We have all experienced opening the refrigerator and meeting a foul smell. Something expired and now is becoming a “science project.” Lying can be like this. Lying is subtle but, figuratively speaking, rot leads to stench.
Basset hounds have a keen sense of smell. They possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us. And the part of a dog’s brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is, proportionally speaking, 40 times greater than ours.
Unfortunately, lying can become a natural practice in most circles of life. Half-truths, false pretenses even “beating around the bush” in our approach because something is hidden that we don’t want to be exposed. We want people to think well of us and have a great impression, but at what cost?
The most effective lies are those that are closest to the truth. Insecurity and fear can be roots to a lie. Not telling the whole truth—or “spinning” the information to work in our favor—can be hard to maintain. We will eventually be caught in our cover-ups.
Lying to ourselves is the platform of lying to others. Are you caught in this internal web?
Here are some indicators:
My desire is my greatest need
My needs will never be met
If people knew me, they would want nothing to do with me
I must act as another person to be accepted
The devil is a liar. There is no truth in him, according to John 8:44. The devil’s web of lies seeks to ensnare us, over and over.
What stops this vicious cycle? Our security in the unconditional love of God.
When we know what to say no to—it is easier to say yes to the right things.
In Philippians 4:8, the apostle Paul declares, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” What are you saying yes to? This will expose the truth or strengthen the lie.
Like Passions
We all born with genetic tendencies that can take us in directions we don’t want to go. Thoughts and actions come to our minds and we act out of guilt or fear. These “passions” come from an appetite of the soul. Once in truth, we can reverse and reprogram our soul. In James 5:17, we see Elijah was a man, subject to like passions as our own. Sometimes, when we look at people to compare ourselves with them, we don’t see that they are as weak as we are, with like passions.
It is by the grace of God and a surrendered life and intentional godly habits that passions can be channeled to glorify God. The reasoning in the soul must have a “checkpoint of truth”. Lies may creep in to preserve ourselves, but the truth shows the contrast and exposes the lies.
Insecurity can be like a bulldozer in the soul, motivating and overtaking us through guilt, shame, fear and the “degenerate passions”.
Thankfully, God’s love doesn’t leave us where it finds us! Thank God that Love is not an investigator of where we have been, but a spiritual guide and explorer into what is next!
Regenerated passions can be powerful, as they are rooted and grounded in the truth of who Jesus says we are. In 1 John 3:20, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” This establishes a healthy perspective and keeps the real truth in the driver’s seat.
Let the chips fall where they may; honesty leads to transformation. Say yes to everything that Jesus says you are, and no to what the devil says.
This is the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH and nothing but HIS TRUTH, so help me, God!
Often our shortcomings are glaring and can traffic our mind way too much. We overcompensate with excuses or act in guilt motivation to do better. Looking at others we compare ourselves and often it is the mirror and speaker that defeats us from the inside out. Even though this reality has truth to it, there is another reality that is true—a divine reality.
Condition vs Position
God sees us in a place beyond where we see ourselves. He sees us totally complete in Him. He speaks to us in a way where we have matured and are perfected already. He speaks to us in words from the beyond, and not just in the now.
I have heard many say that “I am just a work in progress, God isn’t finished with me yet.” This is true, but the ultimate reality is we are NOW what God has already made us be! Our “now”—or condition—is in a state of growth, but our “position” is a place of spiritual power. This is a place of potential where we learn to relate to. We may not have experienced it all yet, but Jesus makes us into who we are made to be.
So, the question is, how do we believe in what Jesus says, even if we haven’t experienced it yet?
The Power of Imagination
Imagination is a place where we dream. A place where failure doesn’t hold us back. A runner envisions winning the race even before he puts his foot to the line. He trains, speaking to himself, believing the best. This place of potential is more than what we can do on our best day when all the pistons are firing correctly. It is God’s ability in us; His perfect and unlimited ability performing in us, and for us.
As we see through the Gospels, Jesus spoke and addressed the heart and potential of the listener. He was always pointing to faith, a reality that was a mystery to many. His words sparked the imagination to believe bigger and to do the impossible—ordinary people doing extraordinary things because they believed!
