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Spiritual Stretch Marks

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Stretch marks are unsightly.  They occur on people who have either gained weight or on women during pregnancy because the body is gaining weight rapidly and the skin cannot keep up with the changes.  They happen because the skin gets stretched due to growth.  I don’t know anyone that likes them or even desires them.

Spiritual Stretch marks (1)

Stretch marks represent growth.  A body grows causing the skin to stretch and tug resulting in stretch marks. While it happens every day in the natural, it should be happening to us spiritually as well. If natural stretch marks represent growth, then spiritual stretch marks represent growth as well.

But in order to grow, we must be stretched.  And that’s not always easy nor pleasant.  But stretching is necessary if we are going to grow.  I deeply believe that God is more interested in our growth of character than he is our comfort.  And our growth of character is almost always painful.  But it is necessary.

I want spiritual stretch marks.  I want to have signs that I am being stretched and growing.  Paul talked about the marks that he bore in his body because of the Gospel.

Galatians 6:17 “From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

I know that he is not talking about spiritual stretch marks.  He is talking about being physically beaten and stoned.  While I doubt that I will ever be persecuted for my faith to the extent that I am physically beaten, I can bear on my body the marks of Jesus in becoming more like him.

We should always be growing.  But, there are seasons in our life where the growth is difficult.  We fight the changes that God wants to bring into our life.  We resist change.  We don’t want to give up things that He is asking us to give up.  We don’t want to deal with character issues or sins that we may not want to be getting rid of.  We fight His dealings with us over holding unforgiveness and bitterness towards another person.  As we go through these struggles our “spiritual skin” is stretched resulting in spiritual stretch marks.

While they are certainly unsightly in the natural, for me my spiritual stretch marks represent all the areas I have grown in.  They are a reminder of how hard change was, how I was stretched uncomfortably and how that I did manage to grow through the difficulty.

I wish that change was easy.  I admire bodybuilders that have worked with weights and exercise to form their bodies where their muscles are ripped and bulging.  That will never be me because I don’t want to put in the work and effort required to do that.  I want six pack abs but don’t have the desire, nor the motivation, to bring mine out of hiding.  But even body builders get stretch marks.  It’s because their muscles are growing faster than their skin.  It’s a sign of growth.

So, my point is try to not struggle with the growth that God wants to bring into your life.  The past couple of years has been a major season of growing for me.  It’s been a period of lots of stretching, tugging, challenging growth. Some days I fought it, falling into the muck and mire of self-pity.  Other days I was embracing the change and the growth.  I am glad that God has me where I am right now. There is no way that I would want to go through everything that I have been through, but I wouldn’t trade my stretch marks for anything.

The good news is that stretch marks can go away.  Naturally, you can use creams and lotions.  I believe that in the spiritual the Lord also helps us to get rid of spiritual stretch marks by rubbing in His healing balm.  They are simply a short term reminder of our growth.

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I know that the Bible doesn’t talk about spiritual stretch marks.  I have taken some dramatic license here to illustrate my point.  For me, the season that I have been in has resulted in some serious spiritual growth and I feel the marks.  In the natural, people tend to hide their stretch marks.  I think we do the same spiritually.  Sometimes when we are going through tests, trials and circumstances that God uses for our growth, we can feel shame and embarrassment because we don’t have it all together.  We feel “less than” because we are struggling with doubts and fears.  So, we tend to hide, isolating ourselves from others.

But we need each other.  We are called to bear one another’s burdens.  The spiritually strong are called to support the spiritually weak, without judgment or condemnation.  We all need someone to help us through our growth season.  We all need someone to be an encourager and a support.  The stretching time in our life is usually hard and we need the support of others.

What about you?  Has God been stretching you in your character, thinking, gifting or spiritual maturity?  Do you have any “spiritual stretch marks” to show?

Nothing is Wasted With God

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All of us have gone through hard times, suffered loss and tragedy, and at times even made some really costly mistakes.  Many times we think that we have hit the end of the road. We wonder how things can be salvaged out of the mess that has been created.

With God Nothing is Wasted

What’s really frustrating, to me anyway, is when the mess I am in was created by someone else.  It’s one thing to suffer at the hands of my own stupid decisions and choices.  It’s another thing, and much more aggravating, to suffer due to someone else’s poor decisions and choices.

