The importance of the pattern

We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. (Hebrews 12:1)

If you stop very long to consider some of the examples you have patterned your life after, you might just decide you fashion sense didn't improve, your financial situation really hasn't done much for you, and your relationship isn't any stronger than it was before. Why? They are 'faulty' patterns at best. We need to understand the importance of the 'pattern' before we just 'willy-nilly' follow it. I used to sew by pattern all of the time, but when I got confident enough, I often set out with the pattern and didn't follow the order of the instructions. That usually resulted in some seam ripping in the end! The importance of having both the pattern and the instructions cannot be negated!

The pattern gives us the 'pieces' we need to make our life, but the 'instructions' actually show us how the various pieces all fit together properly. If we look at our life examples again, we will see some very good things within those 'patterns', but they are only pieces of the whole. We need God's instructions on how to take those 'pieces' and use them within our lives in a way that brings our life together whole, complete in every way. Sometimes we find it hard to understand the instructions, much less figure out how to follow them. With some sewing patterns I used to get, if I neglected to really read the instructions from start to finish, I didn't understand the importance to the 'order' of the instructions.

God may not give us all his instructions at one time because he knows the importance of us following them in a particular order. He may not lead us to examples of those instructions all at one time, but he will unfold those 'patterned lives' before us intermittently so that we can see the instructions lived out in many different scenarios. Why? Life never comes at us the same way every day! There will be times when his instructions seem hard, but then we see the example he gives us of that instruction 'lived out' and we begin to see how the 'pieces' of his instruction guide us to live complete and holy lives. 

We each are unique, and we see God's instructions through the 'uniqueness' of our lives. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste the examples we are given, especially when we don't fully understand the importance of the instructions we have received in his Word? Just askin!

More caught than taught

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. (Romans 15:2)

Have you ever considered your actions in light of what others see, hear, or feel as a result of those actions? It can be kind of scary at times to see actions through the eyes of others, mostly because it can lead to us being a little too 'comparison oriented' and it can result in some issues with pride on occasion. If we just compare our actions, excluding the heart from the picture, we might think our actions are a little better than another's. We run the risk of elevating our beliefs or actions above theirs - thinking THEY have room for improvement, but we are doing just fine. This is a very dangerous precipice from which to view life!

When we set out to live in such a way so as to be a 'help' to others - an example of God's goodness and grace - our heart is in the right place. Yet, it is quite easy to get a little too focused on our own goodness and forget that God's goodness is what matters. How do we go about 'helping others' without pridefulness entering into the mix? It might just be that we need to remove a few of our 'religious masks' in order for others to see we aren't 'perfect' or 'righteous' all of the time. Sometimes we fall flat on our faces just like they do, but we have learned how to take those failures to Christ, seek the lesson he will reveal to us as we do, and then start out again. 

Building each other up isn't about 'telling them how to live' as much as it is showing them how it is we have come to live in this relationship with Jesus. I think Jesus is most honored when we are genuine in our faith - living out the lessons he teaches without judgment of others who haven't come to the place where that lesson is made alive in their own lives yet. It is a very fine line between being an example and being judgmental of the actions of others. When we learn to look at our actions first - our heart attitude, thought life, and responses to events - we are well on our way to being positive examples to others without this spirit of judgment that enters in whenever pride begins to rear its ugly head.

The adage, "More is caught than taught", rings true here. John Maxwell puts it, "You can teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are." If your words don't match your actions, they won't hear you. Others repeat what we do more than what we say. God's hope is that we will lead lives that model a life without compromise. When we are focused on how much 'compromise' we see in others, we might just miss the volume of compromising decisions we are making ourselves. Just sayin!

Are you a social influencer?

 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2)

How many times do we find ourselves going along with the crowd just because we have become so 'well-adjusted to our culture'? We move toward the newest trend, all because we are listening to the voice of the crowd. We take on more debt than we should, all because someone said we couldn't live without something. We might be more 'well-adjusted' to our world than we imagine. If we act upon the influences within the world instead of taking time to see how it is God would have us act, we might just be more 'adjusted' in the wrong direction!

Fixed attention really is a hard thing for some of us. I have two grandsons who have ADHD and I know exactly how this affects them. The earliest signs were of the fidgeting every mealtime, the intensity they would put into one task while completely neglecting all others, and sometimes even their unending outbursts over what seemed to be pretty silly things. The more we learned of the issues ADHD kids faced, the more we realized this intensity of focus was not always a good thing. The child could 'over-focus' on one thing, regardless of all the demands made to pull away from the object of their attention, they just couldn't do it. I wonder how many of us have some form of 'spiritual ADHD' - focusing so intently on some of the things God tells us to avoid, but finding it harder and harder to pull away from them because they have us so consumed in their hold?

Fixed attention is a good thing when the direction of our focus is in the right direction. We need this type of intensity of focus, but used in the wrong way it can harm us. Culture used to be defined as the 'betterment' of a society via education or training, but today it might be defined as that which is 'learned'. Culture - good or bad - is modeled and learned. We move toward or away from some ideas, concepts, and challenges simply because of what we have been 'taught' via example, words, and social influences. Is it any wonder today that we call the individuals who have a huge 'social following' in media as 'social influencers'? Their intent is to create a 'culture' of followers. Jesus wasn't opposed to followers - he was just opposed to us following without intent, purpose, and allegiance aligned with his example! Maybe our greatest goal in this world today should be to become those types of 'social influencers' who actually lead others to fall deeply in love with Jesus. Just sayin!

Are you evangelical?

The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. (Psalm 16:8)

I have been asked why I am not a bit more 'evangelical'. What is really being asked is why am I not a bit more ardent in my message, or zealous in the presentation of the gospel truth? Why is it I am not 'shouting from the rooftops' the hope that dwells deep within my heart? Why am I not 'out there' more? Truth be told, it isn't about the 'forwardness' or 'religiousness' one exhibits, but the ability for others to see Christ in your life and want what you have. I haven't had too many positive responses to 'hell fire and damnation' sermons - but I have seen others develop an honest hunger for Christ because the 'thing' I have made them more than a little curious how they could have the same thing!

I am probably going to step on a few toes today, so hold on. We don't need to shout the gospel message from the rooftops, nor do we need to have our TV tuned to TBN 24-hours a day. God isn't impressed with our 'religiousness' - he is captivated by a heart intent on loving others as he has loved us. We don't have to 'cram' Jesus down the throats of everyone we meet - we show them Jesus in our actions and trust God to develop that desire to know him as a result of what they observe. Jesus didn't preach - the taught. He didn't just lay out scripture - he lived out scripture. When others see the gospel lived out, they are drawn to the love, hope, and peace they see and feel - they 'know a good thing when they see it'.

I listen to Christian music most of the time, so there is nothing wrong with tuning into those things that uplift your spirit. I know there are great gospel teachers on the TV each week and I even attend church online. I don't make a steady diet of every message they teach on those TV programs, though. There is just something about getting into the Word myself and discovering what God will speak to me in those quiet times that does a bit more for my soul and spirit than I might get from listening to non-stop gospel teachers on the tube. God's hope isn't for us to become 'religious' by all the things we watch, listen to, or observe. His hope is that we will develop a genuine hunger for more of his grace and love. 

