Is that everything?

God's call is never too late, and it goes without saying, but his expectations are quite extensive when he calls! Abram (Abraham) was nearly a century old when God placed the call on his life. Imagine that in today's life-span and he would be very lucky at all to see anymore birthdays. It was late into life that he received his call, but keep in mind that people lived a whole lot longer in Old Testament times. I have heard more mature Christians saying that God cannot use them any longer - they are too old or too debilitated to be used of God. That is hog-wash! God's call is irrespective of age, natural talent, or financial means! His call transcends our physical limitations, infuses us with talents we never thought we'd possess, and makes miraculous provision for every inch of the journey! Any call is just beginning - it matters not where we start out, but that we progress toward the finish line!

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family."
(Genesis 17:1-2 MSG)

The Lord spoke with Abram and gave two very specific expectations to him: 1) Live ENTIRELY before me; and 2) Live to the HILT. The 'entirety' of a man dedicated to living before God. This is the first part of the calling. Live - be alive, be entirely capable of vital function; exhibit vitality in your life. In other words, God was telling Abram that he wasn't an old, dried up man, incapable of doing anymore in this lifetime! You and I could take a lesson here - we still have capacity to live for God until we take our final breath on this earth! Entirely brings the idea of living completely and unreservedly. God was making it clear that service to him is not complete if there is any reservation in our heart about our commitment. There is a clear difference between commitment and perfection. Too many times we think that we are not "living" like God wants us to because we still struggle with sin in our lives - temptation is a real thing to us and gives us problems at times. God examines our heart for our commitment - how much "skin" we have in the game. He doesn't look for us to be perfect. If he did, he'd have a mighty small family!

We are to live before him - our entirety of life is to be lived before him. We could live our lives on display for the world to see, but God reminds us that the only one that really matters is him. We live for him - not for others - not even ourselves. Living to the hilt is maybe not as well understood these days, but the hilt is the handle of a sword or dagger. What is depicted here is that we are "all in". We don't hold back - just plugging into God with part of our mind, a little bit of our heart, and some of our talent. It is all or nothing with God! He is saying that we are to live to the maximum degree in him. God is really asking that we live with undivided hearts. Jesus told the disciples that man could not serve two masters at one time? It was this thought about 'entirety' he had in mind - being undivided. We cannot serve both man and God at the same time. It makes no difference if that "man" is our own selfish desires, or those demands of another. We must keep God in the center of all we do - only then will we be "all in" with him. God's call was always given without "recall" - God never went back on what he said he would do and he doesn't want us to go back on our commitment, either. We do what we can - being "all in" with God - and he does what we cannot! That is how it is in God's economy - when we are "all in", he is "all sufficient"! Just sayin!

Throw it all in

Blessed be God—he heard me praying. He proved he's on my side; I've thrown my lot in with him. Now I'm jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him. God is all strength for his people, ample refuge for his chosen leader; save your people and bless your heritage.  Care for them; carry them like a good shepherd.  

(Psalm 28:6-9 MSG)

Each of us have been through a rough stretch or two in life - times where we don't think we are going to make it because either relationships fall apart, circumstances keep us so frustrated and busy, or coming to the realization absolutely nothing was working out as we had hoped no matter how hard we tried. Companions may have turned against us, maybe even conspiring to destroy our reputation and keep us from some role we had been dreaming of all these years.  The constant running, the immediate danger, and the ever-churning frustration causes us to cry out to God for help - it could be we are just left silent and pondering quietly what to do next.  In our cry and depth of contemplative thought, we come to the place where we are acknowledging our need to "throw our lot in with God". In other words, we want to abandoned our own way of doing things and now completely rely on God to be all that is needed in the moment.  God has heard even our silent praying.  We can see over and over in scripture and hear it time and time again from other believers - God hears - the answer may be delayed, but he heard when we cried out - even in our silent contemplation of 'what do we do next'!

Somehow, we don't think God is "on our side" if we don't have an awesome outcome to every circumstance in life.  We wonder if our prayers have fallen on deaf ears, or if he has abandoned us to our own devices because of some root of rebellion within that we don't readily recognize.  Many times the circumstances have proven to be overwhelming, uncomfortable, or just plain undesirable - not because God has not listened or heard, but because we have chosen the course we are on apart from listening to him. Ouch!  Now that I've gone meddling, perhaps I should say that I am not immune to this same type of moving out ahead of God and then asking God to bail me out!  I also struggle with the "God, why aren't you listening?" prayers. The skies can be like brass to me, as well. The times when things don't work out as planned just keep on coming for me, too!

The conviction in the heart of our writer states clearly that God is all strength to his people - not just to the "good ones", or the ones that "deserve" his attention and get everything right the first time (thank goodness, because I rarely get things right the first time).  God is ALL the strength we need - plain and simple. Finding ourselves in a moment of rehearsing our misery is not an uncommon occurrence - but finding ourselves celebrating the strength and shelter of our all powerful God should be the "norm" - not the exception.  Look at the exact way God is described here - he is ALL strength. GOD - Jehovah - the one who is unchangeable in his promises, permanent in his commitment, and divine in his compassion - is all the strength we need for this moment. He is our physical strength.  He is also our mental strength - giving us the power to overcome negative self-talk; the authority to stand against evil thoughts. There is a "potency" that is palpable in his presence. Where his presence is, there we will find ample resources for the present need in our lives. We just need to "tap" them - to avail ourselves of those resources.

