Beyond Words

So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death. We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us. (Romans 8:1-4)

Obedience is never by our own effort, but we are told to 'follow after' certain things. There are things we need to leave alone, while there are others we need to fully engage in. What do we 'leave alone'? Most will say we leave behind things like smoking, chewing, running with those that do, but it is more than just giving up 'bad habits'. We also need to leave alone those tendencies we have to over-indulge the human desires we might have. We are to leave alone the constant fear of the unknown, our mistrust of others or God, and things like following our own lustful thoughts. What are we to engage in? Those things the Holy Spirit leads us into, such as loving one another, looking out for the needs of another, and listening with an open heart.

Obedience begins with belonging - we move into relationship with Jesus. We belong to a new family. It moves on when we realize we have been given a new power to live by - not our own self-will, but the resurrection power of Christ within each of us. We grow in obedience, not just by 'keeping commandments', but by coming into an understanding of the purpose of those commandments and then following the leading of the Holy Spirit to 'keep them'. Obedience is never self-effort - it involves following. What is one key characteristic of a follower? Submission. That is a hard word for some, because they see it as being under the thumb of someone else, always doing whatever they desire and never getting to do what one might desire themselves.

Submission in a spiritual sense if not 'obligatory', or burdensome, for that matter. It is liberating in every sense of the word because we are no longer under the control of a task-master that entices us to do what we know is wrong. We are actually willingly placing our faith (trust) in someone who doesn't leave us feeling 'pressured' to do something, but rather free to enter into the things that will actually liberate our lives. It may be hard to understand that at first, but following Jesus isn't a burden, it is a privilege. The 'control' shifts from us to him. The liberty that comes when the control is shifted is beyond words. Just sayin!

Is that tug in the right direction?

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-10)

What does it mean to 'learn to love appropriately'? If we follow what Paul is teaching here, we will realize reliance upon feelings is not good. We need to 'test' those feelings - making sure they are leading us into actions that are wholesome, upright, and on track with how God would love. If they aren't leading us in that direction, they need to be rejected or refocused. Sometimes we rely heavily upon how we 'feel' toward another person or a situation, but then find ourselves not 'feeling good' when the interaction doesn't go well, or the circumstances seem to change. What we didn't do was combine our heartfelt 'feelings' with the things we have come to 'know' about God in our minds. Heart AND mind need to be on the same page. 

True or 'exemplary' love is able to distinguish between right and wrong pretty well. Why? There is a determination of heart and mind to listen intently to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives - not acting out of selfish ambition, stubborn pride, or foolish interest. Learning to love 'appropriately' begins with learning which emotions (feelings) can be trusted and which ones need to be rejected. We don't do this on our own, but by the power of the Spirit of God that lives within us. He helps us 'sort out' those things in our mind and emotions that can get us caught up in all kinds of silly pursuits. It gives us stability even when there is a 'heart tug' to do something we know might not be all that 'good' for us. It is these 'heart tugs' in the wrong direction that God is really trying to get us to see, my friends. It isn't that he says we cannot have emotions (feelings), but that there needs to be a continual submission of those emotions to truth in the Word of God, the wisdom and direction of the Spirit of God who indwells us, and the past lessons we have learned when we have gone both the right way with our choices. 

Love is a growing thing - so if we want to be good examples of God's grace on this earth, we need to manifest that grace through love. Exemplary love, in fact. Tall order, I know, but one I am certain God will 'back up' with all the weight of heaven behind us when we get this 'testing of our emotions' thing down pat. Just sayin!

Say what?

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (James 4:10 MSG)

In looking at prayer this week, I wanted to take a look at this familiar passage from James. James puts it so very well - plain enough for us to really understand what prayer really helps to accomplish in our lives. As we say "yes" to God in our lives, he comes into our lives in ways we didn't even know we needed him. He isn't lax in his care, nor is he timid in his exploration. His desire is that his will takes the place of our own stubborn, sinful will. Why? Simply put, we need purity in places we don't even know about yet!

Time in conversation with God helps us see those edges that are a little too rough, the dark corners no one has really explored in a long time, and the secret rooms where we have stashed away memories we just should have let go of a long time ago. It is the time we declare to the enemy of our soul that he no longer will get the upper hand - he doesn't have control - God does! Notice...we say a LOUD 'no' to Satan, but a quiet 'yes" to God. Prayer isn't about how loud we get in our sharing with God, it is how genuine we get!

