Remember, "It's all about you!"

     Now don't get me wrong.  We live in a world where entitlement and "it's all about you" are the predominant movements in the world.  Our common sense has moved from suspect to disregarded.  This downward movement of man is seen by the world as an upward transformation that will allow the masses to evolve into their full potential.  Really?!  And who was the idiot who came up with that one?  Well, it's Satan.  Yep, our old enemy who has been re-marketing this particular philosophy since the beginning of time.  "Surely you won't die." We would do well to heed the next thing Satan said, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  There you have it.  You are entitled to be god in your own world.  Your world then really is "all about you!"  Congratulations!  But what about me?  (My entitlement)  Do I get to be the god of my world as well?  Yep, as long as you don't mind going up against God. 
     This is a good place to slip in a truth.  Make sure you are reading and hearing what I am saying.  This is vital and it's a message from God.  God says, "It's all about you."  "You will receive blessings from Heaven you cannot contain."  "You will have life everlasting."  Not bad.  God has more to say about the subject though.  All of this the above is declared with authority that no one but God has.  It's the authority of God through the work of Christ in his life, death and resurrection.  God did it all for you with only his greatest wish for you to be saved and blessed.  As such, we don't need to try and have harmony with a world we are in opposition to.  As such, we don't need to try and create, maintain and grow our own little world.  As such, we don't need to provide for a future and a hope.  Why?  Because all of that has been done for us through the sacrificial giving of LIFE through God's completed work.
     The world seems to have one epidemic or another going on in some place in the world all the time.  These epidemics are meant to destroy and break down not to create and build up.  Epidemics are like a fire.  Epidemics need fuel to keep them growing and destroying.  Fires need oxygen to maintain themselves.  Epidemics need only selfishness and a sense of entitlement from those who are outside of the epidemic in order to maintain their destructive force.  Take our sin for example.  It's an epidemic in each of our lives since the beginning of time.  Time began when mankind died after eating the fruit of the tree.  Time ends when we confess Jesus and live for him.  We live on but our future has changed.  The epidemic, for the Christian, has ceased to exist.  Some, including me, may continue to live as if we were part of the epidemic but God has created a way out to where we don't need to be in the epidemic anymore.  We are free...and yet we enslave ourselves rather than let God take care of all of our needs as he said he would.  We don't really believe when this happens.
     "Count your blessings, every last one..."  That's what the song and the Bible say.  Yet, we are easily distracted and lose sight of that truth.  "Jesus paid it all..."  He did, yet we are easily distracted and lose sight of that truth.  "The joy of the Lord is my strength..."  Yes it is.  What happened that we have lost sight of that truth?  Perhaps it's time to examine who is the god of our world and what part we ave in that world.  Either God is the god of our world or we are.  Satan goes roaming about the earth seeking whom he may devour.  Heaven knows there are lots of us who have parts of our lives devoured every day.  Let's make Satan go elsewhere and offer the fruit.  Let's realize and accept that God, through Jesus, is all for you.  Your life then can reflect Jesus risen from the dead.  Through this work, we are more than conquerors over life and death.  Have a great day knowing that God has positive planned for every part of your life.  Remember to thank him and look expectantly for God to meet all your needs.  You're entitled!

When we live the empty words we speak.

     Have you ever encountered a person who walks a hundred miles an hour?  I have.  They seem to be living on way too much caffeine and energy drinks!  As you see them coming you lock eyes with them and within the span of 10 feet they say, "How are you?" and in a flash are gone.  Empty words spoken at the speed of life.  If you are going to ask a question, take the time to listen for an answer.  It doesn't mean that you have to solve everyone's problems.  It means that you listened and cared enough to engage that person.  You may have been the only one who engaged them in a time of their own personal crisis.  I was once asked that question and heard back at me: "Really?  You want to know?"  I would love to tell you that I stopped and engaged.  However, I did not.  A missed opportunity because I began something I wasn't willing to complete.
     We make people invisible.  For instance, we all have seen the homeless begging and seeking "anything" to make their lives easier.  All the time an empty beer can on the ground and a cigarette hanging out of their mouths.  Yep, we stereotype people.  So, we don't look at them.  We glance at them and their sign and hope and pray that they don't engage us!  When we do engage, what do we have to offer?  Perhaps that's where the empty words are spoken most.  It's easy to intentionally miss the invisible people around us.  It may even be someone from your own family, your husband or wife, or even one or all of your children.  Somehow they are the receivers of all the empty words we speak.  "Not now."  "I'm busy."  "We will see."  "What did you say?"  The list goes on and on but the truth remains the same.  We ignore people with the empty words that we speak.  Then we are mystified when our children, friends and family all turn out just like us.  We become invisible in our old age or even sooner.
     When we live the empty words we speak we cheapen the worth of someone.  God isn't like that.  But then God is love and that's just the way love is.  Is that the key?  Is our love of others really not love at all and we can justify making empty statements verbally and physically?  Has it come to the point in our lives where we love ourselves and don't really love anyone else?  When are we going to take the time to listen before we speak?  I've uttered many prayers where I didn't listen to God before, during or after the prayer.  The words I spoke to God were empty.  This is reflective of times in my life when God wasn't important enough for me to live seriously for Him.  How are you?  That's what God asks.  He REALLY wants to know (not that he doesn't know anyway) from you personally.  That person who is asked about how they are is not convinced that you really care enough to stop yourself and be Jesus to them.  The child who is told "Because I said so!" for the 20th time that day knows that you don't really want to engage them.  We don't take the time to speak with them because we are so busy speaking to them.
     When we are "surface" people we are not doing what we are designed and commissioned to do.  If we only engage when it's comfortable or safe we are not bringing Christ to those around us.  Bringing healing to a hurting world is one of the most important activities you can engage in.  Why?  Because that's what Jesus did for you and I.  He stopped, listened, heard, and spoke because he cared about you individually and collectively.  I would challenge you as well as I to do the same.  Don't try to do this with everyone.  Just the people God wants you to care about. 

Are we on the edge of destruction?

     Barry McGuire wrote and performed that song back in the 60's for those of you who remember.  The song outlined most everything that was going wrong in that time in the world.  We were at war, people were feeling hopeless and many had given up on society.  Some even disappeared to only find a new identity in a different location and start all over.  Others went into communes and sought the wisdom of the ages.  Barry was different.  Barry went on to become a Christian and to write, record and perform many Christian songs.  His influence has taken a 180 from where he was then.  Today Baltimore is burning, there are riots, destruction and looting across the nation.  Kids are killing kids in schools and on and on the carnage goes.  Yet, Jesus said, the end won't come.  He won't return until it gets worse.  So why do we try to make things better?  Wouldn't it just be easier to let it all go, have Jesus come back, and take us home?  That isn't the plan though.
     What has happened?  God and the Bible has been kicked out of most places and groups in the United States of America.  Prayer (doctors say it helps people heal) has been kicked out of schools and forbidden in so many venue's that we are left wondering what is next.  Yet, society seems to need two things amidst this time and place.  They are looking for someone to blame and they are looking for someone to take care of their every need.  Drop the kids off at daycare, send them to school, they go home alone afterwords and watch violent shows on the TV.  Later that evening, because there are no parents who care, they go out and rob and kill for thrill or boredom.  When caught, the parents, groups, and whomever claims that it's someone else's fault.  Where is the accountability?  We have plenty of people wanting to hold us accountable but refuse to be accountable themselves.  Then to be accountable to what?  The moral compass has shifted and God is no longer sought for healing and direction.
     What hasn't happened?  People haven't taken the time to self examine themselves without comparison to their past.  I don't care how bad you had it.  I don't care if you couldn't have the designer jeans and shoes.  I don't care if you are only earning minimum wage.  I don't care if you have had 3 babies before the age of 18.  I don't care if any of this is going on.  I DO care if you say those magical words:  "It was my choice."  The problem and solution begin here.  Let's get away from the belief in entitlement.  Deal with it.  That's the message of the Gospel.  Either you are a new creation or not.  The old has passed away and the new has come or not.  You live with a future hope or you do not.  All of those are your choices.  It's my choice too.  So why do we choose that which is destructive over that which is constructive?
     What has taken over?  Selfishness in a word.  We are a selfish people with a selfish plan with only selfish needs the object of all our energies.  Children become a bother, bosses become the enemy, family supports your selfishness instead of calling you on it.  Your gang member 18 year old who was shot in a drive by was not a "wonderful young man who visited his grandma every Sunday."  He was a gang member and YOU let him be.  Your family let him be.  Your community let him be.  Why?  Because you wanted someone to look worse than you so that you could feel good about your selfishness. 
     Okay, we are on the edge of destruction.  You can choose what gets destroyed.  Your selfishness and sense of entitlement or your standing firm and being an accountable and productive product of God's doing.  What's it going to be? 

Have you ever been amazed?

