The Good Shepherd

The Holy Spirit was directing me to Psalm 23 where David talks about the Lord is his shepherd. I always am so drawn to Scripture that reveals the nature of God, God is light or God is love. While Jesus did not approach every person the same, His nature was always the same and consistent. I have read these verses in Psalm 23 before but I had not gotten a revelation of God as Shepherd. Many times on my journey with the Lord I have felt somewhat lost between my life changing encounters with Him. Fortunately, I have had many encounters with the Lord where He is revealed and my true identity is also revealed. The Holy Spirit began to touch me deep inside when I read the verse, "And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Somehow this began to build in me a security that had been missing in all my other relationships in life. I believe David was reaching into the New Covenant to have a taste of the kind of intimacy with God that those who were indwelt by the Holy Spirit would have. The fulfillment of the Lord being our Shepherd comes in John 10:11 when Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." As I looked up the meaning for shepherd in the original Greek, I found this explanation of a shepherd "A shepherd in the Near East was responsible for watching out for enemies trying to attack the sheep, defending the sheep from attackers, healing the wounded and sick sheep, finding and saving lost or trapped sheep, loving them, and sharing their lives and to earn their trust." I was struck by what a beautiful picture of the Lord this portrayed and how He relates to us as His sheep. This touched me deeply as I realized the Lord was taking me into a place in my soul where there were many lies of loneliness rooted in experiences in childhood. You naturally want to avoid experiences that are painful in your life but healing our wounds does involve pain but a different kind of pain than living in our wounds. I also have struggled to find rest because as my wife says, "you are always working on something in you." It is such an amazing Good News to receive that we are the righteousness of God in Christ right now and that we are sons and daughters of God. I seem to get caught up in striving to experience that which is already true, rather than to just rest in the finished work of Christ receiving all He has done. This is where know God as shepherd comes in because it is the shepherd that directs the sheep to eat, move pastures, defends them from the attacker, and heals their wounds. A shepherd is a nuturer of the sheep not just a hired hand to watch a bunch of animals. Shepherds in those days were heavily invested in caring for their sheep, even to the extent that Jesus said a shepherd would go after one lost sheep out of his flock of 100. In Psalm 23 it goes on to describe how the shepherd (God) leads the sheep to lie down in green pastures and beside still waters. In other words it is God who leads us to the good places to eat (receive from Him) and brings us beside still waters. If the water is not still then sheep can get swept away in the fast moving water. Both of these are all about God nurturing life in us by receiving the water of His Spirit and fresh revelation (Rhema) Word of God because in Psalm 23 it says that He restores our soul. The question is how does God restore the soul, isn't it through the New Covenant which is in the blood of Christ and executed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, or death unified with Christ frees us from the tyranny of sin and the Law, the Life of Christ allows us to live in a new relationship with the Father, and the Holy Spirit leads us into all the truth of our union with Christ and new identity. I pray that God will give you a revelation of Him as your good shepherd (Jesus said only God is good).

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

The Power of a lie

I was recently reflecting on Romans 8:19 which says "...creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." All of creation is waiting, we ourselves are groaning, and the Spirit is interceding for the revealing of the sons (and daughters) of God. This is a big deal, thus the Enemy has worked very hard to keep your identity from being revealed. I have recently been reminded about how powerful a lie is in our life, when we believe a lie about our core-identity. I have had a struggle resting and sleeping over the last 2+ years, some of it I have attributed to some burnout. Burnout is when the power source begins to be inadequate for the challenges of life, so in other words I must be living out of my own resources rather than the Holy Spirit. As these core lies would operate in my life and I could not sleep, this would reinforce the belief that "I am the problem" because due to lack of sleep I would be not as present for family activities. I am amazed at how powerful lies are because they affect the manifestation of Christ in us. Lies have their own manifestation, it first leads us to being tempted, then led away from dependence on Christ, then choosing sin, and finally sin bears fruit for death (James 1:14-15). In the midst of a lie being triggered (like "I am the problem") your feeler is flooded with feelings that match the lie then puts pressure on your will (chooser) to choose to depend on flesh rather than Christ in you. This is why Satan is called the "father of lies" because these lies lead us to manifest the nature of the liar (darkness) and not Christ (Light). In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus says, "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, you whole body will be full of light. But if you eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" In these verses Jesus is talking about the eyes of the mind or heart, so if we are believing a lie, then darkness is what we see and so this is what we experience inside. I heard Ed Silvoso define a lie as, "A thought contrary to the will of God impregnated with hopelessness." In 1 John 1:5 we have the pronouncement that "...God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." We all experience darkness at times but my prayer is that we would come into the Light more and more, experiencing His love and freedom. I pray that as you understand how lies operate in your life, you will be able to take these lies to the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) called the Spirit of truth for a reason. I believe so much of our inheritance is unlocked as these lies/strongholds are taken down by the power and love of the Spirit of Christ. I pray that Jesus prayer from John 16:13, may the Spirit of truth lead you into all truth.

