SOME WHYS HAVE NO ANSWER

When I was training to be a Biblical Counselor I was told that “why” questions were not the one’s to ask because they often cannot be answered.  After reading Matthew 2:13-18 referencing the killing of all the babies in Bethlehem by King Herod I had many “why” questions I wanted to ask God.

Why didn’t He save those babies as He saved Jesus?  Why didn’t He just take King Herod out like this country does with bad world leaders?  Why didn’t the soldiers rebel and just ignore their orders?  Men could have responded in a way to stop that massacre just as easily as God; Shiphrah and Puah, two midwives in the time of Moses disobeyed the orders of the King to kill baby boys, including Moses.  There are no answers to many “why” questions in those days, and like the ones in earlier times human beings could stop abortion, violence in the streets, wars, and terrorism just as easily as God; but they don’t.

There is something at the root of human nature that produces violence.  There is something at the root of human nature that is hostile to God.  To those two things I can only ask why?  I can only answer, I don’t know, which is the answer to most, if not all questions concerning human beings, and concerning God.

I am thankful to one of my mentors for sharing one of his Practices with me.: 1. think yourself empty, 2. read yourself full, 3. write yourself to clarity.  One thing I am clear on is that God knows all and I know nothing except that I trust in a God who knows all.

          “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,

           declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).

          “God is in heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore let your words be

           few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

I have written all I am going to write this year.  For those who participate in my adventures of thinking, reading, and writing thank you for your interest and your company.  I will resume sometime in January.  Enjoy the rest of the year and look forward to 2016.  Love & Peace…

I HAVE COME TO GIVE YOU LIFE

So many things of life these days have been delegated and out sourced to others and I become a spectator, an audience, who simply observes the performance, the product of the work.  This happens in Churches, in schools, in our entertainment, and in our homes.  All in all many folks have outsourced our lives and are left filled with emptiness and wondering why.

God came to earth to dwell among His creation who had wandered far away from the life He has given them.  He came to participate in life with His people in order to draw them back to the life He had designed for them when He created them.  People weren’t born to be spectators.  People were born to be participants in life and work in tandem with all of creation.

I went to a concert put on by the Vocal Ensemble of Wayne County.  It was Vivaldi’s Gloria.  This group rehearsed for many weeks ahead and I enjoyed the performance.  I looked up some information on this beautiful piece and found the original to be a Greek hymn of the second century church that was sung daily as a morning prayer.

I went to Sunday School when I was a kid.  I loved learning about all the Bible heroes and their adventures with God.  I couldn’t wait to go back the next Sunday to hear more.  One day when I was much older I read God’s exhortation in Deuteronomy 6:6-9.  “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children.”

I went to Church on Sunday and sat listening to sermon after sermon prepared and worked through by the minister.  When I entered school Bible School and began learning how to prepare sermons I found that the blessing and feeding of my soul was not in the finished product but in my actual work of preparing it.

I went to school and learned by sitting quietly and listening to what others had discovered about life.  I learned about nature inside the classroom, dissecting dead frogs.

I went to concerts and watched others play their instruments and sing their songs and then purchased their records for more listening entertainment at home.

I live in a home where the only culinary skills I need is opening precooked food, defrosting it and reheating it.  There are times when all that is required of me is dialing my phone and my dinner appears at the door all ready to eat.

I am not saying I don’t appreciate these advances in life; but I think something very precious has been lost along the way.  There is an emptiness in simply being a spectator, of not being a hands on participant in the process of creating something, of not living into my image of a very hands on and creative God.  There is no true sense of connection; no sense of intimacy or ownership with the product; no sense of commitment or communion with anything or anyone.

I want to be a participant in life, not merely a spectator.  I want to be hands on in all of it.  I want to write and sing my own songs; I want to live out the heroic adventures of people who love God in my own live experience;  I want to live out my faith every moment with my family and my friends, basking in the love and goodness of God; I want to write the sermons and share them with other sermon writers; I want to learn by experiencing for myself all that God has for me; I want to learn about nature by being in it and observing live critters; I want to play my own instruments and sing my own songs and enjoy the company of others doing the same, enjoying our individual work as I work with others; I want to eat food that has its life energy still running through it.  I want to be a full participant in life and be filled with the Spirit of God that created life and animates it.

SIMPLE WORDS

Simple words go to the heart

Words like thank you say that we appreciate

Rather than complain

Words like I am sorry say that we acknowledge

Rather than defend

Those simple words put one in a place of rest

A rest from complaining

A rest from challenging

They give one a soft and tender heart

Full of thanksgiving and love

They shower blessings on everyone around

A soft and tender heart is at rest

 In the Presence of God

A soft and tender heart enjoys

 All there is in the Presence

And radiates that joy, love, and peace to all.

JESUS CAME TO EARTH TODAY

Jesus came to earth today

He came to live; He came to die

He came to show human beings

How to love their Creator

And be in relationship with Him.

Jesus came to earth today

Some were waiting; some were not

Some were like the crowded Inn

Some were like the open fields

Waiting for the glorious arrival.

