Don't Let Go

I see little ones walking with their parents, hand in hand, all of the time. It is interesting to watch the dynamic unfold. Some children follow along quietly with no desire to leave their parent's side. Some are so afraid and shy that they move closer if a stranger gets too close. Some children see something they want and start pulling their hands out of their parent's hands just to get to it. It seems to them that it is something they desperately need. Sometimes they will cry and scream and kick to get away, but the parent knows that they do not know what is best. But as children, we have no idea what is good or bad and cannot see the consequences that may occur. 

As parents, we just want to keep them close and protect them. We look to the future and see how things could play out. We have a sense of good and evil and we don't want our children to suffer at the hands of fate, because they made a misstep. Sometimes we see ourselves in them and know what pain would come if we let them go. And yet sometimes they struggle and fight so hard against our better judgment that we lose a grip on them by accident and go running after them. At times, we choose to let them go. We assessed the risk and the ultimate value in the lesson that they must learn, we know that they will stumble... but the lesson could be so much more valuable to them in the future, that we allow their free-will. 

Mat. 18:6: But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

I look back on my life and I see every single bad choice that I made. I cringe at my own ignorance, stubbornness and the brokenness that led me to pull away and run right into darkness. I can honestly say that some horrific things were not my doing. I was a victim of other people's brokenness, not my own. This is why we fight so hard to keep our children from the darkness of this world. We know and have experienced what is out there; the unthinkable. They are innocent and truly think that nothing bad can happen to them. 

Jm 4: 17: So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Mk 4:16-17: These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Years ago, when I watched the Passion of the Christ, it hurt my heart so badly to imagine that He was brutalized and was willing to die for my sins those many centuries ago. So, in my mind, every sinful choice that I made was one more stripe that he had to bare to save me. 

I see my past and every single incident where He gently told me no and held onto my hand but I yanked it free and ran into the storm. He hurt for me. He cried for me. He even pursued me. I can hear the words of warning. I can still hear His stern voice and yet feel His unconditional love surround me when I truly did not deserve a thing. He rescued me from myself and a dark world.

1 Pt 2:25: For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

So, little children, do not wander from Him. Do not assume that you can knowingly make bad choices until your death bed and then be forgiven. Do not keep your children from knowing Him and being able to make their own decisions toward Him. Know that He sees the results of your choices and wants to protect you. If you ignore Him long enough, He could harden your heart so that you do not seek Him at all and he can give you over to your sins. He is the One holding your hand and helping you resist. You cannot do it alone.

1 Jn 3: 6-10: No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Is 6: 9-10: And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Trust me, I am a doctor

Your life, and that of everyone you care about, hangs in the balance. You see the world around you falling apart at the seams. Mental anguish, addiction, brokenness and death surround you. You see no way to save them. Surely this isn't all there is to life? You have lost hope and must find someone who has answers and can make a difference. But all around you are people who are just as lost as you. Some have been lost so long they just started pretending to have figured it out. Some read books but they expect a revelation that never comes. Their problems are still there and they still feel hollow inside. Sometimes we just go along and pretend to be what we aren't just so others think we have it together. We fake it so long that even our families believe it. They don't know the truth. But worse, we don’t know the Truth at all either. We have faked it so long we can’t see it.

We see counselors and doctors for all manner of ailments. Some of us proclaim healing but how did they do it? Are they faking it or are they healed? How can you tell the difference? It is too hard to know the truth. You have to know what to look for but you can't just trust what you see. Look around you. Does the world seem like it still has hope or are there only pockets of people who have found peace and real answers? Did they have to find a doctor too? 

If I walk into the room wearing that white coat, scrubs and a name tag, does it make me a doctor? I look the part. If you were to ask me a few simple questions, I might even sound like I know what I am supposed to sound like. But if you scratch any deeper than the surface, you will find no knowledge, no love for others, no experience or saved lives here. I am just a person with a white coat, scrubs and a name tag. In fact, I used to wear scrubs when I worked in a hospital and was required to assist in the operating rooms. But that certainly doesn’t make me a doctor, so move on.

