The Leader Who Waits…The One Who Lingers & Even Meanders!

So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir. - Genesis 33:14

Our work often determines that we move at a pace that can put incredible stresses upon people and relationships. We all have our own pace. I like speed. It speaks efficiency and tells me that I am more competent for my ability to move quickly. I like feeling like I am competent. I also get annoyed when things do not move at my pace and in my direction.

In the Old Testament there was a certain man who would one day be known as Israel. His name was Jacob. Jacob was a man who learned to manipulate and control outcomes. He even stole the birthright of his older brother, Esau, through trickery. The Bible speaks of Jacob as a man who strived with God. That means he tried to push God along like a child wanting to leave one place to go to another, Jacob would "pester" God.I am sure those around him would say that Jacob had a knack of forcing issues to his advantage. Because his motives were selfish and greedy took years for God to break down all the rough edges of Jacob so that he could be worthy of becoming the patriarch of the 12 tribes of Israel. God saw something in Jacob that He could use.

Robert Hicks, in his book, Masculine Journey, describes five biblical stages of manhood that must be passed through before a man becomes a mature man of God. I like the idea of this. It's linear. My experience however is that God is not linear in His dealings with me; at least not necessarily. Nonetheless, one of those early stages is known as the "warrior stage." In this stage of manhood, the man is known by what he does, what he accomplishes, and he is primarily defined by his performance. It can be a tumultuous time for the man and those close to him. It is often signified by broken relationships because the goal is often about him, his needs, his goals, his aspirations, his work and this phase is most about about the goals and not the way the goal is accomplished. Yesterday I had the chance to meet with a man who was through this phase. You can tell. He was not driven in the conversation. But, he did talk about this phase without naming it; a time when he was dogged and relentless in his pursuits.

In an effort to get to the point I have shown a time when Jacob had successfully passed through these five stages based on the verse above. It takes someone mature to be able to "move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children." Leaders who never come to understand this may be successful materially but fail at the most important aspect of leadership-leading at a pace that his followers can maintain and where they feel an integral part and also accomplished. The lives of men are full of wives, children, and workers who cannot keep up with the pace of leaders and are left behind with broken dreams, broken hearts, and unfulfilled promises.

Are you a person who is more concerned with outcome than how you achieve the outcome? Can the people around you describe you as someone who leads at a pace that ensures respect, admiration and an observed value on what is also important to those around you? Ask the Lord for the ability to be a godly leader who understands the condition of those left in his charge and stop to observe and best understand the pace in which you can lead without alienating those for whom God has made you accountable.

I remain…

InHISGrip, ~J~

God Stamps It "AWESOME!"

And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel. - 1 Chronicles 14:2
King David learned an important lesson every leader must learn if he is to ensure God's continual blessing. He knew why God blessed him. It wasn't because he deserved it, though he was a man who sought God with his whole heart. It wasn't because of his great skill, though he was a great military strategist. It wasn't because he was perfect. Most of us who profess Christ as Saviour and God as our Father haven't come close to having done what David did. He did hideous things. He did horrible and awful things. No, it was for none of these reasons.
God blessed David for the "sake of His people Israel."
As a people most of us are so focused on the one-to-one connections of our actions and an associated outcome. That is why Christians have such a love/hate relationship with God's forgiveness, mercy, grace and the conditions of our relationship with God the Father. We want to have been and continue to be an active participant in His patting us on the back. We want to believe the healthy Christians are "more" sanctified, more spiritual, better people. And, in fact we might have subjective proof that this is true. But no...it is not a universal truth of how God responds to you and I while we walk this earthly realm.
God never blesses an individual just for that person's exclusive benefit.
God calls each of us to be a blessing to others. Specifically, like David, God calls you to a people. Who are those people you are called to bless? Who are those you are called to serve and love and care for in a unique and special way?
You might be unsettled and dissatisfied in your life because you haven't attached to the "who" you are to bless and serve. People often lose sight of their life purpose because they think of it in terms of "me," and "my calling," and "my purpose."
R.G. LeTourneau, a wealthy Christian businessman who built heavy construction equipment, came to realize this only after God took him through massive trials. Once the Lord had LeTourneau focused on the purpose to which God had called him, he came to realize that the question wasn't whether he gave 10 percent of what the Lord gave him. Rather, the question was, "What amount does He want me to keep?" LeTourneau was known for giving 90 percent of his income toward the end of his career and was a great supporter of world missions. Why? His calling, the one God associated with the success he had allowed R.G. to achieve, was to a "who I am to serve?" His "who" was missions! And, so it is with all of us who are called in Christ Jesus. Your serving may not be financial.
Your ministry discovery might be with your personal gifts. Yours might be through specific talents and learned and honed skills you have obtained through your life. But the blessing follows the serving. The peace and joy does as well.
What is happening with the spiritual fruit of God's blessing on your life? Is it clogged at the root of the tree? Or, is it freely growing and feeding others? Ask the Lord to free you to be a blessing to those in your circle of influence; to those He reveals are yours to love in unique and special ways!
I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

...And Faith Responded Unusually

...Everything is all right.... - Elisha, Prophet of God, 2 Kings 4:26

I was reflecting on friends that I have been blessed with for nearly 40 years. Wow! 40 years...it doesn't seem so long ago. We knew each other at the end of high school and in college and we raised children together, worked together, prayed and played together. This thinking came on the heels of my reading about the prophet Elisha. Elisha regularly found himself traveling to and through a town called Shunem. In that town was a well-to-do couple who extended hospitality to him. As the story unfolds we discover initially they simply broke bread with him as he passed through. Later, seeing that Elisha needed accommodations and a place where he could also study, they built a room for him; a second story no less Now, each time he came through town, he had a place to stay, to eat, to rest and to study. He was so appreciative of their kindness that one day he asked the wife what he could do for her. Though not directly, later the woman explained to Elisha's servant Gehazi that the woman had a lifetime of having been barren. No children. Her husband was old and she did not feel he could provide her with the seed for a child.

What was Elisha's response? It was this, About this time next year,' Elisha said, 'you will hold a son in your arms - 2 Kings 4:16.

True to his word, and as he had promised, a year later the son arrived.

One day the father was working in the field, and the son became ill and quickly died. The woman, knowing Elisha was near, ran to him to inform him of what had just taken place.

But...not as you might imagine.

She shows up. There she stands. Now, check this out, when Elisha asked what was happening or had happened, she did not panic nor react in fear. Her response to Elisha seemed almost unnatural; it was truly unusual as she said to him, Everything is all right. In the next scene Elisha goes to the boy and raises him from the dead. It was a glorious miracle. Of course you can read all about it in 2 Kings chapter 4.

Faith, has a practiced and decisively different look and feel about it. It considers not just what is but what has gone on before. Faith measures the possible by a different scale. This kind of faith, what we see in the thoughts and history above, looks at our lives and the situations, troubles, predicaments we go through and see's them as God would. More than that though, faith is based on an understanding that we have a Heavenly Father who has our bests interests at heart always and regardless of what appears to be the tragic end.

In the Kingdom of God there is no limited understanding. This momma did not panic. Why? She knew something more than the current circumstance. Her spiritual awareness was enlightened beyond her friends, her family and beyond what typically happens historically to those who appear to be gone off and into eternity; those who have died.

Faith does not panic.

Faith realizes that what looks like devastating circumstances and tunes into the heart of God. It asks, How will God bring glory to Himself by demonstrating His power this time? And then it listens.

When Jesus appeared tooling across the water and his disciples caught a gander of it. It was in the middle of the night, they exclaimed, It's a ghost! (Check it out in Matthew 14:26) First appearances can bring great fear upon us even to the point of paralyzing us. Being a child who has moved from an earthly kingdom with it's laws and rules and moving into a Kingdom that operates outside of this world takes some getting used to. Find the Lord in your circumstance today. Exercise your faith today and trust Him for His outcome in the situation.Tap into what He is saying and doing. You will be surprised...and in a joyful way!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Among the Living Comes Triumph Out of Dying

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death - Matthew 26:38, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God

There are few days etched into my mind as deep and abiding as the lines of the face of Abraham Lincoln at his memorial or the busts on Mount Rushmore of those great men. These days are timeless. I am glad they are few.

I was less than four yet there are things that I can still remember about the day my father died. It is similar but with more detail on the day of my mother's passing, my brother and my father-in-law are just the same.

With the living comes the dying. Most all the time the latter just doesn't feel right. This week an old friend passed who was a decade younger than I am.
Younger than me dying is never right. Ever!

Then one fifteen years younger, a great man of God passed yesterday. It somehow just does not feel right. I am sure it never will. Ever...

What was my great revelation from these and many more in my life? Often the place of our greatest pain becomes the place of our greatest triumph.Gethsemane, that quiet garden place where Christ would cry and plead to God the Father was easily the place of Jesus' greatest trial to that moment in time in His life. Before He had to go to a hill of death and three times He asked His Father to let this trial pass.

It was not to be.

The Father sent His Son to the cross to pay a debt owed by humanity. It was an awful thing. It was unthinkable. It was unfair.

Jesus, unlike each of those I named above had options. Each of those, the day they moved into eternity from this earth had no clue it was to be that day. Jesus manned-up to His own temptation to quit, to not fulfill His destiny, to run from His calling and purpose. It was a personal battle to persevere. to choose dying.

Sometimes we face situations that cry out "Stop the madness! Get me outta here!" We want to cash in our chips, cut our losses and gather what little "respectability" and/or faith we have left and walk away. We become "temporary atheists", concluding that this faith thing simply does not work each time; all the time.

Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him - Luke 22:43

After Jesus asked the Father if this bitter cup of pain and humiliation could pass, an angel was sent to Him to comfort Jesus. The Father's response to His eternal Son was "No." But, His loving mercy extended to Him came in the form of an angel, a messenger, a comforter. Some temptations, some life situations, even death, seem they are more than we can bare. But, God is true and No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it1 Corinthians 10:13.

If we rest in our heart of hearts; if we wait in our spirits we realize as the drama unfolds that the very place of our greatest battle has become our legacy; the place of our greatest victory and often the defining moment of a life lived.

For the Savior of mankind it was here, a place named the Mount of Olives, near the Garden Gethsemane where Jesus ascended and would return triumphantly, not as a sorrowful soul or one whose life was snuffed out early. No. He returns as a triumphant Savior. The battle He won in Gethsemane would result in the triumphant entry to be Lord of the universe! Most terrible pain - Most stunning life experience!

God will use your greatest failure or greatest sorrow to be a powerful force in your life and the lives of others. He will. Only He can. Your Valley of Baca (place of weeping) becomes springs of life giving eternal water for you and others watching you. You will go from strength to strength (Psalm 84:6).

It is in the dying that the new springs are allowed to come forth and a new strength emerges that previously was not even remotely considered latent within you.

If you find yourself in your Garden of Gethsemane, lay yourself at the feet of the only one who can sustain you. Entrust yourself to your Heavenly Father. Let Him determine your fate. It will ultimately become a place of victory. From the dying comes great living!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Oh You Beautiful Mess Maker!

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. - Proverbs 14:4

When I was a 7 year old we moved to a brand new neighborhood. It was a brand spanking new house! One of my favorite things was to play in streets filled with red clay from the land, plastic pipe and wood and other building materials as bulldozers would be left behind for us to play on. The job site was a beautiful mess from a 7 year old boys point of view. There was always all sorts of trash from workers, and is generally a mess. The houses looked ugly; all of their insides were exposed as they were being being pieced together. It was good for us that this process is necessary to get to the finished product. When completed, the homes were gorgeous. The landscaping looked like they came out of a home-design magazine. Everything would go from "MESS!" to clean and perfect in order for the new homeowner to move in.

I am sure you get the picture. The Christian life is just like this. Often we must go through s messy period of our lives in which all aspects of it are in chaos (Or, at least it feels that way to us). It is in these times that God builds out new aspects of His human tabernacle. He might remove some structural timbers in our lives and replace them with new ones. He might even add on another room. And unless this process takes place, we will never see the end product. The goal the Father aims at is for his kids to exhibit greater Christlikeness. In order to achieve this in us, He requires a period of breaking away what is not "of Him" and replacing it with new appliances and buildings; all that is not of Him replaced with all that is "of Him!"

It can be a painful process. But when the pain and messy start be lifted up! A brand new awesome wing of who you are will be coming forth. Years ago a song was penned that had this lyric line:

Sometimes a shadow dark and cold - Lays like a mist across the road - But be encouraged by the sight - Where there's a shadow, there's is light

Where there is a mess there is, out of the midst of it great beauty, power and strength

It would be impossible to keep oxen in a barn without having to clean up the mess from time to time. It just comes with the territory, but the result of the oxen is an abundant and useful harvest. God may be allowing a mess in order to ensure a fruitful harvest in your life. Learn from Him so that you might experience the fulfillment of His purposes for you in these times.

One other thought, those messes are not just created unilaterally and they are not cleaned up and that order is not just built in this world by one man or one woman. God creates or allows the messes to come through people. He uses people to build order. In the midst of the beauty of building he encourages us to gather to ourselves others in the building process. At Vision Reach we would love to be on your team. We would love to be your coach, your encourager, your exhorter; someone that helps to keep you on task and on purpose.

Join Cindy and I today in the adventure of an eternal lifetime!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

O' Death You Do Ride On...

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. - Revelation 6:8

A few years ago I read this excerpt from a book by Chuck Swindoll: The path of the pale horse named Death, mentioned in Revelation 6:8, is littered with bitterness, sorrow, fear, and grief. This ashen stallion started his lengthy journey ages ago and races through time with steady beat and dreadful regularity. As long as we exist in the land of the dying, we shall hear the somber knell of his hoofbeats.

I just received the second E-Mail in as many days from friends who have lost loved ones. The loss in each case was not just that death marched on but that, what was preventable for the time being wasn't. In two days two individuals who were deeply loved by their family took their own lives. Sadly, some people hurry their appointment with death. Painful though it may be to hear and accept, thousands of people will take their own lives during the next twelve months. For in our land, suicide is now almost an epidemic.

The acoustic/vocals band The Thorns sing this thought...

Among the living you'll find the dying
Waiting softly to pass on
Why can't a love be like a spirit
As it floats up to the sky - Among the Living, The Thorns

Once every minute someone in the United States attempts suicide.

In this country, there are 24% more deaths by suicide than by murder.

Suicide is the number 9 cause of adult death in the USA. For Americans between fifteen and thirty years of age, it is the number 3 cause of death. It is the number 2 cause among teenagers.

Four out of five people who commit suicide have tried it previously. Those who are unsuccessful usually try again.

Contrary to popular opinion, people who threaten suicide often mean it. Threats should be taken seriously.

Thankfully, suicidal individuals usually communicate their feelings before acting, thus making this irrevocable act preventable if those who are close are wise and sensitive enough to read the signals.

Some of the warning signals or clues you should be aware of are 1) talk about suicide, 2) a sudden change in personality, 3) deep depression, 4) physical symptoms---sleeplessness, loss of appetite, decreased sexual drive, drastic weight loss, repeated exhaustion, 5) actual attempts, and 6) crisis situations---death of a loved one, failure at school, loss of job, marital or home problems, and a lengthy or terminal illness. These are certainly not "sure signs," but if any or several persist, please step in and offer help. Contact your physician or ask advice from your local Suicide Prevention Center's twenty-four-hour crisis line; you may also want to contact one of the spiritual leaders or officers of your church or a member of the pastoral staff. Such situations are often emergencies. To delay could result in tragic consequences.

