If Only I Were...

Why me?  I mean really, why me?  Why should I have been the one to get saved? Why would God ever choose me to do anything?  After all, I know who I am.  I know what I have done.  I know all the times I did not listen to Him and there have been oodles upon oodles of those. So why would He bother with me?  Maybe, maybe He made mistake.  No, that can't be it, God does not make mistakes.  Oh, wait, I know.  It was no mistake at all.  I am "Judas" or "Pharaoh" - created for destruction.  An example to those who would come after me for what not to do and what not to be.  That must be it.  It is the only thing that makes any sense, after all.  Like I said, I know who I have been, I know what I have done and whom I have done it too. And hey, it is not like other people do not know too so none of this should be any surprise to them.

Ever have one of those moments? Maybe it was longer than a moment, maybe it was a whole day, week or month...maybe it was longer.  Maybe you had this view, not of yourself, but of someone else. Do not kick yourself too hard because I am here to let you know that you are very much not alone.  I have been as well, more times than I really want to think about.  And, to be honest, it was no great truth about who I am that brought me out of it but rather, a bit of insight into some other rather well known people that did so.

David, slayer of the giant Goliath, and the earthly king by which all other kings of Israel were measured has been called a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22) in the midst if his reign (not the beginning, nor the end) not only commits adultery but has the woman's husband killed (Samuel 11:14-15). Far more than a "slight indiscretion".

How about the Apostles? Now there was a well groomed, well educated, well respected group of individuals who never, ever made mistakes. Yeah, right.

Four of them were fishermen - a group who worked long hours, doing hard manual labour who, while skilled, were not exactly well educated.  While I have never been to ancient Israel to "hang out" with them as they slaved away day in and day out, I have been around groups of people who were doing work of that manner and, if I recall correctly, the "language" did not tend to be made up of psalms and well wishes. That said, there is a good chance that these guys were hardly standing firmly upon what would have been considered the moral high ground.

It does not end there though.  One of them, Simon, was a Zealot and the best modern day understanding of what those were would be either be a terrorist or "freedom fighter" depending on what side you are on. Or Matthew (the same one who wrote the Gospel of the same name) who had been a tax collector - viewed as being both a traitor to the Jewish people and a thief. Consider the initial "fun" of these two working together.

How about the Apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul who used to spend his time not merely saying "unpleasant" things about the Church but actively hunting down its' members with the intention of, at the very least, imprisoning them and more often than, killing them. Let us not forget the Apostle Peter, whom, well after the Day of Pentecost, gets publically (and rightfully) rebuked for being a hypocrite (Gal.4:11-14).

The long and the short of it is simply this:  who are you to argue with what God has said?  Seriously.  If God has called you up and out - which is exactly what He has done if you are, indeed, a believer - then there is a reason for it.  There is something that He sees that you cannot.  Make no mistake, none of people above ever thought they would do and become what they did.  They all knew how flawed and screwed up they were.  None were perfect, not one - but God choose them anyway, in spite of their fears, failings and yes, even their own humanity.  The only thing they ever did was answer when He called.  It is not about what you have or who you (or any other person) thinks you are - it is all about God and it always has been and He is easily bigger than any short coming you (or anyone else) have ever previously had, currently have or ever could have... and He is the One who has called you up, out and as His very own.

"The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you..." Deut 7:7-8

Oh, Have Mercy...

It is almost a bit of a sobering thought to think that the demonic actually know God - on a character level - better than we do. In the Book of Mark, a "group" who called themselves Legion asked Jesus for mercy and GOT it. Considering who we are talking about here, there is a good chance that they would not have asked for it if they did not think they would get it. So what does that say about us? You know, we who refuse to ask because we tell ourselves we do not deserve it for one (or more) of any myriad of reasons.


Did Legion deserve mercy? No. Do we deserve it? No. But mercy is not now, nor ever has been, about what you deserve at all. Point blank, you do not have because you do not ask. Now, I am not talking about asking for the winning lottery numbers but rather with regards to whatever problem or situation you find yourself in right now.


So go ahead...ask Him. Just ask.

How Sweet the Sound...

Grace, grace, grace - if you are a believer, then you should love that word for we are covered and dependent upon it. Not just any grace either but the very grace of God.  But grace to do what?  Is it grace just for the sake of sake grace? Not likely. Is it grace to live however we want to live - that is, to sin our little butts off? Probably not (for 'we' may be justified, but 'sin' never is).

Let us say you are interested in science. You do not have a PhD or anything of the like but it is a serious interest of yours.  Now then, all considered, do you think you would deserve becoming an apprentice to someone like Stephen Hawking? Or perhaps you like to sing along with your favorite song? Do you think you deserve to be taken under the artists' wing?  Of course you do not.

Are you aware that not one of us is worthy to be a disciple of Jesus?  Not one of us deserves or has earned the right to follow Him? He never said come to me, get forgiven, dunk your head then just carry on with life as you want to live it. He said "follow me", not "go your own way and I'll just tag along". He said come to me for my yoke is easy - a yoke hooks two together - you and Him. But as flawed, frail, screwed up and totally unworthy as we are, how could we ever follow Him? How could we ever be His disciple?

Grace.

By grace we are allowed to do that which we otherwise would never, ever be allowed to do. God's grace allows us to follow Him. Sure, it is by the grace of God that we have a total, undeserved forgiveness but more importantly again, it is by grace that we are permitted to follow Christ! Not follow like the thousands did, but follow like the 12.


By grace, we have been given this amazing wonderful gift: to learn everything anew from the Master.

Storms Bring Rainbows

This posting is from my social media page however, the three posts all came within a single 9 hours period, so I thought I would share on here as well.
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"I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" ~ Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)

Now then, take a cue from the book of James here and do not merely read that and then just forget about it (James 1:23-24). The Word of God is meant to change you - the way you think, respond and act - it is not meant to be merely glanced at, acknowledged with a head nod and a "yep" and then forgotten about five seconds later.

I do not know what they did to you. I do not know what they have said about or to you, the slanders against you, the way they betrayed you and your trust or anything else, any more than you know mine. I do know that when the early Church practiced doing this, they were being hunted and killed like animals (and sometimes by animals). So am thinking, if they could pray for those people then, maybe we can for the ones who have hurt, used and betrayed us as well.
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Now here is an interesting exercise/undertaking to try.

Take a look at the people currently - or previously - in your life. Not the obvious good influence people though (like that teacher who encouraged you or whatever). No, look at the ones who have hurt you, betrayed you, lied to and about you, used you and so. Now take a look and see what you got from them. See what it is that God showed you about yourself, others or Himself through your less than wonderful experiences with them. If you are a believer, then there most likely is something good in there - although you may have to be intentional to see or find it (If you are not a believer, try it anyway - may find a surprise or two hidden beneath the pain).
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So with the previous status in mind, I would like to write a little thank you note (no names obviously) to those who - with God's help - helped make me whom I am today.

A thank you, to the one who pretended to be a friend to my face but was anything but when apart from me. By the grace of God, I was still a friend to you so I have learned that I can offer help, friendship and trust to those whom have not earned it and that I am capable of overlooking minor offenses.

A thank you to the one who betrayed my confidence and my trust. By the grace of God, I did not return the favor and respond in kind. So I have learned that I can keep another in confidence, even when it would serve my wounded feelings to not do so.

A thank you to the one I loved who merely used and abused me because you could so. By the grace of God, I loved you in spite of it all. I learned I can actually truly love another human being without them having to earn it somehow.

A thank you to the one who took advantage of my heart, passion and compassion. By the grace of God, I did not withhold anything from you, even though I knew what you were doing. I learned that I would rather have my heart on my sleeve and risk the pain, than to wall it in and feel nothing.

For each of these, I say "by the grace of God" for it is Him I credit with good coming out of things and events which most certainly were not. I say thank you to the "one" but there has surely been more than one. Oh, one more thing I have learned: that my God will never, ever leave me.

PS: No, I do not want to have any more of any ill thing or event in my life, if that is all the same to you - just worth the mentioning.

It is almost a shame that our faith grows and our character is forged faster and greater when we go through the storm than when we are laying comfortably on the beach. Still, not about to go chasing storms.

One final note:  I do not say or offer any of those "thank yous" in a hateful, "holier than thou" or smug manner - each is sincere. For if they did not provide the storm, I never would have seen the rainbow.

Hey, Buddy!

Now while no few of us know that our faith is relational, I ponder if perhaps some of us may have that relationship a bit skewed.  For instance, while God does call us friend that does not make us equals.  It is not the same as you accepting your friend and them accepting you, each as you are and then just carrying on with life from there. We may be accepted as we are but God is far from content with the idea of us staying the way we are nor is He going to meet us in the middle as far as character goes.  He is not about to say "well you gave it a shot and missed so just carry on with life and I will lower my standards for you".  God does not change after all, but He does expect us too.

