Growing Pains
Today I was commenting on another Christian brother’s blog post in which he shared his frustration and discouragement of not knowing where he “fit in”. I decided my response would be worthy of posting on my own blog. So here you are –
Well my little Brother in Christ… you are Growing UP!!
All of us are born into this world with that big vacancy that only God can fill. We ALL try to fill it with substitutes from time to time… even AFTER we’re “saved”. That’s our sinful human nature. Pride wants us to take the credit for solving all the problems, wielding all the power, and controlling all that there is to control.
What you have been, and are now, experiencing is called growing pains. I am NOT attempting to minimize the pain and frustration that you’ve been enduring. Rather, I am just trying to congratulate you for your acknowledging it.
As good ol’ Dr. Phil says, “you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.” However, there is a more dependable source than even the smart doctor: the Holy Scriptures state that “fear is the beginning of understanding”.
Let’s face it, one of our greatest trials can be fear. Fears often cause us to get off-balance, and then before we regain our composure something ELSE comes along. We get HAMMERED by fear.
I believe that Satan feeds on our fears. That little Devil gains great joy when we beat ourselves up. “Why do I keep doing things wrong? Why doesn’t anybody want to BE with me? Why am I such a problem? What good am I doing? Maybe they’d be better off without me. Maybe I’ll just stay home. I wouldn’t have had any fun anyway. . .
Soon, we can find ourselves isolated, lonely, and depressed. That is far from God’s plan for us to be: connected and involved with people, and living lives full of blessings and victory over trials and problems. Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… that’s what God wants for us. And He provides the means if we just look to Him as the source.
And then there’s the concern of those of us who are “people pleasers”. “What are THEY going to THINK?” “They’re going to be: mad at me, disappointed, hurt… They’ll think I’m ugly, nerdy, goofy, stupid, a fool, a burden…”
Do you see it? The way Satan gets us to focus on ME. If he can convince me to focus on myself and how terrible I am; then he will succeed in keeping me from doing the very thing I am here for. I am here to show God’s love to others and to allow God’s love to come to me through others. When the love of God is allowed to flow through and to me… then and only then do I get to feel the joy of purpose.
That is how I can be joyful even during times of trouble. Jesus promised a helper. He NEVER lies. The Holy Spirit ministers to me through other people. And I am allowed to minister to others in the same way. See 2 Cor.1:3-7 
“Perfect love casts out fear,” so to obtain “the peace that passes understanding” allow yourself to turn to the comfort found in His Holy Word. By examining the truths that God reveals; we are better equipped to recognize the lies that try to present themselves as truths.
I started out with this being an encouragement to a brother. But as much as I have seen Satan’s handiwork in action lately.. I think I’m going to actually blog this as well.
In the meantime, Brother, I hope that you will be strengthened as you focus on calling the “stinkin’ thinkin’
flat=out lies! God said that you are His adopted child and there is nothing that anyone can do to take you from His hand.
God’s Word is TRUTH and it says in Romans 8 — “(38) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, nor heavenly rulers, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, (39) neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
And WHEN (not IF) I get beaten up on the Battlefield of the Mind, I must quit going on the offense and take a defensive stance. All I have to do is get behind that Shield that God has given to me… the battle is the Lord’s and He is my Deliverer. So sometimes I just need to acknowledge that I NEED Him. Then I just need to fully rely on Him, having faith that He is control of it all. . . that His way is the Best way.
Psalm 119:114 –”You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your Word.”
In closing, I would just like to:
Exalt the Savior – He is in control
Equip the Saints – Study His words to fight lies with truth
Edify the Body – remember You are not alone
Examine myself – this advice for you is also reminder for me
Evangelize – let’s press on and share what we learn : )
With love, Ellen5e
Nothing Is Too Small
I have been going through a passage of maturity just lately. A very ominous, daunting, dark and narrow pass threatened me just this last weekend.