Looking at people beyond where they are now into who they will become is the best way to speak to them. Jesus shows us this with Peter. When the apostle Peter—in his knee-jerk reaction of devotion—proclaims his loyalty, Jesus sees beyond the emotion, knowing Peter will deny Him when all is on the line. Jesus chooses to look beyond Peter’s faults in love and speaks to him as though he will never fail Him. Jesus related to Peter in his victory. Peter’s failure was not the only issue of consequence, but how he responded in the failure was paramount! Jesus was preparing Peter to preach to thousands and teaching him to walk with Him beyond his failure. Peters denial prepared him for his victory!
Failures can make a mess. Doubt, fear and skepticism often block the door to the beyond. Life lessons tenderize the heart to be a launchpad in strength and resolve. Failure can be a great teacher, but it is not meant to be a whipping post for others or ourselves. Isolate it, forsake it and move past it. Learning how to respond to failure and celebrate the wins can build such momentum. Learning the lesson in humility and staying little in your own eyes makes it all worth it.
Don’t be surprised at peoples’ failures. Just respond with words and actions that are from the beyond life. Failure is a tough challenge to hurdle when relating to people. Often the wrong is magnified larger than life. It is like a large pothole on a beautifully smooth road; we swerve to avoid it but often hit it head-on.
How do we get around it? We can’t deny the wrong, but we can learn to speak to the person’s heart; not to the sin.
Love covers a multitude of sin because love is what changes the heart and not just the behavior. Speaking beyond where a person is NOW is when we start to have a relationship beyond the need or failure.
We see them in who they can be and not only in who they are now. This is a choice. You may feel like you are a construction site, but faith words move us beyond!
Abounding Words
The theme of Star Trek is playing in my mind as I write this next part…“Going where no one has gone before!” Looking up into the sky we see such beauty!
Looking beyond the sky, we see the clouds, moon, and at night, we see the stars.
If we go further, we find the cosmos; stars, moons, planets and the galaxies.
We go further and find the immensity of black holes, faraway planets, and star clusters with such beauty it is hard for the mind to comprehend.
We go beyond the second heaven and think of the beauty of the third Heaven, a paradise where we will one day be with our Lord. This is a place beyond—a place prepared for every believer!
We want to speak abounding words that lead beyond the stumbling blocks. Here are a few statements that speak and release potential.
I trust you.
Go for it.
You are able.
You are loved.
You are an overcomer.
Keep working it.
You are made for this.
You are a winner no matter the outcome.
You are wiser and stronger than you were before.
Equipping people with the right training and tools is essential to realizing potential.
Words build a picture that draws people into understanding. Consider words that are not restrictive or defensive; they try to control the listener. People read your body language as well as hear your words; they can read between the lines.
Words are so powerful! Proverbs 18:21: “The power of life and death are in the tongue…” How do you speak to yourself? How do you speak to others? This is a good indicator of what you feed on in your own heart and what you believe about yourself and others.
Let’s ask ourselves these questions to help to create an atmosphere for growth and help lead others beyond where they are now.
Do we bring attention to their strengths?
Do we lead them in a way where they can be developed?
Do we empower them in encouragement and challenge?
Do we speak faith thoughts that break out of manager mode into a thriving potential?
What is Your Language?
A crowded mind often shows itself when we get overwhelmed. Multitasking sounds productive but often the juggling mind is doing gymnastics, trying to identify what to hold onto and what to let go of, what is valuable and what is not.
As we listen to understand, and not to be understood, we begin to speak in a new language. We learn to speak to people and not at people.
What is the difference?
We speak to the heart and not just the intellect. We discover what is important to the listener and we build associations to those things so the listener will care about what we care about. Because we want to care about what they care about!
Constructive criticism magnifies the shortcoming, but in creative communication, we spend more time magnifying the strengths. We don’t skirt the problem, but this approach ultimately corrects the lack. We spend a small percentage of our words identifying what went wrong and most of our words on identifying what was done right. Giving tools and empowering the person in trust gives the opportunity to succeed again. Probation or belittling is counterproductive and backfires every time!
Speak to people’s potential by faith and there will be change. This is the foundation of creative communication. The language of grace is always creating something in our lives.
Here are some game changes:
Have I given them the tools they need to succeed?
Are they in the right place or are they a square peg in a round hole?
Do they have the skillset for what I am expecting of them?
Do they understand what is expected of them?
Am I speaking to them not at them.
Do I realize I am not in control of the person; they have their own destiny.