His hope - that we will 'stick with it' when the tough times come - that we won't allow our hearts to be captivated by another. His way of doing things has always been to give us examples to follow - not just words that convict us of our sin. Yes, he wants our sin dealt with and for us to realize when our choices aren't the wisest. His hope is that we will know him and then desire more of him because we have come to know him. We come to know others because there is a connection - we spend time together. Jesus was all about spending time with people. He didn't just preach the message and drop the mic. He held hands, touched wounds, and embraced the curious. 

I want others to know Christ because they see I have a 'good thing' that they desire. I don't work to convince them they need Jesus in their lives - that is his work, not mine. I just share the hope I have by living out that hope day after day. I guess I may not be very 'evangelical' to some, but trust me on this - I know him deeply and I want you to know him as deeply as I do. I have a good thing going and I am not letting go! How about you? Can you say the same? Do others see that similar hope in you? If so, you are being more than just a bit 'evangelical' my friends! Just sayin!

Your life speaks very clearly

Imagine what life would be like if Jesus had avoided the cross - if every 'negative thing' he experienced while on this earth and those three days in the tomb had been something he refused to embrace. What chaos would exist in this world today as our sinful natures just continued to follow whatever felt good to us? If we look at the chaos sin DOES cause today, imagine it multiplied ten, twenty, or even a thousand times over - because without Christ moving in his people, the chaos would be growing at astronomical proportions! Jesus never took the easy way out - he embraced the hard path, the difficulties of being rejected, and the hardships of being misunderstood by some of the most influential and important people of the time. Yet he endured it all - not because it was easy for him - but because he knew it was necessary for us - the ones he loves with an intensity that outweighs any of the hardships he endured.

That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus! (Romans 15:5-6)

Jesus set an example for us - embrace troubles - don't run from them. Easier said than done - I know that full well. I have run many a time rather than face it head-on because deep down inside of me is a very cowardly heart! The thing I had to recognize in order to embrace those troubles was that I could stand on the promise that God would give me everything I needed to walk through them. That meant I had to discover his truths in scripture, embrace them instead of the chaos, allowing them to speak hope into my life when everything seemed to be telling me otherwise. The combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel - did you see that in the passage above? This is how we embrace the chaos and trouble of our day - with his presence and the wisdom of his scripture.

These two things are to come to 'characterize' our lives - when others look at us they are to see the evidence of his comforting presence and the hope of his Word within us. Do you know the power that is in the Word of God? If you remember back to the creation story, how did the sky come to be separated from the lands and sea? His word. How did the sun start to shine by day and the moon by night? His word. How did man come to be? His word. His word has a 'creative' power to it, doesn't it? His word sets things into motion, stops other things in their path. His word calms the tumultuous seas and brings the downpour of much needed rains. His word brings forth the harvest in season. It is indeed a powerful thing!

Why does God want us to come to be known as filled with his Scripture? Perhaps it is because he wants us to be not only examples of his Word's power, but to also be ambassadors of that same hope so the lives of others can find the power for themselves. God's main aim in all of this is that we learn to work together as a community of believers - to be in unity with each other. Getting along with your closest friends and family members is hard enough - open the door to others who are beyond the inner circle and it gets even harder! Yet, Christ prepared the way for our many 'voices' to blend together in a perfect harmony - not to sing our own praises, but escalate the praises of his Father! 

Our 'voice' is more than the words that come forth from our lips - it is every action we take, every thought we think, every hope we share, every fear we push aside, and every hand we take hold of in this walk we are called to live. Our lives are our words - lived well, the story will be God-honoring and will stand as a beacon for others to find hope in Christ. Don't squander away what God has given - embrace his Word, allow it to begin to speak faith into your life, and then begin to allow his Word to be 'spoken' through your life's actions. We never know what chaos God will settle because we have been faithful to sing forth in harmony with him. Just sayin!

Follow the pattern

The pattern makes all the difference when we don't know how to do something and need a little guidance to get the job done. I used to sew my own clothes and clothes for the kids. I used a lot of patterns back in the day. Some were very simply making it very easy to follow along with the completion of the garment. Others were quite hard, requiring a lot more concentration and attention to the details if I was going to get the job done right. I have assembled my share of 'out of the box' furniture - gaining me the privilege of being called upon by my family to always do it now. Why have I become so proficient in the task? Because I made my share of mistakes of NOT following the directions, having to start over again, and now I remember to read the instructions word for word! They are given to guide me in the assembly and to discount them is to allow for error. The Word of God is given as our instruction, but we are also asked to watch God and see what he does - his actions serve as an example or pattern for us to learn from and begin to emulate.

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG)

Watch and do. This is an age-old way of learning new things. Try as I might, I never did learn to line dance even though I really wanted to, although I have had great examples to follow. Why? It isn't in me to learn it! I think I don't have the rhythm or something, but it didn't ever really 'sink in' no matter how much I observed their example. Forward, backward, side to side, slide, glide, turn, AYE! Now my feet are all muddled up and everyone is bumping into me because I went the wrong direction! I was watching my example, but I didn't do it right! We don't always get things 'right', do we? Sometimes we have the best example around and still don't get it 'right'. We make a wrong step, turn the wrong way, and alas, we find ourselves stumbling or being a stumbling block!

I gave up on line dancing. but I didn't give up on learning a life of love by keeping company with the one who loves like no other. Line dancing won't minister to a hurting heart, or lift a spirit knocked down by life. Love will! Keep company with God - learn of him, observe his actions, see when he doesn't act, and really soak it all in. There is something powerful in observing the actions of another. Not only do we see how it 'should' be done, but we can also observe how it should 'not' be done. The coin has two sides, doesn't it? I have observed examples I really don't want to emulate - simply because the outcome of their actions didn't produce what I desired in my life. The examples we choose to emulate will be those that produce the outcomes we desire or 'crave' in life.

God's love doesn't quit - it is steady, persevering, and focused. His love doesn't find favorites - it is open to all who would receive it, even though they don't know they want or need it. His love finds ways to reach people - it is powerful, penetrating, and persuasive. His love is unmatched by any other and it is a great example for us to follow. We only learn of his love by observing him - by keeping company with him and those who have already learned a great deal of his love in their own lives. Examples - patterns to be followed. Being new to woodworking, I realize the importance of a good 'pattern' to follow. I can go to Pinterest for ideas of all manner of projects, but if I want to really know the way to construct something, Pinterest is not the end-all. I need the pattern. I have to go to the site of the individual who posted the project and read the intricate details of each cut, joint, and required tool.

God provides all these instructions in his Word, but he doesn't expect us to learn of his love from words alone. He provides examples - repeatedly showing us HOW he loves. Why? He knows very well that when we connect the HOW with the WHAT, we might just understand a little better the WHY behind the actions we are taking! Just sayin!

