Eye of the Beholder

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" ~ James 1:2

I do not know about you, but the words “joy” and “trials” in the same sentence do not seem to be the best of matches, especially without a word like “no” or some other similar in there someplace.  For, like most people (I strongly suspect), I tend to focus more on the waves of the storm than on whatever God is doing in the midst of it far too often.

Granted, I am quite blessed that God has allowed me quite often to see the purpose in various life events, both good and bad ones, although more often than not, that is in hindsight and not in the midst of “whatever”.  Not to say that He does not show me, or anyone else, what is going on sometimes while we are in the middle of it.  Sometimes He does.  I suspect it is because of the importance of it and knowing that if we do not do it then, we probably are not going to be overly willing to do it later.  Like getting a tooth pulled, a splinter taken out or a Band-Aid ripped off sometimes we just have to get it done then and there before our nerves give out on us.

But what about well after the fact?  I do not mean a few days later, but rather, weeks, months or even years after we have gone through a somewhat unpleasant event (or extremely unpleasant) in our lives.  What do we see then?

Let’s be honest, we tend to recall the pain of the moment and perhaps even briefly relive a bad memory.  Maybe we even go so far as to have it influence our here and now and how we interact with other people or even God.  Hardly ranks as “pure joy”, to be sure.  We have all lived the lives we have.  We all have memories of past events that are far less than pleasant and no matter how much we may want to, we cannot erase those memories.  Perhaps though, it is our perspective that is the problem and not the memory itself.

What if we were to focus on God rather than the pain?  What if, rather than dwelling upon the circumstances of the moment, instead we focus on what God did in that moment or afterward and through it?  Instead of remembering pain and misery, we glorify our Lord for whatever victory He brought to us in the aftermath.  After all, how many of us can honestly say that we cannot relate to the phrase “thank God for unanswered prayers” since He could so obviously see a future that we could not at the time but now that we have lived (or are living) it would not change a thing.

Maybe, just maybe, there is indeed joy to found in the trial; if not in the moment, then in the memory.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  (1Cor. 13:14)

PS:  thank you Patty for listening to His voice and helping to inspire this post.

Makin' It Work

“Sorry am late coming in this morning, but I got stuck behind that school bus again and traffic was congested as per normal.”

“Well, you know, if you left 5 or 10 minutes earlier in the morning you would likely miss both.”

Day two sees the same conversation.  Day three is a bit different as a co-worker explains they had the same problem until they started leaving five minutes earlier in the morning and now they are early enough to actually stop for coffee after they get into town.

Day four.  We are awake and ready in plenty of time but still, we do not leave earlier for no real apparent good reason and yet again, we are late.

We see the issue here.  We know why we are having such problems and what we can easily do to alleviate our frustrations.  Do we do what we know will help us?  No, we don’t and we continue to get ourselves nicely worked up day after day as we complain as we drive in each morning.  But why?  Really, why?

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." ~ James 1:22-24

It would almost be nice if the above scenario was solely a hands-on, physical issue but it is not.  No, far too often it happens to us in our spiritual lives as well.

We know we are having an issue with whatever.  So, being the good children we are, we turn to our Father and seek what not only the problem is, but also a resolution.  He, being the good Father He is, is more than willing to show us everything we need to know including what we can do (if, in fact it, is something we can do) about said issue.  All done and settled right?  Sometimes, but unfortunately far too often, for no good reason, we simply carry on as before even though we know what will bring us relief.

Perhaps we have been having a rough time as we work through our days and pray for His guidance.  He tells us, through more than one source over the course of a week, that we need to make some real intentional time to spend with Him in the morning just as our day begins.  We even hear the same statement said by a friend who is unaware of our current issues.  Do we make some time – even just 5 minutes – to spend with God just as our day is getting started?  Do we even bother to try and make time as we drive in to work in the morning other than maybe simply praying that we will make it in on time or complaining to Him about everything we can think of?

We do know enough to turn to God when we have something going on in our life that seems either too big for us or is just plain out driving us insane.  So why is it when He answers, that we do not follow His advice?  I mean really, how better a source for advice could there possibly be than the Lord of all creation?  It is not like He does not know what He is talking about or that He has some devious alternative motive in mind or that He does not know exactly (as in better than even we do) what we are going through and what we are capable of doing about it.

May I make a suggestion?  The next time (or current if it so applies) you are having whatever issue or are feeling convicted on whatever grounds, take it to God.  Do not merely take it to Him but ask Him what the issue really is and what, if anything, you can do about it.  And here is the big part:  do it.  Do not just think about it.  Do not just hear it and pack it away as some gem of wisdom you have for a later time to give to someone else.  Actually do it.  You may just find out that He did know what He was talking about and that your life may become just a bit less frustrating.

“Hey Troy, don’t you have something you should be doing right now?”

“Yep, now that you mention it, yes I do.”

Separation Anxiety

A (possibly) familiar passage to begin with today from Romans chapter 8:

...neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, except what it is that you are going through right now.

Hmmm, something just does not seem right in that quote so let me double check my Bible.  Oh, I see the problem.  Yeah, it is that last part:  “except what it is that you are going through right now.”

Ok, so let’s be honest for a moment.  How many of us have included that added little tidbit when we have been in the midst of whatever?  Be honest now, if not with me then at the very least with yourself and God.

How many times does God tell us that He will never, ever leave or abandon us?  It is a pretty big number to be sure.  And just how arrogant are we to think that we are capable of opening God’s hand or forcing Him to leave us?  I mean really, since He says He will not leave us then in order for Him to do so would require an act of force, would it not?  Or how much power and authority do we give to the enemy that we believe that he is capable of doing the act?  Let’s take a quick peek here shall we.

"'I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth...you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans'" ~ John 14:17-18

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'" ~ Matthew 28:18

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." ~ John 10:28-29

"God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" ~ Hebrews 13:5

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." ~ Psalm 139:7-10

I like that last one from Psalm 139.  There are two ways to take that, you know.  On one hand it could be a statement of comforting fact.  On the other could be a statement of frustration, but still a fact.  If you have ever had someone who just always seemed to be where you were going or right on top of you so to speak, you may understand that a bit more.

Ok, so I think it may be safe to conclude that God has no intention of leaving us, nor can anyone (we ourselves are an “anyone” keep in mind) make Him walk or turn away from us.  So why is that we seem to add that part to the opening verses of this posting?  Even if we do not say it, we certainly do seem to act it far more often than we should.

Perhaps it is a trust issue on our end.  But if you cannot trust God, then who can you trust?  Unless, just maybe, our image of the character of God is a bit skewed.

So what are a few of the things that the Bible says about Him?  How about Him being patient and slow to anger or that He is loving, gentle and protective of us.  He is kind, caring, intimate and deeply involved in each of our lives desiring to be with us and have us with Him.  Yes, He actually wants us and to be with us just as we are right here and right now.  That He is forgiving – a God of not only second chances but of third, fourth, one hundredth, etc chances and very much full of grace and mercy.

Weird.  Nowhere does it seem to indicate that God is somewhere far off watching from His cloud, lightning bolt in hand, just waiting to zap me or that He is completely indifferent to me or anyone else for that matter.  Nor does His character seem to suggest that He is about to put some real distance between He and I when my world feels like it is in chaos any more than when it is all going well.

Have you ever felt like God was distant to you?  Like something was keeping you separated from Him?  That would be a lie.  Whether it is from your own mind or from something else sticking it there, it is a lie.  God is not distant from you.  He is as close to you right now as He was the day you turned your eyes and heart to Him.  After all, He wants to be close to you and I am willing to bet that if anyone is capable of getting what they want, it is God.

If you have been reading this and you have not turned your life over to God and long for a relationship with Someone who desperately really wants you and who will never, ever leave you take heart!  There is nothing that you have ever done – not one single thing – that will make Him say “no” to you.  He wants you just as you are right now.  He longs for you, yes, longs.  Since He so desperately does want to be with you, He made a way for you to get to Him and be with Him forever.

Romans 10:9 says "if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

You do not have to be in a church, nor do you have to know all the right things to say. You do not have to wait until you get your life all fixed up or that habit broke or anything else. All you have to do is pray – salvation is offered freely to you. So what do you pray? You pray to God. Acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and that He died for your sins and rose again. Ask Jesus to come into your life and turn your life over to Him as your savior. Thanking Him would not be a bad plan either, but that is it in a nutshell. Seems kind of easy doesn't it. So why don’t you? What holds you back? You do not have to tell me why, but perhaps you should tell yourself and God.

 

Can We Relate

*Have you ever noticed that, more often than not, what the world dictates as being normal or “the way it is” tends to be the opposite of what God says.  Funny that.*

I have a bit more written out on this one, but pretty sure that at least part of it is “just me” rambling away, so that part will be staying tucked away on my drive for now and we will be keeping this one short, sweet and to the point.

Relationship is a word that seems to be everywhere around us and well it should be, since we all have them with everyone from family to God.  But do we really understand what one is?  Not by clinical definition, but rather, what the basic look of a relationship is.

The world at large would tell us that a relationship involves us – ourselves as individuals – first and foremost.  That when we are in a relationship, we have to look at things like “are our needs being met” and “what do we get out of it”.

But “the world” is not to be our model now, is it.  No, our ultimate model – especially in this area – is to Christ and the Church (note:  Big “C” Church refers to the Body of Christ, that is, those who believe, and not a particular building or denomination).  With that in mind, can we see a slightly different point of view?

Christ gave Himself to the Church, even to the point of laying down His very life, to give them what they needed – salvation and freedom.  He even sent His Spirit to lead, guide, teach and empower them – again, something they (we) so desperately needed.  Our needs.

The long and short of it is simple.

Relationships.  All Relationships.  They are ALL about GIVING, not getting.  Regardless of whom that relationship is with.  Family, friends, children, partner and yes, even God.

It is not “all about me”.  It is about the other.

It is not about my needs.  It is about another’s needs.

It is not about what I can get.  It is about what I can give.

As seems to be the case in a great many things:  it is NOT all about me.

**An after thought**

As is the case with much, if not all, of the posts in here how you look at them is of importance.
If you read the above and start to think about things like "that is their problem, they are not thinking of my needs" or any other possible variation thereof, you are thinking about - say it with me kiddies - starts with an M and ends with an E:  ME.  Do not read then begin to think how anyone, other than yourself, needs to know or hear or act or change or...well, you get the idea.

Quick Fix

Did you know that the Subway restaurant chain has a yearly competition known as "Sub Jamming"?  In this, employees from all over gather together and compete to make  (correctly and to exact formula) a 12-inch sub sandwich as quickly as possible.  Not just to toss the ingredients on the bread, oh no, they start with the piece of bread, add all ingredients, wrap and then bag it, ready to go out the door.  Here is the kicker for you:  if you cannot do it in less than 40 seconds, you won't even be there unless you are cheering on a co-worker.  I do not know about you, but I cannot make a peanut butter sandwich in less than 40 seconds let alone anything fancier.

While the "sub jammers" speed is a bit impressive, the fact that it is done should be no big shocker to anyone.  After all, we do live in a day and age in which "instant gratification" is the name of the game - we want what we want and we want it now.  On demand TV gives us whatever programming we want all but instantly.  High speed internet is always getting faster and still we tend to want more speed - like the 3 seconds we wait for our Facebook page to load is a forever.  Instant food of all varieties has become the norm.  Quick fix diets to get us ready for "swim suit season" taking the place of the slow and steady diet/lifestyle choices we know are the better route.  Let's face it, slow and steady may win the race but for the most part, we would rather just be teleported (via Star Trek transporter) to the end right off the get go.

Problem is when it comes to those things of the spirit and the heart, God still very much believes in the slow and steady over the instantaneous.  See, there is a point to this.

Chances are, if you are a believer, you have at some point in time prayed for change.  Something you have seen within yourself - whether behavior, habit or thought pattern - has bothered you to see it there as a part of you and you have wanted it gone.  Now in the defense of most of us, when we ask for it to be gone or changed and we say something to the extent of "not caring how long it takes or what we have to do", we do mean it at the time.  But...

"The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." ~ Matthew 26:41

On occasion, God does create within us an instant change.  Sometimes we are healed of whatever or delivered from any number of things including addictions on the spot.  Which, for the record, is cool as all get out.  But that is not exactly the norm now is it?

Romans 12:2 says "be transformed by the renewing of your mind".

Did you know that a butterfly is not merely a flying caterpillar?  That when the time is right, the lowly caterpillar forms its' cocoon and basically, dissolves.  It becomes goo.  The butterfly which emerges is a completely different creature than what went into it.  Pretty cool really.  And a great image for our lives if one thinks about it especially in terms of 2 Cor.5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

The caterpillar does not force itself to change nor can it do anything to speed that process up any.  It takes time and when the exact right amount of it has passed, it has been done and done right and the butterfly emerges and take flight.

God is not merely content to cover up or mask our various issues, flaws and deep seeded pains.  Instead, He wants to get to the root of them.  To heal and remove the underlying cause, not merely mask the symptom.  But this can take time.  Especially since we tend to shrink back when things get uncomfortable.  When we are made to peer intently into the mirror and see our reflection staring back at us.  When we have to see our past.  When we must honestly view our very own thoughts and realize that many of those flaws we see in others exist full blown within ourselves as well.

Let's be honest, we do not like being uncomfortable nor do we like pain.  It is painful after all, right?  (am at least that coherent - I did have a coffee this morning).  And unfortunately, when we see the waves (much like Peter did in Matthew 14:28-30), we get scared.  Worst case scenarios fill our minds and we shrink back.  Those things which seem to have been delivering the greatest results, we turn away from.

Why can't you just "make" me happy right now?  Why can't you just "force me" to trust people?  "Make" me honestly forgive others...

Technically, He could.  He is God after all, He does have the power to do so.  But to force - against your will (you are unwilling to continue after all) - is against His character and that He cannot do.  God can be no One other than God.  He never changes.  Lot of comfort in that really.

You know, a guy could probably do a novel on this topic.  I suspect many have before, and many more may do so again.  But I am not writing to tell you what it is you (probably) already know.  I am not writing because I read a book about it or some inspiring devotional or just learned about the gooey caterpillar thing (have known that for a bit now).  This is so you know that you are not alone.

If you have prayed for change and have shrunk back when things started to get uncomfortable, do not beat yourself up over it.  None of us like pain and we all tend to like being comfortable over the other option.  None of us, self included, like to admit that we have flaws and short comings, but we do.  We are human.  We have lived our lives in a world  which has taught us so many less than good things and has caused us no shortage of pain.  But the change "is" worth it.  God will not force you.  His patience is well beyond anything we can fathom.  Which is a really, really good thing because, I do not know about you, but I can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

So what do we do when it seems like things may be starting to get a bit more difficult than we would like?  Well, consider the splinter.  Would you rather put up with it or get it out and over with?  Probably the latter.

Pray.  Hold true to the course you are on.  He will not leave you when you need Him the most.  Nor will He take you anyplace you cannot handle with Him.  He knows your limitations far better than you do and His love for you is beyond measure.  He leads you there because He does not want to see you go through the same struggles over and over.

You may still want your sub sandwich in less than 40 seconds, but when it comes to matters of the spirit and the heart - say no to the quick fix of a mask and go for the real thing.

In God We Trust

For those of us who are a believer and follower of Christ, the phrase "In God we trust" is (supposed to be) more than just a phrase that appears upon US currency, but rather, more of a life long motto and statement of fact.  And while we do say it, do we really mean it?  Do we really trust God?

For instance, no few know the scripture verse from Matthew chapter 6, verse 34:  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."  Yet, we do still worry, do we not.  And not even always about huge life and death matters but, more often than not, we do sweat the "little things".  While one could probably fill pages about trusting God with everything from our tiny day to day cares to those of much greater span, that is not what has been placed upon my heart and mind at the moment.

At this moment, it is FORGIVENESS which has my focus.

Now then, we know that we are called by Christ to forgive.  That is (or it should be anyway) nothing new especially to those of us who call ourselves by His name.  We are to forgive, just as we ourselves, have been forgiven.

