Share this:

The Scripture says that the enemy comes to steal, to kill, and destroy the abundant life that God has for every one of His children. (John 10:9-10). We have all been impacted at one time or another by the enemy’s devices and schemes aimed at compromising our life and destiny in God. If the devil cannot keep us from the new birth, he will do everything he can to stop us from making a significant contribution to the agenda of the Kingdom of God in the earth. In keeping with the enemy’s stated goals, many believers have found themselves wandering through this past year in a maze and fog of confusion, uncertainly, and defeat. This is exactly where the enemy would like to keep God’s precious ones throughout the new year but the Lord has news for the enemy – 2012 is the year of the comeback! This is the year when what has been stolen, killed, or destroyed will come back into our lives – better than ever before.

This is the year when God’s people discover what it means to return to their former rank, place, and position in Christ through the triumph and recovery that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we need to get excited like never before because the Lord has plans to fulfill Jeremiah 29:11 right in front of our eyes. The bottom line is that things will begin to come back to us in force this year. People will come back from defeat. People will come back from ill-health. People will come back to their senses like the Prodigal. People will come back from financial ruin and hurt. People will come back into our lives. Dreams will come back into our hearts. Ministries will come back better and stronger from spiritual attack. Passion will come back to the hearts of God’s people. People will come back from bondage. People will be quick to come back to the devil with sharp and powerful words from their mouths. People will come back into position in the body Christ and do the things they are assigned and called to do. Finally, people will come back to the primary mandate from God for their lives. That is, they will finally come to terms with the last prominent command left undone in their lives and then fulfill it.

It is important to remember as we head into the new year that this is not about our resolutions, but the resolution of our God to cause comebacks in all of our lives. We can expect three important areas of help from the Lord to make the comeback a reality. First, there is a special call from the Lord for the come back that we need to have ears to perceive, treasure in our hearts, and then expect. Second, there is a special grace from the Lord for the comeback in our lives. This literally means that the Lord is going to make available his power and favor to bring the comeback in our lives to pass. Finally, there is a special incentive from the Lord for the comeback. The Lord will make plain what He will be doing in our lives, providing the power to do it, and giving us a very good reason, the blessing, to press in to see the comeback become a reality in our lives.

You might be saying to yourself that you are too far gone for a comeback – too far down in the pit – too long on the mat down for the count to experience a comeback. The truth, however, is that if you are down and out there is only one direction you can go and that is up! The Holy Spirit is saying in this time that the comebacks will be so outstanding that they will catch the attention of the unbelievers who will want to know if God would do that kind of thing for them. All of us, the comeback kids of 2012, will be there to assure them that if they turn to the Lord He will make a comeback kid out of them too. Make up your mind to experience the power of God’s extreme restoration this year and press in to see a comeback in every area of your life that may have been marginalized or compromised in years gone by. This is your year as a believer to rise above the pain and disappointment of the past and get on with the divine destiny God has for your life. This is a year like no other in your life – the year of the comeback!

Share this:

Something told me Albert Pujols would not be returning to St. Louis when the dust finally settled in the free agent bidding war that would surely follow the 2011 baseball postseason. Sure, I really got tired of hearing the sportscasters say over and over again, “this may be the last time we see Albert in a Cardinal jersey.” But in my heart I knew, despite the amazing wildcard comeback, division championship, league championship, and World Series bid, when this season and postseason were over, Pujols would be leaving. That’s why I feel especially blessed to have been able to attend game seven of the World Series with my son Tim to see St.Louis win it all and watch Pujols play his final game for St. Louis.

Now we know that Pujols will be playing with the Angels having managed to land the elusive ten-year contract with a no trade clause (he stood to make millions no matter where he landed). Angel fans are pinching themselves and Card fans are in shock. At a time like this the throngs of Cardinal nation will begin to vilify the front office for their failure to sign Pujols or lash out at Sir Albert for abandoning baseball heaven for the City of Angels. But there is something more fundamental at play here than just contracts, money, and sports politics – a man’s sense of God’s path and plan for his life.

