God Is On the Move - Get In Step!
Fall 2009 Sharon Beekmann is teaching a Bible study for men and women at GracePoint Community Church.
90 Orchard Drive
Littleton, Colorado
Pastor: Dr. Fred Lian
Phone: 303-798-6387
What: the book of 1 Samuel
When: Sunday at 11 – noon, from September 13th until the end of the year.
Where: 90 East Orchard Drive (Orchard and Broadway) in the Fellowship Hall.
You can attend on a drop in basis or every Sunday!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
My Testimony
“All the world’s a stage” opens a monologue in Shakespeare’s play As You Like It in which he uses metaphor with a touch of irony to describe the stages of a man’s life. On the world’s stage, the actor enters as an infant, exits, and reenters a little older, and so forth until he reaches the end “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” In memorable plays, characters and plots lay bare the human condition. A protagonist battles an antagonist, and conflicts intensify to a climax and resolution that underscore the main point of the drama. The curtain closes. Off-stage, behind the scenes, workers labor with props and technical paraphernalia to make the production work onstage. But from a Christian perspective, real life dramas offstage are more significant than the ones onstage. For in real life, God is the primary Writer, Actor, and Director. His story is about the redemption of humanity and his Kingdom reign, which human beings enact in their life-stories on stage, not as mere role players, but as people who can freely choose to depend on God as they enact their roles. Behind the curtain, Satan and his minions are the supernatural, arch antagonists, who attempt to thwart God’s purposes and to disrupt his drama by attacking God’s good creation, particularly his image bearers. In this regard, the full story of life encompasses the backstage and onstage dramas, and in my life, this was and is an intensely personal reality.
Spring 1987, I walked into an inner city church where a young Presbyterian pastor greeted and ushered me into his jam-packed office. Smiling warmly, he said, “How can I help you?”
I smiled and repeated what my friend has told me to say, “I’m demon-possessed and want to know Jesus Christ.”
Smiling warmly, the pastor replied, “Of course I can help you, but first tell me about yourself.”
“I’m a marriage and family therapist and a single mother of an eleven-year-old boy. In my mid-thirties, shortly after his birth, I sensed emptiness in me. I had a good marriage, a successful practice, and close friends, so I concluded the lack was spiritual. I explored the ‘alternative spiritual expressions’ of the seventies.” I described my experiences with spiritualism, various divination and meditation practices, yoga, and the Eastern and Native American religions and then said, “January 1985, I felt fragile and isolated, and decided to stop communicating with spirits. The next morning I awoke to hissing and vile cursing in my mind and painful attacks to my body. Horrified, I realized that the evil that I had denied existed controlled my inner life and threatened to destroy me. I’ve survived for two and half years by refusing to act on their input and by constantly saying to myself that this isn’t me. My friend said that Jesus Christ is the superior spiritual Presence—I sense it’s true. I want to know him.”
The pastor took Steps to Peace with God from his shirt pocket and showed me a picture of a man standing on a ledge staring across a deep cavern. Then I saw Jesus Christ stretched across the cavern. Suddenly, evil spirits unleashed hatred of Jesus and in my mind’s eye, I saw a naked man writhing on a cross. They hissed Jesus’ name. The pastor asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, they regularly flood me with vile feelings, visions, and lies, which I ignore. Please, go on.”
The pastor said, “You become a Christian by confessing your sins and asking Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of your life. Are you ready to do that?”
Nodding, I read aloud, “Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. I want you to be Lord and Savior of my life. Amen.”
“Good! Let’s pray.” As he prayed, I immediately saw the man hanging limply on the cross. His skin was flayed and blood poured from puncture wounds. In my mind, a spirit taunted, “God killed his son. Why follow him?” I stilled—he just acknowledged God’s existence! The vision vanished. He taunted, “Want to see another sacrifice?” But it was too late, for I already knew the truth and so did he.
In a twinkling, the Holy Spirit filled my icy core and broke their control. Simultaneously, I knew that the Bible was God’s official word and that I was to give it and the Holy Spirit authority and credence over all else—my desires, thoughts, feelings and demonic input. I sobbed, “I’m free!” God had rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the Kingdom of the Son he loves (Col. 1:13).
Until that moment, I knew the arch antagonist and his evil script, but God mercifully opened the curtain wide and revealed himself. Instantly, I witnessed his power and authority to save and his ability and willingness to personally communicate with me. The invisible heavenly realm and God himself became as real as the trees we touch, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Eventually, I learned that everything in the physical and spiritual universe comes from the Father through the Son Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. From beginning to end, salvation comes from God. Yet, I had much to learn about God and the part I played in my transformation and fulfilling his purposes in the world.