     There have been any number of times when I have been amazed over the years.  For beginners the birth of my children.  Watching the process from becoming pregnant to delivery of that child has to be right up there at the top of amazing events.  My first child's birth was especially impacting as I was innocent.  Innocent in the way that I had never been there or done that before in my life.  When that little baby came out and cried; so did I.  Love took me to a new level of amazement.  Wow!  Each child's birth was special in just that same way but different.  I'm sure that the point of view from their mother was different from mine as well as would be for every couple.  The point that I had something to do with creation itself was and is amazing! 
     We say that this or that is "amazing" on a regular basis.  It's amazing that my car made that trip.  It's amazing that he/she is able to even function.  It's amazing what surgeons can do with modern medicine.  It's amazing that I'm still alive and not in jail!  The last one is especially true for me.  What creates all of this "amazing" reflection in our lives?  I would like to suggest that "amazing" is the product of the "opposite".  Let me explain.  We know the ordinary so anything outside of the ordinary is extraordinary.  It's beyond the bounds of our imagination.  We cannot see past the confines of our minds, experiences and desires.  Though we are a driven people, we are constantly looking for what isn't there...yet.  When I see some news report of a girl being raped on a beach by 3 guys in front of thousands of people and NO ONE does anything; that's amazing in a completely negative way.  It's the "opposite" of our expectations. 
     The Bible has a favorite story of "amazing" that I love to tell.  Moses was minding his own business tending the sheep and probably a few goats as well.  He is looking in the sky for predatory birds as well as scanning the surrounding land for the same thing.  Suddenly, there is a burning bush.  That's not amazing.  The bush is on fire.  That's not amazing.  The bush is not consumed.  That's amazing.  The story doesn't end there.  Moses leaves his herd to watch itself.  Outside of the norm for him and it's amazing the sheep/goats stayed there.  He approaches the bush and God speaks out of the burning bush.  Wait!  God speaks?  That's not amazing.  He's been speaking forever.  God speaks out of the burning bush.  That's amazing.  Of all the mediums he could have spoken from, God chose the burning bush.  The best is still to come!  Moses has a conversation with God.  Moses doesn't just listen to God, he talks with God!  Amazing!  Getting better but not there yet.  God tells Moses what he wants Moses to do.  Moses argues with God, whines about the calling but finally gives in.  Here comes the amazing moment in the story.  Moses asks God THE question:  "Who shall I tell the people has sent me?"  Dead silence for a moment or longer.  You can almost hear God slap himself on the forehead and proclaim his shock at the question.  God finally addresses this amazing (stupid) question in this manner:  "Tell them that I Am has sent you."  What?  There was the chasm between God and Moses that exists in us today.
     For God there are no other gods.  For man, there are many gods to choose from.  Some choose God and others settle for god.  For the god mankind chooses, there are names by which the question could be answered.  "Buddha sent me."  However, for the creator of the world and all that he created there is only one answer.  "I Am sent you."  As in, the only God.  There is no other.  All the rest are manufactured.  If Moses had been thinking God wouldn't have had to be amazed.  If we are thinking then we needn't be amazed either.  God is.  God will always be.  I'm amazed!  Are you?

Forgive me Father for I have sinned.

     Is it just me or does anyone else think God gets tired of hearing me say those 7 words?  Daily and sometimes many times a day I utter those words.  I mean them but how much?   Enough so that I won't repeat my sin?  Since I repeat specific sin from time to time; evidently not enough.  Yet, I know that God wants me to ask for forgiveness when I do sin.  Acknowledging my need for forgiveness from Him and relationship with Him is one of the primary driving forces in me.  So, why don't I just do what I know what is right to do and not sin? (James 4:17)  When we put this in perspective we are asking for something we don't deserve but want to have without consequence.  It may be what you needed from a mom or dad growing up.  Perhaps it was a teacher or grandparent that you needed this forgiveness for.  I don't know your circumstances.  I do know mine.
     It's one thing asking God to forgive us our sins and an entirely different thing to confess to someone here, in front of us, in the flesh.  Twelve step programs all have the same premise.  We are powerless over our addiction and need the intervention of God to overcome those addictions.  One of the steps is to make amends where needed and possible to those whom we have offended against.  What a difficult and humbling task!  Asking someone you have sinned against for their forgiveness without rationalizing or justifying yourself is difficult.  First you need to get over yourself and then come in humbleness to the "other."  It's as difficult a process as we make it.  The more we fight the process, the greater the mountain to overcome.  Putting ourselves on the altar before God or man means being vulnerable to God or man.  It means that we need something from them that we don't deserve.  Grace.
     I once refused to apologize to a teacher I had offended (5th grade I think).  She was astounded that I would refuse when I had been caught red handed.  She called my mother in from the farm to deal with her unrepentant son.  My mom told me to apologize.  I refused.  After they both could see that I wasn't going to apologize mom and I went home and the teacher came back for another day of teaching me.  It would be years later that this incident came back to me for analysis.  What had transpired was simple.  First, I must tell you that my father physically abused me and my mom didn't stop him.  No one had ever apologized to me.  Herein lies the problem.  I didn't know what "I'm sorry." meant because no one had taught me what it meant.  Hence I wasn't going to say anything to anyone that I didn't understand. 
     I use this story to bring us to this point.  Many of us go through life demanding others apologize for what has been said or done against us.  We want to hear out of their mouths the confession that they were wrong and for them to ask for forgiveness.  For those who hear and refuse to forgive, that issue becomes a grudge.  It's amazing where and how grudges come to the surface.  We can almost say that having a grudge is expected because someone has hurt us.  Grudges keep us from forgiving and being forgiven.  When we come to God asking for forgiveness for our sin, he offers grace and forgives us.  No grudges.  However, if we nurse a grudge we cheapen the grace God gives.  We cannot have it both ways.  Either God's forgiveness and grace is what he says it is or it's not.  It's wishful thinking but I would love to take back every offense I've committed against people and God in my life.  Wipe clean the slate and start all over.  Don't you ever feel that way?  According the the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer (in specific) we are to forgive those who offend against us and pray for them.  Wait!  No where does it say we need to be asked to forgive them.  No where. 
     As I struggle with this daily I am still discovering exactly what the grace of God for Steve looks like.  It's something so big that I haven't been able to embrace the whole picture.  Why?  Because I fail to ask the Father and others to forgive me.  Make amends.

It's like walking with a rock in your shoe.

     That's my analogy for the life for today.  Sometimes the rock is small and sharp but feels so big.  While at other times the rock is small and flat and doesn't even make a blip on your radar.  I've had a lot of rocks in my shoes over the years.  Some I knew about instantly while others went unnoticed for the day.  One of the questions I ask my self is: "Am I a rock in someone else's shoe and which kind is it?"  Do I bring pain or pleasure to others.  More than I have liked it I have brought pain in the form of a small sharp rock.  It may have been something I have said, something I have done or because I did neither.  Sometimes the good rock that lands in my shoe is meant to let me know that I am doing good.  Have you ever felt that way?  We need to go WAY back and see the "plan" that God put in place before the foundation of the world.
     Who created rocks?  Rhetorical question.  God created rocks both big and small.  The rocks that get put in our shoes are small rocks.  Over the eons the stones in our world have been in the process of erosion.  They have either been resistant to the forces of nature or have allowed those same forces to shape them in our lives.  And so we ask ourselves if we really want to remove the small sharp rock and to not learn from it's presence in our life.  We also sit back and take things for granted when the small flat stone lies there not disturbing us in the least.  These rocks created by God and brought into our lives have great messages if we will listen to what God is saying to us.  For instance, some of the rocks represent people in our lives.  The flat and smooth small rocks represent those with whom we have relationship with in a positive way.  The small sharp rocks represent those people who are there until we learn the lesson God wants us to learn. 
     I once watched a crew of Mexican workers in Mexico building a retaining wall about a half mile long and at least 20 feet high.  There were different levels of workers from those who carried the stones to those who placed them.  In the wall there were seams that were barely discernible because of the fine craftsmanship of the ones who were chipping and setting the final resting place for that stone whether it was sharp or smooth.  The wall was a masterpiece meant to last a lifetime.  The workers were proud of their accomplishments as they should have been.  We take rocks and keep them inside of ourselves to construct either pathways (flat and smooth) or walls (sharp).  The difference in people's lives is the process.  You can tell those who have journeyed and the flat smooth stones lead to various areas of their lives.  With people who have used the sharp rocks there is no place to journey.  You have reached the wall.
     We tend to believe that it is us who remove the rock from our shoes.  Not true.  It's God who removes the rock or leaves the rock in place according to His will and not ours.  Some people find themselves in the daily life of living in a rock slide.  Others walk the paths in peace.  I choose the latter but don't let it happen often enough.  Parts of my life are in landslide mode.  When I cannot stand it any longer, I turn to God and ask him to polish the stones and make paths instead.  God is the force of nature that we need to not wall off.  He wants us to grow and to be viable people who love and care for each other.  Caring by not putting small sharp stones in their shoes.

Another take on the 10 Commandments.

