Whispered Agreements

August 17, 2008 · Filed Under faith/believe, spiritual hearing · Comment 

For the next few posts, I want to talk a bit about another voice—the voice of the enemy.

I tend to believe that the enemy has very little power to cause us physical harm. I know there are examples in the Bible where Jesus would rebuke a demon, and then some sort of sickness or condition would leave, like seizures or hemorrhaging.

Maybe I should say it this way—I believe that most of the physical conditions people struggle with today are not a direct result of some physical demonic attack. I do, however, believe that demons are sill very influential in the various sicknesses that come upon us.

Think about this scripture: “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT).

Notice that the devil is a roaring lion. Why do lions roar? To create a sense of fear and domination, to assert authority. But you see, the devil no longer has authority in a Christian’s life. So, he just roars.

So, how is that related to our physical conditions? I believe the enemy is constantly roaring into our lives. He is constantly speaking negative things. Why? To get us to agree with him.

Listen carefully to this scripture: “The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it was withered from the roots. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, ‘Look, Teacher! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. I assure you that you can say to this mountain, “May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,” and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it’” (Mark 11:20-24, NLT).

Did you catch that last part? If you believe, you will have it. While it’s often quoted on the positive side of faith, I believe it also applies to the negative side of faith. If you choose to agree with the enemy, then you will have it. Proverbs 23:7 confirms this, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

The enemy is trying really hard to get you to agree with him, because once you make that agreement with him, the negative side of faith kicks into action. As you think in your heart, so it is.

Let me give you an example of an agreement.

Early this year, my teenage son would tell me, “Dad, I can’t hear God. I try and try, but I guess I just can’t hear God.”

Can you hear the agreement in his words?

I sat down with him and showed him scriptures like John 10:3, “The sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” And later in John 10:16, “They will listen to my voice.” I explained to him that we can hear God, and that it’s his desire that we hear him. I explained to him that as his father, my desire is to spend quality time with him—talking, sharing, engaging. It’s the same with God.

I asked him if he remembered ever agreeing with a thought that he couldn’t hear God. He said yes. That’s the voice of the enemy. My son made an agreement with this thought, and it wasn’t his thought at all. So, we prayed and broke that agreement. We declared to the enemy that we can hear the voice God, and cancelled all those unholy assignments.

I told him to pray and listen. Then, tell me what he heard. After a moment, he said, “Dad, I heard God. He said: I love you!” It’s always about love.

When it comes to sickness and physical conditions, I think many people have just made agreements and don’t fight the good fight of faith. Do any of these sound familiar:

  • My dad died from cancer. I’ll probably get it too.
  • This depression is so strong. I just can’t fight it.
  • My nose is stopped up. I’m probably coming down with something.
  • I always get the flu this time of year.
  • It has been a hard day. I guess the stress is normal.
  • I can’t hear God.

When we have these thoughts, we think it’s our own. So, we agree. We let down our guard. We stop fighting. We receive it.

Please understand, I’m not condemning you if you’ve made any agreements. I have made my fair share of agreements, even recently. I just want to make you aware that the enemy’s voice is very subtle but incredibly influential. We must monitor our thoughts, and measure them up against God’s word, against the truth. The war we fight is not a physical war, but a mental war engaged in the spiritual realm.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5).

What agreements have you made in your life? What have you chosen to believe without first challenging that thought in light of God’s word?

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The Crisis God

August 7, 2008 · Filed Under general · Comment 

When I booted up my computer this morning and opened my journal, I realized it has been quite awhile since I really connected with my Father. And thought, Why?

Well, it’s easy—life is good right now. Really good. When I think about all the things that people struggle with—marriage, finances, rebellious kids, sickness, and in-laws, I’ve got it great.

  • My marriage is wonderful and healthy!
  • We’re completely out of debt!
  • Our teenage son is an absolute joy!
  • I’m training for a half-marathon and feel great!
  • I get along with my mother-in-law. Mostly.

Life is good.

And when life is good (and in control), I often just go through my day doing my thing on my schedule my way. I have this impaired sense of, I don’t need God. Life is good.

Rarely, do we call upon the God-who-is-Lord. Rather, we call upon the God-who-is-only-there-when-I’ve-got-a-problem.

Think about it for a moment. How would you describe your prayer life with God? Think of a scale—on one side, the number of times you go to God in a crisis, with a need. The other side is all the times you went to God just thank him, talk to him, spend time with him for no other reason than to just be with him.

I know what my scale would look like, and it’s not pretty. In fact, it’s quite lopsided.

I think about my son and the times he comes to me. Usually, it’s a request for more computer or tv time. Or, he wants to watch a show with me (only because he’s run out of his own computer/tv time for the day). Or, he wants to go to the lake or swimming or over to a friend’s house. Or my favorite, he has used up all his computer/tv time, finished reading all his library books, and he has nothing to do. So, out of boredom, he comes to me wanting to play a game or something.

Boredom. My daddy status is one step below boredom.

Yet, here’s the beauty of it all. My love for him is no less. Even in those times when he comes to me because he has exhausted all of his other options, I still love being there for him. I love it when he comes to me. I enjoy being with him. Sure, it blesses me when he comes to me first, but the fact that he just comes to me is a blessing beyond measure.

I think it’s the same with God. Sure, he loves it when we come to him first—first in the morning, first in a decision, first to be thanked, first in a crisis. But, his love does not waiver when we call out to him as a last resort, when things have escalated beyond our control.

