The place of true joy

Always be full of joy. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Regretfully, there are just some moments in life when joy is the furthest thing from the emotions we are feeling at that moment. The world seems to equate joy with happiness, though, so when anything disturbs our happiness, we might say that our joy has been stolen by the event or memory. Joy is a much deeper feeling and is not based in circumstance - it is based on the relationship we have with Jesus. Happiness is elation over something that happened - it is fleeting and isn't guaranteed to be 'evoked' all that often.

Joy is the emotion that emerges when we remember we have been placed securely in the arms of Jesus, that nothing and no one can rock our world so badly as to remove us from that safe place. Some will understand it best when we say that joy is internally based, while happiness is externally stimulated. If the external factors are just right, there will be happiness. If they are not as expected, the joy is soon fleeting. Joy is found in knowing we serve a big God - bigger than the circumstances at hand, always overseeing our lives, and never letting us flounder when our faith is a bit challenged.

Whatever happens - always be thankful. That isn't possible when all we rely upon is the emotion of happiness. Nothing guarantees the external factors will always be 'right' or 'good', but God ensures us that he walks with us through anything - good or bad, easy or difficult. Never stop praying - perhaps this is the key to understanding joy's deeper roots. We always have someone to turn to, even when the emotions aren't as 'positive' or 'high' as we might like them to be. We can turn directly into the arms of Jesus, look fully into his face, and share those ups and downs with him. This is the place of true joy. Just sayin!

Post-Haste

Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created. (James 1:17-18)

Whenever we are faced with something that is less than good, honorable, or pure, we can know for sure that it is not from God. It is something of this 'earthly realm' that really isn't meant as 'the best' for us. When we settle for what isn't the best, we actually are rejecting what God has prepared for us that is meant for our good. We should never think God is tempting us with the 'less than' stuff in life - it is either our own fleshly desires having their way, or the enemy of our soul purposing to redirect our attention away from God. 

We are important to him, so he prepared in advance to send his Son to this earth to ensure there was a way to always enter into his presence and enjoy the privileges of this 'family life' with him. What 'perfect gift' have you rejected in the pursuit of something that is actually 'less than' what he intended for your life? It isn't too late to turn away from the pursuit of that 'less than' thing and turn fully toward all the good God intends. One thing I have noticed about my own 'fluctuating desires' is that they are definitely not consistent. One day I may find things of this 'earthly realm' to be appealing and the next I find myself disgusted by them. God's gift to us is always there - we just need to recognize them as consistent and good.

How do we get to the point we choose the best and not the 'less than' so often? It comes in choosing to take in the Word of God. God sent 'the true message' to us so that we'd seek things that are good and that add value to our lives. The living Word of God came, leaving us his written Word, providing us with a teacher of the Word so we'd learn to choose the best and reject the 'less than'. Get into his Word and allow it to begin to reveal the 'good', 'pure', and 'honorable' things God has prepared for your life. You will begin to see the 'less than' things of this world for what they truly are. When you do, you will soon realize they are to be rejected quickly and the things God offers are to be embraced 'post-haste'. Just sayin!

Planning to do good

Woody Allen always quipped, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." So true, isn't it? We plan one thing but find something totally different unfolding. Some fool-heartedly believe we are the makers of our own destiny. We are indeed the 'makers' of our own consequences, but are we really the makers of our own destiny? Plans change as life happens. Life choices bring either good, or not so good consequences. A consequence is just the outcome or 'output' of something that was 'input' earlier. You've likely heard the saying, "Garbage in - Garbage out". Nothing could be truer about the plans we conceive and then try to bring to fruition without God's oversight and intervention.

If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness. (Proverbs 14:22)

Plan to do evil - lose it all in the end. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will come eventually. Plan to do good - unfailing love and faithfulness are your reward. I don't know about you, but I would rather receive a reward more than a consequence! The more we plan, the less we focus on listening. Don't believe me? When was the last time you listened to someone else's input into YOUR plans? You might not realize it, but the more you plan one thing, the less likely you are to consider anything else. This isn't good when God is trying to get you to a place where he can move you into something new. Your 'plans' may actually keep you rooted in the present, unwilling to consider the freshness that will come when we move away from that plan and toward God's.

Planning to do good doesn't happen by accident. It is a purposeful action on our part, taken time and time again, with a set goal in mind. We want to embrace what God has for us, so we make him the first part of our day. We want to listen to what he has to say to us, so we get into his Word and ask him to show us what he has for us within those pages. We want to have meaningful relationships, so we make the effort to focus on them. If we want a meaningful relationship with God, we must focus on it, as well. Planning to do good means we make active choices all day long to keep God front and center in our lives. When we find our planning takes priority, we need to refocus so he is once again at the center of our plans. Just sayin!

The right words, but the wrong heart

Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but in their hearts they give you no credit at all. But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. (Jeremiah 12:1-3)

God never turns a deaf ear to our questions. This may come as good news to some who think they ask too many questions, but God isn’t put off by our questions. He is always open to hearing our concerns. As Jeremiah is seeing the people of Jerusalem taken captive, armies attacking and taking away their homeland, many are crying out, while others are uncertain as to why they are under attack. Jeremiah presents the issue at hand: The wicked take root and they are prospering. He wants to know how this could have happened ‘under God’s watch’. It appeared God had actually ‘planted them’ and allowed them to prosper. Jeremiah just doesn’t understand how this could be the case.

The more we attempt to understand how evil people can seem to enjoy so much ‘good’ in this world, the harder it is for us to not question how God can allow this to continue. Does God find it unacceptable for us to question this occurrence? Not at all, but we should never drift over into questioning his providence or his protection. There are times he will allow certain things to happen to set things up for what he is about to do next (providence). He uses human circumstances to bring about his divine plan. When Jeremiah saw the evil prospering, all the while talking so plainly about God, he saw a disconnect between their actions and their heart. The words were right, but the heart was deceitful.

