加油 Add Oil

“’Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.’ Then he said to her ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels, do not gather just a few.  And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.’” 2 Kings 4:2b-4

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit and anointing.  Lord, we recognize our need for you.  Father, we pray for our Chinese sisters who are having their first retreat next weekend.  Lord, will you add your oil (anointing) and pour out Your Spirit on them and those attending. Do above and beyond anything they could ask, think or imagine.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

One of my Chinese friends would say the phrase “Add Oil” often while ministering together.   This phrase intrigued me and I loved it!  After looking it up, I found the phrase was a common Chinese expression of encouragement.  The phrase in English would read, “jiā yóu”. 

After being with my friend Joy from China who said this, I was writing and frankly felt a bit rusty.  I was texting a friend asking her to pray since I “felt rusty” and without thinking said, “I think I need to add some oil,”  referring to feeling rusty.  Then I laughed out loud at what I just typed.  Add oil.  Yes!  I need to add oil! 

In ministry, we need the Holy Spirit.  Without His oil, we will be like a rusty hinge making only noise. 

We have to add His oil to everything we do.  We need His oil.  And we need to be full vessels in order to be able to pour out the oil inside of us to others. 

The lady in the passage mentioned above in 2 Kings 4 had nothing but a jar of oil.  She told the man of God, “I have nothing… but a jar of oil.” 

 

You may feel today like you have nothing.  You may feel ill-equipped and like you have nothing to offer.  But if you have the Holy Spirit inside of you as a believer, you have oil.  And the Lord wants you to use the oil you have to pour out into the vessels around you—and not just a few.  Add oil to others.  Encourage others.  You never have nothing to offer.  And if you need more oil yourself, ask the Lord and He will pour out His Spirit and fill you with more so that you can pour out into other vessels. It is the Lord’s desire to “add oil” to all His beloved.

Dead Inside

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life.”  John 5:24

Father, there are two retreats coming up in the next month. Lord, we ask for you to breathe life into all that has been dead in the lives of those coming to these retreats.  We ask for all that was dead to come to life.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

While on a visit to China with Deeper Still, I saw a woman wearing a yellow hoodie with two words written on the back in bold letters.  The words were, “Dead Inside.”  It immediately caught my attention and broke my heart.  What does that mean, “Dead Inside?” Why would somewhere wear something with such a label? 

Most of us would not wear a label declaring that we are dead inside.  But I wonder how many all around us, every day, are actually “dead inside.”  They may not wear the hoodie, but underneath their designer clothes and expensive makeup are hearts and bones crying for life. 

I have a friend who described her abortion-wound as feeling like she was one “walking dead.”  I know this is popular TV show (I have to admit, I haven’t seen it.), but no matter if you like the TV show or not, we all know that “walking dead” is no way to live.

 

The Holy Spirit wants us to experience new life.  The Holy Spirit is in the business of restoration and renewing. 

In Ezekiel 37: 11-14, we can read of the Lord’s restoration power:

“Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!... Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.  I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.  Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it.” 

This is a promise from the Lord not only for the Israelites, but for all of God’s people.  He doesn’t want His people being like the walking dead.  He has come to bring us life and life more abundantly. 

If you are one feeling dry, without hope, and dead inside, today is a new day.  I have good news for you!  

Jesus wants to breathe His Spirit on you and bring you new life.  He wants to restore all that was taken and renew a right spirit within you—one that is life giving and full of beauty.  

He doesn’t want us walking around with the label “Dead Inside.”  Take off your hoodie and put on the garment of His salvation, His robe of righteousness that declares, “I am a new creation.  I am alive in Christ!”  

I Can't Forgive Myself

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”  Romans 8:1-2

Father, we give you thanks that because of the paid blood of Jesus Christ, we can live free.  We thank you that not only do you forgive us of all our sins but that because of Jesus we are not only able to forgive others but also ourselves.  There is no condemnation to those who are in you.  We give you praise and glory in Jesus’ Name.  Amen. 

