Spreaders of seed

Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God. (Pope Francis)

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will most certainly cause righteousness and justice and praise to spring up before all the nations through the power of His word. (Isaiah 61:11)

I enjoy getting away into the remote regions of our country once in a while. It is a way to just admire what God has created. I can sit for hours watching tiny ants build their colony, birds gather twigs and leaves for their nests, and birds soaring high above on currents of wind. Nature has a way of conveying things about God that can capture an open heart, bringing awe and gratitude for his restorative processes all around us. The leaves fall, but they provide shelter and nourishment even in dying. The clouds scatter across the once blue skies, some filled with hopes of soon coming rains. The seeds fall, becoming nourishment for creatures of all kinds, allowing them to be scattered into places they would not reach otherwise. God has a way of not only renewing this earth, but of restoring it - just like he can do for each of us.

We 'participate' in spreading the hope of his restoration just as the birds and tiniest of creatures do on this earth. We ALL play a part in spreading 'seeds' of grace, hope, trust, and love. In so doing, we are encouraging others to find the hope we have found in God's restorative power. Perhaps one of the greatest 'gifts' we give this earth is the spreading of God's word by living out what his word tells us to do. As we allow his word to transform our lives, we are inevitably becoming 'spreaders of seed'. Seed that will 'spring up' in ways that transforms the lives of others around us. Seeds planted deep within our soul have the potential to bring renewal and restoration when they are not hoarded but allowed to be spread throughout this hurting world. Just sayin!

Get on with it

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6:1)

I think this should probably read 'when', not 'if', because all of us will eventually find ourselves needing forgiveness and restoration, no matter how hard we try to live according to the principles of grace, goodness, and kindness. We all slip up in weak moments, saying or doing something we later regret. When that happens, do we judge one another, holding onto those judgments and allowing bitterness to form deep within our heart? Do we lovingly restore one another, without judging the actions of the other, not giving place to bitterness and anger? Easier said than done, huh? We might want to remember that what we criticize the most in others may just be at the root of what we find ourselves struggling with, as well. The adage, "It takes one to know one", is certainly true and it is also quite convicting!

Stoop down and reach out - that indicates a change of position on our part, doesn't it? It requires us to get 'off our high horse' and get into the thick of it with the one who has fallen, helping them out of that mire they got so bogged down in. It is hypocritical to find fault with others for the very things that also trip us up and get us bogged in the mire of sin, isn't it? If we want to be strong in our own faith, it means we also need to be humble in our approach to others who find themselves sinning, as well. 'There but for the grace of God, go I' is more than a proverbial expression of grace and humility - it is the truth that we all find ourselves in the need of forgiveness. When John Bradford first spoke those words, he wanted his hearers to recognize our very life and whatever fortune we find within it is entirely based on God's guidance and his mercy.

All that go through in life is a teachable moment, when we allow God to use it for his work within us. Even when we find ourselves 'fallen' and in need of restoration, he can use that moment to teach us how to make different choices next time. Be assured, there will be a next time! Lovingly embrace one another, show grace when it seems to be undeserved, be humble about your own propensity to make unwise choices, and get on with the lesson! Life is too short to live with regret, and it is too long to live with unforgiveness! Just sayin!

Does baptism make me stop sinning?

So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace? Of course not! Our old sinful life ended. It’s dead. So how can we continue living in sin? Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ Jesus when we were baptized? In our baptism we shared in his death. So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death. And just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father, so we can now live a new life. (Romans 6:1-4)

If you haven't realized it yet, we do 'continue to sin' even after we say yes to Jesus. There is still a struggle with temptation. We don't just magically 'stop sinning' - we must deal with the urges to do what is wrong when we know what is right. Good news is that we don't do it alone! We have Christ in us to help us with that very real struggle.

Did you ever wonder what purpose water baptism plays in a person's life? If we are honest, some of us may have 'got dunked' without really understanding the real meaning of that action. When we say yes to Jesus, we welcome him into our hearts and ask him to take control of our lives. When we are baptized in water, we are attesting to the fact we have chosen to follow Jesus, wish to live our lives as 'dead to sin' and 'alive to right living'. 

The whole thing about 'taking part in Christ's death' can be a little hard for some to understand. The purpose of baptism is to show we are committed to this walk with Jesus, are reliant upon him to help us live renewed lives, and that we are aware we now live 'new lives'. We are attesting to being 'dead to sin', but we don't always make 'right choices', do we? Does that mean that the action of baptism 'didn't work'? Not at all. Baptism is a testimonial of our faith in Christ to renew our lives - to help us make better choices and walk in all the wisdom he gives.

What changes then? We don't get pulled into sin as easily. It might not happen immediately, but our priorities change. Our choices change. We find ourselves desiring the presence of God. We are easily convicted of our 'sinful deeds' and find ourselves desiring God's restoration quickly. We aren't perfect yet, but we have changed hearts that lead to changed actions, and that is moving us toward God's presence and not away from it. Baptism isn't magical - it is a trusting act that shows we desire more of Christ's activity in our lives until we one day find ourselves aligned with all he desires. Just sayin!

Filthy?

Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. (Psalm 16:4) 

As we are reminded in Proverbs 17, "Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. Foolish children bring grief to their father and bitterness to the one who gave them birth." (vs. 24-25) Run away from God and toward anything else that we embrace in place of God in our lives, and we will soon know the bitterness that comes from pursuing these 'false gods'. Kids do a wide variety of things that parents may label as 'sweet', 'cute', or 'precious', but God will always label our wayward desire to put anything else in his place in our lives as 'sin'. Reject God by not putting him in his right place as Lord of our lives and we will soon reap the 'reward' of that rebellious spirit - the consequences may not be all that kind to us. If you have been anything like me, you might just know there is a certain amount of deep sorrow and regret that accompanies rebellion. Try as we might, we cannot escape the sorrow that accompanies sinful pursuits. We can try to escape them, but the truth of the matter is that sin leaves a 'tell-tale sign' of its presence. It is like walking down a dusty path, not even noticing just how much dust is gathering about our ankles until we strip away the shoes and socks. All of a sudden, we realize the 'filth' of the journey!

The 'filth' was 'unseen' as long as we were walking that path, but as soon as we broke from that path, attempting to recover from the journey, we notice the unsightly 'filth' that has gathered. Sin is like that - we follow the path for as long as we want and then when we attempt to 'recover' from the journey down that path, we begin to notice just how much 'filth' has gathered inside of us. We begin to sense regret and perhaps even a bit of guilt. We might dwell on that regret and guilt over and over again, leading us to feel a great deal of shame over having taken sin's path. Filth upon filth - guilt and shame. As much as we want to wash away the dirt of the dusty trail, we desire to be free of the filth of our sins. Chase after other 'gods' and you will soon notice the 'gathering filth' of that chase. We choose the path we will take - we choose who will be at the center of our lives. 

It could be we choose ourselves - wanting nothing more than to be the leader of our own lives. I daresay I have tried that pathway, and it didn't work out so well for me. We could choose to worship something else - like a career, material things, or even another person, but I will also tell you that pathway will have a 'dirt' all its own that will leave you feeling just as 'filthy'! We must not have any other 'god' in our lives - that is pretty clear in scripture. What do we do if we have allowed someone or something else to take God's place? We confess our sin, repent (turn away from it), and give him his rightful place. As we do, we will likely notice we need a good 'washing' in order to get rid of the filth we have allowed to gather. Repentance involves cleansing - so don't be afraid to be 'washed'. It is God's way of restoring the beauty he desires for each of us. Just sayin!

