A Horse With A Rider

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“Should I keep going in this, Father?,” I’d repeatedly prayed. “I know that this was Your purpose for me back then, but do You still want Me to continue? Is this one of those things that You want out of my life?”

I was praying about whether or not I should continue in something with which I’d been involved for some years. I shouldn’t have been, but I was pressing for an answer.

Sometimes we pray and pray and never stop to nestle into Father’s lap and just be there. Just be there with Him. And if He wants to talk, He will. We all forget that at times along the way. This was one of those times for me. I’d been praying about this “thing” so much that this had become a central focus of my prayer life, and that’s not what God wants. To Him, it’s never about the “things.” It's about Him and us.

One day, my 4-year old son came to me and said, “Dad, I have a picture that I drew, and I think that God wants me to give it to Messerschmez.” I didn’t quite hear the name clearly, but thought I knew what he’d said. I said, “Sure, son, I’ll drive you over there to where Mrs. Messerschmez works and you can give it to her.” My son gave me a puzzled look for several seconds and then said, “OK, Dad.”

We drove to the parking lot of the store where Mrs. Messerschmez worked and parked. After we had prayed, I said, “C’mon, let’s go give that picture to Mrs. Messerschmez.” My son got this uncomfortable look on his face and said, “Dad?” “Yes?,” I replied. “Dad, the picture isn’t for Mrs. Messerschmez. I was supposed to give it to you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, son,” I answered, and helped him to come sit in the front seat next to me so we could talk. “You have to write something on the picture for me, Dad, ‘cause I can’t write it,” my son asked. With that, he placed the picture in my hands.

On the paper were two pictures. One was a horse. The other was a horse with a rider. “Write down what God told me to tell you, Dad.” “OK, son.”

“On the bottom of the picture,” he said, “write, A horse with a rider is better than a horse.”

I began crying, while assuring him that they were the good kind of tears. “Do you understand, Dad?,” he asked. “Yes, son, I understand.”

Sometimes we get so focused on the horse that we forget just how much Father cares about us, the rider. To Father, horses come and go. They are ways and means for times and seasons. They all will pass away. They cannot be loved by Him, nor can they love Him back. He doesn’t care about horses. His love for us, however, is constant and eternal. We are the apple of His eye.

A horse with a rider is better than a horse.



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A Present Truth

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"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus says in this passage that we should not worry about earthly things, but turn our attention and purpose toward God's things. He says, "don't worry about tomorrow."

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
Philippians 3:12-14

In this passage the apostle Paul, too, counsels us to turn our attention from yesterday and to focus upon both the spiritual purpose for which we were created and our ultimate destination. He says, "don't worry about yesterday."

"Don't worry about tomorrow." "Don't worry about yesterday."

When is the future? Well, a millisecond from now, I guess. When is the past? A millisecond ago. What does that leave us, then, as God's place for us?

This very moment.

Jesus is asking us, "Can you be with Me in this moment, and with others that I will bring into your life in this moment? That is what I am asking of You. You cannot carry the past. It's too heavy and you will be weighed down with shame. Let it go, child. You cannot carry the future. It's too heavy and you will be held back by fear. Let it go, and simply live with Me and the least of my brethren in this moment. I love you so much. I will help you. Can we do this, together?"

With Your love and your grace and Your mercy, Lord Jesus, yes, we can.

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2



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Who Do You Trust?

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“Bill, do you trust me?”

There was no audible voice but I believe I clearly heard Him speaking into my spirit. After recording the message I wrote down my response.

“Yes, Lord,” I answered, excited to be communicating with the Divine yet somewhat apprehensive about what else I might hear. Displaying my own lack of self-confidence I quickly added, “But I do not trust myself.” The Lord’s reply flowed so quickly and effortlessly from my pen I really don’t remember it passing first through my own mind. When I saw what I had written I dropped my pen and stared at the words in disbelief.

“Do you trust me to trust you?”

Read the rest of Nameless, Faceless Love friend Bill's insightful and inspiring post, entitled Who Do You Trust?, over at Living Hope Thoughts.



