Recharge

I recently read an article by a Psychiatrist about the benefits of recharging by accepting compassion from others. And while this secular author makes clear his not necessarily believing as we believe — he touches on describing the power of prayer and how he understands “why it works”. He first poses the question, “If you could encounter the most compassionate person in the world, what qualities would they have?“ And even though I do not walk the road of agreement in his explaining “Sometimes it helps to dialogue literally with these images, understanding that they are imaginary . Maybe you will recognize that this is what happens in religions, such as with prayer. And indeed, many people draw comfort and strength from these imaginary conversationswith gods. In CFT approach though, we are not giving these practices any spirtual meaning , but simply offering them as ways to stimulate our minds.“ I can’t help but appreciate that even a secular psychiatrist can recognize this need to recharge — even if my faith has led me to what I know is a genuine source of fresh waters and not just mental gymnastics of “stimulating my own mind”. Read his full article here: https://wp.me/paWTW2-2xC

We wait [expectantly] for the Lord ; He is our help and our shield. For in Him our heart rejoices, Because we trust [lean on, rely on, and are confident] in His holy name. Let Your [steadfast] lovingkindness, O Lord , be upon us, In proportion as we have hoped in You.
Psalms 33:20‭-‬22 AMP

Our morning family devotional was about recharging, about resting in the LORD. And we talked about what kinds of things make us aware of our own need to recharge. And my daughter very quickly and very easily pointed out two things that were examples where Mandee and I had recently been frustrated and “needed to recharge”. Instead of our reaction sending us into a self-preservation mode of defending our own actions — we both accepted it as true, confessed it, committed to repentance in those areas, and accepted forgiveness. In our weaknesses being brought into the light by our daughter during devotion, we were able to demonstrate resting in the LORD in order to recharge.

Our best way to teach resting in the LORD isn’t to just talk about it, preach it, journal it or publish it — it is to LIVE IT! And especially with those who live closest to us and know us best, they can see our many faults — even better than we might recognize in ourselves. Imagine the hypocrisy in reading and teaching such a lesson to my daughter about frustration and anxiety, etc and our need to recharge — if my perspective was “I’ve got this nailed, daughter, let me tell you what you should do” — while fresh in her mind was my frustration last night with AT&T DirecTV support not helping us (and seemingly just trying their best every step of the way to get us to buy more and pay more).

Yes, there are many things that I get wrong daily — there are many thoughts, words, actions and inactions that I can see afterwards missed the mark of the perfect way to handle the situation. But the point isn’t to ignore them and keep repeating the pattern. And the point isn’t to dwell on them to the point of anxiousness about my imperfection in a striving to be perfect. Neither of those roads are healthy or profitable for us. These circumstances, like a blinking low fuel light, can be a reminder that we need to rest in the LORD.

And we discussed how resting in the LORD isn’t just sleeping, or being idle,or going through the motions of a prayer/devotion/praise, but it is a genuine slowing down to hand over such things to the LORD in a transaction of our humbly bold confession for God’s all sufficient mercy and grace. And when we are making these transactions more regularly, and not driving our batteries to complete exhaustion — when we are maintaining that grateful attitude of peace in the storm because we know we are resting in the LORD and that He is walking with us — we operate properly and aren’t so easily frustrated or anxious or offended.

Frustration, anxiety, and offense are the product of our own expectations demanding something that isn’t so in the moment. If we are frustrated, it is because we think that it should have been X even though it was Y. If we are anxious, it is because we want it to be X but know that it could be Y. If we are offended, it is because we expect someone to be like X when they are like Y. If X is our will and Y is reality, how foolish and self-centered is it for us to demand that Y bow to X, that the universe bow to my demands, that the will of others submit to my will, that God do it my way?

So yes, resting in God isn’t giving Him a list of “do it my way” words wrapped in a rub of religious words and traditions — it is dying to self, confessing our weaknesses, and trusting and relying upon Him.

