7 Reasons You've Never Made a Disciple

by Nathan Creitz
www.nathancreitz.net

    Jesus tells His disciples to make disciples. That’s our mission. But apparently, only 1 in 20 Christians has even shared the Gospel.

Less than that will ever lead someone to Christ. Less than that will ever invest time in leading that new disciple toward Christlikeness.

    What are we to make of so few disciples actually making disciples? If you’ve never made a disciple (or haven’t in a long time), there are at least 7 factors that might be contributing to your disciple-making slump.

You aren’t obeying

    Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

    What you can do: Confess your disobedience and ask God to equip you to become a disciple-making disciple. Remember, it’s in the context of the Great Commission that Jesus says, “I am with you always…”

You aren’t praying

    Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. “At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it as I am required to speak. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.” (Colossians 4:2-5)

    What you can do: Stop right now and pray for the first person that comes to your mind when you answer the question, “Who am I close to who is far from God?” Begin praying consistently for that person.

You aren’t preparing

“...but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame.”
(1 Peter 3:15-16)

    What you can do: Answer the question, “What is the reason for the hope that is in you?” Be ready to share the answer but also be ready to explain why your experience of faith makes sense.

You aren’t preaching

    “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)

    What you can do: If you’ve never talked about Jesus, your friend will never know about Jesus. It’s simple: the Gospel is a message. Messages need to be communicated. Let stories about Jesus permeate your conversations every day (but don’t force it)!

You aren’t fleeing

    Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels. The Lord’s slave must not quarrel but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading [them] to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 2:22-25)

    What you can do: Ask God to point out your sins and give you victory. If your lifestyle conflicts with your message, then no one will believe you. Gandhi said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Don’t let that be true of you.

You aren’t enduring

    Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

    What you can do: Obeying, praying, preparing, preaching, and fleeing from sin all take discipline and endurance. You need to beat your body and make it your slave so that you won’t be disqualified in your task.

You aren’t accountable

And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our [worship] meetings as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

    What you can do: Let’s be clear: I’ve written this article to YOU but being a disciple who makes disciples is impossible without US. That is, apart from the other members of the Body of Christ, you will find it extremely difficult to be a disciple who makes and multiplies other disciples. So with that in mind, consider sharing this post with your small group and begin working through this list together. Make sure everyone in your group is obeying, praying, preparing, preaching, fleeing, and enduring.

    Finally, don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t currently making disciples! Satan would love to defeat you before you start. Hopefully, I’ve given you a few reasons why you might not be fulfilling your mission and also some practical steps to get you started. 

Nathan Creitz has been in ministry for 13 years and his passion is making disciples in a post-Christian context. This passion has taken him to Canada, Ecuador, Great Britain, Turkey, Namibia, Japan, and India and to many post-Christian contexts throughout the US. Most notably, his own neighborhood has fewer than 2% who are following Jesus.                                

Out of the Ashes

by Joan Vetter

    Heartbreaking images of the aftermath of cruel, destructive tornadoes flash across our television screens.  I can't even imagine how people can pick up and go on with the losses they experience.

    Only a year ago a tornado swept through our town, and trees became missiles of destruction. They slammed against houses, fences and vehicles with an angry vengeance.

    This morning I took the time to investigate the new walking trail built at the YMCA. Joy crowded into my heart and overflowed with gratitude as I recognized the pathway had been formed with the remains of those fallen trees. Then at the end of the trail  my heart was truly overwhelmed with the revelation of new life! There amidst the trees they built an outdoor chapel, complete with a simple wooden cross, a pulpit, and six benches.

Even though no one was standing behind the pulpit, I heard a message spoken loudly and clearly in my spirit.  God spoke,  "Never give up! Never give up! In spite of what may look like devastation, I declare there will be new life - trust Me!  Learn to expect the good,  for I know how to bring it about. Take your eyes off the distraction of loss and begin to expect the beauty of renewal."

    The Lord has much to say about the overcomer.  I personally believe it thrills His heart when we choose to rebuild what has been devastated or broken.  It may not look the same; in fact, often it will be even better.  I'm thinking of the times people have had a pipe or a water hose break.  At first it's just a mess, and not very many people start out being thankful.  However, after the insurance company pays for new flooring and restoration, it is easier to forget the frustration and pain involved at the time of loss.

