Heroes Do Not Apply!

We must be equipped and prepared to respond with wisdom and understanding when called on to be a comfort to those in despair. What we often find difficult to reconcile in our minds is that the key to their healing and deliverance is not dependent on what we say or do. It is dependent on what the Spirit says to them and does in them. Our role is often to simply be there; to be a concerned and loving friend. Henri Nouwen says it so well. “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”

The problem is we all know enough to give advice to those who are hurting and in despair. Some of us have spent considerable time in study and preparation to always have the right answer in every situation. While this is not a bad thing, it is easy to start believing our answers are THE answers; that what we know is sufficient, and actually required, for others to solve the problems of their lives. After we fail at this a few times, we walk away saying this failure was the result of the other person’s refusal to respond or change, yet knowing all along our advice and counsel was totally insufficient. The result? We just give up and stop caring and stop ministering, and eventually just stop loving. The joy of being used by God has now been replaced by the spiritual and emotional destitution of trying to be God.

If this describes you, congratulations! You have now successfully completed the most important training God could ever give us. You have walked through His boot camp that teaches us we are only clay in His hands molded regularly into the instrument He can use to touch people in specific times and in specific situations. You have learned that kingdom work is not about you. You have learned that dying is living; that giving in to the Spirit is the opposite of giving up on what God has called you to do.

God is not asking us to be heroes—Satan is. No one can honestly relate to a mythical hero created by Hollywood or video games, and no one can relate to us when we have elevated ourselves to hero status. They relate to us when we relate to them. Do you want to change lives? Stop thinking it is you who must do it. You will start to see miraculous events unfold all around you and know the unspeakable joy of being fully in His service just as He created you to be. Get up every morning proclaiming less of me and more of you God and you will find a fresh purpose for living and loving you never thought possible.

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who cares. –Nouwen

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  –Proverbs 18:24

I Don’t Know Why I Am Afraid!

Fear is one of our most primal emotions. It was given to us for a reason. Healthy fear is a preserving part of who we are. The adrenaline rush that follows the sudden triggering of the fight or flight mechanisms in our brain leaves us in a momentary state of heightened awareness and sensitivity with increased heart rate, blood pressure, and other autonomic responses few of us could sustain for any length of time. It is actually an amazing phenomenon that teaches us powerful lessons for our own protection.

Interestingly, the most powerful processes in the brain related to fear take place in the areas of the brain associated with feelings and emotions and not thought. Research has shown these emotion areas of the brain have their own memory that creates conditioned responses based on feelings and not thinking. This is why simply telling yourself not to be afraid is not enough.

Have you ever been in a situation that caused you fear or anxiousness, and you told yourself over and over not to be afraid? Did it work? Probably not. You are negotiating with your rational brain, but your emotional brain is feeding the fear. Are you dealing with fears that embarrass you because they seem so irrational? Well, they probably are irrational, since rationality seems to play a limited role in what makes us fearful. Do you see how this can be debilitating and paralyzing as we walk through life?

When people think out of the box or step out and show initiative only to be shamed or criticized by someone they respect or someone in authority over them, a sense of anxiousness and fear can create a conditioned response that will keep them from ever trying that again. Every time an opportunity to lead or influence comes along, they get a paralyzing anxiety that has no basis in rationality. The fact that they cannot explain why their gifts, talents, and abilities are not being used only magnifies the conditioned response that is now lodged deeply in their emotional being. Does this describe you?

Only the Holy Spirit can address these issues in our lives. The Spirit both renews the mind and heals the heart. Breaking free of the conditioned responses that keep us in an unproductive cycle of repeated behavior requires us to cry out to Jesus with a deep and sincere humility and a willingness to be healed in our emotions, not just in our mind. Failing to do this ensures tomorrow and the days to come will only be a repeat of today. Pray specifically that the Holy Spirit will reveal the fears that have taken root in your heart and emotions and then be courageous enough to act on what is revealed. God is not asking you to break a secret code to be free of debilitating fear. He wants to make what is holding you back crystal clear so tomorrow can be the first step on the journey of effectiveness and kingdom productivity He created you to walk from the day you were born.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future  (Jeremiah 29:11). If your mind gets excited about this, but your heart is filled with doubt that it is true, ask God to remove the conditioned responses that fear has created. 

Hold On To The Boat

A couple of weeks ago, four friends went on a fishing trip off the coast of south Florida. When they did not return that night, the Coast Guard launched a search. Two days later, one lone survivor was found still clinging to the overturned boat. His story is not clear, since he was in serious condition when rescued, suffering from hypothermia. It appears two of the men simply took off their lifejackets and slipped beneath the surface of the water. Another thought he saw land, removed his lifejacket, and swam away. He was not seen again.

All these men were athletes. Two of them were currently playing football in the NFL. They had all the safety equipment, and the owner of the boat was an experienced boater and fisherman. They all, no doubt, knew their best chance of survival was to stay with the boat. So what happened? It would appear the effects of hypothermia caused confusion that led to fatal decisions.

We may not be in the ocean, but no one would argue that our nation is facing the rough seas of economic turmoil and global conflict. The waves have grown to the point many lives are being upended. The unimaginable has become reality and those who were once comfortable are now struggling to survive.

Guys, we are no match for this storm. The men in the boat that sank off the Florida coast were physically and mentally tough. They were professional athletes in one of the toughest sports in the world, but they were no match for the forces of nature that came against them. On our own, we are no match for the forces coming against us today. We are prone to make the same kind of wrong decisions these men made.

We may have been self-sufficient in the past, but this does not mean being self-sufficient will be enough now or in the future. It is in these times that deceptive forces say let go of the boat; compromise your values and cut a few corners to get through this crisis. Don’t do it! The results can be catastrophic. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 16:25).

This is the time to hold fast to what is good and right, even though everything in you wants to let go. Help is on the way and you will be able to hang on until it arrives. How do I know? Because God said He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). That means you will be rescued!

 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12-13).

HOPE

I am looking forward to tonight. I HOPE that you will be there.  I HOPE that you will come expecting to receive something from the Lord.  I HOPE that tonight’s CrosStone meeting will be exciting, inspiring and will leave you HOPEFULL as you leave.  Do not DESPAIR, HOPE is on the way.

I’ll see you tonight ……. HOPEFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Jeff