Jesus came to earth today

He came to all; not all received Him

Those who did joined the heavenly host

And sang a new song of love, joy, and peace

That those with ears to hear heard.

Jesus came to earth today

Amidst the wars; amidst the evil in the world

He came to speak of the love of God

He came to show the love of God

He came to be His Presence amidst us.

Jesus came to earth today

Joy beyond joy; love beyond love

And peace beyond peace

These are God’s gifts to all

To be believed, received, and lived.

Merry Christmas to all.

A QUIET REBELLION

“Christianity is an act of rebellion”.

Alice McDermott

This quote is my Christmas present.  How could an ole hippie who still lives in the 60’s not love this quote?  In this world that claims to comprehend God and has done a good job of taming Jesus into a politically correct guy who lives next door, this quote says “NO”.  It reminds me of my favorite line in Brother Sun and Sister Moon, when Frances is sitting in church looking at all the pomp and riches in the building and turns to see the beggars in the back, welcomed but not invited to join with the others.  He is strangling himself to keep quiet but suddenly yells out “NO” and leaves.

Jesus is presented as a really nice guy, full of love for everyone, who does really nice things for people.  People enjoyed listening to him talk, but did they really listen to what he was saying?  I watched the political debates this year and all I heard was fighting, yelling, and screaming about how this nation and the world needs changing.  Jesus came with a calmness and quietness about him, but his message was radical and revolutionary. 

Jesus came to change the world.  He did it in a quiet way but that didn’t make it any less dynamic.  It made it difficult for those who had been waiting for him to come and overpower the repressive government that they had been living under.  They wanted a conquering King, a violent overthrow of those in charge.  Needless to say they were disappointed when they heard him say, “Do not resist evil.  Love your enemies.” 

Jesus did not come to carry out a violent overthrow of the man made world’s system.  He came to bring forth a vigilant reordering of life according to the original plan of God at creation.  He came to carry out a restructuring of the way all people did things.  He came to lead a Quiet Revolution by transforming the hearts of people on the inside that would be revealed on the outside by how people treat God and how they treat one another. 

No story is without clues as to how things will proceed.  God gave clues in the very beginning of the story of Jesus Christ coming to earth.  A humble couple chosen to bring this child of God to life; a humble birth in a manger because there was no room in the Inn; the announcement going only to humble shepherds in the field watching over their sheep; humble Kings not threatened by the birth of a King, watching closely for his birth and bringing him what would be needed at his death, and disobeying the King of Jerusalem because they knew his heart and plans of destruction.  All these clues were showing this is not a continuing of the status quo and neither is it the fulfillment of the expectations of his people.  This was a Quiet Revolution in the making.  Yes, Christianity is an act of rebellion; against Satan, the status quo, and against the sin that keeps people separated from their God.  It was a Quiet Revolution that began in a whisper and will end in a shout when Jesus returns for a second time.  Oh how I look forward to that day.

IN SECRET & IN SILENCE

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God,

but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever,

that we may do all the words of this Law.”

Deuteronomy 29:29

God came to earth in secret the night He was born in a manger in Bethlehem.  No trumpets, no press release, no breaking in our regular broadcast.  Not even the Inn keeper was awakened.  A song of celebration was sung in the heavenlies.  Angels went and told some shepherds out in the field tending to their sheep.  A star alerted three wise men from the East.  But other than that this was a quiet event; an event that changed the world forever.

That seems to be the way God does things; in secret and far from the maddening crowd.  He speaks and deals with individuals quietly.  Then those individuals do perform deeds beyond measure.  It is in stillness and the solitude that God speaks His plans and prepares His people.  The deeds are miraculous and the affects are eternally magnificent.  But they were all born in secret and in silence.

It makes me wonder as I live in a world full of much noise, what is being planned in secret, and who is God preparing in the silence.

LEADERS OF THE WORLD STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN

Children stop, look, and listen

They learn who they are and how to be

By absorbing their surroundings

The leaders of the world are shouting

Violence and vengeance; hate and kill your enemies

It is the only way to keep us safe

Oh leaders…Where is your leadership taking us?

Into a world where there is no love

Where there is no understanding

Where there is no mercy or compassion

Your leadership is leading us into the darkness

Into a place filled with fear and distress

And this is where you think we will feel safe?

Children surrounded by hatred, violence, and vengeance

Will grow up to hate, be violent, and demand vengeance

They will become the terrorists who will turn on you

For it is from you that they have learned

Who they are and how they are to be

The blood on your hands will become your blood

On the hands of the children you have taught

The children you have led into the darkness

The children you surrounded with hatred, violence, and vengeance

Leaders of the world, STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to the children

The fate of the future depends upon them

And what they learn from you.

I TOTALLY GET IT !

