I’m Not Going Back!

This picture came across my path several years ago, and it had a profound impact on me. The girl in the picture is not me, but when I saw it, I knew it was the girl I wanted to be. The girl who has no fear, who sees jumping off the ledge with her head back and arms open wide the normal activity of each day.

I knew that, as a child of God, it was me. I just hadn’t ever believed it. That’s what happens to so many things God tells us, isn’t it? He says it, and we know it’s true, but we just can’t grasp it in our hearts or in our heads.

Jesus said He is our Shepherd and that we only follow His voice and that we won’t follow the voice of a stranger because we don’t know a stranger’s voice. That’s pretty powerful. Now, that has to be true, because Jesus said it. But, so often, the enemy of our soul speaks to us as though he still has authority over us. And, when we act out of a lack on knowledge, we will follow that stranger’s voice, to our own peril.

We do not belong to the enemy any longer. Our relationship with him is finished. It was finished on the cross. The life you now have, as a Christian, is a life free of the past. You can choose to say, “I’m not going back!” You can’t go back, because that past was obliterated on the cross. Colossians 2: 11-15 tells us the devil was disarmed and was triumphed over at the cross. That was your victory. It was my victory. And, I’m not going back. (You should read Colossian 2:11-15 until you have it deep on the inside of you and can recite it to yourself every single day.)

Just as sure as you are saved and the devil can’t take you back to before that moment of salvation, you can be just as sure that you don’t have to go back to anything that God didn’t give you as His child. Even if that bad thing happened after you became a child of God, you do not have to go back to it. Just decide, “I’m not going back!”

You don’t have to go back to fear. Fear is no longer your inheritance. You don’t have to go back to lack because the Lord is your Shepherd and you do not lack (Psalm 23:1). If God healed you of a disease, you don’t have to fear that it will return. You’re not going back! You don’t have to go back to the hurts of the past; you’ve been healed of them all. You don’t have to go back to old habits. You might have been enslaved to them in the past, but God said that’s been nailed to the cross and you’re not going back.

Say it out loud: “I’m not going back!” No…you didn’t do it. Say it out loud – “I’m not going back.” Let me encourage you to get in your car or in your shower or wherever you can get where you can be alone for awhile. And, think about that thing that has made you forget that you’re really that girl in the red skirt, and begin saying out loud, “I’m not going back!” Say it over and over. Say it hundreds of times. Thousands of time. Loudly; say it loudly. See yourself totally free, jumping off the ledge with your eyes closed and your head back and your arms wide open, with every disappointment and failure and lack behind you. I’m telling you, it will change your life. It’s not the saying of it that makes it so. It’s the saying it until you believe it because God said it that sets you free and makes it so. And, changes you from the inside out.

Or…

Or, you can just stay the same person who has been deceived by the stranger’s voice into thinking that the other shoe will drop one day, that that pain in your body or in your heart or in your bank account is proof. Listen to me – there is no other shoe. That shoe was nailed to the cross with the first shoe and was buried with Christ. You do not have to go back. I’m not going back!

The good and the bad of the past are both gone. Forget them like the apostle Paul did, and reach for what is ahead.

One day I’d love to have a massive size print of that picture hanging in my living room as a reminder that that is the “me” Jesus created when He saved me. I can’t speak for you, but – I’m not going back! It’s too late to reexamine my decision. I’ve already jumped.

Love is a Warrior.

Love has been made out to be namby pamby. Soft and squishy. Tender. Submissive. But, that’s not the truth. If God IS love – and, He is – then love can’t be anything like that.

You can not believe John 3:16 and not see the unrelenting focus of love. The fierceness that is love. God’s love drove Him to provide a payment owed Him for the sin of the entire world. Jesus paid the punishment necessary for us to have peace with God (Isaiah 53:5), and He did it because God loved us (John 3:16). The greatest battle of all time and the greatest victory of all time was wiping out sin’s debt for all Men, and love drove God to do that very thing by sending Jesus to die for our sins and to raise for our justification.

There are two things I want you to understand about love. Love is a warrior, and love is a champion. Love fights to win. Allow me to tell you a personal story that illustrates the warrior and champion that is love.

