I wonder what it was like to be the young Superman? Knowing you are called to a mission but not sure of the power within you to pull it off. Waiting for the strength to show up and the muscle to mature. Sitting on the sidelines while the world wondered if you were worth the fuss.

In Acts 19 there is another group of guys that have waited. They were baptized by John the Baptist maybe 25 years earlier and now they wait. They have a message and a mission but no muscle. They know they were called for a purpose but they lack the power. So the Apostle Paul comes to them and asks, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” They are disciples (the NIV says so), they have bought into the story of Jesus, but there is nothing in their life to reflect the passionate, purposeful, powerful, ABUNDANT life that Jesus promised. Sound familiar?

For many of us we know Jesus as the forgiver of our sins and the saver of our souls. Thanks to Him we are going to heaven and not headed to the other place, (H E double hockey sticks). We have fire insurance and that’s about all. Where is the power? Where is the supernatural, out of this world, change the planet strength that we thought we’d have when we went to an altar at church camp or were baptized as young adults? Where is the ABUNDANT life? We have waited, wondering, weak and worrying. Is this as good as it gets?

Paul comes to the men at Ephesus and asks, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” That question brings up a problem for me.  Aren’t Jesus and the Holy Spirit one in the same? Can you get Christ and not get the Spirit? I don’t think so. Maybe that’s why Paul writes to them years later and reminds them that there is “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6) So, rather than get all theological about this let’s just say that if you have Jesus in your heart you’ve got the Holy Spirit in you as well. That must mean that there is a way of living that fails to recognize and exemplify the power of God in the life of the believer. Something about these guys made Paul ask the question. “What’s the deal? You’ve been hanging around 25 years and I don’t see much going on? Did you receive the Spirit?” The rest of the story is pretty cool. He tells them about the Holy Spirit, baptizes them in the name of Jesus, lays his hands on them and they have a praise Jesus meeting to beat the band.

Now here is what I make up about that. We get two things when we get Jesus. (Well, we get a lot of things; eternal life, peace that passes all understanding, joy unspeakable…) But two things really stand out. We get His Presence. All of the presence of God is ours. Not just a part, not just an itsy bitsy slice, all of God is in Jesus and He is in us. Colossians 1:19 says “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him.” And all of that fullness dwells in us. Listen young Superman, you are not in this thing alone. He is with you. Every trial you face, every struggle you have, every step of the way the Creator of the Universe is right there inside you and He promises to “Never leave you or forsake you.” I can handle that!

The second thing we get is His Power. We are not some mealy mouthed, mamby pamby, hope we can make it another day kind of followers. When you invited Christ into your life He came with great POWER. Go get in front of the mirror right now. Unbutton your shirt and look at that t-shirt. (Okay, check that. I remember what my skinny chest and sloppy belly looked like in the mirror this morning.) Maybe we should just imagine the blue tights and the bold, red S on our chests. We are supermen and superwomen, filled with the presence and power of God and able to do more than we think or can imagine. Even Jesus said to us “Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have done. He will do greater things than these.” (John 14:12) Are you trying to reach your friends for Jesus? Are you wanting God to work in your marriage? Are you looking at a ministry and wishing you could tackle it? YOU HAVE GOT THE POWER IN YOU. All you have to do is start operating In the Name of Jesus.

Next week we’ll talk more about what that looks like. For today the lesson is this. You can do anything because Jesus Christ lives in you and gives you strength. (That would make a pretty good Bible verse.) Maybe you have been waiting around for a long time for God to come and make you strong. Maybe you have been on the sidelines hoping someday He would give you something special. He already did. It’s a done deal. The power of His presence is in you now. You are a world changer. You are a hero. You are Supersomebody and He is ready to do a mighty work in you. That fires me up!

One final note. Acts 19:7 says there were 12 men. After 25 years only 12 men. Waiting around, hoping for some power, not accomplishing much. A few years later Paul writes to the Ephesians “Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you.” (1:15-16) There are so many there that Paul doesn’t even know them. The church at Ephesus is a power-house for evangelizing the Gentiles. They have taken off. When the power comes stuff happens. So you, this week, slip into a phone booth somewhere, rip open your shirt and begin to serve God with POWER. You will be amazed at what He starts doing through you.