The argument that comes up time and time again is referred to as the mystical dimension of Christianity and its appeal to human experience as opposed to dogmatic authority of doctrine.  I being one that lands on the mystical end of life tend to favor the appeal to human experience in my life with God.  I see it as the life that God created for me to live from the beginning of time, before dogmatic doctrine even came into being through human beings.  To me God isn’t about Religion.  He is all about Relationship; Father to child and friend to friend.

He certainly teaches me and guides me in His Way, but not by filling my brain with doctrine and rules.  He enlightens me by illuminating my heart and stirring up my spirit.  When Jesus was born into this world he came to be with human beings, among human beings, to reveal God’s Way, Truth, and Life in His Kingdom to everyone here on earth.  He healed the blind to provide new eyes to see; he healed the deaf to provide new ears to hear.  His mission was all about reconciling humanity to God, redeeming and restoring the relationship with Him that was created in the beginning.

By its very nature this relationship is mystical because He is God and His thoughts and ways are much higher than any human’s thoughts and ways.  It is sinfully arrogant to believe that human beings can figure God out, can comprehend Him, and explain Him to others.  That is God’s job.

God speaks clearly to those who receive and believe in Him with all their heart, mind, and soul.  God speaks clearly to those who have open eyes to see and open ears to hear.  God speaks clearly to those who love, fear, and worship Him for all He is and all He does.  God speaks clearly to those who are in covenant relationship with Him. It has every thing to do with human experience.

It is all mystical and incomprehensible because He is God.  But those who have entered into this relationship totally “get it” and live their lives in light of it.

SILENT NIGHT HOLY NIGHT

Silent night Holy night

All is calm All is bright

Round yon virgin mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace

This is where my heart, mind, and soul go to during this Christmas season; to my own private little world.  But the outer world is anything but silent, Holy, or peaceful.  The outer world is anything but standing around the young virgin and child.  Those of this world are at war with one another over power and control.  Those of this world are consumed with the bottom line, being in the black, and turning a profit.  Those of this world are anything but silent and in absolute awe that God has come to earth in the form of a tender and mild infant, sleeping in heavenly peace in a stable.  Those of this world are missing the greatest story ever told by making one up of their own about a jolly old man in a red suit who drives a sled pulled by reindeer, giving toys and gifts to those who can afford them.

In the true Christmas story God Himself is the gift given to all, but first and foremost to the poor, the blind, the deaf, and the lame.  God Himself is the gift to those who have nothing but their hope in the promise of God for a Savior to dwell with them and be their God.  It is this promise that is fulfilled on this silent and holy night.  It is those who wait for the fulfillment of the promise who gather around the young virgin mother and child as He sleeps in heavenly peace. 

This is where my heart, mind, and soul go during this season; into the Silence, the Holiness, the calmness and the brightness of the Light that has come to the world.  Silent night…Holy night.

HOW CAN I DO ANYTHING LESS?

Jesus didn’t come to earth to give me a religion.  He came to show me a way of life.  Jesus didn’t come to earth just to teach, reprove, correct, or train me in righteousness.  He came to show me what an intimate relationship with God is like.  Life is more than fulfilling religious obligations and reading the Bible.  Life is being in an intimate relationship with God, unceasingly, 24-7.  That is what was broken in the garden; that is what was finally fixed on the cross, and was recovered and restored in the Resurrection.

When I attend services, practice my spiritual disciplines, and read my Bible through those eyes, everything comes into focus and makes perfect sense to me.  It’s all integrated in a life I am to live, who I am to be, and what I am to do.

Jesus came to earth to be a Savior; from the sins of the world, from my own personal sins, and from myself.  I want to dwell with God in perfect union with Him.  I want Him to be my God; to love me as His child, to lead me, teach me, guide me, and show me all He is and all He does. 

Jesus came to earth to live and die to make that all possible for me; for all His creation.  All I have to do is receive Him and believe in His name.  No wonder a multitude of the heavenly host came the night of His birth, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest.”  No wonder wise men from the east journeyed long, following only a star, and when they saw the child they fell down and worshipped Him.

How can I do anything less than love Him, follow Him, and serve Him all the days of my life?

INFINITE VS FINITE...THE CHOICE IS MINE

I was born into a human body made of flesh and ruled by human nature.  But God breathed the breath of His Holy Spirit into me.  That Spirit is on a different plane and is ruled by a Divine nature.  At some point in time I must choose which plane I live on, which nature I will obey, which nature I will feed, which nature I will follow.

Enlightenment is mine if I choose to receive it and believe in the One who gives it.  Jesus Christ is “The true light, which enlightens everyone…To all who receive Him, who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John1:9,12).

If I reject Him and don’t believe in His name, I am left only to my own human nature, which is finite and futile.  The choice is mine to make freely.

THE JOY OF SUBMISSION

Jesus Christ took my sins and the sins of the world upon Himself.  He was nailed to a cross.  My sins were nailed to that cross and died there with Him.  My sins are included in His final proclamation, “It Is Finished”.  When He died my sins died.  When He arose He was fresh and purified, in the next realm.  That is my journey.

