Matthew 10:38, “And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
This past year has been an absolute odyssey of learning to
actually follow Christ. Key word being “Follow.”
Like most I want the blessings of God. Like the devout I
pray constantly. Like the charismatic I even hear God’s whispers in my mind
from time to time with instruction, encouragement, and the occasional
admonishing as well. But I have always tried to get out in front of Him.
If thought for a moment that God wanted me to go to a place,
I have always taken that to mean get there however you can. Or worse took it to
mean, He will get me there regardless of the steps. But to God it is the
individual steps that are more important than the destination. When we follow
God, we step where he steps, and we stand where he stands. And it is this
lesson, that is intentionally contrary to name it claim it, prosperity message
and teaching. This lesson is intentionally contrary to any idea of earning, or
even convincing God to give us His blessing that man as promoted through religious
doctrine. His blessing is in the footstep. His blessing is in the following,
not the destination.
Oh the destinations can be glorious, but the real lesson,
the real blessing is in learning to follow.
A year ago God told me that for me 2014 would be entrepreneurial.
It was an idea I rejected having been there before. A month later He told me to
approach a friend, later to approach a stranger, and as I saw His path forming,
I ran ahead, and by the grace of God ran into one stonewall after another. Each
time returning to Him looking for direction, and each time running ahead once I
had it. But over the course of a year He taught me to get behind Him. How
precious the lesson. The destination we have paused is peaceful, hilarious,
with new faces, a new career, new energy, new love, new abilities, a NEW LIFE.
I am blessed! And I am blessed because I am standing in His
steps.
Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God;
Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Luke 24:47, “and that repentance for forgiveness of
sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.”
Acts 3:19, “Therefore repent and return, so that your
sins may be wiped away, in order that time of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 7:10, “For the sorrow that is according
to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation,
but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
I have a dear friend of mine,
one who I promoted, a person I trusted, someone I considered a godly man and an
example commit adultery, and have a 5 ½ month affair with a woman half his age.
But if that statement does not anger you, let me add some fuel to the fire,
because I want you anger to burn so that the Holy Spirit might quench it.
This man of course has a
wife, otherwise it would not be adultery. But he also has 2 children in the
most vulnerable years of their life who love their Dad very much. He also has a
ministry… a ministry of helping those with troubled marriages, various
addictions, and just the bumps of life. All of this “good side” of his life
have been forsaken… for what?
Apparently unrepentant… (I
can say that because Jesus said repentance bears fruit (Matt 3:8)) he continues
to cohort with his concubine. So is this one of those cases the writer of
Hebrews 10:26 speaks of when he says, “For if we go on sinning willfully after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for
sins.” I pray not. But certainly this could very well be an example of too much
reliance on Grace without considering the value of repentance.
The very foundation of
Christianity is the principle of we are saved by grace through faith. That if
we will simply believe in the unseen, unmerited favor or God, then all things
will be all right. And modern Christianity understands this… or does it? What
is the extent of the grace?
In Romans Chapter 7 the
Apostle Paul talks about the everyday struggle with sin that WE ALL have, even
after salvation; and in conclusion of this thought he says it must be sin in
me, and not I that sins. To which he then says, that if it is Sin and not me,
then “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ…” And
so we use this to not judge and condemn behavior. We use it to justify our own
sin-- that we are out of control, but the grace of God will overcome, and there
should be no condemnation… and if no condemnation no consequences.
But for us the sinner there
still remains a responsibility. No there is no condemnation. Yes we are all susceptible
to sin. But Christ came to preach repentance for forgiveness of sin. The
kingdom of God is at hand… repent. Yes we all sin, but to those who are in
Christ… we feel sorrow for that sin. And that sorrow leads to repentance.
And so my babble comes full
circle. My friend is caught in open adultery. What do I do?
Well first I pray… a lot.
Second I try not to be
condemning in my communications with him. I do not tell him he is going to
hell, that is not my call. But I do as gently as I can share God’s word. I do
sometimes forcefully try to get him to acknowledge he is an adulterer. Let’s
get this clear, he is not neglected by his wife, he does not have a bad life,
there is no excuse for his choice.
