What process are you setting in motion?

Those who plot evil shall wander away and be lost, but those who plan good shall be granted mercy and quietness. (Proverbs 14:22 TLB)

Good or evil - both are the result of certain processes set in motion within our lives. Deming said that if we could not find a way to describe what we are doing as a 'process', then we actually didn't know what we are doing. All of life is filled with processes, beginning with thought and carried into action. If you have ever had one of those involuntary moments when you are asleep and suddenly feel like you are falling, jerking yourself awake, you know how 'off' that feeling of falling can make you feel. You might not realize it, but we are all subject to 'interpreting' certain actions or reactions based on how they make us feel. Yet, not all feelings are real - that 'fall' was imagined. You weren't actually falling out of bed, but somehow your thoughts engaged a reaction to that 'impression' of falling. A 'process' was set in motion - you were startled, awoke, and now are staring into the darkness wondering if that was real! There are times when we 'engage' in the process without knowing fully where the process will take us! At others, we find ourselves at the end of the process wondering how we got there!

While we cannot control everything in our lives, we can develop consistent processes that help us to maintain stability and make good judgments as those processes around us are set in motion. I spend a great deal of time in my work life just evaluating processes and seeing where they need 'shoring up' in order to improve both efficiencies and outcomes. An efficient process with poor outcomes is not a great process - it might get the job done, but the job reflects the lack of consistency in the process. In our daily walk with Christ, there are a whole lot of processes we could engage to help us remain consistent in our walk. We might read scripture each day so that we get a little of his Word into our minds and hearts. We might engage in purposeful conversation with God (prayer) in order to get things out into the open and then hear what he has to say on the matter. We also might meet with others who are working good 'in' and evil 'out' in their lives - making the idea of two being stronger than one a reality for us. Processes - each designed to help us be established in our walk with Christ, consistent in our 'outcomes', and directed in our focus.

Some think there is not way to change the process of evil either within ourselves or around us. Both of these beliefs are dead wrong. Evil exists because man hasn't 'shut down' those processes - there is an 'allowance' for them to still exist. In terms of looking at the process, I might label this as an 'allowed variation'. In other words, we allow just 'enough' evil that we get the thrill of it once in a while, but not so much of it that we exemplify this evil all the time. Whatever we allow will eventually be accepted - hard truth, but it is truth nonetheless. Allow variation in the process and you will eventually get deviation from the process. This is another truth about processes. A little 'wobble' may not seem like much, but allow that wobble to continue over time and eventually the wobble will allow a 'gap' to form. The ignored or tolerated 'wobble' actually creates 'holes' which allow more variance. The idea of evil beginning as that tiny 'wobble' in our choices, if tolerated long enough, carries the added idea that the consistency in making those errant choices will result in a totally different process than was once designed or desired!

While the process matters, it is the steps in the process that all lead up to the outcome. Any step in the process that is neglected affords an opening for a new process to begin. That new process may the very thing that gives us the greatest opportunity to stumble and fall. That variation ignored long enough may not become evident to us until we are startled by the fall! Just sayin!

Help me decide....

2 People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges the reasons for everything they do. 3 Do what is right and fair. The Lord loves that more than sacrifices. (Proverbs 21:2-3 ERV)

What are the reasons behind the actions you take? This is a reasonable question, but one that may require a bit more soul-searching than we often want to make at any given moment. It is not uncommon to "act", then think of the motivation behind those actions. It usually happens as a result of the action falling short of whatever it was you thought you were doing when you acted! It is then that you look back, wondering just how quickly your actions got that off-course.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - actions really do follow thought. We may not realize what we have been entertaining in our minds until we see the actions in play. As I have often said, having a "guard" over our thought life can be our salvation in more ways than one! We don't always know where our minds are going to take us, but when the Holy Spirit is there to stand watch over our thought life, the actions coming forth stand a more reasonable chance of being those God won't judge quite so harshly!

There are a lot of times we see people taking actions solely because they think God requires them. My friends, if the only reason we are taking an action is because we think it will somehow "win us favor" with God, those actions aren't going to hit the mark either. You have probably heard it said that to every action there is a reaction. Even actions we believe to be "holy" or "right" may not always be the best actions for us to take. There are times when the heart behind the actions just isn't in the right place, making even the "best" of actions kind of hollow.

I have discovered that since every action has a follow-up reaction, it is often quite easy to evaluate the impact of the action pretty quickly most of the time. I can get a "feel" for the impact of the action by the reaction of others who are in the path of that action. If the action was a positive one, usually the reaction will be rather positive, as well. If the action was hollow, not really genuine, the reaction is going to be equally as shallow or hollow. The action may have been "good", but was it sincere, trustworthy, and motivated by love? Really, that is the crux of the matter.

