reckless

abuse, bondage, freedom, reckless, release, repression, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Free: Allowing God to Break Repression and Bondage on Our Lives

DevotionalsAugust 28, 2019August 26, 2019

Abusive relationships, depression, sin are just a few things that can cause bondage in our lives. But we are set free through Jesus’ death and resurrection!

Set Free

The young girl ran towards the water with reckless abandon. She loved this time of year when she could swim in the ocean and pretend to be a mermaid. But, today would be different. A short while later while splashing around she was hit by a large wave. The undertow was strong. She was tossed in circles and hit her head on the ocean floor time and again. She was seized with fear and felt as though she would drown. After what seemed like an eternity the sea spit her body onto the shore. She was trembling and coughing up water, but she was alive. She was free from the grip of the ocean’s power.

Thirty years later the young girl was now a woman. She respected the sea and its power. Today she found herself floating on the still ocean waters. Her body gently moved with the ocean’s movements; the water rolling over her like a caress. Her face titled toward the sun; drinking in its warmth. She relished times like these when she could talk to God amidst the beauty of His creation. It was in that still moment, God reminded her of how she had been set free.

Abuse

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18, NIV

What I have to share is deeply personal and a sensitive subject for many men and women. Many of us have faced brokenness so deep that it leaves us crushed. There are all kinds of repressions we face in our lives.

Some know very little how it feels to constantly be knocked down with words or actions. But, far too many men and women know the real horrors of being physically, mentally, and/ or emotionally and verbally abused. The physical is unimaginably difficult to get over. I admire more than one of my friends who have had the courage to break free from the cycle of abuse and find strength in Christ to heal and move forward.

I took me a lot of years to recognize what verbal and emotional abuse look like. It does not mean I was not in a loving relationship. In fact, I still love this person very deeply. However, words and actions can still hurt us deeply. They can beat us down and make use believe lies about ourselves and even give us a distorted identity.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1, NIV

Recognizing What Binds

The effects of abuse are often debilitating. Depression, confusion, overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and poor physical health are all effects. Cling to God’s words in I Corinthians 13 because God paints a very clear picture of what love truly is and is not. But, the first step to solving any problem is recognizing what the problem is. So, I ask all of you reading this, what binds you?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it doesn not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
I Corinthians 13:4-8, CSB

Realizing Your Role

I am a people pleaser and I know this about myself. But, it is not always a good thing. In fact, until I reached my mid-thirties, I used to allow others to run over me because keeping the peace was so important to me. So, I played a major role in allowing others to hurt me.

Now, of course, this did not make it right. However, sometimes we allow things to happen to us because we are seized with fear, anxiety, want to keep the peace, overwhelmed, or just think we are powerless to stop them from happening. If we are saved, then the Holy Spirit is within us. God’s power is within us! Claim it! Realize the power of Christ within you!

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…
Ephesians 3:20, KJV

Releasing it to God

If you love someone let them go. If it was meant to be, then they will come back to you.

As a teenage girl with a lot of crushes, I used to cling to this phrase. As a mature woman, I now realize the value in these words. After decades, I finally had to let go of the one whom my heart loved. The one whom I shared a life and children with. But, letting go does not mean giving up. It means releasing it to God. As humans, we try to control and fix so many situations in our lives. But, it is important to realize there are many things beyond our power.

Reckless Abandon

When you think of a person who has reckless abandon you often think of one who is wild and careless and does not think about the consequences of their actions. However, I want you to think of living the Christian life with reckless abandon in a slightly different way.

The term “reckless” comes from the root word “reckon” which means to account for or to think of every thought. Is it our job to reckon with God and think through every little detail of our lives? No. We are not God. He is there to lead and guide us. If we try to reckon or reason with Him, then we are trying to take control away from God.

The verb for abandon means to leave. The noun for abandon means to lack inhibition or restraint. So, let’s put these two words together. Reckless abandon in the Christian life means to leave your life, without restraining or trying to control any part of it, and rely completely on God to control and direct every part of it. How freeing it is to allow the Lord to rule your heart. To allow Him to free us from things that bind our lives. He has a purpose and a plan we need only to follow Him with reckless abandon.