Biblically speaking, the most common relational term for God is Father and I believe it is safe to say He chose that term for a reason.  While not all of us (any of us?) have had perfect parental relationships, I think we likely have an idea of what the ideal looks like even if not from our own experience. With the parent being yes, a friend in many ways, but also protector and provider as well as being the one who attempts to shape our characters as we grow as opposed to just letting us "run wild". In this, we see the relationship between us and God all the clearer.  We may often want Him to  just "be our buddy" but He is Father first and foremost in the relationship between us. Unfortunately, far too often,  we do just look at Him as aquaintance or buddy most of the time and only look for Father when we want something or we have gotten ourselves into a mess (again).

Consider Tom and Bill, life long friends, even though Tom is a bit older than Bill.  Now then, Tom is an officer in the military - a colonel to be precise.  Bill, after he graduates from high school, decides to enlist in the army himself and, as luck would have it,  Bill and Tom find themselves assigned to the same base. Now Tom is an "officer's officer" - all business and thorough as they come when it really matters. Bill on the other hand, well, let's just say his work ethic leaves something to be desired by times. So needless to say, military life is a bit of a shocker to Bill.  But hey, his best buddy ever Tom is here and he has some real pull so he can get him out of all kinds of things - at least that is what Bill is thinking.  The reality though is that Tom seems to be a bit harder on Bill than anyone else on the base is, which causes some internal confusion for poor Bill - enough so that he goes to Tom's office and asks for permission to speak freely...and gets it.

Bill puts it all out there.  He and Tom have been friends forever and Tom knows what Bill is like. He also knows how hard a lot of the stuff he has to do really is so why, why is Tom not bailing him out of it.  For that matter, why does it apprear that Tom is actually being harder on Bill than on anyone else.

Tom explains that he is indeed Bill's friend and that they are likely each other's best friends ever.  On the base however, Tom is first and foremost an officer.  He holds the life of all those beneath him in his hands. If he fails at his role, then people may die.  And if he allows Bill to take an easier road than the others, or if he allows Bill to just coast through, then his best friend in the entire world may wind up dead - and it would be his fault because he choose to be his buddy instead of being his commanding officer.

Let's be honest here, most of our lives on this world we are Bill.  We want the easy way out and really do not want to have to change anything about ourselves. Sometimes we may find ourselves in a "Tom position" but mostly we are just Bill and with God, we are always just Bill.  We just want Him to be our buddy and not our Commanding Officer.  But that is not the reality of things.  He is indeed our friend but the Lord of Heaven's armies (Jer. 44:25) is, first and foremost, our CO.  He knows what is on the line far better than we do.  He knows what horror will face us should He allow us to just coast along unchanged. He knows when trouble and battles (life, temptations, habits, etc) come our way, we will be quickly over run so He knows we must be changed in order to stand any of it at all.  But He does not throw us out of an airplane onto the battlefield the day we enlist either - He knows we are slow to learn, slow to change - stubborn as the day is long, in a lot ways. Is okay, there is no greater nor more patient Teacher than He but do not expect Him to stop teaching or to suddenly become content with you being where you are - if He did that, He would not be much of a teacher (or friend) at all.

So please, do not make the mistake of thinking that because you were intially accepted where you were that God wants or is willing to have you stay there. We are all being formed into the likeness of Christ remember (2 Cor. 3:18) and, until we get there (none of us on this planet have by the way), we cannot think or believe (with any accuracy that is) that God is content with where we are. Jesus is the standard by which we are compared, no one else and that is Jesus as He is, not how we want Him to be.

That said, is there something that Dad has been trying to change in you or get you to either do or stop doing that you have been ignoring Him on, hoping that He is going to forget or not ground you for the weekend or put you on KP duty about - you know, because He is "your buddy".

Long Days Snipits

Media Updates
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I have no clue where you are in life or what is going on in your world at this very moment. I do know some things though. I know, personally speaking, that there are things which God has told and shown me about a fair few things in the realm of the "yet to come". I do not mean like end of the world stuff, I mean personal things, situations, circumstances, etc. Now, like most, I want to be there now for some, if not all, of these. Yet I do realize that there are things which must happen first - things which cannot happen instantly no matter how much I may want them too sometimes. And while I would love to say I have always hung on faithfully and patiently waited, I really cannot do so. There have been times in which I have looked at where I am at now or circumstances that seem impossible and have tried to look away from what I know He has said - yes, I admit that I, in some of those moments of doubt, have tried to harden my own heart and close my eyes to what God said about <whatever>. The result: frankly each time left me feeling quite "icky" for lack of a better way to put it. That is, until I realized that I was looking at people, events and circumstance from my own limited point of view and put my faith back where it belonged in the first place: in God. If He said it, He will do it.

So today, should you find yourself feeling discouraged or starting to think "maybe God did not say..." or "what's the point, it will never happen" or whatever, take a bit of encouragement from this. One, you are not alone since obviously at least one other person (yours truly) has been there more than once. And two, that God does not change - He did not change His character suddenly 'just for you' and decide He lied or was just yanking your chain. You knew what He said before, remember today Who it was that said it and put your faith in Him, not in what you can see from where you are right now. Our God "is" faithful and He "will" come through for us. Every time.
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"After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." ~ Job 42:10

We all have periods of trouble in our lives - some that others can see, some that are only known between us and God. And during these times, we can easily get caught up in constantly praying for ourselves, forgetting all about everyone else in our world. So it may well be worth the note that it was not after he pleaded and begged for help for himself that God restored Job, but after he had prayed for his friends.

So if you find yourself in a place of turmoil today and find your prayers seem somewhat self centered, perhaps a change may be in order

Hey! If you are reading this, then that means you are on Facebook (or some other social media) and likely have a friends (or contact) list filled with people who could likely use a word of prayer even if nothing more than asking for the Lord to bless them. Just a thought.
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God is the God of today so stay here, in the now, with Him. Do not spend every moment reliving past mistakes or glories for you shall not be able to see where you are at now or where you are going. Neither spend all your time dreading a future you can neither see nor even know you shall be in at all, for again, you shall miss all that is the present. Accept and learn from your past, have hope and faith in God for the future, and live, with Him, in and for today.
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Mr Popular

"Yea, when thou follows Me, thou shalt have it all - every tiny thing your earthly heart desires.  Thou shalt have so much money you will not be able to walk straight and possessions beyond your wildest dreams, not too mention massive popularity, friends and universal acceptance and every other lust you have always wanted but felt to guilty about to ever go after, and the last thing you will ever, ever have have is any form of trouble."

Now there is a good chance that, when you read the above, you will raise an eyebrow and go "Really??!" for it just sounds so ridiculous.  However, there really are people who preach that and not exactly a shortage of them either.  And we, more often than we want to admit to it, think that way now and then.

So what are we told, if not the above?  We are told we will have trouble for one, but not to fear it (John 16:33).  We are told (more than once) that God disciplines those He loves as children (Hebrews 12:6) and discipline, as we should all know, does not tend to be pleasant during the process.  We are told that  friendship with the world and all it has to offer makes one in opposition to God (James 4:4).

Need more?  Take a good look at the apostle Paul.

Paul, previous to his surrendering of his life to Christ, was a pharisee, and not a bottom of the pile one either.  He had it all for the day and place he was in.  Power, money, influence, prestige, friends, popularity - you name it, he had it.  And afterwards?  Afterwards he borders on constantly homeless, hunted by former peers and friends alike, hated by no small number of people, tossed into prison more than once and eventually, beheaded.  From a worldly perspective, Paul's life did not get better it got worse.  However, from an eternal perspective, he gained massively and did not regret that decision even at the end of his days (2 Timothy 4: 7-8).  He even went so far as to say that everything he had gained in the world, he counted as loss (Philippians 3:8).  This is not even getting into the prophets in the Old Testament (no one ever seemed to like them, but they certainly got results).

"Uh, Troy, you are not making much of a case to follow Christ there bud, maybe you should just stick with all the good grace and mercy stuff."

To what end?  So that people would think they are going to say a quick prayer and then everything is just going to instantly come up roses like some cross between winning a lottery and moving into the playboy mansion?  So that, when this does not happen, they fall away but yet still think all is good because they said a few words once upon a time?  Or perhaps when they have to choose between following God and being popular with people or the opposite sex, they quickly chose a very wrong direction?  Or maybe, when things start to go seemingly wrong in their lives they turn on themselves thinking there must be something horribly wrong with them, or that they do not have enough faith, or maybe begin thinking that Jesus will forgive everyone except them?

