Why Go?

Hebrews 10: 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

I think if I didn't participate in choir, my church attendance might suffer.  Why?  Because I'm lazy and some Sundays I just don't feel like going.  A very sad testimony about my love condition as I'm positive there was nothing in the cross except perfect hatred, abuse, abandonment, and of course a very painful death yet Jesus went out of devotion to me.  I've been guilty of using all sorts of lame excuses such as "I'm just not getting anything out of it" which is actually an indictment not of the preacher or the service, but of me.  It indicates that I'm there simply as a consumer not willing to invest and demanding something for nothing (something that for those that know me I absolutely RAGE against in terms of eating and living).  I have found, for instance, with previous preachers, that I had to resort to taking notes just to follow and try to figure out what the point of the sermon was for that day.  Note that once I invested the energy to do so, I found a message with significance and applicability to my life and often current situations, but I couldn't have done so without investing the extra energy to take notes.  I've also used excuses such as, "I teach Sunday School, so I've spent my time in The Word this week."  Lame.  Just lame. 
Sometimes we're not there for ourselves.  Sometimes our children, coworkers, and friends need to see absolute, sold-out, you-can't-keep-me-away kind of faith so that they know what a life of devotion looks like.  Consumerism says, well if I can get something out of it, I might consider it as long as I don't have something better to do.  Devotion says I'm here for You and others as much or more than for me.  In his book "Not a Fan," Kyle Idleman calls people who simply warm a pew on an occasional Sunday "Fans" because they're really not in the game.  I don't think anyone I know really thinks of themselves that way, but what is our fruit saying?  Are we producing a good crop or are we waiting to harvest something we didn't sow?
There are other reasons to attend church besides the service itself.  One Sunday, for instance, a person stopped me and asked me to pray about an effort she felt God calling her to start that was going to cost a lot of money.  After the service, I stopped by and requested Missions funds be made available to initiate the effort.  What if I had missed that Sunday? 
The point today is that sometimes we're there to serve more so than be served.  Sometimes we're there to make a statement of priorities to a world that wouldn't blame us if we took a day to go fishing.  Sometimes we're there because God needs to speak to us in ways we don't know we need.  Sometimes we need to be there just to shake the hand of someone who needs encouragement.  Sometimes we're there just to fill a pew because that person who isn't really healthy enough to be in church but won't miss it for the world couldn't go if all the "healthy" people didn't attend.   
So what's your lame excuse?  Why is your attendance spotty?  Why is there anything in this world more important than devotion to God?  Sure, you don't have to go to church to be devoted, but what is the message you're sending to the world with your absence?  It tells me you think you and your priorities are more important than God and His people which might be incorrect, but you're not there to correct me are you?
My outright intention here is to be confrontational.  Confrontational with myself about why I'm going to church.  Choir attendance is important, but if that's why I'm going, I'm sowing bad seed.  I need be attending because of my love for my Savior and His people (I've noticed, by the way, when I do attend with this attitude, I'm much less critical of the sermon, the music, etc).  Why is your attendance less than perfect?  Scripture says we're known by our fruits.  If your attendance is less than perfect, why?  What message do you think you're sending?  Do you think absence is an effective communication tool?  Perhaps some of you simply think attendance isn't that big a deal.  If so, why would scripture address it?
When I missed football, the coach yelled at me and made me run.  Football wasn't an eternal event in my life, yet I put up with a high degree of accountability.  Why do we treat the eternal things of God as any less accountable?  The stakes in this game are life and death and there is no room in the kingdom for fans.  Get rid of your lame excuses and get in the game or quit lying to a high and Holy God and His people.  I love God and you too much to stand by and let you warm the bench in this one. 
End of rant.

Spiritual Habits

Just looking to pass along some notes from the series I started with a class on Sunday.  Hopefully you'll find these interesting.  

Rick Warren describes in his study Transformed, the seven habits  that are needed to have a positive spiritual health:

1.  I must love Jesus supremely.  (Luke 14:26).  Spiritual health is measure by Love.  Mark 12:29-30 says, “Listen, Israel!  The Lord our God, the Lord is One.   Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

2.  I must meet with Jesus daily.  (Proverbs 8:34) “Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway."  

3.  I must Study and Do his Word.  (Psalm 1:1-3)  "How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers!   Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.  He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers."

4.  I must tithe my income.  (Malachi 3:10)  "Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house.  Test Me in this way," says the LORD of Hosts.  "See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure."   

5.  I must learn to love other believers! (John 13:35)  “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, 'I love God', yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen."

6.  I must serve others unselfishly. (Mark 10:45) “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life–a ransom for many.”

