Are you strong enough?

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. (Judges 16: 19-20)

Samson and Delilah - do you recall the story of his tremendous strength against the Philistine armies? We can learn a few lessons from his life, but probably the most important center around his strengths and his weaknesses. He was a very courageous warrior - not afraid to tackle whatever was in his path. Remember the story of him slaying a lion with his bare hands, rendering his attack unsuccessful? How about him going against the Philistine army and carrying the gates of the city away with him when he felled the army? He was willing to put himself out there, but he also struggled with a bit of lust and stubbornness. 

We find him digging his heels in when he wanted a particular wife - Timnah, a Philistine woman - from the people of the land that God had specifically told the Israelite people not to choose as a mate. He demanded his parents secure her for him because 'she looked good to him'. What we don't realize sometimes is how God can take our stubborn rebellion and work good from the wrong we have chosen. You see, it was Timnah that gave Samson an inroad into the Philistine territory. That simple 'inroad' would be their undoing, but you'd never know it from Samson's attitude toward getting 'his bride'. It appeared he struggled a bit with pride, lust, and rebellion - just like the rest of us.

Even though he had great faith, he struggled to resist the temptations around him. He saw the Philistine land and desired it. He beheld the beauty of the Philistine woman and demanded it her as his own. He found his bride, but did he know her alluring traits would become his undoing? Sin is like that for us - it presents as 'really good' and 'something we must have', then before long the tide turns. What once seemed so alluring becomes the very thing that leaves us powerless and blind! If you don't know the story, it was Delilah that actually took Samson's strength. His lust became her 'power' and it ended up in him compromising one too many times, leaving him with eyes gouged out and humiliated at the hands of the Philistines.

We can be very 'strong' in some ways, full of courage and moxie, but when our heart begins to desire the things God has clearly told us to not 'intermingle' with in life, we place ourselves in some very compromising situations that can leave us 'blind' and 'weak'. What may seem to be 'unbeatable strength' may just be our own stubborn streak making a way for us into compromise. Temptation is hard to resist when we are 'heck-bent' on getting our own way! Just sayin!

Tested Faith

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (James 1:2-3)

How do we fair when things are a little bit too difficult or different from the 'ordinary' in our lives? If there is uncertainty looming, where do we turn? The answer to those two questions can show us a great deal about where it is we place our trust and on whom we 'rely' when the times are a bit challenging. Panic setting in, or a peace that seems to envelop you - which one best and most often describes you? 

When our faith is being tested, it is an opportunity for God to demonstrate his power and grace. If we face difficulties in 'panic mode', we frequently take things into our own hands. In other words, we jump right out of God's arms and attempt to take control of the situation, leaving God somewhere 'back there'. Get out ahead of God's power and you might just find yourself facing some pretty tough stuff without the wherewithal to deal with it!

Some things we should keep in mind:

- Our faith isn't tested because God has it in for us. It is being tested because God wants to strengthen that reliance upon him, not our reliance upon others or ourselves.

- The testing of our faith is an opportunity to grow closer to God than we ever have been before. If we embrace the test, we are likely to discover things about God and ourselves that we really didn't fully grasp prior to the test.

- Our plan may not always work when it comes to facing the hardships of life. The closer we get to Jesus in the times of testing means the less we rely upon our own plans and devices to work through those hardships. 

- Character is most frequently developed in the 'hard places' in life. It seldom comes when we aren't 'stretched' or 'stressed' a bit. Character is the result of a 'tested faith'. To resist the testing is to resist the growth God desires. Just sayin!

You 'feeling' your blessings?

"A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants." (Joseph Addison) 

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." (Matthew 5:3) How much do you 'have' compared to what you 'need'? For many of us, our need appears greater than what we have, but in truth, we have been given so much - we just don't always remember how great those blessings are. As Addison reminds us, it is our duty to consider (reflect upon) our many blessings instead of always focusing so intently on our wants.

The more we recognize our need for God's grace, the less we focus on all the petty 'wants' we have in life. The closer we press into a relationship with Jesus, the less we find ourselves pining after things that don't matter all that much. God blesses those who recognize their need for him - with his entire Kingdom. If that doesn't make you feel a little bit special today, think about it a little longer. We have been given all we need in Christ Jesus.

A need is something essential to life. A want isn't exactly essential, but we crave or desire it. We sometimes get those two confused, focusing on all the wrong stuff, or coming at life with a totally off-kilter view of what it is that will make us 'happy', 'fulfilled', or 'blessed'. The message is that we have already received the biggest blessing we could ever need or want! God gives us all that is necessary for life, but he doesn't always make a way for us to enjoy or achieve all our desires.

The other side of that coin is that our desires begin to 'morph' a bit the closer we get to Jesus. There is a transition that occurs mentally and that begins to affect our desires. Perhaps this is why scripture tells us, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires." (Psalm 37:4) It is also important to recognize that "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:21) If we are struggling a bit with 'feeling our blessings', maybe we need to focus a little less on the feeling and a bit more on the connection we have with Jesus. We'll find all we need in him - all we want will begin to seem a little less important as we do. Just sayin!

Resisting Temptation

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (I Corinthians 10:13) 

We can all admit to being a little more than 'tempted' when we see some delicious dessert we crave, gaze upon a shiny new automobile we have been desiring or wanting to jump into the latest gossip session going on in the breakroom. We ALL are tempted - it is what we do with that temptation that matters. We can give into it, skirt our way around it without being too awfully scathed by it, or resist it entirely. I can say I have done all three! Skirted in my own efforts and barely avoided the temptation. Given in whole hog to satisfy some inner urge or desire. The 'resisting it entirely' hasn't always been my 'mode of operation' in life. How about you?

Give in and feel the guilt begin to mount. Barely escape by the skin of your teeth and you might feel a moment of victory, but you know the temptation is still lurking just barely behind you, tugging a bit on your 'will-power' to just 'give in'. Put God between you and the temptation and the matter at hand takes on a whole new appearance! The word for us today is that we CAN stand - we just need to be shown the way to endure temptation's pull without giving into its lure. Who better to show us the way to resist than the one who was tested in every way we could possibly be tested, but came out victorious each and every time?

It is not more than we can handle, but we don't 'handle it' in our own power. We need to nuzzle up close to Jesus if we are to resist jumping right in to share the latest piece of juicy gossip. He has given us the Holy Spirit to act as a sort of 'monitor' over our mouths, but we have to listen to the prompt he gives in the moment. When we start out by asking God to give us a sensitivity to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, we stand a better chance of avoiding the pull. Why? We have 'put first' the very thing we need to STAND as overcomers in the midst of compromising situations. Giving into temptation is most frequently linked directly to how well we have put Christ first in our lives. When he is in the lead - we stand. When we lead - we have no solid footing. Just sayin!

Don't versus Do

I once saw a sign that read, "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off your goal." I think of it a bit differently: "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of your God." God says, "If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered..." (Ezekial 3:20)

Obstacles are part of life, but did you ever consider that they could be put there by God to keep us on a righteous path? Ignore them long enough and the path you take could be totally 'out of sync' with the path God has called us to walk. By definition, any obstacle is meant to act as a hindrance to going a certain way or doing a certain thing. It should present some form of 'disincentive' to choosing that route. 

Righteous people can ignore God's 'obstacles' - the things he clearly puts in our path that act as 'disincentives' for taking another path. Are all obstacles meant to keep us 'on the straight and narrow' then? I don't think the ones our enemy puts in our path are meant to do that, but the ones God puts there to help us make better choices are. How do we tell the difference between the two? This is where learning how God moves, acts, and what he desires comes in. We have to know his heart in order to clearly recognize the difference between an obstacle meant to help us and one meant to trap us or trip us up.