People are not on my timetable so I don’t pressure them!
Be Love
The above questions are provoking! Often, we can get it backward, where we are trying to do a great work first, but God is doing great work in them first! As we pray for and love people, God shows us how to build and develop them.
The psalmist says it well in Psalms 18:29: “For by Thee I have run through a troop, and by my God have I leaped over a wall.”
Speak life! Speak potential! Lead others into the beyond!
“I assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and throw itself in the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” –Mark 11:23
These are the words of our savior and lord, Jesus Christ. In other words, we’ll say that this is a promise which he made for all those with a mature faith. This clearly points out the existence of a weak and a strong faith.
The scriptures are very clear on the fact that no one can please God without faith. Our spiritual father or ancestor whom we all know as Abraham was titled the father of faith. And we, as Christians today, ought to follow his footsteps. It was through faith that he obeyed God’s instructions and left for a land he knew nothing about. As a result of his obedience, God made him a father to many nations. Here, we start perceiving the relationship between faith and obedience. There is no faith without obedience.
We can also perceive faith as obedience. It has to do with taking God for who He says He is. Faith is acting upon what God says. With this in mind, we’ll stop trying to help God and rather believe that He will accomplish His promises. It is sad to hear people say that they are aware of what the Bible is saying about their situation, yet we perceive them not acting on the word. God’s words are true and holy. His words are reliable and that’s why we should fully trust in His ability to accomplish what He says He will.
Just as the scriptures reveal, we can perceive faith as the certainty or full conviction that God will fulfill all His promises. With this certainty in our hearts, there is no second to waste in fear or doubt. Whatever situation you are undergoing, do not allow it to overcome you. Start by asking yourself what God says about the situation. The Holy Scriptures can best reveal God’s mind about your situation. That’s why the Bible should be your standard of life. Once you know God’s mind about your situation, speak out words of faith. Make declarations in the name of Jesus Christ. And for sure, God who hears and answers His children with intervene in your case.
Christianity is revealed in us through our actions. We cannot confess with our mouths that we belong to Christ and do things that are not reflecting our confession. As Christians, we ought to speak only what we have first believed in our hearts. Our words and actions must be in accord. And for sure, Christ-centered actions are all based on faith or the power to hear, believe and act on God’s word. Being a Christian does not imply that you won’t fall sick. But you can be sure that there is a difference between your sickness and that of a person who does not believe in Jesus Christ. As Christians, our belief is on Jesus Christ, the mighty healer.
The scriptures clearly say that by His stripes we were healed. So, what next? Will you remain crying on your sick bed or will you act upon these holy words from God? Act on the Word of God as you call upon Jesus the healer. Use your ability to believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ to command sickness to leave you. Declare yourself healed by the words of Jesus Christ. And just as the scriptures say, whenever we ask anything in prayer through the name of Jesus Christ, we should believe in our hearts that we have received. However, it is not only in believing that you have received but also in acting as one who has received what he asked from God.
Chances are very high that you have read the scripture that says, “As Christians, we walk by faith and not by sight.” This goes along the same line as the saying that we cannot please God without faith. Satan and his agents strive to make you look at your present situation from the natural, human point of view. You can be sure that the moment you start looking at your situation from the human eye, you’ll be filled with discouragement, worries, fear and sadness. Such will lead you into panic and sin. Hence, you must not live by sight as a Christian. What do we mean by living in faith and not by sight? A clear example here is when a person prays for healing, although the physical pains are still there, he/she thanks God for healing them. Yes, you can pray for financial blessings and chose to thank God for blessing you although the physical signs of poverty are still there. You do this because of your certainty that God has heard and answered your prayers.
Note that it is by acting on the word of God that a person grows his/her faith. In other words, exercising the word of God will help in growing your faith. A weak faith clearly results from lack of exercise. It’s just like a boxer who eats much but does not exercise his muscles. He’ll simply gain weight but won’t be able to stand a single fighting round. This also applies for Christians; you cannot spend all your time studying God’s word without acting upon it.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?” –Psalm 27:1
It is one of the most powerful quotes from the Bible against all none. It makes one think about the courage and confidence that we can build up with the Lord’s help. We do not need to worry about the direction of our lives nor the world so long as God is within our domain. We all experience different events that come within our lives. Some of these events we consider to be good, like getting admitted to the college of our choice. Others we feel are not so good. The not-so-good events are what can hamper us and keep us down if we let them. These are potentially events that could change our lives and not for the better.