7.  I must pass on the Good News!  (2 Timothy 2:2)  "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." and "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:19-20

A few comments: One, there are a lot of 'I's in those habits.  Sure, I need to look within myself to change where I want to be spiritually IF I want to grow.  Developing new habits is the way to change our routine, which will change who we are and who we become.  But I can't do even the first one of these without faith.  All roads lead to faith.  I can't love Jesus supremely if I haven't found a way to depend upon Him everyday for everything.  You just can't get there.  And all the rest follow the first habit.  I was very excited to see Rick offer a call to salvation at the conclusion of the video clearly indicating a relation with Christ is required to grow.

I think if I were praying for these habits in my own life, I would have to put them all into God's hands.  Such as, "Lord, help my faith so I can love you supremely.  Give me a desire for Your Word so that I am never satisfied.  Destroy my thoughts that want to do anything other than what Your Word and Your direction indicates for me.  Fill my heart so I will love those whom You died for.  Overcome my thoughts of owning anything so I will give to whomever asks in as much as I am able.  Deliver in me the ability to always have You on my thoughts so telling others about Your blessing to me and about Your love is always in my conversation."  May we put ourselves in God's hands so He can change our heart and that will change our habits.

Prepare Your Mind!

Romans 8: 6The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
When Professor Snape was working with Harry Potter to help him ward off an invasion from Voldemort, he told him to "Prepare your mind!"  How much more important is it that we prepare our minds for real life?  We know we will face temptation today uniquely prepared for each of us by the Tempter, yet I'm so often guilty of not making prudent preparation. 
I love the way scripture is organized.  For instance, Ephesians chapter five spells out in elegant simplicity the commandments of God for the family.  Husbands have the straightforward command to love their wives like Christ loves the church and to surrender our lives for her just as He did.  Elegant in simplicity, yet impossible to get right even on a daily basis never mind life-long.  Yet for Christians, we are set free from approaching this battle unarmed or unaided.  Scripture tells us in chapter 6 exactly how to prepare for the struggles we each face daily - we must put on the full armor of God. 
So, are you facing this day with your armor on, or are you handling things on your own?  I find that when I take time to prepare, I deal with temptation as well as character flaws much better than I do when I rush out the door without taking time to suit up.  There is so much temptation and pressure in the world today.  I have failed spectacularly.  Men that I look up to, respect, and thought "had it all together" have exceeded my failures tenfold to my absolute disbelief and dismay (Yet for those that have repented, God has been faithful to his promise of forgiveness and peace).  Proof that none are immune to the temptation of the flesh wrapped in irresistible circumstances by Satan.  
Prepare your mind for battle today.  Note that there is but a single offensive weapon, scripture.  Are you practicing and preparing as hard for spiritual battle as you are for football, baseball, volleyball, soccer, band, track, color guard, or your future career or employment?  Why not?  Why has it become acceptable to just take a couple of minutes a day to prepare to do battle with Satan and hours preparing to do battle in simple games made up by man?  These activities will soon pass away, but the decisions you make when tempted can affect you for a lifetime and beyond. 
Prepare your mind!  Choose this day whom you will serve!  As for me, I choose to serve the Lord and pray that each and every decision I make today will honor and glorify Him.  Who will you serve today?  How are you preparing to do so?

Spiritual Goal

Have you ever wondered, what did God see in creating man that was to be more than the other aspects of Creation?  I have often considered the order of Creation and the beauty of it as I live in it.  The galaxies across the universe and the many wonders of it that we have barely been able to get a glimpse.  The careful placement of our own planet in relation to the sun.  The sun and moon and the seasons and tides.  Sunsets, sunrises, mountains, beaches, jungles and desserts.  There are the animals and all the plants and their great varieties and uniqueness.  There is such glory in it all!

Then ... there is man.

I find myself wondering, did God really save His best work for last?  I know man and I have a hard time believing it is His best work by comparison.  But that is the human side of me talking, the one with the sin nature that hides behind a statement like "keeping it real".  Have you seen what man will do to Creation? Or even worse, to each other?

Yes.  And I can still answer that man is God's best work.  All of the glory of Creation was made to suite God and as a nest for man.  I believe that there is nothing more precious, more desired, more treasured by God in all of Creation than a man who's heart is given to Him, who desires God moment-by-moment, who intentionally walks with God, who listens and shares all that is in his heart, who fears that he might have a time of not walking with God and he works purposefully to protect it above all else in life.  I believe everything that is with regard to man is for this one purpose, that a man would choose and love God more than all else in Creation.

Anything that happens to this man in this world does not matter except where it is related to God's Word or God's direction.  All else falls away.  This state of oneness with God is to be our goal.  All our spiritual practices should build to these times.  These moments might come and go, but the more we aim at it, the longer and longer each moment will become until they are more than mere moments.  Minutes of oneness will become hours and hours will become days.  Days will become weeks, weeks will become months, and months will become years.  ...  I can't imagine walking with God in communion, a singleness of communication, feeling His complete Presence, and knowing His leadership for a year, a month, a week, or even a full day.  "What a wretched man I am!"  I pray that I can develop more consistent and intentional habits to get me to this goal.

