Go Ahead and Tell it Like it Is

I finally just told my best friend that she is my best friend...for the first time.  I was afraid to say it for a long time because I have so many GREAT friends, "a few best friends," if you will.  But when I was out of town for a few days and starting to feel a little crazy, everything felt right again when we arrived to church at the same time this morning, walked in, sat down beside each other, and giggled at our pastor's corny jokes side-by-side.  And when I was gone last week, while I was battling a stupid attitude as I served people I loved, she was the only one in almost forever who texted me JUST to say she missed me.  That's friendship, people.  I decided today I could peacefully and truly say, she is my best friend.  Maybe just for this season, and I'm ok with that.  But the Lord knows I need her right now.

One of the first things we learn in life is identification.  With our first words, we identify our caretakers "Mama" and "Daddy."  Today, I'm not identifying symptoms or hints of my hindrance; today, I'm getting to the root of the issue, and I'm going to honestly tell it like it is.

It's summertime, for sure, and I feel it too.  Life has slowed down enough for me to spend extensive time thinking, praying, journaling, and reading to try to gain a new traction in my walk with God.  Time to seek breakthroughs I've needed and wanted.  For a very long time, I've frustrated myself with half-heartedness.  I didn't realize that was what it was until I read through my journal today!  I saw so many new commitments to do things differently in my walk, and guess what else - speckles of confession, almost on a daily basis in regards to personally feeling confused, anxious, empty, lifeless, hopeless, and even far from God.  It's nice to have a log of what's been my heart's cry for the past few months so I can evaluate what to do next.  I finally realized today that I have been so half-hearted, and I have no other word for it!

Anxiety and Trust simply do not mix.  My desire for years has been to have this awesome walk with God where I wake up super early just to get in His presence, and then actively live out His will for me all day.  Typically, I don't take time with Him until a few other things start my day for me.  But I would rather have God's fullness first & foremost--no waiting.  I can't wait--He has too many things to do through me and speak through me today.  I've made myself so anxious on a daily basis because I haven't put my time with Him first.  And the silly reason why--it only comes down to a lack of self-discipline.  So I'm telling it like it is today.  Using the guidance of Pastor Yonggi-Cho from his book The Fourth Dimension, I'm envisioning the changes I want to see happen in my walk with God--things that I KNOW He wants for me & Him, and I'm vocalizing those things in prayer to God.  I can't grasp what I don't envision, so I'm doing that first.  I've bulleted these things in my personal journal to remember in prayer: all the insecurities I sense in my Christian life right now, written down.  I want the abundant life that Christ gives--no more coasting!  I must courageously take risks for God and boldly live out His calling on my life.  No more half-heartedness, but instead bravery, courage, and boldness for Jesus.

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; 

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

I've been mulling over some other thoughts this summer that come down to a few bullet-points, and these Scriptures resound in my mind daily!  Read them completely, even if you know them.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I came that they may have life, 

and have it abundantly." 

John 10:10

1. Recognize a Distraction for What it Is.
Have you ever logged onto Facebook with a specific intention to communicate a message to someone, only to find yourself on a string of funny YouTube videos 30 minutes later?  I don't think the internet was designed to distract, but the point is that you know you are spending precious time in a dangerous playground of random when you log on.  I think the enemy of our souls knows that these distractions are more detrimental than we realize.  We cannot see all the beautiful moments that could have happened if we had been aware in the present moment, but God knows.  He desires so much more for us; life off-line is so much better.  There are many other worldly avenues of distraction; realize that the internet is only one of them.