A come and go kind of guy?

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

At times, we might begin to wonder if God is getting tired of all our 'asking' and 'seeking'. Here we are, day after day, asking him for the same stuff to happen, such as the salvation of our children, the restoration of a relationship that has been in the dumps for years, or the increase of our finances so we aren't living paycheck to paycheck. If God were human, he might just get tired of us asking and seeking, but we must always remember he isn't human! He is divine - he is the Creator of the universe and the Lord of Lords. He is exalted over all and all that exists is because of his power. 

We grow weary of the same 'old fight', but God knows when that weariness creeps in and we are in need of a bit of a rest. He also knows when we are growing weary in asking, beginning to take less and less enthusiasm in asking, and he reminds us of his goodness, grace, and power. Why? God wants us in step with him, not lagging even one step behind. Yes, we may grow weary, but he revitalizes our faith and restores our hope. Waiting upon him is the place of renewal - the place where we find our greatest strength.

God doesn't come and go - keep that in mind. He is ever-present, even when we might not appreciate his presence with us. He stands when we are unable to stand any longer. He goes before us when the way seems unclear, or the path riddled with all manner of hostility. He breathes new life into us when all of this world's pressures and problems have weighed us down so badly that we feel as though we could not take another breath. He stands - we rise up. He comes along side - we move forward. He brings peace - we are renewed and strengthened for the journey ahead.

I have always enjoyed this passage of scripture. I find myself going there when I am a little weary from life's demands, or disillusioned by the delay in some answer I am seeking. It stands as a reminder that God isn't a 'fly-by-night' guy - he is there even when I may not sense his presence with me. He finds small ways to let me know he is above all the pressures I am feeling and has prepared a way of escape where I most need it. How about you? Been feeling a bit 'pressured' and 'weary' lately? Bring yourself to the foot of the cross and find all the goodness of his rest, restoration, revitalization, and revelation he has prepared for you. You won't ever leave his presence the same way you came! Just sayin!

It is dark in here

Imagine being surrounded on all sides, enemy forces about to tromp on you, fear mounting, despair permeating every fiber of your being. You may not realize how 'dire' the circumstances really are, but you know something has happened to change the course of 'good times' in your life. We all get there on occasion - sometimes by our own doing. We choose to compromise our lives with some 'little sin' that really isn't 'all that big'. Then we wonder why we find ourselves with mounting pressures and attacks. Truth be told, that 'little sin' let in a dump truck load of other temptations you might not have wanted to entertain, but now they are there. In those times when the pressures seem to be closing in, keep in mind one very important fact - God has not forgotten how much you need light in your life!

The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness. (Micah 7:9)

Sin has a way of creating 'dark places' in our spirit, affecting our bodies, and disrupting our thought life until we feel like there is likely no way out. Remember this - with God all things are possible - there is always a way out. We may not readily see it, nor do we have a clue what got us where we are right now, but God does, and he will walk us through those dark places if we give him the chance. The nation of Israel was facing much conflict, rulers within their nation were even a bit corrupt and not following the Lord as they should have. The pressures from neighboring territories were mounting and war was always imminent. How much pressure do we have to be under before we realize we need God's grace to get us back to a place of light again? If we are anything like Israel, we may need to go 'through' a few battles, feeling a bit 'beat up', before we finally acknowledge we have walked down a wrong path.

What we can never forget is that God stands at the ready to dispel darkness - to deal with sin, then to bring restoration to the sinner. God doesn't like operating in the realm of 'punishment', but sin has a way of beating us up. It is a consequence of wrong choices. Grace is the blessing of right ones! Restoration begins at the point of confession, but we must remember that confession is more than an acknowledgement of sin. It is a starting point for repentance - the turning away from that which brought the darkness in the first place. Just sayin!

Celebration or Criticism?

I want to explore a miracle from the Bible today, but from a little bit of a different perspective - that of the crowd. We could look at the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, seeing the wonder of a man dead and buried for four days coming forth from the tomb completely bound in graveclothes, face muffled in a swath cloth. Unwrapped, free, alive and fully restored - now that is a miracle of astronomical proportions, is it not? I imagine Lazarus 'stood out' a little bit, as he had been to heaven and was now alive to talk about it. Yet, there were some in the crowd that day that stand out just a little bit themselves. The Jewish leaders - men of learning and intense study of the Law of Moses. Their response to this miracle? Some believed and some ran to the Pharisee religious leaders to 'tattle on Jesus'.

And so, at last many of the Jewish leaders who were with Mary and saw it happen, finally believed on him. But some went away to the Pharisees and reported it to them. Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened a council to discuss the situation. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “For this man certainly does miracles. If we let him alone the whole nation will follow him—and then the Roman army will come and kill us and take over the Jewish government.” And one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, “You stupid idiots—let this one man die for the people—why should the whole nation perish?” This prophecy that Jesus should die for the entire nation came from Caiaphas in his position as High Priest—he didn’t think of it by himself but was inspired to say it. It was a prediction that Jesus’ death would not be for Israel only, but for all the children of God scattered around the world. So, from that time on the Jewish leaders began plotting Jesus’ death. (John 11:45-53)

There are always going to be some in the crowd that just cannot see the good in what God does when a life is restored. Standing before them is the greatest witness of the grace and goodness of God, and they just cannot accept it. Instead, they criticize, make fun of, and put down the life change. A man brought back from the grave - standing there with them in full view - and they don't glory in the revelation of God's redeeming grace - they criticize it. The world doesn't like to see transformed people - it frightens them! They cannot understand the grace of God - the transforming power of the one true God. So, God uses those he has transformed to tell his story - because all those who look on will do is criticize and attempt to squelch that message of transformation.

In bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus showed his power. If you look at the account, you will note that Martha kind of thinks Lazarus is 'beyond restoration' because she reminds Jesus in no subtle manner that Lazarus has been in the grave four days and he 'stinketh'. In other words, the decay of death has already been at work in his body. Tombs in Israel were not air-conditioned morgues - they were sweltering pits, sealed up, and allowed to do their work. Bugs would have invaded the space, heat would have begun to speed the decomposition of his body, and he indeed would 'stinketh'. Jesus knows exactly the condition of Lazarus' body, but it doesn't matter - he knows there is more power in one word from his mouth than all the forces at work in that decaying body!

The world cannot help but point out how much a person has done wrong and just how 'impossible' their 'return' from that fallen state would be. They completely forget that though a man's life 'stinketh' because of the 'decay of sin', God's redeeming words, "Come forth", speak health, hope, and healing into the most disgusting of lives. Criticize if you want, but I am one of those disgusting lives, made whole, redeemed by grace, and fully restored. How about you? Do you hear the words to 'Come forth' from your place of captivity - the place where sin has done nothing good and left you to rot in place? Don't fear the criticism of those who won't celebrate the miracle, but come forth, be whole, stand as God's pride and joy before them. Let God celebrate that miracle! Just sayin!

