Kayaking with God

On December 11, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Revelation 22: 1

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

I was corresponding with a friend of mine last week when this image of the river took on new meaning. Many of you know that I love to kayak; rivers, lakes, the ocean, it doesn’t matter. I like it all. I will say, though, that it makes a great day to paddle down a deep water river. The very thought of it is making me yearn for my boat and a day off.

Last week I wrote in an email, “We need to be in that river just floating along. Dad has taken away our paddles so that we must trust Him for the thrust and steering.” That really spoke to me as I wrote it. I couldn’t get it through my fingertips fast enough. I could see me going down the river without my paddle. It gives a whole new meaning to “up the river without a paddle.” But even as I wrote it I had such a calm and reassured feeling. I mean, I like the effort and motion of paddling but I probably could enjoy riding along with Dad doing all the work too. The feeling that washed over me was very pleasant. There was not even a moment’s hesitation like things are going to go bad for me if I don’t have my paddle.

So obviously this is a metaphor for life. The Holy Spirit is the river and we are supposed to allow him to direct our path which is analogous to steering with the paddle. What if we just floated along going wherever he takes us? Most of us are challenged in this area. Sometimes we paddle so hard that we can’t even perceive the nudging in another direction. The other problem that I have is that God gives me a direction and a paddle and I start paddling really hard trying to accomplish everything in my strength. That is why He doesn’t tell me too much at a time. I think I am serving Him with my effort but that is not what He is asking us for. He wants everything we do to be a partnership endeavor. He isn’t intending to give you tasks which you are to complete in your own strength. You are in the same boat together and He just tells you where you are going. You don’t have to panic when you come to a fork in the river. Just take your paddle out of the water and He will steer the right course.

We work too hard. I believe in hard work and our father most certainly does not applaud laziness. The problem is that we work hard but without Him and His grace. He wants us to get down the river but not by injuring ourselves. That is what the old me always did. He wants us to let the flow of the river, which is the Holy Spirit, propel us. He has not set us a course upstream so when we feel like we are paddling against the current it would serve us to stop and ask Dad if we are even headed on the right course. It is probably that we are working ourselves to death going wrong way. Neither do we have to paddle our boats faster than the Holy Spirit is leading. Even if you get to the right destination if you get there before the Holy Spirit it will do you no good.

Learn to work with the Spirit of God. The Father sent him to us to lead us and help us. We are not meant to accomplish anything in our own strength. Nor are we meant to plot our course on our own. Our Father knows the bends of the river and the best way to go. Let your effort be combined with His grace and direction and you will find that you arrive where you were meant to be and you will get there sooner and without being exhausted. 

Take a five minute mini-vacation right now. Close your eyes. Picture yourself and God together in a canoe or two person kayak going down a beautiful river. Imagine perfect weather with just the slightest breeze blowing across your face. Listen to the sounds of birds and frogs. Let your Father sit in the back and steer and enjoy the river of life.

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Intertwined

On December 10, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 6: 17           God’s Word

The person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Let’s really try to wrap our minds around being one spirit united with God Himself. How are you doing? So, this is a large concept but I think it is a 100% accurate portrayal of what Jesus meant when he talked about us abiding in him and the Father abiding in us. We become one with Him. There comes a time when you can no longer tell where you end and He begins.

It sounds wonderful but this idea can also be a bit daunting. People fear they will get lost in Him, that they will lose themselves and their sense of identity but we are not lost in God. We are hidden in Him. That means that He is our protection, our cover and our shield. I believe what we will find as we embrace unison with God is our true selves. I think we will find the person we were always meant to be and longed to be.

Imagine walking in perfect counsel and perfect wisdom. If we are truly united with God, living as one with Him wouldn’t that be a necessary result? Wouldn’t decision making become easy?

This, I believe, should be our aim, to live such that we are truly in Him and He in us such that our lives are inexorably intertwined. I would love for the me that you get to know to be the Jesus version of me. Shall we allow Jesus to infuse us to such a degree that we are united as one spirit with him? It seems a worthy aspiration.