Finding Peace

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand." - Romans 5:1-2

"Through faith."  We are justified because we are a "whosoever" who believes in "His only begotten Son".  Through our faith in God's Word, we will no longer suffer a spiritual death or "perish" and become rotten, but will have "eternal life".  It is the actual justification that allows for the absence of the perishing.  The sentence, or judgment, is revoked because it has been paid in full.

Since our sentence has been paid, then "we have peace with God".  This spiritual peace is more than the absence of hostility.  It is a settlement of charges.  Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you."  "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  This otherworldly peace is an establishment of promise from God to us.  Jesus left this peace with us and He gave it to us freely.  He paid the ransom for us.

There are things that can happen within us that we cannot understand except to know that Jesus left peace with us.  He is the Prince of Peace.  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)  What we continue to not understand is how an all-powerful all-knowing God could so love us that He'd make a way for us to know Him.  Only a God complete in love could or would do this.  No man is capable of such an act.

"We have peace in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith."  We only have access to Jesus through our belief that He is and through that we have peace in God.  This peace with God allows us to stand in His grace of not reaping the deserved punishment of our actions.  This is His peace directed towards us.  He allows it to shine on our soul and settle our heart. 

It seems that as we mature in our walk with God, either the quantity or magnitude of our trials seem wanton to increase.  But, we find that our peace has also increased in proportion to our faith and we are able stand in the grace that allows us to exist in them.  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers out of them all." (Ps 34:19)  Our communion with God is never broken because the peace we have with God is established through Christ.  The debt is paid.  In the middle of the trial, we can rest in confidence that God has established our eternity and He holds our present and our way to that eternity.  Everything else is just a happening around that spiritual reality.

Faithless or Faithful?

Judges 6: ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” ⁴⁰ That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
The story of Gideon has always been relayed to me as an example of a person who lacks faith.  Yet, my discernment since a teenager was that Gideon was one of great faith, yet lacked self-confidence - someone with whom I can identify.  Note that the real story of faithfulness herein is that of God.  When Gideon requested The Angel of the Lord to wait until he could prepare a sacrifice, the angel did so.  When Gideon prayed asking God to give him a sign, God was faithful - twice.  God even gave Gideon a sign immediately before the nighttime "attack" by sending him into the camp and overhearing a dream foreshadowing a great victory by Gideon and his army.  Of course, we know that the battle was the Lord's and Gideon acknowledged that fact. 
Why don't we depend on God like Gideon did?  Is it better to follow our own logic and reason or request a sign from God?  I can only guarantee a few things in life: death, taxes, and the fact that there is a 0% chance that I'm making 100% Godly decisions.  Why in the world would I not follow in Gideon's footsteps and ask for God's guidance.  Yes God commanded Gideon into battle.  If Gideon lacked the faith to follow through, would he have culled his army as God commanded?  I wouldn't have - its not rational to attack a superior force with inferior numbers in the first place.  Would he have attacked armed with torches, jars, and trumpets?  I wouldn't have, I would have been leading people on a suicide mission. 
Clearly God honored Gideon's request for signs that he was on the right track.  I think it prudent that before he led 300 people into battle, that he know that God is with him.  Like Gideon, I need constant assurance that I am following God.  Not because I lack faith in God, but because I lack faith in my own ability to make Godly decisions.  God honored Gideon's requests and in the end God was honored and glorified.  I would do well to do the same such that God is honored by my decisions.  I don't need to decide what to do, I simply need to ensure that I'm doing what God has told me to do.  Signs are a way to sort out His will vs my own desires and the desires of others. 
How about you?  Are you really counting on God today?  Do you have a sign that He is with you?  If not, what's preventing you from asking?

Maintaining Pace

1 Chronicles 16: ¹¹ Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Psalm 37: ²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Isaiah 40: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint

I've never run a marathon, nor any other supreme test of endurance, but I know people who have and I understand its as much or more mental than physical.  I've heard many people talk about the physical issues that crop up about 2/3 through the race as their body chemistry becomes unbalanced leading to all sorts of ailments.  The body can physically keep going, but the mind has to be firmly committed to enduring and overcoming the pain. How cool would it be to simply mount up as if on wings of eagles and fly the rest of the way.  After all, what have your arms done for the last 16 miles?
So if endurance is a mental issue, I need help "mounting up."  I've got to keep going.  I don't have a choice, I'm running out of time and nothing can be ignored or simply pushed off until later.  I've got to finish and people are counting on me to finish strong with great insight and with unwavering integrity.  I need help.  Help comes from the Lord.  Lord continue to carry me.  Give me the knowledge, wisdom, steadfastness, and strength not just to endure, but to lead and lead well.  Lord I need you, oh I need you.  Every hour I need you. 
Yet in my self-centered state, I'm mindful that my battles to some would be a privilege.  Lord be with those who fight real battles.  Spiritual battles with lost loved ones, excruciating battles with life threatening disease, difficult battles of employment.  Lord you're carrying me.  How much more do others need your wings.  Be with them, let them know you're there.  May the comfort and peace of your strength overwhelm them.  Restore their hope so that your glory may be evident in this life and thus fill the earth. 