Dwight and I both were 19 years old when we began dating. After a few months, I felt that I didn’t actually love him. So, I sent his ring back to him with a letter saying I was sorry. For one evening, he was devastated. But, the next day he met with me and, for two hours, he laid out his case that I did indeed love him. He would say, “If you didn’t love me, you wouldn’t have…” His list was long. At the end of the two hours, he asked if we could start over, with a “do-over” first date. He said, “I will never tell you I love you again, until you tell me you love me. But, I want you to know this. I love you.”

On that do-over date, he replicated our first date. Every topic, every joke. I was smitten.

A few weeks later, traveling back to college, I got stranded in Atlanta in an ice and snow storm. I called Dwight to ask if he could come get me. He said he’d ask his parents. I didn’t know why he didn’t just say, “Sure!” so I hung up, forgetting to give him information on how to reach me.

Dwight pleaded with his parents to let him drive from North Carolina to Atlanta to get me. They knew it was too hazardous, so they refused. He continued to plead, to the point that his mother said, “Why do you want to go get that girl!?!” He said, “Because I love her.” She turned to him and softly said, “Then, go get her.”

He didn’t have a phone number or location or contact person. He only knew I was staying at some Christian college with the girlfriend of “Scott,” my brother’s friend. Regardless, Dwight searched Atlanta for me…in an ice and snow storm. He found the college and questioned everyone he saw, but he couldn’t find me. Finally, he had to leave without me.

When I finally made it to my own college in Nashville, Dwight ran to meet me, and said, “I couldn’t find you! I looked for you but couldn’t find you!” All that time, I thought I had been left alone, but the truth was, he came for me. And, I fell in love with him.

Dwight ignored the ice and storm. He stood up to his parents. He wasn’t challenged by the vastness of Atlanta. He only had one thing on his mind. Rescuing me. He was my warrior until he was my champion.

Love what is rightfully yours. Are you angered at what is happening in our nation? Then, love America. Really love her. Get involved in politics and pursue her and win her back. Don’t give up until you win. Otherwise, you’re just a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol.

Love focuses on winning. Love doesn’t look at any obstacle or opposition. It doesn’t fix its eyes on the vile and heinous acts going on in our nation. Love focuses on winning the prize. And, love expects to win.

Love fights with no thought of losing. If love had a Facebook page, it wouldn’t have any posts about its opposition. Love expects the enemy to lose, so love has no motivation to bring attention to the loser because love hasn’t had one thought about the enemy.

Love pursues until love wins. A lost battle doesn’t stop love. Love doesn’t see that as a sign of defeat. The only thing that will stop love from warring is winning.

Don’t settle for less than love. Don’t settle for someone who isn’t a real lover, who isn’t a warrior and a champion, who won’t fight to win you and fight to keep you. Even more, don’t settle for being a person who isn’t a real lover, who won’t fight to win and keep the one you love.

Love is the greatest of. While I treasure the story of Dwight, my warrior and champion who fought for me until he won me, the “greatest of” is the One who died for me while I was yet in my sin, Who sought me out, Who never gives up on me. God is my Warrior and my Champion. God truly is the greatest of.

The Little Word You Missed in John 3:16

John 3:16. We all know the verse. But, we’ve missed out on a treasure contained in it. It’s found in one word.

So.

It was translated as “so” from Greek word pronounced, “hoo-to.” which means, “in the same way,” or “in this manner.” In John 3:16, it doesn’t mean God deeply loved; rather, it means God loved “in this same way.”

Jesus was saying, “In the same way, God loves the world.” Hmm. So, what “same way” was He referring to? That, my friend, is found in what Jesus said to Nicodemus just prior to verse 16.

Jesus reminded Nicodemus God healed the Israelites in the wilderness by Moses lifting up the serpent. Every person who looked at the serpent and believed they would be healed was healed. But, the significance of why Jesus used the illustration goes back to “so” – which Jesus used in both verses 14 and 16.

Jesus said in the same way that God loved the Israelites in that situation, God loved the whole world. Did you catch that? In the same way God loved the Israelites when He healed them was the same way God loved the world and saved them.

God healed them because He loved them. God loved and saved in the same way that God loved and healed.

Healing is a reaction to God’s love. God loved – God healed. Healing was the “in this way,” … the “in this manner” of John 3:16.