Mike

There will be a hundred epitaphs and a thousand blogs, ten thousand, written about Whitney Houston. Some will confer sainthood on her immediately and deify her music and talent. Others will use this opportunity to vilify her life and life style in the hopes of evangelizing some wayward youth and rescuing them from a like demise. I guess both approaches are fair game when a life has been so public for so long.

But my thoughts this morning are not so much about Whitney Houston or Bobby Brown, or even that girl that had blue hair last night. My thoughts are about me. (Now there’s a surprise!) And about what I am offering a hungry world that is desperately seeking a hero. Granted my world is much, much smaller than Ms. Houston’s. And my impact will certainly not gain the same press, good or bad. But I do have a sphere of influence, a small community of travelers in the same lane, moving in the same direction as me for a while. And I have a window of opportunity to be a model of some sort to them.

Paul says, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” To the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 1:6 he said, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” Now there’s a sobering thought that there is a part of my world that is watching to see how I do it, making their decisions about how and if to live for Christ based on what they see in me. They watch how I start. They judge me in the middle. And they will be there to make observations at the end. Even if my “entourage” at the very end is no more than my wife and sons and grandsons it is a staggering responsibility to know that they will pass out my Grammy Award.

So, this morning I am not thinking about Whitney nearly as much as I am thinking about me…and them. What will I leave them? What am I telling them now? What lessons will they use of mine to shape their own destiny?

Here are three fast and simple ideas that I think I hope they get:

1. Life is short. It goes so fast that there is not a lot of room for waste. Now that is all the more reason to relax and enjoy it by the way. Time is too short to be fretting all the time about getting it perfect. But having said that, my father-in-laws adage is true, “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
2. Our battle is not for anything on this planet. Don’t get me wrong. I want fame and wealth and a new pick-up truck as well as the next guy. I sit around at night and look through the Bass Pro Shop catalogue and dream. I watch Charles Stanley on TV and wish that was me. (Being on TV, not looking old and wearing thick glasses like Charles Stanley.) I want to have more than I have and be more than I am. But I am always drawn back to
   the fact that that is not the battle. “Our battle is not against flesh and blood…..but against the spiritual forces of evil.” Ephesians 6:12 We are in a fight for our lives, literally, and the lives of those we care about and it won’t be won with glamour and glitz. We saw that this weekend.
3. All we have to do to win is finish. Can you believe that? We are in a race where the outcome has already been decided. Guess what? We win. Some of us will cross the finish line in a blaze of glory with cheering crowds and adoring fans. Some of us (read that ME) will probably crawl over  in the dark of the night, just happy to have survived. It doesn’t matter. In my devotions this morning the Psalmist said, “I waited patiently for the Lord, He turned to me and heard me. He lifted me up out of the slimy pit…..He put a new song in my mouth.” Psalm 40

Listen I am no Whitney Houston or Bruno Mars or that guy that looks like Mickey Mouse. But I can SING! I know what is important. I know what I have to do to get there. And I know that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords both sings over me and sings through me every step of the way. Now that’s the lesson I want my peeps to get. Word.  (I really just embarrassed myself. I don’t know what that means.)

Mike

(Follow our weekly prayer list in this website. For more Mike blogs join www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com)

In the upper room Jesus is fully aware that his imminent departure is going to devastate His little band of followers. Not just the disciples but the small community of believers, His entourage, they are probably gathered there as He teaches them one more time about the significance of the Passover meal, about Branches and Vines, and about Abundant Life. Remember He has just said,” I have come that you might have abundant life.” John 10:10. And now He says, “It is important for you that I go away.” John 16:7

Really Lord? Okay, I’m really confused now. Are you going to give us something that makes us happy wealthy and wise? Is it going to be all ice cream and roses from this point on with lots of singing and laughter, and generally feeling good? I mean are we going to have abundant life like you promised? Or? Are you leaving us in our darkest hour? Is it true that we are going to be misquoted, misunderstood, and mistreated? Are we really going to be kicked out of the church? Even killed in your name? Really? Which one is it? Abundant life or miserable death? Good times or bad times? To which Jesus replies…you guessed it, YES!

