What are you willing to pay?

Who or what are you living for? We are all "living for" someone - even if it is ourselves. We could be a little too self-centered for our own good and only see life how it affects us, totally excluding how the world all around us is impacted by the way we live OUR lives. Or perhaps we are a little too "other-centered", forgetting to take care of ourselves, running like mad-men here and there until we are fatigued to the place of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. We may actually be living a "Christ-centered" life - the choices we make being governed by the principles taught in the Word and those we feel compelled to act upon because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit within, but lacking complete consistency in this walk. Somehow we think the question is not how well we are living, but that we are living - missing the point of living in a way which really leaves an impact on the lives we touch. It requires us looking intently at who it is we live our lives for because this affects how it is we will live it.

If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn’t have power over dead people. As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God. (Romans 6:5-11)

The old ways of living move aside when we come to Christ. Those priorities which seemed to consume us certainly pale in comparison to the excellence of living for Christ. This "living for" is made possible because of who "lives within". There is nothing more rewarding than to exchange something worthless for something of superior and excellent value. Really, the best we can offer in our lives pales in comparison to the restored lives God provides in exchange for our tattered, worn, and weary lives. All sin does within us is wear away at the integrity of our inner man - so all we have to offer in exchange for this excellence God offers is pretty shabby by comparison.

We are raised to life with Christ - not the old life getting a face lift, but a new life being imparted to us. Our old "physical frames" house this new life, but the soul and spirit transformation that occur are all Christ's doing. What we offer in the way of "soul-life" or "spirituality" is really nothing more than us doing things out of self-preservation or to make points with another individual. When we allow the life of Christ to be birthed within us, we are leaving behind this old way of living to live "for" him. Our lives take on a new focus. This is where we get the idea of doing an "about-face". In military speak, this is the action of firmly planting the right foot slightly behind the left, then executing a full 180-degree turn so that we are facing the complete opposite direction. This is where we find a new focus - not in remaining turned toward the old, but in turning our backs on it!

What we don't see is what is behind. We don't consider it because it is no longer in our focus. What we keep (maintain) in our focus will eventually consume us.  This is why scripture refers to us keeping our eyes on Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith. He is the one who brings us into this new way of living and he is the one who will take us from living a "little bit" of this Christian life to living an all-out surrendered life no longer intrigued by the old life we were living. When the soldier executes the "about face" maneuver, he or she is also told to keep their gaze straight ahead. They are not to be looking to the left or right - but straight ahead. As much as may attempt to distract us, when our focus is committed straight ahead, those distractions just don't work!

We "live for" many things - but only one choice really matters. We surrender to a lot of things - but only one surrender brings liberty. We focus on a whole lot of different things in this life - but only one focus actually shuts out all the other things which distract us. If we want to "live for" anything or anyone other than Christ, we need to ask God to clarify our choices in this matter. We might feel that the price we have to pay to follow Jesus is a little too steep - but you are really paying very little to get such a great reward.  Just sayin!

The reward is in the time

It is easy to get distracted when it comes to anything like a little quiet time with God. Taking time with my best friend is hard enough, but time alone with God is sometimes harder. Why is that? I think it might just be because the enemy of our souls knows exactly what happens when time is spent together with our mighty Savior! He knows the power that is given and the settling of uncertainty that comes. He doesn't want either to occur, so he puts up as many smoke screens and mirrors to distract us from this exchange as much as possible. Create the right environment and you can eliminate a few distracting forces. Allow the wrong ones and you will find time alone with God becomes harder and harder.

"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well." (Matthew 6:16-18)

Jesus points out that there should be some times (periods) in our lives when we will set aside some time and energy toward really "concentrating" on God. We may think of these times as going to a retreat, choosing a time to fast and pray, or even just a few days set aside with limited interruptions from the outside world, such as camping in the outdoors or fishing by a cool stream. The purpose of the "set apart" time is to focus on God. It is to have some 'alone time' with him and to allow him to really settle into the space we have created for him by enjoying the space he has created for us! In the process of "concentrating" on God, we are bringing all our efforts, activities, and attention to one central place. We are moving from being very scattered in our efforts, activities and attention, to being very focused. When we are concentrating on something or someone, there is a tendency to come to a place of "convergence" - we become in sync with each other.

