunited. Because Jesus wept . . . and then went on to conqueor!

In these victorious words of Paul I rejoice!!

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Cor. 15:54-57

I Got the Power . . . or do I?

2007-12-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

I can’t seem to get away from this issue of faith. No matter what I read, where I go, what I do . . . it all seems to come back to the matter of faith. Today is no different. *sigh*

Psalm 8 “happened” to be my devotional scripture for today; a familiar Psalm filled with messianic prophesy and promise, discussion of Jesus and David’s praise to God for His mercy. But as I read, the eyes of my heart popped open and I saw what I hadn’t seen before. Sound familiar? Here’s what got me going.

What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet, (Psalm 8:4-6)

What God showed me isn’t earth shattering, nor are you going to go away with some “new” revelation. No, it’s more like you’ll be confirmed (or convicted) in what you already know. Bear with me. . .

Adam and Eve, created in God’s image were to rule over the earth and all its inhabitants. They were created immortal, innocent, powerful, extremely intelligent and as Psalm 8 says, a little lower than the angels. I don’t think lower here suggests a lesser position/rank, but a lesser ability since angels, unrestricted by time and space, had the freedom to move about “heavenlies” which Adam and Eve lacked. They did possess, however, the authority to rule the earth. The authority is what I want to focus on.

There is a lot of talk today about authority; about having the authority to do this and that in Jesus or in His name. I have heard so much about just taking up our rightful authority against the principalities and powers, against demons and the devil . . . that they have to obey us and on it goes. Now don’t get me wrong, we do have authority, just not the authority that is popularly being taught today. What does this have to do with faith? I’m gettin’ there.

Jude addresses this problem in his letter and doesn’t have any kind words to say about those who have no regard for the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Who presume to wield power over that which is not theirs to rule. Here’s what he has to say:

Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Jude 8-10

Jude is referring to people in the church who take on the spirit world like Gingus Khan and teach others to do so. No wonder people get upset with God or turn away. It’s like giving a dog the keys to the car and expecting him to drive. It’s cruel to tell a person they have something they don’t and then tell them it’s a “lack of faith” when their efforts fail.

Now I can hear some of you mumbling (or yelling) your protests from here. So if we don’t possess the authority to boss demons around or solicit angels or rebuke the devil then just what authority do we have?

But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name John 1:12 (Amplified Bible)

We have the authority, the right to become children of God; the authority over our own choices. ALL other authority belongs to Jesus and Jesus alone. Only He has the authority to command anything. (Matt. 28:18, Eph. 1:18-23, Col. 2:8-10)

So why am I making such a big, big deal of this, for heaven’s sake. Because I believe this is the source of “failed faith;” an error in our theology and thinking that is making shipwreck of true faith. Without faith, it says in Hebrews (11:6) that it is impossible to please God. When we have our faith twisted by error, we make it very difficult to have a pleasing relationship with God. Our walk becomes strewn with failure and hard to bear. We rail at God (or want to) wondering why He is so distant, so hesitant to come to our aid or why He lets such garbage happen to us and our loved ones. We rebuke the enemy and he seems to keep on comin’ or we try to claim promises and have that super faith that will somehow make it happen. Only to wake up and find that the yarn has indeed unraveled yet again.

The only authority Adam and Eve had was over the earth which they lost to Lucifer at the Fall. When Jesus came as the second Adam (Son of Man), He reclaimed that authority by satisfying the debt against us through the cross. His resurrection secured the inheritance, the dominion and the ownership of creation. Jesus, the Firstborn, now holds all authority which His Father gave to Him. They only way we have any access to that authority at all is through our own regeneration by which we die to ourselves and are raised into Christ, becoming His Body. Yielded to Him, HE wields the power through us as instruments (sorta like a magic wand or better a musical instrument.) The clarinet cannot play itself but needs a musician to make beautiful music.

We need only to be that instrument, letting the Master use us as He intends. No struggle, no strife, no having to muster some sort of super natural faith . . . just resting in His will.

THE Word

2007-11-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

John 14:12

Do I believe this? I mean really, really believe this? Do I walk as if this is as true as my own breathing?

This morning in my prayer and devotional time I began the book of Hebrews (again) and as usual, God opened the eyes of my heart to read the deeper meaning in the first four verses of the first chapter. I’m always amazed at the truth that pops out when the Holy Spirit is the interpreter! As I read those first verses I heard the Lord strong . . . “This is my beloved Son; hear Him!”

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Hebrews 1:1-2

These three verses contain so much power it blows me away. I’m reminded in Genesis 1 that God SPOKE the world into existence. “Let there be _____.” And it was so.

In John 1:1-3 John writes:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

And also in Colossians 1:16

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

Jesus was not only present at the creation, He was the instrument of creation. The WORD was the spoken words of God. God spoke and His words were Jesus Himself, the pre-incarnate Christ, the Word of God.

The second part of the equation is in Hebrews 1:3

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Of course we know the purpose of His death but for me at least, the purpose of His resurrection takes on a deeper meaning from these verses. He had to reconcile us first before He could be the vehicle for God’s power to flow through us. He is still THE WORD of God (made flesh) and still “upholds all things through the word of His power;” the same Word that was with God, the same Word that created the world. And now that Word dwells in us. Without the resurrection, I’d simply be a redeemed sinner waiting to escape the judgment of this world. But by His resurrection, I now contain THE WORD of God.

So how does this translate to me, to you, to our present position here in this world?

I possess within my being, the living WORD of God, powerful, connected, the pathway through which the Father can speak just like He spoke on that first day. It’s not up to me to figure out how to use “the power” or try to claim through Christ, anything so it will come to pass. No, the problem with the modern church is that it assumes we can wield the power of God as His children. We can’t . . . only God can speak through us by the power of The Word! When we accept Christ and He comes to dwell in us, what really happens is God places The Living Word in us so He can speak through us just as He’s always done (as it says in Hebrews) through the Word, His Son.

That’s why Jesus told his disciples that they could do all the things He (Jesus) did, and more “because I go to the Father.” His death provided the clean vessel, His resurrection provided the transplant.

Now Philippians 4: 13 takes on a brighter, more hopeful meaning, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Do I believe? Let me answer with this passage from the gospel according to Mark:

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24

Ant Wars: Horde of the Wings

2007-11-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I stumbled upon this extraordinary event one day a year or so ago and luckily had my camera with me. A real ant war between the red and black ants that took place in the air, on the steeple and the ground. I fear the film footage isn't top quality but I had fun with it. Hope you enjoy it too.

Faith Never Felt So Scary

2007-11-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know me Philip?”

I have walked with the Lord for over 34 years and yet this verse haunts my soul. It’s as if Jesus himself is seated across from me, sadly shaking His head and asking me the same question. “Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know me, Rita?”

Why is it I struggle so with believing the Lord? I have experienced His grace and mercy, watched Him work miracles, known Him to never fail and been blessed abundantly time and time again. And yet at each new challenge I stand at the precipice and fearful, doubting, wondering if this time I will fall headlong into darkness. It’s not that I doubt He is able; it’s that I doubt my own. And THAT’S what gets me into trouble . . . Me.

You’d think by now I’d have gotten over the temptation to look to myself to carry out the Lord’s will. After the gazillionth time of failing and realizing I don’t have what it takes, you’d think I wouldn’t even go there. Well, here I am, faced with yet another challenge, standing at the precipice and feeling as though I shall drop off into oblivion if I step out.

This is the scenario. God calls Rita to return to writing > God calls Rita to write screenplays > God teaches Rita how to write screenplays AND gives her a renewed ability to write novels AND closes all doors to other types of writing > God shuts down ALL other avenues of ministry > God calls Rita to move to LA > God sells Rita’s house, provides a tidy profit AND provides her sister as a support and co-worker in His ministry in Hollywood > God puts Rita and her sister in LA in the midst of the industry and gives her everything she needs to write > Now God asks Rita to NOT return to work at Starbucks but to WRITE . . . Why oh why is she fearful?

I circle back to John 14; to the disciples listening to Jesus tell them that He is going to prepare a place for them and will come back to get them at some undisclosed time. Thomas and Philip want Jesus to give them more information; to explain things and show them how this will be done. But instead of more details Jesus, sadly asks “Have I been with you so long and YET you have not come to know me? Do you NOT believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?”

Do I believe that? Have I not come to know Him? I have been with Him a long time and yet I still waver, still doubt, still stand at the precipice and ask Him to show me more . . .

I have come to realize that for whatever reasons, I still look to my own ability to fulfill God’s plan. Will that change? Who knows but I’m not going to sit around and wait. I’m jumping. God is able and that’s all I need to know.

Welcome to Hollywood, Rita.

God's Portraits

2007-10-17T17:23:00.001-07:00

Listening to music is a full-bodied exercise for me having grown up as a dancer. I can't just listen to music with my ears, I listen with all of me and it can be quite exhausting. Music touches every part of my being and often heightens my senses, my mental processes and my mood (as God fully intended when He gave us music) creating pictures and generating ideas while playing my emotional chords.

Such was the case this morning as I drove to work, Jars of Clay booming through my car, my body, my mind. The song "The Art In Me" reverberated deep into my soul and as I listened to the words, I began to picture God as the Great Artist, working on individual canvases, creating great portraits of His children one stroke at a time. In His studio were millions of portraits in progress, some just a few brush strokes so obscure it was hard to tell anything about the person, while others were half finished, shadowy eyes, faint lips, beauty emerging but not yet clear and still others were bold and beautiful, resembling the Master but each with it's own individual beauty and features. And in the midst of the studio, sat God, patiently working

This isn't the first time I've thought about our rebirth as being given a clean canvas upon which God begins to paint a portrait of the person HE created and originally intended for us to be. But sin and self-deception working through our free will formed an aberration which God in His mercy wiped away leaving a white canvas for the Lord's recreation. On that clean canvas, the Master begins to paint, every so carefully, a beautiful picture of the person we really are. But it takes time, brush stroke by brush stroke. Others around us begin to see the beauty emerge but we only know that it is a painful process involving many changes that are sometimes hard to understand.

Our life here are in preparation for what lies ahead in eternity. As we work our way through this life, we forget that this is the forming stage of our eternal being, the part where we get to be remade into the likeness of Christ. Nothing here in this world is permanent except what God does in our lives. Everything else will pass away. We are a Portrait-In-Progress, unfinished as yet, still being sketched. One day we will be finished and ready for our place in God's "gallery", a living work of art, ready for His intended purpose forever.

We won't be finished until we are home with the Lord so for now the words to the song haunt me and I realize I'm just a work in progress . . . but there is great art in me.

In your picture book I'm trying hard to see
Turning endless pages of this tragedy
Sculpting every move you compose a symphony
And you plead to everyone, "see the art in me"
"The Art In Me" Haseltine/Jars of Clay 1995

As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:13

. . . until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

I Don't Want to Be a Waffle

2007-10-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

I had my first review as assistant manager yesterday. I did well; no surprises, no gold stars but adequate. However there were two areas I need to work on--weaknesses that I've struggled with all my life. Ambiguity and handling stress.

Being the over-achiever that I am, I felt disappointed in myself that after all these years I still struggle with these two issues. I know I'm not a natural leader, that I prefer someone else to make decisions and I'll follow their lead. I'm a great back up. My manager even chuckled when she told me I do all she asks and follow through with tasks but I need to take more initiative; to step out there and seek my own ways to fulfill the requirements of my job . . . in other words be a manager! I nodded and agreed this has always been a problem for me.