For example, a bad attitude can also be a distraction from the work of the Lord.  Recently, I helped my brother and sister-in-law pack up all of their belongings for a big move overseas.  We stored some items at her office to pick up later because our vehicles were already practically overflowing.  Usually I am a chipper servant, everyone's biggest cheerleader, excited to meet others' needs and not think of myself.  But when I am hungry, sore, and bitter because I've already been working so hard by myself, my attitude totally stinks.  Well, when we finally left for the 2 1/2 hour drive to our mom's house, we didn't realize my sister-in-law's passport was lingering inconspicuously at her office--a vital item when you are flying out the very next morning!  I don't want to hold myself to an unreasonable standard of responsibility for the situation, but I usually am the type of person to ask those questions--"Do you have this? Do you have that?"--to make sure we have absolutely everything and are totally ready to go.  But that day I wasn't thinking of my family's needs; all I could think of was my own, and my bad attitude was a costly distraction.  My sister-in-law courageously made a second 5-hour trip that evening before their flight the next morning, and we missed out on what should have been a restful evening together.  Who knows what could have happened if my thoughts had been pure & loving?

Your wasted time and your wasted thoughts steal, kill, and destroy what could be fellowship with God and with friends.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..." 

Hebrews 12:1

2.  Stop Glorifying "Random".
Have you seen these new gummy candies - "Randoms"?

The same good'ole high-fructose corn-syrup in totally random shapes!  Like buttons, sailboats, stars, cellphones--anything!  You don't know what you're getting until you open the package!  It's the same thing with Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Buzzfeed, iwastesomuchtime.com, etc., etc.  You are putting yourself at the mercy of what your friends and strangers have chosen to say, post, or pin--and by the end of it you usually end up ingesting total junk.  The news-stories often have catchy tag-lines like "This Lady Went to the Store--And You'll Never Believe What Happened Next!"  [Side-note: I wish they would just Please. Stop. with their headlines.]  And have you ever noticed that it's not that interesting to read your friend's complaint about the bad traffic, or that it's not that helpful to see every single reaction of your friends to "the big game" or "the crazy weather"?  Life is so much more exciting when we share it face to face, isn't it?  

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

for I put my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul [entrust my life.]

Psalm 143:8

3. Abide in Jesus everyday.

This is the number one thing to do if we want life & life abundant.  Practically, how do we do this?  I'd like to copy in the first chapter of Dick Brogden's Live-Dead Journal about practically spending about 2 hours alone with Jesus every single day at the end of this blog-post.  The chapter "How To Abide in Jesus" has changed my life tremendously, most namely in regards to the advice he gives on Bible-reading.  I will also link to his podcast on the same topic.  

Here is a super short outline of Brogden's How-To:

- Read the Bible for 1 hour

- Memorize Scripture for 5 minutes

- Pray for 30 minutes

- Worship for 30 minutes

- Listening for 5 to 10 minutes

Hit the "Read More" link at the end for the "How To Abide" chapter in full.

And what do you do within this time you are spending in order to get closer to God?

My personal thoughts on how to jet past a clouded conscience and walk in God's fullness would be summarized, simply:

- Get Right With God; confess and repent of any and all known sins.  Accept the redemption of Christ offered to you freely today.  This is what gives you life.

- Keep Marching; walk in God's fullness.  Openly pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit freshly every day.  When you surrender to His will, and take up His cross, following Him--then you experience life abundantly.

- We're Better Together; do not try to go alone.  Share the life you're experiencing in Christ with those around you, whoever they are.  This gives you an abundant life, indeed.  We surely are better together.

HOW TO ABIDE IN JESUS by Dick Brogden

The first chapter of this journal is foundational to the whole Live Dead concept. The chapter is on abiding in Christ, which essentially means we spend extravagant time with Jesus on a daily basis.  From that abiding time will come the strength and direction to fulfill the Live Dead challenge. As you read the first chapter, you may be surprised to find that I call you to give Jesus a tithe of your day for a month.  That means two and a half hours a day! For all of us, this seems like an impossible challenge. It is not impossible. It is difficult, to be sure, but who said dying is easy? It can be done, if you want it badly enough.

I don't usually invest a full two and a half hours every day.  Most days it is closer to an hour and a half or two hours.  The point is not legalism, for legalism spoils everything. The point is valuing Jesus so highly that we give Him extravagant daily time and we long to be with Him as much as we can.