If we look closely at our passage today, we see that God loves us enough to give us 'roadblocks' against wrong behaviors. Instead of looking at every 'barrier' as a thing that interferes with our progress, we may begin to see them as the very things that help us make progress in the right direction. God's 'obstacles' don't lure us down a path - the clearly illuminate the path that should be taken and the one that should be avoided. What might some of these roadblocks or obstacles be? 

Perhaps it is a feeling that the path you are about to choose is 'just not right' - something just 'bugs' you when you consider choosing it. Maybe it is the words of a trusted companion in this walk who helps you see there are really two paths marked out - one much better than the other. Or could it be that a passage comes to mind from scripture, or a few words from a recent sermon, causing you to pause, consider, and choose wisely? Regardless of what God uses to help us choose the righteous path, the choice to follow it is ours. Just sayin!

Is laughter the best medicine?

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. (Proverbs 14:13)

Nicolas Chamfort said, "The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed." Laughter is not always from a cheerful and giddy heart. There are many times it conceals a hurt much deeper than the naked eye can see. There is little mirth in fear, but someone who is fearful can giggle or laugh in their nervousness over the situation. Sometimes there is very little 'amusement' in what is going on in someone's life, but there will be laughter instead of tears. We may never know what a laugh really conceals, but when we are open to being led by the Holy Spirit, the opportunity to help someone past their fear, grief, or inner pain may reveal itself.

What makes a heart heavy? We all realize loss can weigh a heart down, sometimes for a long time. There are times when our heart is made heavy because of what we are feeling for others - experiencing just a bit of their pain over something catastrophic in their lives. Probably the worst kind of 'heaviness of heart' is when our sin-nature gets the best of us, and we fall for some temptation that we should have avoided completely. This one brings more than just a 'heaviness' of heart - it can carry a whole lot of guilt that just piles on over the top of our sorrow, making the burden quite heavy to carry at times. We might attempt to 'laugh away' that guilt and sorrow, but the only true means of being 'unburdened' from it is to confess it and let God restore your heart.

Some tell-tale signs that someone might be concealing a bit more under that laughter could be:

- Laughing when the topic is touched upon and then quickly changing the subject, so they don't have to dwell upon it

- Laughing as the subject is brought up, then continuing to use sarcastic humor to 'poke fun' at oneself

- Laughing at a suggestion that they might benefit from a little help, or perhaps confiding in someone they trust about whatever it is that is causing them so much pain

These are but a few, but you likely know of some ways we 'conceal' our heaviness of heart just by looking at how YOU do it on occasion. Realize that we aren't alone in this 'concealment' process - we all have our 'coping mechanisms' - good and bad.

How can we be sensitive to someone's heaviness of heart today? It begins by asking God to open our eyes, ears, and heart to others and their needs. When the Holy Spirit prompts, be ready to respond. Not all laughter will be the result of a heavy heart, but when one is being concealed, he will reveal it to the one who has asked to be used to ease the burden of others. Just sayin!

Transplanted

But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. (Psalm 92:12-14)

Have you ever transplanted something, only to have it look kind of droopy and on the verge of death afterwards? I know the plant goes through a bit of 'shock' with its roots being exposed, kind of like us when God takes us from one place of comfort in our walk with him and begins to move us onto 'bigger and better' things with him. God never disturbs our 'comfort' at one level of growth unless he has plans for us to grow bigger by moving us into a different 'pot' in life. 

I live in the Arizona desert and know that palm trees seem to do very well here. They aren't many 'native' to this area - only the fan palm found in the Kofa National Wildlife Preserve near Yuma. There are other varieties found here, though. Date, Queen, Mexican Blue, Areca, and other types of palms growing here, but none of them are native to this area. They had to be transplanted from their 'natural' growth zone into this one. Most of them grow quite well here. Why? They become accustomed to the soil, heat, winds, and lack of rains we have here. You won't find coconuts here, though. Why? They won't adapt to this climate or this soil.

We might not be accustomed to the new soil God has planted us into today, but rest assured that he doesn't move us into places where he knows we will not thrive. We will 'adapt' to the 'soil' he has prepared for us in whatever the next 'transplant' will be for us. We can be certain that he will 'tend' the soil, provide the right 'climate' and create the right 'growth opportunities' for us wherever he places us. It is only when we put our roots down in the places he hasn't prepared for us that we have a hard time 'adapting' and 'flourishing'. Just sayin!

Not my will, but yours

Great blessings belong to those who trust in the Lord, for those who do not turn to demons and false gods for help. Lord my God, you have done many amazing things! You have made great plans for us—too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count. (Psalm 40:4-5)

David, the man who was acclaimed to have a "heart after God's", had a certain determination of will. David faced many "giant-sized obstacles" in his day - spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. He exhibited a determination of will that came through in each account recorded of him in scripture. David could be at the lowest point in his life from a physical perspective, strength waning, body taxed to the max, and he'd still lift his head in praise. He could be deep into the misery of depression, feeling it both physically and in the depth of his disturbed emotions, and he'd turn to God in praise, reach to him in prayer, and celebrate him in worship. He could be overcome by his own weakness and depravity of sinful deeds, but then you'd see him turning to God for help. We might not always reveal this same determination of will, choosing rather to cower in fear, give up on our pursuit, or hunker down in our depression. We should consider the power of the will when it is surrendered to the hand of a mighty and powerful God!

When I think of will-power, I imagine the ability I can muster within myself to avoid something or remain consistent with a commitment I have made. Unfortunately, it is dependent upon me and my ability. David surrendered his will time and time again to the purposes and intent of God - knowing God would take that will and use it to turn David's circumstances around. The difference is where one places their dependence - squarely upon our own shoulders, or in a source of power and might not our own. When the will is submitted to God, there is a determination of heart which brings a yielding of mind, body, and spirit to the purpose of God. Will is a driver for each of us, for what we "will" to do, we often find we at least make strides toward doing. We may not "arrive" all the way at the destination we imagined, but we get moving in that direction. Will moves us - it gives us momentum toward something. If our will is directed toward what we imagine WE can do, we tend to rely upon the source of our own physical and emotional strength. If our will is yielded into the hands of God, we tend to rely upon the strength he provides - even when ours wanes or falters.

What happens when we take our will and submit it into the hands of God? We begin to experience blessings too numerous to count. If you don't believe me, you will have to give it a try! Wherever we submit our will or turn our focus, we find there is an element of trust which enters into the picture. We determine where, what, or in whom it is we will place our trust. Will is an inanimate "thing" which actually reveals where it is we have placed our trust. It could be in our own self ability, another human being, or in the great and mighty ruler of the universe himself. Will is always linked to trust. Trust is one of the hardest things we have to get right in this walk on this earth. We struggle so much with trust because of our own failures - because we have put our faith and belief in what we WILL to do and find ourselves failing miserably time and time again at doing. We eventually get to the place we no longer trust ourselves. We struggle with trust because of the let downs that occur when we place our trust in another individual, because they have all the best of intentions, but when the rubber meets the road, they just cannot "perform" as we imagined they could. The letdown comes, and we determine we cannot trust them, either.