Hanging on by Faith

Luke 8:24 "...“Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

There's a profound song that was once incredibly popular on Christian radio by Scott Krippayne called "Sometimes He Calms the Storm" that speaks to my very experience yesterday.  I awakened yesterday with an incredible feeling of simply being overwhelmed.  I've got so very much to do all of which is incredibly important and I just couldn't see how it was all going to get done.  Yet after prayer, I had a calm resolve that really didn't sink in until I reflect back on it today.  Yesterday was an unusually and surprisingly productive day.  I was unusually focused and had a much lower rate of setbacks.  Clearly God answered my prayers as well as the prayers of others.  I was so focused on getting the innumerable jobs at hand completed that I failed to recognize it as it unfolded.  I need another couple of days like yesterday. 
Scott Krippayne's refrain ends with "sometimes He calms the storm, and other times he calms His child."  Yesterday He clearly calmed me.  I pray that I continue to rest in the calm assurance that where I am unable, He clearly is able.  I pray that in my menial tasks, innumerable as they are, that He is glorified as clearly He is at work.  Time to once again join Him in it.

To Fear or Not To Fear?

Just thinking out loud again today.

While we are so often taught that fear it the opposite of faith. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love."  Couple this with 1 John 4:8 which says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  And you can reason that since God is love and there is no fear in love, then the person who fears is not ruled by love and therefore not ruled by God, meaning they are having faith problems, etc.  I'm sure many a pastor has done much better work of this topic.

My thoughts this morning are on how a right fear can lead to an increased faith.  If I have a righteous fear of God, that is, I fear God's power and perfection.  I understand that there is not a single entity more powerful than God.  Not a single thing can topple Him.  There is nothing about God that is not perfect.  His thinking is the right way; His instruction is the right instruction; His way is the way that leads to life.  There is no other way to go that leads to Him.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 2:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."  I've heard many a Pastor describe this as an awe of God but not a heartfelt fear.  I have to say that I disagree with them.  While having an awe of the power of God is relevant, we are fools if we don't outright fear an all-powerful and perfect God knowing the evil in our hearts and His blatant disregard for that evil!  The beginning of our knowledge is to know that God may see us as unnecessary at any moment in time and He alone can decide this.  Our fate is in His and only His hand.

Yet God allows us to choose Him or reject Him.  His defining characteristic of love dominates our relationship to Him.  Understanding that we are only here by the chains of His grace and mercy that hold back His vengeance and anger while unleashing His glory and power of redemption through His Son Jesus can only reveal to us an increased faith.  Our "healthy" fear of who God is and what He could do if He wasn't who He is strengthens our faith in His perfection.  We see how He is righteous and we are not.  We see how we can kneel before Him and know we are made worthy through His gift and only His gift.  We can not be anything but thankful and grateful for who He is and for thinking of us.

Another clear conceptual understanding of a righteous fear of the Lord is to know that there is nothing that can come before Him.  There is nothing that has power over Him.  Therefore, when we are under attack, or when we see another under attack, or when we want God's presence to dominate somewhere, we can ask confidently knowing there is nothing other than God's divine will that can stop it.  Again, there is nothing that can stop Him.  ...  Nothing  ...  Can  ...  Stop  ...  Him! ...  Perfected faith is much more than the simple understanding of this.  When your faith is perfected, you KNOW it and there is no doubt.  When you ask of God, you ask knowing it will be done because nothing can stop God, except His developing perfection in you and others.

Under Who's Authority?

It seems to me that all conflict on Earth, and heaven, exists because of the fight against God's authority.  Man wants his own way.  He wants the right to decide how to live his life.  He wants to do what he wants to do.  And in heaven, the morning star, Lucifer, wanted his way.  He wanted the authority to do things his way.  Man and Satan oppose God simply by wanting to be God.

This drive to be God comes out in many ways.  Pride is the most obvious.  However, any action taken for the single effort of personal satisfaction that directly contradicts the Word of God, no matter the self-justification, is the pursuit of our own authority.  It is all vanity.  Solomon understood this in ways deeper than simple physical consumptions can explain.

Satan, who is described as the ruler of darkness which can also be defined as ruler of the obscure, has a single intention of hiding the Light or obscuring the Truth, preventing revelation or clarity.  Everywhere we try to assume authority, it involves some intentional obscurity of the Truth.  When we self-justify we blur very clearly written Truths.  Thus, we seek to change God's Word which says He is the authority.

