Go and produce what lasts

"Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished."

(Og Mandino)

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:12-17)

The same way Christ loved us - is it possible to love that much? I don't believe Jesus would have told us to do so if he wouldn't also empower us to love in such a manner. How does one actually lay down their life for another? Does it always require physical death? I don't believe Jesus would have told us to all die - he might want us to have the attitude of heart and mind that considers the other person's need as 'worthy' of being met, not just our own need. We have no issue with meeting our own needs, but when another expresses their need, do we always realize we could be instrumental in helping to meet it?

Whatever we ask for - could it be that Jesus wants us to take the needs of each other before him more than we take our own? I think Jesus wants us to look out for each other, knowing that some will not be able to bring their needs to him as well as we can. At times, we see the other's need better than they do, but if we don't 'lay down our life' to bring those needs before Jesus, what good does it to just 'see them'? Perhaps the greatest thing we could do for each other is lift one another in prayer each day - knowing there will be things that challenge our consistency, interfere with our willpower, and become too hard for us to handle alone.

When we have another so 'dedicated' to showing us the love of Christ, we should treasure that relationship. There are many who give 'lip service' to our needs, promising to pray for us, but those who put 'feet' to their prayers, coming alongside, lending a hand, and being the hands and feet of Christ to us are most valuable indeed. We are appointed to go and produce lasting fruit. I believe we do this whenever we bring the love of Christ into the relationship. Love lasts long after the action is done. Just sayin!

Change the outcomes

People who live following their sinful selves think only about what they want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what the Spirit wants them to do. If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6)

Thinking or not thinking - both can present problems we might not want to deal with. If we think upon things that are not honorable or will bring dishonorable actions into our lives, we get the resulting problems associated with those sinful thoughts. If we fail to think before we act, relying only upon what feels good to us at the moment, we will reap the results that will not always be very rewarding or wonderful. Thinking must be controlled - it cannot just be willy-nilly. If we are to live upright lives, we need a 'thinking partner' in this walk. That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. We need his presence to help us filter out the 'not so good' thoughts and rehearse the ones that lead us into right actions.

One thing I have learned about my own thoughts is to question if what I am about to say or do is based upon what I want, excluding how it may affect others. That is what our passage says - people who live following their sinful selves think ONLY about what THEY want. When I stop long enough to consider how my way of thinking will affect others if I act upon what I am thinking, I often will not take that particular action. Why? It would not honor them, or it would present difficulties within the relationship. There are times when I think one thing but find God prompting me to see things a bit differently than the way I have been looking at those things. Why? God knows if I continue along that way of thinking I will produce actions that will bring less than desirable consequences.

It didn't come naturally to me to begin my day by asking God's Spirit to take control of my thoughts, but once I did, I also found myself asking him to take control of my words and all the actions in my day. Why? Thoughts lead to words and actions - I need his help to make the most of both of those! It isn't hard to ask the Spirit to take the lead in your thought life, but it is a little harder to listen to his leading! It is that age-old issue of knowing what is right, but not always choosing to act upon what you know to be right. As long as I seek his help with the day, I am placing myself in the best possible position to see the outcomes within my day be the best they can be. The same will be true for you. Just sayin!

I want to act better than this

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy." (I Peter 1:13-16)

How do we keep from returning to a bad habit? Experts might suggest things like a 21-day commitment to the new one - advising that after those three weeks have passed, the new habit is ingrained into our current way of living. I am going to dispel that myth a bit because if that was the truth, why would we need to return to dieting time after time again, with rebound weight loss? Obviously, the 21-day commitment didn't 'take', did it? We found ourselves drifting back into eating a bit more than we should have or choosing a few more high-calorie snacks than might have been warranted. Before long, the weight drifts back on - a few ounces here and there until we are back up ten pounds over where we desire to be. This just goes to prove that self-will is never enough to change a habit!

Peter reminds us of the importance of 'preparing our minds for action' along with exercising self-control. Yes, we need that will-power to be at work, but it is never enough to just 'muster through' those tough things that we know need to be changed in our lives. I am referring to more than just a few extra pounds here. There are things in our lives we have been attempting to 'muster through' without really taking any time to talk with God about how it is we can see those areas changed permanently. We struggle with unforgiveness and resentment, trust having been destroyed by someone, and then we attempt to 'let go' of it all on our own. Finding ourselves struggling with thoughts of how we have been wronged over and over again, we realize we haven't really 'mustered through' all that well. 

Why? Our minds were never prepared for the action. We might have had some initial thoughts that God desired for us to let those hurts go, but we never took the time to consistently pray through the scriptures we read about forgiveness, making all our efforts a little less powerful than we hoped. Yes, we read the scriptures, and we came to the conclusion it was the right action to take, but we failed to repeatedly take each troubling thought to God for his touch. God's Word is powerful, but it has to be rehearsed (recalled) over and over in order to begin to change the thoughts we have held onto for so very long. The more we 'prepare our minds' through time in the Word, prayerfully rehearsing the scripture, and then seeking God's perspective, the more we will see those troubling thoughts begin to fall away. 

We may not think there is any hope of ever being free of a 'bad habit' we have allowed to form in our lives, but through God's grace, we can change. The part we take in change is important - we need to prepare our minds and then be prepared to take action when the desire to submit to any course different than the one God lays out for us. Prepared minds take better actions. Just sayin!

A sacred place

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

Bennett also reminds us "it is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top" - something we'd do well to consider when we are just 'coasting through life'. We oftentimes take for granted the things we allow to 'penetrate' our minds, almost without any real thought to it at all. It is as though the process of things 'getting into our minds' can be a little 'passive' when we are not 'on guard' to keep out unwanted influences and misguided half-truths. Maybe the one thing we can do to 'guard' our minds seems a bit too easy, but in allowing the Word of God to begin to penetrate our minds more and more, we are actually 'setting up the guard'.

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Indeed, our thoughts dictate so many of our actions - both good and bad. Perhaps this is why we struggle with some of the things that seem to trip us up on more than on occasion - we have not given thought to what we allow to become 'resident' within our minds. As Bennett so aptly put it, we 'give permission' to some thoughts that have absolutely no right to be allowed into the inner sanctum of our minds. If our minds are a 'sacred enclosure', why can the 'wrong stuff' so easily find its way in? Simply put, we don't have any good defenses to keep them out!

I sometimes don't pay much attention to what I am watching on TV and almost without even noticing, I hear a bad word and it goes right past me. The next time the character has something go awry, he spouts the same bad word. After a handful of the expletives, I can almost anticipate the expletive every time something goes wrong for this TV character. Do I use those same expletives in my life when things go awry? They are not my first thought, but plant that seed long enough and it could very well become the first thought!