I have been taking part in an inter-city mission that I had been called two “accidentally” for over two years. “Ask Anything Saturdays” is conducted at the Unleavened Bread Cafe in the heart of Indianapolis. This mission-field is one in which some of us Christians implant ourselves into an otherwise unfamiliar culture to be used to show the love of Christ in practical ways.
The overall objective is to be available to introduce anyone who comes in off the street to the basics of using computers. So much of our society today involves the World Wide Web for developing job skills, applying for jobs, conducting research and getting to the information in a fraction of the time it used to take. Even more exciting, is the opportunity to make new friendships and network across many physical boundaries.
The internet has allowed us to cross racial, economical, cultural and educational boundaries. There are tutorials that help the newbies start out on this new adventure called the Internet. There are still some accessibility issues, especially for the aged and the economically strained. However, thanks to Public Libraries, schools, and now other social gathering computer cafe’s, this boundary too, is being torn down.
Since I consider myself a “Walmart Missionary” (my term for witness and connect WHEREVER you happen to be at the time, to whomever happens to be around, in whatever way the Lord leads) when I was first asked to make myself available for a few hours on Saturday mornings, I accepted the commission.
This is an commitment that I do not take lightly. I often have NO idea of who will be there or what possible way(s) I may help them.
This last Saturday, July 5th, there were BIG plans at the UBCafe. We had been urging some cafe regulars to come to a special Media Training event. I was encouraged by a co-servant to spearhead the workshop. It would take a bit of extra preparation on my part, but I was very happy to accept the challenge. We even invited others from outside the usual crowd to come join us.
Thursday night before the Saturday event, the Great Oppressor started to work on me. I had a terrible fever, too nauseous to eat, extremely weak and a headache that made looking at my computer monitor for prepwork extremely difficult. All day Friday the illness continued. Then the battlefield of the mind was being bombarded with “oh man, wonder if this fever doesn’t go away? Suppose I am not prepared enough?”
God, comforted me with a remembrance of the story of the little boy with the tidbits of fishes and loaves that fed thousands. “Just do what you can and I will take care of the rest. Don’t listen to the Supreme Liar who is trying to convince you that you can’t do it. Remember, in weakness, God’s strength is magnified.”
This is the same exact lesson that God has been showing me to encourage not only myself, but other Christian workers who are getting bombarded lately.
Saturday morning arrived. My body was still sick, but I was trusting that my fever was NOT contagious and prepared for the workshop. I had gathered all of my things and was heading out to our only car only to discover that we were totally out of gas!
So, my husband quickly took the van down the street to put in some gas, while I phoned to my friends to let them know that I would be tardy, but I AM coming. I felt so apologetic, knowing that they were waiting for me. Again the battlefield of the mind was aglow with new “worthlessness” bombs and a barrage of “you’re letting everyone down” grenades.
About that time, Steve returned to tell me that our debit card was declined and we have no credit card. OH NO!! It turned out we’d been double charged and it hadn’t been credited back because of the holiday weekend banking hours.
Earlier in the week we literally emptied our penny bank for gas so that I could make it to another Christian meeting I felt lead to attend. A Christian brother handed me a folded bill and simply said “here, go get some gas”. I was blessed to receive the bill. I would go straight to put $5 of gas into the car. When I went to pay, I discovered that the bill was really a $10. So I pocketed the remaining $5 and over the course of the next day bought a gallon of milk (on sale!) and still had $3 left.
That $3 put enough gas into the van for me to get into the workshop. I had earned a fifty dollar check dog sitting earlier, that Steve would go cash at customer’s bank which would close at noon.
Now, I was almost an hour late !!! The battlefield was having a turn in the fighting. I was more convinced than ever that Satan really did NOT want me to go this morning. And I KNOW from experience that when things get this bad, there is going to be a tremendous Godthing happen! I even verbalized that fact to my husband who was driving me in. And then again, I spoke out loud as I rushed right in to the community room. “Hold on and pay attention, God is gonna do something!”
