Have you ever tried to be something that you aren’t? When I first moved in with my parents to take care of them 24/7, my dad had me working on the drip system. I was a square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

It frustrated my dad when I didn’t hold the channel locks and pliers the way he would. They were totally awkward for me. The Lord doesn’t get frustrated with us. He already knows what we are like. He designed us.

You are unique. There is no one you. No one can fill your shoes, nor can you fill someone else’s shoes. I wonder what Joshua felt like when the Lord called him to lead the children of Israel. He was Moses’ assistant. He knew the frustrations.

Yet the Lord set out His path through the beginning words in Joshua 1. As I read verse 7 yesterday, the Holy Spirit stopped me. There was a progression He wanted me to see. The condition was to be strong and courageous so that he could observe to do all that was written down for him.

Strong in the Hebrews means: prevail, firm, resolute, and to press. Courageous in the Hebrew means: to keep, guard, give heed, protect, watchmen, treasure up in memory. Verse 8 said that he was to observe to do so that he could meditate.

Our thoughts determine our actions. Negative thoughts (square pegs) do not fit into God’s thoughts (round holes). We cannot force them through our will or our own strength. Yes, our heart is the receptacle for our will.

Multiple times in the Psalms the words ‘I will’ occurs. Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight myself in Your statutes, I will not forget Your word.” That is the power of meditating on God’s word. It seats His truth in our heart designed to effectively influence our will.

As you read these words in this new song, I encourage you to celebrate your uniqueness. When we force ourselves to fit into something that the Lord has not designed us to be or do we will be frustrated.

Celebrate Your Uniqueness 

My hands have made you and fashioned you in My image. There is no one else like you. Don’t try to copy others. Influence them through who you are. Be you in the design of My making.  

Creativity is freedom from sameness. It all begins in your thoughts. Be free to explore and develop the passions I’ve given you. Thoughts can box you in or free your spirit. Accepting who you are will cause you to thrive in every aspect of your life.

All things work together for good to those who are called according to My purpose. Nothing is in vain. I will redeem it all. The things you have been through have given you eyes to see and ears to hear and compassion to minister to others. I want you to celebrate you as I celebrate you. You are created for My glory.

Matthew 18:16 is in the context of church discipline. I’m using this verse as confirmation to something in my present. It says,”…that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” There are no coincidences or happenstances in God’s economy. Everything is divinely orchestrated through His impeccable timing.

Sunday my pastor brought up Deuteronomy 6:5. It says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Three times Moses said ‘all’ which means no exception. On Monday I had 2 Chronicles 16:9 as my homework assignment. The translation given was different from what I had memorized as a child.

It says, “…whose heart is completely His.” My mind immediately went back to the verse in Deuteronomy 6. I looked up the Hebrew words. Heart~inner man, mind, will, understanding. Soul~desire, emotion, passion. Strength~might, force. David had a prayer in Psalm 86:11 that we can make our own. He asked the Lord to unite his heart to fear His name. He was asking the Lord to give him singleness of heart. 

Here is an example of a cry of the whole heart. Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:8 Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Psalm 42:1-2 are the words depicting the cry from a deer that knows that if it can’t get to water it will die. We need to ask ourselves if this is the cry of our heart. It says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

Do you remember what God told Samuel when He sent him to anoint David as the next king? 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “…For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The only way that we can truly know our heart is to look at it through God’s eyes. He sees everything.

Sunday I was reminded of this, as I was on Monday. Tuesday I started reading in my homework assignment book. There it was again! The third day in the row Deuteronomy 6:5 was set before me. I sat back and said, “Lord, what are You speaking to me that I didn’t get the first time?” Have you ever had the same type of trial more than once? The Lord will repeat our lessons until He has accomplished His purpose in our lives.

Until we are both hearers and doers of God’s word, we will remain weak in our faith. Moses had died and Joshua was the new leader. Joshua 1:7 says, “Be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

The Lord knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows what is in our heart. He knows what squatter lies occupy places where truth should be. He knows every nook and cranny. Here is a verse from a new song Womb Of The Morning. Don’t let the cares of this life choke out My words. Open your heart to hear the beat of My own heart. I desire oneness with you but I won’t compete with that to which you give yourself. I will but wait until you tire of your own pursuits. And nestle down in My love.

A parent says to a naughty child, “Shame on you!” Those words are a pronouncement that covers that child with shame. Those words may be carried in their heart the rest of their life. It unconsciously follows them like the dirt following Pig Pen (in Charles Schulz’ cartoons of Charlie Brown), unless the Holy Spirit leads them to freedom. 

I’m saying this from personal experience. Yesterday the Holy Spirit set me free from something hidden! It all came about as I was considering what character qualities are revealed in the three verses. There is endurance, steadfastness (fixing eyes on Jesus), and despising shame.

