Life Hack #6 - But I Want It

Life Hack #6:

Do you ever watch those "do it yourself" remodeling programs? They have so many inspiring ways to do the hard work, often at a fraction of the cost of having someone else do it. I don't tackle many of those projects myself because I don't possess the know-how or muscle, but I time to do them. I "want" the nice back splash, shiny new vanity, and hardwood floors, but I won't be "doing" the work! Do you ever struggle with wanting what the "rich and famous" seem to have at their disposal? Or maybe just seeing someone who seems to have a little better home, car, or wardrobe than you do? You get all these ideas in your head about how "nice" all their "amenities" are, and you forget how absolutely blessed you already are! "Life Hack #6" is to be content with what we have so much of already.

When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite. (Proverbs 23:1-3)

Do not desire what others of "fortune" or "position" or "fame" possess, because these "things" are often quite deceptive. Even the neighbor next door who does a little better than we do with income, is able to amass a few more "toys" in their garage and is able to set off on ventures here and there - they may be someone we come to envy. Why is we struggle when we see what others have, lured in by the deception of "having"? It might just link back to the first sin recorded - the eyes being a window where we "take in" and then begin to consider what it is that has been declared to be out of reach for us right now. Seeing is the beginning of wanting - when we dwell upon what it is we have seen, we begin to form a desire to obtain what it is we have seen.

The eyes behold - the mind begins to unfold the possibilities - the heart directs the hands to reach out in order to take hold. We are not to crave the delicacies set out by the "rich" or "famous". The reason is that what is set out before us is deceptive - there is no real knowledge of how much bondage has occurred in order to actually provide obtain those things! Kings used to overtake other nations, placing their people into captivity - making them work their lands and ranches for the benefit of the conquering king's coffers and storehouses. The king's profit came at the back-breaking labor of those he put into captivity - bondage for them meant increasing benefit for him. To desire what brings bondage is not something we want to be engaged in, is it?

Our eyes "see" a great deal - but not all we see is meant to become ours in the end. We need wisdom in discerning those things which might bring bondage into our lives - bondage of any sort can be introduced by little more than considering with the "eye" what may look nice but be declared as "off limits" for us right now. Be very, very careful with what you see and then pursue without really thinking about it. The wisest thing we can do is 'consider' those things at the foot of the cross - then leave behind what God has not planned for us to 'have' at this moment - remembering all we have been given in the 'right now'. Just sayin!

In and Under Authority, but Absolutely Free

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. (Galatians 5:22-23)

I have run into people over the years that ask why I chose to follow Christ. They aren't asking because they are curious so much, but because their 'view' of being a 'Christ-follower' means I must be a total 'rule follower'. As such, I must not have a very interesting life because I am 'limited' in what I can do, where I can go, who I can hang around with, and when I can do it. While I like having the 'boundaries' rules establish for my life, do I ever cross those lines? You can rest assured, I am not the best 'rule follower', but I do love Jesus with my whole heart. Do I struggle with the rules at times - yes, and so do you! When we choose to live God's way, we are making a choice to live in a way that reveals a change in the 'ultimate authority' in our lives. We are turning our authority to live as we want over to him. Does he allow us to go fishing on Sunday? Yes, and he even helps us enjoy the day with good weather and perhaps a catch or two. Does he allow us to hang out with others who don't know him like we do? Yes, and he even asks us to be a light in their world. Does he sometimes ask me to refrain from doing something in the timing I'd like to do it in? Yes, but I also know his timing has proven to be much better than mine anyway. So, I am not 'limited' by my choice to follow Jesus - in fact, my life is better than it ever was apart from being in relationship with him!

What happens when we live God's way? A pretty pointed question is posed for us today - because it starts with this change in the 'ultimate authority' over our lives. It is us choosing to allow God to be that authority and I mean a daily, moment-by-moment choosing. We don't make that choice one day back in 1972 when our lives were pretty much falling apart, but we make that choice each and every day to walk under his authority. Yes, there was a day when we felt this exchange of 'leadership' over our lives was necessary, but it is also a daily choice to remain under that leadership. You know what one of the most telling signs of his authority in my life was? The ability to make loyal commitments - no longer feeling like I had nothing to offer in relationship - feeling like I had to 'force myself' upon others to get them to like me. Now, that may seem a little bit awkward to admit, but I actually was a very insecure individual, constantly feeling like I had to impress, stand out, be the class clown, getting attention anyway I could. When God took over the authority of my life, I realized something different going on deep within my emotions. I began to 'settle into' the way God had made me. I began to realize there was no longer any need to be 'insecure' because I was magnificent exactly the way he made me. 

God's way of living is in 'liberty', not bondage. What is competition? Isn't it by its very nature a sense of having to be in 'bondage' to some end goal? It is a contest to come out on top all of the time. If we are always trying to be the king of the hill, we forget what it is like to just be content to be playing the game! I didn't run to compete any longer - I ran because I enjoyed the burst of energy as I made my way down the track. I didn't create works of art because I wanted to be noticed - I created because I had ideas and they needed an outlet of expression. I didn't talk to be noticed - I shared because I genuinely cared to hear another's ideas, too. God's way of living is being free to be exactly who God has created us to be, not some artificial or 'bound' expression of ourselves. God's plan for you and I is that we live free - in him, under his authority, but there is no better place to actually experience total freedom! Just sayin!