Anything but ordinary

Gonna ask a tough question this morning - how many of us actually live disciplined lives? A disciplined life is characterized by self-control, orderly and prescribed conduct, and exercise in things that produce solid moral character.  Most of us would associate ourselves with some other 'title' than 'disciplined' - especially when we consider all the areas of our lives where discipline may not be exercised. I don't always have a disciplined life with every aspect of my house cleaning, nor my maintenance of flowerbeds. Sometimes I let dust build up, and a few things to get gangling growth before I do anything about it. If we have mastered the art of living disciplined lives, it is usually in some area such as our finances, health, exercise, etc.  The type of discipline that is required to produce a 'spacious life' encompasses these types of 'disciplined living' and much more.

An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny; an obedient, God-willed life is spacious. 

(Proverbs 15:32 MSG)

The self-willed man is one who directs attention to his own needs without considering the outcome as it relates to his overall character, or the potential impact it will have on the character of another who follows his example.  In other words, if it feels good, gets me what I think I want, or makes me feel better about the situation I am in right now, I direct my attention toward those things because they give me an immediate fulfillment of some 'good' feelings.  The will of man is that which is exercised within us that reveals choice, appetite and passion.  A self-willed person has appetite and passion focused on what brings gratification to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. The God-willed man focuses on what choices God would have him make as it relates to his eternal well-being, and the example his choices set for others. God is not as focused on our immediate pleasure, although it matters to him, as much as he is on our eternal well-being and reward - because the only thing that really matters to him is the eternal.  The writer makes it clear that the God-willed man is living in obedience to the direction or oversight of his will (his decisions) by his heavenly Father, forsaking the desires of his own will when they do not match the will of God.

A puny life is the reward of the self-willed because self can only think of self - self-focused individuals end up with a rather 'puny' focus on life because that focus can see no further than the reach of their own hands.  Choices, desires and intentions are all directed at building up, protecting, or driving forward the agenda that creates the sense of internal and external gratification of selfish desires - what pleases me at the moment regardless of how it might affect others. In truth, a puny life is characterized by weakness.  In other words, the self-centered, self-willed man is given to those things that don't really allow strength to be established in the inner part of him which some refer to as his moral character. The reward of a self-willed man is also puny.  All his striving and conniving really does not pay off in the end with the reward he was hoping for - aim low and you will hit that target every time.  A spacious life is the reward of the godly. Spaciousness can be thought of as that which produces ample, or larger than is ordinarily realized results.  It is a comfortable life - magnificent in every way.

We will do well to examine our choices. They reflect our heart - the desires we nurture within that end up being acted upon in some for or another in our daily choices. If we find they are a little too focused on self, we need to make some course adjustments, because that course of action will always lead us down paths riddled with regret, not all that fulfilling in the long run, and potentially harmful to those who see our lives as examples they should follow.  If they are correctly focused on the only thing that can really 'center' us in life (God), then we will find ourselves moving from ego-centric choices to God-centric choices on a pretty consistent basis. Remember:  God's economy makes us extra-ordinary in every possible way.  If we find our focus is consistently on the ordinary, we may want to ask God to increase our vision for the extra-ordinary. Just sayin!

Perfect pitch

All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ERV)

While it is very important to remember all scripture is given to help us correct what is wrong in our lives, it is not to be used to beat people up with. The desire to use scripture to point out the faults of another is not what is intended here. The "pointing out" is really the job of the Holy Spirit - the helping another to learn part is where we come alongside and walk out that learning together.

Most of the time, we forget that learning is all about us walking out what we are given instruction to do. Having a hymnal doesn't equate to singing the songs correctly - especially if you don't actually read notes or understand rhythm or beat. If I have heard the hymn often enough, I may have a better chance of actually singing it according to how it is written, but the notes still mean very little to me. Why? I am not "schooled" in music.

There are a good number of biblical teachings I am not "schooled" in, but I am able to read them just like I could read the words of a song in the hymnal. The teachings don't have exactly the same meaning until someone helps me grasp the content of the teaching. This comes not only in instruction, but in example. When I hear the song and how it is supposed to be sung, I can "imitate" the song without really totally understanding a single note on the page. Sing that song often enough with me as it should be sung and I will eventually get a better understanding of the counting of beats and the meaning of the notes.

If you were to tell me to hit an F-sharp I probably couldn't even get close. If you were to hit that pitch yourself and then I were to "match" that pitch, I would eventually appreciate the tone of the note. What I needed was the example - the ability to hit the note was there all along, but I didn't appreciate the note as "matching" the F-sharp on the page until someone sung it for me. Christ was our first example of "perfect pitch". In turn, he showed his disciples how to imitate that "pitch". 

Now it is our turn to "match the pitch" in our own lives. We do this as a team - walking this learning and understanding together - following the examples we have been given. The more closely we listen to Christ, the more we are able to "hit the note" in our lives. Just sayin!

Much room for improvement....

James Dobson has been one of the foremost authorities on child-rearing in Christina circles for years. He reminds us, "Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built." Each child has the potential to absorb much of what they see and hear - making them similar to sponges just hungry to soak up all that they come in contact with. This might just prove to be the most important reason for us to guard what it is they come into contact with as they are growing up!

Fearing the Lord is the beginning of moral knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother. For they will be like an elegant garland on your head, and like pendants around your neck. (Proverbs 1:7-9 NET)

Solomon also reminds us to train a child in the way he or she should go - with the aim of not departing from that which one has absorbed through those years of "growing up". Notice that Solomon does not use the words, "the way he will go", but rather the way he "should go". The best we can do in life is be a positive example for those who are looking to us as the examples they will somehow mold their lives toward. This may seem a little daunting to us at first, considering just how many people that may be over the course of our lives, not just exclusive to our children we birthed into our homes. Our examples are absorbed by a great many "sponges" in our lifetime!

While Solomon may have had his eye on the training up of his own children, he was also the leader of a great nation - king anointed by God to lead the nation of Israel. As such, didn't he present a continual example that others would potentially pattern their actions after? You bet he did! Just like you and I do in whatever circle we find ourselves in today. There are those looking to grow in Christ - observing our examples and seeing how we "do it". There are also those just absorbing our example, not really sure what it is that is "different" about us, but they know they are attracted to something they see in our example. As "influencers" we have a pretty big "role" in determining how another may actually form their beliefs, opinions, and attitudes toward the important matters in life.

Maybe this frightens us a bit - knowing that there are "sponges" just waiting to soak up bits and pieces of our actions and attitudes. It should! If we are true to our convictions, even when we don't quite adhere to them as closely as we might have wanted to, making course corrections as necessary, those examples will be seen. I think it is equally important for those who are following our examples to see not only the "perfect" parts of our walk, but the times we need to make course corrections to get back on course again! This means we are "real" - we aren't trying to just show one side of who we are - for the other side is really the side that shows how equally "disjointed" our lives are. It isn't the "perfect example" that we need to set, but the example that leans heavily upon grace to get us through and the one that is willing to admit there is still much room for improvement! Just sayin!

Parenting isn't for wimps!

