This is not unspoken

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" (Matthew 7:7-8)

I know it is sometimes pretty hard to admit our true need, but try as we might to 'skirt the truth', the first step to seeing that need met could just be our admittance of that need. There are times we go all around the issue when we talk with our Lord, trying to get it out without really having to say what it is we are looking for in our meeting with him. We seem to want our need met, but we aren't being direct about what that specific need really is. This is one reason I cringe when someone says they have an unspoken prayer request. God can and does meet the 'unspoken' requests, but if the majority of our 'requests' are 'unspoken', we might need to ask ourselves why that is the case. Bargain with God and you may find the 'bargain' costs you more than you really ever intended to give. 

Do you know what it means to be 'direct' with God? It means we are open and sincere in our request. Open - not ambiguous, totally sincere, and thoroughly forthright. I might be a little blunt on occasion in how I say things, but truth doesn't need a whole lot of 'fanciness' to make it truth. It is plain, forthright, and to the point. Why should our requests be any less? If we notice what God says here, we aren't to always be asking for what we 'want', but rather for what we 'need'. It took me a long time to sort out my needs from my wants. I want a whole lot of things, but my needs are really quite simple, direct, and to the point! 

Bargaining suggests some form of 'haggling' with God. When I first went to Mexico, my friends told me not to pay the first price at the street marketplaces. I needed to 'haggle' with the vendor to get the best price I could. In a sense, I thought it was a little unfair to 'undercut' their price with a 'low-ball' price, but on occasion I knew they had given me a very high price as the initial price and I needed to ask for a more reasonable one. This doesn't work with God. We don't step into his presence with our need, hear what he asks of us, then offer something 'less' in hopes he will accept that offered 'price'. We hear what he asks, then we learn to trust him with our lives as we obediently step out in faith to do as he asks.

Prayer is just a fancy word for talking and listening. We talk a bit - openly, honestly, with forthright transparency. We listen a bit more than we talk - open to the leading we receive; not scheming to find another path than the one he directs. It takes a bit to learn how to enter into his presence this way, but once we figure out he has our best in mind, lovingly directing our lives even when we might not fully understand what he asks, we come away fulfilled. Just sayin!

Tell him what you think...go ahead

So tell me what you think. Look at the evidence. Put your heads together. Make your case. Who told you, and a long time ago, what’s going on here? Who made sense of things for you? Wasn’t I the one? God? It had to be me. I’m the only God there is—The only God who does things right and knows how to help. So turn to me and be helped—saved!—everyone, whoever and wherever you are. I am God, the only God there is, the one and only. I promise in my own name: Every word out of my mouth does what it says. I never take back what I say. Everyone is going to end up kneeling before me. Everyone is going to end up saying of me, ‘Yes! Salvation and strength are in God!’” (Isaiah 45:32-23)

When we 'get' to say all we want to say, it is not always what you might want to have anyone else hear! Sometimes you actually learn things about yourself - other times you learn things about the other person - and sometimes you learn things about other people not even involved in the conversation! Imagine being in the most "open" and "sharing" of relationships with someone. I like to call this a relationship with transparency and intimacy - the freedom to share your heart. You are able to share things which you might not want to share with other people, right? I think God gives an open door to each of us to enter into this type of relationship with him. We can come boldly into his presence, sit right down and "unload" even the deepest and darkest of secrets - all with the confidence of knowing he will take what we say only as far as OUR relationship! It stays there because he knows the value of this type of sharing - it is the closest of heart-sharing and means there is "strength" and "stability" in the relationship. Imagine God speaking to the hungering heart - one just looking for someone with whom they may have this type of close and stable relationship - the place of sharing just between two. God opens the door for conversation. 

Sometimes we believe WE have to be the ones to open the door! The truth is God has already done the deed of opening up to us, just so we can enjoy the privilege of opening up to him! He then asks us to tell him what we think. God knows what we will say before we say it - he is all-knowing (omniscient). Even though he already knows everything about us, there is something about being open in our communication which he encourages and even allows! Even when it is some complaint, frustration, anger, fear, or even regret. What I think God does in our times of open communication with him is to actually help us "examine the evidence" revealed in our words. He loves hearing our voice - even the "voices in our heads". Yet, in the outward speaking of the words, WE are actually the ones who begin to see a revelation of truth we might not have seen before. Have you ever began to complain about something, then without really realizing it, you begin to see the selfishness in your complaint, or maybe the emotional response you had which was actually an "over-reaction" to the moment? I have! The more I speak, the clearer it becomes that the words I am speaking kind of get "sorted out" in the process of speaking them. If you have ever watched one of those crime scene shows, what do the detectives always do? They talk things out together! Why? In the "talking it out" phase the evidence becomes a little clearer and truthfully, two heads are ALWAYS better than one.

God wants us to know we don't have to "figure things out" on own - he is the one who makes sense of the matter! We might begin to see the evidence, putting piece one together with piece two, but he makes all the pieces come together in perfect order. God is the only one who knows how the fit - so why is it we avoid bringing the pieces to him? We often struggle with being open with him because of our shame over what the "pieces" represent. The truth is, the shame is really "self-imposed" - God is not associating our broken pieces with shame, but with grace. Shame is OUR feeling - nothing we "feel" about our brokenness causes God to feel "shame" - the inward feeling produced by guilt that we deal with. God asks us to plainly allow him to assist us to see the evidence - not to bring us shame, but to set us free from guilt and, in turn, to set us free from the "feelings" associated with our guilt. When we begin to examine the evidence of our actions - communicating openly and honestly about them, we often find the greatest challenge comes in letting go of the "emotion" associated with the past actions. God's encouraging words to us - turn to me and be helped! God's words to you and I are to turn to him - to come face-to-face with him - opening the way for the embrace. It is WHERE we position ourselves which makes it possible for him to help. Open arms don't do us any good if we remain shut off to their embrace - shame has no way of being removed until grace embraces the "evidence" of wrongdoing in our lives!

God actually listens - then he talks to us! At first, God has to listen a lot, because it takes us time to realize our "talking" is kind of like a cathartic action. When we finally get it all out - he is there to pick up the pieces, sorting them out carefully, and then revealing what it is he hopes we will get out of the time we have spent together. He may speak back just a simple, "Thank you!" Why? Simply because he has waited for us to be THAT honest with him for a long time. He may speak back a word of encouragement, "I understand". Why? It is because his Son walked this earth and DOES understand the pain we experience. He may speak back some "action words", telling us clearly what steps we take next. Why? He asks for us to take what we have learned and put it into action in our lives. It is not because he judges us, but because he knows just how much those actions will bring us closer to the evidence of Christ within us! Next time you need to get it off your chest, you might just want to start with the one who will help you sort out the evidence, come to the realization of truth, and then actually assist you put the truth into action! Just sayin!

Is it really a way of escape?

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-3)

Is anyone else like me, trying to get out of something a bit 'prematurely' because they are harder than you expected when you went into it? Trust me on this one, you and I will just find the next challenge a bit harder, so we might as well buckle down and finish this one! There is something that is 'required' of us and we need to see it through, or else face the next 'something' in order to do it all over again.

What is required? I don't know what your particular 'challenge' is right now, but whatever it is, God has a plan in it. That may seem a little hard for some to swallow, especially when the issue at hand seems kind of 'unfair', 'one-sided', or 'too much to handle'. It could just be that God is trying to show us we don't 'handle' these things on our own - we need and will receive his help to get through them. May what is required is our willingness to listen, then trustingly obey.

I've said this before, and I haven't changed my opinion on it - our 'faith-life' can be more than a little challenging at times. We get to the point where we feel the pressures from without, within, and who knows where. In the midst of the pressures, we sometimes want to cave. We want to throw in the towel and just walk away, thinking we will somehow be okay to 'not have finished that one'. It is a hard thing to have our 'faith-life' forced out into the open - revealing to us (and everyone else) our true colors, isn't it?

The 'work' that needs to be done is cut short whenever we 'turn tail and run'. If I had my druthers, I'd try to avoid these trials and tests, but that isn't how it works in God's family. I have learned my enemy likes to provide a way of 'escape' from the trial or test - one that will invite me to leave it way to early. I have to 'plan ahead' for his 'offers of escape' if I want to avoid leaving the path God has me on way too early to accomplish whatever it is he is trying to do within me. How about you? Do you have a plan to avoid the enemy's attempts to give you a way of 'escape' in your trial? I have found God's way of escape is often to walk right on through what it is I am trying so hard to escape. Just sayin!

