Last Rites

This is a photo I clipped last year because I thought it was a touching, though I had no clue what to do with it.

It was taken during one of the many Venezuelan civil unrests.  In it is Naval Chaplin Luis Padilla, intervening to administer the last rites for a dying soldier just shot by a sniper.  I would like you to notice a few things about this photo:  Padilla is not there in his military capacity, he is there for a wounded man; he is not flanked by soldiers, he is unarmed and quite alone; the dying man is clutching him.

Luis Padilla has it right.

Just like this Chaplin, we are to be of the same material as him, to this world.  We are supposed to be strangers in a strange land, we supposed to be ambassadors for God's kingdom to a world which does not know him,  we are supposed to be at war with the spirit of this age.  But, pretty much, we want to be friends with the world, compromised by this world, as ineffectual as possible in serving God - completely hampered by ourselves and nothing else.  (Yes, speaking about me as well here!)

Padilla has placed his life at risk, to do his duty to God, towards a man in need.  Perhaps this is one of his parishioners, perhaps a complete stranger.  Does not really matter.  No matter whom he is, we are to render what we are able to do for this man about to meet his Creator - including letting him know what we know about God's saving grace.

Like the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are to do what we can, when we see the opportunity to act on God's behalf in this world.  For Padilla, it was exposing himself to taking a bullet to the back to comfort this man at that time of his death.  A week ago for me, it was making myself completely and totally vulnerable for an ex-friend.  For you ...  What is it that you can do to reach out to those whom surround you in this world?  Not because you have anything to gain but because you need to represent God to that person in their time of need?

Our goal in life is to be that representative for God.  Not to accumulate wealth we bury, not to tithe to send others to do OUR job in this world, not to even cluck our tongues at what we see and "know" is wrong.  We are to be active in this world, in our communities, in our friends lives, in our families - representing God's LOVE and His TRUTH.  If you have a mind to, God will use you, as you make yourself available to Him, to serve others.

Before God

Timothy is in Ephesus, a Church under attack from the start by Satan.
Paul is writing to his convert, whom he is giving the pastorate of the Church to.

So, I want to pick up with 1 Timothy 5:17 - 6:2.

Elders
By nature non of us are ones to submit, we lack respect for others, relationships are a problem.  Yet we have to choose wisely our elders because they have to be willing to submit, to hold in respect others, to maintain relationships.  Their responsibility is directly the care of the widows, orphans and other leaders in the Church.  I have yet to see a church outside of third world nations where the Church actually does their duties towards widows and orphans in the Church!

If you feel no condemnation here - then your Church is a rare exception or you need to study yesterday's post again.

Pay Properly
Really?  Paul writes to Timothy to tell the church to pay him what he is worth?  Really?
I guess even 2,000 years ago, people were cheapskates and not wanting to pay their ministers.  Admittedly, it was not a new concept in Ephesus, given that it was a pagan ritual site with plenty of taxes and gifts required to support the temples and bathes.  So, what was the point?

Perhaps a challenge for the congregation of Ephesus to make a choice with their drachmas?  Give to the Church or support the pagan shrines.  Make a choice but do not straddle the fence and claim to be a Christian while starving out your pastor.  Could be, heaven knows, I have seen more than one youth pastor starved out of the ministry - and even a few pastors as well!

Chose Carefully
1 Timothy 3:6, 10
The Church must choose carefully - their future reputation is on the line here.
The leadership must not include new converts.  Even I was to learn the value of that one, the year I became a Christian and my church talked me into being a Youth Pastor.  I told them it was a bad idea, but they did not care.  I thought it was because I was special (but it was because they were beyond cheap!).

Candidates must be trusted.  That same church a year later was to see its Eldership, almost to the man, go to prison and jail for everything from embezzlement to securities fraud.  It was a marvel to witness - and to then understand that God does hold those whom would represent Him, responsible.

Witness Well
Your mission on this earth, one a Christian, is to bring glory to God.  And the only thing that brings glory to God is our lives, lived for him, and not ourselves.
We are all equal before God.

Just as a side note, having said that we are all equate is to also say that we are not all equal.  If we have not made our peace with our Creator and accepted Jesus' payment for our rebellion against God - then we are all equal before God - we are all toast.
On the other hand, if we are Christians and have made that choice to place our hope in Jesus' payment, then we are all equal before God - except God will see His Son, not our sinning faces, when we come up for judgement!
And just as someone, through a long line of witnesses throughout history, lead to our conversion, so it becomes our responsibility to do the same for others in reach them for God as well.

Sex Slave Trade

It was August 1974.  I took a trip to visit my father in Colorado and spend some time with my two sisters and two brothers.  The youngest brother was off in Texas on a trip, the oldest of my sisters was up in Wyoming, the youngest sister was nowhere to be found and that left the oldest brother to hang with.

So I asked where Carmen was, the youngest of the sisters.  He old me that she had gone to Wichita for a school pre-season football game.  She was a cheerleader, so yeah, that made sense.  Of course, then the tale continued on about how she had been kidnapped.  I was horrified and more than willing to hunt them down and quietly bring her home and bury "them".

But, for as much as I loved my brother, he was a doper, so I had to check this with my stepmother.  Yeah, the story was true and she could not have cared less ...

I was 19 then, Carmen was 15, what on earth could anyone want with a teenage girl?!?!?  Too weird.  Of course a few years later, God woke me up to the whole white slave trade in young blond girls being trafficked to the Middle East.

