The Science of Rejoicing

I love reading books about the brain and body (i.e. the mind/body connection) because I always learn something about why God tells us to do what he does.  Look at this (see below for the reference to the book I'm quoting)...

"Any form of negative rumination - for example, worrying about your financial future or health - will stimulate the release of destructive neurochemicals." (p25)

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?... Matthew 6:25-34

"Human brains like to ruminate on negative fantasies, and they're also odd in another way: they respond to positive and negative fantasies as if they were real." (p27)

"There is mounting evidence that strongly negative terms can interrupt the normal expression of genes that regulate one of the most important language centers of the brain, Wernicke's area.  This is where we learn how to interpret the meaning of words.  Hostile language also appears to disrupt specific genes that are instrumental in the production of neurochemicals that protect us from physiological stress, and if we are exposed to it during childhood, it can undermine our ability to fend off anxiety, depression, and fear." (p33)

In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:7-8

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

"But imagination is a two-way street. If you intensely focus on a word like "peace" or "love," the emotional centers in the brain calm down... This is the neurological power of positive thinking, and to date it has been supported by hundreds of well-designed studies." (p27)

"Certain words - like 'peace' and 'love' - may actually have the power to alter the expression of genes throughout the brain and body." (p28)

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in you hearts. to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:14

"According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, one of the world's leading researchers on happiness, if you want to develop lifelong satisfaction you should regularly engage in positive thinking about yourself, share your happiest events with others and savor every positive experience in your life." (p31)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:4-7


"...Concentrating and meditating on positive thoughts, feelings, and outcomes can be more powerful than any drug in the world, especially when it comes to changing old habits, behaviors, and beliefs." (p35)

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2


And, the definition of some of God's favorite words:

Rejoice - to feel joy or great delight
Delight - to take great pleasure
Joy - the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires

When I know the reason why something should be done, it is so much easier for me to carry it out(which is great motivation for me to try to dig down to find out WHY God wants me to conduct my life a certain way!).  After ingesting all of the above information, I realized that rejoicing is a lot easier than I have ever thought it was.  In this case, the reason God wants us to manage our thoughts is because of how they can so dramatically affect our entire life.  His wanting us to think positively and trust him instead of worrying is clear proof to me that he wants us to be peaceful and healthy.  

When we dwell on and enjoy the well being that we have (especially our spiritual well being, since that is more real and lasting than any other form of health), it changes our perspective and heals us, as scientific research is now able to spell out in black and white.  

It is easy to enjoy life if we choose to fixate on every good thing that happens to us, and every kind thing that God and Jesus Christ have done and will do for us.  In the past couple of months, I have been able to experience this joy first hand as have finally started learning how to focus on good things and let go of unpleasant events, and my personal need to be upset, worried, afraid, etc.

I love how good science proves God every time!

Excerpts from:
Words Can Change Your Brain 
by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman
Copyright 2012 Hudson Street Press

Beth Moore Simulcast - Salt & Certainty

Point #5: We can revel in the certainty of the things we have been taught.

The point of Bible study is to know God and have a relationship with him - it's not just about knowledge!  The people of the Bible, those who wrote the Bible, KNEW Jesus - they had proof.  What theses people wrote isn't a fond hope, it is their experience, it is reality.

John 20:29
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That means WE are blessed!!
Here's a secret about Jesus:  The more you need him, the more you will see him.

God intends to be faithful to you.  Don't you ever think he's not there for you or that he's left you.  Go to him because he will help you and give you love that nobody else will ever be able to give you.

Acts 1:1-3
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.


Imagine how trying it would have been to be with Jesus and for him to keep coming and going over this time period. It was obviously a time of testing, confirmed by the fact that it was a period of 40 days, which all over the Bible is a number that indicates testing. Here are some other 40 day testing periods of the Bible:

-The rains while Noah and his family were in the ark
-Moses' time on the mountain with God
-The spies' time scouting the land of Canaan
-Elijah's time without food
-Ninevah's time limit on repenting
-Jesus' period of tempting
-(and babies take 40 weeks to be born!)
The apostles had to live in faith and not by sight at this point as Jesus was no longer constantly with them.  BUT they had those many convincing proofs, and because they did, so do we.

I'm going to have to skip Beth's explanation of the Greek word sunalizo because I couldn't find the stuff in a concordance and I don't want to tell it wrong!  But this section was about communing with Christ constantly and spicing up life because we are intended to be "the salt of the earth."  Salt is a cleanser, a flavor-er, and a preservative.

Point #6: Jesus passed us the salt also.

It's time we become the flavor of Christ!  Let's enjoy life and be people that other people can be attracted to because of our excitement for and communion with Christ.

And finally, Point #7: We can ALSO be many convincing proofs that Jesus is alive.

Notice the reference to also??  I thought that was clever.

