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Painful Realization

The hardest thing to learn is what you think you already know, right?

Pain is a faithful instructor…

I read some years ago that the product of a team and the product of individuals aren’t the same. I’ve come to believe / realize the truth in this. Here’s the story that drove it home like no other. It was 2005 and I’d just returned from an extreme missions training pilot course. My mind was being brought into the light of teamwork in ways I thought I already knew.

I’ll spare you the gore of the incident, but I came face to face with a deception in my own life. Since very young, I was thrust into leadership. Some of the thrusting was my own doing, some was that of others.

Because I’d been routinely in leadership, I mistook this (somehow) for knowing how to be a good teammate. It seems strange now, as the two clearly aren’t the same thing. What I knew was how to be in charge.

It took a little drama to wake me from my stupor.

After the drama of team clash and proof beyond doubt that I knew how to wrestle people into submission, in a way that reminded me of my broken and abusive predecessors, I saw a light.

Continue reading “Painful Realization”
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My 9-11 Experience…

(Reblogged from Guy Yasika – OneDollarApologist) I did an interview for a podcast for Foundational Missions. This interview was going as most conversations around my 9-11 experience until the interviewer asked me a question that no one has put in front of me yet. The question was simply “have you forgiven them?” meaning the terrorists. It caught me completely off guard and could not give a proper answer. In fact, I am not sure I have decided yet. What does forgiveness look like? How do you forgive someone that could be that evil?
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What We Have / What We Need

What we have is not what we need, no matter how appealing the marketing has become.

We can try to fit into what is, and find our place, but that will cost us the real fit and actual contribution that Jesus offers us. What is all around us, making its pitch for “membership”, is a religious framework, a construct of men. Taking the bait, we are being beguiled, robbed really, of the higher and better. It has to do with our perspective, our worldview, and the low and beggarly appeals that seek to distract us and prevent our farther entry into Christ. Now, we cannot escape the context we are in, but we can transcend it. This is why Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble, but cheer up, I have overcome the world.” Veiled In this elaboration, like a hidden treasure, is His invitation to you to overcome the world, with Him. Jesus was in this world, but not of it. That is our birthright in Him. Let’s walk in it.

When our perspective has its foundation in the One who is high and lifted up, the Most High, we are off to a good start, and a starting point to fill in the rest of the blanks. When ultimate reality for us begins with Him who is seated on the throne – the Most High God, and His taking increasing residence on the throne of our hearts, only then are we in a place to see things as they are, not as they appear. We are waking up to reality.

In the midst of getting your courage up, be careful not to be misled. We are not fighting what is, just as our struggle is not with flesh and blood. To waste ourselves in the stubborn determination to tear down what men have made is a long road into meaninglessness and shipwreck of faith, and countless numbers have lost their vessels on its jagged shoreline. Let’s don’t be led astray by our desire to “set things right” from a human point of view. Many, if not most, injustices await the resurrection of the just.

One primary peril of the outsider is that they can be tricked into trying to recreate a new context where they can be an insider. History bears keen witness.

All the while, we are not of this world.

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Objective Truth (Guest post from Jeanne Hedrick)

Hey guys…

I am re-blogging something here from Jeanne Hedrick. This is seriously relevant content. I encourage you to check it out, and all of Jeanne’s content by the way. Her depth and sincerity will bless and challenge you.

Scott

(From Jeanne’s note in the last few weeks)

Dear Friends,

Long before we had the Internet people knew how quickly a lie can spread. In 1710 Jonathan Swift wrote, “Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.” Today we’re experiencing a deluge of false information. Some call it fake news, which can mean information that’s completely false or just not 100% true.
The reasons fake news spreads more quickly than well-documented news stories are pretty easy to figure out. It’s more interesting and provocative. It appeals more to our emotions than to our logic. And often it addresses deep seated fears and biases, which trigger our response to pass it on before checking its accuracy.

Psychologists teach about the illusory truth effect, which is essentially this: The more often people hear something, the more likely they are to believe it’s true. Repeated often enough, even blatant lies become believable. So passing them on — knowingly or unknowingly — hurts everyone. I hope George Orwell’s famous quote doesn’t prove prophetic in our generation. “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.”

For Christians, being able to discern truth is critical. We are (or at least should be) people of truth. We represent a God who speaks with perfect and eternal truth because He cannot lie. So truth is in our spiritual DNA. How committed are we to preserving and passing on His unchanging truth? This is what I’ll be exploring in next month’s “Adventuring with God.” To quote Orwell again, “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” We’ll look at how valuable God’s eternal Word is in this age of relativity and deception.

As always, I welcome your input, comments, and any questions you might have related to this topic. Feel free to share Adventuring with God devotionals with friends and family as you see fit. Watch for a shorter email with a link to the audio version and WordPress blog site, as well as an attached hard copy of the devotional around the first of August. I’m so grateful for your partnership in spreading the truth of the Gospel!

Love in Christ,

Jeanne

Written content – here

Spoken content – here