FROM SIFTING TO SHIFTING

Written
October 16, 2008

Luke 22:31-32 (New King James Version)
And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

Sift - 1 a: to put through a sieve b: to separate or separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve2: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable
That word "sift" is interesting. It implies the use of a sieve. After the harvest was brought to the threshing floor, the farmers had to separate the wheat from the chaff, or foreign matter. Part of the procedure involved a process known as sifting. The farmer put the wheat or corn into a sieve. By means of a shaking process, the smaller objects – the kernels of wheat, for instance – were worked to the bottom of the sieve and fell through the mesh onto a prepared place on the ground. From here the cleaned wheat was collected into containers, while the chaff and other rubbish still in the sieve was discarded. Essential to this sifting, sorting process was the shaking of the sieve.

SHAKING is the perfect word to describe my life in the past few months. It seems as if I have had an onslaught of attacks from every side! Have you ever been in a place like that? I think it is the one place in our lives that can make us or break us where our walk with God is concerned. I have been in the place of sifting. Did you notice something about those verses? First of all Jesus tells Peter that Satan wants to sift him as wheat, BUT he assures Peter that he has prayed for him. What an amazing assurance! Jesus is praying for us as we go through the sifting! BUT, notice what He says next. . ."And when you have returned to Me. . ." What? Satan is going to sift him. . .Jesus has prayed for him. . . . To return to Him, must mean he was going to depart from Him. . .from his faith. Jesus knew Peter would depart from his faith, even if it was for a short time.


Sometimes we do that too. We may not walk away from God, but we fail in our faith. We deny Him in our words, our actions, our attitudes and in our relationships with others! I do it. . . you do it. . .Sunday School teachers do it. . . Pastors do it. . . you get my point, we are all guilty at one time or another of succombing to the sifting.


Taking a closer look at the process, sifting is not always a bad thing. It is meant to separate the wheat from all the other useless junk. It's a shaking, that's for sure, and definitely not fun. But the end result is that we are made more useful, we lose the "junk" that was holding us back. We become more purified.


Now look at the last thing Jesus said to Peter here. . ."Strengthen your brethren!" There is a qualifying that comes with the sifting!! He can now be used to strengthen his brothers in the faith! He goes from the SIFTING to the SHIFTING! Here we see a man whose faith was tried and he failed, who was sifted and then returned to his Faith and the SHIFT began! He began a great ministry to the world! He strengthened his brothers and they spread the Gospel all over the place!! They started the Church of Jesus Christ!!


Since I have spent more than the past month in sifting and have returned to Him, here begins the SHIFT! God is moving, He is moving ME! He is moving IN me and THROUGH me and so many will be strengthened because of my sifting, because the "junk" was shaken out of me!!
It sure makes you look very differently at those who are struggling with sin and their faith than what you are used to seeing them as. Instead of that poor, weak sinner, we see a mighty work in progress!! We see the sifting and can soon anticipate a shifting!! My shift is happening even as I write this!! The sifting has been hard, and the enemy would like nothing more than to re-sift and re-sift me, but the time of sifting is over and I am SHIFTING!! Just watch what God does now!!

RELEASE THE OFFENDER

Written July 12, 2007

Only God knows both sides of the story. The fears, the past wounds, the generational conditioning, the weaknesses, the insufficiencies of character and integrity. He knows the things that we failed to notice—the things that should have warned us to guard our hearts. Only God knows the hidden motives and unspoken regrets of the one who hurt you—their sickness, their brokenness.

The assumptions we make usually do more damage than the truth: "He doesn't even notice how much he hurt me!" "How could he be so cold?" "How could they just ignore my cries for help and walk away?" "Doesn't anyone see my pain?" Our imaginations can be unmerciful. Trust me, it's never what you think. Your guesses will always be more cruel than the reality of what really transpired, adding unnecessary injury to insult.

You must let it go. You need to forgive, not for the sake of the one who hurt or violated you—for your own. It's time to redirect your focus and move on. And you won't be able to do that if you continue to nurse and rehearse your anger, the many wrongs done against you, all the reasons why. If you can't forgive for your own sake, forgive for God's sake. He needs your hands open in order to bless you. Cooperate.

The one who wronged you does not deserve so much of your time, energy or attention. Your fixation is standing in the gap between that person and God, shielding him from conviction. Move out of the way. Free him to receive the proper correction from God. Free yourself to receive your healing. Forgive because you need to be forgiven. How can you expect what you are unable to give yourself! Forgive my dear sister, because you are not alone. We have all been prisoners of our unspoken pain and suffering.

