Walking on dry ground

Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer. (James 1:13-15)

Woodrow Wilson reminded us, "The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." That might aptly describe how it is when we are tempted - swimming AGAINST the stream, trying to live a righteous life, but pulled ever so hard by the strength of the 'evil current' that works against us. I have been pulled or tugged in one direction or another all of my life. At times, I am tempted to say that God is working AGAINST me, but I know that is NEVER true. At others, I am fully aware that my own silly desires (lusts) get in the way of making right choices. Temptation is real, my friends, but we don't ever want to think it is God at work in our lives, putting all manner of tempting stuff or thoughts in our path.

The sad truth is that we don't need to be lured into 'evil actions' sometimes. They come quite naturally to us. The hardest thing for us to do is admit those tempting desires (lusts) come from within our own minds. I think too many times we want to blame another for our own silly desires that get us into all manner of trouble. Whenever we shift the blame to another (including God himself), we are refusing to see that there is really an 'evil bent' to our own desires - intent on pleasing ourselves. As a believer in Christ, those desires are not going to just magically go away, but Christ is helping us to see them clearly and then to understand how to overcome the 'strength' of their 'current' within our lives.

Learning to recognize when an 'evil intent' is lurking within is sometimes one of the most difficult things to do, but when we grasp the truth God sets out in his Word, we can be free of the pull toward sin. The type of 'truth' we may need to hear could be that our words have the potential to build up or tear down. Maybe we need to embrace the truth that money isn't supposed to be our primary goal in holding down a job - doing our work as unto the Lord makes us excellent employees and the 'natural outcome' of that type of service is 'reward'. It may be monetary, but it could also be a sense of having done a job well and with all the talent God has given us put to use. Truth understood will set us free. How? When 'evil intent' is the current pulling us, we learn to get out of the water and walk on dry ground! Just sayin!

Habitual or Ritual

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (Ephesians 6:10-11)

I'd like to think I am more than a weekend warrior - just attending church and then forgetting about the pursuit of God's best for my life the rest of the week. Sadly, there are far too many Christians who are weekend warriors. They attend church regularly, but their lives are kind of devoid of much in the way of 'substance' when it comes to study of the Word of God, time in prayer, or even looking after the needs of others as scripture reminds us of is so important. The Apostle Paul puts it very well - this is no weekend war - it is a life-long, active, full-engaged investment of ourselves into the pursuit of all things godly.

Before anyone goes off on me and tells me I am being a little too 'churchy' or 'preachy', let me just say this type of pursuit doesn't look at all 'religious'. In fact, when we pursue God with our full heart and mind, the 'religious' stuff isn't all that evident. What is evident is a shift in our focus - our attitude changes and we begin to manifest different choices. Not in a 'preachy' or 'better-than-thou' kind of way, but through loving actions, gentle words, and benevolent giving of ourselves. We don't have to carry our Bible around with us, reading it at every break we have in our day. We can 'carry his Word' around with us, though - in our hearts and minds - repeatedly meditating upon what we have read earlier in the day until it sinks in, brings change where needed, and directs our steps. 

If someone were to tell you that going without water, food, and rest for your body would eventually lead to your death, would you continue down that path? Not likely! You'd belly up to the table, begin eating regularly, and adjust your water intake to bring life back to your body as quickly as possible. So, why is it we have such a hard time 'bellying up to the table' when it comes to a regular 'diet' of God's Word, or taking time to think upon it for the value it could add to our lives? It is quite plain to see there is a force at work that wants to keep us from the pursuit. It isn't just our own 'laziness' that keeps us away from those regular and consistent times, it is the distractions of this life that Satan intends to use to waylay us!

The primary thing we need is determination to engage in the pursuit of the things God asks of us - taking in his Word, meditating upon it, worshipping him, and reaching out to a hurting world. It begins with sitting down, taking in, then allowing it to begin to 'digest' within us. As it does, we soon begin to discover our priorities change little by little, until one day, the 'pursuit' is no longer difficult - it is habitual. Just sayin!

How secure is your placement?

But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers— Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Doesn't that sound absolutely wonderful? Deep roots, no sign of being affected by drought, and bearing fruit each and every season of life - that is indeed a privilege. A privilege enjoyed by those who have placed their trust in Christ and have asked him to take control of their lives. 

I am prone to worrying a bit - I think I got that from my mother. I always used to say if mom didn't have something to worry about, she'd worry about not having anything to worry about. It has taken a lot of prayer to lay things down at the feet of Jesus and leave them there, but when I finally let go of the 'mulling over' of the things that give me concern, the peace is overwhelming and the solution I had not considered previously seems to come.

Today, I worry less and turn things over quicker. Do I still worry? Yes, at times. Is it necessary? Never. Why? God has me planted where I am growing as I should, my needs are met all of the time, and his protection makes my 'placement' secure. How about you? Do you feel secure in your 'placement'? If not, it could be time to ask God to show you just how secure that 'placement' is in him. 

Those who've placed their trust in Jesus are planted securely - roots growing into very firm soil. Nourishment is right there, and every protection we could ever need is only a breath away. The more we allow those roots to grow, by taking in the Word of God, giving over things that only hamper our growth, and listening intently to his voice, the more we will see evidence of how 'secure' that placement really is. Just sayin!

Grace is like rain

You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God. (I Peter 2:3)

I have tasted some pretty good stuff in my days. Chocolate, a nicely charred steak, sweet potatoes with melting butter, and mom's cheesecake. These are but a few of the things I have 'tasted', but there is one thing I have tasted that rises above all the rest: Jesus' grace and goodness. For years, the See's Candy Shops have given out a free piece of candy to the visitors in their shop. Why? To entice you to want more! God's grace is kind of like that - you get one taste of how liberating it is and you just keep coming back for more!

Grace is not meant to be tasted once and then that's all you ever experience it. It is meant to be tasted again and again, until you are overflowing with the goodness of it. Grace received is going to do something we may not have really anticipated - it helps us grow up in Jesus. Whenever we seek grace, we are seeking to grow a little. We are no longer content to let the stuff we have been 'taking in' be what we settle on in our lives. We want only the best and that is what God offers to those who seek him. 

John Updike likened rain to grace, saying: "Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life." God's grace is like rain - it falls on the driest and most parched parts of our lives, infusing all that is needed to bring growth from within. Without grace, we'd wither and die. With grace, we flourish. Maybe we need more of God's 'rain' in our lives! Just sayin!

Not what we are, but whose we are

Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (Romans 12:3)

You will discover one of the most frequented topics in scripture is grace. Themes of justice, purity, and such things as undivided attention abound. Through all the themes in scripture, this thought of grace is interwoven. In justice (right conduct, moral decisions) we find grace - unmerited favor - for not all our conduct is right, nor are all our decisions solid in a moral sense. In purity or righteousness (the state of being good, honest, fair and right) we recognize the prominence of grace, for not all our thoughts will be good, words honest, actions fair, or behaviors right. God's grace is undeserved - but nothing is more needed in our lives than what grace brings and does within our hearts, minds, and souls.

With God's help, we can take our everyday (ordinary) lives and place it before him as an offering. Today, we don't understand the significance of being able to bring something to God as an offering. Offerings had very specific guidelines associated with them in all of the Old Testament worship. They were to be the first of the harvest, suggesting the most tender and desirous. They were to be the animals without spot or blemish, no flaws, suggesting the best which could have been used to gain the most profit or breed the next line. God wanted the best and the first. God wants our "ordinary" - not because it is our best or purest - but because if we present it as an offering, he will accept it as though it were!

