Diagnosis Code 911: BUSZERKITI

(By Lois Robinson)

 Description- A tendency to stay very BUSY that can lead to a disorder called
GOING BERSERK

I was driving to work one morning this week, stopped at a red light and thought, ”Hmmm, busy and berserk start the same. That’s interesting!” That is how my brain tends to work. Think I will write a blog about that.

So, I get to the office. I then reflect on statements that I hear from the majority of the many people I chat with....

“It’s been such a BUSY week”
“ Our kids are so BUSY”
“We are too BUSY to go to TFL classes”
“We were too BUSY to get to worship this week”
“We are too BUSY to pray together”
“I am too BUSY to spend time with God”
“I’m too BUSY to come to counseling”
“We are too BUSY to invest in our marriage”
“I am so BUSY at work”
“I have to stay BUSY because I can’t stand down time”
“BUSY is my middle name!”
“There is not enough time in the day because I am soooo BUSY”
“I am too BUSY to eat right”

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!!!

My friends:) These are the statements that people truly believe but the truth is:

B  - BEING

U  - UNDER

S   - SATAN’S

Y   - YOKE

Often BUSYNESS is a tool of the enemy that pulls us away from our Savior and feeds the false gospel of saving ourselves.

There is no way any of us can hear God’s still small voice in BUSYNESS.

I used to buy into the American cultural belief system that staying BUSY meant that you were an active, contributing member of society that would be a successful, prestigious person who would have a great big house and blinged out car, get married and have a bunch of kids. That was success!  That was fulfilling the American Dream, right? I went BERSERK!! I really did. I began to feel empty, working many jobs at one point in my life to pay bills, and seek relationships as medication. The next chapter: I entered COUNSELING!!! I began to seriously seek God’s plan for my life. At this point, I live in a wonderful little house, drive a car that works, I am not married and have no children. I love my life!!! Because it is the life God has called me to. I would have been miserable if I continued to strive and pursue what my then friends, family and work said I was supposed to be and look like.

This is a lie my friends. It leads to a lifestyle that felt like I was going BERSERK! Have you ever felt that way, or was it just me??

I would encourage you to not let the “calendar monster,” as I call it, fill up with BUSYNESS. Set those boundaries. Say ‘Yes’ to life-giving things that lead you to Jesus and ‘No’ to those things He is NOT calling you to- even taking roles in the church ministries!

He has made you special, unique and one-of-a-kind. You have a unique design on your life and a purpose to live out. It is your responsibility to protect those gifts and talents that He has given you :)

Learning to say Yes and learning to say No prevents BUSZERKITIS. It is a painful disorder and I encourage you to take steps to avoid it!

A statistical glimpse of Nate and Sharon’s Trip to Russia and Ukraine

Number of days away from Vineland: 18

Number of countries visited: 2 (Russia and Ukraine)

Number of cities visited: 3 (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol)

Minimum number of hours worked per day: 13

Number of CMA workers we met with personally: 24 adults and 22 kids

Number of nights slept in a different bed than the previous night: 13

Miles traveled between major cities: 12,010 miles 

Modes of travel: 7 (walk, taxi, mini-bus, airplane, train, subway, cars)

Number of group teaching/sharing sessions: 11

Number of odd foods tasted: (ask us if you want to know)

Number of Russian words learned (kind of...it I a really hard language): 18

Number of times we fell: 2 (Sharon in the airport, and Nate on an elderly lady in the subway)

We are so thankful that our church supported us for a second year in this trip as the pastoral care couple for our CMA workers here in Russia and Ukraine. God deeply touched our hearts as we got an up-close view of their lives, families, and ministries. We were in almost every worker’s home. We ate with them, played with their kids; we walked with them in their neighborhoods, and rode in their subways. Time after time we heard powerful stories of how God has called them and given them grace to give their lives to be light in a very dark area of the world.  Moscow alone has 15 million people, 2 million are Central Asians. Few know Jesus. Life here is not easy for them or their children, but they faithfully give themselves to learning the language, adapting to the culture, and intentionally building relationships with people in order to share the Gospel of Jesus.

