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By Paula Marolewski, November 11, 2009 5:23 pm

Evangelism. We’re all supposed to share the Good News with the people around us, but we often fail to do so. We’re afraid of rocking the boat, afraid of being inadequate to the task, afraid of rupturing the relationships we have with others.

But I wonder … is the real problem on occasion actually a matter of the heart? That we have lost our love for the lost?

If we really love someone and want to see them saved from an eternity in hell, isn’t it a measure of that love that we are willing to rock the boat to give them the opportunity to gain that infinite reward? Isn’t it worth stumbling for the right words, even opening our mouth and putting our foot in it, if it will give the true Word of God the chance to be heard? If our relationship with someone is really of value to us, don’t we want it to continue – forever?

Have we lost our love for the lost? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son…” (John 3:16).

What are we willing to give?

How much do we truly love?

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, November 9, 2009 5:50 pm

Elijah had beaten the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel and outrun Ahab to Jezreel – but when Jezebel tacked up a “Most Wanted” poster, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran.

You know the story – the wind, the fire, the earthquake. Then the still, small voice of God.

Remember what God said first?

He asked a question (I Kings 19:13):

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I don’t think the question was reproachful or demanding. In the previous verses, God had provided angelic cookery for his weary prophet, and comforted him with gentle words. Perhaps God even asked his question with a hint of a smile:

“Elijah, you’ve seen me stop the rain for three years, provide for you by the stream at Cherith, supply flour and oil for you and the widow and her son, raise the boy from the dead, bring down fire from heaven, and restore water to the earth. Yet here you are, living in a place of fear and doubt and depression. What are you doing here?”

Does God sometimes ask that of us? I think so. When I consider everything God has done for me over the decades in which I have trusted him, I am astonished and overwhelmed. He has never failed me. Never forsaken me. Yet all too easily, I fall into fear and doubt and depression. It is then that I hear his still, small voice asking me the same question: “What are you doing here?”

And here’s the key: I have a choice about where I am going to live. I can live in fear and doubt and depression, looking only at the problems that surround me. Or, I can live in confidence and faith and strength, looking only at my God who is sovereign over all.

Where are you living today? And is God perhaps asking you, gently inquiring,

“What are you doing here?”

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, November 5, 2009 9:51 am

A thought for the day from Jeremiah 17:7:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
         And whose trust is the LORD.”

As I read this verse this morning, I pondered why Jeremiah put in both phrases: “who trusts in the Lord” and “whose trust is the Lord.” I thought of it this way: sometimes, when we put our trust in the Lord, we subconsciously (or consciously!) expect him to act in a certain way. In essence, we are saying, “I trust in the Lord to do this certain thing that I want.” But he doesn’t always do what we want – that’s a fact of life. And if that’s as deep as our trust goes, our trust and faith are going to be shaken quite regularly.

That is why, I think, Jeremiah put in the second phrase: “and whose trust is the Lord.” So that when God does not do the things I want or expect or desire, I need to trust who he is, that is, his character and nature: loving, gentle, kind, just, purposeful, gracious, patient, etc. This is where we find unshakable trust and faith: no matter what happens, no matter what he does or does not do. We know that he works all things together for good, because he is good. We know his actions, whatever they are, are loving because he is love.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, November 2, 2009 5:51 pm

As the Church, it is imperative that we do not take a simple view toward mental and emotional illness. We cannot label it an exclusively spiritual problem (“You must have sin in your life or you wouldn’t be having this problem.”) and expect that confession and repentance will take care of the issue. Neither can we take an exclusively clinical approach and say that all mental or emotional illness is the result of a physiological imbalance in the brain. Instead, hard as it is, it is vital to understand that we are integrated as people: mind, emotions, spirit, body, etc. and that mental and emotional issues are frequently the result of some combination of those elements, and very often touch every aspect of our lives.