Opening the Windows of Heaven

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].
James 1:17 AMP

It would be good for us to read the whole chapter of Isaiah 64 this morning, beloved — to contrast our own indebtedness to our cry for His mercy. But verses 1 and 5 are especially encouraging for me to include here this morning:

Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence— You meet him who rejoices in doing that which is morally right, Who remembers You in Your ways. Indeed, You were angry, for we sinned; We have long continued in our sins [prolonging Your anger]. And shall we be saved [under such circumstances]?
Isaiah 64:1‭, ‬5 AMP

And it would be good for us to read the whole chapter of Malachi 3 this morning as well, beloved. But again, I have included a small section of encouragement:

“Yet from the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings [you have withheld]. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this whole nation! Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it. Then I will rebuke the devourer (insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest],” says the Lord of hosts. “All nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight,” says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:7‭-‬12 AMP

In James, we see the every good and perfect gift comes down from God in Heaven. In Isaiah, we see that God does indeed open up Heaven to come down to meet with those who do right and who remember Him in their ways. And in Malachi, we see that even in our turning away from Him, we can return, we can repent, we can bring it all to Him as we should, and He will open the windows of Heaven.

Now I must say, that “opening the windows of Heaven” is not some formula we should try to leverage in order to borrow against our blessings in heaven to gain health, wealth, and prosperity now. Isn’t it clear how foolish it is to be a slave to the lender within the financial realm, and don’t we see warnings in scripture about such things?

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7 AMP

And how foolish would it be for us to trade our nice home built on a firm foundation that appreciates in value, and trade it for an expensive, flashy car that over time breaks down, rots and rusts.

“Do not store up for yourselves [material] treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].
Matthew 6:19‭-‬24 AMP

Only a con artist and a thief, sent to steal kill and destroy, would try to convince a man to do such foolish things as trade whate is perfect and imperishable for what rots and rusts.

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
John 10:10 AMP

What do good and perfect gifts look like? The world might answer, “Money, Physical Health, Powerful Influence, Talented Abilities, Beauty”. My 9 year old daughter with a birthday looking might say “a puppy”. I might open up the Amazon Shopping app on my phone and say “a radio tower” so that we can get reliable Internet service here on our farm in the rolling foothills of the mountains. But God tells us what the good fruit is:

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:22‭-‬26 AMP

So, have we crucified our sinful nature along with its passions and appetites, like described in Galatians 5, beloved?

Are we eager for heavenly treasures that might look like unselfish concern for others, and an inner peace to wait patiently upon the Lord even in times of great challenge, like described in Galatians 5, beloved?

Or do we need to hear the call to return, like described in Malachi 3, beloved?

Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31‭-‬34 AMP

Thank you, Lord, for tending tho our every need. Thank you for not letting us become so rich and fat that we forget generosity, thankfulness, and self- control. Thank you for not letting us become so poverty stricken that we forget your promises to provide for our every need. Thank you for not letting our appetites and our desires rule over us and steal from us the abundance you have in store for us. Thank you for making a way where there was no way. Thank you for opening up heaven ands meeting with us, and avoiding in us and through us to reveal yourself to a fallen world, and to spend time with us, your beloved. Amen.

Due Date

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 60:3 ESV

My pastor preached yesterday about the effectiveness of the fervent, laboring prayer of a righteous man. And he shared the example of Elijah pushing hard with his head between his knees for the rains to come — and that they came in due time. Just like a woman giving birth to a baby at her due date, Elijah’s prayer gave birth to the rain at it’s due date. In both cases, the due date was set by the seed implanted by the Father, but the fulfillment of the delivery came through their participation through the labor pains.

And when I saw today’s verse from Isaiah chapter 60, a chapter about “The future glory of Israel” — it reminds me of how Christ was delivered to the world in the same manner, as a seed of the Holy Spirit delivered through the vessel of Mary, and through her labor pains He came into this world.

Finally, isn’t this also the way that the Kingdom of God is brought into this world — by the seed of the Holy Spirit received by His beloved. And mustn’t we expect (as fervent, zealous, passionate lovers of the Lord) to go through laborious trials and challenges and suffering and persecution — so that the fruit of the Holy Spirit can be revealed through us? Doesn’t it take someone wronging us — for us to have the opportunity to bear the sweet fruit of Love in the undeserved grace type of way that reveals Christ in us? Doesn’t it take dry deserts of lasting weariness — for us to have the opportunity to bear the sweet fruit of patience that comes through faithful endurance that reveals Christ in us? Doesn’t it take storms and winds raging around us, and enemies around every side selling to destroy us — for us to bear the fruit of that peace that passes all understanding as we trust that even though it looks like we are surrounded, that our Lord is victorious and is mighty to save?