    In fact, just recently I visited in a friend's home and commented on what a task painting the rooms would be with the high ceilings.  She laughed and told me the story of how she didn't like the color of the walls when they moved in.  When  they had a water leak in the ceiling, the insurance company said they couldn't see anywhere to stop with the re-paint, so they painted the entire kitchen, family room, foyer and hallway with a color she chose.

    If only we could always see a snapshot of the finished project!  But wait…God has something to say about that…how about, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1) 

    I remember reading about a woman whose son was severely injured.  She was praying for his healing and she looked out her kitchen window and saw a vision of him riding his bike on the lawn.  Time went by and he was healed.  One day she glanced out her kitchen window and  actually saw him riding his bike in the yard exactly like she saw in that vision. 

    When tragedy strikes, I believe we can keep our heart from being overwhelmed.  In Psalms we read, "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Ps. 61:2)  From the vantage point on that rock we are able to rise above the negative circumstance.

Once I was struggling to overcome self-pity.  I didn't actually realize I had succeeded until I had a dream where a doctor was examining an MRI of my brain, and he took a flashlight and said, "Look, there is no longer any self-pity in here."  It is on the rock we have a clear view of the road map to our restoration.

    Adrianna Haslet-Davis, a beautiful, blonde dance instructor was a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.  When she woke up in the hospital she said to her Mom, "I feel like my foot is falling asleep."  Her Mom said, "Honey, you don't have a foot." She broke down emotionally, believing her life and career was over.

However it didn't take her long to sit before the television camera and say with a smile, "You have two choices - you can be the one sitting eating potato chips, not talking to people and feeling sorry for yourself, or get back up and keep going."  She said she wouldn't let one of her dance students come to her and say their life was over because of what happened.  The reporter said to her, "So you think we're going to see you on the ballroom floor?"  She replied with a radiant smile, "Yes, I know so."  She has already been talking with an engineer to design a special prosthesis for dancing

    Yes, there is a powerful hand extended to help us recover - it's up to us not to miss it!
           

Trials & Triumph

by Leslie Aune

    Responding to the adversity and challenges of life in a way that honors our Lord is challenging.  In Romans 8:28-29, God assures those of us who love Him that He will take the events of our lives - our mistakes, our hurts, our triumphs - and use them to develop our character so that we will be conformed to the image of Christ.  It can be difficult resting on that assurance when our emotions are heightened or when life feels like it is weighing us down.   To encourage us, God gives us an illustration of that promise in the life of Joseph.

    The birth of Joseph, recorded in Genesis 30:22-24, is surrounded by jealousy and strife.  The next time we see Joseph he is 17 and still in the middle of a dysfunctional family.  He is the favored son who is pitted against his brothers by his father, who uses him to check on his brothers and bestows the gift of a fine coat which sets Joseph even further apart.  On top of that, Joseph has some dreams foretelling that one day he will be in a place of honor and his brothers and father will be bowing before him.   Joseph opted to share the troubling dreams which added fuel to the fire.

    We don't see any evidence of a relationship between God and Joseph while he is still living with his family, but while traveling with a band of slave traders, freshly separated from his family, and realizing that all the jealousy, anger, and harsh words had escalated to this incident that nearly cost him his life, a change took place. Perhaps he recognized the work of God in the timely arrival of the Midianites that curtailed his brothers' murderous intent.  Perhaps Joseph had plenty of time to reflect on his own contribution to the problem - maybe he had basked in his father's favoritism too much or had taken too much pride in his royal robe.  We are not given any insight as to what happened between the empty well and Potiphar's house, but clearly something did happen.  By the time he arrives at Potiphar's house we see that God is with Joseph in such a way that all those around him perceive that he belongs wholly to the Lord.

    The dark cistern was not the end of his troubles.   Joseph flees from the advances of Potiphar's wife instead of yielding to temptation, only to land in prison.   Even in prison under wrongful accusations, it is obvious to those around Joseph that the Lord is with him.  During his time in prison, Joseph interprets the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer.  When the cupbearer is reinstated to his position, he completely forgets Joseph's kindness until two years later.  Then, the timing is right, and God lifts Joseph to a place of honor and wealth with Pharaoh being the only one higher in rank.  Through it all, there are several characteristics that consistently stand out.

    First, we see that no matter the situation, Joseph did his job well.  Before Egypt we don't see Joseph doing his work for the Lord, but we see his focus is on pleasing his earthly father.  However, beginning with his work at Potiphar's house, we see that Joseph is giving his best because of his relationship with the Lord.  In Colossians 3:22 we are told that whatever we do we are to "work at it with all [our] heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."  Whether we are cleaning our home, working at our jobs, raising our children, or continuing our education, we are to do it as if we are doing it for the Lord.

