The seed was created to reproduce

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12)

Ever stop to think why God created seed-bearing plants and trees? Why a seed? Why not just have them grow some other way? It is a principle of 'creation' and one of 'reproduction'. The seed plant or tree was originally created, but the plan for reproduction was meant to show that the life 'created' was to be sustained and multiplied. It wasn't supposed to be a one-time deal - plant born, tree born, then they die off never to be seen again. There is a great deal of potential in the seed - growth from the seed represents the possibility of continued reproduction into eternity. When God created a seed, he created the potential for what some might see as abundance - one seed producing much fruit, the next generation of life.

The seed was created to grow into whatever it was created to be, bearing fruit unique to the plant or tree that was created. No two trees or plants are identical. What is produced from each is unique - either because of color, scent, fruit, nut, and even leaf that is produced. God calls each of us to 'uniquely' produce fruit, according to the way he created us. Some can sing beautifully - use that voice for his glory. Others have a mind for facts and figures - use that to teach, organize, bring a means for continued growth in others. We use our 'unique identity' in service to him, allowing the fruit he produces with us to become the means for 'reproducible growth' into eternity.

We each have the potential to grow, flourish and bear fruit that reflects the beauty of God’s glory in our lives, but we must never stifle the potential within the seed. The seed produced as we are obedient to Christ, following closely after him, will reproduce much life. The fruit we bear is according to the way God created us. No matter how 'dull' or 'routine' you believe your life to be, when it is growing in Christ, there will be seed produced that has the potential to reproduce life in others. Christ's seed never fails to bear fruit. Don't try to be what you are not - be true to what type of 'plant' or 'tree' you are, bearing much fruit, allowing his life within you to produce the seed that will flourish into great faith in another. Just sayin!

For THINE is the kingdom

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)

With so many changes coming at rapid-fire succession around the world, we might want to crawl in a hole and just hide out until the dust settles, but that isn't God's plan. His plan is to protect the lives of his godly people - allowing them to be at peace in unsettling times. We may not realize just how much God wants his people to be 'at peace'. It begins with being at peace with him, one another, then the issues we face as humans on this earth. When that peace gets disturbed, we begin to allow all manner of doubts, untruth, and troubling thoughts to consume our minds, influence our emotions, and bring illness into our lives. Rather than fearing evil, we must learn to hate it without embracing its influence!

The power of the wicked is limited. We all need to hear that one and remember it whenever we are inundated on every side by the influences of evil around us. We cannot allow evil an inroad into our minds, for once we do that, we are certain to ride the emotional rollercoaster evil has prepared for us! While evil may seem to abound, God's goodness and protection is mightier than any influence of that evil. He protects us FROM evil. Remember the Lord's Prayer: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

When we pray this prayer, we are asking God to put a hedge of protection around our lives, a foundation of protection under our feet, and a covering of protection over our heads. We are trusting HIM to deliver us from all manner of evil. Why? For HIS is the kingdom and the power, and the glory! Nothing on this earth can overtake us when we seek God's best for our lives above all else. Make him truthfully the first, the last, and the only in your life and evil has no way into your life! Just sayin!

Garbage in - garbage out

Be kind and honest and you will live a long life; others will respect you and treat you fairly. 

(Proverbs 21:21)

Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. (Dennis Prager)

Aesop told us, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Being kind and honest may not seem like actions that can move mountains, but I believe with all my heart as Aesop did, no good or kind action is ever wasted. If we want goodness in this world, we must begin to model goodness toward all people. 

I agree with Prager - how we treat others is so very important. We might not think our actions matter all that much, but they add up. One bad, harmful, or wrong action on our part may only seem like a 'drop in the bucket', but when it is compounded by the bad, harmful, or wrong actions of others who 'mimic' our actions, those 'drops' add up!

Integrity is something we live out - it is more than words. The sum total of all our actions reveals the most about what is inwardly transpiring within our heart and mind. One action alone may not reveal much about us, but when we begin to add them all up, there is much revealed about our character. What others 'see' when they look upon any of our hurtful actions may actually be giving them license to do similar bad actions.

Perhaps this is why God always emphasizes being on guard within our lives - allowing his Holy Spirit to temper or control what enters into our lives because it is what directly influences what comes out of our lives. Just sayin!

Can it pass the test?

Have you ever been told something, only to find out it wasn't true at all? I think we have all bought one of those 'miracle', 'wonder', 'amazing', or 'as seen on...' products at some time in our lives. I remember mom getting all this stuff from one of the 'clearing houses' that really wasn't all that good, but if she bought it, she felt it increased her chances of becoming a millionaire. We all 'buy into' an outright untruth at one time or another, don't we? The bigger the lie, the harder it is to 'sell', but so many seem to 'buy into' various lies of the enemy of their souls without giving it a second thought. The biggest lie we can buy into is that God has turned his back on a lost and hurting world. God never turns his back, always has a way of escape for those who will look toward him and will always be the ultimate authority no matter what other authority attempts to set themselves up above him.

For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. (Psalm 33:4-5)

God's word holds true - we cannot escape the truth within his word. We cannot add to it, take away from it, or 'make it say what we want it to say'. It is unalterable! God will always stand for what is just and good. He will never compromise that truth. It is good for us to remember that God doesn't have to 'sell' his 'agenda' to anyone. He reveals his grace, love, and peace - then we are free to embrace it or leave it alone. God hasn't turned his back on his people, even when it appears that all is amiss in our world at the moment, we cannot ever believe the lie that God has abandoned us. His power still reigns supreme. His purposes are still to bring hurting people into his presence, embracing them in his love, and regenerating their hearts and minds so they can enjoy the peace and freedom of grace.

