Share your thoughts with in 1Community

William Gaultiere, Ph.D.

Executive Director of New Hope, Psychologist with ChristianSoulCare.com

God has good purposes for our lives, which he reveals to us through his word, people, nature, and our own hearts.  Do you believe this?  Listen to Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NIV).  You've heard the first part and need to be reminded.  You may not have heard the second part.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and will bring you back from captivity.'"

We need to listen and respond to the wonderful life purposes that God reveals to us, prioritizing our lives according to his good plans.  We will find him when we seek him with all our hearts! 

We Have to Fight for God's Life

But, as most of you know, this isn't easy.  We have hurts that need healing.  We need to be ransomed from captivity.  And doing God's work, opening up our souls to share with others God's message and the spiritual life he's given us is risky.  A friend reminded me of this the other day.  After reading the e-mail of one of my "Christian Soul Care Devotionals," in which I shared my personal experience watching the movie "The Passion of the Christ," she said, "How do open your soul like that?  Aren't you afraid of spiritual attack?"

Yes, I'm under attack, but I'm not afraid!  I know I have to fight to live God's purposes.  Jesus jolted us into this reality telling us that to advance the Kingdom of God we need to violently take it by force (Matthew 11:12, NKJV).  In other words, we have to overcome our enemy named Satan and he his dark forces who want to steal your healing, kill your soul, and destroy your effectiveness for God.  Jesus said it this way (John 10:10, NIV):

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

There's a lot that we could discuss about spiritual warfare, but James sums it all up for us:

"Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, NIV).

We need to seek to know and then surrender our wills to God's good purposes for our lives.  And we need to take a stand in faith, dressed for battle in the armor of God, against enemies who oppose God's work in and through us (Ephesians 6:10-20).  When we're in Christ we don't need to be scared of Satan or any other dark force or enemy because our Lord who lives in our souls is greater than the enemies in our world (1 John 4:4).

There was an elderly woman who knew this.  Though she was old, bent over and frail she had strong faith in Christ.

She had just returned to her home from an evening church service when she was startled by an intruder.  She caught the man in the act of robbing her home!  He was stealing her valuables.  But wasn't afraid.  She looked right at him and yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!" (Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.")  Immediately, the burglar became as white as a ghost, dropped his bag, threw his hands up in the air, and stood there frozen!  Then the elderly woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, " Why did you just stand there?  All the old lady did was yell a scripture verse to you.  "Scripture?" replied the burglar. " She said she had an ax and two 38's!"

God Has Chosen You

Peter Kennedy in his e-mail devotional tells a story about German composer Felix Mendelssohn's grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, who was not a handsome man. He was short in stature and he had a hunched back due to a childhood illness in his spine. Despite his unattractiveness, he was known as the "Jewish Luther" for his attempts to modernize Judaism. He was a brilliant philosopher and theologian and was appointed to the court of the King of Prussia. Mendelssohn conceived of God as a perfect Being and had faith in God's wisdom, righteousness, mercy and goodness.

But the most inpsiring part of his story is his marriage.  In the 1760's, he met a young lady named Fromet Gugenheim.  She was a beautiful woman and Moses fell madly in love with her.  But, understandably, Fromet was repulsed by his ugly appearance.  One day Moses, got up his courage to talk to her.  He asked her, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?"

When she said yes, Moses said, "In heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord said to me, 'But your wife will be humpbacked.'  Right then and there I called out, 'Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'"

Fromet reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand, and in 1762 became His devoted wife.

That's what Jesus did for you and I.  He took our humpback!  He became sin for us.  Why?  Why would the One who has always been pure and beautiful and glorious take on our ugliness?  To marry us.  He chose us as "his own special treasure" the Bible tells us again and again (Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 7:6, Psalm 135:4, Malachi 3:17).  He wants to be intimate soul mates with us forever!  And he wants us to be his allies, partners with him in the adventure of reconciling other souls to his love and goodness.

We Need a Lot of Help!

To enjoy the blessings of intimacy with God and service for him we need a lot of help don't we?  One look at ourselves and we see that we're messed up!  Think about it.  We've got depressions, anxieties, addictions, family conflicts.  Sometimes we don't even like God.  Most of the time we're more interested in accomplishing our own goals or amusing ourselves than we are in caring for souls in Jesus' name. 

It's sad to say, but many Christians today don't look much like Jesus.  Joining the love and glory of the Trinity.  Living in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Sharing these fruits of the Spirit, this soul food, with others so that they too enter the beautiful eternal fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit.  Is this really possible to achieve in meaningful ways in this life? 