In my lifetime I cannot remember hearing about a top shelf athlete in any sport actually spending a sleepless night seeking God’s will for the next season of his life. By 7:30 a.m. the morning of his decision Pujols was quoted as saying that the Angels were tugging on his heart and that he believed God was leading him to make the move to Anaheim. The Bible says that “the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord” (Psalm 37:23). The Scripture speaks of the path as something that gets brighter and brighter for the righteous and darker and darker for the wicked (Proverbs 4:18). These eternal principles apply even to ballplayers even if the fans don’t like where that path is leading.

The pundits will say it was all about the money. The sour fans will bellyache about being betrayed by his decision. But as for me, a lifelong Cards fan and spiritual leader, I am encouraged by yet another example of Sir Albert’s firm conviction to glorify God with his life. Sure the sportswriters will moan about how he is not the greatest at fan interaction and they tire about hearing of his commitment to charities that support mentally and physically challenged children, but he has proven time and time again that he lives by a consistent set of Christian values that everyone should honor and appreciate. May more Christians be so bold as to remember they are on this earth to do God’s will and honor Him wherever His path in life takes us.

In the end, it does matter where we do what we do. Albert seems to get this very critical Kingdom principle even though many Cards fans and many believers do not. So whenever I get the chance to see Sir Albert play on television on the rare occasion live in an American League ballpark, I’ll be cheering for the man of God more than for the Angel in the infield. He is more of a hero to me today than any time I had the privilege of seeing him wear the Cardinal red. Well played Sir Albert.

Share this:

In the Charles Schultz classic 1965 animated CBS Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown, being his usual pessimistic self can’t seem to find the spirit of the season. Linus very astutely points out to him, “Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.” Like Charlie Brown, many people walk around despondent and hopeless during what is supposed to be a season of hope and restoration for all. For too many people, Christmas has become a time of stress, pressure, painful reflection, and depression. In fact, the depression and suicide rates climb sharply during the Christmas season. Leave it to the devil to drive people to hopeless self-destructive behavior when the rest of the world is celebrating the coming of the Lord and the uncovering of the good news!

People were not created to live without Bible hope. Bible hope, unlike the wishful thinking the world tries to pass for hope, is literally a spiritual force which means Bible hope causes amazing things to happen in our lives. Bible hope is a blueprint for our faith. It is our horizon for life that gives us a clear picture for the future. It is an inner mage of an eager expectation whereby we live life with our necks outstretched looking and longing for the breakthrough rather than for the other shoe to drop. Bible hope is said to be the anchor for our souls or the force that anchors the mind, will, and emotions on the truth of God’s Word so that we are steady and stable no matter what storm is brewing around us. Without Bible hope we are easily tossed to and fro based on the circumstances we find ourselves in at the time. In other words, true hope as the Bible describes is an indispensable gift and necessity in the life of every believer.

Proverbs 13:12 says that, “hope deferred makes the heart-sick.” This means that when our hopes in life are delayed or destroyed, the heart or the spirit or core of the man is made sick or afflicted. This “spirit of Charlie Brown” or hopelessness is at the root of so many of the negative consequences in the lives of people (even believers) like depression, suicide, apathy, lack of ambition, lack of self-respect, and even addiction. It is a terrible thing to watch a dream delayed or fade away, but the condition of heart sickness and hopelessness need not be permanent or terminal.

