See him - see you

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

Face-to-face conversation seems to be a thing we just don't engage in as much as we did in times long gone by. I come from the era when mom's stood at the back fence or mailbox, passing the time of day while watching wee ones engage in play. Today's electronic age has helped us to "connect" with each other via all kinds of social media. We text, IM, post, tweet, ZOOM, Skype, Drop-In, and video chat. We abbreviate, truncate, and mutilate the human language to the point of LOL while we are ROFL with our BFF. (For those not into this "truncated" IM language - we laugh out loud while we are rolling on the floor laughing with our best friend forever!) The thing we really miss is the "connection" which occurs when two people actually stop long enough to look at each other eye-to-eye and begin to notice the things those eyes tell us about the other person! How does God makes connection with his children? Could you imagine if he began sending us a "spiritual IM" reading: FOYF while CYOW - ILYA! (Fell on your face while choosing your own way - I love you anyway!) Now, I am being plain silly here - God is not going to start sending us spiritual IM messages with a totally new 'language' we'd have to learn, but we sometimes treat his Word as though it were just as confounding and confusing!

- WHEN we TURN to FACE God...
- God REMOVES the veil and there we ARE - face-to-face....
- They suddenly we RECOGNIZE that God is a living, PERSONAL PRESENCE...
- When God is PRESENT...
- We're FREE....
- Nothing BETWEEN us and God....
- Our lives gradually BECOMING brighter and more beautiful...
- As God ENTERS our lives and we BECOME like him...

It is in the making of this face-to-face contact with God that we finally see God as he is and he helps us see ourselves for who we really are in him! Don't miss the words I put into all caps. "When" we "turn" to "face" God. The sentence suggests a willingness to take the time - "when" - it is conditioned on our action. It also suggests another action - "turning" - from whatever we are doing to what he wants us to do at this very moment. "Facing" another individual allows us to see each other's body language. I don't have the advantage of this when I simply text you! I can "read" the undertones of your text, but seeing your body language and observing the emotion in your voice when we speak give me much more insight into the impact of your life's events! It is God who "removes" the veil which keeps us from seeing both him as he is and us as we truthfully are. Most of us are content with the veil because the veil covers a multitude of imperfections he might see in us! God knows until we see him as he is, we don't see ourselves as we are. It is in the "recognition" of his living, vital connection with us that we begin to understand the capabilities of living with God as a "personal presence" in our lives. The most important thing God wants us to see is not just his desire for us to be "real" with him, but the fact he will be at work setting us "free" by the continual renewing of our minds that comes when his presence is understood and embraced.

Nothing "between" us and God - now this is something most of us only hope for! There is security in the veil - but when it is stripped away - we stand "naked" before God. You know what? It says there is nothing between us and God! That means he is getting just as "intimate" with us as we are with him! He is not afraid to let us see him as he really is! So...why are we afraid to let him see us as we really are? It is in this "intimate" exchange where we "become" more beautiful than we already are. It is by God "entering" our lives that we become more like him. He could force his way in - but we'd be affronted by this and would not be inclined to pay attention to him if he did. He could just pop in and out of our lives here and there - but we'd be put off by his inconsistencies. The plan God for our time together is quite different. He "moves in" - entering our lives in such as way so as to take up residence in us! He begins to invade the dark spaces of our lives with the brightness of his glory - until what we behold is no longer the darkness, but only his light! Now, when we realize the significance of the face-to-face, doesn't it make us a little less inclined to minimize or avoid our connection with him? Just askin...

A Love Like This

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans8:26-28)

Lauren Daigle sings a song I just love - not because of the beauty of her voice - even though she has a great voice. I love it because of the love of her heart - the love she has for her Lord! The song? It is "Love Like This". Indulge me this morning as I share those words with you - allow them to minister to your heart as much as they minister to mine:

When I am a wasteland You are the water. When I am the winter You are the fire that burns. When I am a long night You are the sunrise. When I am the desert You are the river that turns to find me. 
What have I done to deserve love like this?
What have I done to deserve love like this?
Your voice like a whisper breaking the silence. You say there's a treasure and You look till You find it. 
You search to find me. 
What have I done to deserve love like this?
What have I done to deserve love like this?
I cannot earn what You so freely give.....
What have I done to deserve love like this?

I hope you are just reveling in his love right now as you have read those words and allowed them to minister to your heart as much as they do mine. At some point in our lives, we all feel like our lives are a bit of a wasteland, but at about the time we are the driest and the thirstiest, isn't that just the time he comes to bring the deep refreshing we so desperately desire? In times when all seems to be surrounding us and closing us in like the hard frozen surface of the lake, he is there with the fire of his Spirit to ensure we aren't 'locked into' that place for long. How many long nights have you experienced lately, my friends? Don't lose hope - for it is just about the dawning of his deliverance and his power to rescue from the midst of all that darkness and worry. 

It doesn't matter we don't know how to pray in those wasteland, cold, or dark places - God knows the voice of his Spirit within you. Cry out as only he can give release to those words that need to be spoken. It may come in the form of groans, tears, or even words that just tell him you don't understand. That isn't a problem - he understands them all even better than we do ourselves! What have we done to deserve a love like his? Nothing - absolutely nothing! We might be very 'religious' people, but when the wasteland, dry, cold, or dark places envelop us, how does that 'religion' hold up in the moment of our worst? If you find yourself saying it doesn't really, then perhaps it is time to cry out to God to give you a new perspective on his intense and ever-present love. 

We are all in need of his love - none of us has 'just enough' - we crave for more, don't we? Why? Our hearts are made to be filled not once, but repeatedly - not to the top, but to the overflowing! I wonder if the wasteland experiences are to help us realize the extreme abundance of his love... I ponder upon the idea that the colder I become, the warmer his fire begins to burn, until the iciness of my heart is melted away... I consider the loneliness of the long night, dark and with shadows that seem to close in on me, recounting each time those times were the quietest I have been before him... Perhaps all of these are what makes us 'crave' even more of his grace and love. Maybe we just need to cry out - letting his Spirit begin to speak the words we want so desperately to express to him, but don't really understand. Just thinking....

Your life speaks very clearly

Imagine what life would be like if Jesus had avoided the cross - if every 'negative thing' he experienced while on this earth and those three days in the tomb had been something he refused to embrace. What chaos would exist in this world today as our sinful natures just continued to follow whatever felt good to us? If we look at the chaos sin DOES cause today, imagine it multiplied ten, twenty, or even a thousand times over - because without Christ moving in his people, the chaos would be growing at astronomical proportions! Jesus never took the easy way out - he embraced the hard path, the difficulties of being rejected, and the hardships of being misunderstood by some of the most influential and important people of the time. Yet he endured it all - not because it was easy for him - but because he knew it was necessary for us - the ones he loves with an intensity that outweighs any of the hardships he endured.

That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus! (Romans 15:5-6)

Jesus set an example for us - embrace troubles - don't run from them. Easier said than done - I know that full well. I have run many a time rather than face it head-on because deep down inside of me is a very cowardly heart! The thing I had to recognize in order to embrace those troubles was that I could stand on the promise that God would give me everything I needed to walk through them. That meant I had to discover his truths in scripture, embrace them instead of the chaos, allowing them to speak hope into my life when everything seemed to be telling me otherwise. The combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel - did you see that in the passage above? This is how we embrace the chaos and trouble of our day - with his presence and the wisdom of his scripture.

These two things are to come to 'characterize' our lives - when others look at us they are to see the evidence of his comforting presence and the hope of his Word within us. Do you know the power that is in the Word of God? If you remember back to the creation story, how did the sky come to be separated from the lands and sea? His word. How did the sun start to shine by day and the moon by night? His word. How did man come to be? His word. His word has a 'creative' power to it, doesn't it? His word sets things into motion, stops other things in their path. His word calms the tumultuous seas and brings the downpour of much needed rains. His word brings forth the harvest in season. It is indeed a powerful thing!

Why does God want us to come to be known as filled with his Scripture? Perhaps it is because he wants us to be not only examples of his Word's power, but to also be ambassadors of that same hope so the lives of others can find the power for themselves. God's main aim in all of this is that we learn to work together as a community of believers - to be in unity with each other. Getting along with your closest friends and family members is hard enough - open the door to others who are beyond the inner circle and it gets even harder! Yet, Christ prepared the way for our many 'voices' to blend together in a perfect harmony - not to sing our own praises, but escalate the praises of his Father! 