Those who are strong need to bear the weaknesses of the weak - Romans 15:1. I think, many of us, when we consider our faith, do not think ourselves "strong." But, perhaps "stronger" than someone who is being overcome by a pale horse is all that is needed; just a little stronger. You may be the means that God uses in blocking the path of the pale horse!

Sometimes if we are to hear what is being said, we need to listen to what is not being said.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

The Alliances & Friendships We Form

Woe to the obstinate children," declares the Lord, "to those who carry out plans that are not Mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge. - Isaiah 30:1-2

Think hard. Who, currently is deeply ingrained in your life that you find either draining or detrimental to your character, your family or your work. Let me ask it differently, less personally: Have you ever entered a business association with someone that seemed profitable but concerned you from the outset as to its affect on your character or your own ethics?

If you have spent any time at all in the Old Testament studying or reading about the nation of Israel, you have read how it was that God, time and time again, told them to keep themselves separate from those who were not God worshippers. A metaphor for holiness is God leading Israel out of Egypt and throughout the history of Israel, the people were instructed to come out of an old way of life into a life that personalized and solidified their relationship with God.

Of course Egypt represented that old way of living; a way that was convenient and perhaps even easy but also was full of bondage. You will recall after leaving Egypt when things got tough for the Jews, the Israelites reverted to what was familiar and comfortable; they reverted back to the way they acted in Egypt. Another way of saying it was the Jews always knew they could take a mental, emotional and actionable (How I decide to act) trip to Egypt and find what they presumed they needed. I'm sure because of their lack of familiarity with God they would think to themselves: "If we can't get it accomplished under this new "God-lead" way, we can easily go back to the way we used to do it? At least we know what the outcome will be there!"

When God calls us into a Life in Christ we can expect the rest of life to go on. We will still, every day, be given choices. Every day we will have to choose to be godly or rebellious to a God-lead life. One area that is a tough one is relationships. It seems like a balancing act. How do we grow and develop healthy, eternal relationships and how do we interact with the world? A key is our alliances. If we enter into alliances that God has not ordained, it will only bring heartache. Such was the case for Israel., But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame, Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace - Isaiah 30:3.

Beware what you perceive as an alliance that may advance your position in life, your standing in the community, your business or, even favor in your local church! This is a great time to "try the spirits" to see if they are a leading from God or if they are simply an opportunistic decision which has no God approval at all. We all know that without Godly approval relationships may actually bring us great distress. If God has not directed you to align yourself or does not wish you to deeply involve yourself with others then my suggestion is to consider it as a halt in your spirit not to move forward in that particular joining. A good question might be to ask yourself is, "What the motive is behind this possible connection?" Make sure that it is not based on fear, greed or a quick fix. Get confirmation that God is leading you to make come together with important relationships. Let's avoid the history of Israel. They spent way too much time untangling themselves from sin brought on through poorly considered relations.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

The Broken Heart of Faith

Do not hide Your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. - Psalm 143:7b

We learn so many lessons when we read the Psalms that are credited to David. I don't think, (perhaps Job) there is a biblical character for me who seems more human than this man. Actually, I don't think I would deeply understand the depths of God's mercy and grace, love and acceptance if there was no David. In David we find a man who time and again broke the most cardinal of our laws and who had the capacity to appear the most rebellious in God's site. Yet, in David, we find a man, though full of fault also was powerful and virtually so until the very end of his life.

David provides for you and I a peek into the window of a man's life that walked with God with great emotion in victory. And, in defeat we see deep into his troubled and tortured soul.

Here's a little known fact (Perhaps you knew) David never lost a battle throughout his many years of serving as king of Israel. In many of the Psalms, David often lamented about the difficult places where God had placed him. He talked of his enemies and the need for God to deliver Him. He talked of God's everlasting love for him. You might suspect after years of victory that David would simply get comfortable with God giving him and his armies the victory.

He never did.

How do you suppose David came to the understanding time after time and year over year that he must seek God and that is was alright for him to go before God and explain to his Heavenly Father how strong, vast, angry and powerful those enemies were? We can look at the beginning of his formative times and one might suspect this could have created in David a loser's limp. After all, having been promised the kingdom, he next finds himself running, and for no small period of time; years, from the current king. Later in his life, the last 30 percent of it, David experiences horrible turmoil within his nuclear family. How does that speak of a loving, merciful, miraculous and healing God. Yes David's life gave him many reasons to lose all hope in a loving God. That however, was not who David was. He saw beyond the events.

David often began his Psalms in a place of discouragement and sounded as if he had lost all hope. However, he never ended one Psalm in defeat. Through the process of meditation, prayer and worship David always came to a place of internal victory in God by the end of his writing. David consistently placed his life in God's hands, knowing He would care for him and then obediently moved forward in the action set before him.

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground - Psalm 143:8-10

You are a human. Humans get discouraged. God's people get discouraged. It is okay to be discouraged! More than this, discouragement, being heartsick, is part of the process of grieving and working through times of pain. Just always bring back to mind, like David, that God wants each of us to allow Him to walk with us in these places. If you find yourself in one of these places, do what David did. Ask God to show you the way and let Him bring the word of His unfailing love deep into the spirit He has restored within you!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Reflecting the Glory of One Whose Glory Should Be Recognized

They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. - Psalm 145:11-12

How do you measure your effectiveness in God, or should you even be thinking like this? I know it is quite popular to use a sense of reasoning about our spiritual "walk" like this:

God loves me and is all knowing. Because He is all knowing and nothing about who I am or what I do affects His love for me can I disappoint Him. After all, He knows me. He knows who I am and what I do. He made me! Therefore why should I even worry or even worse, feel guilty for being the person God made me to be


The early Church turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective? Was it their theology? Was it great preaching? Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus? Was it an attitude reflected in the above paragraph? Could we validate that kind of thinking by any historical analysis? The answer to the last 2 questions is a simple no.

This little Bible morsel speaks definitively. It creates prophetic clarity that in a future time, God's people, would espouse a mighty message that created widespread knowledge of God, His glory and kingdom. I suggest this happened and can happen and it is what makes the the Bodies of Christ effective.

I am also convinced that it is at the core of God's heart. It is quite simple. God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual. When this happens, the world is automatically changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world. The world "sees" God as He is.

I am also convinced we need to better understand words and their Kingdom meanings; vocabulary, if you will, from God's perspective. The Bible uses words like love, obedience, serve, servant, suffer and I am sure we flavor their meaning based on who we are and not what the Scripture clearly states what is truthfully meant; what is their fulness from God's perspective. Here is one we don't get easily: We serve a jealous God. He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone. (Check it out - It says it right there in that Big Black Book) God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them and more than this to illustrate so we can get our tiny minds around his enormity. He does it. It is His doing. We might be arms and legs and a mouth in the process but it is His plan and His power that accomplishes. Why? That we might, in turn, understand just how little we make of Him and how tiny is the full grasp of our understanding about Him. And, more to the point so that through us His glory shines and people are drawn to Him!

Father God has visibly expressed His power and control and strength since the day He created man. His glory is His own. Only He can have it and express it. However, our God and Father desires to reflect His glory through you and me, so that all men may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of His Kingdom and, in their knowing they would embrace their God-given and provided right to be on the inside of His love, affection, glory, grace, mercy and all of the other overly abundant joys His own should experience.

The apostle Paul understood this principle: My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" ( - I Corinthians 2:4-5.