Our hopelessness may be related to a single issue or about life in general but we can get the hope back and get the Charlie Brown out of our lives by applying some powerful Bible principles. First, stop putting your hope in the wrong things like the government, the economy, relationships, employers, etc. or you will be chronically disappointed. Psalm 42:5 encourages us to put our hope in God. Second, wait daily on the Lord. In keeping with Isaiah 40:31, as we wait upon the Lord our hope and strength is renewed and restored. In fact, we cannot absence ourselves from the presence of God and expect to live a hope-filled life. Third, always stay in love with all people because strife, bitterness, and unforgiveness have a way of draining the hope right out of our hearts. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love always hopes. Fourth, keep your focus squarely on Jesus because he is the very source of our hope (Ephesians 2:12-13). Fifth, call to mind God’s faithfulness in your life. Think about all the times He has come through and trust him because the mercies of God are limitless and new every morning (Lamentations 3:18-22). Finally, build your hope on the Word of God. The written Word of God is an inexhaustible source of hope for the believer. If we are feasting on the Word regularly, our hope level will stay strong. There is no question that our expectation rises and falls in life based on the time we have been investing in reading, studying, memorizing, and applying the Word of God to our lives.

Decide today that you are not going to walk around this Christmas season like Charlie Brown. Make up your mind that when people see you coming they are going to be excited to see you because you exude life, hope, and the joy of a person that has a burning inner image of expectation in your life. Charlie Brown takes people down but the hope-filled believer lifts others up. It’s time for Charlie Brown to move out of our hearts and welcome the hope of God back in.

Share this:

My spirit was deeply stirred when I first heard the vision given by a Hope Harbor Church staff member regarding the grenades of deception, distraction, and dis-ease the enemy has been hurling at Christians hoping that they will pick them up, pull the pin, and set off a chain reaction of devastation in their lives. As a pastor I see many believers today pulling the pin rather than ignoring the efforts of the enemy to steal the abundant and victorious life God has for them. The blog series, Don’t Pull the Pin, is designed to help you understand the nature of the grenades and how to overcome the temptation to act on those devices or schemes. 

In today’s blog I want to discuss the grenade of distraction. Unlike deception which is designed to outright deceive the believer into wrong decisions and behavior, the grenade of distraction is designed to steal and disrupt our focus, concentration, diligence, and follow through so that we are fruitless, frustrated, and defeated believers. Distraction literally means to divide the mind or the attention, to block concentration through amusement, entertainment, or diversion. We have all seen the carnage caused these days by drivers on the road distracted by loud music, passengers, eating or drinking, or texting. Our lives face disruption or destruction as well when we are distracted from a holy concentration on the priorities of God. Too often, our breakthroughs are delayed not by God’s will, but because we did not stay focused or single-minded long enough to get the job done.

We are all subject to loss when we allow ourselves to be distracted by the enemy. We lose opportunities when we are not focused. We lose revelations when we are not focused. We miss vital signals from the Lord when we are distracted. Many believers have made enormous mistakes just because they could not pick up the still small voice warning them about the direction they were headed or the choices they were making. We miss deadlines and fail to complete vital tasks when we are not focused. We compromise our very destiny when we are not focused. The amazing plans God has for our lives will never materialize if we can’t stay focused long enough to pursue those plans. We lose a measure of effectiveness when we are not focused. We all know how hard it is to do something with excellence while being interrupted repeatedly. We miss divine appointments for our lives when we are not focused. The Lord has ordained a series of divine appointments along our path that are designed to make a huge impact and difference in our lives but too often we are distracted or apathetic and miss out on a life-changing encounter. Finally, we fail to complete our objectives when war are not focused. Life becomes a series of half-hearted efforts and half-completed projects. We could become great but we never seem to be able to finish anything.

If you desire to overcome the grenade of distraction and stay focused and productive in your Christian life there are some things you must do. First, make Jesus the clear focus of your life. This one quality decision made daily will keep the rest of your life vision clear and in balance. Second, focus on the unseen realm. For the believer, the seen realm is not the ultimate authority in life. You may see and hear things in the natural realm that demand your attention but you do not have to give in to them. Third focus on God’s instruction. Keeping God’s Word in our eyes, ears, and hearts will help keep us focused on what really matters. Fourth, focus on right thinking. When we think right our vision is right. Blurry spiritual vision is often the result of fuzzy and unscriptural thinking. Finally, focus on heavenly things rather than temporal or carnal things. Carnal Christians tend to be undisciplined and unfocused in their lives and their efforts are constantly sidetracked by the appetites and screaming of the flesh to be catered to or fed.

