Make a fresh start today

This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’ —the coyotes and the buzzards— Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sunbaked earth, Drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me. (Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 MSG)

Today's message will be simple - it is time for us to take a firm stand and completely stop going over old history in our lives. So many of us spend countless hours rehearsing past failures, short-comings that have long been forgiven by God, and likely forgiven by many around us who either were a part of that failure in our character, or observed us going through it. The issues of the past are just that - they are the past. We cannot recreate the past anymore than we can blink our eyes and create a Corvette out of the void in front of us. Why do we try? Why do we feel the need to go over and over again the things that have already been dealt with under the grace of Christ? I think our pride has been dealt a blow by our failure and we have a hard time letting go of the things that affect our pride so deeply. Recall for a moment what scripture says about pride - it goes before our fall. If we continue to allow pride to rehearse our past, we will continually be setting ourselves up for future falls!

The key to letting go and taking a stand to no longer rehearse our past - be present in the moment. God is present in the moment - he isn't back there in the mess of our past. He is right here in the moment of today, but we have to acknowledge his presence and keep our pride from turning us back. I don't know about you, but my pride gets me to do a whole lot of things I later regret. Pride isn't going to let us off the hook that easy - we need God's help to deal with our pride. This is why he sent the Holy Spirit into the world - to help us where we most need his help. God's instructions are clear - forget about what's happened, don't keep going over old history. Instead, be alert and be present - pay attention to the presence of the Spirit of God within you, not that gnawing accusation of your wounded pride. God's promise to those who will be alert and be present with him - he is going to do something brand new within us!

As we start a new year with Jesus, can we take a moment or two to just pause and consider where our pride is keeping us focused on things already fully dealt with under the blood of Christ. Things we have already confessed, but where our pride keeps reminding us of our failures. Notice - we have already confessed those things. We have sought God's grace and he has extended it. Grace isn't earned - it is given as soon as we acknowledge our need for it. That is the basis of confession - laying down our failure, picking up grace, and then allowing grace to cover us fully until there is no sign of the failure any longer. Perhaps you haven't sought grace for that failure yet - it isn't too late. You can begin this year with a totally 'clean slate' - laying down those sins of the past and walking into the newness of grace. 

Pride will seek to keep you 'laser-focused' on how badly you screwed up in your choices. Grace will point you toward new choices. Pride will putting niggling thoughts into your mind that keep you rehearsing the 'severity' and the 'frequency' of your failure. Grace will put new thoughts in your mind of how you can find new paths away from those failures. It all begins with confession - what is confessed is laid down, not to be picked up again. When God reminds us of the need to 'be present', he is reminding us that we have this tendency to always look back - to 'figure out' why we failed. His truth will come to us not in the rehearsal of the past, but in the moments we spend with him in the present. There is nothing liberating about rehearsing the past, but there certainly is new liberty in staying current in the present. Just sayin!

The long front porch

I once was told we had to understand the intent of words in scripture, such as understanding what the 'therefore' was there for. It is a word that tells us we are about to understand the conclusion of all that has been presented. As a result of something that has been done, enacted, created, etc., we are to understand that what follows is the conclusion of the matter. With that in mind, if we were to read the scripture with an eye on the words that really help us to understand a condition has been met, or that the matter is firmly and finally settled, we might just realize we have no excuse for continuing in fear, despair, or doubt. It would settle our minds and hearts as we come to trust what has already been accomplished on our behalf.

Therefore, now no condemnation awaits those who are living in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, because when you live in the Anointed One, Jesus, a new law takes effect. The law of the Spirit of life breathes into you and liberates you from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

This particular 'therefore' is there for us to begin to focus anew on the hope we have in Christ Jesus and to stop looking at all the other things we had relied upon, such as our good works, or a pursuit of empty religious rituals. The Apostle Paul has spent a great deal of time helping us to understand the course of mankind, the coming of Christ, and the liberty God provided in the finished work of the Cross and the Resurrection. I like the first seven chapters of the Book of Romans to a 'long front porch' that helps us get to the doorway of what it is we will come into as we reach that end. Grace is that doorway, but in order to understand and fully value grace we need to understand the exact reason we need grace in the first place. Paul tells us of the downward spiral of mankind in choosing their own will over God's, finding ways to dishonor not only God, but themselves in the very actions that are a result of each of us being born with a sin nature.

Grace wouldn't be necessary if mankind could have found a way to liberate themselves from sin and death! A Redeemer wouldn't have been necessary if mankind could have learned to live above the pull of sin deep within us. Grace has always been the entryway - Christ being the one that unlocked the door of grace. Left to our own devices, we'd have wandered around on the 'front porch' of God's goodness and love a long, long time. So, the 'therefore' is there for us to realize we are no longer to be 'porch dwellers', wandering all around grace, trying to find a way to escape our sin nature all on our own. Grace must be embraced, but when it is fully embraced and we pass from self-reliance and self-will into the abundance of grace, we begin to experience the liberation we could never find in our religious pursuits or grand efforts of 'good works'.

