God running this place?

There was one day when the Prophet Isaiah was speaking with the people, reporting on how Israel was finally at rest in the Promised Land, enjoying their feasts and festivals. There was worship in the land. They were finally 'settled' - no longer wandering hither and yon. The land was a blessing - providing for their needs in a great way. They were protected from attack - secure in their new homes. One of the best parts of the report was these words: "God runs this place and he'll keep us safe." When God is in control of our lives, we will be safe. If we take back that control, or just 'let it go' because we aren't paying attention, we will open the gates wide to disaster and destruction.

Just take a look at Zion, will you? Centering our worship in festival feasts! Feast your eyes on Jerusalem, a quiet and permanent place to live. No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos. Instead, God! God majestic, God himself the place in a country of broad rivers and streams, but rivers blocked to invading ships, off-limits to predatory pirates. For God makes all the decisions here. God is our king. God runs this place and he’ll keep us safe. (Isaiah 33:22)

We are often guilty of not continuing in the things God has provided within our lives. We read the Word, but do we take time to allow it to actually speak to us? We pray on occasion, but do we take time to listen to things he tells us throughout the day in those tiny prompts, lifting up prayers for him to be in control of those things? We hang out with friends, but do we invest in these relationships so they grow in Christ? Festivals and feasts are a good thing, but if they have become the center of our 'worship' relationship with Jesus, we are a bit out of sync with what God desires in the form of intimate relationship with us.

Does God 'run this place' and is he keeping it safe? The place? Your heart - your mind, will, and emotions. Your spirit - the place of our connection with Jesus. Is it possible to be a Christian and not have our mind surrendered to Jesus? Absolutely, and many of us actually hold onto thoughts that we know aren't right - they actually dishonor God and show how much we don't trust him. Can we determine to serve Christ and still have a struggle of the will? You betcha! The will is influenced by the mind and played upon by the emotions. Why do you think God put that scripture in his Word that reminds us the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak? (Matthew 26:41)

If God is truly 'running this place' (your heart, will, emotions), there will be a continual stirring within. You might think becoming a Christian means we will always know peace and contentment. God keeps us safe - but safety doesn't mean inactivity. When God is in control, maybe we will be stirred into activity when we'd rather be at rest. Obedience isn't always convenient, but when God is 'running this place', there will be a strength and security like no other. It is time to really 'be safe' - to go all in for Jesus once again. Just sayin!

So, you lead and I follow?

Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Some of us don't really know the difference between following and leading as evidenced by us attempting to lead all the time! The primary difference is position. The leader is out front - the followers are moving "behind" the leader, but consistently in the same direction as the leader. This may seem a little rudimentary to some, but let me assure you, following is a lot tougher than just "getting in line" and "marching on". If you don't believe me, ask any first grade teacher on the first day of school! They will surely tell you how hard it is to keep those little one all in a neat row, especially if they are "standing still" for any length of time! They will wiggle, move out of line, squat on the ground to explore the potato bug crossing in a crack in the sidewalk, or simply fall out of line to go do something else or talk to a new friend in the back of the line. I think the same may be true with God in our lives - we line up behind him, but if he stands still for too long according to our estimation of how fast he should be moving, we get a little distracted! "Follow the Leader" - a child's game where someone would be "it" and then you would all do what the "leader" was doing. If he jumped, you'd jump. If he walked in a circle, you were close behind. If he sat down, so did you. The idea was for the leader to "catch" someone not doing what the leader did! They were then declared to be "out". The last person "standing" was the new leader. I think we try to live out our "obedience" to God's desires in our lives this way. We line up well, set out to do exactly what he is doing, then at some point, we get distracted. The moment of distraction may make us feel like we are "out" in this "game of life" - because our "distraction" left us feeling defeated and like we would never get this 'life stuff' right. We sit down, watching others go on in their pursuit of the "leader". Sad, but it is true - we sometimes quit because we don't think we "followed" well and we know someone noticed we weren't following very well.