As James so aptly puts it - when we are willing to get serious, God is willing to take action in ways we never imagined possible. We settle into time with Jesus and he settles into our lives in ways that bring us clarity, comfort, conviction, commitment, and courage. We get down on our knees, a rather submissive action that is supposed to match the intent of our heart. The sad truth is captured in this passage, though. We often don't get really serious with God until we are at 'rock bottom'. When our back is up against the wall, suddenly we find time for the relationship.

God isn't after just those moments of 'rock bottom'. Yes, we need to turn to him during those times, but we also need the consistency of the daily expression of our willingness to turn our back on the old and embrace the new. To say 'no' to the choices that would delight the devil and say a very clear 'yes' to the choices that ignite a fire within us that burns with the passion of Christ - this is the desired outcome of our time alone with Jesus. To pray isn't just to simply express our need - it is to allow Jesus to get access to parts of us that require his skillful exploration. Just sayin!

Saying "yes"

We probably have heard at one time or another of the responsibility we have of presenting our bodies as "living sacrifices" unto God - something described as "holy and pleasing to God".  I don't know about you, but this idea of being able to present anything to God which is "holy and pleasing" just seems a little bit too much out of my control!  I have tried this "holiness" living for a long time now and guess what?  I stink at it!  As much as I put all my self-willed effort into trying to produce holiness within me, the worse I feel in the end.  Why?  It is not my "job" or "role" to produce this "holiness" by any "self-willed" means!  It is God's business to provide this holiness through the blood of Jesus, and then to see produced within each of us the transition from self-willed performance to the reliance upon his grace upon grace in transforming us into holy and pleasing creatures.  Sure, he wants us to expend some effort to see this holiness "worked out" in our lives - it is called obedience!  Not "performance" or "attainment", but purely "obedience".

I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.  (Romans 12:3 MSG)

It stands to reason in considering our passage today that we have to look at the verses just prior to this one to see what our writer is saying.  It basically says we are to present our bodies to God - as pleasing and holy sacrifices - in true submission to him and without being in submission to the things this world would have us so wrapped up in.  A sacrifice in the Old Testament was something the believers of Paul's time would have been very familiar with. The lamb, bull, or goat was brought to the priest alive.  You didn't choose one you "cleaned up" to remove the blemishes - you chose one which already was without blemish.  Then it was presented for sacrifice.  In terms of what our writer is asking, he is saying we bring the sacrifice which IS without blemish (Christ within us).  We present our lives as living, breathing, and thriving sacrifices (because of the work of Christ within, not because of anything we have produced there ourselves).  The warning given to the believers is that of being very cautious about being so affected by our "culture" that we miss this magnificent grace he has provided - simply because our "culture" is all about "self-help" and "self-will".

This brings us to our point of study today:  "Living THEN, as every one of you does, IN pure grace, it's important that you NOT misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness TO God."  Since God has been at work in our lives through this mysterious thing called "grace", we are to not be fooled into thinking what we offer is anything of our doing - it is all his!  For we cannot do anything more than embrace grace and allow it to produce within us the healing and restoration only it can bring.  I highlighted a few words because they are relevant to our study.  We live in the NOW - not in the past.  It is an established fact that grace brings us "out" in order to bring us "in" - we are no longer anchored to our past.  We live IN Christ's grace - not because we deserve it, but because we have been embraced into it.  We are NOT the holy ones - it is God within us making us holy.  We don't bring this goodness TO God by any effort of our own - we merely allow him to exchange our unholiness and self-effort driven lives with his grace, love, and mercy (his goodness manifest).

The crux of our study today deals with us understanding these facts - really laying hold of them with our hearts, not just with our minds.  As long as we are just allowing these facts to be something we try to understand with our minds, we will miss out on what grace really is - for grace is not fully understood by our minds, it is connected to God's heart by our heart, his Spirit by our spirit.  We don't connect with God in our minds - this is impossible. We connect with him on an emotional and spiritual level - "feeling" his grace, "embracing" his love, "submitting" to his touch.  We connect to him, not in the rules we can make with our mind, but with the grace we can embrace with our hearts and spirits!  We often don't make it past this "works-oriented", "self-willed" performance kind of living until we are willing to make this connection on something other than a "mental" plane.  