For instance, take the case of severe anxiety, which I discuss in my book Fire in My Mind: Personal Insights and Practical Help for Severe Anxiety. My own anxiety was triggered by a long-term high-stress situation. No sin involved. Just the stress of starting my own business. It was then exacerbated by the fact that, over time, my body and brain chemistry shifted due to the overload of adrenaline, resulting in anxious feelings regardless of the circumstances I found myself in. (I recommend Dr. Archibald Hart’s book The Anxiety Cure for a very complete discussion of the physiology of anxiety.) This then led very naturally to emotional depression and to spiritual doubt, as I was fighting constantly against something I didn’t understand and therefore couldn’t overcome.

It was only through qualified cognitive behavioral counseling that I was able to unravel all these various threads and address the behavioral, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues that by then were all involved.

From my personal experience and talking extensively with others, I would therefore sum up the approach that the Church needs to take as follows: Love with knowledge.

Love itself isn’t enough … I have had people who love me very much say some very damaging things to me because they simply didn’t understand severe anxiety and didn’t know any better. They were trying to help, but they harmed instead.

Likewise, knowledge alone isn’t enough. Clinical knowledge keeps people at arm’s length and studies them like a bug under a microscope. Knowledge needs to be tempered by the warmth, caring, support, and encouragement of God’s love.

Love with knowledge is an irresistible combination that will draw many hurting people into the arms of the Church and the Kingdom of God.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 29, 2009 2:38 pm

Just a question for you today: How strong are your Christian convictions?

In the face of …

• Passion. When the heat of the moment is lighting every fire inside you but you aren’t married to the person you’re with … what will you do?
• Pressure. When the people around you – perhaps people whom you respect, perhaps people whom you fear, perhaps people whom you love – are encouraging you down a path Scripture forbids … what will you do?
• Persecution. When threatened with ridicule, loss, slander, pain, isolation – even death – because of what you believe … what will you do?

Be honest. And if you don’t like your answer, then answer this:

What will you do about it?

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 27, 2009 9:58 am

I’ve been considering forgiveness lately. Not forgiveness of the little slights and sins that come every day from rubbing shoulders with the rest of humanity. But forgiveness of the really egregious sins … forgiveness when real pain has been inflicted and real harm has been done, perhaps with malice aforethought.

The pain, the hurt, the grief that is caused by such acts as flagrant adultery, peddling drugs, physical abuse, etc. The list is a long one, highly individualized, and added to every day.

As I considered sin and our call to grant forgiveness, I was struck anew at how hard it is to forgive. And I believe that is, actually, appropriate.

After all, in order to offer true forgiveness, we have to come to grips with true evil. If we just flippantly say, “Yes, I forgive you!” but we have not truly understood either the corruption of the human heart or the pain such evil has caused another, our words are devoid of meaning. It is only after we have felt the horror of evil that our offer of forgiveness can be real.

Too often, however, we stop there. We are paralyzed by the evil, and so we cannot offer the balm of forgiveness.

It is vital to take the second step: to grasp the infinite love, grace, and forgiveness of God. Love that is greater than the horror of true evil. Grace that reaches to the unbelievable depths of corruption in the human heart. Forgiveness that calls the foulest sinner into perfect and intimate relationship with a holy God.

Only then – having truly comprehended both the nature of evil and the triumph of the Cross – can we then begin to extend fully the forgiveness of God to a needy world.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 22, 2009 8:34 am

It is easy to fall into a sense of fatalism … “Whatever will be, will be.” As a believer, that philosophy has no place in our faith. If you have felt the subtle lure of fatalism, ponder the following: 

• Fatalism says, “You are trapped in a maze without a center.” God proclaims, “You are on a journey with a glorious conclusion.”
• Fatalism says, “Whatever you do, it is irrelevant.” God affirms, “Everything you do is relevant. Everything you do matters. Everything you do affects the outcome of your life. That is the meaning of free will.”
• Fatalism says, “Why pray? If there is a God, he’ll just do what he wants anyway.” God states, “Prayer moves my heart. Many times, I choose to act only if you choose to pray. I change the outcomes in life because of prayer.”
• Fatalism says, “Who do you think you are? Do you think anyone cares?” God declares, “I know who you are! I love you – I have proven it, and I will prove it again.”

