Pretest Proficient?

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. 

(Vernon Law)

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Have you ever noticed that we learn best from repeated lessons? We learned our multiplication tables by repeating them one by one, over and over again. We learned to drive our roadways, park a car, and navigate on/off highways by obtaining a permit to drive, instruction in how to maneuver the vehicle, and then practicing over and over again. Lessons repeated are seldom forgotten. They become a part of our 'memory' and are easily put into practice.

Our teachers used to give us something called a 'pretest' to see how much you knew BEFORE they taught the lesson. If you actually proved to be proficient during the pretest, you could 'test out'. In other words, you didn't need the lesson! If God were to give us a pretest today on the thing he might want to teach us right now, would we be 'proficient' and able to 'test out'? It isn't likely! We need the benefit of the pretest that reveals just how much we still have to learn!

If God thought it important to have Moses instruct the Israelites to 'review' his commands over and over again, how is it we think we can hear them once and be proficient at actually 'living' those commands each and every day? The reality is that we need the repeated lessons, each with a slightly different scenario to them, one building upon the other until the 'lesson' is well-learned. A well-learned lesson is one that we are able to put into practice without much effort at all! Just sayin!

Leaning in, leaning on, learning more

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

We should find a little reassurance in knowing the present temptation or trial we face is not dissimilar to what others have faced and survived. It may not be identical, but it could have been attempting to uncover similar issues within our character, just in a slightly different manner. The trial or temptation you face is meant to bring about one of two things: 1) bring out something within your character that needs to change; or 2) create something within your character that bolsters what is already there. God is either trying to rid us of something or allow something of greater depth to be produced within. Either way, we aren't to avoid these as much as allow them to draw us closer to where God desires us to be. When we reject the temptation, we draw near to him. When we embrace the trial, he creates a strength of character that likely didn't exist before the trial. Either way, we trust God, lean into his protection and provision, and grow. 

We lean into his provision whenever we seek to resist temptation - for he provides a way of escape for each one we face, regardless of how hard it may be in the natural to resist it. We just need to embrace the way of escape. It could be we struggle with some habitual response to a particular temptation, but God shows us what we could implement a particular action in order to break the 'chain' of temptation before we get bound by it. Example: We like to overeat or binge on snack foods. God's plan might be that we only buy our groceries online, avoiding the glitzy snack food items that are so prominently displayed on the end caps at the grocer. Another example is that we get angry when we arrive home to find dishes in the sink, countertops filled with crumbs and spills, and children just lazing around playing video games. We might find God tells us to send a text message 30-minutes before we are to arrive home, giving those who have made the mess the chance to 'clean up' before mom arrives. Breaking the cycle of sin is never easy, but it is possible, often with quite simple changes in our behavior. 

We lean into his protection whenever we go through a trial and refuse to lean on our own strength, know-how, and 'critical thinking' to get us through. We ask for his wisdom, listen intently, and then do what he prompts. We still go through the trial, but we are leaning on him all the while, refusing to take back the control we freely gave to him. It is easy to trust him early in the trial for his provision of all we will need to endure it, but it is much harder to do so when the trial gets long and arduous. Regardless of the length of the trial, we are being taught a great deal when we lean into his provision and trust him with the timing. Just sayin!

Tried and True

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food. (Job 23:10-12)

There are probably more times when you don't know exactly where your life is headed than there are the times you are 100% certain where everything will work out as planned. The good news is that God knows where we are headed, and he has prepared the path we walk upon. Stay on the path and you will come out the other side of this present journey tried and true.

Following God's ways in the midst of 'not knowing' is harder than it sounds. We want certainty, but God isn't always going to show us the end from the beginning. We just need to stay the course and trust him even when it doesn't seem like 'all is well'. Job didn't have a great perspective from the top of a dung pile, but he remembered to constantly seek God regardless of where life put him!

Is faith tested when all is well in our lives? Not usually. It takes a bit of a challenge to 'test' anything, doesn't it? You fill the inner tube with air and dunk it under water to see if it is 100% sealed. You rev the engine to a certain amount RPMs to see if it will endure the expansion heat and friction causes. Testing involves a certain amount of pressure - the very pressure we may not want or welcome!

Predetermine to stay the course - even when you don't have 100% certainty about what you will encounter along the way. You can know this for sure - God prepares the path, sets the course, and maintains us along the way. We just need to press in, remember what he has said in his Word, and allow it to sustain us as we traverse the 'testing ground of faith'. Just sayin!