Think about and look for the things God has done in your life that prove him and Jesus Christ.  We, too, have proof of God because of the transformation he has worked in us, the miracles He's performed for us, His love for us that burns in our hearts and completes us.  The responsibility is now on us to show the Truth that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and to tell everyone what he has done for us!

These were Paul's last penned words:

Acts 28:28-31
30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Although Paul was technically under house arrest, it says that he preached unhindered!  Do what you have to do to be unhindered to do what God has called you to do.

The last image Beth showed us was a photograph somebody had taken from the driver's seat of a truck.  It was two cowgirls galloping beside the truck on horses, but it also caught the view in the truck's side view mirror of a raging fire close behind (the simulcast took place during some really terrible fires in Texas).  Beth said it's time to get on our horses and ride to freedom with Jesus.  We don't have long on this earth, the women on the horses didn't have long until the fire caught up to them - we have to choose how we spend our time.  Let's choose to be unhindered - it is available through Christ!

The end!!!

Beth Moore Simulcast - Healing and Friendship

In Acts 1:1, Luke uses the word Theophilus, which means Theos = God, philos = friend, or friend of God.  Some scholars say this was a pseudonym for an actual person who it would have endangered to name in a letter.  Others say that it was a name for all readers.

In Luke 1:3, Luke adds "most excellent" to the front of that word, making it an "honorific":

(3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.) This is further evidence that Theophilus was a real person instead of a name for all readers. (I personally don't agree, but I'm no Bible scholar, so, you know).
Beth mentions that Luke focuses on friends and friendship more than anyone else in the Bible (or the New Testament or the Gospels... not sure which or if it matters).

Luke 7:31-39, and skip down to 47


31"To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.'
33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

The pharisees accused Jesus of being a friend of sinners, and yet they were the ones who were truly sinners in this scenario because they were self righteous.  And yet, Jesus is a friend of sinners, so he was still a friend of the pharisees as well as a friend of the sinful woman.  In the realm of Christianity, outcasts become insiders.  Luke was an outcast before - he was a gentile.

Beth then spoke about Luke's viewpoint of Christ and that God used his physician perspective to emphasize all of the healing and to use doctor's language and really bring out that dimension of Christ's ministry.

In Luke 13:10-16
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." 15 Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

This section was especially powerful as Beth talked more about her past and how she "could not straighten up" no matter how hard she tried.  She needed Christ to put his hands on her and she needed to be under his authority (following his will, working with him rather than trying over and over to do what nobody can do alone).  This is where she says that memorizing scripture and using it when your struggle arises is the way to freedom.  Ask God what verse you need to combat your particular problem and then memorize it and bring it to mind when you see potential to encounter that problem.  Over time (or even immediately) this will purify your mind so you will no longer have the same struggles!

Also, you can ask God "what preceded my defeat?"  Try to find out your triggers so you can deal with them or avoid them.  You have to let God get to the root of things and show you in his timing how to overcome the problem.  It's not about treating symptoms, it's about getting complete healing.  Don't be like the pharisees and make up a bunch of rules around healing.  It can happen any time any place and to any degree, including miraculous, sudden healing.  But don't make it up to be a certain way in your head and don't restrict it, whatever you do.

And as far as our struggles go, we have to take them one day at a time.  God gives us grace for each day, and we are NOT to worry about the future.  (Matthew 6 has a good section about this that really helps me to stave off anxiety).

At this point, Beth showed a picture of a baby squirrel.  It was curled up in the palm of a woman's hand and it was naked and really ugly.  A cat dragged it in and the Beth's friend saved it.  Seeing the squirrel picture made a question come up for Beth:  "What did we look like?"  Then she read Ezekiel 16:4-7:

4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
6 "And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' 7 I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment.

Point #4:  Jesus became a friend of sinners so we could become a friend of God.

And thank God he did!

Beth also made the point here that we need to make sure we aren't making ourselves bent over from bitterness and unforgiveness by withholding grace from other sinners.  The word forgive in the Greek means to "send something forth" - to let go.  If we don't do that then our unforgiveness becomes a lifestyle and eventually becomes who we are.  We have to give things up to God because he can and will deal with them in time.

Even more than that, we have been called to overcome through LOVE.  Don't you know that some people enjoy having power over you?  If you don't give in, it will make them furious and it will set you free.  Being kind to somebody who treats you badly is God's will and it will really throw that person off.

One last point Beth made for this section was that we shouldn't be afraid to be a little vulnerable.  She realized that it's so much easier to say "love you" or "love ya" than to say "I love you."  We are afraid of rejection, but it's ok if the love doesn't come back to us because God always always loves us and He is enough for us.  We were made to love.  Take ownership and don't do it casually!

Beth Moore Simulcast - Good Company

September 10, 2011
Living Proof Live Simulcast in Lubbock, Texas

Session 1

Whatever you're dealing with, somebody else is too.  Just like all temptation is common to man, so all struggles are common to man.  Let Jesus get into that business.