We need to 'think' about what we allow to enter our minds. I like to do crossword puzzles - it challenges me. I don't always have any clue what they are asking, but sometimes when I see the solution the next day in the paper, it is as though I should have known that. There are times when we might want to consider a thought, but we don't have a clue why we are considering it. Then the next time we look into the Word of God, we realize why we were considering that thought - good or bad, we find clarity as to the intention of those seed thoughts.

We will always find our actions beginning with some form of thought. Plant the right seeds and see them nourished to maturity if you want to consistently perform the right actions. Plant the wrong seeds, allowing them an inroad into the good soil of your mind, and you may just be needing to do a bit more 'weeding' than you desire. Just sayin!

GIGO

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)

I often go to this verse whenever I observe my thinking being a little too negative, my speech a little too critical, or my attitude just a bit off. Why? It is a reminder to me of the importance of taking particular note of what goes into my mind and what it is I allow my mind to contemplate over and over again. The old computer geek term of 'garbage in - garbage out' really holds true with this thing we call our brain. We do our best when our minds are filled with the right stuff - we don't do as well when there is input that 'muddies the water', so to speak.

The best, not the worst - we have a natural tendency to see the cup as half-full at times, don't we? Media plays a large part in pointing out all the varied ways our cup may not be all that full, doesn't it? It is possible to not even know our cup isn't full until we see or hear something telling us otherwise! Why do you think advertising companies put so much work into finding the right 'hook' for the product or service they are putting forward? Isn't it because they want us to know just how empty our lives are without that product or service? If your life is based in Christ, there is very little you need to make you 'fuller'!

True, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, and gracious - those are some pretty well-defined 'boundaries' for our thought life, aren't they? If we are to be ready for tests, trials, and temptations, we need to know our boundaries, don't we? If we are to live consistent lives, we need boundaries to operate within. God knows the right 'input' will positively impact the 'output' of our lives. Consistency doesn't just come because the input is correct, though. It requires us putting into practice all we have learned, hear from God, and see in the positive living examples he provides for us.

I used to think consistency meant I never got off-course - in other words, I never screwed up. The truth of the matter is that we all screw up from time to time - it is what we do when with our screw ups that makes the difference. When we take our negative thoughts, raunchy attitude, and bitter speech to him, he isn't going to hold it against us. In fact, he will embrace us for being forthcoming with our missteps. Then he restores us - bringing back truth, nobility in our thoughts, righteous reputation, total authenticity, motivating compulsion, and forgiving graciousness into our lives. Consistency is knowing when we are not on course, making the necessary correction in that course, and then starting out again. Just sayin!

Who's acting here?

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

The more we try to figure ourselves out, the harder it gets. We do something and we attempt to get down to the rationale behind the action we exhibited. We don't do anything and we try to look deeper into the meaning of the inaction. We are always evaluating ourselves by the outcomes of what it is our action or inaction produces. Is this always the most valid way of evaluating ourselves, though? If we take our text today as truth, then we are clearly not to evaluate self by self - we are to evaluate self by what God does for us and who he is.

God is - what does that phrase conjure up in your mind? Some of us will answer the very 'pat' answers such as the God of the Universe, Creator of all things, and above all other gods. These are Sunday School answers, my friends. We need to get down to the brass tax here and begin to understand God for who he is to us by who he really is and what he has done for each of us. Yes, he created all things - that is an accurate answer, but it isn't the totality of who he is. 

The goodness of grace isn't something we should discount, for it is what makes each of us what we are - whole, complete, and more than just 'in tact'. We can manage to keep our lives 'in tact', but we have a much harder time with making our lives whole - through and through. We try to add 'wholeness' to our lives with some set of actions that we see as 'good' or 'worthy', but in essence we are just doing what we are supposed to be doing - nothing more.

We might want our lives to 'measure up' to some standard all of the time, but we cannot ever get to that point of 'measuring up' to what God can accomplish in us when we give him full access. Full access means nothing held back and that we actually stop 'doing' what we really cannot do for ourselves. Grace gives us footing - grounding, foundation, and purpose. His love keeps us secure and protected. His peace grants us strength where we lack it on our own. These are the things we come to know and appreciate about our God's actions in our lives once we stop acting and allow him to be the one to take action within! Just sayin!

Do it and Mean it

Did you realize there are various forms of bankruptcy? I didn't know a person could declare themselves 'bankrupt' and still keep their stuff, but they can. They don't always have to 'liquidate' everything - there is this option to kind of 'rehabilitate' your financial status, while eliminating a whole lot of the debt one has created in life. In the simplest terms, being bankrupt means one is unable to satisfy any just claim made upon that individual; or their is this lacking in a particular thing or quality. Today, as our economy tanks and our finances seem to be the focus of so many conversations, I'd like to take a moment to really focus on something we seldom spend much time thinking about in terms of bankruptcy - love. We throw the word "love" around like it was a "thing" rather than a quality, or an outflow of a person's life. For anyone who has been around a while, it is not uncommon to have heard some familiar passages quoted from the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. One of the best known: "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." I'd like us to back up a little and focus on the third verse this morning.

So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (I Corinthians 13:3)

I think we have this concept of love that focuses more on some emotional experience than anything else. In looking at what Paul describes here, he begins with the ideas of saying, believing, and doing - all devoid of meaning without the "backing" of love. In terms of bankruptcy, when we have lost our 'backing', we have lost the ability to remain 'solvent'. From the perspective of our emotions and actions, I think he may be focusing on the idea of "doing" without "meaning" what we are doing. If you want a good illustration of this, think back to the last time you were somewhere and thought to yourself or even said to another, "I am here, but I'd rather be anywhere else!" The "doing" was happening, but the "meaning" was missing. You were "at work", but you weren't really "into" work! You were "in conversation", but you weren't really "involved" in conversation!

There is a void created every time we are "doing" without the corresponding emotional investment behind it. In life, we "do" a lot, but I wonder how much "meaning" is behind all our "doing"? Saying, Believing, and Doing. The words we say hold meaning - even if they are spoken in an absent-minded manner! The beliefs we form, and allow to be formed as a result of our actions, absolutely matter in the sense of how they will cause us or allow us to act. The actions we take often reveal much more than our words or our beliefs! Love cares more for others than for self. Link this to saying, and you see how we will not always have the last word. When we value the opinion of others, we don't continually need the last word to be ours. Link this to believing, and we begin to see the uniqueness of allowing another to develop their own understanding of things, prayerfully lifting them up so they will develop solid and consistent beliefs. Link this to doing, and we see how our actions reveal the importance of another in our lives.

