Take A Load Off!

Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” NLT

This weekend I was afforded the awesome opportunity to minster alongside over 100 volunteers from my home church of West Angeles Church of God in Christ and several other Los Angeles church congregants at the Eastlake Juvenile Detention Center. We gathered to serve hot plates of Thanksgiving turkey, dressing, green beans, and sweet pumpkin pie; a welcome alternative to the usual cold or lukewarm Los Angeles County fare. We young adults also provided prayer, song, scripture reading (thankfully there were several mini New Testaments inside the units) and much needed positive reinforcement for education, goal setting, resolving family issues and development of a personal relationship to God. It was truly a blessing to see and feel the tattered and ice cold hearts of young people slowly warm beneath our widely spread blanket of brotherly and sisterly love. Heaven rejoiced as many confessed the Lord Jesus as Savior. We remain in prayer for these children even now, and it is our hope that those who did not accept Christ immediately will look back on those few precious hours, recall God’s love shown and experience a life transforming longing for the heart and purpose of God in their own lives.
There are messages from God all around us; divine lessons to be learned from the simplest existing organisms to the most complex integration systems in cyberspace. I am of the opinion that if the man who thinks himself nothing at all will dare to take a moment and quiet his thoughts of self-deprecation, he will gain audience with the Creator of the universe. John 10:27 reassures us of access to Heaven’s voice: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” As we learned last week in our study of contemplative prayer, we recognize that we must pause to listen, all while watching God’s handiwork in our lives. With this said, I am developing a habit of prayerfully watching God in my everyday experiences. The visit to Eastlake was a life changing experience for the reasons that I have already expressed, but there proved more that God wanted to share still.

Take it Back

Gaining entrance to Eastlake Juvenile Detention Center is a bit of a process. Armed guards and chaplains at the facility entrance welcomed us with smiles and nods of appreciation as well as stern glances toward our innocent hoarding of prohibited items. Common items taken to community outreach events such as bags, purses, multiple keys, sunglasses, cell phones, cameras, scarves and even books were deemed objectionable belongings that had to be placed back into parked vehicles outside. I love to take photos and had to take my camera back to my car along with the cell phones of several other volunteers. I had wanted to take candid shots of the activities, but I certainly understood the inherent privacy issues as they were explained to me. After returning from my car, I regained a place at the end of the long line and giggled to myself as a young lady indignantly tried to bargain with the guard to keep her scarf. She relayed that it was a simple item used to keep her warm. He replied that this “simple” item could in fact be used against her as a weapon. The scarf was taken back outside the gate. I knew how she felt, but I smiled as I found myself closer to the front of the line. Almost inside! My grin melted away when I was told that I was to return my shiny pink and green AKA key-chain with the CZ studded high heeled shoe as well as my pocket sized Bible to the car. What!?! Don’t tell me I have to go back to the car again! Could these objects be potential weapons as well! Certainly, no one could use a miniature shoe and a downsized version of the Good Book to physically slay anyone. I had already taken my camera back to the car earlier and now this! I wasn’t happy about the situation, but what I did know was that I was not going to let something as minor as a favorite sorority key-chain deter me from my goal. With a huff, I sauntered back to my car and hastily dropped off the items. As I was walking back, the Chaplain was coming toward me on his way to another location. We had met before and I shot out, “I had to go all the way back to my car again to drop off my Bible and key chain!” Never changing his pace, he calmly called back in a slow, Southern drawl “Yea, that’s why I sent ya’ll the rules before you got here. It’s all on the list.” He smiled, joked about me giving him all the money in my wallet, and faded around the corner. I exhaled. He was right. There had been an informational email that was sent out. I had even glanced at it, but I hadn’t paid much attention to the plainly written details. Because of this oversight and associated disobedience, I was weighted down with seemingly harmless items that delayed my entry to minister, created frustration and anxiety and ultimately exposed me to scenarios that could have brought me or others harm. When God calls you into sacred spaces, you will have to leave certain items, practices, thoughts and sometimes, even people behind you. Hebrews 12:1 is a verse that we have already visited, but is fitting to this discussion. It reminds us that we are to”…strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up…” Don’t allow seemingly harmless things to disallow you from fully experiencing the power of God in your life.

Critical Connections

As we have discussed before, the most critical thing as believers is to maintain a proper relationship and connection to God. Second to this are our relationships with others. We can never let even “little” things get in the way of our God-connection! Romans 8:38 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow–not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Maintain the God-connection at all costs! Playing online can be innocent enough, but if surfing the web trips you up and you find yourself on inappropriate sites; take the load off! Set boundaries for yourself by placing blocks on your surfing that will disallow unlimited access. Maybe your “harmless” weight is telephone time that often escalates to gossip and backbiting. Take the load off! Be proactive and refuse to have lengthy conversations with the work or church gossip queens and kings. You already know where the conversations will go, so when the numbers pop up, either don’t answer or when you do, keep it short. Colossians 4:6 states that we should “Let [our ] conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” For some of us partying and alcohol is still an issue. Clearly John 10:34 relays to us just a few of the problems associated with alcohol: “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life.” Many people feel that “social” drinking is not problematic, but are simply partying to cover up deep-seated emotional pain, feelings of inadequacies and often times loneliness. Be honest with yourself, for many young singles imbibing is about more that just a good time. You are seeking fulfillment and a sense of solidarity that this type of activity falsely affords. Many of us already know that even a drink or two lowers our inhibitions to the point that we regretfully find ourselves near or even totally in compromising and sinful situations. A “harmful” mixed drink or two can result in a world of unnecessary hurt for us. Lay aside the weight! Decide that you can have a great time at Christian activities absent of alcohol, and often the accompanying marijuana and sexual innuendo. You never have to wake up with a dry mouth, hurting head, empty heart and the question “how did I get here again?”. Live your life in Godly purpose; absent of regrets, even little ones! Know that you are on your way to a Kingdom destination and that everything you bring to the gate of your destiny simply cannot gain entry!

Easy Now!

The trip up of sin is so easy. The enemy cleverly masks himself as a gentleman. He gently offers us a little of this and a little of that. We step right into a grey zone on critical issues, strategically straddling a spiritual fence that is sure to crumble beneath the weight of little sins. Even if we initially are bounding along in spiritual mediocrity, a time will come when we will find ourselves weighted down with unrighteousness and guilt. We may never even realize our true plight until we are seeking entrance into places of blessing in God. We stand in wonder as to why our prayers go unanswered, our ministries flounder and our relationships fail to progress. Perhaps the reason we can’t gain access to the power of God in these areas is because we are simply carrying too many little weights to enter in. Just as we who served at the detention center last week had to leave some physical things behind, we must do the same in the things of God. Jesus promises us that for all we leave behind, what He gives us to carry will prove a true reward: Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Yes, falling into sin can be easier, but taking on the mind of Christ and will of God for our lives is even easier! I encourage you to use the truth of God’s Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to take off even the those little things that will take you off course, separate you from the presence of God and deter you from your final destination. Take time to listen to the Lord’s leading. He will show you where there is unacceptable compromise in your life. You’re going somewhere my friends: higher and higher in God! Don’t allow the little things to delay your journey toward Kingdom greatness and real rest for your souls!

Dr.’s Orders 
Little sins can be hard to identify, but God makes overcoming spiritual mediocrity easy for us. During your time with God, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you those gray areas in your life. Once identified, write these down and direct time in prayer for personal strength to truly let go!