He is really asking God how he allows such a blatant display of ‘disconnection’ from the one true God. Jeremiah had kept his heart pure – refusing to embrace the culture around him. He had a ‘settled heart’. He wasn’t going to be ‘consumed’ by the ravaging armies because he knew he served a greater God than these nations. There will be times when we find others being ‘consumed’ by the pressures of the times, prospering well during a not so ‘God-honoring’ set of circumstances. They might even say all the right things, but their heart reveals no depth of relationship, no desire to remain pure in the midst of compromising circumstances.

In these moments, we stand in whatever it is we have trusted in the most. Either we stand with the world, or we stand with the one true God. We either trust in the things we can figure out on our own, or we press into God to get his perspective. Jeremiah chose to press in – to bring his ‘complaint’ to God so he could get HIS perspective on what was happening. Sometimes that is all we can do – bring it to God and then listen when he answers. Just sayin!

Sin means judgment

I have read through scripture a number of times but have always struggled a bit with how God could 'get angry' and still be a merciful and kind God. My guess is that I am not alone in this quandary. What I have deduced is that God gets 'angry' when people sin - sin gets his anger stirred up. He is slow to anger, but that doesn't mean his patience can be taken for granted. God is the judge of human character - not us. We would like to sit in judgment on occasion, but we are not qualified to judge simply because we have this sin nature at work within each of us. 

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Whenever we think we are above the judgment of God, we are in a very troubling place. We may want to take revenge when we have been wronged, but God's concern will always be with the one who has done the wrong. Scripture reminds us that God is on the side of the innocent - he will judge the one who brings harm to them. Does that mean they will burn in the lake of fire? Not necessarily! It means he will bring enough 'discomfort' into their lives that they will be driven to make a decision to either repent of their sins or face that ultimate judgment.

The principle is that of harvesting whatever it is we sow. When we sow all manner of derision and discontent in this world, we can be assured that God's patience with us will someday come to an end. He will begin to bring 'judgment' into our lives. That means we may not always come out of things 'smelling rosy'. There may be consequences we did not intend when we set out on our sinful path. It isn't that God causes the consequences as much as it is that he doesn't stand in the way of them. Always keep in mind that God's intent is that no man should be separated from him - he provided grace for all who would seek it.

When we are engaged in wrongdoing, we can expect consequences. When we are seeking forgiveness for our wrongdoing, we can expect grace. God's plan is the latter - that we would seek his forgiveness and be restored to right relationship with him. All God asks is for us to take a close look at our own actions - if they don't align with his principles, we should repent. If they do, we should press in a little closer for sin's pull is always just around the corner. God doesn't like to judge, but he isn't going to allow sin to have the upper hand in our lives. Just sayin!

GOOD DAY ALL

Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things. (I Peter3:8b)

How many of us actually wake up on the side of the bed that has us wishing that only BAD things will come into our day? I daresay if this were the case, most of us would get a new bed! We wake up hoping for the day to bring us GOOD things, don't we? 😁We want our day to be filled to overflowing with GOOD - so shouldn't we be listening to what God says will actually produce GOOD things in our day?

It begins with us - not the bed! We begin by paying close attention our 👄. We don't start the day with negative words - words that actually reek of evil intent and unkind motives. We choose to speak words that will uplift, encourage, and even create a sense of peace in our homes. Those words begin with us - as we look at our disheveled selves in the mirror each day - then they continue as we engage with others throughout our daily endeavors.

Cultivate good - snub evil. That is a pretty tall order when you get right down to it. Cultivation requires preparing the ground so it is ready to bear a good harvest. A harvest of GOOD in our day doesn't happen by accident - there is some forethought and effort. We plan for good by avoiding all things on the other side of good - evil intent, hurtful words, unkind actions, 😈 corrupt speech, malicious gossip - to name just a few.

Run after ☮ for all it's worth. There is something about those who pursue peace that is kind of contagious. It is like a magnet that draws others in and holds their attention. Why? Peace is so much in demand, yet most have no clue how to achieve it for themselves - much less do they understand how Christ produces this sense of calm, assurance, and trust within each of us. 

Today is full of possibilities, but only those who truly take action to see them fulfilled will take note of them in their lives. Those were all action words we looked at today - speak, cultivate, avoid, run, pursue. All require us to be attentive, but they also require us to be engaged. We can be attentive without being engaged - take the first 👣 toward kindness today and see where it leads you. You could just be surprised by how much GOOD your day holds! Just sayin!

He IS

Every now and again I run across an 'old school' preacher who will blurt out, "God is good", expecting the response, "All the time", from those he or she is around. It was frequently used as the 'affirmation' of our trust in his goodness and grace that we were expressing back in the day. We don't hear it very much in our local churches these days, but it is a good thing to remember - our God IS good. He isn't 'becoming' good - he IS good. He isn't enticed to 'do good' - he IS good. The state of 'IS' really means in the present tense, at this very time, without any hesitation, or without any concern that something exists - he IS good.

The Eternal One is good, a safe shelter in times of trouble. He cares for those who search for protection in Him. (Nahum 1:7)

Three short things we can learn from what our writer shares here today. First, God is good - even when we doubt his goodness, he never ceases to be good. It is his nature - he cannot deviate from his nature. He may seek to 'nurture' that 'goodness' within us, but it is something that he doesn't have to work on in himself - it is inherent in who and what he is. Goodness is inseparable from him - wherever he is, goodness is.

Next, it is important for us to see that in him is the greatest and most secure protection we can ever experience. Another term we could use here is that he is our refuge. See once again that he IS our refuge - our shelter, place of safety, anchor in hard times. We don't have to create a place of refuge - he IS that place of refuge. If you have ever been in the midst of something very troubling to your spirit, you might have realized all you had to do to feel 'protected' was to focus your mind on him. In so doing, you allowed all the danger or trouble you were experiencing to be shut out. You entered into what he IS at all times - our place of refuge.

