Are We There Yet?

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.”
I Corinthians 10:23

Most everyone reading this blog has probably had the experience of driving on a toll road. You pay to travel on that road because it is either the shortest, most direct or the quickest, most express way to get from here to there (whatever your ‘here’ and ‘there’ may be)! In this neck of the woods it is the New York State Thruway System. If I wanted to travel from Rochester to New York City and avoid all of the small towns, all of the traffic lights and tourist traps along the way I could choose to use this road.
But, for that privilege, it will cost me something.
The call of God on my life (and yours’ for that matter) is also a privilege.
I would say there is no greater privilege.
But it too comes at a cost.
Like the toll booth collector who takes my money for the ‘privilege’ of traveling Interstate 90 in New York State and allows me entrance on this road there are things which I must surrender in order to pursue that call on my life. I have never been told I have to travel the thruway. I make a choice. So too with the call of God. I make choices every day that strengthen that call or diminish and/or distract me from it.
Not all of the choices are a simple as ‘good’ or ‘evil’.
Sometimes I must choose between ‘good’ and ‘best’ or as someone else
once described it I can choose between ‘good’ and God.
There may be many, many permissible ‘things’ (just as there is often multiple routes to a destination) as I travel in life but if I want to stay on that thruway to the call of God in my life I will find it necessary to choose (as will you) between what is permissible and what is beneficial.

Avoiding the Routine

“And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.”
Romans 8:11 Amplified Bible

Last night at His Place we came together for the Lord’s Table.
Before that though, we were cautioned that we need to
always be aware of the danger of the ‘routine’ in our walk with God.
Not a routine borne out of developing a good foundation and good habits in our lives but rather the ‘sameness’ that can too easily creep in to replace the life we should live by walking in relationship and being led by the Spirit of God.
We can walk each day in faithful anticipation and excitement at His leading; or we can slip into a ‘normal routine’ that is more about getting done what we need to get done. God already knows about “…all these other things…” and He said they would be ‘added’ when we seek first His kingdom.
It is only in that daily seeking and daily trusting that we walk away
from the routine and learn to fully rely on Him.
As I was listening I could not help but think of a term we probably all are familiar with.
If you have ever seen a patient who is in a hospital bed and hooked up to every kind of imaginable monitor you know what the term ‘flat-line’ means. It is when all the vital signs appear as a “flat line” on the monitors.
This, if there is not intervention, results in death.
That is not a very nice ‘picture’. If you permit me the liberty of an illustration: Routine-ness carries the risk of bringing us dangerously close to ‘spiritual flat-line’. Only through the process of honest examination can we avoid the trap. I think sometimes it is a misnomer to call it self-examination because we are to examine ourselves through the eyes and with the searchlight of the Holy Spirit; dealing with issues before they take us to the ‘land of routine-ness’ and ‘flat-lining’ our relationship with God.
Cultivate the process of, together with the Holy Spirit, examining and repenting from those areas where routine has replaced relationship.

Gods’ Elect

“To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,”
I Peter 1:1

I am blessed to be a part of God’s elect.
It is a “title” I can live with.
The next two descriptive words in the verse above, however, are words
I would normally prefer not to be used about me.
The fact is, they are (or should be) accurate descriptors of followers of Jesus Christ.
Exile is defined as: A prolonged living away from one’s country.
In the first part of verse 19 of Psalm 119 the psalmist writes: “I am a stranger on earth…” When we became believers in Jesus Christ our citizenship changed. That is not to say we do not continue to be good stewards of this earth in which we now live or that we become “freaks” in the culture. Instead, we understand that this ‘world’ is not where I will spend eternity nor to whom I give my allegiance or affections.
‘Exile’ is starting to sound a bit more accurate in describing us!
The second word helps to define our location(s).
We are not concentrated in one country or hemisphere.
We are not unique to Western civilization, the Far East or the continent of Africa.
We are ‘scattered’.
We are scattered so that, in part, we can
spread His good news to the four corners of the world.
Left to ourselves we would not scatter.
We would ‘collect’ together and connect only with like minded people.
It is not wrong to join together with other believers. After all, we know the scriptures tell us not to “forsake the assembling together…”
What is wrong is when we fail to ‘scatter’ throughout our world to be those light bearers and ministers of reconciliation (II Cor.5) we are called to be.

I guess when you stop to think about it
“…God’s elect, exiles scattered…” is sounding pretty accurate after all!

Active Love

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
I John 3:18

How is love ‘lived out’ in the real world seven days a week?
Let me give you some ‘real world’ examples from His Place this week.
This is not, in any way, meant to be exhaustive or even a model. It is just some samples of different ways that His love is lived out in the lives of the believers each and every day.

Monday
Love Trusts – The man who has been unemployed for some time actively and confidently attends a networking meeting and throughout the week applies for jobs and continues to trust God with His future.
Tuesday
Love Prays – The call goes out to the prayer warriors to pray and ask for God’s healing power in advance of surgery for one of our ladies on Wednesday.
Wednesday
Love Believes – That same lady, who is facing the surgeon’s scalpel, believes that, not only will God guide the surgical team but, He will bring a speedy and complete recovery to her as well.
Thursday
Love Provides – Meals are prepared for one unable to provide for themselves for a season. The Body of Christ pitches in, without grumbling, and in a demonstration of His love in action.
Friday
Love Serves – The Sonography Technician leaves for Haiti to minister in service with his skills in ways others cannot. Sacrificially offering what he can to those who can give little in return.
Saturday
Love Prepares – In practical ways. The sanctuary and church is cleaned and readied for the corporate worship on Sunday.
Sunday
Love Comforts – The family that experienced the loss of a loved one knows the comfort of God brought through a shepherd who offers comfort and hope.