The next time the enemy tosses the grenade of distraction your way, have the wisdom to stay focused on the things of God instead. We all have too much to do in the Kingdom of God to be distracted even momentarily from our high call and destiny. When you see that grenade flying through the air just turn your attention to the voice of the Word of God and the Spirit of God and make up your mind that you are not going to be distracted from God’s best for your life.  

Share this:

In an earlier post I mentioned the short but powerful vision one of our HHC staff members had one morning on the way to a prayer meeting. The individual saw the enemy tossing grenades at believers and then standing back to watch how those believers would react. Would they ignore the attack and ignore the grenade or would their attention be arrested and would they pull the pin? The key to understanding the vision is to realize that the enemy would not be able to cause destruction or devastation without the help or cooperation of the believer. Veterans who have handled actual live grenades know that the pins do not come out without some deliberate force. There simply would be no explosion without believers exerting some effort to pull the pins on the grenades.

Three of the most common grenades are deception (loss of truth), distraction (loss of focus), and dis-ease (loss of peace). The enemy is very proficient at creating tailor-made or custom-made assignments or grenades designed to entice us to react inappropriately and cause our own demise. One of the wisest pastors I’ve ever known used to say repeatedly, “It’s not what happens in life that does all the damage. It’s how we react that does all the damage.” It is vital during this hour of intense spiritual warfare and encroaching darkness that we discern the devil’s efforts and make up our minds that we are not going to pull the pin on his grenade no matter what. If we go ahead and pull the pin on the devil’s devices or schemes we will certainly take ourselves out of God’s plan and off our path, we will lead others astray and destroy others with the impact, and we will model wrong behavior under pressure.

In today’s blog I want to discuss the grenade of deception. The enemy is skilled in the art of seduction or the gradual moving of a believer from right conduct, right believing, and right devotion. Coupled with the process of seduction, the enemy, the father of lies, unleashes an array of lying spirits to distort our perception and attempt to entice us to believe a lie. This grenade is particularly effective even among the most seasoned of believers. The enemy’s goal with the deception is to convince believers of some untruth in an all out effort to redirect their lives. The distortion of the truth is just a tool for his greater goal of diverting us from God’s best. Deception, time and time again, is the devil’s choice weapon to accomplish his agenda of stealing, killing, and destroying.

The following “recipe for deception” will help you guard and protect your mind and heart from the schemes of the enemy. The first ingredient is to induce weariness in the heart and life of the believer. If we would learn to wait on the Lord for restoration instead of scurrying around trying to fix everything ourselves we could head of deception immediately. Next, the enemy adds a dash of pressure such as strife, responsibility, or financial challenges. Instead of casting our cares upon the Lord we try to bear up under the pressure as if that was some kind of believer’s badge of courage. The enemy will then add to the pressure a few setbacks, disappointments, or failures and we begin to think about throwing in the towel. At this point we are becoming more susceptible to deception. Next the enemy will fold in a few interpersonal issues and our thinking and behavior becomes more and more reactionary, a quality the enemy depends upon to get us to pull the pin. Finally, he inserts a lie or two and in many cases, the believer will buy the lie, and react in a destructive manner.

During this spiritually volatile time we need to be aware of how the enemy predisposes and prepares us to accept the lie as truth and then induces us to react in such a way that we bring devastation and destruction into our own lives. Remember to wait upon the Lord, roll the cares of life over on the Lord, realize that failing does not make you a failure, walk in love with people at all times, and measure everything you hear against the Word of God. Remember that without your cooperation – unless you pull the pin, the grenade of deception will not explode and damage your life and the lives of those around you.