Third, I wait for him to wake
up. And if he does not… then I will practice 1 Corinthians 5.
Ecclesiastes
3:1-15, “…A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to
dance…”
I had the great pleasure of presiding of my youngest daughter's wedding this Friday June 27th, 2014. These of the word of a father, from the Father.
"We
are gathered here today to celebrate with Katherine Anne Yuna and Michael Walter
Van Muers their commitment to one another in the ceremony of marriage.
Marriage…
have you ever stopped to reflect on how much the marriage ceremony is like
marriage itself. Who doesn’t want to believe in the fantasy of riding off with
their Prince Charming and living happily ever after? We go to great expense and
sacrifice to create this ceremony, to create the send off for our damsel and
her prince. Well, I am here to tell you that a marriage every bit as beautiful
as this ceremony is possible.
Like
this ceremony marriage takes work. It takes compromises. It is stressful at
time, and exciting at others. Like this ceremony marriage is full of beautiful
moments, but marriage is not only fresh flowers and pristine garments. No... marriage has flowers that wilt too. It has garments that mean so much today but
that often forgotten… mothballed in an attic.
We
have all heard the vows couples say to one another. They commit to love for
better of for worse. Well I am here to tell you that there is no worse. Only
when you fall prey to the illusion of worse will you marriage suffer. Romans
8:28 says, “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” If you
both will commit to not only loving each other, but God first, then even the worst of
times will be good. That is His promise not mine.
Couples
marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in health and sickness, but
I’m here to tell you that if you will let it… worse, poorer, and sickness are
all good for those who love God. Not everything about this ceremony has gone as
planned, and yet the totality of it is beautiful. Every desire has not been
fulfilled, and yet this day will be remembered in many minds for years to come.
You two are probably so nervous you won’t remember anything I have said, but I
do want to offer this one piece of wisdom.
If
you want this marriage to end in a fairytale… happily ever after, then always
look for, strive to have peace in your home. I am not saying quite… I am saying
peace. Peace will follow love, and love will always consider the other’s needs
above their own.
Katherine, there will be times when Michael is
dead set in his way, and that way is going to be completely contrary to your
logic or experience. Let him have his way in the name of love and peace, AND
trust God the He will cause EVERYTHING to work together for good.
Michael,
there are going to be times when Katherine is stubborn as a mule… I know, I
raised her… let her have her way. Nothing in life teaches us like experiencing
it for ourselves, and besides… God will cause EVERYTHING to work together for
good.
To
both of you, you both will be wrong the majority of the time. Katherine you
will be wrong. Michael you will be wrong so you both need to be willing to find
the third option. That third option is God’s way. It is God’s plan. When you
find Katherine going right, and Michael going left, look up because that is the
direction you need to be going.
For the friends and family all represented here
today I am here to admonish us all, that with this union, we give up our allegiances
to Katherine or Michael. Instead we must all pledge to support the marriage,
and never the individual. Jesus Himself
said in Matthew 19:6, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore
God has joined together let no man separate.” If you love either of these two,
then you will also support the marriage. If we will focus our love on the
marriage, and not the individuals then we will contribute to their happily ever
after.
Michael
and Katherine you guys are young and though you think you know what love is,
trust me you are just beginning to learn. Love, in its purest form is all we
need. God tells us that He is love. Jesus told us that we need to do nothing
more than love God, and love each other. Love encompasses forgiveness, honor,
faithfulness, patience, and all that is good. So with that in mind..."
This month is the 3rd Anniversary
of Propel, and my commitment to live 100% dependent upon God. And for some
reason I find myself wanting to explain why I write so little now.
I write less because the
more I walk with God, the less my words are important. The more I see what God
is doing, the more I observe He is far more in control than I could ever hope
to be. These words I have written have been written thousands of times by hand,
and millions of times in individual hearts. The words, though they are
empathetic and indicative of a path to heaven will not bring you where I am, but
perhaps encourage your own journey to get some place higher with God.
I write less because I am
no longer concerned with how many thousands read my writings or how many
countries they find their way to. I write less because if you know what I am
talking about, if you experience the same thing, then you would care less about
my experience because your own experience is greater and equally indescribable.
