Freeing Self

Built on the foundation of God's love, the clarion call of the Bible is forgiveness. Throughout Israel's history, time after time, they turned away and, time after time, God forgave.  Before Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit, even "before the creation of the world" (Eph 1:3ff) God had made a way for our redemption.  And when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he highlighted asking for forgiveness and forgiving others (Matt 6:9-15).

And yet, forgiveness is one of the hardest things for us to do. We say things like "that's unforgivable, there is no excuse for what he did!"  Really?  Was there an excuse for they way Jesus was tried and crucified?  And still, from the cross he cried out, "Father forgive them" (Luke 23:34).   Do you really think you have been injured more than Christ?  Not!

Another very important thing to consider is your own lack of excuse before God. Do you think you could stand before God and offer an excuse for your sins?  Again, not!  On a pragmatic level, why would a person who has an excuse need forgiveness?  The only people we can forgive are those without excuse. An excuse gives us a viable pass. Inexcusable behavior stands in need of forgiveness or it remains condemned. 

The last point I want to make is that the act of not forgiving is self destructive. It causes you to hold the offense close, continuing to cause harm to your spirit, while the unforgiven individual may well not think about the offense at all. Hating someone is a bit like drinking poison and hoping someone else dies. Jesus also warns that God will not forgive those who will not forgive others (Matt 6:9-15).

So, why keep your heart and spirit in bondage?  Why allow Satan to trap you in chains of defeat?  Why not free yourself by letting go of the offense?  Jus' Say'n. 

LAW

I grew up in a religious community that spoke of grace but relied on works.  I was taught that no one could ever earn their salvation but then was warned to "work out your salvattion with fear and trembling," quoting Philippians 2:12.  How could I argue with that?  More importantly, how could I understand or reconcile that with our teaching about grace and Paul's clear message of "you are saved by grace through faith - this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8)?

Just how itt it that I am to work out my salvation with fear and trembling on the one hand and to confidently rest in the assurance that my salvation is a gift from God that does not rest on me?  It would help to actually study the passages in context instead of just using individual verses as proof texts to support a particular point of view.

For instance, Paul didn't write Philippians 2:12 on a 3x5 postage card, it was part of a larger letter, part of which is in the very next verse (13), which reads, "For it is God who works in out to will and act in order to fulfill his good purpose."  Work out your salvation how?  Our salvation is worked out when we do not resist the Spirit of God working within us to mold and change us according to his will rather than our own.

We are not saved by our ability to work out the details of our salvation, we are saved so that the details of our salvation can be worked out.  As a born again child of God, I am being made new by the work of God within.  Unless, of course, I resist his Spirit and do not allow that change to be effected in my life.  Stephen warned the people of his day, "You stiff-necked people!  Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised!  You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
 (Acts 7:51).

We are not saved by following law.  Being saved, we embrace law - the law of Christ, allowing it to be worked out in our lives.  And that "entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one commandment:'Love your neighbor as yourself" (Gal 5:14).  We are to care for and "Carry our brother's burdens and in this way fulfill the law of Christ" (6:2).

Let me share with you an acronym I have taken from Micah 6:8 where the prophet tells us what God wants of us.  It is not resting on a law to save us, it is to allow the will or law of God to change us from the inside out.  The prophet said we are to Love mercy, Act justly, Walk humbly before our God.  This L.A.W. is the change that comes when the Spirit of Christ rules in our hearts.  Jus' Say'n.

The Last Word

The old man knew his last breath was very near.  Soon he would be a memory to his family.  What they would carry forward in their hearts and minds of him was his legacy to them and much more important than any material inheritance he could possibly provide.

He asked his children gather around his bed and he began to share with them the things most important to him and what it was that he most wanted them to take with them of himself throughout life - the old man offered them his last word on life.  He talked about honor and ethics, fairness and justice, honesty and trustworthiness.  He shared with them those things that made life truly rich and rewarding.  His legacy, that which he wish to pass on to his children was the very core of his being and philosophy for life.

In John 16, Jesus tells his disciples that he would soon be taken from him.  He knew that the hour of his death was coming very soon and wanted to prepare them.  He wished to impart to them a legacy as well, to pass on to them the core of his being and the foundation for everything he ever did: Love.

Knowing he was about to be crucified, Jesus offered his last word on life and he took this word to the Father to have it sealed for their future.  His final prayer for them, his last word for their life and his legacy was this: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you e known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (Jn 17:25-26).

The Last Word, Christ's very legacy for his disciples is love.  Without this legacy, Paul said, "we are nothing" (1 Cor 13:2).  Love, Paul says is and ever will be, the last word for when everything else is passed, "these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these (the final word) is love" (1 Cor 13:13).  Jus' Say'n.

More Than

Tandie and I have just purchased a house in a another town.  We have been there for several days, sleeping on an air mattress without any of our household goods or furniture, or a change of clothing. We have been experiencing the "More Than" principle in all its glory. This move has cost more, been more work and taken more time than we had bargained on.  I can see your knowing grins and hear your silent amens.

This principle, we are experiencing is not unique, it is almost universal. Nothing is quite what it seems going in. It almost always costs more than you imagined in time, energy and resources. One would wonder why anyone would ever take this journey twice, given the burden of the more than effect.

The reason, I believe, is the other side of the more than coin. While there is definitely a host of burden increases along the way, there are also multiple blessings in the middle of it all. There is the satisfaction of seeing things come together in a new and wonderful way. There are angels, who come along side you and help in wonderful ways. There is a newness that exceeds what you expected. There is a sense of forward motion that is dao uplifting. There is that turning of a page, which opens up more vistas and possibilities.

Most of all, in the more than department, there is a growing faith in God that is more than you expected. The is more appreciation for God's hand in your life. There is more evidence of His blessings falling like rain. There is more appreciation of just how blessed you are. The is more than in  more ways than you might imagine.

We have been so frustrated, so disappointed, so sapped, so energized, so encouraged, so blessed. We are on another season of life that holds both more losses and more gifts. But what is most important is  not in what the future holds but in Who holds our future. And here is where the greater principle applies - the providence of God: "you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

The more than point of this journe?  "God and do more than you can ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20). Jus' Say'n.

And Then There Is God

I one read about a woman who was going through a difficult divorce and having to start over with no job or job skills, and no help. She went to an older, very respected sister in Christ, known for her wisdom. She laid out her awful state of affairs, asking for some insight as to where to turn or what to do.