For example, my mother is at a stage where she loves some time now and again to just tell me something - sometimes about anything that comes to mind, while at others it is a more concerted effort to share something she was wanting to tell me about. In that "talking time" she sometimes doesn't make a lot sense because word-finding can be difficult at a hundred years of age! Yet, when I take the effort to really concentrate on her (putting aside all other distractions), I find that she is really trying to connect with me, figure something out, or share some very meaningful experience she has had that she needs me to know about. If I miss the chance to concentrate on her and what she is sharing, I miss the chance to connect with her where it is she needs me to make that connection. It is vital to make that connection - in her eyes and in mine.

When we are in the process of concentrating on something, we are coming to a place where that object becomes clearer, stronger, and more intensified. It is like turning up the power on a microscope, with each lens serving to intensify the view we have of the object within our focus. Jesus reminds us that we need those times when we are concentrating on him - not because he 'needs' to be the center of our attention - but because we gain something in the time of examining him this closely.

It was no big production to take time to listen to my mom. All it takes is a little time, effort on my part to concentrate, and a heart desire to get something out of the encounter. That is what God says he will reward. Not a big show of religious activity - just the simplicity of a heart focused on knowing him better. So, don't miss out on the times of "concentrating" on God. The ability to focus on him, the desire to have him "intensify" himself in us, is really a matter of us making the time and effort of really getting into the encounter with him. Just sayin!

Do you fear punishment?

Have you ever been so afraid your heart is pounding right out of your chest, there is a little bit of sweat developing, and the escalation in your rapid breathing can be heard across the room? Yup, been there, done that! I have been hit from behind in my vehicle while stopped at a light, trapped by the cars around me, but seeing that vehicle approaching so rapidly in the rear view mirror and feeling totally helpless. I have felt myself falling rapidly to the ground, unable to right myself by any stretch of the imagination, and praying quickly that I survive without breaking anything! I have heard that 'unknown noise' in the dark of night, laying there awake, listening intently for the next noise to come and imagining all manner of intrusion! You've probably got a few tales of your own, but nothing makes us more fearful deep down inside our hearts than to fear some form of punishment for something we did wrong. As a kid, I know I'd tremble when mom would get close to discovering the broken dish or the missing sweets. I remember pinching a few dollars from the cabinet and then realizing someone had discovered it missing - the panic rose! You been there? Panicked, dreading being 'found out', and fear mounting with all the force of a hurricane within you? Nothing quite deals with fear - real or imagined - like the love of God, though. Nothing!

There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love. 1 John 4:18 NLV

Some of the worst fear we can face is that of being unforgiven - of being found guilty and receiving the punishment we deserve. I didn't tell you about the time I was foolish enough to shoplift some candy from the local grocer and then was locked up by the police in a holding cell until my parents could be found. That fear was twofold - I was in trouble with the police AND my parents were going to find out, as well! The thing that caused the most fear to mount was the 'unknown punishment' that awaited me. Yes, I deserved it. Yes, I was guilty. Yes, it was a very foolish thing to do. Yes, I knew my parents would be humiliated to find out about my actions. Yes, I brought this on myself. Nothing prepared me for the level of fear that would mount as that day went on, though. Or the fear that would mount for the next few days until the magistrate would see me before his bench in that hall of justice. The sheer panic mounting each day was almost unbearable. I should have known better - I had been taught better. I should have realized my error - I had already asked Jesus to be my Savior. Yes, even believers make very stupid mistakes!

Punishment is one of our worst fears. Punishment comes in many forms, though. Sometimes the greatest punishment is the lapse of time it takes from 'doing wrong' until we hear the 'verdict' for the wrong we have done! I didn't expect the magistrate to look me in the eye, sound me out to see if I had learned anything from the experience, and then to remand me to the care of my parents. I never expected mercy - but I received it. I never expected forgiveness - but it was given. I never expected trust to be regained - but it came in time. I don't understand all that happened that week, but I do understand something about the grace of God as a result. You see, I think that magistrate was giving me a glimpse into heaven that day. He was helping me to understand God places us in caring and loving relationships, watches over us, and then helps us stay right within those relationships, even when we mess up beyond what some might believe to ever be repaired again. Grace isn't something earned - it is something given when we are incapable of earning it!