As I prayed this morning about this (and the handling stress issue) wondering how this applies to my Christian walk and relationship with the Lord, I began to see that I waffle in my faith too. Not with classic unbelief for like Paul "nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day"(2 Tim. 1:12) but in my own decision making. I fall back, fearful of taking the wrong path, making a mistake, choosing to do the wrong thing and "wait on the Lord." Now don't get me wrong, waiting on the Lord is essential but I fear I'm taking it in a direction God never intended (at least for me!) I think my waiting on the Lord is my way of avoiding making a decision.

As I prepare for my new life and work in the movie industry, I see God has been trying to toughen me up, build my confidence, push me from my comfort zone and help me to understand that where I'm headed if I remain a "waffle" I'll be eaten alive!! (Sorry for the pun.) I need to be ready to make decisions and move on a seconds notice, to walk through doors and take risks. God wants His children to be innovative, risk takers, to be steadily moving so that when an opportunity arises we're there to move on it. God wants me out of my comfort zone. For some people who are natural leaders and risk taker, this type of behavior is natural and they need to back down. However, I need to rely on the Holy Spirit for that instant wisdom and not be afraid of making a mistake. I think under it all lies Pride . . . ugh! I fear I will make a mistake and look foolish. There I've said it. Pride strikes again.

As for the stress, I have to admit I don't handle it well. I just need to throw myself on the Lord, trust His spirit to pull me through and rest in Him even in the highest times of stress in my job. When the hordes keep coming and the pace is break-neck, where can I run? To Jesus.

No matter how long one is in the service of the Lord, growth never stops.

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:12-13

When God Moves

2007-09-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've been caught up in a whirlwind lately . . . one that came almost too suddenly and I found myself wanting to scream, "Slow down Lord!" Odd isn't it, we pray and wait and beg God to move. He usually seems to act so slow. Then when the time is right for Him to move it's often with a "mighty wind" and we find ourselves swept along at breakneck speed. Such is the case with me.

It seemed for such a long time I prayed for God to show me what direction He wanted me to go in. "Wait, it's not time." That's all I heard. Then after some very traumatic events happened in my life early in this year, I suddenly found myself caught in a flood of activity, not all of it understandable. But knowing God as I do, I was confident He'd put it all together and show me the whats & wherefores of all His actions. New job, new lifestyle, new direction . . . all seem so overwhelming. But now it's coming together and lo! I'm actually entering the "vision" He gave me over two years ago. It was an abrupt 180 degree turn from where I was headed and only God could have done it.

When He made it clear He wanted me to return to writing and write screenplays, He might as well have said "Grow wings and fly to the moon." That's how totally impossible it seemed. All my questions, doubts and fears were met with the same response . . . "Obey and I will do all you can't do. I will make it come to pass." Shrugging my shoulders and figuring He is able no matter how ludicrous His plan seemed I moved forward. At each turn, I found Him able to get me over the next mountain. He even had me list my house in the absolute worst real estate market and have it sell in one week. He guided my sister to Arizona only to have her find employment in Arcadia, a mere hop from Hollywood, knowing that I wouldn't be able to make the move on my own. What mercy! What grace!

And now, having just rented an apartment in Toluca Lake (just down the street from Warner Brothers) I'm in awe!! I just sit and shake my head. Of course all of this isn't without the enemy's dabbling. The old fox has tried to meddle with every aspect of God's working. But that only confirms that it's God's will working. An old pastor of mine once said that if there's an open door but no opposition, beware--Satan wants us to walk through that one, knowing it's not the one God wants. But if there is an open door and opposition, that's the way to head. And there has been opposition all the way, but thanks be to God who always leads in triumph!

Keep me in your prayers as these final days close for me here in Arizona. I need to transfer in my job and I need escrow to close on my house with no glitches.

If Wishes Were Prayers

2007-08-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

On one of the writers' forums I frequent, someone posted a question about wishes. "If wishes were...then finish it. What's your wish?" When I read that I started thinking about wishes verses prayers. Have you ever wished something but somehow didn't really have the courage to pray about it? That led to a whole mental investigation into what we believe constitutes legitimate prayers and what we would deem simply wishful thinking?

Several years ago in one of the Bible Studies I was leading, we came to a certain Psalm (which escapes me at the moment) dealing with prayer and faith. I remember thinking at the time that many of us have things in our lives we desperately wished God would do/grant but somehow never quite had the faith to lay them before the Lord in prayer. I began our study with everyone writing down this question: If God said he would grant you one wish, what would it be? I had them lay it aside until the end of the study and then went back to apply the lesson to the wish. Are wishes things we haven't the courage nor the faith to lay before God?

Years later, I realize that part of my problem with prayer is I spend a great deal of time praying for things that Jesus said to not worry about and that God would take care of and not enough time about things that really matter and need to be addressed in prayer. Among those things would be relationships (both with God and others) current works in progress, the next item on God's list for me to do, opportunities I would miss without God's insight, temptations/trials and those "wishes" I have kept deep in my heart. Now, we may not spend a lot of time on our knees praying about our physical needs but I bet each one of us spends a great deal of time thinking about them.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

Have I REALLY taken this literally? Or do I worry and pray about these things. I believe if I realize that God has all these things taken care of I am freed to concentrate on His Kingdom and what He wants. Where I live, how I dress, what I eat, what kind of car I drive, even where I work and so on are all things that God has taken care of and I'm to go beyond this daily bread praying to other things.

This life is only temporary, the things here will pass away. The ONLY ETERNAL things here in this world I deal with are souls, period. That is God's focus, it's why he sent Jesus. He didn't send his Son to redeem things, only people. All these things shall pass away. And to those who have families and are raising children I would say. Yes, provision for your families is important but God has already seen to that. Teaching our children about this truth is more important than wasting time on stuff. There's a difference between raising responsible citizens and materialistic residents. If they see us stressing over this world's goods, they will grow up to do the same. Amazing how we pass on our sins and then wonder why our children do what they do.

Back to the wishes . . . what are yours? Are they worth bringing before God? Do you want to travel to other countries, have financial freedom, or perhaps you wish you had pursued another career or the ministry. Whatever it is, begin to consider your wishes as prayer requests. You might be very surprised at what God wants to do in your life.

The Problem with Umbilical Cords

2007-08-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I’ve been struggling with some separation issues with one of my children and have been spending a lot of time in prayer and meditation about the problem. I had been feeling as though I were letting my youngest down because of a God-directed decision that seriously affected his future. As thoughts of decision reversal began to weaken my stand, God gave me this picture of my son, umbilical cord in hand looking at me as if to say . . . “So NOW where do I plug this in?” It was then I realized I’d been his life source for far too long and God wanted me to unplug him and let him go.

That picture brought up the whole issue of spiritual/emotional umbilical cords and that as Christians it is imperative we are plugged into the right life source. I can look back in my life and see where most of the time I plugged mine into the wrong place and as a result received little or no proper nourishment and major disappointment and discouragement.

As parents we are to transfer our children’s spiritual umbilical cords from us to God as early in life as reasonably possible. However, how many of us are truly plugged into God ourselves? Marriage, family, spouses, parents, material possessions, abilities . . . are all common, albeit inadequate plug-ins. Whatever we have put on the same level (or higher) constitutes a plug-in. How many women are plugged into their husbands expecting them to supply their emotional needs and spiritual guidance? Or how many men are plugged into their jobs/careers with the same expectation?

Umbilical cords; the life line humanity. We are all plugged into some source but like me, most of us don’t realize that we’ve plugged into the wrong place and wonder why are lives are spiritually weak or emotionally unstable. Perhaps it’s time trace it’s source and see just exactly where it’s plugged in. You might be surprised.

Let-Us, the Main Ingredient

2007-08-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

"Arise and go to the place I have shown you." The latest word from the Lord.

Amazing how God will move mountains to get you where you are supposed to go when you're supposed to go! (Did that make any sense at all?) Back in 2005 when the Lord made it abundantly clear He wanted me writing screen plays and involved in Hollywood (much to my horror), I knew then I would eventually have to move to HW. At that time, I didn't see how that would be possible given my circumstances and the things that would miraculously have to change. Well, those thing changed and almost all obstacle have been moved out of the way. Now, it's just selling my house and moving.

Not to change the subject, but have you ever noticed that God often gives us a direction and leads us into a situation that on the onset seems like He has a certain goal in mind? Then as we work our way along the path and things don't go as smoothly as we thought they should we realize He had another deeper goal in mind? And we also realize that if we had known His deeper intention we probably would have balked at following Him? For instance . . .

I went to work for Starbucks in May as an Assistant Manger trainee. The first month was such a challenge I threatened to quit nearly every day. As I whined my way along the training route, God began to show me things about my training and my job that were meant to shore up past weaknesses. It was quite humbling after many years of being "top dog" at my previous profession to find myself at the bottom and I didn't like having to look up all the time. When I finally got through my initial training and moved on to my first location, I found myself severely experience-challenged and had to work double hard to gain the respect of the partners (employees) at the store. Then about 6 weeks in, my manager decided to quit and a new manager took over. Little did I know that he actually did many things wrong and I'd learned some very bad habits.

Now I'm two weeks into re-training and learning to adapt to yet another leadership style. But this is the interesting thing. After whining to the Lord about the work load, changes and all the other stuff I deal with at my job, the Lord revealed to me that my position at Starbucks is actually training for Hollywood and the movie industry. How can I function if I haven't been trained to be tough and have endurance to take the long days required in the industry? So it's more than just a job, it's like boot camp. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. He will never send us into battle unprepared and He uses our everyday circumstances to provide that training.

So, the whole moral to this little tale is just this: "Nothing is by chance, everything is meant to build and prepare. God has not miscalculated nor forgotten our weaknesses and will use every circumstance to build us into the very likeness of Jesus."

To back this up, God gave me a specific scripture out of Hebrews.

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:19-23

These verses are the confirmation that I need to let God do His part (vs 19 & 20) and concentrate on doing my part (vs 21 & 22) which is so simple its nearly impossible. I simply need to draw near in faith and hold fast to the promises. All of the rest is God's job.

Let-Us . . . The main ingredient.

It Is Finished!

2007-07-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading in the book of Hebrews for the last couple of weeks and I’d forgotten how wonderfully encouraging is its message. I struggle with the same old fears and doubts that plague all of God’s people and in this book I find an oasis of hope and assurance the puts everything into perspective.

Which brings me to the topic of today’s blog. In Matthew 6:33-34, Jesus reminds us that if we want God’s peace and victory in our lives we must first seek His kingdom and all of the things He promises will be added to us. Well, what if we turn that around for a moment and write it like this:

Seek first the kingdom of the self and its lusts and all the sins of the flesh will be added. Now I don’t consciously seek the kingdom of self anymore than any of you do. But when I’m on the throne, that’s exactly what happens. ALL the sin of the flesh is added to my life and the possibilities of unrighteousness are limitless.

Jesus came so we might have the opportunity to live as he lived here on earth. If that were not true, God’s commands to do so would be cruel and unjust. By his own work and words on the cross (IT IS FINISHED) Jesus proclaims that our part of this new covenant is simply to accept it and enter into his finish work to become the righteousness of God and walk in his steps. We remain there until the last possibility of sin is destroyed and death is eradicated. (1 Cor. 15)

Victory lies in the believing not the doing. It is finished!! I can add nothing.

How Simple!