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you. (H. Jackson Brown, Jr.) How we choose to live our lives affects many more than those in our immediate circle of influence.  Our children, our children's children and their children on down through the generations become the recipients of the example we set in the here and now. A wise man once told me that what we "tolerate" in our lives today will become the foundation for us moving closer and closer to tolerating something just a little worse down the road until one day we are so far from what we once stood for that it is hardly even recognizable anymore. Nothing could be more true.

The righteous live with integrity; happy are their children who come after them. (Proverbs 20:7 CEB)

I know there were days when my kids were growing up where my "example" slipped a little. I sometimes lost my cool over stuff that really didn't matter all that much. I opted for a quick meal that probably lacked all the nutritional quality a mom is supposed to ensure her children get just because I was too exhausted to make it, or argue with them to eat it once made. I focused on just making it to the end of the day on some days. There were indeed days when they frustrated me to no end and others where I saw the tender graces of God's goodness shining through their lives. Sometimes I wondered how "marred" or "scarred" they would be because of me raising them as a single parent. If I look back now, I can see moments when God "graced me" with his goodness, protecting my kids from disastrous consequences and sheltering all of us in his watchful care.

Although parents don't expect accolades from their children, there are those moments as adults where they just touch your heart in some special way, letting you know all those years of "hard parenting" didn't go to waste.  They put their arm around you and squeeze hard - just making that momentary connection that says "I love you" louder than any words. They reach out when their lives are falling to pieces and they just need to know their momma is there. They call when it thunders and know you won't tell them to stop being a baby and just grow up. They show up one day with a load of pallets just because you mentioned you'd like to reclaim a few for a project in the yard. In small ways, they give you glimpses into their lives that show you it all mattered - no matter how hard it may have been.

Some parents don't always get these glimpses, though. Some children choose to walk away, severing relationship with them and not even looking back. Others were taken from this earth way too soon, leaving a huge gap no parent really wants to endure. Still others find their children's lives way to busy and filled with all manner of "other stuff", making time together with their parents just a very low priority. My heart breaks for those who don't have these glimpses into the lives of their children - for it truly is the reward of a parent to know those hard years of parenting weren't for naught. The heart of a parent can swell at the success of a child as deeply as it can fall into despair over not knowing these successes. It truly is a hard job to be a parent!

The most I can say to those who are parents today, considering parenthood in the future, or who will "parent" others in some role in this lifetime is that EVERY moment matters. The good ones stick out, but how we make it through the "bad ones" might just speak even clearer to those we parent in this lifetime. We want to be remembered for the good ones, but it is quite possible how we handled the bad ones actually helped them more. Our example cannot be underestimated - for we never know how much that one moment matters until we see the "value" of it through the eyes of the one who emulates that example down the road. Sometimes all we can do is what some label as "our best", then trust God with the rest. Just sayin!

Paint on, Jesus!

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (1 John 4:11-12 NLT)

It was kind of sobering to me this morning to realize all another may know about Jesus is what they see in me. The example I set, the times my words are judged by my actions, and the moments when God's grace is totally evident in my life may be the only evidence anyone ever gets to experience in this lifetime. That means every moment counts - every word matters - every opportunity to share the grace we have been given is not to be squandered. The evidence of God's love is to be the overshadowing thing another sees when they look upon our lives - for we are the "venue" by which he shares so much about himself!

Albert Schweitzer once said that example was not the main thing we use to influence other people - in fact, he said it is the only thing. Let that one roll around in your heart and mind for just a moment, will you? The example of God's love and grace we exhibit in our ordinary daily life is the ONLY thing that may influence another. Do others see the evidence of God's grace working in our lives, humbling us and revealing just how dependent we are upon his grace to carry us moment by moment? Do they get wrapped up in the intensity of his love toward us because they catch the beat of his heart in the way we love one another? 

God's love is meant to "take expression" within us and it is that expression that is to begin to affect those around us. Expression represents the thing as closely as possible, just in a different "medium" than it first began in. For example, when an artist wants to capture the image of a particular sunset over the calm waters of a serene lake, he begins by putting paint to the canvas - some with small, deliberate strokes - others with larger, bolder and freer strokes. In time, the "medium" of canvas and paint begins to depict the elements of beauty captured in the artist's eye and beheld in his mind. That medium becomes a representation of what is very real, but which depicts for a much longer time what would otherwise be gone in a short period of time. If we all had to remember the sunset in our memory, we'd all lose some of the quality of it over time. The example captured on the medium of canvas allows us to keep that memory fresh.

In much the same way, God uses us as the "medium" by which his full expression of love may be understood, captured time and time again by those who most need a "refresher" in what it is like, how it welcomes one in, and where it begins to bind up the brokenness of one's miserable soul. We are the canvas, his grace and love are the paint, and his hand is what faithfully captures the image of his intense love and places elements of that love and grace into our lives for others to behold. As we consider that today, let us be not so much concerned with the "perfection" of the image as we are in becoming the "medium" upon which he may place whatever image it is that others need to see in order to connect with his love. Just sayin!

How to spot a good leader

When looking for a leader for our country, one of the hallmarks of a great "find" in a leader is this idea of the pursuit of justice - the ability and willingness to adhere to strong ethical and moral principles.  As I look around, listen to TV ads, and get phone surveyed to death, it is quite possible we have veered from this a little in how it is we have come to judge those who will fulfill positions of leadership within our country, companies, or even our community.  The position of leadership in any venue - church, state, or even over a country - should not be pursued with haste, or without careful preparation and what some may call "soul-searching". Why?  Where the leader goes, so goes those they lead. 

Whoever pursues justice and treats others with kindness discovers true life marked by integrity and respect.  One wise person can rise against a city of mighty men and cause the citadel they trust to collapse. (Proverbs 21:21-22 VOICE)

It is often an overlooked fact that we all follow someone - even if we think we are kind of independent and have it all "figured out" for ourselves.  We all have either seen or are seeing some example in this life of ours, good or bad, which we somehow pattern our actions after in one way or another. We may not think this to be the case, but I challenge you to even consider how you learned to add two numbers together. Most of us don't come out of the womb able to add two numbers and come up with the correct sum. It takes some work on someone's part to help us understand two apples and two oranges equal four pieces of fruit.  Eat one and we are left with three.  Blend them together and we still have four pieces of fruit - just in a different form!  We can see this example and the next - but if we aren't "selective" about which ones we follow, we will be like the blended fruit - a conglomeration of all of what we see and hear!

Pursue the right examples and we are more likely to pursue the right actions on our part later on.  Why?  We model behavior - like it or not.  What media outlets everywhere hope for is that we will see an ad, like what we see (or at least be a little curious about it), then get it or try it out.  They are selling a product - a line of goods, an image, etc.  They "market" what they have created.  If a man or woman of God realizes it, they are "marketing" what God has created. The grace-transformed life you live as a result of having said "yes" to Jesus is simply a canvas upon which God is able to display his beauty, mercy, and love.  If we want to be positive examples in this world - positive leaders others will follow - we begin by pursuing justice (right moral conduct guiding our decisions) and kindness (right actions from a gentle spirit). Even if we don't consider ourselves as "leaders" in the sense some may define as being in a "leadership role", we ALL lead someone - we may not even recognize who it is that eyes us with the intention of following our example!