It may come as a bit of a suprise to you, that just saying "I forgive <whatever>/<whomever>" does not make it so.  After all, it is our heart that God sees with such amazing clarity and not whatever lip  service we say and offer or whatever forced action we may take.  So merely saying the phrase yet still holding onto resentment or bitterness within our heart towards another, is of little use and is as a fake as a "three dollar bill".  So what does the term "In God we trust" have to do with forgiveness?

Everything.

You know, I have been trying to just rattle off a nice little example to use here, but since this is one of those times in which I am writing as He walks me personally through things, it appears that this will be another one of those times in which I get to share some personal information.

Some time back, I went through a pretty rough spot in life.  A long term relationship had ended.  Friendships were broken.  Seperation from a church that I was comfortable in.  People whom I had considered to be friends seemingly vanished from my life.  All in all, a pretty icky time period for yours truly.  And, as you may have noticed, there were other people involved.  And yes, a good chunk were saved themselves which, I got to tell you, made things all the harder to deal with.  Now then, I am not so foolish as to lay full blame upon others.  I played my part and for that I do take responsiblity.  But, I do have to admit here that I was hurt.  Very to be honest.

Now as a "good little Christian" I would so love to tell you that I forgave and just moved on.  I could tell you that but, as any who follow this to any amount should know, I try to be honest.  So I cannot tell you that even though I did try and tell myself that all the while with some rather nasty stuff away churning within me.

I did try to forgive those whom I had perceived to have intentionally caused me such pain and suffering (I say perceived because we frequently tend to see things from our view point that another may not either see nor even meant).  But all I was doing was saying it.  Eventually, God was gracious enough to allow me to see that and led me to search out a bit more about what actually forgiving someone was.  About how it involved releasing another's (or my own) actions from my own personal judgements among other things.  How it is a choice that we make - we choose to forgive - it is an action not merely a passive decision.

So had I forgiven the past after that little tour?  While I was closer, again I must admit that no, I had not completely let it go.  Some still hung on.  And I knew it.  Until He gave me that final puzzle piece that (somehow) I had missed in the shuffle.

"In God we trust"

Romans 8, verse 28 reads:  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.."

I have said it before and I will say it again - I have been truly blessed in that God allows me to see purpose in past events - both good and bad.  I know it is not something that everyone sees, so yes, I do consider myself blessed.

At present, I am back in the town I grew up in and had no happy memories of.  That has changed as I see it so differently than I did when I was growing up here.  Then again, since we "are" new creations upon salvation, I guess "I" never really did live here before in a sense.  I am in a relationship with a wonderful Christian woman who shares so much of my own heart in so many different areas, not the least of which is all things of Christ in nature.  I have become a bit closer to my parents than I had been probably ever before.  And, it appears that I am to be entering university this upcoming fall to study theology as I have finally finished arguing and trying to comprimise with God over the call He has put so very hard upon my life.

Sounds good eh?  Here is the kicker - NONE of that would have likely been even vaguely possible had I still been in that nice comfortable place I had been in before.  Had not God allowed those (unpleasant) events to unfold in my life, I would have missed so very, very much.

Now the tie in between forgiveness, Romans 8:28 and our recurring theme becomes much clearer.

IF I truly do trust God and that does include believing what He says in Romans 8 (and the rest of His word as well), then how could I even conceive holding any kind of resentment towards another due to, well, anything really.  See, in my own case, had He not allowed things to happen the way they had, I would not be where I am now.  That does not even take into account whatever has happened with everyone else involved or with those whom I have become involved with since.  Things played out the way they did because they had to for (at least) MY own good.  God knew what I needed after all just as well as He knew what He needed and wanted from me.

Do you see it?  Those things in our life that we can so easily hold a grudge against someone because of - if we truly trust that God is in control and that He is doing what is the best for us - then they are almost no more than stepping stones along the way.  Whether they be for our benefit, anothers' or both.  Granted we may never get to see all of the purpose behind things, but to trust in Him means that we KNOW that there is a purpose and it is a good one for all concerned.

So trust God and make the conscious decision to let go of those wounded feelings and ill will - forgive just as you have been forgiven.

Well, I would but...

One of, if not my all time, favorite verses from the Bible are Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 9, verse 13 - "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". Five little words, yet they say so much.