2007-06-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

It’s amazing how much time I spend trying to do important works for God. I don’t know about you but sometimes I look back over my life and wonder just how much of what I’ve done has any eternal value at all. In fact, I’m beginning to think I don’t have a clue as to what “eternal value” even looks like. What is really important? Which deeds will even be considered rewards worthy? What warrants a crown?

In my devotional time this morning I “happened” across this verse in Titus which seemed to answer my question with succinct simplicity. “Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14) Isn’t it odd how we make it so hard when it’s really very simple. In a nutshell:

ENGAGE IN GOOD DEEDS

TO MEET PRESSING NEEDS

That’s what it’s all about; meeting needs. If we follow this simple directive with both believers and non-believers, we can't go wrong. Our fellow believers have needs; fellowship, comfort, love, compassion and deficits in the world's goods while non-believers need the same but also have a pressing need to meet Jesus. No only is it a simple calling but it's a simple fulfillment because God gives us the tools (Ephesians 1), the wisdom (James 1) and the power (Philippians 2) to do whatever He sets before us to do. For some reason we think it’s the quality of the deed not the quality of the obedience that is to be rewarded. It’s now what we do . . . it how we do it. Jesus said in John 15:5 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” As Watchman Nee once said, “It’s not that we can do nothing without Jesus; it’s that whatever I do without Jesus is nothing.”

I think when we get to the Bema Seat of Christ, we are all going to gasp in awe when the "greats" come forward for their rewards. Not the ones we'd have picked in this life, I'm sure. Will any of my deeds make it? Probably, but I'm certain they won't be the ones I've been banking on. The rewards will be given based on obedience and attitude, not quality and quantity and I am sure many of mine will simply not make the cut.

So from now on, I just want to fulfill the Great Commission by following Jesus' lead in doing good deeds by fulfilling pressing needs. It makes life so much simpler to know I only have to follow Jesus’ lead.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

The Hem of His Robe

2007-05-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

When Jesus says to us “Come and follow me” we immediately lay down whatever we’re doing and fall in beside Him. The “follow Me” part is a mere formality and we happily walk along beside Him like an old chum. At first the road supports the tandem journey; there are few hills and the width remains adequate for the two of us. However, it doesn’t remain that way for long.

Soon it narrows and becomes more difficult to negotiate. One of us has to take up the rear and again, we seem to forget the “follow Me” part and dash on ahead. For a while the past is still discernible and though the going is slow, we still make progress. We turn a corner and the path disappears altogether and to make matters worse, a small band of bandits lying in wait, steal our goods and leave us bloodied beside the road. “Where was Jesus?” we ask. “How could He let this happen to me.” Wounded and demoralized, we make our way back in search of Him.

The path back seems different now, dotted with small directional signs, side trails and markers and we wonder how we missed them. We limp slowly along and finally see Him, there, to the east, waiting just a few yards down a different path, one we barely remember passing.

“Why didn’t you tell me we were going a different way?” we yell. He says something inaudible. We move a bit closer. “What did you say?” His lips move but we still can’t hear so we move to the fork and ask Him again. Still unable to make out his words we walk to His side and lean in close. And in His still, small voice we finally hear, “Follow Me.”

The Hem of His Robe

I long to see
His eyes
His Smile
His scarred hand
Extended

To gaze upon
His face
His crown
His peaceful brow
Unfurrowed

And I shall one day
Til my heart is full
But for it's His heels
And the hem of His robe
That captures my
Undivided attention

Prayer . . . a Joy or a Job?

2007-04-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

After YEARS of struggling with all the guilt and anguish of the discipline of prayer, I finally have come peace about it. It's been a long and pain-filled journey, fraught with trial and error, groping my way along the corridor of truth in search of what God really asks. As we know, the teaching in the scripture on prayer is plentiful. After much study, I've finally realized (duh!) that it's a relationship and not a discipline. Granted the discipline is necessary or the relationship is under developed. And I think that God deliberately makes the process vague so each of us has to find our own way and what God wants from us. We each have a "prayer closet" which is mobile where we meet with our Lord, whether it be on the run on on our knees.

I so identify with people I know and have known who have expressed their struggles, lack of discipline and generally lack of satisfaction with their prayer life. It's a personal thing that can so easily become a legalistic ritual and slip into a "duty" or "must." To illustrate the danger of that I want to relate a true story that may get this thought across.

About 20 years ago when I was leading a bible study at our church, we came to this issue of prayer. Now our church at the time taught that we should be spending 1-2 hours a day in prayer on our faces in a totally isolated "prayer closet." Now this is not wrong if led by God, but we were told this is what God would honor. Instead of leading to a closer walk with God, it which became a measuring stick and banner of spirituality.

One lady in the study, with tears in her eyes, expressed how she dreaded the long prayer sessions and felt so terribly guilty about it. She said she didn't feel God's presence during this sacrificial time (she had a large family to care for) and wondered what was wrong with her faith.

I'll never forget what the Lord gave me to say which according to our pastor's teaching would nearly qualify as heresy.

"Stop praying," I told her. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. "The Lord is no more interesting in that prayer time than you are. Just stop that ritual and wait until you hear from the Lord." I knew this was from God and encouraged her to just try it.

The following week when we all gathered again for study, she walked in, aglow and beaming from ear to ear. As we began she said she just had to share what the Lord had done during the week.

"When you told me to stop praying I nearly croaked," she said, wide-eyed. "Even though it sounded crazy and I was terrified for some reason I felt it was right."

"Well . . . what happened?" I asked as everyone held their breath.

"Well, the first couple of days, nothing. I thought that I'd really done it this time and God was mad at me. But by the Lord began speaking to me drawing me to Himself. It wasn't at the times I had been setting aside for prayer but at different times, never the same everyday. I could feel His presence and He restored to me the joy and desire to spend time with him. Now, I go when He calls; whenever that is . . ."

This little story just emphasizes the following:

God is the one who calls us to prayer --

God is the one who lays on our heart what/who to pray for --

God is the one who rewards us --

Let God dictate your prayer life, He will certainly do it in His way if you only let Him

One last side note:

My own journey has brought me to a keep prayer journal which is more for recording the answers than the requests. If I'm down or feeling ignored by God it builds my faith back again by reminding me of what he has done over the years and how faithful he's been.

Friendly Fire?

2007-03-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the term "Friendly Fire." It's when, during a war or conflict, those on your own side mistakenly attack you instead of the enemy. I believe we in this country are currently under a "friendly fire" attack from our own government. Though I'm not sure if it's mistaken, it is certainly brutal. Conservatives and Christians alike are finding themselves on the other side of the judicial gavel, fighting for our own previously protected rights to worship and believe as we have for nearly 300 years. Christmas, Easter, the posting of the Ten Commandments just to mention a few of our traditional practices and celebrations are no longer allowed. What happened?

It started with the ruling against prayer in schools. Though I'm not necessarily a proponent of school prayer I am certainly a proponent of the freedom to do so. Over the past 20 or so years we have lost freedom after freedom. It's a grim outlook for the church in the U.S. We are about to enter a zone where no American church has gone before . . . outright banning.

In response to a thread on the Christian Writer's forum I wrote the following:

The U.S. has painted itself into a political corner. By the very nature of our constitution, giving rights to ALL which is the hallmark of American liberty and justice, we as a nation have absconded our own religious freedoms for the sake of upholding the rights of all people, majority or not. It's because we are a nation who values the individual rights of each person (sometimes citizen or not!) that we hear, consider and rule in favor of the perceived violation of that person's freedom of expression.

Because the Founding Fathers were very sensitive to the religious freedom of all people to worship in their own way, they wanted to make sure those freedoms were never trampled on. It's like anything else; conceived and borne out of a pure motive in a time when morality and a trust in God was the norm, these provisions helped us maintain the great nation we have become.

BUT NOW, things are not the same and the very protections put in place by God through our forefathers are now the ammunition by which we, the American traditionalists, are being slaughtered. The eradication of the tradition Judeo-Christian principles this country was founded on is due to our great liberty and desire to treat all people equal. It's a shame that we no longer can look to our own rights and count them as secure. In the name of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of equality, we have let our own system attack us. I'm not sure if it can ever be turned around.

But . . . there is more opportunity here for witnessing than ever in our country's history. Because of this turnaround, the church has been threatened. Not a bad thing, actually. Maybe now we can get down to the business of sharing Christ to those in our midst. Hmmmmm. Sounds like a Last Days opportunity to me.

Abandon Ship!!

2007-03-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

I recently watched a news report about the clash between the gay community's views on same sex marriage/gay lifestyle and a large group of Christian teens Biblical position on the same. The gays felt the teens were being judgmental and the teens said they loved the people, just hated the sin. Lately it seems that Christians are being labeled judgmental whenever they disagree with the current cultural morays. It's amazing how times have changed . . . just as predicted in the Bible, sin will be called good and good called sin.

This whole thing started me thinking about the idea of being judgmental. How calling such moral aberrations sin has become so politically incorrect it's almost laughable. We are labeled intolerant, judgmental, unloving . . . the list goes on. So what is the real truth here.

Well, I have a sort of work picture that may help. There's a beautiful ship anchored in the harbor filled with all sorts of wonderful cargo and a capable, hard working crew. However, the ship has been infected with a deadly poisonous virus that has contaminated the cargo and the crew. The ship must be destroyed as it cannot be disinfected. The owner of the ship has ordered it to be set on fire and has offered an antidote to the crew if they will simply get off the boat and claim it from the owner. Some of the crew takes the life saving remedy, gets off the boat and receives the healing. However, most of the crew refuses to believe the ship is doomed and remains aboard with the cargo in hopes they can find a cure themselves.

The crew that abandoned the doomed ship comes back and tries to get the remainder of the crew to get off the doomed ship and take the cure. Instead of listening to reason, the infected crew members try to kill the rescuers claiming they are being judgmental, unloving, intolerant and so on. They drive the healed crew members away.

For some reason, the infected crew members seem to think the others are condemning them when in fact they want to rescue them. It's the ship that's condemned!! Not the crew members. However if they refuse to abandon the burning ship, they will be burned along with it.

Romans 8 begins with these words: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and in verse 3 He condemned sin in the flesh,and in verses 7-8 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The ship represents the condemned flesh. It is contaminated and must be destroyed. To remain on the ship means death. It's the flesh that's condemned, not our souls. However, in order to escape damnation and destruction, the person must get off the ship. Jesus is the owner and has provided an escape, the only thing the crew member has to do is accept it.

Yes, there is judgment. Yes, we need to proclaim and warn against staying on the ship. But it's not the person who is condemned unless he chooses to stay. The gays aren't condemned because they are gay. They face condemnation because they refuse to leave the condemned ship (the flesh) and somehow want us to agree with them that staying is a good thing. So many people simply don't understand the separation of the flesh and the spirit. I pray that we may be able to help those on the burning ship to get off. It is for love that we want to everyone to abandon ship!

The Pay Off

2007-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

The Payoff

In screenplay construction refer to set-ups and payoffs, the culmination and completion of an action or intention started in the beginning of the story. John Doe plans a bank robbery with three other guys but secretly sends a letter to Jane Buck in the first act. That’s the set up. In the beginning of Act 3 we find out that the letter contained the alternate plan and its execution so that she can meet him when it’s over and they can share the money. That’s the pay-off.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this in regards to the set-up and pay off of Christ’s sacrifice for you and me. Particularly about his sacrifice as it pertains to my own personal life. He gave himself so that we could have a more abundant life.

