< Previous ​

Evidently We seem to need tangible proof (evidence) regarding matters in life. With faith, the evidence is in things not seen? How can that even be possible... check this story and learn more. < Previous Evidently : Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 I don’t usually start these writings with a scripture… not so directly and right at the beginning anyway… but, evidently … I am going to do it, now. This passage can be such a ‘buzz word’ type passage that folks toss around… almost like it is queued and ready as a response when they don’t really know what else to say. Essentially, this passage means; your faith consists of the things you hope you have, and you have that proof from things you can not see. Yea… I nailed it…. right? NOT! This passage is so confusing to me… I mean, if it were to say, “ An expert bowler is evidenced by the score they keep. “, then I’d have something tangible to grab onto… something coherent… something much less abstract than ‘… evidence of things not seen “. But, then the Lord reminds me that but by the Holy Spirit in our lives are we ever going to have a hope of understanding His word… after-all, we are told many times, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth”. Regularly, I have to break this passage back down and review my life to check that my faith is intact… my faith is growing… my faith is still true and on-track. Faith : confidence or trust in a person or thing, as in; faith in another’s ability. Evidence : something that makes plain or clear; an indication or sign, as in; His flushed look was visible evidence of his fever . Faith is a tricky characteristic to describe… tough to identify… awkward to explain to others, many times. Our lives are filled with traits of faith in our lives. All too often, we limit this word to the spiritual side of our lives (if any), but I think faith can also be identified by that double-yellow line on many two way highways (not divided by a median). See… we WHIZZ along these roadways at some outlandish speeds… and though the vehicles these days are much safer, there is nothing more than that thin double-yellow strip separating us from the vehicles coming toward us in the opposite direction… only that thin strip.Let’s do some quick math… let’s say we are traveling at 60 mph, and the oncoming traffic is also traveling at 60 mph. At those speeds, there is nothing but that thin double-yellow line guiding us… leading us… asking us to trust the other driver… from having a 120 mph ‘sudden stop’ impact! Now THAT is faith! I have faith that the oncoming driver is alert, attentive, and just as concerned about life as I am. If you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. Maybe not as dramatic an example is trusting the ATM machine to give me my credit or debit card back each time I slip it into the slot. As it disappears from the face of the machine, I trust that it will be returned once the transaction is completed. Sure… that is not much faith, but it is still faith nonetheless. If you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. The schedule at an airline or airport can be just as tricky. Sure, they have a business to run, but you are trusting they are going to maintain their schedule. Your faith in their reputation may even help influence which airline you use… so much so that you even go so far as to plan and schedule for someone to pick you up at the destination airport. You may have even traveled enough that you have a system down… a ‘trusted’ pattern to ensure you journey runs as smoothly as it can… you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. These three are tangible ways you apply faith in your life. Emotional and Spiritual faith is much, much tougher. As the scripture stated, it is the substance of things hoped for. You may be hoping for an upcoming event… you may be hoping for a good and relaxing vacation… you may even be hoping for a fulfilling and ‘playful’ retirement. Many are trusting and hopeful of Heaven, too. Evidence is somewhat of a gotcha component of our faith. I mean… the word itself indicates we have tangible proof… absolute and concrete information to support something… the stuff that ‘makes it all clear’ and believable. Evidence doesn’t always have to be tangible though…. see… many music or movie stars have fame, and that bolsters their stardom. Wealth is identifiable by our homes… the amenities in life… the luxuries or at least abundance of things (homes, property, toys, etc). Blending Faith and Evidence together seems so much tougher…. so much more clumsy to identify in your life. That scripture claims that our faith is evident in our lives by things that are not seen. So… that’s odd… I mean… evidence almost directly implies proof… almost perfectly indicates irrefutable facts or at least an obvious conclusion can be reached. But, ‘things not seen’ seems to indicate vagueness, or some kind of condition, or even some mystical aura or power. See… our world today is filled with proof, tangible evidence and a yearn for instant gratification. These are making it harder and harder to trust… to wait… to have faith in the unseen. Again though, this passage in Hebrews 11:1 does say that our faith is evident by things that are not seen… this could be patience… it could be selflessness… it could even be something as simple as forbearance and enduring love. I know… it is so much tougher to even want these things, because all too often, we are secretly looking for things in our lives that will bring attention… focus… accolades of a life well-lived… plaques, banners, buildings or streets named after us… Like we accomplished something worthy, and those around us will eventually recognize us for them. Well… that is not faith… that is fruit (results). Faith, as you may recall from my opening, is confidence or trust in a person or a thing (trusting that highway divider line). The evidence that you are trusting will demonstrate itself when you apply yourself to that trust… as with the highway divider line, you are not trusting that line until you are actually driving on the highway. It is one thing to learning about driving on the highway… remaining on your side… honoring the trust the oncoming drivers also have in you… putting your very life ‘on the line’ as it were. Well… safely to the right of it, please! Further along in that Hebrews passage, it tells us; “ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. ” ( Hebrews 11:3 ), which is a reminder that God’s very word… His very promise is what is making up the balance of the world. It is faith that is used to demonstrate our hope in His leading… trust in His word and promise to us… and the evidence of His love for us, too. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 It is this application of our faith in God where we obtain His mercy… how we receive His grace over our lives… where we fix our hope. And the reason all this even matters is best clarified in that very famous passage of John 3:16 , which states; “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “ Not perishing is one of those key ‘ things unseen ‘ evidences of our faith… and the everlasting life is the result. Now… faith all on it’s own is not enough! WHAT? Right… faith (trust) alone is not nearly all that God has planned for His leading of your life. To trust Him also means to follow… to wait-n-listen… even to put yourself into action. See… James 2:17 reminds us, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” That is to say, your faith has to be where ‘the rubber meets the road’, as it were… like in that ‘divided highway stripe’ example I’d provided earlier. Until you actually put your faith into action, it is just information in your head… noise in your heart… a desire, sure… but, it must be motivated and put into action, too. Evidence of things can go two ways; 1) tangible, or non-tangible. The passage states that our faith is