Do you keep your options open?

I have been guilty of being more than a little mamby-pamby in my prayers at times. I sort of, kind of, might of asked for this or that, but what I really needed and wanted to ask for was something totally different! Why do we find ourselves being wishy-washy in our prayers? It might just be that God is waiting for us to get totally forthright with him before he gets forthright with the answer we so desperately need!

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:5 MSG)

God doesn't delight in us not knowing what steps to take next. He doesn't like to keep us in limbo, jostling for this or that, hoping for the best. In fact, he wants to bring clarity, give bold direction, and see it embraced with determined faith. If you have ever asked someone you respect for some help and had them laugh at you because you did, you may not go back to that individual the next time you need some help, right? I need to ask - just how many times has God laughed in your face when you bring him your need? So, why do you not openly and honestly share you concerns?

We've talked about this before - there are indeed times when God knows what we are asking for is something we are not ready to receive in our lives, or when what we ask for is going to harm us if we get it. The answer we receive may not be exactly as we planned it to be, but let me assure you - God knows our hearts better than we do! He knows how we will 'handle' what he gives much better than we do. We need to be bold in our requests - coupled with being reasonable when what we receive is a little different than we imagined it might be.

The thing we need to see from this passage is that there will always be times when we face things bigger than we imagined, challenging us beyond our expectations, and we need to know what to do when we are in those circumstances. God gives us common sense to help us with the stuff we do from day to day - like knowing to get off a freeway that is congested and take surface streets so we won't be late to work. We don't need God to miraculously clear the freeway of those 5,000 cars ahead of us, we just need to leave for work on time, be cognizant of the traffic conditions, and make adjustments as we face challenges.

Common sense is a good thing - some might even say it is a God-thing. We are given insight through our experiences and things we have learned along the way. There are going to be times when our insights are just not enough. We come to God boldly with these needs and he isn't going to be shy about answering us. We need to be attentive to the answer, obedient to the things he tells us to do, and then trust him with the outcome. Don't be mamby-pamby with your requests, but don't be too bullheaded to embrace what he tells you to do, either! Just sayin!

Bargain or not

Do you barter with people? When I visited Nogales, Mexico, the advice I received from others who had visited there before me was that I should never pay full price for what a vendor is asking when I wanted to purchase something. I was to 'barter with them' until I felt a fair price was met. For example, I wanted this blanket marked at however many Pesos and I was supposed to say what I was willing to pay for it. Usually the vendor would meet my request with great resistance and shake his head vigorously that he was opposed to such an offer. Part of the 'bartering' was that I was to walk away as though I were no longer interested. If you have ever done this, you know they follow you asking you offering you some reduced rate, but still not what you desired to pay. If all goes well, you will 'wear them down' to a reasonable price you both can agree upon. In turn, you walk home with the blanket, feeling very good about the 'bargain' you just found. Truth be told, we sometimes do the same thing with God - we approach him with our desires and we have something in mind we will 'do' or 'trade' if he will just agree to meet that desire. God doesn't need us to bargain with him - he needs us to be honest about our need and just as truthful about our desires! 

Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. (Matthew 7:7 ERV)

I think we may all be a little guilty of 'bargaining' with God from time to time - some of us use this 'tactic' way too frequently, though. We cannot expect God to 'chase us down' to give into our demands, though. The things we have need of in our lives are God's pleasure to meet for us in some fashion. Now, I grant you, the 'fashion' God chooses may differ from the way we would have chosen to have the need met on occasion, but if we remain open to how God meets our needs, we might just find our needs are met in a fuller and more consistent manner than the way we imagined! When my kids were growing up, money was very tight. I had to rely upon what some call 'hand-me-down' clothes for them on more than one occasion. While it wasn't quite like going to Target or Walmart and buying them brand new, the blessing those clothes provided for my kiddos was astronomical! They were well-dressed, always clean, and they had 'new clothes' to wear that fit well. The even better news was that the bargain find at a garage sale or thrift store, or the 'freebies' I received from friends met every need and kept me on target with my budget! My friends saw a need, reached out and met it as best they could, even blessing my kiddos with new things from time to time!

The needs we have are oftentimes not spoken, though. It is as though we keep them all bundled up inside, afraid if we told God what we needed or desired, he might just 'turn us down'. I am sure we have all felt that way from time to time - as though our need or desire were something God would never 'agree to meet' in our lives. There is no need or desire that God considers insignificant, yet there are different ways he meets each one of them. We have to learn to trust God to meet them in the way he knows to be best for us. Just ask - openly, honestly, and without fear. He isn't going to laugh in your face! He might just show you how magnificently he has prepared to meet that need, but was just waiting for your to ask! Yes, there are times when we ask and we don't 'receive' right then and there, or exactly as we might have imagined we'd receive the answer. When I was younger, I asked God if I could remarry at some point, and I shared honestly with him what I desired in a future mate. He never said 'no' to me, but if you know me, then you know I am still single. Did he fail to answer me, or deny my 'request'? No! He showed me ways to be content and to be a woman of integrity in my singleness. It became quite clear to me that there were things I was preparing to do that I knew nothing of when I was younger that would have been harder to do if I were remarried. I can honestly say I never regretted not remarrying - I am grateful in my singleness and content to allow him to use me as he desires.

Ask God - be direct - don't beat around the bush. He has ways of meeting our needs way beyond our imagining. He delights in hearing our desires and contrary to what you may think, he doesn't always fulfill our desires exactly as we ask, but he has ways of fulfilling them that might just prove to be way more fulfilling in the end. We might think we have to bargain with him, but he reminds us there is no 'bargaining' in this relationship with him - it is open, direct, and free communication. Just a reminder here - he doesn't chase us down to give into our demands. He might just stand there and watch us walk away from our demand. It isn't that he doesn't love us - it is that he loves us too much to give us everything we demand! Just sayin!

Let 'em stumble a bit

Some of us are parents - all of us came from parents. In the end, most parents want to know their kids will turn out 'okay' and be able to make it on their own. As parents, we have big dreams for our kiddos - some will be just barely realized and others will blossom way beyond our imagining. Either way, our kiddos will become their 'own selves' in the course of time and we see them launch into their lives of independence way sooner than we imagined. When they are growing up, there are tidbits of information we put into their lives - things we want them to know so they will grow up physically strong, emotionally secure, and spiritually in touch with their Lord, Jesus Christ. We pray for the best, hope for them to do well, pouring into their lives all we know how to give. In the end, the results are all up to God and them!

"And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father's God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he'll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he'll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!" (I Chronicles 28:9-10 MSG)

David was this kind of father - he wanted much for his children (and for the nation he ruled). As he is about to hand-off the "baton" of rule to his son, he gives some pretty awesome instruction to Solomon. I think this advice is often re-spoken by parents as we see these "milestones" in our children's lives, as well. Nothing is more honoring to a parent than to see this advice grasped, lived out, and carried onto the next generation. He starts with the most important aspect of success - getting to know the God of his father. This speaks volumes to me as a parent, because nothing burned in my heart more as I was raising my children than the desire to see them grow up strong in their own relationship with the God I trust and love so much. The starting point for "success" in life is first in establishing this connection. Most successful business leaders will tell you their "business" took a turn when the right "connections" were made. The same principle is true in our everyday "Christian" lives. When the right connection is made, the path is paved for our success.

Then he reminds Solomon to serve God with a whole heart and eager mind. It is not a "Sunday-go-to-meeting" kind of relationship with his God that is needed. In fact, there is a "depth" of relationship that is to be sought. Heart and mind engaged in seeking God and serving him well. It is a parent's delight to see a young person become strong in their own faith - meeting challenges beyond their years with the wisdom of their loving and caring God. "Look sharp! Be brave! Be determined! Do it!" These words are what we want for each of our kiddos. The four things David tells Solomon probably would translate this way in today's times:

Look Sharp! Don't let anyone see you as less than who you are - a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Be Brave! Many things will look overwhelming, but you can do all things when Christ is the Master of your life. No fear! Fear will paralyze you - focus will invigorate you and prepare you for all that is ahead. Be Determined! You will stumble a few times - get up! Try again! No one can keep you down! Do It! Run well! Don't listen to the nay-sayers! Put one foot in front of the other and just run!

Believe it or not, parents, you have made an impact in the lives of your kids - as they grow into adulthood, it is their turn to make an impact on their world! You have trained well - as they come into that time of approaching those final years at home, or have already moved on into adulthood, this is the time for you to begin to coach well! Stand back - allow a few missteps - this is how they learn to stand strong and to rely on their God. In assuming their roles into and within adulthood, they will stumble - but...scripture is certain about this one fact: If you have trained them up in the way they should go, they will get there! Just sayin!

