Unshackled Moments ~ February 22

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 

Matthew 11:29-30 

 I remember reading and hearing this verse and thinking my burden sure doesn’t feel light, and the task doesn’t seem all that easy either. Doing God’s will, loving and serving like Jesus is so opposite of who and what I am that it not only feels heavy and hard, it feels impossible. It feels impossible, because it is impossible. I’m just not good enough, caring enough or strong enough, and I never will be this side of eternity.

 But that’s me trying to pull God’s plow. I’m not built for it. My father and I have moved quite a few pieces of heavy equipment and furniture that two people who aren’t built like the Hulk shouldn’t move on their own. We’ve both done that sort of thing solo as well. But the truth is we didn’t.

Dad taught me early on how to use the laws of God to make the load work for us rather than against us. Understanding certain truths like balance point and leverage can make a weight impossible for one man to lift manageable. I can recall more than once when a load on my shoulder shifted causing me to lose that precarious balance point and suddenly what had felt like a heavy load became a crushing weight that I had to get out from under fast before it hurt me.

Relationship with Jesus is our Spiritual balance. He is all the leverage we need to move the mountain and lift the impossible crushing weight. When it starts feeling like too much, don’t throw your effort into it. Position yourself closer to the balance. The more balanced the load, the lighter it feels. When we rely on the truths of God’s love and word, He works for us. As long as we remain positioned, we can accomplish whatever He would have us accomplish. It is only when we try to work against the truth and manhandle the load that it hurts us and reminds of just how small and weak we truly are on our own.

Abba, help me to remember that it is in my position with You that my burden becomes Your burden and the task becomes doable. Help me to surrender to Your truth today so that I don’t try to manhandle or muscle my life and what you would have me do. Amen.

Unshackled Moments ~ February 21

The concept of powerlessness comes up repeatedly in my sermons and writings. This is more than just secular recovery jargon invading the faith. The concept is scriptural. We have all sinned and fallen short. If we weren't powerless to deny self and control sin, there would've been someone besides Jesus able to pull it off in all these years.  There is none good but God. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. I could go on. But the truth that I cannot control myself, that I can't consistently do what's right and live for God and others does not let me off the hook. Neither being powerless to control sin and manage our lives nor the awesome amazing grace of God are excuses to just do our own thing, to sin, to not try. The idea that "I'm going to fail anyway so I might as well just do it now instead of fighting this temptation" is a natural response to being in bondage, but it is not a Godly one.

The point in admitting powerlessness is not to give up hope of freedom or to absolve us of responsibility. "I'm sorry I hurt you, but you know I'm powerless over that sin, so I don't see why you're upset or surprised I did it. We all knew it was just a matter of time." No. That's not it. The reason is so that we will stop trying to do it on our own. That we will see the need for absolute surrender to He who does have all power, trusting in His love and desire to set us free and restore us. The point of my powerlessness is to remind me to use His power. Galatians 5:16 clearly states that if we walk in the power of the Spirit of God, we will not fulfill the lusts, the desires, the selfishness of the flesh, the sinful nature.

Yes, grace covers a multitude of sins. No, we're not yet made perfect. We will fail. We will fall short. Yes. His mercies are new every morning, and His goodness towards us knows no bounds. But if we use the truth that we can't walk with God, that we can't stop being selfish, that we can't be holy on our own combined with the concepts of grace and forgiveness to ease our guilt of just doing what we want, we're not in relationship with God. We've stopped following.

Jesus said if you want to follow me deny yourself and follow me. We may believe in theory, but not in practice. We profess faith with our mouths and our T-shirts and deny Him with our lives and apathy. We don't truly believe in the awesome unearned life changing passionate love of God for us personally. Personally. JESUS LOVES ME! JESUS LOVES YOU! My child I know more about you than you do, and not only do I not hate you, I still love you. Just as you are.

The natural response to that kind of love is to love back. To say thank you for your love, can I stay with You now? I like it here in Your presence. Jesus responds yes. Live in me, and I will live in you. Deny your selfishness, love God and love others, and if you do that you won't ever have to wonder about what is and isn't OK to do. Love me, and I will send you the Holy Spirit, who has power that you don't have, and He will lead, guide and strengthen you so that you don't have to do those things that the new you hates.