Like a fly trapped in the window

We probably have all observed a fly buzzing frantically at the window, hitting himself repeatedly on the translucent glass. We hear the frenzied beat of those wings, coupled with the impact of his tiny body upon the glass. We probably all believe he is trying to get out again - but I have a question - if we call them house-flies, then isn't it logical they like it in the house? There are "stable-flies" and they are supposed to live in the stable, but do they find themselves constantly beating their tiny bodies into the barn walls all day long? Not usually because they are too busy enjoying their life of annoying the livestock in the barn and feeding on the byproduct of their waste! I wonder if the house-fly is buzzing so frantically at the window because it is discontent with where it is, or is it just silly enough to believe there is something more of the "house" beyond that translucent pane of glass? Life as a fly must be pretty different for the house-fly because it sees life very differently than we experience it. It is constantly on the prowl for food - nothing unusual about that! It is constantly feeding - nothing unusual about that. The unusual thing about flies is their inability to focus - they have what is termed "compound eyes", but they just cannot focus!

Stay true to my directives, and they will serve you well; make my teachings the lens through which you see life. (Proverbs 7:2 VOICE)

Flies have lots and lots of "visual receptors", but each one of these function as an eye all by itself. So, to a fly the world is made up of hundreds and hundreds of things they see all at one time, making their ability to focus on just one thing a little hard to do! The human eye can move, while the fly's eye is "fixed" in one position. We can move our eyeball right, left, up, and down - allowing us to take in more and more of our surroundings until we become acquainted with them. The fly must "fly" in order to take in the entire surroundings in which they find themselves - maybe this is why they spend so much time trying to find one place to stay for a while! They just cannot focus, so they are constantly trying to make sense of the environment they are in and heaven knows, they don't want to miss anything which might make good use of their mischievous mouths!

You might ask why a fly is constantly able to fly away when we swing at it with the swatter if their ability to focus is so limited. If you think about all the "fields of vision" the fly has, it is pretty aware of movement because of all those "out of focus" images they see portrayed to their tiny brains. They can perceive it, although they don't know exactly what it is, they just know it is coming at them and they move to avoid it! They have one mission - to feed, to poop, and to feed again. Somewhere in the mix, they will lay eggs in order to multiply their number, but this is about all we can count on from the fly buzzing at the window! Except that it carries disease and has no clue it is spreading it over and over again upon everything it finds perch upon! 

Many times we go through life with a "fly's eye" - unable to focus, taking all kinds of stuff in, avoiding what we perceive as a threat, but constantly on the prowl for what may make us happy. We have similar difficulty focusing - constantly receiving input from every direction, but not doing a very good job understanding that input. Like the fly, we beat ourselves silly time and time again thinking there is something "better" just beyond that "wall of glass" we seem to be hitting. We see it, sort of, and imagine there must be something better "out there" which we haven't experienced. In truth, we just haven't figured out what it is we are seeing because we are trying to focus on too many different things all at one time. The Christian life is not one of "taking it all in" as much as it is one of allowing the "one thing" we focus on to begin to impact our lives deeply.

We look for the next best thing to feed upon, always looking to satisfy an insatiable appetite for more. We are like the fly - flitting here and there, until one day we feel a little "trapped" by our mindless and unfocused flight. It at that moment where we come up against the obstacle we pound relentlessly upon, believing somehow to be able to escape, all the while trying to avoid what is trying to do us harm. Thank goodness God doesn't leave us to our own devices forever! Instead of leaving us in a place where we see no way of escape, he opens wide the windows of our soul and gives us flight into a newness of life. In turn, he gives us focus! We don't immediately begin to see clearly, but in time, we begin to focus more and more clearly on the one thing that really brings us satisfaction (Jesus). Just sayin!

Not just another "anti-virus" program!

We are made free - we didn't get there on our own.  It isn't like we somehow did a "Harry Houdini" act and came out of the chains and locks "magically" - regardless of whether they were emotional, spiritual, or physical bonds.  We needed a deliverer.  I know I didn't possess the emotional stability to bring myself out of the places of depression I've experienced on occasion in my life. I also know I didn't possess the physical stamina to withstand the bonds of the things which physically wanted to keep me back like chronic pain.  We don't act as our own "deliverer" in this life - we are "made" free from those things which hold us in bondage - we aren't "making a way toward freedom" on our own.  To attempt this is as dangerous and unreliable as thinking we could find our way out of the chains and locks while submerged head first under water like Houdini. The world wants us to believe the "illusion" of being able to set oneself free, but remember this - it is all an illusion!  Houdini had more than a few "slights of hand" and "tricks up his sleeves" to get him free from those chains and locks! Whenever we rely upon the "tricks" we can muster or perfect on our own, we are relying on things we "know about", but we might actually find the thing which binds us the strongest is something we are less than familiar with!

We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong in that freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again.  Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you start following the law by being circumcised, then Christ cannot help you. Again, I warn everyone: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, then you must follow the whole law.  If you try to be made right with God through the law, your life with Christ is finished—you have left God’s grace.  I say this because our hope of being right with God comes through faith. And the Spirit helps us feel sure as we wait for that hope.  When someone belongs to Christ Jesus, it is not important if they are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.  (Galations 5:1-6 ERV)

The truth is we get ourselves into some pretty tight jams in this life and we don't have a clue how to get out of them.  Some are of our own doing and we should have known better, but somehow we just plowed straight ahead and now we are reaping the ill-effects of the wrong decisions.  At other times we find ourselves completely in bondage to things we just have no clue why we are under their hold.  Either way, we need to recognize we don't obtain our freedom from these things apart from God's grace intervening in our lives to bring us the deliverance we so desperately need.  We might think we can stand strong on our own, but even the strength to stand is given by God.  Many who think they are doing this by their own strength find themselves caving under the pressure of the weight of the bondage.