Test all you hear. Some may have turned their backs on 'fact checking' the things they see and hear today, but we need to be 'fact checkers' in all we hear, see, are asked to embrace. We cannot blatantly just adopt a stance that if 'he or she said it', it must be true. We need to take what we hear and see to the Word of God and see what God says about it. Remember this - all lies are wrapped in some element of truth. Even the 'wonder', 'amazing', 'miracle', and 'as seen on...' stuff we 'buy into' has some element of truth to it. It just doesn't live up to all the hype! Just sayin!

What's in your 'mind wallet'?

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. 

(Marcus Aurelius)

I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. (Psalm 77:11-12)

Whatever it is we choose to think upon the most will eventually manifest itself in our words and actions down the road. We may not consider the influence of those thoughts until we find ourselves acting in some way contrary to the way we should have acted, but when we truthfully consider what led to the 'not so great actions', we cannot neglect to see how our thought life influenced them. The 'recollection' of memories is not always a bad thing, nor is the consideration of certain truths and wise counsel, but when we dwell too long upon stuff God tells us to avoid, we are going to see negative actions emerge.

The quality of our thoughts matters probably much more than the quantity of things we put in our minds right now. Our present day's mantra isn't to get 'quality' knowledge as much as it is to just 'get knowledge'. The many ways we 'feed' our minds these days is astronomical compared to how we obtained knowledge a hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago. We have 'X', Facebook, all manner of news media online, and sites like 'Wikipedia' that can produce what some find as 'instant information' right at their fingertips. Back in the day, we had to go to the library, drag out the encyclopedias and actually 'hunt down' information. The 'quantity' of information we allow into our brains today without even realizing we are being influenced by it might just blow your mind if you were to truly consider what you 'take in' over the course of a day.

Get God's Word in first, prayerfully considering all that he gives you in those 'bite size chunks' of his truth and then test all the other 'stuff' you hear, read, or see. Chances are the 'truth' you think might be true that we find in all these other sources is just a bit 'tainted' by whatever entity puts it forth. Recall God's deeds, his goodness, the guidance he assures us we will have in him and ask him to help you reject all 'truth' that really isn't wise to ponder or dwell upon. Our minds aren't meant to be clogged up with all manner of 'negative' thoughts. They are meant to help us contemplate the greatness and goodness of our God. Just sayin!

All human help is useless

If you are feeling a bit like 'all human help is useless' right now, you are probably not alone in that appraisal of some of the things happening in our country at present. I think we more than enough concern over the rising prices of just about everything, with no more 'double coupons' and 'killer sales' to help us fill our pantries, rising gas prices making it difficult to enjoy our travels, and natural disaster upon disaster setting ablaze entire cities. We don't need to worry if our God is still present. It may seem like we aren't doing 'all that well' and 'all human help is useless', but God's help is really what we need most!

Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless. With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes. (Psalm 60:11-12)

With his help, mighty things can be accomplished - even by those who say it is not possible. The impossible is God's domain. We should never forget that, nor should we ever think he would abandon us. The purpose for the present challenges may not be evident to us right now, but we can rest assured that God has his hand on us to preserve us and protect us with whatever we are faced with. When all human help is useless, that is the time God begins to shine the brilliance of his glory and power! We might think he waits too long to do so, but his timing is always (and I mean always) perfect!

Our foes, whoever or whatever they may be, might stand in opposition, but God's mighty forces are at the ready to repel all opposition. Look again at our passage today and you will see we might just play a part in this 'repelling force' against our enemies. It is with his help that WE will do mighty things - his power within us helping us to repel the forces of darkness and evil that attempt to gain inroad after inroad into our communities, families, and our own lives. Darkness is dispelled with light. We are made to shine forth that light. As we connect with him, allowing his light to permeate every inch of our being, we become beacons of hope for those who find all 'human help useless' in this hurting world. Just sayin!

What's in your heart?

No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (I Corinthians 2:11-12)

A person's heart is a treasury of dreams and imagination, but it is also a harborer of doubts, fears, and failures, isn't it? We might hold onto certain dreams, hoping for their fulfillment, all the while investing a great deal of our heart's energy and attention into seeing those dreams through to fruition. We also hold onto certain failures, hurts, and habits that our heart seems to wrap much emotional energy around that could be spent pursuing better things. God knows what is contained within our hearts - the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. Isn't it a wise choice to ask him to sort out what is in our heart, revealing what should be kept and nurtured, while letting go of what only results in emotional upheaval and mistrust?

We have received God's Spirit, so we need to allow his Spirit to reveal to us where it is we are holding onto things that we need to clearly be rid of. God's heartbeat can be felt within our spirit, but the more we allow this world's spirit of fear, doubt, and destructive thoughts inhabit the precious space within our heart, we won't hear his heartbeat as well as we should. Our emotions are a mess because we allow things from this world to enter in, take root, and produce fruit that is bitter and of no use to us. The spirit of this world isn't going to bring all kinds of 'warm fuzzies' into our mind, emotions, or spirit. In fact, it will work overtime to do just the opposite!

We might not even know our own thoughts very well, since they are so up and down all the time. When we are ruled by our emotions, we find the ride is quite bumpy. We don't have stability, finding ourselves making wise choices at times, then listening to some fear or doubt planted by this world's spirit within our hearts, and losing all perspective of God's grace, goodness, and protection. We need to 'shut out' this world's spirit. How? We connect with God, maintain that connection, finding our source of life in nothing other than his presence. The thing we connect with the most makes all the difference in what our heart is filled with, my friends. Just sayin!

Nothing to Something

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (I Peter 1:9-10)

Do we really understand that whatever we have is given to us by God? We might be rich or successful, but those riches and all that success comes from God enabling us to gain the riches and accomplish the tasks that have made us successful. It is quite easy to get a bit too prideful about what we have or what we have gained, but we must never cease to give God the glory, remembering to use what we have been given for Him. All we are, all we own, all we can do is a result of his goodness and grace in our lives.

