Learning to Surf the Waves

I spent some time down at the shore this summer. As a kid, we would spend every summer down in Ocean City, NJ. I grew up with a single mom who had a beautician shop connected to our tiny apartment over my grandparents’ house. We didn’t have much money, so I learned to work for everything I had. Mom tells the story of one Christmas she was able to buy me a saddle for my little pony I had worked for. The first words out of my mouth when I saw it under the tree were, “Do I have to pay for it?”.

In order for us to go down to the shore, I was allowed to have a little brown bank out in her beauty shop that her customers would put tips in all year. When the bank got full, I knew how much extra spending money we would have for the shore. It was exciting to count it out. Then, the best part would come. I would eagerly anticipate what I would do once I got down on the boardwalk. I had to get my raft, the heavy blue canvas one with the bright yellow ends. You may know the one! Then onto the 5 and dime to get my ever so popular shark bracelet. The bright white one that was so cool to wear. I was now ready to take on the waves.

As our family would take the walk to the beach from Plymouth Place, between 7th and 8th Street, I would be so excited to tackle the challenging waves. The bigger the better. Oh, I loved it. I honestly cannot remember any instruction of what I could or couldn’t do out there, except swim in front of the lifeguards. My snazzy raft and I, paddling out to the deep where the waves were crashing in. I would sit there on the top my raft feeling good. I was probably 10 or 11 years old, thinking I was one of those surfers. My board was just softer and safer than theirs! LOL

As I would look out onto the horizon; I would spot the waves rolling in, getting bigger and bigger. The bigger they were, the farther I could ride it in was the idea. Picture it, the white caps rolling in, my heart pounding faster and faster with excitement, and then boom, I hit the top of the wave and start sailing into shore. But then bam, I go head over heals onto the ocean floor, floundering and rolling over and over. Scrapes and little bruises would result, but a fun story would emerge. Battle scars! ‘Time to hit the waves again’, I would say! I was determined to learn how to stay on that raft and surf the waves, having a blast rather than hitting the ocean floor, which was hard, rocky, painful and unattractive.

I never thought that those raft experiences as a child would teach me a basic truth about life. It goes something like this: before I got really serious about following Jesus Christ, I repeatedly hit the hard, rocky, painful and unattractive floor of life. I would stay down there for days, weeks, months and even years. Yes, I went to church. Yes, I professed to be a Christian. But I was not seriously following Jesus into every area of life. Following Jesus meant that I had to ask Him about everything. How I should use my finances, where He wanted me to live, what car to buy, what career path to take, what ministries to serve in. You get the idea. It meant I couldn’t call the shots for my life anymore. I would be handing my life over to Him. I actually thought I had done that when I got saved, but with more inspection, I realized I hadn’t. I was still holding on and not surrendering my whole life to Him. I had to make a decision. Am I going to follow what the Bible says or am I going to continue to pick and choose what I consider comfortable and on the rest I would use my veto power? As long as I used my veto power I would always hit the ocean floor. Not because God wanted that. It was simply a consequence of my choices. When I finally got serious about following Jesus, I began a new healing journey.

During that journey I came to understand that I could learn to surf life’s waves and not get so beat up by life’s twists, turns, ups and downs. Let me explain.

The Bible says in John 16:3 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

It also says this:

1 John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Isn’t that amazing!! It’s like riding on the top of that white cap wave, riding it in when you know full well that the ocean floor is right below you, with the capability to rough you up for a long time.

I am not saying that in all of life’s circumstances you will be able to ride the wave in. There are things that knock me down, so many times and I roll a bit. But I have to grab those scriptures, choose to believe what they say and know what they mean- not just read them and hope something will happen. I have to intentionally choose to believe what they are saying. It is then, and only then, that I am able to climb back up on the top of my life raft, which is built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and His promises for me. That is how I continue to surf life’s waves and spend smaller amounts of time on the ocean floor.

Last weekend I was down on the beach in Ocean City watching a whole group of surfers. They were really great. When they wiped out, it was quite something, but they loved it. It was evident on their faces. Joy. That’s what I saw. That’s what I want. To continue to learn how to experience that joy the Bible promises, as we are able to grasp.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Amen

Blessings Friends,

Loi

Special Alert

B-Being

U-Under

  S-Satan’s

Y-Yoke

Each year I hear parents reporting on how they are preparing for the new school year. Filling up the calendar with important things like school of course, than the other possibilities: whether it’s sports, the arts, or any other variety of things that are offered to your children.

The temptation will be to fill up the calendar with activities for each child or else, in our culture’s mind, you will be labeled as a bad parent.

The sad truth is, I not only hear all of the activities that will be starting in the new school year, I hear these things as well:

• “We only have a chance to connect as a family when we come to counseling for the week because we’re so BUSY”
• “I haven’t seen my kids all week to be able to talk with them about our value system because we are so BUSY”
• “We were too BUSY to do our assignment for the week”
• “I haven’t gotten around to leading the family devotion because we were so BUSY this week”

The list could go on and on.

The belief that children will learn important life skills through having to participate on a team, dealing with conflict and how to be disciplined in a sport or the arts is very true. All of these values are present as I used to participate in team sports growing up. The art of discipline, hard work, dedication. But...when our value system is the Word of God, our culture cannot be the measuring stick that we look to in order to inform our decisions.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

In order to train a child it takes time. So I looked up the definition.

Time-

noun \'tim\ 

Simple Definition of time

: the thing that is measured as seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, etc.

: a particular minute or hour shown by a clock

: the time in a particular area or part of the world

Hmm....you can ask yourself, how much time am I investing into my children? Or am I unloading my responsibility of training them onto the school, sports or dance?

So what does this training word mean?

Train

noun

Simple Definition of training

: a process by which someone is taught the skills that are needed for an art, profession, or job

: the process by which an athlete prepares for competition by exercising, practicing.

The whole point of this blog is to help you take the time to prioritize your upcoming schedule, keeping at the forefront of your mind how you use this precious gift of time and training up your children. God gave them to you as a gift to train. They are really His and He has entrusted them to you in order to raise up Godly men and women to walk out their purpose on planet earth.

Once again, the Bible says:

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, friends,

Lois Robinso

Yesterday Was Election Day!

“Oh, send out Your light, and Your truth! Let them lead me” Ps. 43:3

Thought I would share a very recent opportunity I was faced with this past week, and it coincided with the message Pastor Nate preached on Sunday about throwing away your VETO stamp.