evident of things … again, we ever-so-quickly gravitate to the physical… the obvious… the able-to-see/touch items in our lives, and use those as evidence of achievement… of accomplishment… of growth (or even weight-loss)… of reaching a goal. But, this passage claims our faith is evident by things unseen. Take this sentence, and fill in your own blank;________ is the evidence of things. Below are some examples; Wealth is the evidence of things Fame is the evidence of things A large home is evidence of things Career stature is evidence of things How we can apply this quagmire of information to our lives may seem daunting… may seem too overwhelming… may even seem hopeless, depending on your own predicament in life. But, that IS actually where we can start. I mean, to rephrase that initial scripture, “The things you hope for identifies where your faith is. Your hope is evident by the things we cannot actually see (i.e. patience, trustworthy, honor, etc). Like those ‘things’ I’d mentioned above, your faith is demonstrated by the things you hope for, which become more and more obvious in your life as characteristics, traits, even skills or talents. We cannot actually ‘see’ these types of things, only the fruit of their presence in our lives. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 These are the ‘things unseen’ that become the evidence of the things you hope for, which is… Faith! Let me ‘show’ it to you this way. Your faith is made up of things in the Substance column, In other words, Your faith is made up of your; hope for joy, which is evident because you are not easily discouraged. hope for temperance, which is apparent because you refrain from using foul language. hope for meekness because you demonstrate gentleness. Now… that was just a spattering-sample of ways that the opening passage can be applied in your life. It is an OnGrowing process! Having a ‘spirit filled’ life merely means you are applying more and more of the fruits of the spirit , as referenced above in Galatians. Just how ‘big’ is your faith… just how ‘strong’ is your faith… just how ‘old’ and mature is your faith… almost wholly depends on you. Like an athlete, getting exercise and keeping active is the only way. No… you can NOT just absorb God’s word… you can NOT just attend church services or spiritual meetings… you can NOT just pray and ‘want’ to be faithful. You are as good as ‘dead’ to God ( and He WILL ‘reject’ you ) and no real use to anyone! See… James 2:26 states; “ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. “, so it is very important that we learn to add Substance to our Faith, and Evidence of that Substance… it is WORK… no two ways about it.

A Smok'n Billy's Back to Gallery This is my current full-time vehicle. It is a 1958 F100 and had a Power Train transplant before I bought it in 2017. This is my daily driver and has been since April 2017, and drove it from the Phoenix, AZ area (my home back then) to Austin, TX (my parents' home) on three occasions (it is 1013 miles one-way). It is a runn'n old truck and I really enjoy all the "who needs creature-comfort things (you even have to cancel the turn signals yourself). All in, and to-date, I have driven this truck some 18,000+ miles and intend to use it until they ban gasoline! ;-) The photos are of two groupings, the ones 'with' the USA Flag (there on the truck bed behind the drivers-side of the cab) are my photos, and all the others (without the flag) are from the Craigs-List Ad where I found and bought it Show Me More

Demons & Exorcism This is a story about not only being ABLE to cast out demons, but why even bother… < Previous I was just wondering about the “why’d that happen” question. You know… when that demon pounced on those 7 brothers who were casting out demons. Let me first, reference all the text here, so you can think about it better… From Acts, Chapter 19 – beginning at v13 (KJV) 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. I know this is all a little confusing, but basically this passage presents the WHY for the need of purity in the spirit of the Lord, and remaining honest and true to that calling deep within your heart… but, it also serves as a warning that His love and His power can not just be ‘put on’. You MUST have a surrendered heart, and life to be used of the Lord, and to be an instrument… especially against the evils before us. For we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and darkness.Look closely at v13, and notice that these 7 brothers are referred to as vagabonds, and exorcists (mystics), and even the wording here (in the King James) reads ‘they took on themselves’. See that?? This all means that these guys were ‘in business’. Even better, you can see at the very end of that same verse, they were calling out these demons by saying stuff like “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth”. Now… ‘adjure’ really translates to a less-heavy word like “PLEASE”, or “we are asking you”, which may not seem all that important… but, when you REALLY thread this needle… you’ll see… these guys were pulling these demons out rather passively…. I mean, they were NOT ‘commanding’ them. Remember Jesus’ approach?? Whenever He spoke to a demon, or Satan, He was VERY stern and forthright… “Satan, I commandyou…”. You may remember the scene beside that ocean/lake where all these demons were in this one guy… and Jesus ‘caught’ them, because they ALL were torturing this guy… and they begged mercy of Jesus… and Jesus sent them out of the man, and into a nearby herd of pigs… who all promptly ran, squealing, into the ocean/lake and drowned. See?? He didn’t ask them to ‘come out’… He told them!! But, by the authority of “His Father, in Heaven”.So… these 7 guys approach this man (to them, a simple man) with a very powerful demon. And they ‘ask’ the demon to come out… and the demon just says… “uh…. yeah…. right!!” And the demon even tells them… “I don’t have to obey you… You have NO authority to boss me around… You have no REAL power” (see v15). Now remember… these guys were sons of the CHIEF of the Priests of the Jews. So.. they were sons of a very strong and important man…. religiously, anyway! No matter… outside the true, genuine authority of the Lord, you are VERY doomed if you face these demons without His authority in your life – and over your life!!In so many ways. See that??How many ways can you apply this nugget of truth to your own PERSONAL life?? As you walk around your spiritual neighborhood (within)…. spotting ‘people’ within your heart who are SO held captive by these various demons… these tiny places within you very own life where you have not ‘surrendered’ a piece of you to the Lord… these little places make up the whole, you know (Deep End of the Pool)… See?? We both ‘find’ these demon possessed areas in our hearts… and we want SO badly for them to be cleansed of this menacing demon… from the torture… from the actions this demon causes… leaving me (us) so helpless… and causing others pain too…The main difference, my precious friend… is that Jesus lives within you… and these 7 brothers just knew OF Him (the Lord), they were not known BY Him… there’s a difference. Spiritual from without, not from within. So… when you find these areas in your life… you can boldly step up there, with the peace and security of the Lord, and ‘command’ them to release you from this pain… this torture… this anguish… freeing your life… opening another wonderful segment of your heart and life to Him… and ultimately to others.So … often times, like the 7 brothers, the demon realizes that you are not claiming His strength (Jesus says “when you are weak, I am made strong”), and acting on that inheritance we have in His love…. and in His family! Tough to do… I know… my ‘sin’ has haunted me now, since I was 13 or so… Subsiding off and on… yet, still raising it’s nasty head, and causing me and others pain. But, through His grace and mercy, I have ways to