Therefore...NOW no condemnation awaits those who are living IN Jesus the Anointed...

There is a definite moment in time where the threshold of grace is passed and we fully enter into the embrace of the liberating freedom that grace brings into our lives. It is important to keep in mind that NOW refers to something that comes without further delay in our lives - it is immediately available to us as we enter into it. What is it that is available as we cross over this threshold of grace? The removal and full release from ALL condemnation that sin brings into our lives past, present, and future! As we living IN Jesus, we are continually renewed by grace and this renewal process continually releases us from the grip of condemnation - whether it comes from others or our own self.

The long front porch prepares us for the entry into the place where we finally find our rest, peace, and eternal hope. There is no better time to enter into that place of liberating grace than NOW. Now suggests a permanence of it always being the right time to seek more and more of God's grace each and every time we need it in our lives. Liberating grace - always renewed - freshly embraced - setting us free from the laws of sin and death. Neither sin, nor death need hold us bound any longer. We are free in Christ Jesus. Let that sink in. You have entered into a new way of living - NOW live as liberated children of the Most High God. Just sayin!

Recipe for Enjoyment in Life

For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.” 

(I Peter 3:10-12 NLT)

I have met many an individual who is seeking enjoyment in life with gusto. Their every move is somehow purposed to get as much from the moment as possible, all while planning the next steps they will take so the enjoyment just doesn't have to end. I vacation with a friend about twice a year, getting a little respite from being a caregiver and just being able to be away. As the week begins, we are always excited about the possibilities the week holds - the discoveries as we enjoy a little time with nature on a hike, or get a few good movies under our belt on a "veg" day. As the week draws to an end, we will always comment to each other about how short the week was! Why? We want that sense of enjoyment and liberty to continue! Most of us want to live less complicated and more liberated lives, but in reality life is quite complicated and there are a whole lot of things making demands upon us that can easily compromise our liberty when given the right opportunity.

The scriptures "lay out" a "pattern" for living in such a way that we are able to enjoy our "liberty". We must embrace this "pattern" if we are to totally be unencumbered by the mess of stuff that would seek to waylay us into compromise. So, let's discuss what that pattern entails:

- Keep your tongue from speaking evil or telling lies. Now, before anyone really gets too caught up in the absolute insanity of actually being able to do this on a day to day basis, let me assure you this one is going to be a "work in progress" throughout all our days on this earth! Our mouth gets us into a whole lot of messy places we'd rather not have gone once we discover we are there, doesn't it? Notice this is an action on our part - we are to "keep" our mouths "from" speaking evil. This must mean we have to exert a little control - but we all know that control over our tongue is much harder than we'd like to admit. We must take conscious action to choose our words - with our words beginning in what it is we allow our minds to dwell upon. When we want to keep our tongues from speaking evil, we must begin with keeping our minds from going down wrong paths of envy, judgment, and other malicious pathways. When we rightly order our thoughts, the words which are spoken tend to be spoken from the path we are walking!

- Turn away from evil and toward good. This goes along with how we order our thought life. When we choose to think upon things that are wholesome and of "good report", we find ourselves not being as easily enticed into things which are not going to build up one another. There is a deliberate choice required - this is what our writer wants us to see. We don't just happen upon good - we deliberately choose to walk away from evil and toward good. If we are honest here, this is not always our first choice! We might just want to be a little "bad" on occasion - we choose to do what we know to be wrong. Turning away suggests we do more than just divert our gaze - we literally do a 180 and walk in a totally different direction. When I first began my lifestyle change of eating healthy rather than choosing "convenient options", I had to avoid the cafeteria at work. Why? There were too many "convenient options" that just didn't border on the word "healthy" at all! I had to take a different pathway to lunch which didn't include the path to the cafeteria. As you might imagine, when you remove the path, your focus changes!

- Search for peace and seek to maintain it. Seek peace - note, it doesn't say we will be the recipients of peace within all our relationships with mankind. It says WE have to search for it in those relationships. It means we have to learn what 'hills we want to die on' in this lifetime. There are some things we just shouldn't compromise, but there are a whole lot more that we can safely find neutral ground upon which we can stand. For example, I don't have to choose to drink wine, but I also don't need to find fault with someone who enjoys a glass with a meal once in a while. The consumption of that glass of wine isn't going to send them to hell! It isn't my choice, but it also isn't something I need to take issue with, allowing it to become a wedge driven between us over the course of time. 

These are very practical words of advice - meant to help us walk well and avoid what otherwise can become very cumbersome problems for us in this lifetime. When we embrace even these three short lifestyle changes, we will be amazed at how much less we are "mopping up" messes in our lives. Just sayin!