In 1981, I was in Tempe, Arizona, where I ran a mining company out of and as I walked across a parking lot I saw a Polaroid picture laying on the ground.  I picked it up - it was of a blond woman, bound, gagged and laying the back of a windowless grey van.  The same van description given about the vehicle which had grabbed my sister 7 years earlier!  I was stunned.

Yeah, I called the cops and they explained to me about the slave trafficking in blond girls.  I was now ill, for now I understood what had become of my sister.  Make no mistake, if I knew where she was or whom was responsible - they would have been dead that week.  I was beyond murderous rage.  I even called back to Wichita and talked with the cops about anything being done to find my sister: nope, but there had been 11 more abductions with the same vehicle being described!  They would not let me have a  list of grey vans in a three state area ...

As for the photo I had found, she had been grabbed in San Diego the day before.  Probably headed for Florida, the cop commented.

Sunday, thirty-two years later, I popped into a meeting about something called Rapha House.  Sounded like another recovery center or something, there are lots of them around here, but I was willing to hear their sales pitch and see if there is something I can do to help them.

Turns out that they run sort of a half way house concept in Cambodia, Thailand and Haiti for girls freed from the sex trade.  Girls bought usually as pre-teens from their families and then, well YEAH!  Some can be kidnapped from their owners or enticed to seek shelter, some brought outright by the local police because even they can no longer offer safety to them.

There were only four guys at the meeting and she commented that this was an unusually high number  - so she spoke on how this sex slave trade culture can not be conquered until men's hearts can be turned to God.  She hammered guys pretty hard.  It made me smile.

I stayed after and talked with the director for at least half and hour.  A very genuine, concerned, woman with a heart for those trapped into the hopelessness of the sex trade.

She sort of agreed with me that there was no hope in ever recovering my sister, 39 years have passed since her abduction.  She would be 54 now and in a decade of searching the internet there is no one by that name that could even reasonably resemble her.  But, I am the optimist so I do hope to find her, rescue her if needed and let her know about the God I discovered while I was away at college that previous year.

There is little I can do to help this Rapha House project, no money - the IRS is currently garnishing me (for the next three years!) and too far away for me to help volunteer with their data center in Missouri.  But, this much I can do:

You can check them out and see if there is a way you can fit them into your giving or your church's support list!

WWW.RAPHAHOUSE.ORG

Stephanie Freed
POB 1569
Joplin, MO
64802-1569

Thanks.


And yet again, dear readers, I need to remind you younger men that when you hop from one site to another, a list of your previous viewing sites goes with you and is passed by Google to the receiving site as part of the analytical data - just in case I need to know, for whatever reason, how to better draw you to my site!  And, again, there is a flood of porno sites coming with your data and being stored by Google!

However, there was one new twist this time, a site from a nearby town.  When I click on the reference I do not know it is a porno site, just a place someone has visited.  So, it is with dismay when I see one of my friend's daughters, er - ah - uhm - displayed.  We will be having some words concerning this and if you are local to me, and you know whom you are, she is under age this would qualify as child porn.  So, when the Fed's find out about this site and then dump the server using addresses - yours will come up - and thanks to you so will mine.  I am not worried because I do not surf porn - so my nic-id will be of no concern.  You apparently do, so  your nic-id will be splattered all over the place.  Want arrested?  Keep surfing child porn!

However, you do need to address this sin area in your life.  I assume you know me locally, hence your reading my site.  However, you need to free  yourself of this slavery and the damage done to these young women/girls.  Corner me, talk to me, one on one - let us conquer this problem in your life now - before it becomes death to your soul...  I am very serious here about my being concerned about your eternity dude ...

Emotional Survey

Pretty much all you have read for the past six days was written last Monday, I had been foretold to expect change and so I did all of my little tasks and waited.

No one of us could have guessed that Edvard would be taken home that very afternoon, a week later I still sit here stunned.  It is a mute point to use platitudes such as he is in a better place - yes, he is.  But.....

So, Monday - Aunt Elly has a major stroke
     an hour later Ed drops dead.
     I actually have no emotional response to either incident.

Tuesday - a woman drop dead right in front of me on my walk, she was gone before she hit the ground.
     again, no emotional response.

Wednesday - I posted my good bye to Gaelic Girl, and mourned the death within me.

Thursday - my friend was having problems.

Friday - Edvard's funeral, a hard time for the little family remaining.

Saturday - Swedish Rocket Scientist called me first thing to give me a piece of his mind concerning GG's departure.
     I know he is suffering his brother's loss and lashing out at those closest.  His words still stung.
     I also know of his multi-decade attraction to her.  (darn discernment!)

Sunday - God gave me an idea of how to help my friend, you will get to see it tomorrow on this same Bat Channel.

Monday - my first nightmare ever.
      I set aside some time to help my friend and commit to do so long term.

Across seven days, I have encountered these emotions for the first time:

• Anger
• Compassion
• Fear
• Joy
• Loss
• Need
• Pain
• Remorse
• Resentment

There are others but this is a good enough list for you to see that Kris is undergoing a huge change across this past week!  Why, you may well ask.  Because, my very nature has been removed!  Yes, I can no longer call upon whom I was for 58 years to protect me!   The Sociopath literally disappeared, I can find it nowhere within me in order to use it for protection or to squelch this new emotional me!  The miracle appears now to be complete.