The reason I am leaving He says is so that the Holy Spirit can come. Now we can have a great fun discussion about the theological physics of the Trinity. Was there some time and space edict, like Back to the Future, where Marty Frye and his father couldn’t occupy the same space at the same time? Was it necessary for the physical body of Christ to be gone so that the universal body of Christ could be receptive to the Holy Spirit of God? Well, my deep theological answer to that is…I don’t know. But I do know that Jesus says, “I have to go away. But when He comes….Well, when He comes that is going to be a game changer. Life will hit this town again, the lights of the theatre will blaze once more. Like Luke in The Majestic, His coming (The Holy Spirit) will put pep back in the step of everyone who recognizes Him.” (Believe it or not, that’s not an exact quote.) The Abundant Life comes to us when we fully recognize, invite, and embrace the Holy Spirit in our world, our lives, and our hearts.

Here’s the deal. The Abundant Life is not a thing that we get. It is a Person that we engage. The Abundant Life is a life immersed in the Holy Spirit of God, given over to Him, and His leading, and His presence in a way that perhaps we have never dreamed possible. When we allow Him to live in us like that, the old theatre comes alive in a new way and the lights come. Our life becomes….. Majestic.

I am not sure everything that this means but, the Perfect Presence of God, the Divine Doer of all that is good, and right, and noble, the King of the World and the Creator of the Universe, somehow steps inside my skin and lives in me.  Wow! That changes everything. Listen, remember our conversation last week? I don’t mope around in fear. I don’t keep my fingers on my spiritual pulse to see if I’m still breathing. Jesus says, “I will leave physically so that I can come spiritually and live in the form of the Holy Spirit inside each one of you.” Paul says it another way in Colossians 1, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Do you get that? Christ, the Holy Spirit, actually living in you and in me. Well, that is downright Majestic.

That means at least three things to me. All three of them are about taking the pressure off of me and allowing me to just live the Abundant Life.  First, He keeps me on track. “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: “ ( John 16:8) Jesus uses the word “righteousness.” Dikaiosune is the Greek word that we might translate as right-ed-ness, to be put in a right relationship with God. We are like a mirror trying to line up correctly so as to produce an accurate reflection of God to the world. It is the Holy Spirit that is saying, “Easy, easy, a little more to the left, now bring it in just a smidge. Perfect.” He is at work in us to help us point our compass to True North.

Second He continually teaches me. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13) I don’t know about you but I am in a perpetual state of remedial life. I constantly need refresher courses. And the Holy Spirit gently but firmly teaches me all day long, each step of the day. I don’t have to cram for some cosmic final exam. I am just enjoying lessons all along the way about grace, and patience, and trust. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John14:26)

The final thing the Holy Spirit does, He keeps me focused on what really matters, or better yet, who really matters. “All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:15) I can get distracted with the best of them. I fret about finances, fuss about family, fume over the future. But when I listen to Him in me, the Holy Spirit says, “Hey, you’re missing the big picture. You need to focus on me and see all of the marvelous things I am doing. (And going to do!) You see that bad doctor’s report? Watch how I step in there. Are you looking at that pile of bills on your desk? Let me show you something about providing. Do you have your eyes on that kid that’s breaking your heart? See what I can do with prodigals.

When my focus becomes Him rather than the stuff around me life gets Abundant. The dread and drudgery turns unto delight. It’s like magic. Instead of doom and gloom the lights come on and everything around me is joy and peace. The Holy Spirit, living in me, when  I get out of the way turns the dark screen into a 3-D, multi-view, surround sound, Cineplex. And I can sit back and enjoy the show.

In the movie, The Majestic, Jim Carrey’s make believe father is telling him about re-opening the theatre. His voice is full of passion and his hands gesture toward the dusty old screen. “That’s why we call it The Majestic. Any man, woman, child could buy their ticket, walk right in. Here they’d be, here we’d be. “Yes sir, yes ma’am. Enjoy the show.” And in they’d come entering a palace, like in a dream, like in heaven. Maybe you had worries and problems out there, but once you came through those doors, they didn’t matter anymore. And you know why? Chaplin, that’s why. And Keaton and Lloyd. Garbo, Gable, and Lombard, and Jimmy Stewart and Jimmy Cagney. Fred and Ginger. They were gods. And they lived up there. That was Olympus. Would you remember if I told you how lucky we felt just to be here? To have the privilege of watching them. I mean, this television thing. Why would you want to stay at home and watch a little box? Because it’s convenient? Because you don’t have to get dressed up, because you could just sit there? I mean, how can you call that entertainment, alone in your living room? Where’s the other people? Where’s the audience? Where’s the magic? I’ll tell you, in a place like this, the magic is all around you. The trick is to see it.” The Holy Spirit is at work in you today. The trick is to see it.