Interesting, huh?! Here’s the story. For the last several months God has been working on me about making some financial changes to my private counseling practice, Truth and Light Counseling. The way I knew He was working on me is because it became a more frequent topic of conversation for me, I was praying constantly about it, others talked to me about it. Then it is my responsibility to ask God what is my flesh and what is His Spirit in all of this. I certainly do not want to go about it my own way because that won’t end up well.

Anyhow, this past week, the idea of making the change of increasing my fee $15.00 per session was persistent. It was heavy on me, but I was very concerned. I make sure that all decisions for the practice always get filtered through the lens of the original vision God gave me over 20 years ago: provide affordable counseling for people. Everyone cannot pay hundreds of dollars each week for a 50 minute session. I’m one of them!

Fast forward. I was on my way to church last Sunday, driving down the road, and I begged God to really confirm for me that the increase was indeed Him calling me to it, or show me that it was my flesh. I needed to know. I wouldn’t move forward unless I got the confirmation. Immediately these scriptures came to me;

Isaiah 43:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

    and rivers in the desert.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP )

 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

I still cried out and said, “God, are these scriptures confirmation?”

Fast forward. I walk into church, and Pastor Nate starts preaching the Word of God! He talks about what it is like to have everything in our own control, safe, secure, etc. God’s Spirit, or the Holy Spirit, started speaking to me. God showed me how that was exactly what I was doing with Truth and Light Counseling’s fee change. Though it may seem like an insignificant detail to some: what’s $15.00? But it is big. Following Jesus into every area of life is HUGE! Even in our businesses and careers. Truth and Light Counseling BELONGS TO GOD AND IS ON LOAN TO ME TO BE A GOOD STEWARD OF IT. I AM TO CARRY ON THE PRACTICE ACCORDING TO MY BOSS’S DESIRES, AND MY BOSS IS GOD! AMEN

Pastor Nate then went on to talk about the parable of not being able to put “new wine in old wine skins.” It just won’t work. God was definitely calling me to something NEW! There it was! So, you guessed it. I started all my calls to my clients the next day, informing them of the $15 dollar increase, and some actually gave further confirmation as well. It went from a cloudy thought process to a beautiful celebratory event for me.

The verse I named the practice after is found in Psalms 43:3:

“Oh, send out Your light, and Your truth! Let them lead me”

Blessings Friends!

Lois Robinson

#ChaoticClay #InTheHandsOf #PraiseWorthyPotter

I will confess, I'm not a follower of Twitter, I don't know the first thing about the hashtag revolution, nor am I on the latest social media escapades. I do post frequently on Facebook and love seeing pictures of people and what's going on in their lives, especially family across the country. I recently saw a post on Facebook that depicted this guy sitting with Jesus. The caption read something about following Twitter and Jesus saying 'No, I mean really following me!'

Well, I recently wrote a devotional for the upcoming Women's Retreat but thought it would be worth posting for everyone. So here it is! I hope it helps you wherever you are on your journey of life.

“Yet you Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”  Isaiah 64:8

If you are reading the above verse, thank you for being willing to set time aside to meet with God! I want to affirm you have made a great choice, and I also want to help you walk through this activity we tend to call a devotional. Now, to be honest, this word devotional, or devo to some, brings up many reactions. Here are just a few:

1.     The feeling of confusion because it is a fancy word that not everyone in the world uses except Christians, or so it seems.

2.     The feeling of guilt because it reminds folks of what they tend to be weak in.

3.     The feeling of anger because they faithfully have their devotion each day, but it seems like God is not giving any answers.

4.     The feeling of comfort because they spent time with God and He, somehow, in His own way, met them where they were and He spent time with them, bringing comfort. Maybe not answers yet, but comfort.

Well, I want to invite you to learn some cool ways to spend time with God. Since God made you, knew your story before time began, knows every chapter of your story, as well as the end of your story. He seems like the One to spend time with in order to learn our next steps on this journey we call life.

There are many ways we can spend time with God, but here are two different ways I would like to introduce to you:

1. One way I love spending time with God is very similar to the way I spend time with my best friend.  I talk, she listens, and then she talks and I listen. I cannot do ALL the talking; otherwise I am not creating space for her to express herself. How much more important for me to talk to God and create space for Him to talk back to me because He is the Potter and I am His Clay. Now, here is where people get angry because they want Him to operate on their timeline. He doesn't. His timing is perfect, and He wants us to love spending time with Him without an agenda. We must learn that He loves us SO much and WILL speak AND move when it's time. TRUST is a biggie here. Many of us have learned we cannot trust because of getting hurt, but God is different. He will not hurt you at all. He is not even capable of hurting you because He is perfect, sinless, faithful and Holy. Hurt comes out of brokenness and sin, neither of which is a characteristic God has. That's Great News!
2. The next way is called The ACTS model: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.

            A.  Adoration- Say things out loud to God about how much you adore Him. Characteristics of God like Holy, Beautiful, Perfect - words of Adoration.

            C.  Confession- Talk to Him about the things you have done wrong. Ask Him to forgive you for those things. This means confessing your sins.

            T.  Thanksgiving - Say out loud, “Thank You God for (these specific things).” Learn to become a thankful person. 

            S. Supplication- Now, after all of the above, you ask God for the things you would like help with.

These are just two of the many ways we can spend time with God. I hope these will be helpful tools for you to practice as you move toward building a relationship with your Potter, God.

Lois Robinso

Setting Boundaries

Check out this video of Dr. Henry Cloud speaking on the Dave Ramsey show about boundaries with family! This holiday time can come with a very mixed bag for many people. Isolation, celebration, spending money on gifts, family gatherings, family issues all seem to be highlighted during this season. Hopefully this short 10 minute video will give you some helpful tips on healthy boundaries! Be blessed friends

Lois

What's Your Story?

If you are reading this blog right now, you probably have taken the time to click on the lfachurch.org website, you’ve navigated down to the counseling blog, did a click and here we are! Well, I personally want to thank you in all sincerity for taking the time out of your life to read my thoughts about things to hopefully help us all out, in one way or another. When preparing for these counseling blogs, sometimes I think I know what to write about, and other times I feel absolutely blank. This particular time, I have started three different ones and finally landed somewhere. Sometimes I think the blog has to be this really great, phenomenal manuscript that comes forth, only to end up in a frustrating half-written document. Then I stop and say, “God, what little nugget of truth can I bring to hopefully make somebody’s day, week, maybe life make a little more sense? Maybe to offer a fraction of help in dealing with the circumstances of their current situations in relationships, boundaries, worship, life, messiness, brokenness, hopelessness, you name it.” I almost titled this one, “As The World Turns,” taken from the well-known daytime soap opera. I can recall the daytime soaps of “All My Children,” “Days of Our Lives,”  “Ryan’s Hope” and of course “General Hospital” with Luke and Laura! Then we have the nightly soaps of “Dynasty,” “Dallas,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Many people tune in to keep up with the story line. What’s happening? Who’s with whom?