Today, I am encouraged that Isaiah 60:3 doesn’t just speak of the due date of baby Jesus “Emmanuel — God With Us”, a reminder of Christ near us, with a star in the sky and wise men bringing gifts. I am encouraged that it also speaks of this Good News and of “Christ in Us” — a seed planted in His beloved meant to go forth, multiply and bear much fruit.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

Yes, we are carrying this light to the nations, beloved.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 ESV

As He walked, we shall walk. As He talked, we shall talk. As He lived, we shall live. As He thought, we shall think. As He prayed, we shall pray. We bear the seed He has placed within us, our lives are a living testimony to the wonderful things He has promised and is fulfilling. Amen!

Sincerely Seeking

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NLT

I remember the task of picking up sticks and rocks from our back yard at one of the houses that I grew up in. I guess that the idea was that by regularly picking up the sticks and pulling rocks out of the soil, that eventually we might end up turning the bare ground under the trees into something more hospitable for grass to grow. And there was a big difference between going out there and making a half effort (just picking up the larger fallen limbs and loose rocks) versus sincerely seeking out the rocks that needed to be pulled from the soil and getting up all the small twigs. This verse about faith, about pleasing God, and about reward reminds me of the important difference between seeking and sincerely seeking.

There have been Sunday morning church gatherings where I showed up,  I smiled,  I sang,  I even thought and considered the “good advice” and “motivational message”, and I even enjoyed the experience — but because I let it be about me, it was only surface level,  it was only going through the motions, it was “what we do on Sundays”. And this can be true for Sunday church services,  daily devotionals, blessing our food, pretty much anything that just becomes empty tradition, religious practice, and habit. Amos chapters 5 and 6 should be a sobering reminder to us who have fallen into that trap. We should all be encouraged to read convicting passages such as those two chapters often enough for their weight to shake the ground of our complacency and remind us of our need to sincerely seek the Lord.

The question, beloved, is not whether we are seeking Him — because you are reading what could be considered a “religious text” right now. And if neither the author nor the reader of this are sincerely seeking God, then it is just religious activity with no real faith — and it is impossible for such things to please God. If that were the case,  we should stop immediately and do no more harm with our hypocrisy. But I do have faith that He is at work, and I am confessing and repenting from those times I have not been sincere. And regardless of my own weaknesses and shortcomings and repeated failures, I am seeking Him sincerely because I cannot do this alone — He is my strength. Even if it feels slow and repetitive, even if I become distracted and find that I have slipped into surface level auto-pilot for a while — He turns even that into a reminder that I need to draw close again, sincerely. And I pray the same for you, beloved.

We are His beloved. He is our reward. People seek the reward that they truly want most. Will He be our truest desire today? Do we truly believe He is our greatest reward?

One of the greatest things that I can do for my wife is to desire her above all other women. One of the worst things that I can do is to desire someone else above her. My actions,  my words,  my thoughts with respect to my wife will be a reflection of what I believe about her in my heart.

And the same is true of God. Our faith, our belief about who He is — as either a burdensome religious obligation to be met — or as a treasured companion to seek sincerely and walk with daily — this is our opportunity to please God. And what a reward it is!

Is my heart on fire with a sincere desire for the Lord?

Lord, I have been guilty. I have forgotten at times my greatest reward. I have forgotten at times my first love. But I have seen that your love for me is what keeps me seeking you sincerely, and that seeking you sincerely is a wonderful reward in and of itself. Thank you for revealing yourself to me in this way. Thank you for your many mercies, and your undeserved grace and favor towards me. Thank you for reminding me that I am your beloved, and that you are mine. I’m eager to spend another day together, and eternity too. Amen.

The Same Reasoning

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:15 ESV

Someone might read this one verse out of context (as I expect that I have in the past) as a checklist of “Have I confessed that Jesus is the Son of God?” and try to use that as a singular proof or guarantee of someone’s “Christianity”.

Doesn’t it matter whether someone understands this as:

• If someone speaks aloud the right words “Jesus is the Son of God” one time, they can count on that for salvation.
• If someone speaks it aloud one time in a heartfelt plea “Jesus is the Son of God”, they can count on that for salvation.
• If someone for one moment in time mentally believes the logic and speaks “Jesus is the Son of God” aloud, they can count on that for salvation.
• If someone agrees with the logic and professes and teaches and lives sharing the message “Jesus is the Son of God” publicly for a period of time, they can count on that for salvation.
• If someone agrees with the logic and professes and teaches and lives out the evidence that “Jesus is the Son of God” both publicly in their words and actions, and privately in their innermost beliefs and thoughts, this is the clear evidence of God at work in them.