I was a genetic sociopath, given a emotion last May, which it took me three weeks to lock away.  It re-appeared in December, this time as a mature calming influence and I have operated with both natures since then, up until Wednesday, when emotional me had to be in control as GG left my life.  Bullet to the brain I tell you.  And if my very nature has been changed, then does that mean my genetics have as well?  We will know in two weeks, when a test i had done at the hospital today shows yeah or nay on that one.  I stand ready to be amazed....

So, change continues to be in the air and honestly I have no clue where anything ends up anymore.  Oh yeah, God is still talking to me and telling me what to do, and I obey, but I am now satisfied to not need explanations from Him any-longer.  And so, I wondered, does this new nature still have the gifts, God has given me?  In the past it was thought this was to protect me.  So?  And yes, they are still there, quietly guiding, quietly supporting, through a work of much delicacy I am performing.  Will they now continue to guide and protect?  I am interested to see and to know.

To my long term readers, welcome to my new world, where nothing is as it seems ..... and faith is the only stepping stone forward.  I really wish I could see 1, 2 and 3 years ahead, it would make all so much easier for me to know how to turn, how to lead, how to follow, what to do with absolute authority.

Welcome to humanity Kris, you seem to have arrived.....

Yeah, anxiety mixed with just a touch of fear.

God Has Your Back

Continuing my series on God's enabling you to be His hands and feet in this world, in spite of whom you are or what you are capable of.

John 1:14-18

Yes, if you have not noticed, I love the book of John.  John has a way of speaking to me like no other of the Gospel writers. I an identify with him and his passion, I can identify with him in his failures, so when he says something - I listen!

God's Son  equips you.
"Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

God's grace enables you.
To approach God.  Hebrews 4:16
To be content.         2 Corinthians 12:9
To say no to ungodliness.  Titus 2:11-12
To say no to sin.     Romans 6:15-16

God's truth empowers you.
To know for sure.   John 14:6

•  Know your source of truth!
• "Fallacy does not cease to be fallacy just because it becomes fancy" Chesterton

To be free.               John 8:31

•  To do His will without concern of cost

To be guided.         John 16:13

• In the moment you are in, at the time your are in need of empowerment!

 God's supply will engulf you!
"and from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace"


The point here is that God will provide what is needed for the situations He puts you in and what He expects of you.  One of my ways of always knowing if I have failed Him or am not listening.  So far, He has blessed me bountifully!  To such an extent that I can not fully grasp what He is indeed up to in my future.  But, I suspect it is another ministry, building upon my past as a teacher and a concern for the lost......  Although certainly God can bless us with running cars (I sort of broke GG's), shelter (I temporarily have with GG), other physical stuff (who really cares?), friends (I have discovered true gold in mine), peace (through a war zone), etc.  Yeah, as I have said before, the natural man sees disaster, but I see blessings and riches that natural man can not fathom.  Thank you Lord.....

Failures and Success

John chapters 13 through 15 are essentially Jesus' farewell address to his disciples, soon to be the future apostles.  Thinking on our relationship with Jesus, ourselves and the failures/successes in our lives.

John 13:31-33, 36-38, Luke 22:31-34

The issue here concerns the topic of faith and trust.
We trust other drivers on the freeway, we don't even know whom they are.
We trust the cooks at our favorite dining establishment.
We trust the pilot of the aircraft we are on or is flying over our homes!

But we fail to trust in God wholly.  Faith evades us because we only can see today with no view of tomorrow.

We have to learn to relax and trust God, He knows what He is doing in our lives.  No co-incidents, no luck, no charms, no yin/yang, sparkly aura, or karma actually exists for the Christian.  God has a design involving you, you are where He wants you now, your situation (outside of sin) by designation.

By the way, God know what you are doing as well!
Peter offered to die for Jesus.  And Jesus knew that the future held only betrayal by Peter in the short term.
For each of us, God knows our desires but also our failures.  He does protect us from ourselves and from our weaknesses, in so much, as we are willing to allow Him to do so.  Yes, if you are hell bent for sin, He will step aside and allow you to reap what you sow.  And I have seen some horrible tragedies because of that one....

So, outside of your sin life, God is there with you.
He will be your God.
He will strengthen you in times of need.
He will help you to accomplish what you must.
He will uphold you before Satan and his condemnations.

Rejoice, for He knows what He can do with us today and through all of our tomorrows!

God's Plan

So, have you ever considered what God's plan for your life is?  Probably and if you are like me, quite often! That is because we want to know!  We want to know what we are to do, where we are to be, who we are to be!  And, more often than not we are met with silence or what ends up in confusion.....

Consider 1 Peter 2:9-10.

9    But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10    Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

First, understand God's Plan.
To show you mercy.
To show you to the world.
For you to witness for Him.

Second, get set and wait upon God.
He will use you when and how He wills, not our will.
He must be in charge of your life.
You must be willing to wait.
You must be faithful in the drought and in the richness of His blessing.

When the going gets tough, God gets going.
Oh yeah, waiting is rough.  God is there.
Oh yeah, the road you may have to walk will totally suck.  God is there.
Nothing may go as anticipated.  God is there.
Our failures maybe exactly what God was looking for as the outcome.  God is there.

What are you going to be when you grow up?
Well, if you are yielded to God,
If you are desiring His glory,
If you are counting all as lost in this world,

God has just the place, plan and role for you.....

Unchained

December 23, what a horrible night!

God saw fit to unleash that which I keep caged, that which I can not control, that which brings me unending sorrow.  Why unleash it if it is not to be used?
Why unleash it if only to torment me?
Why unleash it if only .....

It is 1975 again, I am reliving the hell of the betrayal of my bride.  No words could change her heart, no forgiveness great enough to cover her deceit, not even a perfect love could even have withstood that hit.
Then it is 2012 and I was hit with something I could no more explain than I could out guess it.  I had to cage it for it was destroying me.  I have had relative peace since.  But not so for one.

And not so since Sunday evening when suddenly I found myself completely enveloped by it.  Perhaps God was showing me how to control it, rather than the other way around.  Perhaps it purpose would be shown.  Perhaps I am going to go insane.....

In all things the REAL God is with us.
Through the big, the small, and the overtly hard to understand.
There comes a blessing with every burden or sorrow.
Properly experienced even the saddest things can become a source of wisdom and strength for what lies ahead.
And when our cry breaks forth from our heart, God answers with courage, love, insight, selflessness, and faith.

God held me through this week, safe, in my pain and terror.  He is my fortress, the refuge I flee to when I am overcome by what continues to try to drag me down.  Protecting me, providing me with knowledge, wisdom, consideration I am unworthy of and His perfect love.

And tonight, December 25th, I sit here the victim for 52 hours of what rages within me.  I understand it better now. but I can not control it.  I fear it for it is still alien to me.  I see it taking shape again, a form that terrifies me, for whom could understand?  If God is in control, I have no way to explain this.  But, through this year He has continued to show me He is in control, He will direct, I will follow, and I will be more despised than even today - in order to be whom and what He wants me to be.  Perhaps it will be so.   And if I am not insane, then I marvel for ..... it is step by step to seeing God's hand.

For now, He continues to force me into a repeated prayer over and over again daily, and give me hope where there is no hope.  To give me knowledge, to show me a road to travel, but I do not know when , how or actually why any longer.

And the unchained beats within my breast, searching for something which yet has to arrive, which yet has to occur, which yet is to be.....

How To Be A Servant

Just some ideas on how to be a servant.....

1.   Volunteer at a local shelter or try and help transients.
2.   Pray daily for a friend in need.
3.   Write an encouraging letter to a missionary.
4.   Invite a visitor to church, to lunch with you.
5.   Babysit so a young couple can have a date (maybe pay for their dinner too!).
6.   Volunteer working around the church property.
7.   Volunteer to teach a sunday school class.
8.   Pray for your pastor and elders.
9.   Disciple a new believer.
10. Volunteer to do maintenance on the church building.
11. Anonymously give a sacrificial gift to the church or someone in need.
12. Talk with someone after service, no one is talking to.
13. Make dinner for a new mother or family in crisis.
14. Bring snacks for after church fellowship.
15. Volunteer at a local Crisis Pregnancy Center.
16. Volunteer to share information on missions.
17. Go on a short term mission.
18. Serve someone who has hurt you.
19. Mow the yard for a senior citizen.
20. Volunteer to watch kids / sunday school for infants and toddlers.
21. Volunteer to work with the  children's ministry.
22. Volunteer to work with the junior and senior high youth ministries!
23. Teach an adult sunday school class.
24. How about being part of the worship ministry or Lauder Team?
25. Volunteer to help with the church office.
26. Visit the forgotten in nursing and rest homes.
27. See a need around the church?  Do it.
28. Listen to a story the 100th time and love the teller.
29. Give a gift card to a family in need, anonymously is just fine.....
30. Ask God to show you a need everyday, that you can meet.

Doing Some Dirty Work

Yesterday's post on humility, made me think some on the preceding verses and the whole concept of Service.  This year has certainly been a time for me to rethink almost all I know of God: what is service, how does God work, what does it mean to obey, what does it mean to be a servant, indeed - what next Lord?

One evening daughter looked up to me and asked, "If God gave you the total view of all things me, then how can you ....."

If we are honest, even with just ourselves, we all have to wonder at how anyone, much less God, can see us through the eyes of love.  At least I think that way about myself.  There seems to be a disconnect between what our perception of God is and what the perception of our nature is.  Is this concept wrong?  Have we collectively misled ourselves?  I wonder.....

John 13:1-5

The main idea is that we are to Serve One Another.  We are supposed to create and promote a culture of service!

We are to serve because of whom we are.  Not sure whom you are?  You might find a few hints in Ephesians 1.
We have no need to impress anyone with our service.  You are free to serve, free to do every dirty job there is, free to know that you are a servant!  That is your identity with Jesus.

There is no such thing as retiring from being a servant!
You are called to work as a servant to all, for your life-time!
There is no quiting, there is no giving up.
Service is to be your expression of love.

Do not make a production of it!
Jesus caused embarrassment on the part of the Apostles.  This was not the "master's" role or duties!
There was no announcement on Jesus' part, no call for attention, no focus at all on his actions.

Serve other, no matter what they have done to you!
Remember Judas was in that crowd and got his feet washed too!  Jesus didn't skip him and comment on his betrayal.  He knew of the betrayal, but Jesus still loved him, Jesus even served the enemy - and they both knew it.

Point?

Live the Kingdom Life, serving all without reservation - in love.