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

He gave himself so we could accomplish his works and do even more than he did.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12)

So in terms of set-up and pay off, it would go like this. Jesus came to earth, died and was resurrected—the set up. He willingly laid his life on the altar as the payment for sin, setting us free. He took the rap for me. Through his resurrection I obtain a new life, his life and when I accept him I not only get forgiveness and acceptance but an alternative way of living.

Now, Jesus did this for a pay-off. The first pay-off is our salvation. By accepting His sacrifice, we become His thereby supplying Him with a pay-off of redeemed souls who will share eternity with Him. But there is another type of pay-off that I believe is as important and that’s when I sacrifice my life up to Him (Romans 12:1-2) and let him BE my substitute for living his life through me while I'm still in this body. That’s a pay-off too. So many times that doesn’t happen and so he has to take a back seat to our will and ways. The pay-off isn’t there for our Lord. And guess what, when we rob Jesus of His payoff, we miss it too. Our payoff . . . abundant life in Him.

Only $19.95

2007-02-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

This Sunday my pastor started a new series out of 1 John on love. As he talked about and how much Jesus has done for us, a commercial came across my mind which might illustrate the wondrous redemption Jesus purchases for us at Calvary.

We’ve all heard the “for only $19.95” specials that are run from time to time on the television. Well, let’s put our “redemption” in that category and see how it goes.

That’s right folks! For the one low price of an invitation, Jesus Christ will come into your life, forgive all your sins, and grant you eternal life. You who once were in prison will be freed, with no parole or past record to worry about. You heard me, just for the asking and all of this is yours.

But wait! There’s more. He not only will set you free, he will adopt you into his family. That’s right, adoption as a son or daughter of God! So for one low price, a personal invitation to the King of Glory to come into your life, you will receive forgiveness, eternal life AND for no extra cost, adoption into God’s family.

But wait! That’s not all. He also wants to offer you an extra bonus. Grace. You heard me . . . grace. No only will you be forgiven and adopted but you will receive the ability extra favor with God and the ability to live his son’s life! You’re probably asking how he can do that. Well, Jesus has agreed to reside inside of you and give you access to his very own sinless nature.

There’s more! He will not only forgive, adopt, reside and this will be forever, He has agreed to let you sit at God’s right hand with him . . . are you ready ? To rule with him and share in his inheritance.

All this for one small invitation. Don’t wait, this offer won’t last forever. It’s only good as long as you’re alive. So hurry, invite Jesus into your heart today and start receiving all of this. We’ll even cover the shipping and handling. So hurry, make you way to the nearest place of prayer and order today.

Pray Without Ceasing?

2007-02-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer lately; probably because our pastor has been preaching a series on it. I can remember when I had such a guilt complex about my prayer life it almost crippled my attempts to rectify it. Even though I have come a long way since those days, I still struggle with feeling good about it. And I’m sure many of you out there feel the same way. If not, tell me your secrets, please!

I find myself praying longer and more honestly if I don’t try to make it scheduled time or ritual. Having said that, I believe that discovery comes from the practice of scheduled prayer, of having made a daily ritual of it. I still like to start my day with my reading my Bible and spending some time with my prayer journal but I find my prayers during that time tend to be rather “laundry list” in nature and much more formal. Though not a bad thing at all, it’s still not as deeply relational as my “running” prayers with God during the day.

I guess we all need to have both in our life. Those disciplined times when we focus on specific things such as intercessory prayers, concerns about our loved ones and specific requests from others. But the times when I feel the closest to the Lord are when I cry out to him in the midst of a trial or shoot up a spontaneous praise. I love involving him in my everyday “in the trenches” life, having him close enough to my heart that I can talk to him about anything and everything as it happens. That’s when I really feel his presence right there with me. I understand what Paul means by “pray without ceasing” and believe that’s the type of prayer life he wants from us; both on our knees and on our feet. Isn’t it wonderful to know he is with us always . . .

Waiting on God

2007-01-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

I stood at the corner bus stop and checked my watch. 7:55 The bus should be here any minute. I silently prayed it wouldn't be late . . . again. I really needed to get up earlier and catch that 7:35 bus, then I wouldn't be dancing around wondering if I would be late to work . . . again.

I looked down the street straining my eyes to catch a glimpse of anything remotely bus-like. Or hear something like a diesel hum, air brakes, angry motorists blasting the bus driver with blaring horns. Nothing. Just a bustle of cars, trucks and motorcycles.

"Dang," I muttered. "Where is that guy." I flashed a grin to the elderly lady seated on the bench, placidly watching me. I must be her entertainment for this morning. "Murphy's Law," I said, wondering if she'd even heard of it. She blinked at me and one corner of her mouth twitched. I think it was an aborted smile.

I looked down the street again. Looked at my watch. 7:57. Five more minutes and I would be late for sure. With a huge sigh I closed my eyes and tried to release the stress. It had no purpose now, might as well let it go. I shot up a quick prayer. "Lord save me." It was all I could manage.

Just as I was about to shrug off my job and pondering creative ways to explain "fired" on my resume I heard the whoosh of air brakes at the street corner. I turned and looked and there, coming from side street was the bus. It turned, stopped and opened its doors. I hopped on.

"Detour this morning?" I asked as the driver handed me the transfer.

She smiled and nodded. "Fourth closed at Lincoln. I had to go around."

I found a seat and looked at my watch. 7:59. I leaned my head back and let out another huge sigh but this time one of relief.

The elderly lady passed by my seat and flashed me a smile. "A little like trusting God," she said. "Uunpredictable but always faithful."

I smiled back. "Yeah."

Every time I think of waiting on God, this little story runs through my mind. I know He's going to show up but as the time passes or the crisis heightens, I get ancy. Maybe this time He won't come through. Maybe I did something wrong. Maybe I should have . . . and on it goes. I look for Him on the expected route, the one He's taken before. I look for Him, listen, strain but there's nothing that even looks like His answer or His intervention.

Then, in the blink of an eye, He appears. Just in time, just when I've begun to scramble for plan B, He comes from a side street, from somewhere I hadn't even thought of. That's God, unpredictable but always faithful. And might I add, always on time.

Waiting

2007-01-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post and for that I apologize. Wow, it was last year even, New Year's Eve. How is 2007 so far? It's hard to tell; I entered the year with a nasty flu virus and still don't feel 100% yet. However, since my faith is anchored in God I know 2007 will produce some good fruit. As for where I'm at right now? This poem should give you an idea . . .

The Doldrums

Windless sails
Hanging slack on the mast
No crest of wave or rise of sea
On the horizon
Nothing but flat water
Stretched out before me
Waiting, waiting for a breath

Monotonous silence
Day after day, the mundane
Visionless future awaits, unsung
A motionless plain
Neither sun nor storm
Gray meets gray at the zenith
Waiting, waiting for movement

Drifting in the doldrums
Of endless delay, listening
Holding fast to faith, watching
A sudden wind
Like the breath of God
Rises, filling the mainsail
Sailing, sailing at last

We all have these times of sitting motionless waiting for the Lord to rise like the wind and fill our sails. It's never easy, rarely pleasant but always beneficial.

Hey, if you haven't already, visit my website at ritabetti.com

Leaving the Past, Embracing the Future

2006-12-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

It's that time again, one of reflection, retrospect and renewal. Leaving 2006 will no doubt be a welcome relief for some of you. Others may look upon the year with a grateful heart, thankful for all the blessings. This doesn't mean that the one group has had less calamity than the other, it's a matter of perspective. There are two types of people in this world, pessimists and optimists. This is not a new revelation but it bears repeating. So hear me out.

Did you know that optimism isn't a virtue of Christianity? Nor is it a necessity. We often interchange optimism and faith thinking we must have one to have the other. One can have faith without being optimistic. Abraham believed God but that didn't make him an optimist. Thomas doubted, but did that mean he was a pessimist? So what is an optimist anyway? The American Heritage Dictionary defines an optimist as "One who usually expects a favorable outcome." (pg. 1271)

"Doesn't this sound like faith?" you might ask. That depends on how you view the words "favorable outcome." Favorable for whom? This is the whole question and one that should be answered by every Christian early in his or her walk with the Lord.

Most of us are the center of our universe and we want the favorable outcome to be favorable to us. Now we all agree that God should be the center and we His subjects and servants. After all, isn't that what accepting Christ into our lives is all about? And it works for the most part, that is until something comes along that puts our lives (physical, emotional, spiritual) in jeopardy. Perhaps an illness, a financial crisis, a wayward child or worse, a death. That's when we discover who truly occupies that throne. No one eagerly embraces tragedy and suffering so God will be glorified. But that's what this walk is all about.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:7-11 (NKJ)

Faith and optimism can take very different roads--that is if our definition of optimism is favorable outcome for me. Many heresies are born of this "optimism" and carry those who cling to it down a road of fear and despair.

But if we view "favorable outcome" to be favorable for God and His kingdom, then we can be optimistic about out future and that optimism blends well with our faith.

Now back to optimism and pessimism. I'm a born pessimist. I embrace Murphy's Law, always preparing for the worst. If something good happens (for me that is) I wait for it to be reversed. My motto is "I knew it was too good to be true." But let me say, that over the past few years that has changed and I have to say, I'm becoming an optimist. It's not because good things have started to happen now, but because I've changed my definition of favorable outcome. I am realizing that when God is glorified, I not only share it but it changes me. My favorable outcome is meager in comparison to the favorable outcome God has planned, not only in the after life but here and now. God pours out His blessing abundantly upon me and my quality of faith, hope and love grow. My inner person evolves from a self centered whiner to a confident, hopeful praiser. The verse "I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me," (Phil. 4:13) has become my motto now.

So, I greet the new year with optimism, knowing that my Lord has my future in His hand. As someone once said, "I may not know what my future holds, but I know Who holds my future." I can be optimist about my future even knowing that it will be speckled with pain and sorrow, trial and trouble, disappointment and doubt. Why? Because I'm not looking for MY favorable outcome but God's.

"Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Will the Real Motivation Please Stand Up!

2006-12-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

I'm probably going to REALLY get it for my subsequent comment . . . so be it. Just hear me out before you take both guns and blast me to (where ever it is you want to send me!)

Anyone who says they are not in writing for either fame or fortune needs a reality check. I don't believe it . . .

NOW, having said that, let me qualify my statement. All writers write for a purpose; here are a few:

Some writers write just for the pleasure of putting words on paper. Those people usually write in journals or in notebooks where they can privately read their own works and/or show them to a select few. These people are truly not interested in publication, self or otherwise, are are content to collect their works for themselves.

Some writers write because they have to be read. They want to share what God has given them and seek out places to share their work whether it be on a writing forum and other websites or just printing up their stories and giving them out to whomever God directs. The are the true Sharers and don't really care if anyone steals/borrows/uses their work as they believe God freely gave it and they should freely share it.

Some (a much larger percentage) want to be published and desire to get their works in the hands of as many people as possible. However, they are honest about wanting some monetary return. These people seek out publishers (self and traditional) are concerned with profit (or at least breaking even) and want to have their name and their work in print and don't particularly want to give it away or have it stolen. They are connected to their work as a mother is to a child. And believe it or not . . . God is not against this.

The final group and the largest percentage of the writing population (secular and Christian) are concerned with profits, notoriety, and philanthropy--usually in that order. These people try to make it. Some fail, realizing the road to success is paved with hard work, set-backs and often "failure." Some are truly driven by God and others are driving God . . .

