Spue You Go What do you mean "Depart from me, I never knew you", God? This story helps remind us how easy it is to mimic Christianity, and what that is bad. < Previous Spue You Go I know… Spue doesn’t even seem like a word, right? I mean, maybe it should be spelled spew , or something. Well, the word spew is pretty close to the context of this writing, but spue is actually the word Jesus used to describe just how aggressively He will reject you! Wait… Jesus rejects people? Wait… Jesus isn’t patient, trusting, kind, compassionate? Wait… what the spue ? No… I didn’t misspell it just to get your attention. See, in Revelation 3:15-16 , He said; “ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth “. It is that word Spue that caught my eye, my ear, and my heart recently… I was thinking about the ‘So then’ part of this verse.. the verse begins with the word SO. I mean, ‘so’? So what? Well, I backed up just one verse and read, “ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ” He uses this two-three verse presentation several times in this chapter, so it is a recurring theme… hint… pay attention! Now as much as I know about the Bible and God’s word, I still had to look up this spue word because I actually thought it was just an Old English version of the spew word… but the word spue is MUCH more aggressive and definitive than that. The dictionary actually described SPUE as; Spue : [spyoo] : to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth; vomit. In the Greek, it is “ emeo ” ( em-eh’-o ), which is used as a verb and also means, “to vomit”. It sure sounds the same as SPEW, but mercy… quite a different picture we have now! I mean, the word spew connotes having put something into your mouth to only spit it right back out (and sometimes quickly)… with that blargh sound, too! This spue word that Jesus uses is something much deeper… much more internal… and much more impacting on your body when it occurs. But, that is how Jesus spoke, that is how He taught, that is how He wordsmiths His phrases to help get our attention. See, to vomit something out of your body is much more than just ejecting something from your mouth. Sure, it goes through your mouth, but the journey began down in the stomach… down in the bowels, the abdomen, and the very core of your body as it were… down in the depths of your very life. Now just imagine being out to dinner, or being at a camping picnic, or even just traveling abroad and ingesting something that is so good tasting… so filling… so comforting actually (like you just ate the best desert ever!). Unbeknownst to you, something bad was in that food that neither your tongue, your sense of smell, nor your taste-buds could detect. See… those senses help protect your life so that you don’t ingest something that can/will make you sick and cause you to die… but, they missed it this time… they didn’t catch the subtle and pending doom… they didn’t suspect a thing. Hence, your sense of fulfillment is well intact, for the time being! Whatever it was, it got past your senses and you’re none the wiser… nor do you care actually because that warm-n-fuzzy feeling was just so completing and so rewarding… all is right with the world, you think. Some 3 or 4 hours later though, you are not feeling so well… things are brewing… festering… they’re fermenting, actually… causing tumult on your entire system and ultimately, those contents need to be ejected from your body. Otherwise, for them to remain there will poison you, will sicken you further, and in many cases kill you! Yes… this involuntary action of vomiting is your body’s way of protecting your very life. Sure, you fight it off, drink some water, lay down, settle yourself… who likes to puke anyway, right!?? The inevitable does finally occur and it IS quite a violent experience. Me?? I hate it! It feels like I will never get a clear airway again and get another breath of air. Literally, it is a gut-wrenching experience (I just had to… couldn’t help myself!). Now… back to Jesus using this as a reference and picture to describe rejecting ‘lukewarm’ people. Why would he introduce this “you could be ejected” idea in Revelation? I mean, there’s always been this standing “once saved, always saved” argument, or the “my name is written permanently in the Book of Life”, or even the core ‘security of the believer’ promises we lean on…. Jesus even told us, “I’ll never leave you, nor forsake you” ( Deuteronomy 31:6 ). This event isn’t God changing His mind, it is not a ‘gotcha’ thing where you neglected to read the fine print in some buried scripture deep in the ‘boredom’ of the Book of Chronicles, or something like that. This is actually God rejecting something from His body that will cause it harm. It was included into the body under ‘good faith’, but has since turned bad… turned destructive… turned poisonous actually. Leaving it there will cause the body to be sick, and may even cause it to die. He’s protecting His body, just like ours does involuntarily. Now, sure… this seems contrary to His grace… to His love… to His acceptance of us. I mean, WHY “let us in” if we have impurities, if we have a ‘virus’, or an ‘infection’? Seems like God is more perfect and much more thorough than that, right? But, back up and look at the context of this entire chapter in Revelation Chapter 3. He’s going through several churches and pointing out that He ‘would’ that we were Hot OR Cold, but since they were lukewarm… spue goes you ! YOU actually caused this tumult in His body… your indifference… your middle-of-the-road commitment… your “I’m just trying to keep the peace” way of compromise is despicable, even to God! Approaching His will in your life with an ‘ Uhhh… does it matter, really? ” posture is horrible. It is that “eh, no big deal” attitude that just sickens the Lord… Have a position! Have a perspective! Have a conviction! So fundamentally, there are three types of people in God’s world and in His body (by reference in this passage): Hot, Cold, and Lukewarm. It is the Lukewarm ones who cause such a vicious and body-impacting event to occur…. sure, mainly the stomach and abdomen, but the rest of His body is doubled-over in turmoil… tossed into utter chaos, and involuntary convulsions… torn of almost all it’s contents to clear itself of this ‘bile’… this poison… this life threatening substance. All to protect His body, His very existence, His very peace and calm. What determines the boundaries for Hot or Cold? And since there is a Lukewarm area, just how wide is it? Is it like a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of a battle area, just how wide is it? I mean, back before Jesus gave us Salvation and His forgiving grace, there was only the Law (10 Commandments and more). The rules were documented and the consequences were much clearer (side note: not ONE person could follow all of them). This new ‘grace’ thing Jesus introduced back with the Disciple leaves life a little more ambiguous and open to interpretation! Now, we seem to have this Hot or Cold category, and apparently the Lukewarm one is frowned upon, at all! Lukewarm can be characterized as; half-hearted, limp, ready to compromise, indifferent, listless, and ready to keep the peace, to name a few. Now, you may not see yourself in any of these descriptions… but still ARE a lukewarm spirit in the Lord! How? Because you are defending you! The Bible says, ‘… now we look through a glass darkly, but then face to face “. Too often, it is so deeply ingrained into our lives, we think and FEEL it is right, but it is wrong. I once Tweeted this, in response to that; When you’ve been doing the wrong thing for so long it feels right, so much so that trying to do the right thing feels wrong; that is wrong. G.W. Bill Elliott Jr (@vocalbillity) December 27, 2017 Now, this is not a story about what you eat… it’s not an encouragement to watch your diet, to get all fanatic about organics, about ‘cage-free’, about locally grown products… see, the Bible reminds us in 1 Cor 10:23 , “ All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. ” You can eat what you want. You can live like you want. You can be like you want. Not everything you want is right (expedient), nor edify others around you (encourage them toward God). Rather… this is a story about being in God’s body and keeping your life as pure, as holy, and as righteous as you can so-as to remain Hot… to remain fervent… to remain “on fire” with the Lord’s Holy Spirit in your life. No… you can NOT do it on your own. Man’s solutions to Man’s problems will always fall short. How, then? It would be great to have a manual, to have a trouble-shooting list, to have a formula, to have an On-Call place we can contact to ensure we remain on track, maybe even to logon to God’s “App Store” and install an Update or Hot-Fix, or even a Patch. Wait… there are ALL of those! The Holy Spirit is available to use for these very reasons. Jesus left us the comforter for this very reason. We don’t have to do this on our own, or seek out some group-therapy process to get us closer to God… mercy, no! Being Lukewarm is not something we strive to do, it is a result of what we’re too tired to do… a result of what we’re too weak to do… a result of what we’re too confused to do… a result of what our commitment to the Lord really means… not much! Spue You Go . His Spirit was left here to help us, to meet with us, to guide us. The Holy Spirit is God’s way being being “closer than a brother”, and “coming alongside”, and even better, being that “small still voice” we sometimes like to call “gut feeling”. How To Avoid/Repair Lukewarmness OK, I did say there was not a manual… no formal directions… no “Hot Fix” patch from God’s App Store you can install to get back on the right track… and here I am about to show you how I do it! Well, this is how “ I” keep my life fresh… how I keep my heart tender, ready, and alert for His calling on my heart (whispers of His leading) . On my “ Where is Your Heart? ” page, these three steps… these three core components set the stage for me and prepare my heart, my soul, my life for drawing closer to God, to Him drawing closer to me, and most critical, me getting farther away from Lukewarm, Surrender, Ask Him In, and Look for Gold; Surrender: Acknowledge your brokenness ( Worlds Apart, by Jars of Clay ) Get rawly vulnerable with Him, show Him the secret of your heart. Now, that means you surrender your pride, your “I’m not that bad a person”, your posture of entitlement. He knows your every sin, He knows your every trouble, He knows your very secret secret! Just surrender and recognize that your fallibility is better than it was, but still tripping you up… still causing you trouble… still the core problem with your character. The first verse of this song from Jars of Clay states; “I am the only one to blame for this. Just want to want Him! Please do NOT approach God with that whole, “I need help” nonsense! Sure, He does want to help you…. sure, He is able to help you… sure, He died to help you! Way too often, we reach out to God WHEN calamity occurs. Ask the Holy Spirit to ‘dust your furniture’ ( Rushing Wind, by Keith Green ) Do NOT stop after that first step! Sure, you can but don’t! See… confession… surrender… opening yourself up like that IS healthy… is healing… is so cleansing. But, unless you let the Holy Spirit get in there and ‘blow out the dust’ and take up residence in your heart, you WILL be worse on than before! Understand, this is the “where the rubber meets the road” part of your living. It can be tough, it can be challenging, it can be so hard you will wish (and may even try) to stop, to no longer trust the Lord, to throw it all away. The children of Israel did the very same thing just days after they were led out of captivity from Egypt (that thing Moses did)… they were facing their first “looks impossible” challenge at the banks of the Jordan river… no way to cross, and the Egyptian soldiers now chasing after them (they figured out they lost their work-force), and they urged Moses to lead them back, because “… at least we had food and shelter there “. Let His Holy Spirit move through your life… blowing out the dust within! Recognize the Gold ( I Think I See Gold, by Ray Boltz ) God will reward you through your cleansing…. through your trials… through the turmoil, anguish, and utter pain. But, remember.. you had all those before starting your journey with God, right! Just… no real reward. Sure… self-satisfaction, accolades from humanity, maybe. But, all of those are superficial… all of those are man-made, and will never be remembered into eternity! God leaves nuggets of gold in your life… the fire has burned the useless stuff away… and there is a shiny nugget or two left! But, the trying of your faith produces patience. This world of instant gratification has numbed us to His ways… to try our faith over and again… taking time to groom us, to mature us, to lead us to that special Will of His for our lives. Now all that may seem like nonsense… like it is easier said than done.. like I am just guilting you into action. Somehow, we’d rather download an app, inject or ingest some medication, or even just ‘change the channel’ and move on to something else that will get us the gratification we seek. Please take some time to read The Deep End of the Pool , and you’ll have a better idea just what is intended. But, at least ‘start’… at least turn your eyes to Him and no longer remain in the Lukewarm side of life… the middle-of-the-road, complacent, agreeable, devil-may-care attitude with God… with life… and yes, with death itself!