I write less because God has not told me to write more.
I think Oswald Chamber’s
words describe why I write less.They are written in reference to the scripture
above.
“When is “that day”? It is when the
ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. “In that day” you will be one with
the Father just as Jesus is, and He said, “In that day you will ask Me
nothing.” Until the resurrection life of Jesus is fully exhibited in you, you
have questions about many things. Then after a while you find that all your
questions are gone— you don’t seem to have any left to ask. You have come to
the point of total reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, which brings you
into complete oneness with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If
not, why aren’t you?
“In that day” there may be any number
of things still hidden to your understanding, but they will not come between
your heart and God. “In that day you will ask Me nothing”— you will not need to
ask, because you will be certain that God will reveal things in accordance with
His will. The faith and peace of John 14:1 has become the real attitude of your
heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to
you and is coming between you and God, never look for the explanation in your
mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner nature— that is where the
problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is willing to submit to the life
of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will come to the
place where there is no distance between the Father and you, His child, because
the Lord has made you one. “In that day you will ask Me nothing.””
There is a place with God that does not
need a Bible because His word is written on your heart. (Jeremiah 31:33). There
is a place with God where you do not need to hear worship because your spirit
worships constantly. (John 4:24) There is a place with God where you no longer
need a church service to quite your demons like David’s harp quieted Saul’s.
There is a place with God… Do you hear that? There is a place with God for you,
right here, right now. A place where you are ONE with the Father. Seek that
place, and you will find it.
Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’
declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future
and a hope.’”
The sea was calm
The Captain in control
When out of nowhere a rogue wave crashes into the boat.
Peaceful calm abandoned in the pitching for mindless fear.
Passengers and crew alike scramble for life preservers
Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who
wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like
eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
This little passage of
scripture is framed and has sat on my desk for probably twenty-five years or
more. But I am here to tell you that I never understood it until this past
week. I always considered the passage a faith statement, that IF I will wait for
God, then He will give me strength. Somehow I needed to mustard up patience,
and hold myself back, and then God would act on my behalf.
But what I am experiencing
is something very different. Something that does not involve faith,
self-discipline, or even “waiting” in the traditional sense.
Before seeing this new
truth the “waiting” was just some divine, necessary delay between today and me
getting what I want. It was there to keep me from being spoiled, like a parent
may cause a child to delay their gratification. But that is not it at all. I
think to truly understand it, we must first be stripped of the wanting all
together. That life is not about our desires, pleasure, and fulfillment;
but rather is about loving God and having our character shaped into
His image. When we understand this, we begin to understand what the
prophet meant when he said, “those who wait for the Lord…”
Reality is that perhaps
even the modern translators have this scripture wrong. According to my minor
research the Hebrew word for “wait” as used in this scripture means also to
“bind together.” So “those (who are bound together) with the Lord will gain new
strength…”
Practically speaking I am
in a place in my life that I have been to many times. Staring into what seems
to be a clear vision of a blessed future, and yet for the first time I am not
trying to run ahead. I am not “staying busy” while I “wait” on God. I do not
have to stir up patience. I am not here combating anxiousness. But rather I am
so clearly bound together with God, and He has paused. Therefore WE wait. Can
you see the difference? The wait is not because I don't see God moving, or that
He is trying to "teach me a lesson." The wait is simply because He
stopped. And because I so enjoy His company, I stopped too.
Does this ring true with
your experience, even if only the running and wanting to get done in spite of
God’s pause?
I cannot describe the peace
and contentment I feel knowing that I am with God, and that He is doing nothing
with me at the moment. He has paused on the mountain top to look at the valleys
and mountains of the future. I can try to run ahead, or just the opposite be
overwhelmed by the task of crossing such a great distance. But no, I am bound
together with God, and we will go together in His perfect timing… on the wings
of eagles, without becoming tired or weary.
Psalms 62:5, “My soul, wait
in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.”
Does your soul ever wait in
silence? Or is there a constant frantic prayer crying out to God to speak, to
move, to bless, or to change your circumstances? Are you comfortable sitting in
a group that is silent, or do you need conversation because dead air is too
awkward? Are you prayers like those of Mother Teresa’s where she said nothing,
and where God said nothing in return? Can you find and enjoy the presence of
God in the absence of anything, no worship, no scripture, no lesson… just find
and be?