We are chosen to be a holy people - God's hands and feet to a hurting world. Now more than ever, we need God's protection over our country, his guidance over our leadership, and his will to reign supreme. We might think we know what God is about to do, but we can never 'out-think' or 'out-guess' God's plans. As we consider all we have been given, we must also consider carefully how it is God wants us to put those things and talents to use for him.

From nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Those words really tell the story of our lives. We might have been labeled as 'something' in this world, but without Christ in our lives the 'something' is really nothing. We can be at the highest position, given the highest of power on this earth, and still be nothing without God at the center of our lives. God's children are called (purposed) to be his instruments, to do his work and to speak out for him. We have been given much, but of those who have received much, much is required!

God's goodness and grace aren't meant to be hoarded or touted as something that gives us 'better standing'. In fact, it should humble us as we consider how much we have been given (entrusted with), and how it is we can put that to use to share the good news of grace in this world. We are called, chosen, and equipped. We didn't accomplish grace on our own - it was freely given! Just sayin!

Study and Seek

Study God and his strength, seek his presence day and night... (I Chronicles 16:11)

Study God - it is actually a command to spend time getting to know God, his ways of doing things, and the ability he has that supersedes all other ability on this earth or in heaven above. Study and seek - two very 'actionable' words that indicate we don't just get to know God's ways through osmosis! We have to invest ourselves into this search!

Seeking is continual - an action we don't just start and stop, taking up again somewhere down the road. It indicates a continual passion or drive to obtain something. Since most of us sleep at night (unless you are an overnight worker), how do we seek both day and night? It begins with an attitude of heart that wants to know him, then it continues with short "arrow-type" prayers throughout the day that set the framework for his presence to be with us even as we sleep.

Study is gradual - we don't learn everything at once. Although some may feel that they 'know it all' when it comes to their faith, I have discovered there is never a point where we actually 'know it all'. The more we learn today leads to a hunger and thirst for learning even more tomorrow. It is as the psalmist said, "Every word you give me is a miracle word— how could I help but obey? Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning. Mouth open and panting, I wanted your commands more than anything." (Psalm 119:129-130)

God 'breaks open' his words, sometimes in the light of day, and at others, in the stillness of night. When we seek, giving ourselves to study his word and learn at his feet, we are never 'done' with our seeking or studying. It is a continual process of growth. Study God and his strength - that comes by observation. We learn to observe the subtleties of his grace, goodness, and faithfulness. We see his compassion, but we best understand it once we experience it. Study involves not only observation, but experience. The more we observe God's actions, the more we desire to experience his strength! Just sayin!

Behaving poorly?

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)

It is easy to tire of 'doing good' when all around all we are seeing is others behaving poorly. We might want to withhold 'good' when someone does something 'not to good' to others or even to us, right? God's requirement (not recommendation) is that we don't allow ourselves to get fatigued (grow weary) in doing good. We are to continually, without ceasing, work for the benefit of all - seeing needs, meeting needs as we have the ability to do so and praying for others without ceasing.

Every time we get the chance - that doesn't mean we can 'pick and choose' when we will be a blessing to others. In other words, if they are behaving poorly, we don't get to choose to behave poorly in return. We are told to work for the benefit of all - even those who may not behave as well as we'd like to see them behave. Does that mean we support sinful actions? Absolutely not, but we can still pray for those who are acting poorly, making very unwise decisions, and are caught up in sin. 

We start with those in our own community of faith - in other words, followers of Christ. Our reach doesn't end there, though. Sometimes we treat others in the faith with more courtesy and decency than we treat those 'outside the faith', don't we? The moment we begin to do that is the moment we begin to display a 'we are better than you are' attitude. That cannot exist in God's family. We must see the needs of everyone around us, never neglecting to meet a need, even when it is a need that exists outside our community of faith. 

We never know when God's actions through us will be the very thing that changes a life forever. We might not always agree with the actions, attitudes, and even the words of others, but when we display grace, kindness, goodness, and compassion in response to their 'poor behavior', we are being examples of Christ's love for a dying world. Just sayin!

Sought, Provided, or Allowed

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. (Walter Anderson)

We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:3-5)

What comes our way in life is a combination of what is sought, provided, and allowed. We seek things such as a good car, bargains at the grocery store, or the most cost-effective way to get that vacation we desire. Other things are provided to us such as the roads we travel, the air we breathe, and the rains that come in season. Then there is this other category of what is 'allowed' in our lives. It is sometimes the things that are 'allowed' that try us the most, putting us through our paces, testing the very fiber of our being. We may not have sought them, nor did we really hope they would be provided, but when God allows something in our life to occur, we had better pay attention to it. There is something profound in what he is about to do, teach us, or bring forth from that thing!

In alert expectancy - this is to be our attitude when what is 'allowed' comes our way. We may not know the reason for the events or circumstances, but we can gain much from them if we allow our hearts to be in tune with the heart of God. We may not want the grief the moment brings about, as I doubt Job of the Old Testament wanted the loss of his family, flocks, herds, and wealth. We may not even relish going 'through' the moments from the beginning of those events until they are over, but as long as we walk with God 'through' them, we will come out the other side with something more than we had when those events began. We can't round up enough containers - that says it all. God might have allowed the events to occur, but deep within those events lies something more than we can imagine - godly character. Just sayin!

Too foolish to dress appropriately?

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. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. (Ephesians 6:12)

We all know someone who thinks they have it all together, but we know differently because their actions speak a whole lot louder than their words, don't they? The more they attempt to convince others that they are doing okay, the worse it gets for them. To be unwilling to admit we are weak in certain areas of our lives is foolishness. No one is without some area of weakness that plagues them from time to time, or perhaps way too often. We need all the help we can get to combat those desires that creep up, the frustrations we face way too frequently, and the downright misguided ways of thinking that keep us from living upright lives. We need to take what God offers, but sometimes we are too doggone stubborn to even admit to him that we don't have our lives all together!