So let’s look into what it is actually saying in the word translated here in the ESV as “confess”, in KJV as “shall confess”, and in NLT as “declare”.

I’m going to ask you to bear with me through a quick dive into the Greek for this particular word, because I found it helpful to me in better understanding this verse in context and in meaning. This shows the original Greek along with an English KJV translation, and I’ve highlighted the key weird that we are taking about.

When we look into ὁμολογήσῃ, as English speaking folks, it helps to use our own alphabet transliteration of homologeo so that it isn’t quite as foreign to us as it is with the original Greek alphabet.

We can see that the word ὁμολογήσῃ is a combination of two Greek root words — ὁμοῦ and λόγος. Again, to make it easier for us in English, the word homologeo is a combination of homou and logos.

Regardless of whether we write this word in Greek or transliterate it to English, the math is the same ὁμολογήσῃ = ὁμοῦ + λόγος and homologeo = homou + logos

The first root word ὁμοῦ/homou is pretty straightforward. It means “the same“, or “together” or “agreed“. So we don’t have to dig very far to understand that concept. But the word λόγος/logos runs a bit deeper, so let’s dig in a bit with it. You’ll find this word in your Strong’s Concordance as G3056, used 330 times in the New Testament, and used to describe:

• Spoken words/utterances
• Continuous discourse, doctrine, or teaching
• Reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating
• The essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world’s life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man’s salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds.

So, when considering homologeo = homou + logos, we can see that it matters a bit whether homologeo means:

• Same spoken words once
• Same public teaching/discourse (ongoing)
• Same mental reasoning once
• Same spirit of Christ consistently producing evidence in actions, thoughts and speech (ongoing)

Clearly the message isn’t “don’t confess”, or “don’t profess”, or “don’t preach”, or “don’t believe”, or “don’t use reason” — but it does matter the source of that speech and reasoning.

The study of Biology uses a term Homologous which is from the same two root words — and it means “having similar or corresponding features” and “structures with similar anatomical features but not necessarily with the same function”.

We can see homologous bone structure in different animals:

And whether you view homologous structures as evidence of intelligent design or of evolution is not the reason that I brought this up. It is to show how it seems that translating or understanding homologeo as “speak the words” in this passage falls pretty short of the mark.

This verse isn’t for me an “if you check this box of X, you are guaranteed Y” promise so that someone who has no speech that agrees with God’s speech, who has no reasoning that abides with God’s reasoning, who has no fruit that is the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit might say assuredly “But I’m saved because once upon a time, I said those words, or calculated in my mind it was true, or believed and preached it for a while — even though I don’t anymore. “

I do not share such things to shipwreck your faith — unless it needs to be dashed upon the rocks while there is still time for it to be rebuilt strong and firm, truly upon the foundation of Christ alone.

This section in 1 John 4 is about Loving One Another, and how better to love each other than to declare to you that it is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is resurrected, and that we who believe truly are the bearers of His Holy Spirit — traveling through this world as His ambassadors to proclaim such amazing things through the love we share for each other.

God bless you, friend. Believe, confess, and proclaim this Good News today — not as a checklist/requirement to “get there” but purely as a public testimony to what He has done and is doing in us. Amen.

Quiet and Expectant

And after the earthquake there was a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire

there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19:12 NLT

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
    Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Psalms 5:3

These two verses were brought to my consideration by a Jesus Calling devotion:

“WAIT QUIETLY IN MY PRESENCE while my thoughts form silently in the depths of your being. Do not try to rush this process, because hurry keeps your heart earthbound…”

Jesus Calling, Sept 21 Devotion by Sarah Young

The two things that jump out to me from each verse are “gentle whisper“:

there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19:12d

and “wait expectantly“:

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Psalms 5:3b

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In the 1 Kings verse, we see that the LORD wasn’t in the fire, but he revealed Himself by a “gentle whisper”. The King James version calls it “a still small voice” and the Hebrew includes words for “whisper, calm”, “thin, small, fine”, and “voice”. I wonder how easy it would have been to miss that quiet whisper because of the show of the fire? I wonder how many times we might miss what God is telling us quietly and gently because we’re expecting (and hopefully not demanding as well) something big, visible, and show stopping? And imagine the sweetness of an all powerful God — whose angels repeatedly have to tell people “Don’t be afraid” when they are encountered — who quiets Himself to speak to His beloved children. He doesn’t boom like a heavy handed father and send us scouring for cover. No, He speaks to us quietly and gently like a Good Father. And it seems to me that in those times where we are ignoring his quiet whisper that would guide us best, He is willing to let us learn the hard way that it would have been better to consult with Him and listen to Him first.

This, for me, emphasizes the importance of my being still, being quiet, and listening intently to the LORD. As my day can become busy with the demands of family, friends, life, career, ministry — I must not let what is “good” keep me from what is truly BEST. Even though I try to be mindful of the LORD, considering Biblical advice as I go through my day, having short and impromptu discussions with the LORD as I encounter things throughout my day, remembering and considering scripture and passages in their beauty — there is something different about intentional, dedicated, undistracted time seeking God in prayer. Not just a bunch of talking to Him (or “at Him” might be more accurate to describe some of my surface level prayers at times) — but I find that a deeper, listening for Him is so important for renewal and strength.

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In the Psalms verse, it points out a part in “waiting expectantly” that is many times overlooked in the rush of sitting down to hot plates at the table and bringing our prayerful requests for “Lord bless this food” even as our mouths are watering for the blessing already provided by the LORD. And even in many of our prayers, can’t the be like some distant, self-absorbed child that is calling back home because of the trouble they have gotten themselves into “Hey dad, I really need some money for rent. Please send it quick. *click*” with us speaking our demands and hanging up the phone rudely without even pretending to genuinely care about the person on the other end of the line.

And I’m not saying that we should “pretend” at loving God either. He knows how we really feel towards Him even more than we do ourselves. We should realize how blessed we truly are that Almighty God loves us and is there for us — not just to provide for our health, wealth, and prosperity like a genie in a bottle — but to be in it with us. How satisfied would I be with my daughter if she asked for a puppy months before her birthday and never spoke to me again until that day came? Even if I gave her the puppy and she said she loved me on that one day while the gift of the puppy was new — wouldn’t I know that soon enough I would be tossed aside until she needed something else? I’m so grateful that my daughter isn’t really like that. She shows me each day how she loves me with hugs, smiles, laughs, time together, conversation, etc. And doesn’t my heavenly Father deserve a better recognition and genuine interaction from me than I do from my daughter?

It is quite convicting to me that the KJV and the Hebrew for the Psalms verse describes this as to “look up”, to “keep watch closely”, and to “observe” — all of which are active descriptions, not passive:

So actively and quietly, we should keep watch, and we should listen.

How have I fallen short in this in days gone by?

What truth can I learn from that about my heart towards God?

Am I remembering how much He has done for me?

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LORD, I don’t want this to be a call for us to be more rigid about scheduling time to “have to” spend with you in order to feel better about “giving you what you deserve”. That is not the heart from which true worship springs forth like a fresh fountain of living waters — nor will it produce genuine evidence of that abiding Holy Spirit fire stirred up by the quiet whisper of your counsel. Build upon this foundation of Christ alone, our cornerstone, and may it be your master craftmanship guiding every step of the way. Do not let us suffer shame by building quickly and demanding like Martha that others should be helping with the heavy weight. No, have us childlike in our faith like Mary, sitting at your feet, listening expectantly, grateful for time with our Heavenly Daddy. Amen.

Don’t Take the Bait

Offense is some the best bait the enemy has in its tackle box.

Even sound, kind, good intentioned words can be twisted by an offended mind into something different than intended.

So when speaking: We should aim to never be intentionally offensive with our words — and never compromise the truth out of fear that it might offend.

And when listening: We should aim to not read or hear with an offended mind — but take every opportunity to listen, consider, respect, love, and freely forgive others even when we believe they are wrong — and pray for them and for our own forgiving hearts even the more fervently if we believe they have been hurtful towards us.

Because their saying/writing something hurtful once in a heated moment is not nearly as dangerous as us replaying it against them repeatedly in our hearts and minds.