     Anytime the 10 Commandments is mentioned I think of Charlton Heston.  The movie isn't all that accurate but really leaves an impression on the viewer.  Yesterday I talked about how Jesus took the 10 Commandments and summarized them into two commandments.  Today I would like to suggest something radically contrary to common thinking.  That's what we are encouraged to do in life.  We are to be radical people doing radical things for God.  Take a walk on the dangerous side and really leave Jesus everywhere you go.  Sounds simple and exciting.  Well, it is!  Though we might get a little bit of help from the Sermon on the Mount.  Specifically the Beatitudes.  In the Beatitudes we can count them to be 9 so we need to incorporate the verse after the last Beatitudes to make 10.  Now, if you can, read them backwards from 10 to 1.  When we do so, we find the 10 Commandments reversed.  The first 6 are all about our relationships with man and the final 4 are all about our relationship with God.
     Thinking outside the box is wonderful and can be enlightening to they who seek more.  To those who live their lives in that state of positive discontent outside of the box is where it's best to live.  As I recall my childhood, I remember at certain ages that all it took for me to be defiant was someone to tell me "no."  Sometimes today I even feel the same way.  The Holy Spirit is sent into our lives as believers to help steer this ship we call our life.  The Holy Spirit wants us to always look to Jesus and to follow his footsteps wherever they lead.  In order to do this we must abandon ourselves.  In order to be abandoned by undue forces, we should understand that for the Christian we no longer are our own but we belong to God who wants to bless beyond measure.  In order to do this God, in the Old
Testament put the law into effect with the 10 Commandments right out there in all their simplicity.  Having the law is like telling that young Steve "no."  If I don't like the law, what is the likelihood that I will obey the law? Not real good.
     So, Jesus came and changed my life, set me free from the law and because he loves me so much I want to have the best relationship with Him in all ways.  Not out of compulsion but out of compassion we direct our paths for His will to be done and not ours.  IF we do this, we are so busy taking care of the first 6 Beatitudes that our needs are met without any effort or request on our part.  The same goes for the last 4 Beatitudes.  If we are surrendered to God then we will seek to do his will amongst those around us.  Right back to the first 6 Beatitudes.  Jesus came so that mankind could be blessed by God.  When we act out of grateful and fulfilled hearts we cannot help but make change in our world.  Jesus DID the Gospel.  We are compelled to do the Gospel as well.  And to do it out of love first given to us by Him. 
     Should we take the time to let the Holy Spirit show us what God wants to have happen in our lives and the lives of those around us, the world will change.  Not because of what we do but what God does through us. 

Crossing the line.

     The Christian is expected to both NOT and TO cross the line.  Sounds conflicting doesn't it.  Well, there are several sides of this same issue to be examined.  First, let's look at the "not" side.  The Bible is full of things listed we are to not do.  The 10 commandments comes to mind right away.  Do not...!  Why not?  In the Old Testament those who believed in God were given rules in order to keep them from sinning.  There were even rules about the minutest problems.  Life was guided by the "Do not..!" Bible.  And so many chose to not step over the line and to them it was credited as righteousness.  You and I were raised in "do not" worlds dictated to us by parents, teachers, police, and many others in authority over you.  Even today we have "do not" rules that apply to touch, thought, and pretty much any and every part of our lives.  We, in turn, teach them to our children and grandchildren.  This is not a bad do not.  The purpose of the rule is to keep us in a safe and positive environment.  Do not cross the line.
     Unfortunately we focus on the old laws and "not" more than we should.  Jesus summed up the 10 commandments in two of his own.  The first one covered the first 4 of the 10 commandments.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  The second one covered the remaining 6 commandments.  Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself.  Pretty simple but so different from the Old Testament.  Here Jesus takes the two commandments and turns "not" into "to."  The freedom from the "not" give us life.  In giving the two "to" commands we are told what we are to do and not what we are forbidden to do.  Given the gravity of our choices, we tend to rely on the messages of the past.  We focus, still, on the "do not" when instructing our children and whomever we are in a teacher relationship with.  When we look at the two commandments Jesus made, we need to acknowledge we have tasks to do and our focus is no longer on the old "do not" but on the new command that we are to cross the line with a new heart. 
     "We've always done it that way."  To bad.  I understand the need of history as well as order.  What I don't understand are people who are so busy censoring other peoples behavior that they don't realize that they too are guilty.  Don't do it that way anymore.  I care about people enough to let them know that they are important and their needs should be met.  To that end, I cross that line and teach and preach Jesus resurrected.  The old way has been fulfilled and the new way open for us to go and help one another.  The focus is to the positive and to the future.  Crossing over the "to" line is the first step in making that focus the center of our lives.  We are no longer the 2 and 3 year old child continually asking "Why?" to every "not."  We are the precarious child who challenges the world and lives a life that doesn't fit the old way.  Where do you fit in the Christian world?  Do you live as Jesus has given us the freedom to? 
    

What to do when things don't make sense.

     I was asked recently why God allows evil to afflict the believer.  God doesn't.  We do.  There are happenings in our daily lives (some have more than others) that we simply don't understand.  Making sense of the senseless seems like an exercise in futility.  Well, it is.  My 14 year old daughter said that the Bible confuses her.  I told her that it does to me too in areas.  For instance, why my brother died of leukemia at 57.  Yes, he was a believer and yes he is with Jesus and yes, I miss him.  I can't make sense of his death.  However, I can make sense of how he lived.  He was brave beyond measure knowing the cancer would take him when it pleased.  Why did God allow this to happen?  Perhaps I will never know.  I know my brother wouldn't have wanted me to not go on in life as so many do.  He would want me to go on, use his story to give hope to others, and to strengthened my resolve to help people where I can.  The Bible is many things.  It's most confusing when our lives seem to be the furthermost from what God wants.
     I hate when people tell me, "God has a reason."  I'm sure he does.  However, if He doesn't tell me, that reason really doesn't do me any good.  There have been events (traumatic) in my life over he years that made no sense to me.  Yet, over time, God has brought me to a space where I was able to minister to others because I had already faced their adversity.  Seemingly senseless happenings waited for years (often) to come full circle to where I had the "Aha!" moment.  More than once I've found myself saying "So that's why that happened!"  It doesn't make any sense at the time and renders verses in the Bible suspect because I don't like waiting.  However, there are reasons which only God knows for letting things happen in my life intending that "down the road" they will be used to minister to someone in a like situation.  Often people, like me, don't want to hear how this or that makes sense from God's view point.  Sometimes, like with me, the "learning" only takes place after I have pulled down my walls and told God that I give up.
     Often we don't want to admit how things make sense.  For instance, have you ever read the book of Revelation?  For those of you who have read this book there is an element of "I don't want to know." present.  For the Christian there is a prophecy or foretelling of future history and outcome of the very things that don't make sense to us now.  The Bible says the world must be worse than the days of Noah and the flood before Jesus comes back to take us home and defeat evil once and for all.  There are reasons why we avoid statements like this.  We don't like the "sense" that they tell us will come.  The mark of the beast.  The persecution of the Christian.  The number of people we know who will not be prepared for the event (they are not saved).  The knowledge that we may be called upon to die for our faith even as our children will be.  Yet, the time hasn't come and that makes sense and no sense.  The end of the story may well be seen as depressing for those who are perishing and foolishness to them who don't believe.
     Here is my suggestion.  Take life one day at a time and surrender that day to God.  Do what he wants us to do the best we can from hour to hour that day.  Keep our focus on "today I belong to God." If we focus on the past and the senseless things that have taken place (like the Holocaust), or the future over which we have no control,  we aren't able to live in today.  We exchange the sensible of today for the senseless of yesterday and tomorrow.  How do you want to live?  Who do you want to have peace for today with what sense there is in today?  Sometimes we need to abandon ourselves and just let God live through us moment by moment.  Knowing Jesus is all the preparation we need to make sense of tomorrow and yesterday.    

Why we avoid truth and honesty.

     Yes, I'm talking about you and I.  Why do we do it?  Why do we do it and why do we tolerate this action by others?  Four years ago (or so) I went to my doctor because I had profuse sweating.  They told me it was a side effect of one of my medications and prescribed me another medication for that "side effect."  About 3 years ago I was having shortness of breath; especially when I was exerting myself.  I went to the doctor (same one) and was told I had asthma and that I just needed an inhaler.  Three months ago I had a heart attack and had to have a double bypass surgery.  Guess what?!  Yep the first two reported symptoms had been set aside as something they were not.  My doctor didn't do their job and wasn't honest with me.  Hence my trust was destroyed.  Not being able to deliver the truth and honesty to me resulted in endangering my life.  The ramifications go out from there to my family and friends.  Once trust is broken, truth and honesty is gone.  It's that way with me when I don't tell the truth and am not honest.
     Aunt Joan comes into the room wearing what can only be described as the most light reflecting dress you have ever seen.  She says, "Do you like my new dress?"  You say, "Wow, that's some dress."  She takes it as a compliment and you have just lied to her indirectly and she (maybe) doesn't even know it.  Our second time of avoiding truth and honesty comes from our diverting the subject in order to "be kind" or to "not cause a problem."  Guess what?  You have just caused a problem.  However, there is a second side to this creating an even larger problem.  Being truthful and honest.  Yep, just as devastating and deplorable.  When I was young I was physically abused by my dad.  When the parents of a classmate came by one day they asked me (in private) how things were in the home.  I told them that my dad was beating me and that my mom didn't do anything to stop him.  The response?  "Huh!"  He and his wife left and I knew nothing would come of my truth and honesty except they would not ask the question again.
     We either don't believe people can handle the truth and honesty or we don't believe that giving the truth and being honest is the best choice.  In both cases we are doing what we shouldn't.  We are using societies norm as God's norm.  I have searched the Scripture and find no place where it tells us to not tell the truth or to not be honest.  The opposite is true.  We, as a society, are raised to lie and be dishonest.  We teach our children just as our parents taught us.  Even our pastors and churches are busy teaching this same deception.  All in the name of....?  Selfishness is the only word that comes to mind.  Selfishness because we don't want to be held accountable if we hold someone else accountable.  So we avoid the truth and don't practice honesty to protect ourselves.  So much for virtue in our choices.  There has been a steady decline in history eroding the fabric of every persons life.  In fact we have come to the place where we look for reasons to not tell the truth and to not be honest.  Justifying our speeding we use radar detectors to alert us to the police and avoid our getting a ticket.  Why don't we just drive the speed limit in the first place? 
     Whenever a law has been given (moral or otherwise) mankind's first impulse is to find a way around it.  If we can't find a way around it, we justify or rationalize why it doesn't apply to us.  In the end we teach this to others who repeat the cycle.  What would happen if just for one hour today (say the lunch hour) every person on earth were compelled to be truthful and honest?  The world would self-destruct.  Every establishment would come to a screeching halt and would begin to disintegrate.  People would be at a loss as to what to do.  Trust would become a new word or thought.  We don't want the unfamiliar so we avoid truth and honesty.  They upset the status quo  and reveal who we are when no one is looking.  Perhaps even when someone is looking.  If we find it comfortable to avoid the truth and honesty in our lives; it becomes easier and important that we do the same with others.  But what is the real harm?  For me, it means that I have betrayed my relationship with God who knows everything about me and loves me anyway.  How about you?  Why do you avoid truth and honesty?