The older sister looked her deep into her eyes and said, "And then there is God."  The younger woman was surprised at the older woman's dismissive attitude.  She responded, "You don't seem to understand my total circumstance."  The older sister replied, "I do understand. But then there is God."

The younger woman went away feeling unheard and disappointed. But some time later, living in a new home, working in a promising new career and seeing life in a new and exciting way; the woman understood just what the older sister meant when she said, "And then there is God."  Beyond all that we can see or do, God is there ready to bless his children.

As Jesus assures his disciples, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (In 16:33). What was true for the young woman and promised by our Lord is true for all who call upon His Name: When facing more than you can handle, remember "And then there is God."  Jus' Say'n.

MoreThan

Regardless of what you are tackling, it seems that it takes longer, is messier and costs more than you expected.  The reason for this tri-fecta hammering is very simple - while we are in control of our planning, we are not in charge of our outcomes.  Outcomes are impacted by plans and efforts but not determine by them.  Perhaps you remember the old saying, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

That's not actually the original quote, by the way.  The first reading by Robert Burns of Scottland in 1785 was, in part, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley."   The mesning in either case is that we are not in charge.  We are given choices in life but we are not given control in life.  The Psalmist wrote, "many are the plans in  a peson's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Prov 19:21).  God, not man is in control.

Knowing your life is in God's hands, there are two very specific life truths: 1) Since you can't control it, you need not worry about it and 2) since God is controlling your circumstances, there is notihing to worry about as God is always good.  "Cast you anxiety on him because he cares fo youkkk

The circumstances of life can be more than you can handle but it is not more than our Lord can handdles,   For everyone born of God ovecomes the world.  "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4)..Jus' Ssying.

In Not Of

From 1964 to 1966, I lived in Germany.  My dad was in the Army Corps of Engineers and, like my mother and siblings, I was a military dependent living in a foreign land.  I enjoyed my time there.  I liked the food, especially the bread.  I went for hikes in the Black Forest, climbed around on an old castle nearby, learned how to operate a tobaggon and picked up enough of the language to make friends and get off the base where I met up with friends (US ARMY security notwithstanding, I would often slip in and out through a weak spot in the perimeter fence to avoid having to explain my coming and goings).

There was much that my family and I enjoyed about the people and the culture but there was one thing we were all very clear about, we were Americans living in a foreign land.  While we loved the Germans and had Gerrman friends, we were not German Nationals (I do have some German blood on my Father's side).  We were Americans and proud of it.  We maintained our traditions and looked forward, not to becoming one of or even like the Germans, but to going home one day.

As much as I enjoyed our time there, I always knew we were going home to America one day.  And, after a while, I started longing to go home.  I was in Germany but I was not of Germany.  Germany was a part of my journey but it was never home, nor could it be for me because I was and am an American.  We made a life but did not put down roots, we were never going to stay.

In a larger sense, I live in this world but I am not of this world.  I enjoy my life here,  I love my work, I look forward to riding my motorcycle when I can, I like spending time with friends, I have a wonderful wife and family, and I have ministry opportunities that I find very fulfilling.  However, I am not putting down roots here, I am in this world but I am not of this world.  My life here is a part of a journey, I will be going Home one day.  And, as I grow older I find myself beginning to long for home.

The writerr of the Book of Hebrews was very clear in saying that people of faith, children of God are foreigners and strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13).  And because that is so, we are not to invest our hearts here.  As Jesus reveals to us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...But store up for yoursleves treasures in heaven....For where your treasure is, there your heart will  be also" (Matt 6:19-2).  Live in but do not be of this world.  Keep your sights on heaven.  Jus' Say'n.

Seeing Is Not Believing

I am originally from Missouri, the "Show Me State."  While talk is cheap, our motto suggests that actions speak louder and more reliably.  And, in Missouri, while hearing leaves room for doubt, seeing is believing.  Only, it's not.

Actually, seeing is quite the opposite of believing.  The very insistance of seeing before accepting is based on the fact that one does not believe - it is the antithesis of faith.  "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Heb 11:1).  The essential element of hope in belief does not allow a faith based on sightt for "hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what they already have?" (Rom 8:24).

It was the unbelievers in Jesus day who demanded of him, "What sign can you show to prove your authority to do all this?" (Jn 2:18).  They were not interested in faith or believing in the words of the Lord, they wanted proof, they wanted to see.

Not even the disciples were immune to this weakness of faith.  Doubting Thomas (who was not from Missouri but lived in a show me state of mind) replied to those who said the Lord had risen, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingerr where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe" (Jn 20:25).  He wouldn't believe then either, he would know.

By the way, Thomas wasn't the only one who struggled with believing: "Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen" (Mk 16:14).

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assert that this stubborn refusal to believe in the risen Christ hasn't entirely been erased in the Christian Community even to this day.  While we may talk a good game about our faith in him, how many of us truly live fearless lives, fully confident in the victory that is already our in Christ?  Do you recall our Lord's words, "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).

Here's the deal: We don't have to see what the future holds in order to have confidence in the outcome.  We have to have faith in the One who holds our future, for "We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).  For again, "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Heb 11:1).  Jus' Say'n.

Trading South

Manhattan Island has been purported to have been bought from Indians by the Dutch for $24, which has to be one of the all time deals gone south.  Even when you factor in the exchange rate and inflation for the 60 guilders, it only comes to $951.08 USD (according to Google article by Matt Soniak).  There might be a bit of a twist, however, as there is some evidence that the Indians who sold the land were just traveling through and sold a piece of land for which they had no property rights.  So whose deal went south?  Not sure but someone got something for nothing.

You've probably made one of those deals yourself, where you were taken to the cleaners by someone who was less than forthright and/or you were not taking the time and trouble to really think it through.  Looking back on the deal you could just kick yourself for being so bone-headed.  In the late 70s, I sold a 65 Mustang for $500.  When I told the individual what I wanted, he immediately said, "Sold" and handed me five $100 bills.  I had no notion of the potential value of that car, he apparently did.  I have often wondered what that car is worth today.

In Genesis 25:29-34, Esau came in from hunting, extremely hungry.  His younger twin brother, Jacob, was cooking some stew and Esau asked for some.  Jacob agreed but only in exchange for his brother's birthright (his standing in the family and the lion's share of inheritance).  Esau agreed saying, "Look, I am about to die.  What good is that birthright to me?" (v. 32).  Hmmm.  I'm thinking "impulse buying," what about you?  Yeah, he didn't really think this one through, did he?