One one wise person - one person willing to submit his or her life to the influence of Jesus - is capable of setting a city right. That may not seem possible, but I believe it to be so - it takes but one good leader to rise up, live above what others may tolerate, and look beyond one's own self to see the needs of those around them.  Leaders are not elevated to places of greatness - they humbly serve others and find their place of greatness not in position or power, but in extending justice and kindness in the everyday circumstances of life lived out with others.  Just sayin!

How much of a threat are you?

As Jesus neared the time when he would be publicly humiliated, beaten, and then marched to his death on a cross, he also is found drawing near and sharing time with those he had formed relationships with on this earth.  One such occasion was upon his return to Bethany, a town best known by the time of his return because of a pretty spectacular miracle he had performed there - the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  Now, the "fame" of this miracle wasn't because Lazarus was a "big man" in the town government, religious faction, or some type of a "rock star".  He was simply stated to be the brother of Mary and Martha - two loving sisters who were grieving his loss.  In terms of how this would have been treated today, if this man had been "famous" like Elvis Presley, his being raised from the dead would have had people flocking to his burial place and doorstep by the thousands!  He wasn't Elvis, but the "fame" of his miracle was making a certain group of people more than just a little anxious - the religious zealots of the day.  That seems a little like an oxymoron doesn't it? Those who were supposed to be the religious authorities of the day were actually getting "put out" by the "fame" of this miracle - not because they wished Mary or Martha ill, but because there was now "competition" in the religious "circles"!  You see, they were "losing followers" of their religious community to the gospel message of truth and liberty - the one Jesus was teaching and modeling in his miracles.  They viewed Jesus (and Lazarus by extension) as a threat to their way of life - one which had become a pretty comfortable thing for them and one they didn't want disrupted!

A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. He was the reason that many of the Jewish leaders were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus. (John 12:9-11 CEV)

This is kind of how it is whenever "religion" becomes the end all - because "relationship" isn't even a focus any longer.  To the religious zealots of the day (Pharisees and Sadducees), the raising of Lazarus was leading some of their followers (and even some of their religious leaders) to move toward grace and away from religion!  They were putting their faith in Jesus and this threatened their beliefs, practices, and "comfort level".  Religious people are "comfortable" in the pursuit of whatever beliefs and practices they develop - because they are predictable and "comprehended" by their minds.  This is the difference between religion and true faith sometimes - one can pretty much be comprehended by the mind, while the other needs to be trusted by the heart.  

I imagine the crowds were filled with a combined group of those who were merely curious to see the one who had been dead, but was not living life as though nothing unusual had happened, and those who were truly seeking the truth which Jesus showed them by how he spoke and lived.  Some would seek with their minds - while others would reach with all their hearts for something they might not come to fully comprehend with their minds, but which they knew with a certainty they could trust with all their hearts.  This is where faith takes hold - not in the ability of our minds to comprehend truth - but in the willingness of our hearts to embrace it, run with it, count on it, and lean into it above all else.

I don't know if you have ever seen this in this accounting of the story of Lazarus before, but it caught my attention this morning - the religious leaders wanted to kill LAZARUS, not Jesus.  They wanted to do away with the evidence of Jesus' miracle - not the one who performed the miracle.  Lazarus had become a threat to them because his life was a testimony of GRACE and MERCY.  If that doesn't make you sit up and take notice, then I don't know what will!  Stop for a moment to think about the potential each of us has to be living testimonies of God's GRACE and MERCY.  Each of us has the potential to be in the "cross-hairs" of some who don't truthfully understand the mystery of grace - simply because they don't understand it, they might feel threatened by it, and this causes them to want to "silence" the threat.

In a day and age when religious freedom is touted as so very important, isn't it kind of amazing how much the testimony of GRACE and MERCY is resisted and told it has no place in our society?  In essence, I think there are "grace-released" lives being lived which have become a threat to the "religious" who don't understand the mystery of this relationship we have with Jesus.  It has long been the case that what isn't easily understood by the mind is kind of a threat - because man seeks to have a reasonable explanation for things and has a hard time with anything they cannot put into the box of their understanding.  GRACE isn't one of those things which easily fits into the "box" of our understanding - for grace isn't a "thing", but a person.  It isn't a set of deeds we perform, but the continual action of another on our behalf.  

This is honestly where religion and Christianity part ways - in the difference between us doing things to reach God versus him doing everything to reach us.  Lazarus did nothing to reach Jesus - but Jesus did everything to reach him.  Lazarus didn't even know to trust in Jesus and the grace he would extend into his life by giving him back life - allowing him to become a living testimony of grace.  Yet, a life so touched by grace as to become alive in the freedom and joy of grace is truly one which becomes a threat to any other way of living which places someone in bondage to religious pursuits and the "doing of deeds" to find favor with God in any manner.  I wonder how much of a "threat" our lives are to those around us? Just askin?

What example did you set today?

Example:  One of a number of things, or a part of something, taken show the character of the whole group of things.  The human race is full of "examples" of how it is we are to live, and even a few examples of how it is we should NOT live.  Since scripture points us toward considering our examples - those lives which tell us what faith really means - then it will serve us well to consider a few of those examples.  Frankly, when I look through scripture, I see a whole lot of messed up people - not really perfect people.  I think this is something we need to consider since an example is a representative of the whole group.  These examples recorded for us in scripture are indeed representative of the whole group of us crazy, mixed up, self-focused sinners!

We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. (Hebrews 12:1 ERV)

If we are to learn from the examples set before us, then we had better figure out what it is God expected us to learn from these examples.  So, let's go:

1. Abraham - a man called by God, anointed by God, and referred to over and over in scripture.  Did he live a "perfect" life?  Well, it doesn't appear he was much more of a "spiritually perfect" individual than the rest of us.  What was his "lesson" to us?  It may be the one about even when we get ahead of God's plan and take matters into our own hands, thinking we have it all figured out, God can still redeem us from the mess we create.  When he chose to take matters into his own hands, taking his slave girl as a concubine (another word for sleeping with her to bear children), with the resulting birth of a son, he was stepping outside of God's timing and his plan to use Sarai (Abraham's wife) to be the one to birth this son through whom the line of David would be established.  I don't know about you, but I can take a great lesson or two from Abraham - for I have stepped outside of God's timing on occasion and it is good to see the example of God's redemption even when we get so caught up in the results that we attempt to produce them in our own efforts!

2. Job - a man God actually said served him and loved him, even to the point Satan took notice of his devotion and thought he needed to converse with God about him.  It aggravates Satan to no end when someone actually determines in their heart to serve God with all they are - looking to God to be the center of their home, family, business, etc.  He was tremendously blessed and he didn't probably do anything to "deserve" the misfortunes which came his way - losing family, fortune, and even his own fortitude.  Would we say he presented the "perfect example" as he sat on a dung heap scraping boils from his body and then beginning to question what HE had done wrong in his life?  I don't know if many of us have had one of those "dung heap" moments, but I have!  I may not have physically been sitting on a pile of deep doo-doo, but trust me, my circumstances "stank" like I was!  In those moments did I look to heaven and bless God?  Nope!  Instead, I looked at the dung heap and began to question what I had done wrong, where I had gotten off-course, what I did to deserve this.  You been there?  It is natural for us to begin to question ourselves in the midst of great sorrow or disaster in our personal lives.  Yet, the message we receive from Job's example is one of intervention and restoration.  In those moments of questioning his faith, Job came to the conclusion he was complaining against God and God didn't deserve those complaints!  He moved from self-pity to determined-praise.  In that moment of transition, God met him with grace, deliverance, and restoration greater than ever imagined.  We may not understand the circumstances, but we can trust the redeemer to bring us through.