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Debt Free

On December 9, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 13: 8

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This verse has often been used to teach people about financial debt. One substantial reading of this verse would say that we are not supposed to borrow money. That seems to be a fair reading but I think we can read it in a broader context as well. In order to see where I want us to go we need to read the verse which immediately precedes this one: “Render to all what is due them; tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor” (v. 7). We see immediately that Paul is not discussing money alone, nor is he writing about just repaying what has been borrowed or refraining from borrowing at all. He teaches us to give people what they are due whether that be money, honor, respect or even love. This is to say, then, that you could be debt free in the sense that you have borrowed no money and yet still guilty of withholding something that should have been paid to another. The only debt we are to carry forward is the daily obligation to love our fellow human beings. Look at today’s verse from the God’s Word translation, “Pay your debts as they come due. However, one debt you can never finish paying is the debt of love that you owe each other. The one who loves another person has fulfilled Moses’ Teachings.” We can never completely satisfy our obligation to love all people because it is new each day but interestingly, Paul writes that even the Law of Moses is fulfilled in loving one another.

I do not want to lose track of the bigger picture though. There are debts we owe people beyond the love requirement. Surely Paul is telling us that if we have borrowed money or things from others we should be hasty in paying back or returning. And when we have borrowed an item love and kindness both require us to return that item in a condition which at least equals if not surpasses the condition it was in when we borrowed it. For goodness sake, wash the item, if a car, then fill the gas tank. If money was what was borrowed then deny yourself if need be and repay the money with appropriate interest. If you haven’t paid your tithes then be quick to pay that debt. Don’t allow yourself to owe a debt to God. He calls that stealing (Malachi 3: 8) and we don’t want to steal from God. That surely would reflect a scarcity of wisdom. 

If you have a mentor, pastor, teacher or even a friend who is constantly giving into your life, then make sure you render unto them that which is due them. A gift wouldn’t go amiss. Let us not lose sight of the intangibles either. We are meant to support and encourage each other. We are called to edify one another. Give honor and thanksgiving. Let people know you appreciate them and give them their due.

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Never Disappointed; Never Disturbed

On December 7, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 10: 11

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

In the New American Standard Bible, from which I quote verses, small caps, as you see in today’s verse, denote a quote taken from scripture. In this case Paul was quoting Isaiah. I would encourage you to follow these threads when you encounter them. Paul is pulling forth a quote from his education and cultural background. So even though today’s verse is found in the New Testament, its roots are in ancient Hebrew tradition and teaching. You will gain a fuller appreciation for what Paul is trying to relate in a specific instance if you can also see what he is drawing on. The specific quote Paul refers to is Isaiah 28: 16 which reads, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

Probably the first thing one notices is that God was speaking and secondly that He was talking about Jesus. Jesus is the cornerstone. We could spend all day in Isaiah 28: 16 but we won’t. The point Paul makes is that whoever believes in Jesus will not be disappointed or as Isaiah says, will not be disturbed. Won’t you agree with me that is good news? Just taken on its face that is really good news but some interesting things happen when you look at the words disappointed and disturbed. Paul used the word disappointed which is the Greek word kataischunō. This word is interesting. It literally means “put to shame.” Therefore, people who believe in Jesus will not be put to shame. If you look it up in Strong’s you will find that other words associated with it are disgraced and humiliated. All you have to do is to take each one of these words and replace them for the word disappointed. As you do so you will begin to get a full sense of what Paul is saying to you. One of those words will likely go off in you more than others. That is the word that God is speaking to you. Beyond what you personally hear in this passage, Paul is saying that those who believe, and here he would mean a belief which is acted upon, will not be humiliated, disgraced or put to shame for that belief. They will not be disappointed because living out of that belief will yield victory.

Okay, that takes care of the word “disappointed” in Romans 10 but you really need to see the word which was translated as disturbed in Isaiah. The Hebrew word is “chush.” This one threw me for a loop until I spent some time with it. The margin notes of my Bible say it means “in a hurry.” What? How does that make sense? That would make the verse say “Those who believe in Jesus will not be in a hurry.” But stick with me here. This is going to make sense and be a blessing to you. As I sat and thought about being in a hurry I tried to associate the kinds of feelings we have when we are rushed or hurried. The word that came to my mind was agitated. Well, when I looked up chush I found that agitation was one of the synonyms. The concordance entry reads: chush (301c); a prim. root; to hasten, make haste: – agitation (1), disturbed (1), hasten (8), hastened (2), hastening (1), hurried (1), make haste (2), quick (1), ready (1), speedy (1), swooping (1). Taken all together what I think this means is that when we operate in an active faith in Jesus we will not be hurried, harried or agitated. The real crux of it seems to be that we will be able to enter into God’s rest. The cornerstone, Jesus, has provided the way for us to live in divine ease. We can embrace the shalom peace to which we are entitled and in which we are meant to abide.

