Shortly before America was birthed, there was a brief moment that almost sabotaged everything. The Continental Army had been fighting for years without pay from Congress. The officers drew up a letter proposing a coup to seize control of the government if they were not paid and they planned to put General Washington in charge as a dictator or monarch.
Our country was this close to freedom — the fighting was over, but they didn’t know it yet. And they almost lost it all, almost wasted the entire fight, by settling for less than the vision and going right back to what they’d known before…the very things they’d fought to be free of.
They were this close to losing it all when they were this close to victory, because the enemy saw that victory ahead and made a last ditch effort to sabotage it. It almost worked.
But George Washington, who was not part of the mutiny, said no.
He said a lot of things besides no. One of the last things he said was a courageous challenge toward self control and patience that he threw out to the men who almost lost it all for everyone:
“And you will, by the dignity of your conduct, afford occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind, ‘Had this day been wanting, the world had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.’”
He asked and expected them to rise to the call. Had they not done so, and had the mutiny gone forth, America never would’ve been the bastion of freedom it became.
And some of you are this close to victory right now. The enemy knows it, but you don’t. So he has been riling up an unholy discontent and restlessness to urge you toward impulses that could cost you everything.
You need to say no.
You need to resist the bait.
You need to abide and pray and make slow, strategic, obedient moves that align with the vision the Lord already gave you.
You’ve been trying to figure out why things aren’t working, and digging around for any reason you can think of so you can fix it: Is it because I’ve strayed? Or been distracted? Have I not been abiding? Is God mad at me? Why am I being punished?
If you’re seeking and not finding answers, you might be asking the wrong questions. Because it’s not always about you.
Or it is, but maybe not in the way you’ve been thinking.
If you’re not hearing clear conviction from God as you ask Him — and you’ve been willing to hear it and be corrected— you might be barking up the wrong tree. You might need to turn around and draw your sword, because the enemy’s been on the attack and you’ve been too busy naval gazing to notice.
It might not be about you. It might be that the enemy is terrified of the victory he sees ahead for you — because he sees it more clearly than you do, and he knows you’re this close to freedom — and he’s been doing everything possible to prevent it, including making you think that current circumstances are somehow your fault and God’s just too mad at you to tell you what you did.
Does that match God’s character? No. You know better than that. You just forgot for a little while.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.
— Ephesians 1:3-5
So draw your sword. Stand your ground. Charge forward.
You know the promises the Lord has given you. You know His word and you know His personal words to you. Those are powerful weapons, and you hurl them at the enemy:
“Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” That arrow hits its mark.
“The Lord is going to finish the work He started in me.” Boom, dynamite against the roadblocks in the path forward.
“I have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and was chosen by God before the foundation of the world.” A river washes through, scattering the enemy and all his minions.
Go ahead. You know how to do this. You forgot for a little while, but get back out there and fight — you know the words, and you know where to find more of them.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
– James 1:2-4
Do not settle for less or go back to the old things He’s delivered you from, and that you’ve fought so hard to be free of.
Virtue will win the day: Patience, self control, and all the fruit of the Spirit. It comes by abiding, and the steadfast will see His glory.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
— John 15:5
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
— Galatians 5:22-23
What if the thing that’s discouraging you is a lie? Because it usually is.
Hold it at arm’s length and examine it for a minute. Is it the whole story? Is there more to it that you possibly can’t see? Has God said “End of story” yet?
No? Okay. Discouragement needs to be turned down several notches because it doesn’t have the authority to be yelling so loud in your life.
God is at work in you and on your behalf. He has been speaking to others about you and putting you on their hearts. People you don’t even know are praying for you, and others are going to connect with you in ways that contribute to the breakthrough you need.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
— Hebrews 7:25
Discouragement doesn’t want you to know that or think about it. Discouragement only wants you to think of the dreaded possibilities, not the wondrous ones. But the wondrous ones always win. They always outnumber.
You don’t serve the god of discouragement. You serve the God of miracles, the God of angel armies, the God who conquered death on your behalf. Keep your eyes on Him, and watch.
A little over a year ago I walked into a living room almost entirely full of people I had never met before.
You know that meme that says “My fashion style can be summed up in the phrase ‘Did not plan on getting out of the car’”? That was me. I looked like I’d been tending chickens all day, and, uh, that was before we even had chickens.