Mike

(This is the second blog in a six part series on The Abundant Life. To read the whole series, or to find the complete manuscript of the lesson to our staff from which it came, go to www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com)

I started this blog on New Year’s Eve. I had high hopes and great expectations of a new, fresh start. I would write a little every day, read through the Bible in a year (3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday), cut my calorie intake to a reasonable amount, and not yell at the TV during football games. I even bought a new devotional book for Doris and I to do together. (The pages are falling out of Jesus Calling.)

Then life happened. Mom was put in the hospital, had emergency surgery, intensive care, and just yesterday admitted to a rehab center. My brother-in-law was also admitted to the hospital, underwent a battery of tests, and only last Monday released. On top of that there have been clients to see, year-end reports to begin, budget meetings to attend, and emails to answer. I have been sleeping in hospital chairs, updating FaceBook, previewing nursing homes, and wolfing down Big Macs from behind the steering will. I am 31 chapters behind on my Bible reading. The devotional book has not been opened (though we have gone back to Jesus Calling about every day), and I am just now picking up this blog again.

Stuff doesn’t always fall into place the way we anticipated it would. Schedules fall through, budgets get out of whack, goals get set aside, and we get lost in the morass of the mundane. We are swallowed up by life and it’s only January 12. Not only does that happen for the New Year but it happens for the new you. We decide to be different. Stop an old habit. Start a new one. Change a relationship or change ourselves in a relationship. The intentions are good but BAM, life smacks us in the face and before we know it we are right back to business as usual and living under the weight of regret. Sound familiar? It sure does for me. In fact, the older I get the more it seems that life is winning.

Two things some to my mind this morning, first Jesus is not surprised by that. He anticipated it. Remember the conversation with Peter on the seashore after an early morning fish fry. I love Peter. He is the king of big plans and good intentions. “I’ll follow you anywhere Lord.” “Give me a sword, they won’t get by me.” “I’ll never deny you Jesus.” Even on this morning he is declaring, “Lord, after all this, I’m your guy. I love you. I’ll take care of your business for you.” And Jesus says,” Peter, when you were young you went where you wanted to go but the older you get, the more life dictates the direction of things for you.” (The gospel according to me.) He says. “You will reach a point where others will pick out the clothes you will wear and even make you go places you do not want to go.” (John 21) Things are only going to get more and more out of your control, He says. And brother, He was right.

My calendar seems to fill itself up. My schedule for the day begins screaming at me the night before and my To Do list shakes me awake at 3AM and says, “You’ve got no chance of getting this stuff finished.” I pile on top of that a healthy (actually unhealthy) dose of should haves, and oughts, and I am pretty much sunk before the boat ever leaves the dock. Frustrating to me maybe but not surprising to Jesus.

Which leads me to the second thing, also from Him, He has a plan for all of that. In Matthew 6 He is wrapping up the Sermon from the Mountain. It has been a good talk about blessings and staying focused on the right things. I am sure a lot of people are standing there saying, “Hey, I’m going to do this stuff. A whole new way of living for me. I’m putting a plan in place and this time next year you aren’t even going to recognize me. I’ll be a lean, mean Jesus machine.” Jesus gets that from them and He says this, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matt. 6:34 MSG) Pretty good advice, huh?

Listen, plans, and dreams, and goals, and even New Year’s Resolutions, aren’t bad. They help us focus. They challenge us. They can be agents for change. But be prepared. Life is going to happen. It may come at you in ways you never expected. It may be doing that now. You only have one job. Look for what Jesus is doing around you and in you right this minute and plug into that. Tomorrow we’ll figure out the next thing to do but for today, just me and Jesus. The 12 Step crowd says “Living one day at a time. Accepting life on life’s terms.” I can do that. I’ll try to catch up on my Bible reading. I’ll get some of my running in, and Doris and I will get to the devotional book later. But for now, take a deep breath and see God at work. And revel in that….while you’re at it, have a BigMac. Mike

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MARRIAGE COVENANT WEEKEND

The next Marriage Covenant Weekend at Beersheba Springs Assembly is planned for February 24-26, 2012. This is your invitation to join us for this fun filled weekend. We are registering couples now and need to hear from you if you are interested.