We believe it is.  That's why we're gathered here at this conference, "Caring for Souls in Jesus' Name."  We've seen people who have walked in God's love and lived like Jesus.  We read about them in the Bible and in the history of the church.  I know people like this.  More importantly, I'm becoming someone who more and more lives in the reality of David's words, "Lord your love is better than life" (Psalm 63:3).  This is what I want for you.

But why don't more Christians live lives that look like Jesus?  Caught up in unholy and unwholesome lifestyles?  Yes, but it goes deeper than that.  Even committed Christians who are trying to do what's right are in many cases way off the mark.  So many of us have been trying for years to do all the religious things that we should.  Like the Pharisees that Jesus chastised we may clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside have souls that are maggoty with sin!  We've put the focus in the wrong place.

Growth occurs only one way: From the inside out.  To heal and mature we need help from God and others deep inside.  That's what I mean by "Christian Soul Care." 

As a Psychologist people come to me for help with their symptoms.  They're depressed or anxious.  Maybe they have a problem with anger or an addiction or a relationship problem.  They want their pain to go away.  They want their problem fixed.  The hardest part of my job is to change their mindset to help them to see that they need to care for their hurts and embrace their problems instead of trying to get rid of them.

Our hurts and problems are just symptoms of soul sickness.  They represent our souls crying out for God.

God Will Put the Pieces of Your Life Back Together

Have you ever seen Tullio Lombardo's 15^th century marble statue of Adam holding an apple?  I haven't, but I heard a powerful story about it reading Peter Kennedy's e-mail devotional.  Lombardo's statue is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  The Venetian artist's statue is famous for its pure marble and elegant carving of Adam that captures Adam's glorious innocence and in its background carving of a serpent and a grapevine on a tree trunk alludes to the fall and redemption of man.  This work of art has survived over 500 years and thousands of miles in travel in it's glorious state.  Then one night in October 2002 it toppled and broke into pieces!

Stunned and devastated officials at the museum explained that the statue's pedestal buckled, tipping over the statue and smashing it into dozens of pieces scattered across the museum floor.  Amazingly, experts were able to restore the work of art!  Piece by piece, starting with the inside of Adam, they glued the broken pieces of marble from Lombardo's masterpiece back together.  And when they were done it looked just like the original creation. 

Through Jesus Christ, God reaches into the depths of our souls to restore you and I to the glorious state he created us in.  He forgives our sins.  Removes our shame.  Repairs our broken parts and makes us whole again.  He gives us new and abundant life now and forever! 

Of course, we can still see some cracks and chips!  The perfection of his re-creation in us is still being realized as we put our trust in Christ.  But make no mistake, "We are new creations in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).  "For everything God gives to his son, Christ, is ours too" (Romans 8:17a, NLT).  And "We shall be like him" (1 John 3:2b, NIV).  The Bible calls us the "glorious ones" (Psalm 16:3, NIV) because we each "reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV).

Maybe you need to hear those words again?  What if God's words about you settled into your soul, punctuated by Ambassadors for Christ who treated you that way, until you actually believed them?  Imagine how you'd radiate and overflow with the very life of God!  Say God's word with me: "Yes, I am a new creation in Christ!    Everything God gives to Christ is mine too.  I can live like Jesus did.  I am one of God's glorious ones, as I reflect the Lord's glory.  I'm being transformed into Christ's likeness with ever-increasing glory!"

Reflection

Maybe you feel like the humpback and need for Jesus to see your true beauty.  Or maybe you feel like the broken statue of Adam and you need for God to put you back together.  I want to give you a few minutes to reflect and pray on this.  I'm going to play a song that a friend shared with me just a few days ago.  It's the title cut on the album "All Things New" by Watermark.  Listen close to these words.  Make them your prayer.  Dare to believe that God has put heaven in your soul.

"I am a miracle because heaven is a part of me.  And [Jesus] you're the song that I'm singing. Because of who you are and who I am in you. You make all things new!"

What Christ-Followers are to Look Like: Three Purposes to Live By

As I read the Scriptures what I see over and over again are three great, grand, glorious purposes that God has for our lives.  I see these three divine purposes on practically every page of the Bible!  Just three purposes.  Not four or five.  Just three. 

The three life purposes that I believe God has for all people are simple to understand.  You know what they are.  In pointing them out I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know.  Identifying them is easy.  Keeping the three together, balanced, and in focus - in our hearts and lives, everywhere and all the time - is very difficult. 