Will is always linked to trust, so having a solid place to put our trust is important. God isn't going to let us down, but we will never really know this until we take our will and squarely commit it to him. We yield our efforts into his hands, we commit our plans into his purposes, and we settle into realizing his best for us. Blessing comes to those who determine to make their focus God himself. Just sayin!

Be present today

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

Christ did the work of redemption, but he uses ordinary, everyday folks who have given their hearts to him to invite others to serve him, as well. We bring the message: "Come back to God" - he does the work of preparing the heart to hear and respond to the message. Sometimes I think we might believe pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers are responsible to deliver that message, but nothing could be further from the truth. WE are called - WE are made ambassadors of reconciliation - WE are instruments of his grace to a hurting world.

God makes the appeal, but do we 'seal the deal'? Nope! Even that is God's work - we just bring the message. Does the message have to be spoken? Not always - God can use our lives as a testimony of his grace and restorative power. If you have ever seen a life changed by the grace and power of God, you know just how powerful that example can be to someone who is challenged by life's hurts and hang-ups. If we allow God to 'speak through us' as living testimonies of his goodness, there is no end to what could be accomplished in his name!

We speak FOR Christ. We don't speak INSTEAD of Christ. The message we bring isn't our own, but the testimony of how God has changed our lives is ours. We can share what he has done, leaving the work of drawing others to him in his hands. We aren't the Holy Spirit - it is not our job to convict others of their sin. We simply proclaim truth in a loving manner, then let the Holy Spirit do the work of bringing a change of heart to the one who hears it. We don't have to be eloquent in our words to proclaim truth - much of God's truth is simple - he loves us, he desires relationship with us, and he has provided everything we need in order to enter into that relationship with him. We simply say "yes" to the invitation.

How will God use you as an ambassador today? Where will he use you? Will it be through a post on social media, or an in-person conversation at the checkout counter? What will you share through your actions today that may give others who are struggling with hurts, hang-ups, and habits that will give them hope of a different future? Your testimony is louder than your words, goes beyond your perceived 'limitations', and is the exact instrument God desires to use. Just sayin!

Put a nickel in

The old-time comedian Flip Wilson reminded us, "You cannot expect to hit the jackpot if you don't put a few nickels in the machine." There is much truth to this adage - we have to invest in life if we want to reap positive benefits from having lived it. As we cross the heavenly gate, do we want to hear, "Great job on getting that promotion", "Wonderful accomplishment with the multi-million-dollar corporation", or "Well done, thy good and faithful servant"? Where we invest our 'nickels' is as important as us putting a few of them 'in the machine'!

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

The Kingdom of God is presented - will we invest what we have been given into God's Kingdom, or this one here on earth? It is a tough question we must each consider. We are given so much, yet we do so little with the 'much' we are given. I know some of you are saying you haven't been given much but consider that the men in this parable each received a 'small amount'. It is what they did with it that made it 'much'. Sometimes we have to take the 'little talent' God has given to us and just begin to use it for him. In using what we have, we find more is added.

What 'nickel' will you invest today? Will it be your time for the widow lady down the block who cannot keep up with her yardwork any longer? Could it be your gas to take someone to work for a week while their car is in the shop for needed repairs? Maybe you will invest a little time at the local library reading to children and developing their interest in exploring the world in books. You don't need to actually find a naked person to clothe them. Your words can envelop them in the praise they so seldom hear at home, or encourage them to do what they have been putting off for so long.

We cannot neglect those with a physical hunger and expect someone else to feed their bodies, but we also cannot neglect to feed their spirits as we do. We might find our world suddenly filled with opportunity today - will we invest our 'nickel' well? Just askin!

The Lord is for me (and you, too)

Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? (Psalm 118:4-6)

The more we interact with people around us, the more we realize it is almost impossible to please everyone. There will always be someone in the group who thinks differently, opposing every move we make. What do we do when we face opposition? If you are like me, you get a little distressed by the resistance at times. You might want to just pull in like a snail inside its shell, but that doesn't solve the issue, does it? I have learned to take my distress to the only one who can 'de-stress' it - God. I bring the issue to him, but I also bring the 'players' in the issue - including me! There are times when my attitude is the one needing adjustment, while it is the attitude of others that needs it at others. Who am I to judge which one of us needs the adjustment? I have found it is much better to leave that one in God's hands.

What can mere people do to us? If we have lived our lives trying to be people-pleasers, then we think those individuals who we have worked so hard to 'please' can do a great deal to us, but nothing could be further from the truth. People cannot destroy us - though they may try. People cannot get at the Spirit of God deep within us - try as they might, the presence of God is our refuge, and it is where we flee when under attack. Sometimes I need to remind myself over and over that God is for me - all the fear that is trying to rise up from within my emotions is never going to change the security I have in him. It won't change it for you, either! We may have to tell ourselves over and over that God is for us and we will not fear, but that is okay. God knows we sometimes battle against those emotions, and he stands at the ready to help us rise above their attack.

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! (Psalm 118:14-15)

The strength within isn't always evident - sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we walk in a power not our own, a victory that has already been won, and a placement that remains secure regardless of the enemy's attack. Just sayin!

Tap into this

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)

I don't think there is anyone who wants to look back on their life only to realize the majority of the activity they performed was merely to 'make money'. The average wage-earner in the United States holds about 12 jobs in their lifetime, spending about 4.5 years per job, meaning we work about fifty years or so. If all that work is without any rest, the body, mind, and soul of a man is taxed by the end! Too much rest makes for a different outcome - we might even be labeled as a little 'lazy' and 'foolish'. The balance comes somewhere in the middle, but it should never be to the detriment of our relationships - including our relationship with God!

True happiness is kind of an elusive thing for many. We somehow equate 'happiness' with some state of 'being' that we work hard to attain, but seldom find. It is much better to put oneself in the place of finding peace and forgiveness in relationship with God than it is in finding wealth and privilege in this world. Wealth won't open heaven's doors. Privilege gained in this world won't give us 'heavenly status'. If we want true 'wealth' and 'heavenly status', we find it in an intimate relationship with Jesus.

If the principle of 'the more you have, the more others will find ways to use it for you' holds true, I wonder if the more grace and peace we have works the same way? If we are filled with grace, will others tap into it, realizing they both need and desire some of what we have? If we are overflowing with love, will others draw from the recesses of that love and find their lives are transformed as a result? Maybe the 'wealth' we need is more of Jesus - so when others come looking for what it is we have, they find the best resources they can 'tap into'! Just sayin!

Take inventory

It was D.L. Moody who reminded us of 'heaven being a prepared place for a prepared people'. Jesus reminds us, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21) Heavenly-minded individuals are living today in preparation for heaven. That may look like one thing to me and another thing to you, but the end result is what matters. Are today's actions in accord with the principles taught in scripture? Did we take time to consider others as Jesus always did? Are we leaving behind goodness and kindness wherever we journey? To prepare here, we stay focused on the actions and attitude of Christ in all we do.

Wherever your treasure is... To understand the 'where', we must first define the 'what'. In other words, if we don't know what we 'treasure', we will never really know 'where' we find our focus. Treasures are simply the things we focus on the most - the things we value the greatest. Our treasure could be things, people, dreams or aspirations, or even something we have lost along the way. If Jesus is our treasure, his principles soon become more than our 'guidance' in life - they give us focus and therefore, they give us direction. Anyone who treasures the direction God gives is soon going to realize anything apart from making Christ first in our focus is just not going to bring us as much pleasure or peace. Prepare today for the place prepared for you tomorrow - this is the principle we have to learn well while here on this earth.