Just Don't

Ben Franklin told us, "When in doubt, don't". That isn't all that complex of a formula, is it? We complicate it so much by asking ourselves if the thing we are about to say or do is really all that bad; perhaps it is something God will look the other way on when we do it. The truth is that God doesn't look the other way - ever - so stop trying to talk yourself out of your guilt - just don't do it! 

Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance. (Proverbs 21:3)

Far more than - this also says it all, doesn't it? What can you justify with your excuses? I have to ask - is it worth 'far more than' God's presence in your life? I can justify a couple fresh baked oatmeal cookies with "I will walk more this week" or "It is just once". Truth be told - I NEVER stop at a couple. That 'taste' lingers and I want one more - and then one more. The couple leads to a handful!

Sin is kind of like that - the taste lingers just long enough to excite our senses a bit. Then the guilt sets in. We prefer the 'tingle' of our senses to the enjoyment of saying or doing something that we justified as 'okay' at the moment, don't we? The sense of guilt produced by the engagement in whatever we should have left alone lingers probably just as much as the 'pleasure' we experienced in the moment of our indiscretion. 

Worse than that, we attempt to rectify our wrong living with church activities. We volunteer to watch the kiddos in the nursery - doing 'penance' for our wrong actions. We commit to lead a small group in our home, never really opening up about our struggles, but acting like we have absolutely no issues. What does all this religious activity really do? It masks what is hidden just beneath the surface - a sinful life, miserable, and guilt-ridden.

Clean living and justice - two hallmarks of a believer - but does that mean a believer is free of sin? If you have any knowledge of scripture at all, you will yell a loud "NO" to that one. It means we have an active life with Jesus, learning to listen to his voice more and more each day. We know when to not cross the line, but if we do, we also know where we return to find the forgiveness and restoration we so desperately need.

Does that mean we can sin indiscriminately? Just do wrong and then come back for grace time after time again? No, absolutely not - but grace is unending - it is there when we need it. It never gives us license to just 'do' then 'confess'. It gives us hope that restoration is ours if we 'slip up' on occasion, though. The taste of sin might be intriguing for a while, but if we will learn to listen to Franklin's advice, we might just find the 'taste' of sin is observed less and less in our lives. Just sayin!

Give him the pieces

What or Who is it that causes division among you right now? Maybe it is more of a 'what' than a 'who' that is creating the division between you and something you need in your life. Perhaps you are struggling with an addiction to something that keeps coming between you and true liberty from the hold that thing has on you. Yes, addiction is really the worst kind of enslavement one can imagine - being so emotionally or psychologically attached to the 'thing' that any attempt to break free causes so much trauma in your life that you just cannot imagine being free. But...God is above that addiction - he is stronger than the emotional or psychological pull that thing has in your life. Maybe the dividing force in your life right now is a 'who' - a tough relationship challenge between you and a coworker, a spouse that seems to no longer share your interests or values, or even a relative that doesn't understand some of your choices and now chooses to withdraw from relationship with you. Whatever the form of 'division' that is there, the message to us today is that we are to allow God to help us do away with these dividing forces - because we are to have 'agreement' in our lives. Agreement in our thought life and habits - but the type of agreement that aligns with the Word of God. Agreement in our relationships - not the type that says we will agree to disagree, but the genuine agreement that brings people together on the same page. Agreement in our actions - so our steps are toward the same goals.

My brothers and sisters, I urge you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, to come together in agreement. Do not allow anything or anyone to create division among you. Instead, be restored, completely fastened together with one mind and shared judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:1)

Division requires restoration. I have an old hope chest that belonged to my mom. It is perhaps seventy to eighty years old and has been moved around a lot. That has made some of the 'seams' in the wood less than aligned. While the fine workmanship of this piece is stellar, the rough handling over the years has left it with some required restoration. In the very near future, I will undertake this task, as I am now beginning to understand how to do the restoration of these joints that will allow the alignment to come back. Restorative work is hard because it has to understand where the 'coming together' needs to occur. Maybe this is why we find it so hard to allow restoration to come in our lives in those areas where it is most needed. We just don't relish the 'hard work' it requires to bring back order and 'alignment' within our relationships. The moment we choose to allow God access to our addiction, we are opening ourselves up to the discovery of just how we went down that pathway toward addiction in the first place. This can be uncomfortable, even a little unsettling to some of us. We learn where the psychological hold actually began and that might just get us a little unnerved in remembering that season in our lives, but it is often one of the most liberating steps we take in breaking free. In the connection between the 'why' of our addiction with the 'who' or 'what' of the addiction, we find there is somehow a way to see light on the other side of the hold it has had on us.

Come together in agreement. This indicates the parts must be sorted out and then brought together in such a way so as to show the 'agreement' of the parts. I recently decided to begin doing some jigsaw puzzles again and let me tell you - you have to sort out in order to bring together! You cannot just take a jumble of pieces and start lining them up. You must find the edge pieces - so you understand the framework. You must then sort by the various 'recognizable' features of the puzzle, such as sky or grass pieces. In doing all this 'sorting', you are preparing to bring together - to find 'agreement' with the pieces. In much the same way, we find the things that have caused division in our lives need to be sorted out, so we get back to the right framework and then we begin to see how the things that we can do quickly to bring agreement can come into play. As we get these two things done, we are left with a little hard 'mixture' of pieces that require a lot of sorting, trial and error in 'fitting them together' so there is agreement of the pieces, and then in the end, we will see the result of all that work. While there is much that brings division, there is nothing beyond God's ability to bring 'agreement' back! Just sayin!

The unforced rhythm of grace

There are lots of invitations that come our way. We get invited to birthday parties, sometimes celebrating huge milestones in one's life. We receive invitations to social events such as the grand opening of an art gallery, new theater production, or movie premiers. We are encouraged to attend small events that honor someone who has done a great job, or larger ones that celebrate their heroic efforts. Invitations some in all shapes and sizes, for small and big events, celebrating great and small achievements. One invitation rises above all the rest - the one that invites us to recover our lives.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28 MSG

I get tired at times, almost 'over-tired', making it harder to get any rest for my weary body and worn out 'thinker'. I have a hard time 'shutting down' when I have been running at break-neck speed all the day long. I have accomplished much, but there is much more I'd like to accomplish, making it hard for me to actually 'turn off' the day. I can honestly say there have also been times when I am just plain 'worn out' and even 'burned out'. The truth is that all of us reach this point from time to time, but it is what we do at those times that matters. If we continue to drive, drive, drive - we wear out - especially when that 'driving' relates to us trying to 'fix ourselves' in some respect. The 'fixing' isn't all that easy sometimes and we are best to leave it to someone who actually knows how to do the fix right!

Jesus makes an invitation to us that we really should consider - walk with him, work with him, and watch how he 'fixes' lives - ours included! There is no better invitation we could receive, but look at the posture we must assume to fully appreciate all that is included in that invitation. The first this is to get away with him if we want to recover our life - we have to accept the invite. Next, we have to actually take steps with him - walk with him. We cannot move toward an invitation without taking action upon that invitation. We need to get up out of the mully-grubs we find ourselves in and just take some steps in the right direction - toward him. When we do, we find we begin to shed some of the stuff that has been weighing us down, keeping us right there in the thick of the mully-grubs!