Last, but not least, he is near to us at all times. It may come as a surprise to some, because they have sense him to be distant or farther away than they might have liked, but it is impossible to care for and protect those who are distant. Protection comes in the form of being near - being up close and personal with the one you are protecting. Does the bodyguard protect the individual they are charged with protecting from a distance? No, they do so by drawing near and staying there! The protection of God IS found in the nearness we maintain with him. Even when we don't sense he is close to us, we can rest in the knowledge he is never far from our heart.

God is good. He is our refuge. He is near to us - caring for us each step of the way. Three things we might just want to commit to memory and remind ourselves of from time to time. These are the things we sometimes forget when the battle is raging and the times are tougher than we'd like, but because he IS all these things, he never fails us. Just sayin!

Who, not what

"Aah...this is the GOOD life!" We are perhaps kicking back on the beach, enjoying the rays, listening to the palm fronds rattling in the wind, and then we utter these words of absolute contentment! The next thing you know, a gust of wind blows away your umbrella, a happy-go-lucky child throws sand on you, and the sun drifts behind the clouds! What happened to your "contentment" in that moment? Ummm....honestly....it was no longer the "good life"! The days of good old conversation and peaceful repose with an aging parent turn into helping them make daily decisions, take their showers, and ensuring their safety at every turn. Yep, the 'good life' is kind of missed in those moments, isn't it? There are lots of things that change our 'good life' concept - from sudden gusts of wind to changing needs of those around us. When the 'good life' morphs, are we ready?

Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God. (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13)

Our impression of what a "good life" really is can oftentimes be the issue, not the 'events' of life itself. We get our focus a little misdirected at times - giving us a warped perception of reality. You see, the wind was always there, the clouds were passing over as we uttered those words of contentment, and the child had been working on that sand castle for hours! The parent was aging all along, getting weaker each day, and hidden disease was always at work. We just failed to see what was right before our eyes! Perception often determines reality in our minds! A lifestyle of sin is easily observed when it is pitted against a lifestyle of reverence for God. The "good life" is really based on something entirely different than we often imagine. In fact, rarely do I hear anyone describe the good life as serving God first, being less focused on self, and being an obedient steward of the grace God has given in their life! Yet, it is not what we "get by with" in life that makes life great - it is in the fact that we get "nearer" to God that makes it truly great! In fact, a life without God is "colorless as a shadow" and "flat"!

It takes the sun to cast a shadow! The more "face-on" you are to the sun, the longer your shadow. Let me make this clear - the more face-on you are to the Son of God (Jesus), the longer the shadow his grace will cast in your life! You begin to reflect his greatness in your life! It takes the light to realize the "color" in our world. In the darkness, color is really meaningless. You can be standing smack-dab in the middle of a room filled with vividly painted walls, richly adorned furnishings in dynamic colors of the rainbow, but without the light in the room, those colors mean nothing! It takes the "Light of Life" (Christ) to fill our days with color. We may "think" we get by with stuff (not always good stuff either), perhaps hundred of times, but nothing escapes God's view. Even though we don't "get caught" in our sin, he knows it is still there. There is nothing we can hide from him. Want color and light in your life - get honest with God and then enjoy the Son-shine! Don't let the stuff that is right there in front of your eyes to escape your view, or your appreciation! The good life is more about 'who' is in our lives, not 'what' is in it! Just sayin!

Good or Good for Something?

Be not simply good - be good for something. (Henry David Thoreau) What is that "something" for you? We all strive to be 'good', but how much do we strive to be 'good for something'? I think Thoreau was maybe trying to tell us we all have that 'something' God has placed us on this earth to do and we won't be totally fulfilling our purpose until we recognize and move into that 'something'. We do focus on 'being good' a lot more than we focus on finding our 'something' we are really 'good at' and then finding how that 'something' can bless the lives of others.

God made everything with a place and purpose... (Proverbs 16:4)

Our place and purpose has been defined by God - at the time he formed us in our mother's womb, that purpose began to take form. The 'something' we were created to fulfill began long before we ever knew life. It may take a while for us to figure out what our 'something' is that we have been called to fulfill, but we can never let another define that for us. The only one who should 'define' it for us is Christ himself. As the creator of all things, including us, isn't it wisest to allow the 'definition' of who we are and what we are placed her to fulfill be left to him?

Too many of us allow others to 'define' us - to tell us our purpose on this earth. I wasn't created to be an architect, but I can build stuff. I wasn't created to be a musician, but I can read a little music. You wouldn't want me to design your home because I don't understand all the stuff that goes into it. I can drive a nail, install a faucet, and even lay a little tile, but there is a vast difference in being available to help with these tasks and being the one who designs the tasks that make up the whole building! I remember trying to learn to play the guitar - although I could strum a few tunes pretty well, I wasn't created to be a musician.

My calling is quite different from yours - but I didn't allow anyone to define my calling as they saw it should be. If I had allowed that to occur, the military would have made me an automobile mechanic! That was one of the things I scored well on in my testing, but stop for a moment to consider that nursing is really being a little bit of a 'mechanic' - the 'engine' and 'drive-train' are just a little different! Aptitude testing is one thing - fulfilling God's purpose in life is quite another. Don't just strive for 'good' or 'good enough' in life - strive to be good for that 'something' God created you to fulfill. Just sayin!

What type of planner are you?

Do not those who make sinful plans go the wrong way? Kindness and truth are for those who plan good. Proverbs 14:22 NLV Planning is a good thing - most would agree - but the wrong set of plans, even in the hands of a good man may not turn out right! Why? Good plans usually produce a better 'end result' than bad plans. Yet, the hands in which the plans are organized and carried out matter a whole lot, don't they? 