Dazzle 'em

“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them." (Matthew 7:12)

A lot of times we make things so complicated in terms of defining 'good behavior'. I think God put it out there quite plainly - figure out what you would want others to do for you - then turn the tables and do it for THEM. Grab the initiative - this means we have to pay attention, be on top of our game, be looking for ways to be a blessing. Too many times we miss the moments when we could have made a difference if we'd have just 'grabbed the initiative'. 

Initiative is all about 'taking charge' - it is the 'setting in motion' of one action that may just lead to another. Don't take the initiative unless you are committed for the long haul - there may be more actions God will ask of you and you must be willing to step forward with the next action, not just the first one. If there is one over-arching characteristic of initiative, it would have to be 'responsibility'. We take responsibility for our own actions, but we also 'responsibly' become a blessing in the lives of others.

Let me explain that last statement a bit. To 'responsibly' become a blessing in the lives of others we need to be aware of some pitfalls that can occur. There could be a little bit of pride that begins to creep up inside of each of us, perhaps noting how many times we have taken the initiative and how far fewer times another has. When pride enters in, we begin to 'compare' our 'initiative taking' AGAINST that of another. This clearly is not what God had in mind when he told us to grab the initiative and be a blessing to another.

Bless, but don't seek credit. Bless, but don't keep a record of how many times you do. Bless, but don't get all wigged out when the blessing isn't returned. The 'need' to 'get credit' for taking the initiative suggests a heart that might just be struggling with a bit of a wrong motivation. The 'recordkeeping' pitfall is one of thinking we 'deserve' something in return for our 'right behavior'. If we look at what scripture says, right behavior is required of those who serve Christ - it is a response to his grace being given so freely in our lives. 

We might not always know how to take the initiative, but when we are open to God's leading in our daily walk, he will show us ways to be a blessing to those around us. It could be as simple as holding a door open for someone with full arms, or as complex as sitting with someone with a loved one on death's door. The key is to be 'available' and then to respond in the best way we are able. Just sayin!

We need a playbook here

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

Pay close attention to the words here - nowhere in scripture does it ever say a Christian will be 'problem-free' in life, nor that temptation and testing will somehow just magically never come our way. In fact, it promises there will be both testing and temptation - trials of our faith; testing of our conviction and dedication. What is promised is that God will ALWAYS be right there to help us come THROUGH it. He never leaves us defenseless - he expects us to set up good defenses BEFORE we have to go THROUGH them!

All of us have to face trials and temptations - there is no way to escape the fact they will come our way. If we prepare AHEAD of time, going THROUGH them with Christ at our side will mean we stand a much better chance of resisting temptation and standing strong in the midst of trials. There is more to being 'prepared' for temptation than just 'trusting Jesus to help us make it through'. While I will never discount the importance of trusting Jesus, I also will never be so naive as to believe Jesus doesn't expect us to be READY for temptation.

Having a defense prepared ahead of time means we give some thought to what breaks our defenses down the easiest. For me, it is fatigue. I just don't do well when fatigue sets in. My answers become shorter, curt, and sometimes lacking in kindness. My desire to see something through to the end wanes and I leave things undone. I know this is one of the areas in my life where the enemy can find an advantage, so I have to prepare for those moments when I will become fatigued. 

I have learned to recognize them earlier than I used to, then I take a short break from what I am doing in order to renew my mind and energy levels. I might need a quick snack and some hydration because I have ignored both while I have been 'hard at work'. I might need to do something else for a while, so my mind is taken away from the things that are so fatiguing. My plan begins with recognizing the signs of fatigue and then exercising some 'good judgment steps' to avoid going down that path that leads to wrong behavior. 

You might have heard the saying, "the best offense is a good defense", and this remains true in our spiritual lives, as well as on the sporting field. We don't avoid trials - they will come. We don't resist temptation by good thoughts alone. We need a plan - a 'play-book'. When we are prepared, we recognize when trial or temptation is upon us and we begin to 'respond' rather than 'react'. Ask God to help you develop your 'play-book' in those areas where you are most tempted or frequently tested. He won't let you down - he even provides the resources we need to overcome. Just sayin!

A tough place

But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. (Isaiah 43:1-4)

Israel finds themselves in the midst of a tough place - kind of like when we find ourselves somewhere we got ourselves into and don't have a clue how to get out of on our own! As faithful as God is, he speaks into their "tough place". "But now...." Remember, I have a fascination with words - so even the tiniest of words catches my attention! The "but now" suggests there was something before these words - because we don't use the word "but" unless there is something we are comparing. God had issued a warning to Israel. The words prior to this passage speak of Israel (and it could even be spoken to us) needing to pay attention because they seem to have turned a deaf ear to the teachings and warnings of God. The circumstance they find themselves in - "shut up in a closet" and "dead broke". Pretty gloomy, huh? This is the "tough place" they find themselves in when God begins to "change the tide" a little in his communication with the simple, "But now..."

This word comes from one with an intimate knowledge of the hearers. When there is an established relationship - the hearer may not want to hear what is spoken, but there is an "avenue" for sharing. God's connection with his creation is the basis of his communicating with them. He is both the one who created and the one who gives us our start. Think of a potter. He has the clump of clay, molding it into a bowl, then firing it for the final process of "creation". He "commissions" the creation for the specific purpose he has for it. He creates it and gives it a start. The same is true with us - God creates us - he also gives us our start (setting us in the right direction). When we find ourselves "in a tough place", he has every right to return the "creation" to the "commission" for which he created it! He knows the darkest secrets of our hearts. For most of us, fear is a seldom exposed thing - we keep it just under the surface, masking it with some other "show" of emotion. When some are asked to get up in front of a crowd to share something, some will giggle a little with a tremulous show of nervousness, others will just sweat up a storm. Both are emotional responses to the buried fears of "public" speaking. The most amazing thing to me is how well God knows what we bury deeply. Even more awe-inspiring is the fact he is not content to leave it buried! So, when God speaks to Israel (and to us) - his "fear not" is really him unearthing the deeply seated fears only masked by our pretense. Upon what does God base his "fear not"? He bases it solidly on the position of his being our creator! He made us - therefore, he knows us well, designs each step we take, and will bring us through all we face.

God already knows the mess we will get in. He doesn't say "if" you get in over your head or "if" you find yourself in some rough waters. He says "when". God knows we will get in over our heads on occasion and even be into things which really don't benefit us at all. When we do, he is there. The good news - the corner we paint ourselves into is never (NEVER) a dead end! That should be encouraging to some who think there is no way out of whatever mess they find themselves in today! Why is it we can be assured we are not at a dead end? Simply put - because he is the Great "I AM"! He is OUR God - not someone else's, but our personal Savior. Who needs a savior? One who needs saving, right? In a corner? The only way out is by someone reaching in and pulling us out! We need a savior! He stands in our lives as the "I AM" - all we need, all we could ever need! Nothing else matters to him. God is the "owner" of the entire universe. Nothing in that universe matters as much to him as you. This may be a hard truth to swallow, but it is the truth nonetheless. He'd sacrifice it all just to have us. I call this extravagant love - you might call it unbelievable love - either way, it is still love! Grace is based on love - love connects grace with the "tough place dwellers", delivering them from the midst of their mess! I don't know what words of encouragement or admonishment may come your way today, but let these words become the loudest to your heart - God is the God of your mess! He is the God in your tough place! He is the one who is not content to let anyone muddle in their fears! He is the one who gives extravagantly when our need is the greatest! Just sayin!

What could go wrong?

Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping. (I Corinthians 16:13-14)

Keep your eyes open. The eyes are the window to the soul - they give insight into the condition of the man in what they reveal. Having our eyes opened is the beginning of seeing. Try to see with your eyes closed! You probably do a poor job of actually avoiding the hazards in your path when you do! Eyes have the purpose of allowing input - taking in what they behold, interpreting that input as either pleasant or not, beneficial or not, or even beautiful or not. The eyes are the gateway into a man's heart - the input we receive moves us in some respect. It is almost impossible to take input without some form of output! We are asked to remain in a position of taking in what God puts in our path. Be vigilant and aware, for in being alert, we can respond to what we receive as input. We can plan our escape, our response we will have in the moment. Maintain, cause to continue, so as to set the course. Our eyes have a lot to do with the course we keep. Whatever we choose to focus on will go a long way in affecting how we take all the other steps God asks us to take!