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Our Fortress Of Safety, Christ

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I remember that our oldest son was 4 years old on 9/11. We were traveling out of state and were getting ready to depart from our motel room when we saw the planes fly into the towers, live on TV. My spouse and I said nothing, just watching. Then our son spoke almost under his breath, saying, "That's not good." It wasn't the fire that led him to say that, I realized, but it was just something he felt.

Answering the questions that followed was a challenge for my spouse and I. It was a good exercise, though. We knew that we needed to immediately return home but we didn't know that, that evening, our living room would end up being packed with 40-50 adults who had experienced that same unsettled feeling that our son had, and that they would need answers just as he had.

Our son got to watch as every person in that room left with a relationship with Christ. There was no button pushing on anyone's part, no "evangelism" needed. It was a simple understanding that everyone there had. Tomorrow we may die. Are we in Him today?

Our son realized that night that the safe place we inhabit in this life is actually a place beyond this life. He realized that the worst thing that could ever happen to us is the best thing. He realized that when we finally close our eyes for the last time on this earth, the first face we will see will be that of Jesus.

And he realized that, for him, that was the safest place he could be - in a relationship with Jesus.

A couple years later as he had listened to a story about some brethren in the third world that had given their lives for Christ, he shared with us, "You know, when one of us dies, two more of us step forward like never before."

Out of the mouths of babes, we hear of His strength within us.

Where The Streets Have No Name

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One of our nameless, faceless friends recently made us aware of this video of the U2 song Where The Streets Have No Name. In doing so, they share:

"This is by far my favorite video of all time. If you are not familiar with this, it is a portion of the half time show at the 2002 Super Bowl four months after 911. Five years later it still brings a shiver up my spine and a lump to my throat."

We concur, and believe that you will, too.

How precious a gift now and at the time it was first shared, when believers and unbelievers alike were searching their hearts as to how to respond to such unspeakable horror as that which took place on September 11, 2001.

In the midst of loss, God has a wondrous way of manifesting Himself more than ever before. "When one of us dies," my young son once told me, "two more of us will step forward as never before."

How precious a gift this song is, then, when so many more than one of us had died.

How precious a gift from God that through it He would lovingly draw our eyes away from the sometimes disturbing episodes in our Journey and point us back to the superceding wonder of our Destination.

Oh, what a joy it will be to see the streets of New Jerusalem, glorious and pure. The Streets With No Name.

Thank You, Father, for replacing unspeakable horror with Your unspeakable gift.

Click on the arrow in the middle of the screen below to play the video of U2's Where The Streets Have No Name.

Empty Nesting

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The brethren over at Living Hope Thoughts speak very expressively and accurately about the actual experience of being a disciple of Christ while He builds His Church.

A quiet smile and appreciative nod to LHT for telling it like it is. Enjoy, all.

http://livinghopethoughts.blogspot.com/2007/04/empty-nesting.html

Love Song To The Church

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Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame

You say
One love, One life
When it's one need in the night

It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late
Tonight
To drag the past out
Into the light
We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should

One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers

One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

One

One.

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Bono's love song to the Church is a message that I should consider. A message from a man who refuses to call himself a "Christian" because he doesn't feel he deserves that title, yet is an avid follower of Christ with a demonstrated life that many times surpasses my own.

I don't perceive Bono to be ashamed of the Cross. Far from it. And I don't believe that he is so unaware of the cleansing blood of Christ that he would elevate his own sinfulness. Far from that, too, I believe. In fact, I believe that he is so vividly aware of both our own humanity and the overwhelming magnitude of God's grace and the blood of Christ that covers that humanity in us all.

I'm not saying that I have disavowed calling myself "Christian" as they were at Antioch. But I am moved by the example of someone who realizes just how big God is all on His own, and just how small we are without Him.

And I think that his humility and the example of his life give him the right to pen such a Truthful, loving song to the Church as the words above. I know it talks about tough stuff, but it's shared with such love, and.......

Hey, we're all trying to find our way, we really are. We have the best intentions. But sometimes things get messed up in the process. And sometimes, we experience God revealing to us that there's still some baggage and preconceived notions that we're carrying that aren't actually born of Him. That's why a love song from God every now and then is a good thing.