If you need healing, saturate yourself in John 3 until you understand that God’s motivation to heal is love. If you know He would love you enough to send Jesus to save you, you must know that He loves you enough to heal you. He’s not a respecter of persons. What He did in that wilderness for those murmuring, complaining, unthankful, ungrateful Israelites that He loved – “in the same manner” He loves you enough to heal you.

Those 54 days I prayed to be healed of cancer, one of the things I would say to God was, “God, I didn’t come up with the idea of Your being the God Who Heals. That was Your idea. You came up with that idea before I was ever born.” I found comfort in reminding God – and myself – that I wasn’t asking Him to do something but rather that I was receiving something that was His nature – the God Who Heals because He loves. And, that it was His idea.

God never healed me one time because I was good. Listen, He knows I’m a stinker, and I do, too. And, if you know me well, you might agree. Every single time He healed me was because I received it because He gave it out of His love for me. God loved; God gave. I believed and received.

The hardest part of receiving salvation is believing that it’s possible. When you get beyond focusing on yourself and you focus on God’s love for you that provided that salvation for you, it becomes something you run to receive. The same thing happens with healing. When you get beyond yourself and the severity of your need for healing and you focus on God’s love for you that caused Him to become the God Who Heals to you, that’s when you’ll run to receive it.

I say it often: You have nothing to lose to believe God will heal you. If it doesn’t happen instantly, just keep standing in your faith, as I had to do for those 54 days I stood believing to be healed of cancer…and the many other times I’ve had to do the same thing when I needed healing of something else. Lay hold of your “in the same manner” promise. You have nothing to lose.

Legalized Hate

Hatred seems to be the new normal. You can’t just disagree with the President; you have to hate him. You can’t just hate him, you have to also hate his family, friends, and staff. If you love the President, you have to hate those who hate him. It’s the new normal.

Hate is a breeder. Hate begets hate. Hate causes others to hate the haters.

Hate is insatiable. Hate creates a hardened and closed heart.

Lost people – people who do not know God, have to fight against their nature to hate. God, on the other hand, IS Love. His children have His nature…and the mind of Christ…and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. So, love is actually our nature. We children of God have to make a choice to hate.

Ouch.

Have Christians legalized some forms of hate? Hmm. Good question. We can hate certain sports teams. That’s legal now. We can hate bad drivers. We can hate political leaders – those past and those present. We can hate celebrities. We can even hate certain pastors or churches. Oh, well, we don’t say we hate them. We cloak our hate by saying, “I can’t stand…” rather than, “I hate…”

Ouch.

Jesus told us the root of hate in the believer. He said if you know you have been forgiven much, you will love much. How much of a screw up are you? I’m guessing you are an accomplished one. We all are in some area. I readily admit it – I’m a stinker. Don’t be smug – you are, too. We don’t want to be, but we are. It’s easy to get comfortable in our failures, forgetting that Jesus forgave us of “much.”

If you’re a Christian, all you have to do is choose to not hate, and let your “love much” nature be free to love the stinkers and the saints. Jesus said you haven’t accomplished anything if you love those who love you, who have the currency necessary to purchase your love.

Let me encourage you to walk away from hate. Start with sports. Yikes. Yes, sports. Stop hating your rival teams. You can support your team without having to hate their opponents (and/or the refs). Stop hating drivers. According to illegal substance use statistics, most drivers you encounter will be under the influence at the most and stressed out or fear-filled at the least. Stop hating politicians. Instead, overcome evil with good. Start to believe that, where sin abounds, grace super abounds, and start praying for grace to overpower sin in our nation.

Let’s not have armored hearts. Let us have tender, welcoming ones. Like our Father’s heart.

Yes, I will read this blog to myself, because it’s just as easy for hate to hang in my closet, waiting for me to choose to wear it each morning. I – we – we believers just have to remember that we are already clothed. We are clothed in love. Already. There’s no need to change garments.

Hate may be legal – in the nation and in the church. But, we don’t have to let it stay that way. As we head toward Valentine’s Day (and, even better, Resurrection Sunday), how about we just be who we are – children of the God Who IS love, and let’s see if love truly is “the greatest of”?

God’s Grace Abounds Much More Than New York

This is the view from my front porch. Behind the fog lies a mountain range. And, if you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen many pictures of those mountains. Sunrises. Sunsets. Cloudy. Snowy. Sunny.