The level of my discontent.

     I hear people say that they are content.  What I like to do is ask questions until I find an area where they are not content.  It renews my faith in mankind and validates my belief that none of us are ever meant to be content.  None of us.  Discontent or discontented have taken a bad rap over the years and yet we require discontent to rock us out of the rut our lives become from time to time.  The contented seem to be on an old muddy road with deep tracks to follow.  The tracks are so deep that the vehicle doesn't drag on the ground but deep enough that people can't seem to find a way to get out of the rut.  Having given up, they remain in their dilemma not making movement in any direction.  I can't say that I can remember my life before or after I received Christ has ever had any ruts at all.  I can't remember that being true of my experiences with my PTSD and other issues that seem to follow me everywhere I run to in order to escape them.  This is negative discontent.  I'd like to focus on positive discontent.
     At first glance the phrase "positive discontent" seems like it makes no sense.  One word opposed to the other.  However, the deeper meaning and implication is there also waiting to be discovered.  I am content in where I am (for the most part) but not content enough to stay there.  So I look forward to what tomorrow has for me.  Concepts and beliefs are seen as transitory at best and treacherous at their worst.  If you don't take a chance you will never know.  I believe I do NOT know everything nor have I experienced everything.  God says so and I believe it.  I don't want to be found professing myself wise only to prove that I'm a fool.  Being content does just that.  Being in the place of positive discontent lends towards ones vision and determination to go on regardless what the rest of the world may be doing.  This applies equally to those who follow God to those who follow the world. 
     Other peoples stereotypes of me frustrate them.  It's not my monkey and not my circus.  People who find themselves frustrated with me are really frustrated with themselves.  It's not that I have arrived but that I'm on the journey.  Many Christians believe they are on the journey while they really are on the plane waiting for take off.  I'm not sure what all is responsible for my desiring the positive discontented life. I can guess that it was the abuse on various level over the years.  But it's only a guess.  The answer to the "cause" isn't the issue for me.  That would make me content.  It's like saying I'm a sinner with no desire to change that state.  The past "IS".  The past can either keep us in bondage or it can teach us lessons.  Paul puts it this way, "Not counting the past I push forward toward the goal which is Christ Jesus." (my paraphrase in case you try to look it up!).  Jesus also tells me that when I ask for forgiveness that it's done.  Period.  The Bible tells us that God forgives us our sins and "remembers them no more."  Further, God says he "casts our sin away from him as far as east is to west."  He didn't say north to south because they have ends.  You get the point.
     William James once said, "We may have a God in Heaven that forgives us our sin but mankind does not."  Wow!  The biggest battle for me is forgiving myself.  The second biggest battle for me is forgiving others.  Neither of these foster the life of positive discontent.  We need to forgive.  Enough said.  We need to live.  Enough said.  We need to have a vision.  Not enough said.  The Bible tells me that "without a vision the people perish."  We live amongst a world with no vision.  We live in a world of contentment with their belief that they are entitled.  That leaves the world running their lives instead of the other way around.  Heaven help them and heaven help us. 
     What it comes down to is this; we choose.  It's that simple.  We choose whether we live in the past content on the prison it represents or whether we have a vision for our future that puts us in the place of positive discontented living.  Most days my level of discontent is high.  The higher the better.  Why?  Because discontent, positive discontent, begs me to move forward with my life.  The higher the level of discontent the less I am focused on the past.  The less I am focused on the past the more I deny it's hold on me.  The less the hold on me, the more freedom in Christ I encounter.  The more I find Christs desire for me, the more I want.  What's your level of positive discontent?  Have you taken the step to living in that state of positive discontent.  Don't be content.  It's not Biblical and not what God wants for you.

By faith we hope in the promises of God.

     In my various professions over the past almost 50 years I have dealt with faith related issues in not only my own life but in the lives of friends, family, co-workers, and clients/strangers.  We, as people, faith that is based on what we know to be true, known to have been true and know that it will be true in the future as well.  This faith is what gives us and helps us maintain hope.  Without hope, the Bible tells us, the people perish.  Sometimes hope isn't enough and people give up.  When it seems that God hasn't heard and hasn't answered our prayers we give up and resign ourselves to fate.  Fate is not faith, nor it is hope.  Fate is sad recognition that there is nothing to be done with what is going on in our lives.  Fate is also an excuse to not have faith and to not have hope.  Fate undermines who we believe God is and his purpose in my life.  Perhaps this is true of your life as well.  Countering this undermining in our lives is difficult but can be accomplished; though not alone. 
     Just what are the promises of God that we we hope for in our faith?  This may be immediate like answered prayer or delivery from some oppressive thought.  Sometimes the hope is far off like life with Jesus in Heaven.  Both of these are essential to carry on our Christian life.  Yet, we see and hear about people claiming to be Christians complaining about prayers going unanswered and people going to the extreme decisions made in the heat of the moment.  There is an old Christian saying that goes like this:  "If you don't feel close to God; guess who moved."  What results is the Christian taking it upon themselves to "make" things happen.  They, in essence, become the god of their world.  Very seldom during times of trouble do we hear the Christian announcement of: "Blessed be the name of the Lord."  We have little problem when God has worked to answer our prayers and yet abandon him when there appears to be silence.
     As suggested by the title, we hope for the promises of God.  Specifically, we hope for the salvation that is offered through the death, resurrection of ascension of Jesus.  So hope is based on a conquering and loving God.  His conquering of death and sin for you and I are reason to hope in him.  Yet, we have this knowledge before us and abandon faith and hope working hard to go nowhere because we don't believe there is actually anywhere that life leads us to.  So it is with the suicide of Christian men and women.  In the midst of despair and broken dreams coupled with self failure, life has ceased to be worth living...or so they think.  When people reach this level of despair there is a lack of faith in God, a lack of hope in God and a lack of belief in God.  Taking one's life is a final act to a temporary problem.  Taking one's life is a final choice to be the god of your world.  When we place ourselves in that place only the intervention of God can bring about repentance, renewed faith and eternal life with God. 
     God promises that he will never leave nor forsake us.  God promises that he will never allow more than we can bear up under without a way out.  God promises that we will have persecution when we live our faith.  God promises that he will answer our prayers.  We may not like the answer but He will answer the prayer according to His will and not mine.  God promises that he has made a place for us when we pass from this world to our real home.  God's promises are always true.  By faith we are reconciled to God.  Faith in what He has accomplished and not of anything we have done or deserved.  By faith in God we have hope and a future.  So, let us live looking at the promises of God and basking in his goodness.  He who has called you is capable of keeping you. 

The role of the enemy.

