Playing to Win...or Not to Lose?

We know we are not to sin—it is succinctly the separation from God, apart from whom there is no life and is only death. We also know that we are to aspire to and desire righteousness. So is there a difference between not sinning and becoming righteous in God’s sight? Ultimately, they are the same and one cannot happen without the other. However, the difference, I believe, is attitude or approach. Athletes: it is the difference between playing to win a game or playing not to lose. Some may say, “what’s the difference?” Oh my, what a difference. Those of you who are conscientious athletes know exactly what I’m talking about. Teams that play not to lose indeed lose much more often than teams that play to win. I speak as an amateur athlete from childhood to present day, playing on numerous teams in multiple sports. From an individual perspective, this is seen in the difference between playing to help the team and playing not to make a mistake. Have you ever taken the field or court saying, “I just don’t want to screw up?” I can tell you what is just around the corner when those are your thoughts—you make that big mistake. I have lived it. Athletes or not, I think most of us see the analogy, but yet another example is in driving a vehicle: Have you ever tried to avoid the center-line on a road by continually staring at it? If you have, then you know what happens. Stare at it long enough, and you’ll find yourself gravitating toward the very thing you are trying to avoid! (you may be tempted to try it…but make sure there is no one on the road with you!) There is even a basic principle in racecar driving—look where you want the car to go and you’ll find yourself there. If you stare at the wall or barrier, you are going to hit it. (you need to glance at it or be aware of it in your peripheral vision, but you focus where you want the car to go and not the wall—or you will likely hit it sooner or later!)

So today we go out into the world, full of its temptations. How will we avoid them? How will we pursue righteousness that is oneness with God—opposite and mutually exclusive from sin? It seems noble to say, “I just don’t want to fall into temptation…or THAT temptation.” Well, stop thinking about it. Think about it only long enough to recognize it and your holy desire not to do it and to pursue righteousness. From there, our focus has to turn to the positive…or rather, the Positive. Only by looking toward what we want to be, only by looking to do good in God’s sight, only by “running for the prize” and “fighting the good fight” (1 Tim 1:18, 1 Tim 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7) will we be successful.

1 Cor 9:24-27 –
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Perhaps we begin by briefly acknowledging the terrible presence of sin and the holy desire to avoid it. But if you stare that sin in the face and dwell on it, living a life of fear, running from it, but not running toward anything or anyone in particular—you’ll find yourself right where you mind’s eye has been looking—in sin.

So how do we look to God? Number one, prayer. Prayer is an absolute focus on what is righteous and pure: God. Second, God’s Holy Word, the Bible. Read it and ponder it and find ways to apply it every single day. Find fellowship with other Christians with a shared focus on what is righteous. We are warriors together to fend off temptation, sin, treachery, and Satan himself, as well as advancing toward our goal and victory in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:11-12 – “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Examples of good things to refocus on, as well as “taking every thought captive:”

Phil 4:8-9 - “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

2 Cor 10:3-5 – “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Desire more than a life of sin avoidance—“we are more than conquerors in Christ.” Desire what that really means—salvation first, then righteousness shared in oneness with God and all those called sons of God (Gal 3:26-27, Rom 8:13-15, others).

Rom 8:35-39 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

At this point, we realize that it is a constant journey toward God until we get to Heaven and perhaps we begin to stop looking for boundaries by aiming just this side of sin—“where is the line?” If we are asking this question, we have already strayed—do we want to know where the line is so we can stay as far away as possible or so we know how close we can get? Be honest with yourself. Knowing God’s principles and natural boundaries is necessary, but we must not aim for the edges of the road, for if we slip, we are already near the edge. Aim for the center! Would you drive on a mile-high cliff one inch from the edge? “No one in their right mind would do that—you’re crazy for suggesting it.” Am I? Many of us are so crazy in the way we live our lives! Adolescence is often the pinnacle of such an attitude, if you ask me. And there is much to learn from the necessary correction when overstepping our righteous boundaries—thank our Good Lord that He is so forgiving and loving. There is also a truth in saying that a line is only truly found by crossing it. Let’s not be so bent on finding the line—because that often includes crossing into sin. But as adults, let’s stop riding the edge—let’s look to aim for the center of righteousness.