The fog, rain, snow, darkness of night – none of them tell me the truth about the mountains. They say they are gone. But, the truth is, those mountains abound. Much more. The fog and rain and snow and darkness of night will leave, but that mountain range will always remain.

New York’s abortion law is like fog, rain, snow darkness of night. It is abounding sin. But, it is not truth. Truth is always found in God’s word. What does God have to say about it? “Moreover, the law entered that the offence might abound. BUT – Where sin abounded, grace did MUCH MORE abound.” Romans 5:20

Why fix our eyes on the offence, when it can’t even compare to the overabundance of God’s grace that is able to remove the offence of sin? If we fix our eyes on Jesus, we will live in victory and we will allow Him to overcome sin in our nation. We will share the Gospel to others. We will become the overcomers that we truly are on the inside.

I was also reminded of this poem God inspired me to write many years ago. I share it with you to inspire you to adjust your own viewfinder:

I stand and watch the sunset hide its strength beyond the mountainside.

Not fear nor hope nor good intent can speed or slow its sure descent.

Without encouragement of sun, the evening cools when day is done.

Mountain high and darkness deep obscure the future that I seek.

But, lines of Truth are not controlled by what my human eyes behold.

For, even though the earth does turn, the mighty Daystar’s cauldrons burn.

I dare not choose to set my sights high upon the mountain heights.

But, turning east I set my gaze, expecting soon to see the rays.

You can choose to fix your eyes on the sin in the world, or you can choose to fix your eyes in faith that the power of God available to us can superabound over the wickedness in our world. If you will look to Jesus and allow Him to use you in this world to speak the message of salvation to those around you, to be an encourager of fellow Christians, and to pray for our nation, we will all see the Sun burn off the fog and once again see the mountains and mountains of grace poured out on our nation.

Adjust your viewfinder, and set your eyes on the east and expect grace – through you – to abound in our nation.

Rules or Relationship?

I love the illustration Dwight gives about the difference between rules and relationship. He says, “I’m married to Debra. When I come home at night, I don’t kiss the marriage certificate, I kiss Debra. I’m not married to marriage. I’m married to Debra. We have a relationship.”

Relationship is built on love, not rules. The more I love Dwight, the more I want to please him. The more Dwight loves me, the more he wants to please me. His love for me causes my love for him to grow even more.

Now, every relationship will have “rules”; but, they neither drive relationship nor define it. Or, at least they shouldn’t.

Rules do not require love. They just require adherence and punishment. Follow the rules and you don’t get punished. Break a rule, and you are punished. And, the rules enforcer receives some sort of gratification that you are punished.

When you got saved, you entered into a relationship with God. He is your Father. He’s not your sheriff. And, His Word is His love letter to you. It’s not your rule book.

Do you want to know how deeply God loves you? First of all, He placed on Jesus the condemnation of your sin – while you were still in sin. And then, He sent the Holy Spirit to reveal to your need of redemption. And, as a child of God, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you to lead you (see Galatians 3:1-3). And none of that – not one iota of that – has to do with your works, just your faith. And, that doesn’t even tell the whole story of how much He loves you.

God is not up in heaven holding a rule book and a big mallot, waiting to bonk you on the head when you mess up. He already knew you were a screw up, and that’s why Jesus’ sinless blood was required on your behalf so that you could have a relationship with God.

Can I tell you a secret? The more you focus on the fact that God loves you, the less you are going to mess up. The Bible tells us that, that as we behold Him, we are being changed from glory to glory…and that we are to keep our eyes on Jesus Who is both the Author and the Finisher of our faith. That’s a relationship.

In our marriage relationship, sometimes I just need to let Dwight love me. To sit next to him on the sofa and allow him to put his arm around me, stroke my hair, kiss my forehead, and make me remember that he is not going to let anything harm me. That he is my champion. That he believes in me. That I can let go of my cares because he cares about me.

Relationship with God is like that. But even better. Much better. The “humble yourself” part is to let Him put His arms around you and to allow Him to be your Champion. To know that it’s okay to need His love. To admit that you need Him.