Love doesn't revel when others grovel. Link this to saying, and you will soon find yourself not waiting for another to ask for assistance before you begin to respond to their need. Link this to believing, and you will begin to focus on building another's beliefs through constantly reinforcing the right ones and helping them to eliminate the ones that act as stumbling blocks in their lives. Link this to doing, and you will begin to lift another when they see themselves in any light other than as God sees them! Love always looks for the best. Link this to saying, and you will begin to find words that build up, avoiding those which do little more than point out faults. Link this to believing, and you will see others as God sees them - not as imperfect, but as perfect through Christ Jesus. Link this to doing, and you will begin to bring out the best in another - even when they are struggling to get the best out of themselves! Love is practical. It is real. It is tough, but anything genuine is always tougher than anything imagined! I hope this day is filled with all kinds of "saying", "believing", and "doing" that is "love-focused". In other words, "meaning" is behind or backing all we are saying, believing, and doing, so those actions aren't bankrupt and devoid of love! Just sayin!

More than positive intent

Is there really an real time in our lives when we are too young, immature, or obstinate to be important to God? Sometimes I think we discount our potential based on our chronological age, accomplishments, or obedient responses! God doesn't! He sees potential in the words of a child just learning to speak and the aged who share from a vast wealth of accumulated knowledge. He sees only the best in the one who seems to struggle with obedience repeatedly because he knows how badly we don't want to do the stuff we do. The potential one has in his eyes is really determined by the way we choose to yield our hearts and spirit to him - even when we do it less than perfectly.

I'm too young to be important, but I don't forget what you tell me. Your righteousness is eternally right, your revelation is the only truth. Even though troubles came down on me hard, your commands always gave me delight. The way you tell me to live is always right; help me understand it so I can live to the fullest. (Psalm 119:141-144)

Do we all have days when it seems like trouble is nipping at our heels? You bet! There are days when I don't know if I have seen my tail coming or going because I have been chasing it so long I don't know the difference! There are definitely times when trouble is chasing us and other times when we are chasing it. We just cannot do much about this phenomena except to pull closer to Christ and place him in control. The more difficult times for us are when we are the ones chasing trouble! This is a situation we can, and should definitely change! What we pursue is quite different from what pursues us, isn't it? Make the right choices and the pursuits are likely to be different than making a whole lot of wrong choices.

To chase trouble is simply unwise all the way around. In order to break the cycle, we must recognize that we are in the cycle of chasing something unwise, unprofitable, or unkind! It is likely unwise because of what the pursuit embodies, such as selfish motives or impure (unholy) outcomes. It is definitely unprofitable because of what if produces - things like destroyed character, lost relationships, hurt feelings, habits, and hang-ups we just have multiplied troubles ever trying to be free from. These kind of troubles we CAN avoid - - but do we? Living to the fullest is only possible when we get a handle on the things we are chasing! We can do very little about what is chasing us, but we can learn how to respond to the chase! When chased, do we allow the troubles to stop us in our tracks, surrendering to their influence, and just allowing ourselves to be taken in by the pressures of the trouble? If so, we are playing the part of the victim. God wants us to remember that we are not the victim, but the victor!

Police officers learn the tactical expertise of "the chase", going after the criminal in a skillful manner so as to "minimize" the potential for injury to bystanders. Have you ever noticed the troubles that seem to chase us are not as skillful in minimizing the injury to innocent bystanders in our lives? Why is this? Probably because we haven't learned how to avoid responding to the troubles chasing us by turning them over to God for him to deal with them! When we try to deal with them, others often get hurt in the process. We can do much about what we allow our mind, spirit, and emotions to chase after, respond to, and be affected by. It is equally important to allow God to prepare our minds for the troubles we will face with each new day - some out of our control, others brought on because of our "lack of control". Every response to trouble begins with the thought we attach to it. If we attach the thought process to a troubling circumstance such as, "With God, all things are possible," then we are more likely to look for a solution instead of surrendering to what we may feel we have no control over. Every thought leads to an action - every action leads to a reaction. Respond to trouble with the right action and the reaction will be positive! Just sayin!

What process are you setting in motion?

Those who plot evil shall wander away and be lost, but those who plan good shall be granted mercy and quietness. (Proverbs 14:22 TLB)

Good or evil - both are the result of certain processes set in motion within our lives. Deming said that if we could not find a way to describe what we are doing as a 'process', then we actually didn't know what we are doing. All of life is filled with processes, beginning with thought and carried into action. If you have ever had one of those involuntary moments when you are asleep and suddenly feel like you are falling, jerking yourself awake, you know how 'off' that feeling of falling can make you feel. You might not realize it, but we are all subject to 'interpreting' certain actions or reactions based on how they make us feel. Yet, not all feelings are real - that 'fall' was imagined. You weren't actually falling out of bed, but somehow your thoughts engaged a reaction to that 'impression' of falling. A 'process' was set in motion - you were startled, awoke, and now are staring into the darkness wondering if that was real! There are times when we 'engage' in the process without knowing fully where the process will take us! At others, we find ourselves at the end of the process wondering how we got there!

While we cannot control everything in our lives, we can develop consistent processes that help us to maintain stability and make good judgments as those processes around us are set in motion. I spend a great deal of time in my work life just evaluating processes and seeing where they need 'shoring up' in order to improve both efficiencies and outcomes. An efficient process with poor outcomes is not a great process - it might get the job done, but the job reflects the lack of consistency in the process. In our daily walk with Christ, there are a whole lot of processes we could engage to help us remain consistent in our walk. We might read scripture each day so that we get a little of his Word into our minds and hearts. We might engage in purposeful conversation with God (prayer) in order to get things out into the open and then hear what he has to say on the matter. We also might meet with others who are working good 'in' and evil 'out' in their lives - making the idea of two being stronger than one a reality for us. Processes - each designed to help us be established in our walk with Christ, consistent in our 'outcomes', and directed in our focus.

Some think there is not way to change the process of evil either within ourselves or around us. Both of these beliefs are dead wrong. Evil exists because man hasn't 'shut down' those processes - there is an 'allowance' for them to still exist. In terms of looking at the process, I might label this as an 'allowed variation'. In other words, we allow just 'enough' evil that we get the thrill of it once in a while, but not so much of it that we exemplify this evil all the time. Whatever we allow will eventually be accepted - hard truth, but it is truth nonetheless. Allow variation in the process and you will eventually get deviation from the process. This is another truth about processes. A little 'wobble' may not seem like much, but allow that wobble to continue over time and eventually the wobble will allow a 'gap' to form. The ignored or tolerated 'wobble' actually creates 'holes' which allow more variance. The idea of evil beginning as that tiny 'wobble' in our choices, if tolerated long enough, carries the added idea that the consistency in making those errant choices will result in a totally different process than was once designed or desired!

