The Power of Confession

The first time I tried believing for something specific was in the fall of 1996. We were holding church services at a local elementary school while the new sanctuary was being built and my pastor was preaching a series about how to apply faith in your life. At that time in my life, I was broke – and I mean b-r-o-k-e. Forget about having enough faith to stay a month behind on my bills; I was 6 months behind. Somewhere in that teaching, faith came to me. I realized that I really could have whatever I said if only I believed.

I’m a “leap before you look” sort of person, so it never occurred to me to try my faith out on something small first.  I just jumped in with both feet expecting God to come through. I needed a job, but I couldn’t get a job because I didn’t have a way to get to work. So, I decided to use my faith for a car. Every chance I had to give an offering, I would put in what little money I had and make this confession: “Lord, this offering is seed for my car. Thank You for making a way and supplying my need.”

After three Sundays of putting in my little offerings and confessing that God would supply my need, I miraculously received $300 dollars. I was ecstatic! God had heard me! While I knew the money was in response to my faith, it wasn’t enough to meet any of my needs, so I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do with it.

The very next Sunday, our associate pastor taught about how God supplies the seed to be sowed, but that many people eat the seed instead of sowing it, and that’s why they never receive their harvest. Hallelujah! If you listen, God will always provide the answer! When it was time to give the offering, I put in the whole $300! This time, my confession was, “Lord, thank You so much for supplying the kind of seed that I needed to sow for the kind of harvest I’m asking for. I receive my car and thank You now for it because it’s already done!”

I woke up Monday morning and said, “Thank You God for my car!” and went about my day. I woke up Tuesday morning and said, “Thank You God for my car!” and went about my day. I woke up Wednesday morning and said, “Thank You God – hurry up with that car!” and went about my day. That afternoon, I got a call from my mom saying that she had just bought a new car, and instead of trading her old one in, she decided to give it to me. She would be there within the hour to sign over the title.

When she showed up, she seemed as confused as I was as to why she was giving me this car. First off, I hadn’t told anyone that I was believing God for a car. I wanted to be sure it was God when it happened. Second, she hadn’t even been thinking about getting another car until the idea just “popped in her head” on Sunday. And third, she had always traded in her old car when getting a new one. The only explanation she could give me was, “The idea just came to me, and it seemed right, so here you go.”

Since that time, I’ve used my faith for a lot of things: financial, physical and emotional. And I can testify that God has never once let me down. I’ve walked in faith. I’ve walked in hope. And I’ve walked in fearful trust in God’s Word. The same faith is required when I believe for something that I can’t yet see. Every time that I need a healing, or have a financial need, or need a relationship healed, I have to use that same faith.

Hebrews 10:23 tells us to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for He is faithful that promised. If our confession wasn’t an easy thing to lose our grip on, there would be no need to warn us to hold so tight to it! So, my confession right now is that everyone who reads The Celebration today will have an increase in their faith that confession does work, and that each and every one of us will take up the challenge to be aware and purposeful in everything that we say!

(First published 08.30.09)

God’s In the Lawn Care Business

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. ~1 Peter 5:7

Did you know God was in the lawn care business? Well, He is! Last year, I was under contract to sell my house. A friend asked me if I was going to take my wonderful Husquevarna riding lawn mower with me to Atlanta. I told him that I was not planning on needing it in Atlanta, so he offered to buy it from me. I gladly took him up on his offer. Then, not even a week later, the buyer for my home backed out of the contract. I did not move to Atlanta, but now had an acre of land to mow with no mower.

Originally I found a local man who would come by and mow my lawn for a fee. That worked for a while, but this year I simply could not afford his service or the cost of a new lawn mower. So, as you may have guessed, my lawn grew, and grew. One day, I had a novel thought. Since God is my provider, why don’t I simply ask Him for a mowed lawn? So I did. Each time I pulled up into my yard to see the jungle that awaited, I thanked God for my lawn being mowed. A couple weeks later, a friend of mine from Athens called and asked if I would come trim her pig’s hooves. I was glad to oblige and went over one Saturday afternoon. After some sedation, pig wrestling, and lots of squealing, we sat down to relax and my friend asked me what she owed me. I told her that she didn’t owe me anything. At that point, her husband came up and asked, “How about if I come mow your lawn?” DING, DING, DING!!! Hello, God!