WE are not the leaders. If we were, whenever someone failed to "follow well", we'd make them sit out the rest of the game just like we did as kids! We are not supposed to be focused on becoming the next "leader", we are to be focused on being the best "follower" possible. Jesus was quite plain - we are not in the driver's seat. He has the honor. Sometimes being in the "passenger's seat" is the most difficult position to be in - especially when we think we know a short-cut to our destination! We want to direct the driver to take all the little "short-cuts" so we arrive at our destination a little quicker than the rest. Problem is, our driver has all the "traffic alerts" - we don't! He knows what lays ahead just around the next turn - we don't. If we demand the short-cut, we may be placing ourselves right in the spot of "delays" and "disaster" without even knowing it. We want to run from what is uncomfortable to us. He wants to lead us through it. To run from it seemingly allows us to avoid the emotional stress of the discomfort. Have you ever tried to run from something you thought was so uncomfortable, only to find your discomfort magnified by your inability to confront the situation? I have! It isn't worth it! I have shied away from tough relationship conversations - only to find the problem just gets bigger and bigger. I have refused to take the first step toward forgiveness and reconciliation - only to find the pathway "back" into relationship is now riddled with lots of messy, hard to weed through stuff! It truly isn't worth it! We need to remember, Jesus would never lead us where he will not keep us! He wants us to "avoid" the "traffic" of this kind of stuff - taking the path he leads helps with truly avoiding the "delays" and "disasters" in life.

He knows we get distracted by the "stuff" in life. "Stuff" is really a term we use for "clutter", isn't it. When we don't really know what is "inside" something, we call it "stuff". Like when we say we have a "junk drawer" in the kitchen. If someone asked you what you kept in there, you'd likely outline a few things and then add, "stuff like that". Why? Simply because you really cannot account for the "stuff" in there! "Stuff" just fills space. It doesn't really need to be there. This is the problem with "stuff" - it fills the spaces meant for something (or someone) else! God knows we are susceptible to "trading away" what is really the most important thing to keep. We "trade away" our time - in search of things which we think will fulfill. We "trade away" our finances - in search of the next great buy or a winning fortune. We "trade away" our health - by holding onto grudges, living with bitterness, or pursuing life-dominating addictions. There are lots of ways we "trade away" the best for something or someone who will really not fill the "space" of our lives as it was intended to be filled. Jesus' objective in speaking to his disciples that day so long ago, and to us today, is to remind us of the importance of not "trading away" the place in our hearts where he is intended to dwell. When we learn to follow the "leader" of our lives, we find "space" is uncluttered, the "stuff" of life is simpler, and his presence with us as we embrace the "tough stuff" is made a little less difficult. Just sayin!

Welcomed Dominion

Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. (Deuteronomy 8:1)

Be Careful! The instructions the people who would become the nation of Israel received all those years ago. Though they were spoken to reference their specific movement from wilderness wandering into the land of Promise, they actually have application for us today. The first instruction they receive as they are about to set out on this new journey was to "be careful" - to mark their lives, their actions, and their thoughts with attentive concern so as to avoid error or any omission of truth or trust. The challenge to us is to be living in such a way that we show close attention to the details when it comes to conforming to the Word of God. It has often been said that the "devil is in the details", but I would like to challenge you to think more appropriately that "God is in the details".

Follow! Notice specifically - they weren't asked to lead, but rather to follow. There are some that follow a leader so closely that they eventually begin to think, act, and speak like that leader. There are others that follow so far back that the impact of that leader's life really is insignificant in their own. Those are the ones that are "just barely" on the journey! We cannot be one step behind or sitting on the sidelines. We have to go after God with the intention that we will attain all that he has prepared for us - with purpose and intent. We need to follow with the intention of allowing his life to affect ours fully. This type of following involves attentiveness - watching steadily for the movement, that action, the intention of the one we are following - not willing to miss one single move he makes.

Every Command! Israel was coming into a new place - both physically and spiritually. They had not been this way before. The same is true for us - we haven't been this way before, so we need the complete instructions from our leader on how it is we are face what awaits us just ahead. The purposes of God are laid out in his Word - it is one thing to look at a road map - it is quite another to follow it turn by turn until you discover you have arrived at your destination!

