2010 - Almost gone

December 27th, 2010 - another year has almost come to an end.

For myself, I find that God tends to give me some direction, purpose or task somewhere near the start of the new year. I look forward to it to be truthful - even if sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming. But this is not the new year yet, so this will not be about new directions or anything of the like.

Looking back over the last several months that have been 2010, I find myself pondering a bit. This has also come about due to recent conversations about events over the past year with others (bound to be a chat or two occur over the Christmas season). So this is what I have come to notice.

With the numerous major natural disasters that have occurred. The constant conflict in some parts of the world, not to mention the threat of more conflicts in the future (having grown up during the "cold war" era, the term "nuke" tends to get my attention - how about you?) in even more areas of the planet. Diseases and crimes on the rise. The near constant term "terrorism" that is heard on the evening news. Not to mention the unspeakable debt that some of the major countries of this world have been racking up as the economy worldwide trembles to its' very core.

With all that (and more), I have to tell you: if I did not know the Lord - that is, if I did not have a relationship with my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus - I would be scared bloody stiff to see another year come. I mean seriously now. If I had to look back at the last 12 months on this planet and all I had to lean on was me, myself and I or maybe how much I had saved in the bank or what I owned or my health or, well, any other ME thing, I would be scared out of my ever loving mind. To blazes with grabbing a bottle of wine and partying on New Year's Eve. May still grab the wine but bigger chance that would just hide under my bed and tremble.

But for me, like many others, that is not the case. I do know my Lord. My trust is in Him and Him alone (although to be honest, my eyes do wander from time to time when the "waves" seem especially high).

A few years back, God led me to Isaiah 8:12~“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it." Got to admit, pretty much hits the nail on the head, does it not. Especially when you look at it from the believers point of view - that is, looking at it keeping the sovereign will of God in mind. More so when you consider passages such as Matthew 24:6~"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."

Will we see the end of things? No idea. Maybe.

Mixed thoughts on maybe things happening while I live and breathe. One on hand, a great excitement, even yearning. Fear does not even come close to describing the other. I have heard, more than a few, people pray for our Lord to come. Not only in the sense of an anointing presence of the Spirit, but also in the sense of His full on return. I question those people. The day that God finally says "enough" - the predetermined date of wrath - is not going to be a fun, happy event. Luke 23:29~"For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!" I wonder how often that verse gets read without anyone stopping to think that the only reason a childless woman would be considered blessed, would be because she would not have to see her children suffer and die.

You know, all considered - if one were to look around; consider where the world is right now; read the bible - one should rightfully be on the brink of panic. That is, if one did not know the Lord that is. For those of us who do know Him, we must keep our eyes on Him. We have to remember that all of this is akin to "birth pains" and that God is in control. It is that knowledge that keeps us on firm ground while those around us start to sink. But it also should have another effect. Simply put, it should fill us with urgency. An urgency that stems from the knowledge that time is running out and there is so much yet to do - so many left to seek out for our Father.

As we see things happening around us, both in the spiritual and physical, we must step it up, not lie down and wait. The work day is waning away on us.

So if you're saved, keep your eyes locked on Him and kick it into high gear (after all - "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."~ 1 Thess. 5:2) . If you are not on the other hand, perhaps you should reconsider your position slightly in light of how things seem to be going as of late. After all, God never changes, never leaves - everything else on the other hand...

So what does that mean anyways?

So there has been something that has been driving me batty for a bit now, and before you ask, it is not the same thing that God has been addressing in the previous post.

My primary spoken and written language is english. And I have to tell you, sometimes it drives me crazy - the english language that is. It is so "point blank" sometimes I find. Like a cousin of mine who was living in Japan sent me a Christmas card one year that had a greeting in Japanese. They spent quite a few lines attempting to convey the meaning and emotion of a few simple characters. But I am not writing to rant about the very language I use. This is about "meaning". That is, the meaning of words.

I have found that many of us use terms all the time that really, we do not even know the meaning of. Even in Christian circles it happens. Take grace, mercy and love for example. There are lots of people who can use those in a sentence correctly or can give an example, but to give a definition is another story. On that note, do yourself a favor and do a quick word study on those three terms.

But it is not those words which have been on my mind for so long now. The words which have plagued me are "weak" and "meek". Going by Webster's, weak is "not able to resist external force or withstand attack" (among other things). Meek on the other hand is "enduring injury with patience and without resentment."

To make it a bit clearer for you, an example.

If a child (say 10-ish) was locked alone in a room with an adult whose intention was to cause them harm, if they could not get away, they would have little choice but to take whatever was coming their way. Same ill intended adult locked in a room with another adult of similar size, is a different story. The one whom they attack has a choice. They may fight back, or take a punch and walk away, or cover up and take it, or run like mad. But they have CHOICE. And choice is the difference maker.

The meek will inherit the earth.

When they came to the garden so long ago to take our Lord away, one drew their weapon and struck one of those who had come. What was Jesus' response? From Matthew 26 : "“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"

See that? Choice! He could have called and had an immensely superior force there in an instance. For that matter, He could have called fire from heaven or things far more numerous than we could come up with. But He did not.

Weak has no choice. Meek does. And it is that choice that makes one meek.

Ok, so now we have an idea that there is a difference between the terms and what that difference is. Now what?

Try this one - Psalm 82:3 "Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed."

How did we end up in this place? Not all, but any is too many really. This place where we see innocents and the weak being oppressed, attacked and crushed and we stand there and do NOTHING. Not even opening our mouths. And we dare to use "turn the other cheek" as an excuse for that. You know what? If someone slaps you, then you have a choice and we are told that choice should be to "turn the other cheek" rather than react in kind. If someone slaps someone helpless, for no reason other than they exist, right in front of us - our place is to defend them. If we choose to turn the other cheek after we step in the gap for them, then that is our choice to make. I cannot recall anyplace in scripture where we are told to stand back and do nothing while the weak and helpless are being crushed.

Be meek. Do not return evil with evil. Do not become consumed by vengeance or filled with resentment and judgments that are not yours to make. Choose. Make the choice, follow His lead. But remember, that is YOU and your choices. You cannot force that choice on someone who cannot defend themselves against evil. You are strong in the Lord remember. More than a conqueror. An heir with Christ. A full blown representative of our Father in heaven. Be meek...but defend the weak.

Now or Never?

So I cannot say when it happened exactly, because frankly, I do not know. Somewhere along the way, a change within myself has occurred. Granted there have been many changes over time, some I can see from this side, some others have to point out for me. But this is a change that I can see from within. By now, you may be wondering what change I see. Well, allow me to attempt an explanation.

The change I have noticed lately is an unwillingness to hurt or be hurt any longer than is truly necessary. Does not sound so odd, does it? Perhaps a bit of context will help.

There have been numerous times in my walk with God that He has changed something within me. Some of those times, He has done so completely without me realizing anything was going on or needed to go on for that matter. Those times are like someone seeing you for the first time in months and telling you "hey, you lost weight and look great" and you have been doing nothing intentional to get in better shape. Just kind of happens. Other times though, there have been things which He has shown me which require my attention. This is the variety that involves the change.

I strive to be honest in here and will do so now. Like I am certain others have done before me, there have been times in which He has shown me something - sometimes something huge (huge to me anyways) - that He wants to address or change and I have responded with "yeah yeah, I know" and have continued on my merry way. Why that response, your guess is about as good as mine. Maybe have been prone to the occasional stubborn streak in my day.

But that response has changed. Slowly but changed it has.

Once I was content to merely take info into my head, process it and carry on with life. I can say that, at least in more recent times, that is something that I just can no longer do. Sure I could, but I really do not want to.

For instance, there has been something He has recently been showing me from more than a couple of unrelated sources (don't you just love that). It is something which I can see is a character level thing and probably will have some real impact on my life, my walk and those around me. In my head I realized that the first time I saw it. And the second. And so on. But my response has not been to be content with that "head understanding" of what He has taken such pangs to reveal to me more than once. Instead my response to Him has been simple and direct. "I do not want this merely in my mind. I want this to be real, to understand and know this within my heart, not just thoughts in my head. Please God make this real, change me as only you can do." I have had several "talks" with Him that have gone very much like that.

See, someplace along the way, I came to a spot of not wanting to continue to suffer with whatever or of not wanting to possibly cause pain in others due to my unwillingness to, for lack of a better term here, go for it. Sure I know there can be some short term pain involved - change can be hard sometimes, but better short term once than that dull ache for years over and over again. Perhaps, as time has gone forward and I have gotten to know my Lord on a more personal level here, the desire to become more like Him has over ridden any fear of short term pain. Perhaps after seeing Him just "be there" without fail EVER over and over, I have become more willing to ignore the threat of fear or pain or change knowing that He will, again, be there.

Like I said before, I cannot say when that changed or with any solid reason why it changed other than it being a "God thing". I do however know it is necessary. Not just for me, but for you as well.

See as believers, we know (or tend to anyways) lots of scripture about how He will never leave us or forsake us. About how we are never alone in this world and how we are in the very palm of His hand and no one and nothing (not even our own stubbornness) can change that. All good stuff, but we tend to forget something.

1 Peter 1:24~"All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall"

and

Psalm 102:11~"My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass."

There are other places as well, but those two should get the point across.

There is a part of us that is, in fact, immortal - part that will live on after our eyes close for that final time. But our eyes WILL close. Our life in and on this world does have an end. And we have NO IDEA when that end will come. God alone knows when the end of our days will be. So when He shows us something within ourselves, or someone whom He wants us to talk to or do something for, or maybe even some forgiveness issue that you have yet to deal with - perhaps a bit more urgency is in order. After all, not trying to be morbid here, but you and/or I could be gone from this life 5 minutes from now. We have no clue how long we have. There is a finite time in which He can show us "whatever or whomever" since we are finite.

Consider this on the heels of the above: say there is someone whom you keep being shown, whether that be in sharing the gospel or in a forgiveness setting or something else. If YOU are saved and die today you are with Him in glory. Yay for you (seriously). But - what happens if it is the other person whom passes away. What can you do then? I have little doubt that guilt will come calling in great measure. I do not know about you, but I am not overly fond of guilt.

The point is, don't wait. Honestly. If He wants to change you and He is showing you something, then go for it. Really. Better short term discomfort than missing a chance permanently. After all, we are hardly "here" forever - Philippians 3:20 "our citizenship is in heaven".

Hitting a plateau?

Plateau (according to Webster's): a relatively stable level, period or condition. Also a level of attainment or achievement.

In some fitness circles, plateau also has another meaning.

Take bodybuilding for example.

You may be doing well, work outs seem to be going great and you seem to make gains of all manner on a regular basis. The amount of weight you can move goes up, as does the ease with which it moves for you. You notice physical changes in your body as you grow consistently. Then it happens. You hit a plateau.

When you reach that level, the noticeable gains in all areas seem to fade away. You continue to strive and work hard, but to no avail. So what do you do? Does this mean you have gone as far as you possibly can? No, it does not. What it means, is that your body has become use to the variety and intensity of work that you frequently stress it with. So, if you want to move forward - go beyond where you are now - you need to make some changes. Typically, that will involve doing different exercises, doing more or fewer repetitions, altering weights used, adding or subtracting days you work out, or one of many other factors. But the big key, is that you MUST change to grow. Staying in that same, comfy place will not produce dramatic gains any longer. You may be able to come back to this place and routine eventually, but for the moment, you must leave it.

Personally speaking, I have had times in my life in which God seemed to speak to me on a very regular basis. Times in which the changes within myself have been not only many, but noticeable even to me. And I have to tell you, those times were (and are) amazing. Just the intense feeling of closeness with my God each and every moment of each and every day. Amazing seems like far to small a word to describe it, but it is definitely a good start.

But not every day is like that. While there may be times that are that way, there are also other times which seem slower, or even feel almost distant. Feeling like you are "praying through mud". I know I am not the only one to feel that way or have gone through it.

Now sometimes I have found that He merely wants me to live out what I have learned recently with Him - almost like on the job training. Other times, it has been some circumstance in life that has distracted me from my life with Him - it is a good thing He does not change nor does He get distracted, so He is always there when my sanity returns and I turn my eyes back to Him again.

But there are other times. Times in which I have hit a plateau. I have been going through motions and time spent with Him and have been answering whatever call on a fairly regular basis, only have everything seemingly grind to a halt. I'll be honest here. My first response is not that this is about something I have to change or do differently. I frequently look outward first. And a good chunk of the time, eventually, I have to come back around to look in the mirror.

I too, am a creature of habit and I get comfy in where I am and the way things are going. I get set in a routine, that while it does work in the beginning, ceases to show results as my comfort level rises. The intentional time I spend with God becomes little more than routine. "Ok, Lord, going to spend my time with you today so get ready to give me some good stuff now". Sound a bit limiting, does it not. So what to do?

Well, taking a hint from the fitness group, perhaps it is time for a change.

(Now I have known people who were against "change" because they felt they were someplace or involved with something that they felt God had led them into. The problem is, while God does not change, His plan and creation are constantly in motion, therefore, while He may have set something up yesterday, He may require it to be gone today. Assuming that God wants everything to stay the same and stable in your comfy place, is not exactly in keeping with who He is and how He works. So if you find yourself against change, double check your motives vs His will.)

It may be that a change is needed with regards to time spent or bible study. It may be something a bit more that is needed. Perhaps some issue that you know you have to face but have been putting off needs taken care of. Maybe He is calling you to make a major life change - a serious shift in direction. Regardless of how great or small it may be though, change is needed. Since God Himself does not change, guess who that leaves? (Hint - peek into the mirror).

A Christmas Message?

Kind of cheating a bit here as this is an older piece that I actually had put up on my Facebook profile, but it seems appropriately timed so re-posting in here:

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So here's the deal...
I am a Christian. That is, I am a follower of Jesus Christ who is my Lord and my Savior. You, the reader, may or may not be. It is because of His birth, life, death and resurrection that I have life beyond just having air going in and out of my lungs every couple of seconds. So in a very real way, every day I live is both Christmas and Easter to me.

Perhaps you do not believe. Ok. Allow me to point out a couple of things for you.

Well known verse - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world He sent His one and only Son..."
Just because you do not believe, does not change the fact that that event has happened.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for YOUR sins.
Whether you believe it or not, that event has happened as well.

There is nothing you have ever done that He will not forgive if you turn to Him.
Whether you believe it or not, that is true.

"ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) ... again, whether you believe that or not does not make it any less true.

"That 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." (Romans 10:9). Again, true, whether or not you choose to believe it is up to you.

The truth is not the truth because you choose to believe it or not. The truth is the truth because it is true.

If you choose to believe that east is actually north, that does not make it so. The world does not care where you think or feel north is. North is north.

"every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God."(Romans 14:11)
Does not say every believer does it? Eventually, all will stand before Him and have to make an account of their lives on this world. But you have a choice. You do not have to step up all alone. Christ Jesus will stand before you and intercede on your behalf - kind of like giving you immunity; and regardless of the life you have lived, you will have LIFE.

But you do not have to believe it.

But that does not make it any less true.

While people are busy writing notes about whether to say happy holidays or merry Christmas, consider this my Christmas message.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Christ-like

So it has been a few days since have posted, but have no fear am still here.

So what is it that is on my mind today? Well, the changes we go through during our walk with God. Kind of a far reaching topic but am only focusing on a part of it.

Now we all know that there are many traits which God desires His children to possess. Like any earthly parent, He desires His children to "grow up" to be of good character. The unfortunate part of this can be our response to this desire. Let's use self-control as an example.

Now self-control on its' own can be a good thing, but it is hardly always a Spirit enabled trait. Muslims and Buddhists exercise self-control all the time. New recruits in basic training learn self-control. Those who may gather for a Tuesday night meeting at Weight Watchers also exhibit self-control. So what is the difference between these, earthly examples of self-control and say the self-control that comes from the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

There are no shortage of believers who, when they start to think they may need more self-control in their lives (or any other trait), will do the very same thing as those listed above. They will focus on what they desire or think they need and try to force it into being. Does not exactly sound Spirit enabled, does it? Probably, because it is not.