Hold tight to your convictions. A conviction is more than just some clever theory or persuasive fact. A conviction is a fixed or firm belief - it has some basis - roots which give it soundness. When the right stuff is entering through our vision, we begin to form sound convictions - we have all the right evidence to present. The action associated with convictions is that of "holding tight" to these convictions. We need to know what gives our "case" foundational truth. Some evidence is weak at best. Other evidence is so strong, it cannot be denied. Hold onto the truth we have been given so as to have an undeniable foundation upon which we base our lives. Give it all you've got. The idea of being something of worth, value, and importance is in view here. Come to the place of realizing your fullest potential. All we've got - not part - is what God says is called for in this life of serving Jesus. Ever serve someone half-heartedly? How'd that make you feel? Do you think the one being served knew you were only half-interested in serving them at that moment? Probably! The action required is that of "giving" - present willingly and without expectation of compensation. I wonder what this world would be like if we began to equate being all we could be with what it is we could willingly give without the expectation of some form of compensation as a result of our service?

Be resolute. To be set in purpose - not easily swayed - this is the idea presented next. Taken in order, if we have our focus correct, allowing the right stuff to be taken in, we will form the right basis of evidence in our lives which will cause us to begin to act differently toward others (and even ourselves). To this, God adds we are to be set in our purpose - fixed, determined, unwavering, undaunted by what life throws at us. When the preponderance of evidence is significant, the ability to "stand behind" the evidence is easier than when there is very little evidence, right? What gets us to the position of being able to be resolute? I think it is in the building up of the evidence in our lives of being new creations in Christ - realizing the actions of grace within our lives. Each action of grace gives us some additional evidence upon which we ground our convictions - we stand stronger by the revelation of grace. Some will say grace is that which was undeserved. You would be correct, but even the best of attorneys will tell you evidence discovered in the most unlikely places or by the most unlikely means is still evidence! We can stand undaunted by life - by grace.

Love without stopping. Can anyone actually do anything without stopping? I tire easily, how about you? Yet, there are some involuntary things which occur within my body which continue to occur without thought or action on my part - like my heartbeat or my breathing. I can hold my breath, but there is some overriding impulse center in my brain which tells my body to begin to take a breath before it is too late. Why? Simply because life is sustained by these actions. I am not presenting the love being an "unthinking" action. It is quite the opposite - it requires we are "invested" in its actions. When something becomes a way of life for us, the "thought" we put into those actions is almost automatic. We just do it because it is what we do. God might just be telling us to make love such a way of life that we love without really having to work ourselves up in order to love. It becomes "natural", free-flowing from a heart which has been convinced by the love and grace of God. If we actually take all these five principles together and begin to focus our lives on each action, we might just learn to walk a little differently. Just sayin!

Make some sawdust

Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (John 8:31-32)

There is nothing that frees an individual quite like God's truth. Truth is worthless if it is not embraced - trusted, put into practice, and worked out in one's life. We can 'know' all kinds of truth, but if we never use it, it is just knowledge. I 'know' a woodworking tool known as a router can be outfitted with a bit that can help me make dovetail joints. With the right jig, I can create wonder 'connections' for boxes, drawers, and shelving. I 'know' it can be done - I have never done it. I have knowledge, but I lack the practical application of what it is I know. When we treat God's truth as 'knowledge' and don't actually get to the point of practical application, we aren't going to understand the freedom God has for us within that truth.

Truth must be 'lived out'. How do we 'live out' truth? I would have to go out to the shop, install the bit into the router, set up the dovetail jig on the wood I desire to cut, and then turn on the router. All that was well and good, but if I never take the first 'bite' out of the wood with the spinning bit, I still haven't 'lived out' the truth I know about the capabilities of the tool. We have lots and lots of truth (tools) we have been given for our growth, edification, and spiritual well-being. We might even get to the point we have it all 'set-up and ready to go' in our lives, but somehow, we fall short of actually giving that truth 'bite' in our lives. We have to actually step out in faith sometimes and allow truth to do exactly what it was designed to do. Just as the spinning bit in the router is designed to specifically remove the wood as it is pressed against it, God's truth will begin to remove what doesn't belong and create something uniquely 'fitting' within our lives.

Truth is meant to be experienced - not just 'understood' or 'known'. In other words, it has to have application. I am beginning a woodworking class at our local college - not because I am looking for another career, but because I want to take what I 'know' about my tools and begin to 'experience' how useful they can be in my hobby shop. I had to apply to the college for enrollment, find an open class, enroll in the class I desired to take, get all the necessary supplies I will need, and then actually attend the class. All that is well and good, but if I just observe the class and never get my hands on the wood and tools, I am just an 'auditor' of the class. Once I begin to make my own sawdust, I am 'experiencing' the class. Some of us need to begin to make a little 'spiritual sawdust' in God's workshop - taking what we know and seeing it transformed into experience. Just sayin!

I'm right, aren't I?

If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. (I John 4:20-21)

This one may seem like a tough one for some of us because there are some individuals we really don't have any positive feelings toward, aren't there? Try as we might, we just don't understand what they are doing, how they are behaving, or where they seem to be headed, oftentimes taking others with them on their misguided journey. We 'want' to love them like Christ asks us to, but we struggle with actually finding much of any type of 'redeeming qualities' in those individuals. I am by no means an expert example in this area of loving ALL people, but just some thoughts on how I deal with the ones I find it hard to 'like', much less 'love'.

It begins with me recognizing I am 'boastful' about the differences in the behavior exhibited by the individual I have issue with and my own. Most of the time this means I am a little too 'self-righteous' - I see my behavior as 'superior' to theirs. Trust me on this one, I seldom exhibit consistently 'superior' behavior! I might have moments where my behavior is pretty 'right on', but they can be followed by others where there is nothing 'right on' about it! We begin our journey of living others by asking God to keep US humble - aware of our own short-comings, challenges, and habits. You have heard it said it is easy to see a fault in another when that same fault exists in us. Recognizing this can be the beginning of a journey where we stop feeling negative toward an individual and begin praying for not only them, but ourselves!

It continues by me acknowledging all of us have been created with a sin nature - none of us were created without the desire to follow paths we know aren't the best ones to take. This may not seem very significant at first, but if we begin to recognize we all have the SAME propensity toward sin, perhaps we will begin to understand there is a real struggle within that directs the behaviors of the individual. The way we behave can even be a combination of our sin nature (propensity toward sinful actions) and our conditioning (the way we were raised and taught). Undoing 'bad conditioning' is sometimes harder than being free of our 'sin nature's pull'. We begin by praying for understanding - not so much of the other person's issues, but your own. In time, God will begin to show us ways to be a positive support to others who struggle in similar ways. 

Loving others isn't easy, and it requires some pretty deep awareness of our own actions, attitudes, and 'propensities'. Perhaps this is why it is easier to dislike the individual rather than find ways to be a positive support in their lives. We don't like being humbly aware of our own shortcomings, much less using them as a springboard to pray for another. If we begin to think less about how 'right' we are and how 'wrong' the other guy is, we might just get to the point our prayers begin to unlock new behaviors in both of us! Just sayin!

Seeing and Hearing

Ears that hear and eyes that see—we get our basic equipment from God! (Proverbs 20:12)

If you have ever looked into buying some new appliance, a new car, or even a new home built to your specifications, you probably have had to consider just how many "bells and whistles" you wanted (or could afford within your budget). The basic model comes with just the minimums - the more you add, the more the costs add up. The $799 "deal" you saw advertised becomes $1599 because you just could not imagine life without the extra spin cycles, steam feature, and the automatic sensor for this or that! Sometimes we find the "extra" stuff we just "had to have" gives us more headaches than they are worth in the end!
The "basic equipment" given to us by God are ears that hear and eyes that see. We take the "basics" for granted, focusing more on the "bells and whistles" we'd want to have, don't we? Whenever I hear someone say they are "not equipped" for whatever it is God is putting in their path, I just have to remind myself they have probably bought into the lie they need more than the "basic equipment". In the spirit of being totally transparent, I have done exactly the same thing - believing what I "possessed" was not good enough for what it was I was facing or asked to do.

