By Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Fear of f lying still ranks high on the list of phobias in our country, probably because of 9-1-1. But what about the fear of f lying “spiritually?” What makes Christians so chickenhearted about spread-ing their wings? And how can we overcome our fear and find the freedom God wants for all His children?

But before we look at some steps we can take when we find our spiritual planes are grounded, let’s look at what f lying “spiritually” means. To some, it may mean overcom-ing any fears that keep you from serving God the way you want. To others, it may mean discovering–and living up to your full potential in Christ. And to others, it may mean learning how to make the best of what life has dealt you.

Whatever it may mean to you, here are six steps that may help you spread your spiritual wings and f ly:

1. Admit Your Desire to Fly

Fear and trembling over-whelm me, and I can’t stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would f ly away and rest! I would f ly far away to the quiet of the wilderness (Psalm 55:5-7, NIV). Ever feel like you “wanna get away?” King Da-vid the Psalmist did. In these verses he agonized over the betrayal and treachery of his trusted counselor Ahithophel and his own rebellious son, Absalom. He longed for es-cape, just to get away from it all.

Many of us have uttered that same prayer, stemming from weariness, overwhelm-ing cirumstances, or extreme discouragement, maybe even an unexplained fear that someone–or something–has clipped our wings perma-nently. But getting away is not always the solution. God often uses unpleasant or stressful situations to push us to the edge of our current “nest.” Tell Him you really want to move beyond your

current state. Tell Him you want to f ly.

2. Confess Your Fears and Excuses for Remaining Grounded.

Afraid of falling, or worse, afraid of failing? Not strong enough! Not smart enough! Too old! Too young! “Flying” is too risky! Don’t like sur-prises! Sometimes listing our fears and excuses in black and white helps us connect visu-ally with what really makes us fearful. In one particular sea-son of my life, I allowed fear of failure to keep me ground-ed. In still another season, I encountered a fear of success. But when I examined those fears through God’s micro-scope, I saw them reduced to a minute and workable size.

3. Be Willing to Move Be-yond Your Comfort Zone.

You’ve always done it this way? Try a different ap-proach. Stretch yourself. Trust God more. Worry less. Challenge yourself in small ways if necessary, and re-ward yourself for every ac-complishment, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. When He knows you want to give Him the glory, God wants you to succeed! In church ministry through the

years, God stretched me by allowing me to teach in vari-ous age groups. I ultimately discovered the one that fit the most, but God taught me much about trusting Him when I was willing to try something new.

4. Consider the Alterna-tive

You can stay where you are and never take a risk, but you might miss the adventure God has planned for you. God never asks us to take impossible risks on our own. Abram (Abraham) left every-thing familiar to travel to an unknown destination (Gen-esis 12) that God would show him. But the adventure was God’s idea, not Abram’s. And it required a constant trust in God’s ability to lead–and that what God had promised would ultimately materialize. A son in his 90s? Impossible. But not to God. Abraham’s obedience to “f ly” with wings of faith resulted ultimately in blessing for us as faith believ-ers, too. But what if he hadn’t obeyed?

What blessings will me miss out on because we re-fuse to trust God, or because we’re too fearful to obey His voice?

5. Ask Yourself: What’s the Worst Thing That Could Happen to Me?

When accepting a new writing challenge, I some-times ask myself this ques-tion–and then answer it: “I could fail. I could be called foolish. Some might laugh at my attempts. I could net a ton of rejections. It might be too hard.” For years it felt “safe” for me to write greet-ing cards, magazine articles, and other shorter, inspira-tional pieces. I could do it easily and earn a decent in-come. But I always wanted to write a book. I was faced with a choice: stay where it was familiar, or branch out and try to “f ly.” Eleven books later, I am still enjoying that adventure God has allowed. I still write other inspiration-al things, but I would never have added “author” to my resume had I not been will-ing to stretch my wings.

6. Identify What Flying Means to You

Do you want bolder faith? To take a risk and tell a friend about Jesus? Would you like to teach a class or age you’ve never tried before? Want to attempt a new vocation? Try a new business? Start a new

ministry? Love a difficult relative? Speak up for justice? Go on a mission trip? Over-come a debilitating habit? Grow deeper spiritually?

One of the most beauti-ful truths about being God’s child is the realization that we can find wings even in the midst of difficult cir-cumstances. Whatever spiri-tual freedom means to you, God wants you to spread your wings and “fly” Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) gives us a great promise:

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Like a mother eagle, God may have to push us toward the edge of our comfy nests to get us ready to f ly. And like baby eaglets we may re-sist, fearing the f light. But just like the eagle, our faith-ful Father watches and waits nearby to catch us until we can f ly on our own (Deuter-onomy 32:11).