The three purposes that God has for our lives are:

1. Worship
2. Grow
3. Serve

Imagine these in a triangle, just like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Put worship in the top corner of the triangle, grow on the bottom left, and serve on the bottom right.  To come alive spiritually we must begin by seeing and appreciating God as he is, grow closer to him and become who he's made us to be, and serve him by helping others to connect with him, grow spiritually, and serve God.

Notice that these three purposes connect God, self, and others.  It is this triangle that takes us into the glorious community of the Trinity.  It is the key to a life that is holy (h-o-l-y) and wholly (w-h-o-l-y).  Living these three priorities - worshiping God, growing spiritually, and serving God by helping others - and keeping them in balance is the key to the Christian life. 

Most Christians emphasize one or two of the priorities, but not all three.  The Bible emphasizes all three and teaches that you can't really do one without doing the other two.  Let me show you.

"May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!  Friends, keep up your prayers for us. Greet all the Christians there with a holy embrace. And make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters. Don't leave anyone out" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-27, MSG).

This "Life Purpose Triangle" is everywhere in the Bible.  Consider the Ten Commandments.  Four focus on our worship of God and six focus on treating other people with respect.  And all ten are laws that are good for us and help us to grow; God says we'll be blessed if we live that way.

Jesus was asked, "What's the greatest commandment of all?"  His response is interesting.  He didn't single out any one of the ten, but connected them all into one law of love with three expressions: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30-31).  Love God, love others, and love self.

Or how about Romans 15:13, which my wife, Kristi, has posted on our bathroom mirror and on the dashboard of her car.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

God of hope, fill you with joy and peace, overflow to others.  There it is again: worship, grow, serve.  We could discuss literally hundreds of examples from the Bible like this.  Truly these priorities of worship God, grow personally, and serve God by helping others are all over the pages of the Bible.

Here's one more example of the priority and interconnectedness of our relationships with God, self, and others.  Many of you have heard me share my "Life Verse" from the Bible.  God has led my heart to settle on one verse of Scripture as theme for my life.  I encourage you to do the same.  It's an incredible blessing.  I've received so much focus and power and joy from God by using my Life Verse.  We'll talk more a lot about this in later seminars.  Anyway, my life verse is 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV):

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 

God makes his appeal, Christ's Ambassadors respond and then share the message with others.

Jesus Comes to Us to Make us What We're Meant to Be

These three purposes were lived out perfectly and in unison by Jesus.  To help us appreciate this, receive him deeper into our souls, and be inspired to emulate him I want to share with you a very special video that portrays the Passion of Christ in a fresh and powerful way.  Frannie, who is in my Christ's Ambassador's discipleship group, turned me on to this video.  I had a hard time locating a copy because it was made over 40 years ago and hasn't been in production for years.  Finally, I found it, but I had to pay $150 for it!  But it was worth it because I've been able to share it with people like all of you now.

It's called "The Parable."  It's about a 30 minute film with no words.  Just pictures.  If you listen with your heart and share your experience with God and spiritual friends you'll be amazed at what God will do in your life.

"The Parable" cast Jesus in a surprise role: a clown!  The clown visits people in the "circus of life" to transform them.  He carries the burdens of a tired water boy, takes the place of a man being picked on in a dunk tank, rescues a woman trapped between cutting knives in a magician's box, and then, finally, makes the ultimate sacrifice by freeing the other puppets and then harnessing himself into a hostile, sadistic "Punch and Judy" puppet show where he is killed. 

Many people were unchanged by the clown, but a few became disciples, including the most unlikely character of all: The sinister marionette master.

Who do you identify with in story of "The Parable"?  Maybe, like the water boy, your soul is weary and needs to rest in God's care.  Maybe you identify with the man in the dunk tank; you've been mistreated and need comfort and healing.  Or perhaps you're the woman in the magician's box, trapped in a struggle, some compulsive behavior, conflict, or other problem.  Or, you might be in the puppet show, feeling controlled by people or circumstances.  You could be the marionette master, trying to control situations, people, even God.  Probably we can identify, more or less with each role.

Whichever role you're in, from where you are, right now, talk to God about it.  Worship him with heart, seek to grow through your challenge, and look to serve him by reaching out to others in "the circus of life." 

Then you'll step out of the circus of life and into the parable, taking on the clown's role as an Ambassador for Christ.

William Gaultiere, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the New Hope Crisis Counseling Center at the Crystal Cathedral and a Clinical Psychologist and Spiritual Director with ChristianSoulCare.com.  On his website you can sign up for a free inspirational devotional e-mail.