| Some of My Writings Discipline in an Undisciplined State I've been a Christian for many years now. I've gone through lots of ups and downs along the way. One thing I've observed especially recently, is how incredibly important a disciplined lifestyle is! Those of us who are chronically ill with CFIDS/ME live in a world where it's very difficult to be consistent. There are obstacles in our lifestyles that are against being consistent to the call of God on our lives. There are many factors involved with this explicitly akin to our disease. First we have the disease itself which cripples many of us from doing anything at all. Second, we must deal with the "unpredictability" and "inconsistency" of our illness. We also have the "emotional factor." It's difficult and painful when others do not understand. They can cause us to doubt at times how sick we really are! How much are we able to do? More importantly -- what does God expect from us? It's so important to understand the "basic principles" of our "spiritual health"! One thing we can all do is PRAY! Prayer is not very complicated. At times we may think so. That's due in part to the many "fancy and sophisticated" prayers we've heard. The bottom line is that "prayer" is us simply talking to God! We know He listens! He already knows our hearts and out thoughts! So why do we pray? We pray because God desires an intimate relationship with us. A relationship with Him is possible because of Jesus Christ! His atoning work on the cross on our behave brings healing to us. He forgives all of our shortcomings and sin. (1 Peter 2:24) We accepted a "free gift" and entered into a relationship with God with simple childlike faith. Our acknowledgment of our faults and humbling ourselves before Him lead us to desire to do His will! When we ask Jesus to be Lord of our lives, He lives in and through us! (Romans 10:9 and 8:10) As Christians we can talk to God more intimately! Not just as the creator of the universe (Genesis 1:1), but as our "Daddy" as well. (Romans 8:15) We can share with Him all of our hurts and pains! We can pray for healing, restoration, guidance, deliverance! We can simply "hang out" with Him. We are able to share every moment with Him. (1 Thes. 5:17) Even when confined to bed, we can sing songs of praise to Him! For as much as we suffer and don't understand why, He is still worthy of so much praise and adoration! Another basic principle is reading the Bible. Some days this can be a little harder. For the "brain fog" most of us deal with, there are some easier to read and comprehend translations. There are paraphrased versions such as "The Message Bible." (I use the New King version.) As sick as we are, we should try to discipline ourselves to read a verse or two a day. (I've set a personal goal to read a chapter daily.) The devil does not want us to read God's word. He tries to flood our minds with excuses. One being that we are too sick. It's true. Many of us are very sick. If we are honest with ourselves, we can by faith read a verse or two a day. God's word is a must, even for the extremely sick. It feeds our spirit! There are two essentials that are very hard for us. The first is our need for fellowship. We must strive to be in the company of other believers! Many of us have a difficult time getting to church, but it's so essential! Satan will try to keep us away. If it's not possible to attend any kind of church function or Bible study, seek through prayer the possibility of having something in your home. People are more understanding than we think! Call other believers on the phone. Find those who would like to pray with you and agree on things in prayer. Ask God to lead you to do His will! Fellowship, in my personal experiences, with other believers is vital! If you don't feel comfortable or feel the churches you know really don't "feed" you and strengthen you in your faith, keep trying! DON'T GIVE UP! If a church lacks love and concern for you, pray! God will provide an open door if we trust Him! It may not be in a way we expect! We need to pray and ask God for wisdom and as sick as we are we can do "little" things for others. It may sound crazy when we need so much help ourselves. You'd be surprised the ways God can still use us in our illness! I've gotten comments from people that I've ministered to them through a short letter or short phone call. Be open to the creative ways God can use you while so ill! In closing, there are 4 main disciplined areas that may be hard to manage being chronically ill, but they are so necessary. There is and will be much spiritual warfare against these areas. By faith, put on the full armor of God. (Eph. 6:10-18) Our lives may not be very consistent, but we can still have some consistency in - 1. our prayer life 2. reading the Bible 3. fellowship 4. sharing and witnessing Christ to others! Let's pray... "Father, I thank You that Your Son Jesus died on the cross for my sins! Help me to live for You alone. Use my weak and humble state I live in to live in and through me. Pour out Your love, grace and mercy. Help me not to see my life as a waste. Use me to my fullest potential. I may not have much, but I give everything over to You!" In Jesus' name, Amen! God's Will : Outline Many people are seeking God right now for His will, if they should get involved (1a) with missions, and if so, (1b) where(?), and also (2) in their job and (3) marriage. I. "Back to Basics" A. What we already know generally 1. Read Bible a. personally and prayerfully with an attitude to "hear from God" b. As taught by others you represent as rightly discerning God's word 2. fellowship with other believers a. encouragement in the faith in general b. accountability/other people helping you keep "on track" in the faith in general by their personal knowledge of you, strengths and weaknesses, and recognition/discernment of your personal growth in the Lord 3. prayer life a. others (1) SALVATION - UNBELIEVERS (2) STRENGTH IN FAITH - BELIEVERS b. self - growth in God c. health and other emotional, financial concerns of others and self, etc. d. prayer with others about above "where two or three are gathered" (Matt. 