While the process matters, it is the steps in the process that all lead up to the outcome. Any step in the process that is neglected affords an opening for a new process to begin. That new process may the very thing that gives us the greatest opportunity to stumble and fall. That variation ignored long enough may not become evident to us until we are startled by the fall! Just sayin!

Help me decide....

2 People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges the reasons for everything they do. 3 Do what is right and fair. The Lord loves that more than sacrifices. (Proverbs 21:2-3 ERV)

What are the reasons behind the actions you take? This is a reasonable question, but one that may require a bit more soul-searching than we often want to make at any given moment. It is not uncommon to "act", then think of the motivation behind those actions. It usually happens as a result of the action falling short of whatever it was you thought you were doing when you acted! It is then that you look back, wondering just how quickly your actions got that off-course.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - actions really do follow thought. We may not realize what we have been entertaining in our minds until we see the actions in play. As I have often said, having a "guard" over our thought life can be our salvation in more ways than one! We don't always know where our minds are going to take us, but when the Holy Spirit is there to stand watch over our thought life, the actions coming forth stand a more reasonable chance of being those God won't judge quite so harshly!

There are a lot of times we see people taking actions solely because they think God requires them. My friends, if the only reason we are taking an action is because we think it will somehow "win us favor" with God, those actions aren't going to hit the mark either. You have probably heard it said that to every action there is a reaction. Even actions we believe to be "holy" or "right" may not always be the best actions for us to take. There are times when the heart behind the actions just isn't in the right place, making even the "best" of actions kind of hollow.

I have discovered that since every action has a follow-up reaction, it is often quite easy to evaluate the impact of the action pretty quickly most of the time. I can get a "feel" for the impact of the action by the reaction of others who are in the path of that action. If the action was a positive one, usually the reaction will be rather positive, as well. If the action was hollow, not really genuine, the reaction is going to be equally as shallow or hollow. The action may have been "good", but was it sincere, trustworthy, and motivated by love? Really, that is the crux of the matter.

Whenever I want to change the course of the actions I am taking, I must first involve the Holy Spirit to stand guard over all present and future actions. It is too late for him to stand guard over those ones in the past, but he can begin to have an impact on my motivations and heart's desires for the present and future ones. I have to remember that my motivations and heart's desires can be "colored" by a lot of things that get heard, observed, and absorbed in my life. There is no better help to understand whether what is heard should actually be listened to, or what is observed should actually be absorbed into my life than to have the Holy Spirit reminding me of God's words on the matter at hand, or just pointing out the wisdom (or lack thereof) in the decision/action I am about to make/take. Just sayin!

Heart, mind, action - in that order

13 Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, 15 you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. (I Peter 1:13-15 CEB)

There have probably been times when you begin something, thinking it is the exact thing you needed to do, or the right time to do it, only to find you run smack-dab into one wall after another. What happened? Was your intention wrong? Were the steps you took just not good enough? No, it may just be that your mind was ready for action, but you weren't thinking as clearly on the matter as you needed to - you had a good idea, but you didn't give it time to filter through enough or the right filters in order to remove all the "sediment" and "mud"! Even the best of us run into issues with acting upon our first impressions, only to find we really weren't going anywhere!

Minds ready for action AND the ability to think clearly are two separately functioning "features" of every action. I can be ready for action way quicker than I can begin to sort out the muddle of thoughts invading my mind! There are times when thought comes so quickly I cannot possibly "keep up" with all the ideas I have floating around in my brain. I definitely need some type of filter by which I should ferret-out the most important ones that I should act upon! If I don't use that filtering process, I can end up taking a lot of actions that end up being rather non-productive in the end.

We are no longer ignorant children of this world, influenced by whatever whim exerts the loudest call or strongest pull. We are governed by the living, breathing Spirit of God within us - helping to sort out those actions we are to act upon from those we are to disregard. When our heart is connected with the heart of God, we usually do a little better job at being "mindful" in our actions. When we drift a little further away, those actions get a little "muddied". We don't quite hit it out of the park all of the time! We get pulled in too many directions, and our minds become "cluttered" with all manner of thought that does nothing more than confuse and stifle us.

God's instruction to us is to have our minds ready for action - not that we jump into action without thinking. He wants us to take that "pause" so that we are present in the moment and making purposeful decisions that will get us down the path we really want to be heading. Ready minds come not in the moment of decision, but in the hours and hours of continual connection with him that lead up to that specific moment of action. It isn't that we just "know" the right steps to take when the moment presents the decision before us - it is that we have come to KNOW Jesus in the many moments leading up to the decision. We get to know him through our "grace-connection", but we get to know the right actions to take in life because we have remained "connected".

If we want a clear mind that makes good decisions when action is required, we need to have a steady heart, as well. The heart is made right in times of intimate fellowship with Jesus - the Spirit of God working in our hearts to bring balance and stability to our emotions so we don't just respond in haste to every idea that presents itself. Yes, we need to ready our minds. Yes, we need to have a stable heart. But...there is no consistent action without a consistently anchored heart! Get the heart right, let the mind be brought into alignment, and then the actions will be solid, as well. In short, this is what most in "religion" call "obedience". Just sayin!

Momentum

"The undertaking of a new action brings new strength." (Richard L. Evans) While this is ultimately quite true, most of us begin some new task wishing to be where we want to end up right from the beginning - we wish the steps in between didn't have to be taken because it is a lot of work sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other!  Some think we make our own future, create our own hope, live as though we create the world in which we live. While I think keeping a positive attitude is quite important, we don't actually create our outcome just because we think our way to a positive approach to the problem at hand. We often have to struggle with the "negative" stuff in the middle of the problem, with the gamut of emotions that brings, until we reach the other side. As Evans said, the actual action we take creates a little bit of new or renewed strength in us. Each action is the starting place for momentum to develop - without action, there is no possibility of momentum because for momentum to exist, there must be movement. We don't create change by just thinking about it - we move forward with the first stumbling action and then add the next and the next until we seem to be moving as though we know where we are headed.

Your word is a lamp for my steps; it lights the path before me. (Psalm 119:105 VOICE)

The world we live in has become proficient at expecting action, but many times we just want to sit back and let someone else take that action. It is as though we all desire a certain course of action, but we do very little to help each other realize that goal. When we begin to realize our words only disguise the actions we "intended" to take, or mask the real actions we took along the way which were less than desirable, we might just stop using our words to disguise or mask our true momentum or lack of it. God's words, on the other hand, often reveal the true intent of our actions - because they reveal the heart of man better than anything else which exists. The scripture has a way of unmasking the intent of the heart, even when one's own words have done a great job of concealing the truth of one's inaction or wrongful action. It is time to realize that every word has an effect - regardless of whether we believe the true intent of those words were heard or not - but also that each step toward action we take has a powerful impact.