Warrior Strong

From 1980 until 2001, the U.S. Army slogan was "Be All You Can Be" and the rest of it was "in the Army". It has morphed from "Army of One", "Army Strong", into the present "What's Your Warrior?", with each lasting a few or more years in various recruiting campaigns. I kind of like the present one, but the "Be All You Can Be" one really speaks of what God desires of his 'army' of believers - he wants us to be mature and complete, becoming all he intends for us to be - not as an Army of One, but as Warriors in his army of billions upon billions.

My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. (James 1:2-4 ERV)

Warriors become strong not in the absence of trouble, but right there in the middle of it. We sometimes forget that in our daily walk with Jesus, thinking everything should just 'run smoothly' and life should somehow be less challenging. The opposite is quite true in his army - challenges are what make us strong - they help us develop our 'warrior' spirit. To 'be all we can be', we must 'become'. Becoming is a state of development - it is not a one-time thing. We learn from dealing with trouble much more than we learn from just hearing about the tactics we can utilize to counteract trouble!

Tactics are good - I learned all kinds of tactics in the military. We practiced various maneuvers, challenging ourselves to memorize certain things we'd need to know should the need arise to go into actual warfare. I never saw the battlefield, but I learned the tactics used there. Guess what? Those of you who have actually seen the battlefield will likely tell me the 'tactics' were good in theory, but you need more than 'tactics' to survive in the heat of the battle. The tactics guide your actions, but it is the action that actually accomplishes the victory!

We sometimes forget that warriors need to be engaged in a battle. We can train all our lifetime for the battle of one day - but if we don't ever take the step into the battlefield, we are just 'trained', we aren't proven. Proving comes in the thick of the fight, putting into practice what we have learned. Our faith isn't proven by learning the 'tactics' of faith. It is proven when we have to put it into play in the thick of the battle! We don't run into battle unprepared - we need to learn the tactics we use to fight well. We also don't sit by and never fight! Our faith isn't going to develop on the sidelines of life. It develops most on the battlefields some will never even realize we have entered. Just sayin!

Blessed in Blessing

Ever watch a dog chase his own tail? The dog goes round and round in circles, chasing that silly tail, all the while never catching what is right there in front of his view. We chase after a lot of things in life - not all of them are really worth chasing. Sometimes we chase stuff that really only serves to bring us grief and disappointment. This chasing is a part of a much deeper issue, though. We lack satisfaction or contentment and therefore, we are chasing after the wind. Contentment is a state of being "at ease" in our mind, soul, and spirit. We don't need activity because we are at rest - we don't 'chase' for the sake of movement, we seek with a purpose. Sometimes ceasing is the best remedy to chasing! Satisfaction really is a sense of being grateful - fulfilled in what we have and who we are.

Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. (I Corinthians 14:1 MSG)

Pursue the right stuff and in turn, the 'right pursuit' will bring us into a place of contentment like nothing else can. It is in the giving of ourselves to the gifts God gives us that we find our greatest place of contentment (fulfillment). Before you tell me you don't have any "gifts" or "talents", let me assure you - you have talents and gifts way beyond your imagining! Too many times, we limit ourselves by the belief we don't possess the "right stuff" to do what it is God is asking us to do. We cannot be obedient, we could never go to the place he directs us, we cannot talk about that to the other individual - the list of excuses we use are quite long. We often don't know the "talent" God may need in a particular moment - but he does. If he places us smack dab in the middle of the need - we must have something he desires to be used to meet the need! In reviewing our "spiritual gifts" we often discount the very "practical gifts" we have been given, such as our talent to balance a set of accounting books, the ability to proof a term paper, the skill to build a shelf, or the awesome ability to make people very welcomed in a new environment.

We somehow think the "spiritual gifts" God is looking for are all these "mystical" gifts like the "word of knowledge" or the "prophesying" of a new revelation to the church. As important as these gifts are, the most important gift we have to offer Christ is ourselves - complete with every "natural talent" we have been given and developed over time. In turn, God takes what we consider "natural" and turns these into something he considers "super-natural". When we are in service with the talents we possess, he is honored! We are to "go after" a life of love as if our "lives depended on it". God leaves no doubt about it - he reminds us our life does indeed depend upon our pursuit of all he has for us. When we are "going after" something, there is a tenacity (a stick-to-it kind of attitude). We don't want to give up without the reward of what we are pursuing. The life of service with this type of tenacious pursuit is what God is looking for from all of us. I wonder just how much we'd be blessed in blessing others with the simple talents we possess? You may be excellent readers - have you ever considered reading to the blind or elderly with failing vision? I know my mother enjoys it when my sister sits lazily by on the sofa, book in hand, and shares the stories from the Reader's Digest with her. You may be able to herd cats - maybe your toddler's church class could use your talent! You might be able to make a mean cup of coffee - perhaps the ladies need a safe-place for a mom's group. Whatever you possess - give it! You might just be surprised at what God can do with the "simplest" of talents!

God really wants us to focus on giving what it is we have - not bemoaning the fact we don't have a particular "gift" to give. In other words, he doesn't want us to focus so much on what we "don't" have as much as we focus on what it is we "do" have. In the giving of ourselves to what it is we recognize as a "talent" or "natural bent" we might have, God can bring forth the "spiritual" blessing of our "gift". Don't make too much of the word "gift" - instead, allow God to use you as "fits" your temperament. Pick up the hammer, drive a few nails, and see what he allows to be built! Wash a few loads of clothes for the friend recovering from surgery and see how blessed she feels with a dresser full of clean jammies and crisp, clean sheets on the bed. You might just be surprised to find in the nail hammering, clothes washing, and bed-making lives are touched! We don't always have to stand up in front of a congregation to be God's instrument of grace - we just have to put grace into action in the very practical ways he directs us. Just sayin!

My steps matter

We've talked about this before, but it bears repeating: God doesn't tempt us! We WILL have temptation in life, but it doesn't come from God. He knows what we CAN and WILL bear - he will not allow us to encounter any temptation we don't have a way of ESCAPE from if we will trust him to help us escape! When we fail to resist temptation, that is ALL on us - we didn't turn to him for his help in the moment where we found ourselves going from 'zero to sixty' in a blink of the eye toward that temptation. When we turn to him for help, he is right there with the help.

The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ERV

Some of us might think God should just remove the temptation - because we are Christians and he wants us to live holy lives. It is almost as though we think there should be no effort on our part to flee the influence that is tugging at our hearts. To tell you the truth, if that were the way God treated us, by removing all temptation anytime it came, without any effort on my part, I'd get pretty 'flabby' in my faith! Faith is like a muscle - it needs to be exercised. There are just times when I will need to take a step and another and another until I see what I believe in my heart. I believe I can and will live above temptation, but I don't always take the consistent steps to avoid it, so I deal with it more than I should!

Did you catch that - I don't always take the steps to avoid it - so I deal with it more than I should have to deal with it. Truth is, we all find ourselves in this same cycle of 'not avoiding' temptation, coming face-to-face with it and then wonder why we are struggling. Temptation is much easier to avoid when it is out of sight and mind, isn't it? But...be right there in arm's length from us and it is much harder! I speak from experience here - sometimes we 'play with fire' and wonder why we get burned! The choices to resist are made not so much when we are faced with the fire as much as when we are not facing the temptation at all.

There is a great deal God can do in us when we are quiet with him - allowing him to bury his word deeply into our hearts and minds; showing us where we are our most vulnerable; and helping us to plan our path so as to avoid as much 'fire' as possible. We have a limited perspective - much like us looking out from where we are seated right now. God has a perspective much like the drone that could hover over us right now, getting a bigger picture of our lives. We have to trust his 'bigger picture' vantage point to keep us safe. We learn that when we are out of temptation's way - not as we are facing making all those wrong choices in the moment. 

I think this is why I remind each of us to take time at the start of our day to center ourselves on his plans and purpose for our day. To seek his guidance, listening intently to his voice, counting on him to fill us with his Spirit and embrace us with his power. Scripture tells us to flee temptation - not to keep it at arm's length. God helps us learn how to put distance between ourselves and that which will pull us into sin. We take the steps to listen and learn, he takes the steps to teach and help! Just sayin!

Some nasty stains here

We ALL make wrong choices. We ALL handle them in one way or another. Some of us have figured out we cannot 'handle' them all by ourselves. Do you ever feel like your "wrong choices" are just staring you in the face all the time? You try to move on, but they just keep "getting in your grill". No amount of "soaking" in our pity seems to take the stain of those choices away, does it? There seems to be no escape, no matter how much we think we are 'dealing with' them. We need God's help if we are to ever be really free of our wrong choices - we will just keep repeating the pattern we have established until we get his help!