No thanks, I think I will pass on the false promises of earthly delights and popularity if that is okay with you.

Even Jesus Himself urges us to count the cost of following Him, to ensure we do not start then just walk away (Luke 14: 28-29).

Is not all doom and gloom though.  God does promise to take care of us numerous times (Matthew 6: 25-34).  He promises to never, ever leave us (Hebrews 13:5), that nothing can separate us from Him (Romans 8: 38-39), that He does (not might, but does) work out everything for the good of those who follow Him (Romans 8:28) and with Him there is real freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).  And oodles upon oodles of other things far too numerous to get into in here. 

We are not promised "the easy life", but we are promised one well worth the living. And if you are a believer and things seem to be going not that great at the moment, take heart and know it is for a reason.  Perhaps, something in your life that needs looking at, perhaps God is trying to get your attention or perhaps the enemy sees you as a threat or some other reason far beyond either of our understandings, but it is, indeed, for a reason and God is always with you.  Remember who you are (Galatians 3:26), Whom it is you belong to (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20) and stand your ground (1 Peter 5:9, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Ephesians 6:13).



*EDIT*

God may give reason and purpose to bad things which come along but He does not make bad things good - there is a difference there and an important one.  Felt that worth adding on.

Of Note

Few little clips from my social media page
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"...since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us [and] because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand" ~ Romans 5: 1-2

Sometimes it is hard to remember that we do not deserve what we have been given. We never deserved to be saved in the first place and we never deserved to have the privilege of not only knowing God, but being known by Him. Even John the baptist, who had the Spirit upon him in the womb (Luke 1:15), did not consider himself worthy of Christ (John 1:27). What we deserved and what we have been given are vastly different. Praise be to God for His amazing grace and mercy upon we, who surely do not deserve a single drop of it.

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In this day and age, we have oodles and oodles of books, videos, studies and programs about God and what the Bible says. While many are indeed, wonderful, none of those are a substitute for the actual Word of God. After all, what God says to me may be totally different than what He speaks to you at a given time or situation. And we have many wonderful stories and emotional testimonies and those too have their place but again, they are no substitute for the Bible in the life of a believer. So if you have not opened yours lately, perhaps it is time to do so - see what God has to say rather than what someone else has to say about Him.

"All Scripture is God-breathed.." ~ 2 Tim. 3:16
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away." ~ Matthew 24:35
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." ~ Isaiah 40:8
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A sobering thought.

I once heard it said that "we may be in heaven before we ever know how many people are there because of us", which is quite the pleasant thought and is likely, quite true. There is another side though - "how many are NOT there because of us" - not near so pleasant a thought yet, most likely, equally true.

Gut Check

No one likes to hear or read anything that gives them pause to consider/reconsider their own spiritual state and Christians are no exception. We read/hear something that implies we should check ourselves out in the mirror - to see if we truly believe what we claim to believe or if we are living the life we should be - and we do not always react well and we go on either the offensive or the defensive.  Truth be told though, it is not a bad idea now and then.  After all, if you were on a diet/exercise plan to lose 10kg before swimsuit season, would you not check your progress now and then, and if you found weight gain rather than loss, perhaps recheck what you are doing.

I realize that implying we need to check ourselves and our spiritual state beyond just repeating "well, I know I am saved because..." does not tend to make one popular, especially when it comes from someone as imperfect as yours truly.  But honestly, I would rather tick you off now and share a coffee with you in heaven, than spend ten thousand years looking for you there, only to find you missing.

"Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter" ~ Matthew 7:21

*the above was done on my Facebook status as well*

Gospel according to Bug Bunny?

How about an odd parallel just to kick things into gear?  Peter, disciple/apostle of Jesus and Wile E Coyote. No, I do not believe that Peter had a permanent customer account with ACME (if you do not know the reference, watch some bugs bunny cartoons). When Wile E has his eyes set firmly on his target (typically the road runner), that is all that matters.  So much so, that he actually walks right off the cliff and finds himself standing on thin air - which works fine until he looks around, realizes where he is and listens to that llittle voice in his head that tells him this is impossible and then down he goes *thump*.

In Matthew 14 (22-32), Peter - with his eyes firmly upon Jesus - steps (willingly) over the side of the boat and onto the water.  All is fine until that little voice in his head tells him this is impossible, he listens to it and takes his eyes off Jesus, and down he goes *blud blub blub*.

A critical difference is that Wile E never realizes where he is at first.  Peter, on the other hand, spent most of his life as a fisherman.  He was quite aware of not only what a storm was (which they were in at the time) but also what happens when one gets out of a boat in the middle of the lake - they sink.  So Peter knew what he was doing and where he was going but, he saw Jesus out there and believed he could come to Him if He said he could.  But those voices kicked in, telling him (Peter) to look around at the circumstances and what he could see - that this was impossible - and he put his eyes upon those and off of Jesus.  *blub blub blub*

The problem was, was it was NOT impossible.  After all, Jesus was standing on the water and secondly, Peter had been doing the same.  Jesus gets after Peter for his lack of faith, but Peter did walk on the surface of the water, so where did he fall at?  Simply, he choose to believe what he saw over what Jesus said was possible.  Jesus did not expect Peter to pretend the water was frozen or that the storm was not there, but rather, to walk on in spite of what he could see around him.  We are told to walk  by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  The world around us will almost always tells us things are not possible but God says with Him ALL things ARE possible (Matthew 19:26).  What we see, hear and think we know do not matter at all - it is what God has said (and says) that counts in every possible imaginable area, situation and circumstance.

So if God has said something to you, take Him at His word and believe it regardless of what you see around you or whom says what is or is not possible.

Social Snipits

A few short postings from some of my social media postings.
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Have you ever read Matthew 17?  Specifically, the events around Jesus and friends owing tax money.  In case you haven't, will fill you in.  Basically, they owed tax money, but they were broke. So Jesus tells Peter (formerly a fisherman by trade) to go fishing.  Not to catch fish to sell.  Oh no, He tells Peter to open the mouth of the first fish he catches and "take out the money that is in it" and go pay their taxes.  For some reason, I can picture Peter getting 'one of those looks' on his face followed by a "you want me to do what?!".  But He does do it and, lo and behold, in the fish's mouth there is enough money to cover what they owe.

There are many names given to God in the bible and on of my favorites is "Jehovah-jireh" which is "the Lord provides" or "the Lord will provide".  Now between that name and the number of times we are told to not worry about, well, anything really, surely we would never, ever worry.  Truth be told though, we still do, don't we.  Although it does beg the obvious question "why" - after all, what has worry ever given us other than wrinkles, sleepless nights or an upset tummy?

His provision for us is not limited to funding only - He can, and will, provide everything from material things to relationships of all kinds to unlimited guidance.  So do not worry.  Take every thought, urge, desire and concern to God - Jehovh-jireh - after all, is anything too hard or impossible for our God.

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They are frantic and confused, anxious and concerned as they lift their voice to heaven above: "Oh, Lord, I know you have said better is coming, I know you have shown me "this and that" in the past, I know you have called me up and out and even though I do not see it now, I do trust You, I really do, but...but show me something, give me a sign..show me another glimpse of the future...did you change your mind...show me, tell me, reassure me...".

With this plea, the heavens rumble and a voice replies, "What would you do if you knew more? What would you do if I gave you some sign to show you that I meant what I said before and that it shall come to pass? I tell you, do now what you would do then and you will just be fine."

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Believers taking advice on matters of conscience from non-believers is akin to seeking guidance making a cake from scratch from someone whose only cooking accomplishment is successfully making kraft dinner once upon a time.

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Building Rights

"This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!" ~ Haggai 1:5-6

"You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses" ~ Haggai 1:9

"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself" ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19

Are there things which you have been ignoring?  Are there behaviors and habits which you continue in even though you know God wants you to address them?  Are there things which you know that God wants you to do, or stop doing, and yet you try to ignore Him because doing so may interfere with what you want?  Have you been spending most of your time and energy on "your own house" and as little as possible on "His house"?

“Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts" ~ Hebrews 3:15

Why would you wait?  Why would you choose to suffer any longer or, worse yet, see just how far you can "push your luck" with the Lord God Almighty?

"For God says, At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation." ~ 2 Corinthians 6:2

Transplant Surgery

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations" ~ Ezekiel 36: 26-27

It is not that we have a reconditioned heart or even that our old self is being changed. No, when we accepted Christ into our lives, we were given a whole new heart - a new self - that replaced the old, sinful nature.  While the old is seperated from us, it does still attempt to influence (sometimes, quite successfully) and regain control, but it is no longer actually a part of us.  After all, you would not pour good, fresh milk into a pitcher with old, sour milk in it - no, you would remove the old first.  The sour milk cannot be made into fresh milk any more than our old nature can be changed into something good and pure.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone" ~ 2 Cor. 5:17

Does that mean we are instantly changed?  Yes, and no.