We embrace what God does FOR us, not what it is we do for him. A tough one for us to actually "get" because we are all about associating someone's good actions toward us as a direct result of some good action on our part. Although God relishes our right or good actions, they are not what "qualifies" us, nor what gives us "right standing" before him. It is 100% his action on our behalf that makes us able to stand and "sanctifies" us (cleans us up). Embracing this sole fact can be the most important thing we do in our walk with Jesus - for it is there we find rest from "doing" things for ourselves and finally beginning to trust what has already been "done" for us!

We will be "transformed" or "renewed" - made to be something we are not naturally. From the "inside" to the "outside", we are made new. Not because of any goodness on our part, or work we perform, but because of his grace extended and his grace embraced. We live "IN" pure grace - undeserved favor and forgiveness. What we choose to live "IN" determines a lot about "HOW" we will live out our day. If we consistently live in filth, we cannot help but carry that filth out into the world with us. Live in trust and you find yourself taking steps you'd not previously thought possible. Live in hope and you find you are not bound by what others say is impossible. Live in freedom and you find you rise above the habits and "pulls" which once had you bound.

I hear people say, "I wish I could figure out why I am this way", meaning they don't understand why it is they do something, or respond a certain way. I think God may want us to understand something quite different, though. It is not so much who WE are, but who HE is and what HE has done FOR us and is doing IN us. It isn't about what WE are! WE are not ever going to get things right all the time - but with God's help (him living IN us, doing FOR us what we cannot do for ourselves), we can get one step closer each day to living as we are called to live. So many times, we focus on what WE are, do, have, need - God asks us to redirect our focus toward him. When we make this change of focus, grace is able to bring us from where we are into where he designed for us to be.

Grace embraced is what makes for life-change. Pure and simple - God IN us means we don't DO for ourselves what he has already DONE FOR US. Just sayin!

Loyal and True

John Boyle O'Reilly reminds us: "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." This is pretty sound advice, isn't it? The Apostle Paul reminded those who serve in the household of others to do all their work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Proverbs 13:4 reminds us that the 'soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.' I don't know about you, but 'richly supplied' certainly appeals to me. How are we true to our work? If we are putting forth our very best by bringing our very best self into that work each and every day, we are likely fulfilling that one.

Being true to our word is a pretty tall order, is it not? We can say a whole lot of things without really thinking them through, only to regret having made a vow or promise to do something at a later time. Jesus was speaking with the disciples one day and left them with these instructions: “Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not break your vows to God but must fulfill them all.’ But I say: Don’t make any vows! Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong." (Matthew 5:33-34, 37) Give your word, then keep it. Be careful about promising this or that, because when it comes to 'collecting' on those promises, we could come up a wee bit short. 

Be true to your friends seems like it would be an easy one, doesn't it? Most would agree that a true friend can be trusted, oftentimes gives great counsel when we cannot see things quite clearly and has our best welfare in mind. There is also this ability to forgive one another that we don't always mention. To sum up these three words of advice, let's look at one final scripture: "Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." (Romans 12:9-11). Loyalty is defined in not pretending within a relationship. Whenever we 'pretend' to be something that we are not, we are disloyal to both ourselves and the other person.

Loyal or true - the words can be used interchangeably. God's ask of us today - be loyal. First to him, then to others - in our work, our word, and our relationships. When we get the first one right, the rest are sure to follow. Just sayin!

One Stone in the Path

Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. (Colossians 3:12)

Since - indicating a condition has already been met. We are chosen - conditions met entirely through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Given a new kind of life - no longer bound by our past way of thinking and doing things. That might just come as a bit of relief to some who have been feeling like their past keeps haunting them, bringing them more than a fair share of grief and shame. All conditions have been met - that past has been wiped away by the blood of Jesus, but our minds might just hold onto those memories of the past a little too much. The more we learn about the grace of God, the more we will realize our past is just that - past.

We live a 'new kind of life' - because of his deep love and concern for each of us. The more we learn of God's love, the more we will realize just how forgiving it has been and continues to be on our behalf. This new kind of life is to be filled with the grace of God, creating both the desire and the ability to practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. The more we lean into God's grace, the more his grace oozes out of us and begins to be revealed in our actions. This is what God wants from - outright kindness and forgiving mercy toward others. 

What does tenderhearted mercy actually look like? It means we are compassionate - recognizing the needs of others and moving to alleviate that need whenever possible. It is also us being charitable to others - not rushing into judgment about their actions or words. This might be a tough task for some, but for those who are called into this new life, there comes a deep desire to share the love and grace of God with those who need to experience it as deeply as we have. This is why God asks us to be merciful - for mercy involves recognizing a need, reaching out to meet it, meeting the other more than half-way. 

We are to be thoughtful of others, but how do we develop this thoughtfulness toward others? Is it natural after we come into this relationship with Christ? A little bit, but even a small amount of compassion and kindness must be nurtured to grow. It is easy to judge the actions of another - oftentimes inaccurately. Ask God to give you a 'people filter' that helps you to recognize more than the immediate action - to see the value of the individual in spite of the offensive action. When you begin to see them through this 'filter', you begin to find ways to love them back even when their actions may not have been all that kind. Why? God not only met the conditions for you, but he met the conditions for their heart, as well. Your kindness may be the very first stone on the path to them meeting Jesus. Just sayin!

Welcome to the 'Folly-wood'

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool. Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools! Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison. (Proverbs 26:1-6)

A fool is merely anyone who lacks judgment or good sense. Now, if we were to be truthful most of us could definitely cop to this plea! We are not consistently wise in our judgment, nor do we always use good sense! A fool is someone who does this habitually - but in everyday life, we all play the fool on occasion. The issue with the fool - they don't embrace wisdom, so they keep using "faulty" judgment over and over again. There are probably areas in our lives where we do the same - knowing what we know to be true, we ignore good judgment and just plunge headlong into whatever it is we are involved in. In those moments, we are neither using our good sense (common sense), nor are we listening to the still small voice of God reminding us of the error in our judgment. This is indeed "foolish".

The way the fool interacts with life is important for us to understand. These "interaction moments" need to be viewed in the way God sees them, so we become a little more sensitive to when those "moments" creep up in our lives! The fool looks for honor. Whenever we find ourselves actually seeking some form of honor from others for a task we have completed, or perhaps something we have finally stopped doing, we are looking in the wrong place. Honor is really best understood as feeling God's satisfaction with our decisions - like a settled sense of peace in our lives. All the praise and accolades of man will never replace this deep sense of peace God provides. All other honor is just for show!

Not every word spoken into your life, nor against your life needs to be embraced. A fool will embrace them all - taking many as "curses" or "slights" which are against him. Most people don't have good control over their words - me included! When we speak, it is often without "deep thought" or "careful consideration". To embrace everything someone says is silly - there are things they say in the moment which they really never intended to come across as it did - we need to let those go! The fool has a problem accepting leadership over his life. We ALL want to be in control of our lives, but the one who plays the part of the fool will resist even God's control. Bridles and big sticks are not the most pleasant way to direct one toward obedience, but the fool needs this kind of "intervention" in his life because there is a lack of submission to God's authority. There is "lip service" to God's authority, but as the child once said, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside"!