Our job? Wait on Him; lis-ten for His voice; and watch for His “nudge.” The free-dom is in the trusting.

A Personal Prayer for YouLord, what a wonderful

and patient Father You are. Grant us the spiritual free-dom to know You more deep-ly. We confess our doubts, our fears, and our hesitancy to trust You more. We wait on You, Lord. Help us to be sensitive enough to feel the nudge of Your Spirit. We long to soar on spiritual wings like eagles and experience all that You have planned for Your children.

Day-votedly Yours,RebeccaFor more from Rebecca, please

visit www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com. Sign up for Rebecca’s en-couraging blog/newsletter, or purchase her newest devotional books from Zondervan - Day-votions™ for Women, Day-vo-tions™ for Mothers, and Day-votions™ for Grandmothers.

Used by permission of Crosswalk.com

Volume 7, Issue 23 October 9, 2014 - October 22, 2014

How to Spread Your Spiritual Wings and Fly

OCTOBER 9, 2014-OCTOBER 22, 2014

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A D V E R T I S E I N

Center for Self Governance (CSG) is a non-profit, non-par-tisan, educational organiza-tion dedicated to teaching Ameri-cans how to keep our Republic as our founding fathers intended. CSG is about far more than win-ning elections. It’s about teach-ing citizens how to wield their civic authority and control our instituted government. Although elections are one piece of that ef-fort, elections are by no means the beginning or the end of the process. The Declaration of In-dependence says that our govern-ment derives it’s just powers from the consent of the governed. By definition, this means that we, citizens, have a certain authority over our governance. We teach citizens how to exercise that au-thority. What we teach is how to unleash the power of the citi-zenry.

The upcoming El Paso Level 1 class is all about reframing the way the students think about their governance. We like to call this the “red pill” class because after they take it, their eyes are opened in a way that changes the core of how they think about their governance. Lessons covered in Level 1:

Lesson 1: Definitions and Un-derstandings

This lesson is about creating a clear understanding of the self-governance paradigm. We of-

ten conflate concepts and terms that can’t be mixed if citizens are going to wield power. It also is where we introduce the Self Governance model. This lesson is about creating a clear under-standing.

Lesson 2: History of Self Gov-ernance

This lesson brings forth the history that shows how our sys-tem of governance was devel-oped, what it is, and how the chal-lenges that we face are nothing new. The lesson continues the re-framing that is started in lesson 1.

Lesson 3: The Principles of Liberty

This lesson allows the students to discuss the principles of liberty, their veracity and impact. It also allows the students to release and shed old ways of thinking.

Lesson 4: Present Situation of Self Governance

This lesson allows the students to come to a more complete un-derstanding of how Self Gover-nance is exercised and the condi-tions that must be dealt with as we exercise our civic authority.

Lesson 5: Finding and Ampli-fying Your Voice

This lesson is designed to teach the basics of the practical exercise of wielding civic authority.

Lesson 6: Finding Like Mind-ed Voices

This lesson introduces the stu-dents to the team concept and the

exponential power that can be ex-ercised as a team.

Lesson 7: Steps to Preser-ving Self Governance

This lesson teaches the stu-dents about the importance of exercising civic authority on a continual basis, how to grow it in their areas and pass it on to fu-ture generations.

Future classes expand on all of these areas as they go deeper into the subjects. For more infor-mation or to sign up for class visit our website at www.centerforself-governance.com.

“These classes are not about party politics. These five levels teach us the tools the Constitu-tion gave us to influence and help our elected officials, from local to National, perform the responsi-bilities we and the Constitution gave them. They are an integral part of returning our Consti-tutional Republic to it’s former glory of prosperity and peace. It is well worth the minimal effort it takes to participate and they have the best instructors in the world. Check it out, you will not be disappointed.” - Tim Shelfin, Student.

“Mark, Kurt, and Mishelle seem to never tire of answering questions and explaining — over and over. They are so patient and humble…I feel honored to be learning about this, and am so glad to be a part of it. The Cen-ter for Self Governance has come along for just such a time as this. Like Elizabeth Powel, we have been entrusted to Keep The Re-public.” - Karessa G., Texas stu-dent

So much has been going on since I last got to write here. So many terrible things. Even for those who try to avoid the news because of all the bad news – you can’t help but catch wind of all the horrible actions of ISIS. Be-headings, kidnappings, taking young girls and forcing them into relations with their men.