     There are numerous types and kinds of enemies.  Cancer, your brother, boss, or even yourself.  The implication is that anyone or anything can be your enemy.  Food, clothing, cars or even yourself.  A common denominator is "yourself."  With the vast number of people invested in blaming elsewhere or justifying their being, it's hard to get people to see just how implicit they are in being their own worst enemy.  Should we be honest with ourselves we would also recognize that we teach younger generations to do the same thing.  With history full of "enemy" moments and defining points in the changes of whole nations, it's not hard to focus on elsewhere as the enemy.  We can even do that with our personal history.  In this relationship there has to be a victim and a victimizer.  We look at the various tyrants over history who have conquered lands and people with such violence and intent that whole people groups have vanished.  Nothing changes history, or the present, like having your homeland and home destroyed.  The accounts are all around us.  In the name of _______ (insert your favorite reason) mankind has taken evil and called it good as long as their agenda has been accomplished.
     No person who has lived on earth (except Jesus) escapes being guilty.  We are guilty with what we do and with what we don't do.  The Bible says we were born into a sinful nature and are guilty just by being a human byproduct of Adam and Eve.  So we enter into the world full of sin and as we grow we either continue to live in sin or....wait, we continue to live in sin.  This even applies to those who give their lives to Christ.  Don't think so?  Read the Bible.  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  David, a man after God's own heart, lived a remarkable life full of submission to God and bring God's people to God through example.  Yet, he chose to have a soldier killed in order to take his wife as his own.  That would be the woman he impregnated when they had an affair.  All during a time when he was considered "a man after God's own heart."  Peter denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times after KNOWING that Jesus was God.  Now tel me, what chance do I have of being on the side of not guilty?  It's what we do with the guilt that matters.
     The Bible says that Satan roams the earth seeking out whom he will devour.  Satan doesn't just sample the buffet (we are a buffet to him), he devours the buffet.  That would be us.  Christian and non-Christian alike.  Though he has a penchant for the believers.  They seem to be tastier than the rest of the world.  In Psalm 51 David says "My sin is ever before me."  So is mine and yours.  Satan wants us to not only remember our sin but to continually be reminded of our sin.  For if he succeeds then we are ineffective witnesses of the grace of God.  In Psalm 55 God tells us that one of our worst enemies is the one who is our best friend and with "whom we had sweet fellowship."  There are ample agents of Satan ready to take us down.  From using our personal history as well as our current habits the pickings are many.  My enemies seem to have no end of accusations towards me.  Some are even correct.  The motive for taking Christians down is to develop within them the idea that they are no longer able or even entitled to do the work God has called us to do.  When we have become convinced of our unworthiness, we take a step back and Satan has won.  When we malign another believer Satan has won.  When we doubt the gracious work of the Cross of Christ in our lives, Satan has won.  Temporarily won for the Christian. 
     We know the end of the story because of God's word given to John in the book of Revelation.  God has already won the wars.  He has already defeated the enemy.  He has already sealed those in Christ in the Book of Life.  God wins.  Satan loses.  The question for us is whether or not we want to be the enemy of Satan or the enemy of God.  The role of the enemy is to attack and defeat.  The role of the believer is to submit to the God who so loved the world that he gave his son as a sin offering for all mankind who believe.  Satan lost.  He doesn't like that.  God won.  We like that.  Don't be your own enemy or anyone else's enemy.  Be Jesus to your world.

While we wait for the good to happen.

     If you are like me, you wait for the good stuff to happen in your life and the lives of those around you.  We are a people focused on what "will happen" versus focusing on what "has happened."  That isn't wrong, nor is it right.  Waiting is what's wrong.  By waiting for this or that, good or bad, to happen we are often immobilized and do nothing.  Apathy sets in and we relinquish our dreams and ambitions all because we are "waiting for the good to happen."  Should we dare to live in the present with the lessons learned from the past; we set ourselves up to do what we need to do today and see the future formed by those actions.  Why don't we get on with life?  There are many diverse reasons or excuses we have developed over the eons that all reflect a lack of faith in God and a lot of faith in what won't be.  Since the "won't be" is so prevalent in our lives and the lives of those we know, it's but a small jump to join the masses of no vision.  As the Bible says, "without a vision, the people perish."
     Our lives are full of examples of not "waiting" if we would only examine them for a moment.  We don't "wait" to breath.  If we did, the results would not be good.  Breathing is an automatic response directed by the firing between cells in the brain that regulate so many things "automatically" in our bodies that cannot wait for us to control.  The beating of our heart, the blinking of our eyes, the spontaneous healing of wounds, and the ability to shut down and sleep are all examples of events in our lives that cannot "wait."  Thinking also comes into that category.  For some there is more brain activity than others.  But, thinking does happen all the time.  Even during sleep our mind is not silent and doesn't "sleep".  We have over 400 dreams a night according to studies.  I don't even remember more than one!
     Waiting is one of the answers to our prayers that God gives us.  He says "Wait." and we hear "do it my myself."  "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."  Sound familiar?  In this world of comparison, we are constantly looking at others and saying, "Why no me?"  Maybe because God has told you or I to "wait."  Whenever we hear "wait" from God and make something happen anyway; we are resigned at the very least to settle for second best.  This can be seen in our "less than" lives and choices.  And so we feel let down, abandoned, and ignored.  We feel sorry for ourselves and a "pity party" ensues.  WAIT!  "Good things come to those who wait."  Isn't that what we want to have happen?  Don't we want good things to happen to those we love and to those we care about?  Yet, when God says "wait", we hear: God doesn't love me.  God doesn't tell us to wait for good because good has already happened.  God wants us to remember the good and not live in the past.  In so doing, we can focus on the good that is going to happen because God loves us and is consistent in that love towards us.  To do anything less would not be from God.  To make the choice to make something happen is not from God.  It's man made.
     I have much to be thankful for.  So do you.  We need to remember that which has blessed our lives in order to develop and maintain a positive frame of mind that carries us through each and every day.  While we know that there are evil and destructive forces around us and in the world, we have a God who has overcome these.  He says that he wants to bless us with all the blessings of Heaven.  Wow!  So, why can't we recognize this?  Because we want God to act and react the way we want and not how God knows is best.  What does God want us to be doing?  He wants us to be living life one day at a time for the glory of God.  Making all of our thoughts, deeds and actions reflective of who He is and not who we think he should be.  When we do this the old is gone and the new takes its place.  It's when we concentrate on doing what He wants that we suddenly find that good has happened.  This doesn't work the other way around.  God is constantly working for the good of us.  That's what the birth, death and resurrection of Christ was and is all about.  So many then, as today, can't see the good in that accomplishment.  However, if we do see the good, we will live with the blessing of another day of life which brings about the good God intended for us.  Even when we don't recognize it.

Why we ask questions we don't want answers for.

     The biggie that comes to mind first and foremost is:  "How are you?"  No matter how many times I've been asked or have asked myself there are more non-answers to this question than to any other.  Most of the time the question is asked in passing.  We even ask strangers this question as we pass on the sidewalk or in the grocery store.  Two components come to surface when we do ask this question.  The first is our desire to know something about someone else.  The second is to have someone know something about us.  Neither choice is a bad motive; nor is it an indicator of some deep meaning that suspicious people look for.  Then there is God.  When he asks me that question, he really means it from the bottom of his heart.  We can keep our thoughts and feelings from others but we cannot from God.  The question, when asked by Him, is really a chance for us to know and be known by God.  We cannot lie to, bluff, or intimidate his question.  We do that with those we ask the question of, are asked the question by and consequently interpreted by mankind around us.  We lie.  We bluff.  We intimidate.  The population we do these to the most is ourselves.
     "Can I do anything for you?"  This is an extremely loaded question.  We want to ask the question to let people know we care and end up being unwilling or unable to do the follow through.  Many times we actually mean, "I know you need something, I cannot or won't give it, but want you to think that I care anyway."  This question has a companion of:  "How can I help?"  Both of these questions I have asked and many times didn't have the frame of mind or heart for the follow through.  Putting myself out there to someone means being vulnerable, honest and, well, Christ like.  But then, that's what we are supposed to be to the world around us.  People have a rough time loving each other much less the one we don't know or, heaven forbid, our enemies!  When people ask me this question my mind goes to, "Do you really want to know?"  And, "Why do you want to know?"  If people ask the question just to have knowledge and power over me, it's not Christ like and a sin.  If I do this, the result is the same.  I have sinned. 
     A third question that comes up often is:  "What do you think the Bible says about ________?"  You can fill in the blank.  It might be anything from owning guns to homosexuality to, well, you know the question you have as well as the questions you have been asked.  There have been many times I've been asked this question with the requester already knowing what I think versus how I have failed in that area myself.  It's like someone asking, "What have you enjoyed about your sin the most?"  Really!?  Sometimes the questions don't have any chance of having a good answer.  For instance:  "Can God create a rock so big that he cannot lift it?"  This question is obviously a way to take the attention off the rock in our head.  This question is meant to distract our attention from the important question.  The important question is:  "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and your Savior asking him to forgive you your sins?"
     Next time you or I ask any of these questions we need to first ask if God wants us to ask or not.  The next question is to ask ourselves if we really want to know, really want to help, or really need to know.  The most important question is the one most NOT asked. "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and your Savior asking him to forgive you your sins?"  First ask yourself and then ask only those people you don't want to spend an eternity in hell.  Next question?

Acronyms for life

     Ford = find on the road dead.  Fiat = fix it again tony.  ASAP = as soon as practicable.  DOA = dead on arrival.  SNAFU = situation normal all fouled up.  And on and on the list goes.  In the Christian world we too have acronyms like: FROG = fully rely on God, WWJD = what would Jesus do?, PTL = praise the Lord, and many more.  The military is probably the king of acronyms with everything (almost) having an acronym.  People should take a class called "Acronym 101" in high school just so they can engage society.  When we move to texting, acronyms have a whole new level of application.  I confess that I am lost in some of the world of acronym.  So, maybe we need to come up with our own or better yet, go back to regular actual effective "words".  Now there is a concept we can really use.  Remember KISS = keep it simple stupid.  That's the key; simplicity of communication in an effect manner designed to maximize interactions and function.  Now doesn't that sound simple?
     I like simple statements.  They often convey all that we need to convey.  Like, "I love you." or for men, "I love you man."  Simple.  Yet, not.  Love has it's meaning that differs from person to person.  What do you mean when you tell me your love me?  Does that signal it's time for me to take out the garbage?  Does it mean I've just given in to something you requested?  Love is a very difficult simple word and misused concept.  When I was a therapist I used to give lots of homework.  One of those homework assignments (mostly for couples) involved a list of words (of which love was one).  I would ask the people to define what they thought the word meant when they were between 8-10.  After they did this to all of the words I would ask them to define the words again as to what they meant right now.  Again, after they applied this to all of these words I would ask them to finally go through the list and once again give a perceived perfect definition of the words.  After completing the assignment I would have the couples exchange their lists.  Wow!  You wouldn't believe some of the differences.
     The kicker in the above assignment came when people realized that they were expecting the other persons behavior and understanding to be as they defined the word and not as their partner defined the word.  The opposite was true as well.  Here we find the problem most people have in their relationship with God.  We take our definitions, expectations and aspirations and put them upon God.  Since God created us he already has definitions that we can use to know and understand Him.  What we get instead (from the pulpits and many writers of their own wisdom) is what we want God to be to us under our creation.  Doesn't work that way and never will.  Our world of magical thinking ends up a litany of disappointing results over and over.  Our faith withers and dies when we don't see God doing what we want him to do.  Perhaps we are the reason of the perceived failures we attribute to  God.  God cannot fail.
     LGLG = let go and let God.  Do we really believe this acronym?  We often are so afraid of letting go that we don't bother to ask God what it is he wants us to let go of.  What does God mean when he asks us to trust him?  FEAR = false evidence appearing real.  Satan is the father of lies and wants us to be in a state of fear.  There is no love in fear; rather perfect love casts out all fear.  That's one of God's definitions.  TTFN = ta ta for now.  Don't let your definition run your day.  Allow God's perfect definitions run your life!