So come and join us on the other side. Choose to forgive because it is what God requires of you, and it is what is best. He will help you to forgive from your heart and not just from your head. Ask Him for strength to release your offender, for to release him (or her) is to release yourself. Trust God to free you from your anger and your pain and from all the questions that continually assault your mind. Let Him speak words of comfort to you and assure you that He has taken heed to the things that have transpired. Although you may never forget what has happened, He will enable you to forgive even as He has forgiven you.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS. . .AND SO ARE THE RESULTS!

Written September 28, 2007

You know, all through life we have challenges, trials, things that try to crush our hearts and spirits, things that try to cause us to live in fear, anger, bitterness. . . ALL of these things are designed to get our eyes off of God and on to our SELVES. But I have made a discovery!!
IF we will keep our eyes on HIM. IF we will press in to a closer relationship and dependance on HIM. IF we will put our full focus on HIM. . .EVERY situation that is meant to try to pry us away from Him, even if only for a time to focus on our problems, anger, fears, etc. . . will fade in the beautiful light of HIS glory!! HE will remove all fear!! IF we choose to let go of all of our disappointments, anger, bitterness, broken dreams and let HIM have them, HE will come in and bring a healing to our hearts and minds so wonderful that we will be amazed at the pure love and compassion that will flow through our hearts toward even the ones who have caused our hurt!!
The key word here is IF!! The choice is ours. God sets before us life and death, blessing and cursing. There is no one else to blame in this world if we choose to hang on to things and our lives reap the consequesnces. "But I have a right to be mad, fearful, etc. . ." Well, you have a right to make that choice. Believe me, I have had so many opportunities in my life to be angry, injured, fearful, and I did for a long time!! I was molested as a child, beaten as a young mother and raped and gang raped and a number of other abuses throughout the years! I have had sickness ravage my body to the point where I feared for my life!! But every time, God placed before me a CHOICE. I could walk in love, forgiveness and place my trust in Him, and live my life set apart for Him, OR I could hang on to my hurt (and believe me I was hurt badly! TRAUMATIZED!) and live my life separated from God and His best for me.
I did not always make the right choice, and trust me, it took a toll on me emotionally, spiritually and even physically!! "For I see you are POISONED by bitterness and BOUND by iniquity." Acts 8:23 The word iniquity here is adikia, which means misdeeds, injustice, moral wrongdoing, unjust acts, unrighteousness. It is the opposite of truthfulness, faithfulness and rightness. Unforgiveness can lead us down paths we would never have imagined we would travel. But forgiving others (Which is a COMMAND from God REGARDLESS of the offense!) will flush the poison of bitterness out of your body, mind and spirit!! He wants us healthy in every aspect of our lives and He knows full well the damage bitterness and unforgiveness can do!!
I am here to tell you first hand, this is no easy task!! I am challenged by it often!! And so many times I think "Surely God, You know that this time I have a right to be mad and hurt, and surely You see the injustice here!" But He is not looking for us to give Him our excuses as to why we are not choosing LIFE!! He gave us His Word, He has laid the choice before us and even tells us which one to choose!! It is never easy, but when we turn our hearts and minds toward God, HE will carry us through it to a place where we know our hearts and minds are free from the poisoning effects of unforgiveness and anger and bitterness.
When you are hurt, slandered, lied about, put down, abused, you have a choice!! You can walk the path that God has placed before you that guarantees healing and victory, OR you can choose to hang on, feed the fire, and be misierable. But be aware of this one thing. . .there is NO middle ground here! NO fence riding!! No walking closely with God AND walking in unforgiveness!! Listen to the words of Jesus - Matt. 6:15 - But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins; leaving them, letting them go and giving up on resentment], NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOU YOUR TRESPASSES. (Amplified)
That is pretty straightforward, He leaves no room for excuses! His standards are not blurry, they are pretty clear. Thank God when we choose to walk in the way He has shown us, He does not expect us to do it alone!! He is right there to help us!! Every step of the way! He is not a harsh and heavy taskmaster, He is a loving Father who knows what effect these things can have on our lives and how much they can steal from us in every area of our lives!! He wants the best for us, which is why when He tells us to choose, He also shows us how to choose the best thing for us to give us a happy and healthy life!
After doing this study I find this a necessary thing. . .to examine my heart daily and make sure that I am not holding on to anything that will make me sick spiritually, physically or emotionally!! I want the life God has for me! So, I CHOOSE to do it His way!! The way of LIFE!!