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down. (Psalm 51:1-3)

We need God to "wipe out" our bad record, don't we? When we think of the term "wipe out", we are drawn to the idea of getting a clear and decisive victory over something - so utterly destroying its effect that we no longer are pestered by the silly thing. On another hand, when we think of a "wipe out" in terms of our own actions, we are saying to God, "I have pretty much made a failure of things here." Does it surprise you to see our psalmist asking God to "wipe out" his "wipe out"? He wants all the hurt and mess he is in to be finally and totally gone! Annihilated - done in - no longer staring him down! Try as we might, we have the worst time trying to cover up our sin! It seems to stare us down at every turn.

Our psalmist presents a couple of great "word picture" when he asks God to "scrub away his guilt" and to "soak out his sins in the laundry". We have lost the concept of "scrubbing" our laundry because we don't do our laundry by hand anymore with the introduction of washing machines. In the times the psalmist penned these words, the "stains" did not come out because of some "magic" spray treatment and high efficiency washer. The cloth had to be rubbed back and forth on a rough surface (like a wash board or stone), sometimes long and hard, until the stain was gone. The process involved not only the rough surface, but a whole lot of "dunking" into the rinse water until the stain was no longer visible.
Take this idea into consideration as it applies to the guilt or shame of our actions. God may have to allow us to pass a couple of times over some "rough surfaces" in order to begin the process of removing the stain of our sin. Until the memory associated with our sin is "undone", it will always be a "stain". In our passing through some "rough patches" in life, we often find the stain becoming more evident - not less! Yet, the bringing of the stain to the surface through the rough spots is actually allowing him to wash it free by the rinsing of his Word and his grace. The Word acts as the "soaking" which begins to "lift away" the stain. The passage of his hands over and over again of our lives may seem a little like we are being passed over some rough spots again and again, but it is always done with the end in mind - the stain being finally and completely removed!

The rinse process never removes the soiling. It takes the combined action of the passage over the rough surface (a little elbow-grease, if you will), and the rinsing which accomplishes the "cleansing" of the stain. The deeper the stain, the longer it may need to be passed over the rough surface and dunked in the cleansing rinse water! God could apply some "miracle stain remover" in our lives, instantly taking away the stains of our sin, but I wonder if we'd really learn anything in the process? It is often in the "process" of experiencing the stain removal that we "connect" the action of the stain with the action of grace. I often have to take extra time to remove a little spilled food or ground in dirt from our clothing. If I relied on the laundry detergent alone to remove them, I'd have only half-gone stains! It is like relying on my own efforts to remove the guilt and shame of my sin. I cannot put in some "detergent" and walk away. To expect the stain to be removed would be silly. So, why do we bring our "stains" to God and not expect there might be some "rough spots" in the stain removal?  Yep, God is all about grace - instant and extended. He is all about love - new today and ongoing tomorrow. He forgives instantly. He has the power to remove our "stains" with one quick and decisive action of his hand. But...I wonder if we'd be more inclined to get "stained" again by the same stuff if the stain removal process was always easy? Sometimes, I think we appreciate grace the most when we come to a comprehension of how "ingrained" our sin actually was!

So, if you are feeling like you are being "rubbed over the rocks" of God's grace at this very moment, rinsed in his pools of renewal, then you are exactly where God wants you. His hands are in the process of removing your "ingrained stain" of sin and shame - his eyes are keenly on the stain, seeing it begin to surface through the actions of his repeated passage of grace and renewal. In turn, you will be free, once and for all, from the stain which was "staring you down" at every turn! Just sayin!

Oil and Water Don't Mix

Opposing sides - the one is against the other - kind of like oil and water. Mix oil and water - is it possible to get oil 'into' water? Two very distinct 'layers' will eventually form no matter how hard you try to mix the two - they are opposed to each other. Scientifically speaking, molecules of oil are bigger than water and therefore they don't mix into the water - they stay as oil, not taking on the water molecule. Sin is kind of like a big molecule of oil in our lives - it can sit there a long, long time, trying to get 'mixed up' in our life of righteousness (water), but these two 'molecules' don't mix! They will always be opposed to each other.

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? (Galatians 5:16 MSG)

To live freely, one must abandon the ways of living that are 'antithetical' (those opposing forces in our lives) to the 'right choices' we are to make now that we have Christ resident within us. We are always going to deal with sin in our lives - rising to the surface - previously undetected, but becoming quite obvious to us at some point. Sin rises to the top - making itself known. It is harder to see it when we are trying to just 'mix it up' in every area of our lives, scattering it around as though it would somehow 'mix in' and be unnoticed. The sin will always rise to the top!

It has been said that opposites attract - it doesn't mean they will ever fully mix! There will always be self-interest at work within us - it is our nature. It doesn't always seem apparent to us that there are two forces at work within us - we just know we are trying to 'mix things up' so that we don't have to see the nasty sludge of sin rise up and be visible in us. The bond of the oxygen and hydrogen molecules that make up water are so strong that the molecules that make up the oil cannot fully 'attach' to the water molecules. They can mix in for a while, but eventually they will separate again.

That is true until you add what is called an emulsifier. In simplest terms, the emulsifier makes it look like the oil and water have mixed, but in truth they are just 'spread out' molecules, not really combined molecules. Sin doesn't mix with righteousness - ever! It will always stand out as its own molecule! This may be one way of helping us to identify what doesn't belong in our lives - that which stands out as never really 'belonging' in the mixture of our life! Maybe instead of finding ways to try to mix sin into our lives so it isn't evident we need to be allowing it to come to the surface so it can be 'skimmed off' and finally rid ourselves of it! Just sayin!

Huh, I chose this?

Most of us realize it is one thing to "know" something - quite another to "do" it. I know how to eat well - to choose the right things to eat continually is a very real struggle, though! We know rewards of eating right always outweigh the short-lived enjoyment of the wrong choices, but we have cravings that demand to be fed. So, why do we act surprised when we get on the scale and see a few extra pounds? We made the choices - now we see the consequences. We need to recognize that both the knowledge and the action must make a connection within us in order to get the results we desire. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn and to put into practice in our lives, is it not?

Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child. (Deuteronomy 8:1-5)

Here we find Israel on the verge of greatness as a nation. God has delivered them from one of the biggest struggles of their lives - their servitude to Egypt, working as nothing more than menial laborers in their fields and homes. They "came out" to be "brought in". In other words, they were delivered to be free, not to enter into another form of slavery. So many times, we get "delivered" from one object of "trial" only to be faced with another. We thought we'd arrived, but realize it was only one leg of the journey! Experiencing God in every dimension of our lives is definitely a journey which takes an entire lifetime. It is not a one-time deal, or an on again - off again experience. In fact, if we look at the examples recorded for us in scripture, we see every diverging path of one of God's faithful leading to an obstacle of some sorts - until they come face-to-face with the reality the path was the wrong choice to make.

As God instructs Israel, the lessons were repeated over-and-over again. Sometimes I get exasperated when I have to explain things more than once or twice - how about you? Yet, God is infinitely more patient than me (or you)! In the explanations we always find evidence of his grace. In the re-explaining, we repeatedly experience the evidence of his grace. God's infinite patience in teaching and reteaching until we finally understand the lesson is beyond my comprehension! His first words to us: Keep and live out the commandments I give you. Not just some of them, or the easier of them, but all. It is not up to us to pick out which will "suit us", or to "tailor" them to our circumstances. If God says, "Don't", then it means don't. If he says, "Go", then we'd better be up and about it. Look at the instruction again - KEEP and LIVE OUT. Sometimes I think we believe "keeping" to be a one time deal, but let me assure you, God thinks it is a lifetime project!

Remember every road you've been on - how can we do this? The instruction is to "remember every road God leads us on" - not necessarily every road we have chosen to follow by our own doing. I think we get this muddled up in our minds - thinking the negative roads were God's doing or his responsibility because he should have 'kept us away' from them. In fact, those roads were probably a result of our own choices and our ignoring of his promptings to avoid those roads. God instructs us to remember the ones he designed for us - those are the ones where we were tested and proven faithful. When we mix the two up, we have a tendency to get confused by the shame and guilt the wrong roads produced. Hard times are followed by refreshing. No amount of bad compares to the good God gives at the end of the journey. Today's trials are just tomorrow's blessings in disguise. As long as the road is the one God places us on, we are in good hands. If we diverge on our own path, even the obstacle he places in the path of our own choice is a sign of his grace and intense love for us. The obstacle is a call to turn around!