With all the great things going on in my life, I have become more thankful to God. I spend sporadic times throughout the day in simple thankfulness. Just this morning, I was walking our dog, Misty, and saw this beautiful sunrise.

Thank you, Father, for this exciting, wonderful day!

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Created for relationship

August 4, 2008 · Filed Under general · Comment 

I just finished a week-long break from my marathon training schedule. My knees were a bit sore and I wanted to give them time to recover a bit. We’re upping our miles and I wanted to make sure I was ready for the longer distances.

So, early this morning, I donned my “dry fit” shirt and shorts, running shoes and strategically programmed iPod and started back on my running program. It was such a great time! But, something interesting happened this morning. God spoke to me through his creation during my run.

Geese

As I finished my short warm up run and started stretching, I saw this flock of geese fly over me. They weren’t way up in the sky, like when I’ve seen geese before. No, this was a small flock of Canadian geese, and they were only 30 or 40 feet of the ground. It was amazing! They were swooping over the houses in their lopsided triangle formation, but perfectly in sync.

And when I saw them pass over, I had this thought, “Geese instinctively know that they’re created to live and function as a group.”

It was an interesting thought, and immediately I start thinking about how God has created us for relationship–relationship with himself and relationship with others. I mean, when you think about the two greatest commandments, according to Jesus, it’s all about relationship: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

You see, we too are created instinctively to live and function as a group. We function better, more efficiently, more effectively as a group. God created us for relationship.

As I started my run, I thought more and more about this need for relationship. As I turned this one corner in my run, I looked up ahead of me, and there they were–all six geese. They had landed in the grassy area of a closed school, and they were grazing off the fresh cut grass. I was pretty surprised to see those same geese from about 20 minutes earlier. And again, another thought, “Not only do that fly together, they eat together. Now, that’s something you can relate to.”

It’s true. I like to eat. And, I enjoy having meals with friends and family. Even in my business, I often have business lunches or coffees, and I enjoy the time of just talking and listening to people. We really are created to live and function as a group.

We are created for relationship.

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The Mountain Path

August 1, 2008 · Filed Under purpose/destiny, spiritual hearing · Comment 

In the mid-90′s, when I was young in the faith and working in corporate America, I would often spend my lunches in this quiet conference room upstairs at our offices. It was such a special time in my journey with God. I would slam down a sandwich for lunch and then spend a good half hour or so just reading through the New Testament, praying, listening. I’d just hang out with my Dad. It was a wonderful season of intimacy with my Father.

On October 7, 1995, something amazing happened in that room. Something so amazing that I’m still walking in the fruit of that experience today, almost 13 years later.

Here is my journal entry from that day:

During my quiet time at work, I felt the Lord show me two different paths. Currently I was on a single path, but ahead of me, there was a fork in the path—one to the left and one to the right.

To the left, the path was flat and smooth. It was a simple path, an easy path. To the right, the path was mountainous with hills and valleys weaving their way across the undulating landscape. It looked both exciting and dangerous.

I asked the Lord what it was, and He said, “You have two paths ahead of you. One is fairly pleasant, but longer (the one to the left), and the other is a lot of work, but shorter (the one to the right).”

Then, I asked Him, “Lord, which one do you want me to take?” He said, “The right.” I asked, “Will you be with me all of the way?” He said, “Right next to you, all of the way.” I began to weep. “Lord, then to right we go…”

I asked Him to confirm that this was really Him speaking to me. Before I opened my eyes, He whispered, “Look at the third drawing in this room when you open your eyes.” As I opened my eyes and looked at the third drawing, there was a picture of a road leading up into the mountains. I had never seen this picture before. Surely, he was speaking to me.

Nothing changed for me that day, nor that year. In fact, I wasn’t really sure what I had agreed to, other than this was the path God wanted me to walk, so I trusted him.

Up to this point, I had been an engineer working for a Fortune 500 company. It was a day-to-day job, not very exciting nor rewarding. My passion for the corporate world started waning. I was hungry for something fresh, something new, something challenging. I started to sense that the mountain path was something new, fresh, dynamic, maybe even a bit risky. But, I was ready.

The next year, a friend of mine showed me some new media production software and told me to check it out. I did, and fell in love with this new tool that would allow me to create interactive media with music and sound and video. I was a kid in a candy shop. What fun! The following year, I started dabbling in video production and visual communications.

What I found buried deep in the desires of my heart was this passion to communicate through video and media. My father is a professional photographer, so I was around the visual arts as a kid. But, not desiring that his children become starving artists like himself, my dad suggested that me and my brother become engineers. So, we did.

But, engrained in my spiritual DNA were these desires to communicate through media. I think about Romans 11:29, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” It was like God had shown me this mountain path to pique my adventuresome heart. And, even after making the choice, it was still only a seed, with no obvious fruit in sight. And slowly, like a pregnancy, the seed took shape growing inside of me as I learned about this new desire.

Top Pup MediaOver the years, this passion for media would finally come to fruition, and even today, I now own my own media production business. And as a reflection of that decision years ago, our business logo is a mountain representing the path God has sent me down. 

Another fruit of that decision is a movie that we produced last year called Fissure.

I think about where I was 13 years ago (an engineer stuck in a dead-end cubicle job) to a movie producer chasing his dreams.

Wow, what a journey!

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