Who you are when everyone's looking!

     We know who we are...sometimes.  Sometimes...we want to know who we are.  Then at other times we know who we should be but choose to be someone else for various reasons (the majority aren't good).  Being who God has designed you to be comes with much self examination as well as examination by the Holy Spirit.  In the end of all of this mankind is searching for 3 things and 3 things only.  The first is love.  The second is acceptance. The third is approval.  These can come in any order necessary for your particular story but they will come.  When they come the question becomes whether we will be able to recognize them or not.  If we don't know who we are we cannot recognize them.  If we know who we are but the definition is marred, we cannot recognize them.  It's at the abandonment of "me" that we can begin to recognize love, acceptance and approval as offered by God.  It's then that we begin to understand who and whose we are.  That recognition alone brings a need inside of us to seek for more.  We want more of the good stuff all the time.  The world cannot hope to even come close to filling that need. 
     Many people, including myself, live with a mask in our back pocket.  When we are in private we tend to leave the mask in the pocket.  When we are in public we take out the mask and put it on.  Thus we hope to be able to deflect any criticism of who we really are when no one or everyone is looking.  The greater position we attain, the more people want to know what we are about.  Be it for ammunition to help destroy someone or love to help someone; we want to know the intricacies of others lives.  It's been said that "knowledge is power" and that "absolute power corrupts absolutely."  That's the way of the world.  Do good and yes you will be judged on what you did NOT do.  No good deed goes unpunished.  Do evil and the world doesn't even notice.  You're just like "them" whoever they are.  To rise above the occasion requires risk of taking off the mask and accepting the love, acceptance and approval of God despite the onslaught of attitude from the world.  Yet, it's the only risk that is worth taking.  Take the risk.
     Being a Christian, and stating so publicly,  opens you and I up to the examination of everyone.  That is unless we are doing nothing for God.  Being a Christian and having surrendered our lives to Christ are two different things.  I have been a Christian since 10/1/1972.  I have chosen many times to not surrender to the will of God.  That doesn't mean I'm not a Christian.  It means I am a sinner in need of the grace of God.  Like most of us I am a selfish man.  You would think I would be selfish and seeking after the good God has to offer me in his love, acceptance and approval.  You would think...  God sees me and knows me whether I have the mask on or not.  He can see and does see the nature of my heart.  The nature of my heart either blesses Him or saddens Him.  The choice is always mine.  Paul laments this in his writings stating he chooses to do that which he shouldn't and doesn't chose that which he knows he should do.  Hmm...sounds like me. 
     If we are given to God and living the life designed and expected by Him; then it shouldn't matter whether or not what I am doing because there will not be a difference in my private versus public life.  The mission of God in my life and in my world doesn't change.  The love God gives me doesn't change.  The acceptance of God never changes.  The approval of God never changes.  It's me who changes.  I determine whether I am more like Christ or more like the world I live in.  So it is with you if you call Jesus your Savior.  Live your life, and I will live my life, like everyone is watching and waiting to see Jesus in us. 

Do you live in a sound proof house?

    That's one way of asking whether you have selective hearing or not.  "What did you say?  I'm sorry but I wasn't listening."  Some people have chosen to not hear while others have bonafide reasons to not hear.  I'm one of the former and later.  Sorry to say it, but I have chosen to not listen, hear, pay attention to and have ignored what others have tried to convey to me.  I've also lost 3/4 of my hearing in both ears.  Without my hearing aids I have a select range of decibels that I cannot hear.  In either case, my hearing is affected.  The sound proof house that many live in is their private little world where they don't listen, won't listen and think that only other people need to listen.  There is a huge difference between "hearing" and "listening."  When we communicate, whether with God or others, we can do more than just selectively engage the event.  We can "really" hear and "really" listen just as we can choose to not do so.  Remember our lives are our choices.  We like to have the excuse handy that others make decisions in our lives that hinder us; when all along we can choose who communicates to us and how.
     We can recognize when a 2 year old is saying "No." even if they don't say a word.  The old line about lawyers and politicians is: "You can tell a lawyer or politician is lying when they they speak."  I know it's a generalization that society has made.  It's also an excuse that is used when necessary.  The same goes for used car dealers.  The Bible talks about our "spirit witnesses inside of us" as a means of how we listen to and interpret what others are saying to us.  The Holy Spirit tells us whether someone is listening or not.  The Bible tells us that God listens to our prayers and knows what we need even before we ask for what we need.  Do we listen to others or do we live in a sound proof house?  The element of violent personal crime has reached new heights.  In New York we read a few years ago that a woman was raped on a public street as people passed by.  No one heard.  No one saw.  No one did anything.  They were living in their sound proof homes. 
     Listening, as opposed to hearing, demands some kind of response.  If our spirit is guided by God who prompts us in our daily living; then we must respond.  We must listen and our house must not be sound proof.  We are in dire straits when we shut out the voice of God.  I know because I've been there and done that all to my own detriment.  It's not just me that's affected but also those who are connected to the interaction God is trying to have for me.  Whether it's the voice of God telling me to say a word to someone or to help change a tire for an elderly person; it's God who is telling me.  If my house is sound proof, there is no reaction on my part.  Having the choice of listening or hearing, we often choose by what is important to us.  Need to get to that golf tee time?  Better not stop and help someone in need.  The important game is on; what do we do about a distressed brother or sister who calls?  Is your house sound proof?
     With all the trappings of being a good Christian man, woman, family, we still find ourselves living in a sound proof house.  Our lives are self-consuming and we miss the point of being a Christian in the first place.  We hear, Jesus said, but we do not listen.  Knowing what is right to do and not doing it is a sin. (James 4:17)  Sound proofing my house comes under several excuses.  I don't want my kids exposed to that.  "That" offends me.  It's not my job to _____.  You fill in the blank.  What does your house look like?  Is the door open?  Are the blinds up?  Is the welcome mat laid out?  Do those around you know that your house listens and doesn't just hear?

"Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus."

    "Everybody wants to be the lead singer of the band."  That's a line from a song from the late 60's or early 70's.  I first heard it when I was in Germany working with YWAM (Youth With A Mission).  The phrase and tune stuck in my head and has surfaced many times over the many years.  The line resonated with me as I've voluntarily taken charge of my life over and over and made many a mess in the process.  Perhaps it does for you as well.  We can use a lot of different excuses to try and avoid taking responsibility for our actions.  However, there is no excuse for our telling God "no."  It's hard to combat the worlds demand that we stand up and bow down to the worlds message and choices.  While I would like to have an easy Christian life; I am attacked spiritually at every front.  Sometimes the attacks are successful and sometimes not.  These are all dependent upon where I've placed myself in Jesus' life for me.  The wording sounds awkward and a bit out of place.  The Christian should take themselves out of the control scenario and place themselves in the obedient scenario.  That would mean that I put Jesus first in every area of my life.  Why is it that we try so hard to be the lead singer of the band?
     In the world the reigning excuse is the "blame game."  People are quite imaginative when they play the "blame game."  Blame can be as simple as "the dog ate my homework." and as complex as "do you have a few moments so I can explain?"  The higher the stakes the higher the need for a complex excuse.  That excuse needs to be examined and eliminated from the Christians life.  That is easier said than done.  Or is it?  I don't seem to have a problem taking the praise for my good choices and for what I've done that benefits the Lord.  Sometimes I need to convince God that my actions, thoughts and such are the best for His will.  That sounds a bit off but again, it's the way we think.  Any way you take it or look at it, "it" will always be less than what it can be if it's me leading the band.  The real question that needs to be asked and answered by each of us who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior is: "Do I choose to be leadable, teachable and accountable to God?"  If the answer is anything less than "Yes." then I am in charge and God isn't.  Simple we would think.
     Never one to be content to leave something alone I tend to jump into the foray and act out of my impulse, bias, or other element than to look first to Jesus.  Why is that?  Could it be that I really do want to be the god of my own world?  Does my need to be seen as something more than I am intersect with my daily life in such a way that God ends up having little or no say in my life?  If this resonates with you, like me, you float between being the one who plays rhythm guitar and being the lead singer of the band.  I tend to sing the best when I'm in the car alone or the shower or home alone.  Why?  Because I don't sing very well.  When I am alone there is no comparison to be made and I can convince myself I am the lead singer of the band before thousands of adoring fans.  I don't think this fantasy is just mine.  The older I've become, the worse my singing has become.  Here is the good news.  To God, when I am in right relationship, my voice is sweet and wonderful to him.  It's here in that place that my heart longs to be.  I'm not able to play the guitar or sing but I can make a joyful noise to the Lord when I'm in right relationship with Him.