I am a novice wood-worker. Plans in my hands need to be very, very simply illustrated and the tools need to be quite basic. Yet, even with the simplest of plans, plainly laid out, I can mis-cut a piece of wood and end up with ends that don't match as they should. Why does this happen? It is usually because I didn't read the plans all that well! Good plans are only part of the end result - the guidance of the hands combined with the engaged mind go a long, long way toward producing a better result!

The same is true in our daily walk with Jesus. We get some pretty well-defined plans when we explore the Word of God, but in our hands, there can be some end results that 'vary' from the intended result! Why? We forgot to engage all the parts of our being behind the execution of those plans! We might have engaged our minds, but forgot to engage the heart. We perhaps engaged the heart, but the mind was elsewhere! The end result is far from what God intended by giving us those well-defined instructions! 

Put a little effort behind the plans and they turn out a little differently. Really study the plans well, then take 'ordered' and 'consistent' steps in executing those plans and see where the end results differ from when we didn't take such ordered and consistent steps. The plans matter, but the execution of those plans is equally important. The more we learn to take the right steps in a consistent manner, with the right focus and attentive engagement in the process, the more chance we have of the plans producing what they were intended to produce.

We can come up with some wild schemes in terms of what we believe will yield the right results in our lives, can we not? The wilder ones may have even managed to land us in quite a pickle from time to time. The plans were there, but the actual 'putting things into motion' didn't come until we engaged some or part of ourselves into the process. We 'get behind' the plans - then they are set in motion. We choose the first step, and often the timing of that first step is our choice. When we choose well, the steps are better ordered. When we keep choosing well, the steps become more consistent. The plans matter, but those plans are mere words until they are executed, my friends! Just sayin!

Collect and Guard

What have we come to 'treasure' in life? There are lots of treasures when we stop to consider it, but we probably have some things that rise above the rest. For me, it is relationship - first with God and then with others. We place a 'premium' on what it is we come to treasure - devoting time and energy to those things. We are asked to live disciplined lives - exhibiting the ability to "listen" well and to "treasure" the right things in life. The ability to listen may be hampered by the life choices we have made. The clarity of what is heard becomes crystal clear when we learn to treasure the relationship we have with Christ. We won't want to miss what he says - the advice he gives.

Good friend, take to heart what I'm telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life. Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That's right—if you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you'll have come upon the Knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5)

Think of the "listening" process similar to "tuning" into a radio station. You have to sometimes turn the dial so precisely to get the best reception of the station. I have a radio that just won't 'tune' beyond the station it is stuck on right now. I know it is fixable, but it is kind of annoying because the tuning is just a little bit off, making the station a little less than clear. To listen to God, there is an effort on our part - we have to tune out all the distractions, situations, and choices that are in conflict to hearing his voice. We have to fix what is keeping us out of tune! We also have to concentrate on understanding. One of the things we learn in school is that we learn best when we are able to concentrate on what is being taught. If we are distracted, we often miss "key content" in the lesson being taught, thereby not really learning fully. Understanding is directly related to how well we are able to reduce or eliminate the distractions in life. Understanding is not always quick or easy. There is much effort placed into understanding - attention must be focused and we must be in an attitude of willingness to learn what is being taught.

God grants wisdom - a gift in our lives that comes directly from his hand. He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly. This "good sense" becomes the shield of protection we so often need to keep us from making "bad choices". Sometimes we expect to hear a booming voice from God that tells us not to take a particular course of action. What God wants us to do in those circumstances is to simply listen to the "good sense" he has already given us - not expect the 'booming voice'. God protects the faithful - when we waiver in our consistency of walk, how can we expect protection? The seat of our emotion (the thing that causes us to waiver so much) is our heart. Wisdom isn't just to be found with our heart, but with our head and spirit working in union with our heart. Wisdom helps us to not always be driven by whatever emotion is the loudest or most active in our lives at that very moment. It is wisdom that gives us that rational response to those irrational situations. Wisdom saves us from wrong relationships, wrong money decisions, and even wrong choices in what we eat. 

Scripture reminds us to follow the steps of good men - we have them recorded as our examples because God knows that we learn best (come to better understanding) when we set our eyes on an example we can follow. It is like using tracing paper to get the outline onto a project we are completing - so we know how to follow the pattern. The choices we have to make may not be exactly the same choices that our example has had to make, but the principles of living that are exhibited in their lives serve as an illustration of how right choices are made. There is a value in setting our eyes on right examples - it comes in learning how to differentiate between right and wrong choices in life. When we focus on the right examples, it affects our choices. When we focus on the right authority within our lives, we have our understanding expanded. Just sayin!

Have you asked him?

As with most 'baby Christians', I was one of those who actually believed that everything would come out all right - nothing bad would ever happen to good people because God makes everything work together for their good. Only good things are gonna happen to Christians, right? Wrong! It came as a surprise to me that bad things still happen to good people! What I failed to recognize is that God often takes us through periods of "adjustment" in order for his vision to be accomplished within us. He sometimes has to "enlarge" us enough to see what it is that he intends for us. The 'bad' isn't really meant to hurt us, but to make us see a new aspect of his keeping touch, understand a little more about his healing hands, and come to a place where we follow him no matter how the circumstances attempt to dictate otherwise.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves...and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:26-28)

One of the key characteristics of a yielded life is that of being "adjustable". That doesn't mean that we just bow to whatever new things come along. It means that God is always going to be expanding our vision - of who he is, what he has done in our lives, and how he wants to use us to accomplish his mission on this earth. In that "enlarging" or "expanding" process, he is increasing our faith - and opening our comprehension. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of these times of 'not so good stuff' is the expansion of our faith - in areas we didn't even realize we weren't all that trusting of him!
Commitment and being yielded is a matter of being "governed" by something or someone. God has a purpose in governing our lives - so he works to enlarge our understanding of that purpose over and over until we come into a place where there is a fullness of faith and commitment to that specific purpose. We often only want to see God's purpose for our lives through eyes that focus on what that will accomplish for us (how it will bless our lives). God's intention in enlarging our faith is that we will see the blessing it will afford others, not just ourselves.

