From the Kitchen Table

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 12

In Plain Sight

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

 John 8:32

Have you ever had a moment when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes, and you see something you had somehow missed before? You have a startling realization that changes everything. A truth is revealed that makes everything clear. Walking the AHA journey is filled with continual moments of awakening as we seek God in our lives. Sometimes we’re looking for awakening. Sometimes it takes us by surprise. Sometimes the awakening is right there in plain sight, waiting for us to let God realign our vision. Sometimes it’s not even our circumstances that change—just the way we see them.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 86-87). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

The amazing thing about the Spirit-filled life is that the Holy Spirit is continually giving us revelation.   Like the devotion says today, sometimes these aha moments come a just the right time if we’re willing to look and listen for God in our situation.  That makes this life so amazing.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 11

Let Go of Regret

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life set you free from the law of sin and death.                               Romans 8:1–2

With awakening often comes regret. Once our eyes are opened to the wake of pain trailing behind us, it’s normal to think, what have I done? It’s easy to see how the Prodigal Son would have felt such regret, but what about the father? What memories haunted him? What scenes replayed in his head of happy times past and moments he wished he could change? On those long, bleak days of mourning his son’s departure and waiting for his unlikely return, this patriarch must have asked the universal questions of a parent: What could I have done differently? How could I have stopped him? Where did I go wrong?  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 80-81). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

We can look back to learn but we can’t look back to live.  God is in the redeeming and restoring work.  Our future isn’t a God problem, it’s a self-problem.  There’s that moment when suddenly, we see where we are and where we could be, and our enemy brings all the guilt and regret to bear down on our minds to keep us in the past.  Nothing is more powerful than the power of unforgiveness.  Refusing to receive God’s forgiveness and to forgive ourselves, we are, stuck in the puddle of the past.  The questions about the past can be answered later.  Right now, we must focus on the future.  It’s time to get up out of the puddle of pain and head back to the Father’s house.  It’s time to rise out of that rocking chair or regret and run outside looking for tomorrow.  Yeah, take those regrets to redeemer and receive some instruction about the rest of this day and this life.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 10

Escaping the Country of the Blind

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.        Psalm 119:18

We live in the country of the blind. We experience an awakening. God opens our eyes. We’re able to see, but it doesn’t take long to realize that there are people all around us who think we really need to be cured of our sight. We come to church on weekends, and our eyes are opened, and conviction comes in our hearts. We know God has spoken to us, but Monday comes, and we find ourselves back in the country of the blind. Everyone thinks we’re a little bit crazy; we’ve taken this too far, and what would really be best is if we would go back to being blind.  This is where we live. And we must continually open our eyes. We must refocus on the heights above and press toward the beauty where God wants to draw us. We must continue to pray David’s prayer, that God would open our eyes—each day—so that we might see what God wants us to see even in this country of the blind.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (p. 78). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

 

I love this illustration of living in the country of the blind because it’s so true.  We get the light of Jesus when we receive the love of Jesus and it seems like most of those around us want to pluck our eyes out so that we can live like they do.  Jesus is the light of the world.  We were meant to see, believe, and hope.  We can’t let the blind make us blind too.  Keep walking, climb the mountains, breath the fresh air and take in the beauty of this life.  I know, not everyone will come with us and it’s hard, especially when the people we are closest to ridicule and reject us.  However, we will never bring them to the light by letting them poke our eyes out.  Keep walking, it’s a beautiful life.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 9

Redeeming the Pain

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.                       Psalm 34:18

It is not, therefore, the experience of loss that becomes the defining moment of our lives, for that is as inevitable as death, which is the last loss awaiting us all. It is how we respond to loss that matters. That response will largely determine the quality, the direction, and the impact of our lives.