When we answer a fool with equally "foolish" responses, we are slipping right into the same "folly". Rash responses are really the "trend" or "norm" for the fool. God's way of "doing business" is to be a little slower to answer than we might desire but hitting the nail on the head each and every time. The fool is impulsive - lacking in discretion and prudence. We need discretion in our lives - especially where it applies to our words and thoughts which lead to actions! Not all our word, nor our actions, are deserving of affirmation. In fact, some of them really would be best responded to with a firm bit of chastisement! The fool may have access to wisdom, but he seldom knows the truth behind what he possesses. The fool will accept at face value anything which resembles truth. Nothing can be believed if there is not at least an element of truth in it - so to rise above being deceived, we have to develop an awareness of truth. In other words, we have a relationship with truth! The deeper our relationship is with Jesus, the more we are likely to desire truth in our lives.

The fool is given to repeating mistakes. His indiscretions are many, often the same mistakes repeated time and again. What becomes the "norm" for the fool is really a series of bad judgments leading to bad actions, followed closely by bad "justifications" about why he pursued that course of action in the first place. If we find ourselves in the cycle of repeating past failures time and time again, we might just want to take a step back and ask God to show us how to break this cycle of 'folly' - because none of us wants to be labeled 'fool'. Just sayin!

My WHOLE heart?

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

All of scripture is filled with principles meant as "safety guides" for our lives as much as they are meant to point us toward the heart and mind of God. The Ten Commandments - the basis for evaluating if we are "keeping" God's intention for our lives in an honorable manner. There are times when we are unaware of the dangers which lie right in our path - but if we will remain consistently faithful to the truths (principles) we are given, we should know safety as we travel these paths. God has a tremendous desire for us to turn to him with our whole hearts, not out of obligation, but out of love. He knows the conscious decisions which must be made in choosing to turn our eyes consistently toward God, not being swayed by the other things which can cloud our sight. He also knows the tremendous amount of focus it takes to maintain focus! 

One God - not many. This must be established first and foremost in our hearts and minds if we are to grow in Christ, for all of our battles (emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually) are really based on this idea of who will be "God" or "god" in our lives. There are lots of "gods" we could bow down before - like money, career, collectibles, people. There is but one God we are called to bow down before - God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the creator of all things, and the one who commands the course of all things which are and will be. Any time we allow something or someone other than God to be in the position of a "god" in our lives, we will be setting ourselves up to falter and ultimately know failure. The only time we know safety from external and internal forces is when the right "God" is in control!

Love requires three elements: Heart, Soul, and Strength. Heart is the mind, will, and emotions. The seat of what makes us uniquely who we are and helps to determine what it is we believe, do, and feel. We make connection with the one true God at the heart level. We are inherently "feeling" creatures, but we don't live solely by what we "feel", and we are thinking creatures, but we don't live solely by what we can understand or imagine. We need faith and this requires will. Will helps us move beyond our "maybe this could be true" into the place of "I know God isn't going to lie to me, so I will trust this to be true". The soul is what sets man apart from animal and all other forms of life. The soul is the part of man which lives on eternally - even after decay and age has taken its toll on the body. In reminding us that love involves the soul, we are reminded that love is eternal - not momentary, not time limited, but everlasting and abiding. Strength is part and parcel with heart and soul - for both would falter if there was no strength behind the commitment to love.

The commandments are not just to be recited, memorized, and written in stone - they are to be "written" upon the heart. God is best honored when he sees us connecting scripture in our lives with the actions we take. When he speaks to us to keep him first, we remind ourselves our emotions cannot continue to guide our every action. Sometimes this means we literally have to remind our emotions what scripture says: "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind!" Then we need to remind ourselves over and over again to put the fear behind us, take the steps we are asked to take, and trust that we will have the wisdom to respond as we should and the power to live in ways which seem contrary to the present set of circumstances.

Scripture is to be the topic of discussion and the consistent "interloper" in our decision-making processes. We often don't think to turn to scripture for our "normal" activities and decisions of the day. Some of these are just by rote - such as brushing our teeth and washing the dishes. Trust me on this - it is not God's will for us to have rotten teeth or to have cockroaches in the kitchen because the sink is filled with dirty dishes! We don't need scripture to tell us some of this stuff. We need to see what scripture defines and then live by that definition. 

Using scripture at transition points in our lives is quite important - this may be the inference of the doorways, roadways, and gates in our passage. We come and go by these passages. In other words, all our comings and goings are to align with scripture - it is to guide us in our decision making and to keep us on the straight and narrow. Transition points are often the places where we get "hung up" the easiest because they are places and points where we have to make decisions which may not be comfortable for us or may be "new". When we face these transitions, we need the solid foundation of what has already been outlined for us as principles by which we can make decisions as to the actions we should take - principles found in scripture.

Today we might be challenged a little in the areas of focus, trust, and obedience. Maybe we are challenged in the area of getting to really know scripture for ourselves and not being reliant upon another to continually unveil the hidden secrets for us. Or perhaps we are just challenged to keep our focus off things which really don't matter and remaining attentive to the things which do. Either way, we are doing exactly what God intended when these words were penned! Just sayin!

Haven't we learned yet?

 We all have those moments when we feel like we have been abandoned and left out on our own to figure things out. It is probable that we want to let out a little complaint in those moments because we feel a little like no one anticipated our needs and saw to it that they were met. Maybe we even feel a little "entitled" as God's kids to not have to face the reality of the bad stuff that is just part of living here on planet earth. We forget that we are still physically present in the midst of evil and there is no way to escape some of this stuff. Instead of whining, we should be praising; instead of thinking God has rejected us or forgotten we exist, we should be celebrating his presence even when it isn't quite clear to us. God NEVER abandons his kids - no way, no how! His presence is not dependent upon our "feeling" it; his care is not dependent upon us seeing it; his attention is not dependent upon us - it is based upon who he is and what he does!

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? 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 40:31)

God doesn't lose track of us - we may not sense his presence quite as vividly as we might like at times, but his presence still indwells those who have made him Lord over their lives. Whenever we get into this place of feeling so low about our circumstances that we begin to whine and complain about the "misery of the moment", we probably have just lost this sense of "connection" with him. We live so much by our "senses" - what it is we feel, see, hear, can touch, or experience 'physically'. Whenever one of these senses is interrupted, we kind of freak out. Instead of realizing that God doesn't "come and go", we think he has abandoned us in the midst of the present circumstances and our immediate response is to whine or complain.

What we probably need most is for someone to just lay it all out for us and show us how silly we are acting! As creator of all we can see or imagine, God is incapable of abandoning his creation. He is untiring in the attention he gives to every iota of detail which holds all of creation together, causing it to work in perfect harmony. We might get tired out - weary in our journey - but he is incapable of tiring. He might get a little weary of hearing us complain when we don't sense his presence as nearly as we'd like, but he isn't going to turn a deaf ear to us or take his hand off of us. Nothing we do or say catches God off-guard. He understands our character and is not threatened or put off by our complaints - he knows these are our natural responses to the things we are experiencing. 

When we are experiencing this "vacant" feeling within, he knows we are responding in ways which reveal a lack of trust in him. His goal is to show us we can trust him to never leave or forsake us, even when we don't "feel" him there! We don't develop trust unless our faith is put to the test. God doesn't allow us to feel the constraints of the present problems to abandon us there! He never takes his eyes off of us - but he might just be stretching our faith a little, so we come to a higher degree of trust in him. If we are tired - we can reach out to him for strength. If we feel like throwing in the towel and just calling it quits - we can call out to him for new energies to go on in the midst of what seems like overwhelming odds against us. In waiting upon God - listening for his voice, trusting he will bring us through the circumstances - we are developing a sense of "confidence", not in our own strength or ability, but in that which he gives in the waiting. God is there even when we don't sense him. Just sayin!