Could you express greater examples of how love serves, comforts, provides, etc…?
Yes, probably and I encourage you to look.
I believe that in searching for them and finding them we actually strengthen our
faith in the work that God is doing right in our midst.
It is too easy, far too often, to miss the hand of God at work in our world.
Look for evidence of His love, this week, at work in your life and in the lives of those around you.

Convenient Love

“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
II Corinthians 8:8-9

How far can you be stretched when it comes to loving someone else when the love it requires is anything but convenient? I am not talking about the kind of love that simply disrupts our schedule for today but the kind of love that changes our plans;
perhaps for a lifetime.
Love that isn’t tested or love that isn’t stretched is not a love that will last.
We ‘love’ convenience but true love is often anything but convenient.
God sent His Son out of love.
It was not necessary for Him to change His plans because His is not, nor never has been, a love that is here today and gone tomorrow.
Here is what He has to say about His love in Jeremiah 31:3
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
God’s love for us is not a ‘convenient’ love.
The cross was not ‘convenient’.
Giving His one and only Son was not convenient.
Turning away when your sin and my sin was laid upon His Son was not convenient.
But it was what His love demanded.
Yes, sometimes love makes demands on you and I.
It demands we back up the words: “I love you.”
It demands that sin be punished.
Love sometimes makes you uncomfortable and inconvenienced.
We can speak gracious words but what we need to do is live with love evidenced by gracious acts.
God ‘backs up’ His words.
He declares His love.
He demonstrates His love.
He lives in us through His Holy Spirit so we can “…go and do likewise.”

Revealing Love

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8:3-11

Did you read today’s text above?
If you didn’t please take a moment now to read it carefully.
Suppose you were assigned the task of developing a lesson plan based on today’s passage and had to determine the primary understanding you would want each person taking that lesson to walk away with.
What would it be?
Would you talk about the fact that Jesus could not be trapped by those eager to tarnish him in the eyes of the people?
Maybe it would be that they grasp the understanding that we can be forgiven by God, no matter our sin.
Others may eagerly point out that in their mind, the most important understanding we can have is that after forgiveness we are to turn from sin and live a life free of its’ bondage.
Maybe you think the emphasis is clearly about a judgmental attitude.
I certainly can’t argue with you that any of these points would have some validity. But, step back from this particular story in scripture and let me ask you that if you had to sum up the whole of the Bible in one word what would it be?
I would suggest that it would be a message of love.
Oh sure, there is hope, there is redemption, there is failure and so many other aspects of humanity addressed but in its’ essence it is of God’s love for man. Some have even described the Bible as: “God’s love letter to man.”
So often our nature is to view God and His dealings with us through the traits of vengeance, judgment and punishment. Here is my challenge for you today – as you read His word, ask Him to reveal His love for you. You can find it in the creation story; you can find it in the fiery warnings of the Prophets; it is evident in the missionary journeys of Paul and most certainly seen in the beatings and crucifixion of Jesus.
God’s love is evident throughout the scriptures.
Ask Him today to make it clear to you as you read.

Love Lifted Me

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4


Are His very words life to you?
I haven’t shared a lot of personal experiences in this blog since its inception back in August of 2011 but in light of how our time in Gods’ presence
was today please allow me to share something with you.
A few months back, on a Sunday morning, we were experiencing a sweetness of Gods’ Spirit as we worshipped together. At one point God whispered into my spirit that He wanted to tell me something. Having been out of work for some time I “leaned in” with my spiritual ears – so to speak – that I might hear what it was He wanted to say. I supposed He might speak something about my prospects in the search for employment, maybe even giving me a specific person’s name as a contact or the name of a company to reach out too. As I continued to press in, in worship, and listened; He spoke just three words to me.
He said: “I love you.”
I cannot express to you the impact that those words had on me except to
say – and I struggle for words to describe it – that I ‘melted’ in His presence
(I know, I know – real men don’t ‘melt’; right?).
They were not the words I was expecting but
they were exactly the words I needed to hear.
He knew that.
He always does.
Maybe He could have spoken something else that would have brought some great direction, but in His infinite wisdom, He instead spoke words that strengthened me and continue to sustain me. Ultimately, it was also a directive word because it re-directed my focus back to where it needed to be – to Him.
Do you know that He loves you?
I am not talking about a head knowledge ascent but a deep-down-in-your-spirit understanding that the Creator and King and Lord and Savior loves you beyond what you can imagine. I share that today because He reminded us this morning of that great love He has for each of us.
I didn’t earn it (neither did you) and I don’t deserve it (nor do you) but it is that immeasurable work of grace, finished on the cross, that speaks of His love down through the ages to you and I.
Today, listen for those words: “…I love you”…
He wants you to know that.