3. David - often spoken of in scripture as a man after God's own heart.  In other words, David was commended because he had a heart dedicated to the relationship he maintained with God.  Yet, in the moment of temptation, with a little too much time on his hands, he looks upon another man's wife and lusts in his heart.  It wasn't enough to entertain the thoughts of lust, he had to go and act on them - and this was a man "after God's own heart"?  It wasn't so much the failure God wanted us to see, but what David did with his personal weaknesses and failures.  Instead of bemoaning them, or giving excuses for them, he fully owned them and brought them before the one who would be able to help him overcome them.  There is a lesson in David's life - probably more than one - which should give us each a moment to pause.  It is the lesson of identifying with our sin, but not attaching our identity to that sin.  In essence, David didn't allow the sin to define him, because he was defined by something greater than his sin - his love for God.  This is a pretty important lesson for each of us to learn - to not allow the sins of the past to define us - but to enter fully into the defining "character" of our lives - the character which Christ creates when he enters fully into our lives.  David wasn't defined as an adulterer - he was remembered as a worshiper.  This might just give us a little insight into how it is we move out of our sinful state and into the state of redemption God has for us - it is through laying out our sin before God and then allowing God to fill us with more and more of him until it just "oozes" from our every pore!

We don't have "perfect examples" in scripture (except for Christ), but we have living and real examples of messed up lives, just like ours, who have an encounter with a living God.  In that moment of encounter, there comes redemption, restoration, and release.  We need these moments!  Thank goodness God showed us he isn't after perfection - he is after our hearts!  Don't be afraid to be an example of God's grace by being real about your struggles. God isn't concerned with the image you portray as much as he is with the integrity of your heart!  Just sayin!

Mentor me

If you have ever been guilty of making a not so wise decision, you are among the masses!  We all make unwise decisions now and again - it just shouldn't be the regular pattern of our lives!  A decision is a moment or period of time in which we make a determination about one of our doubts or questions we have encountered.  If we think about this a little, every moment of decision is peppered with a little bit of doubt or a question we have to answer.  Go this way or that.  If we go this way, what will be the outcome?  Go that way and will the outcome be vastly or only vaguely different?  A parent's role in life (even those we might call our "spiritual parents") is to guide us into making wise decisions. In essence, they create a culture in which we determine if we will be overcome by our doubts, or tackle the questions which come our way with a great deal of fortitude and determination.

My son, it makes me happy when you make a wise decision. It makes me feel good inside when you say the right things. (Proverbs 23:15-16 ERV)

Some of us may not have grown up with the most attentive of parents.  Perhaps they were the "absentee" type, or even the "disengaged".  Maybe they did their best, but somehow just kept missing the mark.  Regardless of the type of parents we had "naturally", God provides a way of parenting us "spiritually" by those who mentor us in life.  If we link ourselves with a solidly-based, biblical mentor in this life, we can find ourselves being "parented" in the right direction in our lives, even when it means there may be a little "un-parenting" which needs to be done!

I want to take a moment to explain a little about finding a good mentor.  We have all kinds of choices as to who will mentor us.  When I wanted to learn how to be savvy with budgets, I didn't go to a peer who knew even less than I did as evidenced by them consistently being "off-budget" when the monthly financials were posted.  I went to someone who could create a realistic budget for the department and be almost spot-on each month when the financials posted.  Why? They demonstrated how it was done by their actions.  In finding a good mentor one of the first things we can do is observe their life.  We want to see if their actions are consistent with what they proclaim to believe.

When I found my "budgeting mentor", I didn't look for someone who knew all the "loopholes" by "burying" a bunch of money into nooks and crannies in the budget.  Although you might think this is a good tactic, it doesn't bide well with the rest of the managers who have to create lean budgets.  I wanted someone who knew what was ethically correct, provided the right margins of cost to income ratios, and who could help me deliver on my budget consistently.  When we seek mentors, we don't want those who will be "loosy-goosy" in their approach to decision-making, nor do we want those who will be so "hard-nosed" and inflexible that we feel like we have no freedom.  We want balance.

Mentors need to be biblically solid in their beliefs, first and foremost.  If their words say one thing and their lifestyle says another, maybe they aren't the right mentors to be aligning with.  We all have something to contribute to the group of people we align ourselves with - but some will have a better "grip" on living pretty close to the beliefs upon which their life is founded.  A mentor is not a "guide" for our lives - someone who directs our every step.  They are wise, trusted, and able to give counsel when needed.  They aren't our "everyday counsel" by which every decision must be "cleared".  They are there to help us by living as positive examples, creating a culture in which we can grow into fullness in Christ, and to be there when we just need that sounding board.

We may not always make good decisions - acting upon wise principles - but we can go a long way toward learning how to do this a little more consistently when we have positive examples from which we can learn how it is done.  Just sayin!

Love - growing and vibrant

How does love grow?  In the simplest of terms, most would wager to guess it grows through time spent together. To get a little more complicated, we'd venture to say it is pursuing things important to the other person, considering their wants and needs above your own, and laying down your life for theirs.  Now, most of us would do okay with the first definition - because spending time together is a whole lot easier than this idea of considering another's needs above our own, or being sacrificial in our time, energies, or talents.  Yet, the more closely we allow love to be based on the pursuit of things important to the other person, learning to consider their needs above your own, and giving out of our lives in a sacrificial manner, the closer we are coming to emulating the love Jesus has for his children!

I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God. (Philippians 1:9-11 CEV)

Indeed, love is a growth opportunity - you don't just wake up one morning with the determination in your mind that "today I will love someone deeply and with a lasting permanence in that love".  Little by little, as time is spent together with another, we develop an "affinity" toward the other person.  In a little more time, we actually develop some kind of desire to see the other person blessed and happy.  We want what is best in the relationship - pursuing things which bring unity and a sense of "cohesiveness" in the relationship.  

Now, let's consider this in terms of our growing relationship with Jesus, shall we?  Love begins at the point of grace - unmerited favor extended into our lives - love emulated so we might get a glimpse of how deep, how wide, and how long his love really is.  Then, as time passes, we grow closer to him by spending time with him.  In those moments together, there is a changing of the guard, so to speak.  The desire to be "in control" and pursuing only what is important to us seems to change - we begin to experience what it is like to pursue the things important to him - those things which bring him honor and praise.