The other night my ten-year-old daughter and I were having a devotional time as we do before bed each night.  The devotional was on forgiveness.  She said something I didn’t expect her to say.  She confessed that she believes God forgives her of her sin but that sometimes she has a hard time forgiving herself.  She confided that even after asking God to forgive her, she often will beat herself up over and over again after she has made a mistake and sinned.

 

I have to admit, I have been guilty of that as well at times.  However, I do not believe it pleases the Lord in any way when we refuse to forgive ourselves of the sins Jesus suffered and died on the cross to forgive and cleanse.  In fact, it grieves Him. 

Another Deeper Still Team member, Carla Martin, said the Lord revealed to her one day that she was often living like His Word said, “There is now ‘not nearly so much’ condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  However, the Lord pointed out to Carla that is not what He said.  He said there is “no” condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  No.  Not any. None.

The Lord has clearly said that if we do not forgive others, He cannot forgive us. (Matt 6:15, Matt 6:14)  What about ourselves?  Does it apply to us?  

Jesus paid a dear price.  Is it not selfish of us and even prideful to not receive the gift that cost Him His life?  He willingly and lovingly paid it.  It is a gift for us to receive.  This is how I explained this to my daughter. 

 

What if I had a gift I wanted to give her.  This gift had cost me greatly and I had gone to much trouble to get it for her, because I loved her.   I was very excited about her having this gift.  My love for her is the reason I put forth all the effort to purchase this gift for her.   But what if when I went to give it to her, she expressed she didn’t deserve such a gift and refused to take it? Or just took part of it, but not the whole gift.  How would that make me feel?  Would I be happy she didn’t feel she deserved such a gift or sad that my daughter refused to accept the gift I desperately wanted to give her?

I hear often of women who have had abortions and the men who father those children saying that they believe God has forgiven them but they cannot forgive themselves.   These women and men do not feel worthy of forgiveness.  They do not feel they deserve the gift the Lord wants to give them.  I understand.  I use to feel that way and sometimes I know I don’t receive forgiveness as quickly as the Lord would like me to receive it. 

If you are someone who has had an abortion or has trouble forgiving yourself for other sins, this is not to condemn you.  Lord have mercy.  Not in anyway.  That would be the exact opposite of the reason for this post.  What I do hope is that you will give yourself permission to forgive yourself.  And if you are not sure how to do that, to ask the Lord to help you forgive yourself.  He wants you to receive ALL He has for you.  He wants you to receive the full gift He has for you!  He is beyond excited to give it to you!  For those of you who struggle with this, I would love to pray for you personally.  I will post a prayer below but if you leave a comment, I will also pray for you specifically in a reply. 

God loves you so much and it is His desire for all of us to live in the fullness of Him and without any condemnation, completely free of guilt or shame.  You are forgiven.  You are His. 

Father, I pray for those reading today who have had a hard time forgiving themselves.  They believe You have forgiven them, but do not feel that they can forgive themselves.  Father, I pray they would receive the fullness of the gift you have for them today.  Help them live fully free in You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Please Talk About This

“Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.”  Jude 1:2

Father in Heaven, Lord, we ask for You to multiply the mercy, peace and love of Deeper Still.  We ask for you to expand Deeper Still.  We ask for You to multiply healing of those wounded from abortion to across the nation and the world.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Sobs interrupted by gasps of air filled the car. 

We had just left a fundraising event for a local crisis pregnancy center.  The guest speaker was Pam Tebow.  The crowd listened intently as she shared her powerful testimony.  The doctors had encouraged her to abort her son due to health reasons.  She chose life.  As a result, Tim Tebow was born.  Tim Tebow is the famous football player once known for writing scripture under his eyes and his bold kneel for Christ. 

I left the event broken and desperate.  Sobbing all the way home in the car, I thought about the girl I had aborted that never had a chance to breathe her first breath of air.  That night I wondered the “what ifs” and the “what ifs” broke me. 

God had been leading me on a journey of healing my abortion wounded heart for the past 20 years and I have to admit, up until that night I thought I was fine.  I didn’t see the need to go any deeper.  I thought, “I’m good right where I am.”

However, that night my heart whispered more.  God spoke to me during the event and said, “It is time.  It is time to go deeper.”