But of course, that narrative is not in the Bible just for history's sake.  It is there for our learning as a warning against trading off what is vitally important for what is immediately gratifying.  For instance, trading away your marriage for a one-night stand.  Or, trading away your job for a few under-the-table office supplies.  How about trading everything you've worked for and everyone you love for life as a crack addict?

Far worse than all mentioned above, how many trade their life eternal in heaven for temporary material gain here on earth.  How many trade their heavenly birthright for earthly stew.  That's what the story of Jacob and Esau is all about relly.  It's about the temptaton given rise by immediate desires that eclipses the eternal value of godliness.  As Jesus queried,  "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Mk 8:36).  Jus' Ask'n.

Know Peace or No Peace

The bumper sticker on the car ahead, honking anxiously and angerly at the next car up for not moving fast enough after the light turned green read, "TOO BLESSED TOO BE STRESSED."  Somehow, I am not convinced.

Perhaps you've heard the story of the woman who rated and raved, honking her horn and screaming explitives at the car ahead, who was pulled over by the police.  Embarrassed, she said to the officer, "I'm sorry I got carried away but I didn't think yelling at the car ahead was against the law.  The officer replied, "I didn't pull you over for what you said in particular.  It's just that reading your Christian bumper stickers and listening to frantic and angry way you dealt with the car ahead, I assumed you must have stolen this car."

I remember the very first time I ever heard the phrase, "I'm stressed out!"  It was in the late 90s and it was uttered by the lips of a deacon's wife who was a Bible class teacher.  It's not just the immature or fringe member of the church who get stressed, even some of the core members do not know peace.  As a former preacher, I can tell you that some of the most tightly wound people I've known were other ministers.

How can this be?  How can people of faith have no peace, when the word of Jesus run so counter to that reality?  "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this wold you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).  Knowing we have the victory, knowing that God's got this - how can we have no peace?  How come we don't know peace?

Is it because people today are so much more difficult to deal with than they were when Christ walked the earth?  I hardly think so.  You have read about that whole crucifixion thing, right?  Is it because circumstances of life are more difficult?  Not likely.  The entire planet was third-world and ruled by the  iron fist of Rome.

We don't know peace because we refuse to accept it.  "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Col 3:15).  Did you notice that imperative, "let" rather than earn or achieve or find?  The peace is available and we don't own it because we won't "let" it be so.  Really?  Really!

The power for peace comes from the God of Peace, which we by-pass trying to handle things on our own and relying on our own power to deal with it, whatever it may be.  But the it so often turns out to be bigger, messier, more costly and more draining than we imagined.  Somewhere along the line, we don't know how were going to get through it.  But God knows and if we place our trust in Him, then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:7).  Jus' Say'n.

Racial Divide

When I was a little boy, I learned to sing, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight.  Jesus loves the little children of tthe world."  The Bible clearly taught that.  The church of my youth clearly believe that.  Nonetheless, as a child of the 50s, I was raised in a truly black and white divide.

At that time, not only were the school segregated, so were churches.  In some of the white churches that allowed people of color to attend, they would have a seperate entrance and a loft where blacks sit while the whites sat on the main floor.  This practice reflected the civil separation seen in back-of-the-bus seating and separate washroom and drinking fountains.  Yes, Jesus loved the little children but the church and the country wanted each in their own place.

Why is that?  Why, even in the church, has it been taking so long to break down the dividing wall of hostility?  Because, we live in a fallen world where sin divides.  "In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one" (Gal 3:28), becasue Jesus "...destroyed the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2:14).  But in our sinful self, we keep the wall erected.  We do that because, while we admire Jesus and are great fans, we are not such great followers.

I'm not saying this is true of everyone.  Some Christians are truly color blind.  Too many, however, are blind in many ways but color is not one of them.  If we truly saw what Jesus saw, we would embrace every color and culture as children of our Father, therefore, brothers and sisters with us.  When we truly follow Jesus, our path takes us directly to individuals and nations of all stripes.  Followers of Jesus go down the same color-blind, culture neutral path as our Lord.

And if the Racial Divide is ever to completely erased, it will be becasue the Church is filled with followers, not fans.  We can't depend on the government to unite us - there are too many in politics who, like Al Sharpton, have a vested interest in keeping the divide alive.  The Church, one Christian at a time, reaching out to one individual at a time, can, and has been, closing the Racial Divide.

Each of us needs to be about the kingdom business of  "Going into all the world and preaching the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15), "doing good to all people" (Gal 6:10).  The Racial Divide starts with you and me.  It also ends with us.  Or, it continues because of us - because we act in divisive ways or fail to speak out against the divisiveness.  Jus' Say'n.

Somebody Should...

As a chaplain, I don't hear it as much, but when I was preaching a near  constant mantra from members who were not active in ministry was, "Somebody should do something about..."  The elision (...) would be filled with anything from picking up the grounds to providing for the homeless.  My response was to invite them to act on it.

The response I normally received in return was something like,"Well, I didn't mean me!"  What I had to say in reply was very simply, "Why not?  You are somebody."  The conversation usually came to an end right about then with some stammering and stuttering as the member walked away without stepping up to the task.  The point?  Somebody should and somebody could but somebody wouldn't because too many don't want to be somebody when it comes to doing something about messy, real-life problems.

I hope you don't take this simply as a cutesy word play on an abstract idea but rather as a way of drawing attention to a real need in our world, in our individual lives and for the kingdom of God.  We need to be the somebody everyone talks about that sees a need and sets about to meet that need.  Our lives cannot be simply about us, our needs and our comfort zones.

I am not one who advocates that God has a purpose for everyone personally.  What I do firmly believe and strongly advocate is that God has a purpose and he has plans in play to which he invites each of us to participate.  There may be a major, long-standing mission or a divine intersection with a single individual in need - either can be a part of God's purpose intersecting with your life, inviting you into God's purpose and plans.

Here's the deal: We all can stop waiting for God to send an angel or a vision to let us know what our purpose in life is to be.  Our purpose in life is to be servants of the King and to serve where we see a need within our time, talents and resources.  Our kingdom calling is to be that "Somebody."  In stead of just saying, "Somebody should...," we need to say, "Something needs to be done and I am going to see what I can do."  Jus' Say'n.

Living By Faith

I was reading from Genesis chapterr 12 this morning, where God tells Abram (later Abraham), "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you" (vs 1).  In this calling, God does not give any of the important details one would like to know before pulling up stakes and heading out such as where am I going and what will I do when I ge there.  The Lord tells him to go and along the way he will be directed.