That You May Live! Here we get to the crux of the matter - the idea of "what's in it for me". The idea presented here is not just the simple matter of breathing in and breathing out. It is the idea of doing more than just "existing" - it involves understanding our purpose and living in such a way so as to fulfill that specific purpose. This kind of "living" is full of spiritual energy, enthusiasm, vigor, and vitality that is not subject to the attitudes of the world, the afflictions of our body, or the winds of circumstance.

That You May Increase! Woohoo! The were given a 'taste', but now they would experience the realization of another "what's in it for me"! The promise is one of growth - in our intensity, our strength, and our usefulness. Increase is really meant to "enlarge us" - in our walk, and not just our talk. It is through this process of "enlarging us" that God is able to align the things we portray on the outside with the actual attitude of spirit and soul on the inside.

That You May Enter and Occupy! It is one thing to enter - quite another thing to actually possess. What God is challenging us today with is the idea that he wants to penetrate areas where he hasn't been given access to before. He wants to probe new depths that have previously been out of bounds in our lives - that he may possess us and we may possess him. When we occupy our physical homes, they have a tendency to become our places of dominion - we aren't just visitors there. God wants to not just "visit us" with his presence and his love - he wants to be set up in our lives so as to be in a place of welcomed dominion. Just sayin!

I will follow you....

Remember the old Ricky Nelson song, "I Will Follow You"? The song started out with the words, "I will follow you, follow you wherever you may go, there isn't an ocean too deep, a mountain so high it can keep me away." I know this song was talking about someone's "true love", but the words just stuck me this morning - I will follow you...wherever you may go. Those are powerful words - especially when they are spoken to Jesus in sincerity. The idea is that we will follow - even when things seem a little harder than usual, or when the path seems a little 'foggy' at times. We will follow - no matter what. Why? We love him and our heart sings just as Ricky used to sing, "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:1-8)

Today, as most days, I am challenged by the meaning of the word “follow” - maybe because I don't always do a very good job with this one - trying to take the lead when I really need to just follow the one who really needs to be in the lead! To follow implies many things that I have come to appreciate:

• To accept the authority of the one we make a matter of our focus or attention – it implies a condition of obedience to the authority and counsel of our righteous God. Don't gloss over this one, for it begins with focus or attentiveness - we rarely follow anything that is no longer in our focus. To keep God in our focus - central in our thoughts and primary in our choices is hard, but it is the beginning of a great journey!
• To come to a specified place in a specified time, sequence, or order – we are brought into a place well-planned for us in the exact timing, by the exact method, and in the specific purposes of our unchanging God. The idea of following means we are engaged in the pursuit of something - not just blindly tagging behind. We know there is a specific plan, and we are engaged in that plan, listening attentively to the one who is leading us within that plan.
• To imitate – it is our greatest glory to imitate, or take on the image, of our God. We all imitate something or someone - not one of us are truly unique. There are always examples we pick up little bits and pieces of and 'imitate' in our speech, actions, 'style', etc. The idea of following so as to 'imitate' carries more than the idea of taking on 'selected traits' of the one we are following, but rather the taking on of all the traits Christ has revealed in his character.
• To watch steadily, observe keenly, or to keep the mind on – it is not an inattentive, haphazard pursuit, but one of purposeful, directed steps with a fixed focus and an enlarged perspective. We sometimes limit our forward progress because we limit our focus to the things we 'want' in our lives and forget the things we 'need' might just be more important! God isn't just after us following him for our 'wants' - he would also like us to follow him because of our 'needs'.
• To chase or pursue – passionately engaged in truly catching or laying hold of the one we pursue – overcoming him with our passionate pursuit is what he has in mind as we set out on this journey with him. Not overcoming him so as to 'take over' the control again, but to 'catch up' to him so as to be walking as closely to him as possible.

