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~

A Freedom All Can Confidently Choose

I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Deuteronomy 30:19,20 (The Message)

I was thinking this morning on an early mentor to my Christian life. His name was James Singleton. He was a man of character, and an unwavering single-minded focus on his faith and button-downed in terms of what he believed. One thing he believed was that the concept of sin was being swept away by the psycho-elements of Christianity. Personal responsibility for how we acted and displeased God was being lost under a barrage of pseudo-scientific explanations where each of us was now fully NOT responsible for the way we acted.

The concept of sin was being lost to the church. This was back in 1976. The "modern" world had no place for the archaic concept of sin.

Ya, right.

But my friends and family it is now 34 years later since I had those discussions with this man of faith and power. Sin, the ability for a person to, independently and willfully displease God, is very much alive. No number of books, symposiums, classes, advanced courses or experts opinions to the contrary can change the simple, oft-repeated experience billions of times a day where humans separate themselves in deed, thought and attitude from the God who provides them life. The Greek word, in our New Testament that is translated sin is roughly the word hamartia (ham arr tee ah) and in Greek means to miss the mark. God the Father has a target in mind, His Son actually, and we fall short or miss that ideal in the way we act and/or think daily.

It is a source of heartache, feelings of guilt, aggravation and personal disappointment for most who call themselves Christians.

I wish I could guarantee all of us full freedom from sin 365 days a year, but that is not possible. As long as we roam the earth we will fight a battle, a personal battle with personal sin. I have given great study and thought to the idea of perpetual sinlessness (theologians call it "sinless perfection"). It will not be ours to enjoy until we are given glorified bodies and we are at home in heaven.

But their is good news. The relationship that Jesus re-established for us with His life, suffering, death and resurrection has provided us the leadership we need; the continual presence of our God in our lives and His direction as we both speak with and listen to Him. We don't have to sin on a constant, day-after-day basis. The actions of the Savior has freed us to accept counsel and get direction from a personal relationship with God.


But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. - Romans 6:17--18

Wonderful, wonderful truth! Choosing righteousness, we enjoy a lifestyle marked by God's blessings, stability, and strength. God's goodness, His Grace frees us to choose, yes more than choose, make ourselves slaves to eternal life concepts, principles and actions. We can decide to walk with God and draw strength from Him to face whatever life throws at us. However, we can decide to walk away from God and face the inescapable consequences of sin.

The next time you are tempted to yield to your old master, Master Sin, remember this: Grace invites you to return and find forgiveness, but it doesn't automatically erase the scars that accompany missing the mark of the high-calling of being God's child; some scars could stay with you for life.

In spite of the terrible consequences sins may bring, grace also means we allow others the freedom to choose, regardless. To do otherwise abuses as much as those who use their freedom as a license to sin. I am a firm believer in mutual accountability, but grace means I will not force or manipulate or judge or attempt to control you, nor should you do those things to me. It means we will keep on helping others to freedom by providing moments of hope. In naval speak we might call it providing "breathing holes." It means we deliberately let go so each of us can grow and learn on our own; otherwise, we shall never enjoy the liberty of an open sea.

So, this little snippet goes out to parents, brothers and sisters and great friends: For most of us, letting others go is neither natural nor easy. Because we care, it is more our tendency to give people hints or advice. The thought of letting them fail or fall is extremely painful to us, but God treats us like that virtually every day of our lives. We tend to clutch, not release . . . to put people in our frame and not allow them any breathing holes unless and until they accept the shape of our molds.

Let us be carriers of love, patience, grace and space. God is still on the throne and is still the greatest weapon in a battle against missing His very best...

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

It's Been Your Experience - Is That Right - Hmmm...

Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord's covenant moved from the camp - Numbers 14:44

The people of Israel were brought out of Egypt to enter a new land-the Promised Land. It is a little simplistic to say that this land was handed over to them freely. The Fact is, if you read the accounts of their travels the "giving" of it required the removing of peoples who were occupying them that had made themselves God's enemies. The removal process would be through land fought battles. The battles required a partnership between God and the Israelites. As long as the people worshipped, listened to and remained faithful to God, they were victorious.

In the above scripture Israel was camped at Kadesh Barnea. This was near the border entrance to the long-awaited Promised Land. All the hardships of their journey from Egypt were now culminating at this important geographic crossing point. However, as the story goes, only two men, Joshua and Caleb proclaimed in faith and belief in the promise of God, that it was possible to take hold of the land. These two men alone, out of 10, were the only ones who believed it feasible to take the land and conquer their enemies.

What of the other scouts? What of these other spies?

The other scouts added the enemies strength without consideration for God's strength and promise; they saw all the dangers and refused to take the risk. Or, to put it another way, they refused to trust their God. The people of the camp of Israel shrank in fear because of the majority report from the other 8 naysayers. The Jews made a choice. They would not enter in.

God was angered at the people for their lack of faith. Moses had to intercede on behalf of his Jewish brothers with God. Eventually the Jews understood their error but by then the season of God's favor had passed. Moses attempted to let them know it was no longer "ok." But they thought their repentance was enough to right their wrong with such a loving, kind, merciful and benevolent God.

The Jews presumed a simple, "sorry" was all that was necessary to make nice-nice with God.

Again, Moses informed them they were deceived in their presumption of God's favor. They went to battle against the Amalekites only to be soundly defeated. Those who returned did not understand why they lost the battle. Hearing God's voice and understanding His wishes for our lives is personal and it is corporate. You and I have a life mission. We need to hear God on that. We are also to be a part of a body of Christ, a church and that church is to have a mission and fulfill it in God's timing and according to His will. We need to know what it is.

My loved ones and friends, it is important for us to know whether we have God's hand upon our endeavors. Presumption leads to failure. God's favor leads to success. Our daily walk, our prayer, worship meditation, study will lead to a life where we become familiar and where we anticipate and receive His guidance. Ask God to confirm His hand on your endeavors and expect it...

Ultimately Israel got to this point...If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here-Exodus 33:15

...and so should be our thoughts and prayers with God as well...I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

This Is An OUT OF MY HEAD! - House Bill 3200 YIKES!!!

Well, I have done it! I didn’t want to. I didn’t think it was necessary actually. But I can tell you that I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009.

I studied it with particular emphasis from my specific area of interest Historical Constitutional Law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected. And, from my perspective, informed citizen, I was right. Much of it is written so that our constitutional rights will be remanded.

First, you need to know that much of what has been purported negatively about the new law (and please, make no mistake they are not mandating legislation but new rules of LAW) and its implications is in fact true, despite what many Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free and on demand abortion services, and most likely forced participation in abortion procedures by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business (or fully restructure every organization and corporation that operates in the field at costs that have not even begun to be understood or studied) and put everyone into a government run system that will develop whole new agencies. Federal bureaucrats will ultimately make all decisions about personal health care and most of them will not be health care professionals but rather political appointees. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.

However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Did you see that? Health care is not the purpose of this law! Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

First thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate most of those areas to begin with and by that I mean currently or historically. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care, associated business or the direct management of business in the United States.

This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this “access” can easily be abused and becomes a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about your right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed "acceptable" to the "Health Choices Administrator" appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. You will be penalized for being entrepreneurial and a freethinking, free acting citizen! It is called a "tax" instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property (real property holders) without the "due process" of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that those who seeks to control hate so much out of the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though. The 9th Amendment that provides: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;" The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

There is a ton more but you get the gist don’t you? (Please just nod your head here.) This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation" to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source.

Here is a link to the Constitution:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html_

And another to the Bill of Rights:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us. I know, it’s hard work being a free American. That is why we find ourselves even having to go through the ordeal of this situation. “Lazy” does not seem to be in our mantra as a nation but it has become a cloak we wear to cover up an otherwise very busy life. Let’s resist the taking from us what has cost us so dearly to acquire, the ability as freethinking men and women to do right until the stars fall!

