Soul Sister Time

              I had the privilege of spending the last week with my daughter and her seven-month-old daughter (my granddaughter).  There is nothing better than to witness the love, sacrifice and instinctual wisdom of a new mom.  My admiration for a strong daughter was heightened because during her visit a friend from college passed away.  His death was sudden and very much unexpected.  His wife was so faithful to keep us up to date on his injury and the ways we could pray.  He himself left many video messages that will comfort the family in the years to come.  However, at the point when disaster struck, the one who had to be strong—though she was facing her own shock, fear, denial, anguish—was his one and only daughter, a strong daughter like the one I have.               I don’t know his widow, but I have journeyed the path...

            Jesus endured the cross by despising the shame of it.   He did not allow the reality that God asked Him to submit Himself to the most shameful methods of death in human history to be His own shame.   Rather than shame, he felt joy.   Hebrews 12:2 describes Jesus’ contradictory experience on the cross of shame:   Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.             My professor, Dr. Dan Allender said: There is good shame and there is bad shame .   The shame we feel over our sinfulness before a holy God is good shame.   It drives us to beg for His mercy and helps us enter into the reality of His holiness as best we are able in our finite condition.       ...

            When I warn you Be careful what you want , I am really warning myself.   When you progress spiritually, you want others to make the progress you think you have made.   You can become so enthusiastic that you actually do the devil’s work rather than God’s.                 This is a common marker of a soul that is newly converted to Christ.   As a soul is rescued from the chasm that once separated it from its deepest desire to enjoy intimacy and belonging to the God of the universe, it can become overly enthusiastic to the point of being arrogant and dogmatic.   This is an understandable experience, and with slight direction from a spiritually mature person can be channeled.   It’s the mature soul who wants truth to transform lives that can become a nuisance.   Teresa of Avila explains it this way: At the begi...