We first have to understand - something which comes because the heart finally connects the mind to the truth being embraced.  I don't truthfully "get something until my heart "gets it".  I have to have some other investment in it than mental knowledge.  I can know my strengths, but until I really allow God to show me how to take those strengths and use them for his glory, they are just nice thoughts.  I can realize my weaknesses, but until I allow God to point them out and show me the way he desires to turn them around in my life, they are continual stumbling blocks in my path and nothing more.  You are probably no different than me - you have the same "strong-suit" you rely upon and the same "stumbling blocks" you trip over repeatedly!  We need grace to connect the dots - strengths becoming something he uses to further his work of grace within us and weaknesses becoming the things he uses to further give evidence of changed lives to those in the world around us.  As his grace touches our places of weakness and our stumbling blocks are removed, others will take note of this transformation and this brings others into a place of understanding the work of grace in a "submitted" life - the work of "holiness" being produced apart from anything we can do ourselves.

So, here's the upshot of all this:  God doesn't need our sacrifice, but we do! It is this "presenting" action which helps us to lay down our self-willed, effort-driven, let me fix it myself kind of life.  Submission is not just laying down and crying "UNCLE" - it is choosing to say "yes" to something other than yourself!  Just sayin!

Principle 30: Drop Those Reins

James Dean starred in a 1955 movie, "Rebel Without A Cause", depicting a bunch of emotionally confused and morally rebellious youth.  Dean portrayed a youth arriving at a new high school, falling for a girl, fighting with others who bullied him, and totally rebellious to both his parents and school officials. It was "cutting edge" back then, pointing out the secret desires of the teenage youth of the time, the "not so perfect" relationships of those 50's parents who didn't have a home life as perfect as June and Ward Cleaver, and the shift in social "norms" just about to bust out into full force in the 60's.  Defiance and emotionally charged "bad choices" are observed repeatedly throughout the film, but the truth portrayed on the screen in the death of his friend is really a reminder to all that without warning life can turn upside down.  In truth, your life is not your own - it is merely on loan.  Life choices may be made in haste, but the consequences will be around a long time to come.

Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders; don’t be defiant or mutinous.

Without warning your life can turn upside down, and who knows how or when it might happen?  (Proverbs 24:21-22 MSG)

Defiance ranges from open discontent with someone or something, to outright daring and bold resistance.  We get the little saying "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside" from this idea of being a little rebellious or defiant to authority.  It is not "open", nor is it outright bold, yet is just as damaging to our character!  Inward defiance is dangerous, for it sets down roots and begins to grow until it eventually finds a way of becoming expressed in our actions and attitudes.

Rebellion may encompass some of the same meaning, but it also brings into play this questioning of tradition - challenging the "norms" of values which have been handed down.  A rebel resists control by anyone other than himself. There is no desire to inward or outwardly conform.  A rebel seeks to take over control - to assume the authority belonging to another - because he believes he can do it better.  

Our last of the principles put forth in this list of thirty principles by which we are to live in order to have a sound foundation for interpersonal relationships, a right respect for authority, and a proper focus on the one who really matters deals with the tendency of our heart to resist control.  Remember - our thirty principles began with the idea of these being "tested principles" by which we will be able to live "accountable" lives.  If you look back at these principles, you will see a tie between how we treat others and ourselves as it applies to our respect for the authority we give to God in our lives.  If we won't submit to his authority as primary, all these sayings are merely that - sayings.  If we take his authority as that which is the only one worth submitting to, we are on our way to developing a strong foundation for living thoroughly accountable lives.

No wonder Solomon ends with the attitude of heart and mind which reflects our own desire to be in control!  It is a dangerous thing to hold onto the reins of our life so tightly that we become "rebels" and "deviants".  In fact, he warns clearly that our lives will be turned upside down if we continue to hold so tightly to our own ways of doing things - the need to be in control overriding all sense and sensibility.  Authority is evident all around us and what we choose to do with it matters.  How we choose to submit or resist is determined not in the immediacy of the moment, but in the "set" of the heart and mind in the long term.  When our heart is right with God, we find rebellions against authority (even his) as a little more difficult.  Focus determines heart direction - stay focused on Jesus and your heart's tendency toward rebellion and deviance will soon begin to have less pull in your life. Just sayin!