This means that when we read something in the Bible that doesn’t make us comfortable or we don’t yet understand or sounds harsh—we don’t reject it because it is uncomfortable, resorting to the comfortable religion the world would have us accept—we search out its meaning whether individually or with other believers. “I know behavior A is a sin, and behavior C is not a sin…but what about behavior B in the middle?” Well, maybe behavior B is a sin or maybe it’s not—but how about aiming for the center of the road and engage in behavior C instead of behavior B until you have searched out God’s righteousness through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship? “For God is not the author of confusion, He is the author of all peace.” (1 Cor 14:33a) “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith” (James 1:5-6a) God loves it when we come to Him like this, for it is a child-like faith in Him, combined with an adult’s God-given faculties. I think we learn to love it, too. It is the essence of why Jesus says “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life,” (Matt 7:13-14) while also saying, “my yoke is easy, my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) Do these sound contradictory? They’re not. They speak to completely different aspects or dimensions of our walks. The road is narrow because it is the way of God Himself, perfect, which is impossible without His Holy Spirit. It’s the ultimate narrow road. Yet, walking it can be easy and a light burden through the Holy Spirit and loving relationship with Jesus. We just put one foot in front of the other, as Jesus takes us by the hand and the Holy Spirit guides us from inside our very bodies. Look to the center of the road and where we are going—Heaven and oneness with God and all believers—may you find the truth in the light burden and easy yoke of God in the pursuit of pure righteousness.

"The Gateway to the Kingdom"

I want to invite you to experience what my Life Group has been experiencing. 2 months ago, we decided that we would study the Sermon on the Mount in a 5-week series. What a great dense-packed set of Jesus' teachings from His own physical mouth. Soon after starting, I noticed that the daily "My Utmost For His Highest" devotionals by Oswald Chambers were also starting to examine the Sermon on the Mount. Last Sunday, our preacher used a few verses in the sermon that we had just read in our group days before. And last night we concluded our study on the Sermon on the Mount. Low and behold, the "My Utmost" from last night:

THE GATEWAY TO THE KINGDOM
"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Matthew 5:3

Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first. If Jesus Christ is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to tantalize me by erecting a standard I can not attain. What is the use of presenting me with an ideal I cannot possibly come near? I am happier without knowing it. What is the good of telling me to be what I never can be - to be pure in heart, to do more than my duty, to be perfectly devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as Saviour before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal which leads to despair. But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition.

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man - the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord's teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the paupers in spirit," that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ's kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility - I cannot begin to do it. Then Jesus says - Blessed are you. That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.

You gotta love God's little "coincidences." And the "My Utmost" above is a great way to conclude such a study. Praise God.

Frames of Reference

Check out "Frames of Reference," a blog by Darrin Yeager. http://www.dyeager.org/
Very Bible based, Christ centered, logical, intellectual, insightful, pragmatic articles. My recent reads include articles on trials, abortion, and Biblical roles of men and women. All were spot on with the scripture, a fresh perspective, and good for edification. I have also added it to "Blogs I Follow" on the right side of this page.

Get Out of the Crib

Hebrews 5:11-14 - "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

1 Cor 3:1-6 - "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

1 Cor 13:11 - "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

I’m afraid that our nation is one of primarily children. Not physical children, but rather spiritual children, or even more accurately, infants. Now, we are all children of God and would be good to be called as such until and after we reach Heaven. But it has occurred to me that our mighty nation, when you remove the lens of physical reality and instead look through the lens of spiritual reality, is a nation relying on infants to guide the way. Our minds are so limited to God’s possibility, and so ignorant of the presence of His Spirit in and around us (I certainly fit this description). We are still drinking the milk for a newborn instead of moving to solid food. Solid food is a jolt to the newborn’s system and cannot be tolerated, so we must feed infants with the milk they can digest. But at some point we must grow. Think about it: how ever old you are, you are still your parents’ child. Even if you’re 100 and your parents have long since passed, you are still their child. So we see that it is possible to grow into adulthood while still being a child. There is a real benefit of being a child of God, not only in this way, but even in immaturity and innocence.

