A Deliberate Choice – Pat

What kind of pain have I experienced in this life and how has it equipped me to be compassionate and suffer with others? This was the primary question that went through my mind as I read Chapter 8. My wonderful daddy suffered a sudden heart attack and died in an instant when he was only 61. I have experienced the devastation of divorce in both my life and my children’s life. There are others but just those two are enough to allow me to see potential to connect with another’s suffering.

So much of the time, I want to avoid people suffering because I have believed that I have nothing to offer them that can make a difference. Words are dangerous because they are interpreted by the one suffering through their suffering and everyone’s experience and filter is different. The potential to offend or be misunderstood is extremely high in suffering situations. However, my eyes have been opened to the power of our presence for someone who is suffering. I pray God will give me the courage and compassion to suffer with others and then anoint me with is Spirit of comfort that others may be comforted.

Here are some questions that Kay Warren’s words stirred up in me.
What suffering have you faced that can be used to minister to another?
How can that experience help you when reaching out to the suffering?
Are you willing to suffer with others?

How about you?

The Gift of Presence - Pat

I’m not sure what to think or feel about this chapter. "It" overwhelmed me. I am not even sure what “it” is. Is “it” conviction? I have never offered myself to anyone suffering to the degree of those Kay Warren ministered to. Is “it” discouragement? I don’t have a clue of how to start ministering to people suffering so severely and honestly, not sure I want to. Is “it” sadness? Why does life have to be so bad for these people? What kind of difference could I make anyway? One thing I do know is, I did not like “it.”

Lord, please help me to process the emotions and frustrations and fears this chapter stirred up in my soul. I want to be used by You however You choose to use me. Please help me overcome all hindrances to serving and ministering to the suffering, whatever that may look like. Thank You for Your grace and mercy! In Jesus name, Amen.

Mirrors Don't Lie - Ashley

Does the “good girl” part of you love God passionately and want your life to count? All the while, the “bad girl” part of you can’t seem to break the sin cycle, and you’ve learned to compartmentalize the two. (pg. 122)

If you dare take an honest look, what do you see when you look into the mirror of God’s word?

A) “Good girl”

B) “Bad girl”

C) Secret combination of “both”

Have you acknowledged any secret sin in your OWN life?

I love the way Kay describes how she compartmentalized the longings of her heart and her repetitive actions. As I ponder the above questions, I am asking you to do the same. These are deep, powerful, and life changing questions - not to be taken lightly. Get alone with God. Be still. Ask Him to reveal truth, and then listen. His truth changes everything. Along with truth He will send His healing balm of grace and mercy.

Click on the below link to listen to a powerful message by Kay titled:

“Overflowing Grace”

www.kaywarren.com

Lord, as we look into the mirror of Your truth, show us what You see. May the scales be removed from the walls around our heart so we may acknowledge the secret sins that breed within. May we have the humility to receive Your truth, mercy and grace and then offer it freely to others. In Jesus name we pray - AMEN

Mirrors Don’t Lie – Pat

Have you held up the mirror of God’s word and ruthlessly examined your own motives and actions lately? (Definition of Ruthless – having or showing no pity or mercy)

Pg. 117 – “Might I, too, be full of depravity…”
Genesis 8:21 – “although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth”

Pg. 118 – “…what I found instead was the monstrous capacity for evil in my own soul.”
Jeremiah 17:9 – "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Pg. 119 – “…given the right circumstances anyone of us is capable of any deed.”
1 John 1:8 - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Kay Warren calls us to “ruthlessly examine” our motives and actions. While doing so, we must remember that “the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." We may fool ourselves but we can’t fool God. He knows us, individually, through and through. While this is a very uncomfortable book, I would rather face and address what is uncomfortable and experience transformation than stay the same. Praise the Lord for loving us enough to expose the evil in our hearts that we may be changed into His image and reflect our Savior.

Exposing Evil - Pat

I read chapter 5 the second time the same way I drive down the road and know there is a dead animal in the middle of the road, batting my eyes really fast over the gross part so I don’t have to get a clear image stamped in my mind. On Christmas Day we went to see Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol. A couple of the movie locations were Bangalore and Karnataka, India and I could not help but think of what was reality there. I found the information below on this web-site when I had read Chapter 5 the first time.

http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/india.htm
Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation

· In cross border trafficking, India is a sending, receiving and transit nation. Receiving children from Bangladesh and Nepal and sending women and children to Middle Eastern nations is a daily occurrence.