Abraham, the Father of Faith, begins his walk of faith, which will be the call of all disciples as "the righteous will live by faith" (Rom 1:17).  We are not called to work out a detailed plan before making a commitment, we are called to make a commitmen to follow the Lord and then follow his lead in our lives.

It is not that we cannot or should not make plans in life but that we need to "seek first the kingdom and his righteousness" (Matt 6:33a) and accept the fact God may overrule or redirect at any point.  As Solomon said, "Many are the plans in a pesons's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Prov 19:21).  When we are committed to God, we willing embrace his contol in our lives and his right to make course corrections at any point.

Living by faith doesn't mean that we keep our eyes closed to reality but that we keep our hearts and minds open to the Spirit.  Reality isn't only about the things we can see.  So often there are things happening in the background of which we have no knowledge.  That big promotion may put a big target on your back.  You may now be in the crosshairs of  enemies you never knew existed - you may even elevate your profile for Satan.  A move may move you closer to trouble.

On the other hand, moves and job changes and such may be God opening your life to blessings and opportunities.  The question is "Are you looking to and listening for the Lord or are you just making your own plans and doing your own thing regardless of or without thought of God's will?  Remember, it is in followng God's prompting and seeking his will that "all these things (your needs) will be given to you as well" (Matt 6:33b).

Living by faith is to accept the testimony of God's Word and listen to the prompting of His Spirit, which means that you are opening the Bible daily and daily opening your heart in prayer.  Living by faith is not a leap in the dark, it is a walk in the Light.  Jus' Say'n.

What On Earth Are You Doing, For Heaven's Sake?

Cute title, huh?  I can't take credit for it.  It's one I heard or read somewhere, sometime from someone.  I have no idea how I came upon it, only that it is not original with me.  Of course, as one of my professors at Harding once quipped, "Original thought is the product of a poor memory."  In other words, everything we think comes from some other source.

Nonetheless, the title, whatever it's origin, provides a foundation for a very important discussion: What are we doing on planet earth for the sake of God's kingdom?  Are we serving kingdom interests in our earthly existence?  Am I, are you, serving God or self?  These are the questions that you and I need to answer.

To help answer those questions, I would begin by asking how big a role does comfort play in deciding what I will do?  Serving God will often stretch us beyond our comfort zone.  If I am unwilling to serve in uncomfortable situations or places, it is doubtful that God's will is my first concern.  Consider the lives of the apostles and the life of Christ - how big a role did comfort play in what they chose to do?  Answer: Not much.  Remember Jesus' prayer in the garden: "Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mk 14:36).

How much weight does safety bear on your decision to serve other?  Are you  unwilling to go to places that have some risk attached?  Are you unwilling to be in contact with street people, people struggling with addictions, people in prison, etc.?  Are unstable countries written off your mission list?

Is a mission trip to a third world country out of the question because it will be uncomfortable and risky?  Are you willing to give up comfort and safety to advance the cause of Christ and extend the borders of the kingdom?  We can't go everywhere but are you willing to go anywhere?  If not to another country, how about to another neighborhood?  How about to a third world like journey to an American inner city effort?  How about with the homeless in your own town?

Do you get the picture?  What on earth are you dong for heaven's sake coompared to what your are doing for your own sake?  Do you remember Jesus' words in Matthew 25:45?  "...whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me."  The least of whom?  The hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners - people in uncomfortable and unsafe places (cf. Matt 25:44).  People for whom service would take you out of your comfort zone.

So, what are you doing?  Are you kingdom driven or self-serving?  Jus' Ask'n.

A Slap in The Face

My mother tried to teach me not to fight.  I say try because I had older brothers and fighting seemed inevitable.  Fun for us included activities like King of The Hill, wrestling (which sometime got a little out of hand), throwing makeshift spears at each other, etc.  Fighting was a test of manhood.  Fighting was also how young boys like us found our place in groups.

My mother and my Grandmother were dead set against it.  They were very plain in saying they did not want to catch us fighting.  So, we took it outside, where they wouldn't catch us.  I remember one time in particular when my brother Gary and I were scrapping in Grandma's house and she said to us rather sternly, "I don't want to see you two fighting anymore!"  So, honoring her wishes, we took our battle into a closet.  They tried but we boys, except our oldestt brother Frank (no one wanted to fight Frank and he had nothing to prove to us), fought like cats and dogs.

One of the reasons our Mother and Grandmother weren't successful convincing us was flawed logic based on a misunderstanding of Scripture.  They would quote Matthew 5:38, "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to them to them the other also."  We weren't theologians but it just didn't make any sense to offer up the other cheek to let someone punch you in the jaw again.  We were not predisposed to let them get in the first hit, let alone the second one.

Their argument didn't stand up to what common sense and self-preservation seemed to dictate.  And, although we didn't understand the theology at the time, it didn't  resonate because it was based on flawed  theology.  Jesus was a man of peace but he was not precisely a pasifist.  Perhaps you will remember when Jesus sent his disciples out, he told them, "If you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one" (Lk 22: 36).  He was not agressive but he left room for self defense.

So what was the right cheek, left cheek thing about then?  First, it was in the context of retribution not defense: "You have heard it said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other" (Matt 5:38-39).  Considering that most people are right handed, to strike somone one the right cheek would mean a back-handed slap with the left hand - an act of disrespect, not and attempt to physically harm.  We still have the saying, "Well, that's a slap in the face."

Turning the other cheek would not put you in danger but rather diffuse the offense, taking the higher moral ground.  Man says, "I don't get mad, I get even."  Jesus says, "Don't get mad or even, get over it by rising above it, letting grace abound."  Jus' Say'n.

Old Dogs and Puppies

Ever watch an old dog trying to take a nap while a bouncing puppies vigorously attacks him.  While the old dog lays still the puppy darts in and jumps back, nipping at the giant's ears and tail, growling and bearing it's tiny fangs as fiercely as the minature marauder can manage.  All the while, the old dog pretends not to notice, eyes closed lying still as the attack continues.

The old dog knows he can stop the attack with one will placed nip or likely with just the barring of a real set of fangs and a deep growl warning of inpending doom.  But he doesn't return in kind, he doesn't warn the little tyke off, he just lies there enduring the attack patienttly.

Why?  Why doesn't the old dog push back against the pup?  Why does he allow such abuse?  Two things: 1) It's part of puppy development and 2) the old dog does not feel threatened by the puppy.  Because it knows all is well, he puts up with the torment of the little tyke for now, waiting patiently for it to run out of steam.