Is it really a way of escape?

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-3)

Is anyone else like me, trying to get out of something a bit 'prematurely' because they are harder than you expected when you went into it? Trust me on this one, you and I will just find the next challenge a bit harder, so we might as well buckle down and finish this one! There is something that is 'required' of us and we need to see it through, or else face the next 'something' in order to do it all over again.

What is required? I don't know what your particular 'challenge' is right now, but whatever it is, God has a plan in it. That may seem a little hard for some to swallow, especially when the issue at hand seems kind of 'unfair', 'one-sided', or 'too much to handle'. It could just be that God is trying to show us we don't 'handle' these things on our own - we need and will receive his help to get through them. May what is required is our willingness to listen, then trustingly obey.

I've said this before, and I haven't changed my opinion on it - our 'faith-life' can be more than a little challenging at times. We get to the point where we feel the pressures from without, within, and who knows where. In the midst of the pressures, we sometimes want to cave. We want to throw in the towel and just walk away, thinking we will somehow be okay to 'not have finished that one'. It is a hard thing to have our 'faith-life' forced out into the open - revealing to us (and everyone else) our true colors, isn't it?

The 'work' that needs to be done is cut short whenever we 'turn tail and run'. If I had my druthers, I'd try to avoid these trials and tests, but that isn't how it works in God's family. I have learned my enemy likes to provide a way of 'escape' from the trial or test - one that will invite me to leave it way to early. I have to 'plan ahead' for his 'offers of escape' if I want to avoid leaving the path God has me on way too early to accomplish whatever it is he is trying to do within me. How about you? Do you have a plan to avoid the enemy's attempts to give you a way of 'escape' in your trial? I have found God's way of escape is often to walk right on through what it is I am trying so hard to escape. Just sayin!

We need a playbook here

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

Pay close attention to the words here - nowhere in scripture does it ever say a Christian will be 'problem-free' in life, nor that temptation and testing will somehow just magically never come our way. In fact, it promises there will be both testing and temptation - trials of our faith; testing of our conviction and dedication. What is promised is that God will ALWAYS be right there to help us come THROUGH it. He never leaves us defenseless - he expects us to set up good defenses BEFORE we have to go THROUGH them!

All of us have to face trials and temptations - there is no way to escape the fact they will come our way. If we prepare AHEAD of time, going THROUGH them with Christ at our side will mean we stand a much better chance of resisting temptation and standing strong in the midst of trials. There is more to being 'prepared' for temptation than just 'trusting Jesus to help us make it through'. While I will never discount the importance of trusting Jesus, I also will never be so naive as to believe Jesus doesn't expect us to be READY for temptation.

Having a defense prepared ahead of time means we give some thought to what breaks our defenses down the easiest. For me, it is fatigue. I just don't do well when fatigue sets in. My answers become shorter, curt, and sometimes lacking in kindness. My desire to see something through to the end wanes and I leave things undone. I know this is one of the areas in my life where the enemy can find an advantage, so I have to prepare for those moments when I will become fatigued. 

I have learned to recognize them earlier than I used to, then I take a short break from what I am doing in order to renew my mind and energy levels. I might need a quick snack and some hydration because I have ignored both while I have been 'hard at work'. I might need to do something else for a while, so my mind is taken away from the things that are so fatiguing. My plan begins with recognizing the signs of fatigue and then exercising some 'good judgment steps' to avoid going down that path that leads to wrong behavior. 

You might have heard the saying, "the best offense is a good defense", and this remains true in our spiritual lives, as well as on the sporting field. We don't avoid trials - they will come. We don't resist temptation by good thoughts alone. We need a plan - a 'play-book'. When we are prepared, we recognize when trial or temptation is upon us and we begin to 'respond' rather than 'react'. Ask God to help you develop your 'play-book' in those areas where you are most tempted or frequently tested. He won't let you down - he even provides the resources we need to overcome. Just sayin!

Do you clam up?

How good of a test-taker are you? I have met individuals who really struggle with this one because as soon as they get that exam in front of them they kind of 'clam up' and shut down. They just cannot focus and their efforts toward studying / preparing for the exam all go out the window. They are frozen in time. They have an anxiety moment that initiates the 'shut-down' and then they cannot seem to 'reboot' to get back on track. The testing challenges of life can sometimes put us into a mode where we find it hard to 'reboot' and get back on track again, right? There are just some challenges we don't imagine we will ever make it through, but let me assure you of this - you are prepared more than you will ever know!