hold me accountable… to remind me… to encourage me… accept me… support me… Through you! Through YOUR faithfulness.So … I wonder if you are concerned or afraid to approach these demons in your life. Scared that they’ll pounce on you… beat you up… tear at you… make you hurt more. If you are concerned about all that… then, NO… they won’t even bother with you!! See?? Confusing, huh?? Well… they won’t have to!! See?? You are already afraid of them… they WON even before the battle began!! You haven’t even put yourself in a place to fight them… to fight for your rights to your own precious life… the life the Lord MEANT for you to live… the very special life the Lord intended for you to ALWAYS live, but, instead… you quit before you even start (yes, I am preaching to myself!!). I know… I quit too…. I am scared too…. I am very tired too… So, I don’t even have the energy to stand for my rights… my rights as God’s precious child… to stand for my ‘crown’… to wear my robe of righteousness… to hold my head up straight, my shoulders back strong… not arrogant..no!! Proud, and SURE!! I am a child of the Living God… the King of ALL the Kings!! Every knee SHALL bow, and every tongue SHALL confess that He is Lord!! Satan has no more dominion over you!! Not since that precious cross!! That wonderfully empty tomb!!You GO!! GO!! Step-up and tell that demon to ‘go to hell’ in the precious name of the Lord, our Savior!! He HAS to obey!! Zing!! And stand back and listen for the whoosh!!Now then… the Ephesians… this all just freaked them out (v17-19)!! As you can read, though… it impacted the Jews and the Greeks too… but, those that were ‘believers’… it MOVED them!! It moved them right into action!! See that?? So cool to see the Lord move amongst believers… just His presence causes us to ‘repent’ and come clean of our divisive ways… the spirit within agreeing with the moving of the spirit around us… confirmation, if you will… assurance that the Lord ‘was in this place’. It a pretty special time when your heart is moved like that… so sensitive to His leading…So, this evil-pouncing-evil act has a definitive affect on the believers. They bring all their possessions that ‘could’ be construed as ‘idol worship’ or ‘distracting’, or especially mystic… and they had a huge ‘burn-fest’!! Getting rid of any and ALL items that might lead them astray!!! This is one of the very reasons why (when I was first saved) I moved away from any music, except Christian, for so long… An effort to cleanse my outside life… to ensure that my outside life was not influencing my inside life… that the spirit within me had every chance to grow.. the freedom to minister to a pure, and clear heart… to be able to whisper things in the stillness… and not have it misconstrued as ‘half-truth’. This is VERY core to the motivation behind Monks for their isolation… trouble is, they do NOT bring that wonderful knowledge and insight BACK to this life… at least, not much.The point being, as the Bible says “if thy right hand cause thee to sin, cut if off. Better that you enter into heaven missing one hand, than the whole body NOT enter in”. This is to say… “Work out your own salvation”… see how that all fits on YOU. Asking the Lord, first, to show you these demons… being willing to face them, dear… and even harder, be willing to let go of these areas of you life… to Let Go and Let God. It is a journey, my love… a wonderful journey. Never arriving, yet always growing.

Dead Weight We often wonder why our lives are not ‘going anywhere’. And, usually, it is because you are ‘pointed’ in the wrong direction… and, since you are NOT moving, it is SO much tougher for the Lord to redirect you… because twisting that ‘wheel of your life’ is causing SO much strain, and stress, and twisting on the ‘tires of your life’… < Previous I was about 12 years old (circa 1969) and my Father was letting me drive his 1954 truck. We lived in a country ranch-type house on 100 acres of land, about 30 miles Northwest of Austin, TX and my father would let me drive whenever we took the hay bales to the ‘back 40’ to feed the cows. Dad was (at the time) a professional mechanic, and was always finding really good cars and trucks to bring home… Dad was sitting on the passenger side and very well amused at the sight of me wrestling that wheel… and he was chuckling just a bit. Then, he teasingly asked me if I “was having any trouble”?? Yea… Funny Dad!! So… he stopped me… and got my full attention and told me that, if I were to get the truck rolling even just the slightest bit… it would take the dead weight of the truck off of the wheels… and they would turn REALLY easily… not turn as in rolling… turn as in steering… twisting the wheels to the other direction I really want to go. Not sure if he was attempting to make more fun of me, yet knowing he knew his vehicles, I decided to give it a try… and began to ease the clutch out – feathering the gas just a bit. Sure enough… the steering wheel all of a sudden was VERY easy to turn now… as though the truck had power steering now!! Very curious… curious at best! I didn’t really understand the magic behind this, as a little kid. But, to this day… I still use that method… even with cars that DO have power steering. See… by getting the vehicle moving even the slightest, it eliminates (transfers) that dead-weight friction of trying to twist those tires on the ground or pavement… no longer are they stationary and you are trying to twist them against the ground. By causing them to roll even just a little, you remove that horizontal twist/friction between the bottom of the tire and the ground (pavement) the tire is touching. Sure… the tire is STILL touching, but with the rolling action, the twisting portion is almost completely removed. As I have grown in the last 40+ years of my life with the Lord, this dead weight exercise of my father’s keeps coming back to me… in so many ways. See… in so many events of my life, I am reminded how… as I am struggling with the Lord for direction… in an effort to turn my life around… to get it pointed where I “know” it needs to be pointed…. He quietly reminds me of this quick, innocent little tip my father shared with me… to at least be MOVING… and the Lord CAN turn you SO much easier… SEE??? No longer, are you ‘dead weight’… no longer stagnant, or completely stopped dead in your tracks… moving… reduced friction… with ease the wheel in our lives is able to steer and to point us in the right direction… Now… you may be asking yourself “How?” I mean, you may be asking yourself these questions; What if you begin moving, but the ‘tires of your life’ are pointed in the wrong direction? Don’t I need to turn them first, and then go in the new direction?? And, I’ll share with you this… At first, yes… you WILL be going in the wrong direction… you are going to… the ‘tires of your life’ are pointed that way!! Make sense?? Once you get moving… just a little now… nothing blasting, or trying to really launch… but, once you at least get moving, then the Lord will help you to turn that wheel SO much easier, and quicker… The key is “Moving”!! See that? We often wonder why our lives are not ‘going anywhere’. And, usually, it is because you are ‘pointed’ in the wrong direction… and, since you are NOT moving, it is SO much tougher for the Lord to redirect you… because twisting that ‘wheel of your life’ is causing SO much strain, and stress, and twisting on the ‘tires of your life’… Get moving… let that clutch out… put the vehicle in gear, and let your foot off the brake!! Nothing FAST, or not any quick movement… nice and easy at first… to get the dead weight off your life… therein allowing the Lord to turn you much easier. Soon, you WILL see the direction changing, and see the affects of the movement… and you WILL be pointed on the way the Lord wants you to go… being directed by His gentle hand… led by His faithful spirit!! But, you need to eliminate the dead weight!!

