The Eyes Of A Parent

I'm thinking about bad parents and good parents. Some people love their children in wisdom and others have little capacity for love. A child sees their reflection in the eyes of their parents and sometimes the reflection they see is tainted and untrue.

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me." - John 8:44-45 ESV

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:1-3 ESV

The Devil is a bad Father. His children never find out who they really are. They never know where they stand. He is a gas-lighting narcissist. He is a liar.

God is a good Father. He is 'The Good Father'. In His eyes you discover who you are. You like how you look there. If you forget where you stand He reassures you. You are loved. When you go far away and come back He runs out to greet you and pile on gifts you don't deserve that He has set aside just for you.

You and i don't really know who we are. We must discover who we really are in kind loving eyes that are wise. Some people never discover their identity. They just run from one thing to the next looking to fill a hole that grows ever larger.

Don't forget to look up today and make sure you stay in touch with those wise humans on Earth that care for your soul. They are rare treasures... and remember... the Devil is a liar.

--

Was Jesus Racist?

Was Jesus racist? Is God?

"And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly." Matthew 15:21-28 ESV

'Dog' was a racist slur but Jesus was putting this woman's faith on display. He was saying to his disciples and to the world, 'Do you think I have a 'us' and 'them' mentality like every other fallen man does? I don't!'

Yes. All the men following Him were Jewish but that was the first stage of God's plan. Jesus came to save the world.

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:27-29 ESV

"Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

Jesus noticed what race this woman was. He didn't ignore the difference like it didn't exist. He used the obvious difference to prove a point. God loves people.

He loves you. He loves me. He loves the person struggling with their gender identity. He loves those who don't know who they are and those that think they do.

In Him we find newness, healing and belonging. In Him we find salvation and life. He will dissolve our prejudices. He invites us to sit at the table with Abraham as a family member.

--

A New Energy Source

God's approval becomes an energy source for our identity.

"Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.' " - Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV

We boast about the thing that gives us power.

Jesus is the love, justice, and righteousness of God manifested in a man. He is the divine One who was born as the perfect person. Jesus is God's delight.

If we have believed our boast becomes that we are somehow hidden in Christ and a blessing has been put on our life because God sees His Son when He looks at us.

Wisdom, might and riches are what the natural man goes to as it's power source. That is the boast of our natural self apart from God. The person who lives in the approval that only comes from an exchanged life has a different source because they have access to a different identity.

Jesus has done this for us. We were His enemy and He set this up before the world began and in the fullness of time He came and died on a tree so that He could rise from the grave and take us with Him.

That is my boast today. I boast in the cross. My wallet, my method and my huge biceps are not my real power. Knowing the LORD is my power and it has become my identity.

--

I Am From Above

Wow. Jesus claims He isn't 'a' way. He is 'the' way... the only way.

"He said to them, 'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.' " - John 8:23-24 ESV

He is either an egomaniac or He Is the Messiah.

Peter later says this to a crowd...

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." - Acts 2:22-24 ESV

Jesus was seen alive by many after His death and yet they did not believe. They did not invest faith in Christ Himself.

God doesn't raise egomaniacs from the dead. There is only one person who died the way Christ died (at just the right time and place to fulfill prophecy) and then get raised up only to rise into the sky and never die again.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 KJV

The first part needs coverage and then the second part of that passage needs coverage also.

He Is.

Jesus Is 'Him'.

Not only that but He Is 'a rewarder' of people who seek Him. He was from above and He has returned there but that above place is not far away.

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13 KJV

Jesus came to close the gap.

--

Sharing In The Holiness Of Our Father

"If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness." - Hebrews 12:8-10 ESV

Meditating on fatherhood and sonship this morning and how it shapes the male psyche. God Is our father and in a way that is a crazy thought.

'...that we may share his holiness...'

Wow.

Some Earthly Fathers are good at 'sharing their life' and have a great deal to share. Others are not so good. How much of a man's life is shaped by how he sees fatherhood or how he was fathered? Our Earthly fathers are only a reflection, no matter what they did or didn't do, of a deep relationship that Jesus had and has with His Father.

