Opinion does not create fact

A preponderance of facts and public opinion seemingly pointing to a particular end does not create a fact any more than extreme personal faith can sway another only with words.

Less of me, more of You

A friend asked the question today; What would it be like if God answered the prayer "Lord, Empty me of myself and fill me with You". Many of us say these things but don't really stop to think what that would look like in the real world. Although it is a concept that will rest and grow within me for the next several days, here was my short answer...

"I would express love more freely, without reservations or expectations."

...and then I added...

I have an item that struck me earlier in the week... (or maybe it’s the same). Are we closer to God when things are going well, or when they are bad? How often do we make a Gratitude list, and how would that daily practice change our lives?

It is definitely something to think about.

Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

This song by Peter Gabriel was revealed to me in a moment of weakness. I had heard it for years, liked it for it's musical merit, but never really understood the value of the lyrics. Read just the words and their obscured meaning in light of your Christian conversion process and the deep feelings and questions you had to walk through. Review the workings of the Holy Spirit and how He communicates to us. Think about how your non-Christian friends didn't really understand the change that was in you. It may be that this was a message meant just for me, but I feel that once revealed the message can be applied to many of us.

Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
I just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
(Back home.)

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
They've come to take me home."


Many people believe that God can only be found on Sunday's, at church. God, revealed in the Holy Spirit is there beside you every moment of every day, whispering protective advice into your ear. The secret is in our ability to filter out the noise that the world blows into our life and listen. This is a song on a secular radio station that spoke to me when I needed to hear.

Not In My Back Yard- Christian Entitlement

An over simplified explanation of my walk with Christ would go something like this... As a child I was sent to Sunday school and came to know and love Jesus. At some point I began to feel that the adults around me were just using Him as a means to control young minds and actions, so I began to pull away. During my teen and young adult life I walked a sophomoric path deluding myself into thinking I was independant and wise beyond my years. As I grew into the responsibilities that came with growing into an adult I began to see that I did not know nearly as much as I had thought. I found that life under my control was an ever elusive target, fraught with stresses and fear. That is the point that my loving, patient wife reintroduced me to an old friend who had been awaiting my return.

It is through that grateful and traveled framework that I view life. Many might say that I am overly self critical, but it is with this hyper vigilant lense that I seek to view myself and others. At times I allow my arrogent ego to begin to believe it is controlling things. Luckily I have many failures along with the patient peace of God to remind me of my place in this world. It is just that type of control thinking that I am best able to view in others. Isn't it funny how the biggest shortcoming in our lives becomes the hammer with which we attack others?

I saw an example recently of piety that was close enough to give me pause. I write about it here because I see it might be a trap for us all if it isn't identified as incorrect. The basic idea was this; "You must be careful of who you share your blessings with because they may just be taking advantage of your generosity." While the examples given were on their own merit compelling, they were also self serving. I know in my own walk the most compelling testimonies were of people walking out their christianity in situations where they knew they were being taken advantage of, yet shared the love of Christ anyway. The danger in a gaurded heart is that it can become hard an unyielding. The supposed benefit is that you can control and shield your heart so as to not be hurt. From where I stand that vulnerability is exactly where Jesus calls us to. It is in that place where He can step in and teach us lessons that we would not have learned otherwise. In that place of fear we can experience the peace that a grace filled life holds. It is also in that seemingly unprotected act of obedience that we can be the best example of Christ. If it were not for those small examples of love that I have seen over my lifetime, I may not have re-entered into relationship with a loving and protective God.

If we do not share the love that we have been given we fall into a type of Christian entitlement thinking. "God loves me, I am thankful, shame on you for not being a Christian". Somehow I just don't see the example of Jesus in that type of thinking. On that day when you allow Christ to initially enter your life, the overriding thought and yearning in your heart should be grateful humility. The second should be "I must tell others of the Joy and Peace and Love I have been given". Those two thoughts should never be separated and that feeling should continue to grow. If it does not, then you have allowed selfishness to taint your walk. From someone who walked many years on the outside looking in... It shows, and today is the biggest reason people give when asked why they don't attend church.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” C.S. Lewis

A Study in Sad Contrast

My wife has an Uncle that lives in the mountains of North Georgia. Near his home is a small isolated junkyard with many old vehicles in various stages of decay, most with trees growing through the windows. Even as rusted and dying hulks you can still see the beauty of their design and elements of the glory they surely had in their day. Somehow it is hard to see an old car in the junkyard and not imagine what it's life must have been like. Who owned it? How long did it roam the roads, and where? What was the final nail in it's carburated coffin? Then, finally, how did it end up here... deep in the woods? Were these even woods back when it reached this final resting spot, or was this a field next to a home now long gone?

My children love to make up the stories and role play in their minds as if it was again that day and a cherished piece of the family has slowly rolled it's last. It is sad to see them go. I think that is one of the reasons old cars in great shape seem to universally bring happiness at car shows. Surely if this car can make it through there might even be hope for my longevity...