God's disciplines are good. He never disciplines haphazardly. God's disciplines are never directed at us in anger. There is always hope in his discipline - a plan for how we may find ourselves on the 'right road' again. There is a fresh infilling of grace. If we find ourselves disciplined - we also find ourselves intensely loved! Don't lose sight of the most important thing - even the obstacle in your path today is a sign of God's intense love! How we deal with the obstacle determines the path we will follow next. We can either experience the next obstacle, or turn again into the path he designs for us. The choice is up to us. The weight of one path is light - the other, not so easy to bear up under. Which path are you walking today? Just askin!

How big is your family?

I have friends who come from very large families, with siblings at every turn of the corner, sometimes nearing a dozen or more! I cannot imagine a household filled to the brim like that because I pretty much was raised as an only child. Born the last of three, but with 10 years difference between my sister and I, by the time they were graduating high school I was just barely in elementary! The remaining years left me still as the third child, but really as the 'only' since they had already flown the nest. In reality, we are an 'only child' in God's eyes - attention dedicated to our 'upbringing' as though there were no other kids in the family. Yet, we are one of so many more than we ever could count! We just don't all have the same last name, look alike, sport similar hair colors, or merely resemble each other by the shade of our skin. We are indeed many, yet one.

If we say we love God but hate any of our brothers or sisters in his family, we are liars. If we don’t love someone we have seen, how can we love God? We have never even seen him. God gave us this command: If we love God, we must also love each other as brothers and sisters. (1 John 4:20-21 ERV)

Brothers and sisters in his family - many, yet one. We cannot ever turn our back on one because they don't look like us, act as we think they should act, or come with all the accouterments we believe they should possess. It was Richard Bach who reminded us, "The bond that links true family is not of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." While we are all 'bound' by a 'blood tie' - the blood Christ - we are not entirely 'similar' in how we walk out this life, are we? We have little things that give us very unique lives simply because of where we are born, who raises us, what we gain from our educations, and how we have experienced things in our lifetime. Unique, but the same. How can that be? It is because of the blood of Christ that are the same - it is because of the blood of our parents that we are unique!

Twins are said to be identical at times, but are they truly 'exactly' the same? If we look close enough, one develops just a little differently than the other, even though it may be the slightest difference we observe. We aren't meant to be 'clones of Christ' - we are meant to be his children, each unique in their own way, yet each bound by the blood that makes us 'family'. How are you treating the members of your family today? Oh, not just the ones that are born as your brothers or sisters in the family that bears the same surname as yours, but this bigger family we call the family of God. Are you guilty of turning a blind eye to someone's need that is right there in front of you? Are you dismissive of someone's struggle with sin? Are you unwilling to help someone be lifted who has fallen so low they see no way up? If you could truly see them as 'one of your own', would your response be different toward them?

We are asked to love each other as brothers and sisters - in turn, showing how we love God. We cannot turn a blind eye, be dismissive of a struggle, or neglect those we are called into 'family' to be with during our time on this earth. We are indeed 'family' - if you hurt, even if we don't really 'like' you all that well, we are called to partner with you in this time of your heartache and struggle. We love others first, and in turn, we are really showing how much we love God! Just sayin!

What'd ya say?

There are not a lot of people in my life that I have to 'speak for', but when I was raising my kids, I had to be their 'voice' to advocate for their needs because they were too young to do so. I had to tell the doctor's what they were experiencing, remind the teachers how they were struggling with some subjects, and even as a voice between the two of them when emotions were stronger than their words could ever be. Now that they are adults, they speak for themselves. As you can imagine, there are vulnerable adults in this world who need this type of advocate to 'speak for' them when their needs are not easily known. Ever stop to think who you are asked to 'speak for' in this world? If you don't think you have anyone don't overlook the importance of being asked to be the one who 'speaks for' Christ in this world.

I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. (2 Corinthians 5:19-20 ERV)

The good news of living out from under the burden of our guilt and shame isn't just going to find its way into the hearts of people through osmosis, my friends. It has to be 'told' to the hurting! We have to 'speak for' Christ - for grace, peace, truth, and liberty. We have to be the voice that brings balance and reason where chaos abounds and the imbalance of power, pride, and perversion have gone awry. We are God's voice - his Word becomes real and visible when others see it lived out in our lives. His Word becomes vibrant and meaningful when others witness the change in us that occurs where grace has been free to work. The message of God's peace isn't understood through words as much as it is understood by observing what his peace does in the life of one who knows it deeply.

It is indeed good news that God doesn't hold us 'guilty' for our multitude of sins. Even the 'best' of us is not able to proclaim we are 'without sin' because we are each born with the nature that lusts after what brings pleasure to self. We cannot escape the need for peace - because all this world offers is an illusion of true peace. We are not at liberty until we have been set free! We cannot say we know truth if we don't know Christ. Apart from the message being spoken, nobody will hear. Liberty is in your hands - peace is within your hearts. Share the message you are given - not in word alone, but in action, attitude, and a changed life. Just sayin!

A whole new wardrobe

My first week in the military was kind of interesting. Arriving at Fort Jackson on a chartered bus that had picked up a whole bunch of us in the wee hours of the morning on that October day in 1976, the 'unknown' caused all of us more than a little trepidation. As we unloaded our suitcases and gathered around it became clear this would be a life-changing venture! In rather short order, the orders were being barked out to divide each of us into groups and then serving to usher us off to our temporary housing. The dawn came way too early and those jeans, tennis shoes, and t-shirts were all exchanged for olive drab shirts, socks, caps, and pants, white undershirts, and black boots. All the same, no one standing out any longer as unique. Those clothes we brought along for the journey were all taken from us, locked away until our final day at boot camp, never to be worn again until we were officially finished 'becoming soldiers'. Why did they insist on clothing us with the same uniform? Why was it we couldn't just wear our jeans and t-shirts? I think it was because they were showing us we 'belonged' to them now!

You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Now, in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28 ERV)

In much the same way, our 'baptism' into Christ results in an exchange of 'clothing' of sorts. We have all our dirty and torn garments of sin removed and we receive the robes of righteousness in their place. We are marked out as no longer belonging to sin, but to righteousness - to God himself. We might forget this exchange of 'attire' because it isn't like we actually go to the closet and pull out those garments everyday, but maybe we need to begin to think of it that way. Every day dawns with a chance to 'put on' again the righteousness of Christ. It isn't that we are getting 'saved' all over everyday, but that we are reminded of whose we are by the garments we are adorned with for that day's battles. What are our garments? What do they resemble? If you begin to examine them, you might just get a little insight into how much God wants us to see ourselves no longer as we were, but what we have become!

Grace is a garment, effectively covering over our sin and removing it in much the same way an undergarment would cover over the less 'sightly' parts of our body. Truth is like that green cap we were issued in the military - covering over our minds and surrounding them in such a way we are surrounded with what will counteract all untruth. Peace is like the socks and boots we wear everyday, feet protected, steps ordered, the chaos of sin no longer causing us to stumble and fall. Chest protected by God's infusion of fresh faith - heart renewed, spirit uplifted, and emotions brought into perfect adjustment. Freedom is marked by the pants we put on - for they allow us to move unhindered and with agility. There are probably a lot of 'righteousness characteristics' we could use to describe our 'new garments', but these are just a few to get you to thinking about what God gives in the way of 'righteousness garments'.

We don't put on new garments over old. Maybe this is why the military took away all the old and gave us only that which was new - to remind us we were being made into something new. God does something similar in giving us his garments of righteousness - reminding us we are being made into something new. Our part is to give up the old and to adorn ourselves with the new. We might want to return to the old if they weren't removed from us. The old isn't going to 'leave us' unless we let it go. We have to be willing to forsake the old to take on the new. Getting anything new is only of benefit to us if we actually put it to use! Put on the garments of righteousness God has given today. Mind twirling, all manner of noise pestering your thoughts all day - put on truth and observe how well your thoughts begin to order themselves. Heart churning, emotions jumping here and there - adorn yourself with the peace of God and see how settled you become. Put on - but don't forget to allow the old to be 'locked away' so you don't return to that closet any longer! Just sayin!

Am I in trouble?

Gonna meddle a little here this morning. Do you ever get into trouble? I mean the kind where you just aren't really sure there is any way out of it - the trouble you make or that is made by those you associate with that is just about to bury you alive. The truth is that most of the time we make our own trouble - we don't need the help of others to really do a good job at finding and meddling around with trouble. Trouble isn't a thing - it is a set of actions that lead to a result we probably will find a little undesirable. I joke from time to time that I am 'making trouble' when someone asks me what I am up to, but if I were honest here, the times when I am really 'making trouble' in my life are not a joking matter!