I hadn’t planned on getting out of the car because I was waiting for a kid to walk out to the car. I had been writing all day, so picture the Ultimate Introvert Writer Outfit complete with flannel and mismatched sweater, messy bun, and favorite ratty jeans; I’m sure it was all there. I hoped to walk in unnoticed and catch my kid’s eye, but instead everyone suddenly looked at me.
And then the leader asked me to introduce myself.
Oh, no.
“I’m…Ireland’s mom. I’m here to pick her up.” Oh Jesus, hide me, hide me now, all these people are looking at me and I don’t think I’m even wearing eyeliner.
“Oh! We love Ireland, welcome!” Smiles everywhere. Warmth. Eager acceptance. I immediately knew the Spirit was there, not just with me as I walked in, but already present and extremely active in the room. And it kindled something in me that I hadn’t realized I was so hungry for: A tribe of devoted people on mission together. Deeper roots in our community, and new growth after a year of changes and pruning.
As I type this, it’s fourteen months later. And for almost a year now our whole family has been going to this gathering together – yeah, all of us, awkward, delicate special needs and all, in a small, scary close environment – and we spend at least six evenings a month with these guys in worship, prayer, teaching, fellowship, and ministering to each other. (And also, we finally own chickens. My fashion has not changed, but now at least I have better excuses.)
But why do we bother? We have another church we go to on Sundays. Or, if it comes down to it, why bother with either? Why have Church, why devote the time and energy to gather at all?
Because gathering is one of the first, foundational things. We get fed when we gather. We become unified and stronger when we gather. And the Word gets out when we gather.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
– Hebrews 10:24-25
So what is Church? This question has been coming up a lot lately among readers, friends, and our church communities. It also came up recently in our monthly q&a and here’s a clip of that for you if you’re interested, and the transcript follows:
[Transcript: Most of you guys know we go to two different churches; one is a traditional Assembly of God on Sundays and the other is a home church with entirely different people. Two totally different experiences and communities, but lots of mutual friends and connections between them. Both are valuable. The big pulpit on Sunday is valuable to me because it brings unity to the message of the gospel and it brings clarity to the Word and how we apply it. I shared last Sunday’s sermon and our pastor didn’t hold anything back in talking about homosexuality, abortion, or transgender issues, but he did it in love and he did it without apology. This is what the church needs to hear. We need a unifying message that isn’t scared to apply what the Bible says to the events we’re facing right now.
Our small group is more discussion and worship oriented. We pray a lot and minister prophetically to each other. I’m not sure you can get the personalized depth of ministry in a large, normal church setting, but that doesn’t mean that those settings aren’t necessary. You can’t get as much of the large-reaching, unifying message in the small settings of only 20 or 30 people. Both have strengths. And I wouldn’t say that both have weaknesses, because I don’t think they’re designed to have the strengths that the other has. For example, it’s not a weakness of our hands that we can’t walk on them; they’re not made for that. Our hands are made for other things. It’s not a weakness of our feet that we can’t write with our toes. That’s not what our toes and our feet are generally made for. So its not a weakness of small groups that they can’t do what large services do, and it’s not a weakness of large services that they can’t usually minister to the level of personal depth that a home church or really good small group can do.
I think Church should look like it did in Acts – and we see different things there that aren’t all compatible in the same setting. We see them eating together, praying and healing. And we also see Peter and others speaking to huge crowds. We see exploits and danger; we see people willing to do hard and dangerous things. We see people learning to be honest, and facing the consequences of dishonesty. We see prophecy and miracles, we see travels and reunions, we see people transformed from persecutors and doers of witchcraft and everyday teachers into those who follow Jesus and expand His kingdom. We see arguments and accountability and resolution. We see conflicts and the mission carrying on in spite of them. We see persecution and freedom. We see government officials bewildered and curious.
And I think that’s what the church should look like.]
A few weeks ago we sat around the living room in our home church and this theme of first things came up. I came away from the conversation with two revelations.
The first was when a friend pointed out that one of the first things the Lord did was surrender. When He made us, He put us in the garden and surrendered His will over us by giving us free will. He gave us the ability to obey or disobey, to trust Him or try something else. He didn’t want a forced love from us, because that would be no love at all.
Right after that one of our pastors stunned me with the second revelation: “God’s first recorded words to humans were permission, not restriction. You may, He said.”