Living with someone else's truth.

     "What is truth?" is a famous question put to Jesus before his death.  It's still echoed through the various places and people of the world.  The truth is.  That's the simple version.  The truth seems to be elusive and eminent at the same time.  We put great authority and decision making on the truth.  Most people believe that politicians are unable to tell the truth or even live the truth.  Perhaps it's true to the common man.  For the one needing someone to blame anyone else will do if they have a different belief in what truth is or is not.  We "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help me God."  This truth isn't about the truth as much as it is about your and my personal integrity.  Some actually believe that we need to always tell the truth.  Perhaps you are one of them.  My life has been full of lies that I rationalized and justified over the years so that I could feel better about my sham of a life.  Even after giving my life to Jesus this behavior continued.  Having repented of my ways, I find myself more honest and forthcoming than previously.  What did my behavior around the "truth" tell other Christians about me?  What do you think your circle of family, friends and enemies believe about your life you are living by your definition of truth?
     Why are we so afraid of the truth?  Does it give us a sense of power or powerlessness?  Are we afraid of speaking the truth because of our want to not offend anyone?  I believe that people are found to be present in each of these three questions.  We fear the truth for the ramifications it brings to our world.  When we live the truth the number of people in our circle grows quite small.  Thus the authority of the group consensus is diluted and eventually people abandon their truth.  We would rather be offended as someone else's truth is crammed down our throats than stand for the truth we hold dear.  Jesus told Peter that he would deny him 3 times before the rooster crowed.  Three times Peter denied Jesus.  He, in so doing, also denied himself and his beliefs.  Fear of the crowd that had just arrested Jesus brought Peter to that low point of his life that came from denying Jesus.  Even today the truth is maligned and redefined so that people can preserve themselves and their particular world. 
     Just what is the truth?  The Bible is the truth.  Jesus is the truth.  The Trinity is the truth.  Living life as Jesus would have you to live is the truth.  God is the truth.  Jesus said in John 14 "I am the way, the truth and the life."  Notice the singular statement. Only one way, only one truth, and only one life.  Anything outside of Jesus isn't truth at all.  This is such a huge issue that multiple times in the Bible we read the result of adding to or subtracting from the truth of the Word of God.  Yet, that warning goes on today just like yesterday and tomorrow.  Christians live like they don't believe the truth of God.  Celebrations based around Easter bunnies, Christmas Santa, and other fictitious (lies) are being fed to our children as well as the children outside of Christian homes.  Why do Christians celebrate pagan holidays like Halloween?  Why do Christians propagate the lies of the world as the truth of the Bible?  And so, "with winking eyes they profess to themselves to be wise but are seen as fools."  There it is, the end.  The truth of God is found in the wise while he truth of the world is found in the fools.  Which are you?

Reconciliation is more than just a word.

     The premise is that we need to be reconciled to those with whom we have been estranged from for whatever reason.  There are some myths attached to this thought.  One such myth is that the other person must apologize in order for reconciliation to have a way to begin and complete the act.  False.  Another myth is that we can abandon those who have disappointed or injured us.  False.  Myth number three is that we can live above the situation by our own righteousness.  False.  Should we have the belief that we are above the requirements of reconciliation; we cheapen the work of Christ on the cross that Jesus did so we could be reconciled with God the Father.  We can say the words but that doesn't mean that we understand them or we are willing to apply the process to our own lives.  Sitting on the fence doesn't work either.  Avoidance won't bring about reconciliation and will only compound the problem. 
     The difference between God's reconciliation and man's reconciliation are worlds apart.  His reconciliation always succeeds while mankind's reconciliation almost always is left wanting on the part of the other person or group.  God took the responsibility for creating a path through the jungle of sin so that we could be reconciled with Him.  Mankind doesn't like to take responsibility for much of anything.  Instead, mankind, tends towards the end of the spectrum where excuses and finger pointing are the rule of the day.  I've been guilty of all of this.  My sin is ever before me David penned in the 51st Psalm.  Yet, I still struggle with forgiving my enemies in such a manner that my life doesn't resemble what God has set forth as a standard.  Reconciliation cannot be present with sin.  Reconciliation of mankind comes after reconciliation with God.  We don't come to God so that he can be blessed to have one such as myself.  No, we come to God because we realize that we are not able to have salvation through anyone other than Jesus.  In His goodness and mercy God has exampled reconciliation between He and us in the work of Jesus Christ.
     Sometimes the world and even the people closest to us continually remind us of what we lack for the sole purpose of keeping reconciliation from taking place between man and God.  Furthermore, the world and even the people closest to us use this barrier to "keep us in our place."  We who have been deceived in this manner teach others to do the same.  The vicious cycle of our choices is thus passed on to others over the years until it's part of our heritage.  I was once acquainted with a church that had years previously split and the second church built their own building 1/2 mile away.  The reason for the split was a disagreement between the members over what color to paint the downstairs bathroom.  No desire of God's reconciliation existed then and continues to be absent today.  People remember the conflict but cannot remember the reconciliation because the reconciliation has never taken place.  The blessing of God cannot reside amongst this model.
     God blesses those with whom He has a relationship with.  He has a relationship with those who have been reconciled with.  Our relationship to and with others is based on reconciliation which is patterned after the model God has given us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, his son.  Where do you need to have reconciliation with God and man?

Always looking for the deal!

     On the way home from an appointment yesterday I decided, on a whim, to stop at a local Home Depot and check out their clearance items in the garden section.  I hadn't been there in quite a long time.  I walked into the first display and there they were!  Azaleas, 4 for $10!  They were healthy and in the colors I like.  Of course I bought 8!  But wait there's more!  I also found some flowers and some tomato plants and bought them too!  $46 later I packed up the plants and went home.  The deal was too good to pass up.  We look for the deals when we have a mindset to look, lack of money to pay full price and sometimes by compulsion.  When I thought of the deal on the plants I had a number of things go through my mind.  First was where to plant them.  I had ample places to plant everything I was buying.  Second was whether they would compliment what I already have.  They scored in that area as well.  Third, were they something I could afford.  Yes they were!  When I arrived at home I immediately began planting.  Still have 4 plants to go.
     Whether it's looking for the lowest price of gas or the best sales on groceries, we look for the deal.  Sometimes the deal is intentionally found and other times it's a surprise; like yesterday.  If we want the deal enough we can always wait for it or make it happen by talking the price down.  The deal is best utilized in areas where we care enough to make it happen.  So, making deals are a part of life for me.  Unfortunately, there is one area where deals cannot be made and the best deal is given to us free.  You would think that people would jump at a free deal immediately and tell their friends and relatives where they too can get this free deal.  I'm not talking about the internet where you can get free jeans if you forward an email to enough people and they do the same.  I'm talking about our need for salvation and the free gift to us of Jesus' work on the cross bringing about the salvation we need.  Do we, as Christians, look at what we have in Christ as the best deal that ever happened?  Do we feel the need to place Him foremost in our life?  Have we the deep need to share with others this free gift or are we reticent to share at all?
     The real deal.  All other deals pale in comparison.  What makes us so selfish to take the free deal and not want to give the free deal to others?   We tend to share other things quite willingly and openly with others.  Such as our love food, friendship and worldly pleasures.  There is nothing wrong with any of those if we do not sin in so taking.  Food is necessary but not to the point of overeating (I'm guilty).  Friendship is great as long as our motives are right.  Do we have friendships so that we can borrow their stuff but not lend ours?  It's a sin.  Worldly pleasures are deemed to be sin or not sin mostly because of our mindset and the condition of our heart.  It's okay to have a boat and skis just as it's okay to give that same boat to someone in greater need than ours.  But, have you seen the number of boats that have clearly been sitting for years never seeing water?  I have.  Do we treat what Jesus has given us with the same attitude?  Do we see him as the provider that can be called on in times of greatest needs only to be set aside the following day after our need has been met?
     Just what is the deal for you and I?  I'd like to suggest we reconsider how we look at the precious gift of grace that God has given us through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus.  How precious is the "deal"?  What priority have you given to God in your life?  If someone looked at our lives would they see Jesus?  These questions and more can only be answered by you and I for ourselves.  Let our decision be the deal Jesus offers of salvation.  It's the sweetest of deals!

We get what we have coming.