Then on a local level – the exposure to Tuberculosis by a nurse at Providence Hospital – possibly exposing over 800 ba-bies, and the number kept rising. It was rumored in the beginning the nurse wasn’t aware of her in-fectious disease, but came out in the news just last night (10/1) that not only did the nurse know, as she had tested positive a month and a half prior to it breaking in the news, but at least five admin-istrators at the hospital knew as well and kept the nurse working! At last count, so far as I’ve heard – five babies have tested positive. This was hard enough for fami-lies to face when they thought perhaps the nurse was unaware; but then to learn the nurse and hospital staff KNEW the nurse had active TB and allowed them to continue working with babies, or to work at all, is unfathomable.

My heart breaks each time I think of these families that now will be affected forever by this disease. Yes, there is treatment – and the child will have to go through treatment its entire life. So unfair to have to experience this, and to have contracted the disease at the very hospital the child was born, and where you should be safe from such a thing. This hits very close to home for me – as my son’s family was one that received the letter in the mail from the Health Depart-

ment informing of the possibil-ity that our precious Madison, 7 ½ months at the time of the notice – was one that could have been infected. I went with my son, Shawne to the Health Dept. for the skin test, and from there we were sent across town for her chest x-ray. The appointment was on Wednesday, and they had to wait until Friday at the next appointment to get the results. I was trusting and believing the Lord was going to spare them from this – but still was worried. Praise God – they got good news and Madison was negative for TB. Unfortunately, just a few days later it was announced of the five that tested positive. It is a guilty feeling to be so grateful that your loved one isn’t affected, while others got the opposite news.

Most recently now, then the man in a Dallas hospital that has brought Ebola in from his trip to Nigeria. Now the folks there are scurrying to locate all the people he could possibly have come into contact with. Please join me in praying for all of these situations each time they come to mind.

On a more positive note – The Messenger celebrates completion of seven years the end of October. It’s truly a miracle from God that we have made it this long. I thank all who have supported this min-istry through their advertising dollars whether with just one or many. Without your financial resources it wouldn’t have hap-pened. However, advertising has declined with each year – so I’m not sure how much longer I can continue. If you believe we need this ministry to continue serving our communities PLEASE won’t you consider getting involved today? I can be reached at (915) 329-0824 – place ads for your

organization and support your local Christian Newspaper. Be a spoke in the wheel that helps reach the unchurched and the lost for the kingdom of Christ.

Precious Heavenly Father,I lift up each of these situ-

ations: the horrendous acts of ISIS, the TB scare in El Paso, and the Ebola scare now in Dal-las – Father I place them all in Your hands and ask for Your protection for all people in-volved. Speak to the hearts of the members of ISIS and turn their lives around. Protect the babies and families exposed to TB.

Please affect change at the hospi-tal so that this will not be allowed to happen ever again. Protect all who came into contact with the man with Ebola, the hospital staff that are working with him, and the man himself. We know Father that many of these things are signs of the coming end – war, rumors of war, disease, etc. Help us to not be fearful. Help us to keep our eyes on You, know-ing that all who are redeemed in Christ have nothing to fear, for in the end we will be with You in the twinkling of an eye.

I thank You Father for the seven years The Messenger has

been able to serve our commu-nities. It gets more difficult with each passing year to find folks that will support the ministry financially. If it is Your desire for us to continue Lord please lead me to those who are willing, able and will pay for their ads. Prepare their hearts even at this moment to be open to the idea; impress upon some to contact me with their desire to support.

I love You and Praise You my Abba Father,

In Jesus’ Name,Amen.

From His Messenger...

Questions are sent to 42 Christian Leaders and all that respond by deadline are published. Those that come in late will be included with the others on The Messenger’s blog site at http://hismessenger.wordpress.com. If you are a Christian Leader and would like to be considered to join this panel – OR - if you have a question you would like answered by Christian Leaders, please email your contact information to media4him@yahoo.com.

Question:We would like the opinion

of Pastor’s in regards to wrong done to Christians. In speaking with a group recently we learned of several cases of Christians being owed money by employers and others, wrongful terminations, automobile accidents causing injuries, etc. These people have all been told that since they are Christians it is against Biblical principles to take the wrongdoers to court. They’ve tried handling things on their own - to no avail. Court seems the only way to hold these wrongdoers accountable for their actions. Is this against the law of the Lord? Would they be in the wrong for suing their offenders? And if so -- isn’t it just as bad to allow people to continue being unaccountable for their wrongful actions?