Grace is given so that the way would be forever open to share in a special identity. Holiness can also be translated as 'set-apartness'. A holy thing is a clean thing. It is eternal and forever untouched by anything base or defiling. Heavenly and holy overlap. Holiness is otherworldly.

God does what He does and we do what we do but do we understand His motivations? Do we know His heart?

I want to know my Father's heart. The new birth gives us spiritual DNA that resembles Him but do we know Him? I want to.

--

Tree Vision

"And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, 'Do you see anything?'

And he looked up and said, 'I see people, but they look like trees, walking.'

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly." Mark 8:22-25 ESV

I was thinking today about the stages of seeing things when we are healed.

Compassion was around the blind man. He could perceive it but not see it. Then Grace touched him. Truth like light came pouring in. He saw men as trees. They had a productive shape. Trees give shade and fruit and construction materials to build things. You burn the wood to cook and heat yourself in the cold. As a blind man you lean on them and feel their shape. People were now like that. Things of structure and shape.

Grace asks us if we see. We truthfully say we see strangely. Eyes show us what people can do but that is not truly seeing the whole picture.

Then Christ kindly blinded him again with His hands. He blinded him for a moment to production and form. Grace went farther and verified that the first perspective was incomplete but a temporary return of darkness coupled with the warmth of intimacy would fix the problem. Jesus' touch must have been warm on his eyes this time. Before it was spittle and Christ hands on his person. Now Jesus touched his eyes directly. He was healing this man's mind so that he could use his eyes correctly.

God must blind us again to cure us from 'tree vision'. Seeing people by their shape and what they produce is not the full healing. Freedom temporarily makes us think we can perform something and that others should also. Being established in grace is having 'eyes that see' because they have been closed and opened again by Jesus' touch.

God blinded the Apostle Paul to open his eyes to grace. He crippled Jacob so that He could walk humbly with God.

God strengthens us and at first, we rely on that strength but that is only part of the story. God must reorient us to Himself. When we are fixed on Him that is where the real full healing lies. People are not just objects that do things. People have value because of who God has made them to be.

All the Glory belongs to God and we will see that if our perception is touched and healed by the God of all grace.

They Wanted To Make Him A King

Looking at all four Gospels to see what happened in an event is so profitable. This is directly after Jesus fed the five thousand.

"When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, 'This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea," - John 6:14-16 ESV

"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea." - Matthew 14:22-25 ESV

Jesus did this massive miracle. Loaves and fish don't multiply on their own. He could have ridden that wave of popularity but instead, He chose to withdraw and walk on water.

As a man with degrees of ambition, you have to scratch your head at passages like this. I understand it. He didn't come to Earth to be King. He came to Earth to die on that cross. His whole life is about that. It was needed. He never stopped being a lion to be a lamb. He was and is always both. Still... Why not have an Earthly empire first and then die? My red-blooded mind races and searches to understand the plan of God. This plan that always has a cross stuck right in the middle of it.

If He had gone the other road this next part would never have happened.

"But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.' " - Matthew 14:27-33 ESV

There is a point in time when a work starts moving that things can't be small like this. Jesus had many one-on-one times in His future.

I heard Tony Curtis in a rare interview where he talked about Marilyn Monroe and his career and He had an interesting take on it. He was convicted that it was the movie camera that made stars into stars. He saw himself and the others he worked with as genetically blessed nobodies who would have stayed nobodies but that movie camera did something because it showed only parts of things in a certain light.

Jesus isn't a movie star. He isn't a celebrity like we think of them.

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." - Ephesians 1:16-23 ESV

Jesus is the fullness. He Is the King of Kings.

Can I set my ambition aside? Can you? I would like to say, 'Yes' but Paul was praying this way for a reason. This is a very specific focus. This is Christ-centered living and it is a life that allows for personal investment in others. We stay small so that Christ can be exalted. This is a calling that has hope. This is a life with a rich inheritance.

--

The Man With An Unclean Spirit

I'm reading this next account over and over again...

"And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit..." - Mark 5:1-2 KJV

It is easy to focus on the demonic in this passage because of the context and what eventually happens...