    Secondly, we see Joseph, despite the ungodliness surrounding him, stand firm in his faith.  His childhood was filled with attitudes such as favoritism, anger, and jealousy. In Egypt, Joseph was surrounded by sexual immorality and blatant disregard for a Holy God.  We are also living in a culture filled with ungodliness.  How do we stand firm in our faith?  In James 1:13-15, we are warned of the slippery slope that lurks in the darkness if we allow ungodly desires to fester and grow into full-blown sin.  Ignoring the desire isn't sufficient.  Instead we must "flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace" (2 Timothy 2:22).  Not only should we spend time reading the Bible to strengthen our faith, but we should be careful about exposing ourselves to influences, such as friends and entertainment, that tear down our faith.

    Thirdly, Joseph demonstrates how to wait upon the Lord with patience and perseverance.  We live in a push-button society where we expect and demand instant gratification with very little effort.  We don't want to take the time to wait and seek the Lord through prayer and in-depth Bible study.  We want someone to put the answers together for us in a 20 minute power point presentation with the scripture already in place and interpreted for us.  But God's Word shows that there is a process involved in the refining fires of trial and tribulation (Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2-3) that are designed to work out all the dross and purify our lives so that we can clearly reflect our Lord Jesus to those around us (2 Peter 1:5-7; James 1:2-4 ).  We need this process in order to be the best light to the world that we can be, for God's glory. 

    Joseph learns to forgive those who have wronged him.   Forgiveness does not mean that reconciliation and trust automatically follow.  When Joseph's brothers first arrive in Egypt the forgiveness is evident for we see Joseph overcome with love for his family.  But he doesn't just jump back into a relationship with them; there is a time of testing to see if things have changed and if it will now be a healthy and safe relationship (Genesis 42-45). Once the brothers pass the test and show they can be trusted, Joseph reveals to his brothers who he is and the family is reunited.

    Finally, Joseph repeatedly gives God the glory, pointing others back to God and not to himself.  Fame is a hot commodity in our society.  Hollywood gives their signature by lining the sidewalks with the names of stars and various sports have their halls of fame.  Joseph knew that his talent and wisdom came from God and he gave God the glory for the dream interpretations for the baker, the cupbearer, and for Pharaoh (Genesis 40:8, 41:16).  When his brothers show remorse for selling him as a slave, even then Joseph gives God the glory for putting him in a position to save so many people, including his family, from the devastating effects of  the famine (Genesis 45:4-6).

       God worked through the circumstances that removed Joseph from a difficult situation, took him through a series of trying events that led to a deeper personal relationship with God.  Then, He placed Joseph into a role of leadership that saved many people from starvation, and ultimately developed Joseph's character in such a way that his very nature pointed his family, as well as the pagans around him, to the one true God.


          

Permission to Speak Freely

by Anne Marie Miller

    In May 2008, I posted a question on my blog that simply asked, “What’s one thing you feel you can’t say in the church?”

    I didn’t anticipate the response it would receive.

    At around five hundred comments, you can imagine the variety of answers. This question obviously struck a chord with a lot of people. I read and reread and reread the comments for months. I printed some out, trying to understand the scope of why so many people felt they couldn’t say so many different things in church. Surely there had to be a common denominator.

    Fear was obviously there. Shame. Rejection. But those feelings were more of the why people didn’t speak up more often. I was looking for the what.

    What did things like poverty and being gay and worship and money and porn and sex and depression and abuse have in common?

    One night in December, seven months later, it hit me: Brokenness.

Whether it’s as a result of sin or fear of the response we’ll get by speaking up about something like politics or relationships or mental health in a broken world, it all boiled down to brokenness.

    And if this fracture in whatever part of our lives threatens our reputations, our character, or our dignity, we hide.

    If something in our spiritual life is broken or is confusing to us, we hide. If a relationship is broken, we hide. If there’s an unhealthy habit we fall back on, we hide. If there’s a controversial political or social issue confronting us, we hide.

    We ultimately want to hide what’s broken, whether it occurs individually or in a community. The Bible is filled with broken people, most of whom at some point or another tried to cover up their brokenness. Yet it seems that the people who are the most broken, the most helpless, are the people God often uses the most.