This is just another way the great prophet, Isaiah, and renowned apostle, Paul, relate an apex truth to us; that in Jesus is victory. Everything we need and everything we think we need are found in Jesus. The most important of these is the calm assurance that we have when we abide in the peace of our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

 

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Healthy Appetites

On December 5, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 3:19     (God’s Word)

In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things.

Many Bible versions read that instead of their emotions, their appetites are their god. It really ends up being the same thing though doesn’t it? In other words, the god that we really serve is our desires. We lust after different things. For some of us it is stuff. This is quite common. People just always want more things, bigger things and better things. They buy all the new gadgets. Let us make a clear distinction. Having stuff is not the problem. Having our minds set on stuff instead of God is the issue. And we find it easy to fool ourselves at times. We say our hearts are set on God when in reality we spend more time thinking of the “things” we want than we do thinking of the Kingdom of God. 

Other people lust after success or fame. Their heart is set on being a god in themselves. They want notoriety. Other people set their passion on their jobs or hobbies. No matter what we set our attention on, if it is not God then it is an idol. Ultimately this misplaced devotion leads to destruction. Our minds are supposed to be set on the things above rather than the things of this world. Even if you work for God full time, if your ministry occupies more space in your mind and heart then it will end in destruction. There is only room for one god in our lives.

The part of this verse that really struck me is how we brag in our shamefulness. Perhaps we are so deceived that we do not realize that we are lifting up false gods with our voices. We brag about being busy which is a false idol. We brag about what we own and our station in life and God says that this is all taking glory in shameful things. We are proud of the things we should be ashamed about. I am really trying to perceive this from God’s perspective. How do we sound to Him?

God wants to bless each of us with all the material things and well as all of the non-material desires of our hearts. He wants to give us favor with all people. When our hearts are fixed on Him rather than whatever we may lust after, then He gets to be our Father and provider. We keep our eyes fixed on Him with great expectation of what He will do but we are not to run after those things in our own strength. We are to pursue Him with our strength and leave the rest to Him. He is our source and our minds are to be set on Him rather than on earthly things. Whatever is on your mind the most is what you worship. Make sure it is God.

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Love and Truth

On December 4, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 John 4: 7

God is love.

John 14: 6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me.”

There is an intersection between truth and love. Perhaps a better analogy would be of a cord or rope that is made by twisting several threads together. Love and truth are a part of one whole. They go together. There can be no truth apart from love because Jesus is the truth and God is love. They must go hand in hand.

I have been learning this lesson the hard way for quite a number of years now. I hope I now have it. Because I have always valued truth so highly I thought other people did too. In my paradigm there is no knowledge without truth. I didn’t want to be wrong so I was willing to accept the truth. I have lived in a world where I was happy to be taught something outside my present reality because I was in search of truth and knowledge. I could be corrected because I was after actual truth, not just my version of it. I have learned, though, that most people are not like me. Most of us have a real investment in being right. And many times we are happy in our delusions and misinformation so we don’t thank a person who teaches us otherwise. We certainly don’t applaud them for correcting us. 

Truth apart from love does not set people free. I labored under the delusion that truth alone will set people free but that is not what the Bible says. It says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8: 32). You see, it is only the truth that you hear that will set you free. People will only be able to receive the truth when it is spoken with love. So before we try to correct people, we must first love them. I wish we could just speak the naked truth and people adopt it and change but it just doesn’t work that way. Our criticisms, verdicts and censures are preventing the truth from being heard. We are preaching the law of death, judgment and condemnation when we ought to be preaching the message of love and reconciliation. The law kills. Only love sets free. 

No matter what we think of another person’s lifestyle, even when it seems clear that they are in violation of Biblical principles, there is only one approved approach and that is to love them. We have created a society where few people really feel like they fit in. I am shocked by the number of people who tell me that they have felt like a square peg in a round hole. I look at them and think they fit but they have lived in a system of condemnation rather than acceptance so that they don’t feel approved. They constantly feel abnormal and rejected. It is so easy to identify what we believe is someone’s fault, sin or error. Why do we find it so much more difficult to applaud what they do right? And besides that, why can’t we love them just because they are children of God? Maybe our damage is showing. 