We cried as we held one final meeting with the Moscow team. We thanked them for their gift of opening their hearts to us.  They wanted to make sure we expressed how grateful they are that we took the time to know them personally and to listen to the burdens they carry in their role here.  They asked us to thank our church for sending us and supporting our partnership through prayer and your gifts.  

Living Faith Alliance Church, please know that your lives and partnership with North and Central Asia are making a difference!

NCA Worker's Blog: "They Are Always Watching"

Check out an NCA worker's blog: My 2 Rubles' Worth. It's a good reminder of why we do things like the Parent Summit.  

Loving Sheep

 (By Thor Knutstad)

Christian man, Christian woman, do you radically risk entry into the journeys of others? Do you walk with people, the sheep of God's Pasture? You see, it is more than listening, asking questions, spending time with, and providing the opinion of counsel. Do you help them imagine God's Dream for them? Do you speak hope, vision, and a future beyond the context of their current struggle? Do you have a wise "heart aim" in their world? Do you know how to love a sheep? Yes - we warn profusely. We beckon with practical wisdom. We admonish with advice. But there's more to it than that. Much more.

If you're willing to touch the dirt and the dirty details of someone else's life, you will get dirty - but do you take that dirt and fashion it like clay? Do you love that person with fascination for God's creation on them and speak with creative imagination into their very hearts? Do you awaken the heart for sunrises and horizon moments? Do you speak TO them and not AT them? Hmmm. Rereading that last full sentence would do us all some good.

As you address the burdens of another's very soul, you will either heavy or lighten that same load. When you lighten the load, you bring clarity of vision to God's calling. You evoke their own imagination. You have loved well. You have cared for a soul. You have saved one sheep. You have been like The Shepherd - and joy abounds --- in you, in that person, in Even The Shepherd Himself. Praise Him.

Thinking About Leaving the Church?

(By Diego Cuartas) 

The thought of leaving the church, the local body of believers, is probably one of those thoughts that every believer has wrestled with at some point and I suspect more often than not.

In recent weeks I have been drawn to this subject, given that in church ministry this is an ongoing reality to be dealt with. A word picture that best describes this dynamic is the word wave. At one point the wave is low, and then it comes in stronger. As I reflect on this interesting dynamic, I see that this may be one of the most common threats the church of God is experiencing in our day. In some ways, the dynamic seems ironic. How is it that the people, who have been rescued from their own ways, reconciled with Christ and baptized into the one body, find it easy to practice not the “leaving and cleaving” but rather “cleaving and leaving”? I realize I am using a phrase that points to covenant relationship between a man and a woman as prescribed by God in the book of Genesis. However, the relationship between believers is nothing less than based on the greatest form of covenant ever- a people betrothed through the covenant blood of Jesus.

Should we never find reasons to wisely consider leaving our fellowship within a local body and join another? I do believe there are clear provisions made to discern if this should even be considered. Biblically speaking, we are given instructions on how to approach conflict with other believers (Mt.18), how to approach elders against whom you may have an accusation or a charge (1 Tim. 5:19-20), how to regard spiritual authority over us (Heb.13:17) and when to question their standards (1 Pet. 5:3, 1 Tim. 3:1-3). Furthermore, we are instructed to consider “overlooking” certain faults (Prov. 12:16) or even apply our love in a way that it “covers multitude” of sins (1 Pet. 4:8).

What I want to discourage in our common day is a low view of the Body of Christ, which is reflected in the way some deal with personal conflict or disappointment. The reality is that though we are the people of God, the presence of sin is still an obvious characteristic of those who have fallen short of His glory. So when we participate in the life and service of a local body, we need to bring or recover a mentality of “leaving and cleaving”. What that means is that having cleared up the way behind us, we now use our strength to cleave unto this group of people, the community of faith with whom God has blessed us for good! We participate in a way in which we seek the “common good” by fostering the life of Christ in others and bringing to the table what Christ has invested in us (1 Cor. 12).

Ready for this? I am a pastor, and in the years I have served I have been bombarded with innumerable thoughts that seek to justify quitting the local body. So you are not alone if you have or are struggling with thoughts of this nature. What I have learned are simple lessons that I hope may offer you perspective. I have learned that it is important to bring to God my disappointments and to ask Him to shepherd me through those. I have found it helpful to share what I am thinking with someone mature in whom I can confide. Often times when I let the thoughts “fester” in my mind, they gain too much influence over me. The more I stay just with me and my thoughts, the more I become subjective and more distorted in my thinking. Considering the Word of God is essential to keeping our hearts walking in the integrity of His will and the process that is driving us to a specific action. Recently, through another pastor, I learned that sometimes I need to fight (because I am being attacked in the spiritual realm) and sometimes the issue is that I need to grow up (because I am immature).

Here is my last appeal to you. The clearest evidence to the world that we are the disciples we claim to be, happens when we “love each other” in real time and life (Jn. 13:35). I believe the present wave of people leaving the church does not add to this testimony, but, on the contrary, in most cases it takes away from it.

Thinking about leaving the church? Think again, but do it biblically and wisely. The matter you are facing may reveal that you need to grow up or fight a spiritual enemy or perhaps leave.

You are NOT alone! Top 10 Words of Wisdom from CCEF Conference

Sherry Engel

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Christian Counseling Education Foundation conference in Frisco, Texas.  It was an uplifting experience, with great insights into relationships with each other and with our triune God.  I thought I’d share my top ten pieces of wisdom gained.  You can find more info on these great sessions as well at www.CCEF.org. 

1. God is intentional with His relationships.  He sought you. ~ David Powilson

• When you feel alone, what can you do to recall the intentional, pursuing love that God has for you?

2. All relationships, and each interaction within that relationship, are intentional.  You are either building bridges or walls. ~ David Powilson

• Take one person, think about your interactions with them.  What are you doing to build bridges or walls?

3. Jesus keeps us warm because this world is cold.  ~Elyse Fitzpatrick

4. Dating is a mutual ministry, mutual delight.  ~ Alasdair Groves

• Are you and the person you are dating pointing each other to Christ? Helping each other grow spiritually?

5. The role of a friend is to help you renarrate your life in the light of Jesus Christ. ~ Mike Emlet

• How intentional are you with your friendships?  Do you know people well enough to do this?

6. Definition of compassion:  Being moved by the hardships of another.  Truly bearing the other person’s burden.  Compassion breaks through isolation.  Jesus enters into our hardships.  He is moved.  He acts. ~ Ed Welch

• How are you showing compassion to those closest to you?

7. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just represent the power of Christ, but the very Presence of Christ.  You are NOT alone. ~ Winston T Smith

• Can you think of one verse that demonstrates Jesus’ presence with us through the Holy Spirit?

8. God  creates.  The world corrupts.  We must build bridges with our children to help them interpret life in Godly ways.  We must pursue our children and be intentional in our discussions. ~ Julie Lowe

• What barriers do you find in building these bridges with your children?

9. With false peace, comes bad fruit.  Conflict is necessary.  Jesus uses it. ~ Cecelia Bernhardt

• What are you avoiding that is leading to bad fruit?

10. Marriage without friendship is the worst isolation.  Church without friendship is the worst isolation.  A friend is present and open his heart and mind to you. ~ Ed Welch

• Are you present in your friendships? Do you have an open heart and mind?  Are you intentionally seeking others?

Hey Look Out!

(By Tammy Vaughn) 

I was attending a picnic earlier this summer.  I was walking along a path and a friend was following behind me. We were carrying our stuff to a picnic table. Our hands were full and the load was heavy. She was walking in front of me and I was following behind her. She saw a huge hole in the ground and brought it to my attention.  She was alerting me so that I could change where I was walking since I was heading into a place of danger. I quickly changed direction; I listened to her and moved away from the hole and walked on solid ground. Had she not alerted me to the hole, I would have walked right into it. If I had fallen into this hole, I could have hurt myself severely. I could have fallen down, twisted my ankle, wrecked my knee or gotten other injuries, not to mention the embarrassment I was spared. I was grateful she told me and even more grateful that I listened.

I thought to myself, this is how Christian friendship and accountability should be. It’s like Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two People are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do. Suppose someone falls down. Then his friend can help him up. But suppose the man who falls down doesn’t have anyone to help him up. Then feel sorry for him!” (NIRV)

It is helpful as Christians when we are able to see things that could be pitfalls in the lives of our Christian friends. Before I move on, I am not saying we should go around and alert everybody of potential pitfalls.  I am talking about when you have earned the right to speak into someone’s life or feel God is directing you to speak to a person about these pitfalls. 

It is very helpful when a friend looks out for you spiritually and warns you of possible danger.  It is a humbling experience to be the one bringing the warning as well as the one being warned. It takes great courage to be both.  It also takes great courage to follow a warning. When we choose to follow direction it can be life-changing. 

As I have reflected back to times in my life that I have followed warnings my friends have given me, I often see that I avoided being easily entangled and engulfed in behavior and thoughts that do not line up with Christ and his word.  When I have been the person warning, it can be humbling and uncomfortable. “God, you want me to say what?”  Often times, friends have come back and expressed thanks.  There have been times when I have been warned and do not see the potential danger myself, but due to the trust that I have with the person and with the Holy Spirit that leads them, I follow the advice.  I will never know the amount of snags that have been adverted by humbly following a warning.

In closing, it is important to saturate yourself in the Word of God daily and be led by His Holy Spirit. Measure everything people speak into your life through the filter of God’s Word.  Having said that, it is also important and life-changing to live in an attitude of humility where we are open to the warnings of other Christians.  Humbly following a warning can help us as Christians stay out of unnecessary trouble and sin.  Humbly warning others can also help them stay out of pitfalls and sin.  This could potentially save everybody a lot of time, embarrassment, spiritual and even physical harm. 

Where in your life has God used someone else to warn you of an area of sin in your life?  When has God wanted to use you to bring a warning to someone else? 

Putting the 4 Handles Into Practice

Sarah Howard

Have any of you tried to work all this Gospel Thinking stuff out in a real life arena yet? It’s life-changing stuff! But it’s also really hard-to-work-through stuff. I’ve been wrestling with what it looks like to let the Gospel into my thoughts and emotions in the area of my friendships. I’ve found that relationships and being ‘wanted’ are a huge part of how I define myself, where I find my identity. I’ve also found that there’s A LOT of ‘False Gospel Thinking’ going on in this head of mine when it comes to friendships, what people think of me, and where I choose to find my value.

For example, take this past sermon about God’s Hesed. Hesed is God’s eternal, loving devotion towards His people to always do good to them. That’s not really the schema that I have in my head when I wake up in the morning. I tend to more follow the ‘False Gospel Thinking’ pattern of thinking:

• ‘Who am I? Who is God?’: My answer usually is that I’m a person who’s insecure in and unsure of my worth.

• ‘What’s wrong with my world?’: I usually feel that I live in a competitive world where it feels like people are valued and wanted based on their performance, and I really feel like I need people’s approval to be ok with myself. 

• ‘What need to be done to fix my world?’: I need to perform well enough: I need to dress in style, portray a sense of security and confidence in myself, have a beautiful house, be funny, parent my children the way everyone else does, be skinny, and on and on and on. 

• ‘What will my world look like when it’s all ‘right?’’: My desire is that I’ll be loved and wanted and basically worshipped by all people. 

Pretty sick, right? In the end, I want the world to revolved around me. But Gospel Thinking is so opposite of how I naturally tend to think. My Creation Story (the answer to ‘Who is God? Who am I?’) when I’m tuned into the Gospel doesn’t start with me and leave God out of the picture anymore. It starts with God: it’s that I’m loved by Him. Loved deeply. Loved eternally. That He’s devoted to lovingly doing good to me. So guess what that ‘doing good’ translates into? I’m wanted. I’m seen. I’m known. I’m approved of. I’m treated by God the way Jesus deserves to be treated: as the precious and beloved only child of God. 

When that first question, the Creation Story question, is answered in the context of the Gospel and God’s Hesed, all the other questions that follow (what’s wrong with my world, what’s the fix, what will it look like when it’s right) are going to be answered completely differently, due to the shift in my Creation Story. I haven’t really figured out yet what that looks like, but I do know one thing: His love is settling and life-altering. When the Gospel starts to infiltrate my thinking and my believing, my whole world and mission in life are radically altered. The end result isn’t that I’m pushing to be worshipped anymore. Instead it’s that God will be worshipped. 

Anyways, that’s one way I’ve tried to process all of this. How about you? Have you tried working out these handles for ‘Gospel Thinking’ in any of your own real life areas?

Physical Therapy or Patiently Trusting

 (By Lois Robinson)

The 2 questions I am constantly asked are “How’s your knee doing?” and “How’s your summer going?” I appreciate people asking me and taking an interest in my life! In answering those questions, it has led me to realize that both the knee and summer fun are closely linked together and serve as huge frustrations for me. The life that I once knew of working hard Monday through Thursday and then resting, worshiping and playing Friday through Sunday, has dramatically changed. Life is now consumed with a battle of the mind, body and spirit as I daily walk through physical therapy, heating pads, ice packs when needed, special chairs to sit in to control back/neck spasms, what trips away can look like with so many limitations, CPM machine and waking up 5-6 times per night trying to get comfortable. In addition to the above, I need to monitor medications to keep it all under control as well. It really works on my brain, heart and life perspective. UGH!!

How’s my summer going? My answer is usually a short one: “Well, nothing really changes for me during the summer except the weather.” Short and sweet :)

Where is God in all of this? Why is He allowing this to be such an extended trial? What am I supposed to be learning? Am I doing something wrong? Not enough exercises? Too many exercises? Wrong set of doctors? Am I getting addicted to these medications? What if I stay this way the rest of my life? ‘Oh Abba, Save Me!” This is my daily battle of the mind and heart. It is no easy task to wrestle for truth in all of this.

I have recognized and am reminded frequently that God is all over this situation! Where, you may ask? Let me try and explain the best that I can.

When this “slight sprain of the knee” occurred 3 years ago, I was told that I needed surgery. I was shocked. At that moment I knew I needed the prayer warriors to start praying. SURGERY?! I thought this was a sprain! LFA had a healing service shortly after and asked me to pray for people. I knew I needed prayer before I prayed over anyone else. I had nothing to give. I felt led to go to one of my pastors for prayer. He began to pray for me, laying his hands on my head. I began to feel a heat pour down over my head and through my body. This, I have come to understand, is the manifestation of the Spirit of God. God reminded me at that point that He was in control of everything. Since then, I have undergone 3 surgeries, all resulting in high levels of pain, confusion and physical therapy. Life has drastically changed for me, but I have never forgotten that moment when God reminded me of His presence and sovereignty.

I see God teaching me how to be Jesus in the physical therapy office and teaching me that I am only experiencing a taste of what others with lifetime challenges face. How pain and suffering easily causes one to go into isolation, depression, feeling all alone in the battle. Teaching me how HUGE it is to be and live in community. Teaching me to fight for Truth. Teaching me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Teaching my heart how to have more compassion for those with long term struggles with pain and suffering. Teaching me to trust Him in all things! Ultimately, the most valuable lesson has been that He is showing my heart a closer look at sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

Could this season of suffering, confusion and pain be a valuable part of the principle of working my salvation out with fear and trembling? I think so. This moves me into a place of gratitude and humility rather than arrogance and impatience. It postures my heart toward a loving God rather than an invisible God that has forgotten me.

I wonder what it is that you suffer with. Suffering is universal. However, our perspectives on suffering tend to differ. Everyone has a choice in how they view the suffering and how they respond in the suffering. Some tend to blame God, some ignore it, some worship it and some view it as a transformation season that pushes us into the arms of Jesus in order to know His heart more. What do you tend to do? Do you blame God, ignore it, worship it or view it as part of your transformation process?

I would encourage you to take a couple of next steps. Check out Isaiah 46:4 and take a deeper look at the places you experience suffering. A movie that had a huge impact on me was “The Passion of the Christ.” It depicted how Jesus our King responded to suffering. Particularly in the last part of the movie, He trusted and lived out His purpose and worshiped His Abba.