Our 'voice' is more than the words that come forth from our lips - it is every action we take, every thought we think, every hope we share, every fear we push aside, and every hand we take hold of in this walk we are called to live. Our lives are our words - lived well, the story will be God-honoring and will stand as a beacon for others to find hope in Christ. Don't squander away what God has given - embrace his Word, allow it to begin to speak faith into your life, and then begin to allow his Word to be 'spoken' through your life's actions. We never know what chaos God will settle because we have been faithful to sing forth in harmony with him. Just sayin!

Running a little hot or cold?

Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. (James 3:17-18)

Stop for just a moment and consider just how hard it is for two to walk in agreement. There will always be differences in how we think - it is part of who we are and what we have experienced in life. We don't all 'think alike', regardless of how similarly we have been raised, studied, or been through challenges in life. We all face those opportunities differently because God made us each unique human beings, capable of independent thought and 'adaptive' behavior. 

It is quite possible you will associate with that phrase 'hot one day and cold the next' as we see in this passage. I can run hot and cold on a variety of topics. Catch me in a mood where my clothes are fitting a little snugger than I'd like, waistband biting in a bit, and I may be very 'hot' about eating right and getting a few extra steps tracked on the Fitbit. Catch me in a moment when the hot, fresh baked bread is beckoning me to slather it with fresh butter and I am a goner! Hot one day and cold the next!

In relationships it is quite possible we run a little hot and cold, as well. We don't always give it our all, do we? There are just times when we go through the motions, but our heart really isn't in it. There are also those times when no matter the cost or effort it will take, we are there - focused, willing, and even if not able, we are doing our best to be able. Perhaps this is why God reminds us it takes more than a little bit of focus and effort to build a healthy and robust community. 

If you have ever read up about Disney, you know that when the 'characters' are 'on stage', they always have to represent the 'feel' of magic in the air. They must be 'in character' - feeling it or not - it is an expectation. Imagine Mickey dragging his feet, shoulders slumped forward, and his head hung down. Would that be the image Disney wanted displayed at the 'happiest place on earth'? You know it isn't, so the characters have to 'put aside' their real 'burdens' and assume their 'character role' with commitment to his principles of always 'being in character'.

In day to day community we are not just 'in character', though. We get 'real' with each other - or at least that is how God wants it to be. When we get 'real' with each other, we can come across 'testy' or 'jubilant' - hot and cold, you might say. We must extend grace at times, while it is us who will need that exact grace at another time. Community isn't easily established and it is far easier to lose the sense and purpose of communing with each other than one might imagine. So, we must invest ourselves in it - work to keep it - treating each other with dignity and honor. 

Dignity - with decency and respect. Honor - in fairness, honesty, and integrity. Those are pretty 'high standards' required for community to be strong and vibrantly growing, aren't they? Are they possible? Yes, if we make the investment to be more than just 'in character' - getting real with each other and supporting one another through hot and cold seasons in those relationships. Just sayin!

Dragging your feet?

How many times do you find yourself moving slowly and deliberately because you don't want to do something at hand? My windows need a good washing and I keep putting it off. It isn't that the job is all that hard. I just don't like having to pry the screens off and then wash them down, allow them to dry, and then return them to their place. I don't mind the window-washing part - it is the whole screen issue that gets in the way of me completing the job as quickly as I'd like! So, I drag my feet a little when it comes to completing this project, but if they are to be washed, I must stop my foot-dragging behavior, buckle down, and get 'er done. How many things in life do we just 'drag our feet' on, only to find if we just buckle down a bit, we'd be very pleased with the outcome?

Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. (Hebrews 6:10)

Committed faith isn't just accidental - it is purposefully putting one foot in front of the other, learning to walk one step at a time, eventually finding our way to a more consistent walk. We might drag our feet a little when it comes to taking steps of obedience because the 'work' seems a bit too hard. Commitment to Christ means we take steps - not that we march in place! Do you know how you develop a life of obedience? You take the first step toward 'right practices'. We never develop 'right practices' just by recognizing we need to develop them. That would be a silly as thinking my windows could get clean without me getting out there, prying down the screens, and scrubbing off the Arizona dust. All of us can look at the need for something in our lives way too long - allowing time to pass as we drag our feet in  what is nothing more than a slow and deliberate lack of obedience.

A course has been set. At the point of our saying 'yes' to Jesus, a new course was mapped out for our lives. Plain and simple, we were to start taking steps in a different direction - choices were to change. How have we been doing with that one? If you are anything like me, you make some good ones and then you make some bad ones. Hopefully you find the bad ones become less and less and the good ones begin to occur more frequently. If you have ever looked at a map, spreading it out across the kitchen table, then leaned in to get a good look at what course you'd take to get to a destination, you likely have noticed what places you'd pass by and those you might actually like to stop to explore along the way. That is the purpose of setting a course to a destination - giving you the path of what you want to pass through and those things you want to take in a little. 

When we set that course with Jesus' help, we find he gives us clear guidance to 'pass through' some things, while he allows us to 'take in' others. What has his guidance done for us? It has kept us from deviating from the course, but allowed us to enjoy the journey, as well! Those 'pass-through' moments are necessary for us to get to our destination, but those 'take in' moments are what make the journey awesome. I have driven by landmark after landmark, but when I actually stop to take one in, I am always amazed at how much beauty I behold, or knowledge I obtain as a result of having 'taken it in'. The one who want to have a committed faith will acknowledge when they are dragging their feet a bit and will see the advantage to letting go of that 'reluctance' to take the next step. They will put one foot out, then another, taking steps in the right direction. Why? They want to 'take in' the things God has prepared for them, while leaving behind others. That is obedience. Just sayin!

Two and two make...

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)

To be painfully truthful here, there have been times when I have imagined God needed my advice on how to fix a particular matter in my life or that of another. How foolish of me to think God needed my 'input' on the matter in order to find the solution. There have been plenty of times when he just needed me to finally hear what he was saying to me - allowing me to 'catch up' with what he was doing in my life - but there hasn't even been one time when he looked to me to advise HIM on how HE should be working! Even when I assumed he needed my input, he has been extravagant in his love to me, showing me grace and helping me to see the futility of my advice. It wasn't that it wasn't reasonable advice, but it wasn't what was necessary for God to do whatever it was he was up to within my life. I wonder how many times I shut down God's input because I am too busy offering my own? If you are prone to the same 'malady' of soul as I am then you know exactly how hard it can be to just be quiet and listen as God speaks. 

Everything within our lives comes from him. Everything - that seems hard to believe as so many of us like to think of ourselves as 'self-made' men or women. That is exactly the problem! We have been trying to make something work in our lives that only 'works' when God is at the center of it. There isn't any other 'solution' to our 'malady of soul'. I just want to go on record as saying anything 'self-made' falls far short of what is 'God-created' in us. We might clean up our act a little, gaining a little ground, but in the end we are left with something far short of what he would have done if given the chance. The wisdom of God to truly 'know' us inside and out, then to know exactly what needs to be removed, replaced, and renewed is amazingly above our own contemplation or self-help plans. We might think we understand our pain, but do we truly? We might believe we know what triggers our failures, but do we know how to release those triggers so they no longer have that power within us? If we are all truthful here we'd have to admit we have tried to figure it out, but we don't really know the 'exact' answer.

My grandson has this little 'tell' when he is about to get ill. He begins to complain that his throat feel a little 'limey' and that his stomach is upset. It took some time for my daughter to realize this signaled something pretty significant. You might think the stomach flu, but it almost always points to one or both ears being infected. If she had counted on earthly wisdom to figure that out on her own, she would be thinking the kiddo had stomach flu every time. When she was able to finally connect two and two, she began to realize the symptoms meant far more than an upset stomach. They signaled a significant illness that required medical intervention. There are times we count on our earthly wisdom way too much and then miss the importance of taking the 'right steps' the situation requires. God's knows the exact reason we are experiencing whatever it is within our lives and he desires nothing more than to be asked to reveal it. What we need to do is lay down our earthly wisdom and pride long enough to listen. When we let go of what we 'think' is the reason, listening to the words of the one who 'knows' the real reason for the present challenge, we might just learn a little about how two and two add up in our lives. Just sayin!

The importance of the middle bricks

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the duplicity of the treacherous destroys them. (Proverbs 11:3)

Integrity is having agreement in all the areas of our lives. A hypocrite is one who is a different person behind the mask - they wear that mask and allow everyone to see on the what they want them to see on the outside. Their private lives are much different than their public lives. Whatever directs us on the inside is what is really what gives a man or woman integrity. We are building a life - whatever we put into it will eventually be visible on the outside. Every decision is a brick in that building - we can do right or wrong - each is a brick that adds to the 'integrity' of the building!