Safe Harbor Anyone?

Safe Harbor:  Any place that offers protection in a storm or wartime.  I read that sailors are to be prepared for the storm - knowing in advance what the weather will bring.  They are to read the signs - being ever vigilant to the changes in the winds, skies, and the like.  In so doing, they are instructed to head immediately to safe harbor when they see the rapidly rising storm.  It is one thing to sail into a safe harbor - knowing you will shelter or refuge there. It is quite another to sail away or out of it.  One thing I see when sailing away from safe harbor is the "risk" associated in that movement.  We set sail into uncharted territory - uncertain about that which lies ahead.  The only thing we know is that we are leaving the place of safety.

My help and glory are in God—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—so trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him.  God is a safe place to be.  (Psalm 62:7-8 MSG)

One thing I know for sure - God is the one who provides the safety we need in the storm, but he is also the one who will guide us with security out of the place of safe harbor.  The key to leaving the place of safety and security, setting sail into uncharted territory is who pilots the ship we set sail in!  If God is the pilot (not the copilot), we know he has the expertise to sail us right past all the hazards that lie just beneath the surface of the waters we sail.  

Most of us want a place of safety and security.  We look for the "comfort zone" only because it is there we are kept from the ups and downs of actually being tossed about in the storms of life.  It is not a wrong thing to want a place of safe harbor - in fact, God wants to be that place.  Yet, if we always remain in that harbor, never sailing out of the place of comfort, we will never discover what God plans for our lives.

There are various kinds of safe harbors in our lives.  Some of us have the need for a safe harbor for our minds.  We get so muddled up in the storms of thoughts we cannot keep one from getting all mixed up with the other.  We are tossed to and fro by the storms of thought.  In finding a safe harbor for our minds, we are coming to a place where the frenzy is allowed to stop long enough to sort out the actions that match up with the thoughts.  In other words, we get a chance to settle down, think things through and really make choices based on facts, not emotions.  God provides these places of safe harbor for our mind - we just need to pull into them now and again to really get out of the storm that rages.  If we don't we get so tossed by the storms, we actually begin to take on water and drown in the mess of our own thoughts.  

Some of us need a safe harbor for our bodies.  We get physically beat up by the storms of life - physically exhausted by the demands placed upon us.  We run hither and yon, never really taking time to rest.  The problem with this type of constant activity is in the damages of the fatigue which we may not immediately see, but which are occurring nonetheless.  A sailor knows he can only stay in the intensity of the rough seas for so long - to stay longer will have an untold effect on his sails, his masts, and his ship's hull.  The constant beating of the waves and the ripping effect of the winds will leave his ship battered.  Safe harbor allows rest for his vessel.  He can weather the storm much better in a strong vessel.  

Others of us need a safe harbor for our spirit.  We are so inundated by the constant onslaught of the enemies attacks - we just need a place to "lay up" for a while.  We aren't taking ourselves out of the battle, but we are being wise in regrouping, getting the handle on what the enemy's doing, and then prepare our defenses against the attack.  In wartime, the ship pulls into safe harbor, not to "hide" from the enemy, but to "out maneuver" the enemy.  In that one move, the enemy is rendered a huge blow.  Some of us would do well to learn the safety of the harbor in out maneuvering our enemy.

Yes, we need safe harbors.  We also find ourselves called out into the seas once again - leaving the security and safety of the quiet harbor.  In actually leaving safe harbor, you face the uncertainty of the deep waters again.  But...don't lose sight of who sails the ship.  Safe harbor is often the very place where the "captaining" of our ship is handed over to the one who actually knows the uncharted waters of our voyage and can navigate them with both expertise and safety.  Just sayin!

Guest or Possessor

Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 

(Deuteronomy 8:1)

Be Careful!

The instructions Israel received all those years ago, though they were spoken to reference their movement from wilderness wandering into the land of Promise, actually have application for us today.  The first instruction was to "be careful" - to mark their lives, their actions, and their thoughts with attentive concern so as to avoid error or omission.  The challenge to us is to be living in such a way that we show close attention to the details when it comes to conforming to the Word of God.  It has often been said that the "devil is in the details", but I would like to challenge you to think more appropriately that "God is in the details".