    King David committed adultery and murder, yet he was considered a man after God’s heart. Rahab was a prostitute, but she understood her culture and helped protect Joshua’s spies. (She later gave birth to Boaz, making her the great-great-grandmother of King David, whose lineage continues on to Jesus.)

    The disciples were considered spiritually worthless in their culture and had already been rejected by various rabbis (that’s why they were all working in their respective family trades when Jesus found them), and they were the twelve people Jesus most closely associated with.

    Through church experiences and relationships in my own life as a child and as an adult working in a church, the pressure to be perfect and to have all the answers strongly influenced my decision to keep quiet about a lot of broken things. Some were decisions I was making that were wrong. Others were the result of the sin of others or simply questions about my faith and my God.

    Regardless, I know I’m not the only one who has felt the need to stay silent. Chances are you’ve been exposed to a similar culture of keeping broken things hidden.

    We’ve all seen how dangerous it can be to be vulnerable in the church. But now we have the chance to do something about it.


SANCTUARY

    The church is supposed to be a safe place for everybody, especially the people who are the most broken, right? The Bible says the kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit—those so broken they have nothing to offer. Jesus came to heal the sick.

    Although unofficial in title, the concept of the church being a refuge dates back to the time of Moses and Joshua. In the Hebrew culture, there are historical records of fugitives seeking protection at altars, which recognizes religion’s role in protecting human life even for the most terrible offenders.

    The Christian church adopted the right of sanctuary in the fourth century. Because of Christendom’s strong belief in the sanctity of life, clergy and priests began acting on behalf of the criminals, defending them from unfair judgment and execution. It wasn’t an easy out for these criminals; they were often restricted in their daily activities, but at least their lives were safe in the church until they received the king’s pardon or a fair punishment.

    Anyone was welcome to take safety in the church at this time—not only criminals, but slaves who escaped cruel masters and those who couldn’t repay debts. Village townsmen, women, and children who came under attack from outlaws could take refuge in the church.

    However, as time went by, people with power interfered with the system and began excluding specific groups or crimes. At first, those who had committed treason or murder were no longer allowed to find safety. Over the next few centuries, slowly, fewer and fewer crimes were given the right of sanctuary, until the end of the eighteenth century, when it was abolished altogether.

    Outside of the legal system, hundreds of years ago, when a person confessed certain sins or doubted or renounced their faith, some Christians refused to welcome that person back into the church even if the person had truly repented. These kinds of Christians felt that the church was better with these so-called sinners out of the picture.

    I find it interesting that in our current culture, we identify the church as a safe place for broken people to find refuge. Church is a place for us to claim the right of a modern-day sanctuary where we can name our sins or ask our questions and be protected and sheltered while we search for grace, forgiveness, and answers.

    Yet as history shows us, for hundreds of years, churches have been sacrificing the beauty of confession and brokenness for religious trappings and the malady of perfectionism. In some cases, if we don’t measure up to a man-made cocktail of moral codes and checklists—if we aren’t “good enough”—we no longer feel welcomed in a church or around other Christians.

We feel ashamed.

We feel ashamed that we don’t measure up to the “holiness” of others.

And shame tells us to keep those ugly, messy parts hidden.

Without our secrets showing, maybe then we can be accepted.

We think, and in many cases have experienced, that if we share our secrets or our questions, we’ll be rejected.

And alone.

And so people—broken people like you and me—feel pressured to choose.

    Either we can conform to an institutionalized and over-organized product of religion, masking and repressing our secrets or questions or shortcomings, or we can escape the walls of the church and find a place outside a faith-based environment where we are free to share all of who we truly are.

    Over and over again, I hear people talk about how they left the church so they wouldn’t be judged for their basic humanity.

    Most of us choose to live in one of these extremes: conforming or escaping. Few can find peace living in the tension of both. Those of us who do wonder if we’re too idealistic to believe a faith community can be a hospital where our wounds are welcomed and can be healed. That true sanctuary can be found both within the walls of the church and outside the church as well.

    A Scottish minister once told me, “If you can’t be an idealist in a church, then something is extremely wrong.”

    At the risk of sounding overly idealistic, I’d like to say that for those of us who believe the church should be one of the safest and most grace-giving places a person can experience here on earth, it’s time to reclaim what our faith stands for.

    It’s time for us to politely but passionately disagree with those who make church a “safe” place by removing all the messiness.