I converted my hour of meditation and yoga to writing in my journal, reading Scripture, and praying. As I drew near to him with full assurance of faith (Heb. 10:22), God transformed me from the inside out and demonic attacks significantly lessened. I learned that Satan and his minions are bit players, albeit vicious ones, in God’s drama of bringing light to darkened souls. God in his wisdom and grace incrementally transforms us as we cling to him and boldly step onto his stage, where rather than enfeebled ends, we look forward to the day when we reign with the King of Glory.
Spring 1987, I walked into an inner city church where a young Presbyterian pastor greeted and ushered me into his jam-packed office. Smiling warmly, he said, “How can I help you?”
I smiled and repeated what my friend has told me to say, “I’m demon-possessed and want to know Jesus Christ.”
Smiling warmly, the pastor replied, “Of course I can help you, but first tell me about yourself.”
“I’m a marriage and family therapist and a single mother of an eleven-year-old boy. In my mid-thirties, shortly after his birth, I sensed emptiness in me. I had a good marriage, a successful practice, and close friends, so I concluded the lack was spiritual. I explored the ‘alternative spiritual expressions’ of the seventies.” I described my experiences with spiritualism, various divination and meditation practices, yoga, and the Eastern and Native American religions and then said, “January 1985, I felt fragile and isolated, and decided to stop communicating with spirits. The next morning I awoke to hissing and vile cursing in my mind and painful attacks to my body. Horrified, I realized that the evil that I had denied existed controlled my inner life and threatened to destroy me. I’ve survived for two and half years by refusing to act on their input and by constantly saying to myself that this isn’t me. My friend said that Jesus Christ is the superior spiritual Presence—I sense it’s true. I want to know him.”
The pastor took Steps to Peace with God from his shirt pocket and showed me a picture of a man standing on a ledge staring across a deep cavern. Then I saw Jesus Christ stretched across the cavern. Suddenly, evil spirits unleashed hatred of Jesus and in my mind’s eye, I saw a naked man writhing on a cross. They hissed Jesus’ name. The pastor asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, they regularly flood me with vile feelings, visions, and lies, which I ignore. Please, go on.”
The pastor said, “You become a Christian by confessing your sins and asking Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of your life. Are you ready to do that?”
Nodding, I read aloud, “Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. I want you to be Lord and Savior of my life. Amen.”
“Good! Let’s pray.” As he prayed, I immediately saw the man hanging limply on the cross. His skin was flayed and blood poured from puncture wounds. In my mind, a spirit taunted, “God killed his son. Why follow him?” I stilled—he just acknowledged God’s existence! The vision vanished. He taunted, “Want to see another sacrifice?” But it was too late, for I already knew the truth and so did he.
In a twinkling, the Holy Spirit filled my icy core and broke their control. Simultaneously, I knew that the Bible was God’s official word and that I was to give it and the Holy Spirit authority and credence over all else—my desires, thoughts, feelings and demonic input. I sobbed, “I’m free!” God had rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the Kingdom of the Son he loves (Col. 1:13).
Until that moment, I knew the arch antagonist and his evil script, but God mercifully opened the curtain wide and revealed himself. Instantly, I witnessed his power and authority to save and his ability and willingness to personally communicate with me. The invisible heavenly realm and God himself became as real as the trees we touch, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Eventually, I learned that everything in the physical and spiritual universe comes from the Father through the Son Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. From beginning to end, salvation comes from God. Yet, I had much to learn about God and the part I played in my transformation and fulfilling his purposes in the world.
I converted my hour of meditation and yoga to writing in my journal, reading Scripture, and praying. As I drew near to him with full assurance of faith (Heb. 10:22), God transformed me from the inside out and demonic attacks significantly lessened. I learned that Satan and his minions are bit players, albeit vicious ones, in God’s drama of bringing light to darkened souls. God in his wisdom and grace incrementally transforms us as we cling to him and boldly step onto his stage, where rather than enfeebled ends, we look forward to the day when we reign with the King of Glory.
Monday, February 16, 2009
DOES "LIKE ATTRACT LIKE?"
A woman once asked what she could say to a friend with a serious illness who was trying to heal herself by meditating on positive spiritual energies. Her friend’s belief goes beyond the power of positive thinking, for it is based on what some claim is the principle that governs the spiritual realm, namely the law of attraction or “like attracts like.” Practically speaking, this means that as people focus or meditate on uplifting concepts such as love, peace and joy that they attract spiritual energies of a like nature which bring wholeness and harmony to body and soul. Conversely, if they dwell on fear, anger, and pessimism and allow negativity to consume them, they open the door to disease, conflict, and catastrophe. This means that when someone is faced with a debilitating, life-threatening disease, he or she must search for the cause, remain positive no matter how dire the news, and associate with upbeat, optimistic people, preferably ones who share their worldview. According to them, the bottom line is that people are not only responsible for how they respond, but for actual conditions in their lives.