Sit back and marvel

 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:28)

There have been moments when I just didn't know what to say to God - unsure of what really was going on inside of my mind and emotions, just needing to get out those feelings, but really not sure how to put them into words. How about you? Do you ever experience those moments when there is an overwhelming sense of heaviness within, but you cannot really express it in words? I am so glad God can understand our sighs, groans, and even our silence. He knows our heart better than we do, but he also understands the mixed-up muddle of emotions that can occur at times. The more mixed-up we are about the things, the more we need to lean into God for his perspective and a fresh infilling of his peace.

Every detail is worked into our lives for some manner of good. I had a hard time understanding how 'bad stuff' could actually be turned into something I would benefit from in the long run. Yet, over the years, I have seen God take the various 'bad moments' and bring some element of growth within me that wasn't previously there. I guess this is what he means when he promises to bring good from the bad. It doesn't mean we won't face the hard stuff in life - it just means we don't face it alone and we don't face it without a purpose. We might be in a place of despair, but he remains in a place of control.

I live in a home that is over thirty years old now, so as each year passes, I try to do something 'big' to improve it and keep it in tip-top shape. One year I replaced the roof and central air. The Arizona sun means the outside needs painting from time to time. The inside needed a fresh coat of paint, so that was another year's project. The bathrooms needed a refresh and now the flooring is being redone. These projects come at a cost - financially, physically, and emotionally. I don't like to live in chaos - I like order (no...I am not OCD, I just like the comfort of things being settled). 

I think our minds are a little like these 'big projects' around the house. There is a cost that comes with all the emotional turmoil we face in those hard times. Our minds get all muddled-up, emotions riding high one day and down the next. Our thoughts can be carried away like a feather on the wind. Our bodies feeling the tension of the season we are in. There is no better time to take things to God than when we are experiencing those moments. We may not even have one clue what to ask for, but he knows exactly how to take the chaos of our present and create something so beautiful within us. Just like when the floors are all done, we will step back, sitting in peaceful repose, and marvel at what he has done. Just sayin!

Am I consistent enough?

 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. (2 Peter 1:4)

Sometimes we aren't sure we are doing everything that will make a difference, so that we are living in such a way that our lives truly please God. We want to live consistently in a manner that allows God to be seen through us to a hurting and searching world, but we aren't sure we are 'consistent enough'. Let me assure you of this - if you are walking with Jesus in a genuine manner - heart, mind, will and soul committed to serving him - you are 'consistent enough'. We don't always hit the mark we are aiming at, but we are taking steps in the right direction (at least generally). We aren't perfect, but God never came to redeem perfect people - he knows we will grow closer as we seek him, but we aren't as close today as we will be down the road. When we pursue him, knowing we are drawn in by his love and grace, we are being 'consistent enough'.

Pleasing God doesn't require our perfection - it requires pursuit of the right stuff, in the right time, with a right heart. The pursuit is the important part. Are you pursuing God through daily habits that will shape your heart in a manner that pleases God? That is the most important question we can address today. The habits we develop in the pursuit of God's plan for our lives are what will change our hearts. We are given an invitation to enter into the pursuit. If we have accepted the invitation, we are likely called into some new habits such as reading God's Word, prayer, and receiving good teaching through God's messages delivered by faithful pastors and teachers.

The invitation is accepted, and the pursuit begins. Sometimes we think we need to pursue in some super-spiritual way, but God isn't after our 'religious habits'. He wants us to read his Word because we want to learn more from him. He hopes our prayers will be an open expression of our heart and mind, so he can work with us about our thought patterns. He wants to change the way we see ourselves, so he uses his Word and simple truths he brings to mind when we pray to show us how he sees us. When we take in good teaching, our hearts are being transformed - especially when we take that teaching to heart and allow God to bring out more of his grace and love from within us.

The habits of 'consistency' are developed in these times together with Jesus. The more we listen, the more we will develop consistently wise choices. The more we yield our heart to him, allowing him to show us where our heart is weighing us down, we will be called upon to let go of the weights. Today we will not be as close to God as we have the potential of being tomorrow. When we take the small and consistent steps of good spiritual habits, we will be drawn closer and that freshness of intimacy with him will help us take the next steps he seeks from us. The invitation is there - take the one small step he seeks today - then keep taking that step. Before long, he will show us the next step and we will take it. Do you know what is happening when we do? We are developing 'spiritual habits' that actually are helping us develop consistency in our relationship with Jesus. So, keep stepping! Just sayin!

Bigness isn't a draw

 God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love... (Deuteronomy 7:9)

How many times do we get 'big heads' about ourselves, thinking we are all kinds of 'bigness' and 'greatness' because of something we do? Some of us more than others, but we can all fall prey to this 'pride' thing once in a while. God isn't 'attracted' to our 'bigness' or 'importance' - whether real or imagined! He is attracted to US - as we are, with all our quirks and hangups. It is not what we 'do' or 'accomplish' or 'amass' that makes us 'big' in his eyes. He loves us in spite of all those things!

Truly, there is almost 'nothing to us' when God draws us toward his heart and asks us to give him control of our lives. We might have 'done' all kinds of important things in our lives, but it is the frailty of our souls and emptiness of our spirit that he sees first and foremost, and he draws us into his arms because of this insane emptiness. We might not understand how anyone can just 'do something for us' out of sheer love (unconditional, without us having to do anything to earn it), but this is how he operates - freely giving exactly what we need.

For those who are still considering themselves unworthy of such a great love, stop believing that lie. It comes straight from the pit of hell! God's love transcends our 'doing' (even the messed-up actions of our past or present) and reaches into our lives with unconditional redeeming grace. We might not 'feel' his grace today, but we can trust that his grace is at work making us whole and strong - replacing our imagined 'goodness' and 'bigness' with his goodness. In time, we will begin to 'feel' the evidence of his grace in our lives, but what is required of us right now is to just trust he is at work because he loves us enough to set things right in us.

It is not unusual to feel 'unworthy' of such 'benevolence'. Grace isn't earned, and some might not understand how so much 'good' can just be given so freely to someone who has done nothing to deserve or earn it. God's love is kind of insane - it just gives and gives and gives. We have to trust his heart if we are ever to be whole in our own. Just sayin!

Are you getting the most out of it?

I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. (Galatians 5:4-6)

I bet no one will be surprised to know that I spent a great deal of time trying to be holy by completing various religious 'plans' and 'projects'. I'd fast for a day, not really knowing why I was doing it, but someone told me it would 'make me closer to God'. I'd read a certain number of chapters in the Bible every day, not really getting much out of it, all because someone told me I needed to make a 'plan' for reading through the Bible every year. I'd go to church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night - not because I always felt like it, but because it was 'expected'. How many of us have been in the same boat - going about 'doing the plan', but not really getting much out of it?