God is presented to us as an ample refuge - not some mediocre, broken down shack we can find some meager shelter from the heat, a little protection from the rain - but an ample refuge. God is fully sufficient and more than adequate for every purpose or need in our lives. He is a God of "liberality" - a giving, caring, and compassionate God. His presence is a place of shelter and protection from all forms of danger - real or perceived. Three things can be counted on: he will save us, bless us, and care for us. Save us - rescuing us from all possible error or harm - which we get into or that comes our way. Save us - because we find ourselves in circumstances where we lack the power to come out on the other side unhurt and unburdened. Bless us - because without his divine favor, life is not worth living. Care for us - like a good shepherd, tending with gentle care over his sheep. Care for us - because he is concerned about us, and he lets us see that concern. We are God's heritage - we belong to him by reason of our birth into his family. Would God ever let his heritage go into a state of disrepair? Would he ever shirk his duty as the Good Shepherd?  Absolutely not.  When we feel the skies are brass - he IS listening. When we feel that we cannot trust - he is faithful. When we are more focused on the battle than on the Commander of our lives - he stands strong on our behalf. God is our ample refuge. It is time to lift his praises! Just sayin!

It is an ALL-Inclusive thing!

5 You must love him with all your heart, soul, and might. 6 And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. 7 You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. 8 Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house! (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 TLB)

There are those of us who may postulate the hardest part of loving the Lord with ALL our heart is obeying him. I think it might just be the hardest part of loving the Lord this way is for our 'self' to get out of the way long enough to actually let God connect with our hearts! Pride keeps us at arm's length - shame helps us put up a good front - 'image' drives us to 'religious expression' instead of relationship. Indeed, to get close enough to love God and serve him with ALL requires a whole lot of other stuff in our lives to get out of the way!

I didn't realize I had some really good salvageable wood in my 'pallet pile' until I took some time to actually pull out about 8-10 of those pallets yesterday and start examining what I had. The more I pulled, the more that was exposed. The same happens with our relationship with Christ - the more we are pulled toward him, the more of us gets exposed - but...that applies to Christ, as well. The more we are drawn to him, the more of him we get to know! As Moses was delivering the commandments to the nation of Israel that day, I don't imagine he knew the total 'cost' of loving God in such a manner, but it didn't dampen his enthusiasm one bit.

We often want to know the cost up front - almost as though we were shopping for a new car. We don't want any 'hidden' costs. I think that might just be what Moses had in mind when he spoke these words - there is really no other meaning to ALL than ALL! It was pretty plain - the Word is to affect us deeply, be part of our daily lives, and be used to guide both family and business life. It was to be reverenced, obeyed, heeded, and trusted. It was to fill our conversation, but not just as 'passing commentary'. It was to be that which lent clarity, direction, and encouragement.

Coming - going. Working - playing. God didn't 'carve out' any hidden costs here. He was pretty plain - ALL of us needs to connect with ALL of him - keeping his Word in the forefront of all we do. Why is his Word so important? Perhaps it is because words connect us - they are the foundation of relationship. Yes, there are other 'actions' that occur in relationship, but without communication, we dry up and aren't really going to remain vitally connected. The emphasis on his Word being central in our lives is tied to us being able to live for him with our ALL. The ALL-inclusive plan of God is revealed in his Word! Just sayin!

All of God is in Christ - All of Christ is in us

6 You accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, so continue to live following him.7 You must depend on Christ only, drawing life and strength from him. Just as you were taught the truth, continue to grow stronger in your understanding of it. And never stop giving thanks to God. 8 Be sure you are not led away by the teaching of those who have nothing worth saying and only plan to deceive you. That teaching is not from Christ. It is only human tradition and comes from the powers that influence this world. 9 I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. 10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority. (Colossians 2:6-10 ERV)

I really want to focus on the last two sentences from this passage today, but wanted you to have the context, as well. Paul is concerned that some of the believers at the Colossian church have become duped into believing "good ideas", but ideas that are really "false" in nature. In other words, he is concerned for the development of their faith and their trust in Christ as the only way to restored relationship with God the Father. As he says, human tradition is not going to be what establishes this connection - it might sound good, but I know I have believed many a piece of folklore only to find out it has no basis in truth! We want our lives founded in truth, and that comes not by holding onto tradition, but by allowing all of Christ to get into us - for in so doing, all of God gets into us!

Had you seen that before in this passage? God lives in Christ - therefore, if Christ lives in us, all of God lives in us! Not just bits and pieces, but ALL of his power, wisdom, might, peace, joy, creative ability, and the list goes on. We are complete, not because we "know Christ", but because he indwells us. His Spirit joins with ours, his Word becomes grafted into the fibers of our being, his thoughts begin to overcome the worthless or troubling thoughts of our own minds, and we begin to understand that the fullness of God indwells us. Where such power exists, it is impossible for anything to stand against it! This is why Jesus reminds us that he and the Father are one - just as we are to be one with him.

When I look at my own life, I oftentimes don't think of it as "complete" - it seems there are things that still need a little attention. My attitude can get a little out of sorts at times; my nose can get a little bent out of shape when I don't get my own way; my hopes can get the best of me on occasion, causing me to break off way more than I can chew. I just don't always do the best with what I have been given - because I have been given far more than I deserve! Yet, God's grace indwells my life - his presence fills my soul - and his strength replaces my weakness. In Christ, all things good, solid, and trustworthy exist. If he indwells our lives, then all these same good, solid, and trustworthy things are part of who we are now. It might just be we need to focus not on what we don't get right in this life, but on what "is right" within us! Just sayin!