Then if that is not enough, Jesus reminds us there will be a little 'labor' in the pursuit. We must work with him - we have to do what it is we can do and then he will come alongside to do the rest. I cannot say this enough - it isn't us 'fixing' ourselves - but we all are asked to take certain steps that are within our 'power' or 'ability' to do. One such action might be to reconcile a relationship by taking the first steps toward reconciliation - actually reaching out to the one we have been at odds with. It might not seem like much, but that little step of 'labor' is all he asks to begin to set in motion big things within our lives - big things that lead to restoration and renewal on so many fronts.

As we begin to walk with him and work with him, it will become apparent how the 'unforced rhythms of grace' actually begin to play out in our lives. I like how Jesus describes grace as an 'unforced rhythm' - reminding us that grace is something given freely on his part and it is 'rhythmic' in nature - repeating the paths of renewal until full and total renewal has occurred within each of us. The rhythmic and unforced passage of grace over and over those worn areas of our lives can actually 'put back' more than what was originally lost - sometimes without us even realizing it has! Just sayin!

Welcome back!

God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children's hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live... And you will make a new start, listening obediently to God, keeping all his commandments that I'm commanding you today. God, your God, will outdo himself in making things go well for you: you'll have babies, get calves, grow crops, and enjoy an all-around good life. Yes, God will start enjoying you again, making things go well for you just as he enjoyed doing it for your ancestors. But only if you listen obediently to God, your God, and keep the commandments and regulations written in this Book of Revelation. Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back. This commandment that I'm commanding you today isn't too much for you, it's not out of your reach. It's not on a high mountain—you don't have to get mountaineers to climb the peak and bring it down to your level and explain it before you can live it. And it's not across the ocean—you don't have to send sailors out to get it, bring it back, and then explain it before you can live it. No. The word is right here and now—as near as the tongue in your mouth, as near as the heart in your chest. Just do it! (Deuteronomy 30:6-14 MSG)

It does not catch God by surprise to find our hearts wandering, our focus dwindling, and our attitude twisting toward things which should not really get our attention. While it would please him most for us to be consistent in our focus and attentiveness toward the things he loves and blesses, he knows it is hard for us. He also knows we sometimes have no clue we are even being lured away by our apathy, or some laxity we have allowed in our lives. Therefore, he reminds us there is a way for restoration when it is needed - as heart devotion wanes, it can be restored by embracing the truth of his Word and 'beginning again' where we left off. Most of us know the "way back" is never as easy as the steps we took in our wandering away - but as long as we use the tools he has that guide us back into a place of restored grace, we will find our path restored. Our return to a straight path is conditioned on heeding, or paying attention, to the things that begin to surface in our lives. The first step back is to recognize that we even need to make a turn in the first place!

Do right, and we enjoy blessing; if we pursue wrong purposes,we experience curses upon our nation - not just our own house, but our wrong-doing actually affects other lives around us because there are always others watching what we do. God says we need to "tune into" our lives a little better (and a little more consistently), allowing the Holy Spirit to expose our motivations, our heart attitudes, and then weigh them against what God defines for us in his Word as "righteousness". If we find ourselves falling away from the "standards" he defines there, then it is time to make an about-face and come back to center again. "No matter how far away you end up, God, your God, will get you out of there..." This is the promise in scripture - for those that acknowledge they need a 'return' can be assured he will be there to help them return. That should squelch all doubt we have in our minds that we could ever drift away from God unnoticed by his watchful eye, or unreachable by his caring hand.

WHEN we drift (and not IF we drift), God is a restoring God - scripture makes it quite clear that it won't always be a 'consistent path' we walk - we will drift. When we recognize our condition, then respond to the grace God is extending, and take the identified actions to return, look at the actions God takes on our behalf:

-He brings us back - it is not OUR efforts that get us "back on track" in our walk, but his!

-He removes the calloused parts of our heart - freeing us again to love him with our entire heart. Think about a callous for just a moment - it is hard, unsightly, and abrasive to everything it touches. It is also pretty impenetrable. If a "physical" callous was around our heart muscle, the heart would be so restricted that the normal and regular beating of that heart would be impossible. God is the one to remove those callouses of our spiritual heart - removing our "restriction" in obedient worship of him.

-He places us in the very circumstances where we can make a new start - dealing on our behalf with our enemy (our own lust, our immense pride, and even the devil himself). Our part is to listen obediently - callouses removed, giving us freedom to "beat again" in unison with his heart, we are free to listen and respond.

-He will outdo even himself - in making things go well with us! He blesses us over and over again - outdoing all we could ever imagine about his grace, his love or his ability on our behalf.

-He will ENJOY us - it absolutely amazes me that God could ENJOY me! Sometimes I don't even bring much joy to myself - much less others - so how could I ever bring joy to him? Yet, he says we will become a thing of enjoyment to him.

Our part is to hold nothing back - no half-hearted attempts at obedience. God knows we will slip up from time to time. He also knows he will give us grace to get up again and move on. The worst thing we can tell ourselves is that we can never move on in life. It is the heart attitude he is focused on here - one of commitment, dedication, and entirety in our responsiveness. If you have ever found yourself moving at a speed of 45 mph down a busy surface street, approaching the intersection, and suddenly the light turns from green to amber, you make a split-second decision to screech to a stop and possibly have a multi-car pile-up, or plunge on through the intersection in spite of that amber light - risking even more. If you decide to do the latter, it means you are "committed" due to the speed of your vehicle, the traffic coming at a face pace behind you, etc. Commitment describes a determination that drives us forward, truly calculating the risks, and then acting in spite of those risks. That is what God expects of us - make a commitment - allow it to drive us forward despite what we see may be the risks. When we do, he stands ready to restore us.

His word to us is to "come back". His action on our behalf is to "welcome us back". His blessing to us in coming back is to "take back" what we have lost and restore it to us completely. Don't get bogged down in the fact that you may have wandered - listen obediently to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, respond with an open heart, and come on back! Just sayin!

Just call me "Ambassador"

It is central to our good news that God was in the Anointed making things right between Himself and the world. This means He does not hold their sins against them. But it also means He charges us to proclaim the message that heals and restores our broken relationships with God and each other. So we are now representatives of the Anointed One, the Liberating King; God has given us a charge to carry through our lives—urging all people on behalf of the Anointed to become reconciled to the Creator God. (2 Corinthians 5:19-20 VOICE)

Many of us watch the news each evening, or prior to going to bed, only to get discouraged by all the stuff we see and hear reported. Officers shot in the line of duty, car wrecks, mass shootings, downed planes, war efforts redoubled, natural disasters - the airwaves are full of these kinds of reports. Rarely do we receive the heartwarming reports of kids being kids, families reunited after years apart, or the like. Why? News isn't considered "news" most of the time unless it carries a negative report! Yet, the most important "news" to be shared is definitely not negative - in fact, it is shared in order to deal with the negative!

An ambassador is one who had been duly authorized to act on behalf of the official under which they were commissioned to perform the mission of the official. We are called ambassadors of Christ - commissioned to perform a specific mission he has designed for those he calls. We are called to urge others to be reconciled - not just in word only - but in every fiber of their being. This type of message is indeed "good news", for anything which brings and maintains the condition of being in right standing and reconciled to God and one another is definitely worth celebrating!