What I have just described is the biblical meaning of the word perseverence - the act of willingly enduring something, even if you could put an end to it.  Just enduring painful times is not to persevere.  Many get to the other side having wined and fussed the entire journey through.  Others worry and fret not knowing if they will endure or not.  But the one who perseveres does so in a quiet calm stemming from a knowledge that there is purpose in the pain and victory in the end.

James wrote, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance fihish its work so tht you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything" (Js 1:2-4).  To persevere is not to just get through but it is to go through with a purpose and with a calm found in knowing that Jesus has already won the victory.  Whinning is replaced with winning and fear is replaced by faith.  Jus' Say'n.

In Jesus Name

Prayer is a part of my earliest memories.  It was not just a daily thing, it was something one engaged in multiple times a day.  Every meal began with prayer, every bedtime was sealed with prayer, Sunday services were filled with prayer, Wednesday evening Bible study was began and ended in prayer, every need or concern was surrounded in prayer.  Prayer was a vital part of my daily life.

Although I was not then and am not now an expert on the act of prayer.  There were two things my little mind were certain of on the subject: 1) It began with an address to "Our Father" and 2) it ended with the stamp of "in Jesus' name."  I was certain prayer didn't begin until you got God's attention and could not be fully consumated with the authority of Jesus Christ stamped upon it.

It is the latter, ending a prayer in Jesus' name, that I want to address today.  I was sure that it had to be ended in this manner because my Mother and Grandmother said so.  That was all my young soul needed to know to make it so.  Later I would be introduced to John 14:14, where Jesus tells his disciples, "Ask for anything in my name and I will do it."  Well, there you are.  What else is to be said on the matter?  Quite a bit actually.

While I continue to this day ending my prayer with the words "In Jesus name, amen," I know that is  not what our Lord had in mind.  Neither God the Father nor the Son are moved by word placement or formulations.  While many, especially in the pagan world of mystics and witches, believe incantations have power, Jesus clearly said, "Do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words" (Matt 6:7).  It is not in the formulation of words but by the authority in which the words are offered.

To make a statement in someone's name means to exercise their authority.  Ambassadors speak in the name of their governments, officers speak in the name of their commanders.  When an embassary says, "I come in the name of the king," that means what he has to say is stamped with the king's authority.  However, it is not in the proclamation, "In the king's name," but in the fact he actually speaks according to what the king wills that makes it so.

To pray "in Jesus name," is not just words to seal a request, it is an acknowledgement that what you are asking is by the power of his name and in accordance with his will.  In his name means in accord with his nature, his desires, his will.  And, when we ask for that which aligns with his will in and around our lives, he will do it.  This is similar to a young child asking his mother for something.  If it is within her will for him (and in her power), she will do it.  But would she give him something she knows is bad or ill-timed?  No.  Neither will the Lord.

How do we know what to ask in his name?  Get to know Jesus.  Study his words, read of his life, spend time with him daily.  Seek out his will in your prayers and quiet time.  For "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer 29:13).  Jus' Say'n.

Knowing The Way

When Jesus told his disciples that he was going to His Father's house to prepare a place for them in John 14:1ff, he went on to say, "and you know the way to the place where I am going."  Not too surpizing, it was "Doubting" Thomas who responded, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, how can we know the way?"  Jesus reply is a game-changer for all those relying on their understanding of doctrine or tradition to pave the way: "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus' statement makes it clear that the path to heaven is not based on our ability to discern and follow a set of rules or system of rituals.  The path to heaven is singular, it is Jesus himself - he is the path.  It is in accepting him, accepting his life, his mindset, to follow in his steps.  This truth is precisely what our Lord said to the disciples as he called them: "Come follow me" (Matt 4:19).  He did not say to follow a set of rules or comprehend a body of tradition - Jesus said, "Follow me."

Following Jesus means so much more than following rules, it means to become a different person, to become Christ-like, to, as Paul says in Philippians 2:5, "have the same mindset as Christ."  We are called, not to act in a certain way or to acknowledge certain doctrines but to be changed in the likeness of a certain Person.  We are to become Christians (little Christs) - we are to become like Jesus.

I'm not suggesting that rituals have no meaning or that doctrine is unimportant, I am saying that those are things to be addressed by a disciple but do not make one a disciple and discipleship is not a matter of following rules and precepts but in following a person.  Are you doing that?  Are you showing love to your enemies?  Do you give generously?  Is faithfulness a guide to your relationships?  Are you sacrificial, are you honest, are you humble?  Are you becomming like Jesus?

Jesus is the way.  Are you learning from him?  Are you spending time with him?  Are you asking him to transform you?  Is Jesus and the life he modeled your template for life?  Do you know Jesus, do you know The Way?  Jus' Ask'n.

Being Wronged for Doing Right

The old adage, "No good turn goes unpunished," was never truer than it was with British aid worker to Syria, David Haines, who was beheaded by one of the mongrel dogs of the Islamic State known as ISIS or ISIL or as I prefer to label them IHNS (I have no soul).  David's high crime deserving of death?  He provided help to everyone regardless of race, creed, religion or color.  He was in Syria helping the hurting Muslims, for whom ISIS claims to be fighting for but really cares nothing about.  

This kind of thing always begs the question, "Why would God allow such a thing?"  Why wouldn't God protect a man like David Haines from the godless terrorist who butchered him?  How can a good God allow such bad things?  A better question might be, "How could he not?"  

How would God go about protecting every good person from every bad one without taking away the freedom of each.  David's freedom of choice allowed him to go into harm's way to bring aid to a devastated population.  The ISIS thug's freedom of choice allowed him to take David's life.  God could have prevented David from going to Syria or prevented the terrorist from being able to capture him.  Freedom of choice goes out the window in either case.

So what?  What shouldn't God take away the freedom of choice?  The reason?  God is love (1 Jn 4:8).  Love is based on the exercise of free choice.  God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden.  He could have put a barrier around it but that would have taken away their choice and therefore their ability to respond in love.

As long as evil exists, there will be the ability to choose evil over good.  In the Judgment to come, evil will be cast out, leaving only good to inherit heaven.  In that heavenly existence, there will be choice but those who inherit it will desire good.  Until then, we live in a fallen world where many chooce evil over good.  Therefore, our good deeds will be in contradiction with that evil and will draw fire from it.

In other words, we live in a world at war.  Even when it is not as evidentt as it is now with the Islamic lunatics loose across the globe, we are still at war with evil.  And evil, will always strike out at good. How can good deeds not draw a bad response in an evil world?  What happened to Jesus, the apostles, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King?  

