Burning

It is sheer lunacy to think you are not inhibited by the spirit of this age.  You are stopped short at nearly every turn by some good or respectable option...a way that seems reasonable and even right.  But it is not what God has told you to do just then and so you drift off imperceptibly from the straight and narrow way.  And when you do, you lose the quiet voice...or at least you lose track of it.  God will not beat you back in place, He will let you drift until it becomes nearly unbearable, this loss of His still, sweet nearness.  It is not some dramatic falling off the wagon that will hurt you most, it is the terrible indifference to the burning flame of the consuming Holy Spirit.  The soul that is not being scorched and seared by God is slowly growing cold and weary.  Only the determined return to the last word from God will catch your heart aflame again in the passionate fires of your loving Lord.  Again, take hold of God in His Word and you will find yourself flowing once more with the Joy of your Salvation. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Genesis 22:7 NIV

Normal Christianity

Is it not the easiest and most natural thing for a Christian walking in the freedom of the Holy Spirit to do what God says?  There is no real hindrance in this for the believer who trusts God.  He is absolutely without barriers for he can rise above every disappointment and difficulty, unencumbered by worry or fear.  The love of Christ is empowered by the conquering work of the Cross and it will not let the disciple be wrecked.  Too often we mistake a trial or a temptation or even a bruising wound of Satan for a death blow to our peace and joy.  The life we have in Christ is too big and too vibrant to be held back for long.  We are genetically enabled by the work of Christ when we are born again to rise above each Satanic attack.  Follow Jesus at any moment and trust Him then and you will find a heavenly flow coming upon you, an outpour of living water reviving you.  You have God in you and you are free to be happy and content.

A Willful Temple

There is a place at which we must decide who we really are and make a clean break from all the other possibilities.  If you are the Temple of God, then that must be decided in definitive actions.  The river must be crossed, the rope released, the battle entered.  As long as you see yourself as less than the Temple of God, you will live like it and no amount of posturing will obviate the damage caused.  The simplest and most uncultured of Christians who has determined with his will that He is the Temple of God will do more good and have longer lasting benefit to mankind than the greatest personalities of our age.  You may not be known here and now but the Temple of God is known in the corridors of heaven and your impact will reverberate throughout eternity if this is decided by you.  Settle the matter.  You are the Temple of God.  The Holy Spirit is in you and therefore there is nothing trivial or little about your place in the workings of God.  Each of your actions is critical and measured within the activity of the Lord who by His death resurrected your life and has recreated you into the liveliest and loveliest of treasures.    You realize don't you, that you are the temple of God...1 Corinthians 3: 16 MSG

The Patience of God

The Christian who walks with God has all the time in the world.  He has no need to be impatient with a single soul for he recognizes the pace at which God works in all people.  It is the clearest sign that we have lost our grip on eternity when we grumble and growl over some inconsiderate or immature soul who aggravates us.  As soon as we jump into the fray, either with our condescending self-righteous attitude or our caustic comments, we have veered out of our lane and run the risk of plowing into a tree planted there by Satan.  God is working just as patiently with that other person as He has with you and it does no good to get aggravated.  All you do is make yourself into something worse than Balaam arguing with his donkey.  Give the Lord time and he can transform the most obnoxious and lazy soul into a saint that would rival the Apostle Peter.  Pray with fervor for your enemy; let him have as much cover as you have gained from God and you will be surprised by who you see springing out of the weeds.  It could be your most crucial and happy ally in the faith.            Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34-35 NIV

Sensible

The sensible Christian is a bit of an oxymoron in the Kingdom of God.  You will not be of much use to Jesus Christ by taking things sensibly.  There is nothing sensible about being crucified with Christ, nothing sensible about leaving one's fishing boats and tax booths and following after a King who has no place to lay His head.  The sensible Christian cannot forgive his neighbor and will not give his last dime to God.  The sensible Christian has no time for the bleeding woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment or the quitter John Mark.  Jesus Christ did not accept the beams of Pontius Pilate because it was sensible; He did so because the Father wanted it done.  There is nothing so absurd as the Christian who says he won't while staring into the face of a Scripture that says he must.  Caution is fine if you never want to walk on water or dismantle Jericho.  No one who is sensible goes the extra mile or gives his cloak when only a friendly handshake will do.  The Kingdom of God is not made of sensible people but rather of those who are so feverishly loyal to Christ that they will stop at nothing to please Him.  ...but even if I am being poured out like a drink offering...I am glad... Philippians 2:17

The Unseen Line

At what point do we cross an unseen line when we no longer hold our things but they instead hold us?  Nothing confounds the Christian quite as much as the tight grip some desire or want maintains even as he sees himself free and on his own.  We sometimes mistake disappointment over not having with careless indifference to the thing.  Children play the game easily and we see through the charade.  "Oh, I didn't want do that anyway", they strut after the privilege is taken from them.  "I never did like her", is mumbled when the friend turns to someone else.  Yet are we so free of treasures on earth that we can happily disengage from them if the Lord breaks their grip?  Can we say farewell to the career if God were to call us to a mission field?  Are we really able to go wherever He leads even if it means leaving behind that home and car?  What is the price that is too steep to pay to follow Jesus?  Is it the respect you have gained or the comfort you enjoy?  How closely allied are you to the philosophy of the rich young ruler?  No dawn shines quite as brightly as the beginning of a day filled with the wonder of following Christ without thought for what it might cost you.

Noticed

The Kingdom of God is not about you or I getting a footing with God through some skill or talent we possess.  We are not here to make something of ourselves; not here to show ourselves off but to exalt Jesus Christ crucified.  This is no small task as it requires all of our effort.  Our soul is so bent by sin that we cannot naturally give Jesus Christ center stage and few ever really try to make a go of it.  But the disciple will; the one who has latched onto Christ and loves Him dearly will.  Take the resurrected Lord into your mind and let Him rule over your will.  You will know that Christ is not yet ruling over your abilities and talents if it matters that critics come after you or your friends or family hardly notice your "good works".  It is your opportunity to watch the Lord Jesus work His way through your disposition each time you see your effort go unnoticed and unrecognized.  Sometimes you choose this, sometimes it chooses you but either way, let out a quiet sigh and be thankful God has let you be a bit more hidden in Christ.  For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3: 3

Cornerstones and Cobblestones

The cross of Jesus Christ accomplished in one fell swoop the challenge of all mankind.  Without a cornerstone, a place from which to build perfect peace, we all flail about trying to make the best of a variety of bad situations.  Even the great optimists with a pot of gold at their disposal realize at some point how empty and vain it all is.  Yet at the moment Christ made it possible for recreation to take place with the act of crucifixion in a specific spot in history, the cornerstone for perfect peace was put in place.   You have as a born again Christian all you need to be done with anxiety, ongoing discouragement and despair.  The Holy Spirit will, as you keep your mind turning back into Christ and your behavior is steeped in the Word, give you a superstructure of peace within your whole personality.  Perfect peace is not a dreamy intellectualization, it is the way of the Christian whose life is stone by stone built upon the salvation of the Cross of Christ.

Tattoo Regret

The Lord's harshest criticism was reserved for those who would not believe Him and His warmest affirmation was for those who trusted Him at His word.  The promises of God secured within the Scripture are held there for you to accept and adjust your life.  The contrast between Zachariah the father of John the Baptist and Mary the mother of Jesus is stark.  Struck dumb by the angel Gabriel for his lack of faith, Zachariah had to carry with him for a time the tattoo of unbelief and it was not removed from him until his faithful wife Elizabeth gave birth to the child.  And even then he first had to declare the name of their son publicly as assigned by God before his voice returned.  You cannot say you have faith until you actually do the thing God has said to do.  Don't treasure your doubts like some sort of badge of honor.  They are the silliest and most ridiculous parts of Christians, the pious questions that mock God's faithful righteousness.  Put aside your doubts and do the thing God has assigned you and enjoy the favor of Jesus as He commends you for trusting Him in the matter.

The Twists of Life

The element of surprise is pronounced in even the most dreary life but it should never be frustrating or cause for despair in the Christian.  The Christian is the one person who has certainty that each facet of life is in the hands of God and always being guided for his or her good.  It is never otherwise...whether it be the car wreck or the identity theft or the throbbing in the shoulder.  If it is not true that all things are being worked by God for our good, then it is the great farce, this Christian life. Decide for yourself with unforgiving ferocity.  Jesus Christ loves you and is making every twist of your life beneficial to you, no, more than that, every part of your life is the gift of God to you and it is as lovely as the morning dawn.   Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song of Songs 6:10 NIV)

Imitation

Have you taken serious stock in your ability to be imitated?  It is the simplest thing in the world; to have someone watch you and then do the very thing you did.  It is happening carelessly in your daily routines.  Adam imitated Eve without giving it much thought.  You too are emulating the very ones who seem silly or irritating as well as the models of competence.   Keep your eye on the prize even as others watch you out of the corner of their eye all the while looking for the prize too.  If you can imitate Christ just this one time, it might make it easier for the person next to you to do the same thing.  Love is rich with observable declarations of your real intention.  Even if you spend your time imitating the love of others, eventually it will be yours and then someone near you will make it theirs.  Actual love starts with Christ and at some point ends with Him. too.  The imitation of Christ will eventually be worked out as an overlooked offence or a swallowed criticism that could be justified if it were not for the criticisms Christ has held back from you.  Love never fails...(1 Corinthians 13:8)

The Turning of the Head

The difficulties we encounter, the daily aggravations we face do not make us spiritual or not spiritual.  They awaken within us a nudging to turn from or toward God.  The Holy Spirit will not force your head one way or another.  You must decide to do the work, to actually face your will and live at the moment in God.  Nothing can take you away from simple contentment and peace in the Lord.  You are the one to decide if God is good enough to keep your peace intact or if you need to let some emotion or distraction hold sway over you.  Perfect peace is not an ephemeral concept: it is the way it is for the one who keeps his mind fixed on Christ and his actions decided by the direction God gives at any specific spot in time.  You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3 NIV)

What Really Is Before You

At some point you are going to be forced into the decision of your life, to fight against spiritual forces in high places or ignore them and go on as if they don't exist.  The Christian is never inept in this; unless of course he or she completely disregards Who lives within.  It is Christ in you that makes the difference in every temptation and trial you face.  You have the power to change the course of generations by giving Christ complete sway in your battle against the great enemy and all those spirits lined up before you intent to wreck and pillage your heart.  Be icy in your disregard of the insults and injustices you face but fiery hot in your hatred of Satan who is doing his best to make you a blind adversary at the moment you take your eyes off Jesus and gaze into the blinding darkness of some frustration or depressing hardship you have before you.

Prayer As It Comes

Our problem in praying is not that we don't know how to pray.  Even the atheist knows intuitively how to pray.  Our problem is we don't know what to do about our praying.  We misunderstand the interaction.  We never pray because we decided to pray, we do so because God wooed us into prayer.  The point of praying, even if it is for our daughter suffering from leukemia is to eventually hear from God Himself.  It is pointless just jabbering; we are there for God to interact with us at the most critical level.  Being born again is more profound than we guess.  It is transformation and that transformation includes being able to hear God.  Never stop praying because you didn't get what you wanted.  That is the place where you most need to pray; more than any object, you need God soaking every part of you and that will not happen with just a God list checked off and granted.   And as he was praying, heaven was opened... Luke 3:21 NIV

Knowing versus Knowing

We are as far as self goes at the center of the universe.  It is hard to get beyond the notion that everything revolves around me.  It isn't perhaps that we are so selfish...I want everything, but it is that we live within a certain head that is ours and we always grasp the sights from that head's perspective.  The Holy Spirit alone can take us outside that view where with God living within us, we can finally see what before was but a dimness.  The Lord Jesus Christ opens up to us a horizon that was always before lost...the life of God and all He sees living within us.  The vast world you do not know about yourself is visible to God and He will let you peek in and view it as you trust Him to guide your way.  But more importantly, as you listen, the Lord will "show" you others and your capacity to love will grow exponentially.  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:2-3

Walking in the Light

What does it mean that we are not our own, we were bought at a price except that we are not our own.  (1 Corinthians 6:19)  It is paganism at its core to struggle out of the grip of the Holy Spirit and venture off without a single thought what God who is truly God might want.  We are certainly free to say what we think and do as we wish but if we are in Christ we are not our own and that will become perfectly clear to us in the workings of God in our daily doings.  The things we ask of Him and the gifts we desire will lie neglected until we get this matter straight.  We are not our own.  To walk in the light requires we stay away from the dark places of independence and rely upon the Word to direct our steps.  Of course it isn't easy but it is the One Way that makes the love of Christ fill our hearts with lasting gladness.

The Crisis Point

The crisis point is not at the moment you find some part of your life out of control; it is when you must accept that every part of your life is actually beyond your control.  We try desperately to calibrate this and modulate that but it is in the end not ours to fix or determine.  The Lord does not intend to make you more differentiated from your environment...He is using it (that wild and unpredictable world where you have been placed) to add to the supernatural work of being born again.  The more we try to squirm out of our predicaments and fix our dilemmas, the more sustained the rough edges of our personality.  You cannot love unless God surgically removes the bumps of hate and jealousy, you cannot trust unless he sculpts away the scared ridges of doubt and self-confidence and you cannot hope unless he rubs off the fear and bitterness caked on your too fragile psyche.  You have been placed at your spot so that the Lord can perfect His work in you.  Rest your soul in God who loves you enough to keep you where you are.