The Best Victim of All

On the news this evening was a story about a near riot in Atlanta when almost 30,000 people showed up wanting to "apply" to the waiting list for government housing assistance. The next story was about a woman who was shot by an enraged motorist. I try not to watch the news much because I seem to be too empathetic or thin-skinned and allow my emotions free reign on my mood. These are just the latest in a growing string of stories that highlight the result of allowing ourselves to become role players at the extreme ends of the control spectrum.

It has become too painful to be a calm and responsible person. In fact most of the people who find themselves in that situation seem to be quickly deciding to run for one end of the continuum or the other. Some feel that the answer is to dominate and punish their way to the "TOP". While others feel that they have become "VICTIM"ized and use extreme amounts of effort to leverage their skills into justifying their inabilities. As a result, those who are genuinely needful or uniquely talented and successful find themselves crowded into groups full of claimants not worthy. Don't get me wrong, there are most definitely many that are victims... and they deserve all of the help we can give. There are also honorable and deserving people in positions of leadership.

The difference between authenticity and selfish insensitivity is the sort of altruism that can be found in the acts of Jesus in the New Testament. There can be no dispute of the leadership qualities he displayed while here on earth. For those who have chosen disbelief I challenge you to read the Gospel of Luke and it's biographical description of his life. (Let's be honest, can you really make an intellectually sound negative decision on faith without at least reading about Him?) The quiet grace that fills the pages depicts a very humble person, who at the same time claims to be God. The contradictions are extreme yet somehow easy to believe. How can the same man who says he is the creator of the universe bow down and clean the dirty feet of others... and kiss the cheek of the man who he knows has condemned him to death? Why would a person with omnipotent power allow himself to be crucified on the cross when with a word it could all be changed?

In these contradictions we see a model for how we are to act. If we find ourselves victims, love those who take advantage. If we are in a position of power, serve those around us. I have heard it said that the measure of a man should be taken by how he treats others who he could in no way benefit from. We seem to have lost our way. We claim superiority in our victimization and demand personal gain, now!! We force our way into undeserved dominant positions and beat down those who trouble us. We require constant attention and servitude from those around us because our society has deified "self" at the cost of our peace. If only we could find a way to somehow model the right behavior to a world bent on self-destruction in the name of progress and superiority.

But then again, that has already been done...hasn't it?

Grateful Prisoners

I was reading a book by Ted Dekker last night when I came across an interesting idea about society. The book is about a mass murderer that kidnaps a young girl. In her seemingly hopeless situation she considered that she might become a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. This syndrome is a condition in which a victim might over time become brainwashed into sympathizing with their captor despite all logical reasons to the contrary. In the context of the story the line of reasoning was apt. What caught my eye, and I would guess most people would just read over it, was one little sentence. One quote that had such weight and profundity that I had to stop and read it over and over...

"The world was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome".

As I walk through life I have wondered aloud, "What in the world were they thinking", so many times it has become almost a mantra. I see people all around making such obviously bad decisions that I am baffled. The worst part though is when anyone tries to intercede and offer better options. It seems that by placing myself in their world and trying to help I become demonized. Until I read those words by Ted Dekker I was perplexed. I knew that we live in a fallen world. I knew that our enemy had a stronghold on people. I even knew that my thinking was no longer mainstream... but I felt that if I could just shine a light onto the situation, people would be able to see and back away from that which was causing them harm. Now I see that really, their actions are a defense mechanism to insulate their psyche from the horror of what they knew as truth, but felt they could not attain... so they gave up.

I don't know the solution, but every day I will continue to try to figure it out. Maybe my logical mind has a part in God's plan. Maybe something I say to someone will be repeated somewhere else and have an impact there. Whatever it may be I just hope I never reach the point of giving up that I see in the eyes of many around me. May Gods Grace protect you and I and those that we love from this trap.

What defines you?

Whether you like it or not, you look in the mirror, that is your problem and that is your solution.
~ William E. Bailey

Who you are to the world is not the propaganda version your pride creates. You are also not the failure that fear tries to build in your mind. Life is about trying to find contentment and peace with the middle ground.
~ Brad

Proverbs 11:2 NIV
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

I struggle daily with both sides of pride. Although I feel I am strongly rooted in the understanding that God loves me and walks by my side at all times, I sometimes still find myself making forays into self pity or arrogance. Hopefully as I continue this journey of life my swings between these two extremes will become fewer and shorter. We all need to learn that focusing on a relationship with Christ should become the overreaching direction of all of our thoughts and actions. Once those things fall into place we will find that the influence that the world seeks to subdue us with will dissipate like a vapor in the gentle wind of His love. These two things should be the boundaries of the path you are on.