Regurgitationalistics Too often we end up repeating what we heard or read without really giving it all much thought. This story is about taking the time and energy to have an original thought, for a change. < Previous Regurgitationalistics Practice Original Thought Man has never invented a single thing (as of this writing)… ever never… nothing new… never… not one new element has been introduced into life. All we’ve done is ‘assemble’ things to be something else, and we call it ‘inventing’. Semantics, I know… but our thoughts and the many things we voice (communicate) have the same tendency… regurgitating things in a different way, but they are the same droning message (repeating news, citing scripture, gossip, etc)… over and again. Like we found a dirty, old, encrusted nickel… polished it up and claimed it as our own… holding it up for the world to see and in turn exclaiming our excitement for this new nickel of ours. Sure… the word “Regurgitationalistics” doesn’t even exist… well… it might now… since I am using it. Essentially I morphed the word Regurgitation, which fundamentally means; to give back or repeat, especially something not fully understood or assimilated. Now… I am not writing this to teach you some fancy form or regurgitation… rather… I have noticed that we tend to get all caught up communicating and sharing thoughts, ideas, “news and information” and that we easily fall into the trap of just being talking-heads… mostly. Giving almost NO thought to what we are sharing… just too busy repeating something we heard… something we saw… something someone else shared with us. Almost monkey-like in our zeal to ‘pass along’ some nugget of information… as though we are getting a finders-fee, or accolades for being the one to discover such a nugget… all gleeful and pleased with ourselves. This rapid-fire means of passing information along is leaving us brainless… training us to think-less about the message(s) we are passing along… giving us that instant gratification that we did society a favor by ensuring this message doesn’t die on my doorstep… at my feet… on my watch…. that it carries on into the future… that somewhere, somehow, someone is touched by it. So many of our social-websites provide the coolest tools to help us pass-along things that we either find, or their website (feed) has found for us… see… as you are finally realizing (hopefully), these sites ‘watch’ you and track your trends… follow your links… ‘listen’ to your words, and that in turn allows them show you stuff… and you get impressed and ‘touched’ by some moving statement… some touching sunset with the most romantic or spiritual-ish-sounding-probably-true statement… you can just NOT resist posting it to your ‘friends’…. without EVER adding your own commentary… without EVER telling us what ‘that’ means to you… how ‘that’ touched your heart (or mind) and motivated you to share it with us. Many years ago now, I was sharing some of my photography with an artist Uncle of mine… he spotted this photo I’d snapped in the Golden Gate Park (circa 1984) and asked if he could have it enlarged and mounted for me… uh…. sure, Uncle Leon, knock yourself out. I didn’t see what he saw. He gave this mounted and framed photo back to me some weeks later. He’d signed and dated it (he’s an artist, remember)… but… what he titled it to THIS day has changed not only how I look at ‘things’, but why I even bother trying to share them with you (and others). “Mary Had a Little Lamb” Initially… I thought…. “OoooKKkkkayy… uh… what?”, but then I realized he’d named it “Mary Had a Little Lamb” because to him… it represented Mary (the larger rose) who’d had the Lamb of God (the littler rose). Wow…Yea… tears still well up in my eyes… two reasons… I was that blind before and didn’t get it… and I now see. Too many people would just name something like this photo, “Roses”, or “Garden Roses”… nothing all too creative or ‘communicative’ about a deeper reason this photo was captured in the first place. You know… the whole ‘what inspires you to snap a photo?’ or, ‘what caught your eye about that photo?’ Give us SOME original thought about the things that inspire you in your life. Recognizing beauty, quality, even spotting acceptable character traits in others is no place to stop… I mean… passing some lovely photo along to others… even more-so when it has some ‘perfect’ quote in it… is just SO tempting. When you see something like that, you may consider, “ oh… I need to show others this ‘nugget of truth’ and pass it along to those around me! ” NOT! Take some time to consider ‘why’ that moves you… ‘why’ it caught your attention… and ‘why’ you are bothering to share it with us. Tell us how that makes ‘you’ feel… what you are experiencing and why that seems to impact you. OK… maybe you’re not thinking all that deeply about these snippets of information. But, that IS the point… we are learning to NOT have an original thought… we are losing touch with taking the time to consider something before passing it along… to even add ‘our flavor’ to it. No… not change the story and make it your own… just that we need to take a little more time to learn to express something uniquely ours… not passing along someone else’s wittiness, skill, or keen observation. Many years ago now, I was getting regular texts from a dear friend… a Christian brother who has been saved ’bout as long as me… we both were baptized at the same time in the same place. Cass would send me scriptures via texts on my phone. Two things that were bad about this; This was back in the day when text messages cost 10 cents per message (depending on your ‘plan’), and some of the passages he would send would spread across 4 or 6 text messages…. costing me some 60 cents each time! He never, EVER had any comment about the passage… never EVER prefaced it or followed up with some “and I think” commentary. One day, I finally texted him back and asked him to either start telling me WHY this scripture inspires him to send it, or stop sending them. Uh… he stopped sending them! And, that is the core of my point… we get our warm-fuzzies passing things along, but we rarely add anything about the ‘thing’ or what it means to us at that moment… why we are forwarding, why we are tagging, why we are ‘liking’, why we are even making any fuss over it. Technology devices today make it so easy to ‘pass it along’… to quickly let others know and see this ‘magical’ snippet that has moved us. Without us meaning to let it happen, this is teaching us to mimic godliness… to repeat what we see, or hear… to ‘be like’ we are spiritual. Over time and with repetition, we are going to convince even ourselves how ‘close to God’ we are, or how ‘not like those sinners’ we are, and worse… how much closer we are to good than evil. And… that gets us closer to ‘the rub’… the flaw… the core problem with regurgitating information… to retweeting… to liking… to simply ‘tagging’ things for which you approve. You invested NO time or energy into it all… you merely ‘raised your hand in approval’. We are becoming life-like, but not full of life… rather robotic and calculated. They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: Psalms 115:6 Going through the motions is getting easier and easier to do. With SO many ways to learn to do things, from DIY channels, to websites, to the well stocked YouTube site… almost anything you want to learn can be found. But, it is these subtle mechanisms in our lives these days that is making it tougher for us to even notice it is happening. So much so, that we are warned that our ‘acting like God’ mannerisms are going to blind-side us… going to catch us right at the very worst time in our lives when it is too late. Notice this warning Jesus gave us; Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23 Seems odd to me… I mean, the people recognize they were doing things “in thy name”, yet they come up short of the Lord’s hope for our lives… the ministry He wants us to portray. But, to have the Lord say, “ …depart from me, I never knew you ” seems harsh. Remember… it is NOT how well we know the Lord… it is how well the Lord knows us! Practice original thought… learn to express your thoughts… learn to personalize that ‘like’… learn to embellish that ‘retweet’… learn to make a topic your own. Any monkey can ‘pass it along’, like you are in some Chinese Fire Drill line, or something. How? Two key elements; 1) Study & Rightly divide His word, and 2) Grow Some Fruit. Me?? There have always been two scriptures or ‘phrases’ I have kept close in my heart and mind… “Study to show thyself approved” and “Rightly dividing the word”. Then, learn to ‘attach’ some scripture or some godly principle… even just to share something from your life or heart that inspires you to ‘tag’ this photo, this phrase, or this special link (on the social media sites). Almost all of us recognize beauty… almost all of us recognize quality… almost all of us recognize something inspiring, or motivating, or even just simply something that ‘matters in life’, like a quote, a phrase, or a nugget of truth. Take an extra little moment… take a little extra thought-time… take a little extra energy and just include how/why this ‘thing’ matters to you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:5 THAT right there is one of the core reasons we need to do two things; 1) add some additional dialog or feedback about the ‘share’ you are passing along, and 2) just pass-over any ‘share’ someone else has passed on without really giving it much more attention. See… the subtly of heresy… the quiet agreeableness of half-truth… the believability of most of the ‘good things in life’ can actually ease you into a compromising acceptance of the wisdom of the world. Before you are even aware, it becomes a second-nature response in your life… becomes a go-to- statement you might use when someone asks “how is your day”, or “how is your faith”, or even deeper and more critical… “how is your walk with God”. Splitting hairs? No… separating the sheep from the goats, though! See… being aware of God’s word… being “learned” in the details… being exposed to His teaching enough to thwart the wayward and slippery-slope twists that can be tossed about… it is very important. Now… not everyone is going to be a writer… not everyone is going to be a preacher… not everyone is going to be a singer… and so on. You are you… you are His child, called to be who He wants you to be… be that! Just… resist doing the quick-n-dirty ‘like’… the simple scan ‘retweet’… the rushed five word reply to someone’s ‘share’. But, learn to apply YOUR ‘fruit’ from the Lord… the special skill… the special ‘insight’ the Lord has bestowed in your life… or is trying to bestow. See… 1 Corinthians 12:8-12 reminds us we all have different ‘fruits’ from a life lived in the Lord… and, fruit is the PROOF that there is life… fruit is the result of a mature and well established plant… fruit is the benefit the plant has gleaned from a hearty root system, great exposure to sun, and deep and rich consumption of the nutrients in the ground. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:8-12 Now… do NOT get out there and pounce on any and every ‘violator’ of this regurgitationalistic problem… do not seek them out… do not hunt them down and terrorize them until they repent or cease to be so flippant as to just ‘like’ things on the social sites. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 , “ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: “. That is to say that we are to prepare our hearts… prepare our minds… prepare our life… ‘they’ will notice… ‘they’ will take heed…. ‘they’ will ultimately ask you, and you can then ‘give account of the hope that is within you’. But, if you continue to use the social sites to ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ or even to ‘post a link’ without even including your commentary on the matter… you are missing an opportunity to personalize why that ‘like’ even matters. You may be one of those kind of people who just prefer to keep your opinion to yourself… to keep silent… to avoid a conflict… even to just resolve to keep the peace, as it were. All those are possibly just how the Lord has developed you to be. More times than not, though… these are escape routes for us… they are tactics we have quietly surrendered to in our lives just to chug through this tough life without making matters worse, more complicated and just working toward being less conflicting. Chicken! Too many times, it is also being unsure of what to even say… where to ‘challenge’ others… or to question the half-truth of some “accept all people” poem or quote. That is why I’d mentioned studying the Word of the Lord… learning the ins-n-outs… exposing yourself to the deeper details. Point of reference… ready? There were more than “two of each animal” ushered onto the Ark! Think I am joking? Go check it out! They went IN “two-by-two” (male and female), but there were MANY more than just two of each! MANY! Genesis 7:1-5 There… that is a little more of what I am saying… what I am hoping to help you ‘see’. Too many of the ‘things of this world’ have influenced the songs we sing, the poems we adore, even the phrases we pass along to our young ones. But, they are half-truths many times, and we just quietly ‘like’ them… or ‘retweet’ them, and even just let them pass on by without raising a hand in disapproval, usually for two reasons; 1) ignorant and don’t know any better, and 2) too afraid (and lacking knowledge) to ‘buck the system’, as it were. In both cases, do something about it! Sure, the first one takes time (need to read, learn, adsorb, and discuss with others), but that second one is the one that usually stops us… just afraid… ill equipped… cautious. The Bible tells us to ‘prepare’, but not to be worried ‘what to say’, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words when it is time. I mean… it ‘was’ the Holy Spirit in your life that riled your attention… why wouldn’t it also be the Holy Spirit that would provide the words… provide that support. And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: Luke 12:11 The core point is… do more than just agree with things passing through your life. Do more than just ‘keep the peace’… do more than just ‘like’, ‘retweet’ and ‘post a link’. These things make it ‘seem’ like you are in the know… seem like you are connected… seem like you are on top of things. But, add some ‘why this matters to me’ commentary… add some “and the Lord showed me this” dialog… add some of His Spirit to the things you say and do. Change your regurgitationalistic ways to original thoughts! How? I like to do three things when I see something I feel I need to ‘pass along’; Why – why this caught my attention (link, photo, phrase, article, etc) What – what it means to me, how I ‘feel’ about it How – how you can be impacted by it too (not simply stating, “this will change your life”) Now… go on… Practice Original Thought ! …also, ‘like’ this page! Kidding… just kidding!

Sin is Fun! Facing life means enjoying it, too. Too often, we get imbalanced with 'too much fun', but more importantly we seem to overlook the end-game of it all, too. This story helps us to clearly understand moderation, self-control and maybe even complete avoidance. < Previous Sin Is Fun Well… it IS… right? Now, I know… you are almost immediately thinking, “ No, it leads to …”, but I am hoping you will focus with me on this quick simple sentence… Sin is Fu n . No two ways about it… whatever we are not supposed to be doing is always fun to do… fun to experience…. fun to escape to, even to explore some new territory of life… a quiet guilt… a quiet shame, maybe… a quiet little season of relief from the stress, the pressure, the tensions of life. Sure, sin is fun and actually quite a hoot… for a season anyway. That is one of the core things about sin that is so hard to grasp while sin is taunting us… while we are distracted by the potential fun… the pending excitement… The anticipation of the probable and gleefully exhilarating thrill of the encounter…. aaaahhhhh…. the endorphin release seems SO necessary and seems to almost justify that this ‘sin’ thing is really OK, after-all. I mean… God DOES want us to enjoy life… to experience happiness… to learn and grow. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 Wait… who is to say what Sin even is, in the first place? What “I” think is right, you may consider wrong. What one country or culture deems wrong, many others consider appropriate, acceptable, even encouraged. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Hebrews 11:25 It is the tail end of that passage that clearly defines sin… pleasure for a season. No… not ALL pleasure is a sin… just that pleasure only lasts for a season, and sin is an ugly form of pleasure. Sure, pleasure is always good… right? Your sins/escapes will vary from other peoples’ sin/escapes. Essentially though, we can summarize things this way; Sin – Things that separate us from loved ones; anger, rejection, breaking a vow/promise, lieing. Sin is actually defined as; any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. Fun – Things that titillate and provide pleasure, such as; Partying, Dancing, Entertainment, Sex, Drinking. Seasons – always changing, always in the same sequence. Seasons can be defined as; a period of time marked by certain conditions, activities, or events to name a few . Examples? Please keep in mind, these following examples are all OK, in-and-of themselves. Enjoying life is NOT a sin… it is NOT contrary to God, His will, His leading… doing these ‘instead’ of following the Lord is a Sin! Go back up and re-read the first portion of that passage from Hebrews… it states, “ Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God …”NO! Not being pious… not being isolated… not even just attending a church service instead of Golfing, say. Our society puts so much focus and advertising energy in an effort to convince us just how fun these things are… not really sure WHY they do that, because almost everyone knows they are exciting! There was a commercial many years ago that stated, “ It just doesn’t get any better than this. “, and they are right… well… unless you know the Lord! Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” So yea.. it CAN be ‘better than this’. Drinking and Partying is one area that just thrills… well… aside from the social anxiety of meeting new people, or being in a group, or in a location that is new… drinking or drugs… partying… music concerts… just having a ‘blow out’ kind of time, is very, VERY fun. There is, however, a certain point to which that level of fun, exhilaration, and that thrilling Yahhhoooo fun can begin to dull… lose it’s zeal… even get to the point of being boring. One of those ‘too much of a good thing’, things, huh! Drinking and Partying is fun… for a season! I really enjoy a well designed roller coaster ride. Some are just freaky steep, or too twistie… even over hyped. But a smooth, fast, and well laid-out roller coaster ride can be exhilarating, thrilling, and very, very inviting for a 2nd, 3rd, and many more trips! Now… a roller coaster ride is by no means a sin… well… obsessive sure, but it sure would not seem like a sin… right?It is actually that thrill… that exhilaration…. that fun energy I am trying help you grasp. Too often, our attempts to keep that excitement level in our lives can be something of an escape… something of a replacement for the sorrow or somberness our normal life hands us. A Thrilling Roller-coaster Ride is fun… for a season! Eating is yet another way we seek fulfillment or satisfaction. Sure, we must eat to survive… to exists… to be healthy. Eating does take on another characteristic for us, too… something that is actually so prevalent in our lives anymore these days, it is the norm. Overeating is such a tough practice to keep in check, too… the taste of food… the feeling in our bellies… the pleasant odors… just the way some foods trigger the saliva glands as our bodies prepare to ingest the food!!Too much though…. bloating… overweight… sluggishness… sleepy… just so many bad things occur! Eating or Overeating is fun… for a season! Please keep in mind… as you ponder these ‘thrill’ things (and others) in your life… this writing is NOT to point out that you are sinning… how you are sinning (doing something I may not do)… or even that these items are even sin… it is the ‘thrill’ we get from these ‘things’ that actually becomes the sin! See that? As that opening scripture from James 4:17 noted, “ Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. “, so you have to face the Lord over things in YOUR life… and only Him! Sure, society puts ‘shame’ on many things in life, but you answer to the Lord. More than ‘what it is’ though… I am presenting the ‘what it does’ for us, part. See… it is the ‘… for a season ‘ part that has always gotten my attention. Just how long can we sustain a pleasant, thrilling, or even fulfilling thing in our lives. I am pretty sure you can agree to any and all of the following; I dislike Sorrow I dislike Pain I dislike Loneliness I dislike Anger I dislike Emptiness I dislike Fear We tend to overcompensate our lives… these dislikes… with pleasures… with thrills… with happiness, really. So much so, we lose track of just how sad… how hurt… even how scared we actually are. If you have a chance, read the “ Pursuit of Sadlessness ” here on the site. It helps explain how much trouble we are actually going to in an effort to avoid the ‘noise’ of our fears. Avoiding sin is the best way to go. Sure, way easier said than done and since we all define or perceive sin to be different, who is to really say how you are going to avoid sin. That is not so much up to you as much as it is your responsibility to work it out… to figure it out… to find you own way… well… sort of! I mean, the Bible says in Philippians 2:12 that we are to “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ” You read that right… work out your OWN salvation! No, goofy… not ‘ get saved on your own ‘… not ‘ we are saved by working at it ‘… not even ‘ your salvation depends on your works ‘. Your salvation was bought with the Blood of Jesus and His sacrifice for you… take that ‘salvation’ and put it on (like a funky fitting coat), and ‘work out’ how it fits on you… how you move in it… how you live in it. But… NEVER forget the end of that passage… “ with fear and trembling “. Be respecting of His love for you… of His will for you… of His leading and calling for you. Obtain a lasting joy through the Holy Spirit in your life. Remember… sin is great fun… sin is a great fulfiller… sin is a great means of exhilaration, thrills, and even that wonderful feeling of being alive… but… for a season! Lasting joy… everlasting joy… never ending joy, fulfillment, and thorough peace can only be obtained through the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 I know… again… easier said than done. Well… no, actually. Just easy… simple… plain. Just trust the Lord for His peace in your life! See… we tend to RUN to the easy pleasures… to the quick and tangible thrills… to the ‘within my grasp and control’ activities that we know will give us pleasure (a hobby…. a vice… a pending event). Take the time to let the Lord have His way in your life AND let your inner-person (your spirit) get use to waiting… to resting on His timeline… to gleaning His peace in your heart. Enjoy peace and fulfillment through all seasons of your life… not just as ‘flash in the pan’ moments like Sin does for us. Being consistent with His will for your life will help level out those highs-n-lows… help stabilize your spirit, your personality, even your very life. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. Hebrews 3:14 Sure… we all sin… we all fail… we all struggle with keeping a consistent and growing life with the Lord. But, it is these Sin Escapades that keep setting us back… keep derailing the forward progress… keep convincing us that these ‘instant gratification’ mechanisms aren’t all that bad… harmless… silly little splashes of fun! Remember though, the Bible ‘does’ say in Romans 6:23 , “… the wages of sin is death “… and like Adam and Eve misunderstanding that this did not mean physical death… the death of your spirit… your connection to the Lord… your very life… is subtle, quiet, and not-so-easy to recognize.