We often forget that we are called to be "channels" of God's blessing - we get caught up in the blessing and forget that it is meant to be shared - good stuff isn't to be hoarded. In scripture, Christians are referred to with many "titles" - priests, prophets, kings, kids, etc. Priests had a responsibility to be spiritual leaders - so when God calls us priests, he is asking us to lead others into spiritual insight and growth. Prophets spoke forth the message they were given - so we're to speak forth the message God gives us. Kings had authority to govern and rule - we are given authority as members of his kingdom to rule and reign. Kids had the right of family relationship - we have been given the access of a member of his family (intimately knowledge of God and his love). We are given access to all God's blessings, authority, grace and mercy - not to hold these things close and enjoy them for our own benefit, but to become channels of these to others. When we become less occupied with how a blessing from God affects us and open up to how he wants to use that blessing to affect others, we are beginning to have our vision enlarged. God is in the many and varied "details" of our lives - he focuses on what we often overlook. His Spirit is faithful to deal with the details, so nothing is overlooked. That is how everything is worked for good in our lives.

The Spirit of God is at work within us doing two things: 1) Exposing us to the very things that God is after in our lives (our dedication, our trust, our very hearts); and 2) Revealing to us the methods he uses to accomplish those things (the test or trial, the time of waiting). It is his purpose in our lives to do the necessary "adjustment" of our ways of thinking (how we process what we are going through) so that we interpret the methods God is using as the very thing that will work all things for good in our lives. The next time you are going through a rough spot in your life, you might want to take some time to ask God how he is enlarging you through what you are experiencing. God delights in showing you what he is doing - he often just is waiting for you to ask! Just sayin!

More than Good Enough - we are GOOD

Sometimes a song's lyrics will just speak to me almost as deeply as scripture does. One such song is entitled "Good Enough" by Dara Maclean on the album "Wanted". Almost all of us desire to be "wanted" by someone. We seek that attachment - that connection to another individual. We go through life pursuing what we think will make us a "wanted" friend, wife, husband, employee, etc. To many of us, this equates to a pursuit of being "good enough" - we don't believe we will be "wanted" until we are somehow "good enough" in one way or another. We change our appearance, develop our talents, learn a new skill, etc., all in pursuit of being "good enough". My question is, "When is good enough really good enough?"

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:27,31 ESV)

Good enough is elusive - an ever-changing definition, meaning one thing to one person and another to the other person. The meaning can even change based on the circumstances, resources available, and the effort one can "afford" to put forth to accomplishing whatever is needing to be done. Since this is a moving target, it hard to define "good enough". Maybe I will let the words of this song speak to us today. It begins with the words I think many of us would say if we were honest with each other about how it is we feel a great deal of the time:

I got to keep my head up one more day and get by; look perfect on the outside, but I’m dying on the inside. I could work so hard, slave the day away,  but end up broke tryin’ to find my place in my attempt to prove I’m worthy, but it’s already done.

Chorus: So I won’t spend my whole life paying my own price; tryin’ to be good enough. I’m gonna just let You love me. Finally see me the way You see. I’m believing Your grace is enough for me.

It is so like us to live our whole lives in search of some "good enough" point. We work so hard, but get very little forward progress because the mark is always changing. If we could only see ourselves as God sees us, stop trying to live up to some "moving target" either we set for ourselves or allow another set for us. We might just begin to rest a little more, trust a little deeper, and live with a contentment that isn't performance based, but grace based.

Thank God I don’t have to hold on with my own strength. I’m not the one who saved me, so I’m trusting You completely, ‘cause the best in me is only You. I run out, but You come through. Now I’m never looking back, You don’t see the past, all You see is I’m forgiven.

All he sees in us isn't because we "measure up" by our doing, getting, or striving. All he sees in us is by the gift he provides - the supreme gift of grace which mends every broken part, replaces all the damaged places, and creates anew what our misdeeds have worn beyond fixing.

If You said it, I believe it. If You did it, it’s completed. Ooh, I was hurting, You were healer. I was broken, You’re redeemer. So I won’t spend my whole life paying my own price, tryin’ to be good enough.

Good enough costs us - there is more "spent" on trying than we might realize. Rather than trying, maybe it is time we trust that God has already declared us "good" and that is better than "good enough" anyday! Just sayin!

Be a "do gooder"

Mark Twain once quipped, "Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest." I think sometimes I do a pretty good job of astonishing myself with doing what is right instead of what I may have wanted to do! Why does doing the right thing sometimes just flow from us and then at other times it is so very, very hard? It might just be that the "right thing" is harder because we wanted something to be different - we thought we'd be on the receiving end, instead of the giving end, or maybe we believed the circumstances would have changed just a little the last time we "did the right thing", but found they pretty much remained the same. It can be difficult to do the right thing all of the time, but the more we get this right, the more of Jesus others will see in and through us.

9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. (Galatians 6:9-10 ERV)

Why would "doing good" tire us? Shouldn't it be exactly the opposite - giving us energy and "fuel" for the next thing we will be faced with in this life? Maybe it is because we are looking for a "return" in this lifetime. God doesn't promise us a "return" for doing good or what is right in this lifetime - but he does promise us a "return" in the lifetime we shall live with him into eternity. The inheritance that awaits us may not be fully realized now, but we can rest assured it is ours in Christ Jesus. There were times when Jesus got weary in doing good - he needed some downtime now and again to regain his physical strength, renewing his spiritual vigor, and launching again into what he knew was the "right thing" to do while on this earth.