Truth be told, as I have grown a bit wiser, I find myself happy to simply 'ingest' a few verses every day, thinking upon them, seeing what God wants to tell me about how to make wise decisions, find peace, or get my life in order somehow. I attend church, listen online, or just celebrate God out in nature while out of town, not out of obligation, but because I enjoy being taught as much as I enjoy teaching others. What made the difference? I guess it was listening to God's 'small voice' deep inside asking why I did these things - what purpose were they serving in my life. When I really stopped to consider the 'exercises' in faith, I realized they were simply 'religious exercises' that weren't really accomplishing the intended purpose!

Once I asked God to help me be less 'religious' and 'pious', do you know what happened? I fell in love with him! I enjoyed my time that I regularly set aside for the two of us. I found he spoke to me very clearly and that I actually listened to what he told me. It wasn't a magic formula that brought me closer to God - it was a yielded and obedient heart. Did the change happen overnight? Nope, but it happened! Did it change the way I acted? Yes, now the actions are genuine and without second thought. They are purposeful and life-giving. Do I still find myself in kind of 'mulligrub' spiritual moments where it doesn't seem like I am getting much from the time I am spending with him? Yup, but they are usually because I need a little attitude adjustment, not that I need to engage in anymore 'spiritual rituals'. 

How about you? Have you been going through the motions, but not really connecting with him? Have you settled into a place of 'activity', but not really 'pursuit'? Is your heart in it? If not, maybe it is time to ask yourself the 'w' questions. Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for? What is the purpose behind this action? When I 'perform' this activity, what is the outcome? Answering those tough questions honestly could just give each of us a little bit of insight into how committed our heart is to getting the most from our relationship with him. Just sayin!

How can I serve you?

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. (Rabindranath Tagore)

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)

God calls us to serve one another, but do we really understand how service actually works? I think we have a general idea of service as the 'art of helpful activity'. As God sees it, service is more than 'giving' or 'helping' - it provides for a specific need. When we give of ourselves - time, talent, or even our treasure - it honors God greatly when it provides for a specific need.

Service is best when it is Christ-based. Keep him at the center of all you do, and you will find opportunities abound for you to share from the 'wealth' of what he has given you. It may not be monetary wealth, but that wealth of wisdom, grace, and goodness he has poured into our lives can be poured into the lives of those we each touch today. We can never discount the 'value' of what God has given to us when we put it to use by serving one another.

How can you serve another today? Does someone need a lift to the store? Offer them a ride and perhaps even buy their groceries this week. Did a friend's washer go on the blink, and they have nowhere to wash their clothes other than a laundromat? Have them come over to wash at your house, then share a meal with them as they do. There are loads of practical ways we can serve one another!

Maybe the least thought of types of service are those on a more 'spiritual' or emotional level. I have a friend who posts every Wednesday for others in her feed to share their prayer requests. She has dedicated (set aside) a day to 'serve' others in prayer. Not your calling? How about lending a hand to a friend preparing to move, or going on a fishing trip for the day so your friend can unwind a bit from the daily grind? There are tons of opportunities to serve - we just need to be open to them! Just sayin!

A shared vision

 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

God comforts us - we comfort others. The more we realize God's blessings in our lives are not just for us, the more we will find the opportunities to bless others in a similar manner as we are blessed. God doesn't create healed and whole emotions in us for the purpose of just making us feel better. He wants us to share the pathway to health and wholeness with those around us who may need help finding that path. 

Notice that our passage doesn't say, "...if they are troubled", but rather, "...when they are troubled" - indicating that others are experiencing troubling thoughts, habits, and hangups just like us. Is it possible that we might just need each other to find that much needed healing and wholeness? If we withhold our help from others, even though we aren't really doing it on purpose, where will they find that help? 

God made us for community - to exist and operate in harmony with one another, sensitive to the needs of others. When the early church brought all their resources together, they were powerful and the message of hope and healing prospered. When they pulled back into their own little lives and began to ignore the needs of others, do you think God was honored? Not likely! The principle exemplified in the early New Testament church was that of being a resource to each other. Wouldn't it be grand if the church of today had such a vision? Just askin!

Afraid to ask?

 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Have you ever prayer a similar prayer? It is a kind of scary thing to ask God to test your heart and mind to see if there is any offensive stuff there, isn't it? You almost don't want to ask because you know there is! When God points out what 'offends' him, he doesn't do it to humiliate us, or even to chastise us. He does it to show us how deeply he loves us - because he wants us to be free of all that garbage that takes up emotional, mental, or physical space in our lives.

To be led, one must submit to the one leading. To be whole, one must submit to the one capable of ridding us of all the stuff that keeps us 'broken' and 'hurt'. When we don't know the way, we seek guidance via a mapping service, GPS, or the good old way of asking someone for directions. Why do we not ask God to show us where our lives are actually being held 'captive' by our thoughts, emotions, or past hurts? Perhaps it is because we have held onto those things for so long that we just don't see any way past them. There is always a way when we ask God to show us the way.

Do you think God really doesn't know our hearts without that 'testing' process our psalmist is seeking? He does, but have you ever considered that the 'testing' process is really a way of getting us to know our own hearts as well as God knows them? Maybe we are turned off by the term 'test', because we think testing has a negative connotation. Yes, testing includes investigation and analysis, but it also involves a certain amount of 'corroboration' - affirmation, validation, and verification. We likely know a bit of what is there, but when we ask God to test our hearts, we are asking him to 'validate' or 'verify' what we believe to be there. 

There is nothing that delights his heart more than to hear us ask for his view into our minds and heart. He won't shame us, but he will help us see the healing that is possible when he is given access to those areas that have held us captive for so long. So, don't hesitate to ask - you might just be dazzled by what you discover with his help! Just sayin!

Aggravated?

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. (I Peter 1:3-7)

A new life and everything to live for - what that involves is a new start on life, and the joy of living life as we were created to live it - in close, personal relationship with God our Father. We may think of the "future" as way off in the "then", but in actuality, the "now" is the beginning of our future. We start living our future today - in Christ Jesus. We finish living our future some day - in Christ Jesus. Our future is without end - so is there really a finish? Eternity begins now and lasts a whole lot longer than our limited minds can imagine. God is keeping careful watch over us. 

Healed and whole. Too many of us deal with things today in our physical bodies and even in the turmoil of our minds which indicates we are far from "whole" and definitely not "healed". Wholeness and healing is finalized in our future state as we fall before God's throne in perpetual worship throughout all of eternity. Yet, today's promise is the beginning of this healing and wholeness. In the time between today and total healing / wholeness, we have a whole lot of what appears to be "aggravation" we have to deal with. It is this "aggravation" God wants to help us with in our daily walk.

Aggravation is simply an increase in intensity, seriousness, or severity of whatever it is we are dealing with. As the intensity increases, we experience an increase in anxiety, emotional response, and experiences we had not endured before. There is a "turning up of the heat" and we begin to sense the seriousness of the circumstances. All Christ has provided today and what is promised in him for our future state makes all this intensity and seriousness worth it! It also means we don't walk through this intensity or seriousness of issues without him. We have him alongside and inside.

Do you think today's issues are really little annoyances you can somehow get beyond if you just try hard enough. I don't know about you, but the harder I "try", the harder it gets to get beyond those things that cause me so much aggravation. "Trying" is not "doing" - it is the state of venturing out, but it is in our own effort. The reason we have issues with getting beyond the intensity of the circumstances is that we cannot get beyond it by our own effort. Our faith is what brings us out on the other side - not our efforts. Human nature wants to "do" in order to "get". In Christ's economy, our future state is today - we just have to "be" in that state in order to begin to realize the victory which overcomes today's aggravations and builds our faith as pure and holy. I don't know about you, but I am determined to live in the "future" now, not in the "then". Just sayin!