Here is some more information about the Weekend.

The Agenda:

Session One: Friday night 7PM

“Finding Out Who We Are”

“Former Things – The Baggage We Bring”

Session Two: Saturday Morning

“Frustration”

“Facts or Feelings”

Session Three: Saturday Afternoon

“Family Meeting”

“Fireproofing Your Marriage”

Session Four: Saturday Evening

“Failure and How I Achieved It”

“Forgiveness”

Session Five: Sunday Morning

“Faithful Fellowship”

“Forever Covenant”

Finishing up with Sunday lunch

Marriage Covenant Weekend:

This fun weekend is filled with testimony, interaction, and teaching on the covenant of marriage. Space is limited to 12-14 couples in the Turner Lodge at Beersheba Springs Assembly. Meals are prepared in the lodge by the participants. The sessions begin on Friday night at 7PM and end Sunday after lunch.

Registration is by check for $205.00 per couple. Please make your check payable to: Restoration and Renewal Ministry, and mail them to 2450 Thompson Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37128.

(There will be some additional expense for shared food preparation.)

Click on this link for a brochureabout this Marriage Covenant Weekend

http://randrministry.com/Artwork/CovenantRenewalBrochure2011-2012.pdf

For more information about Beersheba Springs Assembly, copy the following into Youtube: laLH-xWGVfM or go tohttp://tnumcamps.org/beersheba/

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An INTENSIVE is a one week, deeply focused, therapeutic event at Branches. The goal is to do in a short period of time through intense counseling what might otherwise take months or years. Clients begin early on Monday morning and conclude on Friday afternoon with a daily regimen of counseling, support groups, EMDR, inner-healing prayer and much more. It is truly life changing.

INTENSIVES are appropriate for non-using addicts needing to strengthen their recovery, persons with depression or anxiety issues where they have become stuck, couples in crisis, and a number of other hurts, habits, or hang-ups that need a boost for forward progress.

In both November and December our INTENSIVES will be the 2nd week if the month. That is November 7-11 and December 12-16. Give yourself or someone you love the gift of healing in 2011. Call Branches for more information about an INTENSIVE. (615) 904-7170.

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Our new address is:

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BRANCHES ON FRIDAY!!!!

We have a new idea at Branches to continue to meet needs. So many times in the counseling office we have other “auxiliary” issues come up, things like finances, diet, etc. So, we are going to begin to offer this kind of counseling every Friday. We will have a financial planner, a nutritionists, and an inner-healing prayer counselor. The counseling sessions will be $50 each and will not be scholarshipped but we believe very important needs can be addressed. As other needs arise we will add counselors. Call for more information.

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 Co-dependency Support Group is a 6 week group Monday, 6-7pm. We’ll cover topics like codependency, boundaries, self esteem, rebuilding trust and more. Also, we’ll just plain encourage and pray for each other! Interested? For information email drussell@branchesrecoverycenter.com

As we were leaving Jon-Mical said, “PoppyC, I don’t want to leave. I want to stay at the cabin always.”  Sounded pretty good to me. I turned around to tell him that and he was fast asleep in his car seat.

We need days like that from time to time. In fact, we need places like that, safe, quiet, get away from it all places. When the frantic pace of our frustrating lives begins to frazzle us we need that place to step aside and quiet our hearts, calm our spirits, and collect our thoughts. The problem is we may not all have a little cabin in the woods. Or even if we do it may not be as close as we need it to be when the pressure mounts. Here at Branches we often try to help people to find that safe place, even in their imagination, to escape to. We all know how necessary it is for healthy living to be able to disengage briefly and reboot.

Susanna Wesley, the mother of the 18^th century evangelist brothers, John and Charles Wesley, had 13 children. It is said that when she had to get away she sat in a chair in the middle of her kitchen and pulled her apron up over her head. John Hyde, called “The Praying Hyde” used to meditate and pray for several hours each morning in the potato bin of their farm house. Even Jesus found a place by the sea shore where he could slip away from the crowd for a while.