How can this be? People generally agree that all human beings have a moral compass or a sense of right and wrong that transcends cultures. No one has to teach us that torturing children and animals is wrong. We’re repelled by the thought. Similarly, our deepest instincts tell us no human being should be held responsible for everything that happens to him or her—it’s too heavy a burden to bear and it’s not right. Say, a gentle man, who is a pillar in his community and a conscientious family man, sees the light turn green, looks both ways, and steps into the crosswalk. Suddenly, a car careens around the corner and hits him, shattering his legs. In addition to the physical, psychological, and interpersonal healing that must occur, should he search his soul for darkness that attracted the accident? Should he avoid emotional family members in order to associate with positive, upbeat people? And should the woman with a serious illness that leaves her isolated, fatigued, and pained also probe her soul for the wrong thinking and attitude that attracted the disease?
Our deepest instincts say no—it’s not fair. Children do not “attract” predators to molest them; citizens in third world countries do not “attract” malevolent dictators to ravage them; the mentally-ill, homeless poor do not “attract” abject poverty; and women ravaged by breast cancer have not invited the disease. Human beings are morally responsible for how they respond to conditions in their lives, but they cannot control what happens to them. The law of attraction is simply wrong and when sincerely and genuinely embraced, it crushes the human spirit—it is simply too much to bear.
The spiritual law of attraction is upside down from a Christian worldview. Christians understand that God created us as finite beings, which means that we cannot possess all knowledge or control all events in life. We understand that the problem of evil is real and that very bad things happen to good people. Yet, by faith we know that our Good Shepherd walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death—we do not fear evil (Ps. 23:4). We trust him to sustain, protect, and carry us through hard times. Jesus Christ said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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” (Matt. 11:28-29). Indeed, his rest is profound. Jesus invites us to call his name when distressed, diseased, and overwhelmed. Our natural inclination is to shudder, to fall on guard, to retreat, and to figure it out ourselves. But he says, “Come to me,” and when he calls and we turn to him, his love is irresistible, for he is the most powerful and true spiritual attraction in heaven and earth.
A woman once asked what she could say to a friend with a serious illness who was trying to heal herself by meditating on positive spiritual energies. Her friend’s belief goes beyond the power of positive thinking, for it is based on what some claim is the principle that governs the spiritual realm, namely the law of attraction or “like attracts like.” Practically speaking, this means that as people focus or meditate on uplifting concepts such as love, peace and joy that they attract spiritual energies of a like nature which bring wholeness and harmony to body and soul. Conversely, if they dwell on fear, anger, and pessimism and allow negativity to consume them, they open the door to disease, conflict, and catastrophe. This means that when someone is faced with a debilitating, life-threatening disease, he or she must search for the cause, remain positive no matter how dire the news, and associate with upbeat, optimistic people, preferably ones who share their worldview. According to them, the bottom line is that people are not only responsible for how they respond, but for actual conditions in their lives.
How can this be? People generally agree that all human beings have a moral compass or a sense of right and wrong that transcends cultures. No one has to teach us that torturing children and animals is wrong. We’re repelled by the thought. Similarly, our deepest instincts tell us no human being should be held responsible for everything that happens to him or her—it’s too heavy a burden to bear and it’s not right. Say, a gentle man, who is a pillar in his community and a conscientious family man, sees the light turn green, looks both ways, and steps into the crosswalk. Suddenly, a car careens around the corner and hits him, shattering his legs. In addition to the physical, psychological, and interpersonal healing that must occur, should he search his soul for darkness that attracted the accident? Should he avoid emotional family members in order to associate with positive, upbeat people? And should the woman with a serious illness that leaves her isolated, fatigued, and pained also probe her soul for the wrong thinking and attitude that attracted the disease?
Our deepest instincts say no—it’s not fair. Children do not “attract” predators to molest them; citizens in third world countries do not “attract” malevolent dictators to ravage them; the mentally-ill, homeless poor do not “attract” abject poverty; and women ravaged by breast cancer have not invited the disease. Human beings are morally responsible for how they respond to conditions in their lives, but they cannot control what happens to them. The law of attraction is simply wrong and when sincerely and genuinely embraced, it crushes the human spirit—it is simply too much to bear.
The spiritual law of attraction is upside down from a Christian worldview. Christians understand that God created us as finite beings, which means that we cannot possess all knowledge or control all events in life. We understand that the problem of evil is real and that very bad things happen to good people. Yet, by faith we know that our Good Shepherd walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death—we do not fear evil (Ps. 23:4). We trust him to sustain, protect, and carry us through hard times. Jesus Christ said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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” (Matt. 11:28-29). Indeed, his rest is profound. Jesus invites us to call his name when distressed, diseased, and overwhelmed. Our natural inclination is to shudder, to fall on guard, to retreat, and to figure it out ourselves. But he says, “Come to me,” and when he calls and we turn to him, his love is irresistible, for he is the most powerful and true spiritual attraction in heaven and earth.
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