I believe it was Gandhi who said action expresses priorities. When we take a particular course of action, we are declaring our priority in the matter. We either have made our needs the priority, or we put the needs of another foremost. Some of us are proficient at ensuring both of these are met by the actions we take, but it is not likely we do this very well all of the time. We live a life of balancing between taking action which will help another, and taking action which is really intended to meet some need within us, but which might just also touch the life of another in a positive manner. It isn't that we totally separate the two, but that we sometimes don't realize the impact of action upon another until we see it. Our priorities must be focused correctly in order for the action to be that which produces the momentum we want to have carry us through till the end.When we allow God's word to illuminate our path, helping us to be guided into correction action, we find the momentum created is not always a result of our own actions - it is there because God is exerting the force behind that action which produces the results we are seeing!  Just sayin!

Pew dweller or builder?

Have you ever noticed that God uses people to accomplish his plans and purpose?  I guess I find this kind of amazing considering how capable he is all on his own to accomplish whatever it is that needs to be done.  Do you ever wonder why God uses us to accomplish the things he wants to see done on this earth?  Maybe it is as simple as something I discovered as a parent when my kids were growing up.  The more I had them participate, the more invested they were in the thing being done. They kind of "owned" a part of it, so they were a little more inclined to really value it.  Maybe God just wants us to understand the value of what he is doing - not just revel in the awesomeness of him "doing stuff" on our behalf.  

The tribal leaders of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites, and everyone motivated in his or her spirit by the True God prepared to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Eternal’s temple.  All their neighbors gave them silver, gold, goods, cattle, and valuable things for the journey, just as Cyrus had requested, and sent freewill offerings. (Ezra 1:5-6 VOICE)

The Temple at Jerusalem laid in ruins.  The Jews were scattered to the four corners of the world.  Nation had been pitted against nation until what had been enjoyed by many became their undoing and ultimately led to their present circumstances of living in captivity (something they had escaped many years before as God made a way for them through the Red Sea with the Egyptian armies hot on their heels).  God had decreed they would see their Temple rebuilt and they would again live in their land, but he would use an unusual means by which to accomplish this "second building" of the Temple.  A non-Jew would help to fund their rebuilding efforts and would be the one to decree the Temple needed to be rebuilt. Yet, the Jewish people were to play a part - giving of what they had in the form of valuables, goods, and livestock, leaving their homes, and making their way back to Jerusalem to do the hard labor of cleaning up the destroyed Temple and rebuilding the new.

God doesn't have to use men or women of faith to do his work. He is even capable of turning the head of a Gentile king to do his bidding!  Cyrus could have commanded his own people to rebuild the Temple if he wanted to, but he somehow knows the Jews should be engaged in the work, as well.  God isn't usually content to see his kids just sit around and observe what he is doing.  He likes to engage us in the work because we come to appreciate and value how it is he moves, provides, protects, and prepares for the next move.  Too many times we are content to sit back and "let another" do whatever it is needs to be done, but we miss out on what God wants to reveal to us about himself in the thing which is being done.  

When God calls, he equips.  When he asks for our involvement, he expects us to engage with all of our abilities, talents, time, and treasure.  We can become quite content to be "pew dwellers" - stagnant creatures just "watching" things happen and reveling in the beauty of what we see.  It is quite another thing to have worked to create it with your own hands!  The blessing is different when we have actually been engaged in what God is doing.  I don't know how to describe it really, other than to say we "appreciate" it more.  We acknowledge what God has done with the little we have invested and God receives great joy in hearing that acknowledgement.  We could warm the pews or we could build them.  The choice is ours.  The blessing of the "pew dweller" is far below that of the "pew builder" though.  Just sayin!

The heart of the matter

We all have those moments in time when we just "feel" like doing something is going to be the right thing to do and we just go ahead with our plans.  There are even time when we kind of suspect there might be a little "issue" with what we are doing, but then we go ahead anyway.  Whenever we just move without fully thinking it through, or getting God's perspective on the matter, we are usually pretty disappointed with the results!  There are times when we have duped ourselves into believing our actions are fully "justified" by the actions of another.  It is like we are saying, "Well, he did this, so I did that" - thinking our actions are "made all right" because of the actions of another.  If they don't think about the outcome of their actions that is one thing - but we have the responsibility to think about how our actions exemplify the heart of Jesus, so we may not want to respond without thinking things through!

People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges their reason for doing it. (Proverbs 16:2 ERV)

It has been difficult for my mother to "give into" some of the limitations of aging, such as no longer being able to write her own checks or even know how much money she has in her wallet at one time.  With her failing eyesight, she can no longer sign checks or many documents as she needs nearly 10 inches of space to even write out her name (and that is if she can remember how to spell it on any given day).  The frustrations which come along with these changes make it "safer" and "easier" for me to just do them for her.  The thing I have had to appreciate is that she still wants to know what it is I am doing "on her behalf".  So, we sit regularly and discuss bills she has coming due, such as her dental insurance payment, or how much money she would like to have in her wallet for the week.  I cannot assume it is "okay" for me to just do these things without appreciating these are things which concern her and involve her funds. I have to think about how my actions will affect her - although it would have been a whole lot quicker and easier to have just done it myself.

Whatever we do may not always be "right" - we have to look at the heart behind the actions.  In my example above, managing mom's finances is really not a bad thing for mom, but doing it without respect for the fact she still cares about her finances and where her money is going would be.  I have to possess the right motivation for doing what I am doing and she has to know I am not going to violate that trust she places in me.  The heart behind our actions is what God is after, not just that the actions are "right".  We can produce all kinds of "right" actions and still have a wrong "heart" behind them.  I can pay my taxes, but bad mouth my government and criticize how those funds are spent.  I can wave at my neighbors in a kindly fashion each morning, all the while cursing them under my breath for having a barking dog at night.  I can say I love someone, but but be holding onto all manner of bitterness toward them for something they may not even realize they have done.  You see, the action can be "right" while the heart behind it is not as "honorable" or "right".