Answers:We are citizens of a nation

whose courts are established to protect and defend its citizens. In Moses’ day he set up judges to settle disputes among God’s people. The only New Testament directive is to not take a brother

to court but to let the church settle the issue.

Pastor Fred GrenierFirst Church of the Nazarene

(El Paso, TX)

This is a classic case of “who is my brother, sister, etc.” I Thessalonians 4:6 states that we (brethren) are not to defraud each other. Paul shames the Church in Corinth (I Cor. 6:1; 2) for not settling matters among themselves and going before the law of the unjust. As stated at the start, when “brothers and sisters” have wronged one another, then it is the accountability of the person that is wrong to be responsible and correct the matter. The key word in these text is the work “brethren”. If a person that claims to be a brother (neuter case) and does not wish to resolve the infraction with another brother, then this could very well represent the true nature of that person/s relationship and/or fellowship with God. If a brother wishes not to resolve this matter through the Spiritual guidance of the church or scripture (should be the same) then the recourse is to forgive the brother and turn it over to the courts of sinful man and let the consequences befall that person. Believe me, it is much better to settle the matter through the spiritual law rather and through the law of man (Matthew 18).

Mark A. Rawlins, DirectorEl Paso International School of Faith

(El Paso, TX)

Your confusion arises from an incomplete and inaccurate reading of the Bible. In Paul’s time believers were in fact urged

(not ordered!) not to take one another to court, but to settle matters by seeking the wisdom of Jesus through prayer (First Corinthians 6:1-11). However Paul knew perfectly well that the majority of persons in the world would never always be Christian. And so it is. This means that there are bound to be disagreements between believers and non-believers over all kind of matters. The examples you suggest (a Christian employee not being paid what he is owed for instance) may well require the intervention of lawyers and judges and even a day in court. Jesus Himself knew that we tend to be so sinful that we would always need His own verbal admonition to settle matters together if we could. He also knew that sometimes this would simply be impossible and therefore certain ones should be taken to a judge (Matthew 5:23-26). Paul knew that one of the main things that every society needs in order to endure is the rule of law! (Romans 13:1-7). And sometimes the only way for a society to maintain this is for a Christian to sue someone who is not abiding and will not abide by the law. In doing this we make public examples of genuine law breakers, and there is nothing wrong with that!

Pastoral Assistant Paul DuerksenSt. Paul’s United Methodist Church

(Las Cruces, NM)

The principles given in Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5 clearly give us the right to use the legal system to solve differences. The question comes when the other party is a Christian.

Than we are instructed not to sue unless certain steps are taken. If there is a sin or legal question which arises between two Christians the matter should first be handled between the two believers themselves. If the issue cannot be resolved than two or three witnesses are to go to the two parties and hear out the grievance and resolve it. If one party refuses to repent and to follow the direction of the church than the matter should be taken to the whole church which would handle the matter. If there is still no resolution than the one who is unrepentant can be cast out of the church and can be declared an unbeliever. Before you say the church does not have that authority read Scripture. In I Corinthians the church should have acted and did not and Paul is critical of the church because the sin causes the church to have a bad reputation in the community. God does allow us to use the legal system we live in, we see that in Romans 13, however it should be resolved in the church first. The failing is in the church not taking its responsibility to handle sin within the body of Christ. It is non-Christian not to pay your bills, to fulfill your obligations, and other things which cause splits in the body or give the church and other Christians a blot on our testimony. The problem goes back to a bad interpretation of ...”don’t” judge...” Scripture says to judge righteous judgment not just to allow people to continue to use other people.

Pastor Jack BergSun Valley Baptist Church

(El Paso, TX)

Send info about your upcoming events to media4him@yahoo.com. Be sure to send them several weeks in advance of the event as The Messenger prints every other week. Check for other listings online at https://hismessenger.wordpress.com.

First and Third Thursday of each Month

FCCI Meeting – Great American Steakburger, 701 S. Mesa Hills, El Paso, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm. For Christian business owners who desire to run their business to glorify the Lord. If you wish to attend it would help if you RSVP. For more info and to RSVP call Cris Green (915) 252-3655.