One of the dangers of "deliverance" is the memory associated with the bondage. You might not think this would be an issue, but if you talk with an alcoholic working through the 12-steps, you will find they are quite aware of the "pull" back into bondage again.  Why?  There is this memory associated with the bondage which exercises the control again and again, trying to get us to respond to it as we used to.  This is why it is so hard for us to break bad habits. We feel the pull and that pull is was can actually be the hardest thing to overcome.  It is God who changes our "memory" of the thing which pulls at the strings of our heart - he actually helps "dull" the memory.  It isn't that he makes us forget the bad habit entirely - he just helps us not bring the memory of it fully into focus at every turn in our lives!

It is his Spirit who actually helps in this process - for as we want to be brought back into bondage to the old ways of living - he is at work helping reminds us where our focus needs to be today.  He is not "re-programming" our brains, per se, but you kind of might associate what he is doing as similar to this process of re-programming.  I have had many a computer over the years and one thing I recognize is the tremendous mess things get into when little bits and pieces of this program get affected by some other program I allow to be placed on the computer.  They aren't always compatible with each other - one almost interfering with the smooth operation of the other.  In our brains, there are "programs" which are constantly trying to be over-written by other "programs" we come into contact with.  When this starts to happen, we get a mess of "error messages", but we don't have a clue as to how to deal with them.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - to help us deal with the error messages, avoid the conflicts in "programs" which attempt to get us all messed up!  Thank goodness we have such a careful watcher over our lives - for if you left it up to each of us to do what the Holy Spirit does, we'd make a worse mess of things for sure!  To be truly free of the bondage of the "interfering programs", we need to allow him to do the work he is there to do.  Just sayin!

Boxed in?

There are definitely times when we need to just tell someone how "boxed in" we are feeling at the moment.  It could be pressures from work piling up uncontrollably around us, or the bills of a few unexpected expenses which are now coming due, but regardless of the cause of the "boxed in" feelings, there is not much joy in them.  In fact, they are probably eliciting some fear, that little bit of anxiety mixed with frustration, and can even be creating undue physical pressures within our bodies which we now have to "manage", as well.  The scriptures are filled with examples of people feeling "boxed in", ranging from an entire nation of Israelites standing before the Red Sea with a vast amount of enemy forces closing in on them in hot pursuit, to the feelings of being alone and abandoned in a foreign country as a couple of widowed foreigners. Regardless of the cause, our sense of being "boxed in" can be overwhelming to us on occasion - eliciting either a deep sense of need which we turn to another to have met, or an even deeper sense of prideful stubbornness which digs in our heels and thinks we can "motor through" this one without outside help.  We may want help, but we won't admit it!  We may actually "need" help, but we won't bring ourselves to ask.  Why?  We are focused so much on the "box" we are in that we cannot think beyond the "walls" of the box!

But I will sing about your strength, my God, and I will celebrate because of your love. You are my fortress, my place of protection in times of trouble. I will sing your praises! You are my mighty fortress, and you love me. (Psalm 59:16-17 CEV)

David was often in predicaments which made him feel more than a little "boxed in" - both literally and figuratively.  It might have been matters of his own doing, such as his committing of adultery with Bathsheba while her husband was off to war.  It might have been matters of someone else's doing, such as when he was hiding out from Saul's armies because Saul was tormented by an evil spirit and out to kill him on the spot.  Either way, the pressures mounted from time to time - every pressure adding to the last unless he found a way to "release" those pressures.  Here is where we often get this part of the equation wrong.  My math teachers often told me I could solve a problem a certain way, one which arrived at the right answer, but if I didn't follow the principles of solving the equation the "right" way, the potential of me arriving at the right answer would vary depending on how I chose to "arrive" at the answer each time.  This is true in our daily lives, as it applies to dealing with the pressures which "box us in" and make us feel we are in a pressure-cooker of sorts.  There might be more than one way to find a "release" from the pressure we are feeling, but there is really only one consistently reliable release!

I think this is where most of us struggle with getting out of the box - we think we have to be the ones to release ourselves from the walls which confine us. It is either because we are too prideful to ask for help, or we just simply think we don't need help in the first place.  I just have to ask - how's that been working for you?  If you are like me, probably not so well!  In fact, you might even find you get out of one "box" and find you are just in a different "box" all together! Now, what good did that do?  Nothing really brings us to the same "release" as God's wisdom and power.  No matter how good of a plan we create to get ourselves out of our "box", we just won't manage it as well as if we'd just turn to God for his wisdom and help.  After all, he didn't put us in the box, but he actually knows what will keep us out of it the next time!

As I was contemplating this "boxed in" feeling we occasionally feel, I was struck with how frequently this can occur when we are further away from intimate relationship with Jesus.  The more we try to do things our way, the further away we move from Jesus.  This is probably what my math teachers were trying to say - I "can" do things "my" way, but do I want to continue to if I know it may not produce the reliability I am hoping for?  The more I insist on handling things myself - doing things my way - the more I find the box gets stronger walls and tighter tape!  Focus on the walls long enough and that is all you see.  Eventually you don't even remember that you want to be free of those walls.  This is called bondage, my friends!  The further we turn our focus away from Christ, the deeper becomes our bondage.  The only way to be free is to turn toward release and this is only found in a person - Christ Jesus.

Another thing caught my attention - the ability to celebrate release even when the "box" is still in place!  David gives us ample example of this principle as he always found himself ending up his prayers and even his "complaints" to God with a reminder to himself of God's faithfulness and love.  Yep, David complained to God.  So, don't think yourself so "holy" and "spiritual" that you won't admit you do the same thing!  A whole lot of our prayers about the "box" we are in at the moment are really "complaints" about the predicament we are in!  We need to take a lesson from David, though.  He had tried a few times to do things on his own - like when he decided the best plan to cover up his infidelity with Bathsheba was to have her husband killed in battle!  That didn't work so well for him as he realized when he lost the son born out of that infidelity!  Our best laid plans of "escape" are not going to produce the results we hope for - so why do we insist on following through on those plans?  Instead, we need to draw closer to Jesus, look fully into his face, and then confess we need his help to get out of the box (whether it is a box of our own reckoning, or one another has placed us within).