The next time you pick up your Bible, say out loud, “God, I want to take some time to read about You and me.” If you’ll do that every time, you’ll find it much easier to live the life you see in the Word. And, you’ll discover the wondrous relationship that you’re in with God. That discovery will move you to worship Him even more. To let down your walls and pour out your love on Him.

Rules aren’t worthy of your kisses.

What Do You Really Want?

It’s a typical scenario. Sort of.

I had determined to focus on being healthy. I was going to the gym every single morning before work. I was watching what I ate. I was losing weight. I was feeling pretty proud of myself. And then…

As I was walking to the restroom at work, I passed a vending machine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something in that vending machine that had never been in there before. For the very first time.

Hostess Cupcakes.

You know the kind. Shiny chocolate frosting…with those perfect white loops laying there like a beautiful pearl necklace. And, waiting in the middle of that moist chocolate cake part – that fluffy white center. Oh, I couldn’t see that fluffy white center, but I knew it was there. That fluffy white center is the best part of the entire snack experience. Oh – and not one cupcake per pack, but two. Two. So, while you’re thinking about how good that last bite of the fluffy white center was, you know there’s a second chocolate-frosted, white-swirled, moist chocolate cake embracing yet another fluffy white center for you to savor.

Yes, it is possible to have every single one of those thoughts in a split second. I know that for a fact, because I had them. I had every single one of them. What started out as something that I saw out of the corner of my eye turned into every one of those thoughts.

Did I say that Hostess Cupcakes were my favorite snack of all time? Well…they were.

Over the years, I had developed the perfect way to eat those things. Split it in half, with the fluffy white filling preserved in center of the top part. Eat the bottom part. Next, eat around the edges of the top part. Then, there remained that last bite – and, it would have everything. A little frosting, a little white swirl, a little cake, and – all of the fluffy white filling. Perfection.

I stopped in front of the vending machine. I knew I had cash at my desk; enough to buy those cupcakes. I wanted them. I really wanted them.

But then, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. He said, “That’s not what you really want. What you really want is to lose weight.”

Wow. He didn’t condemn me or shame me. He didn’t say what I should or should not do. His voice was sweet and tender. Comforting, like my mother’s voice. All He did was just remind me of what I really wanted.

He was on my side.

Did know the Bible tells us that? It does. It says, “The Lord is on my side. I will not fear.” (Psalm 118:6) While I stood there, thinking I wanted something so much, He wanted me to remember that I was actually wanting something quite different. And, He wanted me to have what I wanted. What I truly wanted.

The cupcakes lost that day. I walked away happy, and focused on what I really wanted, thanks to the gentle voice of God reminding me that He was in my corner and that He wanted me to make choices that benefited me.

Here’s the point: The right choice is easy when when we follow the voice of God. I could have had a conversation with myself and still walked away without the cupcakes. But, I would have still wanted the cupcakes. I would have felt deprived. And, it would have been a struggle. Instead, I walked away free. And content.

So, what do you really want? You can reach your goals if you’ll allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, to remind you. Whether it’s victory over weight or fear or bitterness or unforgiveness or self esteem…or whatever. Freedom from anything that holds you back is found in listening. Listening to the voice of the One Who loves you and Who has the power to cause you to walk free of whatever that thing is.

What do you really want?

Management’s Job

I came across a very profound statement by Paul Orfalea. Who is Paul Orfalea, you ask? Here’s a hint: His nickname was “Kinko” because he had curly red hair. That’s right – Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s.

Paul Orfalea made this powerful observation: “The goal of management is to remove obstacles.“

Wow! If you’re a leader of any kind and want to be successful, you should post that quote in big letters in your office. On your fridge. On your bathroom mirror. Your job is to remove obstacles from your staff, from those you lead, from your customers. If you’re a parent, from your children’s lives. If you think it should be the other way around, you aren’t actually management material.

Now, here is an example of what management doesn’t do: When Dwight is driving, sometimes (Okay…more than sometimes.) I will give him driving “advice,” such as: “Watch that car!” “Why did you turn on this road?” “Watch your speed; there’s a police car.” And, sometimes (when he feels brave), he’ll smile and say, “You just sit there and look pretty and I’ll handle the driving.” Point taken. And, I’ll laugh. (Well…depending on the day, I might laugh and I might not.) What he’s saying is that I can trust him to take care of us, that he is careful and mindful, and that I don’t need to fear.