When we consciously and purposefully violate God's Word, we become daughters and sons of Satan.  We declare that we are the authority over our world and we will go the way we see as best.  Anything that is not from the Light or Truth comes from someone or someplace else.  Therefore, we should be very sensitive to know the foundation behind our actions.  Do they originate from God's Word and His authority?  If not, there is no life in them and we should abandon them.

Task Saturated

Psalms 40:12a ¹² For troubles without number surround me...They are more than the hairs of my head..."
Psalms 34: ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
Psalms 34: ¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all

It seems at times in life perfect storms hit - simultaneously.  Too many taskers, all important and urgent consume me.  I'm overwhelmed by the magnitude, number, complexity, and personality dynamics involved.  There is simply no way to get it all done.  No way to answer every question.  No way to thoroughly understand and correctly answer all the questions.  There are personnel evaluations to do in the midst of it all which affect people's pay and careers.  Too much room for grievous errors and too much temptation for anger, resentment, and a "why me" attitude.  God will have to intervene.  Counting on Him as I sprint through this day.  May I pause and remember that it is He who enables, not me.  Things to keep in mind as I tackle way more than the hours of this week and next have in them. 

I'll Fly Away

Yesterday I woke up covered in sin guilt.  My mind felt it was necessary to "dig up bones" and "resurrect memories better left alone" as the song Digging Up Bones sang by Randy Travis says.  I could refeel all the regret, the heartbreak of knowing the pain I have caused in others, the despair of knowing who or what I am capable of being.  My heart was broken, my spirit crushed, and I was again just wondering why God would allow me to stay alive knowing that I could hurt another one of His children again.  As I made light conversation with those around me, on the inside I wanted to yell a warning to everyone around me to "Run, run, as fast as you can.  I have a disease and I don't want you to get it."

But then, the Lord spoke.  He asked some questions.  "Are you telling Me what I can and can't do?"  "Is there a limit to My power?"  "Do you think you are the one I can't save?"  "Do you think you are the one I won't forgive?" ...  "All is vanity" Solomon wrote.  And pity parties are included in that "all".

I remember Pastor Pace saying, "When the devil gets on my shoulder and reminds me where I've been, I just remind him where he's going!"  Sounds good, but it's not the easiest mode to transfer back into.  No matter what I do I can't change the past.  It'll always be as it is.  The hurt is still there.  Will it ever be gone?  I believe the answer is "Yes."

Some bright morning when this life is over, I'll fly away

To a land on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have grown, I'll fly away

Like a bird from these prison walls, I'll fly way

I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away

When I die, hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away

Love Hurts

Eph 4:  ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.

I recently read an interesting article posted by a friend on Facebook entitled "Seven Things I wish My Pastor Knew about Homosexuality (originally posted by Maxie Dunnam).  It was an article written by a now happily married mother of two children blasting some of the issues she dealt with during her long struggle with chronic sin.  My intent herein isn't to deal with homosexuality, the Bible is clear enough on that issue.  I simply appreciated the author's honesty in needing consistent and tough accountability.  She decried the feel good, God loves you anyway message of a politically correct church as contributory to her own struggle.  Instead she called for more fiery, unapologetic sermons on the spiritual consequences of sin and the Biblical commandment to live disciplined lives.  In the article, she posted the following which I thought insightful:  "Thomas Aquinas scholar Josef Pieper put it this way:

love is not synonymous with undifferentiated approval of everything the beloved person thinks and does in real life. . . . [nor is it] the wish for the beloved to feel good always and in every situation and for him to be spared experiencing pain or grief in all circumstances. “Mere ‘kindness’ which tolerates anything except [the beloved’s] suffering” has nothing to do with real love. . . . No lover can look on easily when he sees the one he loves preferring convenience to the good."

In today's politically correct society, however, those that take such a stance are berated and even labeled when taking a stand with our loved ones. 
I think every parent knows exactly how this woman feels. A loving parent stops the young child from wantonly running out into the street and strongly disciplines a defiant child simply to ensure their safety.  Good, Godly parents know that children need to be asked nicely one time to behave to teach their children manners, then told sternly to warn their children of impending doom and remind them that they are not in charge, and finally they need swift and decisive punishment to teach them the consequences of disobedience.  Great parents know that a swift painful spanking may in fact one day save their live as they will obediently stop when warned not to step out in front of an unseen car.  It's incredibly tough, however, to consistently complete all necessary steps in child rearing.  It can be emotionally draining, but is an absolute necessity to ensure kids learn the eternal consequences of sin. 
Although I don't agree with everything in the article, I thought it dealt with the subject of sin and accountability reasonably well and was clearly another message from God during this season of Lent.  I too need strong accountability, obviously not for homosexuality, but for sins with which I struggle with daily just the same.  I struggle with gluttony.  I struggle with materialism.  I struggle with lust.  I struggle with anger and how to properly display righteous indignation versus unkind words and actions that contribute to the problem rather than fix it. 
This season of Lent, God has been in my face about my own sin.  About how easily I can observe, comment, and decry the sins of others, yet I have so many of my own.  How I wish I could change, but changing of character isn't easy and sometimes, deep down, I really don't want to change.  I know intellectually I should, but my heart simply isn't in it.  Oh Lord, create in me a clean heart, so that its desires are consistent with your will!