Raising Children is a Sin Corn does not grow up and learn to pass a legacy off to their offspring. Flowers, plants, trees are all the same way. Raising corn… raising plants… raising a grove of fruit trees does not include the corn, the plants, or the fruit trees holding special training sessions so they can pass along their nature-built mechanism for a productive life. It is 'sin' just to raise our children; we must train them. < Previous Raising Children is a Sin Sounds wrong, I know. I mean, it is very wrong.. very sinful to raise your children. We should instead be training them…. teaching them…. nurturing them… growing with them… protecting them… living AND dying for them… not, just raising them. You raise corn. You raise cattle. You raise a garden. … but, you should ‘never’ raise children… never. The Bible directly tells us, “ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ” ( Proverbs 22:6 ) Training a child is work… teaching, mentoring, nurturing and in many ways ‘giving up your own life’ for the sake and benefit of the children. Corn does not grow up and learn to pass a legacy off to their offspring. Flowers, plants, trees are all the same way. Raising corn… raising plants… raising a grove of fruit trees does not include the corn, the plants, or the fruit trees holding special training sessions so they can pass along their nature-built mechanism for a productive life. Animals get closer to teaching their young, but their tactics are certainly in the realm of ‘life preserving’ and ‘threat of danger’. They are not teaching their offspring the things of God… giving them guidance for morals… for community living… for anything else but physical life traits. A garden is only perfect, lovely, and fulfilling for a season… it does not teach the seeds or the other flowers and prepare them for the coming season… how to be really good and healthy flowers. Sure… a garden is real work… it takes time… takes care… takes consideration… constant and seemingly relentless toiling… physically sure, but especially emotionally. Each season though, the bulk of the garden ends (depending on the plants and environment). Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plantgardens, and eat the fruit of them. Jeremiah 29:5 That verse in Jeremiah was God admonishing the captives as they were scattered into their various places… to keep life going… to build… to dwell… to enjoy the fruits of their labors where they are/were. Children are quite a different component of life. Jesus Himself stated, “Suffer not the little children to come unto me”, which is NOT to say “don’t keep your children from going to church”, as much as it is saying “provide an example for your children as to how to live close to the Lord”. That word ‘suffer’ that is used in the King James version is used as a verb in the original text to indicate ‘to send’ or an intense form of ‘to go’. Jesus references children so many times through many of His sermons, His parables, even just His quiet discussions with the Disciples… typically using their innocence as a template for how we should accept and acknowledge Him (wide open trust). Even in Matthew 18:3 , He clarified our salvation by sharing, “ And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. “ As we consider the children around our lives, we really must consider just how important they are to Him. One of the first things you can do for yourself… to help get your head straight about them… is this; Do NOT refer to them as kids! Young goats are referred to as Kids… don’t use that same derogatory title for our children. Adopting this one thing… this one ‘way’ of making reference to them will help begin a richer respect for them. Children almost always have their little recorders running. They are forever learning… forever growing… forever asking questions… forever thinking through the many curious things that enter their world. They learn vastly by example, when they are so young… sure, some things are quite natural, and must be learned on their own (walking, chewing, hand-eye coordination), but other people-skills… manners… sociological and moral matters take training. Way back during the longer part of the Jewish captivity (when they were scattered throughout the region and oppressed), the Lord directed Joel (one of the minor prophets) to instruct all the people that they were to grasp their predicament and pass it along to their children… their children’s children… and the generations to come. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation . Joel 1:2-3 This was instructed of them so that the generations to come would know that calamity had befallen the people… that there WAS a worse time in their lives (just when we whine and think ‘it cannot be any worse’). Train up our children with what? One of the key ways we can train our children is to literally grow-up, spiritually. 1 Corinthians 13:11 tells us, “ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. “, which is clearly letting us know our time of being childish is done… our time of whimpering… pouting… even just simple temper-tantrum panicking with the Lord is over and we need to get our lives in order! That ‘ put away childish things ‘ means you are no longer a consumer at church…. no longer an observer in life around you… no longer ‘afraid of the boogey-man’ with Satan’s efforts to scare you. Be encouraged… the Lord is NOT sending you out into the world without His blessing over you… without His calling on your life… without His touch on your very mouth. The Lord is preparing your life for these very moments.. teaching others… training those around you… being an admonisher, a mentor, and certainly an example. Jeremiah was a major Prophet (contemporary along Joel, mentioned above) and the Lord wanted him to get out and let the people know what was happening and why. Jeremiah balked; Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. Jeremiah 1:4-9 What you teach your children is not all that complicated. Sure, our society is forcing many sensitivities on us these days (abortion, acceptance/tolerance, rules/laws, etc) and the bible does make it clear that we are to obey the law of the land. When it comes to the ‘ways of God’, things get even fuzzier, but that was the plan “Evil” used from the get-go… right out of the gate, reasoning… deducing… debating… even downright questioning God’s intentions have been part of life. In the way he should go. Who is to say just what IS the ‘way’ one should go, let alone how do we ever hope to “train up our children’ in that way? My way… your way… the highway, as many deflectors would recommend… the ‘way’ is God’s way… God’s presence… God’s leadership in our lives. It is at this point where you MUST be on-your-knees… literally if that helps, but certainly spiritually. Surrendering the “ my way, or the highway “, or the “ do as I say, and not as I do ” approach to nurturing children. You must, must, MUST get your heart in a ‘willing to listen’ state, and then in a place where you are willing to put His leading into action. Specifically with your children, here are some tips, thoughts, ideas to get you started… and keep you going. Diligence. Training up a child requires a commitment.. consistency… follow-through.. and most certainly a “and here is how it is done” example from you that they can use to get their own balance. See, 2 Timothy 3:12-17 tells us; Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Two things to review in that passage; it will be tough (otherwise, everyone would be doing it) the “continue in the things which thou hast learned” part is a great reference back to the Proverbs 22:6 passage that ends with “… and when he is old, he will not depart from it. “, which is a reminder of how the who circle-of-life is really meant to work. Discipline. Correction, guidance, even out-right forced ‘change of direction’ is essential in a young life. Think of it like a new tree… sprouting… growing… branching out. The tree is planted in great soil… getting great water and nutrients… plenty of sun… protected from harsh environment calamities (sound familiar to rearing a child, right). Unless you nurture that tree… unless you prune certain branches… unless you stand back and assess the growth, then carefully make adjustments with care, concern and delicate appreciation, that tree will suffer from being top-heavy, lopsided, even too densely clumped with limbs and leaves… an unsightly mess… and unkempt organism. There is a verse in Proverbs 22:15 , which states; “ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” That ‘rod of correction’ is NOT a belt… is NOT a ‘spanking’… is NOT something from which we should shy away… or that we should be shamed by the world that our means of correction are harmful. That ‘rod’ is just like the larger ‘stake’ that is put in alongside a newly planted tree… it guides the trunk of the tree… supports the weightier things in the world that would otherwise break it… otherwise, blow it over… otherwise cause it to lean and grow improperly. Dedication. Unlike those well-intended New Years Resolutions, we are talking about dedication to see this all through. Sure… it is quite exhausting… it can seem unappreciated… unrewarding… and certainly an unpopular thing to be doing. Sticktoitivity is essential. Endurance… steadfastness… resilience… consistency… and literally commitment. Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. Proverbs 16:3 See… as the passage in Proverbs reminds us, we are NOT in this alone. The Lord has directed us to commit our works unto Him, and He will establish our thoughts. He will help shape our minds… help direct our words… help shape our actions that will delicately nurture our children. Psalms 37:5 even confirms that Proverb passage when it says, “ Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. “ Now… you may well be thinking, “until I have it right, I am not going to force my children to do anything”, or “until I better understand the things of the bible…”, or “once I have been a deep and committed Christian longer, I’ll…”, and a whole slew of other reasons to hold your tongue… to be apprehensive… to even hesitate starting to teach your children God’s ways. See… Jesus was once approached by the Pharisees and Scribes (keepers and writers of God’s laws/word) to confront Him about ‘eating bread with unwashed hands’ (a law the Jews honored). It was a pretty petty thing they were attempting to criticize and demean Him for not doing… something to use against Him and discredit His very presence (evil has a keen way of pointing out your flaws)… and Jesus essentially “lit into them’, as it were. The scripture reference is Mark 7:5-16 , but it is way too lengthy to include here. He reminded them that Esaias had prophesied of them as hypocrites. Please get over there and read it, but here are a few snippets from that passage; This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. …laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. Jesus uses the entire exchange to encourage the believers and followers that it is not the things we ‘take in’ to our lives that defile and condemn us… it is the things that come out of us! How we react to events… how we handle pressure… how we tolerate sin… even how we excuse and dismiss our flaws or our sins. Our children are watching… our children are forming their own perspectives based on our very output… our very actions… our very personalities and life in the Lord. Training up a child ‘ in the way they must go ‘ begins with you being on that ‘the way to go’ path ahead of them… forging an example… standing tall in God’s calling on your life… as the end of that passage in Mark states; “ If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. “

Keep Satan Close Too often, we run and hide from angry people, from critical people, even from ornery family members. This story will help you learn why it is important to keep them close, albeit behind you! < Previous Keep Satan Close This is something of a spin-off of that infamous saying, “ Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer “, but this writing is for a much deeper and life changing reason. See… keeping your enemies close is actually a fear tactic some will apply so they know where their enemies are, what their enemies are doing or thinking, and just who their enemies actually are. Instead, this writing is about tapping into the observations of Satan, gleaning from his efforts to derail your life, and even taking advantage of his wily strategy for tearing you down and separating you from the Lord your God. I mean, think about it this way, Satan is something of a “mirror of your faults in life”, right? He’s quick to point out your physical flaws (like you aren’t your worst enemy, already huh!)… he’s a ‘tattler’ and always at the ready to incriminate you for any failings, or short-comings. Almost like a kid-sibling who goes running off to your parents with some twisted version of the truth so-as to get you in trouble. We know from history that he likes to twist the facts, to dish out half-truth concepts that are convincing, to even put a selfish spin on the very words from God Himself! See… way back in the Garden, ‘the serpent’ convinced Eve that God didn’t mean “don’t eat that fruit” for the reasons Eve believed (we’d die). It’s easy to get caught up reasoning and working through the logic of complicated topics… too often, we get most of a story or most of an explanation… most of the facts… but, it is the ‘fill in the blank’ part that always bites us. We just can’t seem to leave a “mostly complete” story alone. So, we fill in the missing pieces with what we think belongs in those blanks, and all too often that story is quite different than the actual story, the facts, the correct truth. This is NOT to say we shouldn’t engage in discussions, reasoning, or even just taking time to ‘work through the logic and facts” of things going on in your life. We must always be doing that, always checking with the Lord over the missing pieces… the blanked-out parts of a story. Too many of us shun evil doers, naysayers, or just critical people… but, you really can benefit from their input… from their observations. The key component to remember is that these observations ‘may’ actually have merit… there may be an element of truth in them… there may be some fragment of value you can glean from this information. Keep Satan Close; he’s quick to point out your flaws/failings. Thank him for it, then turn to Jesus for cleansing, forgiveness and healing. G.W. Bill Elliott Jr (@vocalbillity) I know… I’ve thought the same thing… “ Wait.. we should listen to Satan? ” Sure.. listen to anyone and everyone… just… be careful and selective about applying their criticism… their observations… their guidance. See… if and when someone criticizes us, we tend to do one of two things; Be defensive and deflective and not even attempt to consider the information (you are protective and closed off) Give consideration (vulnerably) to this information and see if it does have a place in your life. Be willing to at least consider the matter. Keep in mind…. the key trick is ‘how’ we take the criticism… how we deal with someone spewing feedback at us for our lives. Satan is one nasty, sly, devil who wants to be sure you feel rejected, hopeless and distant from God. He wants to be sure you don’t feel included in life. He is relentless with his efforts to tear us down… to thwart our joy… to derail our hope in life, let alone in the Lord. We are encouraged in 2 Corinthians 2:11 to be diligent, aware, and conscious of his efforts to trip us up. It actually tells us, “ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. “ See… although he is sly, subtle, and devious, he is also going about “ …like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour ” ( 1 Peter 5:8 ). Which sounds scary and ominous at face value… but, picture yourself out in the wild (his territory) and hearing that roaring in the distance. Sure… initially, it will get your attention and strike fear in your life. But, you DO hear it… it IS far off… and you are now aware and can prepare! Facing Satan Jesus NEVER told Satan to get away… never told him ‘depart from me’… 'shooo'… 'go away'… and never did Jesus run away screaming in utter fear! Jesus always told him ‘ get thee behind me ’, which demonstrates His authority, His place of seniority, and His place of superiority. We MUST have the same attitude and answer when Satan challenges us. When Jesus was being tempted by Satan and had taken Jesus up to a high mountain that overlooked all the kingdoms and offered Him all the world if He would worship Satan, “ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. ” ( Luke 4:8 ) Impressive composure, right? Sure… facing Satan straight-up might seem easier, but way too often even those around us give us advice and promises that are just not God’s will for us. These ‘well meaning’ souls are still giving us