All is nailed to the cross; not only the sins of wrong doing but the humiliation, the betrayal, the things wrongly done to me.  They are all gone.  They must go because if kept alive they will draw me into the temptation of hate, revenge, and a plea for punishment and justice.

Those who know they need a Savior will find one.  Those who are broken will know they need to be repaired and restored.  Those who know they are in bondage to the past will know they need a redeemer.  “Lord be merciful, a sinner”.

There is no excuse for bad behavior because of bad behavior for those who follow God.  I need to look to Jesus as an example.  There was no hatred, no retaliation, no revenge or plea for punishment or justice.  There was simply love and a desire for people to turn to God and be in relationship with Him.

There is no room for self sufficiency when walking with God.  He works within a relationship.  He walks with me as I walk through life; as my God, my mentor, my advisor, my friend, my most excellent Father.  It is a joy to be in submission to Him.  He is a benevolent Ruler over all.

RADICALIZED BY JESUS

The status quo has never been good for the people of God, for the poor, the marginalized, or anyone who doesn’t fit in.  The status quo is controlled by bullies of the world who use fame, violence, power, and money to get what they want and control others, making them subservient to the rules and reign of the conqueror.  There is nothing new under the sun, except that the home of the free and the brave, where people came to escape the status quo, has now become that very status quo.

At some point in time everyone is going to serve the rules and reign of the conqueror and will eventually need a savior.  As Dylan said, “You’re gonna serve someone…maybe heaven, maybe hell.”  I personally opt for heaven.

The rules of the world have been clear since the beginning of time and have been recorded in history.  The world’s status quo is this: the one who was bullied will become the one who bullies; the one who was abused will become the one who abuses.  And the beat goes on…

Jesus Christ came to break the bondage of that pattern.  He came to disrupt the status quo established by human beings who chose the rule and reign of Satan over God.  He gives us a better way…a higher way; His way.  He reconciles us back to the original Love that we were created by and were meant to live in.  He radicalizes us, drawing us away from the status quo of the flesh, and indwelling us with the Holy Spirit.  It is the way it was meant to be from the alpha to the omega.  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, under its rule and reign of righteousness and abundant love and life.

          “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?  Or you, why do you

          despise your brother?  For we will all stand before the judgment

          seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee

          shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then

          each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10-12).

I want to stand at the judgment seat of God fully redeemed from sin, fully reconciled to God, and fully radicalized from this world by the work of Jesus Christ.  That is the Gospel.

ONLY THEE O LORD

It is so easy to get distracted

So many things biding for my attention

The cares of the world

The conflict with friends

The busyness of life

The work to be done

It is so easy to get distracted.

But what do those distractions give me

In return for my time and attention

Nothing that soothes my soul

Nothing that edified my mind

Nothing that helps me live this life

They come and they go

But what do these distractions give me?

My mind is set on Thee O Lord

And on all the things you have done

The love You so freely give

The joy You so freely give

The peace You so freely give

Everything that helps me live this life

My mind is set on Thee O Lord

Only Thee.

ANOTHER RULE ANOTHER REIGN ANOTHER REALM

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to the world that is broken; a world that rejected and abandoned it’s creator and chose to be self sufficient, making for itself cisterns that are broken, not able to hold water.  Man’s ways always come to an unsuccessful end.  God has been extremely graceful and patient down through the generations. 

That grace and patience is culminated in His Final Solution; sending His Son to die and save us all from extinction; to restore all of His creation back into the relationship we were created to be with Him, revealing His image to one another and looking to Him to lead and guide us through life.  That is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is to be shared to the world, a world that desperately needs good news.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not just a great story of redemption and restoration.  There is true power in Cross that stands as the centerpiece for the greatest story ever told.  It is the power of God Himself to transform people and circumstances from dark into light and death into life.  Jesus rose from the dead, overpowering death and darkness and giving the world and everyone in it light and life.  It is a power that Satan or human beings cannot prevail against.  And that is good news indeed.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ takes me to a different, higher level of life.  It reveals to me that there is another Rule and Reign; one that is much higher than the one experienced on earth.  God’s rule and reign is sovereign and superior to any rule and reign of Satan or human genius.  No force of evil, no scheme of man can prevail against it.  Herod tried when he went after Jesus to destroy him.  Satan tried when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.  They both failed.

That is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that is the power of the Cross to those who receive and believe in it.  In these days of darkness and what appears to be the free reign of evil extending across the world, I can stand firm and fearless.  My true life is in a different realm; a realm under the control of God Himself.  No force of evil, no scheme of man can prevail over me.  I am not of this world.  I exist in a different and higher realm of life and can’t be touched by anyone except God.  That is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  All are free to accept or reject that news but I can’t for a moment understand why anyone would.

FOLLOWING JESUS EVEN IN THE HARD TIMES

“So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed,

And have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

John 6:68

Following Jesus can be very difficult at times.  As He was coming closer to the end of His mission the teachings got more serious and more intense.  Many of those who followed Him found them “too hard” and stopped following Him.  Then He ask His twelve disciples and Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”  He acknowledges that Jesus was most certainly his Lord and that He was the Holy One of God.  Though the teachings were hard they would still continue to follow Him and obey His teachings.