Grace and powerlessness do not absolve us of personal responsibility. We are not the victims of sin and impulse. We are victors through and in Christ Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us. With everything we are we throw ourselves on His mercy asking for His help. Then God does the work. He sets the  captive areas of our lives free. He heals our wounds and forgives our transgressions so that we no longer act like slaves to sin but free men and women whose very lives give glory to God whose Spirit makes life possible.

Abba, You are my Lord. I belong to You. Help me to take responsibility for my attitudes, thoughts and actions today. I own my failure so that I can give what is mine to You, so that You can heal, deliver and strengthen. I know I don't have the power to walk with You today, so I ask You to fill me with Your power and grace as I seek Your will and not my own. I deny my selfish desires and determine to do what You want me to do today, but even as I say that I know I can't. So, I give You permission to do it. Whenever I have a choice today, I will choose You and rely on Your power and grace to carry out that choice. I love You Lord. Thank you for giving me the ability to walk with You today and for wanting to hang out with me today. I love You. Thank You for loving me.

Unshackled Moments ~ February 20

We've all either known or been that someone who just refused to change their attitude and behavior or to quit doing things damaging to a friendship. Sometimes the friendship ends in an ugly blowup of hurt and anger, sometimes friends "simply grow apart" and aren't friends anymore, and sometimes a zombie of the friendship arrives. Zombie friendship? Yes, it looks roughly like the same entity and moves around. But it's not the same, and movement isn't proof of life. In a Zombie friendship both parties may still claim to be friends, one may even mean it. They may do things together. They may still visit when they are around each other, like at church or when they run into one another at Wal-Mart. But the life has gone out of the relationship. There is no desire to seek out the other person. Who wouldn't rather avoid someone who keeps doing the same things that hurt you?

With true gratitude I tell you that God does. No matter how many times we've blown it, regardless of repeated sins thrown in His Holy face, He doesn't want to avoid us. He sends us messages that He wants to get together for a visit, that, truthfully, He loves us and wants to move in together. He calls over and over wanting to talk. It's ridiculous how often He'll interrupt our day to talk if we don't turn the ringer off.

And that's the problem. If we are in a Zombie friendship with God, one with no life that vaguely resembles a rotten shell of what we once experienced, it's on us. We're the one who lost our minds, not Him. We're the one with repeated sins that hurt Him, not the other way around, Yet He is the one calling and we are the ones avoiding, giving excuses, putting Him off.

We just can't stand in His Holy presence covered in rot. If we refuse to surrender our will we are saying, "I like my rot thank you very much. You can't have it." And God lets us keep it. But while He never looks at us with anything but love and compassion, we aren't comfortable in His presence. We only feel we belong in the graveyard of our sin.

Or we can grunt out through our brokenness and rot, "Daddy help!" And He in His power and grace and love does what we can't. He restores life to the dead man walking. He removes the stench. He wipes away the goop. He freshens the breath. He restores the mind. He makes new clothes free from filth. He brings life into us and into the relationship with Him.

God' love is the only cure for the epidemic of dead men walking and for apathy and death in our relationship with Him. But there is a part of the cure that's on us. We must see we need it. We have to accept His acceptance of who we are, as we are. And then we have to submit to His healing hands that clean us up and give us new life. He does the work, but we must let Him or continue to rot away and wander through life in our stink, gnashing at people around us, wondering why we feel separated from everyone.

Daddy help me to see the rot and smell the stink in my life. Help me to remember today that I don't have to hide that from You in shame, but I can run to You just as nasty as I am, without having to clean or heal in any way first. Thank You for Your faithfulness to clean away and heal as much of my body and life infected by sin as I will let You. Help me hold nothing back. I give You all of me, the good and stinking, nasty, bad. Amen.

Unshackled Moments ~ February 19

There are periods of our life when happiness just disappears, runs and hides and thwarts all our attempts to find it. In fact, the harder we try, the less happiness we seem to find or the more fleeting what we do find turns out to be. We fall into despair. Scriptures that say things like the joy of the Lord is our strength can make things feel even worse. If joy is my strength and I'm full of sorrow how am I supposed to get through this?