If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why. Of course, you also might want to study the concept of God's Glory so you would recognize it should it be expressed in your life. It might not be precisely what you are thinking at this moment. Just know this, He has promised to use you and me to mirror who He is if we will walk in obedience to His commands.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6

That is an If/Then statement. There is in fact an our part and His part. You embrace it or you don't. Which will it be?

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! - Luke 11:9-13

As challenging as it is for you and I to understand, there is a truth here that says God does gives us a part in our relationship with Him. We get to learn, grow and become more today than we were yesterday. We are no longer under a shadow of guilt. It is not our lot to constantly wring our hands and wonder if God is pleased with us however. To do that we make His sufficiency, His power in us, His saving and redemptive skills weak. No, we just need to know we get to partner in growth so that who we are in Him shows clearly to the world naturally and draws all men to Him.

It was on my heart today...I hope it blesses yours...I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

When God Must Love the Way I Demand! Or Does He...Doesn't He?

What Does "God Is Love" Mean?

What do we mean when we quote 1 John 4:8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.? Or even John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...?

I have watched believers on all sides of the issue try and get their arms around this. Thus, it's something I'd been thinking about a lot lately. I even discussed this in my previous post a bit and if you follow me on FaceBook I've been grappling with it and so many odd ideas of God and how He must love. 

I believe the North American post-modern mind (Besides slowly fading into the sunset)  has a tendency to deal with this out of the context of how they were raised. We tend to sentimentalize God's love. Similarly Christians often ascribe human ideas of fairness to talk of God's sovereignty and how God interacts with human will and volition. We read much that ascribes human or, more succinctly humanitarian ideas of love to talk of God's love. We also speak of it singularly as if God, unlike you and I, loves always the same way with all people in all circumstances and at all times.

I am convinced that God loves everyone. But I am not convinced that He loves everyone the same way.

Here are a couple of passages from D.A. Carson's excellent treatment of this subject, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God:

I do not think that what the Bible says about the love of God can long survive at the forefront of our thinking if it is abstracted from the sovereingty of God, the holiness of God, the wrath of God, the providence of God, or the personhood of God -- to mention only a few nonnegotiable elements of basic Christianity.

Later, Carson writes:

If the love of God is exclusively portrayed as an inviting, yearning, sinner-seeking, rather lovesick passion, we may strengthen the hands of . . . those more interested in God's inner emotional life than in his justice and glory, but the cost will be massive. There is some truth in this picture of God . . . some glorious truth. Made absolute, however, it not only treats complementary texts as if they were not there, but it steals God's sovereignty from him and our security from us.

Now, I will try to be good and not state any conclusions or firm personal beliefs on the details of these matters in this post. But in the comments thread, perhaps we can hash out our differences through discussion and maybe even reach some conclusions.

In another book by Carson, a sort of companion volume to The Difficult Doctrine called Love in Hard Places, he takes on certain "hard cases." If Christians collectively believe we are to love everyone because God does, we must ask ourselves questions like:

• "What does it mean to love Osama bin Laden?"
• "What does it mean to love Saddam Hussein?"
• "Is this similar to the love you have for your mother and if different how and why?"

I ask you the same questions. Does God love everyone the same way? If not, should we?

Perhaps we should begin with a biblical example.
How do you personally interpret the following passage: - THOUGHTS?

Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad . . . she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
-- Romans 9:11-13

Detour Ahead - The Path Is About To Change

The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together... - Isa 40:4-5

I read the verse above and it became part of what God, my Father, has been working to get into me. Somehow things that seem incongruent are really more linear than I would have previously thought.

Any statement that starts out by saying, "The crooked place shall be made straight..." in my way of thinking, should be followed by a step-by-step instruction of just how either God will do it or how God expects me to straighten (and smooth) my journey through life. But that is not at all the progression of the thought here in Isaiah.

First off, unless we are 4-wheeling or bushwhacking, we all dislike bumpy roads. They are annoying. They are troublesome. They can cause damage. They rattle us. However, when I think about it I have to personally admit to you that, though I know they are the solution, I dislike even more road closures, detours...road work in general. Until the housing and real estate debacle I would tell you that I lived in a growing city and it seems like there has been ongoing road construction forever! One portion of the Phoenix metro or another is a mess, you need up-to-the-minute GPS to plan your trips because of delays, and sometimes you get caught off guard when traffic signs are placed in unusual places and the natural flow of traffic takes you off the main road onto rough and tumble surfaces.

Recently, a friend told me in their town where one of our main local roads was hit with a sink hole in the middle of the road. The road was closed for more than a year. They of course then had to take alternative routes that, I am sure, were inconvenient and annoying.

Sometimes God takes us through our own life re-construction project. Our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. God is doing major construction. Our response to this often is to try and make personal adjustments. Some of those take the form of internal attempts to make conscious emotional adjustments. Often through what I call "hunkering down," we try and internally conjure up a new attitude about the trouble we've encountered because of what God is in fact doing or allowing into our life.

But, in the midst of the re-construction this verse does not tell you and I to go through an internal assessment. We are not given some 5 step process to change our attitude. I'm sorry Zig (Ziglar) but this is not to get an "attitude of gratitude" in the midst of the detours and struggles of the rough patches of our life.

No.

The glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. In the midst of this, God's glory is found. The only thing we should be doing is expecting to find it. Perhaps further, to search for it and expect it so shine forth either within us or in the midst of the problem. I get a sense that for many it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life; His power, and presence...His GLORY! The solution in this incongruent little passage in and amongst all the other verses of the Bible is this, "You have a rough row to hoe? Look for God's glory in the midst of it!" I get a sense that when one of God's elect see it, it then become like a lightning rod; others begin to see it too. And to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him, it becomes a place in time and space for His love, mercy, light, wisdom and personal goodness to them to shine through!

The troubled patch, the rough spot is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. God showed up. I suspect He is there before we know it. His job is to be there. Ours is to look for Him, expect Him.

Once we see His glory things begin to flow better. Just as the new roads allow you to drive on a smooth, more spacious area, so too God paves a way for you to move into an expanded place with Him.

Isaiah tells us: He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows - Isa 30:23-24.

Be patient with God's re-construction project. You will like the finished project. You will really like you after it's all said and done.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Well...er...The Reason You See Is....

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:23-25

Everyone I know realizes I am a major baseball fan. This is my season! I had two "stupid human tricks" as a child growing up. First, I could never ever make, model and year of every car from 1947 (I was born in 1952) until 1976 on the road. The other was I could remember the most minute details about ballplayers and the game itself. I loved it! I didn't see it as trivia because I loved it so much. To me it was cool and fun and I suppose it was also important. How good was I? Even my friends, who had teams that they loved more than I did and had heroes that were not my heroes knew less about their favorite players and teams than I did. I hated the Yankees but my Yankee loving fiends marveled that I knew more about Mantle, Maris, Ford, Berra, Richardson, Kubek and all the lesser known Yankees than they knew. You may be that kind of person or have friends and family like that. Well, I still am a bonifide member of this group of trivia containers.

Fans have other traits as well don't they? They have an indomitable sense of commitment, loyalty or determination - okay, okay, maybe "addiction" is a better word! Against incredible odds, sound logic, and even medical advice, sports fans will persevere to the dying end! Difficulties are viewed as a challenge ... never an excuse to stay away or miss a chance to support our teams!

I've often wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about their love of Christ Jesus and the Body He died for as they are about sports or any other hobby. This topic was covered some years back in a Moody Monthly piece that illustrated twelve excuses a fella might use for "quitting sports." The analogy isn't hard to figure out.

1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.

2. The people with whom I had to sit didn't seem very friendly.

3. The seats were too hard and not comfortable.

4. The coach never came to call on me.

5. The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.

6. I was sitting with some hypocrites---they came only to see what others were wearing.

7. Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.