The question is: When difficult circumstances come your way, when there is a famine in the land like that encountered by the Prodigal Son, how will you respond? How are you responding? If you let Him, God will use those circumstances to wake you up and ultimately draw you closer to Him.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 70, 74). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

 

If we will let Him, God will use our circumstances to wake us up.  These are not circumstances God created but circumstances we or someone else created.  It’s those circumstances of loss which touch the most inner fiber of our being and have a way of revealing what’s really in our hearts and in our heads.  As painful as it is, if we will let Him, He will work in those circumstances to wake us up to truth and life.  In that dirty, stinky moment beside the hog trough, the Prodigal Son was deeply aware of his loss.  His dad didn’t send him there, he went there on his own.  His dad didn’t choose his friends he had, and they had chosen to use him and then leave him.  In that moment of pain, the son could finally see the priceless love of his father.  God doesn’t cause the pain, but He is bigger than the pain and able to use it to save us.  Stop blaming and start believing.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 8

Getting What We Deserve

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.

A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7

When you are in the Distant Country, it’s only a matter of time before your decisions catch up to you. Those consequences spread like ripples on a still pond after a rock is thrown in. Your choices and actions are the cause, and they bring about effects.  God often brings us to a desperate moment through deserved consequences. The weight of possible consequences can help us look back on our poor choices with greater clarity. The moment the consequences of our decisions catch up with us, that is an invitation to cry out to God for help. Don’t wait for the consequences of your actions to come crashing down around you. Heed the warning signs. Wake up. And come back to the Father.

Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (p. 67-68). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

I’m clearly reminded today that living in a distant country puts me in a place of definite danger.  That happens physically as well as spiritually.  Decisions have consequences, but God is greater than my decisions and my consequences if only I would or could hear the alarm.  The danger of hitting the snooze button is that I become disinclined to hear the alarm.  That’s true physically, spiritually, relationally, morally, and so on.  I don’t know that God brings us to those desperate moments, it seems like those follow our own decisions, but God uses those desperate moments to call us back to Him.  Regardless of what we’ve done, God’s arm is no to short to reach us in those desperate moments.  I read today that there are no failures with God, only slow successes.  Hopefully, we will decide to live no longer in the desperate but in the divine.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 6

Words of a Friend

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.           Proverbs 27:6

We need a friend whom we’ve given permission to tell us like it is—no matter what. Even if we refuse to listen at first, we all need a friend who will tell us when we’re neglecting our family for work. A friend who will say something when our spending gets out of control. A friend who will challenge us to do more than just come to church a few weekends a month. A friend who will question a new relationship we’re beginning. Words from a friend like that can often be the most effective alarms in our lives. The Prodigal Son needed a friend like this, but in the Distant Country, I’m sure they were hard to find.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 53-54). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

I’m thankful today for friends who will speak the truth in love to me.  A good friend is one of God’s most precious gifts to us.  But a good friend operates in the truth and so a good friend is someone who has a spiritual backbone, truth convictions that they try to live by.  Good friends don’t usually fall out of the sky, they are foraged over time and through thought.  I’ve found that this happens by spending time with people like I spend time at a store looking for a good suit.  When we find the right relationship, it fits.  By the way, finding such a friend has meant becoming someone who can be a friend too!

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 5

Right Word at the Right Time

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.       Hebrews 4:12

As I have listened to people’s AHA stories over the years, one of the questions I often ask is: Looking back, can you see how God tried to get your attention even though you didn’t realize it? I am completely convinced that part of the supernatural power of God’s Word is that it often intersects with our lives when we are most desperate for the truth. Hebrews tells us it is “alive and active.”

Like a GPS system that gives us a heads-up when our exit is quickly approaching, God’s Word speaks into our lives right when we need it the most. As we seek and study the Bible, we give the Holy Spirit opportunity to shape our thinking, guide us, and sound alarms when necessary. Digging into Scripture is our way of listening and tuning our ears to our Father’s voice.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 48-50). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

 

I’m reminded today that God’s word can come in my daily time with Him or in desperate times without Him.  It’s hard to hear the voice of one we don’t know.  As we spend time in God’s word we learn to hear God’s voice and when I give Him the best of my time rather than the left-over time, I learn to treasure His word for my walk.  It seems like when we’re in a desperate place rather than a deliberate place we find ourselves in a disconnected place where it’s hard to hear the Father.  I want to hear and recognize my Father’s voice every step of the way.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 4

Wake Up

And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.”                 Ezekiel 3:10

But here’s what I’ve discovered: the effectiveness of an alarm is in direct correlation to how much you don’t want to hear it. In other words, until your desire to not hear the alarm outweighs your desire to keep sleeping—you’re not going to wake up.  Often, we miss the alarms sounding in our lives because we don’t want to hear them. But chances are that if you’re reading this book and seeking an AHA journey, you have a desire to awaken.  You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you come to your senses. God often sends us warnings and alarms to get our attention.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge. David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

This morning I realize once again that to really live this life we must wake up.  I used to tell my kids that anyone can stay in bed, it doesn’t take any effort to do that, but those who really want to live, get up when they wake up.  God sends alarms into our lives to wake us up so that we can live this life.  Hitting the snooze can be dangerous.  The more often we hit the snooze the more time, talents and treasure we waste, and the more opportunities walk away.