I have been brought to a
place where my soul waits in silence. It is a wonderful place, full of the
presence of God. Life, even time itself is suspended waiting on the hope that
is from Him. God’s silence is golden, it is precious, it is beautiful, and it
is amazing. For my soul to be in His presence without conviction, or
instruction, or a plan, or a question is so very new to me. It is a time of
waiting and watching that the Lord is good.
This silence is so very
different from when He has called me to “rest.” Where He “made me lie down…”
This silence is to stand at the banks of the Jordan side by side with God
watching as you just know that He is about to do something only He can do. Oh
the nervous anticipation. To my soul I say, “wait in silence for God only.”
My flesh wants to run, my
mind wants to plan, but my soul says, “ssshhhhhh.”
Father Your silence is
Golden. Your presence is life. Your presence is love. Your presence is all I
need. You have filled me to silence.
Matthew 5:38-41, “You have
heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say
to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek,
turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let
him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.”
This is not a commentary on
divorce, but it is an ex-wife that has brought this scripture into my training
to be like Christ. It is no coincidence that my relationship to my son’s mother
has been purposely confined to a written set of rules on behavior and
responsibility. And yet as clearly as the document speaks she continuously acts
in contempt of it and the judge who signed it. Time and time again she slaps me
in the proverbial face. Weekly I am literally forced to go many miles beyond
one or two.
Will no one put her in her
place? Will I ever have victory? Do I get to have a win in my column?
I discussed my frustration
with my friends among who were Jim, Aaron, and Jason. And what did I get back?
Not a path to victory on paper, not a plan for a win, but instead I got the
scripture above.
AAGH!!!!!!
That action does not force
her into appreciating the compromise and sacrifice I make for our son. That
action does not transfer control to me. Turning the other cheek, at least on
the surface seems to be a path to more slapping, more inconvenience, more
expense, and more frustration. But Jason advised that when I “turn the other
cheek” then, (and only then) have I stripped her of her power over me. Her
power to frustrate, her power to manipulate, and her power to bring turmoil
into my life. He said something to the effect that when she is a ghost to me,
nothing will matter but my time with our son.
If this were not enough
heavenly conversation on the subject, I find myself convicted by the very T
Austin-Sparks quote I sent to Jim. There is no distinction between living life
and spirituality. All of life is about being conformed to the image of Christ.
And on this TAS wrote.
All praise to God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3 NLT)
“Some people seem to think
that spirituality is a kind of mystical or mythical ‘something’ – that
spirituality is something remote from reality, a kind of ethereal frame of
mind. Well, spirituality is certainly
not a frame of mind in the first place.
We speak of a calm and heavenly frame... and there may be something of
this kind as a fruit of it... but spirituality is not a nebulous, mythical, or
abstract thing at all. Spirituality is
the most practical thing. (Even turning the other cheek to an ex-wife, or
driving extra miles to get a son you love.)
When men or women are called
by God into some piece of Divine ministry and, in the face of the demand, are
conscious to the last degree that they have no ability, no resource, no power
to fulfill that ministry, that in themselves the thing is utterly and
overwhelmingly impossible, (and frustrating) that for them to essay to do it
would be the utmost folly and absurdity – when in such circumstances they
recognize that they have a living Christ in whom are resources more than enough
to meet that demand... and by faith lay hold of Him and go forward into the
ministry (living as Christ) with that consciousness... that is spirituality;
and that is practical, tremendously practical.
The issues prove that it is practical.
It is in that way heavenly things are done.”
By T. Austin-Sparks from:
Boundless Heavenly Resources
2 Thessalonians 3:11, “For we hear that some among you are
leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like
busybodies.”
I don’t know about you, but even at 48 years old I still
sometimes confuse and congeal job, career, and calling all into a single task
or profession for myself. But reality is they are most often three very separate
things there to meet three very separate though interrelated needs.