In all of this my hope and my focus is my faith in a God who controls the destinies of men. He also provides for creativity and will and purpose. I personally have purposed not to just flop over and let an ill intentioned regime take away the rights of millions with the brush of a pen.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

When It's Time to Move On - Expect Greater Things!

In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. - Genesis 30:43

The Old Testament Patriarch (prior to becoming old or a patriarch) Jacob left his homeland after suffering a broken relationship with his brother Esau. Jacob, at the biding of his mother and whether right or wrong robbed Esau of the family blessing.

We next find Jacob working for his uncle Laban. This was no short-timer gig. Jacob stayed for 20 plus years.

But now it's time for him to leave Laban's hire. But (and this should give us a sense of both Jacob and ourselves - Note to self: if I have done something for 20 years and have NOTHING to show for it, I might have a problem!) he had no physical assets to show for those years under Laban.

Laban had taken advantage of his nephew in every way. As you become more familiar with the story you realize in some ways, Jacob was reaping the seed he had sown his entire life as a manipulator and controller starting with the whole stealing the blessing debacle from his brother Esau.

And in the next instance we personally find hope. For, as bad as Jacob had been, as rotten as he may have treated his brother and as lousy a conniving cheater he might have been, God's hand was on Jacob, and He had plans to prosper him.

That blows me away. Say it with me, "God is good to me when I do not deserve His goodness."

But, still, Jacob had one problem - he had no resources of his own. For Jacob to launch out on his own, he would need finances or something of value. In those days, resources often meant large flocks of animals. This was not as convenient as a bank account but still quite effective for the time. Well, as it was with Him, God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy for creating wealth by multiplying his sheep. Even though Laban sought to prevents Jacob's efforts, God overcame the evil in Laban to allow Jacob to prosper.

There are a bunch of lessons for us in this story. First, when God decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call. Find hope in this.

God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to build wealth. It was totally from God's hand. It was creative and new. Expect God to work in your mind and your mind.

Then, God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness in 25 plus years of serving his uncle. Jacob learned to live under authority and served the man faithfully, even though Jacob knew he was being taken advantage of. Your loyalty in life will inure to your benefit eventually - count on it.

What God did in Jacobs life He will do the same for you and me. However, a word of caution: Be sure the strategy operating in your heart and mind is born from above, and not from self-effort. This is where our being personally sensitive to God's voice needs exercise. It comes from listening daily and expecting to hear from Him.

The difficulty for most Christians is to learn the difference between the strategies born of God versus the strategy of self-effort. It is like anything in life we wish to master; the more time we spend with our Heavenly Father...in His word...in worship...in prayer and in meditation and listening the easier it is for His leading to be heard in our heart of hearts and understood by you and I.

Stand with me today...but...shhhh...service...learn loyalty...be a man/woman of honor...expect God to move in you and through you.

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

I Got Nothin' Left...(of my own)

The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength - 1 Samuel 2:4

There is an oxymoron throughout the Bible. It says that brokenness is strength. Virtually every great name or significant life eschewed in the scriptures was an individual who was first beaten down. The lessons of leadership often were not learning how to lead in small things and then bigger and bigger things. The lessons of leadership were often, prison, beatings, running, poverty, servanthood, slavery and mocking.

How can this be? The Strength of Brokenness. How can brokenness be strength? This week in my life would be a lousy one to ask me the question so I write this in faith.

If you read the Bible at all you realize a methodology that is in action. God takes our sin and our weakness and turns it into strength. If Satan and his minions (the demons) are attempting to destroy our lives God will often let the destruction go and go and go.

There does however seem to be a dividing line past which they can't act and, if we are His people; a man or woman who has committed our life to Jesus Christ beyond which our brokenness is received.