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that a writer who claims to just want to minister and is not concerned with fame and fortune is not sincere!! I believe Christians, like any other part of are walk, are dancing between two worlds (flesh/spirit) and we truly desire to have that mindset. But there is nothing wrong with wanted to make a lucrative career out of writing. The writer's life is no place for pious platitudes--we need to be honest about our own lives as will as those things we write about. If we can't be honest with ourselves about us . . . how can God give us things to write about that require honesty.

Okay . . . so now you can blast me! In truth, I went through the same process about publishing that most writer's have gone through. I had to come to grips with my own desires as the came in conflict with God's desires. Honesty won out and now I can say I want to make a living at writing. I write plenty of stuff I give away, allow people to steal and don't care if I get a by-line. I'm happy to do it because I believe that's what God wants me to do with it. But the stuff I feel God wants me to publish, I'm careful not to just fling it away. God will get it where it needs to be as long as I trust him.

If you read this and you're not a writer, just apply it to any other career you choose to pursue. All of us desire to be good, to be known, and to get paid. I'm sure that most of us would not turn down a six-figure deal with a publisher, film studio or agent if given the chance. Well, maybe some of you would, but I bet if you're in that small group you've come to your decision through fire and rain. One day, the Lord will return and all the gifts he's given us will truly be used for the exact purpose He intended, without struggle, guilt or failure. But until that time it's a crap shoot.

The Holidays

2006-12-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but "The Holidays" conjure up a bunch of emotions, memories and experiences; some good, some bad and it seems the older I get, the more these things overshadow the real meaning of the season. Family feuds, untimely deaths, illness, depression and bad memories all tend to dampen that "Christmas Spirit" we hear so much about. What is this Christmas Spirit anyway? For me, the Christmas Spirit is a figment of my imagination. It all started with Santa Clause in a time hidden in my memories . . .

I was one of those kids who truly believed in Santa Clause, all the way. I wrote him letters, left cookies and milk for him and carrots for the reindeer. I never wanted to be away from home on Christmas because I knew he'd not find me. I defended him against the "unbelievers" and couldn't wait to see what he'd bring on Christmas Eve. I was a real die hard Santa fan until that fateful Christmas I learned the truth.

I was eight years old and determined to see Santa descend the chimney and spread out the gifts so I got up and hid in the living room. I heard noises, whispering and the rustle of packages. My heart pounded with anticipation as I held my breath and peeked out from my hiding place. Yep, you guessed it . . . instead of old St. Nick sweeping down the chimney, I saw Mom and Dad quietly tiptoeing from the hallway with arm loads of gifts. In stunned horror, I watched as they placed them under the tree then crept back to bed. When all was quiet again, I crept out and praying with all my heart that it wasn't what it looked like, read the tags. "To Rita---From Santa," they read. All those things I had asked Santa for came from my parents. Santa wasn't real after all. I remember going to bed and wondering what else my parents had lied to me about. That year Christmas lost is mystic and the Christmas Spirit I'd been filled with, the anticipation, glory, wonder and awe, left me.

I'm not sure I can blame my parents for that. They were just doing what tradition and culture required, perpetuating the myth and dream, trying to instill the joy and wonder of the Christmas Season. It's not their fault. . . it's Satan's. He loves to trick us, play cruel jokes on us and try to get our focus off what is true and pure. Santa is not evil in himself, he represents an idea, a principle. Santa can't be blamed either. It's the desire to instill a myth . . . a false picture, a counterfeit Jesus. And from those early years, we as children, filled with hope and wonder and joy, are led to believe we must have this certain mythical "spirit" to enjoy Christmas.

Christmas is not about all of that Christmassy stuff. It's about joy mixed with pain and sorrow. It's about sacrifice, humiliation, suffering and shame. Mary and Joseph's story is one of hardship, agony, false accusations and poverty. No room at the inn, Herod's jealousy, swaddling clothes, hay and manure. And yet, out of this pain came the hope of all eternity. That's what Christmas is about. God turning sorrow into joy, bleakness into hope, suffering into victory. All of those past disappointments, Christmases gone bad, holidays ruined is only a testimony to the plight of humanity. Out of the darkness came a great Light . . . and men loved the darkness more than the light. My hope for each of you is freedom from the blight of Christmas past. That the true victory of Christ in the manger, born for the cross may give you the true Spirit of Christmas. The Holy Spirit.

THE PARABLE OF THE ROSE GARDEN

2006-11-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mabel Gray’s renowned rose garden produced the most exquisite roses in the county making Mabel a sought after expert on rose horticulture. She loved to help neighbors and friends with their own gardens and often gave slips from her own famous roses for their own rose beds.

After some time, Mabel decided to visit her neighbors to see how the roses fared. To her dismay, her neighbors had not cared for their roses properly and the gardens had begun to fall into disarray. Being the good neighbor she was, Mabel decided to prune their unruly rose herself.

At first, they welcomed Mabel’s pruning but after a while she became so focused her neighbor’s gardens that her own garden began to suffer neglect. Soon it was in such a shabby condition, the neighbors were no longer appreciative of her help.

Mabel’s activities came to the attention of the mayor. Disturbed by the reports, he summoned Mabel to his office for a meeting. Stunned by the accusations of her neighbors, Mabel defended her actions, telling the mayor that her faithful pruning had kept the neighbors rose gardens from falling into shambles. She didn't think her attention to her neighbor's roses was anything less than helpful and couldn't understand the concern of the mayor.

"Madam," replied the Mayor, "you are so busy pruning to everyone else's roses you’ve neglected your own. From now on, concentrate on your own roses and leave your neighbors' roses alone. The only rose garden you have the right to prune is your own."

Moral: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” Matt. 7:3-5

Gamer Come Lately

2006-11-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

Most people who know me do not take me for a "gamer." That is one who would be interested in video games and playing X-Box. And normally I wouldn't even get involved . . . but this incredible company has put me on staff to write for them and it involves an intimate knowledge of video gaming. Me? Playing video games? At my age?

Some of you laugh, smirk, maybe even say "sure, she probably plays with her grandkids." Well, I am now going through Halo 2 for the second time on Heroic difficulty and I'm making progress. So there. My youngest son who has played since he was a kid is anxious for me to finish this pass so he and I can play online. And I have to admit . . . I'm really looking forward to it.

As for the writing, learning to play video games was necessary research without which I couldn't have proceeded but there has been benefits I didn't count on, the least of which is having a common denominator of discussion with those half my age. But playing video games has also sharpened my mental skills. I've noticed my reaction time, strategy planning and problem solving skills are improving. And another great benefit . . .an opportunity to work out my frustrations on the aliens!

So, I would highly recommend anyone over 50 to play a little each day. It's like a visual ginkgo bilboa.

Careful What You Pray

2006-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I went to the Glorietta Christian Writer's Conference and let me tell you . . . God definitely had his own plan.

None of the things I went there for materialized. In fact, by the morning of the second day, I was in a (rare) depressed state from the moment I woke up. While my roommate showered, I brooded. "What a waste of time and money. I went off leaving my sick husband behind for this?” I felt as useless as an armless catcher.

After about 20 minutes I realized the enemy had done a good job of attacking me in my subconscious mind before I even woke up. I was fighting from the bottom of the pit . . . unsuccessfully I might add. So I stood up, told Satan I wasn't listening to him anymore and praised the Lord for whatever he had for me at the conference. By the time I got dressed the Holy Spirit had changed my whole outlook. I had no idea what lie ahead but my focus had been shifted from my circumstances back to the Lord.

Many good things happened totally ordained by God; things I couldn't have even begun to foresee or orchestrate. I kept looking for those opportunities, listening for directions and allowing God to implement his own plan.

Not only did God open doors, he shut door too. Learning what I’m NOT to be writing is as valuable as the calling. I learned I’m not to write children's books, non-fiction, poetry or devotionals. I prayed at every appointment, possibility and urging. I didn’t feel I could afford to waste any more time. God so honored my requests that when I prayed about meeting with the acquisition editor for The Christian Reader (one of Christianity Today's publications) he totally took over. It went like this: I made an appointment. It had to be cancelled. Okay . . . I met him in the hallway and we agreed to meet at his table for lunch to talk. At lunch, I and five other people waited. He never showed! I realized that God REALLY didn’t want me to speak to him, and as we gathered our trays, I felt I owed the others an apology. I told them I had prayed to God that if he didn’t want me to meet with this man, it wouldn’t happen. I expressed my regret at keeping them from meeting with him too. I think they forgave me but I noticed that none of them ever sat with me again. When we get serious, God does too. So don’t pray unless you really mean it. You may just may get an answer!

Looking For Jesus

2006-10-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

While reading in John this morning, something in chapter 20 that I’ve read many times jumped out at me. I’ve read this many, many times and yet God slid back my blinders for a moment and let another thought come into my limited viewpoint. God loves to do that, doesn’t He?

Let me set the scene for you. Mary Magdalene is standing at the tomb, weeping. She stoops down, looks inside, and sees two angels sitting where Jesus was lying. They ask her why she’s weeping. She answers, “they have taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they have laid Him.” I don’t know about you, but there are times when I can’t find my Jesus. I look, pray, beg . . . Someone has taken Him and I don’t know where He has gone. I’m scared, lonely and so desperately in need of Him and yet He seems nowhere to be found. I know I’m not alone in this; many of you have had the same experience.

Now notice the next thing that happens. It says in verse 14 that as soon as she says that she turns around and sees Jesus standing there and “did not know that it was Jesus.” I stopped and read it again, then again. I thought, “how could she not know it was Jesus?” She walked with Him, talked with Him, spent time with His mother, with His disciples and yet here she is looking upon Him and He’s a complete stranger to her. Amazing.

Or is it? As I pondered this, God showed me that this happens to us all the time. Jesus comes to us in a different way and we don’t know Him. We have a limited view of Jesus, who He is, what He does, and how He works. We have Him all packaged up in a neat little box so when He comes to us in a different way (in Mary’s case the Risen Lord) we don’t know Him. We treat Him like a stranger, supposing Him to be the “gardener.” Have you ever prayed for something, an open door, a revelation, an answer to a burning question and never received anything from Him? Have you ever considered that perhaps He did come to you but you didn’t know Him?

Jesus is God incarnate, the great I AM. He doesn’t operate according to our limited perspective nor does he fit inside a presupposed set of parameters. That’s the problem with today’s believer, me included. I have a White, Protestant, American, Republican Jesus . . . So when He comes to me in any other form, I don’t know Him. So the next time your looking for Jesus, take off the limits and look again. I bet you'll see He was there all the time.

“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." Ephesians 3:20

This Old House

2006-10-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

We live in an old house in a small town in Arizona. The house, originally built in the late 1940’s, has endured several remodels including a few not-so-well-constructed additions. When we purchased the property, we knew the house had problems but decided the location, amenities and size of the lot were worth the trouble. Little did we know . . . Actually, we’d be much better off if we simply razed it and built a completely new house.

When I asked Jesus into my life (way back when), I knew I had a few problems but figured a remodel job would take care of most of them. Oddly enough, the few things I thought needed fixing weren’t the things He started working on. Oh, He fixed the broken water pipe in the basement and the gaping hole in the roof right away but after that He seemed disinterested in the rest of the problems. To my frustration, as I scurried around, plugging leaks, patching holes and repairing “termite” damage, He sat in the kitchen watching. I’d dash in, explain the crisis and instead of coming to my aide, He’d hold out his hand and try to pull me into the chair across from Him. Sometimes I’d sit for a moment invariably some catastrophe in another room cut short our visits.

