Divided Loyalty?

And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Peter 5:5-6)

Elder or younger - all relate to one another in humility - this is God's plan. Pride gets the dander up quicker than anything else and it disrupts any movement toward unity or peace faster than a speeding train. Elder isn't to "lord it over", nor is younger to challenge the authority set over them. If we'd just get this right, maybe we'd stand half a chance at changing the course of this world!

When our 'loyalty' is divided between God and this world, chaos is sure to ensue. Look at what James tells us, "Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." (James 4:8) We can be caught up in this world's attractions, but they only serve to pull us away from God and each other. 

Where to humble people reside? Under the might power of the God who indwells their spirit. How do we realize this type of 'closeness' to God? We spend time with him - giving him priority in our lives. This might be why Peter reminds us that when we correctly submit to the authority placed over our lives, there seems to be a peace that permeates our gatherings. Choose to live outside of that authority and the disorder this brings is palpable.

Could it be that the disorder we feel at times in our lives is an indicator there is something wrong with where we have placed ourselves? Perhaps we are submitting to an authority who has no right to 'rule' - ourselves. We follow our own lusts and desires, then wonder why our world seems to be a little more chaotic than usual. Repent of that misplaced loyalty and we find order returns. No matter what we believe about our ability to 'live right', apart from God, we only make 'half-wise' decisions.

Worries and cares go hand-in-hand with living outside of the authority of God in our lives. When we correctly align our heart, soul, and mind with his authority, the cares we used to carry all on our own are born by him. We find our load gets a little lighter and our way a little clearer. The wise are never afraid to admit they need a leader - the proud resist every attempt to 'align' their lives under any authority other than they own. Just sayin!

Crying Uncle

I've heard there are troubles of more than one kind; some come from ahead, and some come from behind. But I've brought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see; now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!

(Dr. Seuss)

Wouldn't it be nice to always live in a "Dr. Seuss" world where everything rhymes and all in life is whimsical and free? News Flash: The world isn't 'Dr. Seuss' compatible at times! Some troubles come from ahead, some from behind - this is reality. I have to ask - are you ready for those troubles? If you are like me, they sometimes catch you a little off-guard! You 'think' you are prepared, but when they hit you full-force, are you really? A moment of true confessions here - I'm not! In fact, I find myself kind of mulling over the muddle I am in and then realize I am gonna need some help!

We are glad for our troubles also. We know that troubles help us learn not to give up. When we have learned not to give up, it shows we have stood the test. When we have stood the test, it gives us hope. (Romans 5:3-4)

My attitude in the midst of troubles is probably not much different from yours. I don't whole-heartedly just embrace every trial, hardship, or troubling situation with thoughts that 'this will make me better'. If I were to be honest, I might even look for a way of escape! It isn't that I don't want to grow - it is that I resist the method God sometimes uses to bring forth that growth in me! Yup, over fifty years of relationship with Jesus and I still find myself resisting what he is doing at times. I am not immune to rebellion - in fact, there are times I think I have cornered the market on it.

In the midst of the trouble, I have to remind myself that this will help me to develop something some might equate to spiritual stamina - the ability to 'not give up' in the midst of hardship. It is hard to believe the way we show we have stood the test - endured the hardship well - is to not give up in the midst of it. During Basic Training in the military I think the goal is to see who can endure the hardship and not give up. The Drill Sargent does everything in his power to break you, to make you second-guess your decision to 'join up', and to see if you will 'cry uncle'. 

Why do we rush into things so easily, then in the midst of the hardship that comes, we find we want to rush out of them as easily? I think it is because we think there is this option to 'cry uncle' in the midst of it. When we resort to 'crying uncle, we are submitting to the thing we see as harder than we can endure. We are admitting defeat. We cry for mercy because we perceive the trial is 'too hard'. Rather than 'crying uncle' the next time we are faced with troubles, maybe we need to ask God to change our perspective in the situation. Perhaps if we saw it as he sees it we might just push on and not hold our tails between our legs! Just sayin!

Welcomed Dominion

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 the people who would become the nation of Israel received all those years ago. Though they were spoken to reference their specific movement from wilderness wandering into the land of Promise, they actually have application for us today. The first instruction they receive as they are about to set out on this new journey was to "be careful" - to mark their lives, their actions, and their thoughts with attentive concern so as to avoid error or any omission of truth or trust. 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! Notice specifically - they weren't asked to lead, but rather 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. Those 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 - with purpose and intent. 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 the 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 awaits us just 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 discover you have arrived at 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 so as to 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 were given a 'taste', but now they would experience 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. Just sayin!