In order to use men and women to their fullest extent, the Lord has to break His servants so that they might have a new kind of strength that is not human in origin. It is strength in spirit that is born only through brokenness. This is the place where we discover our birthright DNA and His rulership in our life is not just available (after all it was always there) but it is a point at which we most readily receive it.

Saul was a self righteous Pharisee heading off on a mission to beat down Christians when he was broken on the Damascus road. Peter was broken after Jesus was taken prisoner just before He would also go to the cross. The Old Testament Jewish saint Jacob was broken at a place called Peniel. King David was broken many times. One of the last of which (apparently most of us are more stubborn over our sinful desires than we care to admit) after his many sins relating to nothing more than simple lust over a woman named Bathsheba. (This begs the question when you can have anything, how far will you go to have what you shouldn't have? Ask Adam and Eve when you get to heaven.)

The list could go on of those the Lord had to break in different ways before they could be used in the Kingdom. And before he could pour out abundance to or through them. It also apparently includes me; over and over again.

What should become obvious to us through this constant snapping and cracking and popping of our spiritual framework? Here's one...when we are broken, we should see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength. I've experienced this part. What follows, as memory serves, is that new supernatural/eternal strength emerges that God uses mightily.

Oh ya...there is that whole thing about God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

As type this I am broken once again. Here is what I am telling myself right now, "Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a new kind of strength and experience not known before."

Pray for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless. Pray that you get the lesson quickly.

I remain...(it's all I have left)

InHISgrip,
~J~

Walking in the Ointment!

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.... - 1 Samuel 16:13

I recall hearing these words of a country pastor at a David Wilkerson rally as a teenager (Anyone remember The Cross and the Switchblade?), "God desires that you always walk in the ointment!" I recall thinking to myself, "Ewwww!!! God!!! C'mon! - not that!" Well I have since learned there are differences between the ointment that my grandma used to put on everything that ached (and that made me wish I had no olfactory senses) and God's unique and unusual calling in the life of one of his kids.

The anointment or anointing is to be desired by Christians. God does have a plan for your life. It is that you lose it in His and that you do it when He touches you, gives you not only direction but power!

So the question is, how has the Holy Spirit of the Lord rested on your life? And a follow-up, can you recall when God's Spirit began demonstrating His power through you? When was it? Where was it? How did it express itself?

David knew the day the Spirit of the Lord began a special work in him. God's Spirit is different from most leaders. Instead of seeking power and control, He led, provided inner guidance, wisdom and direction in response to a felt and physical need. Instead of being a perfect person, the spirit revealed to David and David learned from mistakes and acknowledged them among those to the nation of Israel.

DAvid caught on. Do not place confidence in your own abilities. And he sought wisdom from the only real wise one and sage, the Lord God Almighty.

Because of his learned sensitivity to the leading of God on his life, this anointing, David never lost a battle. It was true that he failed God by sinning with Bathsheba and by numbering the troops after God told him not to specifically, but King David learned from each misstep. He took his medicine. Sin cost him dearly. But, the Spirit of the Lord never left David. The Holy Ghost never left because David was always tender, sensitive and had his heart and ear bent toward God. David's pride was never greater, in his human mind, than God's call.

So, as Vizzini says in the Princess Bride, "So, now it comes down to you and now it comes down to me." You, if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you have a calling on your life. How are you responding? Tender? Sensitive to God's Spirit? You need to know God will not allow that Spirit to rest on us if we are prideful. If we seek to control outcomes and manipulate out of our need for power or yes, even our of our insecurity. Servant leaders are aware they're only a clay pot in the Master Potters hands. They serve a purpose. They are pliable. They don't value themselves more than they ought but realize that they do have eternal value as long as they stay in HIS grip.

King David's heart, though he was imperfect, belonged totally to His God. Today, with me, let's once more give God our all and commit to having a hearing spirit so the Great Holy Spirit of God may begin His job of leading us into all truth and the adventure of an eternal lifetime!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~

Is It The Road Or The Driver?