In All Things

"In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." - 2 Corinthians 6:4-10

I'm always amazed at how God presents His Word to me at the time when some aspect of His teaching is on my thoughts.  He continues to show me all things through the lens of faith.  Faith, and its relation to my everyday life, is His #1 lesson for me everyday.

A few nights ago I was unable to sleep.  (It was after Julie left.  I find I sleep terrible when she's not with me.)  I tried reading some, drinking some, ... nothing helped.  Finally around 2:15 am I prayed that God would help His children to sleep.  I was mindful of how David writes at how peacefully he slept while in the middle of His battles and assassins and other situations.  Obviously, he did this in full faith knowing that God would answer his prayer and "deal bountifully" with him.  By 2:30 am, I was sleeping and slept until 6:23 am, the latest I had slept yet.

Why am I so timid to depend upon God for everyday tasks?  Even sleep?  "In all things" I must remind myself.  When I get up and when I go to sleep.  There is no thing in my everyday that should not depend upon God.  If I don't have faith in Him to deliver me "in all things", then I am "naked and afraid", whether I realize it or not.  When I'm slow to recognize this, I believe it's just a matter of time before God makes me realize it, the amount of time depends upon how stubborn and hard-headed I am.

God is and God loves.  He wants me to sleep well; He wants me to live well; but this is only possible when I fulfill His greatest desire for me - He wants me to trust Him "in all things".  In as much as I have it in my belief that God exists, I should have it in His ability to help me sleep, to love, to overcome my sin nature, to wrap His arms around me and tell me He is there with me "in all things".

"In all things we are more than conquerors in Him who loved us." - Romans 8:37 

Does He Know You?

Reading Psalms 9:7-8 this morning ...

"The Lord reigns forever, He has established His throne for judgment.  He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity." - (NIV)

"The Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.  He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgement for the peoples in uprightness." - (NKJV)

Here again is an illustration where each version's message is a little different.  I guess saying the Lord reigns forever is in a way saying He endures forever, since He will reign because He will endure.  The message that matters is "He and He alone IS the LORD!"  There is, nor ever will be, another.

The Lord has established His throne and He has prepared His throne for judgment.  At the throne of judgment, I'm assuming is a judgment seat.  As best as I interpret God's Scripture, Jesus our Savior, sits on that judgment seat.  Every knee will bow and acknowledge that He is the Lord.  Every soul will stand before Him and He will acknowledge if, in your heart, you believed in Him.  He will then say, I knew you, or I never knew you.  The throne is established by God and is prepared for His Son, Jesus, to sit at it.

He rules the world.  God is and God rules the world, His Creation.  NO matter what anyone says, no matter how intelligent they think they are, this fact will overwhelm them either in this physical world or in the next.  Not only does He rule it, He does it with His character which holds righteousness as a leveling line.  He defines righteousness; He knows goodness; He administers all things with love as a foundation.  In Him and Him alone can come judgment for there is nothing else that is pure, untainted, who's depths spew torrents of love.

I thank God that today and everyday, He does not change.  Whomever may rule whatever place, whomever may win whatever war, but the Lord rules over all and will judge all using His guidelines of righteousness.  I can only pray that I will trust and have complete faith in every area of my life in Him, so He will say to me, I KNOW YOU MY SON!

Bumps in the Road

Matt 7: ²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

Recently, Chris and Julie Garick had a trying time just getting a flight out to Hawaii.  Chris shared in a devotion about how frustrating each and every step of what became a 48hr exodus noting that it was tempting to get caught up in self pity and even question whether God was trying to communicate a message through the frustrations along the way.  He made an excellent point about how ludicrous our thinking becomes during times like these when we get wrapped up in self pity and doubt even being tempted to question God's leadership and direction thinking that we must be outside of God's will. 
I confess that I too get wrapped up in ludicrous thinking.  You all know that I am a man of zero patience, so I encounter situations like Chris described seemingly daily.  Jobs that should take 30 minutes turn into days of frustrating meetings that generate more questions and more work - ugh!  It makes one question whether God is trying to make a statement about being outside of His perfect will. 
After reading Chris' devotion, I'm mindful that in Matt 7 Jesus didn't promise us that the Narrow Gate, as he called God's will, was a life of zero frustrations and dangers.  Instead in Matt 7, note that He said "the rain comes in torrents."  Some days seem like frustrations come in torrents.  I know God loves me and doesn't wish these upon me, they are the result of a broken and flawed world made so by our own sin.  I think, however, that when He reminded us in Eph 4:26 that "in our anger, do not sin" He was saying that he's much more concerned about how we handle these situations than preventing them from occurring.  In other words, being the salt of the earth means that we are to demonstrate Christ's character to the world.  I confess that I can talk a good story, but living it amid a life full of frustrations has proven beyond my grasp. 
God has been on me quite heavily this Lenten season exposing my many character flaws and lack of patience is perhaps one of my worst which oddly enough adds to the list of frustrations almost like a self-licking ice cream cone.  I pray that in this second half of Lent, God would free me from the burden of my shame and guilt and lead me into the freedom of total reliance upon Him to mold and reshape me into the man of God He needs me to be at home and beyond.   