New neighbors have moved in next door. After that little awkward phase that comes with meeting new people (for many of us anyways), you find that you really like them. You have a number of shared interests and you just seem to click. You find yourself spending a fair bit of time together. After a while, someone points out that you have taken on some of their mannerisms. You did not intentionally try to start acting like them or using terms they use. It just happened as a result of you spending time with them - with you focusing your time and attention on them.

If you had of intentionally been trying to force yourself to be like them, you would be merely mimicking them, but by focusing on them as a person, you have actually changed a slight bit.

This is the difference.

We, as followers of Christ, are not changed by forcing ourselves into change. We are changed because we spend time with Him. It is out intentional focus on Him that causes the change - and that change being that we start to take on His traits. So it is not by focusing on the trait that we change but rather by focusing our attention on our Lord that we change. I know for myself, that the biggest changes in me have come not by brooding over my own short comings but rather, by spending more intentional time with God - putting more time, energy and focus into my relationship with Him.

So if you are seeking to be more Christ-like, do not focus on what you see that is not right or that you think needs changing. Instead, try putting a bit more effort into spending more time with the one you want to be like. You may find those efforts far more effective and life changing than anything else you could focus on.

May the grace of God keep you well.

(A thank you to Steve Adams (Faith Baptist Church lead pastor), who, through our discussion recently, helped in making this post possible)

A Struggle Shared ..

In the off chance there is anyone reading this who is thinking "wow, you seem to have it all together", allow me to to shatter that illusion for you. I most certainly do not. I am still a human being on this planet. One who has flaws and failings the same as everyone else does. Don't believe me? The following was something that was written the other night.

What a wretched man I am. I have read those words before but now, now I see them from the inside out. How did I get here. Here to this place full of self. I did not want to be here. I yearned to be elsewhere, in a place where I no longer showed. A place where I diminished so that He could be so much more. But here I sit. Here in the place I do not wish to be. And it hurts. I feel the tears straining against the inside of my eyes. The pressure within my chest. How did I get here to this place of self?


Please my God, save me from this self. I gladly would surrender everything of it, if only I truly knew how, since it appears my efforts previous were not enough. I need more. I need more and to have more I must become less. God help me to be less. Please, my God, help me. Please.

Yepper, sure sounds like someone who has it all together doesn't it? I will not go into details but the short form would be that I had a totally selfish reaction to something that I should have been overjoyed about - and it bothered me a great deal.

I know I am not alone. Not only in the sense that God is with me, but also in the sense that other people have had (and do have) such incidents. That is why I am sharing this. There is not much worse of a feeling than to think that you are alone in something or that you are the only one who feels a certain way. Frankly, we - as a whole - do not help matters much as a rule. We tend to keep our struggles to ourselves or worse yet, even deny to ourselves that we have them at all. In not being open about (at least some of) our struggles, we may actually be hurting others we know who may be going through a similar struggle of their own by making them believe there is something wrong with them for feeling a certain way. As I said, there is not much of a worse feeling than to think you are the only one. If we try to deny the struggle to ourselves - just hide it somewhere deep inside - we do ourselves no favors. By denying it, we are not allowing God to work it out in us - to help us grow. Worse yet, we may actually be allowing whatever it is grow stronger and deeper within us as it is hidden away within until it eventually reaches a much greater position of strength in our lives.

So do not believe the lie that it is a weakness to share or admit that you have feelings or struggles. Anyways, being weak is not such a bad thing really, after all - "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9. The weaker we are, the less of us who are present and capable (less of ourselves not less in number) the more that we not only need God but also, the more that He will be seen and glorified.

So I will continue to share. Not only in those things which He shows me as He leads and teaches me, but also in those things which God helps and leads me through as I continue to live this life that He has given me.

To God alone be the all the glory.