Three weeks after that event, He led me to the Deeper Still ministry through a friend and I attended the Deeper Still Ministry training two months later.  God led me deeper and drastically changed my life.

A friend recently told me she was hesitant to share her abortion story at her Bible study group because she was concerned there were women there who were post-abortive and that it may cause them pain to hear the topic of abortion.  Our churches remain silent on the issue of abortion for many reasons, but I believe this is also one of the reasons pastors tend to shrink back from this topic.

Can I just say something about this reason for not talking about abortion?  We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when sharing about any topic, but perhaps hushing is hindering the Holy Spirit from doing a much needed work in people who need to hear the hard stuff.  God uses the hard to stir up in us a discontentment for the status quo and open our eyes to our need for Him to heal.  It is easy to ignore the pain when it has been numbed and dormant.

For true healing to occur, a person has to realize their need for a Doctor.  The pain surfacing awakens our need.  Then as Christine Caine has said, "We must embrace the pain of recovery."

In any surgery, there is pain involved.  We can ignore the issues and pretend they aren't there and deceive ourselves into believing they will just go away or we can let the Surgeon do His surgery and embrace the pain of recovery.  After the surgery and recovery are over, we can be healthy and whole!  But, we have to know we need surgery and be willing to undergo the hard in order to be healed.

When churches, pastors and leaders decide to not talk about abortion because it might "upset someone" or because "It is a sensative issue", they are denying that there is an infection in the body of Christ.  If Pam Tebow wouldn't have talked about abortion that night, I wouldn't have seen my need for deeper healing.  It is only when we are faced with our pain, that we realize how much we need the Surgeon.

The pain of recovery is temporal.  The pain of denial is infinite.

If you are a church pastor or leader, please talk about this issue.  Please let your people know there is healing and freedom.  In doing so, you are multiplying the healing of His wounded.  God is a God of mercy, peace and love.

God is multiplying His mercy, peace and love.  Thank you for joining us in prayer as He multiplies His Kingdom.

Hold On

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. “  Ephesians 3:20

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask for You to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think in the ministry of Deeper Still.  We ask for you to provide above all we can ask or think.  We ask for You to pour out Your Spirit in ways above what we could ask or think.  We ask for You to reveal Yourself in ways that are beyond what we could ask or think.  To You  be all the glory and honor!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

On Sunday morning of the last retreat, we sat overlooking the mountains of East Tennessee.  A fifteen foot cross draped with red, white, and purple billows stood in the forefront, shadowing the awe-striking view.  A team member was passing out communion to the Deeper Still retreat participants.

   

 I could only see the back of him, the male participant who had come from Indiana.  This participant came as a result of a series of events that had taken place at the Illinois retreat,  where a man had received Christ (at an all female retreat—long story!) Now, this man’s friend was at the retreat in Tennessee and he too had received Christ during the weekend.

The team member passing out communion came to this man from Indiana and asked, “Is this your first communion?”  I saw the man nod , “yes”. 

Immediately, tears.  Tears turned into sobs as I reflected on how God went after the “one” from Indiana and brought him to Tennessee to hear the gospel and experience salvation in Christ Jesus.  All of it starting from a man going to the Illinois retreat, who wasn’t intended to be there, hearing the gospel and also coming into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  AMAZING!

    

The man from Indiana came to the retreat despondent and hopeless.  He left filled with hope and with a renewed life within. 

All of this was just too much for me.  Jesus had overwhelmed me and all the Deeper Still team members once again.  As I sat sobbing, I told the Lord over and over again that He was just too much.  There is just no end to His faithfulness and life transforming power!  And to think He let us even have a slight part in it all—again amazing.

The Lord answered me as I poured out my praise…He said with a smile( I could tell He was smiling), 

“Hold on, you haven’t seen anything yet!”

Our God amazes me.  I don’t know all He has in store for Deeper Still or for the ones He loves, but I do know one thing…It will be exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think!   

He Quiets the Waters

"He made the storm to be still and the waves of the sea were hushed.  They were glad the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven."  Psalm 107:29-30

Lord Jesus, thank you for leading us across the water safely.  Thank you for stilling the waters and quieting all fears.  In Jesus name, Amen.