If I know the book inside and out, but I have nothing else, am I a doctor? I can quote chapter and verse. I really know my stuff and I put most everyone else to shame where knowledge is concerned. But you are hurting and confused, you don't just want answers, you desperately need experience and compassion.  You are looking for a life saver and all that you have found is a book worm. Keep looking. It isn't here.

If I have the desire to be a doctor and I talk about it and want it in my life, but do not read or study, I do nothing to change my life and make it happen, to make a difference, or to live like it, am I a doctor? The desire is there, but I just don't have time. I have my real job, my life partner, my family, my income, my wealth, my house, my addictions, my distraction… whatever that thing is that comes between me and my purpose. You don't want me trying to save your life. I can't even save my own. You haven't found it yet.

I say that I am a doctor but people just irritate me. I have lost my love for others and could care less about them. I went to school. I got the title but I am so much better than everyone else that I just don't care any more. I do my job. I am a doctor. I have experience, knowledge and expertise, but at the end of it all, I have little time for compassion or answers. I want my paycheck but then, leave me alone. Still want me as a doctor? I think not. Now go away.

Are you looking for a doctor? Are you broken? Do you have such a compassion for people that you want to save lives? It would seem that instead of looking to someone else to save a life and change the world, it would be easier to start with you. You change the world one person at a time, from the inside out, starting with you.

To be a doctor, is to be a healer. To be a healer, one must know how to save. To be a savior, one must look to the one with all of the answers, the ultimate Savior, the Healer of all those who seek Him. You have the ability to mend the broken, heal the sick, save lives and souls, change lives and, in effect, change the world around you. You don't need a doctor. You need Christ. He can make you a better ‘healer’ than you can find in this world.

I am not saying that physicians do not have their place. We have physical damage that must be tended to as well. I am talking about inside. The deepest wounds that others rarely know about, see or know how to handle.

If you want to be a true healer, you have to start with you.:

●       Give yourself over to the one true Teacher and Healer of this world. Let Him give you salvation and forgiveness.

            John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to

the Father except through me.

●       Forgive yourself. It is hard to help others when you have a gaping wound yourself. Get to the root of your unforgiveness. Forgive others and yourself. It is poison no to forgive.

            Heb 12:14-15: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy;

without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of

God and that no bitter root rises up to cause trouble and defile many.

Eph 4:32: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as

God in Christ forgave you.

●       Find a church to learn, grow and find answers and equally yoked friends. People who can help you be who God wants you to be.

            Eph 4:11-12: So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the

pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of

Christ may be built up. 

●       Study the Word. If you have time for fb, twitter or instagram, you have time for the His Word-Bible.

            Rom 15:4: For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that

through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

●       Check out some of the videos online from Andy Stanley, Joseph Prince, Joyce Meyers or any number of bible believing Christians who have something to make you laugh, learn and love better. (Especially yourself.)

            2 Tim 3:16: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,

For correction, and for training in righteousness,

●       Pass the test(s). Tempted? Say no, by His power. He is the great Redeemer of lives. By His power, you are free.

            Lk 10:19: Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and

scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

●       Continue studying to fully understand the changing world and how to make a difference.  What is it causing pain and darkness in this world? Find it and shed His light. Be the light for others.

            Mat 5 14-16: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be

hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand,

and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine

before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your

Father who is in heaven.

●       Change lives. You change one life, you change a multitude. The ripple effect is real. Bare fruit.

●       Save lives. You found Him, now share Him.

            Mk 16 15-16: And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the

gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,

but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’

●       Care about others. Not your job, your car, your things...but others. You must let go to be free.

            Tit 2 11-12: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all

people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live

self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

●       Wear the badge unashamedly. You can’t be a part-time Christian. Don't wear it on Sunday and remove it when you get home or go to work. Don't be Peter and deny Him. Live like it, act like it and be it.

            Mat 10:23: But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in

Heaven.

Gal 5 22-26: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who 

belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the 

Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another,

envying one another.

●       Honor the oath. The greatest commandment is to love they Neighbor as thyself.

            Mat 22:37: Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest

commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’…

Look, we all are human. We stumble from time to time. That doesn't make us unchristian. But you will be known by your fruits or you won't be known by Christ.

Mat 7 15-20: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ...