When God asks us to do crazy things...

I don't usually relay testimonies that are beyond 3 degrees of separation because then it starts getting into Urban Legend territory...But this was cool...It is just a really good example of the absolute wildness of God! He'll do sooo much to make Himself real to us! if we'll just ask!

My friend's sister was at church and there was a guest speaker who was delivering prophetic words (like calling out illnesses and situations he was receiving from God and having people come up for prayer regarding those things). A woman from the audience came up to him during the service and said that that God had given her a word. She didn't know why, but she needed to borrow the stage for something. The leaders from the church assured the speaker that this lady was pretty accurate when she got words of knowledge and to let her. He stepped aside and this woman - wearing a dress, mind you, turned a cartwheel right across the stage...A man in the balcony stood up with his hands in the air all in the Spirit. It turns out that this guy was extremely skeptical about the whole words of knowledge thing and had said to God "I'm not buying this unless someone turns a cartwheel up there."

HA!

If you sense God asking you to do something bizarre - consider this story! It might be for someone's benefit and encouragement! :)

Finding the Radical Middle

The Lakeland Revival has made the mainstream news. The following article is one from MSNBC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24524742/

For what it's worth here are are my musings on the article:

Bob Gomeringer, a Lakeland retiree, works part time parking cars at Lakeland Center events and finds the services unsettling. He hears loud music – "the same song being played over and over and over again" – coming out from the arena.

I'm kinda with him on this. I like some repetition in songs - "Let it rain" and "Open the eyes of my heart" are fab but when it goes on and on and starts to get into a frenzied feel it starts to get on my nerves. I think of old brainwashing techniques I read about psychology classes.

He watches ministry workers carry in buckets "to rake in all the money" during offerings.

And secular events like concerts and sports don't "rake in money"? Why is it that people are always suspitious of Christian organizations bringing in money? While I'm not about Christians gouging people or charging ridiculous prices for events, the reality is that they do need money just like any other organization. If you took away all the souveniers and programs and T-shirts, etc people pay for at secular events and just collected the cash I am sure you'd also have bucketsful.

What concerns Gomeringer most are the young people, many of whom appear to be in a "trancelike state" when they come out of the arena, he said.
"They just don't look or act right," he said. Monday night, he found a young person lying on the ground. Gomeringer was ready to call an ambulance when the prostrate man's friend stopped him. "He told me that his friend was fine, and that he was just full of the Holy Spirit," Gomeringer said. "And if I wanted some of that power, to get inside and get some of it myself. No, thank you. This isn't the kind of spirit that I'm interested in."

I'm on the fence here. I want to know what he means by a trance-like state. Someone who is processing a heavy dose of the Holy Spirit might well look a little weirded out or spacey. Without talking to the person to know what's happening in their "trance" I have to withhold judgment.

The guy laying out doesn't bother me. I've never seen someone who was down in the spirit need medical attention. It's funny to think that if Gomering saw someone who was passed out drunk from booze he'd probably not think anything of it. Booze makes you sick, Holy Spirit makes you healthy! :)

Gomeringer has attended Methodist churches for more than 50 years and said what's happening in Lakeland is quite different from the Christian faith he's known throughout his life. "It's not prayerful or private. This is extremism," Gomeringer said.

I wonder if he knows tha the founder of his denomination - John Wesley - used to have revival meetings in which peculiar things happened under influence of the Holy Spirit? The thing is that eventually those revival meetings got quenched in the 'standardization' of the methodist doctorine. This happens to almost all the healthy movements that have come along. Excitement abounds and then it becomes rote and 'safe'.

Michael said he felt a deep sorrow Friday night when he didn't immediately feel full of the spirit after Bentley touched him. "It was absolute grief," he said, comparing it to the loss of a loved one. By the end of the weekend, though, with the help of praying multitudes and a well-placed slap from one of Bentley's co-ministers, Michael Serine found the "anointing" he was seeking, he said.

I hope that someone in Michael's family explains that it is God and not the signs and wonders that we should have at the centerpiece of our faith. Jesus admonished his discples when they came to him all geeked out about the fact that demons fled from them in His name that they're joy should be in the fact that they have a place in Heaven. I can understand his disappointment when he didn't get blasted right away, but having that much grief over it kinda gives me pause.

It's just plain scary," she said. "They're getting hyped up and spaced out. They're being influenced all right, but in my opinion, it's all in the wrong way." She doesn't think that "something of God" would look like this.

I don't guess she's read the book of Acts? Our God is not tame.

That said, Paul did caution the believers to tone down the antics if it would cause others to stumble or if the gifts were not rooted in love.

"The Bible tells us that the anti-Christ will be coming in the final days," she said. "That's why we have to be careful. If this man is really into healing, why can't he just go to Children's Hospital? A lot of kids need help there."

Fair question. We do have to be careful. I asked God about this. I got an image of a camp fire. At the center it's extremely hot....Intense. From that warmth emulates to the people in its proximity. God has chosen people like Todd Bentley to be the firestarters. The heat moves outward and ignites others who can carry it to other places, like the hospitals. Todd can't do it all...No one person can do it all. We have to work together...So my question for this lady is "why aren't YOU going to the hospitals and praying for the kids? You are just as capable as Todd Bentley of doing what Jesus did. He would be the first person to tell her that.

"I've done my due diligence," Goll said by telephone Wednesday, noting his 34 years in ministry. "I've got an excitable, demonstrative side when I see the Holy Spirit in action. But I also have a scholarly side, and I've investigated many movements."

I like this dude. He's balanced.

Goll said this revival has the three elements that could keep it a sustained movement: It has the fruit of the spirit, which emphasizes character. It has the gifts of the spirit, which deal with revelation and power. And it has the wisdom of understanding how everything can cooperate."Usually wisdom is the lacking ingredient," he said. "That's the difference between something that's a flash in the pan, or here today and gone tomorrow. This seems to have all three strands needed to keep it strong and sustained."

The Radical Middle...That's where it's at...Somewhere between the Craziness and the Wisdom revealed in Scripture.

Journey on Pilgrims! Enjoy the fire and stay the course!

My Father's Heart...

OK, I know I seem to be harping on the wrath issue lately...I ask for grace. Since I am "detoxing" as Melanie so aptly described it, I have to have a place to put all of this processing...My blog is a great place! You lucky readers!

I was talking to a dear friend of mine this week and she made a comment that at first I wanted to agree with and then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have absolutely no interest in agreeing with it. She said she loves to read the stories in the Old Testament of God's wrath...When he takes out a village, she says happily - "Yeah, that's my dad!"

Now, I understand where she is coming from - we do have a big, strong daddy who is just and righteous who takes out evil...But I just can't be down with gloating when people went against God's plan so many times that he saw it better to destroy them than to let them continue on. I don't believe God takes pleasure in that...I think it breaks his heart. God forgive me if I ever smile at the destruction of anyone. It clearly states in Scripture that we are to desire for the destruction of evil - the spiritual rulers of this world - NOT people. People are meant to be God's joy. If God shared with us what his heart felt like any time evil led to the death of even a single person, I don't think we'd be able to bear it. Multiply that by the population of a village and it's unfathomable.

We're doing a study on the book of Luke at church. Tim challenged us to make sure that we truly know, deep down in our hearts that God loves us. Individually, not collectively...That means I have to truly be able to say that I believe with everything in me that my Father God loves ME, Helen Ann Luther Betz with everything in Him. And to trust that he works for my good in all things.

As I wrestle with that I realize it is only from that place that I believe I can properly see the old testament wrath stories in the way they are meant to be seen: Tragedies, not triumphs.
On the surface, I want to cheer when the Egyptian army is swallowed up in the red sea. But if I go deeper I realize that God knew and loved each one of those people in that army. It was never his desire for them to be on the other end of his will. That was not pleasurable for God. But it was necessary for the redemptive plan he had set into motion. God never stopped loving his creation - even when it went awry.

That brings me to another good point that Tim made: It is God's self-sacrificing love that humbles...Not his wrath. It took me a minute to wrap my mind around that...Then it clicked...See, your basic evil spirit can bring destruction. I am more disturbed by that than I am humbled. But when I think that God gave Jesus to be slaughtered so my sorry ass could be free, just because he loved me that much, I am humbled.

I mean really - who am I that He is mindful of me?

Repent! The lake of fire awaits!

In the past week, the Holy Spirit has been showing me things that have contributed to my spiritual struggles with fear. I believe He is doing it so I can continue to deal with these things and be free from them. Last night I got wrecked at the prayer meeting and got rid of some more of it - including the "spirit of religion"...Below is a good example of some religious propaganda that I internalized as a kid...

This is from one of the tracts that they used to have at the church I grew up in. These things gave me nightmares. All of the tracts had images similar to this and the point was to scare the sh-- out of you so you'd repent.

(italicized comments are mine :) )...

Bad dude dies and judgment day comes:

He visits the faceless, impersonal, wrathful God...



Angel takes bad dude on a review of his life and we see all the bad things he did, like being mean to someone, giving a lady the once over, smoking and drinking. Then they return to God for the verdict:

Bad dude wakes up from his nightmare and of course, repents right on the spot (who the heck wouldn't??) and then asks what he should do next to escape the lake of fire:


Awww, a happy ending! Bad dude becomes good dude and even better becomes well-known as a "fine Christian" in the community from then on (because we all know the goal is to make our friends and co-workers recognize that we are righteous!).

So for the rest of you heathens, if you don't want to end up like the bad dude in our story, then here is how you appease the wrath of God and a few simple rules to follow:

I could comment on this to death but I won't...

I no longer wonder why I spent so many years in quiet terror of my Father God.

Thank you, Jesus and my friends who prayed with me last night while I sobbed out more of the fear.

Sozo

Sozo is a greek word that appears 110 times in the New Testament. It means "to save or make well or whole". As part of the prayer and healing ministry at church a group of us are studying a ministry called Sozo that began in California at Bethel Church. The training provides tools (not rules) with which we can more effectively assist a person to the feet of Jesus so that He can minister to them. It is not therapy or advice. It simply allows facilitates connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Yesterday we were given our first opportunity to minister. A wonderful gentleman I will call James was a sport enough to allowing this gaggle of Sozo newbies to sit with him and see what God would do. As a war veteran he struggled with a lot of issues that he has tried to deal with in various ways over the years including counseling and therapy. Still, he had lingering problems and feelings he dealt with day in and day out. He said he was tired.

Without divulging too much, in 30 minutes the Holy Spirit gave this man the only thing he has wanted in all the years since the war: A sense of peace in his spirit. He forgave himself for the things he did that bothered him. God told him that he was not a monster and never had been. He reminded James of things he'd seen in the war that showed God's presence and mercy. He also brought to his mind peaceful things that he used to enjoy as a child that he had long forgotten about. He exchanged lies for the truth and James walked out of that meeting a renewed spirit with a new relationship with Jesus who showed him that He always has his back. James said "peace...that's all I have wanted all this time...And now I have it." His face seemed to look brighter and his demeanor seemed 'lighter' as we walked with him out of the session...

Our God is so good! Bring us more, Lord!!!

Peedway winner!

All of the entries were fun to read! :) Thanks all!

First place goes to Dan Thoms:

If you love gas station bathrooms than you'll love our store.

Thanks, Dan!

Honorable mentions:

Cynthia Jane: "We are out of Speed, but Heroine is on sale in Aisle 6...Thanks for shopping at Peedway."

Steve Nixon: "I drank too much water and peedway too much"

Carol Whetstone: "Your too busy to stop! So get a catheter and pee away in your own bag today!"

Triggered.... a rant.

Disclaimer: The following is a discussion of teachings that I take issue with and in no way implies that I am judging the people behind them who are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I went to a revival last night...And it WAS a revival - it revived all sorts of bad stuff inside of me. It went from great music and expressive worship to a little visit to my past. Yipeee. My friends told me that some cool stuff did happen later on in the service but I had since left.

Here is the low down in Reader's Digest form:

I was doing great until the preaching turned into a holiness teaching that included things like this, "Tell Him you won't be secular anymore!" "Tell him you'll do what he says" "Tell him you'll obey"..."We want revival! We want to get our fire back!" On the overhead it said "Fire comes through obedience"... Read between the lines here: IF you obey, you'll get that revival, If you are good God will bless you. IF you are obedient you'll experience the fire of the Holy Spirit.

IF IF IF. Talk about setting people up for failure. If I have to walk in perfect obedience to get revived I am screwed.

At that point I zoned out because old tapes of "you better do better if you want God to be happy with you" were triggered. I could no longer focus on God because I was running interference in my spirit. I found a quiet room near the sanctuary to try to journal with God and get His input but I sensed that I needed to leave. I wanted to stay with my friends and hope it got better but God sent me home. Over the night He reminded me of the things He has spent years weaving into my soul and that have brought freedom to me:

- Grace is not conditional and it is free.

- Holiness is a by-product of walking with Jesus and yielding to His Spirit.

- Obedience is not "being good so that your heart is worthy of God." It is the give God your heart and the "being good" will follow.

- The Holy Spirit can bring His passion on anyone He wants to, whenever He wants to. I could be Mother Teresa and He may decide that the man down the street who drinks too much will get a measure.

-God loves the stuffings out of me even if I don't measure up (I never will!).

-He gives gifts based on HIS wisdom not mine.

A friend recently said people already know what is wrong with them - they need to know what is RIGHT with them.

That's a good word right there. :) :)

I would never measure up at this church...I screw up way more often than I am Holy. This isn't to say that making better choices and honoring God with your behavior are not wonderful, I just take issue with it being construed as the way to earning his favor.

Thankfully I am in a place where the overriding message is that LOVE (not merit) WINS.

Thank you, Jesus!

This needs a caption...

Thought?

Winner gets their caption posted in a new blog with credit and everything! :)

Deadline

I have 4 weeks to finish my screenplay that was conceived over 20 years ago. It has gone through a lot of changes but the core story has remained the same since almost the beginning. The very first idea was really stupid but the 2 main characters were born there and have remained...Their story has unfolded in my brain as the years have gone on and it has been a fun, sometimes frustrating ride.

It will be good to finish... But it will be hard because these characters are so close to me. It will be hard to let them go. In the last year since I turned the story over to God He has brought in some cool elements that I hope will make it a story that will reach people who are hurting and struggling. Maybe God will use it to teach about His patience and also put skin on the words "God works everything together for good for those who love Him."

I'll also miss that this screenplay has provided some intriguing weirdness. :) Situations and themes that I have written about have happened in my life (or those in close proximity) just after I have written them or sometimes years after. Nothing earth shattering, but head-scratching nonetheless...For an example, see "Holy Coincidence, Batman!"
(that will also explain the above cover art... :) )...

In some ways parts of the story may offend Christians due to language and "adult themes". When I considered "cleaning it up" everything in me rebelled. These are meant to be real people with real problems and real personalities. If you've seen the cleaned up version of "The Breakfast Club" you might know what I am talking about...John Bender reveals in one profanity-laced but heartbreaking monologue what it's like to live at his house. In the uncut version it goes like this:

(if you are under 18 please have parental permission to read this! :) )...

John: (impersonating his father): Stupid, worthless, no-good, god damn, freeloadin' son of a bitch. Retarded big-mouth, know it all asshole jerk (becoming his mother) You forgot ugly, lazy, and disrespectful (John mimes his dad backhanding his mother) Shut up, bitch, go fix me a turkey pot pie...What about you dad? Fuck you. No, dad, what about you? Fuck you!! No dad, what about you?! FUCK YOU! (this ends with John mimicking his dad hitting him).

In the editied version it goes something like this:

Stupid, worthless, no good, gall-darn freeloading son of a wench. Retarded, big mouth know it all (silence) hole jerk....What about you dad? Foul you...No dad, what about you? FOUL YOU!

Foul you?? Who says foul you?

I guess my point is that the truth is sometimes in the ugliness. Life is offensive. We don't live in a rated G bubble in real life. Just read the Bible. So I left in parts that might make my mom squirm (sorry, mommy!). It's not David Mamet by any stretch, but it isn't Hallmark either. Maybe Michael Landon meets Anne Lammot??

Who knows...It's in God's hands...I am just grateful that he is letting me be a part of it!