As we spend time with Jesus, our choices become apparent - those which are selfish and primarily produce outcomes which only benefit us will be exposed; those which begin to reveal the heart of God to others will also come to the surface.  In essence, time spent together begins to refine our choices.  I think this is why God gives us the example of parents - why he chose to establish families in such a way.  You see, God could have come up with any plan he desired to bring about more people on this earth, but he chose the love of a man and a woman to be the means by which this is accomplished.  Why?  To give us a framework in which love is modeled.

Modeled behavior speaks louder than any words - so parental love begins to model for us the love of our heavenly Father.  Now, I know not all of us have been blessed to have a positive earthly example in this respect, but in general, this is what God had in mind before sin got the best of our human race!  In the family, God wanted us to see modeled the right choices we are to make.  So, to this end, he sends us Jesus, who took on human form - to model for us the right choices we are to make when we commit to this love relationship.  Flawed earthly examples could not model his love in quite the same manner, so he sends us "a God with a bod" as my pastor says it - Jesus!

To fully know and then to actually walk in the right choices is a process.  It comes by watching - no more like studying - the behavior of another - Jesus.  The more we behold his example, the more we begin to emulate his behavior.  His life stands as a testimony of the power of living a pure life.  His example points us toward love like we have never experienced before.  His modeled behavior directs us to the place of obedience over and over again, until our obedience becomes "second nature" to us - it is no longer hard to produce the right outcomes because they have become part of who we are.  This is love, growing and vibrant, indeed.  Just sayin!

And where does this piece go?

It is the time of year when students everywhere are graduating from their classes in high schools and universities - intent on making their way in this world.  Speeches will be read, mortar boards will be thrown, and parties will be had.  When it is all said and done, the let down as they enter into this "real world" can be tremendous.  Some will branch out in directions only their minds-eye can fathom, while others will follow the more traditional paths set by those who have gone before them.  The choice about which road to take is established in their hearts as independence begins to bring new opportunities into their path.  In time, they settle into the course they believe is the best for their lives.  I think we ALL have those moments of "graduation" in our lives, when we stand at a crossroads of sorts, choices laid out before us, and then having to choose which one we think will serve us the best.  If we choose well, the road ahead will be navigated with ease.  Choose unwisely and the incessant twists and turns can make a sane person mad!

This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.  (I Peter 2:21 MSG)

We are invited into life with Christ - a road many determine to be too narrow, too focused, and way to intense for their liking.  For those who choose this road, the journey proves to be quite awesome.  Sure, there is intensity at times, but the intensity only builds character.  We are invited into the kind of life Christ lived.  Do we really know what that entails?  I think we have glimpses of it in scripture, but when we take the first step down this path, do we really comprehend the way Christ lived as a means of how we will begin to live our lives today?  Not really.  We often just take the first step in faith and then wait to see what doors will open to us along the way.

The important part of the journey is the one who has already "made the way" for us to walk.  It was his intentional embracing of all the suffering he was faced with that actually provided the framework by which we learn to walk in this life today.  Here is the crux of the matter - we need to learn to follow the example which has been set for us!  When we have an example to follow, but choose to ignore it completely, seeing it as a "nice thing", but not "for us", we open ourselves up to all kinds of issues.  If you tried to sew a wedding dress from a bolt of fabric, just looking at a design you saw in a magazine, you would likely struggle a little with it turning out well.  What you need is the "pattern" to follow.  Try as you might, you can come "close" to recreating the image of what you see when you just "eyeball it", but when you have the pattern and follow it, you come a lot closer!

Jesus' example does two things for us - it shows us how to live, but it also shows us it CAN be done.  We often focus so much on the "I can't" of the circumstance - God's plan is for us to consider Christ first, and then focus on more of the "I CAN through Christ Jesus who lives in me".  It is like we follow the pattern - seeing the creation of something beautiful as a result.  There have been times when I have tried to sew a garment and the pattern comes with all these small pieces here and there.  They don't resemble much, but omit even one of them and the garment just doesn't look or hang as well on your frame.  Why?  All the pieces played a part - none was expendable.

In following Christ's example, we need to recognize that nothing he modeled was "expendable".  He took time to pray - because communication with his Father was important and provided a means of receiving not only help, but connection and peace.  He took time to fellowship - because he needed the strength of relationship and the companionship of those along for the journey. He took time to rest - because the journey is long and we are never at our best when we are spent.  He took time to notice the small stuff - because he knew if he let the small stuff pass him by, the big stuff would swallow up the enjoyment the small stuff provides.  We cannot discount anything he did as he walked this earth - because it all has meaning - nothing he portrayed is expendable!

When the journey is hard and the way seems unclear, we need to do what Jesus did - come away, take time to refocus, and then embrace the challenge. It isn't a magic formula we follow, but when we see the pattern unfolded before us, we need to recognize no part of what is displayed and provided is without a specific purpose in our lives.  Follow the pattern and you are more likely to produce a thing of beauty in the end.  Just sayin!

You one of the herd?

When I was a young girl in grade school you would have probably called me a "follower" - I went along with the crowd, but was too shy to actually take the lead myself.  Anyone who knows me now would say just the opposite.  In looking back at the difference which Christ made in my life, I would have to say one of the clearest things is this transition from being a "follower" of others.  In fact, if you were to look back, "going along" with the crowd got me into more pickles than I really want to give an accounting of right now!  Trying to win the attention and approval of others, striving to have some degree of "popularity", etc. all ended up in some pretty bad decisions in my life.  You may have been one of the "crowd followers", as well, so you know what I am saying here.  It doesn't pay to follow the crowd - we need good role models to follow, not just popular ones!  

Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God. (3 John 1:11 MSG)

Caution is necessary in determining who we will "get behind" in this life - the wrong leader makes for some pretty rocky journeys indeed.  Alexander Pope was a poet of days gone by, but I like one of the things he penned: "A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labor of bees, will often be stung by his curiosity." Let that one sink in a bit and it will hit home for those of us who have been "crowd observers" at some point in our lives.  We get "stung" by our curiosity and our pursuits for their approval, don't we?  Clearly, we need to become savvy in following the "right crowd" - not just in following!

Unfortunately, too many times the crowd really has not idea where they are going!  They just have this "herd mentality" - kind of just all mulling together and following whoever seems to be in front of them.  Put your head down long enough and you lose sight of who is actually leading.  Maybe this is why we are frequently warned about being "oblivious" to our surroundings, "unaware" of the leaders we align with, and "impressed" with all the charisma of some while discounting the silent example of others.  If the truth were known, most of us would admit to being a little caught up in the "herd mentality" more than we'd truly like to admit.  Why?  We don't consider our steps - we just "go along" because we are pushed, or feel pulled.

This is why it is so important to consider the behavior modeled - does it line up with the values proclaimed?  So many agree with the adage of actions speaking louder than words - I think this may even be biblical!  When we have good models, it is easy to get behind their actions.  When we hear one thing, and then see something quite different modeled, it may leave us wondering who we can trust.  This is probably why so many "big names" in TV evangelism, big church movements, etc. find themselves totally undone when a scandal of sorts reaches the media.  Their lives are scrutinized by many and the behavior they model has to match up with the words they preach - otherwise their lack of congruent behavior/words will become fodder for the masses.