No way, what? I’d never noticed that, so I looked it up. (You should always check into what your pastor is saying. A good one won’t mind it; they will encourage it.) Here’s the verse, and it’s actually in Genesis 2: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
For the record, God talks to humans in Genesis 1, also. Which seems like that would actually come first in the dialogue, but if you pay attention you’ll notice chapter 1 is a summary and chapter 2 begins a more detailed flashback of how God created man and woman. But this, too, was permissive, generous, and empowering. He says:
And God blessed them. And God said to them –
Wait a second. We don’t actually know the first words He said to them here, because it just says “He blessed them, and [then] said to them…” So the first thing was a blessing. And then He said:
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
– Genesis 2:28
And then in the next verse He says:
“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
– Genesis 2:29
God’s first words to humans were about how we are to be fed. And that’s interesting, because it’s also one of the main reasons we gather. A family grows when you feed it – and we’re not just talking about great potlucks.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
– Hebrews 5:14
We also become stronger and more unified when we gather. What is the point of the pulpit, or any platform? Communication. But not just any communication; we’re not getting up early on Sunday or devoting one of our evenings every week to listen to someone who just loves the sound of their own voice. We need truth, realignment, confirmation, and conviction. Boldness and clarity. Maturity and wholeness. And when those are preached, it brings solidarity and unity to our communities.
Because Presbyterians and Congregationalists and Quakers and Baptists and others all heard the same message and all were free to respond similarly, Americans were becoming united in the wake of [George Whitefield’s] nonstop preaching. People were being offered a new identity that fit well with the American way of thinking. Some were German by background and some were French and some were English, but none of it mattered: They were all equal under God; they were all Americans.
How we express Biblical truth is also how we will express truth about current events, and people are hungry to hear it straight from fearless leadership who will dish the Word without watering it down.
For pastors, teachers, leaders, and anyone else with a platform, the time to decide has come: Will we speak boldly, regardless of where the chips might fall? Are we willing to rock the boat to speak truth in love, and to say what the Holy Spirit’s been talking to us about?
It’s not a one-and-done thing. Personally, the Lord keeps challenging me in new ways to not just go deeper in my own private thoughts and processing, but also to allow my public writing to reflect it. And it’s hard to know what to express publicly when you’re still sorting it out privately. I think that’s where a lot of pastors and other leaders have been over the past few years, but they don’t have time to stay at the crossroads. Their decision or lack of it will quickly put them into one of two camps: They will either choose to learn, repent, and grow in transparency before their audience or congregation, or they will waver, shrink back, and cave to pressure and the comfort zone. Whatever they decide will be on display for the world to see.
Events are happening faster than we can keep up with but we have got to take the time to sort things out in abiding, prayer, and quiet thinking so when the time comes for us to speak, our convictions are solidly set and we’re not wavering. We will either grow or stagnate; there’s no room for middle ground, buying time, and putting off public declarations of conviction.
Unity is hard to come by when we don’t know where leaders stand. But when we do, the body is a force to be reckoned with. Our church had zero harassment from the pro-choicers who went around disrupting local congregations on Sundays when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Maybe our church isn’t big enough to draw their attention; it definitely wasn’t because we’re soft on the prolife issue. Or maybe – I mean, maybe this is a just a coincidence, but just maybe it was the fact that around that same time, our elderly greeter who usually wears a hat that says HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY starting wearing a new one with an American flag, a gun, and the phrase “We don’t call 911” on it.
Solidarity, yo. Like I said: stronger together.
And the word gets out. Both our churches are growing in numbers, and dealing with the good problems that come along with higher attendance. We’re making an effort to adjust with excellence while not being slaves to perfectionism or analysis paralysis, because we worship the One who does all things well:
And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
– Mark 7:37
We don’t gather to hibernate; we gather to grow. The prolific message has historically been the one with the most influence, and for half a century the church has been whispering in contrast to an enemy who’s had the bullhorn of every cultural sphere. (Don’t believe it’s been that long? It was sly at first. Look at your paycheck and find out how long ago it was that the government started removing part of it directly from people’s earnings. Hint: It was before World War 2…and World War 1.)
Are we too quiet? Are we too isolated? Because we need to be louder and be together, and if you didn’t pick up on it over the last few years, those values are in direct conflict with the agenda to mask and isolate people.