I guess one of the biggest lessons I received in that moment came in the form of understanding just how paralyzing the fear of punishment can be - it brings us to a stand-still in life. I wonder if we were to take those moments of 'stand still' and use them to find a clear pathway into the halls of grace if we'd come away just a little fuller and with a sense of restoration that is just not possible to gain elsewhere? Fear paralyzes, if not forever, at least for the moment. It stimulates within us imaginations that may not be well-founded, all the while able to open us up to possibilities not yet realized. Fear can drive us inward, closing us off from what we need most. It can also drive us upward, toward that which meets needs we didn't even know we had. I know modern psychologists will tell us there is more motivation in reward than in punishment. Consider for a moment the power of 'punishment' in our minds and hearts - real or imagined - it carries great potential. It can drive us into hiding, or escalate us into grace's presence. I choose the latter? How about you? Just askin!

Working hard or hardly working?

9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 

(Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 NLT)

There are always going to be days when we just look at whatever we are doing and wonder if it is all worth it. This is just a human reaction to stuff when it gets a little harried and difficult to go through. We want to know whatever it is we are "enduring" is going to somehow be worth it. I have taken on projects that physically tax my body - only to wonder half-way through why in blazes I ever started the task! This can be especially true in the hard work we undertake that actually stretches us beyond capacity. We don't enjoy the stretching process much after we get into it, even though we may have been totally gung-ho at the start!

The truth is that God designed hard work - regardless of how we might feel about it right now! The design of God is for each of us to be stretched now and again - so we don't grow "flabby" in our faith. He wants us to be challenged - so our trust grows deeper and our hold on his truth becomes more solid. Have you ever noticed just how close you grow to God during the tough times? Do you think that is by accident? Nope! It is by design!

The enjoyment of life is not a sinful thing - God designed for us to work hard, then to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I know there have been times when I decided to build something for the garden, or perhaps repaint a room to freshen it up a bit. It took lots and lots of energy, stretching me to capacity at times. When I get to finally admire the job at the end, it is kind of rewarding - like the "fruit" of my labor becomes some kind of "artwork" I get to take it for a while and just "enjoy".

We don't know the scope or magnitude of all God has planned for us, but we can rest assure that if we apply ourselves to it, we will enjoy the fruit of whatever it is he has purposed for us to do! This is what we hold onto as we "go through" stuff that seems harder than we imagined it would be. This is what we gather around when we recognize we need help in the journey. No one sets out to fail. No one sets out fully knowing what they will encounter, either.

What we realize from our "hard work" may not seem like much today, but continual application of what we know as we continue to journey from this piece of work to the next will eventually result in a finished masterpiece we can stand back and enjoy fully as we see what all came together. Just sayin!

Bringing out the best

 "To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person."

(Luke 6:27 The Message)

Okay, am I really alone here, or do others have a hard time really praying for their enemies?  That whole thing about loving your enemies is a kind of ethereal idea to most of us.  As a matter of fact, it is the furthest thing from our minds when we feel them breathing down our throats, giving us a hard time, or gossiping behind our backs!  But....

God's Word is explicitly clear - if we are ready to hear the truth, that is.  Love 'em!  In other words, be merciful just as our heavenly Father is merciful.  One of the reasons we find it so hard to "love 'em" is because they just aren't all that lovable!  Face it, the idea of loving our enemies, praying for them, and even giving them the shirt off our back is kind of repulsive considering how they act toward us!

Why does God even bring this up in the Word?  Why did Jesus find it so important to model this principle while here on this earth?  I think he was trying to live out an object lesson for us.  The truth is that we were enemies of God, alienated from him by our sin, when he chose to love us!  The main thing we are asked to do when we are asked to love our enemies is to lay down "self" - with all its righteous demands to be treated with dignity, honored for doing good, etc.  Honestly, that is hard because we are dealing with what we feel are our "rights" here.

Yet, Jesus did just that - laying down his "right" to be treated with dignity, honored for the tremendous good he was doing.  He saw beyond his "right" to be honored because of his deity and took on the form of human man.  He looked beyond his "right" to be treated well because of his tremendous good deeds (healing the sick, setting the captive free).  He looked beyond "self" in order to see US!