But, I serve a God that is able to make all things new, turn whatever mess I am in into a message of redemption and take every test and trial and turn them into a testimony of victory.  I don’t know how He does it but He does.

With God, nothing is wasted.  No trial, mess, tear, stupid decision or consequence is wasted with God.  He can take everything good and bad in your life and use it for your benefit, the benefit of others and ultimately, His glory.

Right now, I am in a transitional season in my life.  I have been going down a path that I did not choose for myself.  Based on the decisions of others, I find myself in a place that I don’t really want to be.  I have often wondered, “is this the best that it’s going to get?”

Have you ever been there?  It’s so frustrating.  Deep down I know that God is preparing me for something greater (or at least, most days, I am hoping so).  Deep down I know that He is faithful and will not neglect me nor has He ever forgotten me.  Deep down, I know these things to be true.

Unfortunately, there are days that I don’t live deep down!  There are some days when I live in the shallow pit of my emotions.  There are some days that I allow my thoughts to get carried away and I lose sight of the fact that NOTHING IS WASTED WITH GOD!

Everything that I have been through, God will use to grow me and to help me understand what others are going through.  You cannot understand someone’s story unless you have a similar one.  I will never know what it’s like to be addicted to drugs because I have never been addicted to drugs.  For those that have, and have been delivered, God will use that to help someone else.  It’s not been wasted.

Even though I don’t know what it’s like to be addicted, I have my own stories.  I have my own issues.  I have my own messes.  On the days that I find myself swimming in the shallow end of self-pity and bad moods, I have to remind myself that nothing is wasted with God.  Everything I am experiencing right now will be used for a greater purpose.

When I think about all the different characters in the Bible, I realize that 1) God can and will use anybody, and 2) our mistakes and messes don’t thwart Him a bit.  Just reading the genealogy of Jesus shows us that God can and will use anyone.  God’s not afraid of our messes or mistakes.

God uses the situations in our lives to mold us into better human beings that have greater empathy for those around us.  That’s why I love Hebrews 4:15-16 so much.

 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Because Jesus knows the weaknesses and frailties of humanity, He gives us grace and mercy.  He understands the messes that we get ourselves into.  He gives us grace and mercy to get out of those messes with a message of hope, love and forgiveness.

He takes all of our issues, problems, mistakes, messes, tragedies, disappointments, and failures, runs them through His grace and somehow, some way, something amazingly beautiful comes out of it all.  The scripture is true that declares, “He gives beauty for ashes.” (Isaiah 61:3)

I have a dear friend that has just started blogging.  Her blog is about her life’s story.  In her blog, she shares about a lot of the messes that she has found herself in.  And yet, God, her loving Father, is taking every single one of those messes and is turning them into an amazing tapestry that others will look at and see as beautiful.  My friend is just one shining example of how nothing is wasted with God.

What about you?  Have you ever felt that some decisions you made in life were wasted? Have you ever felt insignificant?  Have you ever felt that things were too bad for God to redeem?  I know that I have had my fair share of seemingly hopeless issues.  I have to always remind myself that, with God, nothing is wasted.

How to Quit Being An Enemy to Yourself

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I am my own worst enemy!  I can defeat myself faster than a speeding bullet.  I can tear myself down quicker than a wrecking ball.  I can condemn myself better than anyone.  Yes, I am my own worst enemy.

But I can also be my greatest ally.  It is all in the way that I think.

How to Quit

Years ago, I went through a discipleship session called Christ Life.  It is now The Ultimate Journey.  Through that intensive course, I learned that my brain will only believe what I tell it.  I know that sounds strange so let me explain.

If 50 people told me I was smart, handsome and a great friend I may or may not believe them.  The deciding factor is if I see myself that way.  If my wife tells me I am handsome but I see myself as ugly, who do you think I am going to believe?  I will always believe myself  . . . and you will too.

Hence, your brain only believes what you tell it.  Unfortunately, most of us walk around believing lies about ourselves.  When you believe a lie, you empower that lie.  You give it room to grow.

As I reflected on the last couple years of my life I realized that I was simply drifting through life.  I wasn’t living the life I wanted to live mainly because of the way I was thinking about things.  I have been allowing the circumstances of my past, and the hurt caused me by others, to determine how I was living.

I was empowering lies about myself that were limiting my quality of life.  I have certainly been living lower that God intended for me to live.  Jesus said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  I have been living below, in what I would call, the spiritual poverty line.

