Open Doors

Posted on November 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

Revelation 3:8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Quote from Oswald Chambers – My Utmost For His Highest”
“God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is.”

Thoughts:
So does that mean God is showing me through his opening of doors  the paths he wants me to take?  I had to ponder the Open Door idea a bit.  I do think God is always in charge of doors.  Only he knows what he’s going to do and how he’s going to show you who he is.  I like the image of a “hand-holding” Christ.

In my life this is how it’s worked.  Sometimes I’ve gone through an open door and have discovered new strengths and abilities I didn’t know I had.  Christ was holding my hand, pulling me along saying “Come on, let’s do it together.”  He was there.

There have been other times I’ve gone through an open door expecting the same result only to find disappointment and even failure.  The same Christ was holding my hand and saying the same words “Come on, let’s do it together” with a totally different outcome, but… He was there.

Open Doors are not guarantees, they are opportunities.  As long as you recognize those two things you can choose that open door with the best possible information you have, and confidence.  Then hang on to his hand for dear life.  He’ll be there.

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Posted in Oswald Chambers, Revelation

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Instant Replay

Posted on November 18, 2015 | Leave a comment

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end…3:17 “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”….

“Eternity in the human heart”…it’s a given…but is it a choice too?  I think so.  The verse doesn’t say he has set eternity in “some” human hearts. It’s a bridge everyone will have to cross. This is how I imagine that bridge for the one who has chosen to recognize the promise of eternity in their own heart.

Jesus is on that bridge.  He’s waiting to wrap his arms around you securely for this process of judgment, a lot like a parent calming an insecure child.  This is not a judgement of punishment but of revelation.  It’s the absolute reality of the absolute truth of your life…finally.  There will be an Instant Replay of every detail of your life seen through Jesus’ eyes.  I’m guessing there will be tears but they’ll be cleansing tears that wash away the last bits of humanity to reveal the promised perfection and complete the transition to eternity.

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Posted in Ecclesiastes

The Real Jesus

Posted on November 15, 2015 | Leave a comment

Excerpts from Mark 3 NIV
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts…9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him…21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”…

Thoughts:
I’m having a negative reaction to everything I read today.  I don’t like reading that Jesus was angry and distressed.  I don’t like that he made plans to keep himself away from the people.  I don’t like that his own family was ready to haul him away because they thought he was out of his mind.  This is a clear indicator that I’m deeply involved in romanticizing the human Jesus and I don’t like that either.

I read a book “Imaginary Jesus” by Matt Mikalatos.  It’s not a “Christian” book per se, it’s a novel and underlying the humor of it is a very serious reality.  It’s the mistake of seeing Jesus as what we need him to be in any given situation.  Here’s part of the description from Amazon: “When Matt Mikalatos realizes that his longtime buddy in the robe and sandals isn’t the real Jesus at all, but an imaginary one, he embarks on a mission to find the real thing.”

I don’t want to miss The Real Jesus because of my need to make him look and act like I think he should…but…I don’t want him to be angry, or distressed either.  That’s too raw, too human, and too much a mirror of what my reaction might be.  Maybe that’s the point.  The Real Jesus will show me my own humanity despite my creative attempts to mold him into an imaginary image.  Obviously he’s not finished yet.

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Posted in Daily Faith, Growth, Mark, Real Life

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Gene Therapy

Posted on November 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

gene ther·a·py – noun – 1 the transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders.

From Ethics by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“…The Pharisee is that extremely admirable man who subordinates his entire life to his knowledge of good and evil and is as severe a judge of himself as of his neighbour to the honour of God, whom he humbly thanks for this knowledge. For the Pharisee every moment of life becomes a situation of conflict in which he has to choose between good and evil…”

Thoughts:
Bonhoeffer describes the personal life of a Pharisees pretty clearly in that first paragraph.  That phrase “knowledge of good and evil” made me think of the Garden of Eden.  There was only one tree Adam and Eve were NOT to eat from.  It was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”   We’ve all got a little a little bit of that same Pharisee DNA in us and that’s a tough sentence to live with.

But God has a plan to get us out of that genetic trap.  It’s the very first, and most effective form of Gene Therapy to replace those defective cells.   Some call it born again. I call it Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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Posted in Bonhoeffer, Galatians

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Surprise, It’s Me

Posted on November 4, 2015 | Leave a comment

Mark 6:47-52 NIV  And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he [Jesus] was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

My Thoughts:
This Scripture is a different kind of picture of what “belief” looks like for those closest to Jesus.  It turns out those most intimately connected to Jesus can suffer bouts of what verse 52 calls “hardened” hearts.  I’m pretty sure fatigue, fear, confusion had a lot to do with that. That’s true of us too, but these were his disciples.  That’s a surprise isn’t it?

