I live on the edge of the rainforest, every day there's a fight here. A fight for the rainforest's most valuable commodity. Sunlight. Water is in abundant supply but sunlight is almost impossible for seedlings to find. Occasionally a giant tree may fall leaving a brief moment for the most aggressive to dominate but it's a tough fight on the forest floor. One fig wins the battle in a most underhanded way. When a bird or lizard eats fruit from the Strangler Fig some of the seeds get deposited in crevices at the top of huge trees, giving them direct access to sunlight. Over a long period of time the fig sends down fine roots. When they reach the ground the plant kicks into a growth spurt, sending down additional roots and growing leaves. The root network encircles the tree above and below ground, strangling its roots and trunk. The host tree eventually rots out from the fig leaving a twisted hollow reminder of the tree on the inside.

As we journey through life there are seeds of thoughts which are dropped in our minds. Some of those thoughts are aggressive, bitter thoughts. They often stem from real offenses, and may be justifiable. If left unattended, like the Strangler Fig, they overtake and begin to strangle us, cutting off who we used to be. Crippling our lives with bitterness and pain, leaving a hollow, distorted image of who we once were.

Forgiveness gently removes those seeds and their roots. It's not about the perpetrator, it's ultimately about us. Forgiveness returns us to who we truly are. Removing bitterness can be hard work, there's something sickly attractive about it. It just feels good to nurse. Forgiveness is not about saying that what was done was OK, it's about letting love win. Bitterness is like drinking poison waiting for your enemy to die. Put the cup down and begin by simply saying the words "I forgive" If you're faithful to press in, real forgiveness will come and you'll return to the authentic you, nothing could be sweeter.

Some offenses are very graphic, if you find it hard, locate someone who can help walk you through the process.

Thanks to Pastor Greg for the fig tree example.

Isolating Trouble

From the beginning of time man has been discovering and isolating elements and chemicals. 6000 years ago man discovered how to extract iron, in 1933 Walter Haworth isolated Vitamin C. When these essential components were in their natural environment their properties were much harder to interpret. Once isolated they became much easier to interact with and understand but these discoveries do not come easily, the journey to isolate Vitamin C took over 25 years.

In a similar way, we are complex beings, an intricate weaving of upbringing,experience and environment. There are many interactions happening inside us, some good, some not. A particular reaction to an event may have a single source but like iron or Vitamin C in their original environment, that source is difficult to see when mixed with all our other thoughts and emotions. If one is brave enough, it's incredibly valuable to take the time to sort through the myriad of internal interactions and get to the core thought. Isolating this thought may take significant time and effort but once isolated it becomes much easier to understand. At this point both the thought's effect and origin can be determined. If the effect is determined one is able to identify the feelings associated with that thought. Being aware of the thought and it's feelings become an early warning system that allows one to avoid the thought before it takes us over. Understanding the origin of the thought gives a method to undo the very root of the problem.

So next time your reaction catches you off guard or your behaviour is not becoming, get a trusted friend, sit down, get honest, and dig into the details. Pull each layer of thought apart until you get to the core. You'll simply know when you get there and with that thought isolated you will see a clear way forward.

Handle with Care

Today I met a new leader at Bethel, well met isn't really the right term, that would imply a meeting, this was a counseling session. Those are a lot of fun, sort of. You can imagine a nice comfortable setting with the counselor to whom you're about to bear your soul but here you have to add 12 interns learning from the process. Fun isn't quite the right term but it'll do for now.

As you may know my wife passed away five years ago and the circumstances preceding her condition/illness were not the best. As a result I've had a couple of seasons of counseling. If you've ever wondered about counseling I have one question for you, would you like to work through a problem at your pace or would you like someone to accelerate that processing time? If you want to work it out on your own, go ahead.

So I sat before the group, ready to bear my heart because I realized I could say nothing and that's exactly what would happen or I could seize the moment. So I cracked a few jokes to ease the tension and dove in. 

I began following a familiar line of discussion, laid a foundation for all to understand the heart of the issue and then said one word which turned the next hour completely upside down.  As I described everything I hit a word I'd never connected before, the accuracy and intensity of it unglued me in an instant. In all of the previous counseling I'd never been emotional about the subject. I was simply tied shut over it. It had been impossible for me to cry, I was locked up but release was about to come. That one word broke me as I because I'd never connected it to the centrality of my situation. 

