Hammer on Anvil '

This post is for my dear brothers and sisters who seem to perpetually find themselves "stuck" when it comes to doing life. You know the drill:

•  You do all the things you think you're supposed to do in order to be considered a good Christian.
• You get exhausted and then find yourself in a funk for a couple weeks in which you really don't care if you ever do ANYthing.
• You beat yourself up because you're such a lousy Christian.
• You finally collapse in tears and ask God to forgive you for being so lame.
• The cycle starts all over again.

Sound familiar? I have been there a number of times myself. Since I can empathize with what you may be experiencing at this very moment, I pray this blog will bring hope and encouragement, and some light into your darkness.

I think one of the biggest hurdles in our Christian pilgrimage is to realize that Jesus has freed us. John 8:36 says, "If the Son sets you free, you are truly free" (New Living Translation). So the question is, do you feel free? Or do you feel, as Christian did in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, that you're on an arduous journey with a 100-pound backpack weighing you down?

Here are some major offenders that keep people in bondage:

• traumatic childhood (which may include physical, verbal or sexual abuse)
• unhealthy relationships
• unhealthy habits/addictions
• faulty body image (this mostly affects women)
• persecution complex ("why does everything always happen to ME?")
• perfectionism (perpetual frustration because nobody is perfect, including you)
• others' opinions
• believing lies (e.g. "God made me this way" -- which sometimes is an excuse for not making the hard changes you need to make in your life to align with His Word)
• self-vindication (always thinking you have to explain yourself if you don't think somebody understands you)

There are many more offenders, I'm sure, but these are the ones that came to mind as I prayed about this blog. If you see yourself in any of these scenarios, there is hope, my friends!

One of the things that has weighed me down over the years is that I analyze too much. And if I can't understand something or someone, I set to work trying to figure it out so that it makes sense to me -- because it really bugs me when things don't make sense. Then God opened my eyes to a Scripture I have known for decades -- but one which struck at the root of my sin. It was Proverbs 3:5:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

God showed me that the reason for my frustration was my own sin; instead of trusting Him, I had been trying to figure everything out so that it made sense. In other words, I was leaning on my own understanding rather than trusting Him.

I heard a sermon recently in which the pastor said a successful Christian pilgrimage boils down to whether you believe God is crazy about you. At first I thought it was too simplistic, but think about it -- if we don't truly believe God loves us, or if we are so burdened by past sins that we've convinced ourselves He can't possibly forgive us -- how can we grasp the truth that He has set us free?

The blood of the very Son of God was shed to purchase our freedom, my dear friends. Paul urges, in Galatians 5:1, that we not allow ourselves to be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I encourage you today to ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Ask Him to show you what is weighing you down and keeping you from being an effective witness for Christ. And when He shows you, begin right away to make necessary changes (repentance, after all, means changing). You may need to repent about some things, or you may need to simply worship God and thank Him for reminding you that He has made you free.

Finally, remember Romans 8:1, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Walk in freedom!

Have any of you been raised as I was, in a church that was solely a place to go on Sunday mornings, and the rest of the week it didn't really matter how you lived? Whatever we may have learned in church was never discussed throughout the week -- so of course we never learned to apply what we had learned.

I'm not saying this was everyone's experience, but it sure seemed to be true in my family. During the week, we stayed pretty isolated from the rest of the parishioners. Seeing them on Sundays was enough, thank you very much.

Fast forward to today. Recently we got a new pastor at our church. Adam is all about meeting together throughout the week in various venues. Everyone is encouraged to be part of a community group, which is a wonderful way for people to get to know each other better in a small group setting. Our present group is discussing Tim Keller's The Meaning of Marriage. We exhort one another to be the husbands and wives God intends for us to be. We talk about our struggles and pray for one another.

Even our elder meetings are much more interactive than they once were. Instead of just the pastor and elders meeting at the church, Adam includes the wives, and we take turns meeting in each other's homes. We share a meal and then discuss church business.

Beyond these church-oriented gatherings, though, Adam is thoroughly engaged in community life. He jumps on every opportunity to reach the people who live in close proximity to our church. In other words, he is a firm believer in the church leaving the building.

I confess that in some ways this is new for me, and at first I wasn't sure I liked it. I am rather a homebody, and would prefer to be home reading than attending this or that gathering. But why is that? Because I am selfish and I am lazy. For so many years I wore a mask and it was exhausting to go to any function, because that meant I had to be "on." Now, thanks to the atmosphere of grace and transparency in our fellowship, I am crawling out of my shell. I realize I do not have to let my past dictate who I am today.

My friends, church is not meant to be a country club, where you only have to associate with those you like. Jesus calls us to so much more than that. Oswald Chambers says, "The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality." That means I am to love whomever God places in my sphere of influence, regardless of whether I am naturally drawn to them or not.

Sunday worship shouldn't be where our faith starts and ends. It should be the springboard that launches us out into service in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and families. The love of God should compel us to serve tirelessly, responding to every opportunity He presents to us.

Twice in the past week, I have listened to sermons
in which the pastor referred to DNA. Not the DNA that forensic scientists and the FBI use to identify bodies or chase criminals or determine parenthood, but spiritual DNA.

We all have scientific DNA; we are born with it. But sometimes we forget we also have a spiritual DNA. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, anyone who belongs to Christ has become a whole new person.

In an age where many people use the term "genetically predispositioned" to excuse a multitude of less than stellar behaviors and attitudes, the Christ follower must stand head-and-shoulders above the crowd. We must remember, according to a sermon I heard at a gathering of Chi Alpha students, "We are not genetically predispositioned to live a life less than what the Lord meant for us to live."

Ouch. Does that mean I can't blame my parents or my upbringing or sexual abuse or (fill in the blank) for my behavior? Yes, my friend, that's exactly what it means. Being a new creature in Christ means not allowing anything from your past to control your present and future.

Last week our pastor preached about our pilgrimage as Christians, and how often there is a disconnect between how we do life on Sundays and how we do life the rest of the week. That's when I heard the second reference to DNA:

He's implanted a DNA in us that's being ignored.

How right he is. Have you ever felt miserable and out of sorts and couldn't put your finger on just why you felt that way? I have, countless times. And ultimately, when I work through it all and allow God to speak to me, it comes down to this: I am ignoring my DNA. The inner turmoil is because God has created me to be one way, and I persist in being another.

Friends, I am not saying that our past doesn't matter. I am not suggesting that horrific childhood memories be simply "forgotten" (as if we could do such a thing). It is important to work through these things, especially as it relates to understanding our present behavior. But once we have worked through it and forgiven whomever we need to forgive, we need to lay it at God's feet and leave it there. As Oswald Chambers says, "Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ."

Are you stuck in the past, reliving memories? Have you given things to God, only to take them back again because you think He can't handle it correctly? If so, repent of your lack of faith and trust in God, and begin living up to your DNA. Then and only then can you begin to pursue the life your heavenly Father has planned out for you.