This went on for a long time; I worked, He sat. Then one day all hell broke lose . . . The roof caved in, the basement flooded, the walls crumbled around me. I ran to the kitchen in a panic. Jesus looked up at me and beckoned me come sit.

Sit? Didn’t he know what was going on? Couldn’t He see that the house was about to come down around us? I flew at Him, fists pounding, tears streaming. He grabbed me and held me close then turned my face to look in His eyes.

“Let it go. I didn’t come to repair it. I came to destroy it. But you must let me.”

I collapsed against Him. He swept me up and carried me out the door. As I watched the house crumble in a cloud of dust, a wonderful peace spread over me and I realized how futile my efforts had been from the beginning. Then the most amazing thing happened. Out of the rubble, a beautiful new house appeared and I realized this had been what he wanted for me all along.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“I tried. But you were too busy repairing the old one to sit and listen.”

When God sent Jesus to redeem us, He did so with the idea that remodel was out of the question. The human nature is so twisted and bent it is beyond repair. He nailed it to the cross, took it to the grave and raised a “new man” for us to occupy. Trying to fix our “old man” is a futile endeavor. Let it go.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus Wept

2006-10-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the amount of death and dying around me. It’s everywhere, on the news, in the movies, on television . . . even in my own family. My father-in-law has Mesothelioma and is slowly dying, my brother-in-law has recently been diagnosed with cancer which has spread throughout his lymph system and has a year or two. Even my own husband’s life is ebbing away as his liver disease robs his body of health. Most days I am fine, trusting God and knowing in my “knower” that all is God's capable hands. Peace and joy sit in the passenger seat as I make my way down the "narrow path" toward the kingdom.

However there are those days . . . yesterday was one of those. A particularly bad health day for my husband, the concerns of my sister for her husband, the Amish shooting and the other recent school shootings culminated in one giant “Mac Truck” that barreled down the hiway, blindsided me and left me a fearful heap on the side of the road. Peace and joy were thrown from my vehicle and I stood there, trembling as it all crowded in; the uncertainty of my future, the pain of watching my loved ones lives ebb away, and the reality that this world is a death trap and still overshadowed by the ill will of Satan. I wept.

Jesus stood at the grave of Lazarus and wept. Even in the foreshadow of raising him from the dead, he wept. Even knowing he was headed to the cross to conquer death once and for all, he wept. Being God . . . he wept. Sin and its consequences pains the heart of God. That’s what this world has become, an arena of sin and destruction where humanity fights a losing battle against powers of darkness for the eternal destiny of their souls. Jesus looked over the battlefield and wept.

I know my Savior lives, that most of my loved ones will be reunited with me on that bright new morning when Jesus comes again to take us home. This place is only a temporary existence, a training ground, where we wait until our real home is completed and Jesus makes good his promise. I draw comfort from that knowledge. There will be a grand reunion one day and I will see my husband again.

But for now, I feel the pain of separation, the ugliness of sin and death and destruction. It makes me cry. Why? Because of the sorrow, the anguish, the pain of this life that each of us must go through before that bright morning dawns. And I especially feel the sorrow of those who will not be reuniting with their loved ones. For those who have chosen spit in God’s eye. I especially weep for them.

There Goes the Rabbit!

2006-09-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever encountered a rabbit waiting beside a lonely road, watching as you approach in your car? I remember many such experiences driving down the long dirt that led to home. It seemed to happen mostly at night, headlights illuminating the bushes and rocks along the edge of the road as I moseyed along, that I’d see two luminescent green orbs parked at the shoulder, waiting.

“Oh, oh,” I’d whisper with a chuckle. “A rabbit.”

And sure enough, when the car was nearly abreast, it would break and run. Only it didn’t run away from my car but right out in front of me, racing for all it’s might, trying to outrun me. I’d usually slow down, laugh at it’s futile attempt to out run a car and follow the half-mad critter until it finally jumped off the road to the safety of the shadows again.

Life is like that you know. We’re sitting along life’s road, waiting, listening when suddenly a potentially dangerous situation appears on the horizon. We know God is in control, that we are safe if we just stay put.

“Hold steady,” whispers God. But as it nears, another voice drowns out Gods whispers of assurance.

“RUN! RUN!” it screams in our other ear. “If you don’t run it’s going to kill you.”

We hold steady, steady, shaking, fear mounts, panic replaces faith, and finally we heed the final “RUN!” from the enemy, we bolt and run. Blinded by the headlights, deafened by the noise, we run directly into the path of the approaching danger and splat! If only we would have held our peace, let it pass.

Satan uses scare tactics to root us from the safety of God’s protection. He screams, yells, frightens us with half-truths and warning sirens. But we must not yield. Hold steady, keep focused on God’s voice and wait for his direction. No more splat, no more being run over with the mac truck. Peace and joy, patience and endurance will be ours.

Writing From the Inside Out

2006-09-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just recently a question was posted on the writer's forum I frequent. "How far is too far in the Christian novel?" It's the same old argument about ethics, morality and Christian writing I've seen circulating for several years. Christian writers, wanting to portray realism and true life in their work, feel stiffled at times by the constraints of the CBA (Christian Bookseller Association) and what is/isn't acceptable in publishing. Much of what is published in secular literature is taboo in Christian literature.

After reading the debate between the "write how you want to and hang the CBA" vs. "we don't need more world in our writing, we have a reputation to keep" I decided to post my thoughts. I guess I am presumptious to think I had anything profound or wise to add, but I wanted to post it here anyway. I think it applies to Christian in ministry in general. All of us could use a healthy dose of realism in our own lives. Here it is (edited for names etc.)

I think we get hung up on the "details" when the worst and most horrific sins are in the human heart. What the world (both Christian and non-Christian) needs to understand is how to overcome its own personal demons. It's not about graphic description, sexual references, foul language and violence which, as someone pointed out, are in the Bible, but about redemption, grace, forgiveness and healing. How that is portrayed should always be the focus. As XXXX said, writing something shocking for the sake of shock should always be taboo.

I don't think the "goodiness" of Christian fiction is what makes it so unattractive, much of the classic literature could be put in that same category. No what makes it so univiting is the fact that much of it doesn't touch the depth of life. As Christian writers, we aren't willing to face our own inadequacies, sins, problems and refuse the discipline of the Lord regarding much of our own sinfulness. We are ashamed of our own struggles, and haven't allowed the truth to touched the sinful life in own hearts. Instead we try to be holy, try to appear mature, wise; to don the vestiges of Christ-likeness instead of being transformed by the discipline and remolding of the Lord. It comes off as santimonious instead of righteous.

King David, Solomon, Paul, Peter (to mention on a few) lived life on the edge and faced their own sins, inadequacies, mistakes with a realism that doesn't come across as pseudo holy or self righteous. I believe that's a real problem in Christiandom; an inability of the Christian writer to LIVE LIFE honestly, not a failure to write honestly. So what do the edgier Christian writers do to cover up a shallow understanding of redemption, grace and humility in their own lives? They add sex, violence, and foul language hoping that will give their writing the realism it lacks.

I don't think the lack of captivating, life changing writing by Christian authors is going to be solved with a mere dose of wordly "realism." I believe it's going to take writers who are honestly willing to lay down their own lives, let God dig deep into our hearts and minds, reveal the level of superficial Christianity and fix the internal lack of widsom and understanding. Getting real must first come from within. We can't create what we don't possess.

Until Christians whether writers, missionaries, pastors, evangelists, artists or the people next door are willing to let God transform them into the likeness of Christ, the world will have to suffer with pseudo realists. There was no on as real as Jesus.

Well, that's my two cents worth. . .

The End

2006-09-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever read the ending of a book to see if you like it before you decided to read the whole thing? I know a few people who do that. Me? I like surprises and don’t want to know the ending.

I listened to John Irving, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling talk about writing on a network special a couple of months ago. When the interviewer asked John Irving about his writing process, he said he always writes the ending of his novel first.

I’d heard this advice before from various screenwriting experts but pooh-poohed the idea thinking that it would somehow squelch my creativity to do it that way. How exciting is that? I wanted to be just as surprised as the reader and usually didn’t know where my story ended until the end.

I look back at my work, crafted in that fashion and realize my endings are either anti-climatic or simply not finished. I made the journey but found when I got to the end, I usually didn’t know what to do for the ending. Lately I’ve come to realize that knowing how the story ends makes for a stronger ending and an even stronger story. Writing the ending gives a target, a place to aim for, knowledge that the story will have a certain goal.

I also have realized that it’s that way with our faith. If we don’t know where we’re going, we will not know what to do when we get there. We may not even realize we’ve arrived! Think back to your most confident journeys of faith; you knew where you were headed and had confidence that though the journey was still unwritten, the ending was secure. God’s will be done.

Blind story writing is like blind faith, too much meandering and not enough direction. When we focus on the person of God, trust in his character, ways and wisdom, know he will prevail and no matter what turns the story takes, how many crisis points, change of plans or obstacles get in our way, the ending is still firm because it’s built the will and providence of God. I may not know exactly how it's going to come about but I know God. I may not have a specific picture of the results of my faith walk, but if I'm focused on Jesus, I know Him and he always leads in triumph (2 Cor. 2:14) Because I know the end, I walk in confidence.
Paul says I Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Hallelujah, I’ve read the back of the book and we win!

Spotlight or Shadows?

2006-09-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

I found myself on my knees again asking God if he was certain I was to write, my latest rejection still biting into my fragile ego. My prayer, more of an invitation to yet another pity party than a cry for wisdom and understanding, splattered all over my head like a miss-tossed egg. It’s amazing what you hear in the deafening silence when waiting for God to answer . . . again. Nothing. He’d already answered that clearly, soundly and with an emphatic yes when we wrangled over it a year ago.

“Screenplays?” I whispered ever so quietly. My inner beast cowered knowing even the whispered question was out of line. I knew the answer, no need to risk another spiritual slap from my oh-so-patient Heavenly Father. (Even though I deserved it.)

But instead of rebuke he brought back an incident of an earlier era in my life when I badgered him about my own goals and “successes” as a Christian speaker/artist. At the time, my husband and I had just started our new ministry and small Bible college. I knew God wanted to use me “out there” in the public eye and had been praying for some time about how this would be accomplished. I will never forget the way he answered my prayer.

I’d like to say it he showed me in the most pious of ways as I waited on bended knee before him seeking his face in all humility. Actually, I was working in the kitchen when he spoke. He gave me a “mini-vision” of a young man receiving some kind of honor or award before a crowd of people. He looked toward where I stood in the wings and said, “if it weren’t for the support and mentoring of Dr. Rita Betti, I wouldn’t be standing before you today.”

I remember God asking me if I’d rather have personal fame and notoriety or be in the background, mentoring, encouraging, teaching those whom he placed in my path. Tears came to my eyes as I saw his path for me; a mentor, in the wings who gives her life to obscurity so God can raise up another’s in glory and prominence. I chose the latter, knowing I’d chosen the best.

In that gentle reminder God spoke again to me of the true value of service. Yes, writing; yes screenplays. But I was focused on the wrong thing . . . again. The goal isn’t the writing, it’s the mentoring. My path is that of a traveler who isn’t to be so concerned with the final destination but the villages and rest stops along the way. Writing, whether it be novels, screenplays or poetry is simply the vehicle God will use to get me to the people he wants me to mentor. If I never write that saleable screenplay or that best-selling novel that does not mean I've failed. It’s not the work anyway, it’s the places the work will carry me. That’s the whole point of our “work” isn’t it?