"Doing good" has a lot of meanings. It ranges from making the right choices when it is hardest to make them, to knowing what it right and doing it even when others may not be doing the same thing. If we condition our choice to do right around what others are doing, we may find ourselves consistently struggling to do right! Others should not be our gauge by which we "measure" how well we are doing at "doing right". Christ should be that gauge. I am not very wise, but I am tapped into the one who is wisdom embodied! I may not be consistent, but I serve the one who does not waver or falter. I may not be always aware, but I live with the one who is all-knowing. That said, my choices may be inconsistent at times, but God is helping me (and you) to become as consistent as possible by always presenting us with new opportunities to reveal that consistency!

A little Bible passage jumps into my head on occasion, reminding me that if I know how to do good and then choose not to do so, I am choosing to sin. (see James 4:17) It usually "jumps in there" whenever I am about to walk past something I know I should respond to, or do something contrary to what I know is right. It happens when I want my own way and another is making demands on my time or energies that sometimes will "cut into" what I want. It also happens when I see something I should address and then just leave it be because I am too busy, tired, or unconcerned to actually deal with it then. It is amazing how one tiny scripture can influence our decisions, though. That reminder from God is often enough to "fix" my contrariness and turn me around to doing what is "right" rather than just continuing on my way. It may not seem like much, but I think God uses this scripture for me because he knows it will move me in the right direction. You may have such a passage, too. If you do, don't underestimate the power of God's Word in you to help or assist you in doing good at times when you may not possess the strength (or the "want to") to actually do it! Just sayin!

Stop the planting

The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. 

(Proverbs 12:7 ESV)

There are definitely times when I think, "What is this world coming to?"  It is as though the mess we are creating is just abounding, not getting any better. Now, don't get me wrong - I know who is in control of all this and who will win out in the end - but in the meantime, some can certainly manage to create just a bit more chaos and upset than is their fair share! Without sharing all the details, suffice it to say that our country is in a muddle where it comes to politics. The level of crime in my own hometown is multiplying rapidly, with some even joking that West Phoenix is becoming a little like L.A. when it comes to gun violence.  As long as there is chaos caused by man's wrong thoughts and intentions, we will always have some sort of evil at work in this world and that will leave some feeling a little less than comfortable or secure. Not one of God's children need feel this way, though - for he IS in control!

It was Francis Bacon who once said, "In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present." It isn't that we "need" darkness to see light - but we definitely come to appreciate it. The other day I dropped a very small screw onto a very dark carpet where we were staying. Two young boys with eagle eyes, my daughter, and I scoured that carpet and surrounding floor. Not one of us could see that screw despite our careful exploration. The darkness of the carpet, combined with the dark color and small size of the screw made it almost impossible for us to discover the whereabouts of that tiny screw. What seemed like a small matter became a huge deal - what was lost needed to be found. In the operating room, if a needle is lost, we go to great lengths to locate it - despite the small size. Why? Even the small stuff has the potential to cause us great big problems later on!

Honestly, I think this is why we don't want to let the small stuff creep into our lives - so that it doesn't give way to bigger issues down the road. It is the smallest amount of anger that is allowed to fester into a big root of bitterness that will eventually bring more relational strife than we might consider "reconcilable". This is why we are to remain "current" in our relationships - dealing with each and every "wrong" that is perpetrated or sensed by another before the sun goes down. I am not always the best at this one myself, so what I am about to say applies to me, as well. There is more value in admitting we aren't being understood, or that another has been understood a certain way, than there is in just tucking that stuff away. The former helps us "remain current" while the latter lets us begin the work of nurturing the root of bitterness and resentment.

Once something takes root, it is much harder to deal with it than it is when it is in seed form. No matter what the seed may be, the real "impact" of the seed begins way below the surface. The seed isn't going to be much "threat" until it is given fertile ground and watered a little. To deal with all manner of evil in our world today, maybe our best tact is to not give it fertile ground! Just sayin!

Good vs. Evil

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. (Romans 6:12-14 NLT)

Something always exerts control - it is the nature of how things work. The "control" or force of gravity exerts the pull that keeps us from flying away from the surface of the earth into the oblivion of outer space. Oxygen controls the ability for human life to continue to exist on this planet, for without the availability of oxygen we'd all die. Weaker are consumed by stronger, simply because they can have a greater "control" over the outcome of the chase. If control is the issue, then we ask the next big question - what control governs or exerts the biggest force of restraining or directing influence over our lives? 

The answer to this could be as varied as there are human beings walking the surface of this earth right now, but in general there are probably just a couple of "forces" governing our lives - truly directing us one way or another. These are often referred to as the forces of good and evil. In old movies, it was depicted by some dark force against a lighter one - the cowboy bandit with the dark hat and clothes against the one with the lighter hat and clothes. As the dark force of evil would plot against the lighter one of good, even the music would play on in some mysterious way, building until there was a crescendo of furious noise as the two would clash upon the screen. As the "force of good" made gains, the music would change to depict that all was well once again.

We don't live in a world where evil always dresses in dark colors, though. At times it isn't as easy to see what is working against us and there isn't any ominously building music to warn of impending doom! We find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of darkness sometimes without realizing we entered that place - all because evil has a manipulative way of cleverly disguising itself! The forces still exist - good and evil - but the ever changing "mask" of evil may not always make it plain to us which force is pulling for control in our lives. There are some simple things we can recognize though - every controlling influence of evil is "demanding" - it wants what it doesn't have or what it isn't about to stop pursuing.