I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help. The Lord answered and made me free. The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid. No one on earth can do anything to harm me. (Psalm 118:5-6 ERV)

As kids, we'd ask our friends if they got 'in trouble' for being home late, or for having ripped their shirt, or for having lost that new sweater they got at Christmas from grandma. The 'event' was enough that we expected the outcome for our friend to maybe not be all that 'favorable' when they were faced with the searching eyes of their parents. It is like 'trouble' was a condition - an outcome of having been careless or less focused than we should have been. In reality, we weren't all that far from the truth on that one. "Trouble" is an outcome - one that usually ensues because we took some course of action that wasn't correct. 

As adults, we don't ask each other if we got 'in trouble' for the things we do and it is harder for us to really tell if someone is feeling the weight of their bad decisions or not because we have become so good at concealing our 'trouble' from others. I wonder what would happen if we were a little more transparent with each other about the 'trouble' we find ourselves in at this moment. If we aren't going to be honest with each other, we definitely need to be honest with God. We cannot hide our 'trouble' from him - no matter how skilled we become at concealing it! What happened when we got home late as kids? A lot of the time some of our 'privileges' were restricted for a period of time. We couldn't go out the next day to play after school as a form of 'punishment' for our tardiness the night before. The reason we sought so desperately to cover up our 'troubling actions' as kids was because they carried a form of 'punishment' with them! No wonder we don't want to admit our troubles to each other and even God himself! We fear the judgment and punishment that could come!

The good news is that God isn't in the punishment business - he is in the restoration business! He isn't going to overlook our misdeed - in fact, he made a way for us to be out from under the guilt and shame of it through his son, Jesus. So, instead of punishment, he extends grace. Yes, there are outcomes to our actions - we call those consequences. Speed down the freeway, get pulled over, and you get a ticket. God knows the consequence of speeding will cost us something - we are to recognize the value behind the rule we have just broken. It isn't that he is punishing us by us having to go to traffic school or pay that fine - it is a consequence of our bad choice. Sin has consequences and sometimes I think we associate these with punishment. We somehow think God is punishing us, but the opposite is true. He has provided a means for us to no longer make those bad choices, learning from the consequence that resulted from our past 'not so good choices', and he helps us 'get out of trouble' by consistently working in our lives to help us make the right choices in the future. We serve a God who comes alongside - not one who lords it over! Just sayin!

Evolve

When we use the word "because" in a sentence, what does it mean? In the most literal sense, it carries the idea of a condition being met. For example, I could not eat another bite BECAUSE my stomach was so full carries the condition of a 'full stomach' prohibiting anymore intake at the meal. The 'condition' was met, therefore the intake had to stop. There are a whole lot of 'conditions' met in life that result in something happening or not happening, right? In our lives, we sometimes think these 'conditions' are not met, so we use the BECAUSE to explain the 'why' behind our inability to 'measure up to' or 'meet' the condition. Truth be told, we use the BECAUSE statement way to often to excuse our stubbornness or pride and not enough to describe what God has and is doing within us!

Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. In the Scriptures God says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 ERV)

Be hold, BECAUSE I am holy. The holiness of God in our lives is possible BECAUSE the condition has been met in Christ Jesus. We were in sin, but now live as 'holy' BECAUSE God chose us and 'in Christ' we are made holy. Being chosen is a condition - it has already been met. Being holy is a condition - one that has already been met, as well. We sometimes find ourselves telling God some other type of condition is met, though. For example, we tell God we cannot possibly be filled with grace and goodness BECAUSE we have done too much that is wrong and 'unholy'. The condition we 'buy into' is that of thinking we cannot change - even though God clearly says we both HAVE and CONTINUE to change!

While I don't believe in the theory of evolution as Darwin perceived all of life coming to be, I do believe we 'evolve' in character, trust, and love. To 'evolve' means we develop - we see something different than the former condition unfold over time. We may not 'feel' holy today, but in time, as we continue to do the things God asks us to do, we will begin to see his holiness 'unfolding' in our lives in ways we never dreamed possible. We are BECOMING what he has declared we already ARE. Maybe we find this hard to understand, but we ARE and we are BECOMING. Both conditions are met in Christ Jesus!

Just as God is holy - there is the condition. Be holy in everything you do - there is the rub! We don't know how to live holy lives - in fact, we do a pretty miserable job of living holy. Living so as to not keep ourselves at the center of our universe is contrary to how we 'normally' live - learning to live with Christ at the center of our lives is harder than we'd like it to be. We don't learn this overnight, although the condition of him being at the 'center' of our lives is met when we say "yes" to him, inviting him to take control of our lives and make us holy. We 'evolve' in grace - we 'evolve' in love - we 'evolve' in trust. We 'evolve' in freedom. 

We may not believe in 'evolution' as a theory of creationism, but God is always doing a 'creative' work within us. His holiness IS and IS BECOMING manifest within us - he is unfolding his character in us more and more each day. We don't meet the condition - he does! This is a good thing BECAUSE apart from him none of us could ever be holy! Just sayin!

It is obvious, isn't it?

At times, the most obvious thing seems to be the most elusive for us to grasp, huh? We think we can easily grasp something, but it seems to be harder than we imagined. We believe understand something fully only to find we don't really get it at all. Did you also realize that an older meaning of the word "obvious" is that thing that stands in your way? Sometimes the most 'obvious' things are the things that actually become the things that form some kind of obstacle for us. 

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." (Matthew 6:19-21 MSG)

There are those who report every obstacle is just a way to develop our abilities to achieve or overcome, but there are others who look at an obstacle and see their inabilities as too many to ever overcome it. For example, I have a very small shop out back - only measuring 8 foot by 12 foot, meant to house all my woodworking tools and give me space to work. Now, if I am working on a small scroll saw project, that makes for a good 'bench top' project. If I am trying to construct a new dining room table, I need more space than my shop will afford in order to lay out the longer pieces of wood and glue them together. The 'obstacle' is the shop size and limitations. The answer is to have a larger space to work.

How do I overcome the obstacle of the smaller shop? In Arizona we don't have as much of a problem working outdoors because we don't get a lot of rain, no snow, and it is usually tolerable much of the time during the fall through spring season to work outdoors. I built a deck outside the shop to allow me to roll out my tools, set up a portable workbench or two, and continue my work. The obstacle is 'manageable', but have I really removed it? No, I am just being creative in dealing with it. There are lots of times in life when we 'deal with' an obstacle rather than removing it. We let the 'obvious' thing exist because we don't know how to deal with it, or we don't possess the ability to deal with it.

The only problem with this tact in life is that the obstacle is never removed! It remains - we just keep working around it. When this is something simple like the need for more space in the shop, we can 'deal' fine. When it is an obstacle in our 'character' that God has asked us to remove, we find it much harder, don't we? Our 'character' obstacle becomes a tripping hazard for us so many times because we don't deal with it more 'permanently'. We don't take it to God, asking for his help to get it out of the way permanently. We allow it to remain, but 'whitewash' it a little so it is less noticeable. The issue is that even though we 'pretty it up' a little, it is still not the character God wants for us to exhibit!

Take those things that are 'obvious' to God for his help. They aren't to become 'tripping hazards' in our lives, or things we just 'tolerate' and 'pretty up' under our own power. They are to become the things we entrust to him, allowing a true change in our path so that we are no longer having to deal with the 'obvious' issue in our midst. Just sayin!

Adulting 101

Truth be told, many of us don't ever want to 'grow up' - we want to live as 'children' our whole lives. It may be the result of thinking it will be a whole lot easier to just go through life naive, but that vantage point can get us into a whole lot of trouble. It might actually be a little selfishness on our part, no wanting to actually do the 'work' of growing up because it will mean we have to stop doing some things and start doing others. Regardless of the reason behind our 'foot dragging' as we approach our growth in a spiritual sense, the fact remains that we cannot continue as children forever! We need to grow up - putting into practice over and over again the things we have learned until they become second-nature to us. Today they have coined that term "adulting' - maybe what we should admit we haven't accomplished the true consistency we need in the tasks we consider to be 'mundane' in our spiritual walk. If we want to grow up in Christ, we commit equally to the 'mundane' as we do the 'sensational'.

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7 MSG)

The concept of 'adulting' is that the individual is responsible for their actions - they are consistent in their behavior, especially when it comes to doing the things one considers 'mundane'. These mundane tasks are actually necessary ones and cannot be ignored. Ignore the laundry long enough and you will run out of clean underwear. Ignore the dust bunnies gathering everywhere and you will soon discover you might not be breathing as well in your own home. We can ignore the mundane in life, but it costs us something when we do. We can ignore the 'mundane' in our spiritual life, but it will cost us even more than we may realize!