I realize that a lot of what we as Christians share is convicting and easily leads to offense for those who do not believe and are still enemies of God. And even us sharing with each other because of season and circumstances can have us sharpening each other and disagreeing at times.

Friend, I still love and respect you whether we agree or disagree at any given moment or discussion. Please don’t ever think that my friendship or love is contingent upon you living up to any expectations on my part.

Dealing with sensitive discussions about sin and repentance is hard in a world that seeks to justify anything and everything that a person feels, desires or believes as “their own truth”.

And politically speaking in this election year, neither liberal/Democrat nor conservative/Republican match perfectly what I believe is the Christian Kingdom way of living that is just+loving and fiscally responsible + generous. Walking the narrow path rather than choosing a clan/party leaves a lot of room for others on both sides to hate you — just because you aren’t “along with them for the ride”. The religious people killed Jesus, not the lawless — so we can expect very challenging issues from the religious side of others — and even from that nature within ourselves — making war against whatever in us is bringing the good fruit into the world.

I’m too often very direct and not very personable in my writing. I too often state facts meant in love, but that I haven’t taken the times to knock off the sharp edges with a gentle delivery. I can at times use the poor excuse that I’m trusting the Word will not fall void — but in actuality, sometimes it is my laziness and apathy that has me sowing seed without first tending to the ground. It would be better building a trusting relationship that can accept my fingers poking seeds into the ground, pulling up weeds, or even hard plowing. And too many times I’ve been quick to use the plow in my hand because it was there, not necessarily because it was the right tool for the season.

I’m sorry for the times that in my ignorance and zeal I may have torn through a beautiful flower garden someone else was already working on.

However, it is beautiful how the Lord uses all of it, even turns all of it to His good and His glory when we each can humble ourselves to admit our weaknesses and acknowledge Him. He has used these things to teach me things I’ve done that missed the mark, and even in the foolish of my preaching, to teach others things that they did that missed the mark too. But whether we are missing the mark or not should not have us questioning His ability to save, or the blessed assurance of our own salvation — even when it does produce in us a renewed fear of God and call to repentance.

In our natural, we link fear and conviction to “negative feelings” — but by His spirit, these are the very vehicle He uses to humble us to the only true “positive truth” that there is only one true way and that is to die to self, give up everything that we have been clinging to or desiring or demanding, and sit at His feet like sweet, childlike Mary, not like busy, judging, active, offended Martha.

And even though it is a repeated process, like sheep prone to go astray at the next distraction, we need each other bringing us to remembrance of that process or we won’t do it. In most cases, I see Him using two people with slightly different “missing the mark” issues in their heart at the time — not to show the one that the other was right — but to show both how He can use sheep in opposite ditches to remind them both of their need for the shepherd, even by their cries towards each other, “Hey, watch out, you’re in a ditch!”

It really is a beautiful thing, and I appreciate how the more pastoral (tending personality and up close to the hurt) and evangelical (longing for the lost) gifts — in these times can temper and correct the prophetic (calling for repentance) and preaching (proclaiming the written Word of God) gifts. I’ve seen Him work far beyond our individual “good intentions” at the time, opening my eyes to an awareness of areas He is still working on in us — and assuring me that even sparring with a fellow warrior for Christ is not a death match, but a journey in humility and love and appreciation for Him and for each other. I’m glad to have been sharpened and humbled by so many wonderful Christian friends and been rescued to repentance when I’ve found myself initially offended instead of humbled.

Breaking Through

More good questions from Brian Eshleman:

Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there.

REF: https://brianesh73.livejournal.com/4312971.htmlQUESTION: These people who now find their faith rooted in Christ had to uproot from their usual influences, leave the orbit of the Jewish leaders who are moving toward condemning Jesus, and go TOWARD Him on the other side of the Jordan.How has Christ preceded greater intimacy with and confidence in Him by challenging you to put distance between yourself and what or whom you previously trusted?ANSWER:I have many friends who are preachers, pastor, missionaries, and good and faithful Christian servants. And every single one of them is a fallible man or woman. At certain times, the Lord has brought me closer to certain ones for a season, and He has then brought me closer to others for a season. And this has truly been the pattern of my life — changing from school to school, neighborhood to neighborhood, church to church, job to job, circle of friends to circle of friends. Change is a constant in my life — like a wanderer with no place to put his head for very long before moving on, I have found myself a traveler through this world.