OUTSIDE THE BOX

When thinking of the "box", I am reminded of an issue God had dealt with me on a few months back, but it is a little different take on the subject here of the "box".
One Sunday morning before church I was home in my living room praying for the service and God clearly spoke to me saying, "Take ME out of the box!" I thought, "Lord, I am NOT a religious person, I have a very real relationship with you, I don't go through all of the formalities and rituals of traditional religion." But what He showed me was that even if we call ourselves "contemporary" Christians, or we attend "spirit-filled" churches, if we are not VERY careful, we build our box around God according to how we think our services should go. We limit the Holy Spirit by our programs. No, our bulletins do not contain a schedule of how our services with be conducted, that would be too traditional. . .but I bet most of us could write that bulletin and step-by-step describe how the service is going to go. We tend to become comfortable in our way of doing things, and in thus doing, we "box" God in and limit Him to only doing what we will allow and what we are comfortable with. That is all the same from a traditional, ritualistic ceremony in a stained glass sanctuary, to the contemporary, biker, "all are welcome" type church, and even to the "spirit-filled", pentecostal type church. I thought of myself as the furthest thing from traditional, until God spoke to me that morning and told me that we are continually building traditions and conducting services the way we think they should go, whether our traditions are considered contemporary or not. We are putting God in a box! If we could only tear the lid off of that box and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in every area, every service, every prayer time, every time of worship. . .WOW! What amazing things we will begin to see from the hand of God!
I can remember a time about 10 years ago when I would get butterflies in my stomach on my way to church in anticipation of what God was going to do! I went to a church where the Holy Spirit had full reign, and there wasn't a Sunday that passed that I did not leave changed and touched by the teaching and ministry that was brought forth by the Spirit of God! But even that church got complacent, and put God in a box without even knowing it!
I have finally found a place where I am now that I am once again getting excited in anticiaption, wondering what God is going to do! I enter my prayer time and time in the Word with the same attitude of heart. HE is in control!
I have found it takes a concerted effort to keep God out of the box! It is our human nature to find some kind of comfort area for everything in our lives. But if we focus and determine to follow God and take the limitations off of Him, what amazingly glorious things we will see and experience!! Remember, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, He will not push where He is not welcome to do so.
It just dawned on me that if we can keep ourselves from putting God in that box, the rest of our lives will follow suit and we will naturally, as followers of Him, not be limited to the "box" either!

ALL I NEED IS YOU!

Originally posted Dec. 30, 2007


OK, so I have had quite a few opportunities lately to share my testimony of how God set me free from an addiction to nicotine. . .so I thought now would be a good time to blog it. As many of you know, and some of you may not know, nicotine is more addictive than heroine. So kicking it is extremely hard. For me, it was impossible. I know, I tried many times. I even tried a six week on-line program offered by the American Lung Association. Didn't work for me. BUT, there is a God Who makes impossibilities become reality and I call Him Daddy!! He is my God and I am about to tell you what He can do!