And that is the point I was leading up to: God loves you sufficiently to see you, whom you really are, and still love you.  He even loves me and I guarantee I have failed far more than you ever dreamt.  God's love, real love, sees all, knows all, and still does not condemn.  No, I would not guess at understanding such love, it is terrifying in nature, yet it is what God extends to each and everyone of us....

What Humility is Really All About

It was May 1975 and spring break was upon us.  I had a choice: go on a retreat with the Star Lake Bible Study I belonged to or spend a very boring week cleaning my apartment.  Which to choose, which to choose?!?!?  Of course I cut and ran for the camp out/retreat!  We had reserved the Hoh Campground, which is next to the La Push River.  Very pretty spot - in summer, unbelievably miserable in spring!

So we had two large fires going 24x7 and everyone lived within about 30 inches of either blaze!  The first night all of the elders were gathered and Bud asked what we ought to do with our time - as if nothing was planned?  Yup, to everyone's surprise there was nothing planned!  After a long period of thought I mentioned that I had never been baptized and two others commented the same.  Interestingly, there were two others in the larger group whom were unbaptized as well, and coincidentally, we five were the only ones to have brought swim suits!

Yeah, this incident is the one  that suddenly opened my eyes to there being NO COINCIDENCES.  I mean, what are the odds here?

So, the following day we five were baptized in the La Push River and then retired to the restrooms to change into something warm!  and Leonard Savage, a good friend, grabbed a towel and started drying my legs and feet.  I was horrified, I was humbled, I was left having no ability to even comment!

So, John 13:6-11

Which would you prefer?

• Poor and loving your job or rich and hating it?
• Having your flight delayed or arriving on time with no luggage?
• Lick a frog or a dollar bill?
• Wash someone else's feet or have them wash yours?

Yeah, not too many would choose to have their feet washed, because it is humiliating.  And this is really what today's post is about -  Humility.  Real humility means that not only can you dish it out but you can take it as well!

If you remember: the setting of this passage is the upper room, the last week of Jesus' life.  And the Apostles are arguing over whom is the most loved, the greatest, etc.  Jesus gets up, grabs a towel, a wash basin and shows what it means to be the greatest one in the room.  The servant of all.

In order to receive it - you have to put aside your pride.
Peter refused, he threw a hissy fit, "you may not wash my feet!"  Tradition dictated that this was not the role for the master, it was the role of the servants!  And, none of them were servants!

Humility is to receive the service of others.
Humility is to give the service to others.

Pride involves conceit, being impatient, being demanding - what all of the Apostles were demonstrating prior to this.

You have to be willing to admit you are eternally clean but practically dirty.....
Peter then changes his tune to "do all of me!"  Yeah, he realized how unclean he really was and need to be ritually cleansed.  And what better way than to have the Master, the Messiah, do this for him!  Awesome idea!  Not.

We are completely forgiven, Jesus paid for all of you sins - from your birth through the moment of your death.  ALL sin was paid for at the cross.  But we all continue to live in sin, like pigs in a mud bath!  Which brings to mind Bill Bright's "spiritual breathing", to live our lives such that we are continually breathing out confession for what we have just done wrong (again!) and breath back in God's forgiveness.  Simple, elegant, I love Bill Bright.

You have to see humility, it matters more than you know.
For all intents and purposes, Jesus looked just like an out of control Rabbi to the outside world.  But, he was doing what was required of him.

Anonymous acts do not equal insignificant acts.  Just think on that the next time you are in a toilet and discover the toilet paper is missing!  Yeah, small acts can make a real difference to you and your day.

Small acts of service are what eventually lead to Jesus being our Savior.  And that  will require humility on your part.

Jesus is coming for your feet, are you ready to receive him ..... ?

Living In The Moment

Yeah, I can already see my mentors cringe at that title!  But, it is true, as Christians we are to live in the moment - not the world's definition of party hardy and not worry about tomorrow, but from the standpoint of we are supposed to be in the service of God!  That means you are prepared to be used, literally when your next breath occurs and before you can "plan" what your service is to be, before you can put together a Power Point presentation and then gone off to Bible School for for the next ten years......  Yeah, service is here and now, right outside your door!

Act Like a Christian, Not a Cheerleader!
Be involved in life!  Not just watching it pass by!

Having Christian friends is great but if you can think you are more than a baby Christian, you really need to be having friends outside of the Church whom you care enough about to witness to with your life!

We are to be the LIGHT of the world (Matthew 5).  That means we stand out in the crowd, not because we dress funny but because there is something different about us.  Think of it this way: if someone you know is hurting and they are getting bad advice, you are the one to give the good advice.  When other Christians are back pedaling on their witness due to social issues - you are the one to be standing on the Word.  Yes, it is possible to stand for truth and not alienate others to the point you get your lights punched out.  But, you have to be willing to make that stand none the less!  And if your prayer life is terrible and/or so is your sin life, maybe you need to stay indoors and spend time in prayer and study.

We are to be  the salt of the world.  Yeah, salt, the thing that adds zest to our meals.  The thing that is required for us to live.  Those around you should know that life is more FUN, more MEANINGFUL, when you are around.  Yeah, think on that one and the stereotype of the walking dead zombie-ized Christian.  Hmmmmm.

Be Jesus.
You are supposed to represent Jesus to a world that really does not know much about Him.  Yeah, that includes our churches today too.  (No offense, but mighty few anymore realize exactly whom God is, Jesus is, or even what salvation is.)