God's goodness is a powerful "force", as well, but it is not a "forceful" thing - it is gentle, patient, and loving. It pulls, but it doesn't manipulate. It guides, but it doesn't force its way into our lives. God's goodness isn't going to demand, but it beckons. We can often tell the difference in the force which is in control in our lives by the characteristics of that force's "pull". God's grace pulls us toward peace - not chaos. It persuades us with truth, not lies. It moves upon us in order to move into us as a welcomed guest, not as a demanding and manipulative one. We might do well to consider the "force" at work in our lives in terms of the influence it is exerting - for God's influence is first of all kind, gentle, and restorative. Evil's influence demands its own way, takes away rather than restores or builds up, and takes what it wants instead of waiting to be invited in. Just sayin!

Warning: I've been known to affect your "balance"!

Have you ever noticed how being in some crowds and doing what is right makes everyone in the crowd a little "off balance"?  It isn't that they cannot appreciate doing what is right, they just don't have the same enjoyment of doing what "isn't" right when someone is around who is consistent in doing what is right!  Equally so, doing what is wrong keeps everyone off balance, but lends an element of insecurity to the mix.  Why?  This thing we might term as "self-doubt" begins to enter into the mix when we see everyone doing one thing and we are doing something so totally different.  We begin to question the "validity" or "importance" of what we are doing - even when we know it to be the right thing to do! It is all because a little self-doubt enters into the mix - planted there by the actions of those around us who are pretty excited about doing something totally different than what we know to be right.  It is often the moment of truth which defines who we are at the core of our being - will we give into the self-doubt, or keep on "keeping on" in spite of it?

The Eternal prefers those who do good, but He condemns those who plot evil.  Doing what is wrong keeps everyone off balance and insecure, but those who do right will never be uprooted.  (Proverbs 12:2-3 VOICE)

Mother Teresa is quoted as saying:  "If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.  If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway.  If you find happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.  Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway.  For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway."  She hits the nail squarely on the head, doesn't she?  It isn't about if we are right and they are wrong; or if we are wrong and they just might be right.  It is about how our Lord views each of our actions in the light of his purpose for our lives.  He is the one who defines our actions - not the good or bad of another's actions which we often use as a measuring stick by which we will "judge" our own.

Self-doubt is a powerful weapon.  It can be used to keep us all muddled up in confusion so we never take any action.  It can be used to stop us in our tracks, so we don't go any further. It has both a bad and good side, doesn't it?  When it is based on what our conscience knows to be true and we are clearly moving toward what our conscience senses to be wrong, it acts as a little bit of a "braking system" to help us from heading into the wrong action.  When it is based on what we might hear from others, in spite of what we know to be true, and that information paints a little picture of doubt with which we begin to question truth, it can become the thing which plays with our sense of right and wrong enough that we walk squarely into compromise.  Unfortunately, the benefits of self-doubt are often overshadowed by the dangers of self-doubt.

Remember how Christ came into a world where there was a mixture of people "ready" to receive him, watching and waiting for the appointed day of his coming?  There were also those who knew very little of his coming, simply because they had never heard of it in their homes, nor learned of it in their schools.  It isn't much different now, is it?  In the scheme of things, the "coming of Christ" into the lives of individuals is a thing not spoken of too much in our schools, and definitely not "studied" with intensity by many.  Some will see those who do good in the midst of all the evil of the day and will be drawn to the evidence of good they see within that individual. In turn, they begin to hear of the "coming of Christ" in that individual's life, and they are drawn into the place of desiring that experience themselves.  Some will see those who do good even in the midst of tremendous evil, and they will pull away, criticize, and look down upon that individual, simply because they are confounded by the goodness which lives deep inside that individual.

What makes the difference in these circumstances?  Many might think it is that the "good" wasn't good enough, or the evil was just too evil.  The truth of the matter is that hearts must be prepared to see the good in such a way that a spark of desire is created.  Sometimes evil just needs to be encountered by good so frequently that there begins to be a little "self-doubt" created by the frequency of the good they are seeing!  Rather than shying away from being the "good" in the midst of repeated evil, maybe we need to become the one who "sets off-balance" those who pursue evil by being the evidence of good so frequently that we create a little "lack of balance" in the evil surrounding us.  Just sayin!

Wild Oats! Oh my!

You are probably familiar with the term of sowing one's wild oats, but do we just do this in our youth?  Although this term has some differing meanings, in the most literal sense this idiom carries the idea of doing something wild and foolish - so I guess we could all probably answer this question with a resounding "NO"!  We find ourselves doing a good many foolish things in our older age, don't we?  What about the last time you said something you regretted, or acted a little too hasty, making bad decisions along the way?  Wasn't this acting foolishly?  What is the one thing we hope will happen whenever we have done something so foolish and silly?  Isn't it that God will forget all about it?  Or perhaps that the consequences of our actions will not find us out!  Either way, we know what we have done has been both misdirected and silly - all we want is to be "square" again with God, the others in our lives, and our own conscience!

God is fair and just; he corrects the misdirected, sends them in the right direction.  He gives the rejects his hand, and leads them step-by-step.  From now on every road you travel will take you to God.  Follow the Covenant signs; read the charted directions.  (Psalm 25:8-10 MSG)

At the moment we "throw our lot in" with God, we can hold our heads high. There is no need to be skulking around, shame-filled and head low.  In fact, God tells us to lift our heads - to be unafraid to enter his courts and to come boldly into his presence.  When we become "schooled" in God's ways, we begin to understand the completeness of God's grace - it goes beyond our surface need to the very core of our most intimate need - to no longer feel the shame over our foolish deeds.  To be schooled in God's ways is to come into a place of understanding how he works - the consistency of his actions, reliability of his presence, and unyielding attentiveness to our needs.