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 19, 2009 1:52 pm

We live in an age where multitasking is expected, praised, and often demanded. How many things can you do at once? Talk on the phone, check email, pet the cat, flip through the mail, check a website, work on a project, watch the news, drive the car … we frequently combine two or three tasks at once.

Well, for myself, I’ve declared a moratorium on multitasking.

I found that multitasking, because of my issue with severe anxiety, is a definitive problem. When I multitask, my stress level goes up. When my stress level goes up, my anxiety goes up. When my anxiety goes up, I try harder to get things done faster, so I multitask even more. So my stress level goes even higher. So my anxiety gets even worse. And so on, and so on.

It was, and is, a tough decision to live out. No multitasking. None.

And this is what I found:

• I get more done now than when I tried multitasking, because I can focus and concentrate better on each individual project or task.
• I enjoy what I am doing more, because I can really dig down into it and experience it to the full, instead of having half my mind somewhere else.
• I can relax more easily, because my mind isn’t always working at mach 10.

Don’t let society dictate how you work and how you live. Decide for yourself what is best for you.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 15, 2009 7:54 am

Long ago and far away (longer ago than I care to admit!), I trained in karate. I learned many lessons there that translated to the Christian life. The value of Christian discipline is one of the biggest:

Imagine for a moment that you are walking at night down a New York alley. There are no streetlamps lighting your way, and you get jumped by a dude who not only wants your wallet, but fully intends to beat you to a pulp.

Now, if you are habitually a couch potato, I can pretty much guarantee the result: you will get beaten to a pulp.

But if you regularly trained five or ten hours a week in one of the martial arts, you’d have a really good chance of getting away with all your body parts and fluids intact.

The same is true of the Christian life. Satan jumps us when we are at our most vulnerable. If we haven’t been spending time in prayer and in the Word, if we haven’t made a habit of confessing our sin and seeking sanctification, if we aren’t in fellowship with other believers and engaging in worship … in fact, all the Christian disciplines … then we are going to fall, and we’re going to fall hard. We’re going to get beaten up badly.

But if we have been on our knees every day, if we study and meditate on the Word of God, if we consistently seek spiritual growth, if we find our deepest friendships within the Body of Christ, etc., then we are going to 1) recognize Satan’s attack when it comes – whether that is in the form of persecution, deception, or temptation; and 2) know how to respond effectively. We’re going to “Stand firm” as Paul urges in Ephesians 6.

Don’t expect to develop strength and skill when trouble arises. By then, it’s too late. Spend the time and make the effort now … then you’ll always be ready to stand firm, come what may.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, October 13, 2009 4:34 pm

In I Kings 19, we read the story of Elijah running for his life from Queen Jezebel. Seeking refuge on Horeb. The wind, the earthquake, the fire. Then the still, small voice of God.

And when Elijah went forth from Horeb, he did so in strength.

Yet think on it – nothing had actually changed: Jezebel was still after him. The Israelites had declared their allegiance to Yahweh on Mount Carmel, but you don’t see much evidence of actual repentance. Ahab was still a louse.

But something had changed: Elijah’s perspective. His faith. His confidence.

What had happened? Elijah had listened to the still, small voice of God. He had re-established his relationship with his King. He had communed with the great I AM. Therefore, even though nothing had changed, everything had changed: Elijah knew that God would walk with him through the problems, and would resolve them in his own way and in his own time.

How often do I complain to God about all that’s going wrong in my life, and fuss and fume because “God isn’t answering”? The fact is, I want God to fix my problems the way I tell him, and I want him to do it now. But God calls me with his still, small voice. And this is what he says:

“I am with you. I am sovereign over all creation. I love you. I am acting on your behalf. Will you trust me?”

If I refuse his answer, I go forth from my own Horeb a broken, embittered soul; devastated because nothing has changed.

If I respond to his promise, I go forth renewed and restored, and – in his own time and in his own way, starting with me – everything changes.

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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