"And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea." - Mark 5:12-13 KJV

This morning I really wanted to focus on the man himself. This man addresses Jesus and asks two things of Him.

"And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not... And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country." - Mark 5:7, 10 KJV

'Please. Don't torment me.' and 'Now that I see You please don't send me away.'

Of the three passages that record this account Mark is the only one that says this.

"And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him," - Mark 5:5-6 KJV

Modern medicine has given the type of 'self harm' described in verse 5 a name. Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) was thought to be a cry for help when first diagnosed but it is seen differently by some experts who study it. I saw one study that predicts that about 16% of young people between the ages of 14 and 21 have engaged in this behavior. The percentage is higher among female teenagers. Often the injuries are done in places that won't be visible. The people who do it often describe it as an 'out of body experience'. They get a high from it. It is a distraction from a great inner pain.

Do you hear the cry?

'Please. Don't torment me.' and 'Please don't send me away.'

Jesus tells the unclean spirit to leave but is very kind to the man.

"And Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?'..." - Mark 5:9a ESV

This weekend I stood by and watching a Pastor minister to a young person who was walking by his group. He engaged them and each person so kindly making sure that everyone knew each other's names. He asked questions. His pure love and interest said in a non-verbal way...

'I won't hurt you.' 'We won't send you away.' 'We see you.' 'You are important.'

One man in the group who is being raised up as a leader just kept looking at his phone and answered when he was addressed but never even looked at the young person and I just thought, 'You have a lot to learn buddy and you aren't going to learn it in that phone.'

"The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid." - Mark 5:14-15 ESV

Just a few minutes with Jesus. Just a few minutes of purity. An oasis from loneliness. What does it mean? How much is it worth?

Jesus isn't ever going to torment anyone. He isn't going to send a living person away. He can disconnect a person from the many things that torment them. Where there is life there is hope. Decisions can be made when a person is brought into the presence of the King. Introductions and healings happen in those times.

--

The Antidote For An Identity Formed By How Others Made Us Feel

I have been studying and breaking down some of the successful YA (Young Adult) novels that have come out in the last twenty years and I see this recurring theme of self-discovery through failed (or quasi-successful) romantic encounters and relationships. I understand why it hits home to young adults. I've been there. In a painful time, people are looking for an identity and how others made them feel helped to form that identity. The crush. What they did or didn't do to act on those feelings. Abuse. Longing. Betrayal.

Sigh. It all falls so far short of what God wanted for humanity. The laws Moses gave to Israel show that. God wants us to have purity. Purity is what will make us complete. The law could provide a fence but it could never produce the life. The life has to come from God. No matter what has gone on before Jesus can bring integrity and wholeness into the most shattered existence.

Here are a couple of passages that just seem to echo in my mind these days.

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-16a ESV

"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God." - 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 ESV

To be completely transparent... this last birthday was a hard one for me. It seems like a bunch of forgotten hurts and disappointments got dredged up from the bottom of my soul. I want to be happy and thankful for what I have but at the same time parts of my identity were formed by events and encounters long ago and my hopes and dreams are intertwined with those things in some ways. I wanted to be more powerful by the time I got to be this age. Maybe I thought that one day I'd have more to give and if I had this overwhelming capacity or great resources I could use that power to shield others from what I went through that damaged me.

I can't escape my birthday (I tried but it didn't work) but those two passages are like diamonds to me. They are priceless tools.

Because of Jesus, we can be involved with people and yet 'regard no one according to the flesh'. Tingles or no tingles. Like or dislike. Respect or little that merits that respect. We can care and not have an identity based on what anyone else thinks or says. How others make us feel no longer matters in that arena.

Secondly, We don't have to accuse or excuse ourselves. Our new identity is God-given. God is aware of us. We don't acquit ourselves. God will one day commend us and each one who believes in Him.

I'm sitting here typing this praying that God would give our generation creativity in communicating these truths to young and old. It is so needed. The things young minds are faced with now are so potentially harmful and fragmenting. We had crazy things in our lives back when we were growing up. I can't imagine having to grow up now.