We possess all we need to begin the journey - anything else we might need God will provide as we step out in obedience! Our basic equipment is what actually helps us navigate the journey - ears that hear, eyes that see - these are both "navigational" tools! If you have ever played one of those games where someone places a blindfold over your eyes, plunging you into absolute darkness and leaving you at the mercy of what you could hear or feel, you probably came to understand how important it was to have both of these pieces of "basic equipment" operating at the same time! Try as you might, the hands might help us sense the objects in our path, but you travel at quite a slower speed when you don't have the faculty of sight, right? Basic really means that which is fundamental - it is an essential ingredient - something needed. When God reminds us that he gives us the "fundamental" equipment we need, he is calling our attention to the importance of the two things which actually will give us exactly what we need to take the first steps toward anything he asks us to pursue. Ears to hear - the attentiveness to his voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Eyes to see - the ability to look beyond the obvious and see the obscure. We often find the basic equipment we have been given might just get a little complicated by the "other equipment" we have "added" to our list of "qualifications". When we count on our emotions as part of our "fundamental" or "basic equipment", we get a little different perception of what we are seeing or hearing! God never suggested we should add this "equipment" to our "basic equipment" - he just tells us to count on what we have been given.

Fundamental parts - the basis upon which all else gets "filtered". The way we "filter" what we hear and see is often "clouded" by the "extra stuff" we have insisted on adding into the equation! Whenever we add in the emotions, we start saying things like, "I think God might be telling me this, but I just don't feel like I can." The basic equipment we have been given is what God needs us to use - plain and simple! To rely upon anything else is to begin to operate outside of the "plan" God has for us. All learning from scripture is based on us seeing and hearing. I think God may just be reminding us of the need to keep life simple. We complicate it with the perceived need to align what we are seeing and hearing with what it is we are feeling. Truth be told, if we see as God sees and listen only to his voice, we have all we need for ANYTHING our day holds - emotions will likely just lead us astray. Just sayin!

Not every stone is a stumbling block

While Samuel was offering the sacrifice, the Philistines came within range to fight Israel. Just then God thundered, a huge thunderclap exploding among the Philistines. They panicked—mass confusion!—and ran helter-skelter from Israel. Israel poured out of Mizpah and gave chase, killing Philistines right and left, to a point just beyond Beth Car. Samuel took a single rock and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it “Ebenezer” (Rock of Help), saying, “This marks the place where God helped us.” (I Samuel 7:10-12)

Israel had allowed the unthinkable to happen - they had compromised their stand with God by taking on the worship of idols and the practices of the lands around them. This was something God had warned them not to do. As a result, they lost the help of God in the midst of their battles - to those who don't know this portion of the Old Testament, it was the Ark of the Covenant - the 'place' of God's presence. The armies of the Philistines were known for their superior weaponry, often causing great fear or panic in all those they faced in battle. The Israelites were facing this huge army of Philistines - not having done so well without God's presence, they hoped the return of the ark might have "changed their fortunes". Samuel addresses them, seeking to see if the Israelite's jubilation over the return of the ark was just surface deep, or if there was some root of repentance which went way deeper. He hears the solemn plea of the leaders - we want to return to our first love - God! Nothing rings clearer in the ears of God than a plea to return to his presence! Samuel instructs them to "clean house" - to get rid of all their foreign gods, their false idols, and to ground themselves firmly in God. Most of us can associate with the people of Israel. We have our own "false gods" that attract so much of our attention and seem to make us oblivious to the fact God is no longer central in our lives. We may not be worshiping some carved pole with images of the false gods on them, but we do worship something other than God. 

Hear the cry of God's heart - he is calling us to get rid of whatever takes our attention away from him and to ground ourselves firmly in his presence! Israel's commitment to get rid of their idols - to "clean house" - resulted in a fear in the hearts of the Philistines. The centering of the hearts of God's people on him and him alone put more fear into the hearts of the Philistines than the mighty weapons of Israel's greatest enemy put in theirs! I don't know about you, but whenever I have my focus on the enemy and not squarely on God, I have a tendency to fear whatever it is the enemy is wielding in my path! When I squarely center my focus on God and God alone, my perception changes entirely! The enemy is still there - the Philistines didn't move away from Israel. In fact, they watched from the periphery as Israel went through the process of "cleaning house"! Don't ever think for one moment that your enemy doesn't see your change in focus - he knows when your eyes are firmly fixed on the one true God. He doesn't know when he should turn tail and run. What happens next should not be missed - Israel begins to pursue the Philistines instead of them pursuing Israel!

What our enemy fails to recognize is the potential and power of a people who have God central in their lives. It might enrage him a little to see us make a move toward "cleaning house" and getting our lives "centered" again, so be on the lookout for the attack. Israel may not have seen it coming - but God did! When the Philistines see the change in Israel, they get enraged and go on the offensive. They are ready to come down hard on Israel, but...God is prepared to come down harder on the Philistines! Guess what invoked fear into the Philistines? It wasn't some mighty weaponry wielded by the Israelites, or massive forces beyond number. It was thunder! Thunder-claps from heaven sent them running! When God sets the enemy in motion running AWAY from us, it is time to give chase! We may want to just stand there and relish the moment of relief having the enemy finally out of our face for a while, but God's plan is quite different - he expects us to give chase! To pursue so as to overcome and "take no prisoners"! This is exactly the opposite of what most of us do - we choose rather to accept the thunder-claps of God as our "intervention" and our "deliverance", but we fail to make an end to the enemy's attack by pursuing him when he is on the run. Silly us! What better time to overcome him than when he is confused by the power of our God?

As Israel pursued the Philistines, striking them down in massive numbers, Samuel does something interesting. He took one single rock and set it up. Not a pile of rocks, not a pillar of massive proportion, but one single rock. One rock - maybe it speaks of what Israel was called to remember - there is but one rock upon which we stand - Christ and Christ alone! Maybe it was a symbol of what Israel had done - getting grounded in God again. I am not quite sure what symbolism it has for you, but these two thoughts come to mind for me this morning. I don't know what your "Ebenezer" stone will be, but I do know this: God's not content to have us stand on anything other than his grace. It is the firmest foundation upon which we can face our enemy. Just sayin!

Another 'can', please

He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?” “Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” (Mark 9:21-24)

We have probably heard the saying, "No ifs, ands, or doubts..." - meaning we need to finish a task and make absolutely no excuses for not having it done when the time comes for it to be completed. Our teachers in school set deadlines for reports - meet the deadline or the report would be reduced a full letter grade for each day it was late! Our parents left us with lists of chores, expecting each one to be marked off as complete before we ever turned on the TV or meandered throughout the neighborhood with our friends. Even our employers give us tasks and expect them to be completed - tying each completed item to the potential to remain gainfully employed! It is not uncommon for us to be expected to start and see something through to completion. Yet, there is one "thing" we might all struggle with completing on our own - our faith! Martin Luther King once said, "Faith is taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase." Blaise Pascal was a mathematician and a Christian theologian. These two just don't seem to go together, do they? One "solves" the equation himself - the other waits on a "higher power" to solve the equation! Yet, he wrote some pretty amazing stuff! One of the quotes I most like by Pascal, penned back in the 1600's: "Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists." At first this might seem a little bit like he is saying nothing ventured, nothing gained. He is also saying if nothing is ventured, you cannot know if the venture will prove or disprove your beliefs. I think our passage today describes a father who might just have been in one of those situations where he did not really know if going to Jesus would help his son, but if he didn't take the step, he'd never know if the impossible was actually possible in God's hands.

The son had suffered for years - obviously tearing this father's heart to pieces each time he saw him seized by his disease. His last hope may very well have been the "rabbi" (great teacher) passing through town that day. The father's "knowledge" of his son's disease is great, since he had seen it affect his son for quite some time - his faith in the ability of the healer may not have been as great! In fact, he almost puts himself out there with the statement, "IF you CAN do anything, do it." Three words which really don't suggest much confidence, but which have a tiny seed of hope buried deep within them - IF YOU CAN. As MLK said, it is the first step which gets us on the staircase - you don't know the full extent of the climb until you actually reach the top! "IF" is almost like saying, "I am bringing my son to you today, just in case there might be a possibility somewhere in your abilities to heal my son." He is not saying he is there with all confidence his son will be made well - he is actually admitting he doesn't know for sure, but he is willing to take the chance - to wager Jesus would have "something" to help his son. This may not seem like much to you, but don't miss the truth being taught - even the tiniest step TOWARD faith is all Jesus needs to begin the biggest climb of your life! "CAN" is really asking if Jesus has the ability or power to heal his son. Then he appeals to Christ's heart with the words, "Have a heart and help us!" Sometimes the best place we can be is where we express the honesty of a heart not fully certain, but willing to be shown. God doesn't need our "fully developed faith" in order to bring about his purposes in our lives - he just needs our willingness to take the first step toward his "CAN" (his ability, his power, his means).