Why? I’m glad you asked. I believe many of us can identify with the characters. Some even overly identify and begin living out the fantasy of the story line in their own lives. When a character dies, people grieve. When there’s a wedding, viewers tune in and celebrate the fictional character’s milestones. Why? You ask really good questions! Maybe it’s because we sometimes have very similar circumstances playing out in our lives and we think, wow, I’m not alone. Or, watching other people’s stories, even if they are fictional, can be an escape from our own world as it turns and turns. Sometimes giving us motion sickness!

Here is what I believe I am supposed to write about this time. The life stressors that seem pretty common to everyone- single, married, male, female, child or adult, all races (real life and TV land): Pain, Anxiety, Confusion, Stress, Sex, Time, Money, Communication, Self Hatred.

It’s across the board:

• Kids at six years old in the crisis ward that have tried to commit suicide
• Kids addicted to pornography at six years old calling sex lines
• Females seven and up starving themselves to death and cutting their bodies
• Men getting their self worth from deviant sexual behavior and 90 hour work weeks
• Suicides
• Addictions, Addictions, Addictions

And the list goes on and on. These are just a few of the bondages people get caught in.

This is a little glimpse into the world of real people and the real pain they walk in everyday and the extreme measures people take to medicate or numb the pain, even for a few hours, if at all possible. Unfortunately, many of the ways people are choosing escape actually costs them their lives or dramatically changes their lives forever.  

This is big stuff. Some of you may be shocked by the things that I have written above, some of you may have those very things and more going on currently in your circle of friends and/or family.

It can be crippling and lead to utter hopelessness.

Friends, I want to let you know that we can support you in your journey. There are real people at Living Faith Alliance Church that desire to walk side-by-side with you, in very real and tangible ways.  In addition, we have professional counseling services, trained support people, classes for adults and children, and a free program called Celebrate Recovery for anyone with Hurts, Habits and Hangups. That’s all of us friends! Don’t continue to try to do this life by yourself in isolation.

Now, back to “What’s Your Story?” There’s great news. I would like to introduce you to the best storyline ever, the one where your story belongs. It’s called “God’s Story.” He actually thought of YOU and created YOU. There has never ever been anyone exactly like YOU in all of history. Nor will there ever been anyone like YOU in the future. He put UNIQUE GIFTS INSIDE of YOU for HIS STORY! It’s an awesome story too!! Check out our website and contact us. We would be honored to walk by your side as you learn about how you fit into God’s Story. It certainly is a great adventure. Ready to get started?   

Be Blessed Friends!

Lois Robinso

Discussion: Christianity & Homosexuality

As you listen to these Christian leaders discuss the topic of Christianity and Homosexuality, pay particular attention to Shane Claiborne's perspective of the church and who we need to be. 

This video in not intended to represent the views of Living Faith Alliance Church, our blog’s host. However, the video does provoke some honest, self-examination regarding our personal perspective and our disposition to engage those experiencing or struggling with same-sex attraction. 

-Lois Robinson

The True Value of Worship, Part 3

In the Old Testament, the first line of warriors that led out in the battle were the musicians and singers. This picture illustrates the huge priority of learning to be a worshiper of God, in whatever circumstance you find yourself- wonderful or desperately hard. 

This video clip is one of my favorite worship leaders, Darlene Zschech, teaching about this very topic. Be blessed friends!

Lois

The True Value of Worship, Pt. 2

Listen to Darlene Zschech, worship pastor of Hillsong Church, continue to lay a good foundation to understand what worship is and and the power of worship in the second part of this four part series. 

The True Value of Worship, Pt. 1

Worship has to do with recognizing God's worth and giving him the worth due to His name. Listen to Darlene Zschech, worship pastor of Hillsong Church, lay a good foundation to understand what worship is and how we can participate in the experience of worship with integrity. 

ICU

(By Lois Robinson)

When I was a teenager, I lived on a 25 acre farm and raised African Pygmy goats, as well as an assortment of dairy goats. I would travel for hours with my mom to buy good stock, breed them responsibly, then sell them to responsible owners. I loved it! I still love to watch those crazy videos that come over social media, namely Facebook, with baby goats hopping wildly all over the place. It just cracks me up! 

Well, one afternoon, while my mom and I were out in the yard mowing or some such thing, my goat Alfalfa began to holler in a typical “goat stress” manner! He was a 100 lb. Toggenburg with big horns. I typically dehorned all of my goat kids when they were only 2 weeks old (kid is the name of a goat baby) so children would not get hurt, but Alfalfa was an adult when I got him. He had fallen into the septic tank! Actually, it was a homemade septic tank that my grandfather made 100 years ago on the farm. It was hand dug with an old wooden lid on it with an old wooden fence around it. Alfalfa had successfully gotten through the fence and fell into this gross mess. Both my mother and I dropped what we were doing and fled to the scene. Here was Alfalfa, thrashing about in this nasty, stinky, bacteria-filled septic pool. Remember, he was about 100 lbs. I will never forget it. My mom, who weighed about 130 at the time, grabbed that goat by one horn. The scene looked like something right out of the movie Hercules. She lifted that 100 lb. goat out of that septic tank with one full upward motion. I can still see it today, 45 years later. I then rushed in and used my index finger to swipe any nastiness out of his mouth. In the process, he bit me. Goats grind their food sideways so it was not a straight down bite. It was a shredding type so I had to go to the doctor. He did declare my presenting issue his first goat bite! 

This blog, entitled ICU, is actually  not about the goat bite, but I use this true story as an analogy illustrating some of the important steps in our own healing journey. 

Step 1. The I stands for Identify In many cases (not all, but most) in order to have healing in your life, you must Identify the specific issue and state with your mouth what  you need healing from. From the above story, we identified that Alfalfa was hollering because he had fallen in the septic tank, a place he did not belong. If he stayed there he would die. When I go a restaurant and the waiter says, “Can I take your order?” I need to identify and state out of my mouth what I want to eat off the menu. In the bible, people approached Jesus to heal them. He would ask, “What is it that you want me to heal?” They would have to identify the issue and state out of their mouths what they wanted healing for. Notice, this is not a passive response but a proactive one. 