That is what God is asking of us - to look beyond ourselves long enough to see others around us.  We may not be "tickled pink" by what we see, but if we really look hard enough, we will find that God will put that enemy as a burden on our hearts instead of a drain on our energies!  The instruction is that God will allow them to bring out the best in us, if we are willing to have that occur.  

How can our enemies bring out the best in us?  Well, we could unpack that for days, but here are just a few ideas for you to ponder:

- By focusing on their needs, instead of our "rights", we are showing them that they matter to us and to God.  Our enemies don't have the guts to outdo the love of God manifest in our lives.  They will find it impossible to return good when faced with evil - but they will be challenged by what they see us doing when we do!

- By allowing them to see Jesus in us, his unconditional love and his merciful forgiveness, we are pointing them to the grace of God.  It is much easier for us to desire what we see that somebody else is truly enjoying.  When others see that the grace of God is operational and truly enjoyed in your life, there is a hint of desire planted deep within their hearts for that same enjoyment of such unconditional love and mercy.

- By showing them that you will invest in them what they probably do not "deserve", you are pointing them to the cross of Christ in incremental measures.  That is what grace does - it motivates the heart to share what others cannot experience apart from Christ.  Our "rights" can take backseat to grace if we will allow that grace to bubble to the surface often enough.

- By loving even when we are not loved in return, we are showing the love of God for a world that had no desire to embrace him.  It is a common thing to do good to those that treat you well, embrace you warmly, etc.  It is an uncommon thing to embrace those who would stab you in the back, or leave you hanging on a tree!  

It may not be easy, and I daresay that I struggle with this, as well.  Yet, in learning to lay down our "rights" to be honored, treated well, etc., we are really learning to love as God loves.  In turn, we usually are rewarded with much more than we'd ever enjoy by simply sticking with what we feel we have a "right" to in the first place!  

God's rewards are ALWAYS better than anything we could possibly imagine.  The command to us is to let our enemies bring out the best in us.  My prayer for us today is that God will show us exactly how to do that in those troubling relationships we each have.  I don't know exactly how we will do it, but God does, so I will trust him to reveal how to embrace our enemies as he embraces us!

You Got What?

^1-5 No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted.  But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness.  I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world. 

(Psalm 73:1-5)

Have you ever found yourself in the place of envying those at the top?  We have a tendency to "elevate" some to levels of prominence in our society.  If they are educated and well-spoken, we find ourselves wondering why we cannot say things so eloquently.  If they are financially successful, we wonder how they got all the breaks.  If they are in a tremendous relationship with another individual, we find ourselves bemoaning that we are not.  Guess what?  Envy is more common than we might think!

David is being pretty honest with us here in this passage.  He reminds us that God is good and good to the good-hearted.  But...David nearly missed that fact because he was so busy comparing himself with those that "seemed" to be doing so well according to the standards of the day.  We can do exactly the same thing whenever we get so caught up in comparing where we are financially, what struggles we have with sin in our lives compared to that of another, etc.  It is a dangerous place to be!

Envy should be understood as a four-letter word!  We see the advantages of another, their success and their possessions, and them compare that to what we have.  The end result is that we find ourselves "complaining" about what we DON'T have instead of blessing God for what we DO have!  The problem with envy is that it often leads to bitterness.  That is why we are warned so frequently in scripture to avoid comparison!  It carries the ability to place us in bondage to bitterness!

There are degrees to our envy, according to some.  Some think that a little jealousy over someone else getting the advantage that we see that we should have had in a situation is not really all that bad.  Others think that envy is really when we get all worked up about the other getting that advantage.  Guess what?  Both are envy and both are going to cause us to miss out on what God has for US!!!

When we are so caught up in what another accomplishes, or the advantages they enjoy, we miss out on what God has immediately in front of us!  The emotional investment we make in "begrudging" another of their success is really not worth it!  It robs us of the energy it takes to embrace what God has "gifted" into our lives.  God has spiritual growth in store for each of us - when we compare our growth with that of another, we sometimes get envious of what another seems to be able to accomplish!  