We almost might be tempted to think Jesus was chastising the father for not having "full faith" as he brings his son to him. Read it again. Jesus actually turns the man's statement around and makes it clear to him - this dad's "first step" made all the difference for this boy! Jesus turns and speaks clearly to the man's heart - connecting what the dad knew with what he felt. This is the mind - heart connection. It is one thing to know something - another to actually walk it. Jesus' words were really saying to the father, "There are no ifs, ands, or doubts about it - ANYTHING and EVERYTHING CAN happen now that you are here with me." It was the father's willingness to bring even his "ifs" to Jesus and admit he might just not be making a full connection between what he knows ABOUT Jesus and what he believes is possible IN Jesus that moved the heart of Jesus to build this man's faith. The seed was there - there was some element of hope - he was willing to wager it all. The rest was up to Jesus. This is the way of faith - we have but a small seed of hope - Jesus encounters our tiny seed of hope with the magnitude of his power. The first step doesn't reveal the entire climb, but each step brings us nearer the top. There are no greater words which move the heart of God - "Then help me with me with my doubts." We often don't want to admit our doubts to Jesus - sometimes even avoiding him all together in areas where we just haven't made the connection between what we "know" ABOUT him and what IS possible IN him. It is the willingness to admit we need help with our doubts that actually opens the door for Jesus to take us higher in our climb than we ever imagined possible. Doubts can either keep us at the bottom of the staircase, only imagining what might be at the top, or they can bring us into his presence in humility and openness to the possibilities we might find there. I don't know what doubts you struggle with today, but I do know when you admit them to Jesus, he is able to turn our "ifs" into "cans". Just sayin!

Prepare for the worst

Guilt is banished through love and truth; Fear-of-God deflects evil. (Proverbs 16:6)

Guilt is a tough opponent, isn't it? That guilt we all carry around in our lives is like a 'cling-on' - kind of undetected but wearing away at us as time goes by - it resists separation at all cost. I have some sweaters that have those balled up pieces of lint that gathers everywhere and make them look a little less than stellar. They are comfortable, but they don't look very nice anymore. Those 'cling-on' bits and pieces refuse to separate themselves from those sweaters - even when I pluck them away, it just leaves a place for another bit or piece of lint to gather. Guilt is kind of like that - we get rid of some of it, but it leaves 'raw places' in our lives that seem to get 'filled' again with memories of the 'bits and pieces' that were shed from that spot.

When mom was alive, she used to buy things from one of those places that sent the catalogs all the time. She bought a 'lint shaver' once that was battery operated. It promised to remove all the 'cling-on' lint from your clothing. I used it a couple of times, but honestly it didn't do all that good of a job. It made things look good for about one or two wears, but then I was right back at it again. The issue wasn't the lint remover, it was the fact the garments were just going to make those 'cling-on' lint gatherings! It is kind of like that with us - we get free of our sin and guilt, only to embrace a little bit of sin later on, allowing the guilt to gather up and 'cling-on'. As long as we are on this earth there will be temptation and we don't always do our best to avoid it.

I have mentioned on more than one occasion the importance of 'preparing for' our eventual tangle with temptation. It is that preparatory work that keeps us from getting pulled into the tangle of sin in the first place. Emotions will ride high when all is well in our lives, but when we give into temptation the emotional upheaval makes all the highs a distant memory. We succumb to the guilt load - the cling-on that just keeps on giving. Knowing where our emotional weak spots exist doesn't mean we are helpless or hopeless - it means we can prepare for them and be ready when they come. Guilt is banished (eliminated, eradicated, driven away) where love and truth are free to work.

This means we need to make truth part of our preparatory work. Truth is found in God's Word. Get into it and allow it to get into you. Know what scripture says about your weak areas - how they are overcome. Then when they come, use truth to dispel the desire to give into those thoughts, emotions, or cravings that come. It took me a long time to know I could tell my emotions how to respond - I didn't need to give into them all the time. Instead of riding an emotional roller-coaster all the time, I asked God to show me how to get ahead of those troubling emotions. It took a bit of effort, but when we ask God to lovingly show us how to 'prepare for the worst', he doesn't ignore such a request. Just sayin!

Planning ahead

Have you ever made a bad decision? Have you ever made more than one followed by another? If so, you are in good company. I have made good decisions, followed by bad. I have made wrong choices, letting my emotions over-rule what I know to be true. I have also made some impulsive decisions, while taking way too long to make others and found I missed the opportunity I was hoping to get by taking all that time to make. We make decisions at times that are more than 'momentary' decisions - they will impact our future for a lot longer than we expected. It is hard to decide before we have to make a particular decision to make it a certain way, but 'pre-deciding' makes it easier to make the right decisions later on.

Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place. (Proverbs 16:3)

If we take the steps today to determine our course of action before we have to make a choice, we are more likely to make the best choice in the moment. I get my groceries once a week and it is much easier for me to eat healthier when I prepare all those veggies and fruits at one time. I put in a few hours of washing, trimming, and then chopping all those veggies and fruits. I package them carefully and they are all ready for me to grab, add to my meal, and enjoy in ample supply. Time has proven the veggies that just end up in the crisper without any prep get to the point they are no longer edible. The time I take to eat right 'in the moment' is best when I have 'pre-planned' to eat right. Yes, it takes me a couple hours to do all that prep of meats, veggies, and fruits - - - but it is worth the investment up front.

When we 'pre-decide' to take a particular action (such as eating well), we are less likely to make decisions we will regret later on. Decisions today compound in a tremendous way. If we want to move in a particular direction, we have to pre-decide to take different actions now. When I put God in charge of my day, I am 'pre-deciding' to take a particular direction. How is it I can 'pre-decide' to let God take charge and then make some pretty bad decisions. I get lazy! I don't do the 'up-front' work to get the right results. The time we take with God each day is not just time to talk with him, discover truths in his Word, and get wisdom for your day. It is time to 'pre-decide' your actions for the day. It is also time to 'pre-decide' to lean into him when temptation comes our way - ready and able to withstand the enemy's attack. 

We are ready for our day when we 'pre-decide' the actions of the day. We are prone to get off-course when we lack 'pre-determination'. We all get tired, allowing our emotions to dictate our course, but if we have 'pre-determined' our steps ahead of time, we will make decisions based on 'values' and not on the emotions of the moment. Just sayin!

Seek good and not evil

Seek good and not evil— and live! You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend. Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen. Hate evil and love good, then work it out in the public square. Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will notice your remnant and be gracious. (Amos 5:14-15)

I know today's passage was written during Old Testament times, but it bears looking at today. The message doesn't grow old just because of when it was written - those words to seek good and not evil apply to any generation. The hope is that we will not only 'live', but live well. Hating evil and loving good is kind of a moving target for some these days. It is something my college instructors used to call 'situational ethics'. When the 'norms' of society are shifted in one direction or another, the 'ethics' of yesterday may not be the ones we maintain today. I honestly think our world is constantly in a state of flux when it comes to ethics. What society proclaimed to be really wrong may only be 'marginally wrong' today - all because the ethics of society have compromised some value they originally defined as 'right' or 'good'. What God tells us is that there is no compromise in the area of good - it cannot be redefined because he is the absolute definition of goodness!

Not everyone compromises their values, though. There are a great many in society who will adhere to what scripture defines as good and avoid what it declares to be evil. In truth, those who do this make up what is actually a remnant of society. Some see a remnant as some 'leftover' part - such as a small amount of fabric at the end of the bolt. Others would almost say the remnant is just a trace of what once existed. Yet, from the beginning of time, God has used the remnant to change the world they live in. A remnant may not seem like much, but when that remnant places their trust and hope in God alone, there is a mightiness that comes forth! A few in his hands, committed to the good and standing strong against the evil, is an army to be reckoned with indeed!

What does the remnant do in society? It challenges the shift in norms - constantly revealing in both actions and words the path God desires of his children. There is a message to declare, but there is a lifestyle that speaks as loudly, if not louder, than the words we might speak. Doing good and not evil - what a message. Returning good for evil - a stronger message. Leading instead of always following - people need leaders. Leading ethically and with righteous morals - people crave righteous leaders more than they might actually realize. Be the kind of person who seeks good and not evil - be a leader who doesn't compromise morals and values, caving to social norms. In God's hands, who knows where you might lead this world! Just sayin!

