Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Just this week a coworker was telling me of a friend of his that took a mission trip to Africa. While the man was in Africa, he and his group spent time with a tribe - though I can't remember what the name of this particular tribe was. The men of this tribe had a rite of passage, which they actually performed when they were about 11 years old. Each man of the tribe had to go out and cut the tail off of a lion. Now move past the thoughts of that as quickly as you can; in our modern world it is hard to understand chopping off the tail of an animal, but their world is different. Not only must this be a difficult task, but it also gains them much respect - not just among their tribe, but also among the lions! Believe it or not, when the lions of the area see members of this tribe they will actually get up and move away from them. So you think to yourself, "They must be scared of humans in general." No, they only move away when they see members of this particular tribe not of any other tribe. The lions know the difference!


1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." So the question I pose is do you belong to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? Do you belong to the tribe that invokes fear in the heart of the enemy? Do you belong to the tribe that the gates of hell cannot prevail against? Does your life send the enemy on the run? 


Or do you belong to another tribe? Perhaps you're of a tribe that the enemy does not even recognize; perhaps the enemy even thinks that he can encroach upon you and intimidate you.


We must live our lives in such a way that it is evident who we belong to, in such a way that it causes the enemy to flee from us. We may not lop off his tail, but we may at least gain ground that was once considered his territory.

My Whole Life

Many are familiar with the story of the adulterous Samaritan woman that Jesus revealed Himself to at the well. After racing back to the town to tell of meeting the Messiah, she proclaimed, ""Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" (John 4:29). Now I have heard some laugh at this seemingly exaggerated statement she made. The argument is that all Jesus really told her is that she had had many husbands and that the man she lived with at the time was not her husband. So, did Jesus really tell her "everything" she ever did? To some the answer to this question is "No, she was just carried away with emotion."


 When we belong to the Lord or are questioning our lives in light of eternity, the sins in our lives are ever before us. It is the grace of God that exposes our sins to us, so that we can then in turn surrender them and our lives back to Him. When you are a Christian who truly loves the Lord, it will grieve your spirit to have sin in your life, and until you've confessed it, it will be ever before you. Likewise, if you do not know the Lord, but the Holy Spirit begins to deal with you, the sins in your life will be burdensome until you know that you can confess them  and by the cross they will be crucified. So to the Samaritan woman indeed Jesus told her everything she ever did!

Repair Your Heritage

A few weeks ago I was in that strange phase between waking and sleeping when your thoughts slip into a weird dream-like state even though you're still awake. Then you hit that moment when you realize, "What on earth am I thinking about? This doesn't even make sense." Well this time my weird thoughts seemed to have a point to them.

I was standing on the steps in downtown Huntsville that go down into Big Spring Park. I started thinking how awesome it would be to suddenly yell something and have everyone pay attention to what I was saying and find it important. So out of nowhere I yelled, "Repair your heritage!" I seemed to be referring to the buildings or something at that point (you know how these weird thought/dreams go), and that seemed to strike a chord with everyone.

I regained consciousness with "Repair Your Heritage" resounding in my mind. How can you repair something that has already been established. Your heritage is something that is innately a part of who you are. You cannot change the family you were born into, your genetics, your bloodline... but there it is Your Bloodline.

When we identify ourselves with Christ and are adopted into His family, we are drawn into His bloodline. There are all of the members of Christ's bloodline that are recounted to us in the first chapter of Matthew, from Adam to Joseph, then Jesus. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, we are able to step into that bloodline right behind him. We are covered by His blood. It is not a privilege merely reserved for Israel; we are adopted in and considered a part of this Chosen Bloodline.

At birth, we inherit the defects of physical genetics, but we also inherit defects of personality which give birth to the generational sin that makes its lovely appearance in the progression of our lives. It seems to be a hopeless situation - how do you even begin to change the effects of DNA? How do you change the circumstances of birth and living?

Repair your heritage. Submit the circumstances of who you are to the Creator. He created the complexities of  the universe; he knew you before you were in your mother's womb - I think he can handle the make-up of your life. Not only is He the Master Physician who can heal your physical problems, but He is also the one who can take an ax to the root of generational sin in your life and stop it from being passed on to your posterity. With His Word, you can continue your transformation by the renewing of your mind.

Repair your heritage by knowing the Creator and the Word that set the creation in motion.

This Isn't Kansas

As everyone in North Alabama and surrounding areas can testify, the last few weeks have been crazy. The tornadoes caused devastation in physical and emotional ways, but I think that in a lot of ways it was a spiritual awakening. With no electricity, everyone had to rely on their own wits and rely on the Lord to reveal a way to survive. With no power, we sought the higher power.