You may have lost your child in an accident and have become depressed. This depression may lead to a whole host of other things, including substance abuse or suicide. It is during these times we must turn to the Lord to be reminded of the strength we have to overcome these situations. “Be strong and courageous,” Deuteronomy 31:6 states. “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Moses reminds us that every day of our lives, the Lord is with us. There’s no doubt that God is watching over us. In fact, we are to always remember that God experienced the troubles of man when He sent His only son, Jesus, down to earth. He experienced some of the most horrific experiences man can experience. Ultimately, Jesus died for our sins and to make humanity better than it’s been. He was an example of how we ought to be, despite our bad habit of allowing life’s events to turn our lives for the worst.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” –Hebrews 13:8
Despite having been through every horror man might go through in life, Jesus remained whole always. Paul reminds us of this in his epistle to the Hebrews. How may we best exemplify the example of Jesus and God? It’s tough. There’s no question about it. Going through life, we may be going down the same path as the person who lost their child. For you, it could be you got in trouble in school for accumulating too many tardies. Now, you face detention because you did not follow the rules to be timely. It could sting quite a bit because you knew from the beginning that you needed to be in class.
However, you might have a very valid excuse that was not accepted by the school. Your father or mother could have been running late and that may have led you to being late. There’s not much you can do in a situation where you are dependent on someone else. Sometimes, these things happen. It’s just life, as we often hear. Yet, it might frustrate you into anger and depression beyond no end. Your parents could be unhappy because this happens. Regardless, the Lord is with us forever. Jeremiah, the prophet, reminds us of this:
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” –Lamentations 3:21-23
Hope is one of the strongest things we can have in life. Above all else, it’s something that can keep us going throughout the most difficult times of our life. At some points, it could be difficult to see there is any hope of moving on or getting out of something challenging. The quote from Jeremiah reminds us there is a way forward. In all of His certainty, the Lord made us as we are. There are certain things we will never be able to change about ourselves and we only have so long on this earth to live and prosper with others. The best thing we can do is to help others and ourselves move through these troublesome times and place our hope in Him.
Thomas Zimmer is a writer whose work has appeared online and in print. His work covers a variety of topics, including politics, economics, health and wellness, consumer electronics, and the entertainment industry.
The phrase “keep your eye on the ball” is very important when you’re out there evangelizing (Ephesians 4:14).
People will take out their cameras, give you the middle finger, shout at you, honk at you, cheer you on, thank you, tell you to go away, walk away from you, get the local authority on you (for doing nothing wrong), and so much more. It reminds me of the list of what the Apostle Paul went through (2 Corinthians 11:24-27), only what we go through these days is so much less than what he went through.
During all that–and through all that–it’s important to remember why you’re out there in the first place.
It’s not to receive applause.
It’s not to jump into debates and win arguments all day either.
It’s to win souls with what Christ did for us (Romans 5:8) (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). His finished work is what we’re to proclaim all day long as his ambassadors, soldiers and workmen. What happens to us is not the issue, nor why we’re supposed to be out there.
There are days when we go out to evangelize, and nobody takes a gospel tract. Nobody.
Our response? We’re there tomorrow.
Other days, we go through stacks and stacks of gospel tracts to the point where we can’t keep up with passing them out.
Our response to that? The same.
We’re there tomorrow, treating both situations equally the same.
Operate in spite of the circumstances, not due to them.
What matters most is Christ and Him Crucified, and making sure people hear about what our Lord did for us. We’re just the messengers and we’re thankful to be just that in a present evil world (Galatians 1:4).
Jon Cooper lives in Belle Isle Florida with his family, evangelizes in the Orlando/Central Florida area as well as many other locations, and is the author/creator of
We have all been in seasons where the darkness has overwhelmed us. Understanding fails us and our sense of God is lost in inner anguish. We lament over things that have been long gone but it feels like it just happened. Heaviness and despair can be our companion more often than we would care to admit. But in this place of darkness is where God can do his greatest work!
