Lord

The Ox and Chihuahua

Coronado Sunset“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”--2 Corinthians 6:14, NKJV

Jonathan and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary!  He surprised me at work with lunch (I thought he was the UPS man so I ignored him initially), he tidied up the home, bought me roses, took me to dinner and the list goes on.  I am very blessed and thankful for the man I get to spend everyday with.  How did I end up with such a good guy?  I trusted God and I did not waiver on what I wanted to do in life.  I did not melt at the first guy who told me I was the “one” or that I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Honestly, words can be cheap.  All it takes is one chick flick for a guy to know what to say.  Jonathan tells me I am beautiful several times a day and it still makes my heart flutter but he does not stop there.  He calls me for who God calls me.  He does not just see me on the surface but he recognizes the purpose I was created for and the dreams I long to become a reality.  He encourages my passions and works to provide and take care of our home.  Above honoring me, he honors God.  I fell in love with the man I could dream with.  When I talk about seeing entire nations come to know Jesus or providing clean water for everyone in the world he dreams with me to see those things become possible.  We plan to be millionaires by the time we are 30 and we know we will be. Our Daddy is the King.  Therefore, our inheritance is the world!

Growing up, when I would hear the Scripture about not being unequally yoked, I instantly thought of eggs.  It was several years before I began to understand the context.  I was not sure what chickens or breakfast had to do with a relationship.  However a good tip for the ladies: Always have the ingredients for chocolate chip pancakes on hand.  Those provide awesome wife-points when made!

Thankfully, at this point in life, I now understand what this scripture is referring to.   Just in case you are still unsure let me help.

Yoke – A device for joining together a pair of draft animals, especially oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces, each enclosing the head of an animal.

(It has nothing to do with eggs.)

Basically you need to be able to run together and walk together.  Now when I hear the scripture about not being unequally yoked I imagine two strong oxen joined together, walking side by side, doing their job efficiently.  Now imagine if you joined a Chihuahua to an ox…the ox would either stand still (highly unlikely) or the little dog would be pummeled and ran into the ground.  The little dog would never be able to keep up.  You should never consider dating someone you couldn’t agree with and walk out life together.

A relationship should be exciting and fun to dream about the things you can do as one, as well as dream about all the places you can go together.  I can assure you, it is worth waiting for.  Jonathan and I keep a Dr. Seuss notebook of “Oh The Places You’ll Go.”   We record the things we dream of doing in life and we love when we have accomplished something in our dream book.

We were created to enjoy life in abundance.  So ladies: Do not marry a little boy but get yourself a man who you dream with.  Gentlemen: get yourself a woman who already knows she is beautiful by which you can affirm that in her.

Enjoy life,

Keeli

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

--John 10:10, NKJV

Bathroom Breakthrough: Puppets Can't Subdue Tyranny... You Can

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyU17b4DbQ&w=640&h=360] There is a term that is used loosely and innocently by many in the church.  The intentions of this phrase is good but it slightly misrepresents the truth of who God is, who we are, and the state of the world.  In fact, most believers, at some point in their life are guilty of saying it at some point or another.  It is a phrase used to bring comfort and assists in the justification of why bad things happen.  However, one must understand that God's will is not everything that happens and everything that happens is not God's will.  The phrase I am referring to is: God is in control.

When God made Adam and Eve, He did not create puppets.  God is not a puppet on a string.  Therefore, He could not truly create anyone in His image if they were under control.  Instead, He gave dominion to mankind (Genesis 1:26-28).  Psalms 115:16 states that the heavens belong to the Lord but the earth He has given to man.  But we do not have control over the earth.  We simply have what Jesus gave: authority.

There is a major difference between authority and control.  If God is in control, why is there racism?  Why is there war or terror?  Why is there murder and rape?  Why is there human trafficking?  Why are there natural disasters wiping out entire cities?  Why is anybody sick?  God is either in control and mad, or we are co-heirs and seated in heavenly realms with Him operating in His authority, and He is madly in love with the entire world.

I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 tell us that it is God's will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of salvation.  The entire world was chosen, elected, and predestined to be in Christ.  However, we know that many reject His love and the knowledge of His salvation.  It still does not remove their inclusion in the finished work of the cross or mean that they were chosen by God not to be saved.  It just means they simply choose to reject.

When we walk in the authority of Christ, sickness becomes extinct, solutions come easy, divine inspiration and creativity change nations for good, poverty becomes a thing of the past, the hungry are fed, the lonely are loved, and the orphans and widows are taken good care of.  Heaven on earth is a utopia.  We can know God's will when we look at Jesus.  We can see what isn't God's will when we look at the absence of His authority.  But now, there is no absence of authority for the believer whose goal is God's kingdom on earth.

Jonathan Fawcett

Bathroom Breakthrough: I Like Big Buts

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY3ZGckmtt8]That's right!  Big buts!  When millions stop short with I Corinthians 2:9, Paul was bold enough in verse 10 to say, "But God".  That is a very big but and utterly destroys every excuse for not understanding the mysteries of God.  Jesus has revealed the mysteries of the universe by His Holy Spirit.  The beauty in hearing God's voice is that it requires us to be teachable.  It took time for me to arrive to the realization that Christ already accomplished what I was trying to in my own efforts.  To quote two statuses from this past week's Facebook activity:

"Who is guilty of using the phrase "standing in the gap"? I'm raising my hand. NEWSFLASH: There is no gap! Jesus is closer to you than you are to you. Gap: closed. Old Covenant vernacular: over. When we remain teachable, the Good News continues to get better and better because we can look back on the silly things we once believed and be glad that Jesus didn't keep a secret. Only people can take the upfront truth of God's grace and twist it to require more of our effort. With that said, if we continue to believe in our striving, the only gap remaining is the one between our ears and the one where our teeth get knocked out by the self-inflicted beating that accompanies religion."

And...

"Repent of your constant repentance! Even though the platform of some ministries is to get people to repent, the question is- of what?! The word "repent" means to change your mind. When you received the mind of Christ, your days of crying out in repentance were over!"

In other words, because of your union with Christ, you now have the mind of Christ.  His thoughts have become your thoughts and His ways have become your ways.  The mind of Christ does not need to be changed.  We are continually being made in the image of God.  We already are!  Your moments of denial are just the nature of the old, dead, zombie - the person you once were who was co-crucified, co-buried, and c0-raised.  You deserved hell and death.  But God... He made you a new creature - one that can never be separated from Him.  That old, sick, crippled zombie stayed buried.  The new you was raised in perfect union with Christ.

Don't let repentance and ritualistic religion (no matter how charismatic it might seem) keep you from experiencing the freedom of the rest that accompanies His grace.

Jonathan Fawcett