Seek First HIM

 The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

The Lord alone... Is he the only one you serve? A tough question this morning, but one which I think we all need to consider. Is he really first and foremost in our lives? If we might know how to answer that one, then we must consider the next portion of our passage. Do we love him with ALL our heart, or is our heart divided? Do we commit all our mind, will, and emotions to him, are we carried away by all manner of folly? Is our commitment to his commandments (rules for living) 'whole-hearted'? If we are able to answer these questions with a resounding 'yes', then we are likely putting Christ first in our lives. If not, we need not despair, because God is giving ALL of us a chance to give him that place of authority in our lives. 

Commit yourselves wholeheartedly... We might struggle from time to time with our focus, but God knows the intention and 'bent' of our heart, will, and emotions. He knows we face temptation after temptation, and he also knows we don't always resist them. What he is looking for is not 'perfection', but commitment to his standards of living. Are we choosing to do more than just 'consider' them? Have we made them the standard by which we measure our thoughts and actions? Why does God ask us to repeat his commandments (standards for living) over and over again? He knows we will need the reminders about right choices, keeping the right leadership in our lives, and maintaining a right mindset to overcome those temptations!

The principle is to 'seek first' God - then all will be added into our lives. We don't always know why these standards are so important in our lives, but if we trust him to always be good toward us, then we know whatever he asks of us by laying out these standards for living has to be good. The thing he asks of us is to continually refresh our minds with these standards - so our hearts will constantly be directed toward right steps. Most of the bad decisions we make in life are because we didn't seek him first in those actions. Just sayin!

God's sense needed

Cynics look high and low for wisdom—and never find it; the open-minded find it right on their doorstep! (Proverbs 14:6)

There are people in this world who believe that selfishness motivates people to do things. There are probably more than a few individuals like this, but once someone invites Christ into their lives, it is almost impossible to live that way any longer. A cynic has to believe every action has some underlying "ulterior motive". As we come INTO Christ, the "motivations" of our life begin to change - moving from being a little too self-centered to being "other-centered". The result of becoming more Christ-centered is that we also become more and more "other-centered". This is a good thing since our ego gets us into more scrapes than we might like to deal with in this life! Wisdom is only truly found when we are able to embrace it and as long as we are embracing everything that focuses on and pleases self, we will not be able to open our arms to embrace wisdom.

Egocentric individuals have little regard for the beliefs or interests of others, appearing quite self-absorbed. The "self-absorbed" have little to no room to absorb anything else! It is like being a saturated sponge - you can try to make the sponge hold more water, but it just has no more capacity! Perhaps this is why when some seek wisdom, they have such a hard time holding onto it! It may not be that they don't encounter wise principles and practices in this lifetime, but they just don't 'absorb' them. All of us have a tendency to be a little too self-absorbed on occasion. As Christ begins to take our eyes off of ourselves, turning them fully toward him, we begin to see there is a world outside of ourselves. At first, Christ needs to help us maintain our focus because we don't realize how much our focus determines the direction we will take in this life. As we grow in our relationship with him, it becomes easier for us to recognize when that focus is turned a little off "center".

No man or woman who fully beholds the magnificence of his majesty can ever walk away unchanged. Wisdom takes the form of exchanged priorities, deeper expressions of love and caring toward others, and a little less need to have the world rotate around us. Wisdom is not only the knowledge of what is true and right, but the judgment to act upon it. The cynic's judgment is self-based. They have no "center" outside of themselves, so every action they take is based on how they will appear, what will benefit them from the experience, or 'what's in this for me' kind of focus. The wise embrace the fact that God's work is best revealed when the transformation occurring within is expressed outwardly in the way we treat others, the opportunities we find to elevate another, or 'how can I be a blessing to another' kind of focus.

The cynic may act upon "common sense" in much of what he or she does. The wise act upon "God's sense". It is the enlightenment God brings which helps us to make solid decisions and to take steps forward when it seems like we don't have all the answers up front. The cynic will weigh things out to see if the cost is too great for them. The wise will realize that all "God things" come with a cost - a little less of our self in the mix means we get the best out of the circumstance! Just sayin!

Not ours, but his

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Are you challenged in the area of your thoughts? Things you'd like to forget just keep resurfacing. Things you need desperately to remember keep slipping away. Things you never thought you'd ever be mulling over plaguing you time and time again. This is a very real battle - our thought life can be a bit of a muddle at times, especially in times of stress, fatigue, or boredom. If your thoughts were to be displayed on a big screen, what would people see? Anxiety, depression, hurt feelings, or fear of the unknown? Maybe a lability of faith - trusting God fully one day, then venturing into the areas of taking things on yourself the next? God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Rather than struggling repeatedly with our thought life, it would be wiser to ask God to help us to clear away the junk in our thought life, cement our focus, and assure the 'cleanliness' of our thoughts?

God's thoughts are higher... That means when our thoughts drift into doubt, we can ask him for assurance. Does that mean we get an instant infusion of 'super-faith'? Sometimes God takes us to scripture and builds our faith through the reading and hearing of the Word of God. At others, he speaks assurance into our spirit and we just know all will be well. Regardless of how God 'changes' our thought pattern, he is always faithful to help us see things in a fresh light - perhaps a little bit closer to how he sees them. If we don't ask for the help we need, we will always see things 'far below' how God sees them.

God's ways are beyond our imagining... Perhaps we 'limit' God by the way we interpret what we see and feel. If we were to begin to ask God to expand our vision, might we see things a bit differently? Circumstances might seem a bit overwhelming until we ask God to show us how he sees the bigger picture. We may not get all the 'details' we would like, but he begins to help us see things 'in perspective' - not human perspective, but divine. We still won't have all the details, but we will certainly begin to trust him with the ones we don't see! Just sayin!

So, you still 'trying'?

So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect. (Hebrews 7:26-28)

In the Old Testament (OT), there were religious leaders called "priests". The most important thing about the OT priest was that he was "set aside" from the rest of the community in which he dwelt for the specific purpose of all the duties associated with worship and sacrifice. They didn't hold down 'outside work', such as farming or carpentry. There was also this office of "High Priest". He was over all the other priests and saw to it they all knew their duties, but he had some duties of his own that the other priests could not perform. He had the important duty of being the one to offer the sin offering for the people - on the Day of Atonement. It is this role as High Priest that "foreshadowed" the work of Christ on our behalf as our one true High Priest.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the duties and requirements of the High Priest, but as our perfect sacrificial lamb, without spot or blemish, he also performed the role of the perfect sacrifice. Once and for all, the sacrifice was offered - leaving no need for further sacrifice. His role in dying for mankind's sin made all the OT required sacrifices no longer necessary. His role as High Priest also did away with the need for the priest as the one to be the "intercessor" between God and man. Two "systems" of known religious occurrences were done away with in his life, death, burial and resurrection - the role of the priesthood on earth as a kind of "mediator", and the need for sacrificial offerings to continue.

As the perfect offering, his blood was shed - making full and complete atonement for our sins (covered over, never to be remembered again, removed as far as the east is from the west). He is the only one now who stands making intercession for us before the heavenly Father, having opened the door of full access to God for those who will believe in him as their Savior. No longer needing a mediator, we enter into God's presence with boldness and confidence. Even the High Priest of the OT times didn't have a boldness or confidence, for if there was any impurity in his life, he could be struck dead in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.