What has Satan ever Done to Me?

"Be ye therefore perfect ..."

As I have mulled the idea of Kina 'ole over in my mind, the thought of having flawless within me and exhibiting flawlessness.  I begin to wonder why we have this internal fear of Satan and evil.  Why is it there?  (A further question is why do people so readily believe in an incarnate evil but refuse to believe in an absolute loving God.)  What has Satan ever done to me?

First, let's look at what he did to Adam and Eve.  They saw the fruit and with hesitation they thought they would like to have the fruit.  All Satan did was make it available and convince them they could decide for themselves (be their own authority).  He simply made readily available those things that permitted for the to be their own authority and fulfill the sin nature inside their heart.  Their sin nature was simply their ability to not choose God or God's Word, all the time.

So, to answer my own question, what has Satan ever done to me?  He has only simply made a way for me to be my own authority.  This is quite different from the entertainment industry version of evil that we see on TV and movies.  This is not some kind of horned demon with red eyes rising from the smoke of fiery flowing lava and flames.  This is the most subtle, almost kind nudging, thoughtful presentation of a means to directly disobey God in such a way as to directly confront who He is.  The absolute cunning of the method is brilliant.  Put your image out there as some monster so people think they will recognize you, then wrap your arms around them and tell them how great they are in the most personable way, something that is completely opposite of the image they think of you.  Then persuade them to do a single act that attacks who your enemy is.  ...  And this method has worked since man was put on the Earth.  We are so stupid.  I think sheep are smarter than we are.

Yet, we have another choice.  We have a flawless Holy Spirit we can rely upon!  We can choose to know God's Word and reflect upon it.  We can be ever watchful for our own selfishness, carefully looking for areas where we want to be our own authority, and we can ask God to be the authority in that area.  WE CAN ALWAYS RUN TO HIM!  It is our choice.  And it is our choice all the time: the first time, the second time, and the last time.

Kina 'ole

All good Methodists are familiar with this John Wesley quote.

Do all the good you can.  By all the means you can.  In all the ways you can.  In all the places you can.  At all the times you can.  To all the people you can.  As long as ever you can.

 I found a similar Hawaiian quote. This is for the definition of the Hawaiian word - Kina 'ole (The i and the a are long).

Doing the right thing in the right way at the right time in the right place to the right person for the right reason with the right feeling, the first time.

I think it is interesting.  The place where I read this had obvious Christian roots.  There were many subtle and some not so subtle indications of their beliefs.  Another definition of the word is "flawlessness".  What an awesome way to describe the character of Christ within us - flawless.  And having such, we should exhibit flawlessness as a result. 

I Have Decided

After yesterday's devotion or writing I had the song I Have Decided to Follow Jesus written by S. Sundar Singh in my head all day.  The lyrics are as follows:

1. I have decided to follow Jesus;
   I have decided to follow Jesus;
   I have decided to follow Jesus;
   No turning back, no turning back.

"No turning back."  I resolve that I have decided, I do believe, I will have faith.  I'm not just a fan of Jesus, I'm a follower.  I will not be deterred.  I will not turn back to who I am without Him.

1. Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
   Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
   Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
   No turning back, no turning back.

"Though I may wonder."  I will have doubts.  I won't understand everything I think I see and feel.  I will not be able to comprehend or out argue those who do not follow.  But "I still will follow".

1. The world behind me, the cross before me;
   The world behind me, the cross before me;
   The world behind me, the cross before me;
   No turning back, no turning back.

The past is the past.  I will leave it there.  The only thing before me is Christ.  "I die daily ... for me to die is gain, to live is Christ."

1. Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   No turning back, no turning back.

The world will not come with me.  This is my faith journey.  Even if the whole world turns their back on me and shuns me, "I still will follow."

1. Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   No turning back, no turning back.

What an awesome message!  I can't escape its John Wayne toughness to faith.  Yet it is gentle and from the deepest sympathies of the heart.  Jesus is upon that message to us and others.

What's the real Question?