Well-made weapons at our disposal, but we are too proud to take them up, put them on, and learn how to use them against the enemy, the devil. Look again at that passage - they are actually set out for us - we don't even have to look all that hard for them. It is like we have a 'spiritual valet' who lays them all out in front of us and all we have to do is step into them, or take them up, and then put them into use. Humble people aren't afraid to admit they have need of God's help, and they aren't too stubborn to use everything he puts at their disposal! It is the proud that face the greatest challenge. A follower of Christ isn't afraid to accept all he has prepared for them because they know without that preparedness, they will suffer great loss and countless 'war wounds'.

Far more than you can handle on your own. Those are pretty telling words, but those unwilling to admit they need what God has graciously prepared for their protection are too stubborn to admit the battle is 'too hot for them to handle'. We may not always know which weapon will be the one we need, but to leave even one of the things God has prepared for us 'unworn' is to go into battle unprepared. Leave without taking up God's Word in your heart and you will have no way to defend yourself against the lies of the devil. Refuse to allow God's peace to cover your every movement and you will have no way to resist the doubts that come as tiny attacks all day long. Don't be foolish - be adorned with all the armor God grants. Just sayin!

Just a quiet yes

Zig Zigler said, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time", and I cannot agree more. The 'aim' we take in life determines the course we will follow. If we aim to please people, we will find ourselves constantly changing what we do, how we do it, when it is done, and so on. If we aim to please ourselves all the time, we will find the more we try to please ourselves, the less likely we are to be pleased - we will always want more. The more we aim at pleasing God, the less we will seek the approval of others and the more we will seek his will to be done in our lives. How is it we 'seek God' above all other ambitions, desires, or impressions this world gives us? I think it begins when we determine we want his will over the will of others, and especially over our own will. Sinful behaviors manifest when we 'dabble' with sin's tug even a little bit. The more we resist the 'tiny tugs' of sin, the more we will resist the bigger ones that come along. It isn't the big ones that usually trip us up anyway - it is the tiniest of tugs that we ignore, give room to within our minds, and eventually act upon within our heart!

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (James 4:10)

We say a quiet 'yes' to Jesus every time we determine to aim toward the instruction he gives us. Will we always hit the mark just because we aim? No, definitely not! I was an expert marksman in the military, but there were a whole lot of 'missed bullseyes' along the way! I had to learn how to 'breathe', steady my gaze, and focus intently on the target. It didn't come easy, but the more I focused on developing the 'skill' of shooting my weapon, the better I became at hitting the target. The more we focus on the things God asks us to do, such as putting away something that is a distraction to us and taking up whatever it is he asks us to focus on at that moment, the more likely we are to be developing the skill of 'aiming' correctly. We won't always hit the mark, but we will grow closer and closer to hitting the target. Then each time we say a quiet 'yes' to his instruction, the closer we move from just 'hitting the target' to actually 'hitting the bullseye'! Just sayin!

Guard that thought space

Like it or not, we will not always see eye-to-eye. There will be disagreements, some quite peaceful, others not so much. We will spend precious time debating the merits of someone else's decisions, lack of 'good judgment', or unwise actions, all while they are debating ours. What good does that do anyway? We could spend endless hours criticizing the ones who get into political office, head up our churches, or even lead us in the work arena, but what good comes of all that criticism and debate? It would benefit us much more to heed the advice to think upon the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; and things to be praised, not the things we could curse!

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:8)

God isn't too excited about our 'tearing down' of each other, much less the comparison that goes on when we go about criticizing one another. In fact, he wants to work US into his most excellent harmonies, not see us 'worked up' over things that don't benefit us. God asks us to change our focus through changing the way we think. Whatever we choose to think upon will begin to manifest itself in some form within our lives. Think about the cost of living long enough and you will likely begin to develop some financial worries, contemplating what you will do if this price or that one begins to skyrocket. The choice we make with what we allow to dwell within our minds is one we must make with forethought. The forethought comes as we take in his Word and begin to contemplate upon it, how it should affect our lives, and what it will produce through us when we embrace it fully.

We do our best by filling our minds with wholesome thought - God does his best by creating within us those 'excellent harmonies' between his grace and our need; his peace and our worries; his joy and our anxieties. What are you filling your mind with today? Are you giving over that precious 'conscious' thought space to the worries, fears, doubts, and 'the worst' that you can imagine? If so, it is time to replace those thoughts within that thought space! Just sayin!

Get on with it

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6:1)

I think this should probably read 'when', not 'if', because all of us will eventually find ourselves needing forgiveness and restoration, no matter how hard we try to live according to the principles of grace, goodness, and kindness. We all slip up in weak moments, saying or doing something we later regret. When that happens, do we judge one another, holding onto those judgments and allowing bitterness to form deep within our heart? Do we lovingly restore one another, without judging the actions of the other, not giving place to bitterness and anger? Easier said than done, huh? We might want to remember that what we criticize the most in others may just be at the root of what we find ourselves struggling with, as well. The adage, "It takes one to know one", is certainly true and it is also quite convicting!

Stoop down and reach out - that indicates a change of position on our part, doesn't it? It requires us to get 'off our high horse' and get into the thick of it with the one who has fallen, helping them out of that mire they got so bogged down in. It is hypocritical to find fault with others for the very things that also trip us up and get us bogged in the mire of sin, isn't it? If we want to be strong in our own faith, it means we also need to be humble in our approach to others who find themselves sinning, as well. 'There but for the grace of God, go I' is more than a proverbial expression of grace and humility - it is the truth that we all find ourselves in the need of forgiveness. When John Bradford first spoke those words, he wanted his hearers to recognize our very life and whatever fortune we find within it is entirely based on God's guidance and his mercy.