Herein is the rub - our pride keeps us from admitting we need the help and our fear keeps us focused on the walls of the box.  Until we recognize the box as a means of interfering with our ability to behold God's face, we won't want his help to be released from the confines of the walls of that box!  Just sayin!

Principle 6: Don't Be Deceived

I like to watch those "do it yourself" programs, or remodels of homes on the various cable channels which offer them.  They have so many inspiring ways to do the remodel, often with only a fraction of the cost of having someone else do it.  Yet, I don't tackle many of those projects myself because I don't possess the know-how, muscle, or time to do them.  I "want" the nice counter tops, back splash, and the like, but I won't be "doing" them anytime soon - at least not with my own effort!  Do you ever struggle with wanting what the "rich and famous" seem to have at their disposal?  Or maybe just seeing someone who seems to have a little better home, car, or wardrobe than you do?  You get all these ideas in your head about how "nice" all their "amenities" are and you forget how absolutely blessed you already are!

When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners:

Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full.  And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite.  (Proverbs 23:1-3 MSG)

There are probably lots and lots of ways to dice this passage today, but let me just emphasize one point for us and leave the rest for the Holy Spirit, okay?  The warning to us is to not desire what others of "fortune" or "position" or "fame" possess, because these "things" are often quite deceptive.  Even the neighbor next door who does a little better than we do with income, is able to amass a few more "toys" in their garage, and sets off on ventures here and there may be someone we come to envy.  Why is it such a struggle for us to see what others have and then be lured in by the deception of "having"?  I think it must link back to the first sin recorded for us in scripture - the eyes being a window for us to "take in" and then begin to consider what it is that has been declared to be out of reach for us right now.  Seeing is the beginning of wanting - when we dwell upon what it is we have seen, we begin to form a desire within to obtain what it is we have seen.

The eyes behold - the mind begins to unfold the possibilities - the heart directs the hands to reach out in order to take hold.  The passage we are presented today reminds us to not crave the delicacies set out by the "rich" or "famous" (in this case, the king or official at whose table you are dining).  The reason is that the food set out is deceptive - there is no real knowledge of how much bondage had occurred in order to actually provide that food!  Kings would overtake other nations, placing their people into captivity - making them work their lands and ranches for the benefit of the conquering king's coffers and storehouses.  The king's profit came at the back-breaking labor of those he put into captivity - bondage for them meant increasing benefit for him.  To desire what brings bondage is not something we want to be engaged in, is it?

I just read a post from an acquaintance in Michigan asking if any of us had old jeans we'd like to donate to a charity who will "refashion" them into shoes for children who are desperately in need of shoes.  The name of the organization is Sole Hope (www.SoleHope.org) and they fashion these shoes out of jeans for the upper portion and tire rubber for the soles.  Their mission is to "outfit" children in third world countries with these loafer type shoes in order to keep their feet from being broken down by the harshness of their environment. Now, how many times have you looked at your old jeans and said, "I wonder how many kids could benefit from these?"  Probably not too many, I wager. I also would guess we have probably looked at new jeans in the windows of shops and never given a second thought to purchasing the 4th, or perhaps 8th pair in our closets (some in varying sizes depending on the fluctuation of your weight, gals).  The kids served by this outreach have but one desire - ONE pair of shoes - nothing fancy, just old jeans, tire tread, and a whole lot of love sewn into the seams!

Our eyes "see" a great deal - but not all we see is meant to become ours in the end.  We need wisdom in discerning those things which will only bring bondage into our lives - bondage of any sort can be introduced by nothing more than considering with the "eye" what may look nice, but be declared as "off limits" for us right now.  Just sayin!

Because!

Do you know what "because" means?  In the simplest of terms, it refers to a "direct reason" for something occurring.  In fact, if we were to look at the origin of the word, we would find it stems from the term "by cause".  When we are reading through scripture and come to the word "because", it is kind of like when we come to the word "therefore".  We need to stop and pay attention to these "little" words we may just gloss over at first.  "Because" sets out the reason for something occurring - some action happening.  "Therefore" refers to some set of facts already established acting as the reason we can move to the next thought or action.  These words are rich in meaning, as they give us a point of reference for the "reason" we can believe or act upon what it is we are reading.  As my kids were growing up, it was the hardest thing to not answer their questions with a "Because I said so, that's why!"  I doubt I am the only parent who wanted to take the easy way out on this one!  It is so much easier to say it is "because I said so" - but do they really "get" it?  Not usually.  The same thing is true with us and what God sets out for us to act upon - if he simply said "Because I said so, that's why!", do you think we'd be prone to act upon it?  Likely not!  We don't understand the "why" yet and we are creatures who need to know the "why"!  We need the dots connected - it helps us take steps when we see one action leading to another.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.  (Ephesians 1:7-10 MSG)

In the scriptures, we are declared "free" in many different ways.  We are free from condemnation, guilt, our sin, the penalty for our sin, our past, the limits of our inabilities, etc.  The list is quite extensive, but you get the idea.  Now, why is it we live so far "below" our level of freedom?  Maybe it is because we haven't really thought of the "because" by which our freedom became a reality and how reliable that "because" really is!

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah - blood poured out on the altar of the Cross - we are free people.  There is the "why" behind our freedom - the blood of Christ, shed on our behalf, applied to the Cross at Calvary - the purchase of our freedom from sin and the penalty for that sin.  It was by the blood of Christ that our understanding of God's grace was opened - it was the blood that made a way possible for us to share in this understanding.