Observe to Serve

Sometimes people tell me they don't know how God 'works', or what he 'expects' them to do. They are really trying to tell me they are having a hard time discerning God's will for their lives. The truth of the matter is that all of us struggle with this from time to time, but we don't have to look very far to find answers to our questions.

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Watch what God does - first in your own life, then in the lives of others who have chosen to follow him. Why? God knows we learn best by example. We see, do, then teach. This is the natural cycle. As we become familiar with what he does in our lives, we can then begin to replicate this in our choices (choosing to do things 'within God's will' for our lives). What does God 'do' in your life? He loves you, doesn't he? Unconditionally, without fail, and with repeated extensions of his grace and goodness. He doesn't overlook your sins, but he also doesn't leave you wallowing in your guilt. He confronts your sin, offers grace, and then helps us find ways to not repeat harmful patterns or choices.

We learn by observing - yet we miss so much by not being observant. We must pay particular attention to who God brings across our path. Was that person there as a 'support', or as a way of 'chiseling away some rough spots' in our character? Even those individuals who seem to 'rub us' wrong are there because God loves us - he wants to help us see where the rough edges are and then to allow him to 'file them away' with his grace and goodness. If you have ever been around an individual who just rubs the wrong way, you know how hard it is to keep your cool, respond graciously, and still respect the relationship. God isn't unaware of those things, either. In fact, he gave us numerous examples through his Son as 'starting points' for us to know how to respond when provoked and disrespected.

Keeping company with Jesus is probably one of the most rewarding things we can do, but it is important that we remain observant of how he moves us, what he desires for us to see within our relationships, and where it is we might just need a little bit more of his grace so we are examples of his love within those relationships. We don't always realize just how well we are doing in this day-to-day walk with him until we observe ourselves actually responding differently in situations where we once would have been unkind, argumentative, or even just walked away in disgust. When we see ourselves responding in love rather than retaliation, we might just begin to see that God's will has been 'worked into' the fibers of our being somewhere along the way! Just sayin!

Get your head in the game

If someone were to tell you to 'roll up your sleeves', what would that indicate you were about to do? If they told you to 'get your head in the game' at about the same time, do you think that might just challenge you a bit to 'refocus' - pay attention, be alert, stop ignoring stuff around you? If those words came from God, would they carry any greater meaning than if I said them to you? They should! God isn't about to let us sit around being 'lazy Christians'. He wants us alert, active, and attentive to his direction.

So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” (I Peter 1:13)

The alert is given - what we do with it is our choice. We can choose to ignore it, or half-heartedly respond in the affirmative. We can choose to put ourselves squarely in the middle of something we have been avoiding out of fear or distrust. We can and should choose to lay aside what we have been 'barely doing', taking up the actions Christ directs for us to take, and then trusting him with the next steps. Rolling up our sleeves means we are getting ready for hard work. This Christian walk isn't for the weak! It will require us to lay down our differences, putting others first, and working together in unity like never before. That is likely where the rub occurs - working in unity with each other. In this day and age, it is so easy to find a reason to 'not' do something. We disagree with political parties - so we resist what seems practical and reasonable. We find the beliefs of those we used to align with no longer 'fit' our beliefs, so we don't align with them any longer. We don't think the rules apply to us, so we deviate. Truth be told, Christ's rule in our lives doesn't operate at 'full capacity' when we are out of unity with each other. The Body of Christ is meant to be unified - not divided.

It is hard to be alert and attentive to the things our society might pander as 'good' or 'valuable', but is really lacking in true goodness or value in the end. Those 'old grooves of evil' have formed ruts throughout all of time and it is easy to get caught up in the ruts of evil. Perhaps that is why God tells us to get our head in the game - to really pay close attention to more than what is being said, but to also see the attitude and character behind the suggested actions or inaction. What do ruts in a road do? They pull us into paths we don't want to take. As I walk along the canal, there are ruts from work trucks that have been there. Those ruts fill with water as the rains come, making the path quite precarious. The ruts mean I take a different course - to avoid the mud, dirty water, and ankle-twisting journey! Avoid the ruts - get your head in the game. Roll up your sleeves - be ready to get to work, not alone, but in unity with those who are on this discipleship journey right beside you! Just sayin!

Learn to do good

Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

Yesterday we looked at the meaning of fairness and justice - the hallmarks of one who is developing a close, intimate relationship with Jesus. Today, let's look at some other things God defines as 'hallmarks' of a dedicated life. There is more than a desire to resist wrong in life - there is an 'active engagement' in resisting wrong. That which deviates from truth or fact is resisted - actively, intentionally, and with great effort at times. It is far from easy to 'say no to wrong' because wrong has such an appeal to our earthly nature. How is it we stay true and plumb in our walk? I think it comes by learning to do good - not just 'do' good, but embracing the goodness of God within us and then walking in that goodness. We allow our actions to align with that truth.

Work for justice - as indicated yesterday, we are to no longer put ourselves first, but consider the needs of others. That leads to us helping the down-and-out. They might be without a job, short on money to make the utility bill this month, or even without a place to live. As I was playing a casual game with some others online the other night, one of the gentlemen excused himself from the group for a period while he ran some boxes of blankets and coats to the local shelter. He had listened to the weather forecast and knew the temps were dipping way low that evening. He had a means to meet a very practical need and he acted upon that prompting to do what he could. It doesn't take big things - it takes listening, observing, and then acting upon what we know we can do with what we have received.

The defenseless are really any individuals who are 'vulnerable'. Vulnerability is measured in many ways. They might be without protection of some form - much like the men and women who would benefit from the blankets and coats. They could also be a little 'naked' emotionally, making them open to attack. How can we help those who are not able to build their defenses emotionally? We come alongside them - just be there for them. We don't have to have all the answers - we just need to let them know we care, aren't going to violate their trust, and not going to abandon them when they are at their weakest. We stand strong when they cannot - allowing them to draw from our strength until they can regain a little strength of their own.

It doesn't take a lot to be the kind of disciples Jesus will use, but it does require a willingness to be used. It may mean we show up when nobody else does. It could be we give from more than our 'reserve' - taking what we have and putting it to use for another. It definitely means we make ourselves available, pay attention to those around us, and listen intently to what God leads us to do. Just sayin!

Taking God seriously?

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. (Micah 6:8)

On occasion someone will announce to me that they aren't sure what they are supposed to be doing with their lives - they are not certain God is using them, where he wants them to be or go, or that they are 'in his will' in a particular situation. Truth be told, all we have to do is ask God's direction and he is sure to let us know. If we explore scripture, we see examples of both what we are supposed to do in this life and the things we are not supposed to be pursuing. Live honestly - forsake anything dishonest. Avoid the green-eyed monster - be humble and gracious. Don't steal - work for a living. Avoid self-dependence - trust in God's plan. Do - Don't Do - given to us all throughout the scriptures - we only need to look deep enough to find our answers.

The example given to us today is that of doing what is fair and just to our neighbor. It seems we have a different standard of fairness and justice today than we might have had fifty years ago, or even twenty years ago. It is as though fairness and justice have become moving targets. Fairness and justice cannot be separated - they are equal partners in this verse. Justice carried the meaning of personal accountability for one's actions. That seems a little different than how we use that term today, doesn't it? It also carries the meaning of not giving preference to one individual over another - fairness. In the first reference, there is a penalty for an infraction; the second carries the idea of equal measurements. There is an overarching responsibility for community - to live well with others, be at peace with them, and never seek to 'outdo' the other.

I suppose the most 'telling' part of justice and fairness is the idea of being merciful in a generous way - not just on occasion, but continually extending mercy to others. Compassion and loyalty in our love demands this type of 'generous grace', doesn't it? Providing for the needs of others is what God had in mind here. It might be we begin doing this by practicing fairness and justice in all our actions - it extends into our giving of ourselves, our talents, and our provisions to others. We meet the needs of those within our community - spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Is it possible that in making the choice to live in such a manner we begin to take God seriously? Just askin!

BOGO or FREE?

If your local car dealership advertised a weekend sale that boasted a 'buy one, get one of equal value free' deal, how many folks would you think actually would look the other way on that deal? For the most part, if the deal was genuine, there would be a line down the block awaiting such a 'deal'. We almost always go after things that are 'freebies' in this life, don't we? I scour the local grocer ads hoping they will do those BOGO deals - it helps to keep my pantry stocked. There are some things I pass up because they don't 'apply' to my life - like men's deodorant or shaving cream. I don't have any need for those things in my life, but if it was coffee creamer, heads of lettuce, or even an extra loaf of bread, I'd be adding those things to my shopping list for sure. If we have 'need' of something, and it is offered for free, why on earth would we pass it up? It makes no sense when there is a need and a totally free way to have that need met fully!