worldly directions and in so many ways actually expressing their own fear and uncertainty! I mean, so very often their intentions are good, but their guidance… their encouragement… even their demands on our lives can be contrary to the leading of the Lord. Their very own fear comes through clearly… if you take some time to recognize the subtle ways Satan can and does work through them (us). There was a moment between Peter and Jesus that was pretty intense… conflict arose between the two… and Jesus had to put Peter in his place! See… Jesus had just revealed to the disciples that He (Jesus) “ must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. ” And Peter actually ‘rebuked’ Him for speaking that way! And Matthew 16:23 tells us, “ But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. “ Resist the Devil The Bible never tells us to run from the devil… never tells us to hide from the devil… never ever tells us to keep a low profile and fly under the radar of the devil! Nope! In fact, James 4:7 actually tells us, “ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. “ See that?? FLEE from you! Not just leave you alone… not just pass you over next time he needs to be amused… not just ignore you… FLEE from you! We are NOT to be afraid of Satan, the devil, or evil ‘anything’! Sure… respecting the power… the sly and devious ways… the destruction that can be delivered… just not afraid! Keeping Satan Close may seem contrary to your knee-jerk thoughts about him, but keep in mind that that IS what he wants… if you are afraid, he can capitalize on that emotion. Luke 10:19 reminds us, “ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. “ WHAT? WE have the power (and the right) to stomp on Satan? To trample all over evil? To ‘tread on serpents heads’? Now… THAT is a new perspective, right! And, as the end of that passage reminds us, “… and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ” Death has no dominion over you. No…. do NOT start looking to ‘keep company’ with evil… do NOT starting inviting sin, Satan, and any evil presence into your life. Just… do NOT be afraid of it, either. See… keeping that wily devil around means you have an enemy who ‘will’ point out your flaws… ‘will’ point out your failings… ‘will’ exploit your weakness! Friends and family may sugar-coat your flaws.. may dismiss them as part of your quirky personality. Ask for Guidance As noted in my Twitter tweet earlier, we merely need to turn to the Lord and ask Him to clarify the criticism being leveled on us. If the Lord confirms that in your life, then ask Him for the strength and patience to apply His guidance for recovery… for improvement… for His will. Too often, we have those dumb knee-jerk reactions when someone is railing on us… when someone points out flaws or inadequacies. It is an ugly defense mechanism we can rarely tame, right! But, if you can resist the knee-jerk reaction… if you can refrain from ‘having a witty comeback’… patiently accept the information being passed to you, then you can apply these next two mechanisms to help ensure success; Obtain Validation, and Apply Patience. Obtain Validation Always, always, ALWAYS take time to ask the Lord for guidance. Always! See… the Bible even tells us that in this life we walk and stumble along looking “through a glass darkly” (like we have dark, dark sunglasses on) and cannot always see things all so clearly… so vividly… with such clarity as to ‘know’ where our next step should be planted. Jesus wants to guide you… wants to lead you… yearns to be in such close fellowship with you and assist you with each step. When someone declares a personality flaw or a quirk in your character, take some time to ask the Lord if that is really true! Take some time to hand it to Him and watch for His answer and leading! Now… you may find that the ‘waiting for an answer’ part is hard. It may take time. I mean… it is not always as simple as the answer to, “Do I have some mustard on my cheek?” type question. Waiting can be tough, and Satan knows that… we lack patience, and he takes advantage of that… nagging at you, taunting you, reminding you that you STILL have that flaw… that quirk… that failing. Remember, we are encouraged to ask Jesus for cleansing in our lives… to ask Him for forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 reminds us, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ” So, we have His promise to clear our lives… not continue ridiculing us (like so many others do)… not continue holding these flaws over us and taunting us with them… No! Apply with Patience Not many of us like patience. I mean, sure… we like WHEN we are patient. We just don’t seem to like when we need MORE patience! When is enough patience, enough, right! Our world is subtly teaching us that instant gratification is the norm, so being in a place where we need to wait on the Lord IS one tough trait to have in our lives. Nonetheless, applying His guidance with patience is key to success. Expecting an instant solution can lead you to discouragement, despair, and ultimately just lead you back to the oppression of the flaws, failings, and taunting of those around you again. We are reminded in James 1:3-4 that “… the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing ” This merely means that as you let your faith be applied in your life (put your trust in Jesus to work), patience will get it’s exercise and it will be stronger and stronger in your life. The ‘self help’ LIE (half-truth) in this world is yet another deception tactic. See… Psalms 19:12 let’s us know, “ Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. ” This is to say that we cannot ‘on our own’ understand our own errors. It IS good that someone else is pointing out our flaws… that someone else is criticizing us… that someone else is ‘throwing mud’ at us, as it were. If we can simply be careful to not let this trigger our defenses… to subconsciously deflect the taunting… to dismiss it as trivial or flippant… but, willingly turn to the Lord and ask Him for the clarity and validation… waiting for His leading… we have a fighting chance to improve our own lives, then the lives of those around us, too! Turning to the Lord for guidance in your life will never be received lightly by Him! Jesus has promised to lead you… to nurture you… to hold you close and encourage your life. 2 Corinthians 7:1 states. “ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ”

It’s Gonna Zorple! What happens when God uses words we never heard, before. This story is about having faith without understanding. It will 'make your boat float', as it were! < Previous It’s Gonna Zorple! I was recently thinking about Noah… I mean… in those “last days” when they were all gathered inside that boat… sitting there, staring out of that door opening… hearing the jesting and jeering from the folks on the outside… Finding it VERY curious how they could be so insensitive to the pending doom… This all got me to thinking about THAT Ark ‘from’ the outside… I mean… ME actually being there… seeing all this transpire… hearing all the noise… having lived with this ‘god awful’ “ thing ” being built in my neighborhood was bad enough, but then… all those animals… all the dog-gone pounding… hammering… sawing… the bleating of the sheep… the roaring of the Lions… and then, the smell… Ugh!! I really MUST check into the city ordinance, and see if this sort of thing is even allowed within the walls of the city… Why, oh WHY would ANYONE want to build this boat-thing SO far from ANY body of water? These people have completely lost their minds… at first, I thought they were going to just use ‘skids’ to scoot it to the water. But, they all kept saying that God was going to make it “Zorple”… and it would “Zorple” so much, that this entire land will FILL with it… it will ‘flood’ the entire area… Right!!? Do you see just how large an area this is… there isn’t any Zorple anywhere NEAR here… where is all this Zorple going to come from?? And even if there was a flooding of Zorple… it would HAVE to be SO much… that boat is MASSIVE! Those people have truly snapped…. What fools…. you can see them sitting in there… with all those animals… just waiting… what idiots… and then, there is this HUGE hole… the doorway… they haven’t even closed the door… morons!! What a spectacle they are making… they look SO ridiculous… And then, all that thinking… that ‘revisiting’ the “what must have been” stuff that was happening in those last days… really got me to thinking… You see… the Bible ‘does’ say “… as it was in the ‘days of Noah’, so it shall be in the days of the ‘coming of man ‘”… and I really got to thinking about the entire ‘scene’ of the “days of Noah”… but, more-so… I seemed to focus my attention on that door… it WAS just standing there… open. Who builds a huge boat like that… gets SO prepared to ‘go’… gets everyone and everything in there… and does NOT close the door? Something peculiar about that… And in the midst of all that… do you remember HOW that door was closed… and who closed it?? See… Gen 6:17 – says “… and the LORD shut them in. ” I guess that has really been bugging me lately… not in a bad way at all… just… putting myself in that boat… having a compassionate heart…. wanting THEM to be in here with us… those folks on the outside… jeering at us… knowing how much I trust the Lord… how much I believe he’ll do JUST as He said… and taking the jesting… and the ridicule… and knowing that soon, the rain will fall… and soon (ooohhhh, I am trusting I am NOT an utter idiot!), the Lord WILL complete this promise to cleanse the land. And yet… NO ONE on that boat took any precaution to close that door… and all of a sudden… that huge door DID rock shut… with SUCH an awesome noise… It was a noise to be heard THROUGH eternity!! No turning back… up to THAT very moment, Noah and his family were walking by FAITH!! They were trusting the unseen… They were believing the unbelievable… They were living the unlivable… They had conceived the inconceivable… in the face of the jesting… the ridicule… the discomfort… the utter ‘ugliness’ of what they were even doing… in that ark… crammed all together with all those animals… the smell. That must have been some sight, to say the very least… but, that very moment when the huge door closed… was SUCH a defining moment in all our lives… no longer was this commitment by faith ONLY… no longer was their faith “INTANGIBLE”… all of a sudden… in the twinkling of an eye… their faith was made SURE… the evidence of their commitment to their faith was SEALED!! See that?? And here is the part I just break down over… I mean… I ‘can’ get SO excited that the ‘journey is finally beginning”… but I am quickly brought back to THIS reality… remember… that huge door closed… and they ‘likely’ sat there for days and days… and DAYS!! I mean… sure… the door closed… and it SO felt like the ‘ride was about to begin’… but, now they have the folks on the outside STILL jesting… STILL throwing rocks at the ark… STILL ridiculing you… mocking… completely oblivious to the pending doom… and while your faith JUST had this burst of ‘evidence’ with the door closing on it’s own… you certainly have to be (again) wondering about the bigger picture… and just what it is God is doing… Why He takes SO long to do stuff. And now… this ark FILLED with “two-by-two” is also starting to smell… and feel SO musty… and the voices of the people outside are getting louder… makes me wonder just HOW faithful I would have been there… How trusting I would have really been…… and then…… and then…… and I do mean… AND THEN…… you begin to hear the pattering of something on the surface of that huge boat… you see… those folks had NEVER seen rain (Zorple)!! This was SUCH a foreign word to them… it did NOT mean anything to them… this Zorple warning was falling of deaf ears… and even in those days, God was ‘clearly’ saying to the people of the land “… he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the spirit is saying.. .”!! See… they did NOT know what it meant to have water ‘falling from the sky’… up to that moment in time… the earth was just “ watered with the dew of the night “… and they had not ever REALLY been able to experience the ‘rain from the heavens’ (Zorple – it is a word “I” invented to emphasize how ‘they’ must have felt when ‘they’ heard it too)!! And when the water began to fall… it had to have had such an impact on everyone… to be experiencing something SO new like that… and then to have it raining SO hard… that the ground can finally no longer absorb it all… it has no other place to run off… Again… God was using a mechanism to cleanse the earth… cleanse our lives of the sin… He was telling them that it was going to RAIN 40 days and 40 nights… right?? Well… they had NEVER seen rain, or experienced it’s passion, it’s fury… it’s ability to ‘flood’!! Therefore, this ‘threat’ was SO foreign to them… It SO didn’t mean anything… in so many ways (faith in the unseen)… getting us SO close to just how consistent the Lord is throughout the ages, in that, even in those days He was saying “ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying “!! And still… the Bible says, “ As it was in the days of Noah…. so it shall be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man “!! The people are SO unrighteous… He was going to cleanse it of EVERYTHING… but he found Noah to be a righteous man… and spared his family… if they obeyed. See… God ‘chose’ Noah… God had mercy on Noah… And God will also use you, in these last days… just before that huge door closes… those fleeting moments passing…. God calling on your heart… Please answer! Just when WILL you believe? Do you really need to see the ark being built? Do you really need to see the people and animals all getting in? Do you really need to see that huge door close on it’s own? Do you really need to feel that pitter-patter of Zorple on your face? Do you really need to feel the exhaustion from treading the zorple that has risen… higher than you could EVER comprehend? Do you really need to be brought SO close to death, to accept such a rich life? To accept such a wonderful gift of grace, mercy, and forgiveness? For we ‘all’ have come short of God’s glory. So… now, I am sitting on the inside. Finally feeling more relief that this journey has actually begun, yet very trepidatious for the future. I too have never been in a flood. I too have never known rain… have never seen so much water cover the land. And, I notice that the jeering and the rock throwing and the ridicule has changed… in fact, there seems to be a lull in the crowd that has been gathering around that ark. Still, I can hear them chatting amongst themselves, and still ‘some’ jeering… a few rocks… a few shouts of ‘save yourselves’… but, generally, it’s much quieter. And it is raining now… raining like I have never seen or heard. And some of the people are beginning to pound and scratch on the side of that ark… no longer throwing rocks, or jeering… in fact, there’s a sound of desperation in their voices… a sound of begging… a sound of pleading…. For us to open the door, and let them into the ark… I certainly would, if I could… but, I didn’t close it… that door is way too big for anyone but God to open or close. Still, I do give consideration to how to ‘save’ these people…. How to get them into this ark of safety… Nothing? It appears as though their only salvation was to have believed, as we did… when chosen to have answered the calling. It appears that NOW it is too late… faith is something that occurs BEFORE seeing…. Not after. And the noise of these people’s begging… their clawing and screaming at the side of that boat… it has begun to shift off it’s footings… the props we’d used to hold it upright, while we were building it… and the water is splashing around all on the outside…. And the noise of their screaming…. Crying…. Pleading for us to let them in… to save them…. NOW they believe…. They are claiming they didn’t understand then… they were too busy to REALLY listen… to really notice…. Yet… they are still on the outside of that great ark of salvation…. Such a painful thing to hear, to live through… for these screaming, drowning people, were my best friends… my next door neighbors… my club-members… parents to my children’s friends…. Yet, they choose to NOT listen… to NOT follow the Lord…. and remain righteous in His eyes. See… that’s actually what started this whole cleansing process. God had finally gotten tired of the reprobate minds… tired of the unrighteousness of it all… tired of YOU, not following Him. Sure, other’s are not following… but YOU are responsible for YOU! No other. Not even your children, your parents, or your dear loved one(s). YOU!! Behold, NOW is the day of salvation. Please… Please… get into the ark with us…. Quickly… before that great door closes. Please… look around you… it will soon begin to Zorple… and then, it will be too late. I want you there, with me… with us. Please…. Please, come in!!