I believe we are in those serious times when it will be clear who the true followers of Jesus are.  There are many who claim to follow Him but as things get harder and more difficult they will leave.  I want to be counted among Peter and the other eleven for I too would ask, “Lord, to whom shall I go?”  It’s clear to me through my life experience that the world has no answers and holds no promises, so it is futile to follow its ways; they will lead to destruction.

But that doesn’t make it easy.  Some times Jesus teachings fly in the face of human reason; especially in the times and circumstances that face the world now.  There are people who hate and are willing and able to kill in response to that hate, even to the point of sacrificing their lives to commit these deeds of destruction.  Jesus’ words are as true today as they were when He spoke them.  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who spitefully use you and persecute you”

(Matt. 5:43,44).  This makes no human sense.  This is a hard thing to do.  But Jesus’ teachings are no longer an option for me so I must follow and obey.

The one thing that helps me is found in the reasoning Jesus gives.  “That you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

After all the problems God has had with the people He created, He still continues to provide life for them.  That is amazing to me.  So I have no other choice that to trust in God’s Way.  I still don’t find it easy, and at times I fail.  But I always come back to the Sovereign God whose thoughts and ways are not mine, but are much higher.  I look to the examples given to me in the Bible; Stephen, the Apostles, Paul, and so many more who face their enemies with no defense and glorified God in their deaths as they did in their live.  I want that kind of commitment to consume my mind, heart, and spirit.  I want that kind of peace to consume my mind heart, and spirit.

HOW CAN I NOT WORSHIP?

“My mind wanders thinking of days gone by; the years long since passed.  Then I remember my worship songs I used to sing in the night seasons, and my heart began to fill again with thoughts of You, so my spirit went out once more in search of You.”

Psalm 77:5,6

My mind, heart, and soul have been filled with much teaching, studying, and pondering the things of God since I first took seriously the act of following Him and committing my whole life to His Way.  Throughout the years new information has come and old information has gone.  I look at old notebooks and journals filled with notes, remembering some and not others.  I have been blessed to be in the company of excellent teachers and great thinkers and I have grown well into the faith I now live out.  But the one thing that touches me most in these ponderings of the past is the worship I have participated in, both in groups and in my time of solitude. 

Worship is a true expression of love for God and it comes straight from my heart and goes right to the heart of God.  Knowledge is a necessary element but it is so much more than knowledge and information that resides in the mind.  It is the fruit of that knowledge and information that blossoms full bloom in my heart and fills every cell of my being.  There is a “caught upness” in worship that consumes every bit of me; a lost ness in the moment where I am unconscious to everyone and everything around me and only see and feel God.  It is an out of body experience yet fully rooted in the reality of God and who He is.

I have seen the word many times used in services and gatherings, but I know the reality of the experience and the exchange that occurs and find many times when the word is inaccurate to the experience, at least for me.  Worship is one of those terms that is used because that’s what is expected to be seen in a service or gathering.  It is one of those things that can easily become rote, simply going through the motions.  But in the Scriptures I see very clearly that God knows what true worship is and what is not, and He addresses it many times.  True worship is directly connected to how well one knows God and is undone by what God has done in his or hers life.  This is more than an understanding of the mind; it is the touching of the soul.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the core of worship.  Who He was and what He did, who He is and what He does, is the very foundation of worship.  We hear about reconciliation and forgiveness and appreciate it.  When we experience it we are apprehended and absorbed by it.  The work that Jesus Christ did on the cross was all about reconciliation and forgiveness.  Reconciliation requires forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the fruit of reconciliation, as is compassion and mercy.  They all go hand in hand and they all take intention, time, and patience to develop and grow into fullness.  There can be no wholeness without reconciliation and forgiveness.  They are the only way back to the original innocence we were created in; the only way back to the Presence of God; the only way back to being the image of God we were created to be. This is what did for us…a mystery beyond mystery.  How can I do anything other than worship Him?

Jesus came to earth knowing that this was His mission.  It became His message to be spoken then; it became His message to be spoken now by those who received and believed in His name.  Reconciliation and forgiveness are not optional for the true believer.  God did it for us; we must do it for one another.  To experience this for myself and then to experience it between myself and others…this is why when the Kingdom of God comes together we will spend our eternity worshipping God.

Like the other things of the Kingdom of God, we do not have to wait till its fulfillment to appreciate and enjoy its fruits.  We can experience true worship here and now as we wait for that time we will dwell with God forever. 

When I remembered my worship songs, my heart began to fill with thoughts of You, so my spirit went out once more in search of You.

WATCHING & WAITING

I think of the many hours I have spent

Sitting on the beach just looking out on the horizon. 

I am not thinking about anything; simply looking,

No, staring out over the waves, watching and waiting for something. 

It is a spiritual thing

That somehow refreshes my soul every time I do it. 

This has been an activity I have done since I was a child. 