Not another "stay-cation"!

It is almost the end of the school season and many families are beginning to make their plans for summer vacations.  Some will choose to laze around the lake, taking in nature in all its beauty.  Others will head for far away family, renewing the bonds and memories which the miles have imposed in their separation.  Yet, others will clamor for the long lines of the amusement parks and thrill of riding the latest rides.  Whatever the location, the purpose of the time is "to get away" from today's hassles and to enjoy some time in a moment of "escape".  I daresay, we "leave" in order to "renew".  Some will use this break from school as a time to pick up family and belongings, moving to a totally new place in the country.  Jobs, family demands, or other opportunities influencing their decision to "move on".

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! (Romans 6:1-3 The Message)

The choice to "leave" one location, then to "cleave" to another is sometimes temporary, as in vacation.  At other times, it is quite a permanent choice.  I wonder how we treat our "leaving" of our past lifestyle "before Christ" - - as a vacation from sin, or as a clean break?  I have treated it as a "vacation" at times - - turning back to the same old stuff.  How silly is that?  I tasted of the goodness of grace, felt the renewal of forgiveness, and then chose purposefully to step back into what I had just left.  Some would say I need my head examined, right?  Well, you are probably a little off-base there - - I really need my heart examined!


Whenever we treat God's forgiveness and his renewal as a "season of vacation" from our sin, we are likely to turn back to it at a later time.  When we actually make a "move away" from sin, we have a much better time overcoming it.  Let me explain...


- God offers us an escape from the "country where sin is sovereign".  This is a place of profoundly wrong choices which impact us in many negative ways.  We find ourselves lacking in relationship stability because we choose to focus on self rather than others.  We are engulfed with self-pity because we don't get our way.  When we do get our own way, we don't find the fulfillment we hoped would be attached to the choice.  It is truly a place we'd like to escape.


- Vacating a space can be temporary, or permanent.  The determination becomes apparent when we examine how much we have "dissolved" our ties with the place we left.  If we go on a vacation, we pack a few bags, knowing we will return.  In fact, we often ask someone to watch over our place while we are gone, ensuring the plants are watered and the dog is cared for.  We plan to return.  We never intended to "pull up roots" and move on.  We were looking for a temporary "fix" for our problem.  


- Vacating a space permanently carries some interesting ideas for us to consider.  First, we can "move on", but take all our stuff with us!  We back up the moving van into the driveway, pack up all our belongings, put the car on a hitch behind the van, pile the family and dog in the front seat and away we go.  We "leave", but we are still "cleaving" to the stuff we are taking along with us!  But...we can "leave" in order to "cleave" to something new.  I did this when I left for the military in 1976.  I left it all...only the clothes on my back (and they took those away from me!).  When I arrived at Ft. Jackson, they gave me new garments, a new place to live, and all new associations.  It was a true "break" from my life as I knew it.  They were intending me to "cleave" to my new way of life!


I wonder how we treat our "break from sin" - - is it a clean break?  If we leave, but never break the tie of "cleaving to" the sin, we find ourselves drawn back.  I returned "home" after basic training - - but I was changed.  My ties to home were different.  It was my past.  I had a future planned out for me and I was "on mission" with the military.  I had a new purpose for my life.  Guess what?  God has the same plans for us.  Break with the past.  Be on mission with him in the present.  This is his plan.  This is where we find liberty and purpose.


Just some thoughts on "vacating" for you to consider today!

Stifled within the walls

Because of the Cross...these words speak volumes.  Have you ever stopped long enough to really take an inventory of the many things the Cross of Christ has changed in your life?  When you do, you will find the list starts out with really "big" stuff - when you think a little longer, you will find the list begins to encompass some of the things we probably take for granted each day.  The blessings are countless!

^14-15I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! 

(Galations 6:14-15 The Message)

When we "boast" about something, we are "bragging up" the object of our affection.  We are directing our attention and effort toward the object we boast the most about.  If the boasting we do is about ourselves, we might get a clear indication of the lack of impact of the Cross on areas of our lives where we likely need its impact the most!  


Paul's main emphasis in writing this letter to the Christian believers in Galatia is to bring about a revelation of the actual and total freedom of the Cross of Christ within our lives.  By the Cross, we have been set free from the "stifling" atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns they dictate.  If you have ever walked into an outbuilding in the heat of the Arizona sun, you have probably experienced the "stifling" effect of "pent up" heat and dry air.  It almost takes your breath away.


Guess what?  Living by the rules / patterns which others "dictate" in our lives is like breathing in the stagnant, dust-filled, wickedly hot air of the shed!  In much the same way as we'd come into the outbuilding, we "enter into" the bondage of the "smallness" of the confinement these rules / patterns produce within us.  We may enter a little timidly, but once inside, we begin to be overcome by the "smallness" of the walls as we experience the "stifling effect" of the requirements of being conformed to that which pleases others.