Yes, of course we are instantly changed, since God - via the Holy Spirit - swaps out our old heart/nature for the new creation.  Obviously this creates a very instantaneous change within us.  Consider this:  the "you" that exists in this world, right now (if you  indeed have the Spirit within you), did not exist in this world prior to the moment of your salvation.

No, though, is due to the fact that our way of thinking and acting was totally formed by the old - the portion now apart from us - so we have all those ways ingrained within us. 

So, while we are indeed a whole new creation, we do not necessarily act like it with the old continuing to push influence on us from without (attempting to force us to conform) and we, ourselves, giving in to it far more often than we should (we do not have to at all - ever).

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." ~ Romans 12:2  

So while we "are" instantly changed into someone/something all new, it does take us some time living as that new creation in order for us start acting like it, and that "living" is not a totally passive thing.  Some things do just seem to "happen" or "change", but much of the time, we must choose to not listen to the old and to instead, listen to the new. The more often we choose the old, the more often the old will win in our lives - like any habit, the more we do it, the easier it becomes to not only continue in, but the more we actually desire it. Remember, the old fights against the new - the two are, in a very real way, at war with each other (Galatians 5:17).

Thus - even though we are made new, it is up to us to choose which one we will listen to and allow to have control:  the new creation who desires to follow the Spirit, or the old, who wants to lead you as far away from Jesus as it can.

Do not know about you, I would rather be walking hand in hand with Jesus than with some icky, shadowy thing anyday.

Contextually Speaking...

You know, as someone who does a fair bit of writing, I know all too well just how easy it can be for someone to take 'the written word' out of context and make it mean something it was never, ever intended to mean.  And the Bible is, by no means, immune to this.

For instance, Galatians 5: 1, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law" gets taken out of context to mean that we are free to follow the desires of the sinful nature - that we no longer have to obey God at all.  Which really, if you stop and think about it, does that really make any sense?  That God would save us so that we are free to follow and live for Him rather than the old nature, only to tell us that we should not follow what He says but just live for own selfish, carnal desire - not only staying in bondage to sin but jumping headfirst into it?  This could just be me but, uh, not so much.

In context, Galatians 5:1 is talking about going through different rituals or obeying certain outward regulations or celebrating in certain ways on certain days in order to earn God's favor.  The scripture mentions circumcision specifically here and a bit earlier (4:10) talks about festivals and special times/days.  Think of the person who thinks that just by going to church that they have somehow earned something from God - that because they gave up sleeping in every Sunday, they now have a right to be in heaven (not knocking corporate church at all, just motives for going). It also refers to those who try to teach such things as being necessary as false teachers - pretty heavy words considering the future that awaits those who would lead God's children away from Him.

You see, all of these outward things (like circumcision, for example) are just that:  outward only.  Your heart does not really need to be in them for you to do them nor do they actually do anything to change the heart of a person.  These "laws" are what is being referred too, not obeying God commands.  I mean really, He did not suddenly change His mind and decide that it was fine and good for you to lie, steal or commit adultery or worse yet, have oodles of other gods other than Him.  That would be seriously against His nature and character - something an unchanging God cannot do.  One of the problems at the time, was that (many of) the Jews believed because they were circumcised and did many little regulations and rituals that they were safe but those were just outward actions that had nothing to do with the heart - except maybe to allow the presence of envy and pride perhaps.

A little further along in Galatians, we are told to follow the Spirit and not the sinful nature and what some of the end result characteristics of each of these paths are (Gal.5:19-22).  Obeying God is not legalism.  Let me say that again:  obeying God is not legalism.  Legalism is a matter of going through the motions in an attempt to earn favor from God, manipulate God or get what we want from Him by doing assorted outward things.  We cannot earn from God for He gives freely (grace); God cannot be manipulated and I doubt He enjoys anyone attempting to do it (do you enjoy it?); and we do not follow God to get what we want, we seek to know what it is that He wants (big difference).

So do things like the ten commandments still stand?  Yes, they do actually.  Jesus said the law was summed up in two commands:  love God with everything you have and 'then' love your neighbor - the order is important for without the first, the second is almost worthless.  At no time did He ever say we no longer had to obey those commands, quite the opposite actually.  If you look at the ten commandments, for example, they all fit into those two that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 22:37-40, so the ten commandments can help us understand how that looks and what that means.

Does this mean that we must always take everything in the Bible in its' original context only?  No, for God does frequently speak through His Word directly to someone's situation in the present age and in an area totally unrelated to what the original was.  However, taking scripture, as a whole, in context can also be  important.  After all, if we see something that makes our "sinful nature" happy and excited, chances are we've missed something, for what the Spirit wants and what the old self wants, are polar opposites (Galatians 5:17).


Oh, and as for our opening example from Galatians 5:1:

"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil" ~ 1 Peter 2:16

"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature" ~ Galatians 5:13

"We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" ~ Romans 6:2

I would have to say that it is pretty safe to say that Gal. 5:1 does not mean we are free to pursue every possible sinful desire, at all.

Nuh Uh, Wasn't Me

(While this post is not an actual part of the previous series, to say it would not easily tie into it would hardly be accurate)

I do not know about you, but I find that we often focus so much on the New Testament that we forget there is so very much in the Old.  Take the "fall" in Genesis 3, for instance.

In this record, we see four players:  Adam, Eve, the serpent and God.  Now then, we may well know how things go - how God had set the one tree aside and commanded them not to eat from it only to have them do just that.  A closer look though shows a bit more to the story.  For instance, what "exactly" happened that day following Adam and Eve chowing down on something they should not have.  We will pick things up there (there will be a paraphrasing - do not panic).

Adam and Eve are hiding because they now know what shame and guilt are, something they previously never experienced. , when God pops in for a visit.  Now God knows what has happened, but like many parents, He wants to hear it.  So He asks Adam, "Uh, Adam, what's the deal bud? Did you eat something you shouldn't have?"  To which Adam replies, "It's not my fault!  It's the fault of 'that woman' that YOU made for me.  She's flawed or something.  Obviously, You made a mistake."  So God turns to Eve and asks, "What happened exactly?"  Eve's reply is that the serpent tricked her - he lied and she believed him - so she did eat from the tree.

I want you to notice the two different reactions here.  Eve's version of events are pretty accurate.  She was tricked and she had no frame of reference for knowing that someone would lie to her to hurt her, so she believed what she was told and, even though God said otherwise, she ate.  Basically, she has taken responsibility for what she has done.  She does not even blame the serpent directly for her actions - only for his part in them.  Adam on the other hand, blames everyone else, including God Himself.  Adam takes the stance that none of this is his fault at all - oh no, it is everyone else's fault that this has happened to 'poor little me', is basically how he responds.  In my humble opinion, Adam may well have been the world's first spoiled brat.

I do not know about you, but it makes me wonder.  What if?  What if instead of blaming everyone and everything else, Adam had of "fessed up" and taken responsibility for his own actions?  We know that our God is forgiving, understanding, gracious and merciful after all - if Adam had of confessed and taken responsibility for what he had done, would the consequences have been near so severe?  Now granted, that is a hypothetical question to which we will never know the answer but it does give one pause to think.

That said, I have a question for you:  which one are you?  Are you Adam or are you Eve?

The question has nothing to do with your physical sex.  It has to do with your reactions.  When you rebel against God (sin), do you take responsibility for your own actions?  Do you admit that you were tempted and that you gave in to that temptation?  That it was, in fact, "tempting" to you.  Or do you blame everyone and everything else?  "Oh is not my fault that I am doing this or that, it is "so and so's" fault!  They made me do this.  They pushed me."  (And who is this mysterious "they" person anyway?  I know that "they" seem to be the cause of oodles of problems and "they" always seem to have something to say about everything.)  Truth be told, it is called temptation because it is tempting but you do not have to give in at all, especially if you have the Spirit dwelling within you.  You have a choice, regardless of what life you have or have not lived, or the people you have known. 

Anyway, by the time it hits the point of you giving in and actually 'doing something', you have already been allowing thoughts of such similar things to roam freely and unchecked in your mind for some time.  Here is a solid tip:  head them off early.  Easier to put them down when they are mere thoughts or ideas than it is to deal with them after they have become full blown.  And if they are full blown now?  Stop blaming other people or circumstances - including blaming your own humanity - stop running away or trying to hide from God - take responsibility for your own thoughts and actions and confess those to Him (obviously, stop doing <whatever> as well). 