8. The organist played music that I had never heard before.

9. The games are scheduled when I want to do other things.

10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. (Hmm...I'll have to ask my boys)

11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.

12. I don't want to take my kids, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

I've come up with a few more:

13. The parking lot (steps, walkways, etc.) was awful . . . I had to walk 300 yards to the stadium entrance.

14. Nobody came up and introduced themselves to me; it was so impersonal!

15. The public address and lighting systems don't suit me.

16. It's always too hot (or cold) in the stadium.

17. It's so loud there!

Enough said. Think it over.

What would happen if we approached our responsibilities to the Body of Christ with the same enthusiasm we give to our hobbies, sports, and other extracurricular activities?

You Can Deal With This Or You Can Deal With That!

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? - Genesis 3:1



Have you seen the commercial with the Gangsta Hamsters for the Kia Soul? You get two choices of "cool" which actually get reduced down to a toaster and a brightly colored boxy Kia Soul. There is a 3rd choice which is the cardboard equivalent of the Fred Flintstone mobile. But the cardboard option collapses upon itself; not such a good choice is it?

Of course in the real world we do have those kinds of choices all day long. I'm still working on the real lesson of the commercial but it's catchy and sticks in your head. I suppose we can choose practical and more fun (the Soul) or just practical and cheap (An unplugged electric toaster with no personality).

God is big on giving man freedom and boundaries-freedom to manage what He has entrusted to us, boundaries to protect us from evil. It is a kind of "this" or "that" scenario. We can choose but clearly in the economy of the Kingdom of God there are good choices and those which are summarily hideously horrible.

Our typical thinking tells us that God was the original law giver. That He created these boundaries and this was the first form of, "You better do what I say." In the case of those first boundaries in the Eden and between God and Adam and Eve I see this differently however. I'm hoping it's a view from God's perspective. The rule was not set for the purpose of limiting the couple. No, it was the first lesson in understanding the value and the responsibility of bad choices. It was a first lesson in not just communicating with God but truly taking His lessons and thoughts and messages to you personally to heart. They got into trouble when they first allowed His clear direction to be misrepresented and then more so when their questioning caused them to ignore those boundaries.

If you are churched you know that God had provided everything Eve and Adam would need for life on earth. In my mind this is the "Adam Project." He also entrusted them with responsibility to manage and work the Garden. God works and so does His progeny. God gave the two of them freedom in that responsibility. He has those same characteristics and we are made in His image from that perspective. Our mutual substance indicates we, both our Creator and us were made to express ourselves creatively through our mental and physical efforts.

But we are not God. We are merely "in His image," thus each of us has freedom of choices and boundaries in our lives. Whenever you are hired for a job, you must have the freedom to make certain decisions. You must have the authority to manage things within your area of expertise. You must also have limits within your area of responsibility. You need to know where those limits are and stay within them. In the case of our lives we have both freedom and boundaries and to those who recognize God's authority (it is a choice you know) we should embrace that our eternal life is always under the umbrella of God's authority. As a side note, we should also "get" that regardless of politics, our definition of competency, personality and its conflicts that we are also under authority in many other areas of our life.

So, several thousand years after the failed "Adam Project" in Eden Jesus comes on the scene, in the form of a man and is put under the same earthly contingencies that a typical dude of His time faces. He grew. He matured. He listened and communicated with God the Father. This led to a point where He understood the concept I speak about regarding boundaries. Jesus, under the headship of His Heavenly Father, accepted a form of freedom and boundaries that you and I would recognize.

This all leads me to my point (I think). When Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the Satan after being baptized, He was challenged by the evil one to venture beyond His freedom and personal boundaries.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God. ’ ” ; , Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.- Matthew 4:1-11

Now Jesus boundaries were very different than some of ours aren't they? For instance, Satan said to Jesus that He had the power to turn a stone into bread. Jesus was hungry and easily could have justified, from an earthly perspective, using His power to feed Himself. However, Jesus understood He could do nothing outside the boundaries of God's will for His life. Guys, can you see how intimate the Will of God is? There is a certain and vital perspective here. You need to know what it is the Father wants you to do. I guarantee you it isn't discovered at a church meeting, Sunday School, home meetings or seminary. It certainly isn't between the covers of a book (though all of these things have the potential to feed it). It is found in your intimacy with God the Father. In this instance Jesus knew it was God's perspective for Him to eschew the advice of Satan and continue as a man, feeding Himself, in this instance, as a man, with the limitation to not create food miraculously. God was showing His Son that "man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" - Mt. 4:4b. The lesson was personal. It was intimate. It was proximate to Him and He could embrace its power by accepting this boundary.

You and I are tempted every day to go beyond our God-ordained boundaries. I suspect we normally aren't aware of it. We aren't used to thinking in the way I just described of Jesus. But we have issues relating to hearing the Holy Spirit. There is the obvious of course such as financial problems that have arisen through debt, making wrong decisions due to pressure, or manipulating someone in order to achieve our ends, it all represents rebellion toward God. But what about those gray areas? What happens when we are taken away in our own life situation where we feel out of control and some of the choices seem to be morally neutral. Then what?

We both, you and I need to start on a new path today. Perhaps a good start is a lengthy time of reading the stories of those who heard from God in the Bible to get a sense of just how He might do it in us. We need to spend quiet time "listening" to our spirit. We should write down what we hear or think we hear. We need to surround ourselves with others who are hearers of "The Word" and bring them along on our journey. Ask God to show you His freedom and boundaries for your life. These are meant to bring God's love and intimacy into your life, your heart, your actions...

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

One Component of Quality as a Child of God

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me - John 20:20,21

We live in a very odd time. A week or so ago I wrote about the simplicity of life in past centuries. There was a time when we had fairly high agreement from the masses about what was right and wrong and that actions were quite black and white from a moral perspective. A man of character is one that can observe but not be attracted to the idolatry of our time; an idolatry that simply takes anything, good or bad, right or wrong and attempts to have it serve self. Those who do not bow their knee to the culture are people who have declared their allegiance to the one true and eternal King, Jesus Christ. These are people who have humbled themselves in the sight of God and, even when that sight is not within the sight of man.

There was a time when only the great and the gloriously gifted would face the challenge of vanity. It's not so any longer. A nation that has since resigned the concept of greatness has also embraced an immodest version of individuality. We're all special and ergo, we all have the right to elevate self and consider our desires as supreme. In the process of your personal development, you will find great temptation to make a name for yourself, to, by man's account, become "something;" to gain public notoriety, to get the a personal version of the concept of "glory," to increase your fees, to demand your rights, and to anticipate red carpet treatment. You're in authority now! People are standing up and taking notice of your exploits! The temptation is great to consider self first and view others in terms of how they view you rather than caring for them; being considerate and gracious to others first.

To this subject my friend Chuck Swindoll said this, "Let me remind you that if you're in life only for yourself, you'll have no endurance. On that precarious top of the ladder, you'll always have to maintain your balance by maneuvering and manipulating, lying, deceiving, and scheming. But if you're committed to kingdom-related excellence, when you go through times of testing, you can count on kingdom endurance to get you through."

I like that.

If you have the kind of faith that demands to deeply understand the whole purpose of God, then you dare not leave out a personal commitment to the Kingdom of God! This means you spend time alone and apart and that your meditation allows the Holy Spirit to work in you God's good pleasure and a personal definition of His will; which normally translates into His uncovering place His mercy and grace have not 'til then uncovered.

It means that your personal stewardship of time, talents, relationships, assets and finances usually will go through a process of dialogue between you and the great God of the universe. In the end your love for Him translates into His glory in you! It makes a reality of, "Christ in you the hope of (the) glory." It means things will change and your peace and joy will be increased and devotion multiplied.

I'm not suggesting I know what the Holy Spirit and you will come to in these conversations. There will or should be more than one. It should mean that ownership goes back to the original owner and your care for them return to one that honors His faith and confidence in you. The following of me part of that little verse at the top implies much. What it does not imply is that anything more than you should be a concern. You follow as you are led. You do with the stuff that makes up this life as you are instructed. It's a component of a life full of depth and breadth of quality; the kind of quality an eternal King gains honor through and by.

Simple...(smiles) right? I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Integrity Where Imperfection Takes Up Residence

Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” - I Samuel 16:1-11

Truly, if you and I, assuming you have had a similar life and church experience as I, had someone of note, thought to be a grand leader of the faith and a man of massive political and military importance such as David in our midst and, if we had known half of the things he had done, we not only would have written David out of the congregation of the elect, the saved, the righteous, the blood bought believers but we would have hid our children's eyes as we passed him on the street!

But God knew David. And, had we acted the way I just described, we would have proven that we did not.

God knew David had the quality of integrity. For as many ups and downs and hideously horrible and unspeakable evils that he did, David was a man the God of the universe could count on; both to hear His voice and obey His directives. God could count on it because David, as many times as he might fall, loved Loved LOVED God.

The church comes under massive attack from inside and out because we have bought into a system that says the appearance of right and good and just and holy is as good and maybe even better than the genuine article. After all, if you are just acting holy you can real put on a show! Actual holiness requires that whole humility thing and hey, if you can't be known for your righteous and pure life then why bother? How can you change the world if in fact the whole world doesn't know just how amazingly good you really are? Huh? Huh?

But you will never be a man or woman of God if hyperbole is your guiding principle. Never. You cannot fake it with the Almighty. And, in the final analysis, He is the only one that matters. He is not impressed with externals. Don't get me wrong. I am sure God would have preferred less adultery and killing in the life of David. But apparently actions aren't the whole story. Daddy Father God always focuses on the inward qualities, those eternal qualities that only time in His presence are created .

The love of God and time with God trained David for a leadership role with four disciplines. Now this is just a perspective. It is not the only one that exists on the life of David but I believe it holds relevance for you and I.

First, God trained David one-on-one, alone. David needed to learn life's major lessons with the great Mentor of the Universe, in a practice, before he could be trusted with responsibilities and rewards before the people. Solitude, just you and God, has nurturing qualities all its own. Anyone who must have superficial sounds to survive lacks depth. If you can't stand to be alone with yourself, you have deep, unresolved issues in your inner life. Solitude has a way of bringing those issues to the surface.

Second, David grew up in obscurity. That's another way God trains His best personnel - outside the limelight, the lights, the crowds and the context of the "big picture". Most nearly always those who love God and serve others are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and unapplauded. In the quiet context of obscurity, character is built. You learn to hear God's voice and therefore be led by something deeper and with more value to you than the shouts of the crowds, the pressures of friends and family. Strange as it may seem, those who first accept the silence of "no stage" are best qualified to handle the applause of popularity.

Which leads us to the third training ground, David's life was monotonous. That's being faithful in the menial, apparently insignificant, routine, unexciting, uneventful, daily drone of life. Life without the lavish and exciting . . . without the wine, the lobster, the caviar and roses. Just dull, plain, walk-it-out L-I-F-E. It is when life is consistent but more to the point it's constant, unchanging, tedious hours of the otherwise boring as you learn to be a man or woman of God and there is nobody else around to notice or care. Heck! What would they see? It's all just a big 'ol yawn. That's how we learn to make it real and do what needs to be done.

That brings us to the fourth discipline and that is David lived within reality. Up until now you might have the feeling that despite the solitude, obscurity, and monotony, David was just sitting out on some hilltop in a mystic haze, composing a great piece of music, or relaxing in the pastures of Judea and having a great time training those sheep to sit on their hind legs. That's not true. He simply lived what was normal and he fit into it. Yet, in all of his "fitting in" David found God in the quiet. He learned from Him. He honored Him. He did what He did so as to ensure that with God greatness is relative. "Whatever your hand finds to do...do it all to honor God." That would resonate with David. For David reality might be on earth but earth and all its workings are here to glorify God. David found it easy.

So the great struggle a King who craves but always returns to his roots; his integrity. He bows to the King of Kings. He loves on His relationship and fully expects God, as bad as he might have been, to speak into His life and in all of this he fulfilled the role of a man of integrity...ultimately.

Isn't that us? Aren't we "mostly" something but not perfectly and completely those qualities. David had great beginnings. They served him when he came to the end of his days and provided him a path back when he got lost in between. How about you and I? I'll leave it at that. It's worth a thought...

I remain...
InHISgrip,

~J~

Why Do I Have To Explain Myself to You?

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. - James 1:22-25

I was reading an old devotional that was making the point that once upon a time life was simple and uncomplicated. Oh sure, there were struggles and problems, but they weren't all that complex. Good and evil did battle with each other and, for most of us, these battles were in the sunshine of "the obvious". Our own willpower and our lack of focus were right in there; they stood in stark opposition to one another. In the rugged west we were comfortable with the notion that right fought against wrong in life's main event and not too many folks remained neutral; you were a good guy or a bad guy! There was a clear, unmistakable line between winning and losing . . . victory and defeat . . . accomplishment and failure ... actual war between opposing forces and peace, real peace - not smoldering, game-playing peace which seems in our world to be the norm.

Sometimes we loathed self. When we did and we admitted our guilt and genuinely were ashamed for our words and actions. Thinking of it another way, there would also be times when, regardless of whether it was easy or suited our purposes we sucked it up and moved forward, did the right thing. In America, pride was a function of our focus on doing right and this was something we desired to pass on to our children. And children? Well, they looked up to dad and mom. I recall my uncles telling me grandpa was their hero.

What else was in this mold? How about this, a marriage was fa once in a lifetime deal. A job was for work. A crime was for punishment. Irresponsibility was met with a visual lack of trust, a broken promise put you on the outside with a man and his whole clan, adultery was an unspeakable, hardship was expected and thought to build character, extra effort was admired, applauded and maybe, just maybe the only reason for special reward.

Then, ever so slowly, the fog rolled in.

All the evils of the world, once black as tar, turned strange shades of gray. Instead of our seeing them clearly as wrong or someone's responsibility, they became part of a new social fuzzy logic ... and ultimately "explainable"; rationalized by social and psychological inference, implication, that had much more "significant" and far reaching implications. At the end of the day, society searched for and discovered justification for anything. And the outworking of all this is a remarkable twist, a subtle switching of expectations and definitions.

Our society now protects the guilty (you'll excuse the expression) and it almost always appears, at some level the victim is put on trial. We have seen a turn about in reason years with the advent of the most caustic of all atrocities in the actions of terrorists. Still the guy who uses words like discipline and diligence and integrity and blame and shame who is the weirdo, freaky oddball.

I knew a man who shared his story of walking away from the Body of Christ (His local church) and God when he was confronted by leadership because he did not immediately embrace the drunk who killed his wife. "If a drunk driver kills my wife or cripples my kids, how dare I hate him? We all know alcoholism is a disease and nobody gets a disease on purpose. But if I do hate him and if I'm caught up with such rage that I kill the driver, you can't be angry with me. After all, wasn't I suffering from temporary insanity? (That's a brief disease ... like the flu.)" - and all of that would make sense.