Share this:

Recently a staff member at Hope Harbor Church had a short vision from the Lord regarding the warfare currently being waged against believers in the body of Christ. The picture she saw was of the enemy throwing grenades in the direction of Christians and then just sitting back to see what the believer would do. In other words, there was no explosion and would not be until and unless the believer pulled the pin. 

The key to this vision is the realization that the enemy cannot take out the believer without his or her cooperation. A military veteran recently asked me if I had ever held a military issue hand grenade or tried to pull out the pin (I had not). His point was that it is not easy to pull the pin and arm the grenade. He said the movie image of a he-man pulling the pin out with his teeth is fictitious. In reality it takes deliberate force to remove the pin (for obvious) reasons. The enemy needs us to pull the pin on the grenade that is at our feet. The damage then comes not because the grenade was lobbed our way but because we picked up the grenade and then pulled the pin.

The grenades being thrown at the believer include the deception of the enemy, distraction, and what I call dis-ease or a reduction in the peace or wholeness of God in our lives. The idea of the enemy is to get us to pull the pin by acting on the deception, distraction, or dis-ease. It is when we act on these that the real damage is done.

It is important to understand that the enemy has schemes, devices, tricks, and intrigues (Ephesians 6:10-12) uniquely and specifically designed to take us down as individual believers. These tailor-made or custom-made attacks are only effective if we react inappropriately to them. He may know how to pull our chains but he cannot force us to pull the pins on those custom attacks or grenades currently be thrown at us.

In coming posts I will be discussing each of the three grenades (deception, distraction, and dis-ease) in detail to explain to you how they work, what they are designed to do in your life, and how to defeat them every time. For now, remember that the enemy must have your cooperation and effort if the pin is ever to be pulled. Just don’t give him the satisfaction.

Share this:

When the Cardinals won the world series on Friday night, I was so charged during Allen Craig’s game-winning catch that I leaped into the air with my hands outstretched and proceeded to cut my knuckles open on the popcorn ceiling above me. Today I was reflecting upon my wound, and I realized that there was a lesson to be learned from my own mistake.

Modern Christianity is often paralleled to a sporting event, but here it’s even easier to draw a conclusion from these events: Professional sports are groups of men performing to a specific rule set for the enjoyment of their spectators. How different is this from God? He’s performing every day to a specific rule set: His rule set that He outlines in his own rulebook, no less! The difference is the question of whether we are observing his performance.

I was a bit convicted this morning looking at my own hands and realizing that I’m guilty of having difficulty getting this excited about God. I asked myself: “What does it take for our collective Christianity to get so excited about God that we’re willing to ‘bloody our knuckles’ in celebration of our faith?” I don’t necessarily know the specific answer, but I believe that regardless we need to get back to a state of bloody-knuckle Christianity. If we can cheer so excitedly for professional sports teams and musicians, why not God?

In the past, and even in the present, men bloodied their knuckles on the field of battle to protect their, and our, faiths. Why are we, as spectators, so hesitant to get our own hands dirty? Wounds are a history and carry stories with them, but how many Christians have bothered to sit back and not scratch their pristine finish? Isn’t it more interesting for those who are observing YOU to hear about what caused your bloody knuckles?

However, in this reflection I believe that as modern Christians we all can do a better job. We need to turn down the outside distractions and watch the one true actor and performer in our lives, and become excited enough that we create a visible record of our excitement to tell to others. Anecdotes are one of the most powerful ways of communicating with others, so why do we sit back and prevent being a part of more interesting anecdotes?