Until we meet again…Gracie

How freeing it is to allow the Lord to rule your heart. To allow Him to free us from things that bind our lives. He has a purpose and a plan we need only to follow Him with reckless abandon. Click To Tweet

Dieter Kühl

discernment, God’s guidance, peace, prayer, reckless, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Prayer: Avoid Living Recklessly by Inviting the Lord’s Daily Leading

DevotionalsApril 8, 2019April 8, 2019

When prayer isn’t a daily part of our lives, it causes us to live recklessly. Lacking prayer causes us to fall asleep to the Lord’s leading.

I was standing in Home Depot with my husband when I received a text from our daughter. She relayed a glorious, long-awaited answer to prayer for a beloved friend. I wanted to shout HALLELUJAH and dance a happy dance in praise to our almighty, merciful God! (We didn’t shout, but Gary and I had us a little praise service in the hardware aisle.)

I wonder, sometimes, why we don’t pray more than we do…

Necessity

As I was pondering this topic my mind was taken back to an article I read years ago by Ruth Graham, wife of Rev. Billy Graham. The Grahams had five children and Rev. Graham traveled around the world preaching the gospel the majority of each year.

For many years, Mrs. Graham did not have an hour or two per day for prayer. Instead, Mrs. Graham prayed as she washed dishes, prayed as she cooked meals or vacuumed. She prayed without ceasing, at all times, during every part of the day. Prayer had been a vital part of her life since she was a young teen; she was convinced it was a necessity.

In Matthew 26, after the Lord’s Supper takes place, Jesus takes the disciples out to Gethsemane.

‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

Matthew 26:36, ESV

Most of you know this story. Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John while the other disciples were expected to pray, (minus Judas, who had left the supper to betray Jesus). Jesus became very troubled and sorrowful, even to death. He asked the three, the men who were closest to Him, to watch with Him. Jesus then went a bit further still, and fell on his face before the Father, wrestling in prayer.

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.’

Matthew 26:40-42, ESV

Friends Who Pray

You’ve guessed where this is going, haven’t you? Even if you didn’t know this story, you’re fairly familiar with even the best of human intentions.

Sadly, when Jesus returned the third time, He found them sleeping. So, Jesus went back to prayer alone, “saying the same words again” to His Father. When He returned to His disciples, He said to them:

‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.’

Matthew 26:45-46, ESV

It is a difficult concept to ponder – Jesus wanting company, Jesus wanting His friends to be near Him as He struggled with conflict in prayer. We can’t fathom Him wrestling with His will about doing His Father’s will. After all – He was God.

But Jesus was also man. The Man, Jesus, knew taking on the sins of the world meant separation from His Father. Asking for that must have felt like more than He could bear. Jesus needed His friends to pray with Him, to be near Him. We, too, have experienced the need of friends praying with us.

But they fell asleep…and one could ask, who could blame them, really? It was Passover Celebration. They were exhausted. Jesus was doing and saying strange things to them, (He actually washed their feet!) Now He, their Teacher and Master, was behaving as though He was troubled about something. The cumulative effect was overwhelming to the point of – well – physical shutdown.

What Lay Ahead

If the Holy Spirit decided to run a video of me revealing each time I fell asleep, either literally or figuratively, when He has instructed me to pray, I would be deeply ashamed. Or what about the times I told someone else I would pray for them and then forgot?

However, the beauty of this story is not that Jesus berated the disciples or shamed them. Aside from inviting them to join Him as His friends, He was attempting to warn them. They still needed to learn that only through prayer would they be prepared to face what lay ahead; that night and the days to come.

Because without prayer, we are powerless, (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 6:10-18). Without prayer, we can be reckless.

What better example can I offer than Peter? Peter, who had been snoozing, was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes when traitorous Judas arrived with the band of soldiers and officers of the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus. Despite repeated warnings from Jesus, like us, unprepared Peter did not expect the lightning strike of the serpent. Therefore, he responded in his flesh…

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?’

John 18:10-11, ESV

Sometimes recklessness can feel like boldness. Peter probably felt courageous pulling out a sword to protect Jesus! However, Jesus rebuked him and healed the ear. Had Peter been in prayer, He would have known the mission of our Lord.

We’re no different. We can mistake courage and boldness for recklessness, but in our hearts, we know. How do we know? If we have a relationship with the Father, and His Spirit lives within, He isn’t going to keep it a secret, girl! Believe me! There will be no peace within.

Without prayer we respond to shame and failure with sin and denial.