On June 25th of 2006 I was in a church service at my church, AHOP in Xenia. It was a day just like any other Sunday. Worship was rockin as usual! But suddenly, I felt God speaking to my heart. "Take your cigarettes out of your purse and give them to Pastor Mark." Who happened to be worshipping just 5 feet from where I was. It was so clear it startled me! I thought to myself that it couldn't be God asking me to do that. After all He knows I tried and tried to give them up. "I said, 'Take your cigarettes out of your purse and give them to Pastor Mark.'" Oh boy! Now I KNEW it was God because my heart was about to pound out of my chest and I could not ignore it!
SO, I decided to try to "reason" with God "God, You know I would love to be able to quit, but I've tried. And if I hand Mark my smokes, as soon as I get out of here I am gonna be a hypocrite because I know I will want one so badly, and I won't be able to resist the addiction. . .especially since my husband smokes too." Good argument huh? Yeah, it didn't work with God!! "Take your cigarettes out of your purse and hand them to Pastor Mark." He wasn't budging. I thought I had come up with some pretty solid arguments, but He wasn't seeing things my way!
I must have argued with Him through 2 or 3 songs. . .yeah, I knew my addiction and the power it had over me, I just didn't KNOW the power of my GOD! Then the worship team began to sing a song called "All I Need Is You", originally recorded by Hillsong United. Then God really began to minister to me.
"You know Andi, I love you, and I want you free from this addiction that is killing you and stealing your money. I understand you cannot do it yourself, and I don't expect you to. I need you to trust Me. I am all you need Andi. You don't need those cigarettes, and if you will give them to Pasor Mark like I am asking you to, I will set you free. You will never want one again!"
That was it! If I know anything in this life it is that I can completely trust my Father! I turned and unzipped my purse and grabbed the pack out of it. Frank looked at me like, "WHAT are you doing?" I just smiled at him and turned toward my pastor and walked over and put my pack of cigarettes on his chest, holding them there with one finger, looked him in his eyes and said, "I don't need these anymore Pastor Mark! HE is all I need!" He smiled and took the cigarettes and put them in his shirt pocket and hugged me and gave me a big high 5!! I went back to my seat and worshipped God with all my heart!
Once worship was coming to a close, Pastor Mark went to the stage and shared with everyone what I had just done. . . the place absolutely ERUPTED in praise!! The band continued to play. He threw the cigarettes on the ground and stomped on them, then threw them in the aisle and invited anyone with addictions, life controlling problems or any area in their life where they needed to put the devil under their feet, to come up and as a symbol to God and the devil stomp on those cigarettes and claim victory over whatever it is they are going through!! People began coming up one at a time faster and faster until their was a line of people waiting. The band played and played songs of praise and worship, people got out of their seats and worshipped, there were people all over the auditorium praying for one another. Some were weeping and some were shouting. People were being set free from all kinds of things!! This went on for two hours!! And the aisle filled up with cigarette packs! Pastor Mark never preached that day. . .as he put it, he "stepped aside and GOD preached!" What an amazing day that was!! So many people came and thanked me for being obedient to what God said. That one little act of obedience cut the place loose in God and He moved in such an amazing way!! People were changed that day, never to be the same. I know I was!
Maybe you are wondering what happened after the service when I walked out of the building and went home. NOTHING!! That's right, not even once since that day have I EVER even had the smallest incling of a desire for a cigarette!! As a matter of fact the smell makes me sick to my stomach and gives me headaches! I think God did that to keep me free from that addiction ever coming back!!
Now that song is a special love song between me and my God! It's "our song".
Yes, freedom feels great!!!

GOING HOME!

Written March 11, 2007

I received this e-mail today from my friend Jeanne in Cahokia, Illinois. A very close friend of ours from church passed away a few weeks ago, Cindy Pennington. I was unable to travel to her funeral because of work, but I was not aware of this amazing event until Jeanne sent me this e-mail today. I remember Mr. Braun from funerals I had attended during my time in Cahokia, and he is definitely all business as she says. Read and be blessed and encouraged!!

Andi


Dear Family & Friends,

I would like to share with you the passing of my friend, Cindy Pennington. She passed away Saturday ,February 24, departing this life to go home to be with the Lord. She loved the Lord with all her heart. A rare cancer had debilitated her and she had hospice at home the last couple of weeks.
The story I want to tell you was told by the funeral director of Braun Colonial Funeral Home here in Cahokia. Anyone familiar with Mr. Braun knows he is very professional, carefully efficient and unemotional in all his duties. All the essential qualities of an undertaker, practical and all business. This however was about to change. The Saturday Cindy died, her husband Bob had called Mr. Braun to take Cindy to the funeral parlor and prepare her body for viewing. When the undertaker arrived, he entered the room to find the hospice bed empty, but over on the couch was Cindy with two women, one sitting on each side of her. Cindy sat there with her head on one of the ladies' shoulders. He thought how odd this was. How very strange indeed! When he turned around to talk to Bob who was by the hospice bed, he looked at the bed and there lie Cindy, dead in the bed. Looking back, the couch was empty and the women were no where to be found. He was visibly shaken by this event, remarking that, in all his years, he had never experienced such a sight! I know he had witnessed a glorious glimpse into eternity: the homecoming of one of God's children... Angels sent to bring Cindy home.This was a heavenly witness to the funeral director, who solemnly told the tale with wavering voice as he was moved to tears... Cindy went home to be with the Lord! I wont say she's finally at peace because she found the Prince of Peace long before that. God is real and his Son, Jesus, died on the cross for your sins. To know Him is to have the greatest gift! We who know the Lord have the promise of going to be with Him in heaven. I say to all of you who know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, never stop talking of Him! Tell your parents, husbands, wives, children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
Never stop talking about Him... Even when people who you love or don't even know, think you're just a religious nut. Remember you are not alone because He has sent His angels to watch over you. You are an heir of salvation! Never stop... Keep praying for your loved ones! Parents remember, there is much truth in the parable of the prodigal son ( or daughter). They will come home.

WHO IS JESUS?