CONTRIBUTED BY JONATHAN BARRETT 

Share this:

It should be no surprise to any believer who desires to go beyond the religious, superficial, or ornamental variety of Christianity that there will be a significant push back from the enemy. Paul warned Timothy (3:10-17) that everyone desiring to live a godly life in Christ Jesus would be persecuted (opposed, hindered, maligned, attacked). It’s common sense. As long as we are spectators sitting in the stands of some football game, we are never going to be subject to the bumps and bruises of those on the field actually playing the game. It’s the same way in the life of the serious believer. When we come off the bench of apathy, lethargy, indifference, and sloth and actually engage Christianity the way God intended it to be lived out, we become a greater threat to the enemy and with every step we advance, Satan is there ready to turn up the heat to steal our hope, dream, vision, blessing, development, and destiny.

Hebrews 10:35-39 exhorts us to hold on to our faith because it will be richly rewarded if we do not faint, quit, or give up. The pressure of the enemy in the life of a serious Christian is designed to push us off the Word and away from the promises. But we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) and we can push back by first submitting to God and then resisting the devil (James 4:7). If we do, we are assured that the enemy will flee. We should not, however, ignorantly believe that he will never return to try his old tricks on us again. If you think you are being picked on by the enemy (and he does use people to do it), you are not paranoid or imagining things. The enemy is coming after you to shut you down.

The bottom line is that as we progress from nominal Christian to authentic, reproducing Christian, the enemy is going to respond with his choice weapons of temptation, discouragement, offense, and deception to slow, hinder, or altogether halt our progress. Through the years, I’ve identified seven specific developmental levels where we can expect the enemy to move against us to thwart our process and stifle our influence:

Level One: Born Again – when we move from religion to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we can’t expect the devil to stand up and applaud. As long as we are in religion induced darkness we are not a threat to him. But when we get born again we come alive and we begin to discern truth and evil and now have the spiritual tools to walk in the truth and reject the evil.

Level Two: Believing Believer – some Christians get born again and then never progress to the point where they embrace the integrity of the Word of God and dare to believe the promises and principles in the Bible. A believing believer is capable of producing great results, fruit, and breakthroughs. The more we embrace the Word (Mark 4), the greater the persecution from the enemy.

Level Three: Active Participant – when we come out of the stands and into the game we can expect the enemy to come after us to attempt to push us right back out of the game. His goal of his devices here is very plain – to make you think twice about serving or leading in the body of Christ in any substantive way.

Level Four: Person of the Spirit – there is nothing more dangerous to Satan than a born again and Spirit-filled believer. We all receive the Holy Spirit at salvation but there is an additional endowment or empowerment that is available to all Christians (Acts 2) that gives us power to live this life and power to share the good news with others. Spiritual warfare goes to an entirely new level in the life of the Spirit-baptized Christian.

Level Five: Soul Winner – with each level of progress we become more dangerous to the goals and agenda of the enemy. The Christian who is not content just to sit in church waiting for their death and heavenly reward, but actively seeks to depopulate hell and populate heaven with precious souls is the arch-enemy of the devil. He literally hates soulwinners with a passion. Don’t expect a spiritual reprieve from the enemy if you’ve made up your mind to obey Jesus and reach the unreached and tell the untold.

Level Six: Budding Leader – there are many in the body of Christ that seem to literally take off in their own discipleship and development. They have truly become disciples (self-discipline learners of the Lord Jesus Christ) and budding leaders. The enemy becomes very creative in his effort to take down budding leaders before they can reach their full potential.

Level Seven: Developer of Others – the devil will do everything he can to stop a believer from getting to the place where he or she is effectively discipling and developing others to reach their potential in the Kingdom of God. The most dangerous Christian is the one who takes a person from being lost to discovering and inserting his or her gifts in the body of Christ. The level seven believers are reproducing themselves and showing those they develop how to do the same.

So, as Peter warned, you should not be surprised concerning the fiery trial you are facing (1 Peter 4:12-19). You are not crazy. Someone really does hate you and wants to stop you from releasing the greatness that is in you through Jesus, the Word, and the Spirit of God. As we study the serious Christian in upcoming blogs, my prayer is that you come to understand how each of the devils’ schemes (temptation, discouragement, offense, and deception) operate and that you learn to consistently repel them. It’s not always easy, but becoming what God has dreamed for you to become is worth all the attacks and difficulties you will encounter on your journey.