All that go through in life is a teachable moment, when we allow God to use it for his work within us. Even when we find ourselves 'fallen' and in need of restoration, he can use that moment to teach us how to make different choices next time. Be assured, there will be a next time! Lovingly embrace one another, show grace when it seems to be undeserved, be humble about your own propensity to make unwise choices, and get on with the lesson! Life is too short to live with regret, and it is too long to live with unforgiveness! Just sayin!

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

H.G. Wells said, "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." Those words may seem rather simple, as we all know the 'action' of 'standing up' once you have fallen down is a little more difficult than we might imagine. I have fallen more than a couple of times in my lifetime, banging up my knees or elbows, but when I was younger, I bounced back from those falls a whole lot quicker than I do in my sixth decade of life! Just because we are 'growing up in Christ' doesn't mean we won't fall, and it certainly doesn't mean a fall will result in us getting up 'easier' just because we 'know Jesus' a little better than we did in our earlier years of following him. Sometimes we just need to cry out for help to get up! It isn't a bad thing to admit we need help, although some may think it is a sign of weakness to admit it. 

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

Some of the reason we fall is that we aren't 'aware' of what we are doing, and we don't take the time to ask God for clarity. We just trudge ahead into the 'unknown' and then wonder why we are flat on our face in just a short time. If you have already moved ahead of Jesus, don't despair! He stands ready to help you stand when you aren't able to do it on your own, but you do need to ask for his help. There is just something about admitting we need help that breaks down some of the stubborn pride and self-sufficiency that caused us to fall in the first place. Sometimes we want 'all our options open' when we pray - like a 'blanket covering' over all the 'possible options' for how we could get out of the situation we find ourselves facing. God doesn't want us to limit him to the 'options' we can imagine as much as he wants us to trust him to reveal the 'one way up' that he has designed.

God loves to help, but we have to allow him to help. It would be far better that we never find ourselves 'falling' and 'unable to get up', but when we find ourselves in those circumstances, it is far wiser to ask for his help than it is to struggle to find our way up! We all fall. Don't be afraid to admit you need his help. He stands ready to help. Just sayin!

In trouble again?

Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out. (Edwin Markham)

Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath. Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time. (Psalm 34:17-19)

Markham also challenged us with the words: "We have committed the Golden Rule to memory, let us now commit it to life." There are far more times when we 'know the rule' but choose to live contrary to the rule. Those are the moments when God stands at the ready to rescue us from the folly of our own devices. Anyone who has ever been 'rescued' in this life can share just how much their need pressed upon them and how great it was to see that rescuer arriving just in the nick of time. We may not fully appreciate how much we need rescuing today, kind of poking along in life, thinking we are doing 'pretty good' with life choices, and then comes along this thing we call the 'big temptation' or 'tumultuous trial'. Just like that, we desire a rescue! We cry for help. We look, wait, call again, wait some more, all the while hoping that our rescuer heard our call. The good news is that even when we get ourselves in the place where we need a 'rescue', the rescuer always comes! God is listening, even when we don't do such a good job of making the right choices. God is ready, even before we know we have need of the rescue!

Defeat may seem immanent; rescue may seem like it won't happen but wait. That time between when we recognize we are pressed up against a wall, unable to escape on our own, drifting further and further from the 'rule' and closer and closer to our own folly may be a little bit, but God never stops listening for our cry for help. He knows there will come that moment when we feel like we cannot escape but he isn't about to ignore our need. He is ready to rescue. Sometimes rescue comes in the form of complete delivery. At others, it requires us to become 'disentangled' from whatever has us so easily 'tangled' into a mess of wrong choices and actions. Whatever 'form' the rescue takes, it is God's plan to bring relief and salvage what is able to be salvaged from the experience. We may want to leave everything behind, not thinking there is anything good that could come from the mess we were in, but God knows what is able to be used to help us avoid the same entrapment the next time. Just sayin!

Is it a weed seed?

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Tricked, deceived, deluded, fooled, misguided - regardless of the word we use, the meaning is all the same. When we are 'misled' down any path, we reveal quite foolish choices that lead to very foolish actions. We cannot plant one seed and expect a different harvest. Seeds bear the fruit they were created to bear - period! Ignore God's wisdom to avoid such paths that lead to sinful actions, and we will reap the consequences of those actions. Can a man really claim to be 'ignorant' of his choices? He may be 'uneducated' or 'uninformed', but even those 'excuses' are without excuse. God makes a way for each of us to be more than adequately 'informed' and 'educated' through the wisdom that comes in his Word, through the prompts of the Holy Spirit, and even in the example of others who follow Christ. We can attempt to make excuses for our sinful actions, but we are all really without excuse.

I don't know about you, but I want more than a crop of weeds to lay at God's feet. I want good crops - like kindness, understanding, forgiveness, grace, and peace to be the 'crops' that emanate from my life. Does that mean I never see a weed or two creeping through? Nope, it just means I allow God's Spirit to show me where the weeds are growing, helping me to 'pluck them right up' and rid my 'garden' of their presence. A weed is a pretty accurate description of sin. A weed is a 'wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants'. According to Wikipedia, a "weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation" because it grows where it is in direct "conflict with human preferences, needs, or goals". In most cases, these are plants with characteristics that make them "hazardous, aesthetically unappealing, difficult to control in managed environments, or otherwise unwanted" in one's garden, farm, or other 'planted area'. 

Thinking upon that definition a bit, we might begin to consider some of the choices we have been making as a little too 'weed productive' in their outcomes. Those actions are producing unwanted outcomes that are in direct conflict with our needs and God's preferences. Maybe it is time God does a bit of 'weeding' in our garden. If so, don't resist because the 'crop' produced when the weeds are finally ousted will delight you more than you will ever know. Just sayin!

Abandoning the Paddles?

