This topic of dreams was started on a previous article entitled, “Are You a Dreamer?” in which I posed the question of whether dreams can help us and, in particular, help us communicate better with God. If you haven’t read that article please do so before reading this one.
With all the violent protest happening regarding the Supreme Court justice and various candidates running for office, it’s easy to feel like you just want to keep your head down and your mouth quiet lest someone notice you and take out their frustration or hatred on you. But is that the right thing to do just because others are vocal and acting like fools? What if this is the perfect time to be vocal about what you believe in and do it with respect?
The topic of being spiritually and emotionally paralyzed will be covered in a total of 4 parts. If you have not read the first two parts, I would suggest reading them first. This is Part 3 and we will be covering a root cause that many fear looking at. It’s a target to look at when trying to figure out and overcoming the problem of being spiritually and emotionally paralyzed. Keep in mind that all of us have a tendency to look for a “silver bullet” fix and resolve our problems no matter what they might be. The truth is that life is often more complex than we care to realize and so are the problems. That being said, there are answers to resolve this problem of being paralyzed in our lives and a passage from the Gospel of John is a good example.
This series started with an article on “What Paralyzes You?“, which dealt with the topic of things in our lives which can paralyze us both physically and spiritually. I also stated that when an area of our soul becomes paralyzed through actions of others or ourselves our perspective of life becomes distorted, thus we live less than God intended. God always intends for us to do great things with our lives yet so few grasp that truth, let alone walk in it, myself included. If you haven’t read the first article on this topic please read that first.
When I travel around, especially in airports or overseas, I see many people who are paralyzed from various debilitating diseases and it hits me how fortunate and blessed I am to only have a few things wrong with my body that hinder my life experiences at this age. When I see a person who is partially broken or paralyzed I pray a simple prayer for them and myself. First, I apologize to the Lord for my complaining over small pains and problems and I also ask the Lord to bless that particular person with the obvious difficulties. That he or she would be healed both physically, emotionally and spiritually. So often I recognize they do better with their disabilities than I do with my seemingly normal life.
Previously, I wrote an article titled “Are There Idols to Kill?” and since people commented about wanting more clarity on the subject please read that article before this one.
Unfortunately, in our modern culture we don’t recognize idols when they are present do in part to stereotyping them as statues in old movies or in books depicting ancient culture statues. Secondly, we miss identifying idols because we think it’s an Old Testament concept that doesn’t relate to the time of Jesus onward, which is far from the truth. It’s similar for many Christians to assume demons no longer torment people’s lives nor control certain behaviors. That they don’t typify the behavior of the man in the New Testament with the legion of demons. Satan is smart enough to mask his activities and warfare to fool the simple-minded and cover his deception.
When I became a believer in Jesus Christ and embraced him as the Lord of my life I understood that all other idols in my life needed to bow to Christ lordship. The truth is I resisted becoming a Christian for just that reason. I truly “Loved” certain things and was always “Sacrificing” for them. For 9 months I was under constant conviction yet was so stubborn that it took hitting a car that was stationary with my motorcycle at 55 mph to get me to cry out for help to the Lord.
If you have not read the previous three articles with the same title please do so before reading this one.
In the previous articles I dealt with the “Traps & Pitfalls” of leaders. One of the reasons for doing so was our need to see what causes leaders and believers in general to be great examples to follow and which examples we need to avoid lest we learn damaged values and try to emulate them.
Everyone has gifts that they are born with but those gifts need to be identified and nurtured in order to materialize and make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. Leadership is just one of those gifts one may be born with but never realized for many reasons. I believe many will go to their graves without ever identifying their God-given gifts and talents partly because those that had the power to help them didn’t mentor them or because the individual themselves weren’t willing to put in the effort to nurture their own souls to develop their personal gifting. This may sound a little cold and calculating but I believe history will back this up. I do not believe we are solely a product of our environment but are a combination of others, ourselves and God’s purposes in our lives. The question often comes up…….Isn’t God’s will always done? Isn’t he “Sovereign”?
Coming to Jesus in 1969 I understood that becoming a Christ follower was serious business and that’s why I resisted becoming a Christian for some time. You may ask how long I resisted and probably I would have to say all my life, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Sometime we resist the “Presentation” of Christianity and of Christ. We call this religion. This happens when we color the meaning of Jesus’ words and life to suit our motives or lifestyle. In truth, this representation is a counterfeit though the people in it don’t see it that way.