Share this:

Today’s posting was written by Sue Barrett, Administrative Assistant for Operations at Hope Harbor Church.

Among women in our country, our world, there is a very common disease today.  No, it’s not newer than HIV.  I’d venture to say it is older and even more common than the common cold.  As I listen to women, I’ve found that it’s more prevalent, persistent and unsightly than dandruff – more noticeable to the naked eye than the smallest imperfection.  Once you’ve acquired it, it’s nearly impossible to eradicate.  No amount of cosmetology, new hairstyles, new wardrobes, new shoes or plastic surgery can diminish its effects. The unsightly handiwork will sooner or later become quite evident to all.

It can be acquired in only a moment but without treatment the effects can be crippling, even life threatening. It is like a virus that injects its DNA into healthy cells; then replicates itself very quickly through out our system until it has complete control.   Many of us are carriers and don’t even realize that we transmit it to the thousands of people we come in contact with every year. Those most at risk are our children, our husbands and our friends. Why haven’t we heard more about this?  What are the symptoms?  How do you know if you’re at risk?

1. Are you often unhappy? 
2. Do the joys of others annoy you?
3. Do you feel unappreciated, un- or under loved?
4. Are you easily overwhelmed or disappointed?
5. Are you often irritable?
6. Are you less likely to join in group activities than you once were?
7. Are you often afraid?
8. Do you often combat overwhelming feelings of guilt or remorse?
9. Do you often suffer remorse over lost opportunities?
10. Sometimes, would you love to just give up since you can’t start the whole thing over?

If you answered yes to 6 or more of the above:

Your case requires immediate intervention to prevent further complications or even death.

If you answered yes to 3-5 of the above questions:

The treatment often provides immediate relief although symptoms can require up to several years before the disease is in complete remission.

If you answered yes to 1-2 of the above questions:

The treatment may result in immediate remission although symptoms may  reappear or worsen if treatment is discontinued.

If you answered no to all of the above questions:

Congratulations! You do not have the disease but you will remain at risk throughout your lifetime.

Many people are diagnosed well into the 4^th stage with depression, anxiety and panic disorder.  However, I believe we can intervene sooner when this syndrome is still in its reversible early stage. What is this affliction? Some refer to it as dysfunctional disclaimer disorder aka nagging, nay saying, nitpicking, necrosis of the nervous system aka persistent, pernicious, pessimistic paralysis of the parietal lobe which can lead to a lame limbic system aka sitting down (disobeying) when you should be standing for (obeying) God yet I prefer to name it in simple, layman’s terms – The Yeah-But Disease (no pun intended).

The Yeah-But Disease is characterized by exhibiting a negative attitude towards almost any possible positive option encountered by short-circuiting its unsuspecting host in mid-pursuit of his/her dreams, goals or plans.  Whatever positive thought passes through the mind is immediately besieged by either a platoon of several or just one very pernicious “Yeah-But” anti-thought.

I first became aware of this disease when contemplating my feelings as I was seeking God’s face regarding several options in my life.  My options were two:

1)  Listen to God, verify it with His Word and obey his voice or

2)  Submit to the Yeah-But Disease, listen to all the reasons why it would be more comfortable and sensible to disobey, and then – disobey.

Upon careful analysis, I discovered that I had been in close proximity to a friend of more than 20 years whom I had listened to while she rationalized away about every possible move God has ever placed upon her life.  Time and time again, she had come to me for counsel which I was happy to give.  Then, after I had bestowed upon her the sum total of all my earthly wisdom she invariably dismissed my sagacity with one little phrase – Yeah-But.  Yeah-But was the reason she never finished college, never had any children, never worked, never accrued any Social Security or retirement, rarely took any trips, rarely had a close circle of friends and rarely pursued anything passionately.  Disobedience appeared so much safer and more reliable.  After all, she would never in good conscience do anything to hurt herself.

