GIVE GOD A CHANCE

THOUGHTS FROM THIS WEEK OF VIOLENCE

I believe that Jesus is weeping over our nation just as he wept over Jerusalem.  We are like sheep without a Shepherd.  We have done away with the prophets who warned about the consequences of a Godless society.  We have become our own gods and determiners of our own destiny.  We think we are wise but we are fools.  Now we have a world spinning out of control and we seem shocked and wonder why.  Now we do what we always do and try to fix it.  Enough is enough.

America is now an armed citizenry.  America is now informed by citizen journalist.  America is now in the hands of the lowest common denominator.  We have been in the process of Dumbing down; and we are there.  I kept asking myself, where are leaders that can be looked to?  Then I realized I was asking the wrong question.  Now I am asking where are the followers?

If ever there was a time of “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians” this is it.  There is no one “in charge” because we all are in charge”, or so we think.  When all are in charge then no one is in charge and I can hear Dr. Phil now saying, “So how is that working for you?”  Well Dr. Phil…it isn’t.

I am from the 60’s and I have heard over and over that we were all against authority.  That is an unfair and an untrue statement.  The folks I hung around with weren’t against authority…we were against bad authority, which is pretty much what we were surrounded with in those days.  Now I find myself asking the question, which is worse, bad authority of no authority.  This past week I was answering no authority is worse.  That only brings chaos that is unmanageable and makes every person in this country unsafe.

Our armed citizenry and citizen journalist simply pop up into a position of self imposed authority.  It is unwarranted authority without training, expertise, responsibility, or accountability.  It is dangerous and it needs to recognized, contained, and controlled.  Now any little dispute between people who disagree can turn into a massacre.  People can claim to be and put themselves in the position of being judge and jury and executioner of justice.  It needs to stop and it needs to stop now or this nation will implode and destroy itself with no enemy in sight.

I am from the 60’s but I am also from the 70’s.  In the 70’s a great move of God happened on this nation and quickly went viral to the world.  The Jesus Movement was a move of God that offered folks the true Authority that was being sought in the 60’s.  Many of those who tried all the other ways such as free love, drugs, and Eastern gurus were being confronted by Jesus Christ in an unprecedented way that even the established churches took notice of.  God offered an Authority that was steadfast, faithful, all loving, and substantial.  God offered an Authority that was worthy to be followed.  Jesus had the answers for the world at that time and people began listening and obeying.  He created us and knew what was good for us and encouraged us to walk in those ways of love, non violence, non oppression, and true justice.  He provide the solutions to all our problems, not by putting band aids on the surface hurt, but going right to the heart of the problem…heart surgery.  I along with many experienced this first hand and can testify that it works…and is the only solution that is sustainable.  It is the only solution that will save us from ourselves.

At this point in our history we have a lot to lose if we don’t fix this mess.

I believe it is at least worth a try.

THE COMPOST PILE OF LIFE

Looking back over my life

All I see is one big compost pile

All my writings

All my thoughts

All my studies

All there in a pile decomposing

And then composing

My temporary life.

Looking back over my life

All those important things

All those unimportant things

All those significant events

All those insignificant events

All there in a pile decomposing

And then composing

My temporary life.

Looking back over my life

All the joyful times

All the painful times

All the celebrations

All the sufferings

All there in a pile decomposing

And then composing

My temporary life.

Looking ahead to my death

All my hopes

All my goals

All my dreams

All I wanted to do and be

All there in a pile decomposing

And then composing

My eternal life.

LIFE-DEATH-LIFE

Genealogies are a written proof of the life death life cycle.  We are all just recycled people.  Life is a mystery and a miracle.  The farther away from nature that I wander, the less I appreciate that.  I get haughty and think I am way more important than I truly am.  I try to rule and reign over everything, build great things as a testimony to my greatness, things that will last long after I am gone so that others will remember and honor me.  But those memorials are made of brink and stone and will, like me, simply return to dust.

One who kneels close to the ground, daily connects to the dirt, and is watchful of the life death life process, knows the humility and the preciousness of the dust from which we all came from.