Jesus knows exactly what is right and wrong, what's righteous and unholy, what is a blessing and an abomination unto God. And yet He has this unfathomable quality to look beyond all that and completely love those who fall into either category (and don't we all fall into both categories in some way or another?) and love them with Pure Love.

I am finding as I walk with Him and I am allowing His Light to shine into the corners of my heart that my mind is way too small to comprehend all of Who He is or what He means. I am finding God leading me to do things that "do not seem to exactly match up with my past interpretation of Scripture" but match up perfectly with how Jesus is.

Sometimes I wrestle for an answer, becoming able to only seek to receive a confirmed "Yes" or "No" from Him because I realize that there's not enough time for Him to explain it all to me right now. Perhaps later. That happens sometimes. Or perhaps when we know as we are known.

When I read the lyrics of this song as the recipient, as a member of the Church to whom Bono is singing, it strikes a chord with me. Listen, if you would.......




Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame

Has becoming a disciple of Christ actually changed me? Have I converted spiritually or have I simply transmuted into a person who perceives that "I" have now "made it" and need to point out others sin to them so that they'll realize their own need for Christ?

You say
One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it

I keep talking about oneness. I keep talking about Jesus. But if I neglect to acknowledge that I still have mountains that need to be cast into the sea, and that in this need I am exactly the same as those who are still without Christ, I will "lose" the sense of His great love for me. I will lose that sense of the spiritual oneness that He so desires to birth within me toward the Body. I will lose the love for those who are sheep without a Shepherd. I will become hard and cold and hurtful.

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Have you found that God is leading you into direct and extended contact with people that "rub you the wrong way?" Is He making sure that you are being pressed by people who you know need Jesus just like you do, but secretly in your heart wish that He'd send someone else other than you to reach out to them? Are you realizing that God is bringing people into your life that you'd rather not be around, but absolutely must be around if you are to be a sincere, genuine disciple of Christ?

Well it's too late
Tonight
To drag the past out
Into the light
We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One

The night is far spent. The day is at hand. I don't have time to harp or criticize. We are one, but we're not the same. God may be giving us different parts of His Big Picture, but I'm not realizing that. I need to seek His wisdom for my soul so that I may understand, or have His confirming peace and direction to obey in spite of not understanding. We get to carry each other. It's a gift from God, if I'll see it that way.

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

Why have I come to Christ? Have I come because I was first and am now aware of my profound need for forgiveness? Have I come to Christ to "get power" like Simon in Acts and become a noted "minister?" Have I come to Him only to depart on a self-styled mission to those toward whom I secretly harbor bitterness and resentment and critical judgment? Have the lost, just as imperfect and annoying at times as I, so imposed upon the Camelot which I perceive Christianity to be that I cannot even toss them crumbs from the Master's table, much less invite them to take my own seat as I ought? In the loneliness and selfishness that sometimes creep into my Christian existence, have I repeatedly chosen the easy way out and hurt others, or have I sacrificed with helpless tears to share my life and sustenance with them?

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

I do. I say that Love is a Temple, and Love is the Higher Law. But have I created a religion, a form, a structure not born of Christ, a place institutional or house or on the street that is wood, hay and stubble? Have I established as that which I declare to be His own will that which shuts out by its very nature those to whom His very heart is drawn when His eyes search the world? Am I still so wounded, and discouraged, and baggage-laden that - in spite of the fact that I earnestly desire that it be different - all I have to offer to the lost is yet-damaged goods?

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should

One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers

One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

Ah, the Truth. The precious Truth. The Truth that I have known since my spiritual birth. There is only One Love - the love of Christ. There is only one blood - the blood of Christ. There is only one life - the one Christ gave for me and that I must give back to Him. I know what I need to do, and I must ask for God's help to do it.

There is one life that He has given to us all and is to be shared among us all. I cannot take my part and go live it by myself. If I have, I must arise from the mud of the pig pen, and go to my Father who is even now waiting for me to return to Him and my brethren. To Him. To my Sisters. To my Brothers.