As a baby, my children were able to drink from a bottle at a very early age. They could not hold that bottle on their own, though. As they got a little bigger, their hands would surround the bottle and in pretty short order they had learned how to hold it on their own. Eventually they graduated to those 'sippy cups' that have a lid on it, but they had to adapt to not sucking like a bottle because they would drown themselves if they did! As we grow up, there are all kinds of 'adjustments' made to adapt to the current tasks at hand. We are learning new things, not for the sake of gathering knowledge, but so we can put it into practice in our lives.

As little babies, cute and cuddly as they were, I didn't mind holding the bottle for my kids. As toddlers I expected them to begin to do some of these things on their own. Why? It is part of growing up. God isn't much different with his expectations of us - he expects us to do the things that reveal we are growing up! The words of our passage are quite clear - we all need to start living what we have been studying. It is fine to 'take in' new truth - now we need to take what we know and put it into practice. We won't get it right all of the time, but as we do practice it more and more, we will. This is how consistency develops new habits and habits become routine.

It isn't that we aren't well-rooted because we are. It isn't that we aren't secure on a good foundation because we are. It is that we aren't becoming 'adults' in Christ! We aren't 'adulting' well in our spiritual life. We are turned off by what some label as mundane - things like consistent study of the Word, relational development with other believers, and getting honest with God in our times of communication. We call this Bible study, church-going, and prayer - these are the religious words for these 'mundane' tasks. Look not at these as 'tasks' so much as the source of what keeps life moving along for us. Maybe if we begin to see them as less 'mundane' and more 'important' we might just 'adult' well! Just sayin!

A little lesson in electricity

Yesterday I spoke a little about 'pre-planning' for temptation. I touched on the idea of the 'planning' of our response to temptation when it comes because it WILL come and we need to be prepared. Minds are a powerful thing, but most of the time we use our minds for things that only defeat us, pull us down, or keep us twisted and conflicted. The mind has to be prepared for service - it has to be prepared for obedience. These things don't come naturally to us - they are conscious choices. The unconscious mind is a powerful thing - doing things by 'memory' that we don't even know we are doing. If you have ever been a nail-biter, did you consciously say, "Now is a good time to bite my nails. I think I will give it a go right here and now"? Most likely you were engaged in some other thing and in a moment of conscious awareness you noticed you were chomping on those stubs! We cannot rely upon the unconscious for obedient choices - these come more from our conscious awareness!

So prepare your minds for service. With complete self-control put all your hope in the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes. In the past you did not have the understanding you have now, so you did the evil things you wanted to do. But now you are children of God, so you should obey him and not live the way you did before. Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. (I Peter 1:13-15)

In terms of electrical circuits, there are little 'resistors' that are placed at key locations in the circuitry. As electricity travels through the wires, there are really three components at work. The wire allows electrical current to flow without any limitation. The coating on the wire acts as an insulator, not allowing any escape of the electrical current. The resistor is what controls the actual flow of the electricity so only a certain amount of electrical current reaches the electrical outlet. In terms of our minds, we have all manner of thought bouncing around in there. Without both the resistor and the insulator in place, no telling what will escape! The resistor actually heats up as it is engaged - because it is controlling the escape of the electrical current, allowing an even and 'metered' flow of current. In terms of our brains - we need an even and 'metered' flow if we are ever to accomplish what we might call 'self-control'!

The greater the resistor's capacity, the greater the current that can flow through it without the resistor becoming damaged. The same thing is true in our minds. We need a 'great resistor' if we are to resist some of this stuff that causes us to get all 'tripped up' in life. The more we apply the Word of God in our lives through actively recalling it when temptation comes our way, the greater the 'resistor' will be to control the 'current' of activity that might come forth! We don't always need to 'engage' the resistors in the electrical current, do we? They are 'built in' and do their job because they have been strategically placed where they are needed. We need 'strategic placement' of God's Word in order to resist some of the stuff that attempts to get us all twisted and out of control. We 'build in' safeguards by actively studying the Word, applying the truths contained therein, and then relying upon the Spirit of God to bring them to memory when 'resistance' is needed most.

Holiness isn't ethereal. It is real! It is accomplished by allowing God's 'governance' over our lives. He acts as that 'resistor' that keeps the current at a steady flow so we don't get to the point the circuits of our lives are overloaded or fried. Just sayin!

Planning for Temptation

Leonardo da Vinci reminds us, "It's easier to resist at the beginning than at the end." Thinking on that one for a moment, we all probably could benefit from keeping that in mind because most of us try to resist closer to the end than at the beginning of the temptation. We go to the store hungry - then wonder why we are tempted to buy all the things we aren't supposed to be snacking on if we are to maintain our healthy lifestyle. Now, if we had planned a little better, having a nice breakfast before we head out to do the shopping, we are likely going to stick closer to the shopping list and avoid those unhealthy choices! Why? We resisted by planning on the temptation to be there!

So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. Be humble before the Lord, and he will make you great. (James 4:7-10 ERV)

Resistance takes on meaning when we 'come near' to God - why? Because God comes near to us - giving us the ability to resist (flee from) temptation. Come near - what does that mean? Do we have to go to church to be 'near to God'? No - but God encourages us to gather together because 'corporate worship' is important to help us grow in Christ. There is to be a sharing of our lives with each other, but we don't have to 'go to church' to come near to God. We can do it in our everyday trust in him - in our time, talent, and treasures. We learn to trust him with our time - giving him the first part of it each day. We trust him with our talent - those things he gives us skills to do - because they are what help us be productive and find purpose in our daily lives. We trust him with our treasures - because our heart will follow our money!

Sin has a way of 'getting into' our lives in ways we may not readily see at first, but the fact is that it is there. Sin has a way of 'getting us to do something' because we don't resist it very well BEFORE the temptation has a chance to appeal to the desires of our flesh. Sin needs to be 'cleaned out' much like when we do spring cleaning of our closets. We go through, get rid of stuff that has just gathered in those places that doesn't belong, things that don't work well anymore, etc. Then we organize what is left - leaving us with a sense of feeling accomplished and satisfied. Why does 'spring cleaning' of our closet or drawers make us feel accomplished? There is order again! Sin creates disorder in our lives - we need to get rid of it if we are to feel 'order' again.

Make your thinking pure - the temptation begins with our thinking. We don't entertain the unhealthy snack until we see the end-cap display. This is the purpose behind using end-caps - to draw us into purchasing what we didn't even know we needed or wanted! The truth is that Satan uses a whole lot of 'end-cap' tactics to get us to 'buy into' things we don't need to buy into, my friends. The temptation isn't new - it is 'usual' and 'typical' of all the things we have been thinking on, my friends. The way to overcome the temptation begins in changing the way we have been thinking about the 'end-cap' appeals! This begins by drawing near to God - because he helps to change our focus. He helps to change what is on those 'end-caps' in our lives.

The truth is that we are ALL tempted to sin. We ALL have to change our thinking. We ALL change it not by being 'more religious', but by 'drawing near' to the one who changes our thinking. It is God that takes what the enemy means for evil in our lives and turns it for good. He is the one who changes what we cannot change on our own. He is the one who not only helps us recognize our temptations, but to turn away by 'pre-planning' for their eventual occurrence in our lives! It isn't that we won't have temptations - we will just have thought through how we will respond to them in a way that keeps us from giving into them! Just sayin!

Bless me, bless me, bless me

Sometimes it is hard looking at our friends, seeing them move into gorgeous new homes, driving swanky new cars, or jetting off to far away places on vacation after vacation. We get a little envious at times, don't we? We'd like a new home - ours is good, but it doesn't have all the features their new ones offers. We wish our cars ran as smoothly with less visits to the mechanic shop, but they still get us places we need to be. We have desires to explore islands afar, but a simple tent in the woods is all our budget will allow at present. Yet, when we stop to think on this just a little, we might just remember how truly blessed we are in this life - all because of the extravagant generosity of God!

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; everything happens through him; everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes. (Romans 11:33-36 MSG)

Answer the question honestly - have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God? We probably all would find we have so much in the way of "riches" right in our own possession and we either don't see them, or we have been taking them for granted all this time. The immediate blessing that likely comes to mind is the incredibly unfathomable acceptance of each of us into the family of God. We are not from royalty, but we have been adopted into a family of incredible royalty! Now, there's a blessing for us to truly consider! What about the blessings of our ability to do simple tasks which we take for granted so very often? Things like brushing our teeth, combing our hair, and buttoning our own clothing. As a nurse, I have seen thousands over the years lose this very ability - through the effects of crippling arthritis, spinal cord injuries, or neurological assaults on the brain. We just don't know what a blessing it is to be able to complete these simple tasks until we find ourselves unable to do them!

