I Just Want a Gold Star

I was in a bit of a funk yesterday. Even though I've succeeded at getting quite a few household things done, as well as served in many ways during this time of quarantine, and posted my daily blog, still I'm not satisfied. As the doors for restaurants, businesses, and even my church are starting to open more, I’m self-analyzing myself. Did I read the books I was hoping to read? No. Did I immerse myself into God and His Word more than ever because I had the time to do so? I’m ashamed to say that I really didn’t dive as deep into His open arms as I thought I would have. Do I feel that my blogs really impacted my readers and made a difference in their lives? Not so much!

Suddenly, I have a “moment” when I sense the enemy of my heart is assaulting me. The script goes like this: “You can’t be used by God,” "You're over-the-hill -- you're done!" “Who do you think you are?” The lies of the enemy are that we can never measure up to God’s “do good” charts. You know the ones in Sunday School – if we memorized that scripture or we brought a friend with us, we’d get a sticky star by our name. Or the charts our parents made for us to do our chores? I want God's gold star by my name on His "do good" chart.

But then, into my little space, comes the assurance that it isn't God making me feel inadequate and insecure. It is always the voice of the enemy that deceives, belittles and makes us feel we're not enough. I look up scriptures and it is clear who accuses us and lies to us: "The devil was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) And, this scripture: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

And the icing on the cake was this scripture: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4) So, therefore "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) So, take that, Satan!

I have come to know that if we are showing up to serve God, if we are seeking to follow Him, and some-thing or some-one is trying to push us away, then we can be sure it is not God. He is not saying we are disqualified. He’s not hollering “shape up or ship out.” His instruction isn’t, “Come back when you’ve got it together.” Instead His invitation is, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

What Distracts Us From Who is Most Important

While taking my 14-year-old grandson to school yesterday, he asked me whether I had read C.S. Lewis' book, "The Screwtape Letters", as it is his required reading for English this semester. I hadn't, though I have great respect for C.S. Lewis' notoriety as one of the premier writers of his times and, even now, his compelling ability to really make us think deeper and open our minds to the idea that Satan is warring daily to distract us from a deeply committed relationship with God. Brennan was endeavoring to convince me of also reading Lewis' "The Great Divorce" that was his summer required reading. Suddenly, this year, he is captivated by Lewis' writings. I love it!

"The Screwtape Letters' gives the correspondence of the worldly-wise devil and assistant to Satan, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, a novice demon who is in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man (The Patient). Of course, I hadn't read it -- I, who am the "sugar and spice and everything nice" reader by choice. I told him I had judged a student at a Speech & Debate Competition who was performing in the character of Screwtape for his Open Interpretation speech. He was a brilliant actor and in "character" as Screwtape and portrayed him all too well, that I was uncomfortable with the "darkness" he conveyed. I didn't rank him too high because, as a Christian organization, it seemed so foreboding and I suggested, in my notes, that it may be prudent for him to consider the "God" character instead of the "Devil" character.

As I heard Brennan's take on the book and how it had affected him, it made me wish that I had read the book prior to hearing that young man's speech. Brennan explained: "Nana, have you ever been in church and were praising and worshipping God? Your attention was fully on Him, and then the thought comes to you "What should I have for lunch today?"' That is what this book is about -- how the enemy is always distracting us from keeping our attention on God."

"Screwtape tells Wormwood to keep "the patient" from thinking whenever possible since reason will only encourage the patient to accept Christianity with greater fervency. Wormwood should try to prevent the patient from thinking about the history of Christianity, and instead influence the patient to focus excessively on the ugliness and imperfection of his peers and of family, especially his mother.

Brennan's new open mind about a real devil and our REAL GOD made him want to think twice about decisions he makes and the attitudes he has and the way he interacts with others. It made him realize that there is a tug-of-war going on for our souls. John 10:10 says it clearly "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Yesterday, my mind opened a little more to the real possibilities that we are the target of the enemy and if he can devise ways to keep us from the abundant life Christ came to give us, he will. As my Brennan had an "aha" moment with this book and the deeper message within, maybe we should all consider the schemes, plots, strategies and tactical warfare that the enemy of our souls wishes to use against us. Consider it to the point, that he loses, because we are persuaded, convinced, unequivocally on God's side and we will not be persuaded otherwise. "Lord I'm keeping my eyes on you, following you, my Lord!

Regaining Focus in a World of Distractions

My word for today is DISTRACTION: a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something or someone else; interruption, disturbance, interference, hindrance

This post today is longer than my "usual" long post (yikes!) but this message impacted me so much I just had to pass it on -- almost verbatim. My pastor started his message with these words from an anonymous author, but worthy of acclaim because of its significance to us and our world today:

“Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his demons, he said, “We can’t keep the Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from biblical values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, continual experience with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their Christian lifestyles, but steal their time so they can’t gain experience with Jesus Christ."

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive. To keep their cell phones, TVs and their computers going constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their emails and mailboxes with junk mail, advertisements, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

"It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families and friends. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. The question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!"

Pastor Rudy went on: “In today’s readings, we saw that Jesus was busy casting out spirits, then He went to Peter’s home to heal His mother-in-law, and then He met the crowds. It was a busy day. The next morning, He went to a solitary place to pray. It must have been away because the disciples told Him that the people were looking for Him. Then He traveled through Galilee. You always see Jesus drawing away from the crowd to go and pray; to wait on the Lord, to develop His relationship with His Father. Do we remember why Jesus was here in the first place? Do we remember where there is fuel for our daily tasks? He is God who gives strength to the weak. He will renew their strength. Why did Jesus go to the synagogue every week? Why did He go to quiet places to pray? Why did He withdraw from the disciples? Because that is what helped Him keep on track and to receive His strength."

Then, Pastor Rudy referred to men in our church who went on a three-day retreat to get away from DISTRACTIONS so they could focus on God. He went on…..”Why did 35 retreatants sacrifice time away from their family and 34 team members spend months preparing for this retreat? Why are we so committed to ACTS (the retreat name) at this church? Because if we get this right, then we will be better men, husbands, fathers. These men got it right. They are heroes to their families and to us. They followed the example of Christ to get away from the DISTRACTIONS to renew with God.

Following that message, he went on to say, “Now. I want to talk to you about these men who went away on the ACTS Retreat this weekend. They went away to be with their band of brothers to spend time with Christ – to draw closer in their relationship with Him. These men are heroes to their family and to us. They followed the example of Jesus because after Jesus had ministered and prayed for the sick and fed the multitudes and raised the dead, you will find in scripture that He needed to get away to pray. The priority of Jesus’ solitude and silence is everywhere in the Gospels. It’s how He began his ministry. It’s how He made important decisions. It’s how He dealt with troubling emotions like grief. It’s how He dealt with the constant demands of his ministry and cared for his soul. It’s how He taught His disciples. It’s how He prepared for important ministry events. It’s how He prepared for His death on the cross. Jesus’ solitude is how He went deeper in His love-relationship with God. Our men, this weekend, followed Jesus’ lead. Won’t you follow as well?"

At the end of that message, the entire congregation applauded the message and our heroes AND God, who is speaking to us all about DISTRACTIONS that are robbing us of what's the most important ATTRACTIONS -- our families, our friends, our own physical well being AND our God. As my pastor said, "It's time to get it right!"