One life so large that it must live in so many little ones in order to manifest its countless facets. One life that can only be genuinely shared in myriad ways. One life characterized and given witness to when I carry my Brother and Sister without inward judgment for them or hidden shame for being their companion. One life characterized and given witness to when I humbly allow my Brother and my Sister to carry me when I am broken or hurting.

One.

One.

Jack 'n' Jill or Just Plain Me?

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When I was young in the faith, I used to thank God that - like Jack ‘n’ Jill climbing up the hill for a pail of water - I could always go to “the well” and get living water for those around me who were troubled or without Christ.

I would climb up that hill anytime I needed to, or anytime that someone near me had a need, and God would always come through with an answer - there was always living water to be had for anyone who was thirsty for an answer.

Little by little, though, I found that I was becoming physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. The treks back up the hill were beginning to take their toll. Even though I so deeply wanted to help those around me, I was beginning to wear down.

And then one day, I couldn’t make it back up the hill.
And I sat there, thirsty, tired and unable to reach the well.

In hindsight, I realize that our Lord allowed me to arrive at that desperate point so that I would remember the lesson that He was about to teach me. I had been left empty by my own efforts, my own well-intentioned plans to help others, my own perception that I was a go-between for people and the living water in that well at the top of the hill.

“Ben,” our Lord told me, “you are not the well. I am. I do not need you in order to be able to give My living water to My children. Put down your bucket, Ben,” He said. I relaxed for the first time in a long time, and I listened as one thirsty for living water for my own soul, but unable to reach it.

“The well is not at the top of the hill, Ben, “ He explained. “I have placed it within you. Do you remember My Word, Ben? ‘But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’”

“The well of My living water is within you, Ben,” He continued, “and it is there to fill you up first, and then to flow out to others as I so choose. Stop climbing, and rest in Me.” And so I did.

There is a peace knowing that we have been given a well of living water within us. Sure, our hearts still ache with the knowledge that some in our lives do not have that assurance. But, what can we do except experience that living water within us and then allow it to pour forth when He determines it should? After that, each person has a choice to believe or not believe in Christ Jesus.

These days, I try not to spend time climbing the hill like Jack ‘n‘ Jill, and being overwhelmed by my desire that all those around me might come to Christ. Rather, I seek to spend my time being thankful for the living water of His grace toward me, and by letting that water flow forth as He desires.

Funny thing. As I have sought to do that, His living water within me has become more evident than ever before to those in my life who are lost. More peace for me, more fruit for God. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it?

I guess being Jack ‘n‘ Jill climbing up that hill for a pail of water resulted in a good lesson for my life. But being myself in Him, His little boy Ben, resting in His care with His living water within me, has turned out to be a whole lot better.

I Am Ready To Have You Unite With Me

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In 1 Chronicles 12:17, the Word of God tells us, David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you. (NIV)

This scripture is one of the most important in the entire Bible regarding the subject of dealing with people without bitterness in your heart. And this is a very important topic in God’s Word. Bitterness is dangerous.

In Hebrews 12:14-16, God’s Word says that we are to:
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

In other words, bitterness is the first step on a dangerous road. We are to “look diligently”, the verse says. Too often, the flesh desires to “look diligently” at other believer’s flaws and then judge them, instead of “looking diligently” to see that no bitterness against anyone would ever come against us.

The problem we face is that there are some challenging people out there who are believers, right? Or so our flesh would like us to believe. It’s not really so complicated as that.
Ultimately, we tend to identify only 2 types of people - saved and unsaved - as we walk in this life. As one walks in the Spirit, it is easy to identify over time those who are seeking to walk with Christ, and those who don’t know Him at all. These 2 types of people are light-years apart.

But the question remains - why do we struggle with “people problems” amongst the believers? The problem is that we tend to assume that, because there is one group of “believers”, they will behave toward us in one way. This is not true.

It is not quite as simple as “Hey, everybody’s different, ya know, so no big deal”. The Word of God clearly declares that which “is written in stone” as far as living a righteousness life is concerned.