You and Clyde

Evil is not the Bonnie and Clydes and Joseph Stalins of any age.  They are aberrations from the common stock.  Evil is the gaze shifted off of Christ and onto something else that seems just as noble and worthy.  It is the Christmas present that makes the want rise above the Will, the fresh start that really isn't a fresh start but just the same oblivious disregard for the Holy Spirit prompts, it is the safe way out when the open door of God stands before you.  Adam and Eve didn't move far from God, they just turned their head slightly and looked past Him to Satan.  Fix your eyes upon Christ and let the peripheries remain the peripheries.  You cannot go astray with your mind determined that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. 

The Dawn Is Upon You

At what point do you begin to question the sanity of chasing after Jesus, of wanting to please the Father, of listening for the Holy Spirit to guide you?  Is it after the disastrous decision you made, during the long wait for the hope you had being fulfilled or while you sing dispassionately of the God you once trusted.  Nothing speaks more of your faith than your determination to shake off the conundrums of misplaced affections.  The Lord who saved you will not allow any desire or longing replace Him as King of your hopes and dreams.  You were not called out of darkness to stay in the shadows.  The light of Christ will shine brightly within you but only as you give Him access to the dark places where lurk the aspirations you have for getting your way, your way.  The Lord must put a halt to your self-reliance before you can progress much further in the joy of your salvation.  Rejoice, the dawn is upon you!    The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn...Proverbs 4:18 NIV

Spiritual Leakage

When once we start to question our ability to do a thing or give up a thing, we should always ask if we have let a habit or a behavior sap our strength and diminish our spiritual vitality.  God will never give you a task or a challenge that He has not already empowered you in the matter.  You have all the ability you need and all the creativity necessary for the task.  But if you lack power or will, you need to first go back to the beginning point when you started leaking the Lord's oil and plug the leak.  Renounce the act, stop the habit, get rid of the subtle rebellion and climb back into the arms of Christ with determination to trust Him in the matters that have caused you to turn your back on His help....he should do it with the strength God provides...(1 Peter 4:11 NIV)

Good...

Jesus made a disconcerting comment as he talked with the famous “rich young ruler” of Luke 18.  When the young man approached the Lord, he addressed Jesus as “Good teacher”.  Now this was certainly a respectful form of address but Jesus was not so impressed.  His reply was biting.  "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good — except God alone. (Luke 18:19-20 NIV)  This is most informative if we can get past the seeming rudeness of the retort.  Jesus made it perfectly clear without any wiggle room that there is no one good…just God.  This is not self-deprecation: it is stating the clear fact.  Nothing good exists except what is in God, from God and with God.   The source of any good is God and without Him there is no good.  Good is not a relative term; good compared to not so good.  Good is determined by its source.  From God and it is good, outside of Him and it is not.  You and I are not the source of good and we do not decide if something is good or not.  Good is not an arbitrary assessment we make; good is determined by how anything at any moment relates to God.  Take the Lord out of a thought, out of an idea, out of a behavior and it is no longer good.  Regardless of how an event may turn, how a circumstance may look, it is good if your eyes are fixed upon God and your heart is determined to follow Him.  The command of Hebrews 12: 2 to fix our eyes upon Jesus is not a symbolic gesture, it is an act of the will to look to Christ for everything from how to think about something to how to act.  Take your eyes off the Lord and what can seem good, like Peter walking on water can become a disaster in a moment as he began to sink with his eyes on the waves.

Have You Been Tempted?

A temptation is never unreasonable.  It is always a sensible alternative to God's clear direction.  The temptation for Adam was not at the point of command, it was later when he had the new option of gaining insight into right and wrong.  You are not tempted by the wallowing pig or the disgusting vulture but rather by the smooth lined gazelle or the regal tiger.  Your temptation will be filled with light and color rather than the drab black and white and gray.  Don't underestimate the power of the temptation nor its crippling effect.  It is never just a matter of the bad decision; it is a poisoned option you face and once you have been struck by its power, you carry the effect within your body until you are raised perfectly by Christ on the last day.  Take a moment to pray the simple prayer God gave you..."and lead (me) not into temptation!"  Let the punctuation remain  there for a moment as you make the great step of faith for your day.