When my daughter was six, we went to a water park in Florida.  She could swim, but was not a great swimmer yet.  There was a water course in which to cross one had to hold onto rope overhead while walking across floating plastic icebergs beneath.  The icebergs moved up and down with the waves of the water.  Although the waves were minimal, in her six-year-old mind, I'm sure they towered as hurricanes.   In Matthew Chapter 8 there is a story of Jesus' disciples being on a boat with Jesus. During this excursion, mighty waves arose on the sea.  But Jesus was sleeping...

Can you imagine the scene?  Waves crashing onto the boat.  Disciples panicked stricken with fear of imminent death.  Racing back and forth on the boat, managing the sails, holding onto the helm.

The waves and wind of life can overcome us.  The storm inside our souls can sink us if we hold onto the panic and fears.

The disciples were human.  Like us, they didn't run to Jesus immediately when the storm began to come.  Notice, Jesus wasn't panicked.  He wasn't afraid.  He was resting, asleep.

When the storms and trials come, or when we feel fearful, I pray our first response would be to run to the One who can calm every storm and still every raging sea seemingly against us.  If God is for us, who then can be against us (Romans 8:31).

We can be our own worst enemy. Sometimes the one holding us back from reaching the other side is ourselves. My daughter made it across the waters that day as she reached up to the ropes and held on.  Her dependence on the strength of the ropes and the reassuring voice of her mother that she was going to make it to the other side gave her the courage to press onward to the other side.

Our Lord is right there.  He is our strength we hold onto.  And it is His voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit gently encouraging us forward and cheering us on that we will make it to the other side if only we don't give into fear and let go.  Trust in Him.  Depend on Him to still the waters.  You can make it to the other side.  You can make it to the desired haven.

Protecting Your Healing

 “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phillipians 1:6

Father God, we praise you for your goodness. Your love that covers us is as no other.  We ask that you would continue the work that you have done in us. Reveal to us things that are hidden in the darkness of our hearts. Massage our hearts and make them tender toward the things that are of you. Ignite a fire in our spirit that will bring forth the passion that you set in us. May you be glorified in all that we do. We again praise you, Jesus. Amen.

Today’s post is written by Tracey Enloe, a Deeper Still Atlanta Team Member.  Deeper Still Atlanta just had their first retreat this month.  We are hearing many praises about all the Lord did there!  Thank you Tracey for sharing with us today.

After leaving a weekend of seeking God and giving Him areas of my heart that were still in darkness, I felt free. The chains, that had bound me over time, fell off. Before coming that weekend I had been intentional in seeking healing in all areas of my life, not just abortion. Over time, the enemy caught a snag in my life and rebound me again. Healing is a journey--one that must be continuously sought by going forward in Christ.

As life goes forward, our enemy will look for areas in our life to re-bind us. It is paramount that we hold the line of healing and not give back ground to the enemy.  The chains may look the same, but not always. He wants to keep us bound, and he doesn't care how as long as we are rendered ineffective.  The Lord has given us all power and authority in the name of Jesus and we are not victims that must just surrender to the lies the enemy plants as he attempts to draw us back into bondage.  It is important that we learn to recognize the signs the enemy is trying to re-bind us and hold the line of freedom.

Negative thoughts; feelings of helplessness, despair, and discouragement; attacks of depression, anxiety or a feeling of heaviness; or insomnia are all symptomatic that the enemy is moving to regain ground in our lives.

When we learn to recognize when the enemy is trying to come in to steal, kill, and destroy the healing God has given to us, are better able to stand guard and resist him.  And when we resist him, he will flee.  The Lord has made provision in His word to protect the healing we have received as we hold onto the promises we have in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will shed light on the areas of our lives that need attention. Our relationship with the Lord will be our safeguard as we put on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-13).

We must not hide in the lie that our healing journey is over. For when we have resolved ourselves to that thought, we reject more healing, and more freedom in Christ.

It is in the seeking that we truly finding healing. Do not be discouraged by your struggles; count them as joy. Because God will always show up!_~Tracey Enloe