Unfortunately, betrayal is universal to the human experience and few escape it. The times I experienced betrayal left me in deep, deep pain. Betrayal hurts so badly because you can only be betrayed by someone you trust--it has to come from someone close to you. That is its very nature. A stranger can hurt us but a stranger cannot betray us.
I was remembering a time I felt betrayed and remembered how badly I hurt. Depression came knocking at my door. It made it hard to work because I was always thinking about the pain or the person(s) involved. Not only is there the incident of betrayal to deal with but also the loss of the relationship that was once valued. Sometimes the pain would seem overwhelming. That kind of pain produces hopelessness.
In the midst of my pain, however, it was as if Jesus whispered the antidote to the poison dart of betrayal into my heart. What I heard was, "Judas did the same to Me. I know exactly how you are feeling. The pain is horrific! You are not alone in what you are experiencing. I like to died over it. Judas was very close to Me and he did the same thing to Me. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world!"
What amazing grace flows forth from the Word of God. Jesus reminded me that I was not alone. Jesus reminded me that He knew exactly how I felt because He too had been victimized in the same way. This comfort from the Scriptures put life back in my heart. It wasn't through a verse or a passage--it was from the reality that Jesus was betrayed by one of his twelve closest friends Whom He had participated in ministry with for three years. My experience paralleled His.
I began to see on a deeper level that Scripture was full of human interactions and situations that we too experience on a daily basis. Our answer can often be found waiting for us between the two covers of our Bible. As we find those parallels, such as betrayal, let us also find the answers in how we are to respond or not respond accordingly--we are not alone. Jesus experienced the same thing as well.
Blessings,
Father Scott +
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sails A Flapping
Two blogs ago, I wrote about a sail on a clipper ship that the Lord had shown me. The weekend following I happened to watch "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe. It is the tale of HMS Surprise that pursues the French frigate, "Ascheron". This sea epic takes place during the Napoleonic Wars when England and France were at bitter blows.
During one scene, there is a terrible storm and a number of the sails are flapping wildly. At that moment I realized that the Lord was again showing me something about sails and the Christian life. Sails that are not tied down are useless and even worse, run the risk of being damaged and damaging the ship. In the movie, sailors had to climb the masts in order to gain control over the sails by strapping them to the cross beam. Only then could the ship be managed. Everything was in chaos until the sails were harnessed.
That is our story. It does not matter how strong or large or powerful our sails are, they were worthless until strapped to the cross beam of Christ. And the larger the sail, the more dangerous the situation becomes if left to flap in the wind it would tear or even worse, permanently damage our ship.
We do not like to be "tied down" and yet it it is only when we are tied down that we save our life. If we try to save our life we will lose it, but if we lose (give up--surrender) our freedom, we will find perfect freedom--our destiny--our purpose for being.
Once strapped down, we enter into the full power God and what He has designed for us to be. Holes in the canvas produce weak sails. Sails that are not tied down produce dangerous sails. What is the area of your life that is flapping today? Why not surrender that particular sail to the gracious hand of the Captain of our Souls and let Him harness you to the wind of His Spirit.
Blessings,
Father Scott +
During one scene, there is a terrible storm and a number of the sails are flapping wildly. At that moment I realized that the Lord was again showing me something about sails and the Christian life. Sails that are not tied down are useless and even worse, run the risk of being damaged and damaging the ship. In the movie, sailors had to climb the masts in order to gain control over the sails by strapping them to the cross beam. Only then could the ship be managed. Everything was in chaos until the sails were harnessed.
That is our story. It does not matter how strong or large or powerful our sails are, they were worthless until strapped to the cross beam of Christ. And the larger the sail, the more dangerous the situation becomes if left to flap in the wind it would tear or even worse, permanently damage our ship.
We do not like to be "tied down" and yet it it is only when we are tied down that we save our life. If we try to save our life we will lose it, but if we lose (give up--surrender) our freedom, we will find perfect freedom--our destiny--our purpose for being.
Once strapped down, we enter into the full power God and what He has designed for us to be. Holes in the canvas produce weak sails. Sails that are not tied down produce dangerous sails. What is the area of your life that is flapping today? Why not surrender that particular sail to the gracious hand of the Captain of our Souls and let Him harness you to the wind of His Spirit.