When I least expected it, God showed up and made a way to mow my lawn! Within the week, I came home to find a beautifully cut lawn. God is truly faithful, and the more we can trust Him with the little things of life, the more we’ll be able to trust Him in the bigger things. So be encouraged and remember to exercise your faith in the little things. Because once you see that He can mow your lawn, it’s easier to believe for a working lawn mower! I know that’s on it’s way, too!

(First published 09.13.09)

Can you handle the truth?

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. ~Proverbs 14:12, NKJV

Truth was a tricky substance to me when I was growing up. You could bend it and stretch it to fit your need. Truth came with many different sides, in halves or grains and was sometimes mixed in with a grain of salt. If you put your hand on the Bible, you had to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and if you didn’t you’d get struck by lightning. If you didn’t put your hand on the Bible, then the truth was optional. There was the naked truth, the clouded truth, the truth with lots of layers and the hidden truth. I was told that if the truth were known it would out me, bringing me to my very own moment of truth. There was the gospel truth, the God’s honest truth, and the honest to goodness truth. Folks would say, “Now this is the truth right here…” implying it wasn’t the truth when it was over there. Fact and truth were stranger than fiction, so did that mean that all facts were true and all truths were facts? What exactly was truth and did it really exist? Maybe the truth was just what you make of it… that sounds easy. That way, anything I want can be truth. Maybe, like beauty, truth was in the eye of the beholder. Hmmm….

Can’t you see how easily we can get wrapped up in webs of lies and deceit? Most of us wouldn’t recognize the truth if it hit us in the face! So, when Apostle David comes in sharing his story of how he told God, “I want the truth no matter what the truth is,” we all clap and cheer and AMEN and walk away thinking how great that was for him. Or we nod in agreement and think to ourselves, “Yeah, I want that, too.” But do we even know what we’re talking about?

See, you can’t encounter THE TRUTH and not be totally transformed. Jesus said He is the way, THE TRUTH, and the light, and that no man can come to His Father except by Him. So, the only way to God is through the living Truth who is Christ. Well, to live through that Truth, we have to die to the lies and deception already embedded in our souls. We say we want THE TRUTH, but what we often don’t realize is that we must die to a part of ourselves in order to obtain it.

If the Truth is that God wants us to prosper, then we have to die to the greedy, selfish, irresponsible parts of our soul that want to buy everything that is shiny and appealing to our flesh. Ouch! If the Truth is that the anointing in our local church will never rise above the level of our relationships there, then we have to die to our need to be right, to be heard, to be the center of attention, or to get our way. Or maybe you are one of those who needs to die to your right to be quiet, to be passive, or to be a people pleaser. Some of us need to die to the place in us that is okay with keeping people at arm’s distance and withholding our own supply… in other words, we need to die to our comfort zone if we really want THE TRUTH. Double ouch!!

Perhaps a better way to say what AD said would be, “I want the truth no matter what the cost is.” Maybe then, we wouldn’t complain so much when the Truth confronts us with our sin and we have to choose which one we will serve… the Truth or the Lie. Only the Truth that we will embrace will actually set us free. And THAT, my friends, is the GOSPEL TRUTH!!!

Strongholds, pt. 3

Q: How were strongholds breached?

A: Tearing down a stronghold was no easy task. Many strongholds from the ancient world still stand today, their walls slowly crumbling. It was nearly impossible to get through the walls, so conquering armies had to find another way. They might try to get in through the gate using a battering ram and slamming it repeatedly against the gate in an attempt to break it down. They also might try using ladders or a siege tower to scale the walls. Undermining, also called “sapping”, is a method in which soldiers or workers would dig under the walls enough to weaken and eventually collapse them. Many times, an attacking force would use deception to overtake a stronghold. They might send a spy in some sort of disguise to slip into a stronghold. Under cover of darkness, the spy would open the gates, allowing the army to flood through. Another method of infiltration was having soldiers climb over the walls. They would dress in dark clothes and go at night, silently slipping over the wall and to the gate.  Once controlled, a stronghold may conform to the desires of the one controlling it.