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12 MSG)

Let's face it - testing is hard - even a bit of an insurmountable challenge at times. We might think we are prepared, but in just a short amount of time we find out just how 'unprepared' we were mentally and/or spiritually. We did all the 'book-work' ahead of time, studying scripture and thinking we know exactly how to counter every attack about to come our way, but alas - - - something comes up we didn't count on. There we are floundering and finding we just don't have all the answers. At that moment we can choose to just 'shut-down' and be 'frozen in time' by the challenge, or we can take it to the altar and get God's perspective on it!

When we are loyally in love with Jesus, we find it a whole lot easier to bring those challenges to him and get his perspective. When our loyalties aren't so well-established, what scripture refers to as being double-minded, we find we kind of get pounded by the challenge and then we just 'clam up' because it overwhelms us. We don't possess all the wisdom, nor all the power to overcome those challenges alone. We aren't made to face them alone. We ARE supposed to prepare. We ARE supposed to do what we know to do. We AREN'T expected to know it all, nor are we supposed to do it all in our own effort. There are just some challenges that are met head on by the wisdom and power we get ONLY by being loyally in love with Jesus (with him clearly in control of our lives).

The 'head-on' moment comes more frequently than we'd like, but when you are about to enter into that challenge it isn't like a game of 'chicken'. It is more like a gladiator in the ring! We find we have power far above our own power, wisdom exceeding our ability to have studied and prepared. Why? Jesus is there with us and he is fully in control of the challenge's outcome - not us, not the devil, not the world system. Live life loyally in love with Jesus and see just how differently you can face those challenges. You might just realize your days of 'clamming up' come to an immediate end! Just sayin!

Squeeze me - go ahead!

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-3 MSG)

What tests have you done rather well on recently? What challenges came at you that you just faced head on and mastered without even looking back? We remember and rehearse the ones we failed, or that did us in, right? Do we do a good enough job celebrating the ones we "pass"? It is likely we rehearse the failures way more than we celebrate the successes. Why? We aren't satisfied with the outcome! We want to see that altered in some way when that challenge is faced the next time - we want to get a much better "grade" on the test!

You know me...I had to look up the difference between these two words because I didn't really understand why God would tell us we'd face them. A test is defined as the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined - it tests quality. A challenge is a contest of skill or strength - it defines whose strength or skill we are counting on more - ours or God's. The test might reveal the degree to which something is present, while the challenge reveals the degree to which we allow what is present to be manifest!

Have you ever traveled up a mountain in your car with groceries? I remember taking a trip with my BFF and as we ascended the mountainside grades, I could hear things in the bags / boxes of food items making noises. It wasn't that they were shifting in those boxes or bags, it was that there was this gradual pressure building in some of the items and they were expanding! The bag of chips went from being only halfway expanded to being like a pillow of air! The pressure caused them to expand, but thank goodness, not beyond their capacity!

Capacity "expansion" was "planned" as they packaged those chips, put the seals on the tops of yogurts, etc. They left room for the challenge the climb! I think God does the same thing with us - he seals us with his Holy Spirit, leaving lots and lots of room for expansion! The challenges may come, but we have "room" for the pressure to build a little. We have "expandable capacity" - readying us for the mounting pressure that seeks to change the "quality" of what resides within us. In other words, when our enemy challenges us with the test, he wants to see God "squeezed out of us"! Just sayin!

When he tests...

“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside." (Job 23:10-11 NLT)

When we are in the thick of things, we probably don't even think God knows what direction we are headed! The chaos of the issues bombarding us on all sides just leaving us with questions, uncertain outcomes, and decisions too numerous for us to even think about some days. We just cannot possibly imagine any other "disaster" that can come our ways, only to be broad-sided by something totally unexpected. Could it just be WE don't know where we are going at the moment, but that God has all things perfectly orchestrated and the outcomes already well under his control?

The key isn't that we know the destination, it is that we stay on course. To be totally transparent here, there have been more than a few times that if God had showed me clearly where it was I was headed before I started, I'd never have started! I would have opted out! I certainly wouldn't have chosen the pathway of single parenting, but when I was faced with that path, I put one foot in front of the other. There were more than enough days where I'd have to admit I didn't think I could do it, but my kids turned out to be pretty doggone great adults - not because of me, but in spite of me and because of God's gracious care over all of us. The times I have faced the uncertainty of losing a job, not knowing how the bills would get paid, or how long we'd be without health insurance between jobs - these weren't easy paths to traverse, but even when the path got a little bumpy and I complained a little more than I probably should have, he was right there with me each step of the way.

