"Scammed!"

Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 37 -

Scammed!   Swindled!    Hustled!   

Flim-Flammed!   

Duped!   Tricked!    Cheated!

Thirty years ago, I received the most powerful gift imaginable!  It charged me like nothing I've ever experienced.  When it came to sharing my testimony --  When it came to proclaiming the goodness of God -- When it came to leading others to the saving knowledge of Christ -- When it came to Worshiping the Lord in total abandonment -- 

I had an endless supply 

of Holy Boldness!

Praying in other tongues 

generated a consistent and constant flow of 

Heavenly Power in my daily life!

Then one day I was caught in a storm -- a very bad storm that nearly took my life.  I found myself knocked down and severely broken.  Would I ever walk normally again?   It took a long time to recover -- years!   

I wrote about it in my book, The Yellow Brick Road:  A Woman's Journey to the Edge and Back. 

By the time that book was published, I found myself up and moving again, but something was missing. What was it?  It took me quite some time to figure it all out.  It seemed that my Christian walk was lacking that Book of Acts power!  In and of myself, I couldn't conjure up that zeal -- that intensity -- that  unction  that was needed to witness, testify and lead others to Christ -- let alone to save, heal or deliver someone from affliction!  Woe was me!

Sorry, but it wasn't enough!  Sure, I blended in with everyone else, but there was a persistent nagging at my soul that I couldn't ignore.  It was a intense provoking to break free from Christian mediocrity and do the work of the Lord!  

I must!  I must!  

I must be about my Father's business!

Perplexed by the power shortage, I started a new journey called  The Red Shoe Project.  Many months passed and then one day, I noticed something.  There it was -- sitting on a shelf, no less.   Had I put it there myself?   How could I have done that?   How did I forget?   If the plug was out of it's socket, what was I operating on?  -- some sort of emergency generator that allowed me to merely function in my Christian faith?   That's when I realized that I'd been scammed and so had many others.  Nobody wanted to talk about it. 

Speaking in Tongues was OUT 

and Political Correctness was IN 

--  even in the church! 

Oh... everyone believed it was Biblical, but no one was talking about it, let alone doing it anymore.  Hmmmm.   Actually, let me rephrase that.  People were doing it on occasion.  In times of crisis, they resorted to it.  On a day to day basis, however, their gift was tucked away somewhere on a shelf.  Some were even fearful or embarrassed to admit they spoke in tongues!  No sense in mentioning it.  It might ruffle someone's  feathers.

Oh my gosh!

Did I really shelf 

the Holy Ghost?

Yikes!!!  

I don't think that's so good!

One day, I tuned in to a new preacher in town -- well, new to me anyway.  He was preaching out of 

1 Corinthians 14:18 in which the Apostle Paul proclaims... 

"I thank God that I speak 

in tongues more than all of you."

He challenged his listeners to make that their testimony:  That they would speak in tongues more than everybody else -- even more than the Apostle Paul.  By this time, I had rediscovered my forsaken gift, and with his charge, I began to exercise it.  I took time daily and several times throughout the day to speak in my heavenly language.  Within a very short period of time,  BOOM!  my reluctance -- my hesitation -- my inability to share on God's behalf was gone!  The river in my belly was flowing with gusto as it once had!  All of a sudden, the power was back in full force and I was taking giant steps forward in my walk with Christ. 

Okay... so let's get right down to business.  Today's challenge is directed specifically to those who are Spirit filled, tongue talking, born-again believers who have forgotten where they left their heavenly language.  Are you wondering where the power has gone in your life?  

The scam is over!  

It's time to operate at FULL power!  

I exhort you to step out in RED shoes  by exercising the gift that's been given to you.  Take it off the shelf and begin to use it!  Every time you have a free moment...  let it out!   Practice!   At first it might be awkward, but I guarantee that it wont be long before you realize that you too were scammed.  By that time, however, you'll be back in the swing of things -- on fire for God!

In RED shoes, 

Gail