We can fix those physical conditions with more rest and more knowledge.  Those are surely needed, but the heart problem needs something more.  That fix is being willing to consider Jesus is watching for opportunities to come you.  He may choose unusual circumstances to walk into your life or your circumstances and then climb right into the “boat” with you.

“Take heart” no matter how astounding it seems, his words “Surprise, It’s Me” are his comfort and assurance for your heart and your life.

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Posted in Growth, Mark, Real Life

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Inspired Risk

Posted on November 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Habakkuk 2 :1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.  2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.  Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Thoughts:

My “station” is the Lazy Boy early in the morning looking for God to speak to me through his Word and sometimes the words of his people who have shared their inspiration in their own writings.  One of my favorite quotes is from Oswald Chambers: “patience is not the same as indifference.”

It’s that Lazy Boy that’s made all the difference between patience and indifference for me.  If I’m there and I get nothing it’s patience.  If I’m not there, it’s indifference.  It’s an Inspired Risk to believe God is there with truth for me.  It’s an Inspired Risk to believe I do have a “revelation.”   It’s an Inspired Risk to find my own words of faith and then run with them.  I won’t get it right every time…but there is an appointed time.  Patience is an Inspired Risk: “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come …”

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Posted in Habakuk, Real Life, The Real "Me"

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Depend on This

Posted on October 28, 2015 | Leave a comment

This is a quote From Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest.   “Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level”

It’s an odd quote demanding my thought because of the word maturity combined with the phrase “unconscious level.”  Long ago I made what seemed to be a conscious decision to walk into Jesus life and let his become a part of mine.  I followed that by consciously acquiring all the facts that would lead me to devotion to God and to maturity.

It’s easier to do the conscious stuff.  It may not seem easy to surrender your time but it’s do-able. In your conscious mind you know so much you must be mature, right?   Surrendering your mind at the same time you surrender your time is the unconscious part.  It’s harder and riskier to let your mind creatively roam in the realm of God, Christ, and the Word.  Maturity is very likely that unconscious part that drives you to invest yourself in that realm knowing that even though you will likely get much of it wrong at some point you can Depend on This: It’s the only way you’ll ever get anything right.

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Posted in Daily Faith, Maturity

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Show Me…To Me

Posted on October 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

I believe so strongly that the Holy Spirit is alive and well and at work.  I believe that if I have put my life in Jesus it is my foolishness if I do not begin to explore the reality of the teaching, supporting and personal guidance God has promised that Spirit will give me according to his will.  I may get wrong at times…but then I’ve been wrong many times for nowhere near as good a reason as trying to find faith in my daily life.

It’s the groaning part I understand the most; mine first, and then the Spirit’s as he and God strategize about my journey to holiness.  That advocate who can explain me to God is great but here’s the rest, and the best, of the plan from my human standpoint.  It’s the purpose and promise that the Holy Spirit will Show Me…to Me.  It’s a really big deal.

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Posted in Romans, The Real "Me"

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Home Improvement

Posted on October 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

It’s obvious even among the most devoted believers that there are individual quirks leftover when God deals with the serious business of saving a person. Surely you know someone of deep and true faith that gossips, or lashes out, or lies, or….[you fill in the blank].

It’s easy for me to see those flaws in others and much harder to recognize them in myself. These are the hold-out things that can become the secret weapons of the enemy.  He can’t have our souls back but he can cause a lot of hurt and havoc in our lives with those leftover quirks.

Jesus has saved my soul and now he’s standing ready to save me from myself; to free me from those quirks.  After all these years, and hours of devotion, and true transformation here I am seeing one of those little “quirks” in my own life. It’s awful and it’s wonderful at the same time.  It’s awful to see it…and wonderful to know Jesus has got a plan for me to be free of it.

I’m crawling up on the altar again Lord, to sacrifice one more “last” thing…again…to you. I love you. I love that your purpose is to make me whole and into your likeness, first with redemption and now with renovation. It’s the best kind of Home Improvement.

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Posted in Confession, Daily Faith, John, Real Life, The Real "Me"

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Sunday Dinner

Posted on October 18, 2015 | Leave a comment

John 6:50
But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Thoughts:
It’s Sunday.  Remember the tradition of Sunday dinner?  Today you may be celebrating communion in your church.  Think of it as a very special Sunday Dinner.  This is the menu for today’s dinner:

The appetizer is your invitation to come.  It’s meant to whet your appetite for more.

This is Sunday dinner with Jesus.  He’s the main course, the meat and potatoes, to nourish your  life…right here and now.  Help yourself to more. There’s plenty to go around.

Finally there’s the lovely “dessert” course.  The sweet taste of  Sunday Dinner forever.

Come again won’t you?

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Posted in Communion, John

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