So where do you go when you have just about reached your boiling point and you are desperate for a quiet few moments? Let me give you three places that I visit often as my safe place in the middle of the storm. The first is a regular spot in my house or office. It is helpful to have a set place that you are accustomed to for just that purpose. Doris sits in an easy chair in the family room. Her Bible and glasses stay on the arm of the chair ready for her visit. I have a small couch in my office at home that is my quiet place. When I sit down there my mind knows that I am ready to slow down and focus on what really matters. Establish a regular, comfortable, consistent corner that brings you into the presence of God.

The second place travels with you wherever you go.  It is a memory or a vision or an image that you are used to visiting. Today in your prayer time ask God to bring to your mind a pictrue, someplace you have actually seen or someplace you imagine. Stay in that place for a little while and look it over carefully. Get to know the colors, sounds, and smells of that place. Turn to every side and see it well so that when you need to you can draw that quiet place back into your mind. Then, sitting in a parking lot behind the steering wheel of your car, or in the break room with the door closed for a few minutes, learn to visit that place until your pulse slows down, your thoughts become softer, and peace comes back again.

That leads me to the third place. It is even less material than the second place but more specific than the first. Let the Word of God be your quiet place. Begin to claim a few Bible verses that open themselves up to you. Verses where you can go in and sit for awhile. Memorize them. Meditate on them. And then, when everything seems to be piling in on your, pull up one of those verses and let it be your safe place. One that I visit often is found in Philippians 3:10-11. “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him as He is, and so to somehow attain the resurrection of the dead.” I don’t know why but I can just lay around in that verse for awhile and feel…well, safe, quiet, peaceful.

I don’t know what troubles you face from time to time but I do know that you face troubles. When you do, if there is not a cabin to run to try one of these quiet spots. Who knows, you might meet me there?

Grace and Peace,

Mike

They would hit the water that was about 50 degrees, do unbelievable finger walks across the tops of the waves and then stand shivering on the edge of the sand shouting French-Canadian obscenities to we locals rolling in laughter in the “cheap seats.” Too cold to go in, too hot to stay out, they would mill around in hoards waiting for something to change. Finally, one or two brave souls would get up the courage to dive all the way in. Before you knew it, the whole crazy lot was immersed in the blue-green water having a great time.

The Kingdom Life of the Holy Spirit is like that. It is miserable when we are standing on the edge. We tip-toe around, hearing about the anointing of God, seeing His marvelous blessings, but still being overwhelmed by defeat and discouragement, depression and disappointment, too cold to go in and too hot to stay out. We taste just enough of the Power of His Presence to make us hungry for more but never really sit down at the table and let Him fill us with the Bread of Life.

Over the next six weeks I am going to write and read and teach and learn about what it means to go all in. In fact I am calling it “learning out loud” because I am not sure I know much about being totally immersed in the Spirit of God. I started this week by teaching the counselors and staff at Branches. Each week I plan to write a (hopefully) short little blog highlighting the idea and linking you to the complete text of the Bible study that we do as a staff, if you’re interested.

This week, the place to begin seems to be with the great confession of Jesus in John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.”  Abundant life, one translation says “Life in the fullest.” I don’t understand that completely but it sure sounds like letting go and diving all the way in to me.

He begins that chapter talking about the sheep and the sheep pen and the sheep rustler who tries to slip in over the fence. He says the sheep rustler doesn’t know the sheep intimately, like the shepherd does, and they don’t know him so he has to steal them. In fact, in the first half of verse 10 Jesus says the sheep rustler wants to “steal and kill” the sheep. What is that all about?

Well, the sheep rustler sure sounds like the devil to me. If that’s true (and it is) then the way he tries to steal us is by telling us we can be in control. Remember his words to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:5, “You won’t die (if you eat the apple). You will be like God.” Read that…IN CONTROL. Even his lie to Jesus in the wilderness was about being in control. “Turn the rocks into bread, jump off of the temple, claim your kingdom.” All of that is about taking control.

Now here’s the point for today, the abundant life, really immersed, all in, totally sold out life that Jesus promises us is about giving up control. It is about surrender, trust, faith, dependence, “letting go and letting God.” Stuff like, “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5. Or Matthew 6:25, “Do not worry about life, what you will eat. Or you body, what you will wear.” The real abundant life is one that is fully laid in the hands of God for Him to do with, and make of, what He chooses. Isn’t that ironic? A life full of the power of God is one that has given up its own power and relies on and relaxes in The Higher Power.