Step 2. The C stands for Confront-  Identifying the issue is not enough. If mom and I just saw Alfalfa in the septic tank and did nothing proactive, he would have died. We had to step up and deal with the situation. Praying the whole time, I knew neither my mom nor I would be strong enough to lift that goat with mess all over him, out of that  deep hole. But God! God gave my mom the strength not her own to accomplish something good. When we are willing to identify our problem, our sin, our issue and desire healing in that area, we must call out to God to give us a strength not our own to proceed in the confrontation, the battle ahead. With the goat, it stunk, it was ugly, it was scary, it required more than either of us had to give. But God. We were not afraid to confront the situation. We didn’t run from it nor did we deny it.  We did recognize our limitations and cried out the the Almighty One, our God, and we won the victory. 

Step 3- Notice in the last step I used the word WE a lot.  The U stands for Unite. When desiring transformative healing in your life, you cannot do it alone. You must identify it and state it out of your mouth.  You must confront it with others and unite with others to face the battle ahead. You must also recognize you are created to live in community, meaning with others around you. Even if God has made you to be an introvert and crowds exhaust you, you still need to live in community in the way God leads. In the goat illustration, my mom needed to be the one grabbing him up out of that septic tank. I was right there, as her teenage daughter, praying for her and my goat! I witnessed something that my Mighty God did that I will never forget. I was there to swipe his mouth clean. I got bit in the process, but that happens!  For any of you wondering, Alfalfa lived for many years after that, and I have learned that my God has lifted me out of some deep septic tanks I jumped into. I had to learn to recognize that I couldn’t stay in them or else I would die. I praise my God for my Savior Jesus who died for all my septic tanks and yours.  Check out John 3:16 in the bible. 

Blessings, Friends- Lois

Make Sure Your Lights Are Lined Up..... One Way I’ve Learned to Hear God’s Voice

(By Lois Robinson)

A question I get asked a lot is, “How do I learn to hear God’s voice?” It happens to be the same question I had years ago. Through the years I have learned there are many teachings on how to hear God’s voice, how to discern His voice over the enemy’s voice and so forth. All are very important to learn. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

I have learned by spending time with Him, much like spending time with a best friend or family member, you tend to learn the sound of their voice. A good example of this is when that person calls you,  it would be silly if they actually identified themselves. You usually know the sound of their voice because of the close relationship you have cultivated.

But, there is another way I have learned to discern God’s voice, and as the title of this blog reads, it involves a cool little story about a great man of God named Hoppy, an oyster boat, and lights on pilings down at the pier at night!

Way back when I was a young adult, 27-28 maybe, I remember serving in the role of the organist at Deerfield Methodist church. One weekend a Revival Service was held and the evangelist was a man by the name of Wilbur Hoffman. His nickname was “Hoppy”. Boy did he preach! What he shared, I have never forgotten. I am 51 years old now and I still hold on to what he said that night. Here goes:

By trade, he ran an oyster boat down at Port Norris, NJ. At night, when he came in off the sea gathering oysters, he had to make sure his lights lined up. What he meant was quite literally the lights on the pilings at the port. He then proceeded to draw a set of 8 circles, each representing a light on a piling.  There were 2 circles drawn on the top, about 5 inches apart, then 2 more below them, again 5 inches apart and so forth. This image was to give the appearance of the lighted port that his boat had to navigate through in order to dock. Something like this:      

O                         O

O                         O

O                         O

O                         O

I was fascinated by what he was saying. He explained that when he would come in at night, naturally he would not be able to see in order to navigate steering his boat into the port safely, without damaging it. So the lights on the pilings were crucial in order to pull in safely to dock. He then went on to use this example to explain his analogy of how to hear God’s voice.

Each of the above lights were labeled with some specific things:

O                        O - God speaks through His Word

O                        O - God speaks through Prayer

O                        O - God speaks through His People

O                        O - God speaks through Circumstances

Here is a practical example of how I used this in order to discern God’s voice in my own life. Back in the mid 90's, I had just completed my Bachelor’s in Youth Ministry from Eastern University, then Eastern College. :) My Youth Ministry professors told me I should go back to grad school to get my Masters in Counseling. I said I didn’t think so but would pray about it. They apparently were discerning something God was saying about my life, but I sure was not seeing it! I honestly thought, “There is no way I’m heading back to school, nor do I have any money to do something like that!” Well, I prayed, “God, if this is what You want, then You better help me find out about this counseling thing!” I was in the Bridgeton Bible Book Store, which is now gone, and Miss Tammy Vaughn was in there. I had no idea who she was, but she hollered across the store to me, recognizing me from Eastern. She was a counseling student at Eastern and proceeded to tell me about the program. I couldn’t believe that God did this!

So as the events began to unfold, reading scripture, praying, circumstances, His people. All my lights were lining up. So, I went to the Eastern College parking lot with the Grad School Counseling Program application in my hand. I prayed, “God, if I am NOT supposed to do this, CLOSE the door. If I am supposed to do this, let me get in with flying colors.” That was my actual prayer. I soon received a letter saying I was welcomed into their program. I then discerned that I was “pulling my boat safely into port because my lights did indeed line up.”

That was the start of God revealing one of my greatest passions in serving Him. I am so thankful for God’s voice. I would be lost without Him. Truth and Light counseling was born three years later. Amen

The Gift of Anger

(By Lois Robinson)

Anger, a gift? Some of you may highly disagree with the title of this blog! Some of you have witnessed anger being used in a controlling, manipulative way that brings division and harm at times. That is called externalizing your anger. That would be an example of taking a gift and using it in a wrong way. Just like getting a beautiful vase, a one of a kind, but using it as a hammer just because you needed to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture. The vase was never created to be used in that way. It will break, and someone may even get hurt when it shatters.  Make sense? Then there are those who don’t break things but internalize their anger. They just don’t acknowledge any feelings of anger whatsoever; they deny it. Both are wrong ways of dealing with this emotion. 

The bible, otherwise known as the Word of God, actually says to be angry. It is actually a command! Check it out:

    Ephesians 4:26 (NRSV)

    "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,"    

When I saw this, I was taken back. I never read this particular verse as a command. I only paid attention to the ‘do not sin’ part. As I then started breaking this verse down, it became clearer and clearer to me, through the Holy Spirit, that it would be impossible not to get angry in this broken world we live in. There are so many teachings saying anger is a sin, it’s wrong to get angry, Christians don’t get angry, and the list goes on and on. The verse that I have posted in this blog says just the opposite! That’s why it is so important we make sure we know what God Himself says about anger and other issues as well.         

So, why am I calling this emotion of anger a gift? Here goes!