You are His hands and feet.  If it is going to be done, either you or someone else will be the one to do it.  You just have to be willing to be used - in the moment.

Yes, He does do miracles.  But, guess what!  He uses you to perform them!

It is the small acts of service which matter most in this world. (Matthew 25:31-40)

Be careful concerning what you do not do! (Matthew 25:41-46)

You will be surprised at what a difference even small acts of Love will make in the lives of those around you!


Check in with God regularly for opportunities for service in your everyday life.
If you ask and you are willing to be used, He is going to use you!

Be of service to others and those around you in your everyday life.

Expect, the unexpected.

Apostacy

So far, we have seen that God does condemn Divorce and Remarriage in many, if not most modern instances.  Yet this does happen and worse yet, it happens amongst our eldership and leaders.  If our eldership is blinded by their own sin, how can we expect any form of God-ly leadership from those tasked with shepherding us?

It would be easy to do exactly what the church has done - ignore the entire situation or blame it on the culture and continue business as usual.  Of course, this leaves us with a church with no call to righteousness, no discernment, actually no fruits or gifts of the Holy Spirit - because you are not going to find God blessing in this situation.

On the other hand, you can start to weed out those unfit for leadership, which needs to be done but there will be a cost!  Forget attendance numbers, money, etc.  Expect the world to label you as narrow minded, judgmental, exclusive, cultic, haters, etc.

What are Godly men and women to do when the very foundation of the culture, family and church are under such direct attack?  Indeed, what are Godly men and women to do?

What will happen if we do nothing?  Well, that one is actually easy!

Expect denominations to sell out Biblical standard for cultural standards.  Expect churches to become more 'liberal' in their understandings of Scripture.  Expect the least qualified of men and women to become leaders over the body.  Expect to see the church grow by leaps and bounds as the body less and less represents the one true God.  It is called apostasy - it is directly where we are headed in the modern church of today.

And when the church succeeds through apostasy, what are you to do?  Absolutely nothing, if you have not prepared for the day (or is it night?)  to come!

1.  If you have fallen as we have discussed across the last many posts, get your life right with God and fix your problems before God!
2.  Start to learn your Bible!  Do not read books about the Bible, read your Bible!  If you need ideas on where to start: Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Revelations is a great sequence.
3.  Begin to identify whom the 'real' believers' are in your fellowship.  You will need them for the next assignment.
4.  Become a prayer warrior for your church, fellowship, Bible study - what it is you have.  Remember in particular your leadership for all of these.  And, of course, the needs of your body you worship with/in.
5.  I am a solid believer that we need as many in the church as possible with Knowledge, Wisdom and Discernment as spiritual gifts.  Of course, the Holy Spirit has the right to dish these out as it sees fit and without any input from us - but it never hurts to all least ask!
6.  You are going to need faith, to give you courage and the backbone for handling the tasks God will set before you.  God will provide lots of opportunities to build your faith, if you follow and do not lead through life.
7.  You must become the least of anyone, a threat to no one, an example to all.  You must be blameless before the courts, police and your fellow man.  You have to live your faith!
8.  Support God's work.  If you can not in good conscience support your church financially, then move to another church!  There are many wonderful Christian and humanitarian missions around the world, all terribly under funded.  Need ideas, ask and I can tell you of ones I believe do a great job of financial stewardship and witnessing.
9.  As you grow in maturity, you need to become involved in service within the body.  Sunday School, youth groups, elderships, deacons, whatever your area's opportunities are to service God and not yourself.

You can have an impact for God in your family, your community, in your church, in the lives of others - but you have to be willing to put away the remote control and dedicate 'free' hours to the reality of God - to whom you are supposed to be a willing slave.....

To quote an old song, ".....it only takes a spark to get a fire going....."  You can be that spark that will awaken the current generation to the appalling conditions within the modern church.  Just do not assume that the Holy Spirit is going to raise up someone else - you might be your environment's best last chance of turning things around.

Displaced Persons

In times of conflict you have migrations of peoples from the area of conflict to hopefully places of relative safety.  They are called displaced persons.

When someone is finally the victor in the conflict and people now get to be relocated to fit with the ideals of the victor, these are called displaced persons as well.

And as I was out driving between garage sales on Saturday, I saw a different kind of displaced persons - those forced out of their homes.....

I was down in the Federal Way area, headed towards Des Moines and even I, unobservant as I am, started subconsciously counting empty houses.  There were lots of them, at least one for every city block, sometimes as many as three.

As I neared Des Moines, there was an entire family sitting by the road surrounded by a sea of garbage bags and a few items of furniture.  A mother, three kids and two pets.  Really obviously the now vacant house behind them used to be their home.  Unlike so many of the "homeless" in this area - I am willing to believe that they really are.  Unfortunately, I had nothing on me (much less in my bank account! with which to help them, grrrrr!).

Back home, I saw one of the neighborhood college students sitting by the road going through a pile of stuff.  Her school books it looked like.  Later she was gone and the books with her but the rest of her belongings I guess there was no place for or too heavy to carry away.

And I look at my new church, whom unfortunately decided to expand a few years ago, heavily indebting themselves.  Now that the economy is in shambles they are unable to even meet the commitment they made to their own missionaries they have sent out - much less attempt to help with the needs of the community!  So, now they are faced with scratching and begging to meet mortgage payments - while another chance for witness within the community goes begging.  (Churches really should not be in debt!)