If you were to ask me how to make it past a certain catastrophic event in your life, such as the betrayal of a close friend, the unknown of losing a job, or the uncertainty of affording the repairs when the water main pipes breaking twice in one year, I'd have to say it isn't the "course" that matters - it would be the determination of your heart to not veer off-course even when it gets a little harder than you might like. The course isn't the issue - the determination and dedication of our heart is what counts! God knows the path you are on - he knows the end from the beginning. He knows what man intends for your "undoing" can become the greatest opportunity for his "doing"! 

Gold isn't pure when it comes out of the ground. It isn't pure until it is put through the fire. It isn't free of the smallest of particles of impurities that hang onto it for dear life until the fire has changed the consistency of that ore. Did you ever stop to consider just how big the gold ore is when it is mined and how surprisingly small the gold that can be extracted from it comes out to be? It is the path that purifies us - getting at the heart of what really matters in life and how determined we will be to hold onto what matters. Just sayin!

Another nesting season

There are times when God just want to hear from us that we desire him to be close enough to us to actually "feel" his presence - almost like we feel the breath of one so close to us that their every exhale is sensed.  This desire of our hearts sparks something within God's heart which almost demands his immediate response - simply because when our hearts are so eager to connect with him, he cannot help but respond!  Word pictures abound in scripture - allowing us to somehow connect the thought of the words with actual actions we understand.  I think God does this because we need "pictures" - they help to speak into our lives what otherwise would just be words.  I know it is much easier to assemble something when I have both the illustration and the words.  The words alone could get me to the finished product - but those photos or illustrations "speak" to me about how to get it done in a way the words just could not.  Since God knows us so well, it makes sense he makes provision for how it is we best sense him, what we respond to, and where it is we come into our deepest place of learning.

With your very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you.  When they see me waiting, expecting your Word, those who fear you will take heart and be glad.  I can see now, God, that your decisions are right; your testing has taught me what’s true and right. Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight just the way you promised. Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to.  Let the fast-talking tricksters be exposed as frauds; they tried to sell me a bill of goods, but I kept my mind fixed on your counsel.  Let those who fear you turn to me for evidence of your wise guidance.  And let me live whole and holy, soul and body, so I can always walk with my head held high.  (Psalm 119:73-80 MSG)

Since God is the one who formed us, it makes sense he knows how we think, what it takes to bring us to a place of response, and how best we learn - so he will use what he knows about us to create the right "learning environment" for us.  Within that "environment", he will use the "tools" necessary to bring about the response from us he desires.  This might not be the environment we would choose, nor are the tools always the ones we are most familiar with. Yet, both are specifically designed for us - not someone else, but us.  As David cries out, "...breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you...", he is really in a place of waiting upon God to take some particular course of action in his life.  We often find ourselves in this same situation - we know God is there, even that he has designed the place we are at, but we just don't know what he intends for us in that place yet.  In asking God to "breathe" into our lives, we are inviting him to reveal that purpose.

God's wisdom comes like the breath from God's very nostrils - it is "palpable" to a hungry soul!  There is something about waiting which creates expectation, so when the answer finally comes and revelation begins to occur, we almost sense it as we would our own heartbeat!  What is happening is that we are sensing the touch of God in our lives - and he is delighted when we finally do.  What does this "touch" of God actually do for us?  According to our writer, it brings us into the place of trusting God's decisions for our lives and appreciating the differences between what he desires for us (right) and those things he would desire us to stay away from (wrong).  In the place God prepares, we come into this revelation - there is no substitute for it!

Have you ever asked God to "love you" - to hold you so tight that you just could not deny he was in control of your life?  I have!  In fact, I often ask him to to just envelop me in his arms - because I know I am the safest there and near enough his heart to sense what it is he is doing in my life when all around me is in chaos.  Word pictures in scripture refer to God's sheltering "wings":

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. (Psalm 91:4 GW)

Keep your eye on me; hide me under your cool wing feathers from the wicked who are out to get me, from mortal enemies closing in.  (Psalm 17:8-9 MSG)

They are a place of refuge - protection - and insight.  As a young bird is sheltered in the nest, the mother bird covers over these birds with her wingspan.  She almost "tucks them up under" those wings - giving them shelter from the winds that blow, the predators who soar high overhead looking to swoop in on the young, and to provide warmth until they grow their own feathers (giving them the ability to maintain their own body heat).  Apt word picture of how God brings us into "nesting" places in our lives, where we might crawl up under his wings, sheltered from what would harm, but able to grow until we can stand strong and soar high!