At some point, we make compromises. A good question to ask is, "What do your actions say about your integrity?" Our actions really say a lot about the 'bricks' that we put into the building of our lives. We make decisions all the time - some are wildly wrong and others are perfectly right. There are also those that are kind of 'in the middle' decisions - those are sometimes the hardest for us to realize there has been a lack of integrity in those decisions. At some point, those 'middle bricks' will be very important - what we do on the outside is always going to reflect what is happening on the inside.

When you have integrity -nothing else matters. When you don't have integrity - nothing else matters. That may seem a little contradictory, but when we don't have it, we don't really care that we don't. When we do, nothing will get in the way of us maintaining that integrity. David prayed for God to search his heart (Psalm 139) because he knew his heart lied to him all the time - he knew his life might be a little 'compartmentalized' - with areas he kept to himself (his private life). Where we are the most defensive; don't want others to ask questions about; or are the most critical in others about - those are the areas where we likely have some issues with 'integrity bricks'.

Did you know it is harder to regain our reputation when our 'integrity bricks' have been laid through bad decisions in our lives than it was to actually lose that integrity? Integrity is easy to lose, but very, very hard to regain. Whenever there is any lack of integrity in our lives it as though we just 'know' others can see that lack. We do the best to 'white wash' over those 'middle brick' places, but we somehow 'know' those areas look a little different on the outside than the other areas of our lives where we have worked hard to have or maintain integrity. It is like a bad 'stucco' job! You know it is just a patched place.

It seems like a whole lot of effort gets put into the end or corner bricks - because they create the stable point by which the rest of the wall is built. We also pay a great deal of attention to those 'capper' bricks that even off the top row and give the illusion of perfect 'straightness' in the wall. But...the middle bricks matter significantly. If those are haphazardly laid, lacking 'integration' into the full structure of the wall with evenness and straightness, the wall will be flimsy and will eventually reveal the lack of integrity created by that haphazard building. Integrity is what we are on the 'inside' - not just what we reveal on the outside. The 'middle bricks' matter - don't allow compromise to create a mere illusion of integrity. Build your life with integrity through and through. Personal, spiritual, family, career, and social life - all integrated and all wholly focused on Jesus. Just sayin!

Abandoned obedience

 I remember being a 'new mom', reading all the books I could get my hands on in order to understand how the life within was taking form, what was happening to my body, and how to prepare for that 'big day' when she would make her debut in this big, big world. That was years ago now, but when I allow my mind to drift back to those times, I can recall some of the excitement combined with fear as we readied our home for her arrival. I'd have to admit, as much as I 'read up' on it all, I was really not prepared for those first few weeks without sleep, the long nights walking the floors, let alone the number of diaper changes, spit-ups that required clothing changes, or the inability to figure out what those cries meant! Trying to figure out all that stuff and get enough time to shower, squeeze in some much needed rest, and still find time to make meals, wash clothes, and clean the bathroom - it seemed as complex as it must be to obtain one's PhD!

Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does. (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

The mystery of what God is doing 'in us' is sometimes as confusing and 'daunting' as being a 'new mom'. We think we can 'read up' on how he works and then we will have it all figured out, but let me burst your bubble on that one - I have been 'reading up' since the age of about 13 and in those 50 years, I still don't have him all 'figured out'! God just 'is' and that can be the hardest thing for some of us to wrap our heads around. We don't understand that he had no beginning, nor do we understand how he can have no end. He is. Our 'natural minds' can have a truly hard time trying to 'figure that one out'. How does someone exist before anything else existed? That must remain a mystery to me, I am afraid, but it doesn't dissuade me in my trust in the fact he exists!

Are there things you are trusting God for in your life? Do you understand how he will accomplish those things? Sure, you might think you have him figured out, knowing pretty much how he will 'do' whatever it is you need to have 'done', but do you really understand all that is behind what he is doing? If you get truthful here, you'd have to admit God does things and you have no idea he has even been at work! As hard as it is to understand his working within us, it can be equally as hard to understand his working within another. I have tried to figure out how he works in others in order to figure out how he goes about working in me and do you know what I figured out? He doesn't do it the same way in me!

The books I read that challenge me to consider God's best for my life are indeed excellently written and the experiences of the authors come across very well. The words may prompt me to take action and to even attempt to 'emulate' what they have done. I try to imitate their actions and hope the results will be equally as amazing. Let me just stop us there. Our 'imitated actions' are not what God is looking for. When we read the things that challenge us, God's greatest hope is that we will ask him how he can use those words to trigger or spark something within us that will begin to 'develop' something we need within our lives. It isn't that we will imitate those actions, expecting the same results. It is that we will trust him to take what we have gleaned and use those truths to bring us close enough to him to hear what he is about to do within us if we will just trust him with abandoned obedience.

I guess the main thing God needs from each of us more than anything else is the willingness to abandon what we think we have figured out and trust him with the very big stuff we really haven't even considered yet! Just sayin!

No window-dressing yet

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. (Psalm 139:13-14)

I oftentimes wonder why it takes so long to see change in my life. I may want to lose 40 pounds, but it seems to take forever to lose even two of those pounds. I wanted to learn to play the guitar, but it took so long to master the chords and I never got onto to the fingering part of the lessons. I wanted to retire, but the goal of retirement seemed so far off, especially when it came to putting extra money away so I would be able to realize the goal. It is going to happen in just about three months - about 1.5 years ahead of schedule, but the journey seemed astronomically long! I want a lot of things to happen, but the length of time it takes to get from zero to whatever the goal is seems very, very long and requires a whole lot of effort. 

Why would I expect the 'changes' I desire to see in my spiritual or emotional health to be any different? It is as though I pray one day, asking very sincerely for God to help me change something he has pinpointed in my life, then I get very discouraged when the same issue is still there a week later. I forget one important thing - God is at work 'shaping me' on the INSIDE first - he isn't worried about the outside yet! He needs to get at my heart, mind, and even my very soul in order to bring about that desired change. I may not see him at work, but I can definitely count on the fact that he is doing that work. It is like when I change my eating habits and wonder if that is impacting my cholesterol numbers. I may not see the benefit until the next time I get my blood drawn, but my body is getting healthier even when I cannot see it!

God 'shapes' INSIDE first - the outward work or evidence begins to be manifest. Did you ever observe a house being built? How insane would it be to put up the walls, install the windows, put up the window dressings, and then begin the work of laying the foundation, installing the plumbing, and running the wiring? The foundation is the starting spot, but even before there is a foundation there is a plan! The plan outlines the specific steps that will be taken to get to what is pictured as the 'finished product', but without those steps, in the right order, by the right craftsmen, the house would be 'wonky'. God's shaping on the inside ensures a good foundation is being created that will sustain the work he desires to give 'outward evidence' of in our lives.

We don't always 'see' the inward and sometimes we don't 'sense' it, either. God can be doing a great deal of 'prep work' to get our hearts and minds into the right place so we are ready to hear what he about to ask of us. All of that 'work' is being done without us even being aware it is - although we may sense something is about to happen, we may not have any clue what is just about to break forth from that 'prep work' he has been up to all along. He has a supreme design - he is the expert craftsman - he needs us to trust him with what he is 'up to' in our inward parts. Our minds need to get aligned to his plan - maybe through discovery of that plan in his Word, or because we begin to hear 'seed thoughts' through good sermons and wise counsel. It doesn't matter how he begins the work, our part is to allow him to work on the INSIDE first - not always expecting the 'window dressing' to be there right away. Just sayin!

Not again, but afresh

 I came across a thought we might want to consider this morning: "Only the mediocre are at their best." (Jean Giraudoux) Well, that certainly puts it right out there, doesn't it? There are days I feel pretty good about what I accomplish, while others just pass without me really doing all that much. How do you I think I feel about those days when I don't accomplish much? Usually I am a little bit discouraged by my 'lack' of 'doing', but I am learning to 'do' less and 'listen' more - not because I don't want to 'do' something, but because I have learned it is easier to do it once than repeat the same failures time and time again! 

Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?— and treat your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime. Let your servants see what you’re best at— the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do! (Psalm 90:12-17)

Life isn't about 'doing' as much as it is about doing 'well' the things we are called to do. When we ask God to teach us to live well - living with wisdom and making right choices - we are about to be rewarded with a whole lot more than the 'mediocre' we can produce on our own. What is God 'best at' in your life? Go ahead and answer that one right now. If I were to answer this, I'd have to begin by saying he is 'best at' setting things right in my life that I have managed to get wrong. There are a whole lot of things in life I set out to do that God will never 'confirm' as the 'right' thing for me to be doing - those are the things he somehow 'sets right' in all his grace, love, and wisdom. I don't know how he does it, but each time I settle for the 'mediocre' in my life, he comes along and changes my perspective to desire more.