Gonna Need a Bigger Cup When God is blessing us, does He see just how big ‘the cup’ actually is? Why does He keep on pouring to overflowing? I mean, isn’t enough, enough? Now as a problem solver, I quickly figured I was either going to need a bigger cup, or there is just too much blessing being poured. < Previous Gonna Need a Bigger Cup No, this is not a story about the whole ‘glass half full’, or ‘glass half empty’ debate. In fact, the late George Carlin once observed, “ Maybe the glass is just twice as big as it needs to be! “… he then proceeded on a tirade of how we overthink, over-analyze, and certainly over-debate about such nonsensical conditions in our lives. Rather, there is this scripture that got my attention some time back and I wanted to help you see what I saw… no, we’re not headed to the playground! See-Saw… right!?!! Anyway… Settle in, settle your heart, and let the Lord minister to you, as He did with me. See, it says in Psalms 23:5 KJV : Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over . Now, there were three things that caught my attention here; God’s blessing on you Your cup will run over In Public, too Is it me, or does God not see just how big ‘the cup’ actually is? Why does He keep on pouring? I mean, isn’t enough, enough? Now as a problem solver, I quickly figured I was either going to need a bigger cup, or there is just too much fluid being poured. But, this whole image intrigues me… this whole picture of God demonstrating His blessing on us… making a ‘show’ of just how proud of us He is… making a ‘fuss’ as it were, over us and how He is being very, very sure even our enemies witness that this is happening! Now, where is that scripture that states we need to do all our spiritual stuff in secret, and be humble, and private, and quiet? I mean, the last thing I ‘ever’ want to do is anything in public where my enemies can watch, can scowl, can mock and jeer…. I really, REALLY dislike my enemies. That level of vulnerability is reserved ONLY for…. uh… oh… wait… God! Yea, I can be vulnerable in public for God! But, there’s God…. not only making a fuss over you, but notice the very beginning of this scripture. It is actually the very point of it all… He is preparing a table for you RIGHT in the presence of your enemies. He is not secretly building a sanctuary of comfort where you can recover when your enemies strike out at you… a hedged yard wherein you can seek refuge from their taunts, for their jesting, their insensitive and twisted hatred. No… God’s making up this table right where ALL can observe. THAT is important for us to see… so important for us to grasp… and just SO important for us to embrace with our whole heart (you’re going to need a bigger cup, huh)! Sure, you are timid… sure, you are a private person… sure, you are even ‘barely faithful’ enough to even be counted among His children. But, THAT is the actual beauty of this scene… this presentation the Lord is preparing. See, the Bible says, “Not by might shall He be glorified” (I may have paraphrased that, huh). God is strongest when we are weakest. This passage actually begins with the ‘preparation’ part. It does NOT begin with the “since you were so faithful, loyal, and godly, I am going to throw a banquet in your honor”. God is preparing a table for you… wait for it… because He already KNOWS you are going to succeed…. to win… to be a glowing witness of His great mercy! See that?? Please tell me you see that? I mean… since God ‘can’ see the future, and He is preparing a banquet… DUH! You must have WON! You must have overcome… bless your weary, worn-out heart… you must have survived the storm, the challenge, the ‘beat down’ you feel like you are getting right now. See?? God has faith in you… God trusts you will be trustworthy… He’s already “killed the fatted calf”, as it were…. He is already preparing a celebration!! All alone, THAT should bolster your hope… THAT should distinguish any question of His acceptance… THAT should certainly quell any doubt, uncertainty, and lack-o-faith that haunts your soul! Now… let’s get back to the container… to that big problem we ‘are going to have’ with retaining all His blessing! All too often in our modern society (and probably since the dawn of time, right), we are SO careful not to spill… not to ‘waste’. Yet, here comes God claiming “I am going to bless you so much more than you can contain”! Curious that He doesn’t give us ‘just enough’ to fill our cup. He’s prepared to ‘fill to overflowing’… like He begins pour His blessing on us, gets distracted dealing with something else (isn’t watching that our cup is too full, now), and just keeps pouring! I literally envision being waited on at breakfast, and the waiter/waitress just keeps pouring and pouring! In this ‘practical’ scenario, we jolt over the ‘spill’, and exclaim loudly! But, have we ever been ‘so overfilled’ with God’s mercy, God’s gifts, God’s very blessing that we holler, “HEY” to Him? Uhhhh…. NO! One of two reasons; 1) we aren’t in a place to even let Him bless us like that, and 2) we’ve been too afraid of our enemies, our public exposure to even consider letting God bless us. So, the scenario has never occurred for us/you! I am here to let you know, “shame on you, dear child of God”. These are His blessings waiting to be poured out, and you are not putting your container over there for Him to fill your cup! OK…. sorry.. maybe you ‘are’ blessed… maybe you ‘are’ fulfilled’… maybe you are satisfied with His blessings on you, now. OK…. I get that… trust me. But, “His blessing” on you is NOT really about you at all! See… the “my cup runneth over” part is VERY important for us to recognize. God’s love is NOT to be retained… it is NOT to be held… and certainly dear friend… it is NOT to be squelched for yourself, alone. Do a quick study on the Salk Lake in Utah, or even the very Dead Sea, itself. That Dead Sea is RIGHT in the most religious region in the world today, the great Jordan river even flows into it… yet, there is NO outlet for all that water. It gets into that huge ‘reservoir’ and goes nowhere else… just fills that area, and stays there… doesn’t benefit anyone else beyond. Me?? A heartbreaking reminder that we are to ‘pass it on’… we are to ‘do unto others’… we are to ‘give an it shall be given’. OK… now for the ‘how’ part… whew…. the guilt was thick there for a bit, right! How? Well, that is up to you! HA! Gotcha! Seriously though, ‘how’ you use God’s blessings on you varies for each of us. But, I have found that these three ‘components’ have helped me get lined up for God’s blessing; Grasp His promise Open your heart/life for filling No shame while your enemies watch OK… I am not going to leave you with a bullet-point list like that without passing along scripture and encouragement to help you apply these to your life (and it will ‘run over’ to those around you – I just couldn’t help the cyclical reference, here!). Grasp His Promise Now listen… and you may need to actually “lean forward” to grasp how passionately I am sharing this… how caringly I am expressing this… and how very cautiously I am hoping you let His Spirit speak to your very soul on this matter… He is “ preparing a table before me in the presence of mine enemies “. WAY too often, we are ashamed or our lives. Like a Jet-Ski ROCKETING through the harbor, we leave a huge and unwelcome ‘wake of disaster’ wherever we go (it seems)… in the midst of living our lives and wholly enjoying ourselves. Looking back over your life, the ‘shame’ you may have for pieces of it… the embarrassment you may have for choices and results… the regrets… the harm, and who knows… the damage you unwittingly, or even wittingly caused. Look over there… God is “preparing a table” in honor of YOU! He already knows you are going to WIN, because He is in you… and He never has failed… “not even in death”! See that? NOT EVEN IN DEATH. Better still, He is preparing that ‘table of feast’ right in the presence of your enemies. Not over in some secluded area, not hidden from taunting eyes, not even ashamed of you! So, ‘get a grip’ on yourself, grasp that He has the confidence in you, so ‘buck up’ and switch yourself from the “pity party” to His “Holy Party”! Receptivity OK… now the ‘what do I need to do’ part. I mean… so far, we have covered the part Jesus is doing… preparing a table, and making a promise He’s going to hold a banquet in your honor. You? Now you need to get your cup ready… you need to get yourself in a place where you can receive His blessing… His out-pouring… His very grace. Have you ever heard that phrase, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time”? A very, VERY dumb statement, really. I mean… think along the lines of a set of train tracks and a train schedule. Then, park your car on the train tracks ‘between’ the times when a train ‘does’ go by. No damage! You’re in the right place, but it is the wrong time! Nonetheless, this narrow track is a great example of how the Lord wants us to prepare our hearts, our lives, our every being… 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14 See… you merely need to ‘get on track’ with receiving His blessing… not following the crowd… not worried about the peer pressure, the whispers, even the taunting… just willing to prepare your life for His outpouring (the right place and in His time). I know… kinda vague, open ended, and probably too ‘when will this happen’ for many of us. Again though, there is no formal formula, no ‘steps to reproduce’, nor any schematic or ‘trail’ others have used that you can follow. See, over in Mark 13:33, Jesus said; “ Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is .” The ‘take heed’ part means, heads-up…. hey… HONK (if it was a car). It’s that ‘watch and pray’ part that many, many of us just fall apart over. Unfortunately, our instant-gratification lives have tricked us into almost insisting quicker results. Being receptive does not ONLY mean holding out your hands, being in the line to receive… to obtain. Jesus used wine and wine skins to help us understand how we can be receptive. We are old sinners… we are faulty… we are tattered, tired and dry. Putting His new wine into our lives can cause us to burst! Can result in destroying us, really… He must refresh our lives. Here are a couple of ways you can prepare yourself… learn to be receptive… get your heart in a place where His outpouring will bless you His way; Proverbs 3:6 – In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Psalms 91:15 – He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. Matthew 21:22 – And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive . No Shame Lastly… let’s go back to the introductory scripture and remember that He is not only preparing a banquet table for you… He is actually doing this RIGHT where your enemies can see what is transpiring. If ever there was a ‘vulnerable moment’ in your life, this is it. See?? There is No Shame in the Lord preparing to bless your life… preparing a banquet of honor… making a feast of celebration, right in the midst of your enemies. Right there ‘where you are’ now, in that battle… in that struggle… in your turmoil. The Lord doesn’t take you aside once the storm has settled… He doesn’t secretly pull you into a quiet corner and coddle you… He doesn’t need to reward you in secret! I mean, think about it… if your enemies don’t know this ‘blessing’ is coming upon you (it was done in secret), the next time they saw you, they WOULD be curious, but… since they are enemies, you are NOT getting the benefit of ANY doubt. Nope… they are going straight to being envious, jealous, and will quickly excuse your new-found ‘wealth’ to anything but the Lord! Their ‘go to’ thoughts will be that you stole it… that you inherited it… that you may have just rented or leased it, even! Remember, Psalms 74:21 says, “ O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name .” And then, over in Psalms 25:2 it says, “ O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. ” See?? Shame is a tough part of our lives… it quietly causes us to hide… it causes us to cower… to have this overwhelming feeling of inadequacy… a very powerful force, shame is. But, dear friend… go back and read that whole introductory verse… God tells us that He is going to prepare this banquet right before those enemies! All by itself, that means God will not only bless you, but His blessing on you IS going to be a witness to them, too! See!! You live your life ‘unashamed’ of God, of God’s ways, of God’s will in your life… He’ll not be ashamed of you, either! Now, I am the first to recognize it is tough to just ‘be brave’ and work through the embarrassment, the shame, or even the awkwardness of living your life ‘out loud’, or at least ‘out’ (not hiding, or being politically correct). Let me remind you of this nugget from Romans 5:5, “ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. ” There is your key… the Holy Spirit quietly assuring you that ‘all is well’, regardless of how things look! Now… just prepare your life… do not be ashamed of it… and His blessings… His joy… His love will spill over! Those around you WILL take notice… they will ‘not’ misunderstand how/why/where these blessings are coming from! And, even if they are ‘too blind’ to get it, the bible does say, “Always be ready to give account of the hope that is within you”, and that will help them too to receive His love, His blessing, and His Spirit! Jesus promised us… Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38 See?? You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Cup , trust me!