1. Others do not have the power to define who you are or determine your attitude.

2. You are not here to judge others, but to love to the best of your ability.

I have found that people seem to feel that they have the right to bend you to their expectations and hold their love hostage to your actions in compliance with that effort. I have found that same corruption in myself . Why is it that we need everyone to feel and think and act just like us in order to achieve happiness? I believe that great insight can be gained by understanding two inherent quialities of man... We each strive to be unique and independant while at the same time we want to be accepted and loved, feeling that we belong. This friction explains many of the stresses of life. It can be overcome with the peace that comes from an understanding of the love that God has for us all... if we will just allow it to permeate who we are, to ourselves and to the world.

Matthew 6:33 NIV
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Transforming Yet Limiting

There are things in our history that have been greatly transformational. Great leaps into growth that would not have occurred otherwise.Imagine humanity before language. While I am sure launguage did not drop into existence pre-formed and complete, the concept of language had a beginning. Language was quite robust before the concept of writing it down began to emerge. Look around at what we have become because of the universally agreed upon tenets of communication. We have taken many of these breakthroughs, some greater than others, and stacked them onto each other to create the diverse civilization we now participate in. Music is a form of emotional resonance that allows connections with others. Math is another form of language that has made our world infinately more explainable. As we combine these things we have been able to harness nature to our needs and then begin to stack those innovations up as well. Take the building block of electricity, then lighting, then computing and now the internet. People from anywhere in the world now have access to more knowledge than has ever existed. Computers can even add their algorithms together with others and calculate things that have been so complex we could not have even fathomed the concepts a few years ago.

I say all of this to propose that we sometimes we fall into the trap that assumes we know the answer to questions that still have many layers yet to uncover. Darwinism is an example of a society wide assumption, much like believing the world is flat, or drilling holes in the skull will release angry spirits, or bleeding will diminish the poisons from blood. Each of these things has some basis in fact and can be demonstrated by lining up supposedly intelligent logical arguments. That does not mean that we should rest there and call anyone who wants to continue to use speculative experimental reasoning to try to advance our knowledge, even if it goes in a direction contrary to what we might expect. Many molecular biologists who now have access to nano level models of DNA genetic sequencing have dramatically altered their views on evolution. It is looking more and more like, even at the smallest levels currently available to us, there just might be a designer. Darwin thought the cell was filled with plasma when he wrote his theory. Just because we were all taught it is "fact" while we were in school doesn't mean we need to ignorantly discriminate against those who still question it's validity. My grandparents lived in a world that accepted that black people were of an inferior race. My parents grew to accept that premise and unintentionally attempted to program me that way. Luckily there were people who worked hard to show that through Grace we should all accept each other as children of God.

I believe we will come to find that the teachings of Christ will be one of those transformational items that makes the world a better place. It has already created a world that values justice and personal worth over almost all other things. I believe that the act of faith in a God that is Omnipotent and Omnicient and Omnipresent yet personal is a step towards transforming us one at a time into beings of Grace. If we allow ourselves to accept without question or compromise all that the language of God in the Bible tells us to be, we will transform those around us and therefore the world to a higher level of love and acceptance. And even if we are greatly successful here on earth in transforming it into a kind of Kingdom of God, there will still be a limiting factor of our bodies and our minds... of time and space, that God already understands. When we die we move into a closer relationship with God where he will be able to transform us even more closely into what he has in mind for us. Eternal life, in the presence of God, with never ending love, Grace, harmony and understanding, such that could never be achieved here.

The Pride of the Party

We each go through life in some way trying to build an acceptable façade for the world that presents what we want others to think of us. Some people are frantically stacking up blocks to protect themselves while others are driving forward attempting to destroy the walls of everyone they meet. Most of us though play differing parts in this play depending on current proceedings in our existence.

I sometimes look at those traits we proactively try to bolster as honored guests at the table we are seating for life’s party. Imagine seats around a large table where you hope your invitees will be entertained and grow to love and respect you, their gracious host. Into the chairs not filled with your friends you arrange Friendliness and Joy. Tempering them, but not too seriously, enter Education and Responsibility; Next come Thankfulness and Grace, and so that no one thinks less of you a space is saved for Humility. As you weave your Talents into the guest list and arrange everyone into the perfect discussion group it seems that everything will work out splendidly. To your surprise an additional forte arrives that you really would rather not attend. But alas, it seems that Pride always shows up at the last moment to change things. Loudly he enters and announces to your newly seated guests what an enormous blessing he is bestowing on the group. So strident is his message that no one else is given much of a chance to speak. Your carefully arranged plan begins to fall away and the places you designed to give depth and character to the night are slowly replaced by empty seats. Your guests, who at first were quite impressed, are quickly becoming fidgety. Even when you finally gain control over Pride, it becomes apparent that the memory of Grace and Joy are but wisps in an uncomfortable silence. Education tries to intercede, but he now looks very similar to Pride, as do Responsibility and Friendliness. As you look into the faces of your invitees it seems they all are wearing expressions of Judgment, placed there by Pride while you weren’t paying attention.