And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!" - Joshua 7:7

When was the last time a superior of some form or fashion gave you a job, a set of rules, a command with responsibility, a mission, saddled you with the responsibility to ensure that deliverables were constructed; or, put another way, that objectives and outcomes take place? The rest of it was that they left you to do the job and then disappeared from sight with seemingly no regard for the obstacles that cropped up?

Perhaps you were given precise and accurate instructions on how to get from point A to point B but in the getting their you seemed to keep getting stuck by tickets, road construction, hazards’ and traffic.

Let me put it in spiritual terms for you. Have you ever felt like you were doing what God wanted you to do, but your plans were totally frustrated? The more you attempted to do the right thing the harder it became and perhaps the farther you seemed from the goal. This was how Joshua felt.

Originally God had promised Moses that Israel would be “given” a land of their very own. Moses, because of disobedience to the known word of God, did not receive that promise and was left outside the land. Nonetheless, Israel, under the obedient command of Joshua sallied forth. The Lord was with Israel as they entered this land of Promise. Oh, and prior to the completion of the task (to occupy their land) God also informed Israel the land I am giving you, well, you’re going to fight the current occupants for it. Great!

Well, Israel defeated every enemy because of God's blessing and protection. As of the writing of the above verse they had just taken the city of Jericho. They even knew where the next battle would be fought, a city called Ai. They scouted the enemy and determined it would require just 3,000 men for victory. They attacked! But soon reports came back that they were being beaten. A perplexed Joshua was dumbfounded. He dropped to his knees in dramatic fashion, buried his face in the dirt and cried out to God.

God was not impressed.

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face (you nerfball)?” Then God delivers the stunner: “Israel has sinned; they have violated My covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction" - Joshua 7:10-12.

Here is the tale of the tape kids:

1. Whenever we open ourselves up to sin, we become liable not only for our actions but we remove ourselves from God’s protective promises. God cannot rule, reign and execute His good will where he doesn’t have the rule and we demonstrate our love by our obedience to Him.

2. Once God removes His protective shield from our lives we now can see just how powerless we are to accomplish anything of value. The sin must be purged out.
Our Eternal Dad, like a Chess master uses a pawn will often allow the enemy of our souls (the Devil) to accomplish the task of bringing us back to reliance and faith in Him. If you feel you are being thwarted in some way, examine your life to see if there is any sin that is the cause of the problem.

I am not suggesting out and out known disobedience to God is always the reason for failure in our “goals for God.” Sin does however need to be eliminated as a source.

Ask your Heavenly Father if this is the case. He will show you. He instantly showed Joshua. Remember, more than just my most recent theme, God’s desire is relationship with you. Once you are His He will painfully pursue its growth between the two of you. The road from point A to B is still the right road. How you handle the getting there determines how much pleasure you derive from the trip! I remain…

InHISgrip,
~J~

A Course In Self Defense

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. - Psalm 37:6

Have you come to a time in your faith when you have asked yourself or God Himself, what is the cruelty you are currently going through? If not, you will. It’s simply part of the graduate course in the University of the Kingdom of God.

As a believer grows in trusting obedience and love, God often brings a test that seems uncharacteristically cruel. The test I speak of is specific. It is the test of being wrongfully judged by those close to you; by those whose opinion means the most to us.

It is a test to make you self-aware of something that is killer. It cannot be passed over by simply gutting it out. I have experience with this. The Bible provides many examples.
Supernatural grace is the only means of passing this test; of graduating from this course.

It is one of those tests Jesus had to experience Himself when being tried by the court of public opinion, the religious community, and the government of His day. His response to the government was silence. His response to the religious establishment was silence at the final judgment. To the rest of His accusers He remained quiet and left vindication to His heavenly Father.