It has been a crazy week.  Trying to fly out on a 7:30 am plane that was broken (that plane didn't leave airport until after 5:00 pm), trying to reschedule for the next day's flight since there was no way Delta could get us from home to Honolulu that day, getting told that I REALLY needed to be at the meeting the next day, finding the only flight anywhere by anyone to get me there, leaving at 6:00 pm and flying all night with stops in Dallas-Fort Worth and Las Vegas before arriving at 6:00 am, getting luggage, car, and to hotel by 7:30, getting picked up at 7:50 and at the meeting at 9:00 am, sitting in it until 11:00, eating lunch and at another meeting at 1:00.  Long day.  

The odd thing about the whole day is, everything was seemingly against us.  Every line was long, every red light was red, every delay was delayed, every seat was uncomfortable, etc.  Honestly, I very seldom experience such things, or I seldom notice them.  I usually just laugh when everything planned goes awry.  What else can you do?  

This time, I just truly wondered how I was out of God's will.  Maybe I wasn't supposed to be here or have taken this job?  I certainly had more than one thought about not doing it and we had had several meetings to not do it, but wanted to be loyal to this person who asked us, not his company.  Did I not perceive God's direction?  ...  Then I realized that the whole conversation in my head was ludicrous.  

Somewhere a Christian has had his family broken apart, his wife and son and daughter taken, his wife used as a sex slave and passed around as each person gets tired of her, his daughter trained up to be a slave and used too early for evil, his son put in a brain-washing camp to be used as a fighter for evil, and he himself beaten, only kept alive so he can be beheaded for the world to see.

Somewhere a Christian is looking for food and water.  He might live in the slums of Honduras or Haiti.  He might have to look for scraps in the trash or find water in a ditch.  Somewhere a Christian mother is holding her child and sleeping in a box.  The box is their home. 

Did any of these not hear God's instruction?  Did they not perceive God's direction?  The question is ludicrous.  

All of us have not heard God's instruction.  All of us have not perceived God's direction.  We are all Adam and Eve.  We have all pursued our own desire at some time.  We have all wanted to be our own authority at some time.  Yet, God made a way.  This life is temporary.  We are just passing through this physical world.  The real world is the eternal, where God is and where God isn't.  

So, the only real question is have I decided to follow Jesus?  If so, how am I showing His love to His children, those who have decided and those who haven't.  Every possible other thing, will pass away.

LIttle Reminders

Malachi 3:6a “For I, the Lord, do not change;

Once in a while we need a little reminder that God is still in charge, still loves us, and will see us through whatever valley of life is consuming us at the moment.  Wednesday AM must have been one of those moments.  To set it up, Reja and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary by driving Mom to Birmingham to have a heart catheterization.  Mom's check in and procedure had gone extremely well and I was very thankful and of course our church overwhelmed us with calls, texts, and posts of support and concern.  There were hundreds of people praying and I had a calm assurance about the whole medical issue.  It should have been enough to simply have the opportunity to be together all day on our anniversary, but I couldn't help the feeling of inadequacy with the simple card I had stashed in my backpack to celebrate the occasion.  I should have called ahead and ordered flowers, or arranged a special dinner, or something to mark such an incredible milestone.  In addition to feelings of inadequacy regarding our anniversary, I was missing a lot of key meetings and taskers at work. I tried to use the time in the waiting room to keep up, but I had mixed emotions as I sat glued to my laptop that I wasn't being good company.  Worse, there was maddening bafoonery going on at the office and I really needed to get a couple of senior leaders together, bang them on the head and invite them in a not-so-politely way to grow up and contribute in a measurable way to our nations defense. 
So as Reja and I sat at breakfast Wednesday morning, I simply felt pulled in one too many directions at that moment.  Sort of an "I'm completely incompetent to even draw breath today" kind of feeling as I felt like I was trying to do too much and not getting any of it correct.  As we finished a sweet lady walked up with a cheery "good morning" as she reached to clear our breakfast plates.  For the mood I was in, that should have been more than enough words, but this woman wasn't going to quit.  She was from Birmingham and was going to fulfill her southern bell role by striking up a genteel conversation over bussing a table.  She asked what brought us to Birmingham thinking it was some sort of high-profile business or maybe a simple vacation.  When Reja shared that we had come with Mom for a medical procedure, she immediately offered to pray for her and inquired as to Mom's first name. 
That moment struck me more heavily than if Ryan had punched me in the arm.  God sent her to remind me that there was no place or situation I could go that escaped His reach.  Again, our church had bowled us over with contact inquiring about Mom, but something about a complete stranger approaching us brought a clear message from God.  Perhaps I expected the support from our church, but when this lady approached on the worldly mission of bussing a table, she didn't let that worldly job stop her from being on a heavenly mission. 
I'm thankful that God doesn't change, that we can't evade or over-extend His reach.  I'm thankful that He can use complete strangers to remind us that He is still in charge, circumstances do not dictate His love or His work, and that He can act in consistency with Himself at any point He deems it necessary.  He also reminded me that in all my worldly work and roles, my first and foremost calling is to be about His business.