In Christ,
Bret

Honor beyond what I deserve

As I took my daughter to the "Father/Daughter Dance" I was struck by the power of a father in a daughter's life. I had not slept well the night before and I was somewhat "slogging" through the day but my daughter was so excited that as a dad I needed to rise above my circumstance. She looked so cute in her poodle skirt and pony tail for the 50's themed dance. The gym was decorated with white Christmas lights, a balloon archway, and balloons littered one side of the floor. As the DJ poured on the 50's music and I took my daughter's hand to lead her to the dance floor, I caught the twinkle in her eye. In this twinkle it communicated to my heart that there was no other place in the world she would rather be than with me at this dance. As she laid her head on my chest as we danced; I realized that my assessment of how good a dad I was or how crappy a dad I was, I was her dad. As I looked around at the other fathers and daughters I wondered if these fathers understood that God had given them a key to their daughter's heart. In Luke 1:17 the Word says that through John the Baptist God was turning the hearts of the fathers to their children. I am honestly scared, honored, and taken a back by the influence the Lord has given me in my daughter's life. It is such grace that she sees me so much bigger than I really am, when I seem to see all my faults in 3-D they are barely noticeable to her. I don't believe it is most important for her to not see my weakness but to extend grace in those areas of weakness. I pray that through me she would see the unconditional love of her Father in Heaven. How blessed I am to have children and enjoy the revelation of the Heavenly Father as I sense some of His delight over His own children.

In Papa's Arms,
Bret

God better than GPS?

Of course God is better than GPS but I sensed the Holy Spirit teaching me something about God's Kingdom through my GPS. Now some would say this is strange but is it not true that, "My sheep hear my voice" (John 10:3). On Wednesday mornings I have an early morning Bible Study downtown (30 minutes from my house), so I take my GPS because it is traffic-enabled. Which simply means it has a fancy cord that allows the GPS to get traffic information. So as I am heading to the office from downtown, I punch in the address of our office for directions, not because I don't know how to get there but so I can see the traffic. And up pops the little red triangle with a number indicating the number of minutes delay because of traffic on my route. When I hit the traffic button on the GPS screen, it gives a place where I can select alternative routes with less or no traffic. Cool! So instead of sitting in traffic I just bypass all the traffic via an alternative route. I sensed the Spirit reveal to me that this an analogy for what the Word says "... seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6) The GPS gave me a view from above the earth through Global Positioning Satellites which relayed information to my GPS unit. All of this enabled me to see into the unseen realm (traffic miles away) and then gave me a new route. I got the idea of GPS illustrating (albeit crudely) spiritual concepts through Steve McVey's example. Steve McVey said GPS is like God's grace in that whenever we get off course the GPS (God's grace) simply recalculates to get us back on course. Thus mistakes are not detrimental but can be handled by God's grace (or the GPS in this example). I also find it interesting that the GPS gets information from satellites that are high above the earth in space, giving us a perspective of earth that is much different than what you get walking around on the ground. Point, does the Father see things from a different perspective when He looks on the earth from His heavenly throne. Yes! The amazing news is that the Word says that the Father and Jesus Christ will come make there abode in us (John 14:23). It does not say this will happen if we do everything right, not sin, and pray hours in the day. The Word is saying that through the finished work of Jesus Christ and God placing us "in Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:30), that we now become the dwelling place of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One of the three of the Godhead blew me away but that God place the Trinity within us is totally incomprehensible. I pray that God will speak to you through this and if not you will have had a laugh. Life can be too much to not laugh.