God looks at the "reason" behind the action - the "heart" of the matter.  As we have discussed before, all action stems from thought - thought being influenced by our "heart" as scripture defines "heart" as the seat of our emotions.  Try as we might to "think" one way while our emotions are tied up in knots in the completely opposite direction, these two will not magically "align".  What God wants to do is help us live "above" our emotions - not dependent upon them. We would probably be surprised to find out just how many of our actions throughout the day are totally based on some emotion we are feeling at the moment.  For example, when someone interrupts you while you are trying to do some tough calculation or validate some details on a report, you might be a little frustrated (emotion).  Your response can be to give them eye-contact, nod as they speak to you, but all the while you are thinking you'd like them to just go away.  Your actions don't agree with your emotions, but God is after the emotion, not just the action.  The response he would rather see is to remember the deadline you have on the report, but appreciate the importance of the relationship right in front of you - one is important - the other is valuable!

We have a tendency to focus on what we "feel" is important in our lives - God wants us to focus more on what he has declared to be valuable to him.  We have a desire to put this right action together with that right action and see right results as the outcome.  God wants us to put the right heart behind the actions, then watch him produce the outcome!  Just sayin!

Ready, aim, fire!

The beginning of "doing" something may actually begin in the "wanting" of something bad enough we start to make a movement or two toward whatever it is we want.  In everyday life, we "want" certain things and then we set about "doing" things to get or accomplish whatever it is we want.  Recently, I have been working in the backyard to add some raised beds.  It began about a year ago when I shared my vision with my son and he set about to make the first "addition" to the yard in the form of three nice tiered raised beds and a small deck in between.  This gave me the start for what became the next extension of the deck and a cover to shade me while I barbecue under it.  Now, I am collecting old pallets (with the help of my sons).  I am busting those apart and seeing what I can create from them.  The latest addition to the yard is about a 10 foot long diamond-shaped raised bed about one foot high.  It was totally reclaimed wood (with the exception of the four "facer" boards I used to frame the top to give it a finished look.  In beginning this project, I had to envision what I wanted.  I have more pallets in the backyard now, just waiting for my next attempt at creating some beds.  I have a corner picked out which has the composter discreetly hidden behind some lattice work.  I am going to build a set of beds against those lattice pieces, creating a trellis of sorts for some of the vine-type veggies and flowers I hope to plant there.  Each one of these changes to the yard began with something called "desire".  Desire fuels our creativity, initiates our actions, and brings about a great sense of satisfaction when whatever is desired is finally achieved.

Hate evil, you who love the Lord.  He protects his followers and saves them from evil people.  Light and happiness shine on those who want to do right. Good people, be happy in the Lord!  Praise his holy name!  (Psalm 97:10-12 ERV)

The first thing we need to remember about desire is that it must be pure.  When we desire things which are "evil" in nature, we are simply going to realize the accomplishing of things we might have done much better to avoid in the first place.  We don't have to work to embrace evil, but we do have to work to let it go from our lives!  Something so simple as desire can become kind of twisted and "out of proportion" pretty quickly if it is left to the devices of this world's influence.  So, in order to ensure we are pursuing the "right stuff", we need to bring each and every desire to God first.  As we do this, he exerts his influence to help us recognize where there is any impurity in the desire.  I learned something from my pastor this weekend about prayer.  He said to add the tiny word "so" to our prayers to help us understand if they are coming from a pure motive or not.  For example, if our prayer is, "God, make my kids mind me...", we might add the word "so" and then finish it off with, "...so I don't have to spend time parenting them."  Really, this isn't a bad prayer, but it reveals our motive pretty clearly - we don't want to take the time to parent our kids, so we are asking for the easy way out.  Maybe you wouldn't label this as "evil", but there is some "intent" in this prayer which reveals a little bit of a selfish heart. Another way to use the "so" word in our prayer to help us understand if our motives are pure is to pray something like this, "God, help me to parent my children well, so they might become righteous adults."

The next thing to keep in mind is this whole idea of right motives (desires) leading to right action.  Somewhere in-between desire and action is a little thing we call momentum.  Momentum is something akin to the stimulus which causes us to react or take action.  It puts things into motion.  The firing pin in a rifle is simply not there to be pretty - it puts things into motion when the rifle is loaded with a bullet. The firing pin is nothing apart from the trigger, and the whole rifle is pretty much non-functional without the bullet.  The bullet is kind of lame without the gun powder, so what really is the most important part?  I'd have to say it was the finger of the one firing the rifle!  A loaded rifle is just that - loaded, but lame without someone to fire it!  We can have lots and lots of good desires, but they are kind of lame without someone behind them, "pulling the trigger" of sorts, to help them be launched into motion.  There can be a whole lot of "triggering forces" in our lives, so we want to make sure we are not just letting anything trigger us into motion.  We want to be aiming in the correct direction, finding the target in our view, and be calmly moving into action when we find ourselves responding to that trigger.  As I was learning to fire weapons, the instructor always told us of the importance of a quick breath and then to exhale slowly, taking aim and then gently pulling back on the trigger.  Why all this preparation?  It steadied our aim and allowed us to see the target better in our sites.  The right target is imperative, but the right momentum is only achieved when we take things "in order" in our lives.  We cannot step outside of the timing of God, nor can we propose the actions God should take in our lives. 

Get the right desires motivating us, add to it the right amount and timing of momentum, and then we are ready to be taking the right actions which will help us to realize the right goals / targets!  Just sayin!

"BE"

If you have ever had one of those days where being agreeable and loving just seem to be the most difficult response to muster, then you are not alone. Every now and then, these days seem to creep up and the testing of our patience almost overwhelms us - sometimes it even does!  When we have these days back-to-back, there seems to be no helping us - for every response we have is less than kind!  Learning to bless when we just don't feel like it is a difficult thing to do - especially when we are relying upon our own self effort to accomplish it!  Truth is - we are all pretty disagreeable at times - some of us more than others.  When I run into someone who just seems to be disagreeable every time I see them, I have to wonder what made them so "sour" on life.  Maybe they just haven't recovered from some hurt in their past, or someone keeps opening up their "healing wounds" and now all they can do is "fester" in their misery.  Regardless, the very best response to their miserableness is a blessing - a genuine, heartfelt, grace filled blessing straight from the heart of God.

Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.  (I Peter 3:8-9 MSG)

We can learn to bless, even when we don't exactly feel like it.  We can learn to be gracious, even when our first reaction would be ask what makes the other guy think they are so much more entitled than us.  We can learn to be courteous and respectful, even in the face of someone being less than understanding.  How?  I think our answer comes in understanding the difference between trying and doing.  To try suggests we put for the effort - being a certain way suggests we rely upon the effort of another to help us respond as we should.  The "other" is Christ - IN him we can be ALL things to ALL men - regardless of how they are responding!