Forsooked Even Jesus Himself experienced a deep and profound moment of abandonment… of despair… of that lonely “why have you left me” time in His life. It occurred RIGHT when it seems as though it was the most critical and essential moment in His life. < Previous Forsooked Yea… I know ‘Forsooked’ is not a word, but it does help identify the content of this writing… being forsaken, experiencing abandonment… even living with an ongoing disappointment you may be experiencing from having been divorced, adopted, even the loss of a loved one… these events in our lives are sad… they are hard… they are very life wrenching and quietly tear on our hearts. Even Jesus Himself experienced a deep and profound moment of abandonment… of despair… of that lonely “why have you left me” time in His life. It occurred RIGHT when it seems as though it was the most critical and essential moment in His life. See… while nailed to the cross… at the very, very end of that torturous day… all the anguish, heartbreak, misery… the Bible tells us that even He cried out to God… asking Him why He’d been abandoned… …wait… Jesus ‘felt’ like He’d been abandoned… deserted… forsaken? Me? Hard to even write this without crying… without feeling His pain because I too have this pain… this experience of abandonment… that soul-emptying realization that someone with whom you trusted everything deep in your heart… has gone… has left… no longer answering you… no longer ‘there for you’, and worse… that ensuing ugly feeling that you are all alone… on your own… there is no ‘team effort’ in loneliness… solitude… neglect and being forsaken. Being forsaken is easy to identify in your own life… I mean, we can reflect back on times, places, events when we experienced ‘being dumped on’, as it were. Of ALL the things we are taught in life, we are not directly taught the details of being forsaken… the ins-n-outs… the things leading up to it, the trauma during it, and the war-torn destruction it can leave behind. It is just what we experience, how we experience it, when we experience it… you know… Life! You see, being forsaken can be characterized by events of desertion… from being left at child-care as a young tyke, to divorce, job loss, even just something as simple as planning a great weekend event that gets dashed and canceled ‘at the last minute’. These moments of being forsaken are made much, much worse due to the anticipation, the ‘looking forward to’, the longing hope-to-come of this event. Having ‘dashed expectations’ is one of the toughest experiences of life and we tend to not handle them well! Jesus seems to even have a hint of anger in His tone… in His “you let me down” statement. Hanging there on the cross… after promising all His followers that He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords… He experienced a serious and deep forlorn moment there… utter disappointment… abandonment. Sure… He’s God and He knows (knew) how it was all going to play-out… how this moment in His life was an essential transition… how God would be victorious over this death. This still makes me wonder; Why then would He even ‘utter’ disappointment… sorrow… and in some ways accuse God Himself for leaving Him ‘hanging’ (pardon the pun). We are not God though… we are not so ‘omnipresent’ and aware of the “things to come”. The best we can do is trust… have faith… be patient and let God work His plan in our lives. Sometimes… I like to watch a movie I’d already watched before… “knowing the ending” makes the anguish of the plot MUCH easier to tolerate… much nicer and easier to even endure the calamity the story-line is dragging my heart through! I now know the ending, so the journey is so much easier on my spirit. Life is just not going to give you any clues like that, right? In some cases you can ‘see it coming’, but way too many others times, we are blindsided… slammed with the calamity then-n-there… instant turmoil enters our lives, and it leaves us hollow… leaves us broken, staggering, and sometimes in utter dismay and we just crumble into a puddle of life. Abandoned There are endless ways, events, moments in your life when you have been abandoned… some were horrific… some run-of-the-mill… and some rather simple and uneventful. But, they all pile up in our lives and leave us broken and scarred… hurt… tormented… and can even shape our lives so that we try SO hard to never, EVER allow these to happen again… hedging our hearts… blocking the danger-potential… even just catching us trying to ‘screen’ for pending doom… watching for it… ready to fend-off any demise. As an example, divorce can rip a hole in your spirit that is so tough to overcome… death of a close loved one is a very tough experience from the loneliness to the sorrow of things left unsaid… even adoption can leave us feeling hollow or incomplete, not knowing your parents… your heritage… your very connection and ‘place’ in this world… where you come from and why you are you. Lost Security As insignificant as it may seem, even a loss of security can send us into a spiral of discouragement, despair, even hopelessness… our tangible lives glean a sense of belonging through our homes (safety), our careers (purpose), even savings or income (sustain life). Losing these and others like them… raise fear in our lives… throw something of a panic into our lives…… a funky level of tension… uncertainty… pending doom, as it were. Jesus on the Cross There is Jesus though… suffering through the physical agony, sure… the emotional agony and the spiritual agony would be much, much worse. To the point that He ultimately CRIED out, “Why hast thou forsaken me?”, then died. Matthew 27:46 “ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? “ Why He didn’t exclaim something like, “ Yeeee Dawg! I am coming home Father! ” seems a little more appropriate for the lead-up He’d been giving us during His ministry. His proclamation however has utter despair in it. Be comforted, dear friend… even Jesus felt abandoned… even Jesus felt left-alone and deserted. He was truly human, but maintained a hope… maintained His devotion to the God He worshiped… maintained His place in God’s very plan! See that? God’s very plan never protects you from sorrow… from anguish… even from the very feeling and sense that God has forsaken you… that is YOUR feeling… that is YOUR interpretation of the events you are experiencing… YOUR perception of the turmoil. Please consider… please give thought… please remember that disappointment is directly fueled by dashed expectations… thwarted plans… a change or deviation from some hope you either envisioned, or were promised. No… it is not all your fault… but, we contribute to the disappointment based on how much we were committed…. invested… sold-out to the expectation… that whole ‘all in’ posture we get when we’re convinced that THIS is a good choice for our life. God would never want that we experience anguish, pain, sorrow. He began this world with the sole purpose of having an environment in which ‘all things are good’. But, His plan for us… His world for us… changed. Remember the Psalmist in Psalms 62:5 once shared; “ My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. ” See that? Expectations are not bad at all… where they lie can be where the disappointment enters. Trust and faith in God… hope in the Lord… being steadfast and patient. Sure… Jesus tried that, and look where that got him, right? Yes… but, no. I mean, yes… Jesus expressed disappointment or at least He seemed to feel abandoned. As this Psalmist passage encourages us though, he was talking directly ‘back’ to his own soul… “… wait thou only on God “. Not an easy characteristic to have in your life… not easily obtained… not something we use as a go-to action in our lives. But, that IS the point… we must. You may recall the scripture actually says, “Be still and know that I am God”. We are a people of action… of putting results into play… of getting things done… rarely watching and waiting on God to have His way… in His time. Why Wait I know… we seem to need to know ‘why’, on almost everything. Why that happened, why this is happening, why do I need to wait… need to trust… need to have faith. Proverbs 10:28 tells us; The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. Proverbs 10:28 Your hope with the Lord ‘will’ result in gladness. Expectations are fine… really…. just be SURE wherein your hope lies. Please be quiet… be silent in the Lord… be patient… and He will show you His will… His way… His plan. Now… this is NOT to say you “sit there and don’t move until God gives you direction”. NO! In fact, He needs you living… He needs you moving… He needs you active and living His life. When you get a chance, pop over and read the Dead Weight story… you’ll see! How can you know where and what to trust anymore these days? It is tough. We are barraged with ‘trust this’, ‘trust that’, or ‘trust me’ advertisements, the ‘trust them’ campaign ads… it is overwhelming. Be sure, sure, SURE your trust and hope lies in the Lord; And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 God is going before you, clearing His path for your life… making His way for your life… we just need to trust Him in that… to follow Him in that, and remain true, faithful, and upright in His leading. The things of this world will distract you… they will dismay you… they WILL derail your hope, your desire to follow, even your expectations of ‘a good life’, because we need instant gratification, all-to-often. Bear with the Lord… He will not forsake you… ever! For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. Psalms 94:14 I know… God ‘seems’ to have abandoned Jesus hanging there on that cross… RIGHT when Jesus needed God the most… right when “ all eyes are watching ” and “the balance of the world” seems to be on that very moment. But, we tend to look on things in the ‘now’, not as God has them planned… and there is the core problem. Back to our ‘dashed expectations’… back to our limited vision for God’s plan. There is more to come that we may not yet see…. our very bones need to come alive in Him. Dear friend… hear His calling on you for that, at least. Jesus will NEVER leave you, nor forsake you. He experienced it… He knows that core feeling of being abandoned… of being left “hanging in the wind”… that utter disappointment, dismay, disappointment. But, Paul assures us in Hebrews 13:5; Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5 There! You will NEVER experience that abandoned feeling again… you will NEVER have that forsaken feeling, ever again… NOT! You will have those ‘feelings’ because you are human… you are “ in this world, not of it “… you are walking by faith, not by sight. That means you will experience all of life, good, bad, and ugly… all of the turmoil that Sin has to throw at you… all the disappointments… the pain… the utter desolation. We can count on His word… we can trust His promise… we can most certainly rest assured…. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ! Philippians 1:6

No Hill for a Stepper “God never gives you more than you can handle”. This writing is to help us see this passage from His perspective; maybe He is not giving us all we can handle because we are weak, child-like, and rather immature in our lives with Him. < Previous No Hill for a Stepper Too often, we look on that passage “ God never gives you more than you can handle ” as though He is putting you through some awful test, or that He is “easing up on the throttle” regarding just how much pressure He is causing you to endure. This writing is to help us see this passage from His perspective; maybe He is not giving us all we can handle because we are weak, child-like, and rather immature in our lives with Him. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV Note: In my early 20’s, I was apprenticing under a Senior Mechanical Engineer and he was passing along a project to me that was a bit challenging, a bit complicated, and to me a bit too far over my head. When I expressed my concern about this to him, he quickly replied, “It’s no hill for a stepper”. After a pause of confusion on my face, he went further to explain that getting over the little humps is easy. Getting over the larger ones simply means you grow to be bigger than that hill… so-as to just step right over it, rather than struggle to climb it. When we consider any of the tougher jobs, tasks, or responsibilities in life, we would rarely consider a child, or teen capable of handling these. They are not seasoned, mature, and especially experienced to cope with and balance the process of many of the daily life events. We are not born with built-in experience. We are not born with built-in knowledge. And, we certainly are not born with built-in maturity… these come with time, exposure, and progress. Even more-so, growing older does not automatically cause us to mature, to become wise, and especially to qualify us to handle deeper and more challenging events. 1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV tells us, “ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. “ The innocence of a child is quite endearing. Their freshness of life… their gleeful approach to many events… their naive curiosity is just so sweet, so precious and almost enviable ( oh, to be a child again , we might say). To expose them to the tougher experiences and challenges in life almost always ends in disaster, calamity, and will typically cause a lifetime of anguished memories. As we grow older and older, we all-too-easily feel as though we are ‘up for the challenge’ and are ‘ready to take on the world’. The energy and desire are commendable, and the caution that needs to be included is that we don’t “bite off more than we can chew”, as it were. Parable of the Sower And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:3-9 KJV Through life, these challenges we face will typically encourage us, or defeat us. Sure, many of us are a bit more tenacious than failing once and giving up. But, there are times when trying over and over again without success, or advancing, or ‘getting past it’ can leave you destroyed and quite demoralized. In many ways, ‘the hill is too large’ to overcome… to get past… to step over, as it were. As I noted earlier, these challenges will either encourage us or defeat us. Too often, we may just settle into a “so, this is my life” place and almost never take on any new effort to progress…. to grow.. to expose our spirits to ‘yet another potential defeat’. These hills in our lives can do one of three things, stop us completely, motivate us to give it another try, or encourage us through success. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Psalms 119:67 As children of God almighty, we are not facing life alone…. we are not simply struggling to get over this hill God has placed before us… or conniving a slick way to get around it… or just sitting down in one of those ‘this is as far as I go, I guess’ puddle of resolve. Rather, He has provided His Word, His Spirit, and His promise to not only lead you, but instill the strength in you to give it another try. The key component is the meatier matters of life, though… the deeper things in God… the things beyond the “ when I was a child ” reference, earlier. You see… eventually, we must come to terms with growth in our lives.. with moving on.. with stepping up and stepping over these little bumps in our lives… to go beyond that self-deprecating place in our lives where Meaty Matters Allude . The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:2 KJV , “ I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able “. Our Lord knows just how ‘not’ hard we are trying… just how ‘not’ responsible we are being… and worse, just how ‘not’ honoring we are being with our lives, with our promise and commitment to follow, grow, and hold-dear His acceptance of us… His forgiveness of our very sin, our avoidance, and even our complacency. Lay aside malice, guile, hypocracies, envies, and evil-speakings 1 Peter 2:1 These five traits in our lives is one of the key elements holding us back. Any one of these cause us to shun others around us… any one of these seem to lead to the other. Peter included them together here because they all are variations of tearing-down others… of judgement.. of the core components that keep us on that suckling-milk and unable to grow, mature, and certainly teach others how to grow and mature, too. We’re too caught up in the tangibility of life… the touch-it and believe-it way that life is presented in this day and age. At a time in our lives when we are wishy-washy, indecisive, and even ‘lawyer like’ ambiguous with our words, our ways. See… in 2 Cor. 1:17 we are reminded, “ When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? ” This is to say, it is time to ‘not’ be fleshy in your life… to ‘not’ be led by the whims of our thoughts. God will not force you to behave. Following His leading is our choice… it is the surrender in our lives and heart that gets His grace moving in our lives. 