Anger is the barometer of your heart that tells you something needs to be dealt with- a quote from Pastor Nate Howard, Living Faith Alliance Church.  So in trying to sort through what needs to be dealt with, you can unpack it with this next bit of information:

Anger is considered a Secondary Emotion. It is actually made up of three Primary Emotions: 

• Fear
• Frustration
• Hurt Feelings                 

So the next time you feel anger, see if it is a Fear Anger, a Frustration Anger or a Hurt Feelings Anger. It may be a combination of a couple or all three as well. That can help you understand where the anger is coming from so you can know how to move forward in dealing with it. 

Processing the anger correctly will prevent the following destructive pattern from occurring:        

        Anger-(becomes)-Resentment- (becomes)-Bitterness

It is critical that you pay attention to what you are feeling inside and then make healthy choices to deal with it correctly. Otherwise destruction comes from internalizing it. 

    Hebrews 12:15 (NRSV)

    "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled."

That is a heavy verse, friends. I would encourage you to stop externalizing anger in controlling, manipulative ways, if that is your tendency. I would also encourage any of you who hold it all in/ internalize it, to process it and take steps to handle it in a healthy manner. 

Blessings Friends - 

Blue's Clues

(By Lois Robinson)

The statements that I am hearing a lot of these days are:

    “Man, I am feeling so tired, down, and don’t want to do anything.”

    “I’m feeling so yucky and overweight!”

    “I just want to be left alone. I’m so tired of people and their crap!”

    “All I want to do is eat.”

    “I could sleep for two days if I was allowed!”

    “Ugh, I’m so tired of the days being so short, and the cold is annoying!”

    “I want to live someplace warm”

And the list goes on and on...

Well, we could say that the above statements are a case of not be grateful for living another day or we could say just pray about it or throw a christian-y cliche out there and insult the person. We could, and many times do, all of the above. 

But…

The above statements may be CLUES to a deeper issue going on, one that cannot be wiped away with a quick cliche that doesn’t help but serves to offend.  Some may call it a chronic case of the Blues, but the truth is, this time of year is a classic time for Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is a real condition and actually has a name! In a recent Google search, the following list popped up, and I have copied and pasted it below. Why try to reinvent the wheel and put my little spin on it. Take a look.

People with SAD have many of the normal warning signs of depression, including:

Less energy.

Trouble concentrating.

Fatigue.

Greater appetite.

Increased desire to be alone.

Greater need for sleep.

Weight gain.

I would encourage you to take an assessment of your own behaviors, especially after the holidays. That is when many people tend to dip down in their mood, especially during the winter months. In the counseling room, I get a lot of calls from people that begin experiencing increased anxiety, depression and even panic disorder during this time. That is not including the added stressor of the change of seasons to shorter days and longer nights. Isolation, increased sleep, increased eating and the tiredness that more sleep just doesn’t fix! All classic symptoms of SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the Blues that won’t go away. 

If you or someone you know may be struggling with this, I would encourage you to reach out to someone you trust, maybe even call a mental health professional, a counselor that can help you sort through what you are experiencing. Usually knowing it actually has a name and is a real condition is of some comfort. Don’t stop there though. Come out of isolation and begin taking action steps that are the opposite of the downward spiral. 

For me, I will move toward people that love me and are safe. I know they love Jesus more than me so will tell me the truth for my own benefit and to see me grow. I also process my thoughts and feelings. The other thing I have just started doing is getting more active by joining the local YMCA. I have people pray for me, recognizing that Jesus knows (He really knows me and my struggles) even when I get the Blues! The last thing I will have you check out is this powerful verse:

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 59:16, NIV)

These kinds of verses are found in the Bible, around the center of the book if you are looking it up.       

Though it can be very hard to actually open my mouth and verbally say or sing the above verse, it is where my ability comes from to crawl out of the dark hole. It tends to happen to most of us; it is all in how you respond. 

Be blessed friends!

The Donkey, The Elephant and The Ladybug

(By Lois Robinson)

What a weird title for a blog, huh? Well, keep reading and you will find out the reason why I chose it.  It all started back in the first week of December when I was feeling pretty low. I actually felt abandoned by God a few times during the week as well. I was dealing with some significant health issues, family issues and the like. You may be able to relate to what I am talking about.

Then, something really strange happened at the end of that week. I pulled into my driveway and there, hanging on the wrought iron lawn ornament, was a red letter with a heavy plastic donkey tied to it. I thought, what in the world! I took it into the house, opened the letter and saw in addition, two WaWa gift certificates.  As I began to read the letter, it described how my King, King Jesus, came in a very unexpected way, and He road that donkey into difficult circumstances. He too will show up in my circumstances in unexpected ways and will ride that donkey into my difficulties. Oh my, I began to weep and weep.  It was like my Jesus reached out to me and gave me a huge hug. That is the picture of the Body of Christ. Someone, His people, saw my affliction, purchased the items, wrote the letter, pointing me to my King. Praise God for hearing my cry.

These tangible acts of love continued throughout the entire month of December. I couldn’t believe it. There was a beautiful basket full of healthy organic food products along with another gift certificate to Applebee’s. I was so moved and taken aback. Included was a large, heavy plastic elephant with large strong tusks, representing strength, with a handmade ornament. On it was written out Joshua 1:9 about moving out in battle. Not to be afraid but to be strong in the Lord. Once again, my Jesus came and wrapped around me, through the tangible actions of His people. Another package contained a beautiful picture of humming birds and how God cares for each one. Another gift certificate to my favorite food, Chinese:) Plus, a cute little Lady Bug stuffed animal. The people involved have no idea the TREMENDOUS impact you had on my life and the timing of it was absolutely amazing.

Little did I know, there were going to be some very difficult issues ahead the last week of December into January involving very close friends of mine, friends that are like family.  It was and still is in a crisis state. I made it a point to keep the Donkey, the Elephant, and the Lady Bug propped up in front of me by the TV. The letters were there as well. The family felt led by God  to do an intervention for a younger sibling heavy into substance abuse, eating disorder and mental illness.  We would read those letters, with the sister’s name inserted, declaring God’s plan for her life. Amen. We would look at those animals. Knowing that Jesus, our King was riding that donkey right into the middle of those/these difficult circumstances. The image of the elephant reminded us of the book in the bible, Joshua 1:9, to be strong and of good courage. The little Lady Bug, well, she reminded me that someone cared enough to bring her to my house and say, “Hey:) you are loved and not alone.”

There you are, the story of the Donkey, the Elephant and the Lady Bug.

The Holidays: Not the Cover of Better Homes and Gardens

(By Lois Robinson)

WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FELL AND THINK ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS?