    It’s time for us to put all we have out in the open—not for the sake of faux humility or self-deprecating exploitation or attention, but for recognizing the things the Cross stands for and left for us: ultimate love and undiscriminating grace.

Anne Marie Miller (formerly Jackson) is a writer, speaker, and social change activist who lives in Orange County, California. She also holds the position of Storyteller at Visioneering Studios Architecture.

          

The Outlandish Next Threat to our Children

by Lisa Cherry

    Richard Dawkins is a  British evolutionary biologist, strident critic of creationism and the most famous atheist of our time.  (Perhaps you remember Richard Dawkins from Ben Stein’s popular movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.)   

    In a recent interview with The Times magazine, Dawkins disclosed that he was sexually abused by a teacher. He also knew of classmates who were abused by the same man.  Then he made this outlandish statement: “I don’t think he did any of us lasting harm.”

Further, he said that he could not condemn the “mild pedophilia” that he experienced.

    His remarks line up with a growing trend to normalize the practice of adults having sex with children.
Are you as concerned about this as I am? Even while our families are standing firm with Jesus, we are witnessing a culture sliding further and faster toward secularism, perversion and atheism.

    The sexual exploitation of our young children is potentially the coming new threat. Consider this quote from an “expert” in Canada (which as a culture is running a few years ahead of us in the moral/sexual slide.)

    “True pedophiles have an exclusive preference for children, which is the same as having a sexual orientation. You cannot change this person’s sexual orientation.” 
--Dr. Hubert Van Gijseghem, retired psychologist, University of Montreal

    In his article “Pedophiles want same rights as homosexuals,”  Jack Minor writes:

    “Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals.”

    God help us!! We will need courage and wisdom like never before, parents. We will need to be prepared to strongly resist this mindset as it infects not only our culture "out there" but also our culture "up close."

    God made His will and ways abundantly clear in His word. Even as He wrote out the laws for His people in the book of Leviticus, He knew what was in the perverted unrestrained heart of man.

    I encourage you to look soberly at this disturbing new trend of thinking “a little sex with our kids is okay.” I, for one, would prefer to stick my head in the sand and wish it away.

    But, many are proposing that is what the body of Christ did to the homosexual issue a decade ago.  I think we can all see where that plan got us!

    We must face this new threat in the power of the Holy Spirit. What do we "do?" Well, I am not sure!!! But resisting in the name of Jesus is a dandy place to start!
           

A Double-Life: 13 Ways to Detect Your Child is Hiding Something

www.FrontLineMoms.com

    Surely it has never been easier to live a secret life.

    In fact, living multiple lives is just kind of expected.  Who we are at church...who we are at home...who we are at school or work....who we are online....these are each separate profiles with separate personalities, behaviors and standards. Right? Or wrong?

    Jesus did not have complimentary words for those striving to live double lives. (See Matthew 7:16 and 23:27-28)

    A few weeks ago a close friend of mind was devastated to learn of her child's secret other life. When the hidden online accounts were reviewed, she found answers to questions she had not even dared to let herself ask. Immorality. Blasphemous darkness. Lewdness and rebellion. "How could my child have fooled me for so long?" she cried.

    I understood the sting of her bitter tears. For I will forever remember the pain of discovering our daughter's secret other world.

    I hated to even know what she had partaken of and a part of me wanted to run from the truth! But all secrets eventually come to an end and denial is never a helpful friend.

    I asked myself a hundred times the question so many have asked me. "Lisa, did you not see the warning signs that Kalyn was hiding something? How could you not have known about her other life?"

    That question used to haunt me. Now, it saddens me. But I have determined to learn from my errors.
Yes, I did miss some signs. I did ignore some things that I would later regret ignoring!

    So, for all of us, I want to share some of the top ways I experienced myself or have learned from others about detecting when your child is leading two or more lives.

    Maybe you can share some others with your fellow parents. Maybe you yourself have been enslaved by a double life and remember some of your own behaviors! Let's work together to box out the forces of darkness trying to deceive our kids.

1. Unexplained absences: Missing hours that are not reasonably explained are not a good sign. If the excuse is lame, do not receive it at face value. Investigate.

2. Wardrobe changes: Often our kids wear their new lives like a banner on their bodies. A style change often means more than just taste. They are making a statement. What or who is the statement? I discovered Kalyn's new desire to carry her backpack was so she could change her clothes after she left our house and before she arrived with her new "friends."

3. Silence: A person living a double life is often mentally and emotionally exhausted. It is easier to withdraw from social contact, throw up thick walls, and quit talking.