Adoorable Back to Gallery This category is not misspelled... I catch a few doors in my walk-abouts, too. How adorable, huh! Show Me More

Wanna Go Back to Egypt? Right in the middle of your anguish, you typically have that 'look back and long for the good old days', again. Sure, they were good... well... mostly. "Bett'rn this!" you think. Read on and see why God does lead us through our trials, our woes, and our fears... on to the promised land of His life. < Previous See… the life I lead just seems so fragile anymore… so precariously balanced…. and somehow, it tends to lean toward the anxious side of things… the hurtful side of things… the sorrowed side of things… causing me, in itself, to be even the more discouraged… even more the stressed… even more the SURE that I am SO weary from well doing… from trusting the Lord… from being faithful… from holding out here… afraid… scared… lonesome… troubled to the core of my soul… weary… fatigued… so downtrodden. I cannot help but consider how my life was before I met the Lord…. and began this whole journey… Compared to NOW, it all seemed so normal…. so much closer to nice, then… so much safer, then… easy… settled… quiet… and certainly consistent!! And then, I began to reflect on the massive exodus of the children of Israel… when they were in bondage in Egypt…. and Moses led them out…. to the Promised Land they went… on that sacred journey! They cried to the Lord, and He heard their cries, huh?? He sent Moses to them… showed the entire Egyptian world just how alive and powerful God really is. And their journey was well on it’s way too. But, even in the middle of all those wondrous miracles… the many, many ways God ‘saved’ them time and again… showed them He was trustworthy… fed them… fought for them… led them… protected them… lighted their way! Such an utter presence of God in their lives…. even then. And yet, when things were hard for them… they seemed to quickly return to grumbling, and moaning, and complaining… and TOO often, would reflect how things were SO much better…. in their past…. in their Egypt . This really made me think…. made me pray… made me bow my heart in shame… in complete resolve. So many lessons to learn from these ‘wanderers’…. so very many places where God was always in their midst, yet they missed the essence of His leading. His promise for them… His love for them… and His patience for them! So, I found myself looking back over time… reviewing the WHY as to the reasoning for these children of God to even be in bondage in the first place… to need saving… to finally getting to the place of calling out to their God… to help them… restore their world… save them from this torment… from the utter agony of separation from Him. And I am remembering that the Israelites were all subdued and intertwined with the Egyptian culture… mostly due to hardships in their country, but certainly as a direct result of the sin and disobedience of each and every king, the priests, and certainly the people themselves. See, slowly but surely over the years, Israel and Judah gave in to the compromise of commingling… of being ‘ in the world ‘ instead of only being ‘of’ it… and ultimately, the entire nation was embedded within the Egyptian culture… within the Egyptian world. And the leaders of Egypt saw that these Israelites were multiplying… and fear set into the hearts of the Egyptian leaders. The decision was made for the Israelites to all become slaves… under the Egyptian’s total control… See, in the event a war broke out, the Egyptians did not want/need too many people fighting for the enemy… and they realized that they were quickly becoming outnumbered!! So begins the utter slavery and bondage of God’s people… slowly, it takes over… slowly it consumes your life, and your very soul… without ever really noticing it. Along with this bondage, Pharaoh also decides to kill all the sons of the Israelites… ordering the midwives to execute the boys as they are being birthed, and allowing the girls to live. God’s much smarter and quicker than all that, and Moses is born, and survives… for at least three months, with his mother. Then, fearing certain exposure, he is placed in that fateful little ark (yet another ark of deliverance ), and set into the water at the river’s edge. Sometime later, Pharaoh’s daughter spots him and has him retrieved from the river. He is wholly and completely accepted into the Pharaoh’s house… and grows to be a fine, strong Egyptian soldier. Some 20-odd years later, Moses witnesses an Egyptian soldier brutalizing one of his own people, the Israelites… and fights and kills the soldier… this ultimately leads to Moses fleeing the country altogether… to avoid certain death himself… to follow God’s plan, oddly enough. Meanwhile, the Israelites have already endured utter hardships at the hand of the Egyptian culture. At the hands of this world that they so wholly accepted some 30 years previous… as though this new way of life… the popular way of life, was really any salvation at all. Sure, it appears welcoming, and safe… but, the snare DOES close…. The trap was certainly set. But our friend, Moses, goes into the desert and finds a bride, has a family…. Sort of disappearing from that whole bondage scene…. For almost the better part of 40-odd years…. Just tending his flock… nurturing his family… and being steadfast in the Lord. As you can guess, the bondage and slavery of the Israelites becomes worse and worse… and the people begin to cry out to the Lord… to beg for mercy… to really wail!! You know that wail? That deep down “ I really, REALLY mean it ” wailing you have when you finally realize the depth of your troubles… the completeness of your loss… the wholeness of your emptiness…. You know that feeling… right??? Well… the children of God were there… and had been there for SO long. Only, they were really so busy enjoying Egypt, it took a while to really realize it… In fact, it took two generations for them to actually hear the burdens on their own heart… and realize just what it was they sold out to. They sold out to the very opposite of God’s leading… to the very separation from God Himself… such a lonesome and empty place… when you settle down enough to be honest with yourself … to acknowledge that eating leeks and onions is NOT a nice thing… that working with someone over your back is NOT acceptable… …that someone beating you and your family is completely wrong… this all is NOT a condition of freedom and security… this is not a by-product of love and acceptance… NO!! On ANY level!! So… God summons Moses… gets his attention… pulls him back onto the scene… and through many, many interesting chains of events and miracles, Pharaoh finally ‘allows’ the children of God to depart from Egypt… not as bonds-people either. They are wholly and completely lavished with tons of gifts, provisions, and material goods to assist them with the journey they were facing. And off they go… jubilant, for sure… optimistic, at least… hopeful, proud, thrilled, excited, trusting, and certainly with a renewed love and faith for the Lord their God. Their ‘rebirth’ caused SO much energy and passion. So, they travel and travel… some number of days… and finally come to the edge of the great Red Sea… that massive body of water. Unable to cross it, however!! It does not take long for the people to begin to complain… to point out the obvious… to surrender… and even to begin to consider just how goofy this whole trip really has been… I mean… to go all that way from any civilization… to have such a mass exodus from Egypt… after being such in integral part of that society. And many of them begin to even consider things from that curious angle we all look at things sometimes… you know that angle?? That angle where we consider ‘how is this even possible’, almost NEVER considering where God was in all that… No! Instead, they begin to consider how it was that they so easily got out of such a horrible and tight bondage. Who was this Moses guy anyway?? REALLY?? Some say he actually grew up in Pharaoh’s house… and that he was just ‘absent’ for all these years… And they begin to doubt… to over-analyze, and not trust… to rethink, and not recommit… to look for tangible answers to spiritual problems!! And then, it happens… they actually seem to forget just how bad that bondage was… they forget the depth and passion of their cries for God to save them… to redeem them. They even begin to acknowledge that while it ‘was’ bad there… it was at least BETTER than ‘this’… than being here WITH God, and facing ‘the impossible’… facing that huge body of water… wondering just how they were ever going to get across. “Promised Land” my foot… “ we’ll do good to see it from here, on a very clear day “, they’d mutter! …and then MORE happens! Over the horizon, behind them… a great cloud is stirring… and they learn that this cloud is being stirred by the rush of all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh’s mighty army… and that he is bearing down on them there… with no place to go… no weapons… and even if they HAD weapons… they have not assembled an army of warriors… ‘ever’! See… these people are 2nd and 3rd generation slaves. Slaves do not know how to fight…. Have never really been exposed to it… They think a shield is something you use to keep the hot desert sun off your back while you are in the mud fields!! The pressure really sets in here. See… on the one side, the great waters are no escape… on the other side, the warriors are bearing down on them… Hopeless, either way!! They see this entire scene from a ‘godless’ approach… Looking at the ‘limits’ and not even seeing the opportunities, the promise, the hope… forgetting, only days before, all the majestic moves God made in their midst… forgetting, SO quickly, just how close to them God really was… at all times… leading them… caring and providing for them… watching over them… loving them, certainly! And they boldly begin to jest at Moses…. To remind him, again, that ‘at least’ in Egypt, they had food, shelter, safety, and security… not all this uncertainty… all this turmoil… and certainly, the apparent foolishness of this very situation. They consider how ALL of Israel will forever be remembered as utterly foolish, for the ‘unbelievableness’ of this very situation. How, nation after nation will forever remember their plight, and folly… Only, for some reason, the Israelites are looking at the loss. They are defeated before the battle even begins… they have resigned to loss… they have already surrendered to the enemy… without even lifting a sword… without even seeing the enemy close up… weak… feebly minded… hopeless in heart… lost… utterly lost. And, as you know… God moves Moses to part that mighty Red Sea… to allow an escape… relief…. salvation… grace… mercy…. What an AWESOME God!! Leading us, despite ourselves!! So… wanna go back to Egypt now?? NOT!! Somehow, when we see those waters part, we don’t give it a second thought, huh?? Sure… we are no longer following God by ‘faith’… we are now following a very tangible leading of His spirit! Has the Lord brought you out of any Egypts? What bondage has he freed you from? Which Red Sea are you now facing, and can just feel Pharaoh’s Army bearing down on you now?? See?? Even when we ‘fall’, we know ‘where we stand’!! Well… the Israelites went on to the infamous Mount Sanai… to the very location where Moses meets God again, and receives all those new ordinances… directions for a righteous life in the Lord… and there, as well as many other places, the people quickly resort to grumbling and complaining… often looking at their current predicament, and measuring it against that life they had back there… in their little Egypt experience… And they KEEP coming back to that moving song of Keith Green’s… So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt? They are thinking that “at least THAT was better than THIS”! Why?? Why are we SO weak and fainthearted?? Why?? So faithless with God… almost always looking on the things of this earth as proof that the Lord is REALLY going to fulfill His promise to you (us). This all brought me back to what actually started all this… Do you know?? Do you remember? Is God just SO bored with things to do, that He’s going to make us leave a safe a secure place… struggle in the desert of our lives. Always facing choices between ‘parting seas’, or dieing at the hand of the enemy we were fleeing? Seems all twisted and confusing… Until… Until… Until, we remember… It was actually US who started all this!! Remember… “ God heard the cries of His children “… that they have finally had enough of the disobedience and the bondage of their sin. And wanted OUT!! They ‘wanted’ to be free from this Egypt of theirs… they cried DEEPLY unto the Lord… and He heard them… in the depths of their bondage… in the face of the very impossible, He heard their cries and arranged for their freedom… for their great Exodus from that world. Makes you cry, doesn’t it?? To think… God DID and DOES hear your cry. God DID and DOES see your heart from there… and arrange the impossible to get you out of THAT bondage. He is THERE with you… right there!! He is giving you the strength and passage to flee from each and every Egypt in your life… to be loosed from that slavery… that bondage!! So… face those Red Seas!! Face those moments in your life… when YOU cannot see any way out… God is very busy making a way!! Follow Him, dear friend… Trust Him… Use your faith like you have NEVER used it before… do NOT wait for the waters to part… begin walking right towards that water’s edge… Knowing He will make that way true for you!! And, even better… Your enemy WILL follow in, right behind you (see, the enemy is not all that bright!), and will be WHOLLY consumed by the very element of YOUR faith!! Live that!! Believe that!! Trust that!!