I went from dread to anticipation. Leaning not on my own understanding. Not getting hung up with the “oh, there are not as many people here as I thought there’d be, maybe they left because I was so late.” I was excited to see what was going to happen. Confident in the fact that whoever was here, whatever we shared, whatever we did… all of it was in God’s hands, for His glory and for the blessing of us all.
We DID have a very productive workshop. It was difficult to balance the information between the totally inexperienced and the already understanding individuals so as not to cause sensory overload on the novices nor bore the experienced. God IS good.
Again, I was comforted as I AGAIN encouraged us all with the sufficiency of our Great God. That whatever little thing we have to bring God WILL use. We do NOT have to do it all. And what we may think is NOT enough, with God’s power becomes MORE than enough.
As I was outside teaching basic video filming with some of the trainees, two of my brothers in Christ were talking about me. When I came back, I was offered a JOB! Those who know me and my physical limitations and lack of income, know what a tremendous blessing this was. My new employer has offered to pay me for doing communications work for the Ministry that he spearheads. Communications is my passion and now I’m actually going to get a little money for that. He was reminding me that he couldn’t pay me much (apologizing about not being able to pay MUCH), but that it should help offset gas money. “It’s not very much”??? What is the lesson we are learning boys and girls?
God is sufficient… just do what I can…. He’ll handle the rest.
It’s called walking by faith, NOT by sight.
Then, another miracle happened. My husband called my cell phone. Was I ready to be picked up? Oh yes, it was now after 2pm and I hadn’t eaten yet, could he please bring me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with him?
To which he replied, “it just so happens that we got $100 refund in the mail just now”. That was enough to buy some much needed groceries! Immediately after ending the call, I began to tear up. “God, you’ve done it AGAIN!”
I was so filled with praise for what He had done for us, that I gathered about 6 brothers and sisters who were about to leave the Cafe and said… “please just give me 5 seconds to tell you something and pray with me.”
We gathered in a circle holding hands and I reported all that God had been doing just that very day. Then I offered up praise that just spewed out of me, with my dear friends joining in the Thanksgiving to our Saviour. Tears of joy and undeserved blessing streamed down my face. I thanked my friends and thought they’d leave. But once again God was not DONE blessing yet. A brother who I do not really know well at all, asked to pray. He affirmed that something that I had said testified to something he was learning through God!! Blessing upon Blessings… now this was a worship service. 7 people and gathered angels praising our Awesome God!
So, though this blog post is one of my longest yet. I think of it as a pile of stones of remembrance; set to remind us of how God cares for even the little things, even me.
It is fitting that this Independence Day weekend was one in which I was set free in a new way. That by simply pressing on against the seemingly narrow passage; I not only was escorted through the narrow chasm, but my SAVIOR used the Holy Scripture to BLAST a passageway, the Holy Spirit to energize me forward and the Awesome Grace of God to show me that on the other side of the passageway was beautiful meadow full of all the blessings that are yet to come!!
Thanks for taking this trip with me : )
Because I believe like it says in the book of Corinthians that when we share such things together, our sorrows are halved and our joys doubled!!
PS I’ve also embedded a great song on this page called “Just How Big Small Can Be” by 1000 Generations. This is my theme song for this portion of the journey of my life.
Transformation of Information
This morning after doing my Bible Studies and listening to Christian radio while partaking in a nice contemplative soak in a hot bath, I had a thought. Surprise.
Do I do a good job of using information that I am bombarded with everyday, or is it just so much clutter? Am I contributing to my own confusion, effectively spinning my tires, gunning the accelerator while the engine is in neutral, rather than applying what I learn? If so, my personal lack of discipline can work toward Satan’s goal of keeping me from being effective for Christ.
It occurred to me that I MUST apply the information I receive or there is no chance at making any change. It is tragic to waste time and energy, because it is valuable in relation to reaching others with the love of God and bringing glory to Him which is my whole purpose!