The only way to keep Pride from ruining every get together you attempt is to be diligent in giving him no attention. It will take quite a while, and he will appear unexpectedly over and over again, but you must persist. His talent is not really a benefit. He will try to deceive you into calling him Confidence or Determination. Don’t be fooled. Talents are those things that you can use to build others up. At it’s root Pride is constantly trying to call attention, make itself important, and it normally does so by bringing others down. Don’t let this loud and overbearing houseguest ruin your life. Tell him to go visit someone else’s party.

Is Church Irrelevant

We are living in an "Entertain Me" world that has lost its way when it comes to what is important. Recently I was involved in a discussion as to whether the Christian Church had become irrelevant. I was really surprised at the number of people who quickly agreed that church did not always meet the needs of the general population. What struck me was the world view that has pervaded even this Sunday School class saying that the church must somehow always be non-invasive, all accepting and politically correct. While I agree we are called to love everyone, where they are, I must disagree that this should in some way override the tenants of Gods will for our lives.

As a Christian I cannot fully comprehend the price that was paid on my behalf on the cross. The God who created the entire universe and all time beginning to end from out of a void, chose to become a man so that I would know that he knew about life here on earth first hand. He withstood the horror of the crucifiction when he could have waved it away and ruled as king on earth in an instant. That God, Christ among us, deserves my devotion. I trust him to know more than me. I acknowledge that his plan is probably better than mine. (Probably here is used sarcastically) I must come to a place where the things and plans and worship of the world are of no consequense to me. Obedience to his will, written down for me in the Bible, is the sweet spot of life. If I try to make sense of it today it may not appear correct. When I look backwards over the glaring disparity between those times I was deferential and those times I was prideful... let's just say I am sad for what waywardness has done in my life.

Don't get me wrong, I love to be entertained. I even truly believe a church needs to be entertaining to draw people in. I just want to make sure that the church has a compelling program of growth; from entertaining to engaging to compelling to devotion to worship to service moving finally into grace. After all, Gods grace offers the peace we are seeking when we salve our conscience with entertainment anyway. Move away from the societal worship of insubordination and into a place of understanding that compliance with God's plan, sharing Grace with others, is what we really need anyway.

Challenges

There are two types of people, those that see problems as impassable roads and those that seek out the rough roads and relish in conquering them. Too often we focus on the pain of the burden instead of the joy of the journey. Without the challenge there would be no victory. Make your passage through life something to be proud of. Each step towards the summit should be savored, every battle celebrated and each day cherished.

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

-- Robert Brault

Contrite Obedience

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the Lord. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word".
Isaiah 66:2 NIV

Contrite - adjective
1. caused by or showing sincere remorse.
2. filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent.

We live in a world that has somehow strayed from the path that God has laid out. He wants what is best for us, has given us the Bible as a series of lessons lived out in others lives, yet we think we know better. In the title of this piece I used two words that are at the center of God's loving plan for us. It amazes me how vilified those terms have become. It all goes back to the third chapter of Genesis when the serpent deceived Eve and she ate the forbidden fruit. From that point forward, the Old Testament is a collection of stories about people who are given the favor of God, then choose to believe that success has come from their own abilities. Pride is an overarching sin that takes many forms. The most worrisome part is that we are so adept at attributing good things to our pridefulness. We cannot seem to separate confidence from pride. It seems to be attached to any accomplishment we have. In our society it seems to have been supplanted at the pinnacle of success.

Why then does God call us to obedience and contrition? He knows that there is blessing in serving others. He knows and is trying to share with us what a world full of people striving to make life better for others would look like. We can look around and see what a world ruled by arrogance, fame and scheming is like. I truly believe that most anyone who will take time to seach their heart will find that they know something is very wrong with the current system. The problem is the inability to admit that what you have always thought of as right has actually been the barrier that has held you back.

Jesus, God walking around on Earth, came to show us an example that we might learn. If the mighty God of the universe that created all that is from out of nothingness can pause to wash the feet of his egoistic apostles, then surely I can control my need for recognition and power. When you take the steps of acknowledging the errors of your lifestyle, making a conscious effort to change, and then view existence through this different lens, God will allow you to see the real order of life. There is peace on his quiet and safe path. Others will seek to take advantage of your new humility, but inside you will see their attempts for what they are; Fearful people trying to gain happiness as they burrow deeper into the slime of imperious distrust. Once you are able to see their journey for what it really is, it becomes easier to follow the path that Jesus traveled... that of a servant leader.

Perserverance

For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance. Psalm 66:10-12

I have recently been going through some times that have challenged me. It gives me comfort to know that it is all part of a process. Just as the year has seasons, our lives have ups and downs and the way we respond to them is the test for our character. I’m afraid that I haven’t always lived up to my best through this process. It is very easy these days to fall into the victim mentality and whine about your problems. There is even a small amount of gain that can be accomplished through these actions. What most people do not realize is that once you are labeled a victim you will be left behind by those who are moving towards greater victories. Victims are not dependable when the challenge becomes too large.