Undoubtedly there were alarms that went off for the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 as he began to slip into failure and sleep away his future.  His father never quits loving and looking him, but the son is no longer living on his father’s farm where he can really know this love.  The son can’t hear the alarms until he awakes to pure disaster and disappointment.  Ignoring the alarms, the son sleeps his way into sorrow but awakening every day his father arises with hope and expectation for each day.  Here’s the deal, we can be awakened by the divine or the demonic.  Heaven awakens us to love but hell awakens us to the laughter of ridicule.   And God doesn’t waste the time, talents, or treasures of life for anyone.

Let’s wake up when the alarms in life go off and live this life.

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 3

A Tale of Two Fathers

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing.                                                  Psalm 68:5–6

A few years ago I came home from work to find that my wife and kids had agreed to dog-sit for some friends. The dog’s name was Pork Chop. Everyone was excited about our new houseguest, but when I walked into the room, Pork Chop was not glad to see me. He responded to my presence by peeing on the floor and running into the next room. I tried not to take it too personally, but every time I walked in, I got the same response from Pork Chop. We later found out that Pork Chop’s owners had rescued him from an abusive situation where he’d learned to be afraid of men. He had no reason to fear me—I had taken this dog into my home and provided food and shelter for him—but because he had learned to be afraid of men, he would always run away. I could never get close to him. That’s how some people relate to God.* They run away to the Distant Country and never give Him a chance because they’ve been conditioned to be afraid of Him.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 31-32). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

Today I’m reminded of how important is to know God personally.  Too often we get our perspective of God from what others have said about Him or from our experiences with people rather than with Jesus.  It’s so easy to take the idea of God and form it to fit into our little heads and hearts when God is so much bigger than we can imagine.  I’m asking God to “Open my eyes” to see Him for who He really is so that I can live in His great big love on His great big ranch in His great big house.  I find that big picture of God from reading & relying on His word for my world.  Who wants to live is a wrong picture of God?

 

40 Days to Lasting Change                                                                                   Day 2

Where Are You?

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”                  Genesis 3:9

Have you ever been lost or disoriented in a mall or maybe an amusement park? You may have known where you were trying to go, but unless you knew where you were starting from, it was impossible to figure out how to get there. When you walked up to the giant map, the first thing you looked for was not your future destination but your current location. Your eyes scanned the map looking for that familiar “You Are Here” symbol. AHA begins with recognizing your current location. In one area or another, all of us are in the Distant Country.  “Where are you?” God still asks us today. It’s a rhetorical question from Him. But it’s an invitation filled with longing. It’s a plea filled with all the love and expectation and acceptance of the Prodigal Son’s Father. It’s an open invitation to return home.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp 25 & 29). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

Today I’m encouraged to be honest with where I am.  That sounds so simple and yet it’s one of the hardest things to figure out sometimes without God opening our eyes to see.  Where am I relationally, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and so on?  We turn our attention to the why rather than the where, as if the why holds the truth I need at this moment.  But unless I know where I am with God, myself, my life, my work, and others then how can I answer the question why?  Once again God comes walking through the garden asking Adam and Eve, “Where are you?”  After I know where I am I can begin to think about why I am where I am.  Isn’t it great that God wants me to know where before He asks why?  He loves me.  He wants to come to where I am and then we, together, can work out the why.  The prodigal son’s father wants him to know where he before he knows anything else.  He’s home and right now that’s all that matters.  And the Father is happy to take his son in his arms and make him know that he is home.  I can work out the whys once I know where I am personally, relationally, spiritually, financially, and so on.  It’s an amazing journey this walk with Jesus.