So, being visually-minded as I am, I devised a VISUAL ANALOGY sticker to remind me of applying what is valuable and discarding the rest.
The Lame Lamb
I would like to tell you of a shepherding practice that is used when a lamb continues to wander away from the flock. In order for the lamb that keeps wandering away to learn to stay with the flock, the shepherd uses his staff and actually breaks one of legs of the lamb. Then he splints the leg and carries the little one over his shoulders for a good bit of the healing time required.
The lamb is carried this way as they go about the daily life of whatever sheep and their shepherd do. All the while a special bond is being made.
When the day comes that the shepherd removes the splint from the leg of the lamb, the purpose of what may seem to be an abusive act comes into focus.
That little lamb will NEVER wander away from his shepherd again! In fact he now gleefully leaps about in the area near the shepherd. The very hand that had caused his pain, comforted him through it, lovingly cared for him, and gave him a real appreciation for all that the shepherd provides.
So now, when you read in the book of Isaiah ” All we like sheep go astray, each to his own way”, and the LORD is the keeper of them all, I hope that you will remember this illustration.
There is a reason for our pain. If we won’t stop wandering away, the shepherd will pursue our closeness in some other way. That’s just how much He longs to be close to us. Isn’t that neat?
Fishing For Men Using the Net:
The Role Of New Media In Changing Lives For Christ
By Ellen Spencer
Final course paper for
CU490 – New Media for Urban Change
Crossroads Bible College
Instructors: Bryan Hudson, Hosea Baxter & Neil Cox
Decembe 21, 2007The role of the internet as a form of communication is continuing to grow as our workplaces, our schools and homes, and even our cell phones are introduced to the new technology. The implementation of “new media” as utilized in these developing ways of communication has allowed us to connect almost anywhere and at anytime. Impacting the world for Christ as He said, “come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”(1) requires that we at least have a primary understanding of the modes of communication and connecting that are available.
From the beginning of history, people of various tribes and tongues have used communication to make their needs known, to dialog with one another and to use their own personal stories to help teach and grow each other. Then the natives would decide to record a history and graphics were introduced by scratching out some visual symbols into rock for the benefit of all who could interpret their meanings. From such scribblings came a standardized group of symbols that became an alphabet and uniform graphic symbols. Now, people were able to communicate not just with one other person but with other groups of people.
I believe that as followers of Jesus Christ we are actually commissioned by Him to “… go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”(2) and to be “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you … “(3). Jesus Himself reached out to bring aid to the lost and hurting. He is THE Example of how to draw people of all races, creeds, and needs to God. How does this apply to the use of the internet in evangelism today?
“Come, follow Me, ” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
First, we need to address the fact that individual Christ-followers have the ability to use the spiritual gifts that they’ve been given to advance the Gospel and grow the Kingdom of God! Every believer has been given the necessary tools to pass on the love of God. For the “fruit of the Spirit” is given to us at the point of our salvation(4). As a favorite mug of mine proclaims, “Today is God’s gift to me. How I live it is my gift to Him”.
Now that I am empowered by the Spirit, I am able (and commissioned) to take action and go take the Gospel to people. In Jesus’ era, this was done in person and by word of mouth. Scribes also recorded the stories, letters and Words of God from the prophets so that we might have them today. The process of the transcription was so detailed that every letter and every line was counted and scrutinized to be sure that it was an exact copy of the Scripture. For as proclaimers of the Gospel we want to be certain that we speak the truth in love (5).
How do we speak to people? Our person to person contact is limited in our modernized world by our ignorance of the myriads of ways that are available to communicate with others. We are not longer limited to connecting only with people who are in our immediate societal circles. The “world has become flat”(6) , that is to say, the development of the world wide web and new media has leveled the playing field. You don’t have to be a member of the upper crust of society to have access to the internet and all it has to offer. Nor do you need to be especially gifted in computer programming to be able to utilize it’s many benefits. As Thomas Friedman points out, the societal changes (that have been rendered as a result of the creation of the internet) have helped globalize our communications . This has a unifying effect on peoples from different countries, cultures and life experiences.