I have chosen to do everything I can to take responsibility for my actions and accept what rewards or setbacks may come my way. I feel that even losing can be considered a victory if you view it correctly. What did I learn? How can this be avoided or overcome in the future? Am I stronger or wiser with this experience? These things will set apart your actions from those who internalize failure and never hold themselves accountable.

In the Bible I love to read of David. He personifies all of the failures and blessings that each one of us have available. He is the forgotten younger brother. He is a brash young man. He is a favorite, then enemy of a king. He is remembered and protected by a friend who just so happens to be the king’s son. (I have always admired the strength of Jonathan to see God’s plan for David over himself. He was able to assist David but also stand beside his father, Saul, to the end.) He was like a hunted animal when Saul sought to destroy him. He was the King. Yet even as the king he continued to have failures. The difference with David was that he always admitted his failures and asked God’s forgiveness. When you are the king it would be very easy to fall into a feeling of self-importance. In your life be careful to recognize the difference between confidence and arrogance is gratitude. David had problems but he knew where to go with them. David knew the real King.

If you think your pain is unbearable and unfair read the book of Job. It is a very interesting aside in the Bible that speaks of one mans devotion to God. Satan believes that he can turn this man from his love of God. There are some horrible things that happen to Job and then worst of all his friends abandon him and blame God for the atrocities. Job however remains steadfast and everyone is convinced of his relationship in the end. I hope to not have to go through what Job did but it does remind me that God is always there patiently allowing us to bear up to the hardships and bear witness to His presence in our lives. If you let Him down you are showing support for the enemy. Satan wants you to not only give up but to do it in a very public way so that he can use you for his purposes. Who do you want to be an example of?

The Rock

In the still morning hush I looked out over a mirrored surface of the mist shrouded river. Moving molten over the rocks and riffles, still and glassy in the eddies and pools. Into this painting I stepped with a slosh and muffled gravel crunch. Into the shallows of the flow and then, again more hesitantly a second step. Deeper and more unsure my boot shod foot searched for a third purchase under the dark moving current. My eyes were flitting carefully between the murky evidence I could see at my feet and searching the moving waters for a path from rock to rock. Purposefully yet slowly I eased into the more swift and treacherous waters. My goal for the morning is the exposed round of granite that holds steady at the confluence of two deep channels, and forms the head of an even deeper slow moving pool. Each step that moves me closer to my goal brings the flow further up the edge of my faded green waders. Another sure pace moves my feet deeper into the shadows under the water, where the rocks are becoming as slick as the feel of the icy water. As I approach the conclusion of the mornings obstacle course I can feel the profound weight of the water seeking to roll me into the depths. Finally the heaviness began to lessen, and more of my waders emerged to shed their water along the near side of my stony fishing platform.

Climbing to the top I paused and reflected on how this rock was much like God’s place in my life. All around me was beauty… and danger. At any point a slip could have been disastrous. There are things in our life that seek to make us slip under the waters. If we keep our focus, remain steady and purposeful towards our goal (and all of our goals should be His will) there is a rock solid steadiness at the best possible location in the middle of the torrent.

God does not desire that we remain fearfully at the waters edge, wondering what life would be like. He seeks to gain our trust through the journey, so that when we reach the goal we are able to look around in amazement. He is there to hold us steady and bring us into the life he has in mind for us. Hold His hand; Step into your stream…

Out of Thin Air

Life is but a grand paraphrase, plagiarized from those around us then compiled and rewritten from our point of view. What is your source material?

As I travel through life I find myself picking up pieces of knowledge from many sorts of places. These seemingly diffuse items line up into lessons if I just pay attention.

Envision walking down a crowded street with all of the areas of your life lined up like so many shops on each side of the road. There to your right is the TV store with hundreds of screens stacked beside and on top of each other, each one tuned to a different station. Add to that the radio station next door with as many receivers commingling music with their amplified clamor roaring like a waterfall. Ahead is a sidewalk café with those you will meet today, conversations overlapping and intertwining. Their words forming a cloud that drifts into the street.

Your work life is represented along this throughway as the bustling unnamed souls on the sidewalk, hurrying by, bumping into you as they hasten to their diverse destinations. The towering buildings across the street that block the light from the sun are todays troubles you just can’t seem to shed. Moving slowly by on the street are the things you would enviously have if you only had the means. The next shop is the dessert store where your gluttonous desires can be fulfilled to overflowing. The items in this shop are glorious, sensuous, stunning, magnificent... and attainable. They can not only be obsessed over but consumed until the pain of envy is but a small distraction.

Each step you take, every vacuous face you look into, is speaking into your life with sights and sounds that overwhelm your senses… but you cannot stop. Even in this clutter and haste that we call life, God is speaking to you. Are you able to slow down enough to listen? Look patiently into each of the things in your life as points on a masterful impressionistic painting. Allow God to combine the drifting words into inspirational sentences. Let him show you the beauty thrown by the shadows of your fears. Permit him to point out the face in the crowd that is tinged with sadness and ask what you can do to help.