In His Grace,
Bret

Grace Through Others

I was amazed at the grace I received as I spent time with my extended family because my aunt was ending her 15 year battle with cancer and then last Wednesday went to be with the Lord. Having been raised as an only child in a single parent home my heart had longed for family because this is part of what I was created for. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a family. There is a dimension of the love of God and life of God that can only be experienced through family. I thoroughly enjoyed the joking, the camaraderie, and the sense of being a part of something bigger than me (family). I shared with my wife that something deep inside me (identity) grew and there was even a sense of greater authority. No one specifically laid hands on me or imparted to me, yet the grace that was on their life touched me. It is such a blessing that most all of my extended family have a relationship with the Lord. There are a couple of dimensions in operation here, first is the Kingdom of God functions through humility and not pride (see 1 Peter 5:5-6). Also Ephesians 5:21 says "and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." The term "be subject" means to arrange under or subordinate. When we are willing to take a lower place (humility not self-condemnation) then we receive grace from a person's life to add to what we have already received. I found that I was so blessed by some of the gracious words people said to me and I was also able to speak words of grace that built up. Words of grace are ones that build another person up "in Christ", not seek to tear down or be dominate. This is part of why I believe the Orphan Heart is so destructive because then we don't place ourselves in place of humility or subjection but seek to be unaffected or rejected by others. If we are going to experience being built up to full maturity "in Christ" we need to understand how the Holy Spirit transfers grace through us to another person or through another person to me. So much of the New Covenant is addressed to a company of believers, whereas our culture thinks only individualistically. I pray as you honor the Spirit of God on another person's life you would receive a touch of His grace that you may experience more of Him and who you are in Him.