In the midst of the situation, there were several moments where a thought sprang up in my mind: “I want to go home.” Seeing how I was already at home, this recurring thought baffled me a little bit. It was like the little girl inside of me had this longing for comfort and peace. I finally realized that the home that I was referring to was not my family/physical home but my spiritual home. Let us not forget that we are merely visitors on earth; our true home is in heaven with God the Father. We are not bodies with spirits; we are spirits with bodies. Our spirits cry out for their eternal homes!

However what we are doing here on earth is preparing for our permanent homes. The Lord is preparing a place for us, but are we doing what we can here on earth to ensure that He has what he needs to prepare this home for us? Obviously the first step is accepting Jesus as our Lord. Honestly, this is a step that must be taken daily – “I am not in charge, Lord, you are. I cannot save myself, Lord – you save me.” We can become absolutely complacent with the fact that “Yes, I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior,” but do we ever stop to think about what this means? Am I surrendering my day-to-day living and breathing to him… if not, I may NOT actually know Him as my savior.

What flows out of this relationship is compassion which leads to action. The church has stepped up with great authority and compassion these past few weeks. We are moving out of what God has planted in our hearts. We have been rebuilding lives and rebuilding homes, meanwhile Christ is building and preparing our homes in heaven. It’s as if every thing we do in His name here on earth is translated into building materials for him in heaven. Does that sound cheesy? Oh well, I don’t care… that’s how I picture it! Haha

Meanwhile let us all remember that our spirits are crying out that they want to go home, so we must do all we can to make sure there will be a place, by surrendering our lives daily, even moment by moment, to His sovereignty!

The Epic Battle

As this New Year rolls in, I find myself quite hopeful for the future. 2010 was a weird year, if not the crappiest I've ever had. But the beautiful thing about life is that no matter how crappy it seems to be, there are always plenty of blessings in the silver lining and plenty of simple things that make life worth living.

For me, one of the reasons 2010 was such a difficult year is that there was an epic battle being waged in my life. And of course as things go, this battle is not specific to me but is true of everyone. It just so happened that it was particularly evident to me this year.

Most people, particularly in the church, think that the epic battle of the world is that which will be fought in the valley of Megiddo. However, I think the truth of the matter is that the epic battle of the world is that which is fought in the heart and minds of men and women everyday. These battles are what make life so important - the battle between good and evil, between flesh and spirit, the battle of our souls that determine where we will spend our eternities.

On the personal side of things, my battle has raged this year and at times the best has not won. I became so burned out with the things of church, not necessarily God, but church. I longed to be like Christians who live a seemingly normal life that are not constantly involved in "the things of God." I know, I know shrieking ensues. But because of this burn out, I feel it absolutely necessary that Christians be totally transparent. We are kidding ourselves to think that we are perfectly holy and try to convey that image all of the time. God does not look at the image we project, He looks at our hearts. The images we project are for the "benefit" of others and frankly we are doing them a disservice by showing off our piety.

So I was ready to be a "fleshly" Christian. haha. Such a thing is a contradiction of terms, and yet how many people live this kind of existence everyday? Let me tell you it is hard life to live but totally doable. One of my favorite quotes is by Oswald Chambers: "If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you." While your flesh desires to continue on in its way and while you let it win a few arguments, your spirit is crying out for truth and destiny. This is not an easy path to abandon. It is a path that can only be abandoned by some overwhelming support of the Holy Spirit.


While I have been on the "Road to Restoration", it has been slow going and my flesh has won a few. But in this New Year, I desire to walk again with the Lord like before. There was a time when He was ever on my mind, when there was a joy always in my heart even if I was in miserable circumstances. I wish for Him and His presence. I wish to be restored to my former glory that is only found in Him. 


I am not making a New Year's Resolution because that would doom me to failure, but I am hoping to reconnect with an old friend. 

Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"

VISION AND REALITY
"And the parched ground shall become a pool." Isaiah 35:7 We always have visions, before a thing is made real. When we realize that although the vision is real, it is not real in us, then is the time that Satan comes in with his temptations, and we are apt to say it is no use to go on. Instead of the vision becoming real, there has come the valley of humiliation. "Life is not as idle ore, But iron dug from central gloom, And batter'd by the shocks of doom To shape and use."God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience. Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are always in such a frantic hurry. In the light of the glory of the vision we go forth to do things, but the vision is not real in us yet; and God has to take us into the valley, and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the place where He can trust us with the veritable reality. Ever since we had the vision God has been at work, getting us into the shape of the ideal, and over and over again we escape from His hand and try to batter ourselves into our own shape. The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what God wants you to be. Let Him put you on His wheel and whirl you as He likes, and as sure as God is God and you are you, you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision. Don't lose heart in the process. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you.