I work so hard to be more than I am, even though what I am is declared “very good by my Creator.  God created everything to be as it was meant to be and all of that creation was a delight to Him.  But human beings succumbed to the temptation of wanting more, wanting bigger, wanting better, and went off on their own to find it and accomplish those things.  Unfortunately I often continue in their pattern.

I take what I was freely given, leave the One who delighted in who I am, and went out on my own to be better, do better, and live life in my own glory.  In trying to find myself I lost myself and squandered all I had been given.  Way too often I abandoned the fountain of living waters and ended up in a self made cistern that was broken, deteriorated, and empty.  I left the Garden where every plant and tree yielding fruit was given as food for me to feast on for a world of famine, where even the pods pigs ate were kept away from me by those who fed their pigs but ignored me.  I left a Garden of beauty, harmony, and peace for a world of arrogance, chaos, mean spiritness, lawlessness, violence, hatred of God and His creation.

Will I come to my senses?  Will I humble myself and return Home?

Will we as human beings of God’s Creation come to our senses?

God is waiting for our return.  He is waiting for us with the best robe to cover us, with the fattened calf on the grill, ready to celebrate our return.  He created us and delights in us, in all our imperfection.  He is waiting with open arms and a compassionate heart, to run out and meet us as we find our way Home.  We are His children.  BEHOLD what manner of love He has given and continues to give us.  How can we do anything else except return to Him and be all that He has made us to be?

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD

“In my integrity you have upheld me,

And have set me in Your Presence forever.”

Psalm 41:12

(1)

All the searching, all the seeking

All the doing this, all the doing that

All the listening, all the learning

All the going here, all the going there

All the queries, all the study

After all is said, after all is done

There You are, sitting and waiting for me

To stop and simply BE in Your Presence.

(2)

The seed does nothing but hide itself in the earth

And there in the hidden place all that is to be done is done.

The fertilized egg who did nothing but hide in the womb

And there in the hidden place all that was to be done was done.

I am Your child who can do nothing but hide myself in Your Presence

And there in the hidden place all that is to be done will be done.

(3)

I listen to You for You are Truth

I follow You for You are the Way

I dwell in You for You are the Life

I trust in You for You are Trustworthy

You are faithful in Your Word

You are steadfast in Your love

You alone are the Shepherd of my soul

You alone are the Healer of my heart

You alone are the Lover of my life

You alone are the Wonder of my wandering.

SIMPLY FOLLOW JESUS

Those who are on a Spiritual Journey keep their eyes and ears open for those to follow.  There are lots of folks ahead of us who have figured things out that maybe we haven’t, so we catch up with them and begin to follow them.  I have done that for most, if not all of my Christian walk.  There are many paths to take and many folks willing to help us by showing what they have discovered along the way.  More than once I accepted their invitation, becoming a part of this group and that group, this church and that church, this cult and that cult.  Eventually I discovered that most if not all of these adventures made me a part of other people’s empires and not, as they promised, closer to God and His Kingdom. 

Some of these folks were good, honest, and true to the vision they were putting forth; at first.  But eventually the organism died and disintegrated into an organization that needed human intervention and maintenance and something important was lost.  This is not a new concept.   It has been ongoing throughout the history of Christianity.

          “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you

            cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call

            themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are

             impostors.  Moreover, you have endurance and have not grown

             weary.  Yet I hold this against you; you have lost the love you had

             at first.  Realize how far you have fallen.  Repent, and do the works

             you did at first.  Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your

             lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelations 2:2-5).

How is it possible to do everything right, get a glowing report from Jesus and then in a blink of an eye be so wrong?  The organism that died and disintegrated was the initial working of the Spirit of God Himself and was to be the life itself.  It needed no human intervention or maintenance.  Once the thought of saying, “Thanks God, we’ll take it from here” entered in and human minds went to work organizing and interpreting God’s plan went into effect the result was a golden calf.  As good looking and finely constructed as that golden calf is, it is still an idol and God speaks clearly about idols being avoided by His people.

I have been on this Spiritual Journey for a long time; I have gone down many different side paths that attracted me at first with the ideas that I resonated with but ended up following the men proclaiming those ideas.  Most of our churches are named for the men; the ones who aren’t named for them certainly hold in high esteem certain leaders who become popular and likely to be followed.  It’s not that they are bad or evil men.  But I have learned that “the best of men are men at best” and I need to beware of that and walk accordingly.