I know something is coming, someday, sometime.

When I listen to Annie Lennox sing the song Into the West,

I feel that same waiting:

“What can you see

On the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea

A Pale moon rises

The ships have come to carry you home.

A light on the water

Grey ships pass

Into the West.”

I don’t know what or who I am watching and waiting for,

But I do it almost as a religious practice or ritual. 

It is a connection of some kind to God. 

All I know is, I like the feeling of being completely empty,

Completely at rest, and simply watching and waiting

For the One I know will come someday over that horizon;

The One who will come and carry me Home.

ORDINARY IS GOOD

It is within human nature to want to be extraordinary, to stand out from the crowd, to be special.  The world system elevates some people over others.  God does not.  People are all unique but that does not result in anyone being special or extraordinary.

I read in my devotional reading today that “Mary is no ordinary woman”.  I disagree; Mary is an ordinary woman and I believe that is why God chose her to bring Jesus into the world.  Mary was favored by God for her faithfulness to God, just as all of His children are favored for their faith. 

God created human beings, not extraordinary people.  My relationship with Him doesn’t make me extraordinary.  It makes me faithful and true to how I was created in His image; nothing more, nothing less.  Only God is extraordinary.

Pride and self sufficiency cause my flesh, my human nature, to see myself as more than ordinary.  Even Jesus had to have that dealt with in his encounter with Satan in the wilderness before he began to share his message and his ministry.  All of the disciples were exposed for their pride and self sufficiency by Jesus before his crucifixion.  His death on the cross brought that lesson home to all of them.  God uses ordinary and broken people whose pride and self sufficiency have been crucified on the cross of life.  I am to bare God’s image, not mine.  I am ordinary; He is extraordinary.

As I look back over my hurtful and difficult experiences in life, I can see those experiences as a necessary process of breaking me, as a horse needs to be broken before it can be ridden.  It needs to submit to the bit, the bridal, and the saddle, just as I need to submit to the yoke of God.  In that submission is complete freedom to be me; not he rebellious, wanting to stand out to get attention brat my human nature often wants me to be.  I am content and at peace being ordinary, being no one special.  I actually find myself in good company as I read the Bible and connect with generations of other ordinary people who found favor in the sight of God but remained no one special to the world.

THE ARMOR OF GOD

For the Standing Man and Standing Woman

The battle is not with one another.  It is with the cosmic powers of evil that are over this present darkness.  God’s people are called to prepare, putting on the armor of God, so that we might STAND FIRM in the days to come.

What better time than Advent, as we prepare the way for Lord, to also prepare ourselves for the battle that will ensue at His coming.  Our call is to put on armor to protect us from the schemes of the devil, not gather an arsenal of weapons.  The battle is His, not ours; but we must be ready to protect ourselves from the powers of evil that run rampant in this world.

We are to fasten on us the belt of truth.  This is not the time for opinions or half baked ideas.  We need to stand strong in what we know to be true.  There are too many voices proclaiming words and ideas that may sounds good.  But it is truth that is needed; God’s Truth that He has revealed to us since the beginning of time; the truth that does not change with the times. Jesus said “I am the Truth” and that is what we have to fasten around us and not waiver.

We need to put on the breastplate of righteousness, right living.  God has shown us again and again what He expects of us and we must do as He says in order to protect our hearts from becoming distracted, cold, and hardened.

We will love the lord with all our mind, heart, and soul and be kept safe in His love.

We need to be ready to share the Gospel of peace, the work of Jesus Christ that reconciled us to God and freed us from sin.  In Him is peace, the only true way to peace of the mind, heart, and soul.  True peace will come no other way, and the world must hear that message from those who have experienced it.

We need to take up the shield of faith, especially in this world of logic, reasoning, and unbelief.  We cannot depend on our senses. We need to be people who look above and beyond what is in front of us.  There we will see God.

We need to take the helmet of salvation and put it on our head.  Our minds must be full of God and all He has done and continues to do for us as His children.  We must understand the depths of His love for us that caused Him to send His Son to earth, to live, die, and be raised from the dead for us.

We need to read, study, and know the Bible that contains the words of God centering on the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  The words are powerful and able to correct, reprove, and instruct us in righteousness, and most important point and lead us to the Word of God, Jesus Christ Himself.  This sword of the Spirit is the only weapon of offense and to be used only by the Holy Spirit by the words that we speak.

We are to keep alert and pray at all times.  This keeps us in tune with God’s will and ways so that we are not caught asleep or of guard.

The battle is not with one another.  It is with the cosmic powers of evil that are over this present darkness.  Thankfully we have the advantage.  God is fighting for us and we already know how it all turns out in the end.  But for now we must stand tall and walk through it, dressed in our armor and in the absolute knowledge that God is our God.

WE HAVE REACHED THE TIPPING POINT

2 Chronicles 7:14

Thinking ourselves wise

And leaning on our own understanding

We have made a mess of this world.

The arrogance continues

As we look to our own knowledge

To fix what we have broken.