What does this place of "refuge" really do for us?  It helps us to live "whole" and "holy".  It brings us into a place of letting go of the things which no longer belong in our lives - things which keep us from making forward progress.  Just as a mother bird preens the tiny birds under her wing, God "preens" us with his tender and attentive care.  He is removing the things which don't belong and seeing to it that "space" is created for the new growth in our lives.  The mother bird will preen out some of those downy feathers in order to make room for the growth of those feathers which will help the baby bird to one day take flight!  God isn't dissimilar in how he works in our lives - those places of refuge may very well be times of "preening" and "removal of stuff which just doesn't belong anymore" - with the end result being to see us become both "whole" and "holy".  Just sayin!

Temptation or Trial?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pop Quiz!

Some of the stories in the Bible are what we refer to as parables - they might tell one thing (having a "surface meaning"), but when you ponder them in the light of the day in which they were taught, you find a much deeper meaning to the story.  If you read the first sixteen verses Luke 16, you are treated to a story about what appears to be instructions in business dealings, or on how to be shrewd in our dealings with financial matters. As the story unfolds, we begin to see a manager taking advantage of his position - he just hoped the boss wouldn't notice!  In today's vernacular, we'd probably liken what he did to "padding his expenses" on the corporate expense account.  It works for a while, but when an audit of the books is called for, his actions are uncovered. I guess you won't be surprised to learn he loses his job - but it doesn't stop him from being as shrewd as he had been in his previous position. In fact, he begins an entirely new venture - one of ingratiating his own personal debtors by cutting their bills in half.  This way he ensures he will always have them in his service - making it easier for him to live the life of luxury he has come to enjoy. If that doesn't beat all, the boss who fired the manager actually sees what he does to ensure his future and commends him for it!  He knows this guy was always looking for the angles, but this revealed an ingenuity sometimes referred to as being "streetwise".  The story could end there, but Jesus goes on to say, "I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior." (vs. 9)  

If you’re honest in small things, you’ll be honest in big things; If you’re a crook in small things, you’ll be a crook in big things.  If you’re not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store?  No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank. (Luke 16:10-13 MSG)

Jesus doesn't focus on the shrewdness of the man as much as the ability to be "smart" in your actions.  The caveat - be "smart" for the right reasons!  Be "smart" about the right stuff!  What the manager did was use the things of this world to ensure his future here.  What Jesus wants us to do is use the things of his Kingdom to ensure not only our future in another world, but to impact the world in which we live today.  Jesus often used the topic of money to challenge the heart - because money is a character issue.  What we do with money, how we handle it, or how it handles us, is a good view of either the depth or shallowness of our character.  Money reveals trust issues - either we have come into a full trust in the promise of God providing for all our needs, or we continue to hold out for the manipulation of our circumstances to serve our needs apart from how he plans.  Money reveals heart attitude - either we have an open heart, free to share and bless, or we struggle with the self-centered attitude of greed which keeps it all for us.  

Most of us hope Jesus was promising we'd always have more money than what we'd know what to do with - truth be told, some of the leanest times financially have brought some of the deepest growth in our lives.  It isn't the money which anchors us - it is the heart and spirit of a man.  Heart and spirit right with God - focused on him as the provider - will anchor us solidly.  Heart and spirit focused on what we have or don't have and we will always find the anchoring we have like shifting sand.  When we are faithful with money - something we can see and feel, there is something which occurs in the things we cannot immediately see and feel.  God wants to give us "true riches" - things like his presence and power.  Most of us can sense God's presence, but we cannot see it like we can the 55" TV in the living room.  We can see the outcome of his power, but we don't actually feel the power surging around us - yet his power sets the bound free, heals the sick, finds the lost, and looses the captive. 

The money in our hand is really a "testing point" for us.  The manager had the money in his hand and failed the test.  He didn't handle it well.  Even in the end, he still had a rather unique way of handling is financial future.  For most of us, how we view money and what hold it has on us is often the "test". When we focus on what we "do" or "don't" have, we are not likely getting the best grade on the test!  When we rest in the truth of God providing for all our needs, regardless of what we hold in our hands.  What the young manager did was get more into his hands.  What Jesus commended repeatedly was the ability to let go of what we hold onto so tightly, allowing it to be used by him. In turn, we never go without!  Seems counter-intuitive, huh?  Yet, if you have learned to live this way, you know it to be true.