Explanations abound, everything from poor toilet training, battered families and unfair parents to oppressive work conditions and governmental rip-offs. Sometimes in my more maddening moments I entertain crazy "what if" ideas. What if we were suddenly stripped of our twenty-first century maladies and "scientific" explanations? What if there was a resurgence of such dated phrases as:

"I have decided to . . ."
"I will . . ."
"I will no longer . . ."
"I am wrong . . ."
"Starting today, I won't . . ."
That would mean saying farewell to foggy terms like:
"I am thinking about it . . ."
"I'm working on it . . ." and,
"Someday I plan to . . ."

which psychologists, pastors, and counselors worth their salt realize mean little more than, "I'm working out some great excuse for not doing it."
How do I know? I've learned those phrases, too! And occasionally, when I get cornered by a hard set of facts, I dip into my bag just like you do---especially if I'm not ready to come to terms with my own responsibility. Out come those handy little guilt-relieving "explanations."
Little by little I'm learning just how enamored I was of all those catch phrases that made me forget I was on a sinking ship.

Let me level with you. And I say this for one reason only - to encourage you to replace explanations with decisions and actions. If I had continued giving in to those lame excuses, my marriage would not have held together, any ministry I have would have become mediocre or more likely non-existent, I would never have finished even this paragraph, I would not have a close friend, I would have jumped from job to job because of the pressure, and who knows what else!

Jesus was right. After telling His disciples how to live fulfilled lives, He put the clincher on it by adding, If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them - John 13:17, emphasis added.

So, today, you and me, let's get the right combination of learning, embracing mentally/spiritually and doing. Let's allows the cleansing power of Jesus Christ to wash over us. It's part of the redemption package. Don't dive under a pile of guilt! Bask in the warmth of a God who is loving and changing you and I.

I remain...

InHISgrip,

~J~

My Internal GPS

Thus says the LORD: “ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD. - Jeremiah 9:23,24

There is a kind of thinking that goes like this..."If I am sensitive I will know that God has provided instruction, but then it's up to me." Does that sound about right? Or, maybe you are of a different school of thought regarding you and God's will. Maybe yours is as simple as, 'If I just knew the Bible better I could better understand God's will." Or, maybe yours is more mystical or more practical than either of the above. Nonetheless, there is a part about knowing and a part about doing.

My experience is this, those who are most in love with Jesus; those who crave Him most deeply and glorify Him most easily do not seem to have much of a problem with the whole issue of God's leading in their life. It just sort of flows.

Period.

The focus of our attention should be on the relationship that Jesus Christ came to earth to re-establish with us and that is, to get us back to a place where we realize and fully embrace God's love, acceptance and forgiveness and desire to provide direction for our lives so we can snuggle into a relationship with Him. The rest seems to just fall into place.

But, regardless, we must accept His instruction and apply it to our lives in order to see that He is in fact working in us and through us for His good pleasure and our fulfillment. It is then, and only then, that we can expect to cash in on the benefits of His leadership in our lives. My friend Chuck Swindoll would say, "application is the link between (God's) instruction and change (in our lives)."

I'm not sure that is what God is concerned about. Therein lies the rub. God doesn't lead us just so we do stuff. The end game for our lives isn't but it does include it.

Let's look at a realistic metaphor for this scenario and our most common way of interpreting what God requires of us.

Imagine that you work for a company whose president must travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other team members, "Look, I'm going to be gone to Outer Mongolia. While I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will be in communication with you regularly. It most likely will be snail mail since I'm not sure that I'll always have Internet or that my cell phone will work there. But, when I do communicate, I will instruct you as best I can given your situation and give you what you should do from now until I return from this trip. The direction that I want you to take the company will be outlined in writing." Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, calls when he can, and tries to find enough Internet signal to E-Mail if possible...the point is though he is communicating his desires and concerns and most of the time, as he had indicated it was by written communiqué primarily. The more personal messages seemed to be fewer and farther in between.

Finally he returns.

He walks up to the front door of the company to find everything is in disarray - weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows busted out across the front of the building, the receptionist is dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered massive losses. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with beet red face and a frown asks, "What the *#@^! happened here? Didn't you get my instruction?" You say, "Oh, yeah, sure chief. We got all your letters. We've even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have 'letter study' every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my instructions?" And, no doubt, the employees would respond, "Do? Well, maybe not everything we should. The studies were helping us to determine what the correct interpretations should be. We didn't want to assume you meant what you said. But we read every one...a lot!"

In the very same way, God has sent us His instructions. But how do we use it? Did it provide you with an ability to understand general instruction (love, don't lie, cheat, steal, assist, care, show mercy, forgive, redemption story, how end times will occur, etc.)? Did you see the pattern of how you should be responding in life based on what you read? Was the written signals God has given you enough of a link for you to more deeply understand personally how you should act or, more importantly, when He is speaking to your spirit (heart, soul, mind, etc.) is the general messages and examples enough of a framework that you can discern His intimate communication to you?

God has preserved every word of much of His hearts desires and even provided great examples of how to live them out in a Book, the Bible. It's all there, just as He communicated it to us. When He returns for His own, He is not going to ask us how much we memorized or how often we met for study. No, He will want to know, "What did you do about my instructions; more succinctly, the ones I gave to you personally? Did any of your time in study of the Bible, did it link in to our specific times of discussion, meditation, and personal communication? Did you even listen during our one-on-one Skype calls? Were you even there? Did you even have any with me? Didn't you get that from the big black bound book; that I desire to speak directly into the lives of my children?"

One leads to the other. The Bible gives us hope. Not just the hope of salvation but the hope that God turns his attention and in earth time that attention is aimed directly to people who are very much like you and I. Just folks. Oh sure, a few Kings and prophets along the way got messages from Him. But our father spoke to white collar and blue collar working stiffs too. He spoke to children and to women and to people of ethnicity's very unique from one another. It is a message to you: I want to have your attention and time and I want to be your greatest lover and fan. Most important of all, He spoke personally to them.

Remember, it to rebuild the bridge and loving, personal communication and relationship... that is what Jesus came to do...to put you and Abba Father back together again. So, when you read the Bible what are you hearing in your heart? How is it changing, affecting and guiding your actions...your life?

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Mmmm...Melty Christians We Must Be!

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16

Chuck Swindoll, in his gorgeous work, "Come Before Winter" shares this story: During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men on an investigation of the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there. After investigating, they reported:

The only silver we could find is the statues of the saints standing in the corners. To which the radical soldier and statesman of England replied:
Good! We'll melt down the saints and put them into circulation!

Not bad theology for a proper, strait-laced Lord Protector of the British Isles! In just a few words, Cromwell's command succinctly stated what, though obvious, was not at all expected ... the kernel ... the practical need, and God's full expectation of His expectation of authentic Christianity. God does not look for rows of silver saints, polished to a lustrous glow and that are frequently dusted and crammed into the corners of elegant cathedrals.

God has no use for plaster people cloaked in thin layers of untarnished silver and topped with a metallic halo. The essence of the move of the body of Christ through history has been a marching army. These saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity have had hard brassy hearts melted down. What we do or should or must and can is to bring value down where life happens, and, wherever it happens for mankind. The group Petra once sang, a lyric that must never be spoken of you and I, we must neither be nor cower behind, rose-colored stained glass windows. Our theology must live and breath and do and move and touch and care as the one for whom we owe our love and allegiance; as was His.

It's easy to kid ourselves. So easy. The Christian must guard against self-deception. We can begin to consider ourselves martyrs because we are in gatherings (never call it church) twice on Sunday - really sacrificing by investing a few hours on the "day of rest." Frankly kids, unlike my duped and doped "wilderness brethren", being among the saints is no sacrifice . . . it's a brief, choice privilege. And, yes, I know, but even the phony ones will, from time to time be caught up in the spirit and from them will emanate God's glory and wisdom.