We have reached the tipping point

Repentance and return to God’s ways

Or self destruction

With no one left to blame

Except ourselves.

LIFT YOUR VISION HIGH

“Where there is no prophetic vision

The people cast off restraint,

But blessed is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18

The prophetic vision is not a dream that comes out of no where.  It is firmly rooted in the Law of God.  It comes with a blueprint and a plan that originated in the beginning with God.  It involves looking at the Law and seeing with eyes of faith how the Law can be connected and incorporated into every aspect of life.

Manifesting the vision takes time and discipline.  It builds upon the life, words, and teachings of Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  The invested time and discipline are well worth the time and energy because they will produce a completed work that will last forever.

The blueprint and the plan is outlined throughout the Bible.  It is important to look over the whole of the blueprint and be knowledgeable of the plan as a whole concept, not just in small parts.  God is an Alpha and Omega kind of God; the beginning and the end.  Knowing the end of the work is necessary to make sense of the whole vision.  It is also important to look through eyes of faith because parts of the vision are not available to the physical eye.  This has been the quest of men and women since the beginning of time; to live by faith and not sight.  This takes patience and trust in God, which at times is no easy task.  But again, it is worth the time and energy because what the outcome is will last forever.

The days and times ahead will be trying and difficult.  But as a child of God I can stand firm on the promises made generations ago.  I have seen the Lord come through, time and time again.  Often during those times I cold not see with my eyes what the outcome would be.  I had to walk by faith or I would not have made it.  But I did and that bolsters my faith for the days and times to come.

I need to lift my vision high for the times ahead have never been walked before.  Keeping true to the blueprint and plan, standing on the completed work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and keeping my mind clear of distractions and on the promises of God will be the path laid out before me.

“You keep her in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because she trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3,4).

THE PERFECT WAY OF THE LORD

In my preparing the Way for the Lord there are no shortcuts.  God’s Way was prepared since the beginning of time.  I do well to put myself on His path for it will get me to where I truly want to be.  The Way is not easy at times and may be blocked by an obstacle or two; but it the path that He presents that I must follow for that is where His Presence will always be.

Satan offered Adam and Eve a shortcut in the garden; a different way that included disobeying God.  They listened to this false voice and it affected their relationship with God forever, and affected all of mankind even to this day.

Satan offered Jesus a shortcut in the wilderness; a different way that included overriding God.  Jesus did not listen to this false voice but remained true to the words of God spoken and written in the Scriptures.  Jesus’ obedience affected all of mankind’s relationship with God, restoring it back to what it was in the beginning.

Men and women, false prophets with false voices, offer folks a shortcut to God; a way of prosperity or cheap grace that has no commitment to God, to obedience, or cost to it.  This is the same sales pitch that Satan used and must not be listened to.

Men and women who are committed to God,  obey God, and are true to God’s Way themselves will give voice to the Truth of God, to the True Gospel of Jesus Christ, the life, death, and resurrection of God’s Son sent in love by God Himself to a broken world and to restore a broken relationship with Him.

God’s perfect Way involves the Cross.  There are no shortcuts.  It involves death to Self not magnification of Self.  It involves being less, not becoming more.  It is manifested in how I die not in what I do.   The perfect Way of the Lord calls for a profound change in heart and mind.  It is not a building up of Self and a proclamation of my rights.  It is a repentance of my sin and a call to live a righteous life in appreciation of the work of Jesus on my behalf.

There are no shortcuts on the Way to God.  It is simply a life of sweet surrender and obedience to One who loves me with all that He is and does.

MY VISION YIELDS MY LIFE

I believe it’s good to live into a vision that I have put before me.  It isn’t so much about the fulfillment of the vision; it’s more about how I live my life in light of that vision. 

When I was nine years old I went to camp for a week and fell in love with that experience.  I came home knowing that I wanted to be a camp counselor when I grew up.  I spent twenty-five years doing just that.  Ten years into being a camp counselor I decided I wanted to be a camp director.  With that as my vision I prepared and accomplished stepping stones that led to that end. At first I suffered through a death to that vision after the death of my mentor.  But twenty five years later I eventually became the camp director I had trained for at the very same camp I had started from.  Through that experience I came to see that while I was preparing myself God was doing some planning and preparing and He had His hand on my life.  At some point in time I made knowing and loving God and His Son Jesus the vision I looked to, prepared for, and planned my life around.

When Jesus told his disciples that he was leaving but he would be coming back soon, I believe he was putting a vision out before them so that they could prepare and plan their lives around it.  The timing of that promise is as important as the life lived as a result of it.  It made them serious about all they had learned from him and careful about obeying what he had asked them to do.  It put a sense of urgency and a sense of hope into their lives.

That same vision is set before me, giving me the same sense of urgency and hope.  It helps me discern what is important in life and what isn’t.  It gives me focus for planning my time, planning the stepping stones to what I want to do as I grow older, and planning the how, who, and whys of my days.  Time becomes more precious and not a thing to be wasted.  It makes me become more selective of who I hang out with and who I go to for advice and teaching.  The why’s or motivations for my activities become just as important as doing them.