The good news also carries the important message of faith - our sins are no longer held against us because Jesus has dealt fully with them. When we invite him to be the one who governs our lives, we are coming under that authority or rule. When we come under the authority or rule of a particular official in our own community or country, we enjoy the benefits of that rule. The same is true in terms of our alignment with the authority of Christ in our lives. But...that alignment also means we are charged with a mission - to ensure that others hear the message of healing and restored relationship with God through Christ.

When a surgeon identifies there is a diseased or damaged part in the patient, what does he do? He seeks to remove it, right? After it is removed, the patient goes through a series of "restorative" periods. Some rest is necessary so the body will have the strength to heal. Good nutrition is essential to knit together the tissue and form a good bond at the site of the surgery. Consistent care of the surgical wound is critical in order to ward off anything which could contaminate, thereby slowing the process of healing's return. 

In much the same way, Christ sets out to not only remove what is damaged in our relationship with God, but he also ensures we can know his rest, so we have the strength to stand strong under his watchful care. He provides all that is need to nurture that restored condition and ensures that we come to a place of solid bond with him. In much the same way as a patient extols the skill of his surgeon, the child redeemed from their sin will shout the praises and share the good news of what Christ has done to bring about restoration within them! Being an ambassador of the message of hope which is found in Christ is not that hard - it just means we share our story of restoration and invite others to see theirs written as well! Just sayin!

Renovation 101

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21 NLT)

Where are your treasures? What is it you treasure most in life? If you were to look around your home today, what one thing would you say means the most to you? Although I have all kinds of things I have acquired from friends, family, and special finds down through the years, I'd have to say none of those really are my treasures. In fact, I'd probably say the only true treasures I have are those who fill the house with me - my family. Jesus never had much in the way of earthly wealth from what we can see recounted in scripture. He probably came from a "run-of-the-mill", working class family - regular home, furnishings, and the like. He didn't dress opulently, nor did he have countless herds or flocks that would have made him the wealthiest man in town. He DID surround himself with people - those whose lives enriched his and whose needs tugged at his heart.

My pastor often reminds us of the importance of focus - for what we focus upon will the very thing we spend all of our time moving toward. When our treasures are things, wealth, or career, our friends and family will suffer. We just cannot focus on so much and expect all of the things or relationships to remain constant. Something will always take backseat. This is why Jesus reminds us to get our focus right in the first place - so whatever gravitates to the backseat isn't going to interfere with what needs to be front and center in our lives. The things we give our attention to will eventually flourish - maybe not at first, but in the long run they will begin to show deep signs of growth and development.

We live in a time when it is easy to get distracted by the things all around us and totally miss the tremendous blessing we have right in front of us. Family and friends are often put into the backseat in our pursuit of something "more important", but I'd have to challenge us on that focus. There is nothing more important than the relationships we have been given. Yes, we have been given these blessings - we didn't earn them, buy them, or create them. They were divinely provided and the need to be divinely maintained! Jobs can be lost and found - the blessings we are given in each other, once lost, are hard to rebuild! I have seen people lose it all in light of how the world sees them - career, financial security, and even their homes. Yet, they stand strong, vibrant, and totally resilient because they don't stand alone - they have family and friends at their side.

I don't know how Jesus does it, but when we put him first (as our primary focus), he helps us maintain balance in our relationships and somehow it works. It isn't a "divided focus", but it is the ability to focus on what matters most that Jesus is after in our lives. Why? So our hearts won't steer us toward things that don't really provide fulfillment. Have I always had the right focus in life? No! Have I always kept the right priority to things in terms of family and career? No! Was Jesus able to restore what I lost in that time when I got my focus wrong? Yes, but it the work of restoration almost always comes at a higher cost than we might imagine. If you have ever thought about doing a little restoration work in your home you know what happens. At first, it looks simply like we are going to remove the old and put in the new. In actuality, when we remove the old, there are multiplied "unknown" issues that arise. What was neglected for so long created an abundance of unrecognized issues that we now have to deal with. What was going to be a "short" renovation process becomes a major "redo"! It would be much better to have been paying attention all along, working diligently to keep things in order. Just sayin!

Lean, Notice, and Enter

I think there may be seasons when God is just calling us to find rest and to allow him to restore our bodies, minds, and spirits.  These can be quite enjoyable times, but they can also be times when God points out ways we need to be making subtle course corrections in life to readjust our focus.  Either way, we need them desperately.  Without times of renewal, we wind down and we just get plain burned out.  It is intentional rest that we need, not forced or reluctant times of rest.  When we recognize our need for these specific seasons of rest, we won't be as tempted to resist them as we might want to be!

He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good. (Psalm 23:3 ERV)

This morning, as we consider the importance of rest, will you allow me to use an acrostic to help us remember the purpose of rest?  The word I want to focus on is quite simple:  LINGER.

Lean into his presence.  There is something about leaning which we seldom recognize - the thing we are leaning against is stable and is actually lending its stability to provide for our instability.  As I recovered from my two knee surgeries recently, I had to use a front-wheeled walker, crutches, and even a cane, each for a period of time.  Without the stabilizing force of these walking aids, my gait was unstable and unreliable.  I had to lean upon them to make up for the instability in my own gait.  When we lean upon anything or anyone, we are doing so to find support we are lacking.  Often this is the hardest part of taking time for restoration in our lives - we don't want to admit we need that support we seem to be lacking.  Most people who have come through some of the toughest experiences in life will tell you it was the support they received as they were going through it which made the journey bearable.  There is a sense of "reliance" which is inferred by leaning into something.  We are pretty certain what we allow our weight to rest about will bear up under the burden of our weight.  In essence, we are shifting our weight to the object upon which we are leaning into.  When the place we rest our burdens begins to be upon him, we find the weight of those burdens gradually shift from our shoulders to his.

Notice God with intentional purpose.  Part of learning to find rest is this ability to actually intentionally notice God's movement within our lives.  If you have ever read through the Book of Solomon, you will be intrigued by the many times the bride seems to notice her husband is gone from her presence.  It may have been that she was so consumed in what she was doing she didn't notice he was moving to a new place, or that she drifted into some slumber, causing her to miss his movement.  We are kind of like that in our lives on occasion - just too consumed by details which are just not all that important, or kind of lazy in our pursuit.  We don't take notice of God's movement in our lives until we are kind of "missing him".  There must be intentional purpose in our seasons of rest.  If we only relied upon us being "pulled into" rest, we will find we are missing God more and more out of our lives.  God moves and we need to be intent on noticing his movement!

Enter rest.  When we lean into God's strength and notice him with intentional purpose, we begin to enter into rest.  As long as we stand on the outside of any structure, we are AT the structure, but we aren't IN the structure.  I can be standing outside your doorway today, but until I actually step past the threshold of your entryway, I don't actually enter into your home.  In order to enter, I must take some action to move forward into the place prepared for me.  God welcomes into his presence and thereby provides a place prepared for us to find rest.  We take the steps to enter into that rest, though.  It is by accident that we find rest - it is intentional and with some action on our part.  Leaning is intentional.  Noticing is intentional.  Entering is intentional.  Yes, rest is intentional!  If we want to find his restorative rest, we must be willing to do all three!  Just sayin!