Q: So, it sounds like a stronghold could be a good thing…depending on who is controlling it.

A: Yes, holding strongholds meant you had a strong foothold into the kingdom. So, depending on which kingdom the stronghold is serving, it could be a good thing. Remember, strongholds were to be respected, not only by the enemies but by the members of the country as well. When enemy kingdoms or organized groups came into the land, they wanted to capture the strongholds there because they gave them authority in the kingdom. To defend a stronghold meant to hold your place in the kingdom. Losing a stronghold meant losing bits of the kingdom.

The C: There is a lot to meditate here about the design and purpose of strongholds. Think about the fortresses your flesh has built to withstand the purpose of God for your life. Allow the forces of your spirit to infiltrate and overtake these strongholds, turning them into seats of authority for the Kingdom of God!

Strongholds, pt. 2

Many strongholds were not designed to keep enemy forces out, but rather they were built to keep valuable things in. Kings built tombs, memorials, and shrines in the center of some strongholds to prevent them from coming to harm or from being stolen. These treasures would have large vaults and high walls built around them to prevent the riches from leaving the kingdom and falling into enemy hands.

Q: How are strongholds built?
A: One stone at a time, of course. The foundation was dug deeply into the earth, followed by the building of massive outer walls from carefully aligned bricks. These walls were very high and thick with no gaps, making them nearly impossible to scale from outside. Once there was a secure outer wall, they began inner fortifications such as the inner wall, gatehouses, guard posts, and the keep. So, basically, they were built from the outside in. The bigger and stronger the outside walls, the more complex and detailed the inside could be.

Q: So, how was the inside of the stronghold laid out?
A: Well, it depended on the culture and purpose of the stronghold, of course, but they all had places for the inhabitants to live comfortably. The most important part of any stronghold was the keep. The keep was a strong defendable structure, able to last long against enemy onslaught. If the keep was lost, then the stronghold was lost. They were generally built from stone with high walls and thick gates, deep within the center of the stronghold. The keep held the food storages for feeding the soldiers. If the outer walls fell to the enemy, soldiers would retreat inside the keep as a last stand.

The C: Keep in mind that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of this wicked age. Strongholds built to keep you isolated from the rest of the Body of Christ essentially wall you in with the very thing that keeps you from your victory in life. Consider building a stronghold of faith in your life instead. This stronghold would be built out of those relationships the Lord has sent to strengthen you as you grow in faith. Which kind of stronghold do you have?

Strongholds, pt.1

Stronghold: a well-fortified place; fortress; a place that serves as the center of a group, as of militants or of persons holding a controversial viewpoint.

What images are popping into your mind right now? Are you thinking of scenes from Lord of the Rings or The Kingdom? We don’t really have a reference for a stronghold here in America, which makes dealing with spiritual strongholds a little more difficult than we would think. How can we identify a stronghold? What do they look like? What is their purpose? How are they built? How are they torn down? Are they good? Bad?

As we address spiritual strongholds, we thought it would be beneficial to gain some background knowledge that will enable us to have a clear understanding of what we’re up against… or inside, depending on your perspective! We turned to our resident expert on ancient and medieval warfare for a crash course. Here’s what we’ve learned:

Q: What was the purpose for a stronghold?
A: Strongholds were defensive structures designed to ward off enemies. Kings, Lords, and Warlords would construct strongholds to defend their kingdoms from harm. They were not places of luxury or entertainment, but were places of war and hard work, often serving as a military base. An army leaving for war may stop by a stronghold to restock supplies, or they may gather in a stronghold when the country was under attack. Often times, a kingdom had several strongholds placed strategically around its borders for security. If those borders fell to the enemy, the soldiers in the border strongholds would retreat to a well-protected fortress deep within the center of the territory. These strongholds were much more difficult to reach, well stocked for long-term sieges, and equipped with tunnels and escape routes for those inside.