God, Help us, please. Give us the wisdom to apply what you have taught us in our times of crisis but also help us to freely give out what you have given to us.

"But Peter said, 'I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!' " - Acts 3:6 ESV

This can be our legacy.

--

The Sluggard

Normally I shun 'label' words for people. These label words are often used as a hammer or as justifications for unflattering generalizations. A person (or people group) can't be defined by a word but yesterday the word 'sluggard' came up at the lunch rap and it got me thinking about identities.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise... How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" - Proverbs 6:6, 9 KJV

"As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him." - Proverbs 10:26 KJV

"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." - Proverbs 13:4 KJV

"The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." - Proverbs 20:4 KJV

"The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason." - Proverbs 26:16 KJV

I had always thought of a sluggard as a lazy person but yesterday it was defined as an 'unmotivated person' and that triggered many thoughts.

Christian spiritual warfare defines two invisible forces, God's kingdom and the power of darkness, they are at odds and human identities come from one of these two places. The dark force wants people to be trapped and never reach the light. God wants people to choose His Son and be free if they choose to take the gift given to them. That gift brings in a new identity with different characteristics.

In reality, we are not what we do or don't do. We are who God says we are. The sluggard finds no motivation. Circumstances don't seem to change their mindset. That is not who we are as children of God. That identity is a trap.

I have often wondered in my own life why some things come easily and why others are so hard. There are some things I can knock out in an hour and others I just want to put off almost indefinitely. There are many reasons involved and I'm not sure if comprehending all the 'why's is really necessary.

I do know that my identity is linked to my motivation and a healthy identity overflowing with motivation is possible if I am thinking with God.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain..." - 1 Corinthians 15:10a KJV

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 KJV

The cross refocuses my life. I can do what I need to do. I can start and I can finish. I can abandon what is not needed and neatly tie up the loose ends honourably. I can endure. I can cast down negative Godless labels others put on me or I'm tempted to put on myself. I am free because love is flowing in me and constraining my movement. The weight is removed and the depression that has formed because of oppression will disappear in time as I continue to be transformed into the image of the One who has overcome the grave.

The great commision to seek and save that which is lost and the great commandment to love provide endless motivation.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." - Romans 13:14 ESV

Yes. Wake up you who are asleep and take on the identity that God has for you. That person shines brightly. They are sitting at God's right hand of approval in Jesus Christ.

--

You Are The Salt Of The Earth

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." - Matthew 5:13 ESV

You are the salt that can be lost. You are needed. The real you. The healthy you that has a focus on God and practices His presence and seeks His mind.

Just thinking of a fisherman in ancient culture taking a sandy substance that was naturally filled with salt to pack their fish in to preserve them until they got to market. If that sandy salty mixture got rained on the rain would dissolve the salt and leave a less salty mix. Those fish would go bad before they got to a person's kitchen.

We are needed today. Exposure to influences can water down and drain away the knowledge of who God says we are until we are just dirt or sand with little preservation power.

That fisherman would need to go to his or her source of salty mixture often and get more if last weeks or last months mixture was used it wouldn't preserve as well.

We need to go to our source often to remain salty. If we wander away and stay away the elements take their toll on us but if we go morning by morning we remain potent.

You are a force for preservation just by carrying God into your situations today. The salt you have is needed. The identity you have in Christ is rare and Heavenly in origin. That salt wasn't detected by sight it was discerned by taste. It doesn't matter what you look like it matters who you look to. If you are looking to the God of the Bible seeking His actual mind you will be a salty person.

--

That Old Rascal

I'm reading Genesis chapter 32 and 33 this morning and I am amazed at how stubborn and deceptive Jacob is.

"Then Esau said, 'Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you.' But Jacob said to him, 'My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.' Esau said, 'Then let me leave some of my men with you.' 'But why do that?' Jacob asked. 'Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.' So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth." - Genesis 33:12-17 NIV

Did you catch the lie? I don't think I ever have before. Jacob told Esau he would meet him in Seir but he never goes there. He goes in a different direction to Sukkoth and stands up his brother.

This is right after Jacob wrestles with God in the chapter before.

