Why you should not decide the will of God via circumstances

1. The impossible is possible for God. In fact He is not embarrassed to ask us to join Him in the impossible.
2. He calls followers to sacrifice and pain.
3. He requires that we love Him more than family or friends.
4. All time is His time.
5. Success is not the goal – obedience is.
6. Christlikeness is the icon – nothing else – nothing more
7. Giving it all is required
8. Miracles require a need for a miracle
9. “Not good for you” is normal Kingdom living.
10. It takes faith to please God.


Now here is my follow up thoughts.
1. God calls us to need Him. By design He leads us into the impossible.
2. If anyone would follow Him they must deny themselves and pick up their cross.
3. If we love Mother or Father more than Him we are unworthy of Him.
4. So we can never be too busy to do what He wants us to do.
5. We want to look good, God wants us to be good.
6. The image we are to seek to be like is Christ. Granted it may be Christ in a business suit or behind a camera, or working at the desk or mill; but it is still Christ.
7. Love the Lord your God with all….
8. Just because it is impossible doesn’t mean you’re not suppose to try.
9. Humble yourself, not realy, humble yourself
10. God loves me enough to invite me to bring pleasure to Him. This does not depend so much on what I achieve as what I am. Do I have enough faith to follow Him or do I demand that I lead?

I live among the holy ones

There are so many great ones on the earth
Whose hearts are made of wider berth
Who with devotion deny themselves
And in tender humility
Live it out

A thousand daily prayers they meet
Undaunted by the task
In whom love and devotions seed did grew
And in these lives, new life also

Yet seldom a whisper of the self
Unless in frailty to confess
A noble deed left un-done
An attitude of unrest

To live my life among such saints
To enjoy their love
To feel their grace
To have their noble hand in mine
To find God’s heart in them refined

In the wisdom of humility
God has given such to you and me
Of whom the world does not deserve
Hearts that love and unnoticed serve

Broken, humble, loving saints
Who lack the praise of men
Yet in their daily life obscured
Heaven does observed

Define Us

Seeking to line to advance myself
My days go by
Unreached realities drive me
As do sorrow and joy
Self hope, man hope, God hope

To the listening ear
To the open heart
A word comes
Communication from the uncreated
This whisper would rule
It I yield to it

So far reaching this uncreated word
That if one yields
All of life
Internal, external
Is altered

Three keys to unlock each word
Loving, obeying, believing
Ancients said
Faith – hope – love

2 Kings 23

Loving God in 10 minutes

If you can come to love God in 10 minutes of time, you will find that you will spend more time with God. But if the 10 minutes are not fulfilling, then you will most likely do what you can when you can. So there are two pressures that we must deal with in this busy life so that we can love God for more than a moment a day. The first is our responsibility to seek God. The second is the simple complexity of a relationship with an all powerful, all knowing being.
To deal with the first I think the main issue is pain and suffering. If your life has pain and suffering in it, then you have distractions that labor to keep you from enjoying God. And let’s say that you do find one day that you deeply and passionately encountered God, all Satan needs to do is to turn up the pain dial and you will soon forget any blessing you might have received. It is the cares and worries of life, growing into real burdens and pressures, which choke out love for God.
So where should you start? Start by waiting. Simply take the 10 minutes and wait on God. You need not try to pray or communicate with God, He knows what you are doing. Just give that time to God and patiently, if you can, relax and wait. If your mind wonders you may take note of what thoughts have come to mind, but then gently turn back to the process of waiting on God to come to you.
I encourage you, if you have been a Christian for some time, not to use Scripture or a devotional. You only have 10 minutes and it will be better if you can be the offering and not try to find some wisdom, knowledge, principal or teaching. All those things are good, but what good will they truly be to you if you do not rightly and justly love the Lord. Do you think the Master does not know all those who replace Him with Scripture or some religious thoughts? Do you think God wants a relationship with you directly to through some book? Books are good yes, but direct connect is better.
This interacts with the second issue. God is more patient that we think. While we desire to go out and prove that we are good enough, God knows what we are and longs for us. We tend to think my love for God is revealed in the works that I do for God. We act like He will not see my cold heart of emotions if I give up something, if I sacrifice. Our labor and performance for the Lord matter and He does have works for us to do, but our first calling is the love the Lord God will all that is in us. ALL that is in us. Take 10 minutes and sacrifice them as you wait on God.