Over the next few weeks we’ll look at that more. For today let me remind you of one thing. When you start living that way it is going to look strange to some people who are setting on the sidelines. Like me and my mocking buddies in Myrtle Beach, there will be those that just wait for you to take the dive so they can laugh at you when you fall. Well, I’m ready to go all Canadian on them. No more messing around the edges for me. I am hungry for the Bread of Life, thirsty for the Living Water. I am all in for the Abundant Living that Jesus promises and I can’t wait to see what the water feels like. How about you? Are you with me? Take the dive and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. “I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who LOVES me and gave His life for me.” Galatians 2:20 …… Now, where are my swimming trunks?                              Mike

The full manuscript of the Thursday message will be posted on Saturday evening at www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com. While you’re there please sign up to follow the blog so we know how effective this medium is. Grace and Peace.

As a Christian counselor, I address issues of guilt and shame frequently in the lives of my clients and one question that often surfaces is “Is it bad to feel guilt?” (Which, by the way, is an excellent question as,  too often we simply accept our feelings/experiences without questioning them.) The answer is highly clinical: that depends (picture me shrugging my shoulders.)

Webster defines guilt as “the fact of one having committed a breach of law or conduct; the state of one who has committed an offense; the feeling of culpability for real or imagined offenses…” Biblically speaking, guilt involves the breaking of God’s commands and standards, which we typically call sinning. Most people, Christian or not, recognize that we aren’t perfect. As Christians, we understand that “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory…” (Romans 3:23) So, in part, there are times in which you will have sinned and at that point, guilt is highly appropriate. More important of course, is your response to those feelings of guilt. The bible says we are to confess our sins to God, to repent, or turn away from sin and to make amends with those we have sinned against. (1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Cor. 7:9-10; Js. 5:16) This is a biblical model for dealing with real guilt, and it works! It causes you to acknowledge your faults and therefore face reality. It causes you to get your heart back in agreement with God’s will by confessing to Him that what you did was not in His perfect will for you and was harmful. It causes you to be honest and open with others by going to them to make amends and allows for forgiveness and reconciliation to occur. So in assessing your feelings of guilt, the first thing to do is ask, “Have I sinned?” If the answer is yes, follow the biblical model and those feelings will be resolved.

But, what if the answer is “No. I didn’t sin”?  I think it is so interesting that even the dictionary allows for the possibility that our guilt may be based on faulty perceptions. False guilt is as common as true guilt. People pleasing, perfectionism, codependency, brokenness and many other causes contribute to this false guilt problem. And when dealing with false guilt there is a different approach needed to overcome it. In counseling I always say, “There are no ‘shoulds’ unless Jesus says it.”  We often come to realize our guilt exists because we have disappointed someone, someone is angry, we didn’t live up to our own perfectionistic standards, etc.  At this point, your false guilt will begin to tell you to do something to get rid of the feelings. Apologize, even though you’ve done nothing wrong. Turn your no to a yes. Beat yourself up for hours in your mind. Make it up to the person later- be extra nice. You get the idea. If you obey that voice, it will get stronger. If you’ve been obeying it for years, it may feel impossible to handle the feelings that come with your false guilt. (As a side note, it’s NOT impossible and you CAN stand it because you’re reading this and I’ve done it!) However, if you choose to start disobeying your false guilt, over time it will become smaller. It is helpful to have a supportive friend to share those experiences with as you work to reduce and eliminate the effects of false guilt in your life. The bible says “You cannot serve two master’s…” and “If I were still trying to please men, I could not be a servant of Christ.” (Mt. 6:24; Gal. 1:10) Not only is false guilt emotionally painful, it is spiritually destructive.

There are many wonderful resources for dealing with guilt and false guilt, beginning with God’s word. Read the gospels and make a note of just how often Jesus did not do what people expected or wanted him to do. There are some great books- one of my favorites is Boundaries, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. And often support groups can help give you the confidence to break out of unhealthy patterns. (We currently have a Codependency Support Group meeting at Branches) Take one step toward dealing more appropriately with your guilt feelings. Ask the question, “have I sinned”, follow the biblical model for sin, and get “very disagreeable” with the false guilt. As Paul says in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened by the yoke of slavery.”

