notes from lisa...

“And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted. Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me; But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness . Therefore , I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities , that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!”       [2 Corinthians 12:7-9] What do we do when God says, “No”? That isn’t a popular thing to ...

“An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, ‘Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?’   But Yeshua said to him, ‘What is written in the Torah ? How do you read it?’   He answered, ‘ You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself .’ ‘ That’s the right answer,’ Yeshua said. ‘Do this, and you will have life.’” [Luke 10:25-28, CJB] Today, we commend this kind of others-focused behavior as something extra ordinary. We deem the person who gives of him/herself wholeheartedly to the service of God and others as a special breed, someone with a special calling or “anointing” to give and love. Jesus, (or His Hebrew Name, Yeshua) indicates that ALL of us are called to love the agape way. Every one of us is to love our neighbor—or fellow human beings the same way we love ourselves. That means my neighbor's needs and desires are just as imp...

We've all heard the phrase, "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!" It becomes even more prevalent in election years as candidates vying for votes suggest that such so-called capitalistic thinking is the only way to save our country. It sounds good, doesn't it? The etymology of the phrase however, is one of an impossible circumstance--for no one is able to pull him/herself up by their own bootstraps (shoelaces, that's what bootstraps are). And, the first uttering of the phrase was meant to suggest impossibility--yet, we say it as if it is the very thing that must be done. It is just as impossible for those in an impoverished state to do so, too. The biggest problem (for me--anyway), is that those who make that suggestion most vehemently are those who identify themselves as strong Christians, with pure, righteous, moral values. The great moral, Conservative Christians on the "right" side of the political aisle. Looking beyond the politics ...

So, often, we get in a rut of legalism when we come to God in our need—for salvation, for cleansing and renewal. We sing the songs about His rich grace, but when the chips are down, we are too ashamed to come boldly—until we try to fix some things or make ourselves/ situation look better. There’s this wonderful property about the blood of Jesus Christ though. It has the ability not only to reach to the “highest mountain” but it also “flows to the lowest valley”! None of us can go to a depth of sin or degradation so low that the blood of Jesus Christ can’t reach us, and deliver us totally and completely. And, there is this other wonderful attribute about the blood of Jesus; it makes the way possible for us to receive the gift of grace. You know, we can't do it ourselves, anyway; and the harder we struggle to do what only God can do in us, the more hopeless we feel--surrender is the way to win. We can't work our way to God--if we could, then we would have so much to boas...

You can’t really teach people how to change—you can teach people what change looks like. I’m mainly referring to Christians, but in a sense it applies to all people. As children grow, parents tell them (or teach them) right from wrong, and say over and over what they should do and should not do; the truth is children don’t learn as much from what parents say as from what parents do —they see what change looks like, but don’t really grasp it by hearing it, even repeatedly. That’s why parents get so exasperated when they have to “teach” the same lesson over and over so many times. As Christians, we are taught a lot of things—many are good and positive things, some not so good (but most are). However, just like children we don’t really learn because someone tells us something—even repeatedly. Most of the great truths have to be revealed to us. Think of how many times we have read a verse of Scripture, but there comes that one moment of illumination when suddenly it comes aliv...