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12)

A little earlier in this chapter, we are told that 'if we don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father' and perhaps this is the best advice we could have when it relates to facing 'testing challenges' in life. There are far more times we face those challenges without a clear plan on how to 'handle' the challenge. We want to make it through unscathed, but we know that a whole bunch of stuff is about to be unleashed, and we are in for a whopper of a 'beat down' if we don't get some clarity quickly. At that moment, we can meet it head-on, but to do so without God's perspective on the matter would be sheer foolishness.

The testing challenge may be what reveals to us just how deep our loyalty is to God. It is where the rubber meets the road in our faith walk, isn't it? We don't really want to admit that we aren't fully devoted, but our attentions are divided. We don't realize how little we are truly trusting God with the everyday experiences of life we face, saying we 'trust him deeply', but living as though we trust him very little. How? By attempting to concoct our own plan, follow our own path, or just plain turn tail and run at the slightest difficulty. Faith doesn't just magically appear one day and all is well. There are far more times faith develops in the midst of the most 'testing challenges' of life!

Loyalty means unwavering dedication. Do we do more than recite the principles by which we say we live, or do we actually live by them when the tough times come along? We say we seek God's wisdom, but do we only do that when the times are harder than we'd like? What do we do in the 'not to tough' times? Could it be that we just sail along, feeling pretty doggone sure of ourselves? It doesn't matter if we are in the midst of trials galore or the best of times, loyal followers of Jesus do what they always do - they press into his Word, gleaning what they can for the moment, holding fast to his promises. They don't look for their deliverance anywhere else than at the feet of Jesus. Just because the boat is rocking doesn't mean we abandon the GPS, rudder, or paddles! We hold fast! Just sayin!

Emotion, Desire, or Knowledge?

Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get. (Matthew 7:12)

Plato told us human behavior flows from three sources: desire, emotion, or knowledge. Thinking upon that one a bit, it is clear to see how behavior can flow from emotion, for many of our 'responses' in life are emotion based. Desire certainly plays a huge part in us either pursuing or avoiding certain things. Knowledge is learned and can take us a while to grasp, making emotion and desire seem a whole lot easier for us rely upon! Until we learn that all emotional responses may not produce the best behavior (actions), we might keep leaning upon emotion too much. Unless the desire we lean into is one Christ would have us pursue, we are spending a lot of time pursuing something that may not always work out the way we hoped it would. We need to be taught which desires are good, neutral, or bad. Equally important, we need to realize when emotion is not to be relied upon as our sole means of deciding to act. Actions based on knowledge tend to be a little better than those just taken without forethought or planning!

Behavior is frequently modeled and then emulated. When we see others behaving badly, does that behavior turn us away, or draw us in? Sometimes we are drawn in because we are way too dependent upon our emotions to guide our actions in those circumstances. It is a fine balance between knowing when emotion is guiding us to take 'reasonable' actions and when it is encouraging us to tread on thin ice! As the scripture implies, we need to have some guidance for our behavior. Perhaps that is why God gave us such a positive example in Christ. He also provided more than one example in scripture of godly men and women who struggled with desire and emotion, balancing it all within the realm of what they knew and trusted about God himself. This might just be key to obtaining that balance - getting the knowledge that comes from trusting God with what we don't understand fully and what seems to pull on our emotional strings all too easily. 

Grab the initiative and do it isn't license to do whatever feels good. It is instruction to consider what is good, proper, pure, and holy, then put it into action. We act upon what God teaches and see the goodness it produces in the lives of others. Jesus thought about others all the time. He fed the hungry, taught the unlearned, played with the children, and healed the sick. Maybe one of the best things we can is ask him to teach us how to live well, behaving in a manner that brings more goodness into a person's life. Just sayin!

Leaning in, leaning on, learning more

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

We should find a little reassurance in knowing the present temptation or trial we face is not dissimilar to what others have faced and survived. It may not be identical, but it could have been attempting to uncover similar issues within our character, just in a slightly different manner. The trial or temptation you face is meant to bring about one of two things: 1) bring out something within your character that needs to change; or 2) create something within your character that bolsters what is already there. God is either trying to rid us of something or allow something of greater depth to be produced within. Either way, we aren't to avoid these as much as allow them to draw us closer to where God desires us to be. When we reject the temptation, we draw near to him. When we embrace the trial, he creates a strength of character that likely didn't exist before the trial. Either way, we trust God, lean into his protection and provision, and grow. 

We lean into his provision whenever we seek to resist temptation - for he provides a way of escape for each one we face, regardless of how hard it may be in the natural to resist it. We just need to embrace the way of escape. It could be we struggle with some habitual response to a particular temptation, but God shows us what we could implement a particular action in order to break the 'chain' of temptation before we get bound by it. Example: We like to overeat or binge on snack foods. God's plan might be that we only buy our groceries online, avoiding the glitzy snack food items that are so prominently displayed on the end caps at the grocer. Another example is that we get angry when we arrive home to find dishes in the sink, countertops filled with crumbs and spills, and children just lazing around playing video games. We might find God tells us to send a text message 30-minutes before we are to arrive home, giving those who have made the mess the chance to 'clean up' before mom arrives. Breaking the cycle of sin is never easy, but it is possible, often with quite simple changes in our behavior. 

We lean into his protection whenever we go through a trial and refuse to lean on our own strength, know-how, and 'critical thinking' to get us through. We ask for his wisdom, listen intently, and then do what he prompts. We still go through the trial, but we are leaning on him all the while, refusing to take back the control we freely gave to him. It is easy to trust him early in the trial for his provision of all we will need to endure it, but it is much harder to do so when the trial gets long and arduous. Regardless of the length of the trial, we are being taught a great deal when we lean into his provision and trust him with the timing. Just sayin!

Bunny-Friendly?