I had a situation where someone I knew was involved in adultery. I had the worst time trying to accept them because they continued in the adultery. I mean that one is on God’s Top Ten List. I could point to it and say, “I know that is wrong.” It turns out, though, that it was not my job to pass judgment, even in the case where the Bible was clear. Only Jesus has been given the right to judge. My job is to love. I mean, read the book. How many times did Jesus tell us not to judge but rather to love others? So the bottom line is that no matter how much we disapprove of another’s way of living or their actions, it has not been given to us to correct them. Jesus has given us the job of loving every single person on this earth. This is what I call “Adult Christianity” because this isn’t easy but we who want to be mature must grow up in it. We must do what is difficult. We cannot judge a person into Christianity but we sure can love them into it. Love is the greatest power there is and it draws all people unto itself. If you want to abide in truth, you must first abide in love. Truth without love is just dressed up condemnation and rejection. Let us not be masters of that. Be known as a person of great love. That is a high and worthy ambition.

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Do You Love Me?

On December 3, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 21: 17

“Simon, son of John Do you love Me? Tend My sheep.”

I have pondered for several years now what it means to be a Christian? We come in so many varieties and place our values on different things. Where is the commonality that makes each of us Christian? Are we simply behaviorists, each with our own list of what a Christian “should do?” If so, which of us has the right list? Truly, most will recognize that we can easily produce a long list of Christian behaviors that we think every “true” Christian will perform. And yet, even as we produce our list out of our heart bubbles the cautionary declaration that we are professing law rather than a covenant of grace.

I have heard people refer to others as not true Christians or not really a Christian even though the person of whom they speak has said the saving prayer and attends church. What are they saying then? I think they are saying there is something about that person’s behavior that makes one doubt that their heart has been touched by the power of Jesus. Perhaps the speaker believes there is a lack of transformation (Romans 12: 2). So apparently some people think that having once said a prayer of salvation is not sufficient for actually being saved and wearing the coveted mantle of “Christian.” These people would, again, seem to be behaviorists. They believe that our Christianity should be recognizable through our behaviors. In this way of thinking transformation is key. We must be remade in the image of Christ. That would make us true Christians.

I do not disagree that we should be transformed. Reading the Epistles of Paul clearly leads us to that conclusion. The problem with this position is two–fold. First, the test of our Christianity is still completely external. Paul talked about our being transformed but we must be transformed on the inside. In other words, Christianity is not something that happens on the outside of us, it happens on the inside and transforms us from inside out. Second, as long as we are judging behaviors we will always have the problem of whose list of do’s and don’ts is correct.

As I pondered this question the Lord revealed the answer to me and it is profound in its simplicity. That which makes us Christian is that we love the Father and Jesus whom He sent. The marker which identifies us as Christian is not the salvation prayer or anything else which may be seen with the physical eye. True Christians are marked in their heart. Theirs is a heart which loves God. David wrote “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139: 23). As this epiphany unfolded before me I said, “Okay Father, you can search my heart and see if I truly love you.” But still unsatisfied I asked another question. “How, Father, shall I know that I really love you?” Can I search my own heart? Can I believe what I think I see there? Perhaps I am only projecting what I want to see. How can I test this transformation to determine if it is real?

His answer was so short, sweet and so profound. “Tend my sheep.” Wow! The foundation of Christianity turns out to be simple. A Christian is one who loves God and the Christ whom He sent. We know that we love God not by a goo-goo feeling within us but with a love for His sheep. I don’t deny that feeling of love for God but Dad says that is not the way to know that our love for Him is real. The way we will know that we have truly been transformed in our hearts is that we love His kids. The transformation of our hearts will surely been seen on the outside but this is the manifestation form that it should take, that we love God’s kids and bless them. So it is not that I go on a mission trip that is important. That again is the behaviorist view not taking into account the condition and motivation of my heart. I may go on the mission trip because I believe it is the thing to do, I may believe that “good” Christians do missions. I may choose a mission trip out of a works mentality. All of this is rot and putrefaction to God. When, however, my heart longs to go somewhere to aid others out of love for them then I may see that yes, transformation is affecting the place where God lives, my heart.

This transformation of our heart should affect us every day. If I go on three mission trips this year but am not kind and generous to my friends and family I might wonder if this is a true transformation or only a façade. Have I become a giver by nature or am I still tight fisted? Are my thoughts continually on me and the things I want or has my heart learned to think about what I can do or give to another. The measure of my transformation, the foundation of Christianity is my tending of the sheep. 

Romans 12: 2 says that through our personal transformation we may “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” It is love which leads us. So in the end the proof of whether or not I am a true Christian turns out to be pretty simple. Am I tending God’s sheep?

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