We all model behavior - some to huge crowds, some to smaller ones - but all model some type of behavior which is under the scrutiny of someone who is looking to them to be a leader in their lives.  Even when you don't think this to be the case, you might be surprise who is "on the outside looking in".  As we walk through this life, we need not only to be aware of who it is we are following, but what impact we may be making on those who are somehow following us.  Truly, we must guard against the "herd mentality" as it comes to our spiritual lives - we cannot believe just because someone else believes that way.  We have to be students of the Word - testing and trying every teaching to ensure it is aligned with the "whole" of scripture.  By this I mean we cannot take one passage, hanging our hats on it in "exclusion" of all other scripture.  We have to see ALL God says - then formulate the practices which align with the "whole" of what is taught.

We also have to guard against this "herd mentality" when it comes to our norms or values.  Crowds are not the best at "defining" what should be the "norm" for our lives.  We need to allow the wisdom of scripture, the safety of the Holy Spirit's internal "monitoring system", and the integrity of Christ's example to help us formulate the set of "norms" or values we will adhere to in our lives.  These will hold up to the scrutiny of onlookers and the passage of time.  These will assist us in developing a keen awareness of the "imposters" in our midst - those things and individuals who appear one way, but really act another.  We need a vantage point from which to view the direction of the crowd's wandering - the one in the herd only sees the "rear" in front of them!  

As we begin to model good in our own lives, others will notice.  This is what God has in mind - for us to become excellent examples of behaviors consistent with his teachings, modeled after the example we see in Christ, and aligned with the values he concentrated so much time and effort in getting us to learn.  This "modeled" life is truly one we can "get behind" - but never take your eyes off the true "leader" - for our focus really needs to remain on Christ.  The model we see in those who have chosen to live above the crowd is really just a means of us getting to see "God with a bod".  Just sayin!

Living as an example

When you are making your way through a field of landmines, you definitely want to listen for the faint "click" of the detonating trigger if you misstep. You then hope to have the wisdom of another who knows the inner workings of the device to show you how to keep the detonator from engaging when you remove your foot from the device.  There are definitely times when there is a specific need to pay attention - to listen like your life depended on it.  Did you know God gives us a certain amount of common sense to handle some of life's challenging moments, while he expects us to listen intently to his voice as though our live's depended upon it?  Truth is, he doesn't really care too much which can of tomato soup we purchase, but he does care about who we might just run into in the aisle as we are shopping.  Common sense allows us to purchase the can of soup which tastes good, is a reasonable price, and meets our nutritional needs.  His still small voice might just prompt us to recognize a need in someone in the aisle, or point out to us an individual we haven't seen in a while, but who desperately needs our interaction.  I have to confess I don't pray over the can of soup - but if I see someone in need, I do shoot up a quick prayer to get God's perspective on how the need might be met.  There are times in our lives when it is our time to be helped - there are others when it is our time to help another.  There are moments when God speaks into our lives - there are others when he is using our lives to speak to others.

Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, "I heard your call in the nick of time; the day you needed me, I was there to help."  Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.  (2 Corinthians 6:1-10 MSG)

I think we might just all be guilty once in a while of squandering opportunities God puts right in front of us.  Opportunities to meet a need, or just be an example another might just use to catch a glimpse of God's love, his grace, or his hope for a lost world.  God asks us to be purposeful in our walk - not squandering (wasting) the opportunities he provides.  This applies to both our need to be helped (his actions on our behalf) and our need to help others (his actions through us on behalf of another).  If there is one thing we need to hear it is the important truth of TODAY being the RIGHT time to listen - listen to his voice, like listening never counted as much before!  If you have ever been guilty of sitting in a meeting, or perhaps a classroom or group of people, with someone talking and your mind wandering a little too much, you might just have been caught a little off-guard when someone actually "called on you" to interject an answer, give a word of advice, or express your opinion. What you discover quickly is how awkward you feel being "exposed" for NOT listening!

Did you ever stop to think of not listening as something which might actually frustrate God?  I guess we think of God sometimes as this infinitely forgiving guy in heaven just waiting for the next opportunity for grace to be extended. Well, in the most literal sense, he is this infinitely forgiving God in heaven, but he also gets frustrated by our disobedience and even our laziness, especially when he senses we are taking his grace for granted in our lives. The grace given us is to be used to reach others in need of the same grace - something we just cannot do if we aren't paying attention.  The simple fact that God's grace is "validated" in the details of our lives is something we should never lose sight of.  The very details of our lives, the things we say or don't say, the actions we take or don't take - these all add up to either substantiate (confirm) the work of God's presence in our lives or not.  For some whose walk with Jesus has grown a little "cool" of late, many of the actions they take and the words they speak are reflective of this coolness. For those whose walk is fresh and alive, their actions and words corroborate God's activity and ongoing presence in their lives!

If I were to ask you when the last time it was where God asked you to do something and you felt a little awkward about it, so you just moved along as though you didn't hear him, when would that be?  For some of us, it was the homeless woman with a sign in the Walmart parking lot we ignored because she looked clean and her clothes looked in good repair, so we immediately said she must be working a scam.  Perhaps it was the lady with a flat tire on the side of the road, dressed to the nines, and looking like she was rich enough to actually have a membership which offered roadside service.  Or maybe it was the man in the grocery store who mops up the spills, responding with rapid speed to those "clean up on aisle nine" calls, knowing it was all a part of his day's work.  Have you ever stopped to talk with the woman begging in the parking lot to hear what her story might really be?  What about calling your own roadside service to assist the woman with the flat tire?  Or how about just stopping the man who mops the floors to just tell him you appreciate how clean he keeps your local grocer aisles?  I wonder how many opportunities we might have missed to just extend a little of God's grace in the lives of those we see almost every day in our "normal everyday living"?

As the gentleman bagged my groceries yesterday, I noticed he kept his eyes down, consumed with the task of moving from this register to the next, bagging up all those purchases in preparation for some meal, or just because some were stocking up on the big sale.  He lives just down the street from me, rides his bike to work everyday - rain or shine.  In just one moment of noticing him and his hard work, his head went from down to held high.  His tired face turned from concentration into a huge smile.  What made the difference?  I called him by his name and asked how HE was today?  They always ask how I am doing and if I found everything all right - but how many times do we ever stop to ask how THEIR day is going and if they are holding up with all those hours on their feet?  And he has to ride his bike home after it is all over!  I don't think he misses a day at work - he seems to be there almost all the time when I go in.  He has even stopped on occasion when I am out in the yard working asking me how MY day was going.  Something I genuinely think he cares about in the lives of those he meets, not just because it has been ingrained into him by the management of our local grocer chain!

What may make the biggest difference in the lives of those who cross your path today may not be a huge investment of your finances, or a tremendous amount of your time, but simply a smile, a hug, or even noticing how well they have done the task at hand.  There are times God has stopped me from just passing someone by, not because I purposefully ignored them, but because God wanted me to purposefully notice them!  Who is God asking you to purposefully notice today?  Who is he asking for you to reveal him to by the graciousness of your life?  It may be the only view of Jesus someone beholds today!  Just sayin!