We don’t go off on our own – we remain consistent in the path he designs, even in the midst of our own battle of will that pulls us to take an easier path or one promising us more tantalizing reward. We walk straight – not veering in our course. It is a blessed thing to remain – to not be used up by the path we pursue, to not be destroyed along the way. This ability to “remain” is provided by the God of divine compassion – the one who makes our ways straight and gives us the endurance to stand strong. He prescribes the way – outlines the plan. Our part is to walk in what he prescribes. In the end, the promise is a life free of regrets. Oh, I am sure that sounds like “pie in the sky” for many of us – we’ve already endured more regrets that we care to admit. It is never too late to “begin again” in the course God has prepared for us – to lay aside past regrets and to pursue the path he outlines in the pursuit of all he plans for us.

Regret is an outcome of disappointment – a result of hopes dashed, dreams unfulfilled, and losses deeply felt. This is not the outcome of pursuing the one that is unchangeable in all his ways – it most definitely the result of our pursuit of our own selfish desires, focusing our attention on imperfect people, or embracing empty relationships. We protect ourselves from regret by embracing his wise counsel – by comparing our every movement with what he has outlined in his Word. In it, God outlines “safe paths” and speaks to us “straight from the heart” so that we can avoid the pitfalls of disappointment that await us down the paths he has not designed. We learn to walk in his paths one step at a time – it is not a dash, nor is it a relay. It is a consistent, forward movement toward a goal. It is a patterned pursuit – marked out by the Master of our souls. As we daily seek his paths, we learn to step out in a growing assurance that the way is ordered, well-marked, and free of all that brings harm. At first, we may step out in the path God outlines, then quickly veer to the direction that appeals more to our natural reasoning, only to find ourselves knee deep in hazards we did not anticipate. At these times, we even are so vain as to blame God for the hazards – we question why we face the things that seem to have brought harm into our lives. Thank God, he is a merciful guide – he points out the hazards, heals our wounds, righting our stand – then he places us on course once again. Even in the midst of our accusing and questioning ways, he tenderly guides.

It is a good thing to walk in such a way that we never veer off course, but is an even more comforting thing to know that when we do wander or drift, he is there to restore and renew. He has even planned for our “changeableness” – knowing full well that we may purpose to do what he has revealed for us to do, but that our self-man is weak in its commitment to that path. We are like David – we yearn for the path he prepares – yet we struggle to resist the appeal of the path that offers the immediate reward, the passing enjoyment. David purposed to walk straight – let that be our purpose, as well. Just sayin!

"MUST" says so much!

You must follow the Lord your God. Respect him. Obey his commands and do what he tells you. Serve the Lord your God, and never leave him. (Deuteronomy 13:4 ERV)

Follow, Respect, Obey, Do, Serve, and Stay - all seem like pretty easy-peasy kind of stuff until you put them ALL together and then you expect ME to actually live them out in my everyday life! This passage starts out with an "imperative" - you MUST. Must is a small word, but there isn't any wiggle-room in the action that is expected when MUST precedes that action. All of us must eat to live - the need to eat overrides reason sometimes. If you don't believe me, just watch one of those survivor shows where they have to live off the land and see what kinds of stuff they actually eat just because they are hungry! I watched one guy trap rats and eat them; another something that had been found dead on the ground - each seeking to meet that need for protein, but each making less than desirable choices. When we receive the imperative that we MUST follow the Lord, it isn't that we cannot look to have the deep inner needs of our hearts met in other ways, because there are always going to be other "options". The fact is, nothing and no one will meet those needs quite so well as he does - period!

Follow - when we follow anything, we are not only going after it, we are moving in the same direction as that which we are following. I think God starts with this because he knows if he can get us on the same page as he is on, we actually find ourselves growing quite pleased with the results. 

Respect - when we begin to follow him, it makes sense that we would defer to his movements and listen to his voice. To respect God means we simply defer to his judgment in our lives - we stop trying to control everything and we give him the ability to lead us.

Obey - along the way, we will be asked to do things we aren't always that comfortable with, or familiar with, simply because the things of the Spirit of God are different than what has been active in our lives up to the point we begin to follow him. Obedience stems from respect - we give way to his control and in turn, we begin to make choices which are in alignment with the truth he reveals.