 AHHH, the holidays! For some it is an, “AHHH, I can’t wait until the Holidays are over!” And yet others say, “AHHH, Yeah! I can’t wait for the holidays to be here!” Whereas others say, “I’m numb, and it really doesn’t feel like the holidays because of very significant losses that have happened.”

I admit, I have experienced all of the above to some degree. But usually I find myself getting very self-focused and wanting to experience a form of utopia, sometimes literally expecting that picture on the front of a magazine where the whole family is gathered in the beautifully decorated BIG home with the fireplace aglow while everyone smiles and laughs with little appetizers in their hands. The table would be set with more silverware than I know what to do with, the huge delectable turkey in the middle of the table and everyone holding hands thanking God for His blessings. Dinner would be wonderful! No uncomfortable silences, everyone engaged with each other, not a cross word would be exchanged. We would all connect in meaningful ways. Then the coffee and MANY pies would be served. More laughing would occur as we moved into the huge living room with the fireplace (can’t leave that out!) as we began to play games as a family- fully knowing each other, connecting and engaging. Oh, can’t leave out the 6 inches of snow that spontaneously began to fall as well! AHHH, the Holidays!

 FUN WOULD BE HAD BY ALL!!!

 Well, I can honestly say, I have never really experienced that scenario with my family. What I have experienced is some of the above- the fireplace all aglow, some laughing, many awkward silences, forced conversation with some, ministering to some, holding my tongue with others and at times tactfully rebuking inappropriate behaviors demonstrated by the Christians in our family. I believe my family represents a microcosm of the world.

VERY MESSY AND UNCOMFORTABLE

Why is this?? Aren’t the holidays supposed to be celebratory? Hmmm. Yes, but we must remember what we are celebrating!

Is Thanksgiving a time when we engorge ourselves and say thank you out loud for everything we have but make sure we keep it short so the food doesn’t get cold? Laughing and getting a buzz?  Kicking back because, “Darn it, I deserve a break from all the stress!” Christmas has its own scene going on, and unfortunately it doesn’t involve the manger scene- that gets squeezed in where it can fit. It has become a HUGE event that the advertisers enjoy showing more and more commercials of what we need, what to buy so we can be cool (of course) and where to get it. Pipe in the Christmas scents through the store ventilation, play the music and put up the Santa so people will help us make more money for the stores revenue!!! YEAH!!!!!

Friends, is that what the Holidays are really about?  NO!

Thanksgiving is a time that we celebrate what we are thankful for. In the Christian faith, we are primarily thanking God for who He is, what He has done through Jesus and how He has provided for us. It’s not about us. Christmas is about us celebrating Jesus. Yes, Jesus. He came to save us from our brokenness- our broken families, our broken lives, even our broken hearts when our idealistic holiday picture didn’t happen the way we imagined. He came for the picture I described my family to be.

I wonder what your experiences are with the holidays. Where are you in your life? What are you looking forward to? What you are dreading?  Or you may just  want to wake up when it’s all over. I don’t know where you are, but I know where I want to be. I want to keep focused on the One the holidays exist for. I want to be a part of the holiday where I can be used by the Savior Himself to bring about change in a broken world, a broken family, my own broken life. I know that Jesus says in John 12:32, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself (ESV).”

I would encourage all of us to be focused on this verse during the holiday season. I do believe that when we live that verse out, we will actually get closer to the picture I dream about. 

Hmmm, new thought. Maybe that desire I have is actually from God. When we get to the Great Banquet in Heaven :) A promise for all those that have placed faith in the One we celebrate,  Jesus Christ.

                          Blessings, My Friends

When I’m feelin’ Some Kinda Way...

(By Lois Robinson)

I strongly dislike generalized statements like, “All women love to shop” or “All guys love sports”, “everyone” wants this or “everyone”  wants that. A  recent one  I’ve heard is “All teenage boys cuss when they are together with other teenage boys. That’s what teenagers do!” Or these little gems, “That’s a man thing because they’re stupid” or “That’s a woman thing because they’re so hormonal”. Just love when people boil down the complexities of individuals to such a small definition in order to understand how “everyone” functions. Wrong conclusions being made every time is usually the case!

Therefore, I will intentionally avoid a generalized statement here and simply say, “If you are anything like me, I have frequent times of “feeling’ some kinda way!” Sometimes its feeling frustrated out of the blue, sometimes it’s feeling hungry for the Chinese Buffet, sometimes it’s feeling angry over violations or other times its just feeling  UGH! At times my feelings are all over the place, hard to really understand what is going on.  Sometimes the anger is an appropriate response to external circumstances that are wrong and my internal response towards the violation or sin is anger. While other times my anger is strictly my own sinful heart not getting its own way. As my Pastor Nate has taught, anger is a barometer of our heart that says something needs to be dealt with. That’s a blog for a whole different day!! Remember, feelings are a gift from God but we must learn how to recognize them, process them appropriately and not avoid them. God has given them to us for a reason.  Feelings, oh they can be so powerful. I am very thankful God gave the human heart, mind and body, the ability to feel. How dangerous would it be if we couldn’t feel.  When we feel extreme heat, the normal bodily response is danger and we step away. When we feel sub zero temperatures, we normally  respond by putting on more clothing to prevent frost bite. Hopefully I have made the point regarding the importance of our body feeling sensations and responding appropriately.  Otherwise it could be very detrimental to us. For some who have lost the ability to feel, due to some diseases or traumatic accidents, they have to be very cautious and take proper measures to ensure they won’t be subject to danger. God created the human body with an awesome alert system to protect us from danger.

This brings to the next point. The beautiful gift of emotions that God has given us. They are designed to work in our favor, to be a part of our celebrations, our healing process, our warning signals from danger, our own brokeness and need for a Savior. We are so broken in this area friends and unfortunately many of us base our reality on “how we feel” and then label it as God’s leading or lack thereof because they can’t feel Go. I have sat with young girls who “feel” like they love the new boyfriend as of 3 weeks and has sex to show him. Only to end up feeling shame and guilt. Others have felt like fitting in with the peer group and made some bad decisions that get them arrested. Others compromise their values very quickly and perform sexual acts to get needs met. In the church, people operate in their feelings to the extreme of disengaging in worship because they don’t feel like it, don’t like the worship song or don’t actively engage in the celebration time because they aren’t feeling anything.

               NEWS FLASH

WORSHIP ISN’T ABOUT YOU!!!

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE GOD WHO DESERVES YOUR PRAISE

AND CAN SAVE YOU FROM YOUR SELF-FOCUSED ORIENTATION.