Without prayer, we respond to shame and failure with sin and denial. But if we have a relationship with the Father, He isn't going to keep silent! He will guide us! Click To Tweet

Purpose for Prayer

Then they seized Him and led Him away, bringing Him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not”…another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about”…and the Lord turned and looked at Peter…and he went out and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:54-62, ESV

What a revealing picture we have here! Peter, missing Jesus’ purpose for praying, behaving recklessly, now following at a distance. He’s ashamed and frightened; he’s feeling like a failure.

Then Peter, brash, impetuous, proud Peter denies his Lord and Master… not once, but three times – the same number of times that Jesus reminded him to pray.

Can we dare not pray, dear sisters? Do we dare risk living without God’s discernment in this present evil age?

How can we take the chance of our daily actions becoming reckless? And risk denying our Lord?

There is too much at stake.

Evie Shaffer

reckless, love, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Reckless: Understanding the Radical Love of God and Why We Need It

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 18, 2018July 30, 2019

At the core of every human being is the requirement to be known and to be loved. It’s not optional; our Creator placed it there. And His reckless love is the key to filling our need.

I’ve had the song How Deep the Father’s Love for Us in my head for weeks. When I wake up, it’s playing in my mind. I sing it driving down the road and to my son at night. Like an ear-worm, its melody penetrates my concentration throughout the day. Unavoidably, that is where my attention has focused and praise. be. to. God. This soul of mine is being restored amidst the pursuit to fully grasp His astonishing, endless love.

Simple

My husband Sean and I were talking this morning of how we complicate the clear-cut love Jesus modeled. Selfishness and pride can get in the way when we feel our importance or level of respect is being threatened. Yet Jesus was secure in the Father’s love for Him even though all the popular kids wrote Him off. Nor was Jesus deterred by ridicule because He was confident that He was known and seen and loved by God. What keeps us from getting that? Why is the proverbial “God-shaped-hole” unable to fill up?

What is it, then, that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself. He only is our true good, and since we have forsaken Him, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has not been serviceable in taking His place; the stars, the heavens, earth, the elements, plants, cabbages, leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever, pestilence, war, famine, vices, adultery, incest. And since man has lost the true good, everything can appear equally good to him, even his own destruction, though so opposed to God, to reason, and to the whole course of nature.

– Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII (425)

Longing

Adam and Eve experienced unadulterated happiness with God before sin entered the world. The imbalance between their once known genuine happiness and brokenness sent people into a frenzy. Often without even knowing why, humankind incessantly longs to be whole. Unfortunately, we seek fulfillment from created things. Instead, we must allow our Creator to woo us. He is no man. He is God. His persuasion isn’t selfish; it doesn’t carry ulterior motives. There are no games. Only His purpose to treasure us, give us life, and bring us to Himself for His glory.

I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.” There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.

Hosea 2:14-15, NET

Questions

At times we feel like God has forgotten us. And we falsely believe He is too small to care. Then our minds start running parallels and before we know it the beast of disapproval is haunting our thoughts.

You don’t have it that bad.
Don’t you know there are plenty of people who have it worse than you?
How selfish of you to think your hurt matters in comparison to third world hunger.
If you believed enough you wouldn’t be feeling this way.
You should just get over this.

But ask yourself, how differently would you live if you understood the intensity of God’s unchanging love? For you. His love is not like what’s on television or in books. It isn’t even what you grew up with, because even the best love you’ve experienced on this earth is only a shadow of the reckless adoration the Father has for His children.

Answers

The Lord answered, “Could a mother forget a child who nurses at her breast? Could she fail to love an infant who came from her own body? Even if a mother could forget, I will never forget you. A picture of your city is drawn on my hand. You are always in my thoughts!

Isaiah 49:15-16, CEV

I love this! Plus, Jesus painted us a picture of the prodigal son who didn’t have to beat himself up in order to receive forgiveness. He just had to show up. The father immediately welcomed him home with joy and celebration! That’s the fascinating theme of our God. He wants us more than we could possibly want Him. Before we can get over ourselves and polish up a pretty speech, He is already dancing with excitement to envelop us with His tenderness. The love He has for us is beyond our capability to show or understand. I cannot explain it, but with all my soul I am grateful for His scandalous, overwhelming, reckless love.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.

– Stuart Townend, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, vs. 3

What is keeping you from experiencing the fullness of God’s reckless love?

Sharon Co Images