Why is that? God wants us to always be 'at our best' - he knows settling for 'mediocre' is not going to ever get us to that point. How many times have you been 'surprised' by God's love? I cannot possibly count the times his grace has rushed over my life, filling me afresh with a sense of his deep and passionate love for this one gal out of so many others he has created on this earth. When I am not 'at my best', he is right there to encourage me to get up, start afresh (not just start again). There is a difference between starting 'again' and starting 'afresh'. If we always do what we have always done (starting again), we will always get what we have always gotten (meaning we need to start yet once again).

God changes our 'again' into 'afresh' because he knows the only way to be free from the mediocre choices we make is to be filled with his grace. It is his grace that teaches us - that shows us there is something other than what we have always done that will lead us into something we have never known before. The 'barely adequate' choices we make are somehow transformed into the 'more than exceptional' ones he desires for us. The poor choices are no longer appealing to us. I don't always understand how God changes my 'again' into an 'afresh' start, but I do know he is always faithful to do just that. Maybe what many of us need is not just another 'again' moment, but rather a truly 'afresh' moment. Just sayin!

Have "it", God!

Have you ever had someone ask you what you might make of a bad situation? They know you are facing it, but they want you to 'make something out of it' rather than 'let it go to waste'. Now, that is a bit optimistic on occasion, as some situations just turn from bad to worse when I get involved in them! Why? It would have been wiser to just let them go - that is what I needed to 'make out of the situation' - stay out of it because it isn't going to change anything for the better if I get involved. What we make of circumstances often reveals much more about the foundation in our lives than we realize. What we do with a failure of another, emphasizing it or letting it go, reveals more about our heart than we often realize. It is what it is...true enough words. We cannot stop a runaway train, but we don't have to be in its path, do we? We also don't need to ride every train that comes along!

A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered. (Proverbs 22:3)

We are actually exercising great "wisdom" when we avoid the "hot buttons" in relationships. That may not seem like rocket science for some, but how many times have we just plunged straight ahead, knowing some manner of conversation or action would "trigger" that very hot button in someone's life? Probably more than we realize! What we make of it is what it will become - keep that in mind the next time you want to just plunge right in! The prudent and the simpleton - those are two different sides of the coin, aren't they? While we don't use these words too often in our vocabulary today, they carry some pretty important meaning. The prudent are the savvy - those who have understanding and actually use it! The simpleton are just the opposite - they are ignorant and their ignorance gets them into some pretty tight spots from time to time! The savvy individual actually sees the speeding train and ducks out of the way! The ignoramus simply walks down the middle of the tracks or buys a ticket to actually ride it!

Life happens - but the savvy have learned to take what it sends their way and make it into the best thing possible. Life comes at you fast - learn to look at each challenge as an opportunity for growth, blessing, and foundation building within your life and those within the relationship! We can see trouble coming a mile off sometimes. If this is true, then why do we stand there, clearly in its path, and get all worked up about it coming? I have had relationships over the years in which it seemed NOTHING good ever came from them! There were more "hot buttons" triggered than words of kindness or appreciation. So, why did I keep those relationships? I actually thought they were teaching me something! In response to their hurled accusations, I learned the difficult lesson of turning the other cheek. Don't get me wrong - this was a hugely hard lesson to learn and I don't think I am finished by any means! In response to their curtness, I had the opportunity to respond in kindness. Sometimes I responded more like the simpleton than the prudent! I allowed their curt response to become something which actually "ruffled my feathers" instead of learning to not respond in like manner.

I honestly believe we "get" some of these moments in life so we can develop some of the things God wants us to "become". We don't see the threat of the speeding train until we are clearly in its path! We don't see the volatility of any unkind word until we have spoken it! Some of us "bury" those hot buttons so deep, it almost eludes us seeing them - but, boy, can we hit 'em! We all make something different out of what life sends our way, don't we? Some see the speeding train as an opportunity to learn to run and run faster than the train - others see it as an opportunity to solve the equation which will slow its progress. What "becomes" is based on how we "see" the train - as an opportunity or as a threat! Too many times, we "interpret" the situation as a threat - causing us to fear it rather than overcome it! God's  plan is for us to allow our situation to "become something more". I think this is probably the lesson he taught the day he asked the disciples how much food the crowd had. In their "interpretation" they had very little (5 loaves and 2 fish for a crowd of over 5,000). In his perspective, they had enough to allow it to "become" all they needed - with leftovers! Our present situation may just be an opportunity for us to "become" something more! It is the broken relationship which teaches us the lessons of forgiveness and the destruction of bitterness. It is failing health that opens our eyes to enjoying moments which previously escaped our attention. It is the hunger of our souls which causes us to pick up our dusty Bibles and search out the hidden treasures within. It is what it is - but it has the power to become so much more when the "it" is squarely placed in God's hands! Just sayin....

Did I say that?

Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.  Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose.  (Proverbs 18:20-21)

I love it when fruits and veggies come in season in the local market. The winter veggies are okay - but the summer ones taste way different. The winter fruits are limited - but the floodgates seem to open in summer to melons, berries, citrus, mangos, pineapples, and the list goes on. This is the best time of year to enjoy some of the fruits of the season.  The melons are juicy and sweet.  The grapes are colorful and tasty.  The strawberries boast luscious enjoyment and a sweet scent.  Fruit has a way of satisfying our senses - both internally (our taste buds) and externally (sight and smell).  There is another kind of fruit we might enjoy a little better if we realized we might just "eat it" or "experience the fragrance of it" at a later time!

Good talk - fruit for our souls, nourishment for our minds, and health for our bodies.  This is indeed a harvest we could ALL get into!  We all have experienced the times when we say something without thinking, or get caught up in responding before we really take time to listen.  The end result is usually words that perhaps seem a little "bitter" and with an unanticipated tendency to "repeat" on themselves!
Scripture puts it out there - they are either poison or fruit - the choice is ours! We have a choice about the words we speak as much as the words we DON'T speak. Words have much more power than we give them credit for - like fruit fuels our bodies - words fuel our worries and ignite our frustrations, or they build up our faith and encourage our progress!  

Words that are spoken without thought are equated to those spoken from the mouth of a fool.  "Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth." (vs. 2) Did anyone say "ouch" on that one? Words often show just how much judgment a person exercises! A fool is one who lacks judgment - therefore, when words are spoken without prior thought, they are equated to be "foolish". 

If they come from an inner place of 'heart', they are often equated to being as refreshing as an artesian well in the middle of a hot desert.  "Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs." (vs. 4)  An artesian well is covered by impermeable rock. The water which rises from this well is that which is coming forth "under pressure" - it rises to the surface because their is pressure exerted that actually lifts it to the surface. The water finds a path of release. It seems to defy gravity. There is no need to manually bring it to the surface, as with a traditional well. In fact, in the path from within that water passes through so many filters it is sweet when it comes forth! That is certainly some food for thought! When we allow time for the "pressures" to give rise to the words through a path which seems impenetrable, there is an opportunity for them to pass through the "Holy Spirit filters" which might just purify them a little more!

People who speak first and think later often would do better to have a gag in their mouth! "The words of a fool start fights; do him a favor and gag him."  (vs.6) Wouldn't it be nice to have an invisible hand placed over our mouths whenever we would began to speak something unwholesome or cutting? Well, guess what? We have such a "gag" at our disposal - he is called the Holy Spirit! If we speak before listening we will produce "sourness" much like we experience when we bite into fruit which has not ripened. "Answering before listening is both stupid and rude."  (vs. 13) We have a tendency to jump to conclusions - don't we? We want to jump in with both feet - sometimes into issues that are clearly not our responsibility, or which will not be benefited by our involvement. It is both stupid and rude. Words like this are indeed mentally dull, foolish, and senseless! Words which don't have prior thought often reflect just how "dull" we can be in our thinking. Words which are spoken in haste are indeed foolish - they bring out our worst, not our best. Words which are without some kind of "covering" are indeed senseless!  

We choose the harvest we produce. We can allow pressures to create some supernatural filters in our lives, so words take some time to get to the surface, or we can give full vent to them with the dullness and senselessness of a fool. The choice of our words determines the enjoyment (or misery) of the harvest!  Just sayin!

Yeah, you may be right, but...

If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. (Matthew 18:15)

Do you know what strikes me the most from this passage? The extreme obsession with 'pursuing' forgiveness and restoration. Let's get honest here - we rarely "go after" forgiveness like it was something to be pursued until we had resolution. If someone tells us to bug off and refuses our intentions to be restored, we may try again, but do we really have this type of tenacity to "offer again" that grace and love time and time again? If you follow this passage, you might just find yourself in a 'cycle' of going, offering, and being rejected - repeatedly! But...God tells us to not give up - instead we are to keep it up!