I can enjoy good teaching and preaching but I need to be ever aware that the call to “Follow Me” comes only from Jesus Christ Himself.  I also need to be ever aware that the work I am called to do along my Journey is simply spoken by Jesus Himself when His disciples asked what they must do to be doing the work of God.  He answered them…

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 6: 29

          

JUDGING IS GOD'S JOB

There isn’t anything in any other human being that isn’t in me; the good, the bad, and the ugly.  What I do with all that stuff is up to me.  God created human beings out of dirt but He also breathed a bit of Himself within us.  His design plan for us was that we would be His image bearers and reflect that image in our lives.  Part of that image was a freedom of choice.  He didn’t make us simply to dominate us.  He made us to be in Relationship with Him, just as He was One with His Word and His Spirit.  “Like US we were created…to be like them.

Right out of the box Adam and Eve chose to abandon God and strike out on their own, with the help of the serpent who tempted them, not to be like God, but god themselves, doing their own thing and disregarding God’s command and warning of the consequences of not listening to Him.  Human beings have been doing it “My way” ever since.  God continually tries to help us back to where we should be ever since.

          “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well

           sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must

           rule over it” (Genesis 4:7).

          “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

            Therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:11-20).

          “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me

            The fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,

             Broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).

          “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming to the world…

            Some did not receive him.  But to those who did receive him”

            (John 1:9-13).

All people have that choice.  I can choose to follow God through receiving and believing in Jesus of I can live my life following the lusts of my heart, my dishonorable fleshly passions, and my debase mind practicing all manner of unrighteousness.  That choice is up to me and only me.

The temptation that comes after I have made that choice for myself is to get haughty in my choice and try to do what even God didn’t do…MAKE others choose what I chose.  This is not God’s way, Jesus’ way, nor is it to be my way.  When Jesus was telling Peter what his life would be like by following him, Peter immediately turned to John and said, “Lord, what about him?  Jesus responded, ‘What is that to you?  You follow me” (John 21:20-22).

Judgment of others is God’s job and His alone.  Only He knows what is in the hearts of people.  Only He knows how He is working in the lives of others.  My job is to follow Jesus and mind my life.  I can be a witness to what Jesus taught and did.  I can share what God did and continues to do in my life.  But I am never to judge another person for their actions or behavior. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 7:1, 2 and Matthew 13:24-30.  Paul teaches this in

Romans 2:1-11.

There will be a time of Judgment.

But God is the only One who is in a position to be the Judge.

INSTITUTIONAL GOLDEN CALF

Exodus 32

Institutional failure is the fruit of a faulty foundation.  The Israelites exchanged God and Moses with a golden calf when Moses failed to return from his meeting on the mountain with God.  Christians may be just as guilty by exchanging Jesus with the institutional church when Jesus failed to return in a timely manner.  Both of the exchangements were for forms that could be seen with the eyes and touched with the hands.

“Make us gods who shall go before us.”  The golden calf was made of all the gold that God let them bring from Egypt.  (Exodus 12:35,36)  The very things God gave them were used to replace God as the One they were to look to for deliverance.  The same was true throughout church history and is true today. 

Money, time, and energy go into building huge buildings and ministries, even after Jesus said the Temple and Temple system would fall and He would replace it with Himself.  Spiritual gifts and abilities are used to set up systems that take the form of worldly power, control, and lordship, a form that Jesus clearly rebuked his disciples for desiring when he said, “But not so with you.”  (Luke 24:30)

Jesus was building his church when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.  He was building his church as he became One with his disciples as he was One with God.  He continues to build his church with those who respond to his call to come and see by following him; with those God gave the right to become children of God by receiving him and believing in his name; with those who respond as Peter and recognize that indeed, Jesus “is the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

These are his church and continue to be his church throughout eternity.  He is the rock that the gates of hell shall not prevail against.  Anything else is idolatry and will not stand in God’s Presence.  There will be no institutional failure in his church.  People will stand on a firm foundation and will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit to a hungry and thirsty world.  They will be His people and God will be their God, forever.  This is the church I want to be a part of.