In looking at our passage, the words are not passive - they are a command requiring action on our part.  The word "be" is not passive.  It simply means to "make it happen".  It is not an option - God requires action on our part and this action is to align with how he would respond.  Some time back, the little acronym "WWJD" became the fad.  It stood for "What would Jesus do?"  In short, whenever we were faced with a decision on how to act or respond in life, we were reminded to ask this short, but to the point question.  If we stopped long enough to consider how Jesus would respond, we would hopefully adjust our response accordingly.

Seems kind of simplistic, right?  Just asking this question cannot change behavior - behavior is changed in the moments "in between" the actions which demand our gracious and agreeable responses!  It is when we don't need to respond that we develop the ability to respond with agreeable behavior, not when we are faced with the "full moon, head on disagreeable spirit" of another.  This is why you will see me reminding each of us to draw near to Jesus as frequently as we possibly can - even if it is a 30-second escape into his presence!  Nothing quite "fills our tank" for the issues we face like being in his presence and soaking up his grace.  If we want to know what Jesus would do, we have to first get to know Jesus!

If you go back to our passage, it doesn't say "work at being" agreeable, sympathetic, loving and compassionate.  It says "be".  We develop this ability to "be" based on who it is we choose to "be" with!  When we choose to "be" with Jesus enough, his character begins to "rub off" on us.  If we choose to "be" with others who only see things as we see them, we rarely rise above the misery of our own perspective!  Just sayin!

Mercy has a value

I wonder if you have ever considered how it is people come to understand the "value" in following Jesus.  In fact, when you really stop to consider how it is we determine "value" for anything in our lives it becomes apparent "value" is often determined by how it makes us feel, what it promises to provide for us, etc.  It isn't so much because someone else says this object is worth great value - we somehow "determine" the value of the item as it relates to US. The value another sees in an object may not be the same as we place in it. Antiques are a good example of this.  As I shopped throughout the antique stores in Virginia on a recent trip, I saw everything from a manageable $3 price tag on a milk bottle to an astronomical price of $295 on another.  They did not look all that dissimilar - but the "value" of one was obviously huge compared to the other.  Perhaps someone who understands antiques will tell me the value of the more expensive one is determined by the number of bottles known to be in circulation, the era from which they were came, etc.  In my eyes, they both looked the same on the shelf!  So, value for me was determined in finding just the right one to bring home to my daughter for her collection - but not in breaking the bank!  I wanted it to be from the area I was in so it would tie back to my trip - so I settled on a very reasonably priced one.  The "value" was in the thought behind the gift, the memory of the trip, and the enjoyment I would get out of seeing her add it to her collection.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  (Matthew 5:7 NIV)

When we stop to consider the value of following Jesus, we might just realize the things outlined in Matthew 5 are just a hint of the many "things" which help to determine the value of this relationship.  Today, we consider the meaning of mercy.  Did you ever consider how it is people recognize Jesus anyway?  Isn't it through the "value" of a changed life?  When others see the influence of God's mercy in our lives, it speaks volumes.  It draws them to considering the "why" behind the change.  In considering the "why", they come face to face with the "who"!  There are a lot of ways we connect with people. We can be empathetic toward another - somehow connecting on the level of understanding what another is walking through.  We can be sympathetic toward another - finding our connection in the "feelings" we share in the moment.  When we exercise mercy toward another individual, we connect them with the hand and heart of Jesus.  It is not US they are connecting with, it is Jesus!

Mercy is unlike empathy or sympathy, as mercy is really an "action" word.  In fact, for us to fully understand mercy, we have to admit it is best interpreted and received because of the action of another on our behalf.  So, in considering why mercy connects another to the heart and hands of Jesus, you can see how mercy is a "demonstration" of what God is, how he acts, and what he desires for our lives.  It is love in action - love demonstrated when least deserved.  If you have ever been face to face with someone who really needs "mercy" in their lives, you might just realize how difficult it is to give what someone does not deserve.  If mercy were an easy thing, it would not be of the greatest "value", would it?  Value is determined by what another "sees" in the object.  When another "sees" Jesus in the actions we exhibit toward them when they least deserve it, there is a connection made with the one who gives ultimate "value" to each of us.

Probably the toughest group of individuals to give mercy to is the group who actually stand out as the ones who hurt others by their actions.  We all have some of these in our circle, don't we?  No matter how much you try to "love" them into the kingdom, there is no action apart from mercy which will show them their ultimate value.  They are "ugly" in their actions, oftentimes taking others into their miserable mess of life, hoping to cause them as much misery as they themselves are experiencing.  It is a true adage - misery indeed does love company!  Misery is only put to rest where mercy becomes the means of action in response to another's misery.  Mercy toward those who strike out to hurt others is not deserved - but it is needed.  It points them to the only place their misery can find rest - Jesus.

Miserable people are often struggling with things outside of their control.  In return for having so much out of their control, they try to control just one or two elements of their lives - oftentimes through the creation of chaos or misery in the lives of others close to them.  This seems contrary to logic, doesn't it?  Yet, it is the means by which they can somehow exercise a little bit of control in their difficult lives.  When they receive mercy in return, the connection begins to be formed which will afford them the chance to connect to hope rather than despair.  Mercy is an action word, remember.  Merciful (purposeful) action toward another is what we find Jesus doing throughout this entire time on this earth.  Every journey he took, every crowd he taught, every single encounter mattered.  It was a chance to give mercy to those others could not embrace, would not take a chance on, or simply had rejected long ago.  He embraced the lepers, took a chance on the worst of sinners, and reached out to the ones who made all the wrong life choices.  Mercy is indeed best understood in the purposeful action toward another.  

Just some seed thoughts on mercy this morning.  We will take us a little deeper look tomorrow.  Until then, consider how you are connecting the dots for another as it relates to who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he desires for them.  Your actions of mercy are often the loudest actions you will ever reveal!  Just sayin!

Settle that Storm!

Brainstorming:  A technique for solving problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, or developing new ideas, by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion.  If you have ever been part of a "brainstorming" session in a large group, you know you can generate a whole bunch of ideas in a short period of time using this technique.  Yet, I find we don't always get the best from the most - we often get the best when we are able to filter it down to the least.  For example, when we have to choose between cookies on a platter, there may be ten different varieties.  The one "creating" the platter wanted to have a "selection" of all possible choices.  The one eating the cookies may have one thing in mind - satisfy my craving for chocolate and peanut butter!  The cookie-eater zeros in on exactly what will fulfill - not all the other sweets on the platter!