Covering

Covering

If you hang around Christian leadership long enough you will hear the term “covering”. I myself did not come to grips with this term until well past my biblical language and systematic theology classes. This is not to imply that the term is to be marginalized, but maybe it is to be more openly discussed.

It tends to come up in the context of leadership and control. So its use and misuse often are found in the arena of making decisions, ruling and controlling. We have numerous churches in our city with a variety of pastors and leadership. Each one of them is a “covering” for those who follow them (those who they lead). Yet in Pastor dominated church life, we seldom give authority to the teacher, the evangelist, the prophet or the Apostle. By saying the above, I am not in any way trying to promote title authority. What I desire to reveal is how little respect we have for others in ministry and how we neglect the priesthood of all believers to the point of “pragmatic disbelief” in that doctrine.

I believe in the Priesthood of all believers and that the function of the Eph. 4 gifts is not to do or dominate ministry but to equip the servant of the Lord for ministry. So for me it is more than “a person” that requires covering. In fact I would say a person cannot be someone’s covering any more than one person can be the body of Christ. I don’t think we should take what is meant to be “us” and make it a “me”.

Genesis 8:13 Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.

This is a verse that helps start to unfold covering – right. (You may not think so, but I think so. ) Covering was over the ark (the protective housing that carried the life over the death of destruction). The covering is not the ark. The covering is removed to release the life to go forth. The covering was needed for a time. The covering was a servant to the whole and the whole did not serve the covering.

Rod – ology If you want to be someone’s covering (or a part of that covering) you will need to conceal them during the storms of life, providing shelter and safety. Not just words of advice but they will need to use your wealth, strength, provision, wisdom and whatever else you have for their well being. The one who covers is a slave to the one they are giving their life for. Then in time, at some point of maturity and will of God, the one covering is peeled away and removed so that life may come out from the one covered into the world. Go get em “lifers”!

If I am unwilling to give all I am and all I have for you I am not your covering. I may be in authority over you or I may be responsible for your life. I may be called to rule and I may be required to sustain, but I am not covering. I may be pretending to cover though. I have pretended to do this. I thought it made me look good. In the end it just made me look selfish and stupid.

So Rod, why are you saying all this? The real covering you have is most likely coming from someone who is very close to you and never demands or seldom even ask that you are aware of their service and love. Like a Mom and Dad, they are giving their life and strength for you and you do not even need to notice it. It is nice when you do, but it is not required for in their decision to “parent” or “cover” you they accepted the good and bad, honored and un-honored, loved and unloved. They chose to cover you and it was without condition of response or approval. Like the Father above, they just cover you to cover you. Free are you to choose and live because of this unconditional service.

Part 1

Send Help

At times I get a little upset!

But being upset is no big deal.
People all around the world are upset. Even God gets upset at times.
But do you know what is weird. I get upset about doing the very thing I am suppose to do and the very think I have asked God to help me do. I get upset when I love people to the point of pain or self-denial. Yet I asked God to help me do this. I want to do it. It is the right thing for me to do. So why do I get upset?
I also get upset about helping people. I love to help people when I feel loved, special. I want to help people who need help, but get upset when I do at times. My son has told me he has never hear me tell someone “NO” when it comes to helping. I don’t think he has heard the inside, only the outside.
So I guess the big deal about being upset is that I am upset with me. Why do I dribble out love as if it is rare? Why do I half love? If confession is good for the soul, maybe this will be good for me and for those who I want to help in the days to come.