The most prolific message wins, and the odds in America have always in our favor. We just didn’t take advantage of them, and we abdicated the mic.
I’ve been reading about George Whitefield who changed the course of America before its founding, leading a revival as he preached twice a day and four times on Sunday, anywhere he could.
….but more than anything that would distinguish the faith of Whitefield and that would loft him into the empyrean realm of history changers was the simple fact that he was not too proud to go to people wherever they might be found. If the established churches would not receive him, he would like his master go out into the highways and byways; he would preach in prisons and anywhere else he might be received.
– Eric Metaxas, If You Can Keep It
Anywhere he might be received…have we given up too easily, Church?
….That what Whitefield set in motion has come to be known as the Great Awakening can hardly surprise us. For wherever he went – and he went everywhere – he preached and preached. And wherever he preached hundreds and thousands…came straggling to hear him and were changed by what he said. But it was not a mere mental assent to some theological doctrine. Many, like Benjamin Franklin, observed that people’s behavior changed. Church rolls swelled and those who had been merely filling pews on Sunday suddenly understood why they were there.
We need to get the Word out – not as know it alls, but as those who can’t help sharing Who they’ve found and what they’ve seen. The quietness from the Church over the past decades reveals that the Church hasn’t actually found or seen that much to talk about.
But that time is over. Something new is happening.
The Church becomes like whatever it gazes at, and He wants our eyes on Him, personally and corporately. He is always first — not us, not our personal change, not our programs or works or even our repentance. Those are all natural occurrences after the one thing, which is seeing and loving and worshiping Him.
Then He will turn our gaze to the rest that He wants us to notice. And when we notice, we will preach from whatever pulpit He’s placed us in. It’s time to grab the mic again, Church. Pick up the pen. Gather and grow so the Word can get out. We are diamonds, catching His light and throwing it everywhere, but only because we gazed at Him first as He shined it upon us.
Have you seen Jesus Revolution yet? We went last night and it was so good! Funny, real, passionate, great acting across the board, and no cheesiness whatsoever. The previews were the worst part of the whole experience (that’s a good time to take your middle schoolers to the bathroom). Highly recommend!
Want to improve your eyesight so you don’t have to wear glasses forever? This is a great tip.
Gaining Ground update: We just started Return of the King last week and we’ll vote for the next round of books soon. Want in on this? Join us here for bookishness and memery as we get more books under our belts.
In a month of amazing sermons, here’s my favorite from February: one that many pastors are afraid to preach, and it was fire, and love, and boldness, and truth, no holds barred.
Want a unique piece of Alaska that you can wear? My friend started a new business and it’s amazing! Check out her work here – it would be super fun if you all depleted her inventory. ;)
We were in the middle of a windstorm that was supposed to continue all day, gusts up to 75 miles an hour. At our house on a hill they sometimes feel higher, and during that storm it wasn’t safe to walk across the yard.
I listened to the noise and could occasionally hear movement outside that was not wind, but things carried by the wind, like branches hitting the house. Snow coming loose and flying everywhere. Maybe trees falling.
We were safe inside. We did the things we knew to do: secured everything outside, filled containers with water, charged all the things. And we’re always stocked up on the essentials. I learned years ago that I get a little edgy when we’re out of potatoes, and Vin is the same way with tortillas. Irish and Mexican, y’all.
Emotionally, in a storm, it’s our thoughts that get lifted up and blown everywhere. They fly through filled with debris and we feel the assault of worry and accusation and anger and fear. We know Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have charged ourselves with prayer and the Word, but the wind is blowing up against us and we can barely hear what’s true in the midst of the noise.
What do we do? We can go into our inner room.
One of our boys was reading about tornadoes this week and he was astounded at how sometimes the only thing left of a house after the storm passes is an inner closet or bathroom. Everything outside was gone, but those inner walls had been sheltered and stronger than the rest.
In these stormy seasons, we can build walls of scripture and promises around us, around our families and communities. We insulate with decrees and declarations that agree with God, barring the enemy from admittance. We intercede for those who the Holy Spirit brings to mind, and fill the cracks and crevices in their walls. We can keep the wind out, bar the lies and confusion from coming in. And also…we can command the wind to cease. If He did it, we can, too.