Do - the outward evidence of obedience is always in the actions we perform. If our alignment is correct, our choices are likely to be at least "bordering on" correct choices, making our actions more likely to be good ones. At first, this may be harder than one might think, but in time, those good choices are easier and easier to make because we defer to him more and more.

Serve - all service is really is the idea of being of use to someone. We submit our time, talents, and treasures to God and he makes use of them. 

Stay - remaining consistent is the hardest part of any journey. We often start well, give it our all at the outset, and then peter out somewhere down the line. Why? It isn't for the lack of "want to", but more for the lack of focus. It means we somehow forgot we were following. 

To follow, one needs to focus upon that which is being followed - like the directions on how to bake chocolate chip cookies. We could "wing it", but if we do that the first time we are about to make them, we might just not realize there is a difference between baking soda and powder! Following the directions yields much better tasting cookies. Yes, in time, we can recount the "recipe" without even consulting the recipe book again. This is where obedience becomes a way of life for us. It isn't that we don't want to be obedient, it may just be that we aren't always remembering it is an "imperative" to life! Just sayin!

Follow the Leader

In my youth, I tended to be a follower.  Everything I did was based on some insecurity I had formed within which almost demanded that I do things to please others.  In order to "feel" accepted, I did what they asked - even when what they asked would be contrary to what common sense, learned values, and/or sound advice would have warned against.  My choices landed me in many a predicament which required either my attempts at covering it up (when what I did was clearly wrong and would land me in trouble), or resulted in me being "accepted" but all for the wrong reasons entirely.  Being a follower is not always the best thing - unless the one you are following is Christ!  Yet even as we follow Christ, he doesn't want us to do so blindly or without purposeful intention.  To this end, he gives each of us a mind and expects we will use it!

The Lord gave us each a mind, and nothing we do can be hidden from him.   (Psalm 33:15 CEV)

As I was listening to the radio on the way to work yesterday, a gentleman called into the morning show and shared a story of the change which occurred in his life after experiencing a near-death episode a few years back.  In essence, he died three times on the operating table as a result of crushing injuries he suffered when pinned between two semi trucks.  His organs were all seriously injured, the bleeding was astronomically out of control, and his prognosis was something close to a 1% chance of surviving.  He recounted how he felt like he was given a second chance - having been a believer in Christ when this occurred, but now he was a follower of Christ after this event.  At first this may not seem very significant, but it is - for what we believe doesn't always affect how we act.  Case in point, I did a whole lot of stuff in my youth which was contrary to my beliefs!

A follower actually comes along behind another and follows in the same direction.  As kids, we'd play this game of "follow the leader" - one would be the leader, taking us through various obstacles hither and yon, and we'd line up behind the individual doing exactly what he/she did.  If we wouldn't do it, we were out of the line.  Some of the choices of the leader were easy to follow - like when they turned three times in place, or jumped up and down on one foot, then sprinted across the lawn.  When they climbed out on a tree limb and jumped to the ground, some just wouldn't take the risk of breaking a bone in the fall!  Too often, those who wouldn't go to the extremes were labeled as "chicken" or "cowards".  Way too many times, I did things I wasn't comfortable with just because I did not want to wear either one of those labels!

I wonder what life would be like if we learned to follow with intention - rather than because we feel pressured to follow or too insecure not to be in the group of others who are following?  When we equate this to our spiritual lives, I think we might just find we wouldn't follow so closely to some of the practices which are "required" of us in Christian circles today.  We might just choose to read our Bibles at our own pace rather than having to follow some reading plan or reading through it in a year.  We might just go to church somewhere which embraces us just as we are rather than having to get all "prettied-up" in order to be accepted.  We might even find we make some decisions based on our own convictions rather than always having to do things based on the convictions of another!