Here's what I think Jesus wanted us to see - bottom line:  Money gets a hold on us whenever we give it that hold.  Money isn't the problem, the heart is. Money is just a tool he uses to expose the heart.  When handled well, it brings healing to the captive.  When held too close, the heart will never experience the exuberance of seeing another blessed.  It is one thing to be streetwise, it quite another to be "Jesus-wise".  Just sayin!

Reacting or Acting?

Ever fail a test?  You know, you think you have "studied" hard enough to make your brain actually leak forth the right stuff in just the right moment - then almost without recognizing the turning point, you "slip" in what you "leaked" and down you go!  Yep, been there, done that, bought the shirt, and wore it out!  The truth is, we all fail - sometimes more miserably than others, but we fail nonetheless.  It may be in some commitment we have made such as determining to eat right, or some "trigger" we just didn't want to respond to in quite the same way the next time we were faced with it.  This week was one of those weeks for me.  The "trigger" came and there came my response - not the grace-filled one I would have like to respond with, but the adrenaline kicked into full gear and there I was facing the same old stuff.  The truth be told - I didn't go as far in my negative response to the trigger - for I held back the words I would have liked to have said at that moment, but I faced the "triggering point" with a response I immediately regretted.  It was a test - and I studied well - but all the studying in the world didn't help me "pass the test"!

I can see now, God, that your decisions are right; your testing has taught me what’s true and right.  Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight, just the way you promised.  Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to.  (Psalm 119:75-77 MSG)

At that moment in time, I chose to dance to my own tune.  In retrospect, I can see this clearly now.  The triggering point was the beginning of the test.  The apology I extended afterward was the recognition I did not allow the studying to be converted into actual "learning".  So, now you have heard my true confessions - but I don't think I am sailing these seas alone!  We often face "triggers" we think we have under control only to find at the right moment, the very thing we thought we "learned" in our studies was not "fully learned" yet.

David says something in this portion of scripture which caught my eye this morning.  Maybe it was because my heart was a little sensitized by the failure of the test - or maybe it was just God's timing of the test!  This particular passage is "sandwiched" between two very important ideas - the first being the idea of waiting in expectation for God's wisdom to be "delivered" in the moment of our testing and the commitment to keep our minds "fixed" on God's counsel especially in the midst of the test.  To this, David adds:  "And let me live whole and holy, soul and body, so I can always walk with my head held high."  (vs. 80)  

Triggers are anything which serve as stimuli or initiators of a REACTION or series of REACTIONS.  Notice, I did not say a trigger was a stimulator of an action - it is a stimulator of a REACTION.  Most of the time, the triggers we face in life cause a reaction - they may follow-through with actions, but it is the reaction which really ignites the beginning of any action!  As a kid, we did the experiment of adding vinegar to backing soda into a bottle, observing that the reaction produced a powerful "propellant" which caused the bottle to almost act as a rocket.  The bottle was never created to be a rocket, but the combining of the substances in the bottle caused the rocket to act in a way it was never designed to act!  

The reaction of the combined substances became the stimulus which changed the intended purpose of the bottle into the "undesigned purposed"!  Does this speak anything to you about your tendency to REACT to the combining of substances (the wrong word at the wrong time in the wrong place, for example)?  You were designed by God to ACT one way, but the REACTION of the combined substances resulted in a totally contrary action!  Maybe this is why David asked God to help him learn this process of "waiting in expectation" for God's wisdom.  It would only take the substitution of one ingredient to change the combined substances!  Substitute water for the vinegar and you don't get the explosive potential of the acid and base mixture!  

Now, think about this - when you mix two acidic items together, do you get anything good?  Not really!  Try mixing bleach and vinegar together and you inadvertently end up making chlorine gas!  Not only are you affected by the mixture, but you inadvertently can affect others, too!  There are some "triggers" which end up only affecting you, but more often than not, the triggers we face end up affecting others around us!  

So, having said all that, here's what I want you to see.  The REACTION is only changed when the "substance" I offer into the mixture is exactly the opposite of what will result in the REACTION!  Yep, the test is passed when I recognize (with God's help - that is the waiting on him part) the exact "opposite" of what I am faced with in the test as what needs to be "added" to the mixture! Whatever triggers will then be rendered harmless - the stimulus will have no effect - like launching forth a dud missile!   The missile had potential beyond its knowing, but without the reaction of the "electrical impulse" which acts as the detonator, the missile is a dud!  Just sayin!