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. (Philippians 2:14-16)

Do everything readily - just how well are we doing on that one today? I know that I drag my feet when it comes to things around the house that really could use my attention, like the high-low dusting. As long as the surfaces look reasonably 'clean', I can let it go until the dust bunnies start creeping out as you walk past their hiding places! My BFF quips that we are 'dust bunny friendly', but every now and again, we have to eliminate the 'herd' of bunnies, but somehow our inattentiveness to getting all of them allows them to rebreed! Sin is kind of like dust bunnies - it 'rebreeds' when we aren't willing to take the necessary steps to 'attentively' remove all of it!

Good living is only accomplished when we allow the 'clean up' of our lives to occur without hesitation or 'squabbling' with God about it. I know I am not the only one that drags their feet or squabbles a bit too much with him over whatever step of obedience he is seeking. Being honest with ourselves about our reluctance may actually be the first step toward us moving into full obedience. While God does want us to focus on not allowing silly quarrels and bickering with each other to get us off-course in our walk with him or bring any disgrace to him by our actions toward others, he wants that willingness to no longer quarrel with him to come first. We may call it 'reasoning' with God, refusing to see it as 'bickering' or 'second-guessing' his desires for us, but to be perfectly honest here, it is just selfish rebellion that holds us back and allows so many of those 'sin-bunnies' to rebreed!

The moment we stop quarreling with God, stop trying to find ways to just 'hit the surface dirt' in our lives, the more we will become 'displeased' with the 'bunnies' that lie lurking within the crevices of our lives. That is when true 'clean-up' begins to happen. None of us wants to be 'sin-bunny' friendly, do we? Just askin...

A stand out performance

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

Choose to be led - those four words are quite informative, aren't they? We 'choose' 'to be' 'led'. Choice is always part of our walk with Jesus. Some may look at Christians as a bunch of people who are given no choice other than to never smoke, never chew, and never run with those who do. I am certain there are a few other 'don't do this or that' items we could add to that list, but you get the point. Christians are given a choice - obey God's commands and thrive within the freedom that brings or choose our own way and see if that gets us 'close enough' to being 'okay' without being totally 'awful'. I don't like the possibility that the outcome could be that I just add guilt or shame to an already overburdened soul, do you? I choose obedience even when it is not convenient, not because I 'have to', but because I want to. How about you? Do you choose to be led by the Spirit of God? Be careful how you answer that for your actions speak much louder than your words. Words are easy - choices are harder!

To be - choices are usually 'actionable' - in other words, they involve something occurring, coming into existence, or happening. When we choose obedience over 'selfish desire', we are allowing God's Spirit to bring into existence the very power to overcome all the desire to live opposite of that choice. Look again at our passage - disobedience actually 'feeds the compulsions of selfishness'. That pretty much defines some of the choices I have made over the course of my lifetime, how about you? If you find you have been 'feeding the compulsions of selfishness' a bit too often, it isn't too late to walk those choices back. We can choose again, allowing the new actions to produce a new outcome. Choose to be 'led'. This is probably the most important thing we do after we make the choice to follow Jesus. Following indicates there is a leader, doesn't it? We all follow someone, like it or not. For example, we could follow societal norms, religious dictates, or political ideals. Who we choose to follow is important. When we make a conscious choice to follow Jesus, we might not realize it, but we are choosing 'against' many of those norms or ideals that are out there today. To choose to be led means we might just 'stand out' as different. Perhaps that is a good thing? Just askin!

Deal with the untruth

“If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (John 8:31-32)

A disciple is a follower, for sure, but with the intent of learning from the master. I read lots of woodworking articles, observe how things are made, and yet I am not a disciple of any particular 'woodworking master'. I just do it for a hobby. Christianity is more than a hobby - it is us committing to serve the master (Jesus), sit under his tutelage, and take what we have learned to others so they can learn it, as well. Too many may view it as a mere 'hobby' - calling themselves 'Christian', but lacking any real life change, spiritual power, or deep knowledge of how God responds. 

Peter Marshall reminds us, "God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty." Discipleship doesn't assure us of any 'easy ride' in this lifetime. In fact, it may mean just the opposite, for this 'dying to oneself and living for Christ' is kind of difficult at times. It takes constant focus, unwavering attention to life's details, and a willingness to respond appropriately when the challenge to revert back to an old way of living exerts unending pressure upon us. Great blessing may just be all about the journey and not so much the moment. It may just be made up of a whole bunch of little moments where the disciple responded in faith to what he knew to be true.

Truth is a very freeing thing. Don't believe me? Try it! There is likely some 'half-truth' we have all believed somewhere along the way, only to come into greater knowledge at some point, having our minds blown for having believed the untruth so easily. Truth may be harder to grasp than untruth because it brings conviction. As long as we hold onto the untruth even a little bit, we will never be totally free to embrace truth entirely. The disciple commits to truth - whatever form it takes - no matter how hard it is to embrace. When he does, he is assured of life - deep, meaningful, purposeful life. Just sayin!

More than a curfuffle?

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

Dwight L. Moody reminds us, "Faith makes all things possible... love makes all things easy." Faith and love are intricately related - interwoven aspects of our walk with Jesus. Love for God necessitates love for people - even those we find it hard to relate to, don't actually agree with, or just plain find offensive. Does it mean we have to have a deep relationship with these individuals? No, but it does mean we will treat them with kindness even when they don't deserve it!

Faith makes all things possible - even getting alone with the 'prickly relative', 'bothersome workmate', or 'pesky neighbor'. It even helps us get along with that one person in our church circle that seems to always be butting in where they don't belong, looking to get their own way when options are discussed, or makes a huge deal about the smallest acts they perform 'for the church'. Love requires us going the extra mile on more occasions than we would actually 'like' to, but if we are to grow in Christ, we will love God first, then allow that love to guide all our interactions on this earth.