This is a little diddy I had as a piano lesson back in the day as a child. I thought I was all that being able to play it......OVER AND OVER!! Check out the crazy lyrics!

Feelings

Feelings ,Nothing more than feelings, Trying to forget my feelings of love 

Teardrops, Rolling down on, my face, Trying to forget my, feelings of love 

Feelings, For all my life I'll feel it, I’ll wish I've never met you, girl, You'll never come again

Feelings, Wo-o-o feelings, Wo-o-o feelings, Again in my heart,

Feelings, Feelings like I've lost you, and feelings like I've never have you, Again in my heart.

Feelings, For all my life I'll feel it, I wish I've never met you, girl, You'll never come again

Feelings, Feelings like I've lost you , And feelings like I've never have you

copyright (http://elyrics.net)

He is the God who created the entire universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th.

He is the God who parted the Red Sea and killed the Egyptians who were chasing His children the Israelites.

He is the God who parted the Jordan River in order for His children to walk into the Promised Land.

He is the God who sacrificed His only Son and raised Him from the dead in 3 days in order to Save us.

He is the God who HEALS. He is the God who PROVIDES. He is the God who REDEEMS. He is the God who COMFORTS. He is the God who is JUST. He is the God who CARES. He is the God who FORGIVES. He is  God, He is my God, He is my Savior, He is my Abba.

In spite of your feelings, .....I ask you friend....a question that Jesus asked His disciples...

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loose din heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)

Feelings are a gift but must come under the authority of Jesus Christ. Through His Spirit, we can understand what we are feeling, why we are feeling that way and how to process appropriately so the feelings we experience lead us into a closer relationship to Him and Christ-likeness.

Blessings Friends-

Watch Your Mouth!

(By Lois Robinson)

How many of you remember hearing someone say to you at some time in your life, “WATCH YOUR MOUTH!”. In my case, it was usually because I was saying something out of anger, trying to be funny or just saying something stupid because I felt like I was supposed to say something. Boy oh boy, the stupid things I have said to other people not intending any harm, but I question if I did.

This brings me to the blog for the week. I have wanted to write this one but delayed it, waiting for the right time. I actually had a completely different one started yesterday, but God laid it on my heart to keep that one for a later date and proceed with this one.

My first thought was to entitle this one, “The Stupid Things Christians Say!” but thought maybe that would be a bit too heavy handed. The intention of this blog is not to offend but to be very thought provoking and encourage you to take a deeper look at yourself and the things that come out of your mouth.

Proverbs 18:21 says this:

"Words kill, words give life;

   they’re either poison or fruit—you choose." (The Message)

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

   and those who love it will eat its fruits." (Revised Standard Version)

"The tongue has the power of life and death,

   and those who love it will eat its fruit." (New International Version)

Sometimes I get tired of writing about this journey God is allowing me to be on. It involves a great amount of suffering, to be very honest with you - physical suffering on an hourly basis that is controlled by daily medications.  The physical pain and the journey itself cause emotional suffering. I must take every thought captive and remember who my God is. He’s got me! He loves me! He is faithful and good! His plans are good for me! This journey is all apart of Him producing beautiful things in my life. Let’s face it, my life is not, and never was supposed to be, all about my comfort and happiness. It is ALL for His glory. My broken body is ALL for His glory! I have learned and grown a lot through this process, and it is far from over. There is a strong possibility that it will not be over until I see Him face-to-face, unless He chooses to do a miracle. He has before in my life, but it is completely up to Him. He knows best! :)

With all that said, here’s another thing I have learned: many people (not all) do not know what to say to me. In that, words have been very hurtful, sometimes taking me days to battle out of what someone has said in response to the disorder I have. I got to a place that I did not want to come to church because I was afraid of what well-meaning folks were going to say.  At this point, you are probably asking a few questions in your head. One may be, “What did people say to her?” The point of this blog is not to focus on what was said but for you to ask yourself about the things you may haphazardly say at times, meaning no harm. I will give you some examples from my personal journey, and other common things I hear people jokingly say, that have hurtful repercussions you may never know about.

My personal experience

• Name calling- Handicaps can go first in line! HaHa, Gimpy, Tiny Tim

• Why don’t you cut that leg off? You don’t need it! ( I never thought that I would ever be in a position where amputation was a very real option that deeply grieves me. Jokes of amputation are not funny)

• People have actually sought me out to let me know people have it a lot worse than me. In response, I kindly say, “Yes, I am aware of that.”

Jokes about Suicide

• Just shoot me now.

• I want to hang myself.

• Will somebody kill me now.

• I want to find the nearest bridge.

And the list goes on. These are not funny. Many people have loved ones that actually did do the above and are forever changed because of that. Let’s not joke about the tragic.

Mental Disorder, Mental Disabilities, Addictions, Sexual struggles

• You are retarded.

• You act like a crack head.

• You need a cheeseburger.

• What are you, bipolar?

• You’re gay, homo.

Jesus followers: this is a call to clean up our mouths and be sensitive to the very real issues that have torn others’ lives apart. My life has been forever impacted by every single issue that I mentioned above. When I hear others casually joke or use the tragic to be humorous, it offends me. I bet I’m not the only one. Please think about what you are going to say before saying it. Let’s get those filters working and remember:

"Words kill, words give life;

   they’re either poison or fruit—you choose." (The Message)

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

   and those who love it will eat its fruits." (Revised Standard Version)

"The tongue has the power of life and death,

   and those who love it will eat its fruit." (New International Version)

Proverbs 18:21

Amen and Amen!

Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!

(By Lois Robinson)

I don’t know about you, but I find myself holding onto things that I really don’t need any more. There is a show on television called “Hoarders” about this. I’m not talking about the disorder of hoarding, but I am talking about keeping things based on the assigned value you have given it, then not wanting to give it up because you might use it someday. Sound familiar?

This issue came up in me recently. Here’s the back story. About two years ago, I realized I needed a recumbent exercise bike for my home as my knee was continuing with its struggles. Since my back had then become involved, a recumbent bike was the ticket! I searched and searched Craigslist and other places.  I then searched some more. Finally, one came up for sale in Cherry Hill on Craigslist for only $75.00- right in my budget.Yay! With extreme excitement, my best friend Jessica and I took a road trip up to the owner’s residence. The bike sat in his garage. Boy was it nice! An Edge 491 with all the bells and whistles for only $75.00! You can’t beat that. I immediately said I would take it, so Jess and the man loaded into the truck and we rode home. This was going to be one of the pieces of equipment that was going to help rehab this leg and get me on my feet walking normally again!