And it has all been because of my limiting beliefs, or what I have been telling myself.

I decided that 2016 was going to be different.  I decided that 2016 has to be different.  However, New Years Day is not a magical day.  Just because you buy a new calendar and proclaim it’s a new year doesn’t mean that changes will come.

2016 will be not different than 2015 unless I make it different. I know that there will be traumas, tragedies, hurt, hard times and temptations that will come my way.  But, it’s my beliefs and thoughts that will either sink me or allow me to soar.  I decided I want to stop drifting and start designing my life my life again.It's not what you say out of your mouththat deterines your life, it's what you whisper to yourselfthat has teh most power.Robert T. Kiyosaki3

To do that, I had to start facing the limiting beliefs.  I had to ask myself what was really holding me back.  It all boiled down to the way I was looking at things, my circumstances and where I am at in life.  It came down to what I was believing.

What I believe will either hold me back or cause me to soar.  You see, for every limiting belief I have there is a liberating truth.  Jesus said that He is the truth and His teaching is the truth.  He said that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  I believe that Jesus has something to say about every one of my limiting beliefs.

What He has to say is the truth . . . and I want to live in truth.

So I am dealing with my limiting beliefs this year. That’s not to say that they are magically gone.  They are not.  I have to reprogram my thinking.  The Bible calls this renewing the mind.  I have my limiting beliefs wrote out along with my set of liberating truths.

I have been my own worst enemy but that is about to change.  2016 shall see me as my best ally!

What about you?  Are you allowing certain beliefs to hold you back?

We are Made for More

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Grandfather — grandson

DUDLEY HALL -- Five-year old Sam and his dad were on a hike through some pretty thick woods. Sam began aggressively stomping on the briars in their path.

"What are you doing, Sam?' asked his dad.

"The man is going out of me," he declared.

"Have you being talking to Papa?" his dad wanted to know.

"Yes, Papa told me that when I do hard things without whining, the man comes out in me.

A few days earlier Sam and I (as you may have guessed -- I'm Papa) went on an outing together. Before sleep one night he wanted to hear another scary story.

"Have I told you about the time my older sister took me on a deep trek through the woods for a picnic? Well, we found an old holly tree that was hanging out over a stream. We carved our initials in it, and it was always a special place for me."

Sam wanted us to do the same the next morning. So, we dressed in our hiking boots and grabbed a water bottle. The trail was rough. Sam began to whine as the sharp bushes and briars clawed at his clothing. That was the setting for the "man story" Sam was remembering on the hike with his dad. I told him how God created humans to be his partners on earth. They were designed and assigned to subdue the earth. They were made to overcome whatever obstacles they faced in fulfilling their assignment. "You are male and even though you are young, you have a man's design in you. As you face obstacles and find a way to overcome them, the man inside you comes out." Sam began to take delight in finding ways over or around the blockades to our goal. By the way, we did find a suitable tree, and our initials are carved there for a memorial.

When we as members of society lose the sense that we are created by God for a particular purpose, we find it easy to whine and make excuses. We can even make a case for abandoning the journey and going back to comfort. So many opportunities to solve the problems in front of us are aborted simply because it is painful or inconvenient. We keep the man or woman inside from growing. In times of trouble we find ourselves paralyzed. In old age can we find ourselves still whining.

We are created to partner with God on earth. What a privilege! He is the invisible but not silent partner. He has all the resources necessary to get the job done. He is not dependent on other sources or circumstances. He leads us headlong into problems because he loves doing for us what looks like can't be done. He delights in opening the sea for his people to cross. He has no problem dropping bread from heaven. He provides a donkey for the Messiah to ride. He has an unused tomb for Jesus to spend the weekend in before his resurrection. He hasn't given up on planet earth just because there are big problems. We are designed for this. We can stop trying to escape, stop trying to just survive, and instead put our energy and focus on finding out what our partner wants to do.

Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice. His sheep are those who have trusted him alone for their reconciliation to God the Father. Having been reconciled, they again hear the plans and purposes of their God-Savior-Partner. They are as secure in the Father's love as Jesus the eternal Son is. They know that nothing can snatch them from the Father's hand. As they embrace each other, they will permeate the earth with his kingdom. There is much to be done and no time to whine. We are made for more.

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