From there the session was simply the most incredible exposure and revelation; care and restoration I think one could have. You place someone with a lifetime of pain whom the Holy Spirit has been priming and making ready for redemption in the hands of the most tender, caring, spirit led leader I have ever met and you can only imagine what happens.

This is not just ask a question, get an answer, then process. This is the counselor saying "I see this...", "I see this...." one by one describing the internal prisons, why they were locked and how to get free. I understood why his words were so penetrating when he said "Jesus knows, I've seen Him, He knows."

His tenderness was beyond anything I've ever experienced; his comfort and compassion were redemptive in and of themselves. The moment I cracked at the first word he was at my side on his knees. The Holy Spirit is a dove and He was allowed to manifest in the most sensitive nature of that expression. I am full of thanks for such skillful care of the human heart, the most valuable of all earthly treasures.

Which side are you on?

I recently learned that the word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, en and theos. En is the word "in" and theos is the word "God", so enthusiasm means "In God." When I read that I thought "Yes!" When I'm "In God" there is a burning enthusiasm that energizes every part of my life. The closer I am to God, the more I burn with joy.

The opposite is also true and like the Force in Star Wars, there's a Dark side. It competes against the Light for my attention and affections. The more I slide to the captivity of the Dark side the more I manifest it's non-enthusiastic expressions of depression, doubt, questioning and complaining.

The good (and bad) news is I'm not stuck, I can always move. The more I allow God to captivate my affections the more enthusiasm I experience; the more I yield to Dark affections the heavier my heart will be. I'm sticking on the Light side.

Ravi and the Incense Factory

I've spent the weekend listening to Darren Wilson, creator of the Father of Lights movie (he's the guy in blue) and he told us a story about Ravi you've probably not heard. You might ask "Who is Ravi?" Ravi is a guy in India to whom God speaks audibly every day. Each morning about 4am God wakes Ravi up and tells him what He wants him to do that day. Pretty crazy! Needless to say amazing things happen.

One of the things Ravi does is minister to widows and orphans in India. Being a widow is especially tough in India because their culture holds that if your husband died, he died because you are cursed. You are thrown out of society, left to fend for yourself and become an untouchable. Pretty bad stuff.

In one city where he ministers to widows they have a camp on the outside of town where they live. Ravi thinks, it would be great to get some work going to raise the status of the women. He knows they can all sow, so he buys a bunch of material and has them sew cushions. They begin, things ramp up, they sell some cushions but by the second month things are beginning to stall. Sales are dropping off, some women move away and things simply grind to a halt.

Disappointed, Ravi talks to the Lord and says "What's up? I'm here trying to help these ladies and nothing's working?" 
The Lord replies "Did you ask me what I want them to do?"
"Ummm, no."
"Are you ready to ask Me what to do?"
Sheepishly Ravi responds "Yes..."
"I want them to make incense."
Ravi exclaims "God, this is India, they don't burn incense to make houses smell nice like they do in America. They burn incense to worship idols, you know like demons..."
"I want them to make incense."
"Ok"

So Ravi works out how to make incense, gets all the materials and then God gives him one extra instruction. "I want the women to pray over the materials for 1/3 of the day and make the incense for the other 2/3 of the day." They set to praying, making and selling the incense as the Lord directed them to.

About two weeks go by and there's a knock on the door. They answer and it's people from the nearby village. They ask them what they want and they reply "We want to talk to the people who make this incense; odd things are happening."
"That's us, what's going on."
"We've noticed that every time we burn your incense our idols fall over or mysteriously get broken and our children are seeing angels and demons in our houses. We want you to bless us because you have something powerful!" Now the women have prestige and honor in the city. Whenever a child is born they bring the child to the women to bless because they know a powerful God is with them!

Falling Up

There are three places I call home, Australia, Columbus, Ohio and Redding, California. I returned to Columbus for Christmas and the highlight of my visit was falling up.