Adam and Eve only saw the two trees - one of life, the other of good and evil. Which do you imagine Satan wanted them to taste of first?  If they tasted of the one called "life" - do you think they'd have been inclined to experience good and evil?  Not likely!  So, he presented them with the one which would open their eyes to experimenting with good and evil - knowing full well God would not allow them to experience eternal life without a means of restoring them to their innocence!

Freedom was compromised that day in the garden - freedom was returned to us that day on Calvary.  Freedom was the farthest thing from our reach without the intervention of the Cross.  Yet, once the Cross provided the "bridge" for our freedom, we were free to cross over and taste of the tree of life.  What we could not experience without the Cross was provided free of charge, unearned by any of our own effort.  What we can now experience because of the Cross is total, permanent, and complete freedom.  So, we best be walking in what has been provided!

If we could see luscious trees full of ripe fruit on the other side of a ravine, hunger deeply set into the fabric of being, all while we stand in the barrenness of desert land, would we be prone to use the bridge provided to cross over to the other side?  Probably so!  Why?  It makes sense, it satisfies a need, and we'd be considered silly if we just ignored what was right in front of us.  Yet, so many of us live in the barrenness of desert rather than using the bridge provided to cross over to the fullness available in Christ Jesus. It isn't because we are comfortable in our present state - but BECAUSE we haven't trusted the bridge as being provided for US!

Some of us hesitate to fully cross the bridge between past (bondage) and present (freedom).  We are stuck in our ways - settling instead for the barrenness of the desert.  We don't make the connection with what God has provided and what it is we so desperately need.  Here's the truth:  BECAUSE you have been born with a sin nature, you need a means by which to "bridge" the gap between your sinfulness and God's righteousness.  BECAUSE you have no means by which to bridge this gap yourself, God has provided completely free of charge a means by which the gap can be closed - Jesus.  BECAUSE of every action Christ took on our behalf, the way has been provided for our total freedom.  BECAUSE of his provision, we are declared free.  BECAUSE we take the bridge provided, we ARE free!  You and I ARE free - not just walking toward freedom, but totally and completely free.  What God has declared to be free is free indeed.  Now, isn't it silly to stay in the barrenness of our bondage when we have been granted so much in Christ Jesus?  Just sayin!

True Freedom

If you have ever just gone about doing whatever it was you felt like doing without any real concern for how it would end, or what it may bring for the long run, you probably have come to the conclusion this way of "living free" isn't really "freedom" at all.  In fact, the more you do whatever it is you want to do without regard to the consequences, the more difficult it is to work your way back from where those indiscretions let you end up.  If you don't believe me, remember the last time you worked hard at changing the way you ate, losing a few pounds in the process.  Then remember the day you chose to eat just a little treat or two, then the next, and then the larger portions, etc.  In the end, you probably not only put on the weight you lost, but gained a few more pounds in the process.  It wasn't "that big of a deal" when you were indulging, but now that the jeans no longer fit and the buttons are not quite meeting in the middle, you might just realize it has become a "big deal".  In truth, every compromise is a big deal, even the small ones.  

As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn’t have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you’re proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.  (Romans 6:20-23 MSG)

Right thinking and right living are linked to abiding freedom.  If we see the link between how we think and what we do, that is half the battle in changing what it is we are trying to see made different in our lives.  When we only attempt to change what it is we are doing without going after the root of our thinking, we will get a little bit down the road to change, but we will never quite arrive at the point of breaking free of what it is we want to leave behind.  Most of our thinking is directly related to who it is we are listening to in the first place.  Listen to a catchy tune just once and see if it doesn't turn over and over in your head a while.  You may not remember all the words in the right order, but you remember something from the tune and you find it just bouncing around in your mind repeatedly.  This is the power of advertising. They use tunes, jingles, catch-phrases, etc., designed to get us thinking about their product enough that we will buy it.  They want what we think to affect our actions at the store!

Freedom is more than an outcome of one particular action - it is a lifestyle. As we engage in actions frequently enough, they either reinforce our freedom or they clearly reveal our "servitude" toward something.  Don't believe me?  Why do you think huge elephants can be made to stay in a small radius under the circus tents?  It isn't because they don't know there are wide open spaces - they can see those.  It isn't because they lack the energy to break free - they are huge and powerful creatures.  It is because they have lived with the short leash for so long they don't believe anything else is possible any longer.  They don't go beyond their leash limits simply because they "feel" bound.  They begin to act as bound the first time they acknowledge the limits of the leash and then they reinforce this impression over and over each time they tug a little against the leash.  It presents a little pressure in resistance, so they stay put.  We are kind of like that sometimes - we get "bound" by some emotional, spiritual, or physical "leash" and then we give in each and every time we feel the resistance when we try to break free of its hold.

As our writer points out, the "leash" which binds us to some particular course of action doesn't seem all that hard to handle until you look at where it will lead you down the road - the "pension" of sin is death.  God doesn't ask us to change our actions - he asks us to change our thought.  He directs us to change our focus - from doing whatever seems good at the moment to listening to his still, small voice directing us to what will actually produce good down the road.  When the elephant has pulled against the leash long enough, he gives up.  In fact, the trainer may actually be able to remove the leash and just leave the "bracelet" around the elephant's leg.  The elephant will stay in the same area just because he "believes" he is bound to the leash. Some of us are a little like the elephant - we have been set free, but we still feel bound - because of how we see ourselves.  The elephant sees himself as bound to stay in the same area because he doesn't realize the removal of the chain which acted as his leash actually set him free to move outside of what had become his limited area.  The reminders of his being bound remained because the bracelet remained.  For many of us, we still see ourselves as bound to the old way of living life and making decisions because we see the "impression" of the old still hanging on.