I had owned the shame pronounced over me as a child. It was buried and forgotten by me, but not by the Holy Spirit. He used my moment of revelation to set me free. Jesus despised it. We are empowered to walk as He walked through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. I forgave, renounced, affirmed, and rejoiced at my new freedom!

What has happened to us, that caused us to bury the emotional pain, does not determine our responses to it. Our thoughts and motives do. We are not to despise the person. That is satan’s ploy. It leads to unforgiveness and hostility towards the one who shamed us. We are only to despise the shame brought on by their sin against us.

Shame is an entanglement that will thwart us in every direction. It brings embarrassment and dishonor. It holds down Jesus’ gift of joy and drains us of energy. Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him ~ us! Joy is His essential irrevocable gift to help us endure all the trials in our lives. 

When we despise shame, it helps us to NOT give up and become hopeless. It makes us stalwart and reinforced, like rebar reinforces a foundation. We fix our eyes on Jesus. To fix means that nothing can distract our gaze. 

It is when we gaze upon Him that, according to 2 Corinthians 3:18, He brings deep character transformation. It all takes place through our relationship with the Lord as we abide in His word. All healing from buried emotional pain comes through the Holy Spirit’s leading. He sets the needed foundation of truth first so that we will remain free. Who has shamed you? It is time to despise that shame and be set free!

The path of healing from emotional pain is all grace. There is not one thing we can do to facilitate it, except remain humble. Years ago I heard a pastor’s personal working definition of grace. He said, “It is the power to be all that God has called you to be and do.”

That ‘power’ is grace that is released through our relationship with the Lord. John 15:5 says that apart from Him we can do nothing. That ‘nothing’ is in effect in every aspect of our lives.

The worst thing we can do is to seek healing in our own strength. Self-help books are futile. Following the Holy Spirit is essential. He is our way through. 1 John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”

The key to our healing is abiding. As I read through my Bible, the Holy Spirit often highlights a phrase that cuts into my flesh. It always speaks to where I am in the present. That is the power of His word. Our Surgeon uses His word like a scalpel that pierces and exposes the hidden.

Let me give you an example. In my present homework assignment, I am to look for God’s character in the list of verses. There is one for every day during my two week time. Yesterday the Holy Spirit highlighted something I’ve never considered before.

You can read it for yourself. Hebrews 12:1-3. These are very familiar verses as I have them memorized. Here is Jesus’ character revealed, “…despising the shame…” He bore all sins for all mankind on His body. When we are sinned against, we often take that defiling shame upon ourselves.

Shame causes us to want to hide from it, so we bury it by ignoring it. Someone has brought shame upon you through their sin against you. Here is your course of action: you can forgive them, renounce it (disown it as yours) and affirm the truth. Jesus bore that shame and despised it for you. Tomorrow we will do a deeper dive.

God’s words to the children of Israel can apply to us as well in our healing path. Exodus 23:29-30 says of their inherited land, “I will not drive them out from before you in one year…Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.”

Buried emotional pain takes up real estate in our hearts. It decreases our capacity to walk in truth because the lies are squatters. What do lies do? They control. Paul instructed his readers to take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

How do strongholds get into our hearts? They usually start with a fiery dart lie that we did not take captive. When it seeds itself into the soil of our heart, it sets up a command post. As other lies get through they join forces. Verse 5 says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 

Here is a lie that I picked up in my homework yesterday. If you believe that you are like you are because of your circumstances, you have believed a lie. Our adverse circumstances, abuse, hardships, or losses do not define us. They do not determine our outcomes.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” We might not think that our heart is wicked. However Matthew 15:19 clearly states the opposite.​ ​It says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Evil thoughts are wicked. Fleshly reactions come from negative thought patterns.

Our thoughts are colored by our motives which come from what we believe. Our heart is our belief center. Therefore our motives determine the outcome of our adversity. If we have believed a lie, then our motives are tainted by that lie.

The path of obedience is strewn with God’s grace. He gives His grace to the humble, but He resists the proud. We resist God through our disobedience. When He says to forgive AS we have been forgiven, He doesn’t leave any loopholes. 

We buried our emotional pain as children because we didn’t know what to do with it. We were too young to understand what happened, let alone process it with truth. Yet, when we come to an age where we do understand, God will lead us into His healing process. 

First though, He must lay a foundation for our healing. It comes through our relationship with Him. 2 Corinthians 10:5 said that the strongholds are built up against the knowledge of the Lord.​ ​​​That is the key to our healing. As we abide in His love, learn to trust Him in all things, and hide His word in our heart, He will then lead us into truth that will set us free. Not before, but little by little. There are no shortcuts, loopholes, or exceptions.