4. Changes in media tastes: Pressing past or sneaking around the family regulations on media rules such as movies, Internet, TV, or music is a significant warning sign. The kingdom of this world has a familiar sound and language. When your child's heart is attracted to darkness, it will show up in his tastes for entertainment.

5. Lies: Lying becomes a habit. Kalyn says she got so used to living her double life of deception, she found herself habitually lying about little insignificant things and then just laughing to herself. Never ignore a pattern of lying.

6. New friends: this seems obvious. Birds of a feather flock together. Face it. If the new friends have certain issues or problems you are seeing, your child's friends' parents may be noting the same thing....in your child!

7. Arguments that are out of character: "But mom, a little cussing is really not a big deal...." coming from a child who you have never heard use profanity. Perhaps cussing is normal in her other life!!   See Luke 6:45.

8. Eye rolling: Every teenager is tempted to dishonor their parents at times. But when you suddenly become the "enemy" in daily life, watch out. A guilty conscience will always look for a misplaced location to dump blame.

9. Suspicious online behaviors: Reluctance to reveal passwords to parents, quickly moving screens or signing off when you approach them, odd purchase orders showing up on your Amazon account. If your family's online behaviors are not in the light, chances are they are in the darkness! (Have you signed up for an internet monitoring service such as Covenant Eyes yet?)

10. Underperforming or over-performing:  My friend's child's schoolwork fell way down. Kalyn's schoolwork went way up! A change will often mean something.

11. Obvious changes in sexual countenance: When sexual thoughts are being aroused somehow in a child's life, a teen will often exude sexual overtones both in dress, demeanor, speech, and behavior. Trust your gut instinct if you note a problem. And investigate. Wow, do I wish I would have followed this advice!

12. Physical problems: A double life is a stressed life. So is it any wonder that sicknesses follow the increased stress and pressure. Kalyn lost weight and suddenly needed naps. My friend's child had constant stomach complaints.

13. Loss of interest in spiritual things: It is not normal to dump God. But it is common to move away from Him when filled with guilt, fear, shame, or doubt.  The enemy is wooing our kids with promises of "freedom and fun" in the secret life. We, of course, know his plan to steal, kill, and destroy.

Getting to Know You

by Linnette R. Mullin

"Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you. Getting to hope you like me…" ~ from "The King and I"

    Do you ever struggle with the God question? If God is real, why…? If God is good, why…? If God really loved me, why…? As Lyme victims, we struggle with the why's of it all. At least, I know I do. And I want honest answers to these questions.

    God has placed me in a state where there is little Lyme and no Lyme literate doctors. Yet, he also placed me in a Church that preaches about the whole character of God. I've spent a lot of time in tears as I've learned more about him. Trying to put all the pieces of his character together can be like working a jigsaw puzzle. I want to understand. I need to understand. I'm tired of living in survival mode with an attitude of acceptance  under duress. I want to "count it all joy" when I face the trials God brings into my life (James 1:2-4), but how can I when I can barely raise my head above water to gasp for air?

    John Calvin once said, "You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy." I want complete joy, don't you? But supreme suffering? No, thank you. I don't like pain. I don't like suffering. Yet I do suffer and there is no end in sight to this suffering. So, what am I to do?

    I've been in this church for three years now. My pastor who just retired spent his time and energy helping us get to know Jesus. I tend to be so internally focused that I forget to focus on God and others and so I don't know him well enough. I think I do, but most of my thoughts about him tend to be based on what I see, hear, and experience rather than on truth. Thankfully, God gave us the Bible - his written word, so we might get to know him and understand him.

    I still don't have all the answers to my why questions, but I do know God loves me and that I can trust him with my suffering, pain, and loss. I also know he has a purpose for it all. I may never completely understand it in this life, but I know he loves me and I can trust him to do what's best for me. I also know that the more I get to know him, the more peace purpose I find in my illness.

    What about you? Do you struggle with the why questions? Do you know Jesus? Are you familiar with his sufferings? Do you have the assurance of God's love to strengthen you and help see you through each trying moment? Do you want to get to know all about God?

    Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." ~ ESV
Let's get to know him… get to know all about him!


Linnette R Mullin is the author of life-changing romance. Her debut novel, Finding Beth, releases late 2013. Linnette is also the founder and director of Palmetto Christian Writer's Network - PCWN, and an advocate for chronic lyme sufferers everywhere.