But before I explore this further let’s look at the terms
briefly for the purpose of defining them. When I say a job, this means a task accomplished
easily within a person’s skill set for compensation but that is not attached to
any degree of permanency. Think of a side job, or perhaps a first job, or
summer job, or even volunteer job. Whereas a career is a reoccurring task that requires
a refined, and perhaps even rare or rarer skill set that is transportable from
local to local. A career is that thing that provides some degree of job
security. My career is mortgage banking. The Apostle Paul’s career was tent
making. Christ career was a carpenter. Calling on the other hand, may include a
job or a career, but is the purpose God has for us on this earth. We are all
called to minister to God, but some are called to Pastor. Some are called to
parent. Sometimes my calling gives me the job of writing this blog. Sometimes
my calling finds me in my career of mortgages as I help random strangers who
bring their financial troubles to me.
If we look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs jobs provide the
lowest level of physiological needs. Careers provide only slightly more my
giving of the safety of the second level. But I believe it is in responding to
our calling that the remainders of these needs are met.
Why am I having this discussion with myself?
Because the understanding of these critical differences and the
separations of their roles need to be addressed particularly as much as my mind
has distorted these things.
I hate my job.
How many have said that?
I wish I knew what I was supposed to do… or be… or I wish I could
do…
How many have said that?
Are you tired of a “dead end” job, or “meaningless” career?
Are you guilty of the mindset that life should be a bed of
roses? Have you grown up believing if everything is great spiritually then
everything in life is should be great and easy too? Do you think God intends
for us to lay around naked in perfect temperatures eating fruit from trees with
no responsibilities of effort?
How do you see Christ’s words in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the
birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them…”
Do you read this as the birds do not have a job? Do you
think the only tasks in life are planting, harvesting, and storing? No, the
bird has to get up every day and “find” that food. Yes God does “feed them” in
the sense that He has provided enough if they will do their part. But they must
make effort. They must look, the must work, and they must avoid be made lunch
themselves. In many cases they must fly hundreds or even thousands of miles to
the next meal because the seasons have changed. Is that an effortless existence?
Aside from meeting Maslow’s basic of needs jobs are there
for us to learn and know Christ. They are there for us to fulfill scripture.
Jesus said when telling a parable of work and money in Luke 16:10, “He who is
faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much…” Jobs, even the dead
end ones are our opportunity to demonstrate the same faithfulness Christ demonstrated
to us. Perhaps the “little” is the job, and the much is the “career.”
And what of careers? This application of a skill set to give
us a sense of physical safety. Jesus before leaving his career to save the
world was a carpenter. (Mark 6:3) Peter and Andrew had a career in fishing.
(Matt 4:18) The apostle Paul had a career in tent making. (Acts 18:3) David had
a career in as a Shepard before being anointed to be king. I could go on and
on, but it sure appears that biblical “careers in ministry” happened more often
after careers in the world.
Yes there are spiritual callings none less than those of
Ephesians 4, but that does not negate the need to show faithfulness, and to “find”
the food that God has provided. Even in the wilderness the Israelites had to go
and gather the manna every day. It was not delivered in vacuum sealed packaging
a their tent door so that they could sit around all day watching TV and playing
video games.
I guess my point is that if you don’t have a job, get one. If
you have a job, pray for a direction to have a career. Pray for God to show you
where your skills are unique, and how they can lead to the security of being
needed by society. Don’t be the object of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. “Now
we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep
away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the
tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among
you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and
hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any
of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer
ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even
when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing
to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are
leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like
busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to
work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not
grow weary of doing good. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this
letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that
he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as
a brother.”
In this you will discover Christ. He is in the dead end job,
when working for Him. He is in the meaningless Career when doing it because He
showed you to. Then that calling will emerge out of having relationship with
him. For a lucky few the job, career, and calling will intertwine beautifully. For
the rest of us… not so much.
God bless, and get to work. Work though not chasing a dream, or lifestyle... work chasing the Lord.
Ezekiel 44:16, “They shall
enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep
My charge.”
The other day I encountered a
homeless guy in the parking lot of an Exxon station. He had a sign that said “Just
trying to survive.” He also had a shopping cart, and was digging through the
garbage pulling out aluminum cans. Moved with compassion I cleaned the change
out of my car, and gave him all the money I had.