But the Word of God also identifies five separate ways in which believers will behave toward us while pursuing that righteous life, not one. This is what first “trips up” believers in interacting with one another.

To see these five separate ways of behaving, we only need go to 2 Timothy 4:9-12, in which Paul tells Timothy:

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

First of all, we must understand that this passage is a request for help. Paul is informing Timothy that he is “short-handed” and is explaining why.

In Verse 10, Paul says that “Demas has forsaken me”. He did not say that Demas had forsaken Christ, though Paul says that he had departed because of his love for this present world. Paul says that Demas had forsaken Paul.

But also in Verse 10, Paul notes that two others had abandoned him.......not for the love of the world, but for the cause of “ministry”. Paul says that Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Clearly they left of their own accord, because he later notes in Verse 12 that he had specifically sent Tychicus to Ephesus, but makes no such reference toward Crescens and Titus.

In Verse 11, Paul says that “only Luke is with me”, and then asks Timothy to bring Mark because he could help Paul in the ministry.

When we consider this passage then, we see people in five distinct ways of behavior toward us, not one:

~ Those who are leaving us because of their love of the world (Demas)
~ Those who are leaving us because of self-made plans for ministry (Crescens, Titus)
~ Those who are ministering with us at this time (Luke)
~ Those who are on their way to minister with us (Mark)
~ Those who are leaving us because they have been sent elsewhere by God (Tychicus)

This paints a much more easily understood picture of things, doesn’t it? This understanding is a much more accurate description of the lives of all believers than a spiritually immature and overly-simplistic “you’re saved and you like me” or “you don’t like me so you left me so you must be a bad person, be walking unrighteously, or be unsaved” view of things.

And this understanding of 2 Timothy 4:9-12 provides the foundation for understanding 1 Chronicles 12:17. If we did not have this understanding, the way we applied 1 Chronicles 12:17 would be angry and vindictive. With the understanding, we will apply it with wisdom, peace, power and true Love.

So again, in 1 Chronicles 12:17, the Word of God tells us, David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you. (NIV)

This scripture tells us how David dealt with people in general.

1. Peace, Help and Unity

“If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me”.

First, this scripture shows us that one aspect of operating in peace toward other believers is helping them. Maybe not in person, because believers are the world over. Maybe not every day, because has He has many to whom He desires to minister. Perhaps even on some days at His instruction, “helping” by not doing anything and allowing God to do His perfect will. But - all in all - helping.

Second......“I am ready to have you unite with me”. Now we know that God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12 that For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Therefore, the Body of Christ IS one. He made us that way. So, as it relates to the New Testament Body of Christ in this scripture, “to be united” is referring to being united in ministry, not in the Holy Spirit. This is a helpful understanding. We are already one with others believers......but God “unites us” with others for the purpose of ministry.

2. Wisdom, Purity, and Liberty

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you”.

The prior sentence in this scripture equates “coming in peace” with “helping” another believer. Conversely in the sentence above, the concept of “betrayal” is equated “fighting against” another believer.

The key phrase in this scripture is “free from violence”. The King James version of the same verse reads.....“but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands.....”. Some versions even read “no sin”. The original meanings of the Hebrew words here bear out the NIV translation, however.....

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence [toward you]......”.

This is an extremely important understanding! If we bear any grudge toward another believer, we simply cannot righteously apply this verse in our lives. If we bear any grudge toward another believer, we simply cannot say “I have no violence in my hand toward you”.

God’s Word is clear about the matters of forgiveness, and we will not address those here. But know that if unforgiveness exists, we are the problem. :-)

We know then that if we do not have “violence in our hands toward another”, then we are free to operate in this scripture’s Truth.

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you”.

This verse goes on to indicate that if someone else has come to us to betray us to our enemies when there is no violence in our hands toward them, then God will take care of it.

Not in a “God’s gonna get you for this” way, either. In a peace-filled way that only comes from earnestly seeking to walk in 1 Peter 1:22, which tells us that “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”.

What peace the Lord brings to us through this scripture!