Follow!

They weren't asked to lead, but to follow.  There are some that follow a leader so closely that they eventually begin to think, act, and speak like that leader.  There are others that follow so far back that the impact of that leader's life really is insignificant in their own.  These are the ones that are "just barely" on the journey!  We cannot be one step behind or sitting on the sidelines.  We have to go after God with the intention that we will attain all that he has prepared for us.  We need to follow with the intention of allowing his life to affect ours fully.  This type of following involves attentiveness - watching steadily for the movement, that action, the intention of he one we are following - not willing to miss one single move he makes.

Every Command!

Israel was coming into a new place - both physically and spiritually.  They had not been this way before.  The same is true for us - we haven't been this way before, so we need the complete instructions from our leader on how it is we are face what lays ahead.  The purposes of God are laid out in his Word - it is one thing to look at a road map - it is quite another to follow it turn by turn until you meet your destination!

That You May Live!

Here we get to the crux of the matter - the idea of "what's in it for me".  The idea presented here is not just the simple matter of breathing in and breathing out.  It is the idea of doing more than just "existing" - it involves understanding our purpose and living in such a way that we fulfill that specific purpose.  This kind of "living" is full of spiritual energy, enthusiasm, vigor, and vitality that is not subject to the attitudes of the world, the afflictions of our body, or the winds of circumstance.  

That You May Increase!

Woohoo!  The realization of another "what's in it for me"!  The promise is one of growth - in our intensity, our strength, and our usefulness.  Increase is really meant to "enlarge us" - in our walk, and not just our talk.  It is through this process of "enlarging us" that God is able to align the things we portray on the outside with the actual attitude of spirit and soul on the inside.  

That You May Enter and Occupy!

It is one thing to enter - quite another thing to actually possess.  What God is challenging us today with is the idea that he wants to penetrate areas where he hasn't been given access to before.  He wants to probe new depths that have previously been out of bounds in our lives - that he may possess us and we may possess him.  When we occupy our physical homes, they have a tendency to become our places of dominion - we aren't just visitors there.  God wants to not just "visit us" with his presence and his love - he wants to be set up in our lives so as to be in a place of welcomed dominion.

Who do you say I am?

^24-26Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

Jesus has spent endless days answering the accusations of the Pharisees - men who just plain did not accept him as Messiah.  They were so consumed by all their rules - Jesus was consumed with the fact that access to God is not with keeping rules, but in knowing Christ.  They pushed away from him - he pulled those who were open to his teaching near.

Jesus has just finished asking his disciples who they REALLY think he is.  They answer with the "pat" answers, the easy answers - well, people say you might be   John the Baptizer, Elijah or Jeremiah.  He asks them to declare who THEY think he is - one lone disciple spoke up - Peter.  He declares with a certainty - you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.  

To that revelation Jesus adds this teaching we have before us today.  Anytime there is a revelation of the person of Christ, hearts are opened.  Anyone receiving that revelation comes into a place of discipleship.  Jesus tells them - anyone who intends to come with me must let me lead.  This is the stumbling point for many - letting Christ lead.  We want the controls - we find it difficult to not pursue salvation on our own terms.

Jesus reminds us that it is not a self-help pursuit - discipleship is sitting at the feet of the Teacher, learning of him, allowing him to direct our path, and enjoying the privileges of his presence.  People of the day in which Jesus was teaching would have understood this concept better than we do today.  We are not accustomed to having to wait for the Rabbi to circulate into our townships in order to get the teaching of the Word - to become educated, learned, and wise.  Today, we can simply turn on our computers, seek out innumerable teachings online and find ourselves immersed in all that promises the answers to life's woes.

The message of Christmas is found in a person, not in the day itself.  It is Christ that we celebrate today.  It is his GIFT of sacrificial love that we embrace with open arms.  Jesus asks us to answer one important question today - who do YOU say that I am?  If you call him Savior, rejoice!  If you have yet to call him Savior, reach out to him today.  He is waiting to be invited into your life.  

Remember this:  Jesus not only wants to lead our lives - he came so that he could lead our lives.  When we submit to him, we are allowing the fullness of the gift of his sacrificial love to be at work in our lives exactly as he intended. Open up to his leading - control is best when it is submitted to one who knows how to perfectly orchestrate!