That's some serious obedience there, my friends. Get rejected once and you may return again to see if it was just a fluke, but get rejected time and time again and you don't want to 'go again'. Why? You see no point in it, do you? The one who has something against you refuses to 'give in', let alone forgive. Most individuals would just walk away from that relationship and see it as 'permanently damaged' by whatever it was that caused the riff in the first place. God's plan is that we never 'walk away', but that we return time and time again - remembering his grace goes way beyond the offense - it goes to the heart.

I am not going to debate this whole take a few witnesses or the church leaders with you in this passage. I really just want us to see that God values relationships - he sees the importance in restoration. Why? We need each other - we need what the other adds to the relationship - even when what they add is OUR growth experience. It isn't about the other person - it is about us. Forgiveness isn't for the wimpy. It takes some tenacity to 'go again' to someone who doesn't seem to want to admit they need it! It also means we have to take some time with Jesus to get over the 'pride' we exhibit from time to time when we don't want to go to the other individual to offer forgiveness.

That is how we grow through the experience - we lay down our pride, time and time again. In time, we learn what Jesus wants here - to value the relationship more than we value 'being right' all the time. If you have ever sought forgiveness when you knew you were 'right' in the matter, you know how hard that can be, but the value of the relationship was so much more important than 'being right' will ever be. Just sayin!

Today I choose to honor

Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Those who enter...that means we just don't sit around an expect Jesus to make everything good for us all around us. Sometimes we have to put 'feet to our faith' - we need to take steps in the right direction and then we see God's work happening. Why is that? I think it is because God never desired robots or puppets. He created us to be in active relationship with him - willingly submitting our will to his - taking one step after another in the right direction because of how much we want to honor him with our lives.

When we put God in first place in our lives - we are honoring him - giving him the esteem he rightfully deserves. What is the opposite of putting God first - of honoring him with our lives? Whenever we trust in our own ability more than his, we are not honoring him. Whenever we don't follow the instruction of scripture - choosing to disregard it as unreasonable, antiquated, or just 'not for us', we are dishonoring him. Distrust and disregard are enemies of honor.

As I am writing this today, I am listening to praise music and the words of a Hillsong United song are playing. The words that caught my attention today were: "I'll count the joy come every battle...'cause I know that's where you'll be..." The best part of the song: I can see the light in the darkness, as the darkness bows to Him, I can hear the roar in the heavens. As the space between wears thin, I can feel the ground shake beneath us. As the prison walls cave in - Nothing stands between us - Nothing stands between us."

Nothing stands between us - those are words of honor. God honors us as his creation and we honor him as the Creator of all things. Nothing creates 'space' in our relationships because we draw near and he draws us nearer. This is what happens when God is in the right place of honor in our lives. We find ourselves 'undone' in his presence and never worry or fear that his presence will not go before us, be with us, surrounding us on all sides.

Enter into the goodness of God and allow his goodness to enter into you. In short order you will find God is doing within you what you could never do for yourself. Trust him with those things you find hard to find good within - he will show you just where he is in those things. That what it means to count the joy come every battle - because we know without a doubt he will be there right with us. That is what it means to honor God with your life - to trust him even when the battle rages and the waters rise. Just sayin!

A little work pays off in the end

A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. (Matthew 13:3-8)

Okay, you have probably heard this parable once or twice. A farmer planted - nothing unexpected there, right? Farmers plant, but seed purposefully planted is a wondrous thing. Your gardens and fields can be filled with all kinds of 'growing' things - because of purposeful planting. Just as amazing to me is the seeming strength of the stuff that is NOT purposefully planted in our gardens or fields! How is it they manage to get there in the first place, or find root? How do we get to the place our garden only grows the 'good seed' instead of every 'opportunistic seed' that happens along? The idea of planting suggests a whole lot of preparation PRIOR to planting. Someone has gone to a whole lot of work to prepare the soil to RECEIVE the seed. I find this task daunting - why can't I just plant and see it grow? Most of the enjoyment I get out of my garden is only realized when I invest the time! If I want to see bigger blossoms on the hibiscus, I need to turn the soil once in a while and add in the much needed nutrients so missing in this Arizona soil. When I do, I enjoy a season of blossoms. If I don't...it is green, but without evidence of what it is capable of producing.

The same is true of us. Soil prepared yields much more - the purpose for which the seeds were planted begins to become evident in our lives. We begin to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. In time, we get exactly what we were willing to invest! To the soil we add seed - this is what I will call purposeful planting. Fields of wildflowers are indeed beautiful, but most of the "beauty" is really weed! I don't like some things that grow 'naturally' without a whole lot of work - like the four trees that once took root in a very rocky patch in my side yard. I thought I'd let them grow because it was the west side of the house and any shade in this Arizona sun is greatly coveted. They grew quickly - without any attention from me. They needed no watering system - they seemed to find their own. There was no need to fertilize - they were green and hearty all without my constant doting. In a course of a couple of years, these were over thirty feet tall and with branch expanses 10 feet in length. They blossomed in the Spring with bright yellow blossoms, were green all year round, and provided some needed shade to this western exposure of the house. What more could I possibly want?

Nothing of life was produced "from" the tree. In fact, even the birds could not take nest in their expanses because they did not provide enough shelter to even allow the sparrows a home. They were strong trees of sorts - but their strength provided no shelter. In fact, other than a few ant piles underneath, nothing seemed to enjoy their growth - in the end, neither did I! The branches began to expand out over the roof of the house, rubbing their thorny outcroppings constantly on the edges of the eaves and shingles. I was constantly having to scale the steep slant of the rooftop to sidle out to the point I could lop the off those expansive branches - not the safest thing for me to do. Prick yourself with one of the spiny thorns on the branches and you'd hurt for days - even so much as to see small pockets of infection inside the wound begin to develop if left unattended. They dropped tons of 'leaves' resembling very long and pointy pine needles. The lizards enjoyed hiding in the mounds they created, but the yard was constantly a mess.

These trees grew from seed. The seed was indeed NOT planted on purpose. What promised growth looked pretty interesting at first. In the course of time, that which was "opportunistic" in its planting also became a torturing thing in my life! The trees were no longer promising in their growth - they were a burden! The same is true when we allow seeds to be planted in our lives which are of the "opportunistic" type. We may think all "seed" has potential, but if we never check it out beforehand to see what will actually be produced by the "seed", we may be surprised at how much the thing which grows produces nothing more than pricking thorns! I eventually had my brother and his son spend a couple of days with a chain saw cutting those trees down to the quick. Over the next couple of years, I had to constantly cut down the growth which wanted to re-emerge from the remaining stumps. Finally, it took a couple hours of burning the stumps to cease the growth! I had to ignite the stumps with lighter fluid and watch them burn ever so close to the house - vigilant to ensure they did no further damage.

Even the wood they cut from the tree was not worthy to be called firewood. Why? It was covered in so many of these thorns, anyone grabbing them to put into the fireplace would be speared! So, it was hauled away to the dump. There, it could do as it pleased! If it wanted to spring up in the midst of the garbage - I really did not care - just as long as it was not in my yard any longer! Seed which is purposefully planted has specific purpose - there is something we desire, potential we don't realize possible, and enjoyment we could not imagine otherwise. Opportunistic seed comes our way quite frequently - born on the winds of storms, carried by means we may not even appreciate. The thing about opportunistic seed - it needs very little tending to take root. It grows almost unattended. Purposeful seed needs much tending. But...opportunistic seed almost always produces something that is nothing more than a burden to you in the end! Just sayin...

Borders hold us back

Van Gogh asked the question - "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" This is a good question to ponder today because so many times we 'think' about things we'd like to do, but then we discount the 'possibility' of us actually accomplishing it. Why? We might think we don't have the moxie to actually do whatever it is we are considering, or we don't have the time, funds, or talent. Either way, we limit ourselves to never take the next step - all because we lack some element of courage. 

“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

These are God's words - not mine. Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Stop giving the things that seem to stand in your way a second chance. Why? God, YOUR God, has already gone before you to make a way and he will walk with you as you take those steps forward that you have always dreamed about. What does it mean to be intimidated? The most basic definition is to be filled with fear. What does fear do to us? It paralyzes us - it locks us in place so we are doing nothing more than marching in place!

Intimidation is a tactic our enemy uses to 'lock us in place' - to deter us from taking any action - or perhaps to make us feel forced into taking some other action in place of the one we know God is telling us to take. We 'cow' to what seems like insurmountable odds. God isn't put off by the enemy's bullying stance - in fact, he 'strides ahead of us' so as to make a way past all that bullying the enemy is using to intimidate us and hold us in a position of inaction.