Own up to it

It goes without saying that we will all "slip up" now and again - regardless of how committed we are to following the scriptures.  We are human, will always have a human nature while here on this earth, and we do human things based on what this nature wants.  We feel guilty almost immediately when we do them, but we didn't stop short of actually acting upon those urges whatever they were.  When we do "slip up", we want the encouragement of someone to come alongside us to help us pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get moving again.  We don't want another person to judge us for our misdeeds - we all know too well how many people there are out there who do this without even being asked!  Learning to be the kind of individual who "helps make that person right again" is indeed something we all need to learn.

Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours. (Galatians 6:1-5 ERV)

Looking at this passage closely, we can observe a couple of important points:

- Everyone is subject to failure. To think we can live without failure is to never live!  If we are breathing and possess a heartbeat, we are going to stumble on occasion.  If we believe it is possible to live "sinless" and "perfect" lives, we are probably deluding ourselves.  We might set that as our goal, but we are still going to struggle with pride periodically, indulge in some kind of pity-party when we don't get things just as we wanted them, or the like.  If these are the worst of our sins, so be it, but they are still "stumbles" and we will still need to find our way out of them!

- Believers (people following the Spirit) must not see coming alongside one who has fallen as interfering.  As long as we have a relationship established with that individual, we can feel free to go to them, stand with them, and help them get back up.  This is the important part of this passage - the relationship part.  We just don't want to randomly pick individuals - we need to have been established in relationship for a while, able to share from the depths of our heart, and be trusted by that individual.  For trust to be established, there have to be some key factors, but most of the time when we are willing to be "transparent" with others, they begin to trust us to be real, keep it real, and help them be real.

- We are to be gentle in our approach to another's failures.  There is nothing worse than being approached in a judgmental, or prideful manner.  It isn't us lording it over another - but rather us associating with the commonality of their failure.  All of us struggle with generally the same stuff, just in different ways based upon our own make-up.  When we approach another, we must look inward first - being sure we aren't just finding fault with them other person because we see the same thing in them we just refuse to see in ourselves. 

- Part of restoration is accepting responsibility for our "slip ups".  Whenever we slip and fall, part of getting back up again is our willingness to admit to the slip up - to "own" it.  It isn't someone else's responsibility to assign "ownership" to our sin.  It is ours.  When we begin to see another stepping in to help us up again as being there to help us see our "part" in the failure, we might just welcome their help even more.  As painful as it may be to own up to our failures, it is harder to hide them under the guise of another person being wrong!  Just sayin!

How much distance have you created?

If you have studied along with me for any length of time, you will realize I speak often of mercy and grace.  It isn't because this is the only "theme" I see in scripture, but because I need it so frequently to be extended into my life!  I don't know about you, but every now and again I just need to stop to consider how marvelous God's love really is and how great is his grace extended on my behalf.  One of the amazing things we discover as we peruse the scriptures is this central theme of grace - unmerited favor of a holy God toward an unholy bunch of sinners.  I love the reminders about how man will fall into some temptation which is only common to us sinners and how God will faithfully stand by with a means by which we can return again to our restored state of grace before him.  No matter how far - his love reaches beyond the distance.  No matter how deep - his love reaches into the darkest depths. No matter how all-consuming our fall - his grace envelopes us in the riches of his love and compassion.  No matter....

Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped. (Nehemiah 1:8-9 CEV)

As we begin our new year, it is never a more fitting time to begin again.  If we look closely at our passage we will see the idea of both return and restoration.  Returning involves repentance, and restoration involves what God does on behalf of those who "turn again" toward the grace they know to be the basis of all their hope.  Let's break this passage down to discover what God has in store for us:

- God has promised his watchful eye over each of us.  There is no amount of "wandering" we can do, no "distance" we can put between us and God, that is too great for his reach and watchful eye.  He allows the wandering, not because he wants to hurt us or teach us a lesson, but because he respects our free will.  He doesn't want robots, he wants hearts who abandon all other pursuits for the magnificence of one pursuit - the pursuit of his heart.  In the time between abandoning our own pursuits in deference to what we can realize by being close to the heart of God, he watchfully waits on us.

- The pursuit of anything which takes "center stage" in our lives is contrary to what God has designed for each of us.  "Center stage", so to speak, is designed as the place where God is to dwell.  When we wander off on our own, we are allowing other things and people to take the place designed by God for his presence.  These things may fill the "gap", but they don't fulfill the purpose for which the "gap" was created - so they leave us wanting something more. It is this "something more" which brings right back around to the one who "designed the space" in the first place!

- It is in "turning" that we take the first steps in a new direction.  Think about the last time someone said to you that you needed to turn around.  In so doing, what changed?  It was more than your physical position.  It was also the perspective you were now able to take in as a result of having turned.  We turn around not to just turn away from whatever it was which had our previous focus, but to gain a new focus.  This is the first step toward restoration - repentance.  Repentance is simply a change in our focus - we turn away from and then turn toward.  

- The first step is to turn toward, but the next step is to begin walking again - just in a different direction.  If you have ever turned around and started in a different direction while you were walking, you might have realized something which occurs in taking what sometimes appear to be steps "backwards".  We really aren't "retracing" our steps, but the the very steps which got us into the place we were are often the steps we need to take to get back out of the place!  For example, if we take steps away from God by laying down our Bible in deference to reading a novel, we need to lay down the novel and take up the Bible in order to regain perspective.  If we take steps away from God by getting consumed in our work, we take steps back toward relationship with God by making time in our day for him.

- The outcome of repentance is restoration - God bringing us back to the place where we can humbly and obediently stand in awe and worship of him.  Nothing else quite restores like the grace of Jesus - nothing else puts "right" again the attitude of heart, the focus of mind, and the balance of emotions quite like grace!  Repentance leads to restoration - the change in focus brings with it great reward - for restoration is definitely a reward undeserved!  Just sayin!

Broken, missing parts, and rusted out

Back in the day my dad was a car salesman.  He sold new and used cars - don't judge him!  I remember him periodically bringing some new car home as a "demonstrator" - back when the salesmen were rewarded for their efforts by being able to drive a new car as part of their "perks".  The neat thing about it was that we'd get a new car every six months or so - just because they had to keep the mileage down on the demo models and they frequently changed them out.  One thing people knew for sure when they got one of those demonstrator models was that it had been "road-tested".  It had been put through some twists and turns on our Sunday drives and it passed the test! Today, I don't think this is the trend with car salesmen because I see all manner of beat up automobiles lining the streets just outside the dealership along the row where "staff" have to park!  I don't think the car we drove really mattered to dad, though.  We all liked the shiny ones he received as perks, even though they were "on loan" to him for a season.  What mattered was the safety of the ride, its reliability, and the fact we all fit in with minimal effort! I think some of us serve God for the "perks", while others of us are less concerned with them.  God doesn't want us more focused on the perks than we are on him.  What makes the difference to him is that we bring the pieces of our lives to him and then allow him to put them together - sometimes with "perks" and other times just plain, but secure!

