Are You A Victim Of Fraud?

I was out for my morning walk this morning. It was a beautiful, frosty morning, probably the coldest morning this Fall season. I was dressed in layers with a beautiful new tuque and some great gloves. So, of course my phone rang, somewhere under all those layers.

Normally I don’t answer my phone when I am out for my walk because this time doubles as my conversational time with Father. But this morning I felt compelled to respond because I am waiting for several important phone calls, and besides, it could have been my wife. Unfortunately it was none of these.

After digging down through the layers to find my phone, you can imagine my disappointment when I heard an automated message telling me that VISA had identified two fraudulent charges on my account and I only had to press one to cancel them and speak to their agent. Having had this same message before I promptly hung up. Then I heard the Spirit.

The Spirit loves to use all kinds of occasions to make a point with me. As I put my phone away he asked me, “What if it’s true?”

I chuckled, “I know it’s not true.”

“How do you know it’s not true?”

“Because I know this is not how VISA works.”

“How do you know this is not how VISA works?”

“Because I have read their policies and I have had past experience.”

“So why do you listen to the enemy’s fraud?”

Wait! What?

He left it there for me to consider because I knew what he was talking about right away. The enemy is always committing fraud against God’s children. The Garden is just an example of what he has been doing throughout the history of humanity. He promises to us what we already possess and he tries to trick us into thinking we are opposite of who Father says we are. You know those lies. His great desire is to separate us from Father.

Those lies are those disturbing thoughts that wake you up in the middle of the night. They tell you that there are charges against you on Father’s account. There aren’t. They have all been removed by the blood of Jesus. Yet, those seeds are enough to start a stream of doubt that we allow to become a river that undermines our incredible relationship with Father through Jesus. They convince us Father won’t provide, or forgive, or heal or any of the many things he has promised us.

How do we protect ourselves?

I knew the phone call I received was fraudulent because I knew the company’s policies, how they operate in this matter and also have personal experience. I have received phone calls from VISA to check on charges when I have been traveling in places that were not usual for me. Most of us have. So I know they do not use automated messages that tell me to press a number to get an agent. It is no different with Father.

I shouldn’t be able to fall victim to the enemy’s lies. I know my Father. I know his promises. I know how he operates. When he needs to bring correction he does not do it with disturbing thoughts in the middle of the night. He never calls me out. He always calls me up. When I have taken a misstep he reminds me who I am in Jesus. “Hey encourager, let’s consider this here.” “Hey man of prayer, let’s take a bit of time together this morning.” He always speaks to me by how he sees me, even in correction.

I also know that he never threatens me. He is not against me. When he does need to bring correction it is not to punish but to build up. His desire is to see me grow, to increase, to mature. If there is shame and condemnation it is fraudulent, from the enemy of my soul. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. I should be able to tell the difference and choose to listen to the one I worship and trust.

If you are one who gets disturbed by the frauds of our enemy, do yourself a favour, give it over to Father. Yes, report the fraud to Father and leave it with him. Don’t let it rob you of a single minute of your sleep or of your day. Know Dad. Know his promises. Trust what you have already experienced with him. 

Not A Matter Of Theory Only

"These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol. Write them on your house’s door frames and on your city’s gates." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

The Bible is the revelation of God that God himself has given to us. It is not a book of theory but an explanation of what we experience with God. It is an explanation of how life works when we belong to him. It explains the condition of the world and what his plan is to reconcile the world to him. If the Bible remains a bunch of stories, explanations and theories, it is useless to us.

It was not just the commandments and instructions we were told to pass on to our children. In Deuteronomy 4 verse 9 we read the directive to pass on to the children everything they had seen and experienced. These are the things that the Bible gives explanation concerning, but they are meant to be experienced.

Faith is not a theory. Faith is a substance that God has given to us and it is applied when we experience moments that go beyond our intelligence. We experience faith when we are beyond our own strength, ability, finances. These are not times to run away from but to grab and experience. We do not strive to obtain faith but surrender to God in the experience so it can be activated. We need these difficult and challenging times so we can gain experience to know how faith works.

Even in our testimonies to our children, it is simply a help for them to understand what they are experiencing when they experience it so that they know to surrender and allow God to do what he does.  

What Shapes Your Expectations?

Have you ever been disappointed? What a silly question. We have all been disappointed in people, situations and desires. Disappointment comes from expectations. We expect things to be a certain way or people to have a particular reaction and when it doesn't happen we are disappointed. Sometimes we allow these experiences to diminish our expectations. We start expecting less of people and of life. Subconsciously, or consciously, we figure the less the expectation the less our disappointment. It is tragic when we allow this in our relationship with Jesus.

As Christians we have faced many disappointments and often they were due to wrong expectations. We then allowed our experience to dictate what we expect from God and we lower those expectations. But we are never suppose to live according to experience or even desires. We are to live according to the promises of Jesus, the promises of our Father. His promises are not like any others. They were true yesterday, are true today and will be true tomorrow. These promises, many of which people do not know, were given in the context of a deep, loving relationship.

For many of us, we treat God's promises like a formula or a "genie in a bottle". We keep our relationship on the surface, read a bit of the Bible, worship a bit, put a few coins in the offering and expect to get whatever we want whenever we want it. But the promises were given to those God referred to as his children. Children have expectations of their parents that they don't even think about but exist within every day.

Children expect that there will be food at meal times. They expect a hug and a band-aide when they get hurt. They expect a bed to sleep in and walls to protect them from the storms. They expect to find clean clothes in their drawers. They expect a bedtime story and a warm embrace whenever they want it. They also expect correction whenever they do wrong, even though they hope not to get caught. Children don't think about these expectations because they happen in the context of a deep and growing relationship with their parents. This is the level of intimacy God desires with us and even more so. Jesus spoke of our connection:

Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire. (John 14:4-6, CEV)

He spoke of the depth of our relationship:

I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. (John 17:20-21, CEV)

We are crazy stupid not to realize the level of relationship Jesus desires for us to have with God. It is in the deep relationship that we can begin to live within the promises at the same level as a child with his parents. A child does not say, "I don't expect there to be cereal for breakfast" in the hope of not being disappointed. The child goes to the cupboard with unspoken expectation of finding cereal there. I face my journey today with the expectation that my God will provide everything that I need. I expect it because he promised and my relationship is such that i trust what he tells me.

It is also in this depth of relationship that I understand the promises, God's purpose for me and the direction he is taking me. I walk in the joy and peace that he has given me and if I fail to do so it is a warning to me that I am letting go of the intimacy. If I fail to walk in the promises and face disappointed, it is not my Father's fault. It isn't because he failed in his promises but rather because I have failed in our relationship and expectation. If a child fails to look for the cereal in the cupboard it does not mean the parent failed to provide. If I choose worry and fear today, it doesn't mean my Father did not provide joy and peace.

All good gifts are from our Father and he never takes away what he has promised to give. It is we who fail with our low expectation, lack of knowledge of the promises, not receiving what has been freely given and in the depth of the relationship to which we have been called. And because we are this crazy stupid, God is not glorified in our lives and the world cannot see Jesus. Experience or promises: What shapes your expectations?