We have seen it put forth in many ways in this letter to Galatia - freedom is for enjoying, not for making us more burdened down under weights we cannot possibly carry!  As much as we'd like to, we cannot make ourselves "right" in the eyes of everyone who wants to influence our lives.  In fact, we become quite frustrated in even trying.  The greatest experience of freedom is in "submission" to the work of the Cross - nothing else.


God is at work in us - creating something totally (not partially) new!  What he declares "free" we should never allow to enter again into the "stifling" bondage of the littleness of man's expectations, standards, or rules.  Indeed, we should make every effort to avoid the "outbuildings" others want to confine us within!  


The list of the impact of the Cross in our lives can be as large as we allow it to be - how?  The list of freedoms we enjoy increases each time we say "no" to the urgency others place on things or patterns which will only keep us, or bring us again into bondage.  May God's list of freedoms you enjoy be ever-increasing in your life!

Hope, Liberty and Power

^38-39"So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!"  ^40-42That convinced them. They called the apostles back in. After giving them a thorough whipping, they warned them not to speak in Jesus' name and sent them off. The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Every day they were in the Temple and homes, teaching and preaching Christ Jesus, not letting up for a minute.

(Acts 5:38-42)

The disciples have been making all kinds of new friends through the many converts to the Christian faith all over Jerusalem after the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.  Scripture tells us that people had mixed emotions as it came to accepting this move of God those many years ago.  In fact, we see reports of those that absolute resisted the evidence right in front of them.  Others were a little "skeptical" - perhaps standing back and taking in what was going on, giving themselves a little time to "watch and wait" before they may any decision about what they'd do with this gospel message of deliverance and power.  There was always a crowd of those that immediately accepted the message of hope and aligned themselves with the New Testament believers.  In fact, we see reports that thousands were added to the "ranks" of the church daily.

In examining the two groups that were resistive or reluctant to the gospel message, we can see several interesting facts:

• Acts 4:13-14 tells us that although the religious leaders and Pharisees wanted the disciples to stop speaking their message of hope in Christ, they were fascinated by how well these "unlearned" or "unschooled" men knew the very deep details of scripture.  They also had difficulty resisting the evidence that miracles were being worked in their midst - how could they argue with "evidence"?
• Acts 4:21-22 reveals the inefficiency of their threats to "silence" the gospel message in those that are filled with the Holy Spirit.  Where there is a passion for Jesus, there is a purpose for life - it is difficult to silence one with a purpose!
• Acts 5:11 recounts the perception of those that merely heard about what God was doing among the New Testament church.  Rumors were circulating of the miracles, the "community" of believers that was rapidly forming, and the fact that God was not to be "trifled" with.  The evidence of his outpouring caused a new reverence or "fear" of God.
• Acts 5:12-16 gives us our first hint that there were what I will call "wary worriers" in the first church meetings or gatherings.   The scripture tells us "But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them."  There were those that took it all in, but just couldn't come to the place that they moved beyond their "mistrust" of the gospel message.
• Acts 5:29-32 recounts Peter's response to the leaders and Pharisees when they asked the disciples why they were continuing to spread the gospel message when they had specifically instructed them to keep silent.  Peter's response was one that tells it all:  "It's necessary to obey God rather than men."  There will always be those that just don't understand the allegiance of a man's heart with God's.

Earlier this week I was "blocked" from posting a link to my daily blog on one of the social networking websites I belong to.  The reason I received for the "block" on my daily post - someone reported the blog as offensive.  To that I say - YEEHAW!  The gospel message will ALWAYS be interpreted by some as offensive because it pricks at the conscience and it ultimately demands that we "do something" with what we have heard.  The gospel message is one of hope, liberty, and power.  Just as Peter said those many years ago - it is necessary to obey God rather than man.  

Look at our passage today.  The disciples had been whipped and warned not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore.  We don't understand this kind of "justice" in our culture today as our law enforcement agencies do not employ the "whip" as a means of attempting to correct action they find offensive.  What we do know about the method of whipping in the times the disciples were preaching was that it left the man bloody and often with open sores - at a minimum, the skin was blistered and raw.  Then the warning came - don't speak in the name of Jesus any longer.  Hadn't the disciples already told the leaders that it would be impossible for them to do that?

I want us to look at the response of the disciples - they left that day feeling overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored - all on account of the authority of the name of Jesus!  I wonder if we'd feel that it was an "honor to be dishonored" today on account of someone taking offense at the message of hope in Jesus' name.  I can only hope we would!  Don't ever be afraid to speak the most powerful name - the name that carries ALL authority - JESUS.  That is the ONE name that carries the deepest hope.  That is the ONLY name that can set the captive free.  That is THE NAME that opens the windows of heaven.  Speak it!