Here is what I do and about how long it takes me (this can be done early in the morning, late at night, or even split up through the day: an hour in the morning, a half hour prayer at lunch time, an hour in the evening, etc.):

READ THE BIBLE | ONE HOUR

• Three Old Testament chapters, one Psalm, one chapter from the Gospels, one chapter from Acts or the epistles.
• I read sequentially. So if today I read Joshua 1, 2, and 3; Psalm 1; Matthew 1; and Romans 1, then tomorrow would be Joshua 4, 5, and 6; Psalm 2; Matthew 2; and Romans 2.
• I underline in my Bible and make small notes.  I summarize each chapter with a phrase that I write in my Bible at the top of the page. I draw small pictures and connect similar thoughts with lines across the page, circle parallel language, put in exclamation points, stars, and happy and sad faces--my Bible looks scribbled in, but it helps me process what I am reading.
• I pull out one key verse or thought from each section of reading and enter it into my journal. I then look at the summaries in my journal and write half a journal page in response to what I have read.
• If I come across a verse that reminds me of a song, I stop and sing the song.
• If I come across a prayer, I stop and personalize the prayer.
• If I come across an challenging thought, I stop and meditate on it for a while.

MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE | FIVE MINUTES

I try to memorize about three verses a week. Every day I will spend a few minutes reviewing them and adding another verse.  When a new week rolls around, I pick three different verses. I don't worry about retaining the previous week's verse but do try to keep the current week's verses in mind all week long.

Memorizing Scripture is my first defense against errant and impure thoughts. When the wrong thoughts come, it does not hep me to try not to think them (ironically that often just reinforces them); rather, I begin to quote out loud the Scripture I have been working on that week. I bump out the errant thoughts with God's thoughts.  It is a wonderful help toward pure thinking.

PRAY | 30 MINUTES

I have a prayer list that includes family, friends, colleagues, unsaved neighbors, leaders, and unreached peoples. I pray through it every day.

I pray in the Spirit. Because my mind wanders so easily, I like to combine my prayer time with exercise. I will run out a distance from my house until I have had a good workout, and then walk back. As I walk, I pray. Sometimes I will pick an object in the far distance and pray in the Spirit until I have walked past that object. This helps discipline me to pray with my spirit as well as with my mind. (1 Corinthians 14:15).

Sometimes I work through the simple acrostic ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.

WORSHIP | 30 MINUTES

I love old hymns. I will sit at the piano and bang out hymns and sing and worship Jesus. You may plan an instrument or you may enjoy listening to music on your iPod. It doesn't matter. Lift your voice and sing to Jesus.

Remember that worship is more than singing. I love to praise the Lord. I tell Him in my own words, out loud, why and how much I love Him. I declare His praises, proclaim His nature. I remind myself and the power that be that God is good and His mercy endures forever.

LISTENING | FIVE TO 10 MINUTES

I find it helpful to take at least five minutes at the end of my abiding time and just linger in the sweet presence of Jesus. I try to quiet my mind, emptying it of all my thoughts and just wait on the Lord. I try to listen for His still small voice. Is there anything He wants to whisper to me? It is a great way to end the time of abiding.

Sometimes I start my abiding time this way, and a good cup of chai seems to clear the heavens for me.

There is no prescribed way to spend extravagant time with Jesus. The Bible and prayer are, of course, the foundations, but in those and from those there is much variety. God made you unique, and your rhythm and season of life will likely be much different from mine. The point is to enjoy Jesus and to give Him extravagant daily time. However that works best for you ... go for it!

To live dead is as much about living for and with Jesus as it is about dying to self. Thus the Live Dead challenge centers on Jesus. Jesus is our everything. Giving Jesus extravagant daily time will "life" you. His life in you will give you the courage and desire to die to self. The result will not only be inward joy, it will also be outward blessing--even to the uttermost parts and unreached peoples of the earth.

--Dick Brogden

For more, take a listen:
http://arabworld.live-dead.org/2013/03/abiding-praxis-part-1/