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~