No other confidence is as great as what we enjoy because of our position IN Christ Jesus. No other position gives us such boldness. In ourselves, we could never get the "job done right" - that is why the OT Law of Moses included the provision for the yearly sin offering during the feast known as the Day of Atonement. It was offered over and over again each year - because the sacrifice of the young bull could never accomplish the forgiveness of our sin. It was a "type" or "symbol" of what Christ would accomplish as he was lifted up on that cross so many years ago. It "foreshadowed" his shedding of blood on our behalf. The perfect given for the imperfect.

He makes a way for us to enter into God's holy presence and ends all need for "works" on our part as a means of making us righteous. Here is the challenge for many of us - we don't fully comprehend the magnitude of Christ's finished work on our behalf, nor do we trust it as enough to give us such boldness and free access to the Holy God. It is tough to give up on a "system" which seemed to be so ingrained for so many years, so maybe that is one of the reasons Israel had a tough time embracing Jesus as Messiah when he came. They became very anchored to the way things had been done for all those years and forgot that the "type" could be set aside once the "real deal" was in their midst. Because we are "fully righteous" in Christ Jesus, we walk in the position we are placed into. If we want to continue in the old way of "trying" to live righteous when we are freely given "full righteousness" already, we probably don't fully understand the completed work of our High Priest. Just sayin!

Not what, but who

The Pharisees said, “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don’t see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It’s only this crowd, ignorant of God’s Law, that is taken in by him—and damned.” Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. “Does our Law decide about a man’s guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?” But they cut him off. “Are you also campaigning for the Galilean? Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee.” Then they all went home. (John 7:47-53)

We often find Jesus surrounded by a lot of curiosity seekers, but also finding himself in the right place at the right time to use those opportunities as "teachable moments". It is the Feast of Tabernacles - a time when Jews solemnly gathered to celebrate one of their required "feast days". There is controversy in the crowd, simply because people are hung up about his upbringing, lack of education, and the place where he was born (and even perhaps the family into which he was born). This isn't a new problem for men and women, is it? We tend to judge based on some "criteria" we hold as the "value or worth" of another because they went to school somewhere other than the local junior college, or have a familial line linked to some aristocracy. Nothing of a "pedigree" in human terms really defines us as who we are - it is the character of a man which defines him. Jesus doesn't want the crowd to focus on his "pedigree", but rather to see deep into his character - revealing the character of the One who sent him (his heavenly Father). He offered living water. No other could offer such a gift, yet some struggled with the "gift" because the "giver" didn't "match" their impression or image of "pedigree". Isn't this just like us to be so hung up on the "person's background" that we miss what is right in front of us?

The religious leaders observe what he does, listen to what he says, quietly noticing how some in the crowd embrace him readily and others reject him totally! The religious leaders didn't have "enough evidence" to shut him down. So, they waited. In their waiting, they employed those who act as their "plants" in the crowds to report back what he is doing and saying. Perhaps the religious leaders were afraid of being seen as supporters of his ministry. Regardless of their tactics and reasons, they still refuse to embrace the possibilities of him being Messiah. All, that is, but one! Nicodemus - the one who had come to Jesus under the secrecy of darkness - to find out for himself, firsthand evidence to either convince him of the reality of his purpose and plan in teaching as the possible Messiah, or to discount those teachings and the man alike.

It is clear from the passage that these religious leaders see the crowds as "simpletons" and "uneducated". They focus on their own "superior" understanding of scripture - because they had the "privilege" of being brought up in all the right schools, with the right opportunities. If there is one thing I have learned in this lifetime, it is that when we "elevate" ourselves in our minds and hearts, our attitude of pride dictating how we respond to people in this life, we are in for a sad awakening to the reality of our humanity! Nothing can bring us down from our pedestal faster than having one indiscretion revealed or finding out our "masks" we thought we wore so well did not conceal the insecurities we actually still possess! To them, the crowds were "rabble" - common people. To Jesus, they were individuals created in the image of God, designed for the purpose of worshiping the Holy God. To them, the crowds were "unable" to ferret out the truth about Jesus' teachings simply because they didn't have the right education. To Jesus, their degree of education was "evaluated" more by their responsiveness of heart to the message taught, not the place they attended school! 

Nicodemus dares to speak up - to challenge the religious leaders - not as an outsider to the group, but as one of them! Ask yourself this - if you were in the same position as Nicodemus, would you speak up? Would you be afraid of the "pedigreed" mass, or willing to stand up for what you believe to be true? Nothing determines our destiny except our position in Christ Jesus - it isn't our position ON Christ that matters as much as our position IN Christ! When we cross-over from arguing about the reality of what he is and accept him as who he is, we move INTO him. This move is what determines our destiny. Stay firmly planted in our focus on "necessary pedigree" and we will likely miss the most amazing gift of our lifetime! Just sayin!

Created to align

It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. (John 5:24)

We all question authority in our lives at times. We have all the "necessary" characteristics that lead to challenging authority. We have free will, so the matter of choice is ours. We have independent thought, so the ability to think and reason often presents the challenge to authority. Regardless of the "means" by which we challenge it, our desires are pretty much the same - we want to "stand alone", having no one tell us what to do, and to be "free" of the "rules" of another.  

Jesus sought to establish the truth of his "leadership". He was a man "under authority" - not because he felt pigeon-holed into being in that position - but because he chose to live under the authority of his Father. He chose not his own will, but the will of his Father. It stands to reason that to be "under authority" one also understands what authority entails. Jesus was engaged in the creation of all that exists - bringing beauty out of void, simply by the sound of his voice. His word commands ultimate authority when spoken. Yet, he came to this earth, taking on the form of mankind, in order to become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind - leaving his position of authority to be totally under the authority of his heavenly Father. As he puts it - he did what he was told, not making one move without hearing clearly from his Father.

No matter who we are, we all have someone "over us" who is in a position of authority in our lives. We could say we live 'above' the law, doing whatever we want - not paying taxes, driving at whatever speed limit we see fit, or taking what is not ours to take - but we are never really 'above' the law. We are just living outside of "alignment" to the law. We choose to "align" ourselves with whatever voice it is we are listening to today! The matter of submission is really a matter of "alignment" - who and what is it that we will align our thoughts, intentions, will, and ultimately, our actions under.

Today it may be our self, doing whatever we choose to do because it pleases us - in spite of knowing these choices may not be good for our health, emotional stability, financial health, or relationships. Whenever we choose to go after what pleases self, we usually do so at the exclusion of whatever will please another. This means we often even exclude Jesus from that picture! When we choose to align ourselves with the one who has ultimate authority in the first place - we choose wisely! Anything less than this will end up in something far short of what God intends for our lives. 

We step from the world of the dead (the world of an outsider) into the place of the living. There is going to be a very real sickness and depravity that will exist when our lives are not aligned with his. We can look around and see the despair of living outside the boundaries established to keep us safe. 

When I was a kid, I possessed a couple pretty strong magnets. I was always playing with these things - because they fascinated me. I could pull iron shavings from the soil or connect objects to the side of the metal shed siding without any effort at all. Yet this was not what fascinated me the most. It was the "polarity" of the magnets. 