Combine the sights and sounds of the urgent until they become like thunderous waves on a beautiful beach. Drink in the peacefulness of a life slowly embraced. Turn your face to the again visible sunshine, and let His light warm your soul. If you allow Him, God will bring you to a place where you can see the majesty of the symphony he is daily creating, and your part in it.

There is a Spiritual Battle Going On ...

My children are the most important thing I will ever accomplish in this life. Most people are unaware that our enemy strives every day to ensnare our hearts and minds to things that are of the world. Our society gladly accepts these things as right and true until the point that they are choked on the excess and pride of accumulating insignificant things. God brings us into this world holding a basket into which he will fill our life with joy and happiness beyond our dreams. Too many of us greedily fill the basket ourselves, to the point where we cannot accept the gifts He would have for us. I am committing to my children that I will fight every battle I can to help them break through these enemy lines. I will show them who is the ultimate leader and the Book where all of the answers are written. Then hopefully I will explain the love I have for each of them by reflecting some of the love that God has given to me. After all, what good is love unless you give it away?

Every gift that we are given in this life comes from Him, and the only way we will quit receiving them is to fill our life with other things, or feel that we are unworthy. God loves us despite this unworthiness, and out of our appreciation and gratitude we are called to share His love with others. If I can point my children in the right direction, with His help, they can continue this battle for our family until the day we are all together again. If I leave a legacy in this world, I hope it will be viewed as gratitude and love.

Solitude- Be quiet and listen… God has something to say to you.

Isaiah 40:29.He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30.Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;31.but those who hope in (wait on) the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 25: 5.guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you (for thee I will wait) all day long.

Notes taken from a study of the chapter on Solitude in Richard Foster’s book Spiritual Disciplines …

I have a habit of retreating to the woods or lake to find peace. I find that I can hear God much better when everything around me is still and quiet. It is something done by Jesus over and over (Matt. 4:1-11, Luke 6:12, Matt. 14:13 and 23, Mark 1:35, Mark 6:31, Luke 5:16 …) These are examples of Jesus retreating to a quiet place in times of high stress just before a big decision or event.

God wants to speak with us but we must learn how to listen. The first step is find a place of silence. Foster says that we should not equate being away from others as loneliness. He says “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.” This can actually be a silent place but over time we are to cultivate a peaceful quiet soul “Whether alone or among people, we always carry with us a portable sanctuary of the heart.” P.97

God knows that we cannot fully listen while distracted. The warning is that sometimes we confuse speaking with God (prayer) in a public place as real communication. Foster shares that intimate time with God is needed and it almost always needs to be done in a place of silence. Without silence there is no solitude. Without solitude we may not fully understand what God is leading us towards.

Matthew 6: 6.But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

That is not to say we shouldn’t pray in public. Thomas a Kempis says “It is easier to be silent altogether than to speak with moderation” We all from time to time need to learn the lesson of keeping our mouth shut. As we learn silence we will also learn from God the right things to say at the right times.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 …a time to be silent and a time to speak.

God will sometimes lead us into a period Foster calls “The Dark Night of the Soul” which is a period of being away from all things so that we can appreciate what is to come. It is a complicated concept but my take is this. If you want to really hear something, plug your ears for a period where you almost forget what sound is like, then unplug your ears and sound becomes much more beautiful. We get caught up in ourselves and sometimes God needs to separate us for a period so that we will actually listen when He speaks. When this happens it will feel like punishment… until he reveals the reasons why. Sometimes God can only be understood while looking back at how things transpired to get us to this point.

He sometimes gives me illustrations to explain complex messages. I recently had a new radio installed in my Ford Expedition. More features, more power, better sound, etc. Listening to God can be like that radio. It is always there but I need to go to where it is. Just sitting in the truck is not enough, I have to also turn it on and then tune the station. When I do there will be beautiful music… How often do we wonder where the beautiful sound of Gods voice is although we are not doing our part to be in his presence? Through practice we should be able to hear his voice at all times in that inner peaceful place we have created inside ourselves.

I have to admit a little bit of selfishness here. Whenever I take on an opportunity to study and translate what God would have me say to others a flood of information seems to coincidentally fall into my lap. That relates back perfectly to what this lesson has been about. If we listen correctly He is there.

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
~ Albert Camus (1913-1960) French Writer

The problem is not that God hasn’t spoken but that we haven’t listened.
~ Max Lucado

Calmness is the cradle of power.
~ Josiah Gilbert Holland

Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.
~ Thomas Jefferson

Begin by finding a quiet place and waiting on the Lord. He is already there and will speak when he feels you are ready.