The C: We’ll look at more aspects of strongholds tomorrow. In the meantime, consider your own life. What kinds of defensive structures have you built in your life that keep others out? Are you protected or are you isolated behind those walls?

Give me my blessing! (part 2)

I think we have such a religious definition of the word “Blessing”, that it’s hard for us to see the deeper implications of what it means to BE Blessed. Even most of the Bible study resources out there say that to be “blessed” means to be “happy”. The Blessing of God is more than a feeling! Happiness is the by-product of being blessed.

Whenever I’m having a hard time getting beyond my preconceptions about a thing, I try looking at its opposite for a clearer definition. In this case, the opposite would be the Curse.

It’s easy for us to look at these things and think that being blessed means that everything goes your way, and you’re happy all the time; while being cursed means that everything works against you, and you’re sad all the time. The problem is that we stop there. We just look at the things, the stuff, the product of being either blessed or cursed. Being healthy doesn’t mean you’re blessed. There are plenty of healthy people who live under the curse. And being sick doesn’t mean you’re cursed. There are plenty of sick people who are blessed.

Let’s go back to my analogy with my own mother. The blessing I received from my mother was her ability (imparted to me through instruction, mentoring and equipping) to live successfully in this world. You see, the Birthright (or the inheritance) is all about the stuff that our parents’ blessing provided for them that they could, in turn, give to and share with us. The Blessing is all about our ability to then produce an inheritance for our own children. This is why Christ said “The works that I do shall he do also (Birthright); and greater works than these shall he do (Blessing)” (John 14:12)

It’s so important for us to understand these things because we have to know that we are Blessed (empowered with God’s ability) and we have to know that we have a Birthright (legal access to God’s authority). When we understand that we have BOTH God’s authority AND His empowerment, then we will truly understand that nothing is impossible. Mark 9:23 “Jesus said unto him, IF thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”.

Give me my blessing! (part 1)

How many times have you heard this in Christian circles? There are many, many, many, many songs about it – “Don’t stop, get your blessing!” But have you ever asked, “What does that mean? What are we singing about? Why am I shouting at God?” Seriously, do we really believe that God is withholding our blessing until we’ve completed some grand task, or achieved some great level of spirituality, or whipped ourselves into some music-induced frenzy? If you are Christ’s, then you are blessed. Period. The Blessing is the power of God, or an even better way of saying it, the empowerment of God, and it’s the Birthright (won through Christ’s sacrifice) that gives us access to the Blessing.

Look at the word Birthright. It’s the Right of Birth. It’s the right, privilege, or entitlement a person has simply because of his parents. I am my mother’s daughter. I have a key to her home. I can walk in anytime day or night, eat her food, watch her TV, or sleep in her bed. I have full access to whatever she has. That’s not the blessing that she bestows upon me, that’s my birthright. The only other person on the planet who has the same access that I have to her stuff is my brother. You see, he and I are joint heirs together of my mom’s kingdom.

Yeah, yeah, I know all that – now gimme my Blessing!

Hold your horses, you little “bless me” Christian! Do you even know what you’re asking for? Have you ever even considered, “What IS the Blessing of God? What does it mean to be “Blessed”? Think about it; would you even know if you got the blessing you were asking for?

(First published 07.26.09)

Hey, man! Nice shot!!

I spend so little time in church compared to the time I spend with my family, friends, and co-workers. In light of that, my mandate is to influence them for the cause of Christ. Luke 14:34 says “Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” One of my challenges is to determine how I can be “salty” enough so that those around me are left thirsty for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years in my Christian walk, I have been more like the blast of a shotgun shell. I would “follow an unction” ( more accurately, an emotional urge) to fire a shot in someone’s  general vicinity from a long range. Collateral damage was inevitable and, frankly, bloody for everyone in the room. The truth is, while I gleamed over my prey’s demise, the seed sown had fallen on ground that wasn’t prepared for sustained growth (Mat. 13:19-22).