In short:  repent, be saved, be healed and live.

Story Time - Part Seven - The Final Chapter?

As the title would indicate, this posting is the seventh (7th) of a single series.  The first part began in April (2014) and can be found via the links on the right hand side of the page.  If you are seeing this first, going to part one (1) and working forward from there will likely be helpful.

I see the cogs turning.  Countless numbers of them forming a great globe, all turning and working their way into their respective places.  Some set already and turning the ones they are adjoined too.  Others, moving slowly into their place, turn slowly, tip and roll as they must make allowances for those directly around them, and those around them must turn, tip and move to allow those around them and so on and so on.  It is a great globe indeed - the size of the very world - with each and every cog (or gear) having to move where it must move and turn as it must turn into order for all of the others in the globe to move as they must.  It is a stunning site, to say the least and I dare say I would not want the job of making sure all of those pieces work correctly together as they move towards the full and final completion.

A final trip back to our story of AJ and the one who loves them so.

We have mentioned previously, that the saved loved one also had things to see and learn through the events which revolved around AJ's ordeal.  No doubt, upon seeing their own needs and addressing them, they would surely be tempted to think, "Ok, God, I have this figured out so why are things not fixed yet" - something we ourselves may well have thought before.  But this thought is not only one of narrow vision and short sightedness, but a selfish one as well.

You see, there is more than just you involved in things - shocking, eh.  The obvious other is AJ themselves who may yet have to fully grasp their own situation and allow themselves to be freed from their bondages (yes, I did say "allow themselves").  But there are surely others connected as well for we are all connected to each other if nothing else.  In our tale, Joe would be another to be considered - what does God wish for them and what events must happen for such to take place.  They themselves may not be saved but surely God is still concerned for them - after all, He was concerned for Nineveh, a pagan nation, and thus why He sent the prophet Jonah to them.  Not too mention you are not the only one who has witnessed AJ's struggles, so each of these people - each of these cogs - must also move as well.  We cannot overlook the real possibility that you have actually not gleaned all that you must from the current situation either.  So again, we find ourselves coming back to the place of hope and faith in God - trusting that He does know what He is doing, even if we would like to see things moving a bit faster.  He is thorough after all.  Does this mean we cease to pray, earnestly, for AJ?  By no means, for if we truly love them then obviously, we would continue to pray for them even as we seek to listen for God's promptings about ourselves and others involved - our trusting in God does not mean that we suddenly no longer act in love towards others, especially those whom we so desperately care about - if anything it should prompt us to act in love more often and with greater conviction.

There is a verse in Isaiah, chapter 8 which reads "Do not call conspiracy, what people call conspiracy".  We would do well to remember that simple line.  God, and God alone, is in control.  If we seek someone to blame, eventually we must work our way backwards until we reach God Himself and in that, we cannot lay blame for blame implies wrong doing (even if you decide to work backwards to Satan, the question of where he came from again, leads back to God in the end).  And if we spend our days and nights blaming, and seeking to blame, others for our problems and the problems we see in others, we surely shall not know much peace or contentment for, as we well know, we have no control over others at all.  God does nothing haphazardly or just on a whim - everything He does is with a purpose, even if we cannot fathom what it is or how it all works out in the end.

So what is the moral of our story?  Trusting that God knows what He is doing may well be right up there on the list, but surely, there are others as well are there not.  Those though, those I shall leave to be discerned and worked out between you and God, for that which He speaks to me may not be what He speaks to you - we are different, after all.

" Whoever has ears, let them hear" ~ Matthew 11:15

Story Time - Part Six

Part one of this begins in April (2014) on the right and continues in sequence to this point.

So we know that God is a loving (His love, not ours), involved parent who is, quite literally, in complete control - a fact seen quite clearly in part two.  For if He were not in complete control, then prophecy could never work for it would depend upon humanity randomly reaching points at the same and correct time.  In short, that is what it means for Him to be sovereign.  We also know He is eternal and unchanging as well as omnipresent (He is everywhere at the same time).

But what does all this have to do with blame?  Surely by now, that is one common theme which we have seen throughout this series.  We saw the blame game at work with the events of the fall in garden.  We questioned who was to blame for the crucifixion.  Then we looked at the life events of AJ and sought for someone to blame for their "fall from grace".  So, in short, everything.

Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."  Another way to put that is that faith is trusting that God knows what He is doing.  Think about that statement for a minute and realize that you put faith in all kinds of people constantly. 

Do you drive a car or travel with someone else who does?  If so, then you are trusting that whoemever built your braking system knew what they were doing, or whomever installed it did.  You are trusting that the other drivers on the road have a license to drive and know what they are doing.  You trust that your wheels are attached correctly and are not going to come flying off at some random time during your trip.  In short, you have faith that many people knew (and know) what they were doing.

Let's consider the crucifixion.  If we did not know how it ended (which we now do) and we were there in the moment it was happening, would it have looked as though God knew what He was doing?  If we understood all the prophecy about Jesus, would it have appeared to have been "going according to plan" from our vantage point?  Probably not.  Like the disciples, we would have been in a panic.  But we do know how it ended which means we do know that, in fact, everything went exactly as planned since God did know exactly what He was doing the whole time.  This "is" God we are talking about here - making mistake is something He just does not do.

In our story with AJ we can see the same idea at work.  God, knowing what had to be done in order to make the necessary changes in both spectator and AJ, set the required plan into motion.  Even while it appeared that everything had "gone to hell in a hand basket", it had not.  God did not lose control of the situation at any point in time nor was He "ever" absent from it.  In short, He knew exactly what He was doing even if we, with our limited vision, could not see it at the time.

So we find two points at work here.  One, playing the "blame game" can be the opposite of trusting God in, and with, <whatever> and questioning His sovereignty (remember Job: he, and his friends, questioned God's actions and  motives only to get "because I am God" as a basic response).  Secondly though, if God is in charge and in control, then if we blame someone else, we would actually be slandering that person in a lot ways.  Like, blaming the Romans for crucifying Jesus when we know it was the plan along and that, a plan created and executed by God Himself - not by any man.

So does it change anything?  When we look at those circumstances within our own lives and the lives of those we care about, both past and present, that we have sought to lay blame against another person for, does it change anything?  It should, should it not. Especially when we consider that we know little of what actually goes on in our own life (and we do not know our own heart nearly as well as we would like to think we do), and almost nothing of what is actually going on in someone else's (we cannot see their heart at all - we really can't, no matter what we think we know), should there not be a certain measure of peace with the knowledge that we can trust God to know what He is doing even if we do not understand it at the time.

Now do not get me wrong here, am not moving towards the idea of no responsibility for actions.  Like, someone kicked Bill's dog when he was 9 years old so he decides to blow up a bus when he is 37 and the kicked pet becomes a solid defense for it.  Not even vaguely going that route.  Nor am I trying to minimize all your fears, pain and grief with a blanket statement of God's control.  Then again, am also not trying to say that I have how God works and thinks all figured out because, I certainly do not nor do I actually want to, if am honest about it.

In the Bible, we are told to not worry or fear, to trust God and have faith in Him over and over and over again.  And honestly, with the limited vision we have in this life, that can sometimes be a hard thing to do.  But maybe, just maybe, if we can remember that, even when we cannot see or understand it, God does know what He is doing and that He does work out things for the good of His children, maybe we can rest just a little bit easier and possibly stop being quite so upset with some other people we have known (or known of).

Is there "another" part to this?  Honestly, am not quite sure but there might be.  So, for now, we shall end with our "normal" for this series...

***To Be Continued***

Story Time - Part Five

As this is (obviously) part five (5), if you are new, I would encourage you to to go the links on the right side of the page and click open "April 2014" and start with part one (1) so things all make sense (well, potentially anyway).

Right about now, there may well be some who are asking the question:  how could a loving God make, or allow, AJ to go through the ordeal they have gone through?  No doubt we have heard variations of that before with other situations.  One of the big problems with that question though is with regards to that all critical word "love".

There is an online comic that I check out now and then (adam4d.com) and not long ago, the artist said something that struck a chord and actually ties in to our story.  He said that "God is love" but that "love is NOT God".  Now one would think that God is love and love is God would be the same thing, but in truth, it really isn't.

The Bible says "God is love" (1 John 4:8).  This is God's definition of love we are talking about - a divine, perfect, just, selfless love - think of the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13 and that those are not only attributes of love but of God.  What love truly is, is defined by the very character of God.

Now if we say "love is God", there are a couple of problems with that.  One, only God is God - saying anything else is God sets one up for an unpleasant road of discovering what idolatry means.  The other problem though, is that by saying "love is God", we use our own perverse, imperfect view of what love is (which is almost as individually unique as a finger print) almost as a scale to say how loving God is or is not.  Since our view/belief of love varies and tends to not be perfect, then we view God as imperfect as well.  God is not defined by our version of what love is.