However, when Dwight is the driver, he is “management,” And, his job is to remove the obstacle of fear from my life. That, in turn, will make his life better. (At this moment, I’m hoping he’s reading this blog. I’m kidding.) It’s not my job to not be afraid; it’s his job to not cause me to be afraid. (Heaven knows Dwight has volumes of reference books on what things scare me as a passenger.) [Don’t get in an uproar: It’s not sexist. Men drivers don’t take driving “advice” from men passengers either. And, women drivers don’t either.]

But, I digress.

Back to Paul: Paul Orfalea may not know it, but he actually borrowed that concept from Jesus.

Jesus told us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The big question is, “How is God’s will done in heaven?” I asked God that several years ago, “So, how is Your will done in heaven?” And, He said, “Without resistance.”

There is nothing in heaven that can resist God’s will. Oh, there was resistance once…when Satan rebelled against God. So, God just simply gave him the boot, along with the 1/3 of the angels that followed Satan’s rebellion.

There is no resistance to God’s will in heaven.

So, when you pray for God’s will to be done on earth, you are calling on God to remove all resistance to His will. His will for you, for your family, for your health, for your supply, for your church, for your country, etc. Proverbs 3:5-6 says the same thing: Acknowledge God in all your ways and HE – not you – HE will direct (Hebrew for, “make straight; make pleasant, prosperous“) your path (Hebrew for, “the road, path“). God will remove the obstacles from your path.

If you’re in ministry, you work for Him. If you’re a Christian, He is the head of your life because He is your heavenly Father. It is His responsibility to remove from your life the resistance to His will. Why His? Well, because we can’t and He can. We aren’t that kind of management material. And, because He wants to. Does that mean we can just be slackers? Just the opposite. As God removes the resistance in our lives, we are free to run the race set before us.

Let God manage your success. If you are struggling in any area, just pray and ask God to remove that resistance. If you are the resistance, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth and reveal that to you and will empower you to walk free from being the resistor. If the resistance is elsewhere, God will handle that.

God expects you to run the race. Ask Him and He will remove the resistance – the mountains, the obstacles.

Shut the Front Door!

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could control most of the things that happen to you? If you could just shut the door to what troubles you or makes you afraid. If you could just shut that door, lock it, chain it closed, and walk away totally free.

Your mind runs nonstop. Mine does, too. The gasoline that fuels your mind, most of the time, is troubling thoughts. Fearful thoughts. The “what ifs” that keep you awake at night, that you think about in the shower each morning.

Lots of things may trouble you. Health issues. Family troubles. Job challenges. Finances. Politics. Deadlines. Marriage. Self esteem. Fear. Anger. Bitter thoughts. Thoughts of loneliness, of emptiness. You feel like, if this matter or that matter would change, you could be happy. Content. Restful.

Listen: I was the world champion of fear for many decades of my life. You name it, I was afraid of it. The dark. Dogs. Cats. Mice. Snakes. Strangers. Funeral homes. Dying. Storms. People’s opinions of me. Water. (By “water,” I mean I was even afraid if water from the showerhead ran down my face when I washed my hair. A deep fear of water.) Afraid to fall asleep. Afraid of sickness. Afraid of poverty. The thing is, fear is the rotten apple that continues to spoil all areas of your life.

The truth is, you have the key that shuts up all those voices in your mind and can finally set you free from the stress you’re under and the fear that haunts you.

You have the key. God gave it to you when you put your faith in Him and received Jesus as your Savior. The key is two words found in John 14:1.

Let not.

Let not your heart be troubled. That means you get to choose whether you are troubled or whether you are not. You just “let” or “let not.” You get to choose.

How? Jesus tells the “how,” too; in the same verse. Just believe in Him. Have faith in Him. You have faith in God, Jesus said. Then, He said just have faith “in Me” also. What empowers you to “let not” is simply believing in Jesus.