We lugged it into our house when we arrived home and set it up in the living room so I could pedal, pedal, pedal while watching TV, which made the time go quicker. You may know what I am talking about. All I kept saying was that it was such a huge gift from God to get such a great bike for $75.00. I then began the journey of using that bike every day, praying that this new bike would be a tremendous part of getting the knee joint mobile. I rode it faithfully. The discouraging piece was that no matter how much I exercised on it, the knee would still return to the same level of stiffness two minutes after I stopped pedaling. This went on for a year.

I then had to get the next surgery because the boney scar tissue still grew no matter how much exercising I did on the bike or with stretches or weight training. The same result would occur: extreme stiffness and weakness. The surgeons said he would remove the entire scar, get the joint mobile again and then lots of bike work for the rehab. I was optimistic because I had my own bike at home now, a recumbent one at that!

Surgery day came and went. I stayed for 3 days in the hospital, strapped into a Continual Passive Motion machine on my back for all three days. Once I got home, I had to start the bike and stretches. I followed the orders because my hope was this surgery would be the last and I would walk normally again. So I rode the bike: pedaling, pedaling, pedaling.

Well, today is the day I sold my recumbent exercise bike to a lady that was in rehab for her hips. It was a battle for me to even consider selling it. As some of you know, my leg is far from healed. I have to walk with a crutch due to extreme stiffness and weakness. I will get a 3rd opinion next Wednesday, but this may be a lifelong chronic condition I have to learn to live with. As I processed what was going on inside my mind and my heart, I realized that I had in some way linked the exercise bike to my healing. In my mind, that bike meant I was going to walk again, and selling it said I was not going to walk again, that I had accepted the notion that I will not walk normally ever again. I was not ready to accept that. So holding onto the bike meant there was some form of hope. Though I have another upright one in my office, the recumbent was the one that I had such high hopes for. The journey of rehab certainly didn’t unfold the way I thought it was going to when I excitedly loaded it up that night in Cherry Hill.

As I watched the older couple leave with it today, I was thankful that the Holy Spirit allowed me to see how I had assigned such irrational value to the bike, as if it was responsible to help me walk again. Yes, it is an integral part of the rehab journey, but God and God alone is my Healer. He could choose to heal me instantaneously without any bike if He chose to. For now, He is choosing not to heal my leg that way, but He is certainly healing other aspects of me: my heart, my mind and my ability to understand what is truly valuable and what’s not.

I do hope the hip patient enjoys the bike. As for me, my rehab journey is doing well.  The leg is the same, but my heart and mind are healing well!

And Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” John 5:6 (NKJV)

(By Lois Robinson)

 Years ago, I had a friend make a wall hanging for my office that had the above words on it. They are powerful words that Jesus spoke to one man, only one, at a Pool called Bethesda in the story found in John 5:6. They are words that I never understood very well before I became a counselor.

It always confused me why Jesus only interacted with one man at this pool, a pool that the Bible says many people laid around who were lame, paralyzed, blind or suffering from some sort of brokenness. They were all waiting for the key to their healing that took place at this pool. You see, the Bible says that during a certain season an angel would come down and stir the waters. The first person that entered the pool would be made well of their diseases. On this particular day, Jesus goes over to this certain man and asks him the above question, “Do you want to be made well?”. The man goes into an explanation of why he can’t get into the water, but Jesus doesn’t get caught up in the “why he can’t” reasons. He goes to the heart of the matter. Jesus asks the guy if he wants to be made well, tells him get up and the man does! He just does what he is told to do! Let me say that again: The man does what Jesus tells him to do! He was healed. Later, as the story unfolds, we find something interesting in verse 14. The man encounters Jesus in the temple. The identity of Jesus is made known to the man, and this is what happens:

"A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.” (The Message)

Whoa! That’s pretty heavy! Interesting, huh? Here are some of my thoughts and questions this passage has evoked over the years, as well as other questions I get from quite a few people. Maybe they echo some of yours:  

1. Why did Jesus only talk to the one man?

2. The story also says later on that the man didn’t even know it was Jesus!

3. Practically speaking, this man had been an invalid for 38 years. 38 years would cause his legs to be atrophied, bones fragile, etc, and he didn’t question this guy who says, “Get up!”?

4. Does verse 14 mean that our sin issues can contribute to our diseases?

5. Does God make us sick as punishment for our sins?

6. The invalid must have believed the man who told him to get up off his mat.

I always say I get 3 kinds of people in the counseling room: 

1. The Yes People- When asked the same question Jesus asked the man, they answer a wholehearted YES! I want healing and believe Jesus can do it.

2. The I Don’t Know People- They are usually silent for a minute or so, having to weigh their answer according to what the cost will be, what the responsibility will be, how hard it is going to be and the exhaustive list goes on and on.

3. The I Don’t Deserve It People- They step into the role of God and judge themselves, using their veto power to reject the work that Jesus already did on the cross for them. The Bible says we are healed by His stripes. Amen. This group of people doesn’t understand that verse yet.

In working with folks, including myself, I think I have part of the answer for my number one question: Why did Jesus go to the one man? I think it’s because he desperately wanted to be healed, had no excuses and was willing to GET UP! He believed he could be healed, and he wanted to be healed. Plus, he was willing to do the hard work of walking out that healing without excuse. What is Jesus telling you to do regarding your brokenness??

As far as the other questions go, a big resounding Yes to the question #4. Our sin issues can perpetuate our diseases. We can be lazy about doing exercise, eating right and establishing good sleep patterns in order to help in our healing process. On the other hand, a big resounding NO to question #5. God does not punish us with sickness. All of the punishment we deserved for our sins was put onto Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and came back from the dead on the third day, so we too can have eternal life with Him when we say YES to Jesus! That is the good news, folks!

The big point I want to end with is this. It is absolutely, absolutely imperative that you believe Jesus can and desires to heal you. Jesus heals in many ways, three of which I have listed:

1. Instantaneously

2. In a process

3. When we see Him face to face.

I pray for the grace to accept His answer to my healing. I am always wanting an instantaneous healing and will do my part in the process of healing, but will still praise Him if it won’t be until Glory. In Scripture, I find Jesus asking people all the time, “Do you believe?” They respond ‘Yes, I believe,” and then He says, “Your faith has made you well.” Folks, there is something very important about believing Jesus can do it! He can BREAK EVERY CHAIN! Check out this video: Tasha Cobbs ; Break Every Chain. Worship with it; watch the expressions of worship in the video. Ask yourself, “Do I believe that Jesus can really break every chain off my life?”. I would encourage you to check out John 5 for yourselves. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants you to understand in the passage.

Be blessed friends.