Now, you may follow that fine and good but are still wondering about all that  not only AJ has had to endure, but their cousin as well - for watching someone close go through such a thing is a devastation all its' own.  I am not going to even pretend to understand with any sense of fullness the way that God thinks, plans and works things out - that is far beyond my mental capacity.  I do, however, understand some more "worldly concepts" that do help.

Your child constantly procrastinates with homework and school projects until you step in and save them at the last minute.  It has gotten so bad that you now wonder what kind of grade you have gotten each term instead of them.  It is getting worse and it is starting to show itself in all areas of their life.  Not only that, they now expect it and get quite irrate when "you" are taking too long to finish "their" projects.  Enough is enough.  You are the parent here after all.

They have a big project due, worth a large portion of their final grade, and they have known about it for almost two months  now.  The project itself is due at the end of the week and you stated last week that you were not going to do it for them - they had to do this one on their own.  Needless to say, they have made their disapproval well known to the point of being sent to their room quite a few times for their outbursts.  Time ticks closer to the due date and they have yet to lift a finger.  While you are tempted to bail them out, you know doing so will hurt them in the long run, so you stand your ground.

Eventually, due date comes and, to your childs' dismay, there is no project to turn in from you and they did not even try to do it.  They know how much this is worth and could cost them moving into the next grade.  They flip.  They blame everyone from the teachers to friends and most definitely you.  Eventually though, they do calm down and decide to go for it.  It is a quick attempt to finish a "better late than never" project but they are making a real effort.  You help a little here and there but let them do what they have to do for the most part.

Now then, is the above parent acting loving or unloving?  If they let them continue to procrastinate and feel entitled, would that not be unloving especially since they are the parent a know what unpleasantness awaits if it does not end soon.  Now then, what if the parent in this is the "perfect parent" and they know every internal thought, dream, desire and fear of their child and know exactly what it would take to correct that behavior and thought pattern - would they not be unloving if they choose to not do what had to be done, and instead, ignored the problem?  That would actually be a pretty hateful thing wouldn't it.

In the previous post, we learned a bit more about AJ and those things which plagued them for so long and even a glimpse of the damage it was causing them.  While we may want to think that we could have thought  of a better way to do things, we do have to admit that God "probably" knows AJs internal workings far better than even AJ, let alone someone outside of them.  We cannot forget the saved love one either now can we.  So maybe a loving God would have done, or allowed, exactly what He did after all.

***To Be Continued***

Story Time - Part Four

Part four - if you are new to the series, start with part one (1) so it makes some kind of sense to you - there are links to the right beginning in April 2014

Now then, let us assume a few truths, first and foremost:  God is love, He works out the lives and circumstances of those whom belong to Him for not only their good but the good of the entire Body of Christ (which is good for the rest of the world as well), He does call those whom are His, His children and He does lovingly discipline those children as well, and He is not only the perfect parent, He is also fully in control and knows even the deepest recesses of our hearts no matter how deeply buried things are.

Now, we shall expand a bit more.

As mentioned previously, AJ had a hard run before salvation and continued to struggle even afterward, eventually taking an "out of sight, out of mind" stance and forcing things deep down within themselves.  Why would they do that?  For one reason, thoughts and desires like those are not "Christian" and what would people think if they knew they felt that way or had those kinds of thoughts.  This type of mindset causes a lot of pain and hardship for those within the Church who, for some reason, feel that they have to suddenly be perfect and righteous on their own merit, even though they were not before.  Another reason is the pain of all that old crud.  No small portion of those old experiences from how they used to live left horrible scars on AJ's heart and mind, so in order to escape the pain, they buried them.  Oh they still remember them, they just no have intention of opening that locked door.  The fact that the world around them has always told them that that is how stuff like that should be dealt with really has not helped much either.  But as we should know, the world tends to be wrong.

Now AJ did pray and tell God that they gave everything over to Him, but they were not truthful in that, even if the lie was not intentional.  Truth be told, AJ holds onto a lot from those days.  Ways of thinking that are geared towards self preservation for instance - to avoid being hurt or used again or better yet, be the one to act first and not be the victim.  And keeping those things in check gives AJ a sense of control and accomplishment in their own ability and will power.  But their own ability was not enough before, and is still not.  So AJ struggles and fights against those things still within as they try and force themselves to act, think and behave like a "good little Christian".  All the while, every relationship in their life - friends, family, loved ones and even God -  is suffering from the effects of what lies buried within.  Remember though, God knows the heart.

God had put a calling into ministry on AJ's life, and AJ knew it, but they were not pursuing it because of how very unworthy they felt, due greatly to those things and desires within.  God could just push AJ into their calling, as they are, and they would do okay for a while.  Eventually though, things would begin unravelling quickly and AJ, as well as many other people, would end up hurt in a big way.

God knew how much it would take for AJ to break and give in to those temptations, that is why He allowed AJ to reach that point - AJ had to "hit the wall".  The only way that AJ was going to break down and deal with those things and truly surrender to God, was if they got to see just how massive they had the potential to become and how much damage they were capable of doing.  God has not left AJ at all, even if AJ is "trying" to run away from Him.  In fact, He is using this whole mess to bring old things out of the darkness and into the light and finally set AJ free from a bondage they have been in for far too long.   One could blame AJ for not dealing with things in the first place, but how many of us have (or had) things buried deep that we know we should deal with, yet do not do so?  How many of us try to make it on our own "righteous merits"?

I did mention you - the one who has had to watch this unfold and who seeks to find someone to blame - as being a suspect.  Through this ordeal with AJ, you have learned some things.  One, you examined your own life more closely, after seeing someone as solid as AJ fall into old ways, and you found much in there you had to deal with and give to God.  Another thing you realized is that some of your own thoughts and behaviors towards other people, especially those close to you within the Church, were way off base.  You used to give excuses as to why you could not get involved:  "not your business", "not my brother's keeper", "if they want to talk, they can come to me" and "what if it makes them mad, I better not".  You now know that those are truly garbage and throughout it all, you find yourself changed for the better.  God knew what it would take to get you to take notice and change as well - your personal ordeals would not work but seeing someone you love go through such a thing, on the other hand.  So you could blame yourself for not stepping in and up, but if you had of, it would have been forced, not in love at all and you likely would have resented AJ for it - plus you likely would not have learned anything from it.

I feel for you and I feel for AJ (I truly do, if you have gone through such or have been an "AJ"), but finding someone to point a finger of blame at, does not appear to be quite so easy as perhaps it did initially, does it.  For we know very little of what truly goes on in our own lives, let alone what goes within that of others - our vision is very, very limited seeing only part of the external and (usually)none of the internal.

***To Be Continued***

Story Time - Part Three

(Trust me, start with part one)

Let us continue, keeping the previous two posts in mind as we go.  Although this time, we shall be using a more "down to earth" tale - that is, not one out of the bible and a work of fiction, although surely one which is played out far too frequently in our world.

**NOTE**
While this portion is compromised of a fictional work, I have known several (more than a couple) of people over the years whose lives (including my own, in places) would closely parallel it in many ways, if not almost completely.  This is not based upon any of their individual lives or specific circumstances.  That said, let us continue.

Like yourself, your cousin AJ is also Christian and has always been passionate about their faith; a faith that you both give credit too for saving their life - a life that saw much pain and addiction in earlier years.  It is this past which sets the stage for the next period in AJ's life.

As is the case from time to time, life happens, and it does happen in an absolute flood of unpleasantness for AJ.  Two close deaths in the family, a job loss and some real issues with their children have pushed AJ almost to the breaking point.  Nothing seems to be going right anymore - their very world seems to be getting ripped apart on them and they find themselves feeling quite alone and alienated from everyone including their church family.

In comes Joe.  Joe is a close friend of AJ's although Joe is not a believer at all and lives a life somewhat like the one that AJ left behind in their past.  And in this time of misery, Joe makes sure they are there for AJ as often as possible.  Which, in theory, is a good thing but Joe has a different way of dealing with life than what AJ has become accustomed too.  Joe's prefered method involves large amounts of alcohol, drugs and sexual contact.  And, seeing the pain their friend is in, Joe moves into action.  They arrange to have AJ over for the night - the same night that some friends are coming over to party - and Joe makes sure a young, single friend is among the group.

As the evening progresses, the seemingly inevitable happens.  AJ ends up getting drunk and stoned and Joe's young friend successfully seduces them.  Overcome by grief from not only their current life situation but also falling into their old life, AJ is driven far into the other direction and away from not only other friends and family, but away from God as well.