I don't know what 'next step' you have been 'fearful' of taking - feeling a little intimidated by others or the 'insurmountable odds' that seemingly stand in the way of your success. God does and he isn't put off by the things we see as 'insurmountable'. He turns hopelessness into hopefulness. He makes what seems impassable into a wide open door. He looks beyond what we see as way too overwhelming and infuses us with a sense of faith and trust. Why? He loves us and wants only the best for us.

We say 'forget it', but he says 'trust me'. I know I put 'borders' to my trust on occasion - kind of hemming myself in by those artificial borders I have committed myself to live within. There are times God wants me to knock through those borders of 'mistrust' and let him show me just how much more he has made a way for me to experience in him if I will just trust him. How about you? Is God asking you to let down some of those 'borders' you have placed to keep you 'secure'? Maybe it is time we trust him with our 'lack of courage' and embrace his 'courage' to take the next steps. Just sayin!

Reckon with this...

Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. (James 5:16)

Make this your COMMON practice. I called that out because I didn't want us to miss it this morning - it is to be our 'common' practice to confess our sins and pray for each other. Why? Not because we need a human to confess our sins to - like a priest in a confessional - but because there is power in declaring we need others to pray with us (agree with us). Confession is coupled with prayer for each other - it doesn't stand alone. We are to share with those who will be able to help us by both praying for us, but also who are placed in our lives so that we 'do life' together. In other words, they help to not only lift us up before the throne of God, but they help us stay on course moving forward - some call this accountability.

The most important part of this passage is not that we confess our sins out loud. If that is what you get from it, then you are missing the point. It is the power of two agreeing together and storming the gates of hell as a 'team'. Praying for each other in a purposeful manner - with intent, knowing the problem at hand. It isn't one of those "I have an unspoken prayer request" moments pictured here - it is an outright "here's the issue I am dealing with right now" kind of moment. There is power in acknowledging our sin (short-comings, failures, missteps - whatever you want to call it here). There is tremendous power in two agreeing on a matter in the spiritual realm. That is why scripture declares: “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (Matthew 18:20)

Partnering together to overcome sin is not easy sometimes - because we have to be honest about our sin with each other. It is like we get 'naked' - we feel vulnerable and that position of vulnerability brings a great deal of angst on our part. What will the other person 'do' with what we tell them? How will this make them feel about our relationship? Will this make them judge me in a different light? Is this too much for them to know about me? Some of the problem is our pride - we don't want to be seen poorly in anyone's eyes. Other parts of the problem is what is really based in trust - do we trust the other person enough for them see us as we really are. The issue is really not that our sin isn't 'discoverable' - because God can tell someone what we are dealing with even when we think we have it really well disguised or covered up! 

When someone gets 'naked' with us, what do we do with that confession? This is the most important part of this passage because if we do what God asks, we will bring that need to his throne and nowhere else. We will agree with the other person in prayer - making his/her need known to no one else other than God himself. If we want to have these types of accountability relationships - the ones that really help us to grow up in Jesus - then we need to be trustworthy with another's confessions. We also need to be good stewards of the knowledge or insight we have been given into that individual's life. As stewards of God's grace, we bring their need before the throne, not judging them for their short-comings, but ensuring that God's grace is ministered where it is most needed. Just sayin!

Just be open

"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me." That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crest-fallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go. (Matthew 19:21-22)

Have you ever been asked to do something you weren't really willing to pay the price to do - something so 'catastrophic' that you just couldn't see how you could possibly 'do' whatever was asked? Regardless of what you are asked to do in the natural, spiritual, or physical sense you probably struggle a little with the "price" associated with it. We all struggle when it comes to the price - it is only natural. What we fail to recognize is Christ wants us to move from responding in the natural and beginning to respond in the spiritual. Refuse to consider the cost up front and you get caught off-guard somewhere down the line. This rich young ruler was having a hard time with Jesus' response. He had the desire to follow Christ, but the "price" was way too high for him. He leaves the conversation with Jesus "crest-fallen" because he was "holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go." You know that we hold onto a whole lot of stuff - not just the physical stuff, but the emotional stuff. Stuff we hold onto tightly becomes that which we consider to be too great a price to pay - because laying it down will cost us just 'way too much'.

I remember getting my first brand new car. Dad helped me secure the best deal, then he watched me drive home, following carefully behind while I got used to my shiny new blue Ford Escort. I had never owned a truly new car myself, so this was a big step. I was probably close to 30 or a little older at the time. I was so delighted with the reliability of my new transportation, having had cars that I regularly had to replace parts on (many times with my own two hands). Then came the fateful day when my new car got its first "boo-boo". I took it to one of these oil change places where they do the oil then check every fluid and level known to man. As I drove home, I did not notice a thing wrong, still quite happy with my shiny blue car, but when I got out of the car and walked into the house I was stopped in my tracks. There on the front left fender was a huge drip pattern where the paint had begun to come off (that top shiny coat). I immediately panicked and began to wipe furiously with a soft cloth. What I came to realize was no amount of rubbing was going to change the fact - the brake fluid carelessly dripped there had eaten through the paint. I spent some hard earned money on various types of polishing cremes and waxes, and in time, it was "almost" perfect - but I knew it was still flawed.

I tell this story about myself because I want you to know my response. I was "crest-fallen" - my "possession" was now less than perfect. I remember even asking God how HE could have let this happen! A dangerous thing to ask unless you really want the answer!!! In a matter of a few days, he eventually opened my eyes to the fact I was more "proud" of the car than I was in giving him the glory for providing the finances to actually buy it! In fact, I was so focused on showing off the car - with an attitude of extreme pride - I forgot totally to give any honor to him for the job he had miraculously provided which not only provided well for my household as a single mother of two, but allowed such "extravagances". Oftentimes we know we have a little bit of a wrong focus based on our response to an event that begins to affect the object of our affection. If our focus is on the object first, what has happened to it and how this affects US, we might just have a little bit of a wrong focus. It is then that we hear the last thing we expected to hear - "I think your eyes may have been a little more focused on that object than on me." These words are Christ's - deeply rocking our 'less than perfect' world. Sometimes rocking us to the core of our being. The object of our affection is also the object of our attention. We stand there dispirited, discouraged, and often depressed. Why? Simply because we realize we are not in the place we want to be as it comes to our relationship with Christ.

As I looked at the car fender that day, my eyes began to open to the truth of my pride - a constant companion with me in this journey we all call life. If I got less than an "A" on a paper in school, I struggled with my response to it - pride. If I found myself unable to keep up with the demands of a job which could require 12-14 hour days from me AND raising two children on my own, I got down on myself - pride. If my spiritual life was not where I wanted it to be, I bought more books, read more of the Word and prayed harder, but still did not grow much - pride. If my savings wasn't where I wanted it to be in order to give me that sense of 'peace' that I could withstand a rainy day, I'd find ways to have a 'side job' so I could save a little more - pride. Who would have thought one event could have opened the door to so many issues in one life? Well, just know this - when God begins to speak, he rarely stops until it is ALL said and done! In short order, God began to bring balance into my life. All through the tiny streaks created by an "abrasive" fluid on the fender of my car. I wonder if God intended something "abrasive" to be that which began to "eat away" at my overwhelming pride? Maybe so! You never know the lesson God will use - you just need to be open to the possibilities! I am not saying the battle is won, but today failure is an opportunity for me to learn, not a tragedy to be avoided. Life balance involves time for God, time for family, and time for others. Work is a means to "finance" my life's enjoyments - ministry, family fun, and even a special treat once in a while! We never know what life-lesson is being taught - but if we are open, he will teach us. Rather than turning away crest-fallen, we will be transformed by his Spirit within us. We just need to be open. Just sayin...

A sacred enclosure

Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your own permission (Arnold Bennett)

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. (Romans 8:5-8)

Our minds can be like steal traps - holding onto stuff best let go of and resisting the entry of the stuff that really needs to be given place in our memory and forethought. If our minds are a 'sacred enclosure', then why do we let stuff into them that is less than 'sacred'? I think it could be we are so 'bent' on doing things in our own strength or power that we see little need to let in the pure and undefiled things God has prepared for us. We rely upon our own strength - denying God access to us through quiet times of prayer and contemplative thought. We rely upon our own wisdom - denying God access repeatedly to malformed thought processes and patterns. We rely upon our own ability - denying god access to use those talents and abilities for his glory and not our own. Indeed, if our minds are 'enclosures', then how limiting it is to only consider what 'self' can focus upon - for self focuses on many things opposed to the wisdom and truth of God.