“It took radio 38 years to attract an audience of 50 million Americans. It took television 13 years It took the Web less than four years from the moment when the Netscape browser became widely available in October 1994 to hit the 40 million mark”(7). Also, stated in these statistics, “a fifth of the 65 million people who do not use the internet live in a household with internet connection and there are other members of the family who do use the internet.”(7) There are such “digital gaps” as age, employment status, income level, disability, language, community type, parental status, and race and ethnicity. However, these gaps are being bridged by the constant improvements in regard to easy access and usability.
You see, just as in the days of Jesus, we can reach out to the lost by using those tools that are available to us. We now have powerful tools like FaceBook for social networking and developing a sense of community and connectedness. Similarly, blogging allows a person to share their faith, encourage one another, and offer hope to a hurting or spiritually defeated person. Discussion boards and live chats allow instantaneous and live dialog and interaction. The internet browsers make a wide range of information available as a person searches for such things as the weather forcast, medical advice, calendar of events and community happenings, as well as much more that is accessible through the “Net”.
The interactive aspect of the the media is what makes this “Web 2.0″ a mode of communication that is highly attractive to a variety of people. We know from experience that people are not going to use that which they believe they neither want or need. So it falls on us to show people how the internet can be used to assist them in connecting to the world around them. In so doing, we enhance their lives by drawing them out of isolation and into a community.
We can draw them out of living solely for themselves, in sin or misery, by connecting them initially with ourselves and then others. Of course, the ultimate is to introduce them to Jesus and His saving grace. But first, we must remember that people don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care. This too, is what Jesus taught when He invited sinners, saying, “Come now, and let us reason together.”(8) He also said “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching, and build each other up by the power of the Word.”(9)
One example of how the Net is being used to save the lost and comfort the hurting and build people up is found at TruthMedia.com. The latest monthly statistics from that website state that they’ve had 528,536 visitors view 1,157,379 pages; 3,225 people indicated spiritual decision. That’s quite an impact for the benefit of those who would have been eternally lost. (10) And their ten websites are not just for people who are lost, but also for Christians who are not living in the power and grace of God. Those people who may be living defeated lives can find hope, help and prayer at AN”Y time … and at almost any place through the dedication of volunteers and this remarkable tool of connection . . . the internet.
I’ve learned through my studies of New Media for Urban Change, that the new media allows for not only two-way communication with people that I may never meet physically on this earth, but also allows me to cross the ocean via my use of the Net to reach out to people in a way which encourages them to respond.
With such teaching tools as : ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation)(11); ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction)(12) : and learning styles of ‘multiple intelligences’ (visual-spacial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematic, natural)(13) , I am better equipped to send out an invitation for a successful connection. These strategies point out the importance of communicating with people in the manner in which they most readily accept and learn. For example, transformation is more likely to take place if we utilize multimedia video/audio players as the mode of delivery for a younger individual who learns through the visual domain. Whereas, he may totally “tune out” to the prospect of reading a text document or a lecture.
Jesus demonstrated how very dear knowing people is to Him. It’s people, not things, that interest Him. He used parables to illustrate His truths. By presenting the main points in such a way that people truly identified with what He was saying. Likewise, we can use our newly learned techniques to “cast the net” as He tells us. By meeting the people where they are we will be able to bless them with that which the Lord has given us through His Holy Spirit. Yes, the net will be bulging, on the verge of overflow. . . Lord may it be so . . . as we follow the Lord’s instructions.
People can connect without being limited by such things as physical disability, transportation, or weather. They don’t have to take a shower or dress nice to connect on the Net. The problem of the addict, suicidal thinker or otherwise troubled insomniac who is afraid to pick up a telephone and wake someone up or “bother” them is greatly relieved by their ability to connect through the Net to be heard and helped. Comfort can arrive from the people of God using the internet as a method of coming alongside to lift a person up or to just listen to someone who feels misunderstood, lonely or desperate.