Now that you have thought of a few blessings you maybe have taken for granted, it is important for us to keep in mind that we'll never figure out God. Try as we might, God's wisdom, grace, and unconditional love are unfathomable to us in their totality - we get bits and pieces of these, but not really a full understanding of them! Everything comes from him. Everything happens through him. Everything ends in him. Everything! All we "possess". All which seemingly just "happens" in our day. All are a result of him being the Lord of our lives. Nothing is by our own creation - we are nothing and able to create nothing without him. Nothing is by our own efforts - he gives us the breath and strength to undertake the task at hand. When we stop to consider one word that might describe God, we could probably sum him up with the word "Everything". When we stop to consider what we are without God, we think of one word: Nothing. So, if we want "everything" - we are really saying we want more of God - not the blessings, but the ONE who blesses us in ways we cannot possibly comprehend.

Before we start wishing for more of what we "think" we need, maybe we should start asking for more of what we "really" need! God is never more honored than when we bring our need to him. It is in the acknowledging of our dependence upon him that he is brought honor. Apart from God, we really possess nothing. In God, we are blessed with and through everything! It is not just what we possess, but what possesses us! God's greatest glory is not found in us figuring him out - - it is in us honoring him with our obedience and love in spite of the fact we don't understand all he does and all he is! Our "unlimited blessing" is really most rewarding when it is realized in the courts of God. Just sayin!

Move on

It has been a while since I have been able to break free from the day-to-day caregiving of an elderly parent, so I am a little overdue for some fishing! The great outdoors always beckon to me because I love to be out in nature. I enjoy the moments of listening to the gentle breezes bristling the tree leaves and the gentle movement of the stream's waters. I like to observe the curiosity of the birds as they explore the forest floor and the gentleness of the deer grazing in the open meadow. There is just something about being able to 'break free' for a while that helps to renew a mind and body. While some will choose to laze around the lake, taking in nature in all its beauty, others will head for a few days with far away relatives and friends, renewing the bonds and memories which the miles have imposed in their separation. Yet, others will clamor for the long lines of the amusement parks and the intense thrill of riding the latest rides. Whatever the location, the purpose of the time 'away' is "to get away" from today's hassles and to enjoy some time in a moment of "escape". I daresay, we "leave" in order to "renew". Some will use this break "from" work or school as a time to pick up family and belongings, moving to a totally new place in the country. Jobs, family demands, or other opportunities influencing their decision to "move on". Moving on is different from experiencing something such as a vacation, though. To "move on" suggests one is leaving something totally behind, whereas to vacation indicates a short 'leave' from daily responsibilities to enjoy a time of renewal.

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! (Romans 6:1-3 MSG)

The choice to "leave" one location, then to "cleave" to another is sometimes temporary, as in vacation. At other times, as when one is 'moving on', it is a very permanent choice. I wonder how we treat the "leaving" of our past lifestyle "before Christ" - as a vacation from sin, or as a clean break? I have treated it as a "vacation" at times - turning back to the same old stuff. How silly is that? I tasted the goodness of grace, felt the renewal of forgiveness, and then chose purposefully to step back into what I had just left. Some would say I need my head examined, right? Well, we are probably a little off-base there - what I really need is to have my heart examined! Whenever we treat God's forgiveness and his renewal as a "season of vacation" from our sin, we are likely to turn back to it at a later time. When we actually make a "move away" from sin, we have a much better time overcoming it. God offers us an escape from the "country where sin is sovereign". This is a place of profoundly wrong choices which impact us in many negative ways. We find ourselves lacking in relationship stability because we choose to focus on self rather than others. We are engulfed with self-pity because we don't get our way. When we do get our own way, we don't find the fulfillment we hoped would be attached to the choice. It is truly a place we'd like to escape.

Vacating a space can be temporary, or permanent. The determination becomes apparent when we examine how much we have "dissolved" our ties with the place we left. If we go on a vacation, we pack a few bags, knowing we will return. In fact, we often ask someone to watch over our place while we are gone, ensuring the plants are watered and the house is cared for. We plan to return. We never intended to "pull up roots" and move on. We were looking for a temporary "fix" for our need. Vacating a space permanently doesn't always mean we make a clean break, though. We can "move on", but take all of our stuff with us! We pack up the moving van with all our belongings, put the car on a hitch behind the van, pile the family and dog in the front seat and away we go. We "leave", but we are still "cleaving" to the stuff we are taking along with us! We can "leave" in order to "cleave" to something new. I did this when I left for the military in 1976. I left it all behind with only the clothes on my back (and they quickly took those away from me). When I arrived at Ft. Jackson, they gave me new garments, a new place to live, and all new associations. It was a true "break" from my life as I knew it. They were intending me to "cleave" to my new way of life!

I wonder how we treat our "break from sin" - is it a clean break? If we leave, but never break the tie of "cleaving to" the sin, we find ourselves drawn back. I returned "home" after basic training - but I was changed. My ties to home were different. It was my past. I had a future planned out for me and I was "on mission" with the military. I had a new purpose for my life. Guess what? God has the same plans for us. Break totally with the past. Be on mission with him in the present. This is his plan. This is where we find liberty and purpose. Just sayin!

The School of Grace

The way we should live is determined not so much by the circumstances we face, but by the decisions we make ahead of time! When God's grace enters our lives, the choices we begin to make change - sometimes quite dramatically. Grace has a way of not only 'cleaning up' one's life, but it has a way of 'keeping us washed' as we go through each day. Grace teaches us to live - not by the seat of our pants, but with purposeful steps taken consistently toward wise choices. Devotion to God isn't revealed in entering a monastery or convent. It is revealed in choosing to no longer live 'against' God - making choices that reflect our desire to live 'with' God.

That is the way we should live, because God’s grace has come. That grace can save everyone. It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. It teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows true devotion to God. (Titus 2:11-12 ERV)

Grace teaches us to live on earth - right here and now - making wise choices. Did you get that? Grace helps us with our choices! You might have thought you made all those choices on your own, but we are even assisted in our obedience! Obey or disobey - two sides of the coin. We think we independently 'own' the choices we make entirely on our own, yet God gives us the grace to make the right choices - he instructs us in choosing the right way. It may seem like a sad thing to you that we even need God's help to be obedient, but I am grateful for all the help I can get!

Grace teaches us - this indicates we all stand in need of this instruction. None of us is above learning. No matter where you are in this life, you can learn something new. You could be 100 or 10 - you are still learning. God's grace isn't finished instructing us. If we were to be entirely honest here, we would probably admit there is a whole lot each of us needs to know about how to make wise choices and to live in the way that consistently reveals our devotion to God. I need help with relationship issues - because I am not always kind in my actions or words. I need help learning how to avoid being drawn into unwise activities such as overeating, giving into fear, or finding fault in someone else's actions. I am not there yet, my friends. I need grace to teach me how to live.

How about you? Are you in need of attendance at the school of grace? Have you 'enrolled'? Enrollment is the first step in the sense of attending school, isn't it? You have to take that first step toward learning. Then you are partnered with educators within that school that help you to gain the skill you need. In much the same way, we say "yes" to Jesus (enrollment) and then we are partnered with 'educators' throughout our lives that help us to learn how to live on this earth now in a wise and right way. Our educators? The Holy Spirit, our pastors, learned friends who have walked this grace-walk alongside us. The list is enormous! We can learn of grace from many sources. We just need to get on with the learning! Just sayin!

Did that just happen?

Short - how would you define it? Some might propose it means something is of little length or stature, while others may say something is about to pass very quickly. Have you ever read a 'short story'? It may have been a couple pages in a magazine, but if it actually made it to print as a book, it means the book is about half the size of a regular book! Short is a 'measurement' term and we go through life doing all manner of 'measurement'. There is a term used in woodworking that I like - measure twice, cut once. Heaven knows the times I have even managed to mess this one up! Measured twice and still cut wrong! How does that happen? Maybe because it was because of poor planning, or perhaps it was because I didn't listen and tried to take a short-cut that I really knew wouldn't work out very well in the end. We all do this at times - not paying close attention to the things in life we actually should 'measure'!

Teach us how short our lives are so that we can become wise. (Psalm 90:12 ERV)

When we ask God to teach us how short our lives really are, we aren't 'fatalistic' in our thinking - we are 'realistic'. We know we all have a limited amount of time on this earth to make the greatest impact our lives can possibly make. Yes, there is life after death - we all will experience eternity somewhere and I hope you have all chosen to experience it with me - in God's presence! Yet, our time here on this green earth is time-limited. We have to make the most of the opportunities we are given. My mom is 101 now and she shows signs of slowing down, but even in her old age, she still fulfills a significant purpose. She is 'GG' to her great-grandsons - lovingly asking how they are doing, what they are learning in school, worrying when they are ill. She is 'mom' to me - constantly concerned that my life go well, I get enjoyment from the things I do in life, and that my life will be blessed in all ways. She is 'Winnie' to her friends - sharing life's ups and downs in frequent phone conversations, laughing at their jokes, and just listening when they have something to share.