The good news is that the bracelet is not what bound us to the past way of living - it was the chain!  As long as we just focus on the "impression" of the old still being a part of us, we will never move outside of the place in our lives where we have been bound for so many years.  The "bond" we have with the old has been removed - we are free to move toward the new.  The way we think determines a lot about how we move.  Focus on the weight of the past long enough (the bracelet) and you will only feel the weight each time you go to move. Focus on the fact the chain is no longer there, and you might just begin to take a few steps forward.  When you do, you will no longer feel the resistance.  Yes, the reminders of the past are still there (the bracelet) - they give you the impression you cannot really break free.  But...the chain to what held us so bound to our past has been removed in Christ.  In time, the bracelet will no longer give us any concern, simply because we are brought into the wide open spaces of true freedom.  Just sayin!

Foul cisterns reveal much!

The book of Jeremiah is not light reading.  In fact, the majority of the book deals with repeated sin and willful disobedience.  In the end, there is major catastrophe after catastrophe for Judah.  They choose to worship other gods, offering special offerings to the Queen of Heaven.  They demand their own way, escaping to Egypt, when clearly told to stay in their own land.  They slaughter their enemies, hiding the dead bodies from the kings who would come to attack them - in a cistern!  If anyone tells me the Bible is boring, I'd have to tell them to get a different translation and read it again!  After reading all this, I came to the chapter forty-six: God's decree of judgment, but also his announcement of mercy!


"But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.  Israel, there's no need to worry.  Look up! I'll save you from that far country, I'll get your children out of the land of exile.  Things are going to be normal again for Jacob, safe and secure, smooth sailing.  Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.  Depend on it, I'm on your side.  I'll finish off all the godless nations among which I've scattered you, but I won't finish you off.  I have more work left to do on you.  I'll punish you, but fairly.  No, I'm not finished with you yet."  (Jeremiah 46:27-28 The Message)


The God we serve is both holy and just.  His holiness and justice "demand" judgment of sin.  It is impossible for him to turn his back on sin - he may delay in bringing judgment, but it is sure to come.  We read the Book of Jeremiah, seeing all these repeated evidences of their willful disobedience to the ways of God.  In the end, we find God's mercy expressed in the words, "I'll punish, but fairly.  I'm not finished with you yet."  


I don't know about you, but these are words of encouragement to me!  The many times as I have chosen my own willful disobedience over the clearly evident instruction of my God are proof of how much I really deserved much worse than I received!  Indeed, we serve a "fair" God!  I would like to examine a few of the things we find out about Judah in order to get a better understanding of just how "fair" God's dealings are with his people.  


First, there is the whole business of being "captive" in a land where you think you are walking free.  The Israelite nation finds themselves in a place of "free living" - subject to the Babylonian ruler, but not really in any danger of being attacked by the armies - as long as they take care of the land.  They are to tend it, harvest it, and lay up stores from it.  Sin is kind of like this - it is a demanding taskmaster.  It wants to be tended - bringing even the smallest thought of sin to the place of full harvest.  Once the sin is full grown - it wants us to continue in it!  Free, but never really free!


Second, sin loves company!  It is a pretty rare thing to find ourselves really entertaining sin and loving it all on our own - there is usually some desire to be "party" with someone else in the sin.  There was this Israelite names Ishmael.  He had ten companions - men of valor - who hung around him.  One day, they cooked up a scheme to kill one of the higher ranking officials in the land.  In fact, they killed the governor of the region - the man appointed by the King of Babylon.  In fact, these men killed all the members of the Chaldean army who were also in the area of the governor's home.  Now, don't get me wrong - I am not saying we travel in circles of murderers, but we do have "companions" in our sin.  Sin has a way of magnifying itself when we have companions in the wrongdoing!


Third, there is almost always an attempt to cover up our sin.  Ishmael had these guys help him hide the bodies - in a cistern!  Now, if you know anything about cisterns, they were an underground collection place for rain run-off.  These were pretty big holes.  But...can you imagine what hiding all these dead bodies did to the water?  Think of the mess they created in trying to cover up their actions!  The same is true of us - we think we have a good plan to cover things up, but alas, we only end up "fouling" the waters!


Fourth, sin causes us to run to whatever seems like a place of sanctuary.  Judah finds themselves running to Egypt - deeper into captivity.  In attempting to run away from sin, they run deeper into the holds of their taskmaster!  Need I say more?


Lest we get depressed right now, I want to call us back to our scripture.  Judah exercised willful disobedience, covered up their sin, and ran to escape it.  Yet....God pursued them!  He ensured Jeremiah's presence with them - the voice of God.  He's just this way - never letting us get out of the "ear-shot" of his grace!  Look at our passage again - God's first announcement to Judah is one of forgiveness - "You have nothing to fear".  Isn't God amazing?  He speaks into our souls the message of hope - in turn, lifting our eyes and hearts to receive what we so desperately need - forgiveness.


Don't miss what comes next - with God's forgiveness comes some steps which must be taken.  God announces, "I am not finished with you yet.  I have more work left to do on you."  I would like us to consider this for a moment - God has more work to do on us (and in us).  Mercy is coupled with action.  God extends his mercy - we take steps of obedience in returning to the place he desires for us to possess.  God's actions are always fair - even in the face of our willful disobedience!  I am so grateful for his grace.  


You might find yourself in the midst of making wrong choices today, surrounded by others who will partake right along with you.  You might have found yourself covering up stuff - only to find out how much it pollutes your "reservoir" of life.  Regardless of where you are today - God is there!  In fact, he is NEVER far from extending grace!  As our sin unfolded, there were consequences (we found ourselves in bondage).  As our forgiveness unfolds, we find ourselves taking steps back from the place of bondage to the place of true freedom and release.  Willful disobedience is put in its place with each step we take back toward God - we don't get there immediately, but we do get closer and closer to enjoying our freedom with each step we take!