What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him makes it.  (Psalm 18:30 MSG)

Earlier in this psalm, we find the words of David as he outlines:  God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.  (vs. 20-24) All the pieces of our lives - and for most of us there are many - placed in his hands affords us the opportunity to finally see the broken ones mended, the displaced ones brought back into the picture, and the difficult to fit ones made to fit perfectly.  Sometimes, we are like David - we think it is us getting out "act together" which results in God being able to go about this work in our lives, but let me assure you - nothing is farther than the truth.  We don't even possess the ability to get our "act together" apart from the grace extended by our heavenly Father, so even that action on our part is because he innervates us to respond!

Pieces are all we have to bring to God.  This amazes me a little, because we are all cut from the same fabric, so to speak.  All of us have somehow made a shamble of some part of our lives - maybe not totally in every respect, but at least in some area.  For some of us, we have made a royal mess of things. The good news is that our "road-tested" lives are really something God embraces with his love and tender care.  They might look a little battered and "used" on the outside, but under his care, they become shiny and new again. What I have observed above about the salespeople's cars outside the dealership is really where we start today.  You see, God isn't ashamed of the "shell" of our lives - he doesn't make us park on the street, far away from the shiny, new models on the lot.  In fact, he encourages us to take the parking spot right at the front of the display windows.  Nothing pleases God more than to see a broken down life come right up to him and ask to be made new again!

When God undertakes the care and tending of our lives, he does so with the end in mind - that we would all resemble the one who gave our lives so we could live again - Christ.  In all matters related to "putting our lives together", God is at work not only getting the pieces to fit, but getting them to fit so they bring glory to him.  The neat thing about how God works is that he allows us to "feel" this connection with him - knowing and experiencing his tender care in putting our lives back together.  God often has to do a "rewrite" of the pages of our lives because we bring him a "text" with missing pages, tattered edges, and unfinished chapters.  David's reminder to us is that when we bring our tattered lives to God, he is faithful to restore.

I love our passage today because it provides such hope.  Every road we travel may not be straight and smooth - in fact, some have destroyed parts of our lives as a result of choosing to travel them.  God lays out before us a straight and smooth - road-tested path.  We have to choose to merge our lives into that path, though.  For some, it is a simple merge - smoothly just getting off the road we were on and then coming into alignment with the path he wants for our lives.  For others of us, there needs to be a U-Turn and a clear redirecting of our lives in the totally opposite direction of where we have been headed.  In either case, we bring some pretty "road-weary" lives to God.  He has a "form" to work with, but all the battered parts of our lives need his "body shop" of sorts!  We don't realize the missing bumpers, the small dents and dings, but may only focus on the oxidized paint job that makes us "look" used and dingy.  He sees the frame of our being and upon that frame, he begins the work of reconstructing our lives - for the frame was created in his image and it is that which he uses to set us right again.

I wondered why they gave the salesmen "demonstrator" cars back in the day. It was often because all they had to drive was the one family vehicle they had purchased some time ago and it didn't "fit the image" of what they wanted to portray about their dealerships.  The world is like that - wanting us to portray a certain image - not willing to let us be ourselves.  God, on the other hand, is more than delighted to have us bring our beaten down wrecks of a life to him - no need to doctor it up or make it appear to be something it is not.  In genuine and humble fashion, we present our lives to him - complete with the rust, dings, and missing parts.  In powerful and compassionate fashion, he embraces what we offer to him.  God isn't concerned with our appearance - he is concerned with our heart.  He wants us to pass the road-test more than he wants us to be "prettied-up"!  Just sayin!

Uncovering the hidden

There are tons of crime shows on TV these days, each with some "souped up" form of forensics lab, cops with super-human deduction powers, and even those who read your mind in order to solve the crimes.  When you visit the local police station, you see a different picture - one not so glamorous and intriguing as that portrayed on those shot in Miami, Vegas, or LA.  What you observe is the true "investigative" tasks of the police detectives - crunching data they have in the case, bouncing ideas off each other, and painstakingly following up on leads.  You see the systematic approach they take to solving the crimes before them.  This is what investigative work is all about anyway - the systematic inquiry or study which brings the details into clear focus.  One of the purposes of this investigative work is to uncover what seems to be hidden so well that someone would not discover the truth.  This is what the criminal is hoping for, isn't it?  They want the hidden to stay that way.  We aren't so dissimilar to the criminals, are we?  We oftentimes want the hidden to stay hidden - hoping God's investigative work into our lives will somehow miss the tell-tale signs of that sin or short-coming!  Well, if that were possible on his part, we probably would be pretty disappointed in him!

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; see for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—then guide me on the road to eternal life.  (Psalm 139:23-24 MSG)

Although the discovery of truth which has been buried under the surface of our tough shell would be somewhat of our "undoing", we often feel so much better when we are finally "undone".  What is buried just putrefies in the course of time, so bringing it to the surface where it can finally be revealed is often the most "relieving" experience we can have.  If you don't believe me, ask someone who has had a boil or a particularly large pimple on their body.  That thing just aggravates them, causing them pain and irritation, but until it comes to a head and finally is ready to be "uncovered", it is just a pain they have to deal with.  Once the head is formed, it takes a little doing, but squeeze hard enough and often enough and the core of the thing will be exposed.  What comes out is not too pleasant!  If you have ever seen a boil drained you might just not want to eat lunch afterward!  You would never imagine so much "diseased" part was just under the surface of that angry looking bump.

Sin has a way of festering in our lives, under the surface and sometimes in places we think are cleverly concealed.  Let me be the first to tell you - no place is outside of the investigative jurisdiction of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Try as we might to conceal it, he knows our hiding places!  Why?  It is simply because he put all our parts together in the first place, so trying to hide anything from him is silliness!  Sin has a core which goes deeper than what we see on the surface - oftentimes hidden in "gaps" we aren't even cognizant exist.  These "gaps" are areas we needed to have guarded, but which were left unattended and as easy "settling ground" for the sin to find a place to fester.  They might be "gaps" like not dealing with our lust before it gets out of hand, or allowing ourselves to just do something "in moderation" without recognizing where moderation crosses the line into excess.  These gaps become excellent "breeding grounds" for the disease of sin to take root and set in a huge core of "festering mess".

One of the most merciful things God can do in our lives is to examine us.  We may think this to be a little bit like asking someone to take sandpaper to our skin when we have a sunburn, but it isn't.  God has a way of investigating the hidden areas of our lives in such a manner as to "sort out" the details in a systematic manner so the pathway for the "messiness" of our sin has a clear shot of being revealed and removed.  When the boil comes to a head, a pathway has been cleared for it to begin to be drained.  Surgeons sometimes "rush" this process by taking a knife to the wound and opening it before the head is fully formed.  They want "at" the diseased part quicker - often causing much more pain and leaving the patient a little more "at risk" because of the larger area of exposed tissue.  God has a way of making a "pathway" for our sin to be removed from our lives - sometimes he just lets us fester a little in our "covered up" state so we will be ready to be rid of the messiness of our sin once he makes this pathway known.

We may think God has a lot on his plate when we think about the hidden stuff in our lives.  After all, we all have "hidden stuff" which eventually needs to come to the surface in order to be removed.  The good news is that the one who formed us also can transform us exactly where we need his transformation!  Just sayin!

Beware of the Dog!