Stairoids Back to Gallery You 'must' be on Stairoids to capture these things! Show Me More

Fat Dumb and Happy Sure, the simpler, innocent life is mellow and typically painless. While this is a go-to way to live life, this innocence can be very damaging and leave you guilty and to-blame after-all! < Previous Typically, the term “ Fat, Dumb, and Happy ” is often used to describe someone who is plodding through life without much of a care-in-the-world attitude… oblivious to pending doom… even ambivalent to even caring about not caring! Just smelling the flowers… enjoying life…. resolved to not fret, worry, stress over ‘things you cannot control’. For me, this term conjures up a simpler life… a not-as-worried approach to the buzz of the world around us… even a complacency, disconnect, and even that whole ‘devil may care’ or innocent (ignorant?) way we choose to face life. For SO many people, it is en-grained… it is part of who they are… it is a built-in trait or ‘habit’ they have settled into and just don’t even care to care to care… or care! Personally, I ‘ get it ‘. I mean… living a simpler and much more casual life can be utter bliss. Something like when we were children… when we were too young to have brokenness merged so viciously with the maturity of our lives. As we get older, we just seem to collect more baggage… more anguish… more angst, frustration, and even deep, utter disappointments. Oh, to actually be back at the Fat, Dumb, and Happy stage in our lives! Innocence Lost, some will say. Being an inquisitive and ‘curious little boy’ at times, I kind of broke this phrase apart a bit ’cause the Lord was showing me that we all so easily get into a Fat, Dumb, and Happy place with our emotional and spiritual lives with Him and our lives with those around us. Fat: plump; well-fed; like a good, fat chicken. Dumb : lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted. Even lacking the power of speech. Happy : delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing. So many of us ‘ church goers ‘ or ‘ waiting on God ‘ or even just ‘ following the Lord ‘ people seem to give more time and attention to getting , than doing … to being a consumer and not a producer … to absorbing… gleaning… even just ‘soaking up His goodness’ in our lives. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22 There is a point in our lives when we have to ‘push away from the table’ as it were, and be busy doing the Lord’s work… actively putting His leading of our lives to work for those around us. Faith is a wonderful, wonderful attribute to have in your life… a deeply settling aspect of our spiritual, emotional, and even physical portions of our lives… but, oddly enough… Faith on its own is dead… Faith on its own is useless… Faith on its own means you are obese, actually (the Fat part). See… James 2:14 states, “ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? “ Put your faith into action… get a work-out going… burn that fat… lose the flabby, the weakness, even the unsightly bloat of an over-stuff being (not physically, silly!). Otherwise, as Proverbs 1:31 confirms, “ Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. ” Sure… the King James Version is a little awkward and tough to read, but essentially that is confirming that doing what you want, the way you want, how you want, when you want will leave you wanting! Being dumb on the other hand sounds harsh…. seems derogatory… almost insulting. So… get over yourself for a little bit here and think about how else this word can represent us as Christians. See… even back while Jesus was on the earth and healing people, a man brought his son to Jesus, and proclaimed, “ … Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit ” ( Mark 9:17 ). The boy he brought couldn’t speak… or maybe wouldn’t… as it may be in our case. WAY too many times we are either unsure of what to say to others, afraid to say anything to others, and even worse, unaware that we even SHOULD say something to others… dumb, huh! I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. Psalms 39:2 As this passage from Psalms identifies… we can get ourselves in a place where we are ‘dumb with silence’… not being willing, able, or ready to ‘give account of the hope that is within us’… or, just simply too simple and shallow to care. appiness tends to drive that problem!Wait… WHAT??Yes… enjoying the happiness you currently have… or… maybe not wanting to be sadder… we resist jeopardizing what level of happiness we may already have. Some time ago, I wrote a story here on the site about The Pursuit of Sadlessness ( read ) wherein we work and work to be less sad… a funky form of happiness (not as sad). But, Proverbs 14:14 actually states, “ The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. “ Now… I didn’t just call you a backslider… not me! Nope… rather, I am working to show you how being settled with being Fat, Dumb and Happy is not God’s way for our lives. Sure, you may look around your life and feel complete… appear to be well-rounded in your spiritual life (you give willingly, you attend church, you are empathetic, etc)… I just want you to be careful for the half-truth of your life. See… Proverbs 27:20 claims, “ Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. ” It is that ‘pursuit of sadlessness’, I mentioned earlier…. we strive to survive and forget to be alive! Putting any of this into action is never easy. Otherwise, SO many people would already be doing it instead of just settling for that Fat, Dumb and Happy approach to their lives in the Lord, let alone in the world. All the ‘fatness’ of the world can never satisfy you for more than short-term spurts… resting on the surges that give us the impression we are spiritual… that we are connected to the Lord… that those ‘chills’ we get up our spine are really more than just some emotional appreciation. Nope! Unless you hunger and thirst for His leading in your life… for His will… for the things that please the Lord… you’re going to end up going back for more (things of the world). And, those things leave you ‘fat’ in so many wrong ways. Now, Matthew 5:6 tells us; “ Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. “, which is a perfect example of consuming the right things… wanting the proper pieces of God, the proper way. Hunger and thirsting after righteousness is WAY more than ‘want’… much more than desire… so much deeper than being a consumer at church, or reading spiritual guides, or even just praying over it all. Hunger and thirst AFTER righteousness… not FOR it… AFTER it! It is a matter of producing ‘fruits of the Spirit’. Growth in your life will produce fruit! Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:11 Beware though, being filled with His Spirit… having great fruits in the Lord… that warm, deep feeling of being in His will and all that… is useless if you are Dumb! No… not the ‘dumb’ we use as slang or some derogatory label… dumb as in not speaking… dumb as in being silent… dumb as in selfishly keeping all His grace in your life to yourself. Now it may be that you are scared to share… a little intimidated to expose such a personal and private part of your life… you may not have enough of a grasp on it all to even feel confident to interject in a conversation, or have anything to offer those around you. Take courage and listen to what the Lord had done while he was here on the earth… Luke 11:14 states, “ And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. “ That is to say that you can ask the Lord to strengthen your life… to remove that ‘dumb’ spirit within you… to free up your inner-being to proclaim the joy within. Well… unless you do not HAVE any joy within! But, way back in Ezekiel, God was letting him know that there was coming a day when God ‘would’ free-up Ezekiel to speak… to utter God’s grace to the people ‘once they have repented from their ways’. God is ready to prepare you to share… to be ready to give account of the hope that is within you… no longer dumb. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 24:27 Happiness in Godly things, however is a happiness that is deep, wide, and never ending. Now… I am not oblivious to the many, many things on this earth that do provide happiness… do provide such a rich sense of satisfaction… such an awesome inner glow in our spirits, even. Too very bad it is not lasting… not able to be sustained… to endure the ‘hell’ we encounter soon thereafter. Those ‘godly things’ are tough to follow, though… I mean, the bible ‘does’ tell us to ‘seek after these things’. Too often though, we want the “what do I need to do” list of items, when all along the Lord has been showing and telling us what NOT to do! 1 Timothy 4:1-11 is a bit too long to include here in this writing, but get over there and read that, please. Especially that last verse, which states; These things command and teach. 1 Tiothy 4:11 Granted… not much of an exhortation or ‘threat’ of pending doom if you don’t do all those things. But, I needed you see that verse 11 is directing us to ‘command and teach’. Command? As in ‘order people around’? No… read that ‘command’ as “ have these things under your command “… be exercised in these things… be in control of these things in your life. Then teach them to others! See… we are instructed to ‘rightly divide the word of God’, which is to say we grasp it’s meaning, it’s intent, and learn to pass it on to others, too… not just sit there all ‘fat, dumb, and happy’ in the knowledge we gained. Then, back over in John 13:17 , Jesus tells us, “ If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them .” Now THAT is the right kind of happiness… the everlasting kind of happiness. Maybe you have tried… maybe you have waited and wanted ‘this’ so badly…. so deep in your soul… but, this happiness eludes you. Not to worry… well.. much longer, hopefully! Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24 See?? You have not been asking “in His Name”… asking Jesus to get into your heart and life, and surrender your ‘will’ to His leading. But, it clearly states there, “ ask and you WILL receive “… that your joy may be full! How? We all serve the same one Lord… we all follow Him identically different, though! I mean, my path and your path are different. We lead different lives to this point, and now we are getting ‘back on track’ to His world… to His place… to His righteousness for us. Psalms 16:11 reminds us, “ Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. “ You will be His happy.You will no longer be dumb, but speak.You will be lean in Him. No longer simply Fat, Dumb, and Happy .

Buster's REO Back to Gallery This 1954 REO Gold Comet was purchased in 1956 by Buster (Frank Redfield). They were living in Atlanta at the time, but his father was back on the wheat farm in Opheim, Montana and gettin' on in years. This wheat farm is one of the original 'homestead' grants from back at the turn of the century, and has been in the family all these years. So, Buster had to head home to take over operation of the farm... and this old truck was loaded with all their personal possessions and headed back home! Show Me More

Kauai Back to Gallery While in Kauai, I fell pray to the gorgeous flowers, plant-life and landscape serenity. I almost never do this (typically watching for the unusual and "I never saw that before" perspectives, but I made an exception. Show Me More

Flesh is Willing When it is wrong to get ahead of God... to 'get involved' in hopes of becoming spiritual... effectively attempting to justify your calling, however subconsciously and unaware you are doing this. < Previous Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak . Wait… the title of this story is “The Flesh is Willing”, yet this scripture claims it is weak… and it was Jesus who actually said it… so, that must be right! No, I am not trying to mislead you or give you some bait-n-switch headliner to draw you in and trick you into reading and doing something you really didn’t intend to do. See… the flesh is very willing to do things, to get involved, to perform or get into action… even to accomplish something in your life, justify your existence… it is very, very odd how subtle… how ingrained it can be in our lives to ‘do’ without thinking… without questioning why… just do. Many times we just have a physical drive to get involved, to make an impact on our world, to have an influence and “make right the wrongs” as we see it. Unwittingly, this emotional, mental and physical motivation can get RIGHT in front of the Lord’s leading over our lives…. His peace for the direction we are taking… His blessing for His calling on us. Sure, we have gotten so good at disguising it that we actually now think this is the right thing to do. Quite some time ago, I tweeted this thought that came to me; See… the longer we do the wrong thing… sorry… the ‘ right thing ‘ , it is harder and harder to be convinced that it is wrong and ‘that other way’ is really where Jesus wanted you to go. Again though, this all it not really our fault. I mean, it is your fault… no wait… it is not your fault… dang… wait… See… all our lives we are pressured into doing things. Many times, whether we want to do them or not… many times out of peer pressure… too many times out of guilt, or some justice-driven commitment (activists). It’s not your fault… wait… it is your fault… wait…. dang! OK… one last attempt… it IS your fault. You are to blame for your life, for your choices, for your actions. No one, but you will stand before the Lord and ‘give an answer’ for how and why you lived your life like you did… did what you did, how you did, and why you did. What Drives Us I struggle, struggle, STRUGGLE with why I am doing things in my life… not over-analyzing… not second guessing… not doubting…. just ‘checking my heart’, being sure of my choice, learning to listen, hear, and act by His Spirit’s calling and leading. But, why do we do things in our lives? I mean sure, showering, eating, sleeping… these are the ‘part of life’ things we do. But, things like Jogging… like Cycling… like Weight Training and/or Treadmill exercising… like Dieting… like “New Years Resolutions”. Each of us can only answer to the secret and inner part of our core lives for the reasons or motivations for these kinds of things. But, it is these kinds of things (the reasoning) that helps lead you to the deeper “why am I doing this” stuff that the Lord shows you (church, ministry, work, politics, music, etc). As a ‘template of thought’, or a ‘model of process’… let’s focus on Jogging or Cycling for exercise. Right out of the gate, one of the core reasons most of us do either is based on exercise. In turn, that means a healthier life, being fit-n-trim, weight-loss, cardio stability and strength. See?? All kinds of GREAT reasons to be doing these activities. These activities are both Physical and Mental… and some would say even Spiritual. No question here… so far! But, for a moment, get back to what was the core purpose, reason, or ‘trigger’ that convinced you to make your body DO these activities. The body (flesh) is motivated to ‘get into