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
— Mark 4:39
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
— John 14:12
We know the Word, and we memorize the Word, and it fills the pantry of our soul. Each verse is tucked in like a jar on the shelf – light and color shining through, storing up abundance for the days to come.
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
– Proverbs 2:1-5
This pantry is different though because when you consume it, it grows instead of getting depleted. Each verse is saved, not borrowed, never needs returning, and never runs out or goes empty. It expands the storehouse within.
Several years ago I was filling the pantry of my soul with my own copywork – because Mommy does school around here, too – and wrote passages of scripture in a notebook Iree had made for me. I stopped when it became too painful; I had postpartum eczema on my hand for years and it changed a lot of routines and things, including my handwriting. But it’s better now and I dug out the old notebook. No more excuses, I want the right walls to be stronger. I want the pantry of my soul to be filled.
…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
— Ephesians 4:22-24
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
— Romans 12:2
Sometimes it’s hard because so much of what we are accomplishing is invisible. It’s like we’re creating oxygen, and, well, oxygen is nice – you can’t live without it, of course – but we don’t think about breathing unless something goes wrong with the process of doing it. We don’t want to make oxygen; we want to make something with color and substance to it. So it helps for me to see these verses in my mind as I write them and read them and push through in memorizing them. I don’t like the process and repetition of memorizing, but as I do it I see in my mind jars filling with goodness in all sorts of colors.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
– Proverbs 2:6-8
I’ve tried a few different things lately – sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, recording short sections of scripture repeated several times in voice memos to listen to. I’m learning to ignore the enemy’s attack of boredom or annoyance with the repetition. Sometimes I share it online and encourage you guys to push play. We get the Word in, and get the junk out.
We push through and know that it is changing us. It is storing up mercy. We are filling the pantry of our soul. The Word is milk to those who are babes in Christ but meat to those who are grown, and we all need to eat.
Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
– Psalm 31:19
I know it’s hard; there are boring sections about the census in Numbers 26 and descriptions of temples in Ezekiel and all those laws in Leviticus. But as I’m reading, the Lord reminds me that washing my face is boring, brushing my teeth is boring, writing the date at the top of a new entry in my journal is boring. But they’re necessary things. We don’t spend all day brushing our teeth, and we don’t fill the entire page by writing the date over and over. But those things have a purpose, in their own time and place. We read the Word and linger where He tells us.
Routines are good because they help us stay on track, but there will always be some days when routines go out the window. Sometimes on major holidays I barely read my Bible. I’ll start to, but get interrupted a few times, then the time gets away from me and food has to be cooked or we’re running out the door.
But I can run back to it. I can run back to the Lord and turn my attention to Him without shame or hesitation because He’s been here with me all along — He knows how the day has gone and He watched over us as it unfolded. Not finishing my planned reading doesn’t put me on the bad list for the day.
Do you need to hear that right now? Because it seems like someone does.
So, here: God is not watching for our perfection and performance. He is watching over our hearts.
On those days when there’s no quiet place to hear the words in my head as I try to read them, I could’ve yelled at my kids so I could read the Bible without interruption. And honestly, I have. Been there, done that, gotten the dummy award for it. It’s about as spiritual as my kids arguing about who’s turn it is to pray over the meal.
Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees. We try to read the Word without paying attention to what it already told us. We try to smile for the camera to make a happy memory when everyone is frustrated or angry and no one wants to record that particular moment.
We want something to look at in the future — a cute photo, a finished task — but all along, God is saying to us, Hey, Love. Look at Me.
So we do, and the other stuff falls into its rightful proportion.
The to-do list becomes less, He becomes more. And we become more right along with Him, because that is how He grows us.
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
– Isaiah 33:15-16
The shelter becomes stronger and the storm gets quieter. The Word is living and active: when we speak it we are releasing living things, unleashing life in areas where death has tried to intrude. We speak the Word and hold the darkness at bay; we make way for those who need shelter so they can get to the door in time. The Word widens our tent pegs, expands the walls, and makes room for everyone running up the path.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
– Proverbs 2:9-15
I don’t understand how Jesus makes all these wrong things right; I only know that He brings righteousness out of them. His word says so and it is the verse I will never forget: It is the signpost over our door, and the lantern we hold out to others. We obey, we water, we plant, we prune, and He fills the pantry of our soul because those who are faithful in little will be faithful in much, and He has a storehouse to feed multitudes.