Whenever I want to change the course of the actions I am taking, I must first involve the Holy Spirit to stand guard over all present and future actions. It is too late for him to stand guard over those ones in the past, but he can begin to have an impact on my motivations and heart's desires for the present and future ones. I have to remember that my motivations and heart's desires can be "colored" by a lot of things that get heard, observed, and absorbed in my life. There is no better help to understand whether what is heard should actually be listened to, or what is observed should actually be absorbed into my life than to have the Holy Spirit reminding me of God's words on the matter at hand, or just pointing out the wisdom (or lack thereof) in the decision/action I am about to make/take. Just sayin!

Temptation or Trial?

If you have never read the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness just before he launches out into his "public" ministry, it is worth a read.  As the Devil tempts Jesus, he puts him through three tests - one aimed at his physical hunger with the intention of getting Jesus to satisfy his needs on his own; a second aimed at getting him to jump off a high place and presuming upon the grace of God to catch him before he fell to the ground; and a third aimed at getting Jesus to "save the world" without really having to go to the cross by accepting an alternative to God's divine plan.  After all three of these temptations, we find the words, "That completed the testing."  Lest we think the Devil is all done with us when we don't give into one or more tests, remember the rest of the passage - he retreated TEMPORARILY.  His "retreat" is always only temporary at best.  He actually is looking for the next opportunity to interject himself into our lives again - hoping the next time we will be "hungrier", "more prideful", or willing to "be outside of God's will" for our lives!

That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.  (Luke 4:13 MSG)

I think it is important to recognize that the Devil doesn't just attack us in one area of our lives - he has a full battery of tests at his disposal and he cycles through them over and over until he "hits" on one which just may trip us up a little.  It is his hope that he "hits" one and that we stumble and fall.  In falling, he hopes we will stay down - but if we trust God's grace in our lives, we know any stumble is not permanent - it is unfortunate, but it is not permanent!  Some of his tactics include coming with his attacks when we are overly tired.  Ever noticed when you are far too extended in your life and then you allow that lack of balance to begin to affect your words, actions, and even your thoughts?  I have - and I don't like that feeling of being "out of balance" because it affects others in my life, not just me.  Before I go any further, let me just put something out there - God doesn't tempt us.  He might put us through tests which will try our endurance and increase our faith, but he doesn't tempt us.  The difference is in the outcome.  Testing produces the characteristics of Christlikeness in us.  Temptation actually encourages us to do things in our own way, by our own devices, and with our own intent - all contrary to the development of righteousness God wants to see within our lives. 

Trouble tempts us.  We are tempted to act bad in the worst times, aren't we? It doesn't matter what we SAY we know, it has t be proven in our lives, doesn't it?  In times of trouble, we have an opportunity to see if what we SAY actually matches up with what we DISPLAY.  The Devil hopes to tempt us to respond out of our "troubled" state in any manner which shows we don't actually walk in the way we say we believe.  Now, God tests us in ways which will reveal to us how well we are apply what is we have been taught - Satan hopes we just hear and never become "doers" of what we are taught.  The hope on Satan's part is that we will dismiss the things we are "hearing" from God's Word as too hard, not necessary, or just plain not making sense.  That way, when he comes to tempt us, we don't have a defense to use against him.  Jesus used the Word as a defense each and every time - not because he had just memorized it, but because he lived by it.  We will only be able to resist the temptations Satan sets in our path to the degree we are living by the truth we have been given.

Lest we think there is absolutely no benefit to temptation, let me assure you there is great benefit in it!  Temptation actually can be a mirror to reveal to us areas in our lives where we have been deceived - where it is we have heard truth, but chosen to think it doesn't apply to us or that it is too difficult to apply it to our lives.  Each of us has "junk in our trunk" which is revealed best in the times we are tempted.  It is in these times of temptation where the "real" us surfaces - the junk in the trunk is no longer hidden.  Until the "trunk" is emptied, there is no room for the fruit God wants to fill our "trunk" with! Pressure from WITHOUT is often what reveals what is WITHIN.  Truth is, we don't know much about obedience until we are faced with the two choices - one leaning heavily on choosing our own devices, the other on denying self and leaning heavily into God for his choices for our lives.  

People aren't perfect, but God has given us the means to behave in a manner which is contrary to our imperfection - through the grace of Christ in our lives. It isn't the problems we face, it is the reaction to the problems that provides us the opportunity to grow.  When we "review" our reactions through the eyes of God's Word (his mirror), we find help in identifying them as godly or kind of selfish.  In time, the continual review of these reactions will begin to reflect a changed pattern of behavior - if we are consistent in using his Word as a means of "reviewing" and guiding our behavior.  Just sayin!