God calls us to choose good and many do.  But so many others choose evil and we are living in a world where evil is abundant.  As the days grow in that evil presence, we can expect to draw even more fire from the Evil One.  As Paul warned, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12).  Jus' Say'n.

Sovereign God

Perhaps you've heard the old joke, "What does an 800# gorilla do?  Whatever he wants."  Although it would seem unlikely, by extention, this has dogmatic theological implications.  Working backwards from the gorilla who is made by God, "What does the God of the universe do?  Whatever he wants."  As a matter of fact, that is precisely what the Bible says in Job 23:13, "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?  He does whatever he pleases."

Listen to the words of the Psalmist: "When I  consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, whch you have set in place, what is mandkind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (8:3-4).  What indeed!

I am amazed at how often we call God into question asking, "Why did God do such and such?" or "Why did he let so and so  happen?"  We tend to ask those questions with an air of judgment, suggesting God did not have the right, even saying, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "How could this happen to me?"  We seem to have the attitude that God needs to answer to us.  Really?  Not!

God is not a Cosmic Bellhop whom we call up when we need something or a Gallactic Whipping Boy to lay blame upon.  God is Creator and Master of the universe of which you and I are but specks.  John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, spoke to this truth in Mark 1:7 in saying, "After me comes the one...whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie."

John the Apostle wrote, "You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'  But you do not realize tht you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy god from me refined in the fire..." (Rev 3:17-18).  In other words, we think we are all that and a bag of chips but we are not at all that and our bag is empty.  In comparison to some others, you may feel like you've hung the moon, but in comparison to God, you are little more than a speck of lunar dust.

God is sovereign, he does do what he wants.  But inexplicably, he loves us and wants to bless us.  However, having made us moral and rational beings, he gives choice.  "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." (John 1:11-12).

God is not our servant that he should answer to us, we are his.  His has given us choice, not to decide what he should do but whether we will accept what his has done.  The question should not be, "Why did God do such and such?" but rather, "How can I honor God in this?" or "What would God have me do in respose to it?"  God is sovereign, we are servants.  Jus' Say'n.

Success and Failure

Failure is a hard thing to handle.  Dreams crushed, plans scuttled, hopes dashed; not to mention the personal embarrasment of setting out to accomlish something that you were not able to complete.  Jesus even warns of this in a spiritual context relating tower building to cross carrying: "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30).

Yes, failure is difficult to deal with.  But success can be just as difficult.  Have you ever known someone who got a big promotion that came with an equally big head?  Before he became a "big man," he was a good Joe and afterwards became a big jerk.  Ever hear of a lottery winner raking in millions of dollars only to be raked over the coals by divorce lawyers, IRS agents and collection agencies?  It almost seems that there is not enough air at the top for some people to maintain their sense and sensibilities.

I don't know which is worse - to succeed at failing or fail at succeeding.  Both can be disasterous.  Both can lead to your undoing.  But neither have to be.  One can fail in a business attempt, assess what went wrong and then strike out again without striking out.  Many very successful businessmen and women have a laundry list of failed attempts before making the big time.  Successful politicians often lose before winning.  Inventors may discover dozens of ways it doesn't work before discoverring the key to a successful invention (Edison said it took 10,000 attempts to successfully light up an incandescent bulb).  Failure can be a precursor to success if we allow ourselves to embrace it and learn from it.  If we can "humble ourselves before God, he will lift us up" (Js 4:10).

Success can spoil us or even ruin us completely.  As Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corruupt, and absolute power corrupts absoloutely.  Great men are almost always bad men."  Wow!  It doesn't sond good for the rich and powerful, and it isn't easy.  Jesus warned, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matt 19:24).  Difficult to the degree of impossible apart from God for "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (v. 26).  God can use the rich like Abraham, the powerful like Moses and the educated like Paul; who all understood what they had came from God and was to be used for His glory.

If we devote our wealth, our power our intellect to God, he will use us in kingdom work.  We will be successful instruments in His hands while not becoming inflated in our minds.  It is the knowledge that everything comes from the Lord and ought to be used in His service that keeps us from failing beyond recovery or succeeding beyond redemption.  Jus' Say'n.

Heavy

On September 26, 1969, The Hollies released a world-wide hit, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," which became a world-wide hit for Niel Diamond in 1970.  As a teenager, I was duly impressed with the song, especially once my man Niel started laying it down.

It is one of those songs that not only has a sound, which draws you in, it resonates a truth that moves your spirit.  The truth it conveys is the mutual conern family has for each others burdens or trials - that there is a natural willingness to carry a load that is not necessarily mine.  It is a truth that reflects the heart of Christ as revealed in the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (6:2).

This truth seems to fly in the face of the rugged American individualism I was raised to believe in - what I call the John Wayne Syndrome, where one is expected to take care of himself, deal with his own problems, pull himself up by his own bootstraps.  And, it even appears to be contradicted in Paul's letter to the Galatians in the same chapter, verse 5: "each one should carry their own load."  What's up with that?

What's up is a contrast between carrying one's own burden and sharing in the over-burden of another. It is presicely what Jesus meant in Matthew 11:28ff when he said, 'Come unto me all who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me...and you will find rest..."  Jesus calls out to all who are pulling more of a burden than they can manage in their single yoke to get into a double yoke with him in which he will help them and teach them how to manage the load.

We are resposible for our own load and should carry it ourselves.  But sometimes our load gets heavier than we can bear alone and then we ought to help carry each other's burdens, focusing not on how heavy the load may be but on how much we care for the one over-burdened.  Fixing meals for someone just out of the hospital, sitting in silence with someone who just lost a child, paying the electric bill for someone who just lost their job, sending aid to hungry children in a third-world nation, an on it goes.

Jesus came to earth in order that he might bear our burden of sin.  He expects us to be willing to have that same willingness which, in fact, allows us to "fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2b).  Jus' Say'n.

The Inconvenient Truth

Do you remember Al Gore's movie in the mid-90s called "An Inconvenient Truth?"  It declared the scientific reality of global warming and predicted that before now, the polar caps would be gone, the seas would have risen dramatically, the Polar Bears would be toast - all because of a truth regarding the man-made rise in global temperature was a truth we found inconvenient to our lifestyles and refused to listen to his sage wisdom.  Not!

The temperature has not increased at all this century (2000 - 2015), the team of scientists who went in 2013 to see how thin the artic ice had beome became stuck in the ice.  The ice-breaking ship sent to rescue them got stuck too.  It took another ship, this one from Russia, to rescue them from the grip of an unpresedented amount of ice.  Jersey Shore is still there along with all our coastlands.  And the Polar Bears have not disappeared or even diminished in population.  Sorry Al, but your inconvenient truth is unconvincing in light of reality compared to your computer models based on speculation (this speculation is still regarded as "settled scientific fact"???).