I've been in bible school for the last six months and loving it. This bible school is distinctive in that it's primary focus is teaching us to flow in the supernatural gifts of God, such as those outlined in 1 Cor 12. Like all things that require repetition to learn, skill comes from practice. The gifts are no different but it takes both practice and faith to walk in them. Not only that, you have to embrace the idea that faith is often spelled R-I-S-K. Risk is often the prerequisite for success. The same is true in many areas of life, an investment that exploded or a relationship that blossomed first required risk. The greater the risk the greater the reward and so a confrontation with risk became the highlight of my trip.

I need to back track for a moment. A few days after arriving my dear friend Scott invited me to speak for five minutes at a Sunday evening prayer meeting. After the meeting another friend, very seasoned in the Lord said, "I hear the Lord say, if you continue in humility, fervency and love. He will open a door for you to minister to youth." Not something I'd done much before but I realize the incredible potential in developing young people.

Fast forward to a few days before the end of the trip and someone who had been reading my Facebook posts suggested to the youth pastor of her kids that I minister to their youth group at one of the larger ministries in town. Now adults I get, when I say something, I know the internal response those words are going to create. Youth, I have no idea, they scare the kajoobies out of me. If you know what a kajoobie is let me know because I just lost all mine.

So with significant trepidation I prepared for the message. While writing down my thoughts I heard the name Melissa and saw a picture of the Lord picking up a gem and placing it in the crown of our Savior. I've seen people at my school, call out a name and then give a word from the Lord but I'd never done that. So this is a new level of risk for me. Before the meeting I was tempted to ask some friends in the group, "Is there a Melissa in youth group?" but I resisted and went on to preach.

I was telling the youth how natural it is to flow with the Holy Spirit. It's easy to talk to a friend, He wants to be our friend; build a relationship with Him and it's easy and quick to talk to Him. It's natural to respond to His voice but it requires risk. You have to be prepared to fail, without that willingness, nothing is going to happen. So I said "Let's try it right now. Is there a Melissa in the room?" Waiting, waiting, waiting... "Nope! See how simple that was, I tried and failed. I really believe the Lord wanted you to see someone fail and know it's OK. It's like falling upwards, you go, you try, you fail and you learn." It was so much fun to be a real life example of attempt and failure because it took the pressure of performance away. It gave them the freedom to say "If he tried, failed and laughed. I can do the same."

Of course everyone and myself was delighted when Melissa walked in the room ten minutes later! I told her she was a hand picked gem, and to seek out others to place in His crown. The neat thing for one of the youth was he had watched that word being given in a dream two nights before!

Break out of your comfort zone into a new level of risk. Failure stinks but it's much better to tear through the thin veil of risk that separates you from the things you desire, because once you try the next time only gets easier.

Coming Home

We love growth. You've seen the door post with short pencil marks, measuring the family tribe as each child grows. Everyday they check to see if they're taller but change is incremental and that's why we have record it. Coming back home is like encountering those old marks on a door post. I've been in school three months out of six away and there was this pressure as I returned home for Christmas. Was moving all the way across the country worth it? If I'm honest there's been internal pressure to be super powered and coming back was pressured. I know better than to yield to the pressure but it can be challenging.
So returning home causes me to ask the question. What's changed? The biggest thing is knowing God is pleased with me. As my Father He's crash hot about me and His Son thinks I rock. That's not a proud or arrogant statement, it's simply knowing that God loves me. What's even better, is it isn't about how well I do things, His love isn't about performance. What father causes his children perform before he loves or enjoys them? He simply wants his children in his presence.
Living in that reality brings a profound change in life. No longer am I striving to perfect every last shred of my life before I receive His acceptance. Maybe you think He requires your perfection, or that your sins have separated you from His presence. That's scripture but let me ask you, are you seeking Him with all your heart? If so then I would refer you to "Love covers a multitude of sins." Paul tells us we have junk but the solution is to reckon or decide not to yield to it. He tells us what we think is key to how we live. Do you want to live more? Believe that God's grace and acceptance is greater than your sin.
God is not looking for you to work out your hardest problems before He receives you. He's waiting for you to invite Him into your deepest mess. Get up on His lap and invite Him to help you work it out. As you do believe that His grace is bigger than you sins and experience His royalty at work in you. So I sum up the last six months in a message from a friend I caught eyes with on Sunday, "Your countenance lifted my spirit!" The radiance of your face comes from deep inside. The more you live in the reality of God's grace upon your life, the brighter your countenance.