Would you ever admit to duplicity? {no...not talking about the movie here!} Probably not, I would venture to say. Here is the definition, please take special note of the second definition:

Duplicity:noun:

1 : contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action
2 : the quality or state of being double or twofold

You know when you were in highschool and the biggest put down was to be called "two-faced?" That is basically what I am getting at. In America, this is a problem among Christians, we are "two-faced" and our lives are not reflective completely and wholeheartedly to what we say we believe. I was hit in my "two faced" forehead with this when I bounced the definition of duplicity off of Jeremiah 32:38-39:

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.

Please know that I am pointing my finger right back at myself with this post. But, I just want to challenge my fellow Christians to think about our lives. Do you compartmentalize your faith to just your Christian friends, Sunday morning or Wendesday night Life Groups? Here is some data from Pew Research that perfectly illustrates what I am talking about:

25% of Americans (in general) believe in Astrology while 23% of Christians do as well! (Pew Research)

Um...hello...do we see what is wrong with this picture?

You say you have conservative values...

But how did you vote in the last election (if you voted at all)?

You say want to live a pure and holy life as taught in the Bible and at church last sunday...

But, what do you fill your mind with while surfing the web or flipping the channels?

You say you believe in Jesus as your Savior...

But, is your life really changed by your beliefs?

Like I said, no condemnation here from me. These are some of the very things I have worked through in my own life. Did you notice in the verse above that God promises He will give us singleness of heart AND action? It is ours for the taking. period. I think this lifestyle of duplicity can be tiresome. Most of us know deep in our heart that our actions don't match up with what we profess and it slowly eats away at our conscience. God doesn't want us to live with this burden, but He does expect us to take the actions to live a whole hearted, sold out faith in Him. This takes work, trust me, I know. I have evaluated and re-evaluted my choices and actions over the years and I will continue to do so.

So for today, I encourage you to take time with the Lord asking Him to show you where you act "two-faced." He will not hit you over the head or wag a heavenly finger at your in condemnation, but He will show you where to start in your journey toward single-minded faith.

Stay tuned to more thoughts on this... about how our life of single minded focus benefits us and the people around us! {don't want to bogg you down to much in this one post! ha!}

Book Review-The Vertical Self

I am loving this Booksneeze book review program as I just read The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers. Wow is all I can say. This book was written in a non-preachy tone with ideas that made me rethink how I see life, my faith and my Savior.

The main premise of the book was to look at living "horizontally" verses "vertically." Horizontal living means a life of me, myself and I while also trying to please the world while Vertical living focuses on glorifying God and living under His ultimate authority. Here are a few examples taken from a table in the book on page 19-20

Vertical vs Horizontal:

God as Judge vs Others as Judge

Holiness vs Status

Eternal vs Temporary

Delayed gratification vs Instant gratification

Work ethic vs Play ethic

Self discipline vs Self esteem

Facts vs Feelings

Are you getting the picture here? Would love to know if any of these ring true in your life-if you veer more torward the Horizontal than the Vertical in certain areas.

To take it one step further, Mark Sayers writes about how Christians can live a fragmented life as they go from Vertical to Horizontal depending on their location, the people they are with or when they are at work. This is called fragmented living meaning our beliefs are scattered all over the place depending on our circumstances. "One can have an evangelical Christian worldview, a secular sex life, an economic rationalist approach to money, a conservative vote and a liberal approach to humor." page 26 All I can say is this paragraph punched me in the gut and I am rethinking my approach to life. I want my entire existence to be consistent and consistently point toward the LORD!

This book is a fantastic read. You can purchase it on Amazon or straight from the Thomas Nelson webpage.

**I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Close Encounter

I want a close encounter with Jesus, don’t you? The concept sounds amazing, but it is a bit allusive. I mean, we can’t touch Jesus or see Him face to face, so how exactly do we encounter Him? All I know is that if I need a revival in my faith, more of His presence will do the trick. Maybe this passage in Mark will give us some perspective.

Mark 7:32-35

³²There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

³³After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. ³⁴He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ). ³⁵At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

I had to stop to ponder this situation. {Sidebar: to get more out of the scripture, don’t just read it, ponder it. Break it down and put yourself in the scene} Just several passages before, Jesus simply touched the sick and lame or spoke healing over them. Why would Jesus pull the deaf man aside and put spit in his ears? Here are some possibilities that I came up with. I actually put myself in the place of the deaf man-take a look:

*Jesus knows this man’s heart and maybe this man doubted His ability to heal
--Jesus knows my heart and knows when I doubt Him, too!

*Jesus wanted a private moment with the man away from the noisy crowd
--Jesus wants a private moment with me away from the TV, internet and blackberry {distractions}

*Jesus knew the power of His touch when He stuck his finger in this man’s ear. He not only touched the deaf man’s ear, Jesus touched the depth of this man’s heart-whatever condition it might be in.
--The Lord doesn’t just go through the motions in my life. He knows when and how to get my attention. Sometimes I need His touch more than anything else.


Can you imagine how sweet a sound the man heard when Jesus said, “Be opened?” This man probably lived the majority of his life, if not all, in silence. What a wonder to experience to tune into Jesus’s gentle, yet powerful voice as the first sound he heard in ages. A voice that was not preaching to a large crowd, but speaking straight to this man’s heart in the most intimate way. He had a close encounter with Jesus.

We don’t know what followed this scene. We don’t know how the man lived out his close encounter. But, we do know how we will react when Jesus pulls us aside from our distractions, touches our hearts and speaks into our life. I don’t know about you, but I want to have a close encounter with Jesus EVERY day. This only happens when I come to Him ready, willing and vulnerable. Jesus knows the depths of your heart and just what kind of encounter with Him you need. Are you willing, ready and vulnerable?

Jesus! Touch our hearts and speak to our soul, “Be open!”