The truth is that growth occurs incrementally - it just may be more "evident" at certain stages of our lives.  Think about it from the physical perspective.  We don't "see" our hormones kicking in during puberty, but after many months, along come the "signs" of puberty!  Voices change, bodily features begin to develop, giving us "signs" of growth.  Yet, all along, that growth was taking place!  When we are only looking at the external signs, we can be fooled that nothing is taking place right below the surface!

I guess that is why our psalmist wanted to confess that he almost missed it!  He got his eyes off of what God was doing, forgetting that what God is doing is not always evident right off the bat!  His movement in our lives is sometimes quite "stealth".  He is at work, but we just don't see it!  So, we drift into comparison, bemoaning that another seems to have the advantages that we so desperately long for.  I learned a long time ago that the growth another realizes is often "hidden" deep within!  It is unwise to consider myself as "not growing"!

God's at work, my friends!  Don't miss what he is doing!  It may be rather "masked" right now, but be confident and keep your eyes on him - not others!  He will reveal his work in its season!  Just remain faithful to him!

Don't lose a minute

^5-9So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

(2 Peter 1:5-9)

Peter opens this second epistle to the church with a reminder that the salvation we have been given is all because of the "straight dealing" and intervention of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Everything we need to get to know God better has already been given to us in the gift of salvation - we just need to apply it to our lives.  The very ability to get to know God intimately is not something we have on our own - it is a gift directly from Jesus.

Now, Peter focuses us on building on what we have been given - salvation should lead to a life change (sanctification).  The process of being "cleaned up once" (salvation) leads to the life-long process of being "cleaned up, transformed, and renewed" on an ongoing basis (sanctification).  All with the intention of bringing us to a place of spiritual maturity in Christ.  Peter directs us the allow for good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love to be "worked into" the life we live on a daily basis - these compliment the basic faith we were given at the point we reached out to God in salvation.  I will spend some time elaborating on each of these over the next several days.

Good character - character is often referred to as the sum total of the traits that form the individual nature of who we are.  Our character is made up of both the good qualities and the various peculiarities that make us uniquely who we are.  It involves moral qualities by which we live, ethical standards by which we form judgments, and the principles upon which we base our decisions in life.  If there is one thing that requires change when we come to Christ, it would be our "character" - the sum total of the traits that form what others term as our "reputation".

We possess both good and bad qualities.  Some of these qualities or peculiarities are already "good" at the point of our salvation - such as a person who has the quality of being a hard worker.  Some of them are likely to be viewed by God as "not so good" - such as our tendency to want our own way.  Each trait makes us uniquely who we are at the point of our salvation and lends to the unique way God will move in our lives as we grow in him.

The "good character" that God wants us to work toward is really something that focuses on the set of moral and ethical beliefs we have formed over the course of our life prior to being welcomed into the family of God.  Apart from Christ, the standards we may have chosen to live by may have been self-focused, and even damaging to both our own life and that of others.  Therefore, God wants us to allow his Spirit to work on those character traits that don't align with what he views as good, honoring, and solid.  

When we spend time with God, asking him to reveal the parts of our character that do not align with his standards, he is faithful to point out opportunities for growth.  The key to growing in Christ is really two-fold: being willing to be exposed for who we are; and being willing to re-align our priorities, actions, and principles of life with the standards he lays out in his Word.  It is a matter of willing surrender that produces "good character" - laying down our old beliefs and flawed standards while embracing the standards he provides.  

This process is uncomfortable at first - even downright unpleasant.  This is because the process of transforming our moral standards is counter-intuitive to our very sinful nature.  It is sometimes like a process of battle - we resist a little, yield a little, struggle a little more, eventually submitting, but not without the battle.  Our will is strong - yet our heart desire is pulling us toward the "good character" God desires to see produced.  

Peter reminds us that the very power to live the life we have been given is provided by Christ himself - it is not in our own ability to that we make this exchange of character.  If we keep that in mind, the disappointment we experience in shifting from one set of behaviors (bad) to the another (good) can be a little easier.  All we are asked to do is take the steps of obedience - God does the rest.  He is the one that regenerates what needs the transformation - all we do is take the steps he asks us to take (as difficult as they may be).  What is God asking you to step out into today?  Where is he focusing his attention in your life?  Chances are good that it is with the intention of producing within you "good character" where a character "flaw" now exists.  Don't grow weary in the process of sanctification - the rewards are greater than the battle.