1 Peter 1:13-25 gives us the direction we need, in that we are to ‘ gird up our loins of our minds ‘ and ‘ not fashioning ourselves according to the former lusts in our ignorance ‘… to grow beyond the simpleness… the easy-way of life… and even the “everyone else is doing it, why can’t I?” way of living. No… the deeper things in this life escape the simple… God’s ways require faith… require patience… require trust in Him and hope for His leading. That is how all the struggles in your life go from looking like an overwhelming mountain that is too large to overcome. This mountain is just what Jesus was referencing when He stated, “… because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. ” ( Matthew 17:20 ). And there is that reference to the mountain again… “no hill for a stepper” is how that actually applies… having faith to step right over that trouble… to approach that huge obstacle with His trust deep in your heart… deep in your soul. John the Baptist was even proclaiming Jesus’ coming and told us in Luke 3:5 , that “ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth “. How do we do this, though? How can we be so sure… such that ‘ nothing is impossible ‘, as Jesus noted in Matthew? God in Us; that is the only way. Notice what the psalmist told us; God in You Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11 (KJV) When His word is stored in our lives, it is second-nature how we react to turmoil… it is a natural flow of His grace in our lives… no longer are we pondering, stumbling, and even shying away from the tougher things (hills and mountains) in our lives. Over time, you will look back over your life and realize the hills you have stepped right over… the mountains you have moved… the ease with which the Lord can lead you through this life. No… you have not ‘arrived’, at all. You have not ‘finished the race’ in any way… rather… He has prepared you to grow beyond the simpler things of life… as noted at the beginning of this writing, “… but when I became a man, I put away childish things “. As our faith is established in our lives and we grow beyond that ‘milk’ phase and yearn for meatier substance from the Lord, we are much more prepared to handle the challenges. Additionally, we are becoming more and more prepared, willing, and certainly able to share this faith… this trust… this deeper life with others. No longer are we selfishly looking to be fed by the Lord… to be blessed by the Lord… to be nurtured, protected, and shielded from the turmoil of the world. Rather, we break out of that “it is all about me” approach to life, and begin considering those around us, too. Time to Teach For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Hebrews 5:11-16 KJV Exercise and Use: without exercising our faith… without using our faith… without actually putting our faith to the test, it is all theory… all just conjecture… all simply a matter of logic and surmising. So many of us avoid exercise or avoid trials and even avoid what may appear as painful, hard, or anguishing. It is these experiences that bring growth and depth in our lives, though. Trying the Faith My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:2-8

Get’n Stoned A story about why it is critical that we DO actually judge. We are to judge righteously, to separate good from evil, to avoid the very appearance OF evil. How are we to do that, were it not for an ability to judge, to make assessment of a predicament, a circumstance, an event in your life? < Previous Get’n Stoned Seems like a story about get’n stoned on my site here would be quite out of place… I mean… “He’s going to tell us about getting stoned? We… uh…. already know how…” No… this is about judging… it is actually a writing about why it is critical that we DO actually judge. We are to judge righteously, to separate good from evil, to avoid the very appearance OF evil. How are we to do that, were it not for an ability to judge, to make assessment of a predicament, a circumstance, an event in your life? It is actually a core requirement of our walk with the Lord, in that “A righteous man judgeth righteously”… it just does NOT include condemnation. Wait… What?? You may be wondering, “How’d he go from Get’n Stoned to it’s OK to judge?” One of the key stumbling blocks we face in modern society is the blending of simple concepts like judging and condemnation into one ugly “don’t ever do this” rule… one half-truth that has permeated life these days. Judging does NOT require a follow-up with condemnation. The word Judge really means a couple simple things; to form an opinion or estimate to settle authoritatively to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue The word Condemn is actually a means of sentencing; to force into a specific state or activity to sentence to punishment to give grounds or reason for convicting More later on these two words and just how judging is not only appropriate, but essential for a balanced life. Now… the Bible does say, “ Judge not, that ye be not judged ” in Matthew 7:1 . I know this can be a main argument for thinking, “There… I am not going to judge anyone”, but don’t take this passage out of context. Judge not, but judge… wait… judge or not judge? Like that passage in Matthew states, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”, but it is actually the next 4-5 verses that help explain the context… especially verse five, where it states; “ Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. “ See that? FIRST clean up your business before jumping all into someone else’s… but, you ‘are’ allowed to “get the ‘mote'” from your brother’s eye. Now… ‘beam’ is another word for “stick of timber”, or “board”… and ‘mote’ is another word for “twig” or “piece of straw”. But, we ARE encouraged to help those around us… to be critical and ‘see’ that someone has something in their eye, as it were. Further too, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11:31 , “ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. “… which is say that when you take the time and energy to clean up your life, others will be much more receptive to your observations… to your criticism… to your help. Granted… you may not feel spiritual… righteous… or you may not think you know the Bible (let alone God) enough to even try helping someone else… maybe you don’t even care! Maybe you have just copped out of that whole level of responsibility of helping those around you… you’re just satisfied with being alive and “not judging” and being rather indifferent to it all. Appearances can be tricky, right? What we ‘see’ isn’t always the facts, the truth, or the whole story. Way too many people are great at putting on airs… presenting a facade… keeping a public face. But, to further show we are encouraged to judge matters, John 7:24 tells us; Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24 You can judge, but you must use a righteous judgement. No… you do NOT need to be righteous, holier-than-thou, or some special certified minister… judging righteously merely means, “being upright, virtuous, even just being impartial”. A righteous judgment is being able to separate your feelings, your opinion, even your preferences (stuff like; “ I would NEVER do that, so you should not either “)… remaining engaged in the observation… your determination regarding right/wrong… but not being swayed by your own personal preference or application of the matter in your own life. As an example, two teams are playing a sporting game. One of the teams is your favorite one… you have been rooting for them since you were very young… you have almost all their marketing products! Something occurs during the game that is controversial… are you quick to ‘take sides’, or can you objectively determine it WAS your team’s fault? Sure, it is just a game.. but, something along those lines also occurs in rubber-meets-the-road life matters, as in; abortion, drugs, even occupations or career choices. When you judge, you may be judged also… it is a natural reaction from many people…. their defenses flare up and they quickly tend toward the “ well, who are YOU to say? You also have …” means of reacting. Sure, it is a classic mechanism to deflect the attention away from them, but in all honesty you must be willing to see if you DO have a ‘beam’ in your eye, right? It does NOT mean they don’t have a ‘moat’ in their eye… they are merely pointing out (as scripture noted), you need to clean up your life, then help them with theirs. But, you ARE allowed to judge… you ARE allowed to observe critically (not ‘be’ critical and snooty)… you ARE allowed to reach out to help. Condemnation is such an ugly-ish word… I mean… unless someone you know who deserves it, does get it! Actually though, modern society and the whole “live and let live” approach to accepting others for who they are, as they are has caused too many of us to shy away from ‘passing judgment’ on someone. Again though, judgement is only making a determination regarding good or bad, right or wrong, yes or no, even something as simple as Blue or Red (not to get too political!). It is about you ascertaining the choice and coming to a conclusion about it… simple, sweet, and easy. It is not my place or your place to send someone to Hell. To condemn someone to an abyss in life… to shun them from society for their behavior, their belief, even their very actions. But, you can decide (judge) whether these are acceptable to you… decide whether these are things you could or would do, and even better… decide whether you would teach your family, loved ones and friends these ‘things’. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 As the end of that passage confirms, “…rightly dividing the word of truth”, which is to say that we don’t have a free license to judge… to be critical… to be zealously making the world “right”… we must wait on the Lord for His leading about these matters… but, we must be ready to judge… to decide. One of the most famous events that occurred to Jesus was when this adulterous woman was brought to Him for ‘stoning’. See.. she was caught ‘in the act’ and the religious leaders brought her right to Jesus and insisted she be punished (condemned) for her transgression. These leaders (scribes and Pharisees) hounded Jesus that this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act… and saying to Him; “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? ” See… they KNEW what must be done (she should be stoned to death), and were testing Jesus to see if He would uphold the law. Instead… Jesus just bent down in their midst and began ‘doodling’ in the sand… this surely enraged these leaders even more, and they kept after Him… insisting He do something about this woman’s sin… her failing… her judgement and condemnation was right in front of Jesus and they had Him cornered, as it were. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:7-11 This was such a great example Jesus used to show them “get the beam out of your eye, then help those around you to get the mote out of their eye”. We all know Jesus is ready to forgive… ready to pardon us from condemnation. And, as He told this woman, “ Go and sin no more “. Therefore, that whole ‘ judge that ye be not judged ‘ thing usually keeps you from even thinking about voicing an opinion… sharing your thoughts, or even just reaching out to help someone get that ‘mote’ from their eye. The key element is to live your life so that you don’t have a ‘beam’ in your own eye… that you are as blameless as you can be… that you live uprightly… that you ‘walk circumspectly in this life. Walking faithfully is key to cleansing your life of things that can trip others up. Sure, others may/will STILL find fault with you… fault with your witness… fault with how you are applying God’s grace in your life. But, we are not called to be acceptable to mankind, but to be acceptable to God Himself. Being faithful may sound like you need to be a holy-roller, or some spiritual giant, or even just pure, blameless, and even separated from things of this world. Uh… good luck with that… right??!! Keeping a faithful walk with the Lord simply means being consistent. See… repetition is key to ‘getting in a groove’ with the Lord. That whole ‘spot visit’ stuff is way too hard to get a good grip on how the Lord wants you to live… how He wants you to love others… and even how He may be leading you. Two ways to think about this; Family Visits: Imagine the seasonal visiting with do with family or friends. The occasional group meeting where we all re-introduce ourselves to each other… catch-up on many of the major events or topics of our lives… even just remembering previous relationships or previous experiences or the whole reminiscing stuff we do. Sure… ‘warm fuzzies’ is usually what we come away with… or ‘reawakened anger’… or even just that feeling of belonging we can get from reconnecting with our roots. Travel by Boat or Plane: Imagine the pilot of either a boat of a plane making a journey from one point to another. They typically begin that journey checking the path… the route… the course they will apply to get to the other point. Were they to check their ‘bearings’ only on occasion, or when it was convenient, or when they just want to ‘touch base’, it is quite likely they will be WAY off course before too long… sometimes wandering SO far off, tragedy and demise follows! Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalms 37:5 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10 One of the parables Jesus shared with us was about a faithful servant who remained diligent, trustworthy, and consistent. In Matthew 25:21, Jesus reminded us, “… Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. “ Living circumspectly is how you apply the faithfulness in your life… walking circumspectly is an odd word… rarely used these days, and it is a shame, because it literally means, “ to be watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent “. No… not a prude… no… not isolated from society… no, not even holier-than-thou… just cautious, respectable, and especially upstanding. This can mean anything from how you interact with other drivers on the roadways… how you handle your finances… how you even handle yourself in public. It is accountability at its highest, really. Always keep in mind that “you may be the only Bible others may ever read” and just what message are you giving them is one way to help keep yourself in check. Living like you don’t care what others think is a recipe for judgment. Bear in mind, “what others think” can be taken way too literally… way too seriously… way too overbearing on your life. It is a balance… it is a check-point… it is a tangible way of ensure your life reflects how the Lord would live. Ephesians 5:15 – See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Proverbs 2:11 – Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. Isaiah 28:26 – For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. Honor is a tough trait to obtain in our lives… honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and actions seems like a lofty trait to obtain. But, it is obtainable… it is within your reach by the grace of God. Sure… there ‘are’ honorable people in this world who never knew the Lord… having depth of character it not unique to children of God. Faith, Hope, and Love that is honoring is not obtainable except through the very touch of God in your life. We are sin-bound people… we are walking fallibility… we are prone to failure… it happens to the best of us. The difference is whether we care… whether we regret our struggles… whether we repent from our wayward lives. Judging is something we all must do… something we must all look at critically… something we should never be afraid of. We MUST be careful how we judge… what we judge, and especially why we judge. See… in Romans chapter 14, Paul is reminding us that ‘all things are lawful’ and ‘nothing is unclean’… depending on your faith and walk with the Lord. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Romans 14:10-14 Given that, it now seems like we should never judge? Seems like ‘to each his own’? Seems even contradictory… flip-n-flop… Not to fear or worry… this, along with the other passages is reminding us that we ‘do’ see the travesties going on around us. But, just because ‘we’ think they are wrong doesn’t mean they really are. We are to judge with a righteous judgment… being careful to keep our bias at check… and being careful that we too are as clean and pure as we can be. See… the Holy Spirit will give you the ‘eyes to see’… the ‘ears to hear’… the peace of His leading. Learn to trust Him (that faithfulness) and listen for His calling and leading to help those around you.