When we have this understanding, we are free from anger, judgment, and defensiveness toward others. We are free to declare the Gospel with God’s love and in His protection as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 10:7-8, 16.

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Be blessed, my dear brethren, as you live, love and minister with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.....

My Daughter's Peace

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Some time ago, our Lord placed it upon my heart to share a scripture with my then 6 year-old daughter:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Universal Challenges
I explained to my daughter that, whether we're a child or an adult, we all face problems that can get the best of us at times. All of us succumb to “being anxious” now and again. “It's not a kid thing,” I shared with my daughter, “it's a people thing.”

My daughter was comforted to know that she wasn't the only one who sometimes faces these things. Funny how satan works that way - telling us that we're the only ones who are challenged by this or that. God says different, though. God makes it clear to us that there is one adversary - satan - there is one Saviour - Christ Jesus - and there is one kind of person - people like us.

1 + 1 + 1 = Peace
I asked my daughter what 1 + 2 equaled. "Three, Dad," she replied proudly. "Will the answer ever be four....or five.....or two?" I asked her, and she replied to each question with a smile and a confident "No!"

I then explained to my daughter that God's Word is much the same way; it adds up to the same answer every time, if we'll only practice it as God says.

"When we look at this scripture we find out that 1 + 1 + 1 = peace, my daughter," I said. With her eyes wide and her interest piqued, she asked "How Dad?"

God's Sure Equation for Peace
When it comes to Philippians 4:6-7, 1 + 1 + 1 = peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

If we:

(1) Refuse to be anxious about a certain thing
+
(1) pray to God, giving Him thanks from our hearts for the things He's already done in our hearts and lives
+
(1) make our request for His help
=
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Sounds good, right? But does it work?

God's Promises Put To The Test
My daughter and I had a 3-step plan from God for peace in the midst of any situation, and we were ready to put it to the test. Once my daughter had memorized the 3 parts to God's equation for peace, she put it into action.

The next time my daughter was upset, I reminded her of the scripture. She stopped and said, "Can you help me remember, Dad?" I simply asked her to tell me what the scripture said, and she repeated it to me, and then prayed to God.

I listened as she tearfully prayed, "Father, I don't want to be sad or angry. Thank you for my new bike. Please help me not to be sad or angry."

Then she leaned up against me and was quiet for a some time. "Do you feel the peace?," I asked. "I feel it, Dad," she said quietly as though she was somewhat amazed that it had actually worked. "I'm not upset anymore."

Like You're Getting Tired.....
After a few days of successfully using this scripture in her life, my daughter came to me with a wonderful revelation.

"Dad," she said, "Every time when I pray to God to help me, it's like I get tired at the end." I didn't understand at first, but then I watched as she illustrated for me.

My daughter lowered her shoulders and deeply exhaled. "Like that, Dad," she said. The light bulb came on inside of me, and I smiled and said "Do you know what that feeling is, my daughter?"

"It’s the peace, isn‘t it, Daddy?," she asked, and I nodded with a lump in my throat.

Simplicity
It's funny how easy it is for us humans to complicate the simplicity of God's Word. In our well-intentioned efforts to greater understand what His Word is saying, we sometimes miss that its greatest power is in its simplicity.

The Apostle Paul urges us to remember and remain in the simplicity that is in Christ. He also tells us that when we believe that Word of God, it works. My daughter's peace has put an exclamation point on those truths for me. She's learning the Word, believing it, applying in her life, and it's working just like God said it would.

How to describe the sweetness of the peace she receives from Him when she prays?

Well, it transcends all understanding.

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Matthew 11:25

He Left Us His Example

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“Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like the United States.”

When Rosie O’Donnell made these recent comments, it provoked outrage among many Christians. George Barna even conducted a poll about the comments and its impact upon Americans of various faiths or no faith at all.

In his research, Barna identified that most Americans disagreed with Rosie’s view. He also identified that few Americans felt that her comments were appropriate for a national television broadcast.

Then, in summarizing his comments on the context of the opinions expressed in the survey, Barna concludes with this statement:

“Finally, the fact that so few adults who consider themselves to be Christian felt that they were even owed an apology speaks volumes about the self-image of Christians and the centrality of their faith in their life.”