It was only a matter of time before I acquired the disease. Yeah-But assured me that doing anything out of obedience and passionate love for God could possibly lead to ruinous risk and when it did, who would be there to offer comfort?  Certainly not Yeah-But!  The only thing he would promise was that he would offer me a hearty helping of accusation and guilt before his court of one.

Then one day, some Word I had stored in my heart broke through the bars of Yeah-But and brought to me great freedom once again.  Freedom to dream, freedom to risk, and freedom to depend on God for the consequences of my actions committed in obedience to Him and to His Word.  I discovered hope in Jesus could be my greatest ally.

God gives us hope in His Word in the verses which state “I will lift my eyes unto the mountains; from whence shall my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.  (Psalm 121:1-3)

Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. (2 Chr. 20:20)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Be Blessed!

Share this:

I was recently studying Paul’s admonitions and requests to the churches at Colossae, Thessalonica, and Philippi to pray for him. From the deplorable condition of being chained like a criminal for preaching Christ, he pleaded for prayer from the church body for deliverance, boldness, and clarity of message. What an example to any man or woman of God called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Despite Paul’s cultural and educational pedigree, he knew that the ultimate key to his success was the anointing of the Holy Spirit made more prevalent in his life and ministry through the prayer of the saints of God. Like Paul, without this partnership prayer for spiritual leadership, we are all limited in our understanding, impact, and fruit. Think of it this way, if Paul, with all of his accomplishments, training, and giftings felt the need for prayer, how much more do we that minister in today’s generation need that prayer?

I want to encourage you to pray for your pastors and spiritual leaders.  I’ve listed some very powerful results that the saints can expect in the lives of their spiritual leaders when the churches consistently and passionately pray for them. A wise man once said that every failure in the believer’s life is a prayer failure…a failure to pray.

1.  Prayer empowers your pastor to live right. The enemy is doing everything he can to take down God-called men and women of God. Your faithful intercession for their personal lives will strengthen them with the resolve and wisdom to say “no” to ungodliness in every battle and temptation. 

2.  Prayer empowers your pastor to love right. Spiritual leaders are not exempt from the tendency to get hurt, put out, or offended. They are not much good to anyone if they allow a root of bitterness to grow in their hearts or if they lose their compassion for the flock of God. By praying that your leaders will maintain sensitivity of heart you will help ensure that they will, despite the many opportunities, reject offense and choose to walk in love no matter what they  go through. 

3.  Prayer empowers your pastor to listen right. It’s never been more critical for spiritual leadership to develop and maintain a hearing ear when it comes to the urgings, promptings, and direction of the Holy Spirit. There is so much spiritual chatter out there and this will only increase as the Day of the Lord draws near. With all this noise and distraction it is very important that you pray for your spiritual leaders to be ultra sensitive to the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit. They cannot teach right if they cannot hear right.

4.  Prayer empowers your pastor to learn right. People today have an increasing interest and fascination with the supernatural and hidden or secret knowledge that will help them succeed in life. The problem is people are turning to influences that are actually thinly veiled doctrines of devils instead of seeking the Kingdom of God, the God of the Kingdom, and the revelation knowledge of that Kingdom. The primary responsibility of the spiritual leader is to receive revelation from the Word of God and share it with the people of God for their growth and development. Leaders cannot teach what they themselves have not learned.

5.  Prayer empowers your pastor to lead right. Spiritual leaders are required to make hundreds of decisions every week that affect the churches and organizations they serve. When spiritual leaders miss it, they take others down the wrong path with them. It is paramount that the body of Christ pray for their leaders to make biblical, wise, ethical, and strategic decisions. Like all believers, leaders will also make mistakes, but the number of mistakes can be drastically reduced if the people of God would pray for their spiritual leaders and confess the mind of Christ over them.

Let us pray…