"When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day has broken.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' And he said to him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob.' Then he said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.' Then Jacob asked him, 'Please tell me your name.' But he said, 'Why is it that you ask my name?' And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, 'For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.' " - Genesis 32:25-30 ESV

Jacob knew he was dealing with God because he couldn't manipulate this person. Very interesting how God blesses a person who is trying to con him.

Grace

It's all grace

God has to change Jacob's name because Jacob is a rascal and is going to be a rascal no matter what you do.

Jacob has a new perspective after chapter 32. He really has a peace he didn't have before. He could meet his brother and deal with the situation in a peaceful way after his encounter with God but it isn't because he is a changed man. It is because he has seen God and gotten the 'blessing'.

The identity shift would come much later.

I have known some Godly rascals in my time. I am one. My old man is slippery but I have a new identity in Christ and that guy isn't a rascal. He really Is all that God says he is.

God really blessed me the other day. No. Really He did. I was like Jacob dreading what might come next and now all that is gone. I spoke to Him and He moved in a mystical way I can't explain and lifted my burden. He didn't have to do it but He did.

Today I am very aware of my need to put on Jesus Christ.

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." - Romans 13:12-14 KJV

Yes. Old Jacob gets another nail in his coffin.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 KJV

As an old friend would say...

Ding. Dong.

Yes. That is my choice. I know who I am in Christ and I know what I can be if I don't put on this person and this truth. Today is a new day and a fresh chance to live in a new identity.


--

Powerful Scriptural Triads - Part 5

"Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.' (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, 'Follow me.' " - John 21:18-19 ESV

A newly converted person believes but has an identity and a motivation based on self. They wear the fashion that they identify with.

Age, or spiritual maturity, bring in a triune mindset where we worship and find ourselves carried into a different identity that isn't self oriented.

Jesus was talking to Peter and at this point Peter was very young and unstable but many things would happen in Peter's life and in the end, Peter became a mature grace believer who wasn't living in self-preservation. Church history tells us that Peter was martyred. We can imagine that this passage likely had great significance to the early Church because of it's prophetic content. We have the option of growing in maturity because of it. We can lift up our arms in worship and follow Christ today. We can wear the pure identity He gives us as heirs, sons and ministers of reconciliation. We can wait on God and be moved by His Spirit into situations and glorify God as we pick up our cross.

As I was meditating on this passage I remembered Watchman Nee's commentary on Ephesians 'Sit, Walk, Stand'. Being clothed is sitting in our 'position'.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." - Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," - Ephesians 2:4-6 ESV

Yes. Then we walk and stand in Christ because we now follow Him and wear an identity derived from what He says about us.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." - Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints," - Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV

Being young isn't sinful per se. We all start out young but then hopefully we grow up. Jesus is who transforms us into maturity. We look to Him and follow Him and He becomes our life in very practical ways.

--

The Oasis Of Grace

This is a core truth. This truth is an oasis for the self-image...

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain..." - 1 Corinthians 15:10a ESV

Whatever you 'are' since the moment you first believed can only be understood in God's grace. Every other lens is deceitful.

I have met some awesome people. I'm thinking of a few of them this morning. These people are radically different from one another in so many ways. They look different. They have different personalities and tendencies. Some are so talented and creative. It shocks me. Some are steadfast and patient. Others are quiet and I feel I barely know them because who they truly are is only partially on display while other wear their hearts right out there where everyone can see.

I sit here comfortable in my own skin because I am what I am by grace and I know that is true for each person I love and admire.

I often have wished I had other talents and abilities. I have wanted to be something or someone else. But God's grace is an oasis from all of that. In that place called grace, YOU are loved and grace given is never in vain.

We can seek to understand, praise and affirm people and that is needed but giving and explaining grace by living in it has no substitute.

I pray for the ones in my circle that are so different from me and each other. I pray that God would make me a minister of reconciliation. A priest. A friend. A fellow traveler. A broken man made whole on display.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace..." - Hebrews 13:8-9a NLT

Yes. Yes, It does.

--

Identity And Provision

Do you ever just not feel like doing something? Then you start rehearsing excuses in your mind.