Jesus came not to preach, baptize, heal or raise the dead, though he did all of those things and it was God’s will that he did. No, the real reason he came was to give his life so we could live. He came to die, to lay down his life for others. That’s what our ministry is, it’s to lay down our lives so others can live.

There's freedom in the shadows, letting God handle the pressure of production while you focus on the people. It's a joy to travel light. When all is over and we stand before our Lord, he's not going to care if I won an Oscar . . . he going to care if I mentored Oscar.

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

Wiles of the Devil

2006-09-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Being a member of the Linden Cafe has been a blessing and a curse. The blessing, of course, is more exposure and opportunity to share with my heart with others. The curse; a resurgence of an old fear . . . mediocrity and failure. Now that more people read my blog, concerns that it won't measure up, won't be profound, touching, and inspirational creep into my mind as I write. I erase, start again. Finally, I give up and tell myself tomorrow will yield a more inspired piece.

Well, I have come to realize the enemy's little trap and use of past weaknesses to derail me. Phooey on him, he's just a toothless old lion anyway, roaring about the camp trying to scare the sheep into running from the Shepherd's care. Which brings me to the day I realized how much he uses fear and trickery against us.

At one time depression ruled my life with it's ups and downs, highs and lows. I lived on an emotional roller coaster, completely controlled by how I felt. I knew I had this problem but could never get a handle on it. For months I'd been in a deep depression, lethargic, listless, moving about my life in a hopeless state. My husband had seen this before so at first he just let me work through it. But after a while, when he noticed I wasn't coming out of it, he called our pastor to come for a visit. I sat in the living room in a tearful emotional state unable to express the root of the problem. After more than an hour of talk, we prayed and he left.

It didn't help. I woke up the next morning as blue as ever. My husband came into the living room and looked at me.

"When are you going to quit listening to the Devil? You've let him have control over your life." I looked up at him and shook my head in disgust. Then he gave me a kiss on the cheek and left for work.

I got up and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast for my son. Standing at the stove, my husband's words kept playing in my head against the awful blackness that threatened to engulf me for yet another day. I slammed the spoon down on the stove and with gritted teeth growled, "I will not let you have this victory, Satan. I'm sick you making me feel like this." It was as if a mist lifted and the sun shone in for the first time in weeks. The weight of darkness was gone.

I wish I could say that I never experienced depression ever again. However, I can say that first victory over Satan's control gave me hope I'd never had before and I was estatic. From that moment God began to teach me more about the Wiles of the Devil and how he uses fear and oppression to subue us. I have learned much about his lures and traps but he's been around a long time. When one lure stops working, he's always got another. Never underestimate the power of his deception . . . but never overestimate it either!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

The Narrow Road

2006-08-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ever since God called back to the writing life, in particular screenwriting, it seems the attacks from the enemy have increased four-fold. Now I want to be clear, this is nothing new for me; our arch-enemy is constantly laying traps and planning ambushes for God's children . . . it's his job. The thing I've noticed is the form they've taken.

After you've walked with the Lord for a while, you begin to see through some of the devil's "wiles" and the things that once trapped you, no longer work. Common temptations to sin and lusts of the flesh, cease to lure you from God's appointed path. They simply don't appeal anymore. So like a wise old fisherman, Satan has to dig deeper into his tackle box for the prettier lures. In a special compartment, labeled "Other Good," Satan has all sorts of attractive baubles that are not sin. These lures, of good works, projects, tasks, challenges and similar activities of "other good" worked quite effectively to divert the Christian from the path of God's provincial will. They are honorable things like starting a new ministry, helping a neighbor with a project, joining the choir, or (for me) working on a film project God hasn't approved. In fact, many of these works can be argued as wonderful opportunities for the Lord. The problem is that they are not what God wants YOU to do.

Now back to my story. I've noticed that I've been hit with a barrage of "other good" temptations lately; things set in my path that seem like great opportunities for the Lord to use me. Now I'm a "sucker" for good works and have a history of getting involved in all sorts of projects and ministries. None of them were sinful in themselves but they diverted me from the path God has set me on. Proverbs puts it this way:

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:23-27

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, your eyelids look right before you." The baubles of "other good" flash in my peripheral vision and when I turn to look I take my eyes off the path and the hem of the Lord's cloak begin to wander off. Paul understood this perhaps better than anyone. In his letters he constantly exhorted the early church to beware of false teachers, prophets and works that looked good.

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15

Other Good is perhaps the most damaging, most hidden, most used tool of the enemy. If I could map draw my path over the past thirty years and superimpose the Lord's desired path over it, my path would look like a zigzag, back and forth, squiggly mess. Isn't it true? However, the greatest thing is the way God redeems even our messy lives. That famous passage comes to mind:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

All those twists, turns, abandonment and missteps, God has taken and taught me tremendous lessons. I couldn't even begin to be where I am today, thrust out in a little boat into the ocean, paddling my way toward glory in shark infested waters if God hadn't taught me a few things about my own inadequacies and failures.

So I write this today saying I have again avoided yet another set of "other good" temptations, my eyes riveted to the hem of Jesus garment as he leads me down this straight and very narrow path toward the end he has chosen for me. I am blessed to be his servant, and I shall not turn to the right or the left.

"Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess." Deuteronomy 5:32-33

Welcome to My Blog

2006-07-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are just tuning in to this new "web ring", I wanted to extend a warm and heart felt welcome. I'm excited to be sharing web space with both Cami and Francine, who are not only excellent writers but wonderful, spirit-filled Christian women. May the Lord Bless your journey with us as we seek to express the wonders and glory of God through our writing.

And now for a Word from our Sponsor:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5

My Lord wants me to trust him with everything; my life, my dreams, my visions, my fears and even my understanding. That doesn't means I throw my common sense out the window; it means I'm not to lean on my own logic and sensibility, on what I can grasp with my mind and emotions. Most people have that something that transcends logic and intellect; a gut feeling one might call a "sixth sense." I'm not even talking about that. What I'm referring to is another completely different inner voice, something I call our "seventh sense." It's the Holy Spirit nudging us, speaking to us in ways we can't explain. That's what we need to develop and nurture . . . our seventh sense. The more we step out in faith, obey the Lord and trust him, the stronger our seventh sense becomes.

The prophet Elijah, when recuperating in the cave after his battle with the 400 prophets of Baal.

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:11-12

The "still, small voice" is sometimes missed because we are not trained to hear it. I remember when my youngest son complained to me on occasionsion about not being able to hear God speak to him. I looked at him and spoke very low.

"What?" he said and leaned closer.

I whispered again. "God doesn't speak in a loud voice but in a still, small voice. And in order to hear him you have to get really close."

Lean close, draw near, listen and see if you don't hear your Seventh Sense, the very God of all creation speaking to you in that still, small voice.

Urgency

2006-07-17T05:44:00.000-07:00

I feel an urgency to focus and work diligently on God's work for me. Maybe it's the latest warning spoken by God through the recent events in the Middle East. A reminder that peace, something the US government as a "super power" believes it can orchestrate, can be shattered in a heart beat. We have no more power over the events in the world than cows have over the price of milk. And yet, somehow we think we are safe in our country from the ravages of war.

I was thinking about all these things the other day and it occurred to me that we are our own worst enemy here in the US. Our freedoms could very likely be our downfall; just as in the days of the Roman Empire. It wasn't outside enemies that destroyed Rome, but the decadence and desire to rule the world that brought Rome down. It appears the world is is the same place it was at the time of Christ's first appearance. The political and economical climate is similar, the religious climate is very nearly the same and culturally, we look like Rome in so many way. Christian who stand up for truth and are unwilling to compromise are tagged extremist and placed in the same category as terrorists. It won't be long before the church will have to chose whom it will serve to keep it's tax exempt status. There will be strings attached to the privilege, conditions which will go against God's word. That day will be the defining moment; the separation of the body of Christ and the worldly church.

But for now, as I sit and write, I wonder how will I fulfill God's plan. Well, just as I've been doing for these last 30 years . . . not by power, nor by might but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts. Zech. 4:6

Beauty Among the Ashes

2006-06-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

BEAUTY AMONG THE ASHES

Last summer I made a trip to Montana to take my mother's ashes to the family gravesite in Hardin. As I drove through a section of Yellowstone Park where the fire of 1988 burned hundreds of acres of timber, my photo sensor kicked in and I stopped to capture the beauty of wild flowers and green grass growing in the midst of the charred forest. Out of the devastation, life and beauty blossomed, giving hope of restoration and new life. Not only did it grow back, but it grew back even more beautiful because the ashes added nutrients to the soil, making the plants in the forest healthier than before.

As I walked around catching light and arranging my shots, it struck me that our God is indeed an awesome God.The enemy wreaks havoc in our lives; burning, destroying, looting and God makes beauty rise out of the ashes. Our lives are never destroyed if we are in Christ. In fact, the more we are purified by fire, the more we shine with God's beauty and grace. Never fear the fire of purification, welcome it. It may hurt for a time but will yield the fruit of the Holy Spirit and bringing his love and peace into our lives.

To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3

Faith: a Verb, not a Noun

2006-06-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke to a third day of doubt, frustration, writer's block and a sense of foolish pursuit; feeling for all the world that I'm only chasing a rainbow and wondering how could I assume that I will reach my goal . . . it's just a dream. As I sat down to read my chapter in Luke, I came face to face with God and a reminder in Luke 17:5-6 that I walk by faith and not by sight.

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Faith. A small word that governs our entire Christian experience. Faith. A verb and not a noun. Faith. The master key that unlocks all the doors in my Father's house. In Luke 11:9-13 Jesus' words confound us.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

He makes it clear that EVERYONE who asks, receives; seeks, finds; knocks, it's opened. What's wrong Lord? Why don't I see this in my own life then? I walk away empty handed, convinced I've just not figured out the magic prayer or lack the strength and fortitude to see it through.

This morning I had sunk so low I didn't even understand my problem; didn't know what to ask for, seek or which door to knock on. But God knew. He knew I'd lost site of Him and my faith had turned to a noun.

Faith as a mustard seed so small it's barely visable, the smallest of all seeds, hardly anything to brag about. And yet, the smallest amount of faith accomplishes so much. Why is so little required to do so much? Because faith isn't focused on Me . . . it's focused on God.

Faith has nothing to do with me in fact and everything to do with the might and power of God. It's all about His promises, His truth, His power, His faithfulness, His will, His providence, His strength, His ability and His sovereignity. None of those things can be produced by me. Where I go wrong is when I get hung up on the feelings of faith instead of the fact of faith. I'm seduced into believing that overcoming faith feels courageous, powerful and strong. It's a lie.

Faith is believing God and acting on it. It's that simple. If God says I have been blessed with all spiritual blessings, it's true. If God says I'm to be a writer, it's true. But to appropriate those truths into my Christian experience, I have to walk as though they are real and that's my part. Belief is not recognizing truth, it's living truth. So if I say I believe God and don't walk as if I do . . . well you do the math.

One last thing I realized today. I can't let momentary setbacks cloud the truth with doubt. Doubt and fear turn faith into a noun . . . a car without an engine . . . an empty house with no electricity or water. Faith is a key, it opens doors and starts engines. And it's something that is given by God. I don't have to produce it. I only have to use it.

Pursuing Excellence

2006-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

None of us are “common or mediocre” except by choice.