Every year it’s the same. All January, gym’s are packed, health food flies off the supermarket shelves and self help books are devoured at Barnes and Nobles. And somewhere in February life returns to normal. Those hopes of achieving greatness have fallen by the wayside and often, we feel defeated and give up only to try all over again next New Year’s. Why?

Here are some common reasons why we tend to fail at “New Year’s Resolutions” even when we are succeeding elsewhere:

Number Five: It’s not really your goal.

Your husband wants you to take up kick boxing, your friends are training for a marathon, your church is going to fast one day week- so you feel you “should” set this goal, but the truth is you don’t really want to. In setting any goal, you need to assess your motivation. Why are you setting this particular resolution? If the answer is someone else wants me to or thinks I should, chances are good you won’t follow through.

Number Four: You have some magical thinking.

There’s nothing extra special about New Year’s Resolutions that gives you will power you didn’t have in July. If you are expecting to be able to accomplish a difficult task just because it’s New Year’s you will be disappointed.

Number Three: It’s not measurable or specific.

A goal needs a concrete finish line or measuring stick to know when you’ve reached it. And it’s best when there is a definite way to track your progress. Often a New Year’s Resolution falls along the lines of “Work out more” or “Eat healthier” or “Grow in my walk with God” but how will you know if you’ve done it? A better goal might be “Work out at the gym for 45 minutes, 3 days a week” or “Drink 8 glasses of water a day and quit eating fast food” or “Read a verse in my Bible every day and join a small group at my church”.

Number Two: It’s unrealistic.

If you haven’t been exercising at all, it is not reasonable to set a goal of working out 6 days a week. Often though, extreme goals appeal to us because they feel inspiring. In reality, most people lack the ability to adjust to such extreme changes. Try being a little kinder and gentler to yourself; ie. if you are a junk food junkie- set a goal of limiting junk food to twice a week instead of eliminating it completely.

Number One: “All or Nothing” thinking.

Have you ever noticed the tendency to give up on a goal the first time you have a set back or “mess up”? It’s possible you’re being perfectionistic. People who expect themselves to do it all perfectly will “throw in the towel” every time, because as we all know, the only “perfect” is Jesus. In reaching goals. it’s important to realize that set backs and relapses are normal- just get back on track when you realize it as soon as you can. Proverbs says, “The righteous man falls down six times, but gets up seven.” If you can learn to expect and accept failure along the way you will be much more likely to see your goal through.

Remember above all else, to seek the Lord when setting goals. “In his heart, man plans his steps, but the Lord directs his course.” Proverbs 16:9. He is both your inspiration and source of strength, as Hebrews 12:2-3 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Here is some more information about the Weekend.

The Agenda:

Session One:    Friday night 7PM

“Finding Out Who We Are”

“Former Things – The Baggage We Bring”

Session Two:   Saturday Morning

“Frustration”

“Facts or Feelings”

Session Three: Saturday Afternoon

“Family Meeting”

“Fireproofing Your Marriage”

Session Four:   Saturday Evening

“Failure and How I Achieved It”

“Forgiveness”

Session Five:   Sunday Morning

“Faithful Fellowship”

“Forever Covenant”

Finishing up with Sunday lunch

Marriage Covenant Weekend:

This fun weekend is filled with testimony, interaction, and teaching on the covenant of marriage. Space is limited to 12-14 couples in the Turner Lodge at Beersheba Springs Assembly. Meals are prepared in the lodge by the participants. The sessions begin on Friday night at 7PM and end Sunday after lunch.

Registration is by check for $205.00 per couple. Please make your check payable to:  Restoration and Renewal Ministry, and mail them to 2450 Thompson Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37128.  

(There will be some additional expense for shared food preparation.)

Click on this link for a brochure about this Marriage Covenant Weekend

http://randrministry.com/Artwork/CovenantRenewalBrochure2011-2012.pdf

For more information about Beersheba Springs Assembly, copy the following into Youtube:  laLH-xWGVfM or go tohttp://tnumcamps.org/beersheba/

Love in Jesus,

Robert and Joan Collier

rhcollier@comcast.net

615-898-1279

Restoration and Renewal Ministry

randrministry.com