I'll just say, 'I'm sorry I didn't have time to do that.'

We have all had the urge. Of course, we have. What stops you and gets you going again? What snaps you out of it?

When I became a believer that dynamic changed for me. It was consequences and obligation. Now, It is about identity and provision.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:12-13 ESV

Now, When that urge to be lazy comes I can say, 'No, I am not a lazy person. I have liberty in what I do or don't do but I am not lazy.'

Temptation can't stick to that in the way it does to other things.

We are not what we feel. We are not even what we do. We are who God says we are.

Good. Huh.

Those confessions interrupt the sin and shame cycle. Excuses are not needed. We have liberty and we choose to live in a royal identity. There is quickening in an identity like that because it is in agreement with God's mind.

--

The Other Woman - Part 4

Some men will shower women with affection but in and of itself that behavior isn't spiritual. The fall has made men into people who 'satisfy' and 'deprive'.

"I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 ESV

Satisfying others, including a spouse or lover, is just an advanced form of self-satisfaction.

Mankind is made to glorify God. Men and woman do this in overlapping ways.

A woman needs the subjective experience of being, 'holy in body and spirit' in order to feel complete. A man can never do that for her. He can contribute to an environment where that can happen. He can be a covering and a catalyst but he can't satisfy her in that deepest need of her soul.

"Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." - Genesis 2:18 ESV

Likewise, one woman can help one man to be the man he was meant to be.

"Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct." - 1 Peter 3:1-2 ESV

This subjection is not subservience. It is a present and loving participation in the union. The fall has created in women a need for continuous validation. A believing woman knows she is holy because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. She Is seated together with Christ in Heavenly places no matter what her circumstances may suggest. Other people can reinforce that and provide a hedge for that to be learned and experienced.

A Godly husband points his wife to the holiness she has in Christ and a Godly wife says, in word and deed, that she is with her husband as he pursues his sometimes elusive calling.

"And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him - a threefold cord is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:12 ESV

The 'other woman' is attracted to the stability of a man who seems to be pleasing someone else. She doesn't know that by defiling herself she only moves farther away from true satisfaction. Holiness is the only thing that can give her true 'wholeness.'

The man sees another way to satisfy himself by satisfying or depriving another human being but he also destroys his own soul in the process because it is a soul attachment that creates a present and future distraction (because of guilt) from realizing and experiencing his identity in God's calling.

Marriage, the only sanctioned sexual relationship, is a good place to glorify God but it is not the only place. If God gives us this, the closest of unions, so be it. It will never provide the ultimate satisfaction. God Himself Is that wholeness. Jesus came to give that to us and it is ours if we have Him and dwell in the covering thinking with Him provides.

--

Regard No One According To The Flesh

How do we look at people? In what light do we see their potential? How we see them will influence how we treat them.

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 ESV

We are not to use the body as our emphasis. The soul is the focus. The spirit is the identity. The content of each soul is unique. We are not bodies with souls. We are souls with bodies.

Lust has a fleshly dimension. This change of focus hinders that avenue of expression.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life -- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." - 1 John 2:15-17 ESV

Sensuality, materialism, and egotism are the whole ball of wax. How far does just this small principle go to weaken the whole structure what would take us down?

What does a soul have? What does it need? If we have a living spirit it has been made alive by the Holy Spirit. What is that like? What nourishes the connections of body, soul and spirit?

Will 'getting more' help our soul or is it only for our flesh?

Will attaining recognition add to our soul or is it an egotistic high that eventually sends us spiralling to the ground?

Souls need love. Souls need light. Souls need care. Souls need to be filled with good things. Souls need memories. Souls need to know their creator. Souls need healing. Souls need companionship.

This is on my mind lately. I can't know the people I know well after the flesh. It will hurt the relationship. I can't know new people that way either or things will start in an off-kilter way that will need to be fixed later.

God Help us. You are our way of escape. We need your eyes to see people. We need light about what You have done to get the light to see this way. Illuminate our perception. Change our minds. Turn us and we will be turned to see what You see by faith. Thank You God. Give us the gift of repentance in this area. We may need to humble ourselves before the people we have known after the flesh. It might take a conversation or more than one to get this to stick. Give us humility. Direct our steps. Thank You, God.

