God used this analogy to talk to me about a problem that is pervasive in the body of Christ right now. There are strongholds that are obstructing his people from moving forward in the plans that God has for their lives but instead of taking care of the root of the problem, they are simply treating the symptoms. He began to show me that when someone has a bacterial infection in their body, treating it with Robitussin will provide minimal relieve because it only treats the symptoms while Penicillin will go to the cause of the problem and destroy it all together.
Too often, some of us have been guilty of doing the same in the spirit realm. We face a crisis in our lives and so we begin to take measures to find a breakthrough in our situation. However, if the root cause for that crisis is not addressed, the breakthrough will be shortlived and eventually you will find yourself facing that thing yet again.
This revelation came to me during a morning meditation and reading God's word. And as usually is the case..it became a teaching for my ladies. I was reading in the book of Ruth. Typically when I have read the book of Ruth before I have always begun at the beginning of the book. Ruth is one of my FAVORITE books of the bible and so I have read this book several times. However, on this particular day, I began reading in the last chapter of the book of Ruth. Ruth, chapter 4.
In this chapter, we find Boaz going to the city gate to ask Ruth's deceased husband's nearest relative if he will marry Ruth and redeem her. The cousin is happy to receive the land and possessions that Ruth inherited after her husband died but did not want to marry her in order to gain these possessions.
Boaz then asks the elders who sat at the gate to be witness for him that the cousin had refused to redeem her...and therefore the right of redemption fell to him.
After giving their witness to Boaz's right to marry Ruth they pronounced a blessing over Boaz and Ruth's union.
In verse 12 of chapter 4 they make a statement that JUMPED out at me..."May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah"...
Now..because I am God's "why? child" ...I just had to ask it...WHY???
So I looked up the story of Perez.
This is found in Genesis 38. Tamar was Perez's mother. Her husband, Er, died before she was able to conceive a child. Judah then gave his other son, Onan to marry Tamar to redeem her. This man refused to allow her to conceive children and it angered God so he died also. Judah had lost 2 sons by this point and had only one left. He was afraid that this son would die also so he convinced Tamar that the youngest son was not yet old enough to marry her. He told her to return to her father's house and when the son was old enough, he would send for her to marry him.
Years past and Tamar knew that the youngest should have been old enough to marry her but it didn't happen.
She then devised a plan to trick her father in law into sleeping with her so that she could bare a child. To make a long story short...She got pregnant by her father in law and gave birth to twins. The first of the twins that was born was Perez. He was behind the other twin in the womb but managed to breakthrough his brother to be born first and therefore inherited the blessing of the firstborn. His name is PEREZ which means.."Breakthrough".
God began to show me in this story that even though the father in law tried to refuse Tamar the right to be redeemed, God granted her a "breakthrough" in the midst of her crisis.
I don't want you to misunderstand me here...Breakthrough is a good thing. It is a needed thing. The bible goes on to tell us that Perez's decendants were great people.
Numbers 26 tells us that they were greater in number than all of the tribes of Israel.
Nehemiah 11:1 tells us that Perez's decendants were rulers and leaders among those in Jerusalem. They excelled in charactor and wisdom and ruled over the other tribes.
Nehemiah 11:6 describes the Perezites in a way that it doesn't describe in any other men in that city. It says they were "valiant". The word Valiant means that they were unusually bold, courageous and were marked by acts of heroism.
So..Breakthrough(Perez) is Great!! But it's not enough..
Websters' describes Breakthrough as
1) A significant or sudden advance that removes a barrier to progress
2)An act of surpassing an obstruction
3)a military advancement through an enemy's defense.
GREAT STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
However...5 generations later we find the story of Boaz, who was facing a stronghold that had been passed down to him from the generations before him. Boaz and the Unnamed Cousin now had to face the same opportunity that their forefathers had faced...To Redeem or not redeem???
If you notice verses 18-22 of the 4th chapter of Ruth you will find that Perez was Boaz's great great great great grandfather. The sins of the father had been visited upon the sons...Somebody had to get this thing right.
A stronghold is described by Webster as
1) a secure fenced or heavily armed place.
What happens is that wrong patterns of thinking, responding, reacting, doing, being, feeling,...wrong behaviors, habits, addictions, etc...are passed down from generation to generation. Over the years these wrong things begin to be fortified or strengthened by our environments, by our own excuses for why they should be there..by our "right to feel this way"...until it develops into a stronghold that it is not easily broken.
God began to show me through this teaching that some of us have made slight changes in ourselves, our thinking, our doing, being, feeling...but only enough to get a breakthrough..not enough to break the stronghold behind our situations.
We pray just enough...we fast just enough...we change our behaviors just enough...to get a breakthrough.