In the darkness, there is a sense of apprehension and caution. The Lord sees light and darkness as the same, He often dwells in thick darkness in 1 King 8:12. The darkness doesn’t limit the Lord, but we are aware of our limitations in the darkness. In the middle of the night when forgetting our surroundings, we can be reminded quickly and painfully after colliding with stationary objects.
Jesus can calm and muzzle our storm, but His timetable is often very different than ours. Our “noisy soul” with unresolved things can hijack our present reality. He dispels our restlessness, with His peace. His strength is displayed in our weakness and is more powerful than anything coming at us or within us. The work in darkness has an eternal purpose. “God uses darkness so that we can’t rely on anything that we see or know, but we learn to reach out to take hold of Him.”
Here are a few steps to help identify what is happening:
Acknowledge what you understand is going on – be prayerfully transparent.
Confess any known sin
Agree with the promises God has given you and speak them out loud
Reach out for help. Have Godly people aware of what is happening
Profound Things Learned in Darkness
The arena of darkness can allow God to do his best work, we are no longer making a show to anyone, but it is now us and Jesus alone. Maybe pain, failure or sickness led you to a dark place, but Jesus will lead you through. Everything can be different after a dark season because we allowed a deep work of the soul to take place–we are then made different.
Here are a few things learned:
How to engage Christ on an authentic level
To seek Christ with our whole heart.
Christ brings us deeper and closer with a growing sensitivity to the things of God
Understanding and Rhema are added as we abide
Christ handicaps our ability so that we radically reliant on Him, and Him alone.
In these seasons, God’s plan is to promote us in the spiritual world first, then the natural world. We are being transformed from the inside out and being made like Jesus. As a blind person relies on their other senses for navigating, so we lean on the Holy Spirit to be our everything. This doesn’t come naturally; there is a process of trust and a relationship that must be fostered.
Hebrews 5:8 “Even though Jesus was God”s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” As we go positive and mix faith with truth, rather than fight it, Jesus removes obscurity and we begin to live in the reality of what we know. “God wants to teach us not to doubt in the darkness what He has shared with us in the light.” The environment may have changed but Jesus has not.
Darkness has a Purpose
As believers, we are light bearers. In the unseen world, power is determined by the amount of light that we possess. As we are in the Word and walking in faith, we accumulate and absorb light and reflect the power and authority of God. We see this illustrated in Luke 11:34-35 “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear, your whole body is also light; but when it is evil, your body is also dark. Therefore, take heed, lest the light that is in you be darkness. If therefore your body is full of light, not having any part dark, it will be all light, as when the lamp shining might light you.” As we fellowship in the light it amplifies and we see more light in Psalms 36:9.
Smith Wigglesworth wrote “I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe.” Smith’s paradigm had shifted and now he was moved by God and nothing else. God uses darkness to re-calibrate us to a new standard. Jesus leads us to himself and a radical reliance on His word is learned. He weans us off the reliance on familiar feelings and self-orientation and teaches us to trust His Word.
New places of hope create new places of strength and refuge. As we come to the end of ourselves several things come to light:
Preeminence – We learn to become second
Pretense – Our agenda becomes second
Pious platitudes – Knowledge without life is done away with
Christ is our faithful guide, and as He progressively makes known His mysteries, we will discover the eternal weight of glory attached to them and thank Him for the privilege of getting to know Him in darkness. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to move us, and nothing else.
Light Pierces Through
God is the light that shines in our darkness, as we learn to believe, embrace and be persuaded of His promises; they bring precise light and show a way through. We begin to learn deep things from God in Job 12:22; and He adds treasures from darkness to our life in Isaiah 45:3.
God will add deep things so that we learn new dimensions of our faith. What we learn in the secret helps us function in the light. Nothing is in vain as we bring everything to Jesus, and He will expand our hearts with light.
Jesus imparts:
Identification with a personal understanding
Empathy with personal care
Patience with the surrender of natural timetables
Thankfulness is discovering the small things are BIG things
Wisdom is smart truths that are actual and not theoretical
Personal Ministry in ministering life rather than just a solution
Christ may seem hidden in our darkness, but the true reality is, He is near, speaking, and adding more depth in you. This darkness will pass in Psalms 139:11-12 and the dark night of the soul will break with the dawning of a new day. Don’t quit or give up let God hold you through the storm–it will pass! Collapse in the arms of Christ; let Him personally love and expand your heart, while multiplying your faith. He will pierce your darkness!