So here is the question:  who's fault is it?  AJ's falling away and into old habits (and some new ones) - who is too blame?  After all, AJ is a friend, family member and a fellow believer so we want to blame someone, do we not.

Is it the one who seduced them?  How about the other party guests?  How about Joe?   What about you?  We cannot forget to include the devil as a suspect either, can we?

Depending on who you are - where you have been, what you have seen and who you have known - you have your thoughts on this.  However, before you come to a concrete conclusion, perhaps some more information may be helpful.

Joe.  Joe has known AJ for some time and they are pretty close for the most part.  While Joe does not hassle AJ about their beliefs, they do not share them at all.  Oh, he has prayed a time or two in times of crisis but really, they have no use for any kind of religion.  For the most part, they feel strongly that those who profess belief are merely obeying a set of rules that have been forced upon them by the church and that their "faith" is no deeper a belief than that of it might be sunny tomorrow.  In addition, Joe's own life has been filled with no shortage of pain and misery and the way that they have learned to deal with it is by "numbing it" through more "carnal methods".  They still have their pain, but they manage to get it blocked out for a while with each drink or encounter.  Joe has no frame of reference for what true faith is or how deep it actually goes, anymore than they know how devastated AJ's old life left them.  Joe really thought they were doing a good thing.

The mystery seducer.  They did not know AJ before nor did they really know anything about them except that Joe said they really needed to let go and relieve some stress.  They themselves, are not a believer and have amount the same mindset as Joe with regards to all things God.  They were not in a relationship nor have they ever felt that they had a "problem" with their drug or alcohol use, even though it has caused them problems before.  The other part guests are in the same area as they are.   They are who they are and they do what they do.  None of them intentionally were out to "bring AJ down" in any way, shape or form.  They all just wanted to have a "good time".

You. After all, it is you who is looking for someone to lay blame on, is it not?  Why is that, and did you yourself play a role in this scenario other than that of the "helpless bystander"?  We will come back to "you" a bit later, but for now, do not go assuming you are too blame quite yet.

AJ.  AJ had a rough life before coming to faith in Christ.  Even after, they had long periods of fighting against their old ways of life with limited success - a way of life very similiar to Joe's current life actually.  While they had been moving forward, there always seemed to be something holding them back - some old influence that just held on.  You see, AJ had not actually ever dealt with their past, they merely buried it down deep inside - "out of sight, out of mind" as it were - which means they never actually ever gave any of it over to God at all.  This also meant that the "old AJ" still held power over them and a lot of it.  When grief lowered their defences, it was not hard for the old to retake control.

The devil.  While active in the world and an enemy of the Church, he is not omnipresent like God - he is a finite, single, created being.  He also does not have to lure believers away for the most part.  Our own old sinful natures are more than willing to give in to temptation and temptation is everywhere around us on a pretty regular basis.  So blaming him for all our fallings and failings is hardly accurate.

Now remember, AJ "is" a child of God.  The same God who choose to refer to AJ as His child.  The same God who loves and disciplines His children.  The same God who works out life's path and circumstances for the "good" of those who are His.  God "is" love, after all...isn't He?

***To Be Continued***

Story Time - Part Two

Continuation of the previous post.  If you did not see it, best to check it out to keep everything together.
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Thousand of years pass by until we get to the fateful time in history when God has stepped down from heaven and taken the form of a man - Jesus, the Christ.  All is good and happy when suddenly, and without warning, "bad men" grab the young messiah and drag Him away.  They accuse Him of unspeakable things.  They torture Him beyond what normal men could ever endure.  God, the Father, is beside Himself with worry and anger.  Then those people drag Jesus outside and infliict the most horrible form of execution on Him they know of - crucifixion.  The Father is losing His mind as He watches helplessly as His Son dies at their hands.  If He had of known this was coming He sure would not have let Jesus go down to that filthy planet in the first place - nasty, icky humans.

You may notice a few, uh, "flaws" in the above rendition.

If you are familiar with Scripture, you know that Jesus came down here to die in the first place and that the events of His birth, death and subsequent resurrection were foretold in prophecy hundreds and even thousands of years before any single detail ever came to pass.  Both Father and Son knew what was going to happen all the way along, even smaller details like Peter's denial after Jesus' capture.

Quick question:  who crucified Jesus?

"The Jews did.  The Romans did.  The Pharisees did.  Humanity did.  Satan did."  Those are the standard answers, are they not.  Here is a "not so standard" answer for you:  God did.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!  What do you mean 'God did'?"

I mean, God did.  Centuries before any of it came to pass, God gave the details of most every aspect of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection and return to numerous prophets.  God also revealed why it had to be done in the first place - to save us and reunite us with God in the first place.  So were any of the details a big surprise or shocker to God?  Not hardly.  He wrote them long, long, long before any of the people or players were on the scene.  And the crucifixion was a major part of that plan.  So yeah, God crucified Him.  And in this we see a tie in to our possible slandering as mentioned in the first portion - blaming someone when it was not their fault in the first place.

And if it is God we are talking about, is it really blame?  After all, you blame someone for something bad not for something good, just as you say something is someone's fault only when talking about something bad.  If it is good, we usually credit them for it, not blame.  So can it be blame if it is God? Would not "blaming" God imply that God has done wrong or evil - two things which He cannot do - and therefore, be a sin to do so?

***To Be Continued***

Story Time - Part One

This is actually all from one long post but, for the sake of not making anyone go blind reading "that" much information on the screen at once, I am going to split this into a few parts.  Below is the first one.
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In the beginning, some time after God created "everything out of nothing", Adam and Eve were hanging out in the garden one fine sunny day, just enjoying each others' company.  Suddenly (cue the menacing music), the serpent - aka Satan - appeared on the scene.  He tricked the two unsuspecting humans into leaning against opposing trees, then he duct taped them securely into place (oh the many uses of duct tape).  He poked them, prodded them, tickled them and pricked them. He screamed at them one moment then was their best buddy the next.  He made each watch as he did horrible things to the other as he repeatedly tried to make them each take a single bite out of the forbidden fruit of the garden.  They held firm for day after day after day.  Eventually though, the crafty serpent forced them each to eat of it using a technique that resembled a cross between a Vulcan mind meld (Star Trek reference) and a Jedi mind trick (Star Wars reference).  And in that fatal moment, they sinned and sin came into the world.

If you are not familiar with the story of creation and what many know as "the fall", then you may believe that first little tale.  However, if you do know the actual story, then you know that the above is not even close to what happened.  What actually happened was that "the serpent" offered the temptation and they (Adam and Eve) took it.  No duct tape or Jedi mind tricks involved.

Many people blame Satan for sin being present in the world and for the "fall of mankind".  But is he really to blame for it all?  Do not get me wrong here, am no fan of his by any means and cannot say feel any affection for him in any sense of the word.  However, I find myself wondering if we have been slandering him a bit in this and, knowing how much God dislikes slander, find it worth the mention.  Satan did not force anyone to do anything, he merely made an offer.  It was humanity (at the time) who accepted it.  Now granted, one could argue that they had no concept of what a lie or what deception was in their innocence but they were still the ones who "did the deed" and disobeyed God in the first place.  And God did come down heavy on Satan for his part in it, but came down hard core on Adam and Eve and God does not tend to level off punishment or judgement against those who do not deserve it.  So whose fault is it, if we are going to lay blame?  Ours.  If we want to lay blame, it is our (humanity) own fault.  That is, if we do intend to lay blame that is.

****To Be Continued***

On His Feet Parenting

Timmy's bedtime is normally 8:30PM during the school week but as of late, Timmy has been a bit more of a handful at bedtime, insisting repeatedly that he should be allowed to stay up until midnight - he is older now after all.  After weeks of arguing the point with him, his dad "finally gives in" and allows him to stay up on the condition that he still has to get up for school on time.  "No problem" says a smug Timmy.

The first night, Timmy is excited at "getting his own way" and watches all kinds of tv shows until midnight, when he wanders into bed.  6:30AM seems to come earlier than normal and Timmy has some issues getting up and out the door on time.  He is not detered though.  That night, he again stays up until midnight although he is not quite as energetic as he was the night before.  It takes a few extra rousings to get Timmy up in the morning and his school day seems so very long.  Timmy's dad asks how things are going when he gets home and, defiantly, Timmy says they are going great, no problems at all and his dad leaves it at that.  Night three is not near as pleasant.  To make matters worse, Timmy watches somethinng he should not have and finds the little sleep he gets filled with nightmares.  6:30 may as well have been 2:00AM when the alarm rings.  He crawls out of bed, barely alive.  He cannot focus as school and fails a test he should have easily aced.  By the time he gets home, he can barely think clearly anymore.