Horsewhipped anyone?

Joshua is about to turn over the control of the nation at the point of his death.  He gathers the leaders, priests, and elders together.  In the moments which pass, he gives them sound advice on how God expects them to live in the land they have been given.  His first piece of advice:  Stay alert!  Why?  It was because the work was not done - nations still had to be dealt with.  His second piece of advice:  Stay strong and steady!  Why?  There would be much influence around them to do what would get them into big trouble.  In warning them to stay strong and steady, he is advising them on living by the principles God set out in his word.  Then he comes to this third piece of advice:


"Now, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They'll be nothing but trouble to you—horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you're the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you." (Joshua 23:11-13 The Message)


This probably sums it up very well for not only Israel, but for us!  We need to vigilantly guard our souls - because we have a tendency to wander when we are not paying attention!  Look at the consequences of being a little lax in dealing with the nations around them - God would not get rid of them for them!  If they dabbled with them, God wanted them to know how much trouble they would bring into their lives - like horsewhips on their backs and sand in your eyes.


Now, I have never been horsewhipped, but I have had sand in my eyes.  I know how painful this is - but not only is it painful, it is downright impossible to see right!  I spend so much time trying to rid myself of the irritating stuff in my eye, I cannot see what is right in front of me.  What Joshua may be saying to us is to be aware of just how much even one compromise (one grain of sand) can impact our vision!


When one is vigilant, they are so keenly aware of their surroundings - no influence escapes them.  Why?  They are "on alert" - sensing danger.  I think is probably the crux of what Joshua is trying to explain to us.  If we don't get anything else, we should get this:  God has our back, but he doesn't want us to be fooled or duped by the influences around us.  We only get duped when we are not paying close attention.  


The purpose of a horsewhip is to control the actions of the horse.  You don't take one in hand if you don't think you'll have to use it.  In a sense, Joshua is reminding us of the influences of belief systems, traditions, and the prevailing fads of the day.  They have a tendency to become things which can "control" us much like a horsewhip can can control the horse.  Look again at the passage.  Joshua says, "If you wander off and start taking up with them..."  In essence, he is describing the kind of lackadaisical kind of action on our part which gets us into the deepest kinds of trouble - all while we are seemingly unaware!


The horse will wander the fields, leisurely taking in what is in front of it.  The danger is in not being discriminating in what is taken in!  Some things a horse may take in may not be the best for its digestive system - the old cowboy shows used to call it "wacky weed".  It would make the horses downright miserable.  Guess what?  When we "take in" stuff without really thinking it through, we may be downright miserable, too!


So, Joshua describes two "actions" which result in two "outcomes".  First, one action really comes as a matter of "inactivity" - we wander right into the things God has plainly said to stay away from.  The outcome is feeling like a whip has been taken to our backs - we feel controlled!  The second action is really one of getting stuff "into" us which really doesn't have a place in us.  The outcome is evident in the effect it has on our ability to see clearly (sand in the eye).  Either way, neither of these outcomes is desirable.  So, we'd do well to listen to the warning Joshua gives.  Be alert.  Stay strong and steady - not veering from the Word of God.  Be vigilant - your enemy is waiting to lure you in.  

Let vs. Put

¹ Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

(Galations 5:1 The Message)

We begin today with a very succinct message - if you are declared to be free, walk free!  One of the greatest privileges we enjoy within the United States are the many "liberties" we are granted by our Constitution.  The very basis of our country's existence came out of the struggle for freedom - from religious bondage, overbearing taxes, insufficient work opportunities, expensive luxuries, etc.  

Now, if we were just to look upon those "freedoms" as "nice" and then live in the same bondage our founding fathers were trying to escape when coming to this country, wouldn't it be silly?  In this entire book of Galations, Paul has laid out the plan to have anyone who has been declared "free" to live exactly as a "free person".  

Paul emphasizes who sets us free - Christ.  No other person or set of works has accomplished this freedom.

The purpose of us being set free - to live a free life.  In other words, we don't return again to those things which do nothing more than entrap us in enslaving thoughts, empty rituals, or unwise actions.

In the end, the goal of our freedom is to simply be able to stand - stand strong!    Does someone really embrace freedom and then actually prefers to go back to bondage?  It is not likely.  Yet, there are multiple examples of "tasting freedom" and "slipping back into bondage" in the world around us.  For example, we use the term, "He fell of the wagon", to describe one who has known days of sobriety and then returned to the "demon alcohol".  In scripture, there are examples of the awfulness of returning to bondage - in fact, it is like a "dog returning to its vomit".  That paints a picture, huh?

So, how do we avoid the tendency to "return" to a place of bondage in our lives?  Let's take our "hint" from what Paul tells us - don't LET anyone PUT a harness of slavery on you.  Two key words: Let and Put.  Let:  we allow or permit it - we actually "grant" the access.  Put:  to place under the power of something or someone - we allow or grant someone or something the access, giving them the "authority" to take the position of "power" in our lives.

The first tiny word "let" carries a big punch - it can occur through intentional thought and unconscious awareness.  We actually "grant access" to many things in our lives - some very specifically, others very passively.  Those who enjoy freedom are those who learn to specifically "grant access" to certain thought patterns, specific edifying activities, etc.  Those who drift back into "bondage" take a more passive approach to restricting access into their mind, will and emotions.

The second tiny word "put" carries as significant of a punch as the first - the process of harnessing an animal involves the activity of an external force placing the harness upon the unsuspecting animal.  Did you ever stop to think what a horse must think the first time he is harnessed?  I can go to the silly side here: "Wow!  Now doesn't this fine strapping, leather and metal just look dandy upon me?"  Or I can go to the pretty serious side: "Uh oh!  I am not going to like where this is taking me!"  The first response shows a lack of awareness of the "effect" of the harness - the second gives insight into being led where one does not exactly want to go!