We all have a purpose - no matter what our age, talent, life-experience level. We have to put to use the things God has given us and then stand back to watch what he does with our faithfulness. Wisdom isn't learned by just listening - it is learned in the doing of life. We are taught by a variety of methods, some visual, others auditory, and still others by having our hands in the mix. I didn't learn to cook by watching TV programs or reading cookbooks. I have done both, but when I put my hands to the work of cooking, the dishes came forth! When we are engaged in the things God has designed for us to do, we find purpose and fulfillment. When we are 'looky-loos', standing on the outskirts of life, it passes us by and we get very little from the experiences we are exposed to. When we ask God to teach us how short our lives are we are really asking him to help us be alert to the moments. To not allow those moments to pass us by without us being involved in them. This is what makes for a full life - being engaged in the moments. Today will have many moments for you and I - don't let one of them pass by without getting into it! Just sayin!

In 1492, Columbus sailed the oceans blue....

I can remember studying the discovery of the Americas by one very bold 'pioneer' of sorts - his name was Christopher Columbus. He was an Italian explorer of his day who made four trips across the Atlantic, with the most notable being the one where he sailed the oceans blue in 1492. His attempt to sail a direct route from Europe to Asia never really materialized as he expected, coming across the Americas instead. It was his 'discovery' of these Americas, already populated with various native inhabitants that gave him notoriety in his 'explorer' circles. He was credited for having found a 'new world' - complete with all the vast treasures it would hold for those willing to strike out to colonize these distant lands. Did you realize the purpose of exploration in those days was really to 'discover' and to 'colonize'? Did you ever stop to consider that the reason we 'discover' truths from the Word of God is so they can 'colonize' us with the power and presence of Christ?

When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ERV)

A whole new world - don't miss that, my friends. We aren't living in the past 'world' of our sins and sorrows any longer. We are living in a whole new world - one empowered by Christ, populated by his presence everywhere, and rich in his blessings of love and grace. We are not called to travel back and forth between this 'new world' and the 'old'. We are called to live, discover, and enjoy the 'new world' we are brought into in Christ Jesus. Those early colonists who traversed the great Atlantic expanse did so knowing they were likely to not go back to their European continent anytime soon, if ever. They made a commitment to live in the 'new' and to leave behind the 'old', much in the same way God asks us to do as we come into Christ.

We sometimes think this 'passage' from the old into the new is marked with a two-way bridge. We can enjoy the new and still return to the old anytime we feel like it. The old isn't meant for our return, but for our forsaking! We don't maintain bridges to the old anymore than Columbus' travelers could have built a bridge between Europe and America! That bridge building would have consumed them - the maintenance of such a structure almost impossible. If you know anything about the Atlantic Ocean, you will understand it is marked by strong currents, rough seas, and often hurricanes. Those currents make the travel harder than expected. The rough seas lend to a very uncomfortable rocking motion that makes the body react violently. The hurricane winds have accounted for many a vessel's collapse over the years. 

The old isn't meant for our return. It is meant to be left alone - to fade into the past as we focus on the new. Yes, it still exists, as does the Atlantic all these years later. The old exists - but the new calls us into newness of discovery and purpose. We don't need the old if we focus on the new. We find the new begins to excite us more and more, as discovery after discovery is made. We might never forget our rocky passage from the old into the new, but we don't want to build bridges over those rocky waters, my friends. We are called to live and grow where we find our newness of life. The old served a purpose - it drove us toward the new. We are now finished with the old and are free to move about freely in the new. Just sayin!

I am feeling rather 'dry' right now

If you have ever felt like your life is 'dry ground', you are not alone. There are seasons we all go through that feel a little 'dryer' than we'd like. It seems as though there is nothing getting through to God and he is not getting through to us. Dryness could have a few causes, but in general it is just part of life. Yes, compromise and sin can create a dryness, but if you think of the variation in the seasons of nature, you observe there are times when it is just going to be 'dry' - a season where growth appears to be stunted and a little less likely to occur. If we are truthful in our observations of these dry seasons in our lives, we'd likely admit there is much happening just beneath the surface, getting us ready for the next 'growth spurt' we are likely to experience.

The Lord is making roads through the sea. He is making a path for his people, even through rough waters. The Lord says, So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land. (Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 ERV)

One of the typical things we humans do is 'recount memories'. We have a way of trapping inside our minds what we observed, thought, felt, and experienced in some way, don't we? We form 'memory slots' for these things, much like on a hard drive in the computer we use daily. These 'memory slots' can be useful to protect us from things that can harm us - such as when we touch something hot and then determine never to do that again. They can also be kind of limiting if we trust them more than we trust God when he asks us to move beyond whatever 'memory' we have allowed to hold us tightly in place for a while.

As we see from our passage today, God is in the business of making paths for his people - even through the rough places we don't want to travel through. The way through the rough places isn't to curl up in a ball and hope they pass soon. The 'way through' is to let go of what 'happened in earlier times'. In other words, let go of the memories we have stored away in those 'memory slots' that just hold us back - making us feel all dried up and ineffective in this life. Don't remember what happened in earlier times - it isn't a warning or a suggestion - it is a commandment to trust there is something new coming forth in you!

God is doing something new - maybe building upon what we have formed as memories of past times, but not necessarily. Desert places don't have to be dry places - they can be places of purging. As winds blow across the desert, picking up bits and pieces of discarded leaves, exposing seeds hidden just beneath the surface of the dry earth, opening up the desert floor to new growth, so God's Spirit sweeps across our lives in these dry times. Seasons of dryness are not seasons of dead-ness. They are seasons of promised new growth. Never let go of this promise and be cognizant of God's movement in your life. He isn't going to leave you there forever - there are new rivers about to burst forth. Just sayin!

Not chiseled in stone

Back in caveman days, the hammer and chisel were employed to record specific details that may have needed recording for others to see. The stone would be carved out, or perhaps a large section of fallen tree. The use of such rudimentary tools to communicate are a thing of the past. In today's electronic age, we seldom resort to "snail mail" as a means of keeping in touch with others in our lives, much less the use of hammer and chisel on stone. It is the "immediacy" of email and instant messaging which makes it all the more appealing to us - the ability to 'get the message out' to the intended audience in record speed draws us in. In the past, the "news" we'd share about changes in our lives would come via the postal service, arriving to the recipient days after the "news" was indeed "news". In the military, we had mail call. It was a time when we'd all gather around in hopes of one link to home in the form of a small envelope filled with "news" and maybe even a little token of love. In turn, our loved ones would hurry to the mailbox when they'd see the familiar mailman's truck passing by, hoping from news from their loved one stationed so far away. We all want to know the "news" of another's life - but we forget just how this 'news' is really recorded.

Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it. (2 Corinthians 3:1-3 MSG)

We are all "writing letters" of a different sort - the letter written on a human heart touched by the hand of a forgiving and loving God. These are letters which are "read" by many, oftentimes without us even knowing we are 'being read'. The "news" of a changed life is indeed something to be heralded. I want to challenge us for a moment. Let me pose a couple of thoughts about what is perhaps being "written" in our hearts today - news we may not even realize is being recorded there. "News" is the report of something recent - a new event or occurrence. What can you point to in your life today which reflects the hand of God writing on your heart something which is new or fresh? If you are having a little difficulty with this one, then maybe it is time to seek him out - taking some time to allow his touch to be felt almost always assures us of seeing the evidence of his "writing" in our lives.

It may not be understood, but "news" is usually a collection of things - not just one point or idea. In order to "frame" the "news", one has to "tell the story" - from various angles and vantage points. When God sets out to write his story in us, he "frames" the story. There is something about God's writing that points others to see the trail grace has made as it traces over our souls. In the reviewing of the various "points", one begins to see a clear picture of who and what God has done in our lives - drawing them in to have God do similar things in theirs. "News" is something written and expressed - it is not "news" if it is kept to oneself. It is simply "new" knowledge if we keep it to ourselves. God's purpose for "writing" on our hearts is so others can see and enjoy the story. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that he did not need all kinds of letters of endorsement from others - his greatest letter of endorsement was his changed life. Our lives are evidence of God's "re-creative" power. They are "news" worthy of expression. So, really there are various forms of "mail" we read in life - the instant electronic type, the snail mail type, and the ever-present "mail" of a life touched by his hand. Others are "reading" us each and everyday. I wonder what "news" they will see today by looking upon my life? How about yours - what "news" will you reveal to others today? Just askin!