How do we prepare? Take inventory. All of life's greatest 'work' begins with 'taking inventory' of what we have, where we are, and where we need to go. We don't know what we have been given in saying 'yes' to Jesus until we begin to take inventory of those things. Peace replaced worry, hope replaced despair, freedom replaced bondage, love replaced rejection. After we know what we have, we begin to focus on where we are right now. An honest appraisal of the choices we have been making, how we make those choices, and what we have been accomplishing by those choices is important. When we know what we have been given, where we are right now, we are ready for Christ to establish where he wants to take us. Just sayin!

Spent as he sees fit

Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people. (Amos 5:14-15)

We all face the enemy, but he doesn't always use the same attack for each of us. His attacks are all aimed at the same thing - getting us to turn our backs on righteousness. James 4:7 reminds us to "...humble ourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from us." Amos tells us to actually run from evil - either way, we are supposed to put some distance between us and our enemy! It is this 'distance' that can give us the time to regain right perspective in the midst of the battle. Without the 'distance', we could be overcome by the chaos of the attack!

How do we 'create distance' in our lives? If we are always living so close to the edge of making the right choices God desires of us and choosing to go our own way, we haven't created enough 'distance'. We need 'room' to think what our actions should be, but thinking through actions isn't going to work well if we do all our thinking 'in the moment'. This is why it is good to have time apart with Jesus each day. To give him our best and first. Then when we need time to 'think through' some decision to pursue one course over another, we have already had some groundwork prepared for that 'battle decision'. 

Hate evil and love what is good. The only way to develop the proper perspective about what is 'evil' and what is 'good' is to ask Jesus for that clarity - not just in the moment of temptation, but in those quiet times we set aside to learn from him. Does Jesus get your attention more than just during church service? If we aren't getting into the Word daily, we won't have the ammunition to fight the battle at hand during the week. Satan doesn't just attack on Sundays - he is right there with all of his 'evil intent' every day! We need to prepare for battle on a daily basis.

When I first tried to spend time each day with Jesus, there were lots of distractions that stole my attentiveness. I found myself giving into those distractions too often - the phone, the TV, the computer, the reminders on my calendar. I found that those distractions had to be 'managed' if I was to actually take even five minutes with him. My time with Jesus started as just that - five minutes in the morning. For those of you getting all 'judgy' on that one, don't! Five soon led to seven, and seven to fifteen. Now I don't even watch the clock. God manages my time - I just spend it as he sees fit. How about you? Just askin!

Don't act foolishly

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

How can we 'be careful' in our living? The most important thing is to not live like the fools do. What exactly makes for 'foolish behavior'? Any behavior that reveals a total lack of sense, especially when we compare that behavior and its outcome with the scripture. Perhaps this is why God reminds us to put some thought into our behavior. We need to consider our actions - ill-considered actions usually result in poorer results. What we use to 'consider' our actions is important, though. We need the wisdom that comes from the scriptures and the guidance of God's Spirit within us - without that we are flying solo!

To understand what God wants us to do, there are some key things we must incorporate in our daily living:

1. Pray about it - don't just launch it out there and ask God to bless it, then walk away. We need to take time to consider the wisdom of the actions we are about to take and the words we are about to speak. As we pray, we need to listen. The conversation is two-way. When we cut God off, we are living like the fool.

2. Explore what the Word of God has to say - learn from the examples given to us. It is not wise to repeat mistakes others have already made! We can see so many lessons from the life stories that have been recorded for us in scripture. We need to take in God's Word, letting it roll around in our brains a while until it actually begins to assure us of the right actions to take. 

3. Use wise counsel - this is why we need close friends who are also listening intently to the voice of God. We probably don't want to take the counsel of others who are not following Christ because their wisdom is not put through the test of God's Word. We need to be cautious about the voices we listen to for our 'advice' in life - the wrong advice can have us spiraling out of control pretty quickly.

Last, but not least, we need to be sure we remain current with God. That means we need to recognize when we haven't made right choices, repent, and get back on the right track as quickly as possible. The fool will overlook the importance of allowing God to convict him. The power of conviction is often what gets us to consider our course, make the necessary corrections, and get going in the right direction once again. Just sayin! 

More than surviving

Help us defeat the enemy! No one on earth can rescue us. Only God can make us strong. Only God can defeat our enemies! (Psalm 108:12-13)

Defeat:  To prevail over, vanquish, overcome in battle; to frustrate or thwart; to eliminate or cut off from what was expected.  We can all remember times when we seemed to be vanquished by some force bigger, more difficult to resist than our own abilities could handle.  Those moments invoked fear in us, or perhaps just plain sadness and a sense of helplessness as we stood there under the attack of whatever it was.  This sense of overwhelming frustration can overcome us with such force we almost cannot stand under the weight of it. I don't think these are times God intends for us to face alone!  In fact, he will help us defeat our enemies if we just ask him to and then stand assured in his help.

There is no power on this earth stronger than our God.  He is able to thwart the craftiest of plans laid against us - whether they be plans in the realm of our finances, health, or mental strength.  He is the one to make us strong. We don't find strength from somewhere within - because we don't possess the natural strength to be able to withstand the pressure mounting within, nor the stresses coming at us from without.  There is no one on earth capable of providing rescue - it is only by God's hand and according to his plan that we realize our deliverance.

I think there is no greater joy God receives than to actually hear us utter those words indicating we need his help.  To actually acknowledge that we are not going to "go this one alone" is something which gives him delight - not because he wants a bunch of mamby-pamby followers, but because he wants us to rest in him, ceasing from our own efforts to overcome what presses in against us. That dependence upon God doesn't mean we are weak, but that we have learned to trust and rest! You know this is beginning to occur when you are not calculating the ways you can thwart the attack, but rather find yourself leaning into God's graces a little harder and with excited expectation.  The attack is still quite real, but the anticipation of it defeating you is not!  In fact, you see quite the opposite effect - you see the plans of the enemy thwarted. This doesn't mean you know "how" the enemy will be thwarted, but just that you "know" it because you are trusting God with the plans and not yourself.

When the enemy is tightly closing in around you, the "war" seems like more than your can handle, this is when you need to talk yourself into trusting God and not your own efforts.  Our first response to "big issues" is often that of fear. God made us with this fight or flight response - we either will rise up when feeling threatened, or we will want to run away - both are equally "defensive" postures we may take.  To do something different requires us to center our attention and energies in a different "place" - we place those attentions and energies squarely in the hands of God.  This takes us "commanding" our attention to be on God and not the problem at hand. This is why David begins with praise and worship - to get his mind centered on God.  Where the mind goes, the heart will follow.  Where the heart is solidly directed, the outcomes will be different!  Just sayin!

So, is that how you see me?

Be a friend to yourself; do all you can to be wise. Try hard to understand, and you will be rewarded. (Proverbs 19:8)

The little things you neglect and are quite critical of in yourself are ways we show we aren't being a very good friend to ourselves. Perhaps you have a tendency to be quite "down" on whatever character flaw it is that has caught your attention at that moment. You see that flaw in yourself, and then the contradictory "perfection" in someone else. You might even see that same "flaw" in another, but you are more likely to just look at how someone else "has it all together" in that area and then be even more "down" on yourself because of your perceived "flaw". How well are you pursuing the things in life that make you wise? When you apply yourself to wisdom, there is little time to be "down" on the stuff that you get hung up on when all you are doing is looking at your reflection in a mirror!