Second Thursday of each Month

El Paso’s Northeast Quilters Guild – Grace Presbyterian Church, 8001 Magnetic, El Paso, 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Social and Set up time; 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Meeting and Program. Program to be announced. Guests welcome. For more info call (915) 494-7977 or epnequilters@gmail.com.Third Tuesday of each Month

CCDA Monthly Gathering – El Paso CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) has monthly informal gatherings to stay connected, build relationships, and keep creative ideas flowing. Gatherings are on 3rd Tuesdays at 6:30pm. For more information and next location, please contact Sami DiPasquale, Ciudad Nueva, (915) 269-5528, sami@ciudadnueva.org.

Tuesday, October 7th

“The Joy of Life”– Marriott El Paso, 1600 Airway Blvd., Grand Ballroom Entrance, El Paso, Sitting begins at 6:30 pm; Dinner & program 6:45 pm – 9:00 pm. Tours of the ICU Medical Mobile Clinic will be from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm. This is the Annual Fundrraiser for Pregnancy Help Center and Fatherhood Help Services. Special Guest Speaker will be Christian Comedian, Mike Williams. Adults ONLY as seating is limited. Individual ticket $30, Table of 8 $250. Must RSVP. To register, order tickets, and make payment contact Savannah at (915) 591-1343 or 4lifesavannah@gmail.com.

Wednesday, October 8th

Character Legacy Luncheon – Great American Steakburger, 701 S. Mesa Hills Drive, El Paso, 11:45 am to 1:00 pm. Cost is $15 per person for lunch, networking and training. RSVP to (915) 269-7719 to reserve your spot, and make sure enough meals are prepared. Cash or check only please.

Friday, October 24th

Teen Challenge Fundraising Banquet – Grace Gardens, 6701 Westside Drive, El Paso, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Guest Speaker will be Dr. Jessica Ibarra, a breast cancer survivor, who will share how the Lord gave her strength through her cancer ordeal

and the, “Storms of Life”. Meal will be provided by Great American (Mesa Hills). Tickets are $35 each, or $280 for table of 8. For more info, to reserve seating and pay for tickets contact (915) 566-1197 or albertibarra1.0@sbcglobal.net.

Saturday, October 25th

Family Fall Festival – St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 2155 Wedgewood Drive, El Paso, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. FREE food, games, activities, cakewalk, candy and costume contest! All are welcome. For more info contact (915) 598-7577 or Rev. Jayne L. Ruiz (937) 371-9039 or jayneruiz@msn.com.

OCTOBER 9, 2014-OCTOBER 22, 2014

At The Father’s

FeetLegalism

Perfected by the FleshGood Day Brothers and Sis-

ters in Christ, In Paul’s letter to the

churches in southern Galatia, he addressed the issue of the believers insisting on keeping the Jewish law even though they knew obedience to the law had not been how they had re-ceived God’s Spirit. Legalists will bind themselves in doing all the “right” things instead of having an obedient and lov-ing spirit that follows the Lord. We as Christians, though saved through faith and hav-ing the Holy Spirit indwelling us, often attempt to conform to the world in order to sat-isfy our fleshly desires. The Lord expects us to spiritually mature and grow through the power of the indwelling Spirit, something that cannot be done by human effort in observing the flesh and worldly rules.

If you are a genuine Chris-tian, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you spiritually, avoiding legalism and worldly rules!

“How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:3 - NLT)

LegalismWorldly Rules

Yesterday we wrote how the Christians of Galatia insisted on keeping the Jewish law even though they knew obedience to the law had not been how they had received God’s Spirit. Sadly, there are people today who believe that the basic prin-ciples, rules and regulations of the world are the means of salvation, that they can earn salvation through their works. This rigid attitude that seeks to earn salvation is not the faith Jesus demands of His fol-lowers, who should have warm hearts as well as obedient ones. Genuine salvation comes from acceptance of Christ as Sav-ior at which time we “die” with Him to the legalism of the world. Why would we as Christians ever desire to re-turn to a legalistic world when we have eternal life through faith in Christ?

Where do you stand in your life: subject to worldly rules or dead with Christ to those rules?

“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudi-ments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances?” (Colossians 2:20)

May God Richly Bless You Today

If you would like to know

more about having a relationship with Christ, please contact me at bwoolleycpa@msn.com or bwool-leyjr@gmail.com.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted. (Bracket and capitalization of pronouns for God added.) Archives of At the Father’s Feet can be found at at-thefathersfeet.wordpress.com. Spanish translation of archives can be found at alospiesdelpadre.wordpress.com. To add someone to our contact list contact me at the email addresses listed above.

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915-779-2489

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