Important Words

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. -- Dale Carnegie

One day my father asked my daughter Lauryn if she was “self conscious” of her braces. She told him no but then asked me later, “Daddy, What does self conscious mean?” She was 13 at the time and I am very glad to hear that was something that hadn’t been a major concern for her yet. On the other hand I was worried that the Pandora’s box had now been opened. Each day as we go through life people try to hand us words of affirmation or degradation. It is up to us whether we hold them and carry them onward or leave them there.

I believe we can change our life, for the better or worse, by what we choose to pick up and carry in our “baggage”. I also believe we have the power to impact those around us for the good if we make it a purpose. Each day in your interactions with people are you talking about something good that you have experienced, or are you sharing a negative thought. If you start paying attention to how you relate to others it may be revealing that dark secret of your soul that you thought no one else could see. If you see a dark slant, don’t let it get you down, you have just identified the obstacle to your happiness. Start building others up with positive, affirmative language. Tell everyone that you meet something nice about them and share a positive experience. “Marge, that is a beautiful purple dress that you are wearing! It reminds me of a color I saw in a gorgeous sunset last week”. Marge may have a load of negative things in her basket but your words will replace some of that bad with good. Do what you can to be a positive influence on the life of others.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. -- John Watson

I am not in any way saying that I have this mastered this fine art. I am far from it, believe me I know. I do however recognize other people with this talent. They typically have crowds of people wanting to be near them. You know of whom I am speaking. They are the best salespeople, the best restaurant / shop owners and hopefully your pastors. That one close friend that you still have 20 years down the road is that type of person.

Think about some ways that you can start on the path towards being a better influence on those around you. First, realize that a change needs to be made. Second, do something about it. Take the time to sit down and find five positive words on which to build your life. Use them as a filter to judge your actions. I have decided on these: Honor, Appreciation, Humility, Gratitude, Accountability. I may fine tune later but I think you get the idea.

Being nice may seem contrived at first. It may be difficult to say something nice to that person who you hold a grudge against for some long lost reason. Each time you take a small step towards helping someone else into the light of happiness brings it closer to yourself. You may even think that some don’t deserve it, but you do. Keep at it and your life, along with those on your path will be better for it.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. -- Aristotle

The Reason for the Storm

The rain has been unrelenting for hours. Even though it is still early afternoon the dampness seems to have enveloped even the light trying to shine through the ever present clouds. The small crevices under any shelter available still seem almost aquatic because the humidity is so overbearing. The continual crash of raindrops occasionally descends to a quiet as another rumbling distant thunder strike rolls by like a stampede; shaking the ground, as well as your soul.

Has your mood ever felt like this? Have you gotten to the point where it seems logical and even a bit comfortable to pull your knees close to your chin while warming your face with the reflected breath of your exasperated sighs? Have your tears flowed to the point where they no longer seem the exception? That role is now occupied by a grim smile. Even in that place of desolation God is able to reflect in the darkness a glimmer of hope that lights the world. It seems that we sometimes “need” to experience pain to gaze again with fresh wonder on the blessings that abound, if we take the time to look. They are hard to see as we wallow in our pity, but if we will respond to the gentle touch of our spirit and gradually lift our head to peek over our embraced knees, He is there to open the clouds and remind us the sun will someday shine again. It may not be an overwhelming rush of healing to your soul, but it will be enough. The sobbing will be reduced to tears, the tears to a whimper, and the sighs with an inflow of gradually building peace. If you will distinguish his efforts from your personal anguish, the single ray of filtered sunlight may be the hand offered to help you stand again.

Weak Minded Conformist

For me personally, In my life, the hardest obstacle to overcome in my search for God was myself. As long as I treated my quest as an attempt to “add to MY knowledge” I was unable to bridge the gap of faith. The entire life of Jesus was a picture of contrast and contradictory thinking. The Jewish people were longing for a Messiah who was strong and would move them into what they felt was a position of power. Jesus’ ministry was to emulate love and become a servant leader, seemingly the embodiment of weakness. Pride, power, domination, intelligence… they are fleeting. Love is encompassing, everlasting and overcomes.

It certainly doesn’t appear that way at first. It can even be taken advantage of and easily abused. In the end it is true and right. Even those who seek exploitation will admit in their hearts that Love and forgiveness, gratitude and humility are powerful. Again, for me, those attributes were hidden behind pride. I could not begin an authentic faith journey until I changed my paradigm from adding God to my circle into moving myself humbly into His circle. It has not been a walk that “I” had the ability to effectively travel. Until I submitted myself to an admittedly flawed system of worship and sought out broken people who were also on this journey, I could not grow.

Pride is the centerpiece of today’s society. My passage has moved me to the fringe. From this side of the “gap of faith” I find it amusing and also troubling that most view me as a weak minded conformist. As a Christian I am called to love even those who mock and ridicule. I have to admit, it is a heavy burden. But now that I have seen the truth of how things really work it is impossible to go back.

What are you doing today?