Luke 1:1-4 (Theme verses)
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, in the company of those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Do your pursuing of God in the company of others! And make that good company.

2 Timothy 4:6-12
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

Only Luke was with Paul at this point.  All of his beloved friends (Luke and Demus mentioned as such in Colossians 4:14) had abandoned him and gone off.  So Luke had to be the one Paul was dictating to.  Imagine how Luke felt when Paul said "The time has come for my departure..." and then "Luke is the only one with me."  Do you think he paused for a minute as he wrote when Paul got to those parts?  Maybe his eyes filled with tears a little bit for the deepness of their friendship.  He and Paul were clearly best friends at that point.

Acts 16:6-13
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

You can see here where Luke (the writer of Acts) comes into the picture because of the change from they they they to we we we.

Beth spoke some about Paul and Luke meeting when Paul was in Galatia with an illness (Galatians 4:13) and that Luke, the Physician, basically gave up what he was doing and left to go with Paul. She said it was similar to a doctor these days just going home with a client because he loved him so much. She asked - how many of you love your doctor this way: "I *LOVE* my doctor... LOVE him" ? But how many of you, your doctor just loves you so much that "I just love you so much, I'm going to go ahead and come home with you and stay with you for years to take care of you" ? That's what it was like for Paul and Luke. "Luke put the 'company' back in 'accompanied.'"

Sidenote:
These days it's hard to actually be alone with somebody because of technology and the fact that we are constantly social-networking to the point that we don't pay attention to the people we are face to face with. I think Beth just wanted everyone to think about the implications of that.

The point of all of this is point #1:
We were created for good company.

2 Timothy 2 :22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

We have to also learn to be good company. This is how:

1 Peter 1:22
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Don't just try to do obedience on your own, though. You will fall into a cycle of confession/destruction. Get Jesus involved - DO NOT separate the sinful part of your life out from the rest of what you share with him, do not hide it in the dark. Tell Christ what you need, shine his light on it, and ask him what to do. Memorize applicable scripture to combat whatever you are struggling with and it will REform your heart (disobedience DEforms the heart). (I myself can testify to the power of memorizing scripture and using it when I'm tempted to sin. Ask me if you want to know!!)

At this point, Beth gave a little bit of her testimony saying that she truly believes she would not be alive if it weren't for Christ. She was caught up in a really harmful cycle of looking for ways to self-destruct, and she said that it was not an exaggeration that out of the 180,000 women viewing the simulcast, NOBODY, including the women in the correctional facilities, had made as stupid of choices as she had. She was really transparent and said she couldn't ever look down on someone because she herself has most likely been that someone.

Back to point #1. Our closest fellowship, our best friends, must be people who have purified souls, who call on God, who practically live out God's will. The rest of the people in our lives, we should still love deeply, but we have to use the Philippians 1:9 principle

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.

Use discernment and care with the other people in your life or you will get torn up.


Sidenote:
When you are trying to minister to someone who is really emotionally troubled ("wigged out" "I've been that woman"), you need to do that in a small group, not by yourself or it will turn you inside out.

To be continued...!

Pee My Pants Excited!

I can't believe it has been months since I posted!  I think about blogging often and I want to do it more.  What perfect timing since the new year is only a few days away!


I am so excited about the miraculous work of God in my life.  He never ever ever EVER disappoints me, and the time that has passed since I began this blog has seen me to a new season for sure.  I'm so thankful to God to be feeling so much stronger.  Of course my success goes in cycles of dips and backward steps more than half the time, but each time I regress to my old ways is less debilitating than the time before.  God can fix anything if He can fix me!  Jesus didn't die for nothing!!  


And I'll tell you what - whatever is happening to me to make me more sane has taken definite effort, but there is no way I could have done all on my own what's been done in my life.  And the more I chill out, stop beating myself up, and ask ask ask God for help, and KNOW He'll do unfathomable things, the better it goes.  The harder I try to do all this impossibly hard work on myself the more I feel like a ball of yarn strung and tangled all over the house by the cat.


Right now I'm full of hope for more transformation in 2011.  I'm hoping to become more consistent in relationships.  I'm looking forward to gaining more confidence in who I am in Christ and acting on it.  And I'm ready to slow down about it.  These things don't happen over night, no matter how much I think my impatience will change that cold hard fact.  I need to keep letting God lift these weights for me and focus on Him and His son - being with them and knowing them deeply.  That's what I want. 


And I long for more community in the year to come.  I know God has some Albuquerquean girlfriends in store for me!  I know He has a workplace in mind that will draw me cheerfully to it each morning.   I have anticipation for more strong bonds of friendship and sisterhood closer to home.


Finally, I'm pee-my-pants excited about being part of a scripture memorization team!  Visit here to see what I'm talking about: http://blog.lproof.org/ .    I need this kind of thing to keep my zeal... or to GET some zeal.... I think mine has been hibernating for some time.


Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.