On earth today, there are hundreds upon thousands of 'conflicts' occurring. Some will be 'minor', such as a 'curfuffle' amongst two people who quickly get over it and move on like nothing happened. Others will be more dramatic, carrying divisive actions that leave deep scars for those involved. We are called to be the voice of reason in a not so pretty world. That may require us to lay down our own agenda at times, but if we are willing to love others as we love Christ, we will find whatever we 'lay down' is nothing in comparison to what is gained when we live as peacemakers in this world. Just sayin!

Uncluttering the closet

The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

Have you ever purchased some piece of clothing, only to have it sit unworn in your closet? You thought you did a great job of finding a bargain, getting a style that is totally 'in' at the moment, but when you tried it on at home, it just didn't fit you right or you didn't have the right shirt to go with the trousers. God's 'new clothing' he provides us in grace isn't meant to just hang around unworn. It is what actually clothes us against this world's hardness and sin's tremendously tenacious pull. Leave it just 'hanging' and you go defenseless! Two things I'd like us to see from our passage today: 1) The 'new life' emerges, it doesn't just 'whammo' appear one day and all the old is magically gone - there is a little 'closet cleaning' that must be done on our part! 2) We are only capable of being ambassadors of the message of grace when we are willing to drop our differences with each other. 

While 'closet cleaning' is never an exciting job for any of us, there is something cathartic about doing the 'out with the old' and 'in with the new' thing. Some of the hardest 'closet cleaning' we will do is to settle our relationships with each other. We can 'pack away' a whole lot of 'unflattering' and 'unwanted' things in the 'closets' of our mind and heart. When God asks us to finally 'unpack' that stuff, he isn't just asking us to push it further back to make room for the new. He is asking us to actually go through the trouble and exert the energy to get those things out into the light of day, letting him show us how to 'rid ourselves' of them. You may have begun a bit of 'closet cleaning' this year, attempting to make a fresh start with some you have had relationship woes with, but it isn't going so well. That other individual wants to you cram it all back in and just deal with it on our own! When that happens, it doesn't mean we just retain possession of those things - we still let God help us rid ourselves of those thoughts and grudges.

Dropping a difference is likely not going to be at the top of our to do list today, but if God is prompting you right now about someone who you've not had the best of interactions with lately, why not allow him to help you deal with the differences in his grace and see just how freeing having an 'empty closet' can be. As we 'make room', he fills with all that will fit our frame so well. Just sayin!

A faith wardrobe

Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination. 

(Joseph B. Wirthlin)

But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise. (Galatians 3:25-27)

Journeys all have a destination in mind. We may not clearly know the destination when we set out, but we have a general idea. As we go along this journey with Christ, we have a general idea of being washed, made clean, getting a fresh start, but do we know where that 'fresh start' will take us? Not always! We might imagine it just means we 'do over' what we haven't done so well thus far. It could mean we take a totally different path than we had been on for a long, long time. When God asks for us to take a new path, are we intimidated by those first steps? Probably, but as we take the first one and then the next, it gets easier to take the subsequent ones, doesn't it? What do we do when we prepare for a journey? Don't we prepare what we will wear along the way? As always, Christ doesn't disappoint in that regard either! He prepares a new 'wardrobe' of faith that 'grows with us' as we continue along this journey with him.

Imagine the clothes you wore as a teenager or young person. Are you still able to fit into those clothes? Not many of us are, but even if we are able to 'fit', do they 'fit' our life any longer? Not usually! We get 'new clothes' that 'fit' our present circumstances. If we work construction, we own a hardhat, some dungarees, and maybe a pair of leather work gloves. If we work in healthcare, we own scrubs, solidly good shoes that take us the miles we walk each day, and perhaps a stethoscope. If we are a stay-at-home mom, we likely have clothes that 'fit the day', depending on if we are cleaning the house or going to the grocer to restock the family's food items. As we grow older, comfortable fitting clothes and shoes replace business suits, tight jeans, and high heels! The wardrobe changes as we 'grow' in life. In much the same way, our 'faith' wardrobe grows with us. We learn to 'put on' deeper, well-anchored faith as we discover new things along this journey, don't we?

Faith is an ever-expanding thing. We don't 'put on' the same faith today as we did yesterday, and it is quite likely the faith we start the day out with may require us to 'put on' new faith as we go through the day. Faith is never stagnant, just as the journey is ever changing. We must allow Jesus to 'adapt' our faith wardrobe as the journey evolves. Just sayin!

Mountain Mover

Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in; in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!” (Psalm 118:5-6)

If you have ever felt 'pushed to the wall' by a worry, hangup, hurt, or circumstance that overwhelms, you know how defenseless it can make you feel. The hardest thing is to get past how we 'feel' about it and let God take control of our defense. Truth be told, God never left your side, you just finally realize he is right there and isn't letting go. He gives you both defensive and offensive 'tools' to be able to resist the attack and stand strong when all that is happening seems to be seeking to make you weak. He is our strong companion - we need not fear ANY enemy - self-made or man-made!

We can feel rather 'hemmed in' by our habits, observing our uncanny ability to turn back to them when it seems like we just cannot resist the thoughts and remembered responses to the thing that lures us back. If you are feeling a bit 'hemmed in' right now, that habit, hurt, or hangup doesn't need to beat you. God is at your side! Your best defense? Use God's name! His name is all powerful. Have you ever had a struggle with a particular thought and just responded to that troubling thought with, "In the name of Jesus I renounce that thought/urge, and in his name, I proclaim peace in my mind, body, and spirit"? Maybe if we started using the name of Jesus to push back some of those 'habitual' ways of thinking and responding, we might just find ourselves a bit less 'defenseless'.

Right on the cliff edge and ready to fall today? God's strength is enough to grab you away from that edge. We may not have the 'self-ability' but God has the ability to move mountains on our behalf - perhaps it is time we start asking for a little 'mountain moving' in our lives. When the mountains begin to move, we may just see that God has already prepared our way out of the muddle we are in. Just sayin!