Despite Al's completely unfounded but shamelessly overfunded inconvenient untruth notwithstanding, there is an inconvenient truth that we need to do something about.  And, unlike global climate change that has been going on since the dawn of time, which we can do little to nothing about, this inconvenient truth is well within our ability to effect real change.  The inconvenienet truth, which the Bible reveals from beginning to end is that evil abounds, causing pain and suffering that you and I can mitigate.  We can actually and factually make a difference.

We are our "brother's keeper" (Gen 4:9).  Our neighbor is the one who is "beaten and left for dead" (Lk 10:29-37).  Second only to our devotion to God, we are to "love our neighbor as we love oursleves" (Lk 10:17).  The Inconvenient Truth is that God wills that we allow ourselves to be inconvenienced by the need of others whether family or friend or unfamiliar.  As Paul plainly says in Galatians 6:10, "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

The Inconvenient Truth has little to nothing to do with global anything.  It has primarily to do with what and whom comes across your path or your path crosses.  It would be inconvenient to take a beggar on the street to lunch in order to hear their story and tell them His story.  It would be inconvenient and perhaps risky to call 911 and then yell at someone attacking another.  It would be inconvenient to take pictures of a broken up sidewalk in front of a wheelchair bound resident's house, and take it to city hall.

Helping those at risk in our society is inconvenient and sometimes risky.  But The Inconvenient Truth of God's love is that it reaches out to all and that He intends to reach out through all of us.  As followers of Jesus, we must allow our days to be interrupted by the needs of others.  We need to allow for unplanned events in our busy schedules to be available for divine appointment and encounters with God.  Jesus' entire life was an inconvenience he freely embraced for us.  How can we not allow ourselves to be inconvenienced for those He loves?  Jus' Ask'n.

"Flishadie"

Yesterday, in our Sunday morning Bible class, we were discussing Matthew 6.  When we came to verse 7 which reads, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words," I was reminded of a sort of babbling I did in prayer when I was very small.

I would pray the same prayer every night: "Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  Flishadie before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  Two things must be said about that prayer: 1) I repeated it, word for word, every night and 2) I had no idea what "flishadie" meant, I only knew I meant it.  On the surface, one could easily conclude that I was engaging in pagan-like babbling.

However, what made that not true was that fact that I absolutely meant every word and tried never to fail to come before the Father in prayer, alone, each night before going to sleep.  I wasn't doing it for show and it came from my heart.  The fact that my three and four year old mind didn't know that "flishadie" was an adulteration of "if I should die" had nothing to do with the purity of my heart and the sincerity of my prayer.

It is the heart, by the way, not the wording, that interests the Lord.  I believe that one word, offered insincerely, is equivalent to vain repetition.  Whereas, a single word cried out to the Lord over and over and over from a heart seeking Him is neither vain nor repetitious in His sight.  As Samuel was so plainly informed, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

When one says, "I don't know how to pray," they are really saying, "I don't have a personal relationship with the Lord for prayer is nothing more or less than pouring your heart out to someone you love.  If you know how to talk to a friend, you know how to talk to God.  The words you choose are not nearly as relevant as the connection you have with your friend.  Friends can say things even without words.  A look, a smile, a laugh, a touch - all can communicate entire messagess to someone you know and love.  They look past what others may see and check the message of your heart.

So, don't worry about the structure, form or wording of your prayer - God will read you heart.  Simply come before Him with a sincere desire to communicate your heart to Him and begin to talk.  Not knowing what to say to begin, perhaps you might want to begin with the prayer Jesus offered as a template to build upon, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on eartth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Start there and continue sharing whatever is on your heart.  Even if the words come out wrong or don't come out at all, God can and will read the concerns of your heart.  He will hear you and know what you meant to communicate, even if you did not.  Jus' Say'n.

Pleasing God

When Jesus came up out of the water, having been baptized by John,  "a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'" (Mt 3:17).  Why did the Father make this dramatic expression of his pleasure with Jesus?

The reasons for his pleasure are beyond counting as we consider the fact that Jesus' pre-incarnate state was infinite oneness witth the Father, but at that moment, why did the Father choose to make this proclamation?  In systematic theology, I was taught it was because Jesus began, at his baptism, his public ministry so the Father publicly proclaimed his approval.  I get that and I have to agree that such timing was important to launching a new defined direction in his life.

However, I believe there was something more personal and more central to who Jesus was than ministry direction, which prompted the Father to express his pleasure with the Son.  The basis for my belief is found in the narrative leading up to the voice from heaven: "Jesus came to from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'  Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness'" (Mt 3:13-16).

Later, Paul would call us to "have the same mindset of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant" (Phil 2:5-7).  It was this mindset, one of humility, that allowed him to let go of his divine perrogative and come into this world being born in a manger to suffer and die for us.

It was this same mindset of humility that allowed him to allow John to baptize him instead of the other way around.  It was this mindset of humble desire to raise up the Father's will above his own and even his own life that I believe prompted the Father's heart to erupt with pride and extreme pleasure in his only begotten Son, saying, "That's my Boy!  I couldn't be more proud.  I love him so much."  (personal paraphrase of Mt 3:17).

This is the character of Christ that allowed him to be our Savior as much as his sinless life, his willingness to be humbled for our benefit above himself.  And, when we, like him, adopt this model for our lives,  we will "humble ourselves before the Lord and he will lift us up" (Js 4:10).  Jus' Say'n.

Wise Guys vs Wise

When I think of wise guys, I think loud, rude and crude.  The kind of people I would labe wise guys tend to be very boisterous, bloated and boastful.  Wise guys are not so much full of wisdom as they are full of themselves.  And, far from being a fount of wisdom, my experience with these fellows is that while they are never in doubt, the are seldom correct.  Additionally, I find them to typically be agressive in their attempts to press others to agree with them.

The individuals I've known and experienced as wise seldom lose any sleep over whether another agrees or not.  Their goal is to share insights with those who are interested and show graee to those who do not agree.  They feel no need to inflate their ego, knowing their wisdom is a gift of God delivered through the experiences of life - especially the painful ones typically brought about by one's poor use of personal choice.  In other words, acting stupid.

