Tag Archives: Dana Pittman
The Hope of “Yes”
I am participating in Blogging Through the Book: The Gospel of Yes by Pastor Mike Glenn. This series was birthed by Dana Pittman, who is an amazing writer and speaker. I am honored to be partnering with her and her amazing team of writers. Every Wednesday we will be blogging our thoughts and insights from this book.
“As the Living Christ infuses every crevice and hidden place of believers’ lives with his life,
everything dark and broken is pushed out.” ~ Mike Glenn
I enjoyed reading Chapter 6, “The ‘Yes’ of the Resurrection.” What especially stood out for me was the story of pediatric surgeon Ben Carson.
Pastor Mike Glenn explains Ben Carson had a serious anger problem. One incident was so extreme it forced him to really look at himself.
“He retreated to the bathroom in his home and read his Bible and prayed that God would remove this terrible temper. He wrote, “Lord, despite what all the experts tell me, You can change me. You can free me forever from this destructive personality trait.” After spending almost all day in the bathroom, praying, reading Scriptures, crying, and begging God to help him, Carson finally found the peace he was searching for.”
I don’t know about you, but this encouraged me. We all have struggles as Christians, we haven’t arrived. I’m sure there are times you think to yourself if you will ever overcome a particular issue. Whether is it cursing, losing your temper, unforgiveness, pride, etc…
We do have hope.
Our hope comes from our risen Lord Jesus Christ. He died and resurrected for all the messes in our lives. He died just for you.
If you were the only person in the world, He would have still died on the Cross for you. I know this may be hard for you to believe or wrap your mind around.
We can’t fathom the enormity of God’s love for us.
I mean think about it a minute, can you fathom or even understand God’s love? I know I can’t. But, the Scriptures point to His love.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son…” (italic mine, John 3:16).
We hear it time and time again, He gave His only Son. He died for us in our less than perfect state, more like messy state.
God loves us despite our sins and even despite ourselves.
We can’t change ourselves, we can try and make a valiant effort, but we will fail. The only person who has the power to change us from the inside out is Jesus Christ.
I meditated on this truth. The fact is all of our striving is for naught. All we need to do is come as we are, messed up and broken… “Here am I, Lord.”
He is longing and waiting for us to reach the end of ourselves.
He is waiting for us to surrender. Surrendering will look differently for each of us. But, it is in the going to Him that we will know what He is specifically asking from each of us.
We do this by getting in the Word of God, having our minds renewed and by much prayer.
He is our Hope and our Divine Yes.
We have a hope and it is found in Jesus Christ alone. When we say ‘yes’ to His Word and His ways things begin to change in our lives.
He is more than able to heal all those messy places in our hearts and lives. We just have to be willing to let Him do it.
Have you said ‘yes’ to Jesus? Do you believe He can heal and change you?
Blogging Through the Book is a group of bloggers who literally blog while reading the book. It’s different than merely reading a book and posting a review. We have a chance to read and share our thoughts in community. To learn more visit www.danapittman.com.
Posted in blogging, christianity, faith
Also tagged Blogging Through the Book, Mike Glenn, The Gospel of Yes
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Will You Say “Yes”?
I am participating in Blogging Through the Book: The Gospel of Yes by Pastor Mike Glenn. This series was birthed by Dana Pittman, who is an amazing writer and speaker. I am honored to be partnering with her and her amazing team of writers. Every Wednesday we will be blogging our thoughts and insights from this book.
“All of us are broken. And accepting God’s mercy in Christ does not magically repair the shattered pieces of life.” ~ Mike Glenn
This quote is taken from the chapter entitled, “The ‘Yes’ of the Cross.”
To be honest, I had difficulty reading this chapter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great and meaty chapter. However, truth has a way of barging into places you’d rather keep shut.
Truth has a way of breaking us.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. When the truth pierces the darkness, lies are exposed.
Your soul is left naked.
I guess that’s how Adam and Eve felt after they ate the forbidden fruit. Eve fell for the lie and brought Adam down with her. Next thing you know, they are running for cover.
There are things we’d rather keep hidden.
If you’ve walked on this earth long enough, there will be situations you’ll want to forget and wish never happened.
We all wish we had the ability to go back in time and do things differently. However, this is impossible.
Shame and guilt hound us and we continue to run.
Jesus doesn’t want us to run or hide in shame anymore. He wants to expose every broken place in our lives.
He wants to heal us.
But, He isn’t going to force it on us. He is a gentlemen.
Once we receive Him into our hearts and lives, we are His. We are no longer our own. We were bought with a price.
He doesn’t want us remaining as we are. He doesn’t want us trapped in bondage. He doesn’t want us believing the lies.
He doesn’t want us living shattered lives.
Jesus is the redeemer of our souls. He wants to reach down into those dark crevices of our hearts and heal us. Those ugly places we want to hide and pretend don’t exist.
“But from start, healing work occurs on the inside. In time, seeds planted in secret by God’s Spirit will blossom into the harvest of a radically changed life. Right now, however, at least on the surface, nothing will seem to have changed. Even with Christ in us and with us, the hard circumstances of life are still there, staring us in the eyes. That’s because Jesus isn’t changing the situation but the person.” (Chapter 5, Pages 68-69)
God wants to do spiritual surgery. He wants to set us free. He longs to make us whole.