     Some people would see that as a negative comment.  We don't like to have negative consequences to positive behavior.  Such is the world of the one who would choose to follow Jesus.  The Word is very clear that those who have faith in Jesus will face persecution and hardship even to death if they stand firm on Jesus.  Millions of Christians have lost their lives in various places around the world.  All in the hopes to still our voices.  It's still happening today as Muslims have taken to killing Christians just because they believe in Jesus.  The consequences of our faith can have negative impact for those who believe.  But, as they say, "you ain't seen nothing yet"!  These are merely the birth pangs of the return of Christ and the end of evil.  The devil has been given his position on earth among mankind.  If you don't adhere to Satan's beliefs then you too are targeted to be neutralized.
     There is the old saying, "No good deed goes unpunished."  The good deed spoken of is the spirit of man attempting to be positive toward their fellow man.  The person who stops to help someone having car trouble only to have his vehicle car jacked.  The family who lets someone into their house to "use the phone" is suddenly and brutally killed.  You get the picture.  The message is for us to no longer do good to others.  This begs the question "Why are you doing these good deeds?"  If you are doing them because you want to be seen in a positive context; your motive is wrong.  If you are doing these things because Jesus tells us to do them; your motive is right.  That doesn't mean that your good deed will be rewarded with good consequences.  Many a missionary has gone into the field only to have their lives taken away from them.  All of what I have said thus far are examples of the worlds fear of what and who you believe in.  Jesus.  People fear Jesus.
     The question that remains for the believer and follower of Jesus is whether our motive is Christ centered or Steve centered.  If God is not in it, it's me.  If God is in it, than it's God.  Our faith and belief system determine whether or not a positive or negative consequence takes place in our lives and the lives of those who are like minded.  Do I do good only when I feel safe?  Are the good deeds done in the name of Jesus?  Just when does common sense kick in versus God sense?  Should we be brave to abandon our lives for Jesus we will receive the ultimate reward of eternal life with Him who created us.  Paul lamented that he longed to go home to be with Jesus when he was being tormented and pursued by unbelieving people.  He longed to go home and be with Jesus when things were good as well.  His focus was in Christ and Christ resurrected.  Paul surrendered his life so that God could live through him.  This didn't prevent evil from happening.  The more effective the Gospel message, the more who believed.  The more who believed rooted out the evil and changed their world.  The more their world was changed for Jesus the angrier Satan becomes.  The angrier Satan becomes the worse the persecution.  All because of fear.  Our fear of the Lord (love) trumps the fear of Satan every time.
     God tells us that we have all the blessings of Heaven.  What more do we need?

Just another day in paradise!

     My idea of paradise is probably similar to yours.  Most likely there are missing the negatives and burdens of this world we live in.  No financial problems, no people problems, kids and grandchildren doing what is right, and of course the world at peace.  Some of these won't take place and yet we need to have a place in our heart and head where there is paradise.  A place where we can go that takes us out of the negative equation of life.  Paradise for most is a concept where escape is the primary motive in day to day living.  Close the eyes and visualize a beach in a warm climate, gentle breeze, drink in hand and a favorite person (or alone) in the lounge next to us.  It's good for a temporary fix but won't last for more than the week or two we can afford to pay for.  People and organizations continually try to take paradise away from us; spoiling our day and our escape.  In the end our paradise is threatened and peace is fleeting.  Who gave the world the power to take away my paradise?  What can I do about it?
      Paradise is a salted carmel truffle Blizzard at Dairy Queen.  I had one the other day and it was wonderful!  Then for dinner I barbequed T-bone steaks that were out of this world.  Paradise can be the small things in life or the destination our faith takes us.  Paradise in this world ends when the last spoonful of Blizzard or last piece of steak is gone.  Then we ask ourselves what else could there be that would bring paradise to us.  Great coffee in the morning?  Yes!  Wonderful drive in the country?  Yes!  Heart attack?  No!  So much for the Blizzard and the T-bone.  Not to mention other items like caffeine coffee, favorite treats and more.  Reality can take over and dispose of paradise here on earth in a heart beat (pun intended).  But, my treasure (paradise) isn't here on earth; it's in Heaven with Jesus.  Yearning for paradise is much of what I do all the time.  I long to go home to be with Jesus but know that this won't happen until he brings it about.  Paradise is going to be wonderful and it can and will wait.
     What about Christian paradise while we are here on earth?  Does such a thing exist?  Yes, it does.  That being said, we think, say and do things that rob us of that heaven on earth.  If we don't do this to ourselves then others around us (even Christians) do this to us.  April 15th is tax day.  Joy or pain in the butt?  Definitely not an area where I would seek happy campers to reaffirm my heaven on earth.  Garage sales with my wife?  Yep, heaven on earth unless I buy something she is opposed to.  Paradise here on earth is conditional.  In the blink of an eye paradise can be lost and our peace gone.  Paradise in Heaven is another story.  There will be no pain, no suffering, no tears and definitely no one to steal my paradise!  Why then do we choose to engage paradise here on earth when it often leads to separation from the love of God?  Why do we think that paradise needs to be the result of sin?  Sex, drugs, alcohol, food, and pornography all bring paradise to some and even to some Christians.  At least the profess to be Christian.  I know for a fact that when I engaged in these activities people looked at me and said that I was an imposter and not a Christian.  Getting back on the straight and narrow meant giving my heart, soul, and mind back to Jesus and it's there that paradise, true paradise, has it's center.
     When we have a Christian mindset brought about by a commitment to Jesus there are diametrically opposed thoughts.  This mindset isn't a crutch.  This mindset isn't understandable to the non-christian.  At the same time it's that mindset that draws us to other Christians.  Within the body of Christ there should be paradise that will continue on through eternity.  Love being the connecting and leading method of such paradise.  It's humbling to be attended to by the body of Christ.  Yet this is what gives us the model of giving of ourselves to that same body of Christ.  When we do so we are inclined to give to those around us in our neighborhood and at our place of work.  Living in paradise is doable.  Living in paradise is something we should long for and see in the lives of other believers.  The Christian body is all about being beggars meeting together to work together receiving and giving the grace of God that we have received.  Paradise is when someone gives their life to Jesus.  Not only the angels of heaven rejoice but so should the body of Christ.  What's your paradise for the day?

Distracted living can do serious damage!

     I have ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and that complicates my life and those who live around me.  For the most part I think of this part of my life as a blessing when it's disciplined and under some resemblance of control.  However, certain things can unleash the unpredictability that comes with the diagnosis.  For example, too much sugar tends to let loose a myriad of thoughts and actions that are random and often don't make sense to anyone including me!  My mind tends to wander and my conversations will change subjects without warning.  The need to be "on the move" overcomes me and I have to be doing something.  Tasks are handled in a multitasking way that seems to make no sense to anyone watching.  All of this from sugar infusion setting loose my impulse control.  I'm sure there are many who echo these words and like me wish they had better discipline to function better in life.  The other side of this equation is that when disciplined I have the ability to function on a higher level and with great clarity.  My memory is able to function better and my impulse control is under control.  Decisions I make tend to be more thought through and beneficial not only to me but to those around me as well.  ADHD can be my best friend or worst enemy!
     Now move this into the realm of Christian Walk and life gets real interesting.  When I think about the Bible, God, and my response to God and the Bible; my thoughts are cemented in place with the truth.  Undistracted truth will aid me in growing in Christ.  In order to have forward movement in our Christian lives we need to be three things:  teachable, leadable, and accountable.  Should we be distracted by the cares of the world, our own sin or the apathy that so often rears it's ugly head, we miss the mark and are none of the three.  ALL that we learn is based on the premise that a basic truth is the foundation to everything attached to that premise.  For instance, I believe that salvation can only come through our accepting the payment Jesus made for us and belief in God.  Salvation comes when we accept Jesus and surrender our lives to him.  This is a base belief upon which we build so many other beliefs.  IF we do accept the basic belief we also must embrace other basic beliefs.  We need to believe that the Bible is the word of God.  Period.  We need to believe that what is said there is from God.  Period.  To maintain our growth in Christ we must surrender ourselves to that place where He can teach us, lead us, and hold us accountable according to what God proclaims in his Word.  Should we miss this mark, we become distracted and go the way of the world instead.  This in spite of our proclaiming salvation through Jesus.
     The whole idea of sin makes a lot of people fearful and even angry.  But the Word says that we have no reason to be either should we be in line with Scripture.  Mankind has taken it upon himself to make up rules that fit themselves instead of being teachable, leadable and accountable.  Thus we find the Christian belief under attack and undermined by mankind and even by alleged church leaders.  The force of humanity demanding to be accepted in their sinful behavior is huge!  Whole denominations have changed policy and beliefs in order to be inclusive of and make comfortable the ones who refuse to live as the Bible tells us to live.  In a sense they have spiritual ADHD and are drinking and eating way too much sugar!  To make matters even worse these people, groups and their leaders have pushed these beliefs upon others demanding that they too eliminate all beliefs that would cause them to be uncomfortable.  Thus sins become okay and behaviors of selfishness become higher than that of the Bible.  I've been guilty of that.  I'm a sinner.  I've had to repent and come back to the Bible and Jesus.  However, I don't want to be found living a religion the world has invented that makes people comfortable wherever and however they choose to live.
     IF we surrender to Christ; IF we become teachable; IF we become leadable; and IF we become accountable to Christ and the Word of God; we live our lives for Christ.  If we do not, we are just living for ourselves and we are trapped in our sin.  Fear instead of faith become the hallmark of the later.  Confident belief and courage become the hallmark of those who adhere to the teachings of Christ and the Word of God.  Your life may be comfortable.  Your life may be prosperous.  Your life may be filled with people.  However, if your life doesn't include a risen Savior then your life is without Jesus.  Without Jesus your life is empty.  When your life is empty the enemy, Satan, seeks to fill it with what the world and he want.   THIS is the distraction that carries believer and non-believer alike away from the truth and onto the path of selfish destruction leading to eternal life in hell instead of heaven. 
      It's all your choice.  Be distracted and live the lost life or...