Mirrors produce a "reflected" image bounced back to whoever is looking at the image. The closer you get to the mirror, the closer the image appears and the more the "inspection" can get into the not otherwise noticeable nooks and crannies. The mirror we choose to use to reflect back an image to us is important. Try using one of those high-powered mirrors to get a perspective of how an outfit looks on you and you will get a pretty distorted image. Try using a full-length mirror to determine which eyebrow needs to be plucked and you are just not going to narrow in on the culprit you can feel, but not see! We need the right mirror for the job at hand, don't we? Why is it we use the "wrong mirror" to look at ourselves when it comes to considering the work of grace within us? We choose to look at ourselves through a mirror of judgment and disgust - God is looking at us through a mirror of grace and acceptance.

When we are looking in the right mirror, what we see reflected back at us is a more accurate representation of the true character of what is being beheld. This is why it so important to pursue wisdom - to pursue the things which are truth rather than fiction in our lives. Sometimes the greatest understanding comes in the times we are reflective - looking intently into the right image of how God sees us. In science, we have microscopes with high-powered lenses. You spin the right lens into place and "poof" - what was hidden is revealed! Things appearing one way on the surface come to light in a totally different way under the magnification of that lens. Why? The "power" of sight is increased because we are seeing the object through a very focused lens.

When we allow God's Spirit to be the lens by which we focus on ourselves (and others for that matter), we often begin to see things once hidden from our view - things appearing one way on the surface, but that have a totally different view when scrutinized through the right lens. I think we need to do a little scrutinizing in our lives from time to time, but when we are, we need to be conscientious about using the right lens by which the hidden is revealed! We can use the lens of popular opinion but trust me on this one - it is flawed! We can use the lens of misguided beliefs, but we will just see what we want to see when we do. We need the lens of truth if we are to ever uncover the hidden. We are at our best when we apprehend our learning and use it in everyday life. We see most accurately when we use God's Word to allow the most accurate reflection of how God sees us. Just sayin!

More than just a plan

I have come to the conclusion rapid decisions and impulsive actions actually have a cost to them I may not want to actually pay.  Excitement fades - reality sets in and it is around for a long, long time!

Being excited about something is not enough. You must also know what you are doing. Don’t rush into something, or you might do it wrong. People ruin their lives with the foolish things they do, and then they blame the Lord for it. (Proverbs 19:2-3)

Being excited about something (or someone) is not enough - we must also know what we are doing! This is where we get the phrase, "fools rush in".  We indeed do stand a pretty reasonable chance of bringing ruin into our lives whenever we choose to be foolish in our timing, intent, or planning.  We need all three to be under the guidance and leadership of the Lord in our lives - timing is best when it is on his schedule; intent is better refined when it is filtered through his mind; and planning is best when it is under his watchful eye.

We might always want what someone else has, wish we could have gone where someone else has gone, or yearn for the accomplishments another has achieved.  We can live our whole life wanting, wishing, and yearning, but when we do, we miss out on all the living God intends for us in the "right now"!  We can live too impetuously and make foolish decisions, or live too cautiously and miss out on all God intends for us.  Either way, we are not living as full of a life as God would desire for us - we need the balance of both.

Excitement without knowledge is just not productive, is it? Enthusiasm is easily deterred by difficulty, laziness, and just plain dawning of common sense! People need more than good theory to produce something - they need the desire, passion, and commitment of heart, as well. We can offer all kinds of good theory, but it remains theory until the resources are put into it which actually turn it into reality. We can put all kind of thought into things we'd like to see changed, but until we take what is merely "theory" to us and begin to put it into action in our lives, it will remain an untapped resource! We can rush in without enough forethought to actually "cement" the theory into something we can put into practice within our lives, then wonder why it didn't "take". We can also reject stuff which could save us a lot of lost time and unnecessary worry - just because we don't want to make the effort. Either way, we end up almost accusing God for our lack of growth. How foolish is that?  Just sayin!

Peace Keepers and Peace Bringers

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

Grace revealed - in each of his children - so salvation can come to all people. How do we reveal the true magnitude of his grace to others? It is revealed primarily in the choices we make and the actions those choices lead us to do. Sinful pleasures seem to matter less and less to one who has been touched by the grace of God, leaving a transformed life for those around us to see. 

God sent his Son - so he could give his life to free us from everything that kept us from God's presence. Isn't it a silly thing to reject such a magnificent gift? That gift is one that 'keeps on giving', as the saying goes. Grace upon grace, until one day we find our choices reflect we are totally committed to doing good. Too many of us believe the transition from 'sinner' to 'holy one' is kind of a long shot. It is like we don't believe the grace that saved us from sin could be the same grace that brings us into transformed lives.

Grace is good, but there are some actions required of us if we are to find ourselves living as Christ intends. We must turn from godless living. In other words, we don't listen to the world's wisdom, but pay close attention to the wisdom given by God through his Word and wise teaching. We stop looking for some way to 'be well' and we start living well! We find that we don't resist the movement of God in our lives as much when we make the decision to turn away and turn toward. 

What does a transformed life accomplish? Greater and greater things because of the power of God at work within us. What can a grace-filled life bring into relationships? Much love, goodness, and even forgiveness. Some of the greatest work God does in transforming our lives is in redeeming lost relationships. People totally committed to Christ are 'peace-keepers' and 'peace-bringers'. That means we might just find ourselves as instruments of his grace more and more the closer we get to him. Just sayin!

Growing old

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. (Psalm 90:13, 14)

The brevity of life isn't really felt in our youth - it is felt more as the decades pass, the work winds down, and the days seem to pass faster than we ever thought they could. A day speeds by, soon it is a month gone, then we ring in a whole new year. Is it possible that time really does fly? As youngsters, days just drug on, making us think we'd never get to do all those 'important things' we were dreaming of doing. Then we got a bit older, and our days were filled to overflowing with all manner of work, business, and things that 'just had to be done'. 

As our careers wound down, hobbies became our main focus, and now the things we thought so important to accomplish in our youth somehow don't matter all that much. What matters now? The hugs we shared along the way, the moments we just sat at the shoreline hoping for a slight tug on the line, and the times when we just laughed until our sides hurt. We might not think life is brief, but as we get closer to the end, it seems like there was so much we missed along the way.

One of the greatest prayers we can bring to God's feet is to ask him to teach us the brevity of life. It actually helps us focus on what is important in the here and now, focusing less on the things we imagined to be so important. There is more in a moment than we realize, but we have to stop long enough to appreciate what it is! No time spent with God, contemplating his goodness, experiencing his creation, and listening intently to his voice is ever wasted or 'unimportant'. We have lots of 'important stuff' to get to today, but it can wait! There is more satisfaction in our day when we find our satisfaction in him first and foremost in our day. 

We grow in a natural sense, but God desires for us to grow in a spiritual sense, too. We don't 'get wisdom' because we 'do stuff'. We find wisdom because we stop doing stuff and just spend time with him. We grow as we get still. That seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it? The more we settle into his presence, the more we grow. There is a song that comes from deep within our hearts when we allow the moment with him to happen - we find there is purpose in our day that wasn't there without him. Just sayin!

Finally time

Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)

The "payback" for some of our misdeeds or meddling into affairs we should have left alone may be coming! I have learned that payback is really not something I like or want! When I stop going where I shouldn't, others might stop going where they shouldn't. Why do they stop? They no longer have to "pay back" the misdeeds of others. I think God wants us to engage in active forgiveness, and allow him to be in control when things are spinning way out of our own sphere of influence.