· In India, Karnataka, Andha Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu are considered "high supply zones" for women in prostitution.

· Women and children from India are sent to nations of the Middle East daily. Girls in prostitution and domestic service in India, Pakistan and the Middle East are tortured, held in virtual imprisonment, sexually abused, and raped.

· Some Indian men believe that it is good luck to have sex with scalp-eczema afflicted prostitutes. Infants with the condition, called "pus babies," are sold by their parents to brothels for a premium.

· Every year between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls are trafficked into the red light districts in Indian cities. Many of the girls are barely 9 or 10 years old.

I don’t know what to do but I know I no longer want to be guilty of ignoring, denying, or pretending it does not exist. Kay Warren stated on page 103. “In God’s value system, these responses are as wicked as endorsing, cooperating with, or embracing evil.”

Oh God forgive me! Oh God forgive us! Show us how you can use each of us to help the helpless and make an impact against the evil of this world.

Exposing Evil - Ashley

After reading this chapter I prayed for the Lord to open my eyes to the evil lurking around me. Within a few days I had this encounter:

No words were needed as our eyes met. The light and glimmer, which once filled her “baby blues”, had long been snuffed out since her mother’s sudden death. Today her eyes told a different story that pierced my heart and made it hard to breath. Only cold and sadness could now be seen revealing the loneliness and desperation in her heart. Her smile was weary and her words were few for evil had come and stolen her childhood and ransacked her world. She was malnourished, cold, alone, and living in an unlit makeshift home with numerous holes in the floor and walls. She did not choose this life. It chose her!

Spiritual moans of help pierced my heart, and I was keenly aware of the evil lurking right in my backyard. In the days to follow I began to realize the magnitude of what was needed for this precious child; it was much bigger than me. The easy thing would be to let the “truth” of what I had seen fade away because it was too disturbing. But I prayed the Lord would haunt me with “her eyes” if I attempted to turn the channel in my mind.

I knew for certain three things:

1- God had opened my eyes to this unjust evil.

2- It is not too big for Him.

3- He had gone before me and prepared the way.

It was time to fight for this precious girl and many others like her. What a privilege!

Lord God, continue exposing the evil that is right before our very eyes. Forgive us for closing our eyes and muffling our ears to the people who are hurting and desperate all around us. Equip us with Your Armor to fight, and give us the courage to stand. Thank You that we are never alone; You are always with us. In the Mighty name and blood of Jesus Christ we pray – AMEN.

Ready, Set, Stop - Ashley

“Do you believe God is good?”

“Do you believe the heart of God is good towards YOU?”

“What do your actions reveal regarding the two above questions- in good times, difficult times, and unbearable times?”

Many years ago my family went through seven years of unfair and unbearable trials leaving everyone of us deeply wounded, completely undone, and questioning if God even cared. I stayed on “my face” before Him day after day begging for His victory to break through the mire, the mud, and the continuous lies, but the fiery darts continued pounding and tearing at our hearts. In the end of the seventh year another huge disappointment came, and I felt more defeated and confused in my Christian walk than ever before. At this point I could barely open my Bible without doubting the goodness of God or believing He even cared.

One Sunday morning at the end of all hope I ran into our Pastor, and he asked about my family. All I could say with a heavy heart was:

“Pastor, I have seen good, and I have seen evil. And I have seen evil win!”

I could tell he was not expecting a response like that, and he stood there for a moment and pondered my words. He looked into my eyes and spoke firmly and lovingly these words of truth.

“Yes Ashley, just like Jesus’ family, followers, and friends saw that day on the Cross. They watched Him get brutally beaten, betrayed, and hung. They saw “evil” and they saw “good” (Jesus), and they saw evil win (or so they thought).

---BUT GOD had a plan, and His plan was GREATER!”

A lightening bolt as if from heaven jolted my heart, and a light broke forth in the darkness where I had been dwelling. It was the “goodness of God’s heart towards me” that I had not believed. I asked for forgiveness, and His peace consumed me.

Our victory did come at the very end of the seventh year, and oh how sweet it was. I can look back now and see many miracles God did in and through our family through that difficult season. We also now have great empathy for others who face the same mountains.

Please evaluate your heart and ask yourself daily –

“Do I trust that the heart of God is good towards ME?” Read again and ponder on the words the Pastor spoke to me, and may the Holy Spirit bath your precious heart and mind in the truth that it brings.