I listen to family and friends talk about their choices to go back to school for advanced degrees in what they do for their jobs.  I respect all of them for wanting to be the best they can at what they do.  I do the same for my spiritual life.  There is no STWG (spend time with God) degree but that isn’t important to me.  I spend time with God because I love Him and want to know all about Him. I choose to be a disciple of Jesus for the same reason.  I love reading and studying the Bible; I love talking about spiritual matters with other folks who feel the same.  It is living out my vision and it creates a wonderful life for me.

Jesus said to his disciples, then and now, “Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN and will take you to myself, that where I am you may also be” (John 14:1-3).  The Bible ends with Jesus repeating his promise, “SURELY, I AM COMING SOON”.  This is my vision, my hope, the very thing I plan my life upon.

MARANATHA…

COME LORD JESUS, COME.

THE WORK OF A CHRISTIAN

Movements come and movements go.  It is interesting to read about the history of the church and about the many revivals that took place all through the years.  People come and people go.  Some are truly changed by these movements and revivals; some are not.  I ask myself what makes the difference in whether a movement lasts and one that doesn’t; if a person in revived or isn’t. 

Jesus’ parable of the sower comes to mind.  It was a matter of where the seed fell that made the difference.  It was the seed that fell on good soil that produced the grain.  It was the one who’s mind was turned to hear and understand God’s word; the one who was rooted in the things of God and not the cares of the world or the deceitfulness of riches that heard the word; the one whose heart was open, not hard or dull.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “A Christian is one who makes another person want to know God”.  Movements and revivals have their place but the real work is done day by day by those of us who follow Jesus and walk daily with God.  It is done by how we live our lives, how we respond to situations and circumstances that come our way.  It is done in our daily interactions with the people we live with, work with, and simply encounter throughout the day.

I am presenting God’s image to the world in everything I say and do.  Is that image loving, caring, merciful, truthful, and full of grace?  God is all of those things and so should I be.  God invites people to be in a relationship with Him; He never forces it through condemnation, guilt, or fear.  Once people get to know and love God they will be changed, through their own initiative.  Once the Spiritual orientation is correct all else will fall into its perfect place.

God’s work for us is “to believe in Him and in Jesus Christ, whom He has sent”.  Then it is to be people who live in a way that encourages and invites others to want to know them too.

STOP TRYING TO CONTAIN GOD

We run and try to catch the wind of the Spirit

We capture it and contain it

And we are delighted

But the wind of the Spirit once captured and contained

Cannot move about and eventually dies.

We want Jesus to be who we want Him to be

The King who will defeat the enemy government system

The teacher who will teach in line with the religious system

But Jesus doesn’t put Himself into the hands of man

He allows Himself to be captured and contained

For He must die so we can be truly free to live.

It is not man’s place to capture, contain, or control God

God cannot be put into a box and neatly labeled

So let’s stop trying

Let’s stop striving after the wind

Let’s stop trying to catch and contain Someone

Who cannot be caught or contained

We keep trying to hold onto Someone

Who cannot be held onto, but we can only be touched by

We keep trying to form

And end up constantly reforming

Will we ever truly learn the lesson spoken clearly…

“My thoughts are not your thoughts

Neither are My ways your ways

For as the heavens are higher than the earth

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Let us simply BE Still and know that

GOD is GOD

OUR HOPE & JOY ARE BUILT ON NOTHING LESS

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Throughout the Psalms that are used as songs of praise and worship, there is a crying out to God from those who know and love Him.  They are surrounded by darkness and evil and they feel abandoned by God.  They know He is ever present but the darkness is blinding them to His Presence.  This certainly carries on throughout time, right up through today.

It seems like the world has gone mad.  There is so much evil, so much violence, so much hate, and so much chaos.  The darkness increases and often overcomes the joy and hope that I know exists in God.  It comes as no surprise because Jesus clearly said these days and circumstances would come upon the earth.

The Scriptures confirming this teaching also tell those who follow Him how to be and what to do.  He tells us not to worry or be troubled, but to stay awake, be on guard, remain vigilant, remain faithful, be at peace and take heart in the Truth that He has overcome the world.  The work has been done; the work of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration is complete. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is finished and is to be proclaimed to the world.

Soon all nations, all flesh, and all creation will see and acknowledge that work when Jesus returns in full glory and full control.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of the joy and hope that all believers must hold on to and not allow the present, but temporary darkness blind us of.  In His time all will be fulfilled…In His time.

         

WHAT MORE CAN GOD DO?

After all God has done

To restore His relationship with His creation

To redeem us by sending His Son

To die on a cross to take away our sin

In order to restore His image within us

That we were created to be in this world

There are still people who will not accept

This gift of reconciliation.

What more can God do?

His love has been rejected.

His son has been rejected.

Every opportunity to escape God’s wrath

Has been given time and time again,

To all people everywhere.

What more can God do?