Learning how to control what we "let" influence us is part of rejecting the things people would want to "put" on us which are not specifically going to allow us to stand strong.  

Rebuilding Old Barns

^17-18Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren't perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.

(Galations 2:17-18 The Message)

There is a Christian dilemma (let me call it a mis-belief) that we often hear people speak about whenever they are struggling with sin in their lives - it is that they "think" they are supposed to be perfect just because they gave their lives to Jesus!  If I am about to burst anyone's bubble here, let me apologize in advance, but we are NOT perfect!  We are NOT perfectly virtuous - we STILL sin!

Paul knew that this would be a huge "bug-a-boo" in the church, so he addresses it in his letter to the Galation church.  His concern was that the recently formed church in Galatia was being "duped" into believing that they had to keep the rules of the Old Testament Mosaic Law in order to be "truly saved".  He had just left there with the church growing and free in their new belief in Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Those that opposed Paul, mostly Jewish leaders of the day, were coming behind him to dispute his teaching that the Law was fulfilled in Christ and therefore, no longer needed.

The fact is that the Jewish leaders pointed out that Christians still sin - so, they used that as a basis for accusing the believers of needing "something more" than Christ alone.  Paul makes it very clear to us that when we return to a system of works - trying to make ourselves righteous in our living instead of allowing Christ's Spirit to do that work within us - we are simply trying to "build old barns" again.  We tore down the old, rickety barn of "trying to make ourselves righteous" when we said "yes" to Christ's offer for freedom in him.  Why on earth would we go back to the rubble of "works" and try to erect that "structure" again?

Here's what he says to that idea:

^19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.  Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

(Galations 2:19-21)

The secret is found in those four words:  Christ lives in me!  Nothing more - nothing less.  

We struggle with our concept of being "righteous" - that is what Paul is referring to here.  We have a "mindset" about what "righteousness" looks like - how a righteous man speaks, what he engages in, and who he relates to.  Yes, scripture is pretty clear that these things matter, but they are not something we can be successful in without the presence of Christ in our lives.

So, the crux of the matter is this:  Don't go back into bondage to rule-keeping when you have entered into the freedom of God's grace!  We don't build new barns by using the old, musty and splintered materials!  New barns really require new materials - that is what the Holy Spirit provides - the new materials that will help us to live out our new life in Christ.

Shackles have no hold on us

^1-4 That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.  ⁵All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.  ⁶Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

(Acts 12:1-6)

The message of Christ has always brought some form of conviction - some deal with that conviction with repentance, while others resist with all that is within.  Herod was the Roman ruler over Judea - his "title" was Herod, but his "last name" was Agrippa.  There are many men referred to as Herod or King Herod in the New Testament - keeping them all straight is hard.  This is not the Herod who ordered babies killed after Jesus was born - fearful that the King of the Jews had been born as reported to him by the scholars of the day.  Agrippa would have been his grandson.  He was unusually liked by the Jews of the day because he showed them favor, supporting them in their religious pursuits.

As such, he was opposed to those that appeared to be doing or saying anything that was contrary to the Jewish laws and rabbinical teachings.  Therefore, when the disciples and apostles were preaching a message of salvation and faith in Christ as the only way to have redemption from their sins, he sided with the Jewish members of the community to attempt to "shut them up" in the spreading of this message.  He often used a sentence of time in jail as one of the means to silence them - causing them great distress through the time spent in jail, the beatings and other forms of torture that often went along with a term in jail.

It is Passover week once again, and he is knows Jerusalem will be filled with not only his Jewish supporters, but those that stood as their opposition - like James and Peter.  James' fate was death - Peter was imprisoned with the intention that he would also know this same fate.  The delay in accomplishing his plan was the Feast of Passover - in respect to his Jewish supporters, he deferred to bring the final blow to Peter until after the Passover celebration.  News about how God was at work in the ministry of Peter must have reached Herod.  Why else would he have four squads of four soldiers each to guard him around the clock?  Why would he have had him shackled to two soldiers while he slept?  I think Herod had heard the reports of the power of God in Peter's life and may have wanted to ensure his prisoner was still there come time for the lynching.

Herod is not the main character of this passage though - God is.  Peter is really the secondary focus here - God's presence in his life and his ministry is preeminent.  Peter is able to rest, sleeping soundly, because he is assured of the God in which he has placed his trust.  Look also at the response of the other believers to the presumed "fate" of Peter - they made it a matter of unending prayer because they knew in whom they believed and were confident that God would intervene.  

The "rest of the story", as Paul Harvey would say, is the "suddenness" of God's intervention.  Peter could have been delivered from the hand of Herod at any time, but God chose the night before his scheduled death.  An angel appears, waking him, telling him to dress and then escorts him out of the jail - free of the shackles, free of the guards, and past the secured iron gates guarding the city.  The guards were oblivious to the intervention of God - Peter was wondering if he was dreaming - and the praying church would be suddenly elevated out of their spirit of petition into a spirit of praise.  

When God is trusted, his intervention is certain.  When God is elevated to preeminence in a person's life, his provision is certain.  When God is foremost in the actions of a person's life, his protection is certain.  Peter rested well, even in the midst of his most fearful night, because he knew the God he trusted had all in his control.  We need to fear no man (nor woman) - they can do nothing apart from God's watchfulness over us.  We need not to fear any bondage as permanent and unyielding to his touch - his touch is greater than anything that binds us.  We need to not believe the threats of things which seem impossible to us - for all things are made possible when the Lord is Lord of our lives.