I would turn one end toward the other, only to watch them "right themselves" again. They somehow knew when they were misaligned - and they took the necessary action to "right themselves" in the direction which realigned their polarity. I wonder if we are a little like these magnets - sensing our "misalignment" and desiring to right ourselves into correct alignment? We were created to be appropriately aligned - so when we aren't, we struggle to find that correct alignment. It may not be as easy for us because of this tendency we have to want to be in control instead of assuming the "polarity" which brings us into alignment, but we were created to "align"! Just sayin!

Carpe Diem

It was the poet Virgil that reminded us, "Time passes irrevocably", so we had best make the most out of the moments we are given. "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3) What moments have you let pass you by? Maybe it is 'time' to invest in the moments - the hour could just be later than we think.

Moments can pass us by, or we can appreciate the value in each one and make the most of them. The blind beggar sitting along the Jericho roadside likely went there every day with the express purpose of getting a few coins or a parcel of food that might help him to have his needs met. Do you think he imagined that he'd hear that it was Jesus traveling that route one day, and that by calling out to Jesus that he'd actually walk home that evening seeing perfectly? (Luke18) He heard, but he didn't see. He trusted in what he had heard, and he believed. He asked, and he received. In a moment his life was changed.

Do we think it was by accident that the young shepherd boy named David was taking lunch to his elder brothers at the front line of battle at the point the battle was about to be lost? Can we say it was coincidence that David would be there are the moment Goliath the Giant challenged the Israelite army? That was a moment - a time of decision for David. A time to reveal his trust in the Almighty God of Israel and the power of one tiny stone carefully picked from the riverbed. The giant taunted, but David stepped forward - in a moment all the taunting ended and the battle was won - not by the giant, but by the one tiny stone in the hand of one faith-filled boy. (I Samuel 17)

What moments has God prepared for you? Moments that will increase your faith, fill your heart, and heal your mind, body, and soul. We might think we will get another, but we must never forget who prepares the moments. God places us right where we are, in just the exact circumstances we are in, with just the right amount of faith to face the moment. You and I need to learn to 'read the moment' and then seize it. So, Carpe Diem! Just sayin!

A reminder from Shakespeare

William Shakespeare admonished us to, "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." These are more than just good words of advice. Take them apart and you might just see a few principles you'd like to live by. Love all - isn't this what Jesus said when he reminded us to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"? (Matthew 22:37-39)

Trust a few - scripture reminds us not to trust a fool, but always to trust God. Remember: "A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:43-45)

Do wrong to none - this is probably one of the most controversial things Shakespeare could have challenged us with, right? We 'get' how we are to love one another, and even how we are to trust those who reveal themselves as trustworthy but getting to the place that we actually 'do wrong to no one' is hard, especially when we have been wronged. Doesn't scripture remind us, "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord." (Romans 12:19)

Shakespeare may have found three of the hardest things for us to accomplish in life - being a kind and loving person to all we encounter, be wise in our placement of trust, and not returning a wrong with another wrong. If he could challenge us with these 'life actions', how much more do you think God will challenge us? Just askin!

Are the plans changing again?

 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

There are seasons in our lives where 'planning' is just not possible. We call those crisis times. In those moments, we react to the current needs, forgetting all about plans we may have made or plans we'd like to make. Why? Our attention is required in the present moment. It is good to know that even when we are not able to 'plan' or 'work the plan' we have made, God remains fully in control of our lives. His plan is being worked, even when ours may have had to go on hold for a bit!

As we move from crisis moment to 'normal routine' again, we may assume the plans we had made, but it is quite possible our plans were altered by the crisis. Why? The crisis made something clearer, rearranged our priorities, created a sense of need within us, drew us closer together, or just challenged us in some way to get out of the rut we had begun to dig. Plans are good, but don't always count on them to remain consistent!

If we want to always be in tune with what God has planned for us, we need to be asking him what he has planned. There is great wisdom in admitting our own plans aren't always working out as we 'planned'. There is also great wisdom in 'checking in' with God to be sure our 'plans' are the right ones for the season we are in. The sad truth is we don't always consult him to see if they need a bit of change. We assume once they were laid out, they'd remain the same. As we make steps forward, we encounter things we didn't expect to face. What we do in those moments is important.

When we stop, ask, and then listen, do you know what God does? He listens and responds! He either tells us our plans are spot on, or he shows us where they need adjustment. Either way, it is because we asked and then paid close attention to what he said. We might just find 'our plans' begin to align a bit closer to God's plans for us when we actually follow these steps! Just sayin!

Carried over the threshold

It never ceases to amaze me what Jesus did to counter the "religious" in his generation and what he still does to counter the religious in ours! A Samaritan woman, coming to draw water for her household, the time of day about noon, has a "chance encounter" with Jesus, the Great Teacher of the Jews. The Samaritans were considered to be "pagan Jews" - not exactly respected by the religious Jews simply because they chose to worship in Bethel or Dan (two places of worship established when Jeroboam was king). They were "replacement" cities of worship - replacing Jerusalem as the one place of worship. Then Mt. Gerizim became the worship center for the Samaritans. To the staunch religious Jew, this was an outrage - for God's presence dwelt within the Holy of Holies within the Temple in Jerusalem. There is not a whole lot of "good will" between the two peoples. The fact Jesus would even "bother" to speak with a Samaritan, much less a woman from the Samaritan "clan", was an outrage to many. To spend time in their towns was absolutely unheard of! 

Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!” (John 4:39-42)

Jesus "wowed" the woman at the well when he told her he had "living water" which he would share with her and that the "living water" did not come from a man-made well. If this wasn't enough to give her a moment to pause, she certainly would have when he announced that neither the Samaritan's Mt. Gerizim nor the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would be the ultimate place of worship for either group of people - for the day was coming when the place of worship would not be a building, but the heart and spirit of a man or woman! He exposes the truth about her "multiple marriages" and current "infidelity" without ever before meeting this woman! He challenged her beliefs, exposed her real self, and then reminded her that a way was made for her to enter into true relationship with God by receiving this "living water" (Jesus himself)! Isn't that so like God? Making a way even before we realize we need one!

This woman could have kept this to herself, but instead, the whole town was told what she had seen, heard, and experienced at noon on that hot day in the region of Sychar. Many believed - many received - many were transformed. At first, this was only because of her "witness" - because she told them all these things she had experienced. We might first believe based on what we see and hear from another. We are drawn in because of their own life story - their story of change. In their story, we find hope and we allow ourselves to believe the change is possible for us, as well. For belief to take root, it has to move from "hearsay" into personal experience.

Sad truth, we settle for "hearsay" - the testimony of another. In so doing, we never move from believing the "witness" to the place of becoming the witness. There is a transition which occurs between belief and action - one which "cements" or "settles" the faith upon which our beliefs are based. We commit because we see the possibilities of faith - in the life of another. In the end, Christ asks that we commit to the fruitfulness of faith because he invades our own life. This is when transformation begins to occur - at the place of transition. We come to that specific place which challenges us to "crossover".

Movement from hearsay (what another lives and believes) into the place of action on our part is where we find strongholds of unbelief and areas of unforgiveness breaking down. The lives of these Samaritans would never be the same because one Jewish Teacher took the time to sit at the well with this one woman. Don't lose sight of the woman and her testimony in bringing them to the place of transition! It was her testimony which created the interest - his presence created their hope! This is also the case in our daily walk - the testimony of another may peak our interests in transitioning from one place of belief into another - but it is his presence which brings us safely across the threshold! Just sayin!