1.With every decision or conflict that you face, always make the decision in light of what your future self would advise you to do. Looking backwards you normally find that the easiest option was not the correct one.

2.Every day that you do not take a step towards bettering yourself is a step down from the summit your life could have become.

3. The overall success of your life will be determined when you are done.

4. You are not the one who will set the grade.

5. The quality of your decisions will be greatly influenced by who you ask for help along the way.

6. If you do not ask for help you will not meet your full potential.

7. Who you ask for help is the most important decision you will ever make.

Psalms 1:1-3
"1.Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

Grace written by Bono of U2

Grace
She takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace
It's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything…

…She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace makes beauty out of ugly things

You are what you eat

Joshua 1:8 New American Standard Version

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."


What you dedicate your time to, where you spend your money, what you read, even the thoughts you allow to circulate through your mind; they are shaping you into their form. You cannot spend your time worrying and being critical without moving your identity towards being a scared and skeptical person. Conversely, if you spend more time reading about the Grace filled life of Jesus, and honestly trying to put those thoughts into action, it cannot help but move your life into a more positive condition. As you increase the percentage of that which is you into more positive areas, the more healed you will become.

The Choice by Max Lucado

He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.

All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.

“You will love me, nature,” God said. “I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”

All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. “It’s called ‘choice.’ The seed of choice.”

Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.

An angel spoke, “But what if he … ”

“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished. “Come, I will show you.”

click this link to read the rest...
http://www.maxlucado.com/static/email_archive/2010/03.13.html

Listen

Recently I have been working through an ongoing instruction on Obedience. It seems that almost every day something will give me pause as I am shown how far our world seems to have traveled from the blessing of compliance with the will of God. I pride myself in the ability to ascertain the still small influence of the Holy Spirit that is sometimes unnoticed in the busy day to day… Notice I said pride. Pride is perhaps the loudest voice that tries to drown out God, even when we are prideful in our piety (especially then). I find myself viewing these lessons through the paradigm of my life. I have found it sad that others are so vain as to think themselves important enough to be able to live life without the need for Holy guidelines. He smiles patiently as I think this and moves knowingly onto my next lesson. At some point I have finally begun to comprehend that each of these messages has been meant for me. I am humbly appreciative of the persistence of a resolute teacher. This should have been fairly obvious but I am imperceptive while I am feeling superior. I am glad I serve a God who will continue to turn up the volume until my self-centered deaf ears cannot help but hear.

A New Day

Silence... Even the wind seems to momentarily lie down in quiet reverence. All around the trees and hills are clothed in inky darkness. The entire world is hushed in hallowed expectation of the coming day. Shapes begin to emerge from the coal black into a midnight amethyst. Slowly the colors surface but the transition is respectful, giving each their turn, like a gentleman departing so the next can take its place. Deep sapphire is next in line, dazzling but muted, deferential to the coming day. It seems that all creatures have stopped to admire God’s revealing of His next miraculous appearance. Somewhere at the edge of hearing, a rooster cries out with his all to rejoice the coming of a new sunrise. I watch in anticipation to the East for that rising radiance as the other colors crowd behind the glowing ruby and brilliant orange. Finally, they burst forth in a dazzling entrance of celebration. Painting the landscape like a spreading wave of beauty the land begins to glow in worship of the dawn. This will be a day the Lord has made, exult in it, and give it your all. Live not just the length of it but the breadth as well. It is worthy of the awe-inspiring entrance. Be kind and generous to everyone you meet in an attempt to show God how much you appreciate the gift you have been given. Shout out like the rooster and begin, today is a new day!

Can You See Him?

I walked out of the hunting cabin this past Saturday evening into the quiet stillness of a country night. The only clouds anywhere were the living, temporary wisps drifting away from me silently as I breathed. I noticed across the starlight lit field that Mars was just breaking the tree line on its way to join the stars above my head. As I followed it’s soon to be path towards the heavens I was stopped in my tracks by the beauty of the clear night. There are stars in the sky! Not just the hundred or so that appear over our city streets and subdivision lights. There are countless stars to see without the help of any telescope. The immensity of the heavens came crashing down on me and tears fell from my eyes as I immediately felt as if in the presence of God himself. In that almost, but not quite audible, powerful voice I “felt” Him say, “This is what is available to you once you clear the distractions from our relationship.”
How easily we lose track of our relationship with Him in the business of every day. We pretend we have close contact. On Sundays we speak with others about what we feel and how we worship. How clouded is the sky before we forget to even look up anymore? How often do we speak glowingly of the stars from memory? Is it possible that our enemy knows this as one of our weaknesses and slowly blows in the haze of business and distraction, imperceptive to us, until we can no longer “see” the wonder of our God? Take a moment and truly look around. Is your life so full you don’t have room or time to live? Focus on what is important. Ask God how to put yourself back in that country field, looking up at the sparkling clear sky in childlike wonder. How great and awesome our God is, if we take the time to really look.