I have been ruminating about this thing called excellence lately. As Christians I’m sure the majority would agree that God deserves the best we can give him and excellence should be the goal in everything we do. But I’ve also been thinking about the term “excellence” and what we mean when we use it.

EXCELLENCE: My definition

When I personally think of excellence, I think of pursuing the path that most glorifies God. In writing it's striving for the artful crafting, deep thought and meaning, relevance, enlightenment, discovery and beauty. It's giving all I have, going the extra mile, seeking the higher ground. To me, that is excellence.

Now the question comes: If I attain the standards and goals I set, will I have succeeded? Or will I forever be forcing myself above and beyond what I am capable of doing? Someone at a writer’s conference once said, “Know your limits and capabilities. Don’t try to write above your ability.” You know, that makes sense. Why try to be a physicist when I have trouble with algebra or hate math? If I am using those criteria, I need to be careful I don’t attempt those things at which I’m almost certain to fail. But . . . what if I have always dreamed of being a physicist and I want that more than anything? What if I believe God has called me to this "unattainable" goal?

Hmmmmm. Here is a possible definition of excellence from God's perspective.

EXCELLENCE: God’s definition

I will give each of my children a vision and goal that is impossible then I will ask them to strive and give their all for what we both know they can only dream of achieving. I will walk beside them and give them a advice, direction, encouragement to keep trying even though they will probably fail. Then if they fail, which they will because my standards are just too high, I will comfort them with the thought that it was effort that counted.

You are probably thinking, “What the heck! That’s not even close.” And you’re right. But isn't that how we act? We try and fail and comfort ouselves with the tought that God didn't really expect us to achieve our goals anyway. And we do it because we don’t know there is any other way. It’s rather like having a car and instead of driving it, we push it everywhere because we don’t know how to start the engine. We realize it’s possible but don’t know how to get there except by trying.

Now it is imperative we strive for excellence. It's not to achieve by our striving. No, striving leads to discovery. God wants us to strive but for the purpose of discovering we can’t. It's not until I find out how much I can't that I am motivated to either give up or set out to find another way. Sadly most people give up and resign themselves to a lower quality of excellence.

So let’s redefine excellence and give it a meaning both for me and for God.

EXCELLENCE:

Excellence is God’s standard for the best in anything done for Him. Anything less is simply mediocre. This excellence is accomplished not by the striving of man but by the dying of man.

We will have to set aside our definition, our preconceived notions and our methods. We will have to ask God what he wants from us instead of telling God what we will do for him. We will have to quit settling for second best. God has the best waiting, it’s a gift, a joy, it’s excellence of the highest quality. But you can’t earn it or even strive for it, you have to trust and obey.

Copyright May, 2006 All Rights Reserved.

The Humingbird Story

2006-04-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

A baby hummingbird is one of God's gigantic miracles. We had the blessed priviledge of having one in our orange tree this year; a delight I can't express fully.

Momma Hummingbird, a tiny wisp of a bird with an iridescent shimmer to her wings, built her nest on a branch just eye level for our viewing pleasure. The nest, about the size of a fifty cent piece, contained two tiny eggs each no bigger than a gourmet jelly bean. Momma dutifully sat on the nest, leaving only to catch a snack two or three times a day. I could see her flitting about the flowers in the front yard for a few seconds then zooming back around the house to the nest.

Finally, one of the eggs hatched. We caught a glimpse by gently pulling down the branch and peeking inside. It looked like a wriggling piece of brown lint . As the days passed, the tiny piece of lint grew and a beak appeared resembling the tip of an orange-colored toothpick. It's little eyes, still closed, were so tiny I couldn't imagine how it there could be actual eyeball behind the gossamer lids. Her sister egg never hatched but that didn't keep her from cuddling next to it for companionship.

After a couple of weeks her eyes opened and she noticed us for the first time peering in at her. Since the tree was next to the laundry room door, we were always passing by taking a peek or worse, taking pictures. Can you imagine what she must have thought of our gigantic faces grinning at her? "Egads! Those are the ugliest things, Momma."

On Saturday I noticed she was nearly as big as her mother. I felt a sense of loss come over me, like Aunt Matilda who'd watched her little neice grow up next door. I knew she'd leave soon. But I didn't expect I'd be the one to push her from the nest.

It happened like this. On Sunday morning, my husband told me he'd pulled down the branch and decided to stick his finger out to her to see her reaction. He said, "She opened her beak wide and it was so cute. You have to try it." I declined that day, but on Monday when I went to do the laundry and passed by, I couldn't resist. So I did just as he said. I gently pulled down the branch and stuck my finger toward her as if I might pet her. But instead of opening her beak, she flew! Oh my gosh, I stood there stunned as I watched our little baby attempt to make her way up into the orange tree. Her wings, not quite as efficent as Momma's, whirred at about half the speed. She bobbed along the branches and finally landed somewhere near the top. I searched but couldn't see her anywhere. I felt horrible.

All that day I kept checking back, praying she would be in the nest but it remained empty. On one occassion, late that afternoon, I saw Momma fly in, make her communicative snapping noises and inspect the nest. Frantically, she flew back and forth, calling, calling and finally flew away. I can't tell you how awful I felt.

Tuesday morning the nest was still empty and so asked God to please watch over our little baby, to not let anything happen to her and to forgive me for meddling. Late that afternoon, I saw Momma flying around near the top of the tree making her special noises. I felt it was an answer to my prayer and God assuring me she was okay.

What is the point of the story? This morning I realize just how precious all of God's creation is to him. To God, we are just like that tiny little hummingbird, so insignificant when we compare ourselves to the magnificance of God's universe and yet he cares so deeply for each of us that He watches over us even closer than I watched over our tiny hummingbird. What an amazing God we have for a father and friend. My heart swells with praise and the words of the song "How Great Thou Art" fill my soul.

Sin or Sins

2006-04-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to weigh in here on the issue of sin and sins. Easter is always a time of concentration on the reason Jesus came, what he accomplished and why we trust him as our savior. Reflecting on Christ redemptive work on the cross, it occured to me that we get mixed up in our theology and don't realize the scope of what He did.

We talk a lot about Christ dying for our sins (both past and present) making his redemption a very personal thing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this as long as it is in context. But let's make one thing clear . . . Christ came to die for Adam's SIN. And because he did, each individual IN ADAM has the good fortune to have their sins forgiven.

Well, you might say, what's the difference? Sin or sins, isn't that just semantics? No. There is a huge difference and one which I think most people don't understand. Because of this misunderstanding, we have divisions in the body of Christ.

I'm going to point out the difference with an illustration. When I lived in Washington (state), we had a terrible time keeping the wild blackberry bushes from taking over our yard. Every year I would pull out the new sprouts, cut back the canes and try to keep them from growing back. Alas, it was a losing battle and after five years of constant vigilance, I called a nursery and asked how to het rid of them. The gentleman I spoke to informed me I must kill the main root or crown. He explained it was most difficult because the crown was located deep in the soil and had to be poisoned at it's very source. He also informed me that it could take up to three years to kill one crown, especially if it was a large and established plant (as they all are there).

Now, let's apply this to the sin/sins issue. Sins are the fruit of sin. Each little sprout originates from the main root and though they can be stopped from growing, they cannot be eradicated unless the root is is killed. See where I'm going? Christ died for our sin, the root, the originator of all the sins we commit. If you once grasp this fact, it can change the way you view sin, sinning, and redemption. A whole new possibility of holiness arises. The redemption of Christ takes on a whole new meaning and the cross a point of death to the source of sin, not just sins. Hope expands, grace is greater, freedom a bigger possibility.

Romans 5:18-19
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Yes, Christ died for my sins but more than that, he died for humanity's sin, the root, the core problem.

Amazing Love

2006-04-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful old hymn which expresses my awe and wonder at God's amazing love for me. It was written my Charles Wesley in the 1700's. It is a great theological treatise and one that lifts my heart and sould to the heavens and reflects the awesome wonder of the death and resurrections of Jesus Christ. Bold I approach the eternal throne,And claim the crown, through Christ my own . As wonderful as our modern choruses are, they somehow lack the deep understanding of Christ's redemptive work. It just reflects the times we live in.

AND CAN IT BE

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain!
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be That
Thou, my God, should die for me?

Chorus:

Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own

Our Amazing God!

2006-03-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

From the smallest kitten to the glorious hills, God manifests his glory and beauty. He is no less interested in us.

The Muse of God

I sit
in front of
my typewriter thinking I
would like to write infinitely
better than yesterday but inspiration seems
to elude the brain as creativity plays hide and seek
among the empty rooms of my all too familiar
muse, stalled in the think tank of
mediocrity, cynically jealous
of all the brilliance
I read
here.

But who
said I had to
conjure images and words
from my own miserably inadequate
creativity, from the inferior ponderings of
the man bound view of life and death and love
when I have within my being the mind of
the divine creator from whom I may
draw sight and sound and beauty
beyond my human experience
or knowledge so freely
given to me
a mortal

© Rita Betti 4/2005

Help Me Remember . . .

2006-03-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

As I went to my prayer time today, God impressed upon my heart the necessity of remembering the things Jesus taught while here on earth. I was prompted to pray; Lord, help me remember these things:

Matthew 22:36-40
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: " 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
--Lord, help me remember my primary relationship is with you. Help me not to forget my neighbor. Love is the most important thing.

John 15:12-13
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down on's life for his friends."
--Lord, help me remember my commitment to my brothers and sisters to love them as you have loved me.

Matthew 23:11
"But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. "
--Lord, help me remember I am a servant just as you were a servant. Let me never forget love means serving.

Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. "
--Lord, help me remember to put mercy, faith and justice first. But help me to never neglect my obligations and responsibilities in obedience.

Matthew 23:27-28
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
--Lord, help me remember appearances are worthless. If my heart is set upon pleasing others and not you, I am nothing but a hypocrite.

These are just a few of the things I desire to remember -- to please God, to walk in His ways and let others see His great mercy and love.

The Eyes of America

2006-03-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Our society seems to be following the prophetic mandate set down by Jesus almost two millennia ago when he said, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Matt. 24:12 We are living in an age where people don't seem to care about others and even friendships are laced with selfish preferences. When I wrote this poem several years ago, I had truly begun to realize that Jesus is the only true friend we have.

"America, America, God shed His grace on thee . . ."
but when I look into her eyes, this is what I see

the watery blue of an old woman's eyes
in their depths no hope lies
she sits in silence all alone
waiting for lunch in the nursing home

the liquid brown of a small child's
questioning eyes, scared and wild
his mother turns tricks to make ends meet
his father? Somewhere on the streets

the haunted gray of a young girl's
eyes hardened by a heartless world
that allowed her father the undue right
to sneak into her room night after night

the hollow eyes of a derelict bum
with wizened face and toothless gum
too numbed with wine and cold to feel
scavenging trash cans for a meal

the glazed eyes of a tiny babe
cold and stiff in an alley grave
behind the clinic; ripped from the womb
sent to heaven far too soon

black flashing eyes of an angry young man
taught by his gang to understand
hopes are for fools and dreams can be bought
in packets from the pusher down the block

the complacent eyes of the well bred
gazing past the underfed
pursuing a more important scheme
called the great American dream

but the eyes of Heaven's Lamb
looking down from God's right hand
eyes of love that gaze upon
the babe, the bum, the old, the young

if we look into his eyes
maybe then we'll realize
a human soul's more precious than
the dreams and schemes of common man

"America, America God shed His grace on thee . . ."
but when I look into her eyes, His grace I do not see

© 2004 Rita Betti