Galvanized

Battered:  to beat persistently and hard; pound repeatedly; to deal heavy, repeated blows; to damage or injure as by blows, heavy wear.

God’s a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you’re never sorry you knocked. (Psalm 9:9-10 MSG)

There are times in our lives when we just seem to feel a little "battered" by the various things which impact us - things out of our control, some brought on just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time - others brought on because we deliberately put ourselves in the place where we'd feel these repeated blows.  The present "battering" many of my friends are taking are definitely not by their own doing - they are being battered by disease, the unknown of resistant growths in tiny bodies, and the uncontrolled actions of internal processes gone wild in bodies plagued with disease.  In these moments, the repeated blows seem to deal a very "heavy" and "damaging" effect on the mind, emotions, and even the spirit of those dealing with the circumstances.  Here are some things I would like us to consider this morning:

Bad times will come - we just cannot evade them indefinitely - although we all try!  As a result, there is a time of preparation we each go through BEFORE the bad times - but we may not realize we have been through this preparatory process until we are well in the midst of the present trial.  It is often in the midst of the trial where we discover the truths God has given us which we will hold onto during those times.  The times of connection with God PRIOR to the present blows ensure something we don't want to overlook - the blows may be heavy, but they will be unable to wear us down because there has been a "galvanizing" of our character during those preparatory times.

This is something I don't think we realize about our daily, faithful connection with the Lord - it has a way of galvanizing us against future blows.  Blows have a way of causing "nicks" in that which is struck.  The "galvanizing" process provides a protective barrier against the things which corrupt - such as rust.  How does rust occur?  Isn't it because protective barriers don't exist and there are sufficient "chinks" in the metal to allow it to be exposed to the elements attacking it?  Time alone with God each day has a way of "coating" us with the protective barrier we all need in order to be protected from the elements of attack against us.  Blows cause chinks - if the barrier is thick - formed over the course of time spent with God - the effects of the blows will be lessened because the protective barrier is strong.

I kind of think God is constantly calling us into the "galvanizing" chamber of his presence.  Although I am not very well versed in the whole process of galvanization, I do understand something quite important.  Galvanization occurs when a "charge" of some kind is applied to metal as a protective coating - but more than just a protective coating - a sacrificial coating.  When exposed to damaging forces, it actually has a way of "sacrificing" some of its charge - so it does not change what is under the coating, but is combining with what is attacking, "deactivating" its destructive forces.  Now, this seems pretty important to me when it comes to us being prepared for the times when repeated blows come our way.  When we have the right "charge" to our lives, we have something which can be "sacrificed" to actually "inactivate" the destructiveness of that which is attacking us.

This is what our psalmist is referring to as God being a safe sanctuary for those who run to him - who take the time to knock on his door and actually enter into his presence.  There is this protective process which begins in those times and becomes totally apparent when we are facing the many repeated blows which the enemy of our souls designs as those which will wear us down and cause us to no longer "function" - leaving us open to the destructiveness of his elements.  God's sanctuary is not a place to be visited infrequently.  Even the most "galvanized" of metals has the potential of giving off their protective barrier over the course of time - causing them to be easily attacked by the external forces.  As many different types of "galvanization" should be employed in the process of really developing a protective barrier which holds up against the elements.  For example - we use more than one "sacrificial anode" applied to a metal surface - in order to increase its chances of "weathering" the elements.  To that we might add a special paint coating - further protecting from the elements.  I think we get "re-coated" each time we enter God's presence - giving us just another degree of "charge" or "coat" which protects us.

So, despite the present blows, know this - if you have been preparing all along for the eventual attacks from without by being faithful to enter the "galvanizing chamber" of God's presence - you will not be undone by the repeated blows.  They may slow you down a little, but they won't destroy ya!  Just sayin!

Not another question!

Have you ever used the "skill" of answering a question with another question?  In some circles, such as counseling, this is a common occurrence - the questions asked are designed to get the person to consider the answer themselves and to begin to problem solve through the situation.  There are times when the most appropriate answer is another question.  For example, when a child asks you why they have to eat their vegetables, do you think answering, "Because I told you to", is the best answer?  Answer in this way, and the child will allow those veggies to just grow cold on the plate.  Yet, if the parent tried a different tact, such as saying, "Johnnie, what do you think is the reason you should eat your vegetables?", I wonder what they might receive.  Perhaps you'd hear the response, "Because if I don't, I will never get to watch TV this evening."  If the parent hears this, what is it Johnnie is saying?  He is equating doing something very unpleasant for him to some form of pleasant pursuit in return.  In asking the right question, you see the underlying focus.  Johnnie is not concerned with the great nutritional intake, but that he misses out on the next episode of his favorite TV series!

Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”  He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”  He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”  “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”  (Luke 10:25-28 MSG)

Jesus often took the tact of answering a question with another question, not because he was avoiding an answer, but because he was interested in having the one asking the question finally see the true motivation of their heart in asking in the first place.  The passage we consider today begins with the "motivation" of heart laid out for us - the scholar stood up with a question to TEST Jesus.  His intent was not in really discovering the way to get eternal life - it was to attempt to expose something in Jesus which was contrary to the Law of Moses.  What a disappointment he must have experienced when Jesus turned back to him with another question and he basically hung himself out to dry with the answer he was forced to give.  Jesus was not going to say to the scholar, "Let me interpret the scripture for you, since you are only mortal."  He "honored" this man's studies in the scripture and asks how "HE" interprets what the Law requires.  I think the scholar must have been a little taken aback by Jesus "honoring" him with the opportunity to answer the question.

Jesus' reply, "You have answered this very well, Mr. Scholar - now, get busy doing it and you will have this eternal life," really did not sit well with the scholar.  You see, the scholar felt "boxed in" a little by his own answer - so he looks for a "loophole" to give himself an "out".  His next question to Jesus is really designed to find the loophole - "Hey, Jesus, who is my neighbor?"  Isn't it just like us to want a loophole?  We clearly show we understand the requirements, but then we want a way out!  We just don't want to eat our vegetables because we don't like lima beans!  We know they are good for us, containing the "right stuff" to help us stay strong, but those pesky lima beans just give us cause to pause.  Maybe it is a texture thing, or just maybe we cannot stand the smell.  Regardless, we want a "loophole" that will not "bind" us to our "understanding" of the value of their intake.  

By definition, a loophole is a means of escape or evasion.  Sometimes we use a question to attempt to evade the true disclosure of our heart.  At others, we use it to cover up our lack of understanding.  Regardless, we are attempting to find the way of escape.  We want to evade the "rule" or create enough "ambiguity" with the rule so as to "water it down" enough to avoid the consequences of the rule.  It is like when the child asks, "If I eat five lima beans, may I watch TV?"  The intent is to "bargain" his way out of eating the entire serving - so he can move on with what he finds more enjoyable.  We often use questions to "bargain" our way out of some understanding we have, don't we?  

The man's answer reveals much to Jesus.  The first thing is this man's understanding of the Law goes beyond the surface of just being a good person.  The scholar answers he would love God with all his passion and prayer.  When passion gets behind our action, we find ourselves just a little more "vested" in the action, don't we?  In answering this way, the scholar was pointing out he "knew" the principles of serving God - with depth of heart and honesty.  When we love God with all our passion this is depth of heart - when we love him with all our prayer, we are opening up to him in honesty.  When the scholar says you put a little "muscle" into your love, he is probably saying that man needs to put feet to their words.  In other words, you don't just say you love God and want to serve him - you show it in your choices.  As if this were not enough, the scholar points out that the mind plays an important part in serving God - bringing what we "know" about God into practice in our own lives.

The scholar really boxed himself in when he added the last statement about loving his neighbor as himself.  Now he had no real way of escape because Jesus was prepared for the next question - "So, how would you define neighbor, Jesus?"  His reply, "Let me tell you a story and then you decide who PERFORMED the acts of heart, mind, and service which exemplify a neighbor." Jesus used the man's own answer to present the answer the scholar thought would trip Jesus up somehow.  In telling the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus then turns to the scholar and asks the scholar to point out who was the "neighbor" in the story.  The scholar's answer?  "The one who treated him kindly."  Uh oh!  Exposed by your own question!

He came to Jesus, not in kindness, but in an attempt to TEST Jesus.  In turn, Jesus uses the "testing" questions of the scholar to "test" the scholar's own heart!  This is so like Jesus!  He uses the "testing" questions of our own heart and mind to "test" the real intention of our hearts and the wisdom of our minds.  Amazing!  The next time you ask Jesus a question and hear a question in reply, just know he is asking because he knows we already know the answer - we just need to recognize that we do!  Just sayin!