No, the draining liabilities side of the Christian walk occurs on Monday through Friday ... and during the rest of the week where we are off and away from the safety and cocoon of the warmth of fellowship. That's when, as Cromwell said, we're "melted down and put into circulation." That's when the enemies of our peace and composure go for the jugular. And it is remarkable how that monotonous workweek test discolors many a silver saint. As Swindoll said, "Sunday religion" may seem sufficient, but that's far from the truth.

It's the acid grind that takes the toll. Maybe that explains why words of the venerable prophet touch a nerve:

“ If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? - Jeremiah 12:5 NKJV

I know a part of what I do is rest in the finished work of Christ. That is positional for me. What I mean is, I confidently rest, in faith that everything that needed to be done for my eternal redemption was done. It's forever sealed. God's grace covered me, Jesus' love provided for me. The Spirit's continued keeping and His sealing of "John W, in Christ" is forever settled in the hallowed halls of heaven, God's Kingdom and eternity. But there are yet earthly battles to fight. There is an enemy who would attack. Doing battle in the steaming jungle of the daily grind calls for shock troops in super shape. No rhinestone cowboys can cut it among the swamps and insects of the gross world system. Sunday-Go-To-Meeting silver saints in shining armor are simply out of circulation if that's the limit to their faith. Waging wilderness warfare (sorry all you FBN'er s- there was a wilderness so wild way before you tried to call lack of fellowship on a regular basis your "wilderness" home) calls for sweat ... energy ... keen strategy (God's wisdom) ... determination (Confidence in Christ) ... a good supply of ammunition (Praise, Prayer, A lively Word) ... willingness to fight (Stand in faith and hope!) ... refusal to surrender, even with the crazies stomping on your lifeline.

And that is why we must be melted! It's all part of being "in circulation." Those who successfully wage war with silent heroism under relentless outside pressure (or phony religious internal pressure) - ah, they are the saints who know what it means to be melted by their King!

You can opt for an easier path. You can even dance through the pansies and pretend that "Jesus paid it all" means nothing else must ever occur. Or, Like Pastor Swindoll says, "Sure. You can keep your own record and come out smelling like a rose. A silver saint. Polished to a high-gloss sheen. Icily regular, cool and casual, consistently present ... and safely out of circulation. Another touch-me-not figurine ...Until the Lord calls for an investigation of the local cathedral, or backwoods meadows. Trust all who have had any effect at all on the world, He is more like Cromwell than you might think.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

When Darkness is Everywhere

The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. - Nahum 1:3b

The current storms that have been blasting across the USA reminded me of a time when I traveled from Arizona to Missouri and half the trip was truly by faith since there was so little to see. The snowstorms they are having in Northern Arizona are one thing but when they have white-outs in areas across South-Central California you know there is a lot of mystified and confounded folk!

And, on her birthday today, a good friend and someone who makes my work easier was just informed that her husband has been put on "administrative leave."

No work.

What about the whirlwinds of disease, disaster, and death. What are we to think when the confusion of having a God who loves and cares but where His blessing seems to have dried up? What about the storms of interruptions, irritations, and ill-treatment? Well, if Nahum's words apply to the heavenly sphere or the place of God's control, they also apply to the earthly - to the heartrending contingencies of daily living which never seem to be timely.

Life is filled with God-appointed storms. I for one never like them. I prefer my personal theology which, though wrong, satisfies my desire for a worry and trouble-free life. My personal theology says, "God loves me and His wonderful plan for my life means it's smooth sailing from now on out!"

"But John! How do you know your theology isn't accurate? Maybe you just haven't discovered the secret formula to a life full of success, health and a deep-pocked bank account?" How about this: a sheet of paper ten times the size of this little blog would be insufficient to list the whirlwinds (Nahum's terminology) of our lives and, for some, would be a one-to-one match for those they have experienced.

But two things should comfort us in the midst of daily darkness; the white-out blinding inability to see every detail of the future clearly. First, we all experience them. Second, we all need them. God has no method more effective to not only get our attention and adjust and change our lives; He also has found it fully effective for us to be able to embrace, love, comfort and care for others and, yes, occasionally provide them with answers and solutions they cannot themselves see. The lack of detail and sight to what's next as well as the massive blows and shattering blasts (not to mention the small, constant irritations) smooth us and humble us and force us to submit to the role He has chosen for us at the moment.

William Cowper, the 18th century poet and hymnodist could take the stand in defense of all I have written. He passed through a period of great crisis in his life. Finally one bleak morning he tried to put an end to it all by taking poison. The attempt at suicide failed. He couldn't even successfully kill himself. He then hired a coach and was driven to the Thames River, intending to throw himself from the bridge but was "strangely restrained." The next morning he fell upon a sharp knife but the blade broke! He later tried to hang himself but was found and taken down unconscious . . . still alive. Some time later he took up a Bible, began to read the Book of Romans, and was gloriously changed forever. Jesus became His treasure. The God of the storms had pursued him unto the end and won his heart.

After a rich life of Christian experiences, Cowper sat down and recorded his summary of the Lord's dealings in the familiar words: "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, / and rides upon the storm."

Before the dust settles, why not ask God to have His way in today's whirlwind and storm? I just reminded myself to be a blessing and comfort to a friend today...tomorrow he will have to do similarly with me.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Exceeding Expectations? Are There Any?

She said to the king, 'The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard - 1 Kings 10:6-8

"I'm shocked," said the woman on the phone. "I've just seen your picture. I was expecting a grey haired old man. You are too young to have the wisdom that I read in your messages. And, now, talking to you, I am so impressed!"

That was a few years ago. Today she would just not and look at the white hair and hopefully give experience the credit it is due...

Of course, my point is this, when people meet you, or experience your work life skills, would they say that you far exceeded their expectations? Do you undersell and over produce, or oversell and under produce? Solomon's wisdom far exceeded any man's wisdom and it was evident to others. When people come in contact with you do they come away with a sense of greater appreciation of you after meeting you? I met with a couple last night who were relieved at my level of knowledge and insight into my industry. Is that you?

"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men - Proverbs 22:29. Whenever we exceed the expectations of man, we bring glory to our Heavenly Father and He often elevates us among men. You might read a lot of things beyond this into your theology but the thought is straight-forward.

Bezalel was a man who designed the ark of the covenant for Moses. God handpicked him to design it because of his exceptional skill. GASP! God chose him because he was something...Bezalel was actually the most exceptional in his craft and it was this talent that God used.

Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others" (Ex 35:30-35).

We live in a time and amongst a people of God where, at some level, and with some who have a voice into the larger world stage, there is a push to fully divorce who we are and what we do and/or how well we do it from whether we are acceptable for use by God. Of course, there is another line of thinking, a branch of this if you will, that simply says, "Just be the person you are, God loves you there; accept who you are and it will all be fine because God accepts and loves you where you are!" And, while God loves and realizes who we are, that has always been true! Prior to our coming to Jesus Christ, and our acceptance and embrace of Him as our Lord, Savior, King and Great Treasure, God loved you and realized who you were. It was not however okay with Him and you were not in fact "accepted".

God isn't in the business of leaving us where we are. While God loves us where we are He in fact loves us so much He will never us there and it is His sovereignty that brings into our lives in order to polish the diamond that is our life If there was a Kingdom project to be done would God recommend you for the job? God calls you and I to live our lives and do our work with excellence. He expects our cooperation. He also anticipates we desire, because of our love and realization of who He is, that we will wish to hone and embrace more of our relationship with Him.

Paul once wrote to a people who had come to Jesus Christ these words, We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
- Colossians 1:4-8

Jesus brings forth love to the Father. That brings forth a desire to show forth that love to Him and that leads to others seeing the love, the life, and the quality of what it means to be "in Him". Regardless of the voices that cry "just be free!" Freedom means something to those who love not just the freedom but the one who provides it to us moment by moment and day by day!

I remain...
InHISgrip,
~J~