A preacher comes by and lays hands on us...we attend a great worship service or revival...we have a great time in our prayer closets and get a word from God concerning our situation...something happens that brings us some relief and we become content to settle for a breakthrough.
Remember...breakthrough is good..but it doesn't remedy the situation..it's the Robitussin...only treats the symptoms temporarily...
When what we REALLY need...is some penicillin to get to the root cause...and therefore destroy the stonghold!!!!!
How do I do that??
I'm glad that you asked..
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 gives us the answer.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (Amplified Bible)
4For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,
5[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
Notice that verse 4 says that our weapons are not of flesh and blood. God began to show me that too often, we are satisfied to do things in the physical but never address the things that are behind our actions in the spiritual. We do what I call "Behavior modification". Meaning...we decide to change and "be good" for a while. This is a flesh and blood reaction. Behavior modification will only take you so far. After you get a breakthrough (a word from God..or a time of refreshing at church etc) our flesh reaction is to try to "do good" for a while. But what happens is...the flesh gets weary in well doing and because we have not changed our hearts, minds, and emotions about that situation...we tend to gravitate back to what we once were.
There are 3 things that God showed me in these verses that reveal how to destroy a stronghold:
1) verse 5 says that we need to refute arguments, theories and reasonings.
In other words..Stop making excuses!!!!! The word REFUTE means to reveal as error. In other words..we have to get real with ourselves about our situations. We have to admit that our way of thinking, doing, or feeling is wrong. EVEN IF WE HAVE A REASON TO DO, FEEL OR BE a certain way..IT DOES NOT GIVE US A RIGHT!!! Stop justifying your actions, thoughts, or emotions with all of the REASONS..and just get REAL!
2) it aslo says that we have to refute every high and lofty (PRIDEFUL) thing that exalts itself above what God has told us to do. That means we may have to look a little silly...we may have to lay down our pride and admit we were wrong...we may have to be loving to someone that has wronged us...we may have to reveal our faults to someone that will hold us accountable for our actions.
***a side note here****
Too often we don't have a problem admitting our faults or allowing someone to hold us accountable that we know will be easy on us. But God has challenged me recently to admit my faults and allow someone to hold me accountable that will (pardon me)kick my butt and make me be a DOER of the Word. I challenge you to find an accountability partner that doesn't "feel good". Tell somebody that you would NEVER want to know about your issues...and KILL THAT PRIDE!!!!!!
3) verse 5 finally says...captivate our purpose. Purpose here means..the reason, intent or motive for doing something. In other words...we have to get our REASON for doing something right. We can't do it because it is "expected" of us. We can't do it because our spouse wants us to. We can't do it because we want people to think better of us. We can't do it in order to manipulate someone into giving us something that we want. We have to line our motives up with Jesus' plans for our lives. IF we don't do it for the right reasons, the breakthrough may come..but the stronghold will NOT be broken.
As we can see from our story...IF WE DON'T GET these things right in our lives..they will return again! We may break through the enemy's lines of attack...but eventually..he will return again with the same attack because we have opened a door to him by not destroying the stronghold.
We may never have to face them again..but SOMEBODY WILL!
I want to leave an inheritance for my children. My inheritiance can't simply be.."Mama sure went to church regularly. It can't simply be..Mama sure knew how to quote the word...It can't only be Mama knew how to pray...Those are great...breakthrough is great...but I am determined that it will also be...Mama passed down a legacy of identifying and destroying strongholds so that blessings could flow to the generations after her and not curses!!!!!
My kids may face attacks from the enemy..but I don't want them to have to face the same battles that I have faced simply because I refused to push through the level of breakthrough and do the hard work necessary to DESTROY THE STRONGHOLDS!
I am tired of treating it with Robitussin...Pass me some PENICILLIN!!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Where it all began...
I suppose that I have always been a "Victorian" kinda girl. I've always loved the big hooped dresses and large white columned homes. However, my fascination with teacups did not happen until the summer of 1999.
I was going through a tough personal season of my life and received a phone call from someone that caused a turning point in my life. She called to share a devotion that she had read that morning and had no idea how profoundly it would affect me.
The following is the story that she read:
THE TEACUP AND THE POTTER
A grandfather and a grandmother were in a tiny gift shop looking for just the right thing to give to their granddaughter for her 16th birthday. Suddenly, the grandmother spots a beautiful teacup nestled on a mirrored shelf. "Look at this lovely teacup!" she says to the grandfather. He picks it up and says, "You're right! I don't know much about teacups, but I believe that this is one of the loveliest teacups I've ever seen."
At that point something remarkable happens: In a voice as beautiful as the spray of flowers on her side, The teacup began to speak to the grandparents, "Thank you for the compliment; but you know, I wasn't always this beautiful."