Self measures by a faulty measurement - usually comparing ourselves to another we feel superior to in the first place and then stating confidently that we aren't all that bad. As we have already discussed this past week, there is no degree to sin or failure. A fail is a fail - a fall is a fall - a compromise is a compromise. The sooner we recognize that truth, the sooner we can begin to see how 'self' gets us all jumbled up. 'Self' attempts to exclude God from the equation - probably not consciously, but it does. It limits his access to the thought patterns proven to be capable of misleading us time and time again. Instead, self works hard to exercise some 'moral muscle' - that thing we often refer to as willpower - to overcome that misleading thought pattern. Alas, it seldom works, does it? The mind was made to function best when God is placed first - in the foremost of our thoughts and focus. 

We might actually need to recognize the 'self-directed' thoughts we have been allowing into this sacred enclosure we refer to as our minds are exactly what has been causing the misdirected steps we have been taking all along. The 'sacred enclosure' has been compromised! If a walled city doesn't have strong gates, all the strength of their walls is useless. If the city has strong gates and crumbling walls, you might as well just open the gates wide. The enclosure that has been compromised by any enemy is harder to take back than it is to defend in the first place. Why is that? I think it may be that the enemy begins to build the walls stronger and firm up those gates so they are sturdier than ever  -  you have given him access to a privileged property! He isn't going to just turn it back over - he will fight you for it.

This 'sacred enclosure' doesn't always have 'external' enemies that do as much damage as the one we call 'self' - our internal enemy. The old man called self has set up shop and has no intentions of leaving. The only way to reclaim what has been given over to the enemy is to expel the enemy! To have a mind open to the things of God, one has to 'dethrone' self from that sacred enclosure. As hard as that may seem, God doesn't ask us to just put a 'buffer zone' between self and his grace. He asks us to allow grace to enter in, helping us to dethrone 'self' each and every time we think the way to victory is to just exercise more of our own moral muscle. Here is the truth we need to embrace - there is no room for self where the sacred is meant to dwell. Just sayin!

A full tank - fueled for the day

When my BBQ grill runs out of propane, it is usually right in the middle of cooking something like chicken or steak. There I sit, expecting a tasty BBQ meal and then at about halfway through, I have to improvise by bringing it all inside and cooking it on the stovetop. What a disappointment it is when the flames 'burn out'. In our spiritual life, our flame can burn out if it isn't kept fueled and ready for use. Just a little fuel is not enough - it can leave you 'improvising' life - and we all know improvised life isn't as good at the one 'finished well'!

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. (Romans 12:12)

How is it you keep yourself fueled and aflame? I know some like to get away to that special spot in the woods, just taking in nature for a while. Others appreciate a great family gathering, complete with card games and good food, where laughter abounds and the 'bragging rights' of being the best at canasta or euchre is something we know isn't a 'pride thing', but a way of having a little fun with the sibs. Another may feel a special 'infilling' of God's best just by taking a long walk, feeding a few ducks along the canal, and observing the beauty of the trees in full bloom. 

Fuel is found in a lot of things, but there is one fuel that never burns out - the fuel of the Word. We need to take it in regularly, so we remain fueled for the 'fire' of life. We also find fuel in times of contemplative prayer - those times when we just let our mind wander in God's presence - allowing him to speak into us and embracing his peace as it envelopes our lives. Listen to a long play list of your favorite worship songs and see what it does for your spirit. It will refuel you without you even realizing it - little bits and pieces of those songs speaking something deep into your spirit. 

Keep yourself fueled - this suggests to us that there is an active participation in us remaining fueled. It doesn't happen by osmosis. We just don't sit and expect to be refueled. We open the Word of God, get into it, come across passages we don't really understand, and then we ask God to show us the meaning. We dig out the dictionary and discover the various meanings of the words used. We allow God to open his Word to us and to break us open with it, as well. We take time to admit our sin, seek his forgiveness, and listen intently as he breaks chains in our lives. Keep means we don't let up - ever!

Be alert and cheerfully expectant. If I am waiting for a delivery from Amazon, I am 'alert' to the sounds of the idling engine outside by the curb and the footsteps of the one coming to the door. If I am not expecting anything that day, my level of alertness to the 'street noises' is different. I am not 'on alert' because there is nothing expected. Part of keeping ourselves fueled is living with an expectation of receiving something each day - of being filled over and over again - so we are ready for the day. Expectant people find they aren't disappointed in his presence. For it is there they find filling for their 'tank' that is unlike any other 'fuel'. Just sayin!

Above or better? Not!

Lord, have mercy on me...a sinner. Those words speak volumes. When we finally get past our pride and begin to see ourselves realistically, we are on the right path. Pride gets in our way so many times - giving us 'reason' and 'permission' to compare ourselves one with another. This is dangerous because these are faulty comparisons. As I have already said this week - there is no degree to sin - all sin is destructive to us and possibly even to others. Pride is hard to identify in our lives sometimes, but it is indeed a 'big deal'. 

He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” (Luke 18:9-14)

There are times when we are so confident WE can do something, but then when we fall on our faces, not accomplishing whatever it was we set out to accomplish we struggle with this thing called 'pride'. Why? WE thought we could do it in our own strength. I have tried many things in the workshop having watched a few YouTube videos of others who actually do woodworking as more than an occasional hobby and my results varied quite a bit. Why? I am not at their level of expertise! Pride is an elevation of ourselves to an unrealistic position. It is us saying we are better than another. When it comes to making some things out of wood, I am okay, but those others online are not just okay - they are doggone great at it!

Anytime we begin to compare, we are putting ourselves higher than another. We say, "At least I am not like...." We may not realize it at first, but we are somehow seeing ourselves as 'better than you'. Nobody does it like me...I am best at this...I am the most informed...I have the best relationship...and the list goes on and on. We don't always realize we are doing this - because some comparison we do is rather unconscious - we do it in our minds without even thinking about. Some of the problems we overlook in ourselves are the very things we focus so closely on in others. This can be a tell-tale sign we are struggling with this 'unconscious' pride thing.

The God we serve is the very one who can handle our failures - nothing separates us from his love. There are times we say we can handle all the stuff that comes up in our lives - but this is pride. We cannot handle life alone - we need to ask for help even when we don't think we need it. Maybe we struggle with pride more than we thought. We are pretty certain we can do life without really asking for direction from anyone - especially God. What a dangerous place to be - to stop taking life to God and doing it all on our own terms. Whenever we feel like we can handle life alone - we sin - and then we begin to feel shame - then we try to cover it up in our pride. See the ugly cycle there?

Pride isn't easy to see, and it can be even harder to acknowledge. We may feel shame, but covering up our failure is never going to work to make us feel any better. Rather than covering up, we need to ask for help. The humble are lifted up - they aren't stepped on by God and pushed even further down into their mire. We are lifted above the mire - not only lifted, but washed clean of the mire. It is one thing to be lifted - it is indeed another to be fully washed clean from the muck and mire of our sin. We all need the help of another - God is our first help and then he places others in our lives to continue to help us - as our accountability partners.

Sin cannot be rationalized. We are not above the rules. We are not able to handle life alone. We aren't always going to like our vulnerability when we confess our sins, but there is nothing more liberating than to get truly 'naked' before God and ask for his help with our pride. Covered up sin is just pride trying to 'dress up' the sin so it isn't as evident. God isn't fooled by the 'dressed up' version of our lives. In fact, he is more comfortable with our nakedness than we are! Just sayin!

Believe

It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Anyone who wants to approach God - MUST believe...

That MUST is an imperative - not a 'caution' or 'advice'. It is meant to give us a positive direction we can follow. If we want to approach God - to enjoy and appreciate his presence in our lives, we MUST believe two things. Before we get into those two things, let's begin by fully understanding the word 'believe'. It carries the idea of having confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so. We don't 'see' God, but we believe he exists. We don't hear his audible voice, but we believe he speaks. We don't know his beginning, but we believe he is without beginning or end. We don't have to fully understand to believe - we just have to accept truth and place our confidence in it.

For some this may seem like a real 'leap' because it is hard to believe in something you cannot see or feel. There needs to be 'substance' to whatever they will believe in, so let me share a few things to help those who need 'substance'. Look at the ground upon which you stand today - the literal soil. Then look beneath the surface of that soil - observing worms, ants, grubs, and the like. Look at the things growing from that soil - grass, trees, bushes, and even weeds. Look at the sky and the airplane that cuts a trail across the vast expanse. Look at the gentle breeze catching the leaves, causing the loveliest of rippling tones and gently tugging your hair in tiny wisps. You have just observed - seen and felt - God. Look around and observe the creation - the work of the Creator of all things.