If you have ever found yourself getting into the middle of someone else's argument, then you know how messed up things can become for YOU in just a short period of time!  What started out as an innocent concern for someone else's well-being ended up becoming quite a mess for you to mop up in your own life!  How do we get wrapped up in these things?  Well, if we were to be totally honest, most of us haven't really gotten past our tendency to want to "be in the know" about stuff, so we meddle!  Meddlers pay the price - often with a little skin off their own backsides!  Meddling is just a polite word for saying we like to get the scoop, or have something to gossip about.  In fact, this burning desire to either be in the middle of the situation, or to have the hair-brained idea that we know how to solve the issue we don't even own is what propels us forward even when common sense is telling us to stay away! Perhaps it is time to consider just how much extra strife we bring into our lives by thinking we can solve the problems of another when we clearly don't even know what the problem is in the first place.  If we did this "up front", we might just make a few less missteps into places we don't belong.

You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.  (Proverbs 26:17 MSG)

Our writer puts it so aptly - getting involved in stuff which doesn't concern us in the first place is like grabbing a mad dog by the ears.  I have seen some mad dogs in my days and I am pretty sure I didn't want to be on the receiving end of what they were dishing out!  Mad dogs are kind of unpredictable - they may be focused on another dog until you put a hand out to separate them - then in an instant your hand can become the object of his focus!  My son was attacked by a pit bull mix stray when he was about a freshman in high school. A friend had taken this stray into his backyard one day as he didn't want him to be hit by a car.  The animal appeared quite docile and friendly.  He would play fetch with my friend and seemed quite interested in getting a few scratches behind the ears.  Until my son stepped into the yard, that is.  We don't know if it was perhaps the fact he was wearing a baseball cap, or my son's voice, but whatever it was, the dog attacked.  In an instant, the dog turned from nice to nasty and we were grabbing at both my son and the dog to try to separate the two.

In this case, only one was intent on remaining firm - the dog.  For some strange reason, he laid into my son and began biting at his arm, then his face.  It took much strength, but my friend and several others who were visiting that night separated the dog from my son, allowing us to usher him into the house where we could begin to assess his wounds.  The dog settled eventually, but no one felt safe again in his presence.  Whatever changed for the dog was a mystery to us - all we saw was the immediate attack and the aftermath of the injuries.  I think getting involved in issues we have no business being involved in is kind of like that dog attack - you don't see it coming, but the moment of transition will come, and when it does, it takes a whole lot of strength to separate from the fray!  The "assessed wounds" may even take a while to recognize.  In fact, it wasn't until much later down the road that I realized how much that one event changed my son's ability to interact with dogs later on.  The scars on his body had healed, but there were emotional ones not as easily recognized!

Maybe this is why we are cautioned against being an "interloper" in areas we don't belong.  The immediate threat may pass, but the scars left behind give evidence for a long, long time of having been involved in something we would have been better leaving alone.  For those of us who have grabbed a few "mad dogs" by the ears, let me just give a word of two of encouragement. First, we CAN heal, but healing takes time.  Those wounds don't take long to be created, but they take a little bit longer to heal.  It is only as we allow God to bring restoration and healing within the relationship that we can begin to see the scars fade and function return.  Second, if we are wise, we will evaluate where it was we took the first misstep into areas we didn't belong. It is this one simple process of looking back over our steps where we identify the place where we stepped into something we did not really have a part to play.  When we begin to uncover this misstep with the Lord's help, we can begin to prepare for how it is we will respond the next time we feel the urge to "jump in" where we are wiser to stay out.  Last, but not least, we need to realize some "dogs" just like to mix it up.  When we discover who these dogs are, we are less likely to frequent their kennels!  Just sayin!

A strangle-hold

Somewhere in time, the expression "end of my rope" came into use.  In a general sense, it means someone can't take anymore.  The origin of the saying might just shed a little bit of a different light on it, though.  It comes from the practice of hanging a condemned man.  The noose is placed around the neck, cinched a little to make sure it is snug, and then he falls through a trap door underneath his feet.  As he drops, he comes to an "abrupt end" to the rope!  In essence, he is jerked short - he doesn't have any more "give" in the rope to allow him to stand against the growing pressure of the rope around his neck.  Now, this indeed paints a picture of something not quite as casual as being at the point of just throwing up one's arms and walking away - it suggests the "pull" that makes one feel like they have run hard, but come up short of realizing the hoped for end.  There is just nowhere to go when you are at the end of the rope - you are left "hanging".  Sound familiar?  I think we all find ourselves at this point on occasion, but what we do when we "come up short" makes all the difference between the rope having a "strangle hold" and it being the point of realizing we need someone to set us free!

When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.  (2 Corinthians 11:29 MSG)

There is indeed a certain sense of desperation when someone comes to the place of being at the end of one's rope - the strangle hold is somewhat of a threat, is it not?  Desperation carries a hint of recklessness in its definition - for despair leads you to doing all kinds of things you wouldn't otherwise do. Desperate people need immediate intervention.  There isn't a whole lot of time to piddle around with this or that - the answer needs to come "NOW". If you have been around someone desperate - at the end of their rope - you know what I am describing here.  Their every movement is designed to "break free" from the strangle hold of what has brought them to this moment in time. To continue in their present state is just not acceptable - they need a way out and they need it now.  Conditions have become so intolerable, they just cannot go on as they are - something has to change.

I wonder if we are the kind of individuals who can experience the desperation of someone else's rope?  This is really what I think our writer was referring to in this passage - for it was not his rope he was speaking of, but that of another.  It causes HIM to feel the desperation in HIS bones - so identifying with the pain of another that it causes HIM to take action on behalf of the other person!  This is what Jesus wants of us - to care for those whose life has come to the point of a "strangle hold" - where there is no more "give" in the rope.  It is more than a passing awareness of their need, but a "co-mingling" of what you have at your disposal with what their present circumstances require.  Some need only some words of advice in order to see they have become bound by the rope and then they turn around, take a few steps back to give them the ability to slip away from that which binds them! Others need someone to help them break free of the rope because they don't even possess the ability to get loose even if they had some "slack".

To this, our writer adds this idea of being duped.  There are a whole lot of people who find themselves at the end of their rope simply because they have become deceived by something which appeared to be one way, but turned out to be something quite different than expected.  Either a lack of up-front questioning of intentions, or the unwitting carelessness of accepting something at face value has led them down a path they really wish they hadn't ever explored.  Now they stand at the end of the road, feeling totally duped and experiencing the shame of their sin.  Truth be told, I can honestly say, "Been there, done that" - even got the shirt and wore it out!  It doesn't take much to buy into some of the lies which lead us astray - a moment of weakness, a season of frustration, or even an ill-placed hope - all can open doors we would not have opened if we'd have known the end from the beginning.

Does the unwitting deception another has bought into cause a fire to burn in your gut?  It should!  That is YOUR brother or sister who has fallen, not just someone you have no connection to!  Those who have been brought into the family of God are ALL our brothers and sisters - therefore, their fall is something which should affect us deeply.  In essence, our writer is saying we should be so connected to each other that we are affected deeply whenever there is one who has fallen prey to sin's luring deception.  We should be affected enough to take action.  I don't know about you, but when there is a fire burning in my gut, I don't just sit by and take it silently!  I get us and try to do something about it! 

We all have potential to do a little "rope hanging" on occasion - what we do when another is at the end of their rope may just determine what happens to us when we are at the end of ours!  Just sayin!