Instead of being surprised that the teacup can talk, the grandmother and the grandfather simply asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well," says the teacup, "once I was just an ugly, soggy lump of clay; but one day, a man with dirty wet hands picked me up, rolled me around in his hands and examined me. I felt uncomfortable as he was staring at me. You see, I knew that I wasn't pretty to look at and I had so many imperfections. I had no idea what was about to happen. He took me to a table and started to poke me and stretch me until I hurt all over. 'Stop! Stop! What is happening? Please stop' I cried, but in a voice as gentle as an ocean's breeze, he whispered, 'Not yet!' "
"Then he placed me on a round table and began to spin me faster and faster. With his big hands, he began to put pressure on me and move me into a different shape than I had ever known. The pressure of his hands on me was uncomfortable and the spinning made me feel as if my world was out of control. I was loosing my focus and didn’t know which way was up and which way was down. Then came the worst part. He took a sharp object and began to cut away the parts of me that did not fit what he had planned for me to become. It hurt so bad that I began to plead, 'Stop, this doesn't feel good. I’m hurting. I don't like this. My life is spinning out of control. I can’t stand this.' But in that same gentle voice he simply said, 'Not yet!' "
"Finally, he stopped; but, just when I thought that it was over, H e did something even worse. He put me into a dark, hot, furnace."
"I got hotter and hotter until I couldn't stand it.It was so dark that I couldn't see how to get out. I lost all sense of direction." 'Stop! Stop! I can’t stand this place. I’ve been through too much. I can’t take anymore. Pleeeease Stop!' I cried, but from within the furnace I heard that gentle voice, 'Not yet!' "
"Finally, when I thought I was going to burn up and could take it no more, the man opened the door and took me out of the furnace."
"It was brighter outside than I had remembered. I could see again! Then, He set me on a table and I realized that I actually liked how I felt. I suddenly had shape and parts of me were more firm than they had been before. Being firm and in my new shape made me feel more stable. 'Finally!' I thought I am complete. I have come so far."
"Then some lady with a colorful apron came over and picked me up. She began to daub me with horrible sticky paint. The fumes from the paint got so bad it made me sick to my stomach. 'Stop! Stop' I don't need this, I'm just fine the way that I am. Can’t you see how much I’ve changed? ' I was getting angry now. The lady with the sweet smile simply kept lovingly brushing and daubing me with paint. She never said a word in her defense.
"When her job was complete, she gave me to the man again, and he put me back into that awful furnace. This time it seemed hotter and darker than before. Knowing what was coming was almost more painful than not knowing had been before. 'Stop! Stop!' I cried, I can't take any more of this. Why am I going through this again? I'm so sorry for whatever it was that I did. I won’t do it again. Please let me out of this place. Why Am I HERE?' He didn't give me an answer, but smiled a knowing smile. 'Not yet!' said the man in a gentle and forgiving voice. I love you and I will not leave you alone."
At this point I was broken. My will was completely surrendered. I couldn’t fight anymore. I couldn’t pretend. I couldn’t resist. I could only surrender.
"And finally, he took me out of the furnace and let me cool. When I was completely cool, he packed me in a box, covered me with a protective wrapping, and closed the lid. I was bounced and jolted inside of that box, but at that point, I didn't care. I just didn't have the strength to fight. My will was completely surrendered to his.
A little while later, a pretty lady took me from the box and put me on this shelf, next to this mirror. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was amazed. I could not believe what I saw. I was no longer ugly, soggy, and dirty. I was beautiful, firm, and clean. 'Look at all of the pretty colors.' I cried for joy. I couldn’t believe that I actually liked who I'd become! I would have never dreamed that I could become what I was seeing reflected in that mirror.”
"It was then that I realized, that all of the pain was worth it. Without it, I would still be ugly, soggy, and dirty. That man with the gentle voice and the knowing smile, the man who never left me but always answered gently, "Not yet", had done what was best for me. He really DID have good plans for my life. I could see it now. He knew that I couldn't have been used like I was, but look at me now! I began to look back at each step in the process. It was then that all that pain took on meaning for me. The things that I had endured had not been in vain. They were never meant to destroy me, but to deliver me from my old ways of thinking and being. He was not punishing me for what I was, but preparing me for what I would someday become. The process had a purpose. You see, It was that process that made me into the beautiful vessel that you see before you today!"
I was going through a tough personal season of my life and received a phone call from someone that caused a turning point in my life. She called to share a devotion that she had read that morning and had no idea how profoundly it would affect me.
The following is the story that she read:
THE TEACUP AND THE POTTER
A grandfather and a grandmother were in a tiny gift shop looking for just the right thing to give to their granddaughter for her 16th birthday. Suddenly, the grandmother spots a beautiful teacup nestled on a mirrored shelf. "Look at this lovely teacup!" she says to the grandfather. He picks it up and says, "You're right! I don't know much about teacups, but I believe that this is one of the loveliest teacups I've ever seen."