Leave the Weed This is an admonition to be careful about being SO quick and sometimes rather ruthless with tearing out the ‘weeds’ of your life… the ugly and unwelcome growth that seems to almost be taking over your ‘garden’ of hope… cluttering the persona you are hoping to present. I mean… the Bible does encourage us to sanctify ourselves… to depart from evil… to purify our hearts and minds… and ‘be holy’. < Previous Right… at first glance you may quickly think I am going to try convincing you how wrong it is to smoke marijuana… or to do drugs of any kind. No… this is not that kind of ‘weed removal’ encouragement… although… wait… OK… I’ll refrain! Rather, this is an admonition to be careful about being SO quick and sometimes rather ruthless with tearing out the ‘weeds’ of your life… the ugly and unwelcome growth that seems to almost be taking over your ‘garden’ of hope… cluttering the persona you are hoping to present. I mean… the Bible does encourage us to sanctify ourselves… to depart from evil… to purify our hearts and minds… and ‘be holy’. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 20:7 One of the tendencies for sanctifying yourself, or becoming holier… even working to purify your life is to remove the ugliness from your life… the unwanted growth… the things that are distracting you and others from the ‘garden’ of your life… from the ‘orchard’ of your life… from the very beauty that is beginning to grow in you. Leave it! Jesus himself told us a story about NOT tearing out the weeds in a field for fear of disrupting/destroying new and tender roots of the good crops all around it. Sure, this parable was mainly intended as a ‘world view’ concept (don’t get too carried away with purifying society), but it can directly apply to our spiritual lives, too. See… it is important to fertilize, not weed-kill! Matthew 13:24-30 That entire passage is much too large to include here (please click-n-read it), but the last two verses make the point; But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:29-30 Don’t be so quick to remove unwanted or unwelcome growth in your life. As that passage reads, these ‘weeds’ are not necessarily your fault… they have been planted there by your enemy! Their main intent is to discourage you… to distract you… even to cause you to ‘weed the garden’, as it were! Jesus is encouraging us to be careful of cleansing our own lives of these weeds… these unsightly growths in the garden of our lives. Rather… continue to water your entire garden… continue to fertilize… continue to nurture and care for it. Remember, the bible does tell us that it rains and shines on the just and the unjust and the sun rises and shines on the evil and the good ( Matthew 5:45 ). The weeds will be removed at ‘the harvest’! They can live among you, but there is a day of reckoning coming… there is a day where the tares are separated from the wheat, the useless plants are separated from the fruitful ones. We are told several times that the chaff, or the tares, or the weeds of our lives will wither… they’ll burn… they’ll be separated from our lives in God’s own way, and in His own timing. I mean… remember that parable Jesus shared about the seeds falling on the ground in various places? One of those places was the rocky or shallow-soil areas… He’d commented later how those roots can’t get very deep into the soil, and when the sun comes up and ‘the heat is on’, they wither and die from lack of depth… their roots are not protected. Similarly, John the Baptist was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to one of his baptisms, he was telling them of the coming of Jesus and “…Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ( Matthew 3:12 ) It’s that separation that we are reminded of several times… see… there are those who want to remind you of these weeds in your life… there are those who seem to just watch and wait for you to make a mistake… to fail… to show signs of imperfection. It’s actually all they can do really… you’ll find that those who tear you down or point out your flaws are as big as they’ll ever be… they can’t get any better and they know it… so, they tear you down so you seem as small, or smaller than they are! We are ashamed of our own weeds though, too. Our own failings… or own misgivings, short-comings, and any of those not-so-pretty traits in our lives. These are scattered all through the field of our garden and they make us shudder with shame… make us shrink a little in guilt… in disgust… even in repulsive retreat. Our tendency is to get in there and remove these weeds… to tear them out, to cut them back, to hide the shame of their presence. “ How did these unsightly traits ever gain ground in my life “, you may ask yourself… you may ask God… you may wonder. Don’t forget, dear friend… Jesus reminded us that the sequence of life is this; He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man The field is the world The good seed are the children of the kingdom The tares are the children of the wicked one The enemy that sowed them is the devil The harvest is the end of the world The reapers are the angels As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:40-43 Unbeliever vs Children of the Devil The field is the world The good seed are the children of the kingdom The tares are the children of the wicked one, those that have willfully rejected the Light Again, this ‘world view” Jesus has given us can be scaled down to our very lives… the weeds in our lives are sown there from the evil in this world. The children-of-the-devil are just all those distracting traits in our lives that shame us… that embarrass us, even keep us from thinking or feeling like we are even WORTHY of Jesus’ love, let alone His mercy! Remember, though… these things will burn away! We would all like to keep weeds out of our beautiful lawns… out of the gorgeous gardens, and certainly out of our very crops. Remember these tips; Newly planted or over-seeded lawns inevitably include weeds Farmers fertilize their crops and it is too strong with nutrients for weeds and it over-grows them (kills them) At harvest time, the fruit of the plant is what is gleaned Spend your time, your energy, your prayer, and certainly your time with the Lord on growth in your life. Give attention to the flaws, to the quirks, to the bad habits, and ‘things that distract you’ from a closer walk with the Lord, but be sure you are not swept up with all that as a priority. The main ‘ears to hear’ piece the Lord is telling us is that spending time and energy tearing out the weeds can damage any tender roots that are gaining momentum in your life. Press On: It is the ‘keep going’ part of our lives we need to hear. We don’t stop and tear out any ugliness… cease forward progress until we look or feel better… halt any new growth until we can get rid of all this excess baggage… this debris… this messy characteristics and traits in our lives that are unbecoming or unsightly. Rather, we are to keep going. Remember, in Philippians 3:14 we are encouraged, to . “.. .press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus .”, to aim for that high-calling… to work toward that goal… not to stop and groom ourselves so we appear worthy of it. Our intentions are pure… our quest for cleanliness is honorable… our yearn for perfection is admirable, and certainly a great trait to have in our lives. We must be so very careful to let the Lord do that in our lives in His time. See… the tendency is to rush to ‘tidy up the house’, as it were. From that moment we know ‘guests are coming’, we quickly dive into action attempting to make the place presentable. That is the world’s way of making things right. God does want us Holy… the Lord does was us sanctified… Jesus does want us ‘pure as snow’… but in His way, in His timing. Guard the Garden; The underlying premise of this writing and Jesus’ encouragement is that we do not become zealots at clearing out the weeds of our garden… or removing the unsightly elements… or even going to any great length to identify the right-or-wrong of our lives and tear out those weeds. See… 2 Thessalonians 3:6 reminds us, “ Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us .” See… that is a clear admonishment to avoid further chaos, further distractions, further ‘weeds’ in our lives. But, taking the time and energy to tear out existing ones does two things; 1) harms the tender roots of the good things the Lord has planted in your life, and 2) uses energy you could be using toward your own healing. Guard your garden, but be careful and don’t over-think it… over-work it… and certainly over-purify it. As the scriptures say, “… And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away “. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23 It is that “… ye that work iniquity ” part that should get your attention. Weed Patrol: With the pressure of society and the whole glamorization of our lives, we give so much attention to patrolling our lives and removing the weeds that we actually cause… the peer-pressure that drives us to clear out these weeds is actually undermining His new growth in our lives, too. There is no need to be in an hurry…. the Lord will abide in our lives regardless of how dank, smelly, dark, hostile, or even just down-right unappealing we are. He loves us because of who we can become, not because of who we are. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 2 Timothy 2:19 The half-truth is that we must clean-up our act to allow God to abide with us. We must “walk the narrow road” to reap the deeper benefits of His grace…. we must even avoid evil, sin, and all the debauchery of this world so-as to be sure God will be by our sides. Surely you understand that none of us can accomplish this… none of us can become worthy enough… none of us can maintain that higher level of quality in our lives.Just as Jesus was telling those disciples how the weeds can choke out the good plants in your life… the tender roots He has planted… the seed of a new life of Salvation He planted in your Spirit; as in;“… and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. “It is that latter portion we must give attention to… where we can give our focus, our devotion to the Lord, and certainly our thoughts, heart, and life.Having “ an ear to hear ” is so very important to this whole Leave the Weed process. Others will pressure you to ‘be better’… to improve… even to separate yourself from those weeds in your life. Over time, the Lord will guide you through that process. But, grow in the Lord… get closer… strengthen that bond, that trust, that relationship, and the weeds in your life will not get as much attention, as much nutrients, as much growth.

Shadow of Death Behind any and all ‘darkness’ in your life is that ‘ray of hope’. You may not see if or acknowledge it, but it is higher, greater, and certainly brighter than any ‘doom’ that the Shadow of Death may overshadow His grace, mercy, and peace! < Previous Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined. Often it is the feeling or condition of being afraid. Combine that with Darkness and there-in is a gripping and many times overwhelming sense of pending doom.. of certain calamity… and certainly the whole presence of oppression that just consumes and paralyzes us. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me Psalms 23:4 KJV Many of us read this passage as a soothing promise, or a “ I got’cher back ” message from the Lord, but I am not wholly convinced we really grasp just how informative, encouraging, and actually rather instructing this declaration was actually intended. To me, there are two things to consider in this passage, 1) the darkness, and 2) the author indicates that he is walking or moving along.Now , there are two variations or ways of viewing that darkness; 1) it is the absence or deficiency of light (a tangible observation, sure), and 2) the lack of knowledge or enlightenment (a spiritual/emotional component of our lives. So far, that all helps set the stage of the bigger picture the Lord is yearning for us to consider… the reason Jesus Himself said, “Fear not, for I am with you always”… the encouragement and quite empowering message the Lord is wanting us to bury in our hearts. Shadow Source I started thinking about the ‘picture’ of walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ and it is so very easy to fixate on the fact that the author is pointing out that death is always near… always taunting us… always in our path, it seems. But, I realized one key thing about that shadow… that ominous darkness… that ‘light blocking’ space. And it hit me… there is a LIGHT behind that ‘death’, which is what is actually causing the shadow! See that? I mean… wherever there is a shadow, there IS a light behind it! And, in the case of life and death, we know that Jesus is the light. Wait… what? Right… Jesus is the light behind that ‘shadow of death’ fear you are facing. We are encouraged and instructed to walk in the light, but there are times (as this passage reminds us) that the overshadowing reality of life and sin on this earth means that we are going to be ‘walking through the shadow of death’, too. Beyond the Shadow We just need to remind ourselves to look beyond the shadow… to look to the light… to the hope of Jesus’ nurturing hand watching over us. See, Luke 1:79 tells us that Jesus is come “ To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. ” See… “ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …” indicates there is a massive, and overwhelmingly bright light of hope behind any ‘darkness’ that haunts you. Behind any/all ‘darkness’ in your life there is that ‘ray of hope’! It is higher, greater, and certainly brighter than any ‘doom’ the Shadow of Death that may loom. His grace, mercy, and peace! Facing Fear The things of this world can render us unconscious, spiritually. In many ways useless physically, too. They are tangible objects and our sin-based souls are so quick to react protectively of ourselves and those around us. So much so, that we never give it a second thought… giving in to the ‘things that are seen’ rather than hoping for the things to come. Jesus gives us that hope to face fear… to face the pending and inevitable doom… to even step out and challenge the things of this world and walk by faith toward His light. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder . Psalms 107:14 KJV There was a time when Peter faced his fear. He was in a boat out on the sea, and the waters were churning from a nearby storm. Out in the distance, he saw a figure coming across the surface of the water. In and of itself, that would be a fearful thing, let alone highly unusual. Peter thought he recognized the figure as Jesus, and Matthew 14:28-30tells us, “ And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me .” Peter was well on his way to overcoming the obvious. He set aside his fear of the water and was actually out there walking on the top of it with Jesus…. well… while he had his eyes on Jesus, that is! See… when Peter ‘s aw the boisterous wind, he was afraid, and began to sink ‘. Again, another perfect reminder of that ‘shadow of death’ problem… there is no need to fear when you keep your eyes, your attention, your hope on the light BEHIND that shadow. Remember, please remember… that shadow would never exist where it not for the presence of that light! All would just be darkness, were it not for that light! Eyes on the Light Peter only needed to keep his eyes on the Lord. Once he was distracted… was taunted by the tangible fears of life… was reminded of his very mortality… he began to sink. He began to be overcome. To me, there are three things we can do… three ‘rules’ we can apply… three principles/goals to help us through these fears; Keeping our attention focused on His leading Recognize the distractions around you, but keep Rule #1 You asked Jesus for proof, He did not taunt you into this I know… “easier said, than done”, right? But again, as you are ‘walking through the very shadow of death’ of things in your life, the light is where you can focus your attention. His leading you… His guiding you… His protection of you, such that you will adamantly state “yea, though I walk through the very shadow of death, I shall fear no evil” with confidence, not just hope! Empowered by His Presence Our hope, faith and trust is empowered by His presence. See… if we were facing that ‘shadow of death’ scenario alone, it would be frightening… it would cause us to freeze in our tracks… to hunker down, skulk, and move in stealth-like ways. We might even RUN through that valley of death so-as to decrease our exposer. Proverbs 28:1 tells us, “ The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. Now… please understand… please recognize… please, please know that just because Jesus is present, just because Jesus exists, just because Jesus is watching… “His presence” means ‘in your heart’… in your life… in your mind… in your every being. Jesus made Himself present to Peter, but it was Peter crying out to Him… asking him to ‘save’ him… this was Peter’s application of his faith, of his trust, and of his hope in the Lord. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Psalms 138:3 (KJV) We now have a means for being bold about His presence in our lives. We now have an assurance about His presence in our lives… I am no longer a slave to fear… for I am a child of God! In Hebrews 4:16, we are told, “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. “ But, go back a few verses in Hebrews, because that verse 16 starts with, “Let us therefore”… it is that “therefore” reference in Heb 4:12-15 wherein Jesus “ …is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ” And He was tempted JUST like we are and did not falter (v 15). Going back to the opening verse of this writing, we can now see that this was not written as some “hang in there, baby” encouragement… it was not some statement from the life of someone who simply endures the struggles of life… it was not even a lofty statement of ‘claim your faith’ cheer from the choir-loft of God. Rather, this is a bold, and quite emphatic statement…. even a warning to Satan himself… “even though I walk through your scary valley, I will NOT be afraid, for God Himself is right there behind you (glancing over Satan’s shadow) and is my protector, my hope, and certainly my very salvation.”