But happiness comes from the external, from our situation and circumstances. It is dependent upon what is happening in our lives. Joy is internal. It does not depend upon our outward anything. It is a response that comes from understanding the truth, the awesome, incredible, mind-blowing truth that we are loved by God. It is the joy of our natural response to such amazing love that gives us the strength to go through whatever we have to, even anguish and sorrow.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that it was for the Joy that was set before Him that Jesus was strengthened in the garden to get up, walk into His betrayal, take the beatings and endure the rejection, desertion and pain that came with the cross. Joy that brings strength that can't be shaken or destroyed by darkness comes from knowing we are loved by our Heavenly Daddy and can trust Him completely without reservation when we align our will with His.

Father, help me to know and understand Your love for me today, so that I have Your joy to empower me as I go through this day and all the ups and downs that may take place. Thank You for Your love that draws me to You and claims me as Your own. 

More Of Jesus

Dalyn Woodard sharing on the purpose and meaning of Ash Wednesday and calling for a time to reflect on our love for God, our desire to follow Him, and out understanding of His great love for us. The song played at the end of the sermon was "More (Of Jesus)" by Mylon Lefevre and Broken Heart and has been cut out of the recording for copyright purposes. The song is included below the message, which is about 40 minutes long and is titled "More Of Jesus." It's our prayer that you are blessed and ministered to as you listen. May God bless and keep you.

Unshackled Moments ~ February 18 Ash Wednesday

"Today, if you will hear His voice: 'Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion...'"

Psalm 95: 7-8

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the time of reflection and preparation for Easter known as Lent. Ash Wednesday is a reminder to us that we live or, if a believer, lived under the curse of sin that brings death. Due to sin and separation from God this world and all that is of it shall one day be nothing but ash. But praise be to God our Father who sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and raised Him up from the dead that we may also escape true death and have life eternal!

In addition to serving as a reminder that we have need of or have received Grace that brings eternal life and salvation, Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder that we can do nothing without Jesus Christ that is worth more than dust and ashes. We can not fight sin on our own. We can not set ourselves free. When we try to live a Godly life on our strength and in our own might, the result is bondage, ashes and death. But there is freedom and life in the cross where His love poured out for us.

Lord, lead me to the cross this day and every day. Rid me of my self and give me victory over my difficulties that my freedom, joy and peace may be a sign to others of Your love, Your power and Your ways that are so much better than my ways. Help me to remember that in my effort and works is filthiness and death, nothing but ash, but that through Your power and grace I am righteous, clean and have the growth of new life within.

Unshackled Moments ~ February 17

“They can be analyzed, counseled, reasoned with, prayed over, threatened, beaten, or locked up, but they will not stop until they want to stop.” 

(Narcotics Anonymous) Basic Text, p. 62

One of the daily readings I use started today's reading with the above quote. It's such a sad truth for family and friends but a true statement for addicts and alcoholics. I know, because being raised in a Godly home and being loved by my parents wasn't enough to get or keep me clean and sober during my quarter century using career. But this quote is also very true for the Prodigal and the Stranger At The Kingdom's Gate, regardless of the form the shackles manifest.

Some may never use drugs or alcohol, but without a relationship with God find themselves just as imprisoned and trapped in an every tightening spiral of pain and misery as any addict. Prayers of family and friends do help. I may not have lived long enough to recover without them. But no matter the bondage, none of us can be free without surrender, and only as individuals can we lay down our arms (our will) and declare from where the sun now stands I will fight God no more, forever (a paraphrase of Chief Joseph's surrender to the United States). 

No one can surrender for anyone else.  Jesus lived in surrender to the Father in a manner that made it possible for us to surrender. An earthly example would be Lee surrendering to Grant. What Lee did ended the war for those who accepted it, but meant nothing to those who chose to still fight and raid in some areas. Until we get tired enough of the fight, the destruction and the death in our lives the war will never end for us, despite the fact that the war ended with an act of surrender on a cross long before any of us were ever born.

Father, thank you for making it so that Jesus' act of surrender covers my rebellion against you and brings me by grace into Your kingdom. But help me to remember that I have to take up my cross and follow Him, that I have to surrender this day and every day in order to keep from slipping back into civil war with You. Help me to remember that victory over the things that hold me captive and freedom from the shackles in this life comes from complete and unconditional surrender to You. Amen.