At that point something remarkable happens: In a voice as beautiful as the spray of flowers on her side, The teacup began to speak to the grandparents, "Thank you for the compliment; but you know, I wasn't always this beautiful."
Instead of being surprised that the teacup can talk, the grandmother and the grandfather simply asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well," says the teacup, "once I was just an ugly, soggy lump of clay; but one day, a man with dirty wet hands picked me up, rolled me around in his hands and examined me. I felt uncomfortable as he was staring at me. You see, I knew that I wasn't pretty to look at and I had so many imperfections. I had no idea what was about to happen. He took me to a table and started to poke me and stretch me until I hurt all over. 'Stop! Stop! What is happening? Please stop' I cried, but in a voice as gentle as an ocean's breeze, he whispered, 'Not yet!' "
"Then he placed me on a round table and began to spin me faster and faster. With his big hands, he began to put pressure on me and move me into a different shape than I had ever known. The pressure of his hands on me was uncomfortable and the spinning made me feel as if my world was out of control. I was loosing my focus and didn’t know which way was up and which way was down. Then came the worst part. He took a sharp object and began to cut away the parts of me that did not fit what he had planned for me to become. It hurt so bad that I began to plead, 'Stop, this doesn't feel good. I’m hurting. I don't like this. My life is spinning out of control. I can’t stand this.' But in that same gentle voice he simply said, 'Not yet!' "
"Finally, he stopped; but, just when I thought that it was over, H e did something even worse. He put me into a dark, hot, furnace."
"I got hotter and hotter until I couldn't stand it.It was so dark that I couldn't see how to get out. I lost all sense of direction." 'Stop! Stop! I can’t stand this place. I’ve been through too much. I can’t take anymore. Pleeeease Stop!' I cried, but from within the furnace I heard that gentle voice, 'Not yet!' "
"Finally, when I thought I was going to burn up and could take it no more, the man opened the door and took me out of the furnace."
"It was brighter outside than I had remembered. I could see again! Then, He set me on a table and I realized that I actually liked how I felt. I suddenly had shape and parts of me were more firm than they had been before. Being firm and in my new shape made me feel more stable. 'Finally!' I thought I am complete. I have come so far."
"Then some lady with a colorful apron came over and picked me up. She began to daub me with horrible sticky paint. The fumes from the paint got so bad it made me sick to my stomach. 'Stop! Stop' I don't need this, I'm just fine the way that I am. Can’t you see how much I’ve changed? ' I was getting angry now. The lady with the sweet smile simply kept lovingly brushing and daubing me with paint. She never said a word in her defense.
"When her job was complete, she gave me to the man again, and he put me back into that awful furnace. This time it seemed hotter and darker than before. Knowing what was coming was almost more painful than not knowing had been before. 'Stop! Stop!' I cried, I can't take any more of this. Why am I going through this again? I'm so sorry for whatever it was that I did. I won’t do it again. Please let me out of this place. Why Am I HERE?' He didn't give me an answer, but smiled a knowing smile. 'Not yet!' said the man in a gentle and forgiving voice. I love you and I will not leave you alone."
At this point I was broken. My will was completely surrendered. I couldn’t fight anymore. I couldn’t pretend. I couldn’t resist. I could only surrender.
"And finally, he took me out of the furnace and let me cool. When I was completely cool, he packed me in a box, covered me with a protective wrapping, and closed the lid. I was bounced and jolted inside of that box, but at that point, I didn't care. I just didn't have the strength to fight. My will was completely surrendered to his.
A little while later, a pretty lady took me from the box and put me on this shelf, next to this mirror. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was amazed. I could not believe what I saw. I was no longer ugly, soggy, and dirty. I was beautiful, firm, and clean. 'Look at all of the pretty colors.' I cried for joy. I couldn’t believe that I actually liked who I'd become! I would have never dreamed that I could become what I was seeing reflected in that mirror.”
"It was then that I realized, that all of the pain was worth it. Without it, I would still be ugly, soggy, and dirty. That man with the gentle voice and the knowing smile, the man who never left me but always answered gently, "Not yet", had done what was best for me. He really DID have good plans for my life. I could see it now. He knew that I couldn't have been used like I was, but look at me now! I began to look back at each step in the process. It was then that all that pain took on meaning for me. The things that I had endured had not been in vain. They were never meant to destroy me, but to deliver me from my old ways of thinking and being. He was not punishing me for what I was, but preparing me for what I would someday become. The process had a purpose. You see, It was that process that made me into the beautiful vessel that you see before you today!"
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