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. (Titus 2:11-12)

God's forgiveness is unconditionally FREE. It isn't one of those BOGO offers where you have to buy one before you get something for free. His gift of salvation is FREE - because Jesus already paid the price for our hearts to be set right and our lives begin anew. Yet, so many realize they have a 'need' in their lives, but simply turn their back on the forgiveness they so desperately need and desire. Why? They think it will 'cost too much' to serve a generous and gracious God. It will cost them their 'freedom' to do what they want - the same 'freedom' that makes them feel guilty and shameful at times. It will cost them their 'freedom' to make their own choices - the same choices that land them in pickles galore and feeling like there is no way out anytime too soon. Gotta ask...how is it some value their perceived freedom more than what could be their ACTUAL freedom?

God is 'ready' and 'willing' to extend grace in the form of total (complete, unending, continual) forgiveness. Not as a buy-one-get-one-free deal, but as a 'pay nothing - get everything' deal. We say a loud 'yes' to his goodness and graciousness and the freedom begins. At first, our appetites are veracious for this grace - we can't get enough of it and we want as much of it as we can get right now. In time, it is like we walk in the 'rhythm of grace', sensing it, taking it in, relishing it, knowing the depth of its work in our lives. What began as a ravenous hunger becomes a consistent 'contentment'. I think that pretty much describes real 'freedom', my friends. We don't buy grace and get more of it. We receive grace and just keep on receiving it! Just sayin!

Intentional or Actual

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:17-25)

The truth is - we all need something more. We know what is right, but we somehow keep doing what is wrong. I like the way Paul puts it - sin keeps sabotaging our best intentions. Sabotage is just an underhanded interference from some force. When Paul says sin keeps sabotaging our best intentions he is simply stating there is some "interfering" force which makes our "best intentions" a little feeble at best. Maybe the most telling point in this statement is the idea of sin counteracting our intentions. Intentions are nothing more than mental determination - they aren't really totally connected to the heart and often not connected to the spirit. We make all kinds of "mental determinations" in life - the truth is that we actually act on very few! The point - "...I obviously need help!" Truer words could not be spoken! We don't have what it takes - this is why we keep failing! We make all kinds of mental commitments - but these commitments can get easily misplaced or sidetracked when something else takes over that space in our minds. We can only "think" so much about a commitment we have made. Use will-power to avoid the chocolate bar in the refrigerator and you will find you have made not much more than a mental commitment. You spend so much time thinking about the chocolate bar, but thinking about the chocolate bar doesn't keep you from desiring it! The problem with mental determination is the "space" that determination must occupy in order to be marginally effectual in our lives. I have found I get distracted pretty easily - so mental determination is not the best way to "fix my fix".

Our decisions don't result in the actions we hoped for because of some "internal" influence "comes along" and distracts us from our commitment to our decisions! Tell me you haven't been on this trip yourself! You have heard me say this before, but it bears repeating: The loudest voice gets our attention the quickest. The problem is that God's voice is still and small - oftentimes quieter than that 'loudest voice' we are listening to right now! So, if we are to listen to the right voice, we need to learn where it is we hear it the best - I assure you it is not in our mind! Our mind is one mess of a jumbled up bunch of voices - sorting these out takes some work! Our heart, on the other hand, is quite closely connected to our spirit, so the best place to hear God's voice is when we draw near to him in our heart and allow him to enter into our spirit. We don't find answers to our failures in any better source than in his presence. Failure is just an open door to bring us to a place where we move from our minds into our hearts and spirit. Somehow failure gets us out of the clouds - there is not as much attention turned toward the mess in our minds, because we find ourselves humbled and hurting. This is the place we end our 'intentions' and God begins his 'work'. Humbled hearts and hurting souls are his business! 

He delights in taking the pieces we are left with and putting them back together again. The thing is - he doesn't put them together in quite the same order again, though! We tried putting the pieces together OUR way - each time finding ourselves humbled and broken. Maybe it is because we weren't meant to find the right "fit" for the pieces - only he was! I guess we all need to hear these words now and again. It saddens me to think we have to fall in order to hear them, though. Yet, even in the failure, there is a redemptive quality. Remember, when the failure is an open door for God to begin afresh in us what we could not do through "mental determination", we are gonna see change - real change that gets us out of 'intentions' and into 'actualization'. Just sayin!

It is over

Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Are you in 'union' with Christ? If so, you got a fresh start - the past has been erased. Before you roll your eyes on that one, let me assure you I know being totally free of our past it is easier said than done. In the eyes of Jesus, it is a done deal. In our eyes, and more importantly, in our memories, it is a much harder leap of faith to let go of the past. It kind of 'lingers' and holds onto us like some 'blood-sucking' creature from the lagoon. The truth we must rely upon is that the 'relationship' we have with our past is 'settled'. It isn't there to haunt us any longer because God settled any debt owed. We are no longer 'bound' to our past - but we have to convince our minds to let go of what no longer holds us in bondage. 

What does the word 'settled' actually entail? According to my dictionary, it means something is 'fixed or established, unlikely to change'. I have to ask - does holding onto the past allow us to do anything good with our present? It is highly unlikely. All it does is cloud the view we have of our present and keep us from even thinking about the future. When something is 'settled', it is ENDED. The relationship we have with our past has been determined as 'done and over'. If God sees it that way, then perhaps our best tact to take is to ask him to help us see it as he sees it. At first, it will not seem like much changes when we pray this prayer, but as we keep praying it, God begins to help us focus less and less on the past and more and more on the future.

As I went through my divorce, all I could see was the 'stuff' or 'baggage' from that relationship that I didn't really want to see any longer. I had 'bad feelings', and those feelings 'tainted' everything around me. I needed a clean break, but didn't know how to be free of those feelings, much less the sense of failure and lack of hope the end of that relationship left me with. The more I committed it to God, the less I seemed to focus on the things that left me feeling so 'tainted'. It took a good couple of years before I actually began to walk free from those ugly feelings, but in time there was little to no pull to look back at that ugly place. I had allowed God to settle it inside me - to help me break free of the rejection, distrust, and anger. 

The past isn't always the easiest to let go of - the present is always the easiest to embrace. That said, our past is settled - it is a done deal. God took all of it into his court and removed any hold that past can have over us today. The break we need may not be that far away - it might just be we need to ask, keep asking, and then allow God to help us see the past has ENDED and the present is begun. Just sayin!

Comfortable in my own skin

True confessions this morning - I spent a great deal of my youth and young adult life trying to 'fit in'. Have you ever tried to "fit into" some other person's image of you? I wasn't comfortable in my own skin - trying to always be something that I just wasn't. Do you know how miserable you can be when you try to 'fit' and you just 'don't'? You allow the "remake" because you figure you need an improvement on what it is you already have. What you and I fail to recognize is that you usually "fit" pretty well because you are exactly how God made you! Jeans and comfortable shoes are who I am - not frilly, painted, and bound up! David, a young shepherd boy, planned to go out against Goliath with nothing more than outfitted as a "shepherd". King Saul tried to "outfit David as a soldier in armor". David couldn't even move in the stuff King Saul tried to 'put on him'! He could barely take a step forward, much less maneuver well in battle! Sometimes this is how we feel when we are told to "outfit" ourselves with something other than who and what we are - for there is no freedom of movement when we aren't true to ourselves!

Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath. (I Samuel 17:4)

David had learned a great deal on the backside of the pasture lands as he tended the sheep. They included slaying lions and bears - not for sport, but because they were trying to steal one of his sheep. Isn't this exactly what is happening when Goliath stood there taunting Israel - he was "attacking" the sheep! David knew if he was to face this giant with any chance at successfully defeating him, it would have to be by the methods he had used in the past - for those obstacles he had overcome became the foundation of his faith in this moment - they were 'proven'. David had every weapon available to him that was used by the armies of the day. He chose his own "outfitting". The shepherd's staff, his familiar cloak belted closely around his waist, and his small leather pouch and the leather sling. It seemed meagerly in the eyes of all who saw him approach the giant that day. Isn't this just the way it is when others see us face our giants with what it is God has made us familiar with? They don't know the usefulness of the "tools" we have been given, nor do they know the "skill" required in their use. No wonder they doubt their ability in the hands of one familiar with their use!

