Operating in Authority vs Power

 

Cardinal Flower: a wild native plant

Prayer, power, authority, witchcraft, leadership, the church, and cardinal flower... how do all these topics converge!? Sheeeeeesh. This was an interesting woods walk!

I didn't think today's audio had anything to do with being in the woods to be honest. I figured I would include a photo I took of a cardinal flower, not thinking it was related at all. I was just thrilled to see this native beauty in a swampy area of our woods walk. The blooms are such a bright, almost iridescent red, the color is hard to capture in a picture; these flowers are truly best enjoyed in person! 

As I later considered the flower a bit more as I was putting together the post- and how it was actually named after the vibrant red robes of the cardinals in the Roman Catholic church, it began to fit today's topic of prayer, authority, leadership and the church a bit more! Then-- reading a bit further I find it was used as a love charm and in potions (control and manipulation) to make them irresistible to their love interest! I couldn't have picked a better plant as a visual if I tried!

Here are a few resources that have inspired some of these thoughts and contemplations:

​What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 NLT

 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28 NLT

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:5-13 ESV

The commentary on these verses give some incredible context!

https://biblehub.com/study/matthew/8.htm

When God delays in fulfilling our little thoughts, 
it is to have Himself room to work out His great ones.

-Lilias Trotter

Praying down rather than praying up - that is the summing up... that the velocity and power of anything that comes down, gains in a ratio of high proportion with the height from which it drops: Even from an aeroplane, a pencil falling will take on the force of a bullet. What might not our prayer power be if it comes down from the throne of the Priest.

https://unveiling.org/lily/lily7.html

Cortisol & Forgiveness

 

This picture of a plant being stunted by a lifeless leaf of the past illustrates to me how old things can hold us back in our current growth. In this audio I explore how the principle of forgiveness actually frees us from rumination which is a root of chronic stress and elevated cortisol for many people. 

There is a lot that I don't say about forgiveness in the audio. 

First- forgiveness is not saying "it's okay". It is actually fully acknowledging how wrong the offense was/is and choosing to forgive. This is a hard one for me because I can often see why someone behaves a certain way so it is hard to fully acknowledge it was STILL WRONG. I believe that in order to forgive deeply, we need to feel deeply, which is one of the hardest parts. It is hard to feel while we are actively numbing through distractions and addictions, and when the feelings come back, they can feel overwhelming. As hard as it is, this process is worth it! Get the root of the offence OUT. If it festers, it will grow into bitterness which literally rots us from the inside out. 

Second- forgiveness is not a feeling. I glossed over this a bit, but if you are waiting to feel it to forgive, it will never happen. It's a choice we make with our will, and something that often needs to be actively held there until we feel it. 

Third- forgiveness is not reconciliation. You can forgive someone and still have a very different relationship now than before the offense. There are people whom if I meet them on the street, I will be friendly with, but we are not friends and I am no longer pursuing relationship with them. Reconciliation can happen when the offending party is will to acknowledge the wrong and you can both move towards restoring relationship. I see this more as a spectrum than yes or no. And sometimes trust takes time to be built again. Sometimes you don't need reconciliation, because that season is just over. You can forgive and move on, like with an ex romantic relationship or an old coworker. 

Fourth- forgiveness doesn't let them off the hook. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. (​O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs—O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Psalms 94:1) We hand them over to the Lord. There may be accountability, but not retaliation. It really is a condition of the heart. 

Fifth- sometimes forgiveness comes in layers. The more awareness we have the more we realize we need to forgive. Maybe you forgave an old offense, but you are still dealing with some of the ramifications, or a new area of wounding has been uncovered-- be ready to forgive again when it comes up. 

Want to check out some interesting research on the rumination and cortisol!? Check out the links below below:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6783329/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453024002798

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6591062_Rumination_Fear_and_Cortisol_An_In_Vivo_Study_of_Interpersonal_Transgressions

Some reference verses:

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26

Sometimes we forget that Jesus commands us to forgive, and it is part of His simple instruction in how to pray in the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:25-32