At 8PM he has his pajamas on and is heading to his room.  His dad inquires about what he's doing.  Timmy confesses that maybe dad knew what he was doing with the 8:30 bedtime and that getting what he wanted, really, in the end was not a good thing after all - not even close.

Like Timmy's dad, God is an "on His feet" kind of parent to His children. The Bible tells us that He is jealous for us - He is not fond of having anything come inbetween us and Him. When we start to push back or rebel a bit, He points it out to us but He does not go over the top.  If we continue to be stubborn though, He will "allow" us to get our "own way" and do what we want.  Unfortunately though, it does not typically only take a few days for us to figure out that us getting our own way and doing our own thing, was not a good thing in any respect (sometimes we do learn quick, but is not the norm), but we do tend to learn eventually. How wonderful it would be if we only went through this once, but that is (very unfortunately) a rarity.  More often than not, we have at least a few times which our rebellious nature wins out over wisdom and common sense. But much like the "prodigal son" (Luke 15:11-32), when we hit that wall we find that He has been anxiously awaiting our return - with open arms...but YOU do have to stop running away first.

Social Media Updates continued

While many do see updates done on social media, not all do so this post is another made up of postings from my page.


You are within a great river and you have choices. You can try and swim against the current but it will not do you much good. Matter of fact, it will do you no good at all. You will expend a staggering amount of energy and yet will continue to move downstream and, since you are trying to swim upstream, your back will be towards any obstacles in the flow. You will not see the rock or the log coming so you will caught totally off guard - unable to avoid you will take serious damage repeatedly. You may choose to do nothing. While you will not expend much energy, you will get beaten off of every rock, log and obstacle in the flow. The other choice is to surrender to flow of the waters and allow them to carry you along with only slight effort on your part - swimming with the current and only expending extra energy when an obstacle appears before you. It will take far less energy and you will see what lies ahead of you far more often, perhaps even being able to avoid the obstacle all together.

You can choose to fight against God, you can choose to do "nothing" or you can willingly and intentionally follow Him and His will. Your choice, so do not go blaming Him if you end up splattered on a boulder.
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We who claim to follow Christ, know that we have been set free. It is what we have been set free from and for that sometimes gets lost in the translation. The righteousness that God requires we, the Church, have by faith Christ - we do not have to strive to obtain it because our best efforts would fall dreadfully short anyway. However, this does not mean that we cease to obey God. We are not condemned for our sin but that does not mean we should just go for it and sin our little butts off every chance we get. "...Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!.." ~ Romans 6:1-2

We are set free from following the "sinful nature" - it is deceased and will not grow in strength unless we feed it. We are set free to pursue an intimate relationship with God and follow what the Spirit of God desires. Continuing to rebel against God feeds the old and works against what the Spirit desires.

Like it says in Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh..".
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If the roughly 7.2 billion people on this planet all agree, wholeheartedly, that something is totally impossible and God says it is possible, do you know what that means? It means 7.2 billion people were dead wrong.

"...with God all things are possible.” ~ Matthew 19:26
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Easter 2014

FaceBook (social media) updates from the Easter 2014 weekend.
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Tomorrow is Good Friday. For you, it may merely be an extra day off work or school, or perhaps just another day. However, for those within the Christian Church, it is (or should be) far more. For us, it is a day we celebrate even though many would wonder why one would celebrate. It is the day in which - historically speaking - that Jesus was crucified - executed for crimes He did not commit. So why celebrate something like that? Simple: He did not have not too give His life, He choose to give it. And in doing so, He paid a debt that no mortal man ever could have hoped to pay - a debt that belonged to humanity in the first place.

So, if you are saved and heading out to a church service for Good Friday tomorrow, remember why you are there - what it cost to allow you to be there in the first place and what it is you truly have because of it. If you are heading out and are not saved, perhaps take moment to really ponder what was done for you - yes, you - and what is available to you because of it.
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This past weekend, many of us celebrated the Easter season and many of us celebrated it with the  knowledge that the events that took place in years gone by allowed us to have eternal life. But what is eternal life? Is it 'merely' that we live forever - living a life even after our physical bodies have gone back to the dust?

For those that believe - those who call themselves Christian - we know that there is more to life than just what we see here and now. There shall come a day in which all people shall stand before the Lord, regardless of whether they followed Jesus or not and give an account of their lives on earth. For the believer, while this time may be a bit unnerving (putting it mildly) it is not a time of fear for the penalty for what we have done is waived. Not so for those who spent their lives in rebellion against God. Those people will have no defense and will face the full penalty for their actions. Since both are present, eternal life cannot be that we live after death for all who are created shall continue to live a life after after this portion is done. The "where" and quality of that life on the other hand is a different story.

Jesus actually told us what eternal life is in John 17:3: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God..". We are all born into this world missing a piece for we are born "spiritually dead" and separated from God right from the get go. But after we are "born again" - born of Spirit - that missing is piece is added and we are re-united with One who created us in the first place. You see, there is far more to "eternal life" than merely "life after death" and it is not something we have to wait until we are dead to receive.
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Image is Everything

Let's try something:  I will say (write) something and you see what kind of picture pops into your mind initially.  Do not try to think first, just go with first images.  Got it?  Okay, here we go.

God.

Saved or unsaved, that will bring a certain image to mind.  What image it brings can, and does, play a huge role in our lives.  Let's try another before moving on.

Jesus.

Again, we should have an image of not only appearance but character and behaviors in our minds.  And again, this will affect us and our lives a great deal.

So what did you picture when you first thought of God before you had a chance to try and think of "the right image"?  Did you picture some old guy, sitting in a cloud - lightning bolt in hand - just waiting for a chance to "smite" someone?  If you did, then who you pictured would be more akin to Zeus than the God of the Bible.  (The Greek gods were not good by the way - most were almost like naughty super heroes with mental issues - seriously unstable - plus they could die and stay dead, not a great feature in a god if you ask me.)

Maybe that is not what you pictured.  Maybe you pictured some "entity" far, far, far away - totally removed and unconcerned with measly details of human life.  If so, that  hardly lines up with the passionate, compassionate, involved and concerned image of God that the bible portrays.  Never far removed from the affairs of man.  Involved in every tiny detail, not just the grand expansive ones.  After all, He refers to us as His children and as the "apple of His eye".

Okay so maybe you picture Him as being there and involved but He just lets everything slide - the good, the bad and the ugly.  We do what we want, when we want and He does not really care one way or the other - we get patted in the back no matter what.  The Bible tells us that He loves us and we, who are saved, are adopted into His family as dearly loved children (Ephesians 1:5).  It also tells us that He disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6).  So it is not overly likely He is going to let us just do our own thing without there being consequences involved for that would show indifference, not love.  Oh, He will not go for overkill and He will give us chance after chance to figure it out on our own, but when we are obviously not getting it, He will -  and He does - step in.  With any luck we learn fast,  but sometimes we do not - we get stubborn - and He starts upping the consequences in the here and now to save us from ourselves.

Those are just a few things that may, or may not, come to mind when we think of Who God is.  But it does not take much to realize how our image of Him could easily influence our faith and our very lives.

I would end here, but I also included Jesus in our list above so we will  hit on a couple with Him specifically in mind.

So what about it, what do you picture?  Is it the image of the solemn, slow moving, robed monk like figure - always talking softly and slowly?  Of the many things the Pharisees said about Him, one was accusing Him and the disciples of being gluttons and drunks - hanging out with the people on the "wrong side of the tracks" (Matthew 11:19).  Chances are, if the "monk" image were correct, they probably would not have said that.  They likely would not have had anywhere near as major an issue with Him actually.  Biblically speaking, Jesus was more like the "common man" than any higher or ultra religious class.

What about when He returns - He is returning after all.  What do you picture?  Is it the image of some kind of 1960's era hippie with flowers in His hair spouting off about peace and love?  If that's the case, allow me to make a brief suggestion.  Take a few and go through the Old and New Testaments and read what it says about how things are going to go down when he returns - the day of Lord.  That day will not be a "rainbows and ponies" kind of day - He is not coming back with a bouquet of flowers, but a sword as He returns to take back what is rightfully His - namely, the Church.  The day He cleared the temple (John 2:13-16) will pale by comparison.

I have only shown a few and surely there are probably as many views as there are people to have them for we are all different after all and, unfortunately so, we tend to try and make Him out to be how we want Him to be as opposed to how He really is.  Considering just how massively an impact our view of God can influence our life, our approach to sin and rebellion against God, our approach to God Himself and every other imaginable aspect, it is actually pretty important for us to have an actual, true picture of Whom it is we really serve.

Just something to think about.