And accusations will arise (whether only in my mind or even in the mouths of my accusers) that I cannot build relationships at anything deeper than surface level, that I do not remain amongst them because I was not of them, that I am a coward that runs away when the battle comes, that I am headstrong and unteachable, that I do not love whatever doesn’t agree with me or challenges me. And while I do not believe these lies against who Christ says that I am, I am not either wise enough or foolish enough to try and defend myself from such accusations that might have mountains of evidence gathered against me to prove the claims. If I am these things, it is my own fault — and if I am not these things, it is only by the grace of God.

I say this about myself to assure you that I am just as fallible as the next man. And at times, the Lord has drawn me close to others — close enough to have a good wrestle and sharpening that might have two warrior brothers wondering afterwards at the powerful struggle — whether the other intended to spar for skillful sharpening or was driven to wound or kill. Good training can look and feel so much like real warfare that we can become fully immersed and forget the true enemy is not flesh ands blood. Like someone suffering from PTSD, common stimuli can even trigger a reaction as if we were in a very real battle for our lives. And at times, wounded sparring partners who we once trusted to wield their sword against us for the equipping of the saints, may lash out at us — or we may do the same to them.

These are the situations that I have encountered most frequently requiring distance for a time between me and others who were once intimate and close.And in every case, it was profitable to put my trust fully in God and not in man — and trust that He has a plan and purpose even for the tides that pull the shells onto the beach (like gathering stones) and that also pull the shells away to scatter them across the ocean (like scattering stones). I’ve found, like the author of Ecclesiastes alludes to, that intellectually trying to put God’s ways into a box of human understanding and cataloguing and prediction is futile.So when distance is necessary, I tend to my wounds best by inspiring that I am praying for my brother or sister — not that God will “fix whatever I think is wrong with them” but to fix everything in my heart or my eyes towards them that isn’t aligned with how He sees them — washed by the Blood of the Lamb, cleansed of all righteousness, walking by the Holy Spirit, with their footsteps established firmly upon the rock of Christ alone or Cornerstone — ridding myself of any bitterness, strife, jealously, envy, unforgiveness, offense, accusations, etc. that I might have towards them. This is not always a one prayer or overnight process.

And even once cleansed of these things (to insure that the distance is God’s will and purpose in our individual callings and not just my own foolish pride creating distance) — there are seasons where the distance truly makes the heart grow fonder (whether that distance be only physical separation or even a withdrawing of the times of trust). We must allow people to go through challenging sessions. We must allow people to fall ands get back up. We must allow for the weaknesses in our brothers and sisters to not have us readying stones to throw at them because there is something we could rightly accuse them of — because Child of the Living God who has ears to hear me, WE ARE NOT THE ACCUSERS! If we find ourself an accuser, we must repent now while there is time.

After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:26, New King James Version

REF: https://brianesh73.blogspot.com/2020/10/jeremiah-3121-22a-losing-landmarks.htmlQUESTION: Previously, Jeremiah has confessed/complained that it is wearying being God’s messenger, but everywhere he goes he seems to stir up contention with a complacent culture. Jeremiah 31:26, then, is a healthy celebration of the other side of that role. Carrying message and ministry for God can also be renewing and invigorating. We should remind ourselves, those around us, and those who follow us of this.Who have you known who did that in a particularly noticeable and memorable way? For whom has telling and living out God’s message to you been a delight rather than a source of drudgery, seems to recharge them rather than deplete them? Have you seen this same person persevere through times when it seemed the opposite was true?ANSWER:It is especially encouraging to the hard laboring, sword wielding warrior — who has either been zealously sparring to equip for battle, or literally charging into the active fray — to realize that stirring up contention may indeed “feel wearying” in the moment, but when carrying message and ministry for God’s glory (and not for self examination or condemnation of others) that renewal and restoration will come after the day’s “workout”. Like a good strength training coach would remind his team, “Nopain, no gain” could be a quite common reality cry for the active Christian life. So my mind is drawn to both the “noticeably joyful” pastors like Sal Barone at First Baptist Spartanburg, and the “persevering and celebrating” saints like the late Reid Bowyer, the late Justin Sage Williams, and more recently Dave Walton and Grace Pierce who I have seen face uncontrollable challenges and still praise the Lord in the middle of their storm.It is hard to single out just one example of a saint who is noticeable or memorable in their handling adversity, because I see Christ all around me in this way. Whether it is my mother, Jean Ballinger, who cares so steadfast and reliably for my grandmother each day and praises the Lord even when the day reveals the limits of her own strength. Or whether it is my father, Jim Ballinger, who loves ands cars for us all and who has weathered the loss of his mother this season while clinging to God and serving God faithfully without missing a step. Or whether it is Christy Pierce and Tom Pierce, seeing their daughter face what seems like such an unfair hand of cards dealt to her and to their family, and trusting that somehow God has a plan and a purpose. Or whether it is so many friends who have lost jobs, family members, friends in this pandemic, and who have drawn closer to God rather than just rail against Him for how it feels in the moment. Or even those who did break under the pressure and blame God and tail at Him, but who had the chance to let the tears and surrender come that drew them back to the only one strong enough to carry them through it all.Honestly, I’m not as amazed at the people as I am amazed and in awe and wonder at an amazing ands wonderful God who fulfills His promises to His people. Instead of just seeing heroes in each of these names, and pointing them out as “good people” — I’m going to tell you that if you look closer, you will see flawed, imperfect people carrying something quite different, quite noticeable, quite wonderful along with them through this journey — the Holy Spirit of the Living God. What seems like a ridiculous claim is actually true — Emmanuel, God is with us! Sleep well, my hard laboring warriors, He is with us, and the victory is already won! Amen.