Does Rosie owe Christians an apology?

It seems that we Christians spend a lot of time asking those who do not know Christ to act in the manner that we believe Christians should. Never mind the hypocrisy that those who do not share our Christian faith see in us at times. Rather, consider for a moment, if you will, Christians standing in their backyards, speaking to their family cat, and saying, “C’mon, kitty. Bark.”

Ridiculous, isn’t it? Just like us expecting people who do not have Christ to act, think and speak righteously. Hey, there’s days when we don’t even act, think or speak righteously. Why are we asking the unsaved kitties in our lives to bark?

Some may say that it’s different with Rosie because she holds such influence in our culture. Perhaps we need to do some of the same soul-searching of our own hearts that some are demanding that Rosie make. Are we more concerned with Rosie’s eternity, or with how she - acting, thinking and speaking in a genuine representation of who she currently is - might influence other people’s opinion of Jesus or “us Christians.” Jesus can take care of Himself. We need to check our egos at the door, and develop the same compassion that our Savior has for Rosie.

I appreciate and respect George Barna and his work. I am not writing about him. I am writing about us - Christians. Those who profess to be disciples of Christ. And so, if you profess to be a disciple of Christ and you disagree with what I have written to this point, I ask you to consider this:

Jesus did not ask anyone for an apology. Ever. Not once. Rather, He prayed that our Father would forgive them. Why? Because they didn’t know what they were doing.

It would be so easy to say that the professional killers who whipped and beat and nailed Jesus to the Cross knew exactly what they were doing. But Jesus didn’t consider their actions, thoughts, or speech. Jesus knew better. He didn’t ask those “unsaved kitties to bark,” even though they were killing Him in an unimaginably painful and humiliating manner.

He left us an example of how we’re to behave, especially when we’re wrongfully accused or mistreated. God’s Word clearly tells us how we’re to behave when things like Rosie’s comments occur in our lives. We’re to behave - just as so many of us who profess to be His disciples say that we aspire to - like Jesus did:

For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps:
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:19-25

So many times in my Christian life, I have not responded in the manner described above. The longer I allowed it to go on in my heart and life, the more He allowed it to break my heart. I still sometimes feel self-defensiveness and pride attempt to rise up within me when I feel that I have been wronged. That’s when I need to go to Jesus, ask Him to heal my heart, and help me to act, think and speak with the same measure of grace that has been given unto me. I am not perfect in this, but I am so humbled by what Christ has done for me that I very much want to be. I am thankful for God’s mercy for me when I am not.

Jesus spoke it so clearly to me, for me. “If you’re not free from the effects of persecution, how can you do what I'm asking you to do?”

Father, I ask You to let me see the potential lamb in front of me whenever I stand before one who is as yet unsaved. Help me to see past their actions, thoughts and speech, as I have needed to ask You to forgive some of my own actions, thoughts and speech. Help me to remember in every moment and every situation just how sweet Your salvation is, and just how precious it is to know You and be known by You. Help me - within the depths of my heart - to truly and deeply desire what You desire; that all would repent and be reconciled unto You.

As I have written this, you have placed a great love in my heart for Rosie. That love is born of You, not me, and I know this. From within that love, I ask You not that You would cause Rosie to stop acting, thinking and speaking as she is. Rather, I ask that You would find a way, if there is any way, to demonstrate Your love for Rosie to her so that she, too, would come to know Your love and walk with You all of her days.

She's just one of Your missing children, Father. Please let her be found, just as You found me.

That You might receive all the glory......

I ask all of this in Jesus’ name......Amen.

Made Ready

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I received this from a Sister in Christ, who in turn received it from her mother.

It speaks about the peace there is in preparation, and hearkens back to one of the final points of our last post,
2 Timothy 4: The End of the Road, and how God makes us ready for every moment in our lives as we walk with Him.

Enjoy, dear friends.

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Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

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When we're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, we have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God.

We don't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

Enjoy your day, and sleep well tonight.