The wisdom from stupid actions is achieved when one is able to embrace his/her stupidity, admit the need for a course correction and make the appropriate changes in word or deed.  Embarassment is a temporary flushing of pride before an onward and upward moving forward in life.  Wise men can easily embrace their mistakes without losing face becasue their face is preoccupied with a smile or a grin of insightful humor at their mistake.

Wise guys do not tend to learn from their mistakes as they seldom will admit to them and so often deny them or try to place the blame on someone else.  Wise guys generally speaking are weak men whose egos cannot bear the weight of their poor choices and the shame that comes from simply admitting a foolish outcome.

There really are two kinds of wisdom in the world, one coming from earthly man and the other coming from the Man of Heaven (Jesus).  Earthly wisdom is marked by the "unspiritual and demonic attributes of envy and selfish ambition (Js 3:15, 16).  While, "wisdom that comes from heaven is pure; then peace-lovig, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit" (Js 3:17-18).

Can you see the stark contrast between the two kinds of wisdom?  Wise guys, depending on earthly wisdom, are self-focused and therefore unable or unwilling to admit mistakes, therefore learning nothing from them.  They can never grow much as they use their energies denying their mistakes and blaming them on someone else, never learning the lesson to be gained and doomed to repeat the mistake and continue in their foolish thinking.

Wise guys walk around in a circle of their own making, stepping into the same messes over and over again, blaming others and defending their stupidity, often with agression.  Wise men break that circle as they embrace their failure and look for a new and better path.  Instead of trying to put a better spin on their mistakes, wise men seek to change for the better.  

Another way to put this is that wise guys take the "broad path that leads to destruction" (Matt 7:13), while wise men choose the "narrow path that leads to life" (Matt 7:14).  In the simplest of terms, wise guys stumble in the dark while wise men follow the Light (cf. John 3:20-21).  Jus' Say'n.

Difficult, Impossible, Done

Guess what kinds of things will be coming your way here in 2015 land?  Difficult things!  That right, although we get to start a new year, we don't get to start a new life.  Your life will be an extention of what it was in 2014.  Sorry, this is not the new you, it is the old you in a new year.  And, to make matters worse, the problems you didn't tackle because they were difficult last year, have gotten even more difficult this year.  And, if you leave them unattended long enough, they will look to be impossible.  They may have already become impossible for you to handle.

Let's supposed that you haven't paid your mortgage in the last three months because you couldn't afford it.  Now that you are three months behind, how possible will it be to pay it now?  Perhaps you derailed you diet at Halloween and have been on a holiday eating bing ever since - how easy is that weight control thing going to be this year?  What if you haven't started that project that you intended to have ready to have ready right after the holidays?  Do you see a problem?  Do you see your life?

Perhaps you're thinking, "Well thanks for the cheery thoughts!"  Yeah, well, the truth isn't always cheery.  But, "the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).  Knowing that you have avoided the difficult things until they have become increasingly difficult and seemingly impossible - perhaps truly impossible for you at this point, is the beginning point of freedom.

When is the best time to begin controlling your weight, regardless of how much you have to lose?  Yesterday, tomorrow, after the first of the year?  Not!  The best time is today, right now.  If you begin now, you will have results tomorrow and more as you continue day by day.  If you begin working on that project today, it will be completed at the earliest possible date, provided you keep working on it.  Do you see the light of reality, the path of truth here?  What was difficult yesterday, is more difficult today until you begin to tackle it and then it deminishes in size and difficulty daily as you work on it.

Even what is impossible for you is not necessarily impossible to be accomplished if you get some help.  Instead of hiding from your mortgage holder, call him and lay out your problem to see what assistance can be offered.  They are much more likely to work with you if you approach them than if they have to come after you.  And, if it truly impossible for you, it is not impossible for God: "What is impossible with man is possible with God" (Luke 18:27).

I have been in several impossible situations in my life, some very recently, that have worked out despite my inability.  Laying my life before the Lord, doing what I can despite how meager, and then watching to see what God can do with what little I have, increasing it in ways and by means that I could not have forseen.  Four years ago, I had to filed bankruptch, my house was foreclosed on, my truck was repossessed and all my cash was consumed by medical bills in an amount that was completely overwhelming.  Today I have a house that is paid for just recently and am buying another one in a nearby town to which we are moving.  There is even a renter we know and trust ready to move in this house as soon as we move out.

In a slightly different context than President Obama had in mind, "I didn't build that.  Someone else did."  It wasn't me, it was God working through others in ways that I could not have predicted even a few months ago.  We can only do our best but God can do all the rest, even when it seems or even is impossible for us.  It can be difficult, even impossible and still get done.  Jus' Say'n.

Resolve to Love

New Year's Resolutions tend to have a very short shelf life.  Most don't survive intact to the end of January.  We start out with the best of intentions but usually end up aborting the ideas and rewind to the same spot we were in the previous year.  I believe the reason is that resolutions tend to be unwanted ideals that are self-imposed to create a desired outcome.  The outcome we want, the input we have no interest in.

We want to drop weight, but we don't want to drop the donuts or the eating out or the sodas.  We want to increase our muscle mass but don't want mornings in the gym.  We want morning quiet time but don't want to get up earlier.  We want to return to college and finish that degree but we don't want to sit though lectures, sit up at night doing research or take exams.  The dilemma seems clear enough, but what do we do about it?

Well, we could just give up and accept the version of  ourselves that is unhealthy, uneducated and unspiritual, etc.  Or, we could give up the idea of resolutions and embrace the notion of genuinely loving ourselves.  Jesus said, "If you love me, you will do whatt I command" (Jn 14:15).  Why?  Becasue, as the great theologian, Meatloaf, croons, "I will do anything for love."

That really is the ticket. learning to love ourselves the way God does.  God loved us enough to send his Son to die for us (cf. Jn 3:16).  Jesus loved us all the way to the cross.  If we love Him, we will want to serve him, which includes treating ourselves right.  If we love ourselves like He does, we will want the best for ourselves, which will include doing things that we would otherwise not do.

How many undesired trips to the mall have you husbands made because you love your wives?  How many, less than desirable, fishing jaunts have you wives taken because you love your husbands?  How many of you parents have sat through mind-numbing episodes of "Barney" for your childrens' sakes?  Do you get the picture of what we will do for love?

If you really choose tto love yourself, something you want to do by the way, what good things would you do?  Would you exercise your body to give it relieve from the excess pounds that threaten your heart and flattens your arches?  Would you trash the cigarrettes that are trashing your lungs?  Woul you find time daily to nourish your soul, feasting on God's Word?  What wouldn't you do to take care of one you loved - even yourself?  Jus' Ask'n.