Footprints

A few great questions from my friend Brian Eshleman this morning:

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” John 10:41-42, New King James Version

QUESTION: There isn’t an exact parallel. Christ is omnipresent. Yet surely there are times when we sense His Presence more, times, even, when He might withdraw that most intimate sense to teach us to persevere, to make an effort to seek and celebrate Him as superior to any other option.

How has He brought you through a similar dark night of the soul? How has He challenged you to push your roots deeper than what you already knew of Him in familiar circumstances?

REF: https://brianesh73.livejournal.com/4312821.html

ANSWER:

I recently lost my job unexpectedly in the midst of the COVID pandemic. While facing the very real possibilities of this impacting my family’s ability to remain on the farm in the house that we had built together and made a home — I found myself having to stand on the promises of God, even while making special efforts to shore up our financial situation and find immediate employment. And I found myself needing to praise Him even more loudly and boldly in order to reassure myself that He had not forsaken me or forgotten me.

24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah 31:24-25, New King James Version

QUESTION: Similarly to the first question, God points here to the satisfaction of the weary soul and the replenishing of the sorrowful soul, something different, deeper than we experience if our experience with Him has been steady.

What means has God used to point out that your satisfaction in Him is more profound because of the difficult seasons He has brought you through, that by His grace, you see the same old Judah, the same old surroundings, as something profound because you are more aware He placed you in them, or in them again, by specific grace?

REF: https://brianesh73.blogspot.com/2020/10/jeremiah-3121-wanton-wanderlust.html

In this special season of having to trust that God has a plan and a purpose in this recent change, He not only brought us to a place where we dispatched our slavery to our debtors (by paying off all lingering debts to improve our monthly cash flow by eliminating those debts) and we committed to a seed of faith to the church (by scheduling payment of what would have been our old tithe amount — but immediately after our obedience in these small matters, He provided new employment offers from 3 different companies that even competed with their counter-offers to hire me. This now provides me a new position with a new team of individuals to encourage and lift up and help them shine — even as I stay in touch with my old teammates from the previous job.

Lord, when I am thankful and grateful for where you have taken me as part of your intentional, blessed, sovereign plan — I can even rejoice in what the enemy meant for harm, because you turned it for good. But even moreso, I can praise you in the dark before I see evidence of this turning of my circumstances — trusting each time that you are faithful and true, proclaiming that thou haven’t failed me yet and that you never will — regardless of the darkness of night, because the morning dawn lies close ahead. You are not just “as close” in those dark times, but it is you who carry us through those times. It is not one set of footsteps in the sand because you have left and forsaken us, but because you carried us through it, even when we were too weak to do it ourselves and it was beyond our own abilities to resolve. May the root of our faith be firmly founded in you, not in our own abilities, and may our attitude, love and service towards those around us humbly reflect this in our every day — so that they see you because we see you — no matter the dark of the storm we see you like a lighthouse shining forth, leading us home. Amen.