I said, “Hey Survivor, Jesus
love you.”
He said, “Don’t pray for me,
pray for my buddy sick in that patch of woods down the street. I’ve been to 3
stores looking for him some Alka Seltser extreme cold…”
After some more chit chat I
drove away. My mind wandered to wishing I had money enough to keep sleeping
bags, cots, and coats in my truck. I thought how cool would it me to be able to
go to the store, buy a charcoal grill, and go cook those guys a hot meal. All
thoughts… no action.
But later that night the
encounter directed my dreams. I dreamt that I was talking to God. Well… not
talking, but more bitching. I complained that He called me to be a minister,
and yet my only ministry is really a blog… or so I thought. I asked Him, “who
have you sent me too? Is it the homeless?” I blabbed on about how my vocation
as a loan officer looks nothing like the vocation of a minister…” I asked for
the thousandth time, “Why the financial struggle, isn’t there a ministry “profession”
out there for me that has sufficient resources?”
It was then the Father asked
me, “Who did I call you to minister to?”
I answered, “I have no idea,
all I know is that You said, ‘Where I have called you to there will be no
support.’” (Which I have always believed it would be an indigent group not
capable of supporting a minister.)
God replied quite emphatically,
“I have called you to minister to ME!”
I do not expect a soul to
understand the fullness of this statement, but I could kick myself for having
gone 48 years without even considering it. Yes when I gave that homeless man
some money I was as the world would call it, “ministering to him.” But the reality
is I was responding to the Holy Spirit, and therefore truly ministering to Him.
To put it another way, the Christ in me was reaching out for the Christ in him.
I keep looking for a job, a
vocation, a profession as a minister to some people group; but God in one
statement wiped that thought process from my mind. Ministry to God is not any
of those things. Ministry to God happens anywhere, it is happening now as His
presence fills my spirit, and my soul cries out Glory to God. It happens with
the homeless man, not because I have met some temporary need, but because God has
held him his entire life through the most hostile of circumstances and that
that homeless man would still have compassion for his fellow man. Do you see
the difference? Do you see the beauty that I see?
I get with new clarity what
Christ meant when He spoke in John 5:19, “… the Son can do nothing of Himself,
unless it is something He sees the Father doing…” Christ did not come to
minister to us, Christ came to minister to the Father. John 8:28 offers the
same insight when Jesus said, “… I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak
these things as the Father taught Me.” Or his references to only doing the
Father’s will… because He came to minister to God, not to us. We fix, we do, we
plan, we organize when “we are ministering to men.”
We love when “we are
ministering to God.”
Let this relieve the pressure
to spiritually perform for others. Let this give proper priority to your plans
to fix a person or segment of society. Minister to ME, God says. Let that be
the focus of our soul.
2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we
all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the
Lord, the Spirit.”
A couple days ago my friend
Jim Spivey wrote in his blog, “… he asked, ‘Jim, how do you keep walking?’”
You see Jim’s life is
dedicated to walking with others in and out of their greatest needs… to be a
reflection of Christ as he says. And in this, not only do his own life’s
problems come to bare on his soul, but the problems of the hundreds he ministers
too as well. How can he subject himself to that?
How can any of us subject
ourselves to life?
A friend of mine often says, “Life
is hard, wear a helmet.” And life is hard, but hardwired into us from God is
this desire to never quit. Oh sure some do quit. Some quit with suicide, some
quit with dropping out of society. But if we all will keep walking we will come
to that moment of God’s glory that changes our soul eternally.
Do you think life is easy? Do
you think ANYONE goes unchallenged in finances, or relationships, or health? Is
there a place in Christ where any of us are immune, and no longer need to wear
the helmet?
I will assure you not.
For me, many of you know that
the struggle God has chosen to shape my soul is financial. I have not closed a
loan in a month, and now find myself $3800 short of covering the monthly bills.
It has me stressed out, and to say otherwise would be a lie. Now I can call my “dad”
and borrow the money, or I can wait on the next glory of my DAD in heaven. I
wait on God and His glory. (or at least try to) And it is not just me who need
the next glory, the next shinning of God’s face in our blinded spirit.