Yeah, no different with me for that matter.  I invested foolishly, lost everything and now am unable to help those I see so much in need of not only material needs but spiritual and emotional as well - much less help with the needs of my children.  My church has lost its ministry opportunity and I am scoring in the same ball park.....  But, at least I can pray that the Lord will bring those people the resources they need and that they will know it comes from Him.

Lots of opportunities for witness, to those wiser than me it seems.

Its All About Timing

Timing really is everything.  The 'What To Do' is equally as important as to 'When' you are to being doing it! 

We are very good at figuring out what it is we are to be doing but very rarely do we worry about the question as to when it is to occur!  REAL faith in God means that we are willing to SUBMIT to God's timing in our lives.

Think of the disasters human history has recorded in the Bible!

• The completion of the ark.
• Abraham's failure with Hagar.
• The exodus - straight into the wilderness for 40 years.

Aside from the frirst example, which shows God's timing right on queue, the others are examples of man fouling up God's timing, then having to deal with the consequences of it!  I suppose we could call the Wilderness Experience - a massive time-out for lack of faith!

The Jew's did not trust God completely, that is certainly evident throughout Exodus!  How can we do better?  Well, we all have to learn to trust God completely!  And that is not a check mark in a box - it is a lifelong effort - of:

• Getting to know God, not just about God
• Disciplining yourself to pray before making decisions
• Learning to listen to God and recognizing His voice
• Being faithful to what God is asking of you in the moment

Evaluate yourself and be ruthlessly honest!  Look to where the timing problems are in your life - and a few of these may take the help of the best kind of friends - those whom can tell you the truth and you can forgive them for it!

• Your ideas sound a lot like God's ideas
• You are concerned with whom is watching
• You are trying to make it happen
• It involves sin.....
• You are paralyzed by fear rather than driven by faith
• The ungodly world loves you (ouch!)

So how are we to proceed in faith, while waiting on God's timing? 

• Just do the next thing needed to accomplish whatever the task!  
• Set your mind on the things of God, not man.  
• Use your resources to invest in people, for eternity.

Now remember a few posts ago about how I was telling you how so many situations exist - and I have NO response to them - and my frustration with this situation?  Yeah, this post is my response to having figured out what I need to do - whatever is NEXT in each instance.

They Never Came and Will Never Leave!

"They" are those whom came to the wreak of Christianity, after the faith has been lost.  They have no reason to leave because the faith has become self serving - they are happy here!  So, remembering my last post, that change is needed, let's see where we are going today:

John 6:70 and 71 we have to start by thinking about Judas.....

Everything you could say about Peter, John, Andrew, even James - would be also true about Judas.  Judas was one of the inner 12, he was trusted, he was the group's treasurer - he had authority.

No one saw his betrayal coming - each of the other 11 wondered if it might have been them whom would be the betrayer of Jesus.

Was Judas' sell out about money, disappointment, looking out for number 1 or was he just trying to force Jesus to reveal whom he really was?  Lots of theories, currently only God knows the answer to that one!  (I think it was the latter.)

So, Judas came.  He stayed.  He never really understood because he was really never one of them.

How like our church today!  Pews filled with people whom have no reason to leave because after all, attending church gets you to Heaven, right?  Churched people whom should be feasting on the glories of the Holy Spirit but instead are dead in the pews and in their lives.  Participation is optional, right?  And in time discontent enters their hearts - could it be the music or a particularly convicting sermon or just a remark by someone.  And the door is open for Satan take their unguarded hearts.....  Well, if you are awake you know the chaos Satan can introduce into the church to destroy it, the believers, the young in the faith.....

And what is it you are not going to like?  The role you must play in the non Christian Church of today - you must acquire the gift of DISCERNMENT!  Oh yeah that one gift you are almost never going to see because almost no one seems to have it today!

So, where do you find discernment?  Well, it is a sign gift from the Holy Spirit.  He can give it to you or you could even ask and it will be given to you.  But, in the meantime you might start to study your Bible, in earnest!  Through study you can begin to see the fingerprints and footprints of God - not only in the Bible but by observation of the world around you.  Believe it or not, God works the same to day, as He did 4000 years ago, as He will be doing tomorrow!  If you can see what is of God, then you also will have learned to see what is of man and his folly.  A start and one day perhaps discernment will be yours.  And you can be hated by those whose schemes you interrupt!

On the other hand, God might have another or other gift(s) for you to support your role and responsibility within the Church.  But having the ability to know right from wrong, truth from error, and intent - will only assist you, your ministry and your church.

Oh but don't worry - I have much more to say next time!

Go Against The Flow

There can be little argument today that America's theological influence on Western Christianity has created the post-christian world we are stuck with.  When I first pointed this out, in print in 1981, I was blasted out of anyone ever wanting my material again and called an alarmist.  Really?  Where once Christian ideals brought balance to life, anarchy now rules throughout civilization, thanks to the "Americanized" church.

My current pastor told me the other day he read 15% polled claim to have NO religion at all.  That is twice the percentage of ten years ago!  And we are not talking willing to be called a Christian here - just to consider yourself 'religious'.

So, as we observe society becoming less and less Christian - we must task ourselves with Bible study, service and prayer - all the more in our personal lives!  Well, unless you really want Christianity to have NO impact in your future!