Some of us have not learned to let go of stuff, doing what I refer to as "gunny-sacking" the hurts and misdeeds of others until we "need" them someday in the future to really "repay them". It is like we have this "sack" we might label our "revenge rucksack". We pack it so full of the things people say, do, and even don't have a clue they have said or done which hurt us, leave us disappointed, or just plain did in an unthinking moment. Then one day that "perfect" moment comes when we will "unload" the sack of stuff - putrid from sometimes years of decay within our "rucksack"! What a mess this creates in relationships. It is God's intent for us to not just empty the rucksack, but to completely remove it from our shoulders, hands, and possession! But...the emptying process is never to be on others...it is to be at the foot of the cross.

We will always be in contact with others who just don't see things as we do. This is life. You might expect me to say we need to learn to "deal with it" to the best of our abilities, but herein is where we find ourselves pulling out the rucksack and "packing for the trip". We need to learn not to "deal with it" ourselves, but allow God to deal with it! If we do this, we find ourselves not needing the rucksack in the first place! If you think of the purpose of a rucksack, it is designed for the shoulders, to be slung across the back of the one bearing the load within.  Rucksack is a German term meaning bag for the back. So, in essence, when we put things into our "rucksack", we are bearing the burden of the hurt they are causing on our own shoulders. It becomes the load which often breaks our backs because we weren't meant to actually bear up under that load in the first place!

The idea of "remaining current" is when we deal with the hurts of today, so they don't become the disappointments we nurse well into the future. Take just a few moments to step back, consider the perspective of the other person, and realize they probably didn't intend to come across the way they did, or didn't even realize they did what they did. At other times, we need to talk things out and get things in the open so they can be dealt with. Either way, we eliminate the tendency to store up stuff in our rucksack of revenge! The bitterness created by "housing" all those memories and hurts inside the sack just allows them to get all jumbled together and messed up. Eventually we won't be able to distinguish one "issue" from another because they are all "tainted" by the other! What comes out is a mess of bitter and disgusting thoughts, words, and deeds. What we are asked to do is trust God to "deal with" the other individual in the way he sees fit. God may convict them with his kindness, or he may bring a little displeasure their way - that is his business and totally his "purview". We need to leave this in his hands. When we do, we walk away without a burden on our shoulders we weren't meant to bear up under in the first place. It is time to finally ditch the rucksack!  Just sayin!

No bridge - no worries

I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean. (Isaiah 43:16)

What 'mighty ocean' do you need God to cut a path through this year? Like it or not, there are times when insurmountable obstacles lie in our midst, begging to be crossed, but seeming to be without a way. The 'way' is made by God. There was no 'bridge' for the Israelites to cross when the Red Sea stood in their way. There were no 'steppingstones' across the rushing waters. There wasn't even a 'shallow' crossing point. The waters were their barrier between where they had been and where they needed to go. Some of us are standing right there today - between where we have been and where we need to go. I don't know about you, but I am not much good at 'building bridges'. 

Maybe we need to trust God with making the way across instead of trying to build the bridge on our own! Too many times we attempt to 'fix the fix' without waiting on God to see how he will create the fix right there in our path. God didn't just lead them to a bridge - he led them to the place their faith would be tested. Imagine it - a wall of rushing water held back so you could walk out into the midst of it, on dry ground, crossing without issue. Would you put yourself in a 'place of danger' if God asked you to cross with such odds 'stacked against you'? 

Forget what happened long ago! Don't think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands. (Isaiah 43:18-19) God isn't finished with your story, no barrier will stop the completion of what he has begun deep within you. We may only see the rushing waters right now, but God sees the possibility of dry ground. The instruction is clear - forget about the past. Stop thinking about those things as though they still had an influence on you. They don't! Something new is being created - so cross over. 

The more we focus on the barrier, the harder it becomes to cross over. We can continue to see the difficulties in front of us, recalling the issues behind us, or we can put it behind and move on. The Israelites didn't just flee their past with Egypt - they put the barrier between their past and their present! They allowed God to use what seemed insurmountable to them to become the thing that kept the past from coming into their present. Maybe we need to allow God to do the same for us. Just sayin!

Bigger things are found in the waiting

How much longer, Lord, will you forget about me? Will it be forever? How long will you hide? How long must I be confused and miserable all day? How long will my enemies keep beating me down? (Psalm 13:1-2)

If you have ever asked, "Are we there yet?", you know the question is not one of patience, but of impatience. We want all the good stuff, but we don't like the time between the vision and its fulfillment. The vision is easy for us to comprehend, but all the stuff that happens between the vision and the fulness of its completion is much harder for us to understand. We want to 'be there', but God has some work to do in us, around us, or through us before we 'get there'.

In those 'in between' times while we await the fulfillment of the vision, it is not uncommon for us to begin to question if we got the vision right. In other words, we begin to question God's purpose in the wait. We think he has withdrawn from us, is hiding himself from us, or that he isn't concerned that others are 'beating us down' by constantly telling us the vision probably wasn't from God. The more we begin to doubt, questioning his authority and timing, the more we will move from hope into despair.

God won't forget about us. His delay will not be forever. He isn't in hiding. We might be a little confused, but if we ask for wisdom, God is sure to give it. Our misery is of concern to him because it indicates we aren't really trusting him with the 'timing' and maybe not even for the 'outcome'. While we wait, he is at work. Do we always see his hand working in our lives? No, most of the time we do not. We can look back and see the ways he orchestrated things, but we really don't see them all that clearly while we are in the midst of them.

Does God get put off when we ask him 'how much longer'? I don't think he does, but don't be surprised if he begins to teach another lesson along the way. I have discovered that the time between the vision and its fulfillment can be some of the greatest time God has to get me focused, listening intently, and seeing things clearer, but I have to allow him to use that time. How about you? Are you willing to allow God to use that 'waiting time' to accomplish big things in you? Just askin!

Read me, I'm reading you

Dwight L. Moody reminds us, "Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me." Truth be told, our actions are being 'read' each and every day by more people than we may realize. Jesus was talking with his disciples one day and reminded them, "When you pray, don't be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward. When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you." (Matthew 6:4-6) What reward will we have if all we do is 'show-off' for others, but neglect the importance of our relationship with Jesus?

Moody also told us to 'take care of our character' as it affects how others will perceive us. We may not realize this, but how others perceive us may not be the way we see ourselves! We need God's perspective in order to get a 'true picture' of our character. When we allow him to expose areas of weakness within our character, focusing on where and what he needs to change within us, we are more likely to reflect back actions that will point others to him. Yes, read your Bible. Yes, spend time in prayer. But...don't neglect taking time to just sit and listen to his still small voice. Our character is often refined more in those moments of obedient silence than they are in hours of 'church service' or 'showy Christian activities'. 

I have heard it said that character is really revealed in private. What we do in our private time, how we act when we are alone, this may be the greatest revelation of our 'inner man' than anything else. When I was a little kid, I would sneak away to eat that candy that I wasn't supposed to be eating. Why didn't I do it out in the open where others could see me? I wasn't supposed to be eating it! I chose to do 'in secret' what I was too afraid to do 'out in the open'. What we do in secret is more telling about our inner character than what we do out in public. Yet, what we do in secret is the basis for all we do in public. It lays a foundation for what others will 'read' in you and me. 

Maybe we need to consider Jesus' words carefully today. Do we do what we do 'in public' out of a genuine heart that has been transformed by Jesus in the quiet places we have shared together? Or our actions merely a 'cover-up' for not having spent time alone with him? Just askin!