I think I will put down my old splatter gun and invest in some focused sharp shooting skills. On exam day, I’ll part a honeybee’s wings on a hound dog’s hiney at a thousand yards. Expert marksmen know how to breathe properly and squeeze the trigger for improved accuracy.  Mastering the call to love my neighbor, well, that’s a bit more complicated. I need to pray for God’s leading when I am determining the best person to try and reach out to.

Study the Word. God’s very nature is wrapped up in His love for His children. Loving my neighbor naturally follows from our Father’s example.  I find His desire for His children within the pages of His Word.  I will saturate my soul with the scriptures and when my mouth is dry and empty, His Words will pour from my born again spirit and satisfy their thirst.

It is so significant to be sure we are “walking the talk”. It’s cliché and it rolls right off the tongue, but it’s not so easy to do.  Real life is lived outside the four walls of the church. That includes real fill in the blank yourself. I mean real pain, fear, anxiety, emotional vomit, selfishness, etc. You’re with me! Don’t deny it.

After I say the things I believe God expects me to, I have to stand in faith knowing they will come to pass in their life, no matter what the circumstances are. One of my bigger shortcomings has been my lack of following up in a systematic and routine way. I am busy, so putting them on my schedule will help me move from the shotgun attack to the eagle eye, super-shooter God wants me to be. Building relationships with potential believers should require me to organize parts of my day so I can control the scenarios I am led into. Let’s face it, if I don’t follow through and show compassionate interest in them, then they know I am nothing more than a double-barreled blowhard and they are the trophy destined to hang on my wall.

What strategies has God given you for focusing in on some of the people you are in contact with outside the walls of your local church? Let us know by posting a response to this article on The Celebration blog. They will benefit all of us. So, let’s make a deal. I promise to work through these on a greater level. Will you?

(first published 08.16.09)

God Working in the Small Things

Everyone has heard the statement, “Don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk.” I, personally, have always lived by this motto. But walking the faith walk is just as much about talking as it is walking! God knows my needs, but He also commands us to “ask” and then “it will be given unto you.” “Knock” and THEN “the door shall open.” I often forget to ask God for what I need and/or want.

For example, ever since we bought our house over two years ago, I have desired a wood dinning room table with black chairs to match my kitchen. I found a dining room set that I really liked, and talked to my husband about it, then we talked to God about it. Although, we had the ability to get financing, we didn’t have the peace! So, we decided to wait. While I didn’t start confessing about a dining room set specifically, I pray and confess every day that all our needs are met. I am learning that God always provides. In fact, He has ALREADY provided, but how it happens is not always what we have in mind.

A few weeks ago, my neighbor had a yard sale. I decided to go over and introduce myself and take a look at what she was selling. She had a beautiful dining room set that was reasonably priced, but still not within our budget. I told her that I would talk to my husband and maybe, in a few weeks, come back and buy the table and chairs. Then, just last week, my neighbor came knocking on my door, saying that she and her husband would like to give us the dining room set! A beautiful hardwood table with six nice chairs that could easily be painted black!

Walking in faith is as much about what you don’t say as what you do say. Christmas is right around the corner and we have already started budgeting for presents for our daughter. I have NOT been saying that I am dreading it. I have NOT been saying that we will not be able to buy her all the toys I want her to have. I have NOT been saying that it is not in the budget. What I have been saying is that God has provided. I have been saying that I am looking forward to spending time with my family and friends and putting up our beautiful Christmas tree. Once I began to confess the right things, God’s provision began to show up!

The first item on our list for our daughter was a plastic playhouse. Last week, some of our best friends purchased a new house and told us that the previous owners left a pretty plastic playhouse that they wanted to give us! They are even going to pressure wash it, store it, and deliver it at Christmas time!

I am learning that faith works in the small things and the big things. Faith works in the seemingly unimportant things and the pressing and urgent issues in life. Faith is an action. Faith is a confession. Faith is a journey not a destination. Faith is a choice made everyday. And for me, faith is my life.

(First published 09.06.09)