I know a Pastor whose son is
being held in jail on a charge of attempted murder. There’s a pair of men who
need the next shinning of God’s glory. My friend Jeff experienced God’s glory
when the doctor’s announced his cancer was in remission, but I will promise you
it seemed a thousand miles away as he walked out the healing. My friend Mark
has cancer… he needs God’s glory. My friend Dana has blood and bone marrow
cancer… he needs God’s glory, and what of his children. My nephews and niece
lost their father at 50… but they have been seeing God’s glory time and time
again since. Glory that reminds them their Dad is in a perfect place, and God
is in control of their lives. Anne has a disease that causes her eyes to burst,
and yes it is as painful as it sounds… she needs God’s next glory. Can you
imagine have to have your eye repeatedly stitched back together?
My friend Gary (a Pastor) is
in an epic struggle of family, and for his very soul. I cry because these are
my friends, but I laugh at the insignificance of being short $3800.
My friend Bob was desperate
for God to heal his blindness, but man did it with surgery. Is this a spiritual
crisis of faith, or is this God’s next glory?
I think Laura will tell you
of God’s glory in her remission of colon cancer. But what of the woman I spoke
with the other day who is about to lose her home, and desperate to know what
the future holds for her. Do I tell her we don’t get to see the future, only a
blurring image of the past when we arrive at God’s next glory?
Of the many quotes Jim used
in his blog this one stands out to me.
“’Now shall I walk or shall I
ride?’
‘Ride,’ Pleasure then said;
‘Walk,’ Joy replied.”
-W.H. Davis
We walk because joy anchors
our soul. We walk because we know God’s next glory is coming. It is ok to
despise the shame of the walk, just keep walking… never quit. God’s glory is
not in the destination, God’s glory in all along the path. If you stop walking,
or try to ride to the next destination you will miss the glory.
Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our
eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, who for the JOY set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame…”
My mom sent me a text the
other day. I assume because I wasn't feeling well at her birthday
celebration, and was a bit on the grouchy side. But the text said, “What
is it that would make you happy? … like life?” I didn’t respond there because
it is clear to me that God would have me respond here.
First and foremost
happiness is nothing more than an emotional response to pleasant circumstance,
or if you will happenstance. In fact I would argue that there is nothing
spiritual at all about “happiness.” We are happy when we get our way. We are
happy when we indulge our glutton. We are happy when we accomplish goals, or
get new things. But happiness is fleeting, and it by in large is false. So I
personally do not pursue “happiness.”
This sounds a little bit
crazy, and perhaps pessimistic doesn’t it? But have you read my writings to
this point? What would make me “happy” is to have a salary that I could depend
on and not have to live check to check making commissions that go up and down.
But my “happiness” would cause me to miss the JOY of God’s blessings and
miraculous provision. Happiness would have had me miss the joy of a free horse.
(Read that one.) Happiness would have never let me get close to Robert Franklin
because it would have made me happy to "fix" his life rather than be
in it.
It would make me “happy” to
see my adult children with careers, and direction, but that would deny me the
JOY of watching God move in their life, and to witness their interaction with
Him.
It would make me happy to
have a huge following on this blog with lots of comments and accolades, but
then I would miss the joy of God sending these words around the world.
Psalms 37:4 says, “Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Based on
this scripture I wrote the desires of my heart down. Happiness would be that
they would all happen NOW. But it is great JOY that I see God provide them in
His timing, and in His measure.
Do not confuse a stern face
as being a heart without joy. For I truly am a blessed man, who sometimes
wearies from the struggle with myself. I have a wonderful life! I have a
wonderful wife, and children who love me. I am not here to pursue happiness. I
am not here to “like” life. I am here to be “conformed to the image of Christ.”
(Rom 8:29) Sometime that means being in despair. Sometimes that means life will
bring you to a place where you despise it all, but deep underneath there is a
JOY that keeps us moving forward. I do not care if I “like” life. I am here to
“live” life. We are not here to be “happy.” But if we will love God, then there
is an undercurrent of joy that keeps us going when life is hard or unpleasant.
Joy is the bedrock of my soul. Happiness is nothing more than a roller coaster
of my flesh.
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