I wondered why David took five small stones that day from among those lining the floor of the tiny brook. Why five? Why not one? After all, wasn't David a man of faith, operating under the anointing of God? This may not be biblical or theologically sound, but allow me some latitude here, will you? Think about what David may have been saying to himself and to us as he selected each and every one of those well-worn stones. As he placed the first one, the second, the third - he may have been saying something like this:

Stone 1: F - Father, into your hands I commit my ways
Stone 2: A - All I have learned at your feet I commit to you today
Stone 3: I - Increase what your servant lacks
Stone 4: T - Thank you for always being faithful to your servant
Stone 5: H - Hold me close to your heart as I face this giant

He only needed one, but which one of these stones did he NOT need as he was preparing to face the giant? He needed all five! He had to place himself securely into the Father's hands, taking upon himself all he had previously been taught, calling upon the amazing power of God to make up for what he lacked, gratefully acknowledging the faithfulness of his protector, and knowing without a doubt the most secure place was within hearing distance of the heartbeat of God. One stone felled the giant. Five stones steadied the heart of the "warrior". He was "outfitted" well and so are we - we just need to learn to feel comfortable in our own skin. Just sayin!

Unshakable Lives

I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world. (John 16:33)

Anyone live in a world that seems to shake all around them? Things are looking up one day - making it easy for you to let down your guard, but then down the next, making 'holding on to God's promises' more difficult on those down days. Trusting God when things are shaking all around you is kind of hard - we don't always feel 'assured', much less 'deeply at peace' with all the garbage going on around us. Our peace isn't in any 'thing' - it is in a person: Christ Jesus. Our assurance isn't based on what man knows, but rather on what God knows. There will always be times when we need to remind our hearts (and minds) to 'take heart' - because as long as we on this earth, we will be 'riding' those 'shaking waves'.

Unshakable doesn't mean we won't 'sense' the difficulties all around us - it means we won't be blown away by them. It is the result of 'abiding' in Christ. Abiding means there is a sense of 'permanence' in where we are planted. It is in 'continuing' in Christ that we develop steadfastness when all else around us seems to be crumbling away. How does one 'continue' in Christ? I think it is a little bit of a conscious effort coupled with a whole lot of trust in God to help us with the unconscious effort it will also require. We make a decision to spend time with Jesus (the conscious effort), then we trust him to bring us wave upon wave of peace when the toughness of the day closes in upon us (the unconscious effort). 

Deep and lasting (enduring, consistent, unshakable) peace isn't possible outside of an active and ongoing relationship with him. Too many times we trust that the little dribbles and drabs of time we spend with Jesus will make us strong. It may take more than three minutes a morning! Try keeping your house clean with only three minutes a morning invested in dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the toilets, washing the dishes, mopping the floors, and taking out the trash! It might be possible, but the 'deep-cleaning' isn't getting done, is it? The house is 'neat' and 'clean' appearing, but is it truly 'clean'? How do we expect to get the 'deeper cleaning' we need spiritually if we skimp on our time with Jesus each day? Unshakable lives aren't just going to happen 'by chance' - they are purposefully orchestrated. Just sayin!

Bigger, Better, Bolder

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

We all have clothes in our closets, which by today's "fads" are outdated and just totally behind the times. We have shoes, well-worn and comfortable, but definitely yesterday's fashion statement. Car manufacturers change some features on our favorite cars each year, not because they have to, but they know they won't sell new ones if the old was all they promoted. Nothing seems to last like it once did. My parents were used to buying products "back in the day" when the parts were guaranteed for years and years. Now, if we find something with a twelve-month warrantee we think this is a good deal! Isn't it good to know in the constant "changeableness" of our world there is one thing which remains constant? God lasts. Think that one through a bit. There are a whole lot of pulls on our heart to attach ourselves to something or someone who really cannot live up to the consistency, continuity, and completeness of our God. None will outlast him! He doesn't come and go. If we have ever felt like he has, it is more likely we have left the place of attentiveness toward him rather than the other way around!

He is bigger, more powerful, more awesome than even your wildest imagination. I have a pretty active imagination - something I think he blessed me with. I can dream big and think "outside the box", but even the biggest of my dreams has limits. There is no moment in time when he is inattentive to our needs. We need time to catch our breath, because we tire and become worn down by what life brings. God is constantly creating and holding together everything - no moment in time is without his attentive watchfulness. Did you ever stop to consider what would happen if God just let his mind wander a little?  Nothing, absolutely nothing, is without his attentive care - including each one of us - so he doesn't let his mind wander one bit! The creator knows his creation. God knows us as our Creator - knowing perfectly well the symbiotic relationship of our parts. No hair is uncounted, no twitch of a muscle is without a purpose. In knowing the symbiotic relationship of the individual "parts" of our lives, doesn't it make sense he'd also know how to best keep these "parts" in the right relationship? What we fail to see is how he is always guiding the "parts" to work as a whole - body, spirit, mind - all in symbiotic relationship. Any part which seeks to operate outside of this relationship, he directs his (and our) attention toward. Don't resist the attentive focus of the creator - he is really just trying to put things back into the place of symbiosis!

There is power in his name. I think this is what is reflected in him giving energies to the tired, strength to the weak. We have seen the evolution of "fuel" foods like "Power Bars" and "Monster" drinks to "energize" those who need to remain physically active and attentive, but who don't stop for a long enough time to take in a meal. We have seen the constant introduction of energy drinks, but now there are 'liquid IV' solutions you can consume because people want to keep going at the speed of light, recover their bodies quickly, and get back on track right away when not feeling up to speed. We have such a hard time just coming to a "full stop" and seeing God's power poured into us in those moments of stillness. Yet, nothing artificial will ever replenish like the real thing! The only way to get God's refreshing is to actually be still long enough to enjoy it! Just sayin!

Breathe in to breathe out

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28)

Have you ever been so short of breath you just didn't think you were going to be able to get enough air? I remember being up to bat in softball in High School. The pitch was wickedly hard and it hit me squarely in the side of the chest, throwing me to the ground with quite a bit of force. I laid there for the longest time panicking because I could not take in any air. The air had been knocked from my lungs and I was gasping for my next breath. It was scarier than scary and I never want that to happen again! The 'natural rhythm' of my breathing in and out was disrupted just long enough to give me those few moments of panic - wondering if I was going to pass out and never see this world again. That 'rhythm' of air passing in and out is so important to sustain life, isn't it? If that rhythm is so important and capable of giving us so much concern when it is interrupted, maybe it is possible to feel a similar kind of 'panic' when the 'unforced rhythms of grace' are disturbed in our lives by a lack of drawing near to the presence of God often enough!

To 'get away with God' means we take dedicated time. Nothing else distracts us from the time together. Harder said than done when life demands so much from us and distractions abound at every turn of our heads. In the place where you are reading this right now there are probably over a hundred different distractions from photos on the walls, noises in the background, the smell of the coffee in your cup, and even the scent of your freshly washed hair. Before the day of 'wrinkle assist' in the clothes dryer, that nagging buzzer meant you had to go get them out right then and there or they would be bundled into a mass of wrinkled mess. Today, the dryer will tumble little bits at a time, niggling you with a reminder buzzer every now and again - letting you take a little extra time to get to the task of folding all those clothes. Why was this 'wrinkle assist' thing invented? Sometimes the 'buzzers' interrupted our lives. Interruptions need to be managed - they shouldn't manage us!

I have learned to keep a pencil and paper nearby when I take time with God. Why? To manage the interruptions. My mind will remember I am getting low on laundry detergent, or that I need to check to see that I paid the lawn man this month. Remembering these things frequently happens right when I want to spend uninterrupted time with Jesus. So, I make a quick note, set the paper aside and then get back to it. I 'manage' the interruption - so the 'unforced rhythms of his grace' are free to keep me right where I need to be. Did the interruption come? Yes. Did it manage to distract me? Not really - I didn't follow the distraction's pull - I managed it by making it a later priority. We need these times with our Lord. Don't let the things that 'interrupt' upset the rhythm of his grace in your life. You need to breath his grace in and in the outward breath, you are expelling all those worries, fears, and frustrations that would otherwise keep you in a bundle of panic. You need to 'take in' if you are ever to 'let out' what has your peace so disturbed. Just sayin!