We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. (Proverbs 19:21 MSG)

This proverb really tells us a great deal about how we humans interact with God and others.  First, we have all kinds of options and formulate all manner of plans.  It is like we have this continual "brainstorming" session going on in our mind!  We throw up ideas, often without much calculation, and see if any of them "sound okay" for us to be pursuing.  The danger comes in us "throwing up" so many ideas!  Have you ever had too many options?  What the brainstorming does is leave us in a mess - chaotic thought produces chaotic behavior.  By the very definition of the word "brainstorm" we see two things - the center of thought and the chaos it brings!  Our brain is the center of thought - as such, it is the place of understanding.  Now, add too much thought into the picture and you get the idea of a "storm" effect - you really don't know where the next thought will come from or what it will reveal!

Options and plans - doesn't this really reveal the idea of liking to have all our options available totally in a row before we start a thing?  We are constantly working out the "if-then" scenarios.  If this happens, then I will go this direction; if that happens, then this is the course I will pursue.  The danger in all this is the possibility of not getting God's direction before we make the choices which will set things in motion in our lives.

My brain shuts down after a while - I think it is kind of like a "preserving" factor.  When I get on "overload" because of too much "brain-storm" activity, I shut down!  Oh, I don't drift into some catatonic state, but I do withdraw, find a place to center myself, and just spend some time getting things settled again.  When too much chaos abounds, I just cannot function well.  If my friends have observed me for a while, they see the more demands made of me, the quieter I become.  Why?  My brain is on "overload" and I just need to get focused again!  

In examining our proverb this morning, let's not forget what Solomon says - the brainstorming and planning is okay, but there is a bigger purpose behind every choice!  God prevails!  He is the "force" which settles the storm - he doesn't contribute to it!  If you have ever been in the midst of a "brain-storm" of massive proportion, you might not recognize the source of the storm, but it is clearly NOT God.  His actions are those of peace, order, and pre-eminence.  There is but one purpose - to keep God first in our lives.  The "storm" settles when we get this right.  

I don't know about you, but as this Christmas is upon us, I want to take a few moments to "settle the storm" and to just focus on the one who makes this entire season of celebration a reality - Jesus!  We can get so caught up in all the plans and preparations so as to miss the meaning of it all.  Take some time today, center yourself again, allow the winds to die down in that brain of yours.  This is our chance to connect with him - his presence can prevail - but we need to give him access!  The best of our plans and the wisest of our schemes just pales in comparison to getting close to him!  Just sayin!  Merry Christmas all!

Figurers unite!

Are you a "figurer"?  You know - the one who has to have a plan worked out, all the steps in order, constantly vigilant for even the slightest change in course?  Many of us have a tendency to "over-work" the plan - sometimes so much so as to never fully step out in the plan because we are still working it! In fact, some of the TV commercials I see today are addressing the issue with us "planning", but not doing the "acting" on the plan.  There is a popular Christian dating website proclaiming "you might be waiting for God to act, but God is saying it is your time to act".  Now, I don't agree we need to act, but we also need God's direction prior to acting.  The problem with most of our "plans" is the one doing the planning - us!  WE don't control the circumstances, so even the best laid plans don't always work out the way we counted!  Solomon wants to leave his sons with some advice related to turning the plans over to God - the only one who controls circumstances.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;  he’s the one who will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all.   Run to God! Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!  Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.  Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.  But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction.  It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.  (Proverbs 3:5-12 MSG)

Solomon points us to our attitude in the circumstances we are trying to "figure" our way through.  He reminds us to "trust", not to be "independent" in our actions, and to "listen".  If this is not enough in the way of instruction to us, he adds for us to cease flying by the seat of our pants, assuming our plan is the best plan.  Then, just as strongly as he tells us what "not" to do, he tells what our attitude should be - honoring God with all we have, giving our best to him, and embracing his discipline.  As we explore each of these "instructions" to us, we see none of them are "sedentary" instructions.  In other words, they are words which require action - we just don't "wait and see" in a passive kind of way, but we don't spin our wheels "planning" either.

- Trust God from the bottom of your heart.  Since the heart is the seat of emotions, he is telling us to rightly order our emotions - fear, doubt, anxiety, etc. - on God, not on how well we can "figure" the solution to our problem.  I have been through times of losing jobs, having to pull in my spending to almost nothing, and then let God see me through to the next opportunity.  Guess what I did in those moments?  I "figured"!  I worked and reworked the budget, finding every penny I could muster.  I calculated different salary options to see just "how little" I could actually live on and still have ends meet.  Now, how silly was that?  In the first place, where does it ever say in God's "plan" for my life (his Word) that I will only have "ends meet".  Nowhere!  God has always allowed the "ends to meet" - even in the rough times.  In fact, he has always blessed me with some form of abundance in those times, as well!  How silly for me to spend all that time "figuring" and so little time "trusting"!  Instead of bringing my emotions to God, I allowed those emotions to direct my actions.  Silly girl!  

- Listen to God's voice.  Now, this one comes with a condition - all the time, in everything we do and everywhere we go.  As you probably guess by now, I am going to tell you "listening" does not mean just sitting around until you get some revelation from God!  Act on what you know to be true about how God wants you to respond and what he wants you to do - then allow him to guide you in the rest.  In acting, keep an open ear.  Be listening for the guidance to respond to the stuff you just don't see an answer to at the moment, but don't just sit "figuring" out the plan.  God wants us to remain faithfully active in the things he has already revealed to us to do.  In those times when I was without the job, I cut coupons, price compared, and made my "menu" for the week.  I knew to do this - not because he sent me some type of audible voice, but it was practical and kept me on track!  Sometimes we think even the practical stuff has to be put on hold while we wait for God to speak - not so!  God just wants us to remain attentive to his leading.

- Stop assuming we have the plan all worked out.  This is probably the "crowning" point of this passage.  We "assume" a lot.  What I have come to understand is when we "assume", we are taking it for granted something will occur based on something we do or don't do.  It is a dangerous place to be found!  Taking anything for granted is silliness.  To take for granted our health will always be there and then never spend any time dedicated to keeping our body in good health is just plain bad news!  Go long enough eating what you want, exercising less and less, and you will slow your metabolism, put on excess weight, and begin the processes of damaging the "good structure" of your body.  We have a tendency to "assume", or take for granted the stuff we have grown comfortable with.  In fact, the more we "count on" something, the more comfortable we are with it.  I had the battery die on my car a few weeks back.  It was not a convenient time for it to occur - I had just loaded mom in the car on the way to a doctor's appointment for her!  Drat!  What happened? I "assumed" the car would start - not because I actually checked the fluid levels in the battery on a regular basis, but because it always did every other morning!  I had grown comfortable with the routine!  Sometimes we have to get our routine ruffled a little to make us more attentive to the stuff we have been taking for granted!

Not earth-shaking revelation here - just practical advice from one who struggles just as much as the next with the tendency to spend a whole lot of time "figuring" and a lot of lost time "trusting"!