My own personal motto is to use what I call my five “E’s”. These are my purposes in life, to : EXALT the Savior, EQUIP the saints, EDIFY the Body of Christ (His Church), EXAMINE my own life, and EVANGELIZE the world. I believe that all of these mission goals are given greater impact by using the Net.
In summary, I believe it is a God-given mandate that we cast our net upon the troubled waters of the world around us. The globalization of our world through technology requires that we jump in and get our feet wet in order to save others that may be drowning in sorrow, loneliness, injustice, neglect or other manifestations of a world without the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That may mean utilizing these new media assets on the internet in order to gain their interest while helping meet their needs with the love of God and share with them the Way to find eternal salvation. END ————————————————————————————————————-
(1) Matthew 4:19 (NKJV)
(2) Excerpted from Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
(3) Excerpted from Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)
(4) Galatians 5:22 (NKJV)
(5) Ephesians 4:25 (NKJV)
(6) How the World Became Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Thomas L. Firedman, Pub: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 304pgs., April 2005.
(7) “Who Uses the Internet, What They Do, and What It Means”, Lee Rainie, Freedom to Connect Conference, March 30,2005.
(8) Isaiah 1:18-20 (NKJV)
(9) Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV)
(10) “Latest Monthly Statistics”, TruthMedia.com internet group, http://truthmedia.com, cited on Dec. 21, 2007.
(11) Instructional System Design (ISD): Using the ADDIE Model, Steven J. McGriff, Instructional Systems, College of Education, Penn State University, Sept. 2000.
(12) ARCS Model of Motivation, John M. Kellers (1983) excerpted from http://learn.gwumc.edu/hscidist/FRED/BuildingCommunity/index.htm (2007)
(13) Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner of Harvard, http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html, Sept. 20, 2007.
The Real Christmas Story
I was reminded by one of my Bible studies that even we Christians sentimentalize the Christmas story. The promised Messiah, Savior, and Lord didn’t arrive in some stately fashion heralded through the halls of some pristine palace. Rather his mother Mary and earthly father Joseph traveled many miles over rough terrain to find that there was no room available to them.
So it was that the King of Kings was delivered in a dirty, smelly barnyard stable, more like a cave than all these clean wooden creches that we see displayed in the yards of Christmas Nativity Scenes of today. In some ways it is appropriate that the Spotless Lamb of God would be born like other sacrificial animals in a stable. Likewise, that this tiny babe that one day would proclaim Himself to be the Bread of Life would be laid in a feeding trough.
Truly, His humble beginnings as Immanuel (God with us) demonstrated how approachable He is. The first to hear of His birth were the lower class servants who were the shepherds whose very job it was to take care of the lambs. Can you imagine how startled they must have been when the darkness of the night was pierced by the heavenly host’s great light and proclamation that they could go and see the long awaited Savior. These often forgotten about people were now the First to know; to see; to be there in person. What an honor.
Jesus Himself was from a family that was relatively poor…. born in a borrowed manger, in a foreign land, growing up in Nazareth which was known for it’s less wealthy population (Jesus was from the “other side of the train tracks” or “in the Hood” ), He traveled all over talking to any-and-everyone, helping where He was needed and always teaching by example and through Scripture and life application stories. Healing all sorts of maladies, He truly Touched the leper as noone else even dared. After all of this Jesus was falsely accused, betrayed and killed as a criminal. Even in death He was buried in a borrowed grave….. which He didn’t need but the 3 days… Glory!!!
When I was reminded of this it made it easier not to get so down about not having anything special to give to family and friends for Christmas. It’s too bad that I can’t wrap appreciation and love and willingness to do something special for people so that they’d have something to open.
Today, friend, I thank God that it is not what I can give … rather it is what God has given. Therefore, my Christmas gift to you is this:
Do you have the Greatest Gift of All? If not, can I help you recieve it?
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