Luke 10:21 - "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

Children have some the freshest perspectives and have yet to falsely learn that some things are impossible. Nothing is impossible to a true child of God (Luke 1:37). However, I think God provides us with the inner movement of the Spirit to maintain that innocence and attitude while growing into adolescents and even adults in His Word and living it out for Him as if it is so controlling and such a part of us as our very DNA. That just breathing every day and everything we did and every thought we held captive glorified Him (2 Cor 10:5)…not just in the fact that His creation glorifies Him by their very existence, but that additionally, we would consciously and very intentionally glorify Him. We each need to take the milk that has been given to us and grow. Then as we begin to accept more solid food, new truths in the scripture will be revealed. And as we become adults, released into the world of those who do not yet recognize our Father, we can live for Him and be in the world and not of the world.

Jesus in John 17:14-18 - "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world."

Unfortunately, too many of us become in the world and of the world, at least for a time…and for way too long. Others of us never seem to leave our cribs, content with a diet of milk and to be sheltered from the difficulty of the world, but also impaired in the good that we might bring it via Jesus Christ.

Get out of the crib! Desire something more than you have now—desire to know God more, desire to love Him more. To know Him more is to love Him more…they are synonymous.

1 John 4:7-19 - "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us."

The great thing about our Heavenly Father is that when we go out, He is with us at all times.

Matt 28:19-20 - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We must embrace the opportunity to grow and become spiritual adults. Only then are we fit to have our own children entrusted to our care or to help lead a group or nation. Otherwise, we are infants at the wheel of a vehicle with passengers in addition to ourselves.

If you’re feeling terribly inadequate right now, take heart—the good news is that God knows exactly what you need and will be a solid rock by your side.

2 Samuel 22:2b-3, 47 - "...The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me...[47]The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!"
Matt 7:24-25 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

God truly loves you and will keep you in the way that is most effective and generates the most love between us and Him. Go forth not knowing if you’ve grown…go out knowing that you are feeble and inadequate…but trusting God…and see what amazing things He will do with you and me: weak, but willing servants. Along the way, you’ll find you’ve grown, and God worked perfectly with you and around you at each stage of growth. God’s adults do more than read the Word, or speak of the Word, or think about the Word—in addition, they simply live the Word of God.

James 1:22-27 - "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

How can you live it today?

"The Miracle of Belief"

"My Utmost for His Highest," July 17 (in its entirety below). Extremely convicting. Consider its application to you: have you begun to rightly speak the Word of God to those around you? Below is a great reminder that out of the Holy Spirit and the truth and power of the Gospel, willing hearts will believe, not out of our eloquence. On the other side, are you one who is hesitant to speak the Gospel, not because of a lack of conviction, but because of a lack of confidence in the ability to communicate? So was Moses, but God overcame. Read Exodus 3:1-4:14 and see what God did with Moses, a man who was self-proclaimed to be "slow of speech and tongue." Also, note the consequences of disbelief that God can use you, exactly as you are (Exodus 32, in addition to 4:10-14). What a comfort that His Word and Spirit speak, though ours may be feeble and clumsy. We need only speak the simple truth of the Gospel.

THE MIRACLE OF BELIEF
"My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul was a scholar and an orator of the first rank; he is not speaking out of abject humility; but saying that he would veil the power of God if, when he preached the gospel, he impressed people with his "excellency of speech." Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the efficacy of Redemption, not by impressiveness of speech, not by wooing and winning, but by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of the Redemption comes through the preaching of the Gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher. The real fasting of the preacher is not from food, but rather from eloquence, from impressiveness and exquisite diction, from everything that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God - "as though God did beseech you by us." He is there to present the Gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the Gospel will end in making me a traitor to Jesus; I prevent the creative power of His Redemption from doing its work.

"I, if I be lifted up . . . , will draw all men unto Me."

We will be filled

The other day, a friend of mine posted some interesting thoughts on a pertinent topic on her blog: dwelling on the past. The discussion on the blog inspired my own thoughts about the subject and so I've decided to share them here. You can find her blog at http://tishalou-tlt.blogspot.com/.