Will you say “yes” to the Cross?
Blogging Through the Book is a group of bloggers who literally blog while reading the book. It’s different than merely reading a book and posting a review. We have a chance to read and share our thoughts in community. To learn more visit www.danapittman.com.
Posted in blogging, christianity, Healing
Also tagged Blogging Through the Book, Jesus, Mike Glenn, The Gospel of Yes
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The Greater Sin
I am participating in Blogging Through the Book: The Gospel of Yes by Pastor Mike Glenn. This series was birthed by Dana Pittman, who is an amazing writer and speaker. I am honored to be partnering with her and her amazing team of writers. Every Wednesday we will be blogging our thoughts and insights from this book.
Ever get the feeling God is trying to tell you something? Well, I’ve been feeling like that a lot lately.
He’s been speaking to me through different avenues, one of them being, The Gospel of Yes.
While reading Chapter two, I was pretty surprised to come across what Pastor Mike Glenn refers to as the greater sin.
The greater sin is not trying.
When we don’t try, we don’t risk failure. We stay in our comfort zones. We choose the safest route in life. We avoid pain, suffering and struggle at all costs.
But is that really living a full life? Is this what God desires for us?
“In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the famous parable of the talents. The master in the story entrusts three servants to oversee part of his wealth while he is away. When the master returns, he find two servants have done well and doubled what he had entrusted to them. The third servant, afraid of the master’s anger, buried the talent given to him and simply returns it unused and with no increase. The master is furious but not for the reasons we assume. He is not angry because the servant tried and failed or because the principal had produced no greater value. No, the master is angry because the servant simply didn’ t try.”
This convicted me to the core. Personally, I have been burying my talents because of fear of man. What man might think of me, etc.
Our faith in Him has to be greater than our fear in man.
The Lord keeps asking me to step out in faith and trust Him.
He doesn’t want me or anyone hiding their talents. He wants to use our talents for His glory.
He wants us to try, even if we fail. We have to act in faith and leave the results to Him. I know this is easier said than done.
But if we don’t, we will never experience His freedom.
God wants me, you and everyone to say ‘yes’ to Him.
Whether it is going to the mission field, forgiving someone, serving in a homeless shelter, mentor a child or whatever He put on your heart.
He wants us to try because in doing so we learn to trust Him.
Is there something God has been asking you to do? Has He been asking you to step out in faith and try?
Blogging Through the Book is a group of bloggers who literally blog while reading the book. It’s different than merely reading a book and posting a review. We have a chance to read and share our thoughts in community. To learn more visit www.danapittman.com.
Posted in blogging
Also tagged Blogging Through the Book, Christianity, Mike Glenn, Sin, The Gospel of Yes
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“What’s Your ‘Yes’?”
I am participating in Blogging Through the Book: The Gospel of Yes by Pastor Mike Glenn. This series was birthed by Dana Pittman, who is an amazing writer and speaker. I am honored to be partnering with her and her amazing team of writers. Every Wednesday we will be blogging our thoughts and insights from this book.
The word ‘yes’ is easy for me to say when it comes to others. But not when it comes to me. My ‘yes’ looks this…
It’s not quite a ‘yes’ as the ‘s’ is backwards.
All my life, I’ve been saying ‘yes’ to everyone, but myself. I’ve spent years helping, encouraging and supporting everyone elses’ dream and vision, except my own.
I actually derive pleasure by encouraging others. However, it’s a whole other story when it has to do with my dreams.
For years, I’ve always watched from the sidelines while others pursued their dream and lived their calling. The Lord wants me to move me away from being a spectator to becoming a participator.
Saying Yes
God has been challenging me in this area. He wants me to say “yes” to His calling. However, I always shrink back in fear.
My biggest stumbling block is fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of disapproval… the list goes on.
Even writing this post is difficult. I have to battle my way through what feels like a flood of voices coming against me.
“What’s your ‘yes’?” I will say again. “Jesus said, ‘Let your yes be yes,’ so what is your ‘yes’? If you know your ‘yes,’ then all the ‘nos’ will take care of themselves. So have you found your ‘yes’?” (Page 18)
I seem to be saying ‘yes’ with my lips, but not with my life.
Recently I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me, “When are you going to surrender and say ‘yes’ to me?” “How long will you allow fear to stop you from doing my will for your life?”
I wonder how long or what it’s going to take for me to surrender, overcome the fear and say ‘yes’.
Get In the Zone
“Athletes talk about being in the zone. The zone is a state of concentration, an alignment of emotional, mental, and physical abilities where the game seems to slow down and the play becomes almost effortless. I believe we were called to live more in the zone than out of it. Being aligned with God’s spirit, riding the Divine Current, makes whatever we are doing more impactful, more elegant and more joyful.”(Page 19)
Sounds wonderful doesn’t it?
I recall being in the zone a couple times in my life. Once while doing aerobics and another time while singing. I had this heightened sense of awareness and everything just flowed. I wonder what it would be like living in the zone every day?
As I continue to read and blog, The Gospel of Yes, my prayer is that the Lord helps me get in the zone.
What about you? Have you said ‘yes’ to God? Are you living in the zone?
Blogging Through the Book is a group of bloggers who literally blog while reading the book. It’s different than merely reading a book and posting a review. We have a chance to read and share our thoughts in community. To learn more visit www.danapittman.com.