18:19-20) 4. passion/desire to witness/share the "good news" (gospel) with nonbelievers a. (1) Those you know (a) family (b) friends (c) coworkers, those in contact with on some regular basis (2) Those you don't know b. Help from other believers (see 3a(1) c. Keep in mind that the salvation of others is the most important thing God wants you to do and keep it as a priority, and the bible knowledge and meditation, fellowship/encouragement to and from others and prayer life all are anchored toward this goal. 5. conclusion - So, we already have plenty of knowledge of what God's purpose in general in our life a. priority - relationship with God over any individual needs or concerns b. ways we already know of helping us in this area c. goal of others oriented (losing our life to live for others) (1) salvation of others, obtained by doing letters a and b and allowing God's love to move in us and through us to love others with God's love (2) Encouraging others in the faith not solely for their benefit of closer walk with God alone, but so that they can be equipped in winning others to Jesus for the long term Note: Remember this life is very brief, though it seems soooo long, compared to all eternity, forever and ever!!! 6. So, before we ask for God's specific will, we must realize that we already have His more general will for our lives in these first points. Work on drawing closer to Jesus, and in knowing Him better (Phil. 3:7-11), then His more specific will be given to us. II. How do we know His specific will? A. God reveals His specific will in so many various ways!!! Examples . . . . There is no "set pattern" for this. As long as things in #I are in order, be open to any and every way of God speaking to you! 1. open and closed doors - God does "open doors" and "close doors." But beware that this alone may not be God. 2. Ask advise from leaders and elders in your church. They may not always know, but seek confirmation as much as possible! 3. peace from God - Sometimes God calls us to do certain things that others may not be open to. So, confirmation of others is a good "rule of thumb" in general, but if you sense, after doing #I, a peace in your heart about a specific matter, go with how you feel God is leading. But be careful, God will not call us to do anything "unbiblical." That's why #I is so important! 4. signs - God does give us signs of His specific will, but again be cautious about this! "Coincidences" may be God trying to tell you something, but also be open to the possibility that it might simply be a coincidence or maybe even Satan! 5. conviction/leading - Just like with sin, God may give us that same feeling to do a specific task, etc. (We may feel a sense of guilt on our heart if we avoid doing something we feel a peace or leading about. It may be from God. Be open. But guilt in itself may be caused from something else, so also be careful here too. 6. conclusion - God can speak His will directly through a peace He gives us, through others' confirmation and signs and "open and closed doors," conviction - The more of these things we receive, the more confirmed. But God does not always do things in ways we expect, so be open. B. Pray about His specific will 1. alone 2. with others C. Time - Be patient. We tend to be scared because God has not shown us His specific will. But He will in His timing. Have faith! D. Conclusion 1. God works in ways we don't always understand, so make sure we are doing #I, and be open to anything (that is not unbiblical, of course). We tend to want God to do things a certain way we expect, but be open. And be patient and wait on His timing. 2. Always be sure that even though God's specific will can be shown in so many ways, be assured and have faith that if you are striving to do #I, He will show you His way and it will be clear to us. The key is our personal relationship with Jesus, our humility and openness for God to use us! and His will will be made clear. Don't be anxious. Just rest in His grace and ability to lead you. Because of Jesus' shed blood on the cross, we can have an intimate (Rom. 8) relationship with God! He is always right there. (Abraham) Use faith and trust in Him that He will reveal His specific will in His time and in His way, and know what's best for us! III. Trials and sufferings - A. How do we know if it's from God or Satan? Is it producing (1) fruit in your life? learning love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.? help me --> and through this ministering to others? or (2) bringing you down spiritually B. Could your trial or suffering possibly be caused by your own recent past or present wrong doing (reaping what you sow)? Strive to be obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading and the bible. If you are, it probably is not the reason, so don't feel guilty. Satan is an accuser and loves to bring us down with guilt and condemnation when we are in reality (as believers) totally forgiven (Rom. 8) C. Remember, unbelievers are under Satan's control, so to speak (bible verse) Conclusion So, there will be opposition there, and maybe even from "backsliding Christians" Remember that this world is not our home (bible verse) and just as Jesus suffered for others, we are called to as well. (bible verse) E. Satan is the prince of this world and is most aggressive towards destroying Christians who are "radical" and "sold out to Jesus" - So, though this is by far the best most joyous way to life, be prepared to suffer his attacks, but only for a little while, for he and his followers will one day be separated from us forever. 2. Also, we will not rest with our sinful nature until heaven as well (bible verse) 3. Hang in there! And trust in God's love, grace and mercy. Simply strive for #I, and if you fail, He forgives you, so don't feel guilty. Just "pick up where you left off" so to speak. Strive to be perfect in (#I) God's strength, not yours! Remember, God can't love you anymore than He already does now! You need --> He loves you unconditionally! Don't feel guilty! (if you repent / have the right attitude) Marriage, Jobs or Missions God's Unconditional love, grace & mercy (help) |