Praise You Lord Jesus. You walked in perfection as a man and yet we don't know You that way anymore. You are the God-man who sits on a throne in Heaven. You fully identified with us so that we could fully identify with You beyond our bodies. Lift us in our thinking. We know You will. Thank You.

--

Clear Air

Today I'm thinking about 'air'. I'm not talking about physical air. I'm talking about spiritual air that needs to be cleared.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--" - Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

It is amazing how a short conversation can clear the air and it is equally amazing how air can form in the absence of communication.

A short kind word can clear the air.

Who is a 'Son of Disobedience'? Sonship is a reference to association or identity. In this passage it is talking about a kinship to the original disobedient One by affiliation. But, We can all have a capacity to associate with rebellion and if we do we will be vulnerable to have 'air' separate us... division... space... disconnection.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you... addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 4:32; 5:19-21 ESV

I want clear air with people. If we receive grace we also are letting go of a 'disobedience identity' that identifies with being an outsider. Someone who knows grace is an insider not an outsider. Even if all the world around them rejects them. God doesn't and what God thinks is divine reality. There is no bad air on the inside. Heaven has no bad air.

God, Give us words that clear the air today. We want people to feel welcome around us. We want people to sense You are present and that they are invited and accepted. Thank You God.

--

Submit To Regulations - Colossians - Part 50

The unique word is chapter 2 verse 20 is translated 'submit to regulations'...

"If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." - Colossians 2:20 - 3:4 ESV

Wow.

What a challenge this is for us. The rules seem like our best recourse to keep the unruly in line but this passage suggests something else.

We have a hidden life with God and when Christ is revealed that life is revealed also.

We imagine that we have our own story straight but I think we will be surprised. God's account is from the 'hidden in Christ' perspective. It won't be about how much or little we regulated ourselves.

--

Possibilities

This morning I am thinking of the desires people have and the scripture is speaking to me. I know it is a long passage of scripture but please look at it with me and let it speak to you.

There are three people involved with different needs and desires. The rich young ruler, Peter and Jesus.

"When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, 'How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.' Those who heard it said, 'Then who can be saved?' But he said, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'

And Peter said, 'See, we have left our homes and followed you.' And he said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.'

And taking the twelve, he said to them, 'See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.' But they understood none of these things.

This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said." - Luke 18:22-34 ESV

Do we grasp what Jesus is saying? We look in hindsight and see the cross but Jesus is speaking about more than that historical event isn't He?

Rich young rulers have a wide range of possibilities open to them. Perhaps of all the groups in humanity they seem to have the best options but human satisfaction in a tricky thing.

I identify strongly with Peter here. Perhaps I was a rich young ruler for a few minutes a long time ago but now I am much more like Peter. I have gone in the faith direction. Peter sees in part and understands in part. He sees benefits but he also sees that he does not have anymore to give. He has given all... up until this point.

Then there is Jesus. Wow. Jesus. He is looking to the cross. Nobody understands his direction. They all want something. But Jesus has something. He has a life to give. He sees his mission as a scriptural mission.

{I go back and read the scripture a few more times.}

The rich young ruler says, 'What should I do?, and Peter says, 'Look at what we have done.' but Jesus is the only one moving with hope into the future knowing death awaits Him but that life will triumph over death.

"Those who heard it said, 'Then who can be saved?' But he said, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.' " - Luke 18:26-27 ESV

The world exalts rich young rulers.

Looking at Jesus this morning I am saved from myself. Man couldn't do that for me.

Grace.

Not what was. Not even what is. I have hope for what will be starting right now. I shake off the dust of my expectations, regrets and personal evaluations and venture down the road to an empty cross. Jesus died there but now He sits at the right hand of the Father.

Where He goes I follow. His satisfaction can be my satisfaction.

Jesus felt sorry for the rich young ruler.

We have choices today. We can live wanting or regretting or we can shake those things off and follow Jesus into the future with hope.

--