If God gave us our mind, don't you think he intends for us to actually use it?  I'd suspect he every one of us has at one time or another chosen to be a follower of another's advice, urging, or guilt - even when it contradicted what we wanted or knew better than to do.  Any time we choose to blindly follow, we are in danger of following the wrong leader.  Any time we choose to purposefully follow - making choices based on what we know to be true - we are actually lining up behind a leader we can count on to lead us well.  God knows the intentions of our heart - the purpose of our mind.  He also knows how to lead us into things which are going to stretch our understanding and give deeper root to the matters of heart which will make us richer and stronger.  

If we are going to follow - it better be with the right intent.  If we are going to choose a leader to line up behind - it better be one who will not lead us astray. If we are going to lead - we better be following the right leader ourselves!  Just sayin!

Leading or Following - who's on first?

Lead and follow - two directional words, each conveying a little different action from us.  To lead, one is guiding something in a certain direction - the direction already being predetermined and the course understood.  To follow, one moves behind, but in the same direction as the one who leads.  It is most hard to get our ears to be leaders and our tongue followers, isn't it?  Most of the time, we allow our tongues to lead and then surprise our ears with whatever our tongues say!

Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.  (James 1:19-21 MSG)

This passage makes it quite clear why we might just have some of the issues in life we face today.  It is in the "order" in which we conduct ourselves!  Have you really stopped to consider this passage?  James tells us to POST this at all intersections of our lives - simply because the point he is making is valuable in ALL relationships we have!  If we listen first, speak second, and let anger take a seat very far back on the bus, we might just fair a little better!

There are so many passages in the scriptures about our words - if something is spoken about so much, it is important for us to pay attention to what is written for our guidance.  So, let's tear this down a little...

1. Lead with your ears.  I think this is where we get into trouble most of the time.  It isn't the "not listening" which always does us in, but it is also in the "who" or "what" we are listening to.  Yesterday, I focused on having God at the center of our lives - keeping him foremost in our minds, hearts, emotions, and spirit.  As long as self is in the center, sin will get a foothold.  We will be following a fickle leader!  For self is not "stable" in any of its choices - it lives for the whims and fancies of today.  When we finally come to the place of stopping the "self-improvement" campaigns in our lives, we begin to place ourselves in a position of being spoken to by the Spirit of God.  This is the voice we should heed - not our own.  Get under the right authority and the following becomes easier!  I once heard someone say we need to turn our thoughts into a discussion with God.  If we become proficient in this practice, the voices we hear will be trustworthy and fixed on the best for our lives.

2. Follow up with your tongue.  James is focusing on the damage of the reverse - leading with the tongue - speaking before thinking.  If our thoughts become discussions with God, allowing him to lead us down the paths he would have us follow, we will be less likely to make rash statements, promises we never intend to fulfill, or commitments which are just too burdensome to ever complete.  

3. Let anger straggle along in the rear.  Now, look at this - he doesn't say if we hear first, answer second, there will never be any anger in the mix.  He simply says it doesn't even bear a close place within the relationship because there is less likelihood of anger being a strong "contender".  

So, how do we get to this place of leading with our ears, following up with our tongues, and seeing anger actually being in a win, place or show in our lives? The answer is found in the next portion of the passage - we let God landscape us with his Word.  If you are a daily follower of this blog, you probably already have a desire to have your life "landscaped" with his Word.  Do you know what a landscaper sets out to do?  He alters the contour of what he is given, adding to it things of beauty and depth in order to improve not only the appearance, but the general well-being of that which he works with.  God is doing this in our lives with his Word.  He sometimes has to smooth out some rough spots in us - at other times, he has to dig deeper so some things will take solid root.

The Word is a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled landscaper such as the Holy Spirit.  When we listen first, allowing ourselves to be lead in our actions, we find the follow up is quite different than we imagined!  It is like when I go to the subject-matter-expert in a particular industry - if I listen intently to what they are teaching, I get a different perspective on the possibilities of what it is I will do with the tools they give me.  God's Word is merely a tool in the hands of a skilled landscaper.  Isn't it about time we allow a little landscaping in our lives to begin the transformation of barren ground which needs a little altering of its contours?  Just askin!