Things looked real bad for the disciples when Jesus was rejected by the crowds because he would not proclaim himself an earthly ruler.  In John 6:56-69, Peter got the answer right to Jesus' question - there is NO one else you can follow!

Peter had a personal relationship with Jesus and he stayed for that very reason.  He had listened, he had observed - and more importantly - he stayed faithful to Jesus, even as the crowd abandoned Him on that now lonely Jerusalem location.

We as Christians must note the crowds are turning against the simplicity of the Gospel, they still are seeking to have their earthly desires filled.  These crowds do not understand we are not about making their lives better, we are offering what their soul longs for - not their stomachs.  Yeah, a famous Christian once said, forty years ago, you can not witness to empty stomachs.  I think we have seen where that bright idea has gone - feeding and no witnessing.


Today's point?

The crowd has already dwindled around the concept of Christianity, they are moving along and chasing other dreams.  You can go with them or you can stay submissive to Jesus and His leading.  The choice has always been yours.

But, if you stay - there is a cost now that you might not expect nor want to accept....

Not From Our Perspective

Last night was one of those few teachable moments I have ever had with my son.  Of course, it was over girl problems - but by extension we were also addressing the problem of allowing God to work in our lives.

Which brings to mind, John 5:19-20.  Why?

Because we often ask the wrong questions or view our lives from the wrong vantage point.  If we say, "What is God's will for my life?" or "What do You want me to do?", we are asking the wrong questions.  If you ask the wrong questions you will either not find an answer or come up with the wrong answers all on you lonesome.

The question we should be pursuing is, "What is God's will?", period!

God is always there, He is always at work, but we have to be able to know what His work is and then what part we should be playing in this work.

Yeah, I know this goes against the conventional wisdom of the American theological experience, but God's work is His and not ours.  If you are giving him a list of three girls you like and you want to know which of them is the "one" - you never will get the answer you are looking for!  You will however get plenty of wrong answers from your hormones.

As I told my son, if you want to find the girl of your dreams -   STOP LOOKING!  Get involved in what God tells you, you should be doing, for a start by knowing your Bible.  You would be amazed how you will stumble across the "right" person, when you are not looking for them but by becoming involved in God's work.

We can join in God's work because we are loved by Him.
We can join in God's work because it is based on the truth of His Word.
We can join in God's work because it is revealed by His will.
We can join in God's work because it is enabled by His power.

 But, first we must focus our attention on God, to see what He is up to and then see where we belong/should be doing.....

Heart Reaching Up

As I consider the idea of living a life of witness, I am forced to inspect myself and how I ended up where I am.  What made me the way I am?

I realize my walk is not like many others.  It was like I was given an eternal view once I became a Christian.  Because I do see God’s very active hand in our world, I am forced to not pursue many of the diversions which captivate my friends.  If you can see God’s handiwork, you come to realize just how many are His miracles and how little credit He actually gets.

In my early readings of the Bible, I was struck by Elijah and the faith the man had.  Oh sure, lots of miracles, but the man’s faith in God was incredible.  I wanted that kind of faith.  I wanted the knowledge of God which spurred James Packer to write, Knowing God.  I wanted the strength of character shown by Watchman Nee in his stand against submission to a murderous government.

Just three examples of outstanding faith, outstanding character, outstanding knowledge.  I do not aim low, do I?

There is nothing outstanding about me or my relationship with God.  I am nowhere near the man I want to be.  I am nowhere near the Christian I wish to be.  My knowledge so finite it embarrasses me at times!  And, I am so easily misled into pursuits of no worth that I fear I often fail my God.

The only thing I have is the burning desire to know my God more and to serve Him.  Were it possible, to reach up to God with my heart.  To increasingly know Him, to somehow serve Him meaningfully, to hear those precious words, “…good and faithful servant…” eventually applied not to someone else but to my life lived for Him.

Hopefully this gave you something to think about in your life and walk.  How are you living?  Whom are you living for?  How do your goals and desires match with an eternal viewpoint?

There are no judgments here, just questions to ask yourself to see if you are where you need to be in your walk….. 

I know I have continuing work to do.

Weakest Link

I know I have shared the concept of the weakest link before, it is one of those most improbable yet seems to really hold true theories in my life.

When I am doing something God wants me to do, from the weirdest of sources distractions - if not outright attacks - appear from seemingly nowhere.  So, I developed the idea that by identifying those around me, I can diminish the impact of these "distractions" when they occur.  Forearmed is forewarned after all!

Following my last posting, during the afternoon, it dawned on me - I had been sucker punched by evil and did not even realize it for a complete week!  What a Rube I can be at times!

Yeah, my "nephew", whom I always trusted, somehow had been overcome and his explosion a week ago was meant to defect me from the answer I was attempting to gain into how to best address one of " my girls" situation.  And it worked, it worked far too easily.  I was so distracted by his explosion and anger towards me, I could not continue on the quest I had begun.  I am still stunned.

However, understanding this, I was able to once again address the original issue.  But, then I was whacked for 5 days by illness such as I really do not wish to have repeated in my life.  And, yet, in God's mercy I am recovering to continue work on the quest.

So, next week, I need to be able to present a comprehensive answer to the young woman's situation - and - now that I recognize not the only importance of the situation but also of the work against that situation....

Well, nothing drives my little German heels deeper into the ground than to be opposed.