action’ by our thought process, which is driven by the mental side of us as well as the spiritual side of us… we ‘think on a thing’, or ‘make a determination’ based on information, thought, convictions (you see yourself in the mirror!). Nothing EVER wrong with this… just… if your Spirit isn’t as into it much as your Emotions or Mentality are, your flesh is going to be strung out in a bad, bad way! Whatever it is, it ‘makes sense’ (logic and rationale), so you set your body into motion over it. I mean… how long HAVE you jogged before getting really tired… that ‘wall of pain’ or ‘wall of willingness’? See… when your emotions (or rationale) convince your body to ‘do something about it’, you get right into action… you may even go to some great lengths to prepare (gym membership, a trainer, educate yourself on diet strategies, etc)… you may even have had an ‘event’ that occurred, which motivated you. Regardless… once your body gets to that ‘wall’, or once the newness wears off, or once your mental state changes (you become discouraged, or distracted, or even derailed with some other activity)… the willing flesh stops! See… the flesh IS willing, but your Spirit was too weak to drive on… to remain motivated… to own this task. Other things that motivate us into action though are less obvious… less tangible. Accolades can be a very, very subtle liar in your life! Unwittingly, we can get motivated to do things ‘in the public’ eye so-as to bring attention to ourselves (or even to bring attention to someone else). I have seen COUNTLESS people get involved in a ’cause’ because someone they know (or even themselves) were victims of something heinous, something life-changing (cancer, plane crash, violence)… and now they are a ‘champion for the cause’. The Need Never Justifies the Calling Because there is a need does not justify that God called you to solve it. God calls you, period! With His calling on your life, an outlet will be presented… God prepares you to receive and use your calling, and He prepares the world to accept your calling. Sure… no doubt you can do good… that you can improve things in people lives… that you can have a positive impact and make a change. Great… very good. There is a danger in that though… diving in to solve a problem ‘can’ be a misleading of God’s will for your life… you/we can get SO wrapped in “this is the right thing to do” that we cannot really see that our flesh got motivated into action, but without His leading over our lives. The Flesh is Willing, The Spirit is Weak Now here is where we need to explain what happens if and when you are so busy ‘doing’ His will and don’t recognize you are not actually called to be doing that. There are three scenarios Jesus presented in the Gospels to help us understand where people have had “good intentions” that just failed miserably. In the midst of having good intentions , you are actually setting yourself up to be consumed by evil itself… the VERY evil you are working and fighting against… consume you! Worse, as you turn to the Lord and lean on these ‘works’ as badges of your efforts to ‘ make something of your life ‘, He will literally cast you away! Wait… God rejects us? Uhhhhh… yea… who’da thunk it! Consumed by Evil Right… without the protection of the Holy Spirit over your life, your calling, your very ‘work’, you expose yourself to being consumed by the very evil you are battling… the very ’cause’ against which you are fighting… the very, very turmoil you are trying to settle can and will cause turmoil for you, but not just by a little bit, either. 13. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. Acts 19:13-16 Sure, the King James version is a tough-read, right! But, it helps us to re-read it and try grasping what the Lord is telling us. These Jews were really just trying to ‘cast out demons’. Remember now, they are God’s chosen people remember, not run-of-the-mill citizens… and, their ‘intentions were good’, right?! But, even ‘the evil spirit’ knew they had no spiritual backing… no spiritual strength… their flesh was willing, but their spirit was weak (I’m wearing that out, eh!). For more on this, please read the Demons & Exorcism story on this site, too. God Rejects There are times in the scripture where God actually tells people ‘get away from me’. Now… he NEVER said that to Satan… ever! He always told Satan to “get in his place’, by telling him “Get thee behind me”. But, the people on this earth who get all energetic and are so focused on diving in and being involved (some of those ‘wrong reasons’ discussed earlier) are prone to be rejected and told to ‘depart from Me’. 21. 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. 22. 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? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me , ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23 Yikes… right! Not to fear… well… too much, anyway! God is NOT vindictive, viscious, or out to get you (that would be Satan coaching you from the sidelines). If you can, go back to that passage, and read from the beginning of the chapter, or at least from verse 15 (beware of false prophets)… Jesus is working to let you know how not-to-be-fooled about how He actually wants us to live. He “knows thy works”, sure… but even better, He knows ‘why’ you are doing the work… the spirit that has motivated you… the purpose… your flesh is willing to do this work, but His Spirit is weak in you. Surrender Time In all your efforts… all your work… all your passion to ‘be involved’, have you ever ‘surrendered’ to God’s primary criteria? Mark 10:17-25 provides us with a great example of “ the flesh is willing, but the spirit is weak “. In this passage a very wealthy and well meaning person wanted SO badly to be included in this ‘movement’ that Jesus has stirred… we don’t know by this passage whether he was motivated by those ‘accolades’ we discussed earlier or if he genuinely wanted to help (good hearted, good intentions). But, when Jesus told him ‘one thing you lack’ it mad this man so sad… so broken, likely. We get all zealous and motivated and excited and even plan our lives to ‘get out there and DO something’ only to find that Jesus’ primary criteria is that we start by stopping! By selling out? By giving away ALL that I can use to forward this cause? Seems backwards, dumb, and rather impractical. But, it DOES quicken your spirit and make you check your motives, right! Well… it better… it should! Too Scared to Move, Now? Don’t be… please… just be ‘aware’… just be in a ‘waiting on the Lord’ posture in your spirit… not SO ready to pounce and solve a problem, provide a solution, get involved. Sure… “there is a fire”, JUMP on it! But, you’re bored (in your spirit/soul) and seeking an activity where your skills and passion can make a difference… wait! His leading will let you know when it is time. If you ever feel ‘frozen in your tracks’ and unsure if you should even MOVE… please read the Dead Weight story on this site… it is safe to be moving in the Lord… just listen, too! One of the other, and worse, things about waiting on the Lord’s calling on your life… the ‘want’ to have God lead you… that yearn to “let go and let God”, as they say… is keeping your spirit, your heart, and your mind in a place where you are at least ‘willing’ to follow His leading. See that? “Wanting to” is way different than “Willing to”. This is not a “ Lead me. But wait… not over there. ” discussion with the Lord. Submission is key, but you’ll never get there without being vulnerable with yourself, with the Lord.