Blessings,
Father Scott +
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Three Recent Words from God
One blessing that has been constant at Grace Church has been that God confirm's prophetic words or a pictures by giving it to two people independent of each other. Yesterday, this happened with two words and then several weeks ago with an "angel sighting".
Word 1: Yesterday at Bible Study, a woman shared that we are at war! The war is happening even as I write. It is being waged on the battle field of our young people's hearts, our finances, our families, our country, and our hearts. It is a spiritual war.
Earlier that morning, via email, another woman from the Bible Study who had written what she had heard in prayer. "We are in a war that is raging right now. " The two women who had gotten that same word and shared it that morning. They had not talked to each other about it. It was confirmation.
It now makes sense why the Lord had us have a prayer vigil each weekend in August. We are at war against hell! It now makes sense why the Lord has us fasting each Tuesday in September. We are at war!
Word 2: At Communion yesterday, the congregation had gathered around the altar and had finished receiving the bread and wine. As we waited on the Lord one person shared that they were getting that there were people who did not feel worthy to take their place at Christ's Table. As soon as it came out of that person's mouth, another person said that they had gotten the exact same thing. That was 2 for 2 that morning.
Word #2 is that we are to share with people that they have a place at Jesus' table no matter who they are or what they have done. As Corrie ten Boom used to say, "There is no sin too great that God is not greater!"
Angel Sighting 3: A couple of weeks ago at Soaking Prayer a person saw a gold angel in the church. I found this interesting since usually I think of angels as dressed in white and/or shimmering in white light, not gold. This angel, however, was dressed in gold and was present in the church.
Exactly one week later at the Noon Communion service, a man came up afterwards and shared that during Communion, he had seen a golden angel. He knew nothing of what had happened the Wednesday before at Soaking Prayer. It was again a confirmation.
The angel at Communion was holding a Bible and the Bible had gold leaf as well. The angel stood at the altar with the rest of the congregation and just a bit behind the person who saw it. Each time he would try to look at it, the angel would back up. When the man would look back towards the altar, the angel would come closer.
The Holy Spirit gave me the understanding of what was happening. The angel, in no way, wanted to DETRACT (DISCTRACT) from Jesus who was the FOCUS during Holy Communion.
Three Current Words--We are in a war! God has sent angels to minister His grace to us. There is a place for everyone at God's Table. The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"
Word 1: Yesterday at Bible Study, a woman shared that we are at war! The war is happening even as I write. It is being waged on the battle field of our young people's hearts, our finances, our families, our country, and our hearts. It is a spiritual war.
Earlier that morning, via email, another woman from the Bible Study who had written what she had heard in prayer. "We are in a war that is raging right now. " The two women who had gotten that same word and shared it that morning. They had not talked to each other about it. It was confirmation.
It now makes sense why the Lord had us have a prayer vigil each weekend in August. We are at war against hell! It now makes sense why the Lord has us fasting each Tuesday in September. We are at war!
Word 2: At Communion yesterday, the congregation had gathered around the altar and had finished receiving the bread and wine. As we waited on the Lord one person shared that they were getting that there were people who did not feel worthy to take their place at Christ's Table. As soon as it came out of that person's mouth, another person said that they had gotten the exact same thing. That was 2 for 2 that morning.
Word #2 is that we are to share with people that they have a place at Jesus' table no matter who they are or what they have done. As Corrie ten Boom used to say, "There is no sin too great that God is not greater!"
Angel Sighting 3: A couple of weeks ago at Soaking Prayer a person saw a gold angel in the church. I found this interesting since usually I think of angels as dressed in white and/or shimmering in white light, not gold. This angel, however, was dressed in gold and was present in the church.
Exactly one week later at the Noon Communion service, a man came up afterwards and shared that during Communion, he had seen a golden angel. He knew nothing of what had happened the Wednesday before at Soaking Prayer. It was again a confirmation.
The angel at Communion was holding a Bible and the Bible had gold leaf as well. The angel stood at the altar with the rest of the congregation and just a bit behind the person who saw it. Each time he would try to look at it, the angel would back up. When the man would look back towards the altar, the angel would come closer.
The Holy Spirit gave me the understanding of what was happening. The angel, in no way, wanted to DETRACT (DISCTRACT) from Jesus who was the FOCUS during Holy Communion.
Three Current Words--We are in a war! God has sent angels to minister His grace to us. There is a place for everyone at God's Table. The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"
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