In His Love,
Bret

Dispelling the spirit of an Orphan heart

As I led the class on "Spiritual Warfare" we again began to see the importance of our identity in Christ. In Galatians 4:5-6 "so He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying 'Abba! Father!'" We here this and if we don't look very deeply we say what difference does this make in my life. My son is the best example I have of this Scripture for, we adopted him over 4 years ago from Kazakhstan. He was in an orphanage for the beginning of his life, we had been led to pray for two years before he joined our family. We overwhelmed with the idea of choosing a son, so we put this huge decision in the Lord's hands and followed His direction. I remember when we had hit delay after delay in attempting to adopt from Russia, then the Lord opened a door for us to adopt from Kazakhstan. On the day we said yes, we had a referral and I opened an email with a picture of my son. As I looked at the picture I was moved deep inside my heart that this was my son. Later the Lord showed me that Joshua, my son, was chosen and didn't perform to get a place in our family. A better description of the original language is to "set in place as a son", the Law was all about following the Law in a failed attempts to become righteous before God. Joshua was chosen by God as our son, just as I was chosen by the Holy Spirit to be one of the children of God. When Joshua first came home for the initial honeymoon period he acted more like an orphan thinking he needed to hit or scratch to get what he wanted. Joshua only liked food that was like what he was used to in the orphanage. Although the moment the plane landed in America Joshua became a citizen of the U.S., our legally adopted son, and an heir in our family it took him some time to adjust to being a full member of our family. Though there was a process of bonding on both sides, I knew deep down that he was my son. Most people struggle with having a clear sense of their identity and destiny. It is simply amazing love that God would choose to place us in His family, make us heirs, give us authority, and bring us into intimacy with Himself. So many of us have received deep wounds in our family, that family gives us a distorted picture and experience of what we believe God's family is like. So many are spiritual orphans choosing to go life on their own, rather than fully receive God's incredible invitation of family. This Father God is love and has a heart that burns to bring sons and daughters into His family. As I had an intense week because of the lead up to teaching "Spiritual Warfare" I found myself under intense emotional torment, not totally unfamiliar to me. Growing up very much with an Orphan heart, I have struggled to be embraced by the Father's incredible invitation. As a child I had experienced so much loneliness, fear, insecurity, worry, and anxiety because of living with an orphan heart. As I couldn't sleep the darkness seemed to overtake me and it was like the father of lies was whispering in my ear that I was on my own and I was not going to be okay. The fear seemed to increase to the point of a writhing fear of death, the orphan spirit strikes terror in another heart. I worked with a couple this week who the man struggled with an orphan heart because he never measure up as a servant, while his wife's orphan heart struggled with loneliness and being unloved. As a servant he was always trying to measure up then hoping for his inheritance (acceptance and love as a son), he was on the continual treadmill of performance. All of these schemes of the Enemy are pictures of who we are that keep us from enjoying being sons and daughters of God. Identity is everything because the life you live is based on who you are, either the construction of this self is a prison or sets you free to pursue the destiny set in your heart. As my wife read a book on Andre Agassi, she shared that Andre hated tennis but was driven by an unrelenting father to become the best tennis player in the world. Tennis became his whole life, yet the little boys heart just wanted the acceptance and love of being a son. He would even surround himself with older men looking for a father to give him what he never had. I believe that my father's suicide left me searching for a father and shattered my identity as a son. A mother is so important in a family to communicate unconditional love, tenderness, and nurture. But it is a father who God placed in the family to speak God's heart over the children and bless them with their identity. Adam was given authority to name the animals. In the Hebrew culture father's were the one who named the children and communicated a unique aspect of God's love and truth. Because the New Covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant fulfilled, it is by faith or belief and not performance (The Law). Believing the powerful lies that are based on our experience can send us hurling into an internal darkness and torment. These lies have there power in the fact that we have been given authority on earth, so what I choose to believe guides my life. The paraphrase version of a Proverb, as a man thinkth so he is. How we see ourselves is vital to our very existence and life. Stand against the orphan spirit, as a child of God your life depends on it.

A son of the Most High,
Bret

Nothing Seperates Us from the Love of God?

I love how definitive the Scripture is in making declarations of truth and freedom, Romans 8:38 and 39 declare that nothing separates us from the love of God in Christ. Why is this such a wonderfully powerful couple of verses that so many do no experience? As my Papa has been touching some deep places of loneliness and emptiness in my heart, I realize the pain often came from believing I was alone. These lies are deeply rooted in my experience as a little boy, where I often was alone and then even isolated inside a shell to protect myself from being hurt. My deeply held belief is does not override the truth of the Word but my heart cry is to experience the Life the Word writes about. So it is through deception that we can choose to believe we are separated from God and then experience this painful separation. Since we were born to be radically and deeply loved by God, any separation results in some form of death (like it did for Adam and Eve). Since we are now "in Christ" we will not be separated from God ever but each one of us are on a journey to have our experience line up with the Word. If there are places in your heart of loneliness or emptiness, these are an invitation to experience God's love on a deeper level. We are relational creatures by design, just as the God is relational (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We often choose loneliness or isolation for fear of rejection, disappointment, or loss. Yet I do not see any rejection under the New Covenant, Jesus freely welcomed all who came to Him but not all came to Him. As I have learned more about the New Covenant I was amazed to find out much of the original language (Greek) is not individual but applies to believers corporately. This means our individualistic and self-sufficient culture is directly opposed to the environment God desires to be in the Body of Christ. I believe loneliness is epidemic in our culture because so many have bought into the original lie of Satan that we are to be gods running our own little world and not showing anyone our weaknesses. It is love that allows our weaknesses to be exposed and healed, not put on public display for attack. I pray that God would begin to renew our mind to Christ's love which is to be manifested in the Body of Christ. I see so many believers who desire this and are frustrated with the institutional church because they don't see Christ manifest but they don't know where else to go. I pray that God would birth in each of us a desire for His vision of the Body (see Ephesians 3:14-21) and that we would be part of the coming change rather than part of the division or tearing down of the church.

In His Grace,
Bret