I have fallen into past dwelling often, as well. I'll use a silly example: after a sporting event (likely basketball, football, or baseball), if I didn't play a perfect game (let's face it...hmmm...that was every game, of course!), I would mull over that one play or plays that I made the slightest of mistakes on. I would replay it over and over in my head...sometimes I would even be up half the night, lying in my bed, wanting to go to sleep, but actually sweating as I saw the play in my head and tried to make the right move...wow, talk about trying to change the past. And I wasn't actually trying to change the past, but I was so fixated on it, that it was all I could see or think about. (visualization actually has a purpose in sports, but this is way off-base from healthy visualization)

That can certainly happen in much more serious situations, as well, and I think many of us have encountered our tendency to do so. What I've found over the years goes back to an old principle that I've heard preachers speak about: have you ever tried to not think about something? Quick, don't think about chocolate..................
don't think about it.............
haha, you're thinking about it! The key to keeping our eyes, ears, and minds off of destructive things (pasts, or present temptations) is not to aim at "not thinking about them," but instead filling your mind with something else. If you dive into a book or flip on the TV, it helps you divert away from what is plaguing your mind temporarily. Going further, sincerely diving into the Word or engaging in fervent prayer is a sure way to divert your thoughts, but with a much greater and lasting result. I would suggest starting your prayer with the very thing you are dwelling on...that past thing...and as you continue to pray, allow your mind to hear God and focus on all those around you that need prayer...and focus on His goodness and pure love. Soon enough, He'll be setting our eyes, hearts, and minds on something much greater--Himself--as well as our present and immediate next step that He wills us to do and to think about.

I think sometimes, earth is like a steady rain...a rain of worldly things, temptations and distractions from God. These rains vary from flooding downpours to light sprinkles, or even to clear, sunny days. But just like the earth and the weather, storms will persist in the coming days and months and years. Ah, but those rains, as well as the sunny days serve a great purpose, don't they? Both are needed for growth, and I think we are exactly the same way. In fact, I know we are exactly the same way, for I have experienced it. I believe there is no coincidence in the innumerable ways that our lives are analogous to such things in all of creation around us--we have the same Creator and we can see His common touch if our eyes are open. I think He loves giving us such "clues," especially when we open our eyes to them.

Additionally, we know we are to be filled by God and His Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:7:10 -
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."

1 Cor 3:16-17 – “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

In the previous example of rain storms of the world, we are like glasses, or vessels. An empty vessel will fill up with the nasty rain water, full of the world and its destruction. The key to rejecting the rain is to be filled with something else--the Holy Spirit! Going further, if we leave ourselves exposed haphazardly, though we may be filled, the rain water can still enter in and dilute the good that is in our vessel. Enter the shield of faith and entire armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18)--covering up the top of us as vesels, so that the Spirit remains pure in us without the diluteness of the world. So never seek to be half full of the Spirit, because then you'll be half full of the world--we don't stay empty, even partially...we will fill with something. We need to seek to be 100% filled with the goodness of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!

"Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'"

God gave that instruction in Matt 5:33-37. Think about it: God gave the instruction to us and He desires for us to be like Him, so isn’t every command or instruction actually insight into the very nature of God? Go through every command in the Bible, or alternatively, every time you come across a command, search out its true meaning and rationale and see if it doesn’t point you toward being like God. Even in submission, we are loving God and recognizing righteousness as inferior beings…the supreme recognizer of righteousness and love is God, so we can be like Him even in submission. Other examples are easier to see, such as letting your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no.' Jesus is speaking here about oaths and commitments, and it has also struck me that we can apply this principle every day. Don’t we try to sensationalize our affirmative or dissenting replies? There is something to be said about emphasis, but as we get into the habit of emphasizing everything, then there is really no emphasis at all and people stop taking us seriously or even believing us. A friend of mine mentioned that if you say “yes…I promise,” doesn’t that imply that if you only said “yes” that you weren’t promising? That your 'yes' doesn’t always mean 'yes?'