Jesus lived out the commandment He gave to the disciples:

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked - Luke 6:35

How do you react when you are accused or mistreated for no reason? Do you listen quietly, or do you justify each and every action? If you are like me it depends on the setting. With people whom I feel superior I can be big-hearted and gracious. After all, they are probably ignorant of my status and position. In situations that might be costly to me, economically or positionally I can mount amazing defenses. How about you?

Most of us take pride in doing what is right and expect the same from others, especially family, close friends and our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Jesus knew that if you and I were to be a true follower of His, we eventually would go through this fire. It is part of the study course. You and I will have ample opportunity to be wronged, misunderstood, and maligned. When God brings a measured assault against one of His children, it is to open our eyes that we find out if we truly believe in the cross and have associated ourselves with it.

What does that mean? The cross is where each of us is given the opportunity to die to our pride, our reputations, and our self-worth. When our heavenly Father allows a measured assault upon us, it is to find out if the cross of Jesus is sufficient. We discover the depths of our faith. Will we seek to rescue ourselves?

Jesus once said if we die with Him, we would be raised with Him.

Here’s my thought to you on this: When God allows Satan to bring judgment from those we value most, ask Him for the grace and perseverance to remain quiet and cling to the cross. Let the pride and arrogance that Jesus wants to remove from our lives be crucified. Thank God for the opportunity to be crucified with Christ. Then your righteousness will shine like the noonday sun and the justice of your cause will be in His hands!

I remain…

InHISgrip,
~J~

Good Friday - What It Is - What It Is

In just a few days the day known as "Good Friday" will be upon us. This is significant in a week that is called "Holy" to those of us who are Christians.

For those that are not Christians, Good Friday is the day Christians commemorate (like an anniversary) the death of Christ; the crucifixion of Jesus at a hill called Calvary (latin calvaria: skull). Some people recognize it by the name of Golgotha, the Aramaic version. Because there were so many crucifixions done there it was named Golgotha which means, "the place of the skull." That is how the Bible interprets it.

There are no specific rituals that are followed, except many Christians observe this day with prayer, fastings, and specific Bible readings that explain the events that led up to Jesus’ being hung on a cross. So why is it called good if it is the day that Jesus was killed? There are two ways to answer this question: from a theological perspective and from a translation-cultural perspective.

From a theological perspective, one can say Good Friday is called “good” because Jesus willingly gave up his life so humanity could have a relationship with God, commonly known as vicarious atonement. Vicarious atonement is the theological term. It means Jesus’ death satisfied the legal requirement from God to pay for the sins of mankind so we could once again have a relationship with Him. Jesus form of death took the penalty of sin for every human when He died on the cross. His death was a substitution for those who decide to accept it. Jesus hung in our place as He bore our sin in his body on the cross. In The Bible we get this meaning from a number of reading passages:

Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many

Romans 5:6-9 - For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Galatians 1:3-5 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (vernacular for a cross during that day - a gentler term), that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

From a translation-cultural perspective, interestingly, only in the English and Dutch language is Good Friday called “good”. In German, Good Friday is called Mourning Friday. It is called Karfreitag, (the kar part is no longer used) but it means mourning. Perhaps this is the right view from an earthly perspective. After all mourning is exactly what the disciples did on that Friday on Calvary – they mourned the death of their leader, teacher, friend and Messiah. In Israel, Good Friday is known as Big Friday probably because of how profitable it has become as Christian Pilgrims invade the land. In Malta, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria and several other countries and most of the Eastern Orthodox Church the day is called Great Friday. Finally, in Latin America, Spain, Italy and Spain the day is called Holy Friday and in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland it is called Long Friday.

Wherever you find yourself this coming Friday, I send you well wishes as we commemorate the death of Jesus and the life and relationship with God His death provides to those of us who believe. May you know that Jesus’ death was for all, there are no qualifiers, all means all!

And, only this can be said of Jesus, "whom to know mans life eternal!"

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~