God is hardly interested in what I can give up for Him. After all, one does not need to know God to have willpower. I dare say there is no small number of people who do not know Him at all who have no shortage of it. Lots of people are capable of self-denial to get what they want - losing weight, quitting a habit, life style changes, getting ahead in school or work, etc. No, willpower is not what He seeks from me anymore than it is what He seeks from you.

Mercy, on the other hand, is a different story.

But what is mercy?

Mercy, is basically grace with a bit extra added on to it. Real clear definition there Troy.

Consider this: you have an acquaintance whom has stated a need/want. Now you know this person somewhat well, and know that they tend to take advantage no small amount of the time. They seem to live the saying "get an inch, take a mile" - taking all they can when the opportunity affords itself. Allowing others to do what they perhaps should do themselves. We all know people like that - it may even be us from time to time.

So what is our response to them when they ask? If we choose to say "no", what are our reasons?

"Why should I help them? They were not there for me last week."
"I have to do this alone, why should they get help?"
"They are just trying to take advantage of my good nature."
"Serves them right to have this happen."
"If they were more like me..."

Any of those sound familiar?

Here is the fun part - those responses (and many others like them) drip heavy with resentment, bitterness and spite. You may have noticed the lack of the terms "love" and "mercy". If any of this is hitting a "chord" then good, we all need our chords hit now and then.

Love and mercy would dictate that we help - without expecting ANYTHING in return for our efforts - in spite of the fact that they may not deserve it or that we may be taken advantage of. Only God may judge the heart - theirs and ours alike. We are not to look for the mercy we show to be returned to us by any person on the planet - our mercy is given to us by the One who has it freely to give in abundance.

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice"

Great. You have enough willpower to deny yourself that chocolate bar or to force yourself to work out longer or to follow whatever little rule list you can find to follow. Good for you.

Now try this out - forget about yourself for a change. Forget all about what you think you deserve, what the world owes you or how much you had to strive and suffer whenever. Look at those around you. We have all felt pain. We have all worked and fought through this life. Should not seeing another human being struggling through life on this fallen world fill us with compassion? The deep desire to show the love of our God to someone who may be in a place we know all too well ourselves? To show love and mercy. After all, we do not deserve ANY of the mercy we are (and have been) shown. We are saved by grace, not by works (Eph.2:8,9).

A final note from the book of Jonah: "Do you have a right to be angry?"
(Hint - the answer has two letters, starts with an N and ends with an O).

Deep Cover

I can relate to the tragedy that we see portrayed movies, tv and (probably) real life with the life of the under cover detective. Not the one who is in and out of whatever precarious situation, no, the plight of the one who "goes deep", becoming their enemy for long periods of time in order to more completely defeat them. The tragedy that we so often see with these characters occurs when they are in too deep for too long and start to believe they really are the gangster - they forget who they "really" are and become that which they truly hate. As a believer and follower of Christ, yes, I can relate all too well.

A common phrase which is said among the Church describes this very thing - that we are to be "in the world" not "of the world" (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 also has a very similar tone, as do other passages).

Consider this, if you will. 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us ambassadors of Christ. In a worldly sense, we understand the role of an ambassador easy enough, but somehow, we seem to forget that we apply it to the truth of our own lives in Christ. After all, we are told that this world is not our home - that we are here only temporarily (Philippians 3:20 and 1 Peter 2:11-12, as a couple of examples). So why do we continually act as though we are the gangster - a true part not merely an undercover agent?

I mean really, think, really think about just some of the things that God says and us - we are the light of the world, salt of the earth, His children, heirs with Christ (and far more than even that). Makes us sound a lot more heavenly than worldly doesn't it.

Remember Church! Remember who you really are. You are the child of the King! A beautiful, perfect son or daughter of the King of Kings sent into this time and space for a season as His ambassador, His representative of the only true kingdom which shall never fade, fail or go away. Do not get caught up and all but become the world around you. Remember the Truth.

In the words of the apostle Paul:

"I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me" ` Phil. 1:23 - 26

It is not for our own sakes we remain here, but for a world that is lost, deaf and blind and for our Lord who desires all to come to a knowledge of the truth that lies in Christ Jesus, our Lord.