Who is actually carrying that now?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

How many times do we carry burdens way too heavy and beyond our means of ever 'unloading' on our own? Examine what Jesus said - come, take, learn, and find rest. There is an 'unloading' that occurs when we come to Jesus with those things we are carrying, but first we have to come! To take we must lay down. If we are to put more 'in', we must let 'out' what is nothing more than a 'burden' we carry. A burden is anything that is borne with difficulty - there is a sense of obligation to hold onto it, nurse it along, and keep it 'well situated' in a position where it can be 'managed'. What are we 'bearing' with difficulty today? Is it really our 'burden' to carry? Should we continue to 'manage' it, barely inching along under its weight? If we ever want to be free from it, we better stop nursing it along!

In accounting terms, a burden is anything that is considered to be 'overhead' - in other words, it is 'over our heads' all the time unless we 'pay it off' entirely. For most of us, the burdens we carry today are nothing we can 'pay off' on our own. They are emotional and spiritual - things we cannot change without the help of another. We might want to be free, but we cannot figure out a way to 'unburden' the load without another's help. The truth is likely that the burden we carry today is never going to be 'gone' entirely without God's helps to 'unload' what we have packed away so carefully and tightly into the spaces of our mind and heart. It remains 'overhead' in our lives, with us constantly trying to find some means of 'paying some debt off' so we can finally be free of the 'overhead'.

To be free, we take. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? A yoke means we pull together - no longer attempting to bear the burden alone. We let go of our independent struggle and bind our lives together with Christ, allowing him to shoulder the burden right there alongside of us. One day, when we least expect it, we come to discover he wears the 'lead' yoke - we no longer carry that burden - he does. Rest comes over our weary emotions, settling deep within our overworked minds. The more we let him lead, the lighter the burden becomes, until one day, we no longer feel the weight of that burden any longer. Perhaps the greatest way to 'unburden' is to 'yoke up' with Christ. Just sayin!

Living, Breathing Temples

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! (Psalm 103:2-5)

Praise God will ALL your heart - mind, will, and emotions. There are just times when we don't 'feel' like worshipping, aren't there? Hit your thumb with a hammer and your thoughts may gravitate toward complaint and your emotions are probably all over the board. Get a bill you didn't expect just when you were planning to make that purchase of something you really wanted, and your mind will start racing to see just how you can fenagle both! Mind, will, and emotions can get caught up so easily at times, but then when it comes to spending time with God, we might just find ourselves dragging our feet a bit, taking our 'dear sweet time' to 'get into' that time!

To be honest, God doesn't always equate 'praise' with the words we speak, or the 'quietness' of the moment. Never forget the good things he does for you - this is a clue about worship. We find the blessing in the moment, whether casting our rod at the shoreline on a fishing trip or creating a wooden box for a friend in the wood shop. Praise considers the blessing of the moment - never forgetting each moment is planned by God. We choose to enjoy the moment, or to wish it away. The mind, will, and emotions can do a great deal 'in the moment', or they can make the moment miserable. The choice is ours.

After a hard day in the workshop, on my feet the whole time, lifting this or that, I can 'hurt' in my physical body. It makes me never want to take for granted the blessing of a day without a backache or sore feet! I mess up from time to time, saying what I shouldn't, doing what should have been left 'undone', or taking for granted some blessing God has provided in my life. In other words, I need his forgiveness. I don't want to ever stop considering the blessing of grace. How about you?

Never forget - it is more than a motto. It is to be a lifestyle that is exemplified by us not taking the moment for granted. It is given by God, used by us, and it if used wisely, it is a blessing back to God. Our lives are to be vessels of praise and thanksgiving. Our actions are to reflect back his grace. Our attitude is to shine forth his goodness. Our thoughts are to create an atmosphere where his presence is welcomed and embraced. In so doing, we aren't having to 'stop to praise', but our lives are 'living, breathing temples of praise'. Just sayin!

You have great value to me

Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. (Romans 12:9-10)

God desires a way of living that is "outside" or beyond our selfishness - the tendency we had before we said "yes" to Christ which kept us totally self-directed in our focus. Be sincere in your love for others. Sincerity is the idea of being free of hypocrisy. If you have ever caught yourself saying one thing, but thinking another, you might be dealing with this thing called hypocrisy - the tendency to be ingenuine or unreal. Neither of these traits are what God wants for us in relationships - first with him, then with others. He strives for us to be genuine or real.

We are to be genuine in our love for each other, by hating evil, holding tight to what is good, treating one another as brothers and sisters, and giving honor to each other more than we focus on seeking honor for ourselves.  We are to work toward a "protectiveness" of the relationship, guarding against those things which hinder the depth and closeness of relationship. Nothing will shut a relationship down quicker than for anger, malice, or wickedness to gain an inroad into the midst of it. We are to do more than just be "intolerant" of these things - we are to be so vigilant to guard against them that we just WON'T allow them to have an inroad. When anger enters, we are to immediately stop, take notice of what is being said or demonstrated in each other's actions, and then bring reconciliation immediately. This is the principle of not letting the sun go down on our anger. Just think of how much different our relationships would be if we were to begin to operate in this framework! When ill-intent is evident, conflict will arise. As with anger, there is to be an increasing "vigilance" to avoid all manner of ill-intent.

We are to run after the things which produce good outcomes in the relationship.  Those things which increase our moral foundation. Whenever we build one another up in the faith, we are fulfilling this task, leading to us loving each other as we'd love a brother or sister. We are learning to see each other as belonging to the same "bloodline". Those who are part of the family of God share a similar "heritage" as we do. As such, we are to enter into companionable relationship with those in this journey of faith. It means we need each other! We cannot walk it alone. We actually benefit from the closeness of seeing another walk out their faith - in the daily, rubber meets the road kind of way. God is reminding us of being cognizant of those who are "partners" with us in this walk. We don't always "get along" well, but we do grow from the interactions and see love become the driving force which binds us together.

The last reminder is to honor one another more than we do ourselves. This is a tough one, as you might imagine, because each of us tends to focus on self quicker than we focus on others. If we see something in them which is a complimentary skill or trait to what we possess, this might be something we "honor" in them. It might also mean we give some merit to another individual which they wouldn't receive otherwise. I think there are a whole lot of people today just walking around looking for someone to give them some merit - because their lives have been filled with all kinds of things labeled as "demerits"! I don't know where the "demerits" came from, or even if they were deserved, but I do know many individuals focus on those "negative" things they have been told or come to believe about themselves. When we are in relationship with each other, we have this unique ability to focus on either side of the column, so to speak. The choice to focus on those things which are of "merit" in a person's life is something we need to learn to do more often!  Just sayin!

Have I corrected for that?

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:21-25)

When I want this, I do that. Sound familiar? It is a real struggle for all of us. No one is without some struggle with wanting to do what is right and somehow struggling to 'hit' that mark. Don't miss what Paul is saying - the battle or struggle is really within our minds. Our hearts are sure we want to do what is right, but our minds get all muddled up in the temptation that is pulling us in the opposite direction. When I was in high school, I took an archery course. It taught me one thing - aiming for the bullseye didn't ensure I would actually hit it!