We must believe he exists - we see evidence of his existence all around us. We cannot deny the infinite greatness of his power when we consider all these things. Some will say the 'big bang' created all of this, but I have to think that all those 'equations' as to how evolution occurred actually bring us back to one singular event or moment. Scripture, on the other hand, points us back to that one singular moment when God said, "Let there be....", and there was! I can believe that - have confidence in the existence of a God so loving that he'd create such a beautiful place for his creation. We begin this journey of faith by believing God is and then we believe he actually cares for those of us who seek to know him. 

Believe he is and then believe he cares for us. Two very simple thoughts, but for some these will be the hardest of 'concepts' to grasp. Why? Believing in what cannot be totally understood is hard for some. I don't know how my car engine works, but I believe it will propel my SUV from here to the store each and every time I need to replenish my groceries. I don't understand completely how the air I breathe actually is able to sustain life totally, but I know one breath in and one breath out leads to the next - interrupt that cycle and it gets difficult to sustain life. I don't understand fully the ups and downs of the stock market, but I know when it is up my savings looks healthier than when it is down!

Believing isn't always prefaced with full understanding - sometimes it is just a trust thing. We have to trust the one who is fully and completely truth. Then we can come into the place where we begin to trust he will care for those he cares so deeply about so as to have not only created them, but everything required to sustain them each and every day. Just sayin!

Who's looking out for you?

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love. (Ephesians 4:15)

Oh...grow up! Have you ever heard that said to someone? Perhaps it was said to you a time or two in the course of 'growing up'. What does it mean to 'grow up'? I am aware of individuals who 'grow up' in size, but not necessarily in intellect, emotion, or even spirituality. Sometimes our bodies grow faster than the rest of us - we look like we are all 'grown up', but we have limited experiences, untested theories of how life works, and are kind of 'green' around the edges. There seems to be various areas of our lives that can be 'stunted' in growth - not all grow equally, nor ever developing in some areas as well as we may have desired to develop. As a teen, I recall other girls in my class seemingly developing at great speed and there I was - looking every bit like a pre-teen and acting that way, too! My development hadn't reached their developmental stage - so I was kind of down on myself. All God asks of his kids is that we continue to grow - that we don't refuse nourishment that will help us to grow as strong and healthy kids in his kingdom. We may not all develop as fast as we would like, but God has something to work with if we are growing even a little bit!

To grow up in God's kingdom means that we stop holding tight to some of the lies we have believed in life and begin to see those lies replaced with his truth. What might some of those lies be that we hold on so tightly to? Perhaps it is the lie that we can live with a foot in the old way of living and a foot in this new way of living in Christ Jesus. That is a dangerous road to travel - the footing isn't secure and it will not produce the growth he desires. In fact, it will seem like others are developing all around us and there we are - not seeming to be developing at all. God has always required his kids to choose a path - not multiple paths. One path leads to life - the other to death. Choose one or the other - you cannot walk both and expect to grow up in Christ. Maybe we have been believing the lie that our 'sin' is really not all that 'big' and that compared to another's 'sin' ours is just not worth all that much attention. The truth is that there is no 'menial' sin - all sin is sin. Murder may be a big sin, but so is malicious gossip. Adultery is a big sin, but so is not being invested in the relationship you have been given. There is no 'degree' to sin, but that is a lie the enemy of our souls wants us to believe. Why? As long as he has us 'comparing' our sin to another's, he knows we will find a way to justify continuing in it. We walk two paths that are contrary to each other.

Keep in step - have you heard that one? In basic training we had to learn to 'march' in formation. It wasn't as though we were taking steps in the 'wrong direction', but we weren't 'in step' with each other. Some were on their left when they should be on their right. What was being taught there? I believe that being in 'sync' with each other is important - especially when it comes to prospering in relationship. We had to look out for each other - be aware of where the other was, what they were doing, what was around them, what dangers awaited them just around the corner. We don't just have good relationships with each other by accident. We 'keep in step' with each other. We also 'keep in step' with Christ. If two are agreed and moving in the same direction at the same pace - what a powerful force they will make. Growing and keeping in step have some things in common, don't they? We don't grow alone - we need to be spurred on to good growth. We need others looking out for us - watching our back, so to speak. We have one in the place of oversight in our lives - Christ. We also have each other - watching, helping, challenging us to keep in step, helping us to 'stay in sync' when we get our feet all jumbled up and our 'march' begins to be disordered. Disordered steps lead to disordered decisions. No wonder God tells us to keep in step! No wonder he places us in community to help us stay in step! Just sayin!

Our greatest attention - Our greatest affection

Bless our God, O peoples! Give him a thunderous welcome! Didn't he set us on the road to life? Didn't he keep us out of the ditch? He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back; finally he brought us to this well-watered place. (Psalm 66:8-12)

Maybe we think "blessing God" means giving a little of our hard earned income in the collection plate on Sunday, or perhaps singing a sweetly sung hymn. To bless means to exalt, magnify, and glorify the one we consider worthy of such a position and honor. It means we worship and adore the object of our affection and attention. What we miss most of the time is that the one we worship and adore is supposed to be the object of both our affection AND our attention. The one who receives our greatest attention usually holds our greatest affection, and because of this we find opportunities to proclaim the greatness of the one who holds such a position in our hearts, minds, and affections.

Why does our psalmist announce, "Bless our God! Give him a thunderous welcome!"? The truth is that  God puts us on the road to life - he deserves this kind of affection. Prior to the point of his intervention in our lives we were on any other imaginable road we could name here - but not the road to life. I travel with a companion who enjoys the journey with me. She acts as the navigator when we go on road adventures. We have GPS, but I trust her to "navigate" us to the point we need to reach so that we end up enjoying both the journey and the destination. I know she will never purposefully steer me wrong. God is an even more faithful companion than anyone I could travel with in the natural sense. He is concerned with the road I travel, because the road I travel determines the destination I enjoy! He purposefully directs my journey because he has purposed for me to enjoy both the journey and the end results!

Good news - God keeps us out of the ditches. There was one very cold, blustery and snowy day in Anchorage when I experienced this in a literal sense. I was about 8 months pregnant, driving a little Toyota Corolla station wagon. As I ventured from Fort Richardson to Elmendorf Air Force Base to go for my weekly check-up at the clinic I caught a pretty slick section of black ice. It would not have been bad if the visibility had been good, and the ice a smaller spot. As I began to do "donuts" on the curve of that rather remote roadway, I remember seeing more and more of the safety of the roadway surface slipping away from me. It was as I skidded to a stop just inches from the drop off into a huge unplowed ditch that I took my first breath! He had literally kept me from the ditch! Now, in a spiritual sense, think of the "ditches" we have avoided because of his keeping power - spinning out of control, in stuff that seems a little too much for us to deal with. I have avoided some pretty significant life-ditches - how about you?

The truth cannot escape us here - it is God who trains us. We are given several examples of how God trains his children. The refiner's fire might not seem like a 'training ground', but it is. The passage of silver through the fire purifies it, does it not? In the refining fire, there is a chemical change to the raw material put into the fire. We go through some pretty "fiery" places which serve to bring out the strength of character he desires to see produced. There is also the 'training ground' of going through the "hardscrabble" places. In the most literal sense, this is any "place" in our lives that is really demanding and does not appear to provide much reward from the efforts put into "working" this place. The "yield" appears to be meagerly compared to the "work" put into it. God's end in taking us through these places is to prove our faithfulness, and to reveal his sustaining power. The "road-test" pushes an auto to its limits to see what it has the capability of doing under pressure. Most of us can associate with this one! We have felt our backs against the wall, pushed to our limits, seemingly without capacity for anymore. Then, God comes through! If these tests are not enough, we have the illustration of going to hell and back. I don't think this means a literal "going to hell", but I think it is the place of torment or misery in our lives that causes us to seek deliverance. God's intent is never to leave us in any place of misery - never to see us tormented - but when we find ourselves there, he uses it to bring out more of his glory in our lives.

Where does God brings us in the end - to the well-watered place. We could interpret this as a place that has sufficient water to yield the most refreshing growth. You might see it as a place watered from a well running deep. Have you ever had well-water? I have and it tastes different from our city water - free of the chemical taste and smell. It is refreshing and pure. It refreshes and revives. God never takes us "into" without the intention of taking us "out" of the places he uses for our growth and learning. The final verse of this psalm says it better than I can: Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love. (vs. 20) No deaf ear, no blind eye, no unnoticed move. He stays with us - never abandoning us. He never missed a beat. Most importantly, his love is loyal to the core. He is there when others wander off and lose interest in our well-being. He is faithful and true. Doesn't this give us cause to "bless God"? Just askin!