Wild oats are simply seeds which when planted will bring forth a crop we don't want to really find in our fields.  It really doesn't have much usefulness - in fact, it kind of messes up the purity of what should be harvested from the field in the first place.  Wild oats are really a form of "grass" which springs up in the fields of cereal grains and referred to as "nuisance grains" by those who plant the cereal grains.  Probably the most aggravating issue with wild oats is the length of time their seeds can actually lie dormant in the ground.  Did you know wild oats (these nuisance grasses) can lay around for about ten years and still have the ability to spring up when the conditions are right?  Sound a little like some of the troublesome areas in our own lives?  We think we don't see evidence of any "nuisance" crops, but then all of a sudden, up it springs!

No wonder we sometimes feel like we cannot break free of things which we thought we let go of a long time ago - things we label as foolish!  We probably have a few of those dormant seeds just hanging around looking for the right opportunity to spring up!  Farmers who deal with these "nuisance" grasses know the only way to get rid of them is with a very strong chemical herbicide.  The issue with the chemical is the destruction it causes to the good stuff growing in the fields.  So, most farmers don't specifically attack the wild oats, but just filter them out when they begin to harvest the crop.  I think God has a different means of getting rid of the wild oats in our lives, though.  He knows how to find those seeds, ridding our "soil" of their potential destructive influence, and plucking up the odd one which might spring forth.  

The psalmist reminds us to mark the milestones of God's mercies and his grace - why?  I think it may have something to do with God's ability to find these seeds and to ensure they don't take over the good stuff he is growing within us.  As our passage points out, he is able to redirect the misdirected, making sure their path is one which will bring forth the best crop possible. How does he accomplish this?  By taking each of us by the hand and ensuring our steps are ordered.  God knows the difference between the good "oat" seed and the wild "seed".  He knows how to ferret out the two, allowing only the good to take root and the wild to be exposed, dealt with, and no longer in contact with the soil of our hearts.

We may have a few "errant" seeds left around in our lives - those we might call "wild".  God knows exactly where each of these are and he knows exactly how each of these "errant" seeds might just produce something we'd probably rather not like to deal with.  So, he works to remove them before they have the ability to grow into fully formed "nuisances" in our lives!  Just sayin!

Dead center - you hitting it?

Our desires go a long way in determining our end results in life.  We have been studying about how much God loves and blesses people of integrity - lives lived out according to his plan and purpose, with honesty and humility. Anytime we have "twisted desires", it leads to "twisted hearts" and the outcome will be less than good.  In fact, I think twisted ambition is what gets us so frustrated most of the time.  We get out undies in a wad - either at another, over something we cannot control, or totally because we are mad at ourselves - all because of some "twisted" desire or ambition.  When we learn to "untangle" our lives a little bit, it is amazing how much different things actually appear!

The desires of good people lead straight to the best, but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.  (Proverbs 11:23 MSG)

Life is filled with all kinds of choices we might make.  There are "good" and then there are "best" choices, aren't there?  Sometimes the difference between the two is a very fine line.  I have been guilty of making a whole lot of "good" choices in life, but I really have to wonder if I have always made the "best" choices.  If I were to perfectly honest, as you would probably imagine, not every "good" choice has been the "best" - but the outcomes were pretty amazing anyway.  I can honestly even say some of my "worst" choices yielded some pretty awesome things in my life - not because bad choices produce good results, but because God is able to redeem even the worst to create something good out of it.  

Ambition is kind of a fickle thing - it is okay to have desires, but when they drive us without thinking into actions we might not really want to take, they become detrimental to our well-being.  Think of ambition as a "driving" force. Then imagine desire as the feeling behind ambition - it creates the sense of "need", while ambition sets our feet into motion to see the need fulfilled. This is probably why our studies have focused so much on controlling our feelings! The way we "feel" about a certain thing makes all the difference in determining if we will pursue it or not.  Sometimes I don't "feel good" about some particular option available to me - if I ignore those "intuitions" I might just come to an end result which I would have liked to have avoided.  You may have realized this in your own experience, as well.  God's plan is for us to learn to align our desires with his purposes - this is what truly brings safety into our lives.  

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.  (Proverbs 11:25 MSG)

As our writer lays out various principles in this chapter, he reminds us repeatedly of the contrast between what is "good" and what definitely is "best".  Work hard - get a paycheck.  Have a paycheck - pay your bills.  Help others - you are helped yourself.  You see, hard work is a good thing - having money in your account is awesome!  Getting a paycheck is tremendously satisfying - living debt-free is overwhelmingly liberating.  Reaching out to others in need is rewarding - seeing a return on your investment in the blessing another receives is priceless.  Basically, what he lays out for us is a twofold concept:

     - Search for good - find favor
     - Search for evil - you will find it

Desire for what is right and good leads to finding favor with God and our fellowman.  Ambition misdirected toward evil just ends in evil.  Let me put it another way - the one who yields their desires to the leading of God in their lives will enjoy a tremendous reward.  The reward is something we experience here and now on this earth - contentment.  Favor is experienced in both the mind and in our actions - we get our minds set straight and our steps ordered. When these two things occur, contentment is certain to not be far behind.  All forms of discontent are really linked to either not having our minds at peace, or in engaging in some missteps along the way.  

Sometimes we fail to recognize the value of what we have been given.  We have been given all kinds of "good" in life - but what awaits us is really something pretty "great" - the "best" is our target.  If you look at a target, there are concentric rings which come to focus on some really small circle in the middle.  All the outer rings have "hallow space" in between them, don't they.  Getting anything inside one of those spaces is good, is it not?  Yet, the "solid" circle in the middle of the target - the small circle - is the best, isn't it? The "best" is not the biggest, nor the easiest to hit - the smallest is. But...did you ever stop to ask why it is a solid circle in the middle?  I think it might just be to help us focus on it!  All the other "hallow space" just leads us to looking directly at "dead center" on the target!  

Best is always "dead center" in our lives.  Whatever, or whoever, controls "dead center" determines the "score" in our lives.  Just sayin!