The key is to “let not”; but, the power to “let not” is to put your faith in Jesus.
Believing in His Word and in His love for You and in His faithfulness to You and to His Word. It’s saying, “I’m going to trust Your word, Jesus, that You will take care of me, that You will handle everything I worry about, everything that makes me afraid, everything I cannot fix on my own. I’m going to ‘let not’ and I’m going to ‘believe also’ in You.“

Jesus gave us the final piece of the puzzle in Matthew 6:31-34: Don’t take the thought, and don’t say the thought. He said seek His kingdom ways and His righteousness rather than your own or someone else’s righteousness to meet your need. And, when you do that, all those things that concern you – that you turned over to Jesus’ righteousness to handle – all those things will be added to you.

“Let not” the thought. As soon as it comes to the surface, just cast it on Jesus in faith. And then lock the door.

Lock the door with “Let not.” Chain it closed with “Believe also in Me.” Stay free with “Don’t take the thought.”

When I began to “believe also” in Jesus, the things I feared and that troubled me began to fall off. And, I knew it was safe to “let not.”

I want to encourage you to allow your faith to take the “let not” leap and to close the door once and for all to all that troubles you. Take the italicized prayer above and speak that prayer every time you feel troubled. And then, believe in God, and let yourself “let not.” It may be hard at first. Overwhelming at first. But, the more you pray that prayer and the more you believe in Jesus, you’ll find that your key is actually working.

Words that Soften Hearts

A few decades ago, Dwight was visiting the office of the headmaster of a children’s home when one of the children came in the office unexpectedly and interrupted their conversation. The headmaster patiently spoke with the child, as if that was the most important item on his day’s agenda. As the child was leaving, the headmaster said, “Hey!” When the child turned around, the headmaster said, “I love you.”

Dwight questioned why he said, “I love you,” to the child. The headmaster said he made a point to tell every child, “I love you,” before they parted ways because they needed to know that someone loved them. Sincerely loved them.

That was one of those defining moments of Dwight’s life. He saw the power of those three words. He felt how they softened the atmosphere, as if the child was wrapped in a coat of security. Most of all, he knew without a doubt the headmaster meant those words.

From that day, Dwight and I both determined that those three words should become our tag line when speaking to others.

Well…it hasn’t been an easy task. For several reasons.

First of all, I realized I seldom said those three words out loud to anyone other than to Dwight and our children. I mean, I loved lots of people – my siblings, their children, my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, close friends. But, dropping my guard to say, “I love you,”…well, it wasn’t comfortable. And, that thought bothered me. It bothered me more than the discomfort of saying the words.

So, I began my journey to make those words both spoken and true.

At first, I had to soften it with just, “Love ya.” That first word, that one-letter power word – “I.” That one word scared me. Embarrassed me. Made me feel vulnerable. It was a battle of pride, maybe. But, deep in my heart, I knew I had a lesson to learn. That saying all three words would make me committed to actually love that person.

That’s a fundamental rule for those three words. They have to be true. If you say them and don’t mean them, you’re a phony and a coward.

How do those words change you? Well..you begin to realize that you don’t truly love many people. Oh, you think you do. But, try writing, “I love you” – all three words – when you post a comment to someone on social media. Try looking people in the eye at work or at church and saying those three words. Out loud. And, then, pausing for the words to sink in, as you continue to look them in the eye.

So, my journey became two fold.

First, I had to start saying those three words – all three of them – to those I knew I loved but to whom I seldom spoke those three words. My brothers. My sisters. Nieces and nephews. Close friends. Pastors. Coworkers. My boss. (Yes, I did love my coworkers and my boss, but I had never told her; or, my coworkers.)

Secondly, I had to let my guard down and begin to truly love people, to let them into my heart. People who didn’t make my top ten list. People who weren’t cool or hip. Imperfect folks. To allow God to change me into a person who loved those I had not truly loved before.

What were the results?

Well…honestly, those three words spoken aloud face to face sort of embarrassed their recipients. They sort of embarrassed me, too. But, I got over it. And, they did, too.

Speaking, writing those three words changed me, too. They became as much of a gift to me as they were a gift to their recipients. Those three words set me free. They softened me. They allowed me to find the real me. I became more like my Father God.

So, as Valentine’s Day approaches, maybe you may want to jump on the bandwagon with Dwight and me, and learn how to say those three words – to write those three words – often. And with meaning and heart behind them. Heart emojis and heart hands don’t count. Only those three words. I. love. you. I love you.

Try it. It’ll be like a cup of warm cocoa to your heart.

I love you.