So many factors played into hitting that center mark. I might not have enough tension on the bow and the arrow would fall short of the target. I would be aiming a bit too low and miss the rings totally. I might adjust my aim to a bit higher and way overshoot the target. Even when I managed to get within the circles of the target, I frequently did not hit 'dead center'. I saw where I wanted it to go. I adjusted my tension to take the arrow the distance. I refocused my aim, so it matched the 'placement' I desired for the arrow. Yet, I missed the mark! I considered a bunch of factors, but obviously didn't consider all of them! Did I adjust for crosswinds? Nope. Did I adjust for the pitch of the land? Nope. Did I consider my fatigue as the I took each subsequent shot? Nope. I 'thought' I had made all the necessary 'corrections', but as you can see from my illustration, we sometimes aren't even aware of the things that need 'correction'.

To be free from the domination of sin and the pull of our own flesh, we need something (or perhaps someone) with a better understanding of how this freedom is actually accomplished. Sometimes the correction we need is right there in front of us, but we just don't see it. We need God's help to know when our 'spirit' is right, but our 'flesh' is weak. We need his help in seeing how much that 'fleshly weakness' is pulling us toward sin. Our heart and mind aren't always 'sympatico' - they are at odds with each other sometimes! When all the 'right steps' aren't accomplishing the outcome we hoped for, we would be best served asking God if there are things we haven't 'corrected for' in our lives. Just sayin!

Stop flipping the coin

Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. (Romans 6:2-4)

Can we continue...pretty pointed words, aren't they? We 'can' continue, but do we 'want' to continue? That is probably the most accurate way to say it. We might not believe it, but the 'bond' to sin has been broken when we said 'yes' to Jesus. The 'desire' remains, causing us much difficulty at times. We know the right words to say, but the wrong ones make it past our lips. We know the right actions to take, but we drag our feet. We understand right from wrong, but we lean to the wrong side of the decisions just a little too frequently. The struggle is real, but there is always another choice to be made - to live in a power not our own.

Since we have died to sin - past tense. Now we also may live new lives - present tense. It is the 'in between' tense that gives us all the trouble, isn't it? We get mired in the way we chose to live 'in the past' and we want to plunge head-long into how we are called to live 'in the present', but we actually live 'somewhere in between'. We don't always make wise choices - mostly because we haven't figured out how to live 'in present tense' yet! We died - past tense. We were buried with Christ - past tense. As Christ was raised by God's power, we can live in this 'new tense'. 

If we don't have it all figured out yet, it is okay. We don't have to understand grace fully to walk inside its protection. We don't have to always feel God's power at work within us to know it is working. We might just find ourselves relying a bit too much on the 'feeling' of power rather than trusting in the 'presence' of power. When we don't 'feel it', we don't always think it is working within us, but God doesn't always have to be 'felt' to be deeply at work within. It is the 'now' we need to focus on - NOW we MAY live new lives. It is a moment-by-moment choice. 

We MAY do a whole lot of things but choosing the right side of the 'MAY coin' is important. We "MAY" choose to live according to the old way of life, or we "MAY" choose to live under the authority of Christ and the power of his presence within us. Some of us live life like it is a coin-toss. It isn't! There is only one side to the 'coin' - Christ. There is no 'tails' side to this 'coin'. Truth is, we need to stop 'flipping the coin' and just lean into his presence and power within. As soon as we do, we might just find the "NOW" is a whole lot easier. Just sayin!

Passive vs. Active

All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together: Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can’t get around. But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way. (Romans 9:30-33)

Kids are like fresh sponges - absorbing not only what they hear, but what they see modeled. Early in their wee lives, they become interested in what we are doing and then they pay close attention to it. Some of the actions they reveal are more than habit - they are purposeful expressions of how God has created them to respond to the love of another and to show their love to another. We all have a certain amount of "sponge capacity" in each of us - able to take in things around us and then hold onto them. If you have ever been around a saturated sponge that never gets used, you will know it soon develops a pretty sour smell. Why? The sponge was meant to not only soak in the water it was put into, but to disperse that water elsewhere as it moves across the surfaces it touches. The same is true in our lives - it isn't all about us being absorbed in what we are doing - but us being instruments of God doing with us what we were created to do!

Being interested in what God is doing is the beginning point at which we actually embrace what he is doing and allow his actions within us to straighten out our lives. We might soak up all kinds of truth in our years on this earth, but truth soaked in will stagnate and leave nothing but a sour smell to all who are around us if it is not used to actually change us and the environment we create around us! We can read about God and all his actions, then spend time pontificating and talking it through with others, but until the truth begins to be "used up" within us, we don't have capacity for any additional truth. This is the purpose of truth - to be taken in but used in ways which actually begin to affect not only us, but those around us.

We will miss what God is doing if all we do is sit as passive sponges and never put to use what God puts into us. How many times have we put the cart ahead of the horse in our lives, thinking we "had this one" and then plunging ahead without really being fully equipped to handle whatever it was that was ahead of us? Why does that happen? I think it may be associated with our tendency to soak in what God gives us, thinking we are ready for what lays ahead, then us thinking all we need is a little water in our sponge! If you have ever tried to clean up a greasy stove top with nothing more than a sponge and water, you know the futility of that effort. All you do is spread around the grease! What you needed was a little bit of some enzymatic cleaner added to the water in order to cut the grease. By jumping ahead, you missed this important "additive"!

Most of us need some form of "enzyme" in our lives - not just the truth. We need the truth to begin to become something which "works up" and "works out". This is the purpose of the chemical added to the water put into the sponge - to work up a lather and work out the stain! The truth is good, but the powerful punch the Spirit of God gives when he brings truth to life within us, this is more than good - it is great! We stumble around, just making a bigger mess of life when we try to do things on our own - going off half-ready for what life sends our way. No wonder we stumble and fall so often! We don't have all the "ingredients" for living as we should. We have been "sponges" of God's grace and goodness but missed out on the "powerful enzyme" afforded when his Spirit begins to bring conviction which leads to confession and consecration. Truth isn't found in our lives when we trip over it. It is found when we pay close attention to finding AND embracing it. The sponge with water is good, but when the enzymatic cleaner is added, it accomplishes great things in his hands! Just sayin!

Many, but one

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12:4-5)

We ALL belong to each other. Those words should ring true in the ears of each and every one of us today. We do not live independently of each other. Were it not for those who perform thousands of tasks each day in places I don't even realize, I'd not have electricity, water, phone service, TV broadcasts, clean streets, and food in my pantry. The list could go on, but you get the drift. We live 'inter-dependently' and as such, we need to be there for each other. In terms of believers, we have a responsibility to spur one another on in this faith walk, but we also have a similar responsibility to be light in a very dark world.

Many parts, but one body. If my hand tried to act independently of my arm, it would be a freaky thing. There have been times I have sworn my feet acted on their own, tripping me up along the way, leaving me in the dust. Truth be told, I just didn't pay attention to where they were planted and that is what led to the fall! Sometimes we don't pay close enough attention to where our brothers and sisters in Christ are 'planted', leaving them vulnerable to a fall. We are parts - but we belong to each other. We should be attentive to the one closest to us, but also to those who don't yet realize how much we need one another. 

As we begin a new year, I wonder who it is God will bring across your path that needs to know they are living 'inter-related' lives with you? It could be someone you are already in a casual relationship with, greeting on occasion, but not really 'taking responsibility' to support one another. It might be you need to strengthen the relationship you have with the one closest to you. Regardless of who it may be, be there! Don't neglect the privilege of 'relatedness'. Yes, I called it a privilege. Why? God created us to belong - to be a part of a bigger thing. We need to embrace that call.

Many, but one. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? There is nothing more important to our spiritual and emotional well-being than living in 'community' with each other. Don't overlook the ones God has brought across your path. You could be their closest link to Christ! Just sayin!