"Who is Jesus?" You ask? Well, let me tell you who He is to me!
He is not just a baby laying in a manger; He is not just the man hanging on a cross. He is my Friend, my BEST Friend! He is NOT a list of rules and regulations; He is LOVE. Ultimate, passionate, unconditional LOVE.
He is not stuffy, uncool, or a party pooper. . . He IS the party! He is the dance in my feet, the shout in my voice, the smile on my face, the pure joy in my heart!
He is the One who when I walked away from Him, refused to let me go! I ran from Him into the bars, into adultry, into drugs and alcohol. . . I was lost! But He not only waited for me with open arms for my return. . .He CHASED me!! Everywhere I went He was there; protecting me, crying for me, desperately wanting me back in His arms! Not so He could control me. . . .ohhh no, He is not that kind of love. . . He is pure love, He wants me to have the BEST and most fulfilling and happy life! He wants to shower me with His gifts and hold me in His arms!
He is the filler of the gap! What is the gap? That hole in your heart. The one we all try to fill with more drinks, more sex, more shopping, more toys, more clothes, more shoes. . . the list goes on and on. . . but that hole never gets filled with those things. It is never enough! We still search for the thing that will complete us, fill that hole in our hearts. But it is still there, no matter how much we have.
Only HE can fill that hole! It is like a puzle piece that is missing in our lives and everything we try just does not fit in that space. That's because HE is the missing piece and only He can fill the space! And boy does He!!
It doesn't matter if I have money or not, it doesn't matter if I drive a nice car or not, or what kind of neighborhood I live in, or what clothes I wear. . .I am happy! Because I have Jesus!
He rocks my world! He amazes me every day with His love for me!
And you know, He loves you too!! He wants to wrap His arms around you and love on you! He wants to be a Father, Brother and Friend to you. He is chasing you my friend!! Stop running, and let Him love you like you have never been loved before! Talk to Him, it is as easy as talking to a friend. You don't have to know fancy words or phrases. To be quite honest, He doesn't really like that much, He would rather hear your heart! He would rather you talk yo Him as a friend, because that is who He wants to be to you! The best friend you will ever have!
Just ask Him to come into your heart and life. Ask Him to show you Himself, and to show you the right place to go and learn more about Him. Ask Him to forgive you for all the stupid junk in your life that you did trying to fill that hole. He knows. He knows you were just trying to fill that space where He belongs. He understands that everything left you empty. . . it was supposed to!! Because He knew eventually you would be ready to let Him fill it for you, and eventually someone would introduce you to Him and you wouldn't have to search any more!
You know the one awesome thing I found out about Him? No matter how long we live, even when we are living for Him, we are gonna screw up, we are gonna fall back, but the great thing is, He doesn't look at us in shame and shake His head. . .nope. . . religion teaches that, but it is so far from the truth. He looks down at us as we lay on the ground getting messed up in the mudpuddle of whatever it is, and He smiles, leans down and reaches His hand down to us to help us back up. He washes the dirt and grime off of us and then holds our hand and keeps walking with us. He fully knows something will distract our attention and we will let go of His hand again and wind up on the ground. . . again. And He fully knows He will be right there, still smiling, still holding out His hand to lift us back up. I have found out that it is not about being perfect, or looking a certain way or talking a certain way. Religion wants to teach you that. They want to hand you a set of rules. . .cut your hair, wear these clothes, talk this lingo, follow MY rules! Yeah. . .right! I can see why Jesus hated religion when He was here on this earth! It hurt people, it led them away from who He really was. It gave people a completely wrong perception of God. The most awesome thing about Him? He loves you exactly right where you are right now. No, I mean He REALLY, PASSIONATELY loves you where you are right now! That is an amazing love!! We don't have to clean up and get our lives straight before we can walk in a church and live a Christian life. We live a Christian life while HE cleans us up! And that "cleaning up" takes a lifetime!! I have learned to relax and let God be God. I used to beat myself up all the time. I didn't read the Bible enough, I didn't pray enough, I wasn't involved enough. . . blah, blah, blah. . . He is concerned with your heart. Not your outward performance!! Once your heart is on track, it will show on the outside. There will be changes. . . but NOT perfection! If we can absorb that and give ourselves a friggin break, we can relax and enjoy this relationship with Him like He meant us to!
He loves you more than you could fathom!! He gave His life, let Himself be beaten and bloody, and let the people kill Him, so that you could know Him. His death on the cross was so that you could have the opportunity to go to Heaven and not Hell. But not just that. . .it was so that you could know Him, intimately. I am telling you, He will blow your mind! He will rock your world! Just give Him a chance, you'll see!!