But enough about us. Let’s think about God. Perhaps when He speaks and makes a commitment or tells us “no,” He lets His 'yes' be 'yes' and His 'no' be 'no.' Perhaps there is no miscommunication or confusion, but instead an emphatic reply that is unmistakable, direct, and perfect. Think about this: have you ever asked God for or about something as a series of events with a conclusion that you desired? Perhaps in that moment, His answer would simply be “no.” For instance, you may have prayed that you could go to college, so you could get your degree, so you could get the job you wanted, so you could have the life you’ve dreamed of and provide for others, and ultimately give glory to God. Sounds like a great vision! But what if God said “no.” Would you be heartbroken and call off college altogether? Perhaps God would say “no” to that, as well. Perhaps God wanted you to go to college, get your degree, get the job you wanted, but NOT live the life you’re dreaming of right now…but that you might do something different that would glorify Him more and lead you into a closer loving relationship with Him. If you prayed instead, “Lord, do you want me to go to this college,” you may receive the simple direction that you needed. Upon graduating, if you prayed, “Lord, do you want me to get this job?” Or this job, or this job. Perhaps you would receive the simple direction that you needed. Then when you prayed, “Lord, do you want me to have this life and go this way?” (the life “you’ve always wanted”), perhaps His answer would be “no.” Then you would have followed His perfect path the whole way, receiving every blessing, forsaking none, and now moving onto your perfect purpose. And perhaps His answer would be “yes,” as you were given that foresight and you dreamed of the life He dreamed of…or alternatively, perhaps He actually didn’t want you to go to college right then, but had an even more brilliant plan. The point is that we get so ahead of ourselves. Instead of asking God for the very next thing He wants us to do—today!—we start planning for 5, 10, 50 years down the road. If you want to start hearing God’s simple, certain commitment to be with you and to go where you need to go, be where you need to be, in 50 years…the only way is to go where you need to go, be where you need to be, today. A life of faith never requires any more than the next immediate direction. What does it matter what you will do 2 decisions from now? God is with you then as He is with you now. Do you need the entire roadmap now? To what end? Have you ever enjoyed someone’s trust in you? Or conversely, been frustrated with a lack of trust when you were truly doing what was best for them and knew exactly what you were doing? Think of the joy shared between God and ourselves when we trust Him like that. When we seek only to be used by Him today and to follow wherever He leads, one “yes” and one “no” at a time.

Furthermore, consider this perspective from Oswald Chambers (“My Utmost” July 11): “ A spiritually vigorous saint..sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus…. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.”

Jesus is all around you today, even as you read this. Do you see Him? Whatever you do next, pray that your eyes might be opened to see Jesus in it…ask Him for that…I know His answer will be simply “yes.”

Cars, GPS, Our Lives, and God

Our lives and our bodies are like cars, and we are the drivers and God is the navigator. In operating the vehicle of our lives, we often fall to either side: we either demand control of not just the steering wheel, but we want to choose where to go, how fast, and how to get there. Or we get to a point where we’re so lost, or so wrecked, or so out of control, that we finally recognize our error and say, “Jesus take the wheel.” I think we can err here as well. I think we must still grab a hold of that wheel, except we now follow the directions of our perfect GPS, God the Father (voices may vary from booming to a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13) and with different accents.) I think this is a clearer picture of our relationship with our human bodies, lives, and with Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Without Jesus, when we made a mistake or missed a turn, there would be no “make a u-turn.” We would forever have to take the errant path straight to hell. However, Jesus’ death is like a perpetual “recalculating route” as we are rerouted back to Heaven. The way is different than when we first started, after our wrong turns, yet our current way is now the most direct. We don’t have to drive 1000 miles back to where we first erred if God has made a way, a jumpover that is only a few miles back to the original, or a road that has no overlap with the original but is now the most direct path to Him and Heaven. Embrace the recalculated route. First we must realize that we have strayed, or we’ll never listen to the good directions. Then we must obey those directions. God is like the ultimate master map program that literally knows every route and waypoint without fail. Jesus’ death and resurrection makes forgiveness of error and sin possible so God ordains a recalculation. And the Holy Spirit is that voice that is with us in our vehicles (our bodies) to give every subtle or major direction. Put your hands back on the wheel and drive. But this time listen to your perfect, all powerful, all knowing, always loving master GPS. Are you willing to listen and wanting to turn up the volume? Prayer is your volume button. Turn it all the way up and ”pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5:17) Amen.