Here is my article in our local newspaper today.

Confidence is a settled assurance that cannot be shaken. It is a deep inner persuasion that does not waver. It is steadfast faith in only One, not something or someone. Hebrews 10:35 says, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.” As Hebrews 6:19 says, it is what anchors our soul in the storms of our lives.

Here is one of my anchor verses. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful…” Why? The verse goes on to say, “…He cannot deny Himself.” He is our confidence as we walk in 2022. Our next step is unknown to us, let alone the whole year. However, we can go forward with confidence and boldness because He has gone before us.

Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” When our thoughts, purpose, and actions are conformed to God’s will, nothing can derail us. It is when our thoughts veer off the path of righteousness, that our faith will be compromised. In Galatians 2:20 Paul made a declaration of faith.

It says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live…” Paul was grounded in Christ’s finished work on the cross. Nothing could lure him away from his anchor of hope. The verse continued, “…but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Think of Paul’s words in Romans 8:38-39. It says, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Did you note the words ‘nor things to come’? There is nothing. Let me say it again. There is absolutely nothing that the Lord is not able to handle. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” 

Our confidence in that power is based on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. It is the gospel that brings light into the world, and inner transformation of souls. We have been given eternal life, the greatest gift of all, yet it cost Jesus His life.

Let’s take Abraham’s declaration as he faced his impossibility. Romans 4:20-21 says, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” 

Here is a key for us to apply. Verse 19 says, “…he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.” Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

1 Chronicles 29:11 says, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.” 

What can we give Him that He has not given us first? We can bow our will to His. We honor You, Giver of Life. Thank You for coming to earth in the form of a man to die for us. You gave us a free will. May Your purpose be accomplished in each of our lives, as we bow our will to Yours.

No matter what impossibility we may face in this new year, we can go forward with confidence. He will be faithful to take us through. His grace will be our total sufficiency.

Even in our process of healing, we are still able to minister to others. We take that truth from 2 Corinthians 1:4. It says, “Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

I believe that our greatest impact on others is when we speak to them while we are IN our crucible trial. The Lord is presently giving us insights so that we can navigate and endure. As we speak to others IN their trial, our words are like fresh baked bread. They offer sincere encouragement. The words are filled with empathy for our listener. We are there. They are there. Our ‘there’s’ connect in a way that no one else can. That is the power of ministry. We speak from where we are, to their hearts, that impacts and empowers them with renewed hope.

No one has arrived. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Progressive sanctification is for every believer. You may be freshly born again, or you may have walked with the Lord for years. It doesn’t matter. All of us are equipped to minister to another because the Equipper is within us.

I can give you account after account where this has been borne out in my own life. This is the reason I read autobiographies and biographies. I want to see how they endured their trials. The insights they share encourage and strengthen me.

We do not have to wait until we are healed! There would never be any ministering to anyone were that the case. Here are Jesus’ words to Peter. In Luke 22:31 Jesus said that satan had asked, “…that he may sift you as wheat.”

Verse 32 says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” If you remember, Peter denied the Lord three times. Did the Lord restore him? Yes! You can read John 21 to refresh your memory.

1 & 2 Peter are two incredible letters. They are full of encouragement to fellow believers to not give up. Peter’s words came from his crucible trial. Looking at his sifting, 1 Peter 5:8-9 is an essential truth that we need to heed from someone who experienced it.

It says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” His warning is real. He experienced the teeth of the ‘lion’ tearing into his fleshly pride.

We all have times of reactions in our fleshly pride. We are not alone in our expressions. 1 Corinthians 10:13 makes two things really clear. Trials are normal. God always takes us through. We are not left stuck in the middle somewhere ~ stranded. No. Nothing is wasted in God’s economy. 

Our part is to embrace His uniquely created and orchestrated way for us as an individual. There is no one like you, nor is there anyone like me. We are His for eternity. This earth-time life is His perfect way to make us more like Him so that we can more clearly reflect Him to others.

The Holy Spirit dwells inside every believer. In turn, we dwell in Him. John 14:17 says, “…you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” He is resident to lead us into truth that will set us free. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

What did we need to be healed from? A sin sick soul that was bound in sin and could not get free. John 8:34 says, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” Verse 36 says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

That is a powerful truth, but sometimes we forget that we have been set free. We act like we are still bound. How can that be? There are still unresolved issues buried in our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 says that they can spring up at any time, certainly, when we least expect them.

Someone crosses your will, impinges on your perceived right, or you just react in your flesh. These are great indicators that there is unfinished business. That is what progressive sanctification is all about.

We are all in process. Our interpersonal relationships are God’s tool to help in that process. Think of a stone sculptor. They have to tap hundreds of times with their chisel and hammer in order to carefully chip away what blocks their design. Here is a new song.

Song of a Diamond

In the deep part of the earth there lies unnoticed a diamond in the rough. No one knows it is there but the God of all things who created it for His glory.

It’s dark and bulky not suitable in any way. Though the Craftsman who holds it sees the splendor He will give it. He takes His tool and begins to chip away the debris that hides the beauty.  

One cut after another reveals the true purpose of this obscure form. Through patience, oh the patience required to release all that it is to be.

Even so this Great Creator sees us in our mother’s womb. He waits until the day we will make up His precious jewels and be a diamond tiara in His hands.

Oh the patience. Oh the patience required to be all He has called us to be.

Conflicts are part of the process. Yet, as we yield to the Holy Spirit, He will lead us into responses that will go crossgrain to our flesh. Our flesh screams for the right. That is God’s purpose. He uses conflict to reveal what is hidden deep inside that we have no awareness of.

The Holy Spirit taught me years ago to ask ‘What do I believe about myself right now?’ as I reacted in my flesh. Fleshly reactions are like the red light that appears on our vehicles’ dashboard. If we ignore it, there could be serious trouble escalating under the hood. 

The Lord Jesus bore all our wounds. In 1 Peter 2:23 we read how we are to be like Him in times of conflict. Verse 24 says, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” Our heart healing was already provided for in the atonement for our sins. Let us walk in that truth.

(please forgive me for the duplication ~ I copied yesterday ~ here it today’s)

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

The words ‘rooted’ and ‘built up’ denote a time investment. Building trust takes time.  There are often emotional inner strongholds that resist the process. Buried emotional pain creates a barrier in the heart. In order to bridge that, a foundation of trust must be laid through faith.

When I first meet a person, I like to ask them how I can pray for them. Often I will see a play in their eyes as they weigh my request. Others will just simply say ‘No, I’m fine and don’t need any prayer.’ What? Resist a request to be prayed for? That is an indication that they have been hurt and are not willing to open up even in a small way.

Others will give a sigh of relief and easily share their burden. It is as though they were just waiting for someone to care enough. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

We are called with a holy calling. That not only means to share the gospel, but to walk as Jesus walked. Luke 4:18 Amplified says, “The Spirit of the Lord (is) upon Me…He has sent me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).”

How do folks become captive to satan’s wiles? He is the oppressor. He seeks to destroy by using others through abusive relationships. That could be sexual, physical, or verbal. Either one tears down and plunders a heart.

If a predator wants to take down one animal in a herd, they will look for the weak and isolated. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Hosea 4:6 described someone who is weak. It says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…you have forgotten the law of your God.” Hosea 10:13 says of the weak, “You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity, you have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way….”

Isaiah 5:13 says, “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…” True knowledge that will fortify our faith is found in walking in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Building trust in an interpersonal relationship therefore is founded first in our trust relationship with the Lord. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” If you want to learn more about walking in the fear of the Lord, continue on reading verses 9-14.

Have you ever stepped into a ‘land mine’ when you shared your opinion? Every opinion is based on a heart belief. Our beliefs come from our experiences and form our bias. Paul addressed this issue in Romans 14 & 15. Embracing hearts rather than opposing opinions is the key to unity. 

Romans 14:1-2 says, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.” I was in Boston Massachusetts in 1973. I walked all over that city to take in the sights. I came to a construction site. They were getting ready to lay the foundation. The higher the edifice or building, the deeper the foundation had to be laid. 

Edifice also means a complex system of beliefs. Edification means to build up. In order to build up a relationship we have to lay a foundation of trust. Verse 7 says, “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” How did the Lord receive us? When we received the Lord as our Savior, John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Romans 8:17 says, “And if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…” We are joined together in the body of Christ. Colossians 2:19 says, “…holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with increase that is from God.” We are in His family that is full of siblings.

How are we to live? Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Arguing over opinions is futile for building up another. It is opposing God’s way which is receiving another through embracing their heart.

Romans 15:1 says, “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Verse 6 says, “That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Who are the strong and who are the weak? The strong one builds up, and the weak one tears down. Tearing another down is a fleshly reaction that does not befit one who is seeking to walk as Jesus walked.

When the disciples rebuked the Lord for paying attention to the children, what did He say? Matthew 19:14 says, “…Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4 says, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Back up to Romans 14:2. It says that we are to please our neighbor for their good. Good is a noun that means morally right or righteous. Building up through the nurture and truth of God’s word is His way. We embrace another’s heart